Click here for live feed of DAUPHIN, CUMBERLAND and NORTHERN YORK COUNTY
Monday, May 7, 2012 Reading City Fire Dept, PA--‐Area Fire Museum Restoration Specialist Ralph Bascelli is selling this restored fire hydrant to benefit the Fire Museum as well as cancer--‐stricken Reading City Fire Chief Ron Wentzel. The price is $300 You can contact Ralph at rjbascelli@hotmail.com what is bitcoin leverage trading
Sunday, May 6, 2012 While at work yesterday we stop for a quick bite to eat and when I stepped out of the tower I just happened to look up and see something quite interesting. I've been at this building dozens of times but never thought much about it but for some reason I happened to glance at a different area of the buildings exterior today and I'm glad I did. I looked up to see a "door to nowhere". I know these doors are not that uncommon but I wanted to at least post this to remind folks that practicing our m... [ more ]
Friday, May 4, 2012 Five years ago today 3 young brothers of the the local fire community lost their lives in a tragic accident. Take time to remember this tragic loss of our three young brothers today.Rest Easy Brothers and hope you are catching some good jobs up there! bitcoin trading with leverage
Thursday, May 3, 2012 This evening at 735 pm company 39 (grantville) was dispatched to 123 automatic lane for a reported kitchen fire. Chief 39 went enroute and was advised the home owner is trying to go back in for their cats and that there was black smoke coming from the windows. Chief 39 arrived and confirmed a working fire and immediately had engine 39 drop a line at the end of the road and have engine 36-1 pick it up. Truck 35 arrived, backing into the drive and set up for roof operations that were then held. Crews found a working basement fire with extension to the kitchen and got a quick knock on it. Units were out for 3 hours. All cats were found alive. Command- chief 39 Pictures and Story Courtesy of Correspondent Andi Mowry of http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andi-Mowry-Photography/234154230008565#!/pages/Andi-Mowry-Photography/234154230008565
NOT THE ACTUAL IMAGE
Thursday, May 3, 2012 CASE SUMMARY On 05/03/12 around 1000 am Swatara Township Police and Fire (49, 41, 40) along with Lifeteam were dispatched to the Super 8 Hotel off of Eisenhower Boulevard for a barricaded person involving hazardous materials. When police and fire arrived we found a 2 story hotel with all guests evacuated except a suicidal person on the second floor of the hotel. There was distinct “spoiled egg” odor in the hotel and just outside the hotel. The scene was immediately secured and Dauphin County Haz Mat Team (77) were requested to assist. A unified command was established along with an evacuation zone. The command consisted of Swatara Fire, Police, Dauphin Co Haz Mat, and Life Team. A plan was organized and put into action. Two Police Officers with Firefighting Experience and Two firefighters made entry in full PPE to the room to discover the person deceased in the bathroom by way of “Detergent Suicide”. The hazard and deceased were removed from hotel after approx. 3 hours on scene. Following will describe the chemicals used and how the person used them. I will also described lessons learned good and bad so other firefighters will better prepared for this increasing events. bitcoin leverage trading DETERGENT SUICIDE can be found easily on internet and is a common method of suicide in Asian Countries but growing in America. All chemicals are legal and can be obtained easily. Chemicals mixed The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner - Hydrocloric Acid Hi-Yield Improved Lime Sulfur Spray- Calcium Polysulfide The person locked his hotel room, then constructed a enclosed “bubble type” area in the bathroom tub and sealed the bathroom with expansion foam. He then enclosed himself in the bathtub and mixed the chemicals. He was in the bathtub for extended period of time prior to a 911 call from the hotel. LESSON LEARNED: Do not rush the incident. Insure everyone is evacuated to a safe distance including emergency personnel. Insure scene security. Gather as much information as possible. We were able to identify the person, his background, and that his vehicle was parked in the lot. His vehicle was searched prior to entering hotel. Our intell developed that person was suicidal. We also discovered he had received a package at the hotel the day before the incident was reported. Gather all resources needed, develop a plan, and execute plan with safety. Keep the amount of exposed personnel to just enough to complete the task. Have a RIT Team established and ready to act. Control citizens and other firefighters trying to enter the hazard area out of curiosity. A good accountability is important. A common action was observed by the first entry team. The suicidal person wrote a warning on the bathroom door warning emergency personnel of chemicals used. This is often recommended on the internet sites describing “Detergent Suicide”. The crew also found a will and notes to family. All firefighters who entered the scene wore SCBA and PPE. They were all de-coned after operating on scene. We did not have de-con in place prior to executing plan and we learned to make that operation happen earlier. We learned that de-con suggested was just to shower but we stepped it up to the next level with a full wash down as crews exited the scene. Overall the incident was well handled and we all went home safe with no further incidents. I hope to share scene photos soon showing the bathroom set up so you can see what it looked like. Any questions or need for more information feel free to contact me Pat McKenna, Chief 91, 717-564-2551. I hope this will help prevent any injury or death to any emergency personnel.
Thursday, May 3, 2012 Crew's from Wiconisco Station 23 were dispatched to their first due today at 738 Pottsville Street @ TNT Cycles for a building fire. Heavy fire and smoke was evident on arrival of Engine 23 and units went deffensive right off the bat. Numerous mutual aid and stand by units were involved with this fire and were out for several hours after clearing at 1130 hours. Pictures Courtesy of Titus Bergey via http://www.abc27.com/
Thursday, May 3, 2012 Ten years ago today, Captains Rob Morrison and Derek Martin of the St. Louis Fire Department received fatal injures while searching for a reported missing firefighter. The four alarm fire at Gravois Refrigeration Company which distributed goods to local grocers, shortly after 9:00 PM. Approximately twenty minutes into the fire attack, an accountability check showed one firefighter missing. Morrison and Martin entered the structure to begin a search. While this search was underway, concerns over the condition of the building lead the incident commander to order it evacuated. A subsequent accountability check showed three missing, including the two captains. The third firefighter was located, but the Morrison and Martin remained missing. Another search was initiated and Morrison was found approximately eight feet from the front door and Martin deeper in the structure. Captain Morrison left behind a wife and two children. Captain Martin was survived by his wife and three children. There were reported issues involving the Survivair breathing apparatus worn by Captain Morris and subsequent lawsuits resulted in multi-million dollar settlements and awards in the cases to the families of Morris and Martin. Gary Ryman Author of Fire Men: Stories From Three Generations of a Firefighting Family www.fire-men-book.com
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 2230 This evening at around 2230 hrs units were dispatched to box 45-1 for 50 Carlisle Springs Road in Carlisle Borough for a building fire. First arriving units reported heavy fire from a large (several city blocks) industrial building. A 2nd and 3rd alarm were requested and a 4th alarm soon followed. Multiple explosions and collapses occured. Units are still working this scene and will be for many hours to follow. Units from Cumberland, Perry, Adams, Franklin, Dauphin and York counties assisted at the fire. Story, Photos and Videos by Staff Correspondent Tim Knepp
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Corporal Brian Riddle of the United States Marines and Progress Fire Company Fireman was welcomed home today. Brian was first injured by a sniper in Afghanistan and recently injured by a mortar attack in Helmand Province on April 22. He sustained shrapnel wounds from head to toe and was flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland to undergo several procedures to remove the shrapnel. Brians escort started in Montgomery County, MD by the MCFRS and MCPD and continued to the Montgomery County, MD line where it was picked up by local Fire and Rescue Depts and Freedom Riders in Progress! Welcome Home Corporal Riddle! You ARE Central PA's Bravest!!! Click the link below to see local news coverage of Brian! http://www.abc27.com/story/18066898/injured-marine-returns-home-after-receiving-2nd-purple-heartAdditional images and video: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/05/progress_fire_company_members.html
MCPD leading the escort from Bethesda, MD
Brian leaving Walter Reed escorted by MCPD and MCFRS Engien 721
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Continuing with yesterdays story I'd like to have a quick discussion on how well prepared your RIT is to go to work. Hopefully by now most of us know the importance of having RIT on scene EARLY. To take a proactive approach a RIT company should be on the initial dispatch of all reported structural fires. If you're going to be a RIT company you need to walk the walk in every way. People are calling you with the expectation that you will do everything in your teams power to affect rescues of downed firefighters. Like the "starters" on a professional sports team, your crew must have earned the right to ride on the rig that's responding as the RIT company and like a "starter" you must be able to perform under pressure. Just because you have a pulse does not make you a qualified RIT responder. Training on RIT techniques until they are mastered as well as knowing your equipment and it's capabilities are key. To top that, you better know how to use them in a adverse conditions and how to quickly modify things on the fly and skip to plan B, C, and D as seamlessly as possible. I know not every RIT deployment will be the firefighter partially through the floor or trapped under a collapse and that is where the basics of pushes, pulls, drags, and carries will come into play, but you need to be just as fluent in the operations for the big events. You are expected to show up on scene with a total "Can Do" attitude. Check out the pictures and read the captions for some helpful tips. Thank you to Lt. Joe Shapiro for sharing some of his street smart systems with us.
Go Bag (The Go Bag is taken in along with the secondary air supply / RIT Pack for initial assessment and operations. You can see it holds only minimal small hand tools and a battery powered recipricating saw. If you carry the saw you should be able to changes blades in reduced visibity)
RIT Pack (have your bag set up so you can easily identify various section of the bag such as the high and low pressure sides of the bag)
Site designed and maintained by
© 2012 FireCompanies.com & Fireground Discussion and Photography | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Member Login
