Furniture Warehouse Roof Collapse

A 41-YEAR-OLD FIREFIGHTER IN CHEMNITZ, Germany, perished Sunday morning when the roof of a burning furniture warehouse collapsed.  The unnamed firefighter was working along with 45 colleagues at the fire when it fell in.  A second firefighter was hospitalized with smoke poisoning.

Freipresse

The fire began around midnight and it took several hours for the four fire departments working the blaze to knock it down.  They were able to contain it and prevent the spread to close exposures including a gas station.

There is no indication yet of what caused the fire.  An investigation has been started.  A spokesman for the city stated that this is the first LODD for the town that they know of.

Sachsen-Fernsehen  has the early REPORT.
Chemnitz News has an updated report HERE.

Thanks to Christian Lewalter of Feuerwehn Weblog.
Firegeezer notes that German law prohibits anyone from identifying the name of recently-deceased people until the family releases it first.  Sometimes they decline to do that.

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17-Year Veteran Firefighter

FDNY LIEUTENANT RICHARD NAPPI, 47, of Engine 237 collapsed while fighting a 3-alarm warehouse fire in Brooklyn Monday afternoon and died while en route to the hospital.

Lt. Nappi and his crew were working on the 2nd-floor of a box-crammed warehouse on Flushing Ave. when he complained of dizziness and then collapsed.  Ladder 112 crew rescued him from the building and reportedly, while he was being put into the ambulance he was conscious and talking.  While on the way to the hospital Lt. Nappi  suffered a severe cardiac event and died.

The New York Daily News added:

(Fire Commissioner) Cassano and Mayor Bloomberg consoled Nappi’s widow, Mary Anne, as she grieved next to her husband’s lifeless body and agonized over how to break the news to their two children — Catherine, 12, and Nicholas, 11.

The deadly blaze, which left five other firefighters with nonlife-threatening injuries, broke out at 1 p.m. on the second floor of the two-story warehouse at 930 Flushing Ave. A pile of cardboard ignited in a space leased by an import company, officials said.

Building superBernard Joseph told The News that about 30,000 square feet of the building — all packed with boxed appliances — was consumed by flames. "It was hard for the firemen to move around because it’s so crammed. The boxes went up 20 feet," Joseph said. "They had to cut holes in the roof to get to it. All you could see was smoke."

Read the full Daily News report HERE.

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Five years ago today

Last night Dave Statter shared his experience about the 2007 line-of-duty death of Technician I Kyle Wilson in Prince Wiliam County. (Dave's article HERE). Dave is concerned that the Virginia Tech massacre overshadowed the tragedy at 15492 Marsh Overlook Drive.

The after-action analysis and discussions were painful, emotional and worthwhile. I closely followed the process and spoke to with many of the participants. They are my friends and colleagues.

My "bully pulpit" is a textbook that is used by many for their Fire Officer I and II training.

In Chapter 16, "Fire Attack" this is how the section on Smoke, Wind, Size and Fire Flow looks in the second edition (2010).

Let's start the Fire Department Instructor's Conference week with an in-station drill on one of these topics:

• Burning Type V residential structure behavior in high wind conditions
• Determining initial attack fire flow in high wind conditions
• Austere crew (thin staffed) fire attack procedures
• Why the NFPA 1710 single family dwelling does not match your first due (you can find an analysis starting on page 188 of the Prince William report.)

NIOSH LODD report

Fire departments should develop SOP’s for incidents with high-wind conditions including defensive attack if necessary. Weather can be considered as critically important when at the extreme, and relatively unimportant during normal conditions.

Wind has a strong effect on fire behavior which includes supplying oxygen, reducing fuel moisture, and exerting physical pressure to move the fire and heat. Wildland fire fighters are very familiar with these effects of wind on the rate at which fire spreads.

According to Dunn, “When the exterior wind velocity is in excess of 30 miles per hour, the chances of conflagration are great; however, against such forceful winds, the chances of successful advance of an initial hose line attack on a structure fire are diminished. The firefighters won’t be able to make forward hoseline progress because the flame and heat, under the wind’s additional force, will blow into the path of advancement.

Fire fighters should change their strategy when encountering high wind conditions. An SOP should be developed to include obtaining the wind speed and direction, and guidelines established for possible scenarios associated with the wind speed and the possible fuel available, similar to that in wildland fire fighting. When the interior attack line has little or no effect on the fire, the line should be withdrawn and a second hoseline should be advanced on the upwind side of the fire. This method may require the use of an aerial ladder or portable ladder, if safety permits.

Prince William County report  (385 pages)

The major factors in the line of duty death of Technician I Wilson were determined to be:
• The initial arriving fire suppression force size.
• The size up of fire development and spread.
• The impact of high winds on fire development and spread.
• The large structure size and lightweight construction and materials.
• The rapid intervention and firefighter rescue efforts.
• The incident control and management.

Thanks to Dave Statter for making an important observation.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

5-Alarm Blaze at Vacant Factory Spread to Other Buildings

TWO FIREFIGHTERS WERE KILLED AND THREE MORE Injured Monday morning at a large fire that started in a vacant factory building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The 6-story brick factory was discovered burning at 3:15 am and before it was brought under control, it spread throughout two full blocks and destroyed at least four other buildings and damaged as many as six homes.

The doomed firefighters were at a furniture store/warehouse that had been set alight by burning embers from the original fire.  While the crew from Ladder 10 were working inside the structure, the rear wall collapsed on them.  The three injured FF's were rescued by the R.I.T. and taken to the hospital.  Fire Commissioner Lloy Ayers made this brief announcement from the scene:

The fire was marked under control around 5:30 am but the tragic event took place about a half-hour after that time.

Channel 6 News has some fire footage in this video report:

Update:  Victims identified.
The two firefighters who perished in this morning's fire have been identified as Lt. Robert Neary and FF Daniel Sweeney, both of Ladder 10.

STATter911 has full details on the victims HERE as well as an excellent update to the fire story HERE.

PhillyFireNews has more details plus their usual, excellent photo gallery of the fire taken by their own photographers HERE.

PhillyFireNews.com

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Roof Collapse

A PRE-DAWN FIRE IN DECATUR COUNTY, TENNESSEE, Saturday claimed the life of the District 3 Fire Chief, Kenny Fox.

Fire Chief Kenny Fox

The Jackson Sun reports:

Kenny Fox, fire chief of District 3 in Decaturville and sergeant for the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, died Saturday morning after saving the lives of two other volunteer firefighters by pushing them out of the way before a roof collapsed in a fire.

Decatur County Sheriff Roy Wyatt said the call for the fire came in around 4:24 a.m. Saturday from the Oak Hill Cafe Bar and Grill on U.S. 412, west of Parsons. He said the firefighters arrived on the scene at 4:45 a.m. Wyatt said the roof collapsed on Fox.

The two firefighters that he pushed to safety are brothers.  Jeremy and Randy Inman were taken to Decatur County General Hospital and then later transferred to the burn unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment to 3rd-degree burns that both suffered.

Channel 5 News prepared this video report:

Chief Fox was age 39 and is survived by his wife and three sons.  One of his sons, age 19, was also working the fire and remained until his father was located and removed from the destroyed building.

Jackson Sun

The restaurant was a total loss and the investigation into the cause and results is continuing.

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Backing Accident

A BELGIAN FIREFIGHTER FROM WILLEBROEK was fatally injured Tuesday night when his own fire engine accidentally drove over him.  It is believed that the 57-yr.-old man was standing on the back or side of the pumper while it was backing up, and he somehow fell off and under the rear wheels where he was crushed to death.  They had been working a vehicle accident on the highway and were leaving.

The driver went into shock immediately on finding out what happened
and had to be transported to the hospital.  (RTL-TV image)

The accident which occurred around 10 pm is still under investigation.

RTL-TV1 filed this brief video report:

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HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT SENIOR CAPTAIN Thomas "Bill" Dillion, 49, collapsed while working a kitchen fire Wednesday morning and was pronounced dead a short while later at the hospital.

Captain Dillion had 22 years service on the FD and is
the 64th Houston firefighter to die in the line of duty.

Reports say that the fire on a cooking stove was almost out when the FD arrived.  Capt. Dillion was just entering the premises when he collapsed.  The fire itself is not a factor in his death, but the department and the union are both saying that it appears to have been a heart attack.  An autopsy is being performed today to determine the cause.

KUHF-FM has the details HERE.
KHOU-TV has a photo gallery HERE.
Houston Firefighters Local 341 WEBSITE.

Firefighters and paramedics lined the roads and freeways of Houston Wednesday
to honor a HFD Captain Thomas Dillion, of Fire Station 69, who collapsed and died
at the scene of a kitchen fire after complaining of chest pains.
An ambulance, accompanied by a police and fire escort, carried Dillion’s body
from the hospital to the medical examiner after he passed away. (KHOU-TV)

all photos via KHOU 11

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Roof Collapse Traps Four FF's

A MID-DAY FIRE IN AN ABBOTSFORD, Wisconsin, movie theater Sunday afternoon led to the death of a Colby FD firefighter when the snow-laden roof collapsed as the crews were evacuating the building. 

Abbotsford Fire Chief Apfelbeck addresses the media  (WEAU-TV image)

The owner of the Abbey Theater had gone to the site at 10:30 am and fired up the furnace to begin warming the building for the matinee showing.  After he did that, he left to return home for a while but got a call around noon that his theater was on fire.

About 35 firefighters from four FD's responded to the 63-yr.-old theater where they found a fire well in progress inside.  Initially, hose lines were taken inside to attack the fire but it was to far advanced to knock it down.  Abbotsford Fire Chief Jody Apfelbeck told the press there was "a lot of heat and a lot of smoke" and he had just ordered the crews to evacuate when the roof came down trapping three Colby firefighters and one from Abbotsford underneath.

Three of them were transported by ambulance to the hospital and the fourth was airlifted out.  Later Sunday afternoon the Clark County coroner confirmed that one of the firefighters had died from his injuries.  His name has not been released yet, but the fire chief did confirm that he was with the Colby FD.

WEAU-TV posted this video report Sunday evening:

The fire was knocked down by 3 pm, but crews remained on the scene for several more hours working the hot spots.  Later in the afternoon the FD had the remains of the front wall torn down for safety reasons.  The theater is a total loss.

This report will be updated later today as more information is released.

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Returning to Quarters Non-Emergency

JEREMY TIGHE, 18, A MEMBER OF the McCutchanville Volunteer Fire Department died Wednesday evening when the fire engine he was riding in left the roadway, partially overturned and "violently" struck a utility pole.

Courier & Press / Clark

The Evansville Courier & Press reported:

Lt. Brandon Cason, the driver, "was not injured seriously" in the accident, (Fire Department PIO) Gibson said, but the 24-year-old was taken to Deaconess Hospital. Gibson said he belived Cason has since been released from the hospital. "They were returning from a run when for some unknown reason their truck went off the side of the pavement," said Gibson in a phone interview Wednesday night.

The single-vehicle wreck occurred about 8:25 p.m. as the firetruck was traveling north on St. Joseph Avenue. It occurred only about a half-mile from the McCutchanville station on North St. Joseph Avenue.

"Our preliminary investigation indicates that the truck left the roadway and onto the shoulder for unknown reasons," Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams said in a news release.

Williams said there's no indication that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the wreck, but a sample of Cason's blood was taken.

Gibson said the McCutchanville Fire Department is shut down until further notice.

Today (Thursday) would have been Jeremy's 19th birthday.

Thanks to Mark Donovan.

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Tuesday Morning

LODD – VIRGINIA

A young volunteer firefighter from Gore, Virginia in the state's far northwest corner, died yesterday of injuries he received when the firetruck he was riding on slid off an icy highway and rolled over.

Zach Whitacre, 21, was onboard Gore VFD Tanker 14 that was running a water shuttle at a house fire in nearby West Virginia.  The tanker was empty and returning to the water source for a refill when the truck hit an icy spot on U. S. 50 and slid off the road onto an embankment.  It is believed that Zach was on the back step of the tanker and was tossed off when it went off the road.  He died of his injuries later at the hospital in Winchester, Virginia.

Adding to the tragedy of the incident is the fact that the tanker was being driven by Zach's father, Donald Whitacre.  The elder Whitacre's injuries were minor and he was treated and released.  It is impossible to imagine the grief that Mr. Whitacre is going through following the accident.

STATter911 has posted a thorough report on the entire situation along with a video interview with the distraught father in two postings HERE and HERE.

On that somber note, we will adjourn and get our own equipment checked out for today.  I will get some more coffee going and we'll meet back in the day room in a little while.  We can discuss any lessons there are to be learned from this sad event.

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