SUN VALLEY, CA, FEB. 5—When the Los Angeles Fire Department, including its USAR 88 and USAR 89 task forces, encountered a worker who was trapped from the waist down by a several-thousand-pound cement slab in a five-foot-deep trench around a house, the first thing that they did was stabilize the concrete around the individual. Initial use of air bags, hydraulic spreaders and other rescue tools for close to an hour didn’t result in the extrication of the victim. Then, members of Heavy Rescue 3 worked on the other side of the house to knock out a small hole in the substructure. Two chains were wrapped around the slab of concrete to very slowly raise the slab enough to free the man.
Photo by Michael Meadows
ROCHESTER, NY, DEC. 25—A four-alarm fire brought 75 percent of Rochester’s on-duty firefighters to the scene as flames engulfed the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Fire crews were called just before
6 p.m. and found heavy smoke showing. Firefighters called a second-alarm shortly after they arrived and transitioned to a defensive attack when parts of the ceiling began to fall in when members tried to make an interior attack. The fire eventually took possession of the entire roof. The third and fourth alarms also brought firefighters from the Gates Fire District and the Ridge Road Fire District.
Photo by Guy Zampatori
ATTLEBORO, MA, JAN. 8—Companies arrived to find a heavy fire condition that was rapidly extending up throughout a two-and-a-half-story wood frame. Evacuation tones were sounded about 30 minutes into the operation, and a defensive posture was taken as the fire quickly took possession of the attic. The fire occurred in subfreezing temperatures on the day after the area’s first significant snowfall of the season, which made for treacherous footing for Attleboro Fire Department and North Attleborough Fire Department firefighters. Mutual aid from Rhode Island was called for station coverage.
Photo by Edmund Burke
MUNFORD, TN, JAN. 6— Covington Fire Department’s Ladder 1 extended over the front of a church so two firefighters could conduct vertical ventilation from the ladder. Ten of the 11 fire departments that are located in Tipton County responded. Frozen fire hydrants initially hampered efforts, and the building’s complex construction hindered extinguishment efforts. Thirty-six firefighters were on scene. Fire operations were conducted for nearly 18 hours.
Photo by Adam Hursh
Firehouse Staff
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