Kitchener, Ontario fire dispatch received multiple calls for smoke coming from a house at 711 Westmount Road, February 3, 2018 at 14:00. P5, P2, A2, R1, and Car 23 were dispatched on the first alarm. P5 reported heavy smoke and flames showing from the roof on arrival. P1 was added to the call on this report. A passerby alerted the occupants that their house was on fire. A new roof was being constructed over the existing roof. The fire started in the void between the two roofs at the chimney for the wood fireplace. The fire was knocked down in 20 minutes with extensive overhaul to the roof. Damage has been set at $300,000.
Kitchener (ON) fire dispatch received multiple calls for a fire October 22, 2017 at 17:35. P3, P4, A2, R1, and Car 23 were dispatched for a house fire near 266 Zeller Drive. Car 23 asked what details dispatch had on the call and the address was updated to Wild Meadow Street near Zeller Dr. It was a house under construction, and they were receiving multiple calls reporting fire on the second floor. P2 was added to the call as the RIT enroute to the fire. P3 arrived first reporting a large, 2.5-story house under construction with heavy fire showing on the E2-E3 corner, second floor. P3 attacked the fire from the outside awaiting P4’s arrival. P4 arrived a minute later and established a water supply and pulled a backup line.
Two 1.5” lines were pulled upstairs to attack the fire. R1 performed a primary search in the basement and on the first floor. Firefighters appeared to be getting a handle on the fire when smoke dramatically changed colour. Interior crews reported they had a flashover in the washroom. Command ordered the crews out and to go defensive.
Firefighters set up P3’s aerial for a master stream attack and pulled a 2.5” line to fight the fire from the exterior. The fire was knocked down fifteen minutes later. Crews reentered the structure to check for extension and to knock down the remaining hot spots. Box 690 provided rehab.
Early shots by Box 690 member Mike Wilson. I arrived on scene approximately 15 minutes into the call.
Kitchener (ON) P3, P2, A2, R1, and Car 23 were dispatched to smoke coming from 15 Perkell Place November 14, 2017, at 12:26. P3 arrived first reporting smoke showing. Captain P3 reported heavy fire in the basement after doing a 360. Car 23 requested an additional pumper to the scene after hearing the size up. Firefighters tried to make entry to the basement but had to pull out due to untenable conditions. A piercing nozzle was used at the front door to knock most of the fire down. Shots were taken approximately 12 minutes after crews arrived. Box 690 provided rehab.
Kitchener (On) fire dispatch toned out Pump 6, Rescue 1, and Aerial 1 for a multi-vehicle MVC on highway 401 eastbound just before Homer Watson Boulevard, October 27 at 7:27. Pump 4 was added to the call as trucks were responding. Ayr Fire was also dispatched as they cover a large portion of the 401. Cambridge Tank 1 was added to call as Ayr’s second tanker was out of service. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) advised they had heavy entrapment in a collision involving three transport trucks. Orange Air Ambulance was also dispatched on OPP’s report.
Kitchener P6 headed westbound on the highway, slowed at the scene and confirmed very serious entrapment and headed up to Cedar Creek Road to turn around. R1 stopped in the westbound lanes and started to pull equipment over the barrier to start the extrication. Firefighters worked for over an hour cutting and using rams to try to move the cab off the driver. Command asked dispatch to expedite a heavy wrecker to help with the extrication.
Paramedics pronounced the patient and extrication was stopped pending arrival of the coroner around 9:00. Once the coroner arrived on scene crews returned to extricating the victim. The load from his truck (wood pallets) sheared part of the top of the cab, but didn’t hit the driver. The driver didn’t see the traffic slowing and plowed into a second 18-wheeler that then hit a dump truck in front of him. The other two drivers were not injured. The dump truck driver said the rear of the first trailer appeared to jump 25-35 feet in the air on contact with the second trailer. It doesn’t appear that the driver of the first trailer ever hit his brakes. Posted speed limit on the road is 100 KPH or 62 MPH. It took over an hour to remove the driver. The 401 is the busiest highway in North America, the Toronto section of the highway sees almost half a million vehicles a day. Box 690 was on scene for three hours providing rehab. Shots taken approximately two hours into the call.
Kitchener, Ontario firefighters responded to a report of an MVC with one vehicle upside down in the Grand River with entrapment, September 26, 2017 at 14:50. Three pumpers, rescue, aerial, haz mat, and chief responded to the call. Pump 2 arrived on scene reporting an SUV upside down in the river with an injured elderly women outside the car.
A passing motorist has been credited with saving the 80-year-old women’s life. The driver was unconscious with her head submerged in water when he cut her seat belt and pulled her from the vehicle. Firefighters and paramedics stabilized the patient on the side of the river. She was hoisted up in a stokes basket and transported to hospital.
Firefighters placed booms around the car to stop gas and oil from running down the river. A 60-ton rotator tow truck lifted the car from the river. Box 690 provided rehab to emergency crews on a very hot September afternoon. Southern Ontario was in a heat advisory with temperatures close to 100 F.
Kitchener (ON) fire dispatch received a 9-1-1 call for a structure fire at 169 Elmridge Drive, unit 29, July 1, 2017, at 3:55. The fire is half a block from station five which is also Box 690’s home. P5 had smoke and a glow in the sky when they opened their door. They arrived a minute later to a fully-involved garage fire with extension into the upstairs unit. The town houses have a main floor unit with attached garage on one side, and an upstairs unit with attached garage on the other side. Firefighters pulled numerous 1.5″ and 2.5” lines to fight the fire. Eight residents were treated for smoke inhalation, four being transported to a hospital. The fire was knocked down in 20 minutes. Four units were damaged in the fire. Box 690 provided rehab. Shots taken 25 minutes into the fire. Happy 150th anniversary to Canadian viewers, and for all U.S. viewers have a safe July 4 holiday.
Kitchener ON, fire dispatch received 19, 9-1-1 calls reporting a house fire at 66 West Ave at 8:38 June 13, 2017. P2, A2, P5, R1 and Car 23 were dispatched to a confirmed structure fire. Responding crews all reported smoke showing as they left their stations. P1 and A1 were added to the call before P2 arrived on scene. Pump 2 arrived to a fully-involved, empty, story and a half house with extension into occupied houses on either side. Large and small lines plus a monitor were quickly deployed to attack the fire.
The bulk of the fire was knocked down in 25 minutes. The house on the E2 side of the fire had a steel roof which made accessing the attic very difficult. Firefighters cut a large hole in the front of the house to gain access to fight the attic fire. Another team of firefighters entered the house on the E4 side to extinguish a fire in the upstairs bedroom. P7 was added to the call for manpower. I was at an appointment and got to the fire a half an hour in. Box 690 provided rehab, our third call in less than 24 hours, having responded to a house fire in Cambridge the previous night, and a Waterloo gas leak the previous morning.
