A four-alarm fire destroyed a three-story commercial building located in downtown Salem, OR, on Aug. 10, 2006. Because of heavy smoke, firefighters had to use a thermal imaging camera to find the seat of the fire on the first floor. While attempting to extinguish the fire, firefighters discovered that the basement was also was involved. When interior crews reported encountering worsening visibility and rapidly increasing heat and fire, command applied a risk-vs.-benefit analysis to determine that the interior attack was too risky. The building was evacuated and defensive operations were established.
The 36,876-square-foot concrete structure was built with a flat, mopped-tar-over-wood frame roof in about 1940. The building also contained a full basement. Two months before the fire, company officials announced that the business would be closed by the end of 2006. (This was not the first fire to strike this downtown block. On April 17, 1865, a fire that started in Plamondon's Saloon spread quickly, destroying Salem's theater and several other wooden buildings in Griswold's Block.)
The Salem Fire Department was dispatched to a reported alarm sounding at McMahan's Furniture and Appliances at 260 State St. at 7:53 A.M. Engine 1 responded with three firefighters and Captain Larry Dean. Subsequent calls from the business informed Willamette Valley Communications Center operators of a fire in the structure and that all employees were exiting. After receiving the updated information, Dean requested a full first-alarm assignment while still enroute. Engines 4 and 6 and Ladder 4 responded at 7:58 with 10 firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Bob Davis.
First-arriving firefighters found heavy smoke pouring from the building. Dean established command and immediately requested a second alarm. Engine 1 was supplied by a five-inch line from a hydrant. Responding on the second alarm were Engines 3 and 10, Air 1 and Battalion Chief Steven Berkson.
Alerted to the fire by fire alarms, the two store employees who had already evacuated the building advised firefighters that no one else was inside. Dean requested a third alarm at 7:59 while the first- and second-alarm units were still responding. Dispatched on the third alarm were Engines 7 and 8 and Ladder 2 with 10 firefighters. This also initiated callback procedures for chief officers and other department personnel. Fire Chief Mike Knode, Deputy Chief of Operations Mike Niblock, Deputy Chief of Fire and Life Safety Joe Parrott, Division Chief of Safety and Technical Reed Godfrey and several fire marshals responded to the scene from Fire Station 1. Training Chief Bob Snee responded to Fire Station 1 and assumed Battalion Chief 1 duties to cover the rest of the city. Because of the time of day, off-going B-shift firefighters responded to the recall.
Engine 4 was positioned at the B-C corner of the building and Engine 6 laid 200 feet of five-inch supply line down the alley on side C to Engine 4. Engine 6 then laid a five-inch supply line to Ladder 2 from a hydrant at State and Front streets. Upon arrival at 8:03, Davis met with Dean to exchange information and devise a quick strategy. At 8:13, command was transferred to Davis. He special-called additional resources from the Keizer Fire District, which responded with Engine 358 and Ladder 355. Automatic mutual aid agreements brought equipment and manpower from Polk Fire District 1, the Turner Fire District and Marion County Fire District 1 to man Salem fire stations. Squad 304, a student-staffed engine from Chemeketa Community College, responded to the scene.
Engine 2 laid a five-inch supply line from a hydrant at State and Commercial streets to Ladder 4. Engine 2's manpower was assigned to assist the attack crews with additional lines. Two crews initiated an interior attack in the smoke-filled building. Engine 2 Captain Pat Caprino took the crew from Engine 1 and made entry into the A side of the building with two 1¾-inch attack lines from Engine 1.
Using a thermal imaging camera because of the thick smoke, firefighters found fire on the first floor. While attempting to extinguish the fire, they discovered that the basement was also involved. Exterior crews from Ladders 2 and 4 performed horizontal and vertical ventilation via aerial platform operations. Interior crews advised command of deteriorating visibility and a rapidly increasing amount of heat and fire. Davis quickly determined that an interior attack posed an unacceptable risk to firefighters and was unlikely to succeed. Davis ordered firefighters to evacuate the building via an emergency radio procedure at 8:25. A personnel accountability report (PAR) was taken, and all fire department personnel were accounted for. Defensive operations were established with ground and aerial master streams and large handlines. Engine 1 placed a ground monitor into operation on the A side supplied by two 50-foot 2½-inch hoselines. Ladders 2 and 4 placed their 1,000-gpm aerial master streams into operation on the D side at the A and C corners of the building.
Davis, in consultation with Knode and Niblock, determined that the fire load was too great and the fire was too advanced for direct extinguishment. Master streams were repositioned to protect the exposures and main structural members of the fire building. The second and third floors were horizontally ventilated by the two aerial devices on the D side, pulling heat away from the B and C sides in an effort to maintain stability of the B and C exterior walls. The B-side (south) wall was thought to share an non-reinforced masonry wall with an adjoining clothing store. Side C faced an alley, and a collapse would seriously damage or destroy existing businesses on the west side of the building.
Davis requested a fourth alarm at 8:57 A.M. Salem Engines 7 and 13 and Marion County Fire District 1 Ladder 314 responded to the staging area. Their manpower was used to relieve firefighting crews. Davis declared the fire under control at 10:13 A.M. All mutual aid units had been released by 11:49. In an effort to ensure a chain of custody for the investigation, the last Salem unit left the scene at 11:26 A.M. on Aug. 14. Sixty-five firefighters operated six pumpers; two aerial platforms; one aerial ladder; two deck guns; three ground monitors and six handlines to fight the fire. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. After structural shoring and the removal of air conditioning units from the weakened roof, fire investigators were able to safely enter the building on Aug. 15. An investigation was undertaken by the Salem Fire Department Fire and Life Safety Division and the Salem Police Department. Damage was estimated at $4 million to the building and contents.
SALEM FIRE DEPARTMENT
Chief Mike Knode Personnel: 156 career firefighters Apparatus: 10 pumpers, two aerials, two reserve pumpers, four medic units, three brush engines, two tenders, one regional hazmat response unit, one ARFF response vehicle, one SCBA support unit, one rescue boat Population: 141,150 city/7,000 contract area Department response area: 77 square miles Ambulance Response Area: 110 square milesJAY K. BRADISH/IFPA, Firehouse news editor, is a former captain in the Bradford Township, PA, Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter and fire photographer for more than 25 years.
