Raw video from service station fire in Prince George’s County.

Did PGFD call for a foam wagon from Andrews or BWI?

Ricky Riley was there!

Is that Kentland 33 DOIN IT….Those boys are awesome. Im a huge buff and have stopped by there numerous times. I especially love it when they all wear their DCFD tshirts, hats, gear, and their really awesome scab/volley tshirts. God, they are great.

Was that 1 3/4″ hose or 1 1/2″? Not that it matters … heavy fire in a commercial structure calls for 2 1/2″ attack lines or larger lines with ground monitors if an exterior attack is required. The little line had a beautiful broken fog stream that evaporated well before it ever got near the main body of fire.

I hope there was a water supply issue or some other explanation (maybe waiting to shut down the supply to a natural gas fed fire?) as to why they were allowing the fire to burn unchecked. I would hate to think that this was an actual attempt at extinguishing this fire …

My question is don’t Engine Companies carry portable deluge sets anymore? A couple of them and the “Tower of Power” from 33 could have probably held it to a box alarm.

Man! They were doing it. I was wondering when they were going to move that awning, it was really bothering me too.

I read in a previous brief comment about Jerry Engle being in Prison. I was just wondering if anyone knows for a fact he has been convicted. I certainly hope so. This disgusting worthless do nothing Weasel sickened me with his lack of common sense, and deliberate witholding crucial information. If he is in prison that is a Blessing.

In answer to ‘HooknCanman’ It’s sad to hear your description of how terrible you feel the volunteer fire service is in Pennsylvania. But if what you say is so, why would you choose a fire service that operates in the manner depicted in this video? They are not even performing basic ‘bread and butter’ operations correctly.

There are departments who have set the standards for the fire service for many years … the department in the video does not even make the list …

Maybe if you guys were there you would know that everyone was told to stand back and let the tower and truck do the work. Everyone was told to WAIT. Now if everyone also wants to go by what they saw on the video clip and act like retards, maybe you should find out how the operation went before the cameras got there. The handlines were for interior attack because unlike other weak ass companies this area does aggressive interior. But when the main fire room is surrounded by lexan it takes a min to get in. Then when your pulled out before you can get in that’s what you do. So sorry if 1 out of 1000 fires goes not as planned. So why don’t all you other multi alarm companies who can’t put a match out with a bucket of water go find out some facts about the whole story before you point fingers.

Your name here says, “The handlines were for interior attack because unlike other weak ass companies this area does aggressive interior.”

2.5″ attack lines are the minimum required for commercial structures due to potential fire load, large open areas, etc. That was the S.O.P. in my career (large municipal F.D.) as well as my volunteer (small town, rural)departments. I along with my Brothers (FYI, not a ‘weak ass’ among them) did a tremendous amount of interior firefighting in buildings of every make and description. Please realize that there is a huge difference between ‘aggressive’ interior attack and ‘reckless’ interior attack.

There are times to use aggressive interior attack and times to go defensive. Whichever strategy is chosen, there are right and wrong ways to go about attacking a fire. Had the correct sized attack lines for a commercial structure fire been pulled on arrival, we wouldn’t see 1 3/4″ (or was it 1 1/2″) hand lines spraying weak, broken fog streams that are evaporating before reaching the main body of fire.

Here’s a helpful hint, the large caliber stream from a tower ladder is sometimes made more effective by placing the basket at street level and directing the stream onto the fire through window and door openings and bouncing it off the ceiling. To do this, it’s necessary to position the rig accordingly.

Years ago, an ‘old timer’ told me, “If you ever reach a point on this job where you think you’ve got it all figured out and you have nothing left to learn … retire because you’re gonna get yourself or your Brothers killed. There’s no room for ‘cocky attitudes’ in the fire service. That was good advice then and it still is now.

Stay safe.

To: “your name here says”

A 2.5″ hand line has always been an offensive tool used for interior attack (It can also be used for defensive operations). The saying ‘BIG FIRE, BIG HOSE’ is not new to the fire service and does not suggest the use of 1.5″ or 1.75″ hose. If firefighters are physically unable to advance a 2.5″ hand line into the first floor of a commercial occupancy then maybe they have chosen the wrong field of endeavor. We frequently were faced with fires that required the use of interior 2.5″ hose for attack (That’s why physical / agility standards were so rigid years ago prior to departments caving in to make it easy for people to get on the job even if they couldn’t carry a power saw up an aerial ladder or advance a 2.5″ hand line inside a structure.).

You are very fortunate if you ‘usually’ have an attack line with you when you search. I spent the majority of my career working in a truck company and more times than not we commenced searching for trapped occupants while the first line was being stretched by the engine company. In multi – story structures (4 – 7 floors, had no stand pipe), it often takes a little while for an engine crew to get a line into position and begin their attack. In areas such as these, 200′ cross lays would not even reach the front entrance to the building. If victims were trapped, they could not wait for us to be accompanied by a hose line. So, we would get in, do a primary search ahead of the line to whatever extent conditions allowed.

As far as your claim that the line being operated intermittently right in front of the camera during most of the video was a 2″ with a smooth bore nozzle, you need to watch again because clearly shown in the front of the fire building is a small hand line with a fog nozzle on it. Maybe it was 2″ but it sure looked tiny to me.

My purpose for commenting is not to ‘take shots’ at any department, but rather to attempt to alert clear thinking young firefighters to mistakes that are depicted in many of the videos that appear here in the hopes that they will learn ‘the easy way’ before their improper actions cause the death of a civilian or worse a Brother firefighter. That would be ‘the hard way’ to learn.

Stay safe.

Yes 33 has an 1 3/4 fog, but the main handline in use is the 2″. I also understand what you are saying about the 2 1/2 inch line as an interior line. We don’t use 2 1/2 though we have 1 3/4,2, and 3″. And it’s definately not a physical thing on the big line we are easily capable of managing a big line. And it wasn’t the size of the fire that was the problem it was access to the fire rooms. There wasn’t anymore fire here than a house fire with a few rooms off. But by the time entry was made to the interior to get to the doors where the main fire was, the roofing was compromised and the people were now reported to have made it out. At this time we were pulled out. Then two truck master streams,one blitz nozzle with 2-3″ lines, a two in smooth bore, and yes maybe the occasional use of a 1 3/4. So to me that seems to be a fine setup for the building. It wasn’t a 7 story high rise it was a average size gas station in which the fire was contained to original rooms that were off on arrival.