Early details of mayday prior to NC LODDs indicate crew lost water pressure; FAA might evict fire center; More on FF who fell off rig
(Updated at 9:27 AM, Sunday)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQbG7n_wvTY]
Old video of the day: From Allentown, PA around 1990. This is a video by Bil Rohrer of a fire in a thrift shop 1601 Union Blvd.
“Mayday, mayday, this is Quint Four. We’ve lost pressure and we have high heat.”
That’s what one fire chief remembers hearing as a firefighting crew from Salisbury, NC got into trouble just before Friday’s fire turned deadly. Firefighters Victor Isler and Justin Monroe were killed in the 5-alarm fire at the Salisbury Millwork. Three other firefighters were injured.
Read new details from Sunday’s Charlotte Observer.
Here is the latest from the Salisbury Post.
Firefighter Victor Isler at top. Firefighter Justin Monroe at bottom. Read more about both men from the Salisbury Post.
Here is earlier coverage with excerpts from WSOC-TV’s early Saturday story:
Fire Chief Bob Parnell identified the men as 40-year-old Victor Isler and 19-year-old Justin Monroe. He said both were Salisbury city firefighters who were part of the hose team that was first to respond to the blaze along with five other crews.
“We lost two excellent firefighters. They are our friends, brothers and buddies. We’re a close, tight-knit group and every member is hurting,” he said.
The chief did not go into detail as to how the two firefighters were mortally wounded. More information will be released as the investigation into the blaze continues.
Parnell said Capt. Rick Barkley, supervisor of the hose crew, also received first- and second-degree burns in the fire and was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center before being transferred to North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem for treatment. Parnell said he is expected to be released on Saturday.
Salisbury firefighter Bryan Roberts was also injured. Roberts was in good condition.
Three other firefighters from the Locke Township Fire Department, were injured. Bradley McKnight, James Hall, and Rusty Alexander were treated and released from Rowan Regional Medical Center.
Parnell said many rescue crews tried to get to the fallen men.
“They were very gallant and brave,” he said.
The five-alarm fire destroyed the Salisbury Millwork building at the intersection of Julian Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. More than 100 firefighters, with the help of a steady rain, reduced the inferno to smoldering rubble. Firefighters are still putting water on hot spots.
The fire burned uncontrollably for hours after it began around 7 a.m. Workers at the woodworking business said they arrived, saw the flames and called 911.
Flames burst through the roof shortly after 9 a.m. and the firefighters inside were evacuated. Explosions and walls tumbling could be heard outside around 10 a.m.
Surrounding towns and the city of Charlotte sent in fire crews to help pour water on the fire. Charlotte’s chapter of the Red Cross also sent support to the scene. Salisbury, a town of about 27,000 people, is about 40 miles north of Charlotte.
More from WSOC-TV including a series of videos
Fire dispatch center may have to take flight
A great deal of disappointment in Rapid City, SD after the FAA told the The Northern Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center it may have to move. The center is currently at the old Rapid City Regional Airport terminal. The state of South Dakota spent almost $2 million to put a variety of state and federal firefighting agencies under one roof seven years ago. But now the FAA says it needs the room. Read details from the Rapid City Journal.
More on Baltimore FF hurt falling out of engine
WBAL radio seems to be the only news organization covering the injury to FF Bryan Isaacs who fell out of Engine 6 on the way to a fire early Thursday morning. Isaacs remains in the trauma center with serious head injuries. Here are excerpts from WBAL’s story:
Cartwright says Isaacs, 34, was inside the rear compartment of the truck, where two firefighters sit, and a door swung open and Isaacs fell off the engine. He says an investigation is underway to find out why the door to the compartment opened while the engine was responding to a dwelling fire.
Isaacs was riding on Engine 6 responding from the Old Town station located in East Baltimore when he was injured.
“We are unsure at this point whether or not his door was completely closed or whether it was a mechanical problem that resulted in his door coming open during that time,” says Chief Cartwright.
“The most important thing now is to pray for his quick recovery,” says Rick Schluderberg, President of Baltimore City Firefighters Local 734. “The department will conduct an investigation to see why the door swung open, or what led up to the accident.”
Schluderberg says he understands that Isaacs comes from a family of firefighters and is well known in the fire fighting community in Maryland.
“We try to take all safety precautions,” says Schluderberg. “But there are times when you have to put your air mask on. I’m not sure exactly what happened inside the cab, but that will come out in the investigation.”
“We certainly are concerned about this incident,” says Chief Cartwright. “Members of his station and the department have shown an overwhelming amount of support coming to the hospital around the clock just to make sure he’s well and to show love an concern.”
He says Isaacs fell from the engine just after it left the station and made a left turn.
Reporter Scott Wykoff interviews department spokesman
Reporter Scott Wykoff interviews union president
London hotel fire
A fire Friday night on the fifth floor and roof of the Custom House Hotel. No injuries reported. Read more.
