Grosse Pointe, a suburb that borders on the east side of Detroit. This is a public safety department so the fire response here is vastly different than the city of Detroit. Manpower is very limited initially and is supplemented by people responding from home and on duty police officer/firefighters. All the mutual aid companies also share this type of system.
The fire involved a large dwelling under renovation that was fully involved and rapidly spreading to the exposures. Above the 5th alarm level the City of Detroit was requested to send two engine companies, a squad, and a buggy. When we arrived the original fire building was fully involved and starting to collapse. Exposure 4 was becoming well involved and exposure 2 was severely threatened. Allthree buildings were lost. We witnessed some spectacular fire conditions here and initial units on scene were pretty much overwhelmed from the start considering the available resources. This was a horrible event for all concerned although thankfully no lives were lost. More can be seen here.
Saturday evening, March 24th, 2018. Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck responded to the corner of Woodward and Arizona for the report of a fire in a commercial building. This structure was on the NE corner, just across the street from Highland Park in Detroit. It was most recently used as a taxi company dispatch. Companies attempted an interior attack but went defensive shortly after with the truss roof in a compromised position.
Wellesley Township Ontario firefighters worked a wood pile/mulch pile fire at 5051 Streicher Line, March 26 2018 at 14:50. Wellesley and Linwood responded with a full response and St Clements with their tanker. Water was initially drawn from a fire department reservoir two miles from the scene. Once command determined they were going to use more water than the reservoir held (20,000 imperial gallons), Linwood Pump 1 repositioned to a hydrant beside the Wellesley station, approximately five miles from the fire. Wellesley set up their aerial to drench the pile. A high reach was used to pull the pile apart. Crews were on scene over two hours, Box 690 provided rehab. Photos and video shot 40 minutes into the fire during overhaul.
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 5-Alarm Fire, March 26, 2018.
The city of Grosse Pointe, Michigan received calls of a fully-involved home on Washington Road around 10:20pm on Monday, March 26th, 2018. The city is protected by a Public Safety Department where personnel are both police officers and firefighters. The first arriving unit reported a fully-involved, 2-story colonial that was under construction with fire through the roof, and immediately called for a 3rd alarm. I am not aware of what exactly that brings, but I can tell you it does not bring what many 3rd alarms do. A minute or so later, a 4th alarm was requested.
Eventually, the City of Detroit was requested as auto-aid but it was too little, too late. The fast moving inferno quickly overpowered the short-handed department. The “D” side exposure was another large, 2-story colonial and the “B” side exposure was a large tudor. Both of these structures were occupied and both would be incinerated in a manner that every homeowner should be aware of. Experienced fire suppression crews are invaluable and this was evident in the loss of the exposures during this incident. The men and women on scene did everything they could, but they just did not have the manpower to keep up. For reference, the first image was taken about 25 minutes in and is the original fire building.
A Morris Circle home received substantial damage in a mid-day fire Monday 26-March. At 11:51, 9-1-1 operators began receiving multiple reports of a fire in the residence located at 136 Morris Circle south of Walterboro. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Engine 1 arrived minutes later to find the one-story structure with heavy smoke visible. Flames were coming from the roof and out of several windows on both sides of the building. A second mobile home, located approximately 20 feet away was endangered. Firefighters deployed multiple handlines to the building and protected the exposure. The structure was originally a wooden home that over the years had received several additions. At some point a singlewide mobile home was connected to the structure. Additional siding wrapped both structures and a second roof was added over the existing roofs. This presented problems for crews working to extinguish the fire. Firefighter-paramedics worked for about 35 minutes to gain control of the fire. Power tools and a K-12 circular saw were used to remove the front of the structure, the rear wall, and a portion of the side wall to allow firefighters access to the burning areas and some void spaces. Once the fire was knocked down, crews spent over four hours performing overhaul. No one was at home when the fire occurred. The occupant advised there was a wood burning stove inside the residence and a kerosene heater. The entire structure was gutted. The fire displaced a woman and seven children. The Red Cross is assisting the family. Water supply was handled with a water shuttle with tenders pumping directly to Engine 1. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Engine 1, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Rescue 1, Medic 1, Medic 9, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 107, Car 112 and Car 116 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
