It can happen anywhere, any time

    June 22, 2011
    Early View Oswego Plane Down Tony Mc Coy jpg 10459473
    Last week, firefighters in a number of departments around Aurora, Illinois, faced an extremely unusual situation. Arriving on a dramatic scene that could have been straight out of an airfield in England in World War II, they faced a burning, restored B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that had landed in a farm field shortly after take off from the Aurora Municipal Airport, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
    The Liberty Belle, one of only about 10 remaining flying examples of the aircraft out of 12,731 built, developed a fire in an engine, causing the pilot to turn back to the airport and then deciding to set the plane down in an unplowed field.
    First arriving units found the plane intact, with the fire spreading, located about 3,000 feet from the nearest road. Mutual aid was immediately requested for additional brush units. This heads-up move proved worthwhile as two of the responding brush rigs got stuck in the wet field.
    Luckily, the seven crew members and passengers escaped without injury, and were outside the plane when first units arrived. 
    While this type of incident is extremely rare, it should make us think about how we would handle something entirely out of the ordinary. For example, while the available brush units had relatively small water tanks, the use of on-board Class-A foam helped in knocking down the flames. Large rigs could not successfully negotiate the outlying areas muddy field so the lack of big rigs was made up with multiple smaller ones. 
    The next day, the Oswego Fire Protection District returned to the scene with their hydraulic rescue tools to assist workers in disassembling the plane so it could be removed. Even with the extensive center section airframe damage, there were quite a few salvageable components according to officials.
    While most unusual, this incident would be a good subject for a kitchen table drill—what would your department have done to handle the situation? 

    Photo by Tony McCoy

    About the Author

    Capt. Dave Fornell

    Captain David P. Fornell is active as a line officer in the Casstown Community Fire Department, Casstown, OH, protecting 88 square miles of rural area in and around Casstown, Ohio. He formerly held the rank of Captain of the Beckerle & Company, Hose Company, Engine #9 of the Danbury, Connecticut fire department protecting a busy city of 85,000, and was the full time Chief of the Westchester, Illinois fire department, a suburb of Chicago. He started his career as a firefighter in the Addison, IL Fire Department, located about 20 miles west of Chicago. Capt. Fornell is a certified fire service instructor specializing in engine company operations, company officer development and fire ground safety courses and he holds the rank of Honorary Battalion Chief of the FDNY. He is the author of "FIRE STREAM MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK" along with an accompanying training video published by Fire Engineering Books and Videos, and served seven years as the Executive Editor of FIRE APPARATUS magazine. Capt. Fornell has written articles for FIRE ENGINEERING and FIREHOUSE magazines in the U.S., FIRE AND RESCUE and MILITARY FIREFIGHTER in the United Kingdom. He has hosted the rural water supply, engine company operations and line officer training segments of "THE FIRST LINE SUPERVISOR" for the FETN television network.

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