12/05/15 Belleville, NJ – The second house fire in a week destroyed another dwelling in Belleville. Police officers arrived on scene to find smoke and fire coming from the second floor. They started evacuating the occupants of the first floor as firefighters arrived. The fire gained considerable headway as firefighters prepared to battle the blaze prompting transmission of multiple alarms for mutual aid. The second floor soon became fully involved as multiple hand lines and master streams worked to darken down the fire. Firefighters also used three ladder pipes to help bring the blaze under control around twelve thirty. Two families were left homeless, but no one was injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Washington DC Fire & EMS units responded to an apartment fire on Friday morning, Dec. 4. First arriving units reported heavy smoke and fire coming from the interior courtyard of the large apartment complex that takes up an entire city block at 12th & U Sts NW. A second alarm was quickly sounded.
The fire extended through all four floors of the complex via the balconies in the courtyard and into the cockloft. Truck companies worked hard to prevent the fire from extending further through the cockloft. Sprinklers in the building activated also helping to prevent additional extension.
Special calls were requested along with mutual aid from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue for an additional truck company to assist with opening up and overhaul. Hundreds of residents of the complex were displaced as a result of the fire. The Friendship Fire Association provided both rehab and canteen support on the scene.
Took in the still & box alarm Sunday at Cortland and Kingsbury in Chicago, an industrial area with a fire in a large scrap metal operation. A big stack of junk cars was going. This location is right on the river, so as a result Engine 2, the large fireboat was sent to the scene. They eventually supplied a 4-inch line to Engine 55 which then supplied a multiversal. There was some thought about using the big guns, and the “crows nest” turret was raised on the rear of the boat, but there was not really a clear shot to the burning pile from the river location. Access in and around the scene was poor. All of the photos and video from this incident can be seen on my site
Chicago 2-11 Alarm fire at 1525 W 18th St. the Nuevo Leon restaurant. This was a locally famous mexican eatery. The restaurant occupied and connected the first floor of two similar 3 1/2-story ordinary buildings, the rear had a one-story addition as well as some kind of storage area or garage. Fire had full possession of most of one building and spread into all floors of the exposure to the west, which as I mentioned was connected to the fire building. Two towers and Squad 1 operated here. Notice how many wires and cables Squad 1 had to deal with in the rear, and I daresay a full-size Snorkel or aerial would not have been able to get into this tight spot. Not many good shots to get … low hanging smoke, poor access, and misty rain ruled to day. All the images and the video can be seen here on my site:
Video by Vito Maggiolo – DCFD Working Fire Dispatch at 2711 Georgia Ave NW, 12/4/15 – Fire in a three-story, vacant apartment building. Mayday was declared for a firefighter that fell through a floor. He was removed quickly with non life threatening injuries.
Video by Vito Maggiolo – DCFD 2nd Alarm at 3340 5th Street SE – Heavily involved two-story, detached frame house with packrat conditions. Elderly female was rescued from inside but died at hospital.
