First working fire

[meanfreepath]

Shortly after 6 pm, Company 14 was dispatched for a building fire. I was on Engine 14-2, which was first to arrive on location, finding heavy fire showing from a front porch. We pulled an 1 3/4'' preconnect and knocked down the fire in seconds. Afterwards, we performed overhaul, checking for extension, and ended up wetting things down with a booster line. I assisted with ventilation efforts in the rear of the structure after the fire was knocked down. I had some trouble with an adapter situation (normal FD cord reels are 120 V but do not use the same outlet as ordinary appliances) but got that resolved; the bulk of the horizontal ventilation ended up being done by the gas PPV from Tower 14. Ambulance 14-7 (including msarcher) provided fire rehab, which was absolutely neccesary in the torrid heat and humidity (thanks for the water!). Other fire units on scene included 14-1, Tower 14, 13-1, 13-2 (Rutledge), 11-1 (Morton), and Tower 44 (Springfield). We were back at Station 14 within an hour or so. Damage to the structure was minimal, and fortunately there were no firefighter or civilian injuries.

The cause of the fire was an amazingly brilliant attempt by the residents of the structure to have a barbecue on an enclosed front porch; the grill was what started the blaze.

It's been a busy night for Company 14; not too long after returning from the building fire we got dispatched again, this time for a fallen tree that tore down power lines and landed on some cars. Again, no injuries there, but hopefully PECO has arrived by now as the entire block had lost power.

I'm still excited from the fire... the amount of adrenaline that gets going when you see the flames is really something. My initial reaction upon arrival was a stunned "Oh my gosh, this is actually a fire." So many of our calls are not serious that this fire, albeit a small one that, in the words of one of the officers, "we could have put out had we all had full bladders," was eye-opening. Besides, they say that a rookie firefighter never forgets his first working job...

Comments

[god-of-belac.livejournal.com]

Wow! Go you!

[gerbilicious85.livejournal.com]

Well done!

Cheezewhizz, every grill comes with a warning label not to grill indoors, there are countless attempts to educate people about grilling indoors, I at a young age somehow learned about this danger even apart from using common sense, how to people still not know? Was it enclosed by a screen? Maybe that made it seem "outdoors" enough? I guess they've gotten rid of that little hypothesis now!

[meanfreepath.livejournal.com]

Yeah... the porch was enclosed by a screen. I am quite sure that the residents have learned an unforgettable lesson.

[ibisinashes.livejournal.com]

A family friend had a barbecuing incident on his unenclosed porch. Fortunately, the only casualties were the chicken he'd been grilling and his new antenna. People are dumb (all of us included), but there are some things people should just know better than to do.

[nightengalesknd.livejournal.com]

Kudos to you for being useful at your first real fire.

Anti-kudos to the people who decided to barbeque on an enclosed porch.