Firefighting is, in some respects, like being a member of a professional football team. There is a team on the field (firefighters) lead by a quarterback (interior officer). There’s the coach and assistant coaches leading (incident commander and division command/supervisors). All have drilled, trained and practiced together, pre-season and during the season, with hopes to keep training, fighting and winning. Then, after numerous times operating as a team, they may get a chance to play in the Super Bowl.
In football, it's a game where the teams have the opportunity to take everything they have trained for and put to it the test for a win—and only one of the teams will win. In the fire service, it’s “that” fire—the one we practice and drill for with hopes of a win. But while football is a “fair” game, firefighting isn't a game, and sometimes no matter how good the team, the results aren't what we practiced for. Another key: In football, they know when the Super Bowl is coming; in the fire service, it may very well be the next time your tones are activated.
This month, the team is the Raytown Fire Protection District, located outside Kansas City, MO. On Feb. 7, this well-trained team was dispatched to a fire that would ultimately result in the deaths of a 59-year-old grandmother and her 4-year-old grandchild, but the saving of an 18-month-old child. After their hoseline burned through, the Raytown firefighters became trapped while searching. In spite of the broken line, the firefighters rescued the family members, breaking out a window and handing the 18-month-old child to a firefighter on a ladder. Other firefighters then helped the trapped firefighters and other apartment residents escape.
Incident overview
On Feb. 7, 2016, at approximately 0220 hrs, Raytown Fire, Kansas City Fire, Raytown Police and Raytown EMS were dispatched for a reported apartment fire at 9811-9813 East 60th St. in Raytown.
Raytown police arrived on scene first and were met by numerous occupants in the front of the building. Smoke was coming from the building, but there wasn’t any visible fire. Some of the occupants were saying that family members were still trapped inside the building. Raytown Pumper 51 arrived on scene shortly after Raytown police. As they stepped off of the truck, the crew was also met with pleas to rescue their trapped family members.
The building contained 11 apartments on three floors. As you enter the front door at street level, you can go down a half flight of stairs to the first floor or up a half flight of stairs to the second floor. There is another landing between the second and third floor. An identical staircase is present at the end of a hallway that runs the length of the building on each floor.
Pumper 51 crew pulled a 1 ¾-inch hoseline from their apparatus and advanced it to the front door of the building. As they entered the front door, Pumper 51 crew could hear a woman (the grandmother) screaming for help down the hallway of the second floor. Smoke and heat were coming up the stairwell from the first floor. The crew dragged their hoseline up to the second floor and down the hallway toward the cries for help. As they moved down the hallway, they also began to hear a baby crying. The heavy smoke conditions forced the crew to advance by feeling their way along. The captain on the crew was able to see ahead of them using his thermal imaging camera.
Search and rescue
As the crew approached the end of the hall at the south end of the building, they encountered more smoke and heat coming from below them up the rear stairs. The cries for help were above them on the stairs between the second and third floor. Captain Andy Finkelstein of Pumper 51 ordered one firefighter to stay at the bottom of the stairs and use his hoseline to spray water down the stairs to the first floor to protect the other two firefighters. The cries for help were urgent and now interrupted by coughing.
The captain and the other firefighter moved up the stairs and found an adult female just below the third floor. They also found a small child on the landing between the second and third floors. The firefighter picked up the child, and they moved up the stairs to help the woman. At that instant, everything changed. The third firefighter, the one protecting the stairs, suddenly lost pressure on his hose. With the protective water spray gone, heavy smoke and heat rushed up the stairwell. The heat pushed him back, forcing him to the floor. He was now separated from the rest of his team by a wall of heat and fire. He was forced to retreat back toward the front door by feeling his way along the deployed hose, something we’re all taught to do when we can’t see during a fire.
Difficult choices
At the same time, the captain on the stairs was faced with a difficult choice. He had lost contact with his other firefighter. As the heat and smoke rapidly billowed up the staircase, he knew that anyone without protective equipment wouldn’t survive. He briefly struggled to drag the woman, but realized that she was too heavy for him to move on his own. He directed his other firefighter, the one holding the baby, to ascend to the third floor and move back toward the front of the building. They approached the north stairs with the intention of descending them to the front door. As he looked through his thermal camera, the captain saw temperatures of 800 degrees F coming up the north stairs. The smoke and heat were heavy, and visibility was minimal. Realizing that this stairwell wasn’t an option, he and the firefighter went into the third-floor apartment that faced the front of the building. They called a mayday on the radio and broke out the front window of the apartment, yelling for someone to bring a ladder.
The separated firefighter made his way back along the hose and found that it had burned into two pieces. Water was still flowing from the ruptured hose. He didn’t know what else to do but wanted to suppress the fire to protect his other crewmembers. With this thought in mind, he dragged the hose back to the south stairs and used it to pour water on the fire.
Additional companies arrive
As these events were occurring, more fire companies were arriving on scene along with ambulances from Raytown EMS and the Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD). Pumper 52, the other Raytown fire unit, arrived and the crew pulled an additional hoseline. KCFD Truck 13 arrived and positioned near the front of the building. As Pumper 52 advanced to the front door, the crew from KCFD Truck 13 grabbed a ground ladder and placed it against the front of the building under the window broken out by the crew of Pumper 51. A firefighter from KCFD Truck 13 climbed the ladder and took the child from the crew of Pumper 51. The child was handed off to Raytown EMS unit 302, which transported him to Research Medical Center. He was subsequently transferred to Children’s Mercy in critical condition.
Personnel from the second-due Pumper 52 crew entered the front door and saw a wall of fire. They used their hoseline to put the fire out in the front entry and held it back, down into the first-floor hallway. They continued to advance and made their way to the end of the hall. The crew could see that fire was coming from the last room on the right (the laundry room), but they didn’t have enough hose to go into the room. Their efforts allowed the firefighter trapped on the second floor to retreat out the front door. He re-entered the building with KCFD crews, which were advancing a third line down the second floor hallway.
The suppression efforts of Pumper 52’s hose allowed other personnel from KCFD Truck 13 to go up the front stairs to the third floor apartment where the Pumper 51 crew was preparing to climb out the window. After making contact with Pumper 51’s crew, the Raytown and KCFD crews came down the front stairs.
In the confusion and low visibility, the captain and firefighter of Pumper 51 became separated on the way out. Both were with KCFD firefighters. The captain from Pumper 51 exited the front door and found that his firefighter wasn’t with him. He re-entered the building to find his third firefighter. The crew from Pumper 51 converged with KCFD crews, which had found the female victim left earlier by the crew of Pumper 51. She was now unconscious and unresponsive. Crews from Raytown and KCFD worked together to bring her out of the building, and she was transported in critical condition by a waiting KCFD ambulance.
With two hoselines now suppressing the fire, Raytown and KCFD personnel were able to search the rest of the building for victims. Personnel from KCFD Truck 11 located a third victim just inside the door of apartment 10, located on the third floor in the southwest corner of the building.
Rescues complete
While the search of the building was being completed, personnel outside noticed that fire had reached the attic of the building. After the search for occupants was completed, it was decided that conditions inside the building were too dangerous to continue interior firefighting operations. All firefighting personnel were ordered to vacate. A KCFD aerial and external hoselines were used to put out the fire.
By this time, management personnel from Raytown Fire met with Raytown Police, Red Cross and the apartment manager to determine who occupied the building and whether everyone was accounted for. An occupant list was generated, and police made contact with all occupants. They were able to account for everyone in the building.
Investigation
Because this was a fatality fire in a large building with significant damage to the structure, the state fire marshal was contacted to assist with the fire investigation. Personnel from the fire marshal’s office were on scene within two hours of being contacted. They worked with investigators from Raytown Fire to begin the preliminary investigation process. It was obvious from the damage to the structure that the investigation would pose logistical and safety challenges. The state fire marshal suggested that the ATF be contacted to assist, as they have access to resources and funds not available at the local or state level. After the ATF arrived on scene, they decided to activate their National Response Team. This activation brought in fire investigators, chemists and engineers from around the country.
After a week-long investigation, it was determined that the fire started in a trash can in the laundry room. Investigators were not able to identify the ignition source.
Next month
Next time we’ll get the perspective of Fire Chief Matt Mace, and I’ll provide an incident review with lessons learned.
Our sincere appreciation to Chief Matt Mace and the board, officers and members of the Raytown FPD. Additionally, thanks to the departments that responded through mutual aid, as well as police and EMS for their contribution.
Sidebar: The Captain’s Point of View
Following is an excerpt from the incident details provided by Captain Andy Finkelstein, Pumper 51.
At 0221 hrs on Feb. 7, 2016, the silence of the firehouse was pierced by the robotic voice of the station alerting system, “Pumper,” “Battalion Chief,” followed by a long tone and the dispatcher’s voice: “Car 105, Car 51, Medic 39, Pumper 39, Pumper 51, Pumper 52, Rescue 9, Truck 3, 9811 correction truck 13, 9811 East 60th Street on an apartment fire TAC 5.” The dispatcher repeats the information, and a few minutes later adds Truck 8 to the call based on additional information from the call-taker.
My crew, Pumper 51, is out the door in less than 2 minutes, and from the station’s apron across a large railroad culvert and through a tree line, I could see the apartment building. I did not see any fire venting from the structure, and any smoke is obscured by darkness. The dispatcher on TAC 5 advises that the fire is reported to be in the basement laundry room and all residents are evacuating the building.
Pumper 51 arrived on the scene of a three-story garden-style apartment with heavy smoke pushing out the front or north door (Side A) with a 15-mph wind from the south (Side C) with gusts to 25 mph. I requested a working fire response. Car 51, our battalion chief, was right behind us and established 60th Street Command.
Working fire with people trapped
Other than having an apparent working fire, the scene was already chaotic. While my crew grabbed tools and a hoseline, the driver set up the pump and caught the plug. The police who had arrived on the scene prior to us were involved in a heated exchange with residents. The residents were shouting that they still had family inside. Command and I tried to get a solid number of how many persons were trapped and their location. We were told there were at least two children and one adult still inside on the second floor. Command advised dispatch that we were making entry for a search of persons trapped.
My crew and I made entry through the north (Side A) door where we found a split stairwell. Visibility was zero all the way to the floor, the heat was mild to moderate, and the cries for help from a woman and a crying baby cut through the smoke. We advanced up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallway toward to south (Side C) stairwell. There was nothing on the TIC, no bodies, just heat at the south stairwell. The cries were getting louder and louder as we advanced. As we reached the south (Side C) stairwell, I observed flames licking up the open style staircase from the first floor. The flames were pulsating up the stairs and receding again and again. The cries for help turned our attention to the third floor. Command reported fire out two windows on Side C on the first floor (the laundry room windows). The stairwell door on Side C was also open.
I dropped my firefighter at the stairwell on the second floor and told him to protect our egress. I took my other firefighter and we ascended the stairs to the landing between the second and third floors. We found our first victim, a woman, on the second set of stairs to the third floor from the landing. She told us there was at child at her feet somewhere. My firefighter found the child balled up in the corner on the landing and scooped him up. His cries turned to coughing and then he became quiet. As I attended to the woman and tried to assist her down the stairs, I was unaware that she had a disability and was extremely overweight.
Then the unthinkable happened
Unbeknownst to us at the time, the fire was being held at bay by the laundry room door, a hollow core door. The door failed, sending a column of fire that filled the entire stairwell up to the landing where we were standing. Our egress was cut off and I was unable to communicate with my nozzleman. My heart sank; I thought I had lost him, as he was protecting the stairs and protecting us. I called out for more lines on the radio, not knowing whether we had back up on the scene (they weren’t there yet). My calls went unanswered on the radio. We were taking a beating from the fire and forced to move to the third floor. My firefighter had the baby, and I was trying to pull the woman up the stairs. She was still talking to me, but she had given up; she kept saying she can’t. I needed to get her up to the hallway and drag her to a safe location. Her skin started burning, as the flames licked at her skin and the fire continued its advance unfettered to the third floor.
Decisions in horrific conditions
The conditions were untenable. Even in gear I could feel an unbearable heat on my skin and the air in my bottle normally cool had become so hot, each breath was stifling and painful. I was faced with the most difficult decision I have ever made in 5 years as a captain or 25 years as a firefighter. I thought I had already lost one firefighter and that I may lose the rest of my crew plus the victim that I knew we could save, so I made the decision to leave her behind, as my attempts to rescue a 300–350-pound woman by myself were futile at best.
My firefighter with the baby and I advanced back to the north stairwell, where we were met with the same kind of heat we had just left. The TIC indicated 800 degrees F in the north stairwell. I could only assume that the fire had been pushed by the wind to the north stairwell and that an inferno awaited us if we descended. I made the decision to protect in place in a nearby apartment.
Mayday transmitted
We entered the apartment and closed the door behind us, my TIC was useless at this point, and soot was caked on it as well as my mask, and I wasn’t able to clean it or make out any images. I called a mayday while I felt for an outside wall and located some windows. My call for a mayday went unanswered; I was on the wrong frequency and didn’t know it. I punched out the windows by hand because we had dropped our tools to effect rescue and the fire summarily claimed them. I hung out the window signaling and calling for a ladder. A ladder was thrown and the baby was passed to an awaiting firefighter. My firefighter and I were trying to knock out the window sash to escape ourselves when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice from the blackness saying, “Come on brother, we got you. Take the stairs, they’re clear now.”
My firefighter and I headed to the stairs, and in all the commotion, my firefighter latched on to another firefighter thinking it was me. They were headed back to rescue the woman we had to leave behind now that suppression efforts were in full swing. I thought she was right behind me when I exited; at least someone was right behind me. As I exited, I saw my nozzleman standing by my battalion chief, I smiled at him and returned the smile with a kind of understanding that we had both just been through the ringer and survived. I told my BC he could clear the mayday and his reply caught me off guard: “Where is your other firefighter?” As I was telling him, “Right behind me,” I looked over my shoulder to find an empty space. I looked at my nozzleman and asked if he was good, which he was. We headed back in to find our sister, who was on the second floor with other firefighters trying to pull the woman out. We assisted with the woman’s removal to an EMS crew that was standing by outside.
The timeline
To give you an idea of how fast this progressed, from the time we made entry to the time we were in a mayday was less than 3 minutes. My nozzleman was forced to the floor due to the excessive heat and sustained second-degree burns. The hoseline burned completely through at the north stairwell when the blow torch effect from the wind sent a wall of flame down the first floor hallway and up the north stairs. He ran down that stairwell through the flames to give a mayday face to face with command because he had been separated from his crew.
Sidebar: About the Raytown Fire Protection District
The Raytown Fire Protection District, which covers nearly 10 square miles, has been providing emergency services to the residents of the Raytown area since 1945, with 2015 marking its 70th anniversary. The department provides fire and rescue services, with 33 commissioned personnel staffing two stations and a pumper company at each station. A battalion chief provides oversight on each shift. The district transitioned from combination to career in 2003. In 2015, the district responded to 4,386 incidents. The district also has an automatic-aid agreement with the KCFD.
