On February 10, 2003, a 911 call came in for a house fire in Braintree, Massachusetts.
When the first team arrived, heavy smoke was showing, and the 2nd alarm was immediately struck. The fire was started in the basement. Firefighters were in the basement for awhile, but they were already using the 2nd air pack. The basement was partitioned in a way that prevented the firefighters from locating the seat of the fire.
The Deputy felt it was too dangerous for the firefighters to stay there any longer, and made the life-saving decision to evacuate all the firefighters by radio call and sounding the air horn.
Less than a minute after the last firefighter was evacuated, the blaze traveled to the 1st floor. A minute later, the entire 1st floor was fully involved.
When the 3rd alarm was struck, a number of our off duty brothers went and got their gear and returned to help. Only a moment later, 30 to 40 foot high flames shot through the roof.
The only option was to attack the fire from the outside. The Boston and Quincy Fire Departments were there to provide extra manpower. About 2 hours later, the blaze was finally under control. One of the Braintree firefighters saved the house cat, which was trapped inside the burning building. The next morning, a few hot spots developed. Braintree Fire Ladder 2's returned to the scene and doused the hot spots. No injures were reported.
