Bronx 3rd Alarm 1/23 Discussion

[tbendick 27]

Lt. Curtis Meyran

Firefighter John Bellew

Also pray for:

Jeffery Cool, of Rescue 3

Joseph DiBernardo, of Rescue 3 (On Left)

Eugene Stolowski of Ladder 27

Brendan Cawley of Ladder 27

[Pudge3311 5]

anyone know the units operating?

[NHFD21255 141]

Did anyone hear of a possibility of 1 FF fatality ?

Rescue 3 and engine 27 ?

[MPACE2-299 0]

FDNY Bravest Dies Battling Bronx Blaze, 5 Others Critically Injured

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...nId=39&id=38567

[JBE 328]

Say a prayer guys....1 LODD, 5 injured.

First in companies were E-46 L-27 and R-3.

[R1SmokeEater 359]

:cry:

[x635 4,066]

Wow, what a tragic day for FDNY. I'm very afraid to hear when the names are released.

I know it's part of the job, but whenever, wherever, I always think it is ridiculous and sad that Firefighters or anybody has to die like this. God must have wanted him for a higher purpose.

Prayers are with all.

[R1SmokeEater 359]

Update as of 3:00pm........

JANUARY 23RD, 2005

A three-alarm blaze in a Bronx apartment building Sunday has claimed the life of two city firefighters and seriously injured four others.

The fire started around 8:00 this morning on the third floor of a four-story building on East 178th Street in Mount Hope.

The Fire Department says two firefighters were killed battling the blaze, one from Rescue 3 . Their names have not yet been released.

According to the FDNY, four others were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition.

According to eyewitnesses, several firefighters who rushed to the upper floors of the building to battle the blaze were sent flying out of a window into an alleyway below, possibly the result of a backdraft.

Witnesses say they saw a large fireball, and several firefighters either jumped or were forced out a window.

“It just pushed them out and he came down,” said witness Vanessa Whitehurst. “The other one was right on the other side of him because there were two windows, and the first one came out, and then another one. I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ It was just devastating.”

“We heard the glass breaking out of the windows and we heard a lot of commotion, and we heard screaming and we heard firefighters saying, ‘Get down! Get down!’ And a lot of smoke was just coming through the house,” said building resident Cashana Burton.

“It was very scary. I was also afraid of my apartment going in flames, but hopefully the wind helped this side of the building,” said another building resident.”

The fire also forced the evacuation of two-dozen families who lived in the building. The American Red Cross is assisting the families forced out in the cold, and they say they expect more people to seek shelter as the day goes on.

The FDNY is still trying to determine exactly what caused the blaze.

[JBE 328]

I do know one of the guys hurt.

And to top it off we've got two others hurt at a second alarm in Brooklyn. This is not a good day.

[61MACKBR1 222]

Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy like this for everyone to reflect on how these brave men and women fight daily to protect our lives. May we all take time today to pray for the injured and fallen. May God look down upon them and take them all in his hands!

[Guest x901]

LODDs:

Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46

Batt 26

FF John Bellew, 37

Truck 27

[Guest ytowndk148]

any word on the condition of the 4 that are in critical?

[R1SmokeEater 359]

Two Firefighters Killed, Four Hurt In Bronx Blaze

POSTED: 10:48 am EST January 23, 2005

UPDATED: 3:33 pm EST January 23, 2005

NEW YORK -- Two firefighters were killed and four others were badly hurt when they were forced to jump from a fourth-floor window of a burning building in the Bronx on Sunday, authorities said.

Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46, of Battalion 26 and Firefighter John Bellew, 37, of Ladder 27 died after battling the blaze on East 178th Street in the Morris Heights section, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference at St. Barnabas Hospital.

Three firefighters were in critical condition at St. Barnabas Hospital, and a fourth was in serious condition at Jacobi Medical Center, authorities said.

The six firefighters became trapped in the building while searching for people on the fourth floor, Bloomberg said.

"When the fire from the third floor broke through to the fourth, they were faced with a horrifying choice," he said. "They jumped out a fourth-floor window, knowing that they would be critically injured."

Meyran, a 15-year veteran of the department and a father of three, died shortly after 9 a.m., the mayor's office said. Bellew, who had been a firefighter for a decade, was a father of four. He died at about 1 p.m.

Witnesses said it looked like the firefighters were blown from the building.

Vanessa Whitehurst, 47, was asleep in her apartment next to the building when she was awakened by a strong smell of smoke. She got up to investigate, and pulled back her window blinds in time to see firefighters falling from the burning apartment.

"The fire pushed them out the window," Whitehurst said. "It was really devastating. The fire was at such a high flame, then other firefighters were coming down the fire escape like they were trying to get away."

Mary Taylor, who lives nearby, heard the sirens and commotion and looked out her window to see what was going on. "It looked really bad, they fell out the building," she said. "The flames seemed to force them out."

The critically injured firefighters at St. Barnabas were Jeffery Cool, of Rescue 3, and Eugene Stolowski and Brendan Cawley, both of Ladder 27. Cawley's brother, Michael Cawley, died on Sept. 11, 2001.

"The Cawleys have given a lot for this great city and we pray that God doesn't take another member of this wonderful family," Bloomberg said.

Joseph DiBernardo, of Rescue 3, was at Jacobi Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, he said.

The blaze, which started just before 8 a.m. in a third-floor apartment, was brought under control by about 10:10 a.m.

[SHAC7301 0]

Firefighter from Ladder 103 in Brooklyn died of injuries sustained in two-alarm job (previously mentioned) in East New York, Brooklyn.

Sad day in the FDNY

God Bless :cry:

[Guest]

What a tragic day for FDNY and many families in the NY area. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and their brothers who remain in critical condition. :sad:

Thank you to my fellow Bravo members for keeping us posted on the developments.

[R1SmokeEater 359]

Brooklyn Two-Alarmer Claims Life of 10-Year FDNY VeteranSclafani Found Unconscious after Becoming Separated from Crew

New York City Fire Department

Firefighter Richard T. Sclafani

FIRE DEPARTMENT of NEW YORK

Official Press Release

Tragic Day in NYC: Two FDNY Bravest Killed, 4 Hurt in Bronx Blaze

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today announced the death of Firefighter Richard T. Sclafani of Ladder Company 103 in Brooklyn. Sclafani, age 37, a 10-year veteran of the FDNY, was fatally injured this afternoon battling a second-alarm fire in East New York, Brooklyn.

Firefighter Sclafani and members of Ladder 103 were among the first firefighters to arrive on the scene of the fire located in a private dwelling at 577 Jerome Street, which was reported at 1:36 p.m.

They entered the basement where the fire started and began searching both for the location of the fire and to rescue any trapped occupants. During these search operations, Firefighter Sclafani became separated from his colleagues.

He was found minutes later unconscious and in respiratory arrest on the cellar staircase. Firefighter Sclafani was transported to Brookdale Hospital where he died a short time later.

Firefighter Sclafani was appointed to the Fire Department on October 23, 1994 and was currently assigned to Ladder 103 in East New York, Brooklyn. During his career, Firefighter Sclafani also worked in Squad Company 18 in Manhattan. A resident of Bayside, Queens, Firefighter Sclafani is survived by his mother, Joan and his sister, Joanne.

Firefighter Sclafani is the 1,131st New York City Firefighter to make the Supreme Sacrifice in the Department's 142-year history

[JBE 328]

Un-friggin-believeable, this is all I can say.

[Guest ytowndk148]

are there any developements in ff cool's condition??

[BIGRED1 71]

What a day! like 8 guys either in the hospital or watching us from above. I hate days like this.

[-o< Prayers to all my Brothers out there

[Guest]

From New York Times :

January 24, 2005

 

3 Firefighters Die in Blazes in Brooklyn and Bronx

By JAMES BARRON  

 

Three firefighters were killed yesterday in two blazes at opposite ends of New York City - two in a desperate plunge from an apartment in the Bronx as they tried to escape a fire that had burst through from the floor below, the other after he had become trapped in the basement of a burning house in Brooklyn.

On a morning of swirling snow and brutal cold, the Bronx fire escalated in a matter of minutes into a three-alarm blaze that 150 firefighters struggled to bring under control. Officials suspected it began when sparks from an extension cord attached to a heater set fire to a mattress inside a third-floor apartment at 236 East 178th Street in Morris Heights.

Six firefighters rushed to the fourth floor after hearing that upstairs tenants might have been trapped. Back on the third floor, something went wrong - officials described a sudden loss of water pressure in a hose - and flames surged through the ceiling of the burning apartment, trapping the firefighters on the fourth floor.

Mayday calls went out on their radios as the firefighters headed out the windows, hoping to survive.

Two of the six men - Lt. Curtis W. Meyran, 46, and Firefighter John G. Bellew, 37 - did not. The four others were hospitalized with numerous broken bones.

The Brooklyn fire broke out several hours later in a two-family house at 577 Jerome Street in East New York where, fire officials said, people attending a birthday party reported smelling smoke. Firefighters from Ladder Company 103 headed into the basement, searching for the origin of the blaze and for anyone it might have trapped. The cellar became so hot the firefighters decided they had no choice but to back out.

One firefighter, Richard T. Sclafani, 37, was left behind when the group retreated, fire officials said. He had apparently been trying to make it to safety when something - one fire official said equipment had become entangled with a coat rack - prevented his escape. His comrades, after taking a head count and going back for him, found him unconscious on the basement stairs. He was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, and pronounced dead a short time later.

In all, yesterday was the deadliest day for the Fire Department since Sept. 11, 2001, when 343 members of the department died in the collapse of the World Trade Center, a catastrophe that continues to color much of the department's daily life. Only one firefighter had died in the line of duty since then, in what fire officials consider an extraordinary run of luck after the huge loss on 9/11, a loss in experience that was felt in firehouses across the city.

The last time three firefighters died was four months before the Sept. 11 attack, when three men perished on Father's Day after an explosion in a burning building in Astoria, Queens.

But officials said that yesterday was different in a way that was unfamiliar in its grimness, even for seasoned firefighters. "None of us can remember a day when we had fatalities, fire fatalities, at two separate incidents," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg described yesterday as "a day we'd all like to forget, but we will not."

The Bronx fire was reported at 7:59 a.m. Alex Hernandez, 45, who lived on the second floor, said he was alerted by shouts and screams: "I heard somebody say, 'Hey, the apartment is burning down.' I heard everybody screaming 'Fire! Fire!' "

Jorge Minier, 55, who lived on the fourth floor, said he had been awakened by smoke and heat. "I left without clothes on," he said. "I fled by the roof in nothing more than my underwear." He dashed across the roof to a staircase in a part of the building that the fire had not reached.

The firefighters who went to the fourth floor were soon caught in a nightmare of logistics that involved a frozen hydrant and a frantic effort to get enough water into the building. Somehow, for reasons officials will investigate, that effort failed. A hose might have burst, or been blocked by icy debris.

Angel Quiles, 50, watched from the street behind the apartment building, Echo Place, as firefighters appeared at the windows on the upper floors of the apartment house. He said that people standing nearby - separated from the burning building by a locked, fenced-in parking lot - were yelling, "Don't jump."

But soon, one firefighter did, and a moment later, Mr. Quiles said, another appeared at the window. This time, people at the back of a center for the elderly adjacent to the parking lot yelled for him to stay where he was, but he, too, jumped.  

To others, it appeared as if the firefighters were being blown out the windows by the intensity of the blaze or an explosion of some kind.

"All I could hear was people saying, 'Don't jump, don't jump,' " Mr. Quiles said.

Mr. Scoppetta and Mayor Bloomberg said the firefighters faced "a terrible decision."

"They are trained to not get trapped," Mr. Bloomberg said, "and sometimes things happen beyond your control." He added: "They were faced with the horrifying choice of either jumping from the fourth-floor window or being burned to death. They jumped, knowing they would be critically injured."

Officials said the fire spread so quickly there was no time to set up inflatable cushions for the firefighters to jump onto.

The four injured firefighters were identified as Joseph P. DiBernardo and Jeffrey G. Cool of Rescue 3 and Eugene Stolowsky and Brendan K. Cawley of Ladder 27. Firefighter DiBernardo, whose father is a retired deputy chief, was in serious condition last night at Jacobi Medical Center. The others were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where Mr. Cool and Mr. Stolowsky were in critical condition, and Mr. Cawley was in serious condition. Firefighter Cawley's brother, Michael, was a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

The Brooklyn fire broke out during a children's party on the first floor. Officials said that Firefighter Sclafani, a 10-year veteran of the department who was one of the first to arrive, apparently believed there were people in the basement and went there to look for them.

As he was on the way out, his equipment apparently became tangled in a coat rack, fire officials said. Other members of his unit realized that he had not emerged and went back to find him. He was on the staircase, unconscious and having difficulty breathing.

At Brookdale hospital, an attending physician, Michael Epter, said Firefighter Sclafani had no pulse when he arrived and never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead at about 2:30. Dr. Epter said he died of smoke inhalation and first-, second- and third-degree burns over more than 80 percent of his body. Seven other firefighters sustained minor injuries, and no one in the house was hurt.

Shahkiran Montgomery, who lived in the basement, said the building owner was his mother-in-law. "I want to send my condolences from me and my family to the firemen," he said, as a family that lives on the second floor, the Cloudens, huddled in their car, waiting for clearance from the Fire Department to return to their apartment. In Mr. Montgomery's quarters, water two to three feet deep was being pumped out. The investigation into the cause of the blaze was continuing.

The day's toll, though, was obvious, as Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Scoppetta appeared at the second news conference of the day to release the name of a firefighter killed in the line of duty.

"We will always remember the brave men who fell today in service to our city," the mayor said.

[Guest]

From New York Times

January 24, 2005

Water Pressure Fails, and a Routine Tactic Turns Deadly in the Bronx

By MICHELLE O'DONNELL  

It was a search-and-rescue operation that fire companies across the city routinely perform: a thorough check of the floor above the blaze.

Carrying axes and fire extinguishers, six firefighters from Ladder Company 27 and Rescue Company 3 headed up to the fourth floor of the burning apartment building on East 178th Street in the Bronx yesterday to search for victims. Considering the dangers, they had pretty good backup: three engine companies had stretched hoses to the third and fourth floors, putting water on the flames and preventing them from spreading.

In an instant, the backup was gone. The two companies fighting the fire on the third floor with one hose abruptly lost water pressure - the reason is still unclear - and the company that had stretched a hose to the fourth floor was forced to descend one flight to help. Now, the six men remaining on the fourth floor, the team searching the floor above the fire for people to rescue, were themselves in deadly peril.

The flames shot up through the floorboards, cutting off the six men from the only doorway, trapping them in excruciating 1,000-degree heat, fire officials said. They radioed frantic Maydays and made their way to two windows. Then they went through them.

Neighbors saw at least two of the men frantically waving before jumping. One grappled with a rope before losing his grip. The falls killed two firefighters and left two others critically injured and two in serious condition.

"It has happened in the past that firefighters go out the window, but not in recent memory," said Louis Garcia, the city's chief fire marshal. "The only reason they go out the window is because they've got nowhere to go. They're going to burn. It's a desperate move. This is six guys going out a window."

In New York, with its vertical terrain, the department has honed one of the most aggressive interior attacks in use. It includes searching the floors above the fire.

"That's a routine search," Chief Garcia said. "Why? The people in the most danger, besides the ones trapped in the apartment that's on fire, are the people in the apartment above the fire. That's where the next greatest exposure is."

It is an offensive tack. And although the department has mastered its approach over a century, so that fatal fires for firefighters as well as civilians are now lower than ever, it has not come without the occasional deadly cost.

The freezing temperatures make all firefighting more difficult - hydrants freeze, as can water in hoses.  

Yesterday, after the first reports of the fire came in at 7:59 a.m., the Fire Department dispatched two engines and two ladders.  

Engine Company 42 and Ladder Company 33 arrived first. Firefighters leapt off their rigs on the snowy street to go inside. They were followed closely by Engine Company 46 and Ladder Company 27.

According to fire officials, the men from the two engine companies found that the closest hydrant was frozen. Instead, they attached their hoses directly to reserves of 500 gallons of water, which is stored on the engine in what is called a booster tank. Other firefighters stretched other lines to the next available hydrant, with the help of a third engine company, No. 75.

As other engine company firefighters pulled the heavy hoses inside, and those from ladder companies broke down doors and searched for victims, the firefighters outside were able to transfer the hoses from the booster tanks to hydrants, the officials said.

At first, the flow was strong. But then the pressure to the house on the third floor dropped, the officials said. Possible causes being investigated yesterday, they said, included freezing water or debris trapped in the hose, or a malfunction of the engine that pumps water from the hydrant.  

The pressure was not lost to the members of Engine Company 75, who were on the fourth floor with the search-and-rescue team, so they headed down a floor to help fight the fire.  

The six men remaining on the fourth floor appeared at the windows, waving their arms and surrounded by flames. Other firefighters and onlookers urged them not to jump, but they did, one by one, to the ground below. At least one firefighter strung a rope line out of the windows and got down about 15 feet, but it failed, and he, too, fell.  

From the first call to the moment the last man fell, barely a half-hour had passed.

[Guest]

FDNY Ladder 27 FF John Bellew has been posthumously promoted to Lt. so that his family will receive increased benefits.

He had already passed the Lieutenant test and was 2 months away from officially receiving the rank.

Source: New York Post

[Shantz02 0]

Much praise to the FDNY. Once again doing the right thing and taking care of their own.

[JBE 328]

OK Here we go with units assigned and relocators, times only given for units assigned.

0759 Engines 42,46, Ladders 27,33, and Bn19

0759 Engine 75 on the 10-14

0806 10-75: R-3, E-43, L-59(FAST) Sq-41, Bn17

0814 E-48, L-56 Add'l E n T

0814 Sig 7-5(All hands) Rac 3 Assigned

0830 2nd Alarm:Engines 92,50,96 acting 45, Ladders 38 and 44, Battalions 13 and 26, Engine 72/Satellite 2, Field Comm 2, Rescue Battalion, Tactical Support 1, Safety Batt.

0833 3rd Alarm: Engines 82,88,93,95 Ladders 58,19, Mask Service, Battalions 14 and 15.

0843 Rescue 1 S/C

0845 Sq-61 S/C

0847 Battalion 27 S/C

0930 Ladder 31 S/C

0946 Battalion 51 S/C as safety Chief

0954 Probably Will Hold,

1010 Under Control

1147 Mobile Command Center 2 S/C

Relocators "/" indicates acting. Example L-23/31 Ladder 23 relocated to 31

Engines 62/42, 84/75, 74/95, 97/88, 59/50

Ladders 47/27, 51/33, 130/38 23/31

Battalions 12/17, 16/19, 10/26, 37/51

Hope this is helpful.

[27east 19]

...1147 Mobile Command Center 2 S/C...

I guess they will be using these more since they got the new ones...did thety DX the old tractor-trailer?

[JBE 328]

Not as of yet, that I know of.

[Pudge3311 5]

jbe,

thanks,

gives a bigger picture of the movements in the city. up here its pretty easy, one from here, one from there.

[JBE 328]

NP, Dude. But, like I said in my new thread regarding the East New York Fatal Fire, I may not be able to get these right away. It may take a few hours/days, depending on my shifts and time off.

[GFD70 4]

This is pretty much the same as what JBE posted but I figured I'd post it anyway.:

0758hrs. - Box 2997 E-42, 46, 75/ L-27, 33/ B19

0806 hrs. - 10-75: L-59 FAST truck/ R3/ Sq41/ B17/ D7

0812 hrs. - All Hands 1 L/S/O, 2nd line being stretched

0813 hrs. - E48/ L56 on special call

0816 hrs. - 2 L/S/O, Trucks opening up roof, prelim. search underway, fire doubtful

0823 hrs. - D7 transmits 2nd alarm, reports mayday from several firefighters. S/C additional FAST truck

0823 hrs. - 2nd Alarm: E92, 50, 96/ L-38, 44(FAST)/E-72 w/ Sat. 2/ B13(Saftery Cord.)/ B26(Comm. Cord.)/ Res. Bat./ Safety Bat./ Field Comm. 2/ Tac 1

0833 hrs. - D7 transmits 3rd alarm: fire on 3rd & 4th floors & thru roof.

0833 hrs. - 3rd Alarm: E-82, 88, 93, 95, L-58, 19(S/C)/ R1(S/C)/ Sq. 61(S/C)/ B15. B14(Stag. Chief)/ MSU. Staging area: 175th st. & Grand Concourse

0904 hrs. - Special call: Safety Coordinator, B3, Batt. Chief to St. Barnabus(Batt. 12)

0909 hrs. - D7 reports: 3 L/S/O, all visable fire knocked down, trucks still opening up

0921 hrs. - Special call: Additional Batt. Chief to St. Barnabus (B20)

0927 hrs. - Special call: L31 to staging area

0950 hrs. - Special call: Public Info. Officer to scene

0953 hrs. - D7 reports all visable fire extinguished, prelim. search on 3rd & 4th floor complete & negative

1010 hrs. - D7 reports secondary search complete & negative. Fire is U/C

[hudson144 150]

i stopped in last night for a visit to see jeff,he had a fever and at this point he had one tube removed and they were talking about removing the 2nd tube sometime soon. Jeff is a 19 year vet of the air force fd still serving with us at stewart air national guard fd.please pray for jeff and his other brothers who are fighting to get well! thanks Hudson