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Bill Carey at BackstepFirefighter.com found this video and has some commentary on it at his site. It’s from a fire May 1 at 12,010 Valleywood Drive in the Glenmont area of Montgomery County, Maryland.
No one was injured, Assistant Chief Scott Graham said. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at approximately 3:30 p.m.
“The homeowner was working on a piece of engine equipment in the basement when it fell over and landed on a can of brake cleaner,” Graham said in a statement. A water heater pilot light ignited the brake cleaner’s fumes, and the fire extended up the walls and into the first and second floors.
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Also on STATter911 …
- Mayday in Chicago. Firefighter fell through floor of vacant building on South Side. – November 16, 2012
- Firefighter/dispatcher falls asleep during 911 call. TV station has audio from Montgomery County, Maryland. – May 22, 2012
- Raw video: House fire in Newark, Delaware. Firefighter fell through floor. – March 25, 2012
- Firefighter falls through floor at Jewell, IA house fire. Power company & cops man hose lines. – August 12, 2012
Comments
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Nice to see the ladders on all three sides.
I think some of these guys must sell replacement windows on the side.
If your gonna break glass, take it all out. That just makes you look lazy when you leave half the glass in the window. Good ladder work
Leaving half the glass is also a good way to get somebody hurt.
Years ago I worked for an old chief who used to say “You boys need to learn the difference between ventilation and vandalism.”
Egress ladders to closed windows are a waste of time. Take the glass out of the egress windows. Throwing ladders and breaking glass without turnout gear is a recipe for disaster.
I want to bust on the guy with shorts and a tee shirt for no PPE but he worked his ass off throwing ladders then chasing kinks for the hose team.
The previous comments about breaking windows, and an uncalled for selling replacement windows on the side, speaks volumes of nothing more than unknown to the truth and facts opinions. Yes the Ladders were placed Professionally as they are supposed to be. The broken glass probably could have been cleared completely from the window frames. Yes the basement Fire does create some hazardous conditions. One can only think the breaking of the windows allowed the actual Firefighting tactics inside to begin with a more clear atmosphere, once the windows were broken. The heated environment inside was vented.Who among us can say with any degree of certainty that once the Fire was knocked and ventilation in place, the remaining portion of glass wasnot broken out? Unless anyone who commented with a negative smart attitude was there compltely aware of what the scene was presenting, then those comments and words of why,whynot, etc was and is totally out of line.
Maybe early in the video there was evidence of venting windows which did allow the “heated environment” to escape, but later in the video it didn’t seem to make a difference. Towards the end, the vandalism allowed the smoke to lazily drift from between the shards of glass.
I was not there and that is the reason I hate to second guess tactics that were used. I will however stand behind my comment that egress ladders to closed windows are a waste of time. If you place a ladder for egress reasons, then clear out the whole window including sashes. On the other hand, the windows may not have been ventilated due to specific fire conditions and may have contributed to fire spread. It is difficult to second guess. I just commented on what was apparent to me.
Minor league play at every level. Ventilation is slow and ladder placement is poor. Those complaining about broken glass are silly. The windows were not removed fast enough and they were not cleared for egress. The firefighter in shorts and T-shirt raising portable ladders by himself speaks volumes.
Companies were clearly placed above a basement fire without a hoseline. You never can be sure when and how fast conditions will deteriorate. You might get away with that nine times out ten. The tenth time is probably going to leave a mark.
Poor basic tactics is what is killing and injuring our members. The fire service is distracted by too many “things” and too many opinions. A debate about basement fire tactics will ensue after this post, yet the proper hoseline placement needed to protect the members operating above in this video is really not debatable at all.
Stop arguing and start holding each other accountable.
Uncoordinated ventilation is a recipe for disaster. An understanding of the modern fire environment and the concept of a ventilation limited fire should make outside vent persons pause before they break a window. And by not taking out all of the window, you create a less ideal vent path and make it difficult for personnel to hastily exit the space, if necessary.
For the record, I wasn’t there. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
@ anon, you must be the window salesman/window breaker or her husband. You are taking this a little too personally, just sayin’.
@ Capt45-2, I’m with you. At least throw some bunkers on… but that kid does hustle. Must have caught him in the middle of a cross fit workout. Maybe he should go to Jersey and show them a good workout program.
Basement fires are always tough, so you gotta give them an “Atta boy” for a good stop.
Bravo “Art of Fire”!!! Hooking windows for the sake of being “Big City” is idiotic. Taking an exterior window with no chance or intention of ever controling an interior door is not the smartest thing. You can change the ventilation profile of your occupancy and affect your Brothers working inside.
Not a bad job… looks like there was good zip in their step, I did not see water flowing in the basement windows, they pushed into the basement and got it, my man worked his ass off tossing ladders (helmet and gear would have been nice but then nothing is perfect) Keep up the good work and of course Strike Da Box! K
Not bad tactics, just in slow motion. I’m guessing the OV man was not aware this was a basement fire(although the presence of tell tale “lazy smoke”). Noticing the smoke from the Div. 2 window, maybe he guessed a room off. In that case, you would not take that window until you are sure your line is in place and ready to advance. All and all not bad, a little to much Truck work and not enough Engine work in the early stage. “As the first line goes,so goes the fire”.
Of course this whole debate would be moot if the resident hadn’t been working with flammable liquids in his basement near the water heater…..
Safety should come first. I hold the Chief in the white coat responsible for not stopping the ladder man in the shorts and tshirt. You could see glass flying while he places the ladders. As far as unkinking the line, the driver should check his lines for kinks to make sure the personnel on the line can do their job safely. Not second guessing but assessing what can be seen on the video.
@ladderman – don’t know how you can conclude that there was no attack going on in the basement while companies were operating above; smoke conversion occurs within seconds and you can clearly see that companies already went in the rear entrance when the camera man makes it around that side. Fire stopped within 4 minutes. @SCFFEMT-P – small box like this and the fellas are already inside flowing water is a perfect time to make as many ventilation openings as possible (although I wholeheartedly agree with the need to make them ventilation openings rather than just commit vandalism) – Not a perfect job by any means but out within minutes.
All,
as someone who was actually there, I feel responsible to say something. This video is a very poor representation of the conditions present and communications that occurred. While I do agree that the work done on this fire could have been much more smooth, I believe that actions taken were still effective given what we had. When we initially got to side Charlie we had a pool of combustible liquids on fire at the landing of the to the exterior of the basement, with very little extension into the actual basement.
Ventilation WAS coordinated with the engine boss, and I was the one who took the two windows at the C/D corner on division 1. As the one who made myself look like a bit of an idiot having trouble with the sash at the top of the stairs I admit I could’ve done a better job, but the angle and strength of that sash prooved to be more challenging then I expected.
And while I do agree with you all that the truck driver should have been wearing gear, he still did a hell of a job of helping out with laddering the building.
The homeowner had a transmision shop in his basement, which made things extremely cramped and led to the “slow motion” look many of you spoke of.
The crews on division 1 did have a hand line with them, although they didn’t really need it for “safety” as the fire had only made it’s way about three feet into the house.