Drums of Oil, Propane Make Pa. Firefight Difficult
Source The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pa.
Jan. 31--Patrolman Terry Williams came upon a scary scene when he was dispatched to a fire Thursday afternoon at the R.L. Livingston Excavating company outside Dillsburg.
First to arrive, the Carroll Township police officer said he heard three to four explosions inside the company workshop located just off Old York Road.
"It was totally involved," Williams said, describing the fire that injured an employee and a Franklintown area firefighter. Reports from the scene indicate both men were transported to area hospitals for head injuries.
Public Information Officer William Turner could not confirm reports of explosions, only that the employee was in the building working and was hurt after the fire started around 3:30 p.m.
"He is at the Hershey Medical Center," Turner told reporters. "I do not have his name. I do not know how or the extent of
the injuries."
The firefighter was injured after part of the building fell on his head, Turner said. "He was wearing protective gear and was not severely injured. He is under observation at Holy Spirit Hospital."
Second alarm
The fire went to a second alarm out of concern over whether there would be enough volunteer manpower to handle a call that came in on a weekday afternoon, Turner said.
Emergency units from Cumberland, Adams and York counties arrived on scene and parked along Old York Road, which was closed for hours from Blair Mountain Road to Chestnut Grove Road.
Eric Milne of the Lake Meade Fire and Rescue Co. was on scene. He said there was a lot of oil in the workshop, which made it difficult to fight the fire.
Milne added there were two 55-gallon drums of oil inside the building along with two 450-gallon propane tanks on the side of the building.
Turner could not confirm or deny this report, but said that York County Hazmat was on the scene to determine what chemicals were involved in the fire, what chemicals remained in the building and what clean-up measures would be required. Turner added a fire marshal will investigate the cause.
Milne estimated about 100 firefighters were on the scene. Since the area had no hydrants, firefighters used tanker trucks to haul water from a nearby pond to portable supply pools set up on Old York Road.
For hours, the volunteers braved bitter wind chills and occasional snow flurries. "The wind was not helping," Milne said. "It was fanning the flames."
Firefighters were able to keep the fire contained to one building, Turner said. While the workshop was located off Old York Road, the company office has a driveway fronting Blair Mountain Road.
None of the employees would comment.
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Posted earlier on Cumberlink:
Two 55-gallon drums of oil inside the building and two 450-gallon propane tanks on the side of the building is making fighting the Dillsburg area building fire difficult for firefighters.
Eric Milne of Lake Meade Fire Co. based in East Berlin, is on the scene of the Carroll Township fire at RL Livingston Excavating Thursday. Milne said there is a lot of oil in the building, which makes it difficult to fight the fire.
In addition to those dangers, the wind is also fanning the flames. Milne estimates about 100 firefighters are on the scene.
He said there was confusion when he first arrived because so many companies were responding, and they had to figure out how to stage the fire fight.
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Posted earlier on Cumberlink:
An employee and a firefighter were transported to the hospital after a fire at RL Livingston Excavating in Carroll Township Thursday afternoon.
Reports from the scene indicate both of the people suffer from head injuries. The firefighter suffered his injury from the partial collapse of the building at 1 Blair Mountain Road. Officials say the firefighter's injury is minor, and he was wearing a protective helmet.
Carroll Township Patrolman Terry Williams was the first to arrive at the scene and said upon arrival, he heard three to four explosions inside the building. The building was totally engulfed.
At least one home was evacuated, and there were many fire crews on the scene, including those from Monroe, New Kingstown and Upper Allen.
There were no hydrants near the building, so crews were forced to get their tankers to nearby streams and creeks to get the water they needed to fight the fire.
Officials said at 5:30 p.m. Old York Road from Blair Mountain Road and Chestnut Grove Road will be closed for the next six hours.
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Posted earlier on Cumberlink:
ABC27 tweeted the following at 4:29 p.m.: "Nearby business said the explosion shook their windows."
Posted earlier on Cumberlink:
ABC27 tweeted at 4:25 p.m. that York County 911 says there has been at least one explosion at the fire on Blair Mountain Road and there are injuries.
The York Daily Record reports that one person has been transported to Hershey Medical Center, and scanner reports say several ambulances are leaving the scene and heading to York hospitals.
Posted at 4:15 p.m. on Cumberlink:
Emergency crews have been called to the scene of a fire at Livingston Excavating & Paving Company just outside Dillsburg in York County at 4 p.m.
The building is located at 1 Blair Mountain Road in Carroll Township. Scanner reports said people were trapped in the building. The York Daily Record is reporting a possible septic explosion.
A reporter and Photographer are en route to the scene. Check back to Cumberlink for details as they become available.
Copyright 2013 - The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pa.
