efermann

I've just finished reading the book "Triangle" which is, obviously, the story of this fire. But, the book begins with a look at the social conditions in NYC that led up to the fire and summarizes the legal impacts and development of unions and fire codes that were implemented as a result of this fire. It was a good book. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in 1) fire history or/or 2) US social & labor history.

Date: 3/23/10
Time: 01:22 hours
Location: 322 56 st between 3rd and 4th Aves
Frequency: FDNY Brooklyn
Weather Conditions: rain
Description Of Incident: fire in a 3 story frame MD extended into the cockloft and exposures
Reporters/Writer: ryang
Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY, 3/23/10
Address: 322 56 st between 3rd and 4th Aves
01:23 hours
Phone Box 2661 - Report of a fire in a MD
Engs. 201, 241, 228
TL114, L109
Battalion 40

10-75-2661 - 01:25 hours
Battalion 240: 10-75 2661, row frame, looks like the 1st floor.
E282
L148 (FAST Truck)
Battalion 48
Squad 1
Rescue 2
Division 8
01:26 hours
BC40: A quick size-up, it's a 3 story frame, and it's a top floor fire. We have 1 line stretched so far. The address is 322 56 st.
Exposures are:
1 - street
2 - similar attached
3 - yard
4 - similar attached
7-5-2661 - 01:30 hours
BC40: We're using All-Hands, we've got 1 line stretched in operation, we've got fire in the rear, dimensions of the building are 20x60
E247, TL149 S/C
RAC5
2-2-2661 - 01:35 hours - Duration 13 minutes
BC40: 2661, we've got 2 lines stretched now and 2 in operation, we've got fire in the cockloft possibly going to exposure 2, start a 2nd alarm, k.
Engs. 242, 240, 279
E284 w/ Satellite 3
TL131
Battalion 42 (Safety Officer)
Battalion 32 (Resource Unit Leader)
Rescue, Safety Battalions
Tactical Support Unit 2
FieldCom, Command Tactical Unit
01:37 hours
Division 8: Have the additional truck (TL149) respond in off of 4th Ave
3-3-2661 - 01:39 hours
Engs. 250, 220, 239, 243
L122, L168
Battalion 41
Battalion 33 (Staging Manager)
Mask Service Unit
(Air-Recon Battalion not available due to weather)
01:41 hours
Staging area is 56 st and 4th Ave
01:49 hours
Car 17 is responding
01:52 hours
Car 9 (DAC John Sudnik, Queens Borough Commander) is responding
01:56 hours - Duration 33 minutes
DC8: At Box 2661, DC Howe reports: 5 lines stretched, 5 in operation. Fire in the fire building has been knocked down, still have fire in exposures 2 and 4, fire's still Doubtful. Fire is in an occupied 3 story attached.
02:00 hours
DC8: Transmit a 10-45 no code, found in the exterior rear of the fire building.
02:10 hours - Duration 48 minutes
FieldCom: Progress report on 3rd alarm Box 2661, the address 322 56 st at 3rd Ave, fire in a 3 frame 20x60 MD with extension to exposures 2 and 4, Division 8, DC Howe, reports: primary search throughout the fire building is complete and negative. Secondary search delayed due to the amount of debris. Primary search complete and negative in exposures 2 and 4, secondary search in progress. Previously reported 10-45 no code is a 10-45 code 1 (Black Tag, Deceased) in the rear yard of the fire building. Probably Will Hold.
02:19 hours
Rescue 2 is 10-8
02:20 hours - Duration 57 minutes
FC: Box 2661, 10-41 code 1, large volume of fire on arrival and no determinable cause.
02:24 hours
Rescue Battalion is 10-8 back to Citywide
02:25 hours - Duration 1 hour 2 minutes
FC: Progress report on 3rd alarm Box 2661, the address 322 56 st at 3rd Ave, fire in a 3 frame 20x60 MD with extension to the cockloft and exposures 2 and 4, Car 9, DAC Sudnik, reports: secondary search in the fire building will be delayed due to debris. Fire Under Control.
Relocations:
Engines: 202/201, 309/247, 227/279, 245/282, 10/284
Ladders: 105/114, 15/122, 156/149
Battalions: 1/42, 37/48

We are far from having the perfect or even a very good system, but we realized long ago that tags do not work well. There are a number of elements that are needed:
1) Sufficient personnel on the 1st unit and the remainder of the 1st alarm. With response times that the additional personnel arrive within 4-8 minutes of the 1st engine.
2) assignments based on crew seating or position (i.e. nozzle, hydrant, jump seat, etc.) Everyone knows what tools and procedures each member is going to perform, the tools they are going to bring is all based on the seat and if that rig is 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th due. This way we have a general idea of where each member should be and who they should be with.
3) Portable radio's!!!! Every member and its assigned based on the seat assignment.
i.e. 22a - is Engine 22 officer, 22b driver, 22c nozzle and 22d hydrant.
4) A chiefs Aid to start accountability. In the case of a career dept at the begining of the tour. He has a list in the car of all members on duty, seat and radio assignment. If it changes during the day, its updated. So when he pulls up he knows who is here. We still use the tags, but they do not tell the position & radio, for a VFD/call or combo the passport system would compensate for this and the aid would just need to go to each rig and grab it.
5) Command Staff to assign as accountability officer. Once these members show up we document where crews are operating, and based on the roster plus documenting additional members as assigned. we know who is there and generally where they are operating. we try to track air time, but that is difficult for the initial response as they arrive prior to command staff.
We do use the tags and they get picked up at some point, but I consider them more like dog tags to tell us after the fact who was here if something goes wrong.

One tip for doing a PAR via radio: Give your people a pre-announcement such as "All units operating at 123 Main St, standby for a PAR." Wait a little bit for them to do their piece of the PAR before calling for the entire PAR. I've done this in training and actual incidents and it goes alot smoother.
Picture a multi family dwelling with fire on more that one floor. The PAR should something like this (After the pre-announcement)
"Command to all unit operating at 123 Main St on a PAR...Division 6
Division 6, I have E1, E4, L2, PAR is 10 on Floor number 6 all accounted for, E2 Driver is at the pump.
Received Division 6...Division 7 PAR" And so on
As this is going on, the person at the IC Board (and NOT the IC in this case) should be checking his board against the PAR> Not the IC because this job has exceeded the max span of control of 7. Somebody questioned my number of 7 before. It's 7 max, and 5 optimum.

I was scanning through the latest round of AFG grant announcements and I am pleasantly surprised that five departments from Westchester have been awarded federal money so far this year. I may have missed some, but the departments from Westchester I see are:
Banksville
Larchmont
Millwood
New Rochelle
Ossining
I wrote the Ossining grant, so I know how much work went into these. Congratulations to everyone so far.

I vote for stopping Parades !!! I hate them, and would rather spend the hours spent, pulling everything off the engine, cleaning them, testing them and making sure everything is perfect - and instead spend that time training... Hands on...

Again my issue is if a member does not have FAST training then they are not an interior qualified firefighter.
Yes it is part of the career academy. Just because it is not included does not mean a department can't or should not require it.
When we talk about the different training standards, I find it amazing that any chief would consider sending a member (his "brother") into a working fire without having been trained in survival. And not requiring them to know what to do if a "brother" gets in trouble.
So based on previous postings and OFPC's discription of FAST, we have departments that are willing to send members into burning buildings that do not know how do the above listed skills. Why bother having a fire department at all, it is clear that these departments do not care about there members or the public if they are so willing to put themselves at risk, because 16 hours is way to much time to invest in ones brother.
PLEASE THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT THIS....IF YOUR DEPARTMENT ALLOWS THIS, IT NEEDS TO CHANGE TODAY.

We have an area of old cottage type homes that have been added to and added to. So for the most part they are poorly constructed homes with chimney's that also fall into question. Because of this it seems that over time we have taken an agressive approach to chimney fires. It is not uncommon for them to spread into the attic or the walls.
Our first due engine arrives and we split the crew two FF's to the roof with Chains and Two FF's and the Officer to the Fireplace or woodstove. The interior crew has a metal bucket, Nomex Tarp and water can. The Officer has the TIC.
Second Due Engine splits there crew 2 FF to assist the roof team and 2 to strech a line where directed to. As per riding assignments the 2nd due officer reports with the roof team.
This works well for us and have been doing if for years and like it. By splintting the crews up we can get the fire quickly reconed and put out and the chains down to eliminate the threat of extention. It can cause more damage to the chimney to drop the chains quickly and before the fire is out but it gets the fire out of the chimney and down to the firebox. We block off the entrance to the fireplace with whatever we have to keep the fire in there and have never had an issue of it flying out the bottom onto the FF at the bottom. If we arrive and the fire is blowing out the top of the chimney a line is streched to extinguish it. We have never use AFFF or the powder in a bag, Not sure why ,just never have
Our third due (Rescue) goes to staging at the rear of the first due engine and awaits further orders.
Upon arrival of any first due unit ,if they feel that this is more than a chimney fire the alarm is upgraded and our mutual aid preplan takes over
We do not have a ladder, One is dispatched mutual aid for working fire only(don't get me started on that policy)