Early photos of the fire
The video above is quite interesting and well worth the six minutes it takes to watch it. It is WKTV-TV photojournalist Tim Fisher's thoughts about a fire Monday in Utica, New York that took the lives of a mother and three young children. It occurred around 9:30 in the morning. Some family and neighbors were critical of the fire department's actions.
Rather than give you my view of this video, I am interested in yours first. Below is a pre-arrival picture taken by a neighbor and clips from Monday's coverage by WKTV-TV.
Also on STATter911 …
- More citizen complaints: ‘We lost our home. They were supposed to save our home.’ Comparing TV news coverage from fires in Utica and Buffalo. – May 13, 2011
- FDNY in action: Raw video shows fire spread from Bronx 5th-alarm in March. – April 27, 2011
- Arrival video & fireground audio: West Plains, Missouri thrift store fire. – May 18, 2012
- UPDATE: Fireground audio added. Two Philadelphia firefighters killed at 5-alarm fire this morning. Three others hurt. Crew trapped in collapse at exposure building. – April 9, 2012
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I want ot thank you for doing what was right !!!! we all try very hard ot save lives nad properity but some times conditions do not allow us to do that . Again thanks fo rreporting this the way you seeen it !!!!! Keep up the good work
Firefighter !!!
Very well said by a person who is there watching and documenting day in and day out. Hats off to him. Great narrative. RIP to the family and God Bless their family.
I don't think anyone should make this family out to be the bad guys. Imagine coming up on the scene and your family is inside burning alive. Your instinct for your loved one is to run in and save them no matter the danger, why do you think so many die in fires. Well the firefighters and police of course will not let them in because they don't wan't to lose them too so they are left out there helpless and they look around and no one is going in to get them they have steped out because it is to dangerous which they absolutely should have done, but as a loved one in the moment you would not be feeling that way you would be feeling go in no matter the cost. You better bet if my family would have been in there I would have steam rolled someone to get inside. And in greif you often have to place blame to try and get through when in fact in this situation there is no one to blame. They will come to that and know the truth eventually. I have never lived through a fire but I did see the murder of my husband. I remember waiting for the police to show and it feeling like they would never come. When they came they did an amazing job,but while waiting for them to take me to the station I remember hearing them laughing and joking back and forth. I remember my body went completely hay wire and I was having to urinate every five seconds at the station and I came out and walked up on the cheif joking about me peeing so much and I remember thinking how could they even joke at a time like this. BUt they where very good to me and later reflecting I realized that the only way they could get through the horror that they saw everyday was to detatch a little bit. I know they cared. I know what the cheif said on the news and how well they treated our family and I know they do a job just as these firefighters do that I could never handle for one minute. I know that we live in a world where we value ball players and singers over teachers who help shape the lives of our children and police men and women who protect us and firefighters who save our lives. Even more it seems than God himself. And I find that very sad. I also find it sad that media can report pictures of private sad devistating moments and make comments at times before knowing all the facts and that so many like to judge and gossip and no body stops to think that their right to have something to talk about is so insugnificant compaired to the horror that these workers and these families go through and the feelings of those in such heartbreak. I pray for ever one of them and I hope God brings them some peace and they can accept it. I hope someone is there to hold their hair back when they are puking their heart out,you just have no idea unless you have ever lived it.
HUGS J
These firemen did their best, as they always do, to control the fire, save the lives of these people, but unfortunately it did not turn out well. To accuse them of not doing enough is absurd. God Bless these men and women who are willing to help those in need at desperate times.
Thank you this is videogragher. He has put into a few short minutes what we could never say in a full day.
Thank you sir
Great coverage of a tragic situation. Emotions always play a part in this type of situation and people say things without thinking clearly at times like this. The men of Utica FD did what they are trained to do and have nothing to regret. Unless you have been in this type of situation then you can't relate to what is going through the minds of the firefighters on scene. You do your best but personal safety is always the #1 priority. It was a hot scene. Great job guys.
Tim Fisher did an Excellent job of explaining this story as tragic as it is.
Very tough situation. I watched the video with the sound turned down, so I am 100% sure what was said, but, from what I could gather, the family/neighbors are very upset about how the FD controlled the fire. I feel for their loss, but it's not only THEIR loss. The family/neighbors certainly have more at stake than the firefighters, but no firefighter ever wants to go to a scene and remove someone who has succumbed to fire. It's NOT just a body, NOT just a removal, it IS a human life, and firefighters don't like losses either. Safety is paramount. Judging by the picture when the reporter first arrived, chances of the family being alive was very slim. I say the FD did an exemplary job. My heartfelt condolensces to the families, neighbors, and firefighters who had to endure this call for service.
i have to agree with the stament that family members come up to a scene and are overcome with emotion and want anything in the world to be done to save whoever is inside. There are times though where we as firefighters do everything in our power to get in their and save someone and sometimes there is nothing we can do to make that happen. It is a sad reality and there is always so much more going on that most citizens will never understand as far as fire department operations. Watching the reactions of the firefighters exiting the structure is enough to tell you that they tried their very best to make a rescue if there was one to be made. I'm sure they will question every action that they made during the incident for days to come on something they may have been able to do differently and effect a better outcome. The early pictures show a huge amount of fire that is well advanced where the chance of survivability is very slim. A huge thank you to the journalist who explained the fire departments side of the story and one can only hope that no one ever has to go through that! RIP to the family!
The pre-arrival pictures tell it all. This fire was a well advanced fire that had taken hold of the structure and the possibility of anyone being alive was zero. I feel for the the family of the loved ones they lost in this tragic fire, but it does not give them the right to treat or make unjust comment of the efforts to try and save these people made by the firefighters. I know what it feels like to arrive on scene with a structure fire that is well advanced and no possibility of survival for those that are trapped inside. It is even harder on the crews when these unjust comments about there actions are made about there efforts. My grandfather taught me don't judge a person until you have walked in there shoes or have done there job!!!!!!
Dave et. al.,
What I find most curious is that when the reporter-as a representative of the media- tells a story in the way we would like to have told it ourselves, he is, "fair, objective, wonderful, and heroic." But if that same reporter told a different story is the antithesis of all those things. When we see a video attached to something else we WANT to see, the picture is the whole story. Things were too far gone in that house. Hmmmm…look back at all the other posts of fires on this site, fires with similar fire conditions caught on tape and your hear accusations of ineptitude and yard breathing, etc…
This reporter does not get a free pass just because he is sympathetic to the fire department. I would dare say that his reporting was not even reporting per se but rather a nicely done editorial that we happened to like. Hmmmmm…
Is the media really the bad guy?
As a former EMT for 15 years it's always tragic no matter who dies in any situation. The general public or those who criticize the work of 1st responders are only uneducated to the situational hazards that EMTs and the firefighters and police face on a daily basis to no fault of their own. Even though it was 9:30 am the family may have been up late and were sleeping in, and we may never know, but most likely they died from smoke inhalation long before the fire engulfed the house. It's a very difficult decision that the chief or officers have to make not to enter a building due to extreme danger to the lives of the firefighters. Every effort is made to save a life no matter what the situation, a drownig, a fire, a car accident. The victims family are not blaming anyone on the scene I would hope, it's more anger and disbelief that takes over their emotions. We live in a world now adays that likes to point fingers, it's a terrible accident and accidents are going to happen. My heart goes out to everyone involved. Please take a moment to thank a firefighter, emt and police officer, these are the men and woman who put their lives on the line everyday not for the glory or the money that sport heros or movies stars seek. These are the real heros and stars. Encourage your kids to grow up and help their fellow citizens it will be a better future for all.
Great story and thoughts. This man needs to come out from behind the camera and have his own news show. So scary and sad for the friends and family. The firefighters are all true heros.
I currently work for an agency that has reduced nearly all stations to two firefighters per truck. The county manager and assistant county manager and a few county council members have made it a point to slash our budget as deep as they can. Since the reduction to two person staffing, we have had 3 fire related fatalities. Would more staffing have saved the victims? There is no way to know, but we will not get the chance to find out. We will repeat who happened in Utica. The results will be the same, or worse. It is not a question of if, only a question of when.
Very well said! Thank you for taking the time to make this video. People have absolutely no idea how scary it is to search a burning building, and yet firefighters do it anyway. It is intimidating just to practice searching in a structure that is not on fire. I understand the man's grief, I couldn't imagine losing my entire family. However, the fire is the enemy NOT the firefighters. It is a sad fact, but more than likely that the kids especially were passed before the fire department got there. Risk a lot to save a lot. And they did.
Reports in the Utica Observer-Dispatch indicate that people did try to make rescues even before UFD arrived, but were driven back by smoke and heat.
As everyone has said – we do what we can, and often try to do what we can't. But no matter how hard we try, all too often the cards are stacked against us.
Thanks for sharing this story so objectively. A bad day for everyone involved: the victims friends and family and those firefighters in Utica who – as far as I can see – did a great job trying to save the occupants of the building. It is easy to point the finger at the Fire Department, but unless you have ever been in a burning building you really don't know how hard it is to find your way around. I have been in fires where you can not see your own hand in front of your eyes, so it is very hard to find your way around in a flaming inferno. Searching for people in an environment that one is not familiar with is a true challenge!
Saving peoples lives is what we sign up for! Unfortunately the story does not always end well for all involved. My condolences to the victims family and friends as well as the Utica FD
A true statement from a witness to all that occured. My condolences to the family and the firefighters who have to deal with extreme decisions in the face of reality. I have dealt with this scene a few times in my career as a volunteer firefighter and i have to say it is never easy to realize that with everything we have to fight a fire and everything that is made to alert people of dangers that we still lose people to tragic fires like this one. god bless everyone and be safe to all.
I am a career firefighter for the federal government and a volunteer fire chief in a town of about 6000. As I tell my new recruits when they come in, 95% of Americans have no idea what we go through on a daily basis nor do they care. The only time it matters to them is when they are directly involved and then and only then do they come up, not wanting to help, but to tell how we are doing the job wrong. As I tell them when they come to my scene, I would love to have you volunteer with us but I have never seen your application come accross my desk nor have I seen your credentials that tell me you know what is goin here or how to deal with it. I guarantee the Utica did their absolute best to save lives and protect property that day and to have somebody beat them down after a tough loss such as that is just asinine.
I'am a retired fire fighter from a large city in canada. and from my experience and seeing the extent of the fire at the front of the building before the firefighters arrived it was most likley too late to save anyone at that point.the front rooms would be in excess of 1000 degrees. Only in movies do the heroes walk through walls of fire and fall four and five floors and just get up and walk away.Firefighters can and do make mistakes, this is not one of them. These firefighters should receive an apology when tempers cool down.
I'm just an ordinary person but I believe that firefighters are heros. It takes a very special person to enter a burning building and to do what has to be done in that sort of situation. I watched this video and was touched by the reaction the firefighters had knowing that people had died in this fire. It is so sad that lives were lost and my heart goes out to their family and friends. To say they didn't do all that they could had to be spoken out of grief and anger. I believe these firefighters are heros and did everything humanly possible.
Ive been a firefighter for over 30 years and every situation is different. By looking at the photo taken by a neighbor before the first pump arrived, it would seem that this fire started on the front porch. I have been to many house fires and if the fire starts inside then the front porch floor rarely burns. It would be helpful to see the entire video of the fire from beginning to end but most times that is not possible. One also has to remember that these wooden frame homes with siding go up very fast. My heart goes out to the family and also the firefighters that do the best they can with what they have.
One thing I forgot to mention. Everyone please install a smoke detector on every floor of your home. Vacum them yearly and change the batteries. Once they reach 7 years old, replace them. Smoke detector as well as carbon monoxide detectors are a must have in all homes and where I live its the law. I know that they have saved some of our firefighters in their homes.