jayhalsey

The building was one of three on the property and it was 600 to 700 feet lay to where the 1st due engine stopped. There were some walkways that were shoveled but other areas had close to 2' of snow. The operations at this incident were exterior from the onset. The floor on the 2nd level had several holes in it, the 1st floor also had several holes and the interior stairway was burnt out. The closest hydrant was near the bottom of the driveway buried in snow and the hydrants in the area are very low pressure, hence the request for the tankers. I hope this answers some of your question yanks 4ever. As for the cause I have no idea but this fire as you can see in the photo was well advanced upon arrival.

I've always wondered...when I see the apparatus parked out in front of the food store where I live and the volunteer firefighters are collecting donations and selling raffles, does any of that money go toward parties or functions / conventions where alcohol is served? What about the letter I receive in the mail asking for donations? Is any of that money used to purchase alcohol? What about the 2% monies? Is any of that money used to purchase alcohol? Keep in mind now, that if any of that money was used to purchase alcohol I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it so long as the people who contributed the money were aware of where it was going and they are not led to believe, as most people are, that is going toward firefighting equipment.
At least in Buffalo they were up front about it. Serving and consuming alcohol is perfectly legal, as long as those doing so are of age and do not work or drive while impaired. Most of us would choose to serve alcohol to those people who come to a get together after a funeral for one of our family members. That is what the Buffalo Fire Department did- they offered food and drink to those who came to mourn their brothers. They have apparently interpreted that expense to be part of what should be covered as funeral expenses as per their contract. They obviously feel that they have nothing to be ashamed of and neither do I.

We have previously established the fact that many departments in the area have a real tough time with having an adequate number of trained firefighters able to cover incidents in their jurisdiction. In light of this, I would be interested to know with as much specificity as possible, what type of preplans various departments have made to ensure that when members and apparatus participate in a parade in another jurisdiction, there will be no diminution in fire protection during the time these members and apparatus are not available????

They could not have done this 500 posts ago?

Excellent topic! I've picked up a few things and hope this is a decent contribution.
One of my officers told me to keep up on tying knots. It's an easily forgettable skill and you don't want to be the guy fumbling around trying to tie a knot when it needs to get done immediately. I keep a 10' piece of rope with my gear and practice with gloves on and eyes closed.

Good Thread Capt Benz
Here's a post I put out on a seemingly good thread that died rapidly. I thought it fit this thread as a fireground tip. Hpoefully, you are in a FD thata allows anyone to make this kind of call, and not have to wait for a Chief.
"Having not answered your initial questions. let me at least share a rule of thumb told to me many years ago by a FDNY DC. He called it the 20-minute rule and has always worked for me.

When do you call for a 2nd Alarm On Arrival?
More than 2 Windows
More than one floor
More than 20 min.
The 20 min Rule briefly explained:
More than 2 windows: For the most part, a single room will have one or two windows. Fire showing beyond that indicates that this might be more than your 1 alarm room and contents job.
More than 1 floor: Obviously, this fire is on the move and will require more resources than you have on hand.
More than 20 min: If you don't believe that the fire can be completely put out in under 20 min, transmit the 2nd. Why 20 min? Because that's how long a SCBA (and the hardworking person wearing it) will last. Without incoming manpower, you would have to stop work on thf firefight to rehab/refill.
And, while I'm at it, heres my own rule of thumb on SOP's, SOG's, and other rules of thumb:
1. Keep it simple. If it's simple, you might remember it under pressure. If it's complicated you won't.
2.Keep it flexible. Or else it won't fit your next incident"

105 views so far...I bet I can double that at least...

OK, I know the IA times aren't always exact however I have a question regarding the Banksville Fire based on what was reported in the IA.
1615 initial alarm?
1623 MA Tanker requested?
1627 Banksville Tanker responding?
It would appear from reading this that the first due tanker didn't get out of the barn until 12 minutes after the alarm came in...since I don't know squat about this area or tankers maybe someone can enlighten me...how many Firefighters are necessary to get the tanker on the road, isn't it only one? I assume this area has no hydrants? If the IA times are correct, why did it take so long to get the tanker responding, especially on a Saturday afternoon when I would assume would be the most ideal time to hope for an adequate response from volunteer Firefighters?
PS, How far in miles is the closest firehouse from this home?
Thanks!

Thanks Mike. I was pretty confident that the times were exact but I was waiting for you to confirm it. So....could someone please explain why the Banksville tanker was not enroute for a Banksville structure fire until 12 minutes after the initial alarm? None of this makes sense to me. Is this the norm???

So there you go boys and girls,enough holes in the times to drive a tanker through. Did Banksville's tanker respond at 16:19 or 16:27? What arrived on scene at 16:28, E157, E158, or both? Read through this thread and see how different the times are from one person to the next. Who knows who's right, and who cares? Once again, a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking and commentary by people who were not involved whatsoever, speculating and criticizing with incomplete, inaccurate information. I fail to see what is gained by all of this. My two cents.

A well worded reply. Good news is that someone had the correct information to explain what was going on. Bad news is that an explanation was necessary. We are all here to learn and share, not to be second guessed by people with no understanding of local geography, dispatch protocols, or equipment. It's getting a little old to read time and again how certain members disect every IA for precise times and raise questions that insinuate that things were not done correctly.