Tired

Last night was a busy night for us, in 2 hours time in the County we had one building collapse, one person struck by lightning, 4 vehicle accidents one involving an ambulance on the way to another vehicle accident 5 automatic alarms and 2 structure fires one of which burnt the house to the ground, that was the call that was really busy for us. Yes I realize I am Mr. Fire Prevention but sometimes the need is just there and no matter how powerful my curse is, it is over-ridden by some higher power.

The first house fire we were dispatched to was a reported house stuck by lightning up in the County Watershed area. It was a bear getting to it and there was no way we would have gotten our Tiller-truck back the lane to the house if they had needed us. The first unit arrived on scene to report the fire was out, so we only had to find a suitable place to turn our massive vehicle around on the road, which was no easy task. 45 minutes after leaving quarters we were back and getting ready for the next call, which as fate would have it wasn’t far off.

About 20 minutes later we had our next call come in. The second house fire was originally dispatched as a structure fire, which brings 3 Engines, 1 Truck and 1 Ambulance to the scene, but was upgraded to a box alarm 3 Engines, 2 Trucks 1 Heavy Rescue and 1 Ambulance within a minute of being dispatched. This means that before the first units were even out the door they were upgrading the assignment which almost always means it’s a working fire, this upgrade brought us out on the call. Within another minute they asked for a Tanker Task Force: 5 Tankers each carrying at least 2000 gallons of water, and within 4 minutes they asked for a full Fire Task Force an additional 4 Engines, another Truck, 1 Air Unit, 1 Medic, and an additional Ambulance. This also has the unintended effect of bringing out all the white shirts, senior officers, in the county. The best way to make a chaotic scene even more chaotic is to add in 4 or 5 chief officers, all of whom want to be in charge!

The first unit arrived on scene to report heavy fire showing from all sides. Apparently the fire started in the basement or on the back porch and extended to the basement very quickly, which then allowed it to extend to the rest of the structure rapidly. The homeowner reported hearing a loud boom and then smoke started to build up in the house; he was able to get out with his family by escaping out a window but had to leave the family pets behind.

Traffic was terrible as the road was clogged with people and their cars, all trying to gawk at the fire, and all in a torrential downpour. I understand the draw of watching a fire, but come on people it was a horrible storm to be out in, just to see a fire. Police eventually had to be called in just to get the watchers out of there. As it was the house was a total loss, about 20 minutes in to the fire all that was still standing of the house was the chimney, and the Engine Companies were protecting the exposures.