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This is video from a fire on Saturday in the 3100 block of Teal Lane in Bowie, Maryland. The evacuation tones are ordered by command at 1:56 in the video.
According to PGFD PIO Mark Brady, this fire began after a gasoline powered generator was used too close to the house. You will note in the response portion of the video the many traffic signals that are dark because of the massive power outages in the region following Friday night’s storm.
Also on STATter911 …
- Quick Takes: July 2, 2012. – July 2, 2012
- Hurricane Sandy – Wind, Water & Fire: Must see videos as the the crane folds, structures crumble, trees topple & buildings burn. – October 30, 2012
- Preempting the preempters: California town cracks down on citizens with signal changing devices. – April 5, 2012
- Busy DC fire engine placed out of service to fill pool. Order came as firefighters scrambled to handle major storm workload. – July 3, 2012
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Pretty good work overhaul from what could be seen from this video. A few things though, hoping that truckie started that saw on the ground first, because dicking around with it on the roof with old man fire waiting for you underneath isnt the smartest. Yeah eventually he got it started but thats why we always bring two saws with us to the roof or use that axe in the meantime. And finally…..listening to command, im hearing alot of this around these parts and PG is no exception….stop trying to “Talk the Fire Out”. Damn, I realize you need to manage the incident but next time try placing que cards around the building to tell each unit what u want done. Let the Firemen do their jobs, they now what needs to be done. Still a good job.
-Be safe out there
Sorry…missed the spelling error. Shouldve been “Over all” not overhaul….that wasnt in the video
Maybe I’m missing something here but if the order was given to evacuate the building along with the evac. tones…why would there still be people on the roof?
dickey there was nobody on the roof to start.at 1:42 command told communications to hit the evac tones.at 2:32 mark command calls the engine co and says if you can put aknock on it from the outside we can regroup and try an interior attack again. at 3:30 command is saying progress is being made.at 5:27 command is giving the division one officer assignments meaning they are going interior again and he even says they are pulling ceilings meaning what ?? an interior attack again. the truck crew from 28 goes to the roof after command is saying this. so where do you see people going to the roof or on the roof in the videos during the time of evac. before the evac tones were hit bowie already had thier first due truck throwing ladders and operating inside. 28 was second due … meaning they ladder charlie /delta side and perform secondary searches and open the roof if it has not been done already. first due ladders side A/B 2nd due C/D. in pg every side of the house has a ladder thrown to it.. its better to have too many ladders then none when there needed.
Huh.
Who laddered that building?
Why no vent work? If ya don’t want to go to the roof, horizontal ventilation works very well.
Ya gotta pull ceilings to get at an attic fire.
It didn’t sound to me like the IC had a very good handle on this fire.
Oh, yeah.
I never heard the company officer go at scene for accountability or ask for an assignment prior to arrival. Just a lot of giggling from the guys in back.
OK, I sorta blew it…..I was commenting on the lack of ventilation because I did not hear any saws running when those guys got off the rig.
Watching further I did note a vent team going to work on the Alpha side.
FOBS you can lose your KIC credentials and privileges for that one. Not that you made a mistake, but that you admitted it. You’ve been warned.
Statter
We get secret decoder rings along with our KiC certificates, don’t we? I’ve been saving an awful lot of Blog-O’s box tops, Dave.
Not in this year’s budget. Times are tough buddy. Man up and buy your own. But they better be compliant with our standards.
I never heard the company officer go at scene for accountability or ask for an assignment prior to arrival.
Looks like he might have been the 1st or mmaaaybe 2nd due- he knows what his job is because they have SOPs that spell it out quite clearly. Asking for/giving out assignments just wastes time and ties up the radio.
Accountability is a foreign concept to these guys? SOPs are the be all end all?
Asking for an assignment is just good practice, it won’t tie up the radio if ya make it short and to the point, bh.
Just because you haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it won’t work, bh.
FOBS you seem like a nice fellow, you admitted a mistake on the internet which is practically unheard of, but your clearly lacking fast-paced interior firefighting experience. The first due wagon shouldn’t have to ask for an assignment. Even these ticks know that their job is to put the fire out, they don’t need to be told they are fire attack.
Doing It, you make assumptions that have no basis in fact regarding my experience or lack thereof with interior firefighting.
I was referring to the engine company arriving on scene in the video, not the initial attack engine; the only reason I can see for the first engine to ask for an assignment would be if a chief officer had arrived first and taken command of the fire.
The first in “wagon” BETTER know what to do if they are first at scene…..ya know, makes a report on conditions, captain does a walk around, shuts off utilities/gas, FINDS THE FIRE using the TIC,proper radio discipline, firefighters bring a line to the front door with irons and (gasp) PPV fan, hopefully if they had smoke showing they dropped a 5″ at a hydrant and can now flow water without danger of going dry; you know, the basics.
Or is that too West Coast for ya? It certainly worked well for me in a 34 year career.
Basic Firemanship we called it, our Academy teaches it to all fire control employees-even the dozer operators.
Fast paced interior operations call for a whole lot of things to go right, co-ordinated ventilation with hose teams, water supply, primary search etc, etc, etc.
I was not big on standing around while someones home burned, we took action aggressively but provided for safety first; no freelancing, accountability of personnel, co-ordination of ladder companies with engine companies and using ICS to properly organize the fir ground to avoid firefighter injuries of death.
Fobs an inch and half flows 125 gpm, you can run 3 off of hydrant pressure with no worry of going dry. 5″ is not necessary unless your heavy duty. Our truck companys do utilities,vent, and force the door. Our engines advance handlines and put fires out. We don’t bother “coordinating” searches, i imagine you only make the mistake of getting ahead of the handline a couple of times. I haven’t noticed a need for a whole lot of things to go right, just a need for everyone to know their job and do it quickly and efficiently.
Just because you haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it won’t work, bh.
I have heard of it. I just don’t think it works that well.
Where is all this super / better than everyone else PG fireman tatics?
you have to get closer to the beltway for that
Thanks Dave.
What is the purpose of the ground ladder on the alpha side? I am sure its not an egress ladder for this one story house, but it is thrown 2 feet below the roof line. Just curious at to what it is even there for.
Havens is doin it
I think i heard Larry in there too.
I love the units pulling up to the IC announcing a change in tactics and their foul response. You PG guys are so cool. F the IC , we just drove like the super squirrels that we are across town to dance with devil and damnit we are! Wonder why you injure burn and kill FF s ? That kinda macho BS. These guys haven’t even taken 5 seconds to size the dump up not knowing what progress has or hasn’t been made and their cussing the IC. Real professional. Oh that’s right, you’re not! Ladder work is for show and the vent job is too. All show and no go, as usual .
Come on Dickhead,these are not west coast spit and polish firefighters. They are not working in pg county for the becaue it is a liveable community and the easy commute to waldorf. They are working there to go to fire, big surprise they were disappointed.
I love the units pulling up to the IC announcing a change in tactics and their foul response. You PG guys are so cool. F the IC , we just drove like the super squirrels that we are across town to dance with devil and damnit we are! Wonder why you injure burn and kill FF s ? That kinda macho BS. These guys haven’t even taken 5 seconds to size the dump up not knowing what progress has or hasn’t been made and their cussing the IC. Real professional. Oh that’s right, you’re not! Ladder work is for show and the vent job is too.Lemme cut a few more holes in the roof that the fire hasn’t already created( self vented) and then let’s baseball swing all the windows that have little or no smoke pushing from them. All show and no go, as usual .
How many times does the truck need to vent the roof of a 1 story L shaped wood frame with a common attic? The fire appears to have self vented already? FOUR vertical vents prior to any horizontal ventilation on a 1 story job, Really!Missed that tactic class over the years.Must be Carnival Truck Ops. Will this be offered at the EXPO in Baltimore?
It’s Bowie what do expect. They might as well be Anne Arundle county. Bowie has been wanting to Annex out to A.A. For years.
The change in tactics was probaly the proper response and the guys on the fire truck complaining about it probably knew it too. With that said, I don’t know about you, but the guys with the foul response about the change in tactics are the guys I want showing in front of my house when it is my house on fire and my kids are trapped inside……you can call it macho bs if you want. With that same line of thinking, fighting wars in Afganistan and Iraq are probably macho bs too…………..
I think the point that is being missed is that there needs to be some level of respect in the Command structure. Unless the IC is needlessly placing firefighters lives in danger then there needs to be a level of control and order on the scene. We are a paramilitary service and the command structure is estabilished for a purpose. Hymm and Haw about command decisions all you want; as long as it is not careless irresponsible decisions being made do what you are told and bring your opinions up in the critique or “hot wash” after the incident. This is a bread and butter job. Go to work and get the job done. Macho or not. Just do what you are suppossed to do. Wow. Plus, Kids trapped is another mindset all together. RISK vs REWARD. I want to go home to my kids don’t put me in danger to come pull you out when you think it’s time to get “macho” on something silly. I have and will continue to push in when it’s called for (and no this part of my reply has nothing to do with this video). This part of my reply is directed to your comparison of this residential attic fire and fire with kids trapped. Totally different tactics/ priorities.
Anybody ever try to open a hole in the ceiling and putting the nozzle up in the attic area and let it eat?
Anytime they get called out on freelancing and playing badass fireman the response is always the same, burning babies . That just shows you the level of maturity and the ones who get chubs on their hobby time. Like other posters said, lack of respect and the sole desire to look like their artist rendered t shirts( big Johnson FF, I fight what you fear, tame the beast , etc) is what it boils down too. As far as ventilation goes I think you’d be better off with PPV than putting kids over the fire. But then again, not many photo-video ops of a man setting the fan… Just not as glamorous.
I think its safer to put men ventilating on the roof than it is to put a ppv fan in the door and burn them all.
Not when done right. There is a tactic called PPA that I am sure has never caused any controversy, but when it is done right, you get the guys off the roof, clear the building for searches, easily locate the fire, and give the citizens every chance for survival. It doesn’t work for every fire, but most of them.
Blah, Blah ,Blah . Were ya there ? Probably not so dont get your dowers in a bunch, put your feet up and have another one
To be honest, most of you chief buggy driving, haven’t seen a fire other than in a text book, wannabe’s
( capt dick, mexican & FOBS )
Firemen did their job, fire went out, no one was hurt and the people of the community praised the firemen for the great work.
I know this is different than what you all call firefighting (Let it burn till you can see concrete)
What you all fail to realize is that instead of going to these fires. you chose to Monday morning quarterback them online behind a screen name. its a shame and it will be the downfall of real firemen.
OLD MAN – you have the right idea.
This here is exactly what makes our country so great. The ability to share thoughts, opinions, and discussion without fear of repercussions from our government. The fact that folks can hide behind that same right on the internet is truly awesome too. So I’m going to exercise both of those rights.
Now I understand that a lot of people that are making the comments on these videos have good intentions, and are basing those comments on the steady diet of safety that is being fed today’s fire service. I also appreciate the fact that it is very easy to find fault, or differ with the tactics, or mannerisms being displayed in these videos when the only real fire many of you have ever seen is on this site or in other videos. That’s just the nature of the beast for most fire departments. Not too many departments are seeing much fire duty these days. We can all agree that training is an important part of the job, but real experience can never be replace by PowerPoint presentations, burn buildings, and flashover simulators being taught by instructors with fancy titles, initials after their names, yet no actual street experience. You can never replace actual grunt firemen and real company leaders. It does seem to be the norm for those that have the fancy titles, initials after their name, and have been able to promote, or even just breeze through the new fire service without having any technical ability as a firefighter, to take issue with those that actually do have the ability to perform as a fireman and recognize the REAL dangers of structural firefighting. I guess it’s just part of this softer, kinder, and gentler world that we are all now living in.
With all that said you must understand that the guys that are operating in these videos actually go to actual fires on a regular basis. As a matter of fact I would bet your next paycheck that these crews probably had at least 100 calls logged in the past 24-36 hours leading up to this fire. In addition, this was probably for some of them their second, third, or maybe even fourth fire in the past 24 hours. Now you can take that information and do with it as you please. The fact of the matter is that these crews go to real fires on a regular basis. I’m not saying that any of them are better than anyone. I’m just that they see work and that counts for a lot in my book, as it should in anyone else’s. I’m also not kissing their ass or stroking them off either as I’m sure someone will want to make you think. I know they screw up too, but not like some would like you to believe. There’s always that guy that likes to tell everyone that these guys are the reason the LODD stats are so high, and that they kill and injure firemen for nothing. I must be reading the wrong stats because I see very few firemen being killed by actual fire conditions, or buildings failing. Not that any firefighter death should be considered ok, but I see a lot more of our brothers dieing from heart attacks, and auto accidents.
Now as far as this fire goes, it seems as though we all have the luxury to sit here and Monday morning quarterback the first sixteen minutes of a bread and butter house fire that many of us were not even at however it still managed to be extinguished without death or injury to personnel or occupant. Since many of you were not there I would invite you to contact or inquire with those that were. If you don’t then you really shouldn’t be commenting, but of coarse that is your right. The truth as I’ve learned is that not only did these guys save somebody’s home, but from what I understand the crew from one of the ladder companies managed to salvage some priceless photo’s and personal items of the home owners. You know, things that cant be replaced. It was also learned that early on in the fire, less experienced firefighters may have been manning the initial hose lines. This combined with only one truck company operating lead up to the need to evac and regroup. That’s REGROUP, and not GIVE UP. Some of the less experienced guys on the engine companies received the direction that they needed with the arriving companies going to work. This all without ego, and without anything less than true firemenship. See, If you know any of these guys working at this fire, or take the time to learn about them, this really isn‘t hard to comprehend.
Someone mentioned the officer of Truck 28 and the appearance of a less than enthusiastic reception to the evac tones. Ummm….so? You mean you as a firefighter wouldn’t be disappointed that as you arrive the operations are being switched to that of exterior? Come on? Who are you fooling? For what it’s worth though, the guy riding the seat of Tk28 that of a bit of jokester, and always a high spirit. He’s also a hell of a fireman, excellent ladder company officer, and a true leader. He knew why the Chief was dropping the evac, and I’d bet he went and busted the chiefs balls to his face after the fire. I’m sure he knew that after the regrouping everyone would be heading back inside to do their assigned job. This was not his first fire either.
As far as requesting an assignment, as someone mentioned earlier those are pre-assigned by the way of general orders. In addition to that the chief did give orders, sector assignments including group leaders all prior to this recording starting. So it was done, we all just didn’t get to hear it. Oh and the chiefs on this fire, all great fire service leaders and excellent fireground command officers. The incident commander is of the highest caliber, and was further accented by his division one supervisor. Another group of guys, leaders that go to fires on a regular basis. Oh, and not that it matters, but someone mentioned it earlier. Yes, they are volunteers.
You see, for the most part these guys work together all the time. Not just on the same shift, but almost everyday. So I can understand why some of you out there don’t understand the ball busting, the camaraderie and the routine nature of this fire. The bottom line is, THEY put the fire out, safely, and YOU didn’t. They operated as if they had been to fires before because they have. Where some of you all out there managed to turn every routine fire into “The Big One”. I tried my best to give my opinion and explain a little of how it works around there. You can sit in your safety bubble and nit-pick what these guys do, and that’s just fine. That’s another born right of yours. I just wish I could still run into blazes with men of this pedigree though, but those days are long gone. I just hope then when any one of us need them, guys like this are around.
Wow… Couldn’t have said it better my self… The guy in the seat is all of those things. i should know know. I drove him to this fire and the 100+ call we had in the past 2 days.
Hey chief you know who to call if you want to get back in the saddle again. always an open spot on the truck for ya.