Firefighter Nation’s Bill Carey posted this one a short time ago. When staffing is short, sometimes there are helping hands.
The first line on this fire last Friday at 233 Walnut Street in Lebanon City, Pennsylvania is stretched to the front door by a police officer. Some of the ladder raising and re-positioning, along with the pulling of the second line and feeding of hose is done by people in civilian clothes. It is unknown if any are off-duty or volunteer firefighters. But there are lot more of them than there are firefighters on the first two rigs.
The good news is the fire seems to go out faster than most.
Here is the description posted on YouTube with the video:
May 14, 2010 — This is a view from engine 15. Working Structure Fire, Tower 18, Engine 15 and 21, Squad 22, Rescue 24, A Platoon, Lebanon City, 233 Walnut St, Pa, Lebanon County, Iaff Local 1952
Click here to read more about the fire.
Also on STATter911 …
- Grocery-cam: Citizen thinks he’s uncovered a scandal as FDNY’s Engine 255 goes shopping in Brooklyn. – January 8, 2012
- The spies among us. YouTube video takes what may be a positive PR moment & presents it as something very different. – November 1, 2011
- Firehouse video: It’s good to know U.S. firefighters don’t have a monopoly on poor judgment when it comes to YouTube. – October 20, 2011
- Raw video: More from Monday’s 5th alarm at 4800 Walnut Street in Philly. – January 11, 2011
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
work with what u got and any extra help is always good. Nice job guys an, a big thanks should go out to the D.P.W. works providing the back up and the extra hands.
Obviously the dept was short handed. I think it’s great that PD and civilians pitched in to help stretch hoselines without interfering or being obstacles. The dept did a great job of ventilating while an interior attack was being made. Great job by all. (at least from what the video showed)
I’d love to know if any of the first arriving companies, called for additional companies or upgraded the alarm due to leaving the firehouse understaffed. Seeing people jump into action like this, does show alot in the type of people who live there. I would have to disagree though, that the dept. did a great job of ventilating while an interior attack was being made. It looked to me that some horizontal ventilation took place prior to the engines arrival, but it took some time to get water on it.
They may have accomplished some of these tasks, but not in a timely manner. However, you do have to work with what you have and accomplish what you can….Doesn’t seem like anyone was hurt and that’s the main concern….Maybe they could sign up some of those who helped out and beef the dept. up a little….
WHo do these civilians sue when they get hurt trying to be firefighters. “Oh the fireman charged the hose and it slapped me in the face knocking out 3 teeth, breaking my jaw, OOOHHHH the pain!!!”
There is no place for civilians on the fire ground…what if that civilian grabbed that nozzle and went in the building? Theres a victim for you to expend your trained firefighters on instead of now attacking the fire.
Once the Fire Department arrives on scene, they are responsible to control the scene PERIOD. The next thing you’ll be doing is giving a deposition in a civil lawsuit. The lawyers will chew you up and spit you out, and guess what, your own little dash cam video will be the star witness.
You tell em “Seen it happen before”.. I read in a National Survey, that Department of Public Works employees were 10 times more likely to sue a Fire Department if hurt on a fire scene while trying to help out an understaffed department. The survey cited a charged hoseline @150-160psi, opened by a DPW town employee was the major cause of injuries to the mandible and the occipital region of the brain.
Interesting how these guys were able to put the fire out using all their gear, even air packs.
I thought the only way to do it was like Gary and Detroit……
Another interesting point, they seem to have even fewer FF’s on scene than either of those depts and the vids we see of them. And they were able to knock it down rather quickly as well, faster than Detroit can knock down a van fire.
Some of the towns in PA have formal or informal arrangements where city/township employees go the scene to “help out”. In some cases these employees have training and gear, in other cases (like this I’m guessing) they just lend a hand where needed. I don’t know for a fact that this is the case here but it wouldn’t surprise me since those guys appear to be city employees and they seem to know how to flake out a line – I think they’ve done it before.
Not the ideal here but they got the job done – and they went inside and got it. They could easily say “We don’t have the manpower”, put on ICS vests, stay outside and burn the block down. I’ve seen that happen before too.
I got my start at 14 (lied on my application) with this outfit as a member of two of the 9 volunteer companies in the City at the time. As the steel industry shut down, the city died. Many of the 100+ year old fire companies, formally with huge active and social memberships, had to consolidate to remain alive. Back then, the City provided a driver for each of the companies. Volunteers who lived near the houses turned out when the house siren was activated. The driver would wait a couple of minutes for a crew to show up before responding. At times the apparatus would look like something out of a comedy given the number of guys hanging on to it. I believe, now the City operates a small full time 3-4 man shift that staff an engine and truck out of a station on the north side and a station on the south side. The Squad is manned by volunteers. The full time guys do a great job of getting there quickly and knocking down fire in these row houses. It is still a very much small community where anyone can pitch in without some “professional” getting their panties in a wad. I cannot say one bad thing about this department. I have the background and the professional pedigree that qualifies me to make such a statement. I visit often as my mother and her side of the family still resides there. They are making it work despite a serious lack of resources, that in all reality they lost and will never return, when the mills and supporting industry left back in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
First thing I noticed was two FF’s at the front door with pike poles instead of pulling a line to get water on the fire. the public had to take them a line to them. Saw serval walking around with poles………
GREAT JOB to the understaffed PA city, and to the volunteer firefighters of Lebanon. Also, a round of applaus to the helpers from the water and public works depts!
I take offense at Mark’s comment.I do not believe you are qualified to make negative judgements on two good departments that are in an unenviable position of having no funding but continue the best thay can under undesirable circumstances.
Say what you will about this incident but here is what I observed: An interior attack, two handlines, a water supply, ventilation and put the fire out in less than 10 minutes with no extension to the attached exposure. A lot more than most departments (paid and volunteer) that I have observed can accomplish on a good day. Trust me.
We have all seen many fireground videos on this site and believe me they did an efficient job with the resources they had. The fire was knocked down quickly and without a bunch of nonsencical or unnecessary NFPA sanctioned exercises. Good work!
Looks like to me that the civilians where public works employee’s… I know here in our town we have several pw employee’s that are vol firefighters, and they respond when they can, sometimes with out their gear. It looks to me that is the case here… they look to know as if they knew what they where doing, and stayed out of the way for the most part. Good job!!!
I was one of the first 2 guys in this video. A little backround about the dept, this shift we have a tower and engine out of the southside station with 2 on each, and an engine on the northside with 2 on it. So a total of 6 firefighters were coming to this fire. The volunteers showed up, which is the rescue truck pulling in front of the tower a couple minutes later. We really can’t call understaffed, it’s our job. Ed, really… It was a set of irons, that was our tool choice for searching/truck roles, I’m on the truck, the guy on the engine can worry about his hose. He was there but for some reason he stood at the hydrant, and waited to charge it. As far as the worry about crowd control, I could care less when we get to a fire, thats the cops job. The public works guys, one was a past chief, one a county volly, the “cop” pulling the line, is a asst. chief in the county. I really would like to thank all the postive comments on here, just glad we didnt get to tore up.
Truck Operator, keep up the good work. I got your back on this board. Many, many of my family and life long friends live in those row houses. Got my start in the business with Liberty and Union back in the early 70′s (lived right behind the Liberty where my 98 yr old grandmother still lives) Went to my first working fire with Lloyd Pfutz and Tony Ficcio. Stay safe.
no vests; as one other poster made mention of and they went INSIDE the house where the fire WAS until they got there almost had one problem with the red hose under the ladder instead of on the outside great jobs everyone
When your understaffed with 2 on the wagon and 2 on the truck you decide to put the fire out and make rescues or you choose to stand out and watch it burn. thank god some real firemen showed up that day and put the wet stuff on the red stuff. Good jobs guys, unfortunatly this is a growing trend these days, not enough staffing. These towns should really be thanking you for what we do everyday. Again, good job guys Oh and the comments about the folks helping, i agree with the previous posters, it looks like the majority of the helpers had done this before.