HOUSTON, TX, AUG. 20, 2014 – Houston Fire Department Engine 83 was first in and is shown pumping on hoselines at a fire involving a large, two-story house. One woman died in the mid-morning blaze, which occurred inside the gated Royal Oaks subdivision in West Houston. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Photo by Tom McDonald
PATERSON, NJ, AUG. 27, 2014 – A fourth alarm was required to control a fire that tore through a large wood-frame church. Units were initially dispatched for an activated fire alarm at The Central Baptist Church. The first-alarm assignment was filled out on arrival of the first chief. The church was occupied at the time of the alarm. A second alarm was sounded as an interior attack was attempted, but members were withdrawn. The roof began to collapse and a third alarm was transmitted. A tower ladder and a ladder pipe were quickly put into operation as well as several handlines. Exposures were protected on each side. They were 2½-story frames with little separation from the fire building. A large amount of embers were emanating from the church roof and an engine was assigned to brand control. A fourth alarm was requested, bringing Little Falls, North Haledon and Saddle Brook. Flames worked to the front of the church and soon involved the steeple, which eventually collapsed.
Photo by Bill Tompkins/BTFirephotos.com
CHICAGO, IL, AUG. 29, 2014 – A 3-11 alarm fire ripped through a three-story commercial building. The fire was thought to have started in the basement and spread up stairs. A heavy smoke condition existed. An interior attack was attempted, but conditions were such it was abandoned. The fire had quickly spread throughout the entire building. The fire threatened several exposures. An outside attack with two tower ladders, two snorkels, the deluge rig and numerous handlines were used.
Photo by Steve Redick
DETROIT MI, JULY 30, 2014 – Companies from the 7th Battalion responded to the report of a vacant dwelling fire. While enroute, Engine 27 reported heavy smoke on the horizon. Chief 7 requested Central to dispatch an additional company for a rapid intervention team and that companies would be going to work. Arriving on the scene, Engine 27 reported a dwelling fire in the rear and it appeared to be extending to the dwelling on the B side of the occupied fire building. Chief 7 ordered companies into the occupied dwelling to check for extension and for a line to be placed in between the buildings to reduce the risk for extension. Crews knocked down the bulk of the fire quickly in the first dwelling, but the fire had extended to the dwellings on both sides of the original fire building. It took five engines, one truck, two squads and a chief over two hours to bring the fire under control.
Photo by Jason Frattini
