Read the report
Read the press release from Spotsylvania County
Previous coverage from STATter911.com
Fireground audio
Transcript of fireground radio traffic
Transcript of Sandy Hill’s call to 911
In early March we told you about the February 5 fire in Spotsylvania County, Virginia where 43-year-old Sandy Hill died. Sandy Hill was on the phone with 911 when the first firefighters from Chancellor Volunteer Fire & Rescue pulled up to the scene on and for many minutes after their arrival. Unfortunately, despite a relatively small amount of fire, the crews didn’t get to Hill in her second floor room until it was too late.
As reporter Dan Telvock of the Free Lance – Star started asking questions about the lengthy delay in finding Hill, county officials ordered an internal investigation of the fire. That report was presented tonight to the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors. According to a press release, County Administrator C. Douglas Barnes has sent “the entire internal review report has now been submitted to four outside experts/agencies from around the country, for their additional close analysis of what took place.”
Also on STATter911 …
- NEW INFO: Resignations from Hamilton, Virginia firefighter charged with DUI & others. Five volunteers said to be on a joyride after night of drinking. 19-year-old on the rig along with a cop. – March 6, 2011
- UPDATE: Second Spotsylvania Co. firefighter charged with sex crime. Sheriff says Chancellor volunteer also used FD vehicle. Department promises ‘drastic changes’. – May 24, 2011
- Fatal house fire in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Chief says response plan worked after 54-inch water main break on Beltway. – January 24, 2011
- Bladensburg VFD Firefighter Ethan Sorrell released from hospital. Firefighter Kevin O’Toole remains in burn unit. PGFD outlines investigation of fire that injured seven firefighters. – February 28, 2012
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GEAR ISSUES??? That translates into you’re a coward and somebody died because of your inability to perform your job as a firefighter. You should be proud of yourselves because other than this report being published no other actions have been taken and you IDIOTS are still riding fire trucks placing yourselves and the citizens in danger. Very, very sad! Your websites and t-shirts look great though.
What is x-ray and x-ray tags?
I read the report, very interesting. Lessons to learnt for everyone.
Question: What is an x-ray team and what are x-ray tags? Never heard this terminology before.
A very sad outcome for sure, this does appear to happen way to frequently anymore by both volunteer and high profile career departments with the same readings in the reports, poor tactics, gear issues, no proper search, misunderstanding of floors/divisions, improper incident command, freelancing. The only thing different in the reports are the department names at the top. So really the websites and t-shirts play no roll here just poor job performance plain and simple. If you ride a fire and rescue unit know your job and perform it it does not matter if you get a paycheck for it or not. HAVE PRIDE
Retired, X-ray designation refers to units that split crews. The second crew becomes the x-ray crew. As when a rescue company will split into 2 crews and become rescue 123 and rescue 123 x-ray
Per the NOVA Manuals, only the incident commander may designate an “x-ray” crew. If a special services crew is split, whether it be a ladder truck or rescue squad, whether they are the inside and outside crews or everyone is inside, those personnel are to be designated per their riding positions. For example, truck officer to the truck right bucket, etc. “X-Ray Tags” are simply the unit passport used by the incident commander or their aide for accountability purposes. Every unit has a “passport” or a avenue to collect and identify the personnel assigned to that specific apparatus by “tags” or little pieces of plastic with some basic information of individuals on them. With that being said, I do not believe Spotsylvania adheres to the NOVA manuals, and therefore would have to clarify this designation in their own rules and procedures.