AFTER NEARLY A YEAR, THE INVESTIGATION AND SUBSEQUENT REPORT on a fatal fire in San Pablo, California on July 21, 2007, was released this week.

The 1 am house fire took the lives of the two elderly occupants and also killed two Contra Costa County firefighters.  The report exposes a string of mistakes and improper procedures that occurred throughout the entire incident, beginning with the private alarm company.

The Contra Costa Times summarized the report (HERE).

*  A serious mishandling of the initial call.
One of the most damning failures was a nearly 10-minute delay from the moment the homeowners’ fire alarm alerted their alarm company to when the first firefighter was dispatched, the investigators said.

Two fundamental mistakes by the alarm company employee — calling a nonemergency line and not making clear that the house was on fire — sent the call plummeting down the priority list, leading to the critical delay and lessened response.

The alarm co. employee never relayed to the dispatcher that there was a fire in the house, even though she had been told that by the occupant.  As a result, the first fire engine was not dispatched until 9:44 after the call came in.

Also, by dispatching it as an alarm sounding, a lower priority call, the automatic-mutual aid dispatch was bypassed.  The nearest fire station, which is in another jurisdiction, was never sent on the call.

*  Understaffed engine magnified the problem.
The first-in engine had only 3 FF’s on board and when they arrived they were notified of people trapped.  The captain had to pass command because of the need to become part of the attack line.  Due to the mistaken dispatch procedure, he passed command to an engine company that was never dispatched.

This left the units on the scene without an established command post and they, in effect, operated independently throughout the fire.

When the two firefighters were reported missing, there was not yet a R.I.T. set up. 

*  A company set up a large fan outside the door and began a positive-pressure ventilation operation before a ventilation hole was made in the roof.

Shortly after the fan was turned on, a buildup of the fire was observed followed by a backdraft explosion.  This is what is believed to have caused the FF’s to perish while they were in the room where the fire began.

*  An inexperienced workforce.
The Contra Costa Fire Protection District has undergone a large turnover recently due to retirements, leaving a less-experienced overall force.  About one-third of the uniformed force has less than five years on the job.

The report calls for a more intense training program.  It also calls for increasing the minimum manning to four per engine.  In the past 20 years the population of the district has increased by more than 20%, but the minimum daily staffing of the department has increase by only five FF’s.

There are more items and recommendations in the comprehensive report and you can read the entire 122-page document (.pdf format) HERE.  It includes the transcripts of the alarm company’s report and the relevant fireground radio transmissions.

THE TINY TENNESSEE TOWN OF LUTTRELL lost its second firetruck in eight months from rollover accidents.

Dave Statter has the photos and details from both accidents at STATter911 HERE.

SATURDAY WE REPORTED (HERE) ON A VOLUNTEER FF who was struck by a pickup while he was directing traffic at a fire scene.  The elderly gentleman was taken to the hospital in critical condition and the truck that hit him was nearly demolished.

That was not a case of “road rage,” but just inattentiveness.  But it illustrates what can happen and who wins when a vehicle collides with a human.  This brought an email from one of our readers, Firefighter Dave in the PacNW who shares:

I remember many years ago while on traffic control detail, I saw someone about to disobey my directions and approaching quickly, so I stepped towards the path of the car to get their attention.  It kind of worked.  They swerved, flipped me off, and raced around the wreck.  Dumb me!

Afterwards, a great Captain nicely pointed out to me that there was no benefit, if the car was going to mow down my brothers, to also get myself mowed down.  Yell a warning, throw your stop paddle or a cone or something at them if you must, but stay bodily out of the way.

(Firegeezer learned long ago that tossing a lighted road flare in the passenger-side window slows them down, too.  But I don’t think the lads are allowed to direct traffic with road flares anymore.)

You have to be especially vigilant when some yayhoo becomes suddenly agitated and enraged at the inconvenient traffic obstruction.  A good example of how irrational somebody can become occurred in Portland, Oregon on Sunday when a young motorist chased down a bicyclist who had yelled at him for driving too fast.  The Oregonian reports:

A nearby resident caught part of the Sunday night confrontation on a cell phone video, a harrowing image of the cyclist hanging onto the hood of the car as it sped north on Southeast 58th Avenue.

The bicyclist, Jason S. Rehnberg, 37, said he jumped onto the car’s hood as it accelerated toward him. He first clutched the windshield wipers, then dug his fingers into the narrow crack between the hood and windshield.

Based on statements from Rehnberg and a witness, the man drove for three blocks at speeds up to 30 mph with Rehnberg on the hood. A resident filming the action with a cell phone captured about a half-block of that ride. The video caught the Escort’s tires screeching and the motorist’s sudden slamming on the brakes at Stark Street in an apparent attempt to dump Rehnberg off the hood, according to the affidavit.

It didn’t work. The car turned right onto Stark Street and drove two more blocks before it slowed and Rehnberg said he was able to slide off before pushing himself out of the way.

Police arrested the driver James Millican at 7:31 p.m. at his home in the 200 block of Northeast 68th Avenue. Police said he appeared intoxicated. A further inquiry showed he had a 0.11 percent blood-alcohol reading and admitted to having three drinks earlier in the day, court records show.

Millican had his license suspended from Feb. 27 through May 22 this year after receiving at least four traffic-related tickets in two years, including failing to drive within a traffic lane, failing to use seat belts and failing to obey a traffic signal.

Probably more drunk than enraged, it still points out that you just don’t know who is driving that car coming your way.  You have to ALWAYS BE CAREFUL.

KPTV Portland has the video clip of the bizarre ride on the hood and ran this report:

You can read the entire article in The Oregonian HERE.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SEEN A SPLASHY PRESS EVENT where the local fire department has announced that they will be checking everywhere to make sure that smoke detectors are installed?

The Grande Program always starts out with the individual fire companies hitting the street and going door-to-door offering free detectors for places that lack them.  After a couple of weeks, it loses its fizzle and the neighborhood checks become less frequent.  Then by the time two months have passed, it’s forgotten about and planning begins on the next publicity event.

This didn’t happen in Nottinghamshire, England, though.  The BBC News is reporting (HERE) that the county fire service has been actively engaged in a similar campaign for four years now.  Since the program has started, they have conducted 39,000 safety checks and installed more than 53,000 smoke alarms.

Station Manager Andy Bettison said that the campaign is aimed at households with elderly and “vulnerable” residents which includes single mothers and people with alcohol-abuse problems.  He said that the firefighters look for proper cooking methods, properly installed electrical sockets and smoke alarms. 

Now that is dedication.

AN UPSTATE NEW YORK VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER  was struck and seriously injured Friday while directing traffic at an accident scene.

FirefighterCloseCalls reports:

Sodus VFD Firefighter Gary Wahl, 65, was directing traffic at an accident scene in Williamson. Wahl was reportedly hit by a pick-up truck that was traveling around 55 miles-an-hour….the driver was reaching for an object and didn’t see the fireman. FF Wahl is now in satisfactory condition and charges are pending against the driver of the pickup truck, who suffered minor injuries.

Wahl was struck with enough force
to cause this much damage to the truck. 

Authorities say Wahl was blocking traffic when he was hit by a truck traveling about 55 miles per hour, which is the designated speed limit.  He was downgraded to guarded condition following surgery Friday night.

Rochester TV station WHAM has this video report:

A HELENA, MONTANA, WOMAN IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION with a serious head trauma after her mini-van was struck by a fire engine Thursday afternoon.

The engine from the West Valley VFD was responding to a grass fire when, according to Montana State Police, the woman drove through a stop sign into the path of the fire truck which had its lights and siren activated.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts, but the engine driver suffered a broken hand.

The Helena Record has the STORY.

A WYANDOT COUNTY, OHIO, FIRE ENGINE WAS RESPONDING to an auto fire inside an attached garage Monday night when it left the roadway and rolled over.

The driver, Richard L. Kear, 58, was ejected from the truck and died at the hospital about two hours later.  The only other FF on board was only slightly injured and was able to start first-aid on Kear while waiting for EMS to arrive.

Chief Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls is keeping current with the story HERE.

AT THE SIX FLAGS AMUSEMENT PARK NEAR ATLANTA, GEORGIA, Saturday, a 17-yr.-old boy was killed when he was struck by the Batman Coaster inside a restricted area.

The Batman ride carries the passengers
upside-down through a series of
inverted loops.  (AJC photo)

The teen and another boy had left the park earlier in the day to buy some lunch outside.  Instead of returning through the entrance gate, they climbed over the park’s security fence in another area.  Once inside, they then climbed  a safety fence that surrounds the ride, even though it is plainly marked with Danger and No Trespassing signs. 

There is speculation that he was looking to retrieve a hat that he had lost earlier while riding the coaster.  While climbing around the coaster ride, the cars came by at about 50 mph and struck the youth killing him instantly by decapitation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the full STORY.

The AP filed this video report: