Skip to content

Archives for 3-alarms

See all posts in the network tagged with 3-alarms

3 Alarms in Albuquerque

Comments Off

Stubborn Apartment Fire Burns For Eight Hours

A FIRE IN A 47-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has destroyed the entire building and kept more than 75 firefighters busy well into Friday night.

The fire was first discovered around 2:30 pm by a tenant who went into the basement laundry room and saw a fire burning behind one of the washer or dryer machines.  A rapid hue and cry from the tenants that were in the building at the time was instrumental in getting everyone out of the building safely.

As the Albuquerque firefighters were working inside the fire, four of them fell through the 2nd-story floor onto the first-floor level below causing two of them to be injured and requiring transport.  At about the same time, 40 minutes after they arrived, the roof started collapsing and all FF’s were pulled out of the building.  Soon the southwest corner wall collapsed.

Albuquerque Journal photo catches the corner wall collapse.

The fire was extinguished about eight hours later, according to news reports from the scene, and many of the units remained on the scene throughout the night working the hot spots.

KRQE-TV Ch. 13 filed this video report:

Firefighters hurt as apartments burn: kasa.com

 The Albuquerque Journal has MORE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Posted by on February 5, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Propane Grill Gets More Apartments

Comments Off

Oklahoma City Blaze Takes Out Eight Apartments

A FIRE ON AN APARTMENT PATIO ENCROACHED ON a gas grill’s propane tank Tuesday afternoon and likely caused it to vent.  When the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Fire Department arrived on the scene just two minutes after dispatch, the fire was already through the roof of the two-story apartment building. 

KFOR-TV

KOCO-TV Ch. 5 filed this video report from the scene:

 

When the fire started around 4:45 pm the outside temperature was in the low 20′s.  The FD response was quickly elevated to three alarms and the firefighters successfully contained the fire to the portion of the building that was burning.  Eight units were destroyed, but several more had water damage because of the large amount of water used to knock the fire down.

KWTV

The fire officials say that something that was left burning on the patio, perhaps a discarded cigarette, is what started the fire.  No injuries were reported and all of the tenants were able to self-evacuate safely.

KWTV Ch. 9 has two more videos HERE.
The Oklahoman has MORE.

Posted by on January 12, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

4 Dead in New Jersey Boarding House Fire

Comments Off

A FIRE IN A PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, HOUSE EARLY Wednesday morning has left four people dead and three more in critical condition.  For several hours there was fear that others were missing, but by afternoon it was determined that everyone was accounted for.

AP

When firefighters arrived the wood-frame house was already well involved with many residents outside the house.  The fire was spreading to the house next door and threatening the home on the other side.  Before the fire was fully contained, the house of origin collapsed, completely destroyed.  The second house suffered severe damages and the third house only superficial fire damage.

Two people leapt from 3rd-floor windows to escape the flames, with one of them dying immediately from the fall and the second in critical condition from multi-trauma injuries as a result of the plunge.  Later, three bodies were recovered from the ruins of the house.  It was not immediately known how many residents lived in the several rooms that were rented out.  The owner escaped, and it was disclosed that she had been issued several fire code violations in recent months.

This aerial video from WNYW-TV Ch. 5 displays the remarkable job the firefighters did in containing the fire amidst close exposures:

Heavy equipment was brought in later Wednesday to remove the debris and assist the investigators in the search for the cause.  The 3-alarm fire brought more than 80 firefighters to the scene.

Report compiled from several sources.

Posted by on June 30, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

One Fireplace Takes Out Two Homes

Comments Off

A BUCKET OF DISCARDED FIREPLACE ASHES is suspected to be the cause of an early-morning fire in Dixon, California, that burned out two homes.

dixon a News10

News10 image

The ashbucket was outside between the two homes but it is believed to have flared up and started burning the outside wall of one of the houses around 2 am Pacific this morning (Thursday).  One house was destroyed and the second was made uninhabitable.  Five autos were also damaged.

The 3-alarm fire brought in units from Davis andVacaville to assist.  KCRA-TV Ch. 3 Sacramento has this video report from the scene:

d

Posted by on May 27, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

3 Alarms in Toronto

Comments Off

A FIRE DEEMED “SUSPICIOUS” BROKE OUT in a Mississauga (Toronto area), Ontario, office building late Wednesday afternoon.  The fire that started on the third floor of the 7-story building sent thick smoke to the upper floors and filled the fire towers with smoke, trapping more than 100 workers on the upper floors.

missisauga a citynews

City News

While the fire was contained to a relatively small area, the people above were understandably stressed at not being able to exit while smoke was filling their offices.  CityTV reports:

(Fire) crews managed to free more than 100 people who couldn’t initially get out due to heavy smoke.

“We were trapped. We went into the conference room and closed the door. But the smoke started to come into the conference room, so we were getting kind of nervous,” described office worker Gana Kran.  Fire crews broke windows and cleared out a stairwell before leading the trapped workers down.  Outside a triage centre had been set up and an air ambulance that had been dispatched sat waiting.

A couple of people suffered smoke inhalation but no one was seriously injured.

“To get a fire of that magnitude going when the building is fully occupied is indeed suspicious so we’re going to investigate, find out what happened,” Deputy Chief Greg Laing of Mississauga Fire told reporters.  The fire marshal is looking at an office occupied by a local politician as the point of origin.  When answering a knock on their door, one of the staff found the fire burning just outside in the hallway just before 5 pm.

CityTV has this video report:

The MFD had the fire out around 7 pm.  Damage has been estimated at $200,000.

Posted by on February 4, 2010 • Filed under: arson, Firefighting Operations, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Double Multi’s in Chicago

2 comments

THE CHICAGO (ILLINOIS) FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD TWO simultaneous multi-alarm fires Sunday night.  One was a 3-alarm church fire and the other was a 4-alarm fire in the Greektown area that took out a large restaurant and several other businesses.

church b

Larry Shapiro

THE EDGEBROOK LUTHERAN CHURCH on Chicago’s NW side broke out in fire at 9:30 pm Sunday night when a deranged parishioner set a fire in some trash cans outside and then went into the church and set another, larger fire inside.  He was arrested a short time later while he was still on the scene after he made an incriminating statement to the police.

church a

Larry Shapiro

The first units arrived to find a fire well involved and spreading rapidly.  The response was upgraded to three alarms before the fire was knocked down.

Steve Reddick has assembled a video report with the fireground radio patched onto the audio track:

The man who set the fires is being held in jail on a $1 million bond.  The church  was “heavily damaged.”  The Chicago Sun-Times has the latest report including the arrest HERE.

Chicagoland fire photographer Larry Shapiro has a 72-image photo gallery of the fire HERE.

*  *  *  *  *

 AT 11:20 PM A FIRE WAS DISCOVRED AT COSTA’S Greek Dining and Bar, a popular eatery in the Greektown section of Chicago.  The restaurant had closed for the evening and the only two people inside were a bartender and another employee.  They smelled the smoke and investigated, finding a fire in the kitchen centered around the deep fryer.  The bartender attempted to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but it was futile.

greek b

When the FD arrived they found heavy fire in the kitchen area and eventually the response was upgraded to a 4th alarm when the fire began spreading to the building next door.  A total of 170 firefighters worked the job.  When it was over, the restaurant was completely destroyed and the adjacent building that housed three other businesses was so severely damaged that it was torn down today.

greek c

Larry Shapiro

Read the Sun-Times story on the fire HERE.

View Larry Shapiro’s 145-image photo gallery of this fire HERE.

greek a

Larry Shapiro

Posted by on February 1, 2010 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fires • Tagged: , , , , ,

Landmark Home in Stoughton Damaged in Fire

3 comments

A FIRE IN A STOUGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS, VICTORIAN HOME on Tuesday afternoon caused some major damages to the house.  But thanks to the alertness of a neighbor, damages were partially limited and the 85-yr.-old resident was able to escape the flames safely.

stoughton a wickedlocal snyder

Enterprise / Snyder photo

The fire was first noticed at 3:45 pm Tuesday afternoon by Scott Schertz, a next-door neighbor who happened to be driving down the street toward his home when he saw flames breaking through the roof of the massive 2-½ story home.  Knowing that his neighbor was usually at home, he stopped his car, ran up to the front door and kicked it in.  The Stoughton Enterprise reports:

“There’s a fire! There’s a fire! You gotta get out!” yelled Schertz, going through every room in the three-story mansion.

The smoke hadn’t yet made it to the bottom floor, but he saw it coming down from upstairs.  “It was kind of eerie to see it roll down the stairwell,” he said. “It was like out of one of those fire movies.”

Jimmy Kourafas, the 85-year-old owner of the home, was on the ground level and didn’t believe Schertz at first.  He had just gotten home from visiting his daughter in Marlboro. He was checking the messages on his answering machine when Schertz ran through yelling.  Kourafas didn’t see any flames or smoke, but he didn’t waste any time leaving. It wasn’t until he got outside that he saw the rooftop blaze.

Read the full story of this neighborly assistance HERE.  The article also contains a good photo gallery of the incident.

WCVB-TV Ch. 8 Boston filed this raw video report from their helicopter:

The fire rapidly expanded to a 3-alarm response, primarily due to its size and that there were multiple roof levels involved.  Fire departments from about 10 communities responded to assist with the blaze.

Fire officials say that the fire damage was largely contained to part of the attic area and the front rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors.  However, there was extensive water damage to the interior contents and fixture, making the house uninhabitable for the time being.

The home that was built in 1890 has a strong historical significance to the city and was  the residence of one of Stoughton’s wealthiest families.  The Stoughton Enterprise tells about it HERE.

Posted by on January 13, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

3+ Alarms in Hartford

Comments Off

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, FIREFIGHTERS HAD THEIR FIRST MULTI-ALARM BLAZE last night (Wednesday).  Around 5 pm a fire was reported in the ceiling of a 3rd-floor apartment in a 4-story building.  The sprawling, brick building has 160 apartments in it and all of them were required to be evacuated as the fire raced through the ceiling voids and burned the roof rafters of the 125-ft. x 350-ft. complex.

hartford b courant rickhartford

Hartford Courant / Rick Hartford photo

Approximately 170 residents were displaced and will not be permitted back into the severely damaged building.  The fire is believed to have been sparked by a faulty bathroom exhaust fan, but investigations are continuing today.

WTNH-TV Ch. 8 has this video report:

Every firefighter in the city was engaged in the attack while five mutual-aid departments filled in the city stations for coverage.  It took the HFD three hours to knock down the blaze.

The only injury reported was for a firefighter who slipped on the ice.

WFSB-TV has more details and additional video HERE.
The Hartford Courant has the STORY.

hartford a squadfirephotos

Squad Fire Photos has a 105-image photo gallery HERE.

Hat tip and thanks to New London County Fire Photos for additional information.

Posted by on January 7, 2010 • Filed under: Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

3 Alarms Working in New Jersey

Comments Off

harrison a WNYW

WNYW-TV

A MAJOR FIRE INVOLVING TWO APARTMENT BUILDINGS broke out at 5:30 am this morning (Monday) in Harrison, New Jersey (Newark area).  Harrison Fire Chief Thomas Dolaghan said the fire appeared to start near the top of one of the 4-story buildings and spread quickly to the exposure on side 2 that was separated only by a narrow alleyway.  This early aerial video from WNYW-TV shows  the fire just as it’s spreading to the second building:

At least 18 families were evacuated from the fire building and the two exposures.  Apparently everybody was able to escape safely and without injury.  The fire was soon upgraded to three alarms and brought in FD’s from six neighboring communities.  The fire is reported to be out at the time of this posting, but units will be on the scene mopping up for quite a while yet.

The Associated Press filed this raw video from WABC-TV that captures the partial collapse of the primary fire building:

D

Posted by on December 7, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

3 Alarms on Atlantic City Boardwalk

Comments Off

A 3-ALARM FIRE BROKE OUT IN “MONOPOLY” CITY JUST BEFORE 7 pm Saturday night in the entrance pavillion to Schiff’s Central Pier located on the Boardwalk between St. James Place and Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

AC b Press fireshowing

Fire self-vents next to the “Hot Spot”
(Press of Atlantic City photo)

The seat of the fire was in a pizzeria and spread to two clothing shops and a photography business before the 80 firefighters on the scene were able to contain it.  The fire was declared under control after about three hours.  The FD is crediting the containment largely to a successful trench cut on the pier’s roof.  Nature assisted also by providing a wind that was blowing toward the ocean, directing the smoke and heat conduction away from the boardwalk.

There were no reported injuries from the fire and the investigation into the cause is beginning this morning.  Initially it is not know if the fire started in the pizza shop, or directly underneath it on the beach.  The pier contains a number of shops and amusement rides.

AC a Press of After

Press of Atlantic City photo

The Press of Atlantic City has a good report on the fire and the FD’s operations HERE.

WCAU-TV has this video report:

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.

Posted by on November 22, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , , , ,

School Fire Begins While Classes Are In Session

Comments Off

marysville a KATU

KATU

A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE STARTED IN A Portland, Oregon, elementary school Tuesday morning while the students were inside attending classes.  The fire in the Marysville  ES took hold quickly and spread up into the roof area.  Everybody in the school, about 460 students and teachers, evacuated safely and orderly according to plan.  There were two adults who suffered breathing problems from the smoke, however.

The fire response was immediately upgraded to three alarms and brought over 100 firefighters to the scene.  The major part of the fire was in the kindergarten and 3rd-grade classrooms, but eventually about 1/3 of the building was destroyed.

marysville b KPTV

KPTV

The Oregonian has a video report:

Marysville Elementary Fire

Damage is extensive and the school will be closed for a long time for repair.  The wood-frame school was built in 1921 with fire safety in mind and was limited to one story with multiple doors on each side of the building.

KPTV has the STORY and several video files.
The Oregonian has an extensive story HERE.

The Associated Press provided this raw video that shows the FF’s doing a terrific job with a trench cut that does everything it’s supposed to:

Posted by on November 11, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Vacant Mill Bldg. Burns in Massachusetts

Comments Off

A VACANT PAPER MILL BUILDING IN LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, was gutted by a massive fire Friday night.  The 3-alarm fire was first spotted at the former Merrimack Paper Co. mill shortly after 7 pm.  The building had already been condemned, but was being mildly secured and checked by a watchman.  It required a little over three hours to bring the fire under control, but not before it spread to a second building.

lawrence a

Eagle-Tribune / Carl Russo

The fire building was just one in the large, vacant complex and was lastly the shipping and receiving building.  The 200,000 sq. ft. structure was built 140 years ago. 

WHDH-TV has a video report from the fire scene:

 The Eagle-Tribune tells:

Firefighters have been worrying about a possible fire at the site for several years.

In 2007, city officials said more than $142,000 was owed by the building’s owners for fire watches from the periods of December 2005 through November 2006 and January through May 2007. The city placed a lien on the property and was involved in discussions to collect the money.

City officials said the fire watches became necessary when the sprinkler system wasn’t operating.

Merrimac Paper, which traced its roots in Lawrence back to 1866, closed for good on June 29, 2005, putting 75 employees out of work. The closure came just two years after the company had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Merrimac manufactured paper products ranging from colored office folders to specialty pages used in books. It was purchased by Holyoke Card Co. in 2000.

Read the full story on the fire in the Eagle-Tribune HERE.

Posted by on November 7, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

3 Alarms in Washington Commercial Bldg.

Comments Off

A FIRE IN A HOME-IMPROVEMENT STORE IN ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON, Tuesday night went to 3 alarms and completely gutted the building.  The Stouffer-Moore Floor Covering & Cabinets store was closed when the fire broke out around 6 pm, so the FD does not expect there to be any victims in the building.

The structure was fully stocked with flammables such as carpeting and adhesives, and was heavily involved when the FD arrived.  KING-TV Ch. 5 has this video report from the fireground:

The walls were cracking early on and no attempt was made at an interior attack.  The FD contained the fire to the warehouse-type building, sparing an adjoining shop that had boats, RV’s and propane tanks inside.

All the employees had gone for the day, so there is no early determination on the cause or point of origin.

Posted by on October 28, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,