Imagine a basement fire and things start going south. Interior crews are calling for ventilation ASAP. Command orders the exterior crews to open up the rear exterior basement stairs.

The outside vent man gets to the back and finds this…

He works quickly to get the wood pried off only to find the stairway filled with trash and debris.

It is vital for this firefighter to make an urgent transmission to command to relay the conditions found.  It is going to be nearly impossible to get this area cleaned out and the basement door opened in a timely manor.

The inability to effectively ventilate the basement can play a major role in the engine company’s ability to make the basement and control the fire.  Command needs to be immediately notified so that this information can be relayed to interior crews and appropriate changes can be made to the incident strategy and tactics.

Crews in Harrisburg, PA recently came across this blocked stairwell while working a furnace malfunction in the attached home.

Just a quick note from the admins at Fire-Ground.com to wish Harrisburg Fire Lt. Doug Bair a speedy recovery after he was injured during a three alarm arson fire in Harrisburg, PA today.The fire started in stairway between the second and third floors on the end unit of a row of about six. The building was a three story row of ordinary construction and the fire rapidly extended the the top floor and cock-loft of two units before being brought under control. Doug is our favorite LT at Squad 8 on the B. We look forward to seeing him back soon!Take Care brother…Here is a shot from the roof after the action…

Over the last few days we have attended some additional H.O.T. Training and began attending the classroom sessions. Today the remainder of the vendor floor opens and we are looking forward to checking out the newest and most innovative products available to the fire service. So far the conference has been top notch as always. The instructors are fantastic and the city is great. We have met a lot of great brothers from around the country and look forward to staying in touch with them.One of the H.O.T. workshops we attended was the Truck Company: Ventilation. This session was led by Matt Szpindor a firefighter with FDNY.  This class was set up to bring instructors from the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast together to give students a well rounded look at what is taking place with ventilation tactics across the country. Matt was assisted by John Brenner, Jim Hummell, Jay Coon, Larry McCormack and Tom Dixon.  Here area  few images from the Truck Company: Ventilation H.O.T. session:     

Hey everyone, this week were at FDIC in Indianapolis. So I thought we’d post a few things here and there from our time at the conference as well as some of the interesting things we’ve come across along the way.We hit a few H.O.T. workshops on the first two days. These are a great training opportunity if you can catch them, but the usually book very early. The Indianapolis Fire Department as well as surrounding departments and the FDIC team do a great job of finding and preparing acquired structures for these trainings. The instructors and information passed on here is top notch.Here are a few photos from the Truck Company Operations: Ladders H.O.T class. It was lead by FDNY Lt. Mike Ciampo. With him were Joe Cassetta and Matt Negedly from the Orlando Fire Department, Jamie Morelock form the Toledo Fire Department and Matt Rush form the Austin Fire Department.These guys know their stuff and make the class easy going and fun while passing on a great deal of information. As time allows I’ll come back and post a little bit more information on these classes and the information presented.   

Story and photos courtesy of www.firefighterclosecalls.com

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=colerain

A veteran Colerain Township (Hamilton County, Ohio) Fire Captain and newly hired Firefighter were killed in the Line of Duty this morning when they reportedly fell through the first floor of a working house fire in Colerain Township. Killed were Capt. Robin Broxterman, 37, a 17-year veteran of the department and the township’s first female Captain. She was the mother of two children. The other Firefighter was identified as Firefighter Brian Schira, 29, hired in Nov. 2007 and also a member of the nearby the Delhi Township fire Department.

Tragically, their bodies were found in the basement of the 2 story, four-bedroom house. The alarm came in shortly after 0600 at 5708 Squirrels Nest Lane. The emergency “Mayday” was transmitted at 0645 hours. It was initially dispatched as an automatic fire alarm and then upgraded to a structural fire, with initial reports of fire in the basement. No other injuries were reported. Two occupants of the house made it out before firefighters arrived. The four-bedroom home was built in 1991.

Numerous resources are in Colerain and assisting including the NFFF/Ohio Chiefs LAST/LODD Response Team, the IAFF State Reps, SW Ohio CISM, the Ohio State Fire Marshal, the Hamilton County Fire Chiefs and much more. Additional details will follow.

Our sincere condolences to all affected, especially the members of the Colerain Township and Delhi Township Fire Departments but especially the families of Captain Broxterman and FF Schira.

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP (OHIO) DOUBLE FIREFIGHTER LODD UPDATE:

While so many of the facts have yet to be determined, initial reports are that, as a part of the 1 alarm response for the automatic alarm, a 4 FF company, including Captain Broxterman and FF Schira, responded from nearby Colerain Fire Station 102, which is less than a mile from the scene. While several companies were responding, the county dispatcher updated that it was now a “working structure fire” and that occupants were evacuating. At 0624 hours, Captain Broxterman advised that her crew, Engine 102, was on the scene with smoke showing. Captain Broxterman and FF Schira went inside for the initial search, 1 FF assisted in stretching and the 4th was the pump operator. A Firefighter with Engine 109, which had arrived behind E-102, later advised the commander to tell the interior crew to pull back out of the house, that “conditions are changing,” and to re-deploy at the back of the house. The IC tried to reach them on the radio, but there was no response after several attempts. A “Mayday” and related procedures were initiated by command around 0645 hours. A rapid assistance team (RAT) of Firefighters was on the scene, went to work and did their absolute best to heroically make their way into the house, but it was too late. An unmanned hose line was found in the dwelling, as was a hole in the floor leading to the basement. Firefighters eventually found Captain Broxterman and FF Schira in the basement at 0710 hours.

Captain Broxterman (the mother of 2 children, who was also engaged to marry a Firefighter from another area FD) and Firefighter Schira, single, represent this year’s first LODD’s in Ohio. In 2007, 5 Ohio Firefighters died in the Line of Duty. Since 1990, a total of 2,248 American Firefighters have died in the Line of Duty.

 A fund has been set up to assist the families of the 2 Firefighters who gave their lives this morning. Kemba Credit Union is accepting donations in the names of Brian Schira and Robin Broxterman at any location, at the Greater Cincinnati Firefighters Credit Union office, and also at any Colerain or Delhi Township fire department. Donations Can also be sent in the care of the Colerain Township Firefighters Memorial Fund to Kemba Credit Union, P.O. Box 14090, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45250.

 Additional Story Links:

http://firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=47455

http://www.wlwt.com/news/15790697/detail.html

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3f4a8e3f-d615-4d51-89e2-f13a43daaafc

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=58995§ionId=39

The Associated Press

ERIE, Pa.—Erie’s first female firefighter is fighting to get her job back, even though officials say she admitted setting her father’s house on fire in a suicide attempt.

Details of Mary Wolski’s firing had been confidential. They were made public after she appealed her firing in Erie County Court last week.

Fire Chief Tony Pol wrote in Wolski’s April 2007 termination letter that setting the December 2006 fire made her unsuited to be a firefighter because she posed a danger to others and herself. She was hired in 1997.

Her lawyer, Paul Susko, says officials violated her constitutional rights and lacked evidence to uphold the firing.

Erie District Attorney Brad Foulk says based on the law and circumstances of the fire, no charges were filed.

———

Information from: Erie Times-News, http://www.goerie.com

Check out the Articles page or click the link below for a new article, What’s In Your Toolbox, on the importance of training by R.B. Weaver.

What’s In Your Toolbox by R.B.. Weaver

Your guess is as good as mine on this one. Obviously they wanted to add some stabilization to the building on the right but I have my doubts on anything gained here but a false sense of security.

You can see that the the house on the right is already in some way weakened and has stringers already in place.  We couldn’t see any obvious signs as to why this ’shore’ was added. It is interesting though that they chose a building in far worse condition as the support system for this ’shore’.

As long as this stuff is out there we’ll have work…just make sure you recognize it before it gets you!

In this new Web 2.0 generation I really think that we as fire service personnel need to embrace these technologies and use them as training tools. Anyone who has been to one of Chief Billy Goldfeder’s seminars knows that he has a large collection of pictures and videos of fire service people doing very dumb things. But he uses this as a teaching tool.  I like many in the fire service enjoy watching videos and viewing pictures of various fire departments in action. I typically will watch these videos a few times. The first time is merely to satisfy my wackerness. Then I go back and watch video and ask myself “If I were the officer on this fire with the conditions and man power that are available what would I do.” I feel like these are a great tool for teaching.

In that vein I post the video below as a teaching tool and not to embarrass or pick at how any other fire department operates because at the end of the day if the fire goes out and no one is hurt we did a pretty good job.

Not to Monday morning quarterback but this seems like a good situation to look at and use as a training opportunity. 

Would this be a Mayday situation?  According to the article I read about this incident, the firefighter involved had mask issues with his SCBA.  He went to the window.  Luckily a few Chief’s were standing nearby and were able to recognize that this firefighter was in trouble and got the ground ladder to him. 

Remember your training.  When you have issues with your SCBA, Stop if you think you are in trouble you probably are.  There is no shame in calling a Mayday, especially in a situation where you have equipment malfunction.  I am not saying this is the case here. There is a definite sense of urgency in how this man came down the ladder.  From a training standpoint should this man:
1. Have a radio.
2. Call for a mayday.
3. Have a partner.