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This is the ground view of the chopper video we posted earlier today from Thursday’s RV and house fire in Jurupa Valley, California. The videographer is our friend Capt. Joe Schmoe of the blog Report on Conditions (you can actually see Joe at 11:17 in the helicopter video). Capt. Joe tells us the fire was in the City of Riverside and sent us the following info:
Fire was actually in the city of Riverside, crew was a county engine covering a RIV station due to the brush fire.
… those were actually drops from a police dept. helicopter (Hughes 500D). The IC at the riverbottom brush fire was only marginally aware of this fire and the arriving crews didn’t know it was coming.
I’m not sure if the air unit unit was requested to drop, or whether it did so on it’s own, but I can tell you that the first drop bought some time for the bravo side exposure.
The crews actually did a pretty good job as they were met with some challenging conditions.
UPDATE
Below is additional video shot by TheBobbie420
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Also on STATter911 …
- Pre-arrival chopper video: RV fire spreads to home in Jurupa Valley, CA. Apparently sparked by brush fire 1/4 mile away. – March 1, 2013
- Attention Northern Virginia firefighters: Purcellville VFC would like your help in honoring Capt. Michael Quin, USMC. – March 9, 2012
- Early video & fireground audio: Busy night in Gary, Indiana with at least four simultaneous house fires. – July 31, 2012
- Arrival video: Neptune, NJ house fire. – December 23, 2012
Comments
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Cool air drop, but it was off target.
Pump operator needs to concentrate on getting water in the attack line before getting the supply line hooked up(yelling WATER! WATER!). 30 Seconds or less for the attack line ! Aerial drop WTF… just guessing but couldn’t someone get hurt with that much water if it hit them? Strike Da Box! Get the line run, charged and going to work 30 seconds or less K
I agree Scooter bucket drops are supposed to be coordinated with ground crews during wildland operations.The firefighter in the video reacted like he was surprised by the drop. Fortunately nobody was hurt by the pilots actions. Good intentions or not this could have turned out bad.
Basic pump ops, water in, water out, set ur pressure, establish supply. It never fails you.
The aerial drop was a Sherriff’s plane. CalFire doesn’t do structural drops. Guess the cops figured they could use it, not that the brush fire didn’t need it more, but hey good initiative, questionable judgement. That’s why we leave the planes to CalFire and SDFD.
Actually, the aircraft was a light helicopter (Hughes 500D) that belongs to the Riverside Police Dept. Water is released from a tank affixed to the fuselage and carries around 80 gallons or so depending on density altitude.
The air drop could have been dangerous however i think we’ll all agree that was pretty cool…..
Oh to be as eloquent as this citizen journalist.
A fire close to home.
The Cal Fire Batt. Chief was first on scene.
Santa Ana river bottom fires are slow and difficult to control. The terrain is a combination of flowing or pooled water, in dense vegetation, old snag trees and palm trees.
And you have the issues of; Homeless encampments and feral/ wild pigs that got out of the pens years ago when the area was more agricultural.
The homes are built on a ridge above the “park” area, so the appearance is that the park is in a “Bowel” of sort surround by homes, so a fire can make an uphill/slope “run” even without and wind pushing the flame front.
I agree that that the firefighter on the hose line should have “dropped down” for a moment during the water drop, but its a bit more difficult wearing an SCBA as opposed to wildland/vegetation gear.
Crouching down for a moment may have been an option.
And again I agree that the Fire Appratus Engineer on the Cal Fire/ County Engine should have charged the attack line first and gone for the hydrant supply line, but…I’m certain that he was considering a need for a continuous water supply based on how the fire looked and the on scene Battalion Chief’s Report of Condition.
And then you have the sound of what was probably a propane cylinder venting.
Looks like it was an demanding situation at first.
And it may portend that Southern California Fire Season is going to start a lot earlier this year.
crouching down wont always help if that drop dislodges something heavy.