Ok, I know that it is Sunday (technically Monday now) but I couldn’t go without posting a hotshot for Saturday. Again I give you a video in lieu of a photo. It is hard to find great photos, although I have something coming up on that soon. Look for a new top ten list soon. I have about a dozen of them in the works.
This weeks Saturday hotshot is of a fire in Catasauqua, PA. The really cool thing about this fire is that you have two views of the fire at just about the same time. Check out the videos below (description follows each video).
Great use of 2 1/2″ line for knockdown, 1 3/4″ for maneuverability, and vertical ventilation. It seemed like great Engine work and Truck work going on together!
In the afternoon hours of Sunday August 9,2009 Catty station 2 was hit for the house fire at the corner of 14th and Race sts. Command arrived onscene and quickly struck a second alarm for the well involved first floor. NVP was on of the first camera crews onscene and captured the fire from before the initial attack was made until it was knocked down.
Catasauqua Station 2 was dispatched at 1615 hours to a house fire at 722 Race St. Chief 202 arrived on scene and found heavy fire in a 2 1/2 story S/F/D and signaled a working fire then struck the 2nd alarm. Engine 212 arrived and stretched a line to the front of the building and connected a water-supply at the corner of 14th and Race. Ladder Co. 231 took position on the ‘D’ side of the building on 14th Street and went to the roof to open up. Heavy fire was venting from all the windows on the first floor side ‘D’ and some upper windows.
The bulk of the fire was darkened down on the initial hit from the entry team. Whitehall truck 6 positioned itself in the front of the building.
The second alarm was struck at 1617 hours for North Catasaqua Engine 18, Whitehall Engine 1, Whitehall Engine 2 (R.I.T.) and Coplay Air unit 5. Special- called to the scene was Whitehall Truck 6 and Engine 3 and Han-Le-Co Engine 33.
I have to respectfully disagree…..this was some of the worst firemanship skills I have ever seen. The line management was horrible especially the pulling of the second line….no laddering to the upper floors with the exception of rthe aerial ladder to the roof (but that doesnt help the guys operating on division 2), They obviously didnt overhaul the fire well enough either becuase if flared back up on them and they had 12 guys standing around while 1 used a water can (that was well overmatched).
These guys may be good guys, and this may be a top notch FD but if this is there best then they havea long way to go.
I have to respectfully disagree…..this was some of the worst firemanship skills I have ever seen. The line management was horrible especially the pulling of the second line….no laddering to the upper floors with the exception of rthe aerial ladder to the roof (but that doesnt help the guys operating on division 2), They obviously didnt overhaul the fire well enough either becuase if flared back up on them and they had 12 guys standing around while 1 used a water can (that was well overmatched).
These guys may be good guys, and this may be a top notch FD but if this is there best then they havea long way to go.
Robby O,
Worst, by far. I have seen some very bad firefighting skills.
I will give you the ground ladders, by account of the video there aren’t any. There should be.
As for the fire, it seems as though the fire has a pretty decent hold on the house. You say not enough overhaul. I have been in house fires where we spent way too long on overhaul. Not because we were wasting time, but because we had to get through too many layers of interior wall coverings. The fire was hidden in a lot of spaces. We did what we had to do and it took a lot of guys because of the heat inside and the 90 plus degree day we were having outside.
The water can, yes that was a futile effort and somewhat humorous.
It is hard to keep up with the time because the tape seems cut at times. We lose the timeframe then.
As for the flareup, that is not something you see, or should see, everyday. I remember watching a department burn a house down because they failed to put the fire out in each room they went to. The fire would flare up behind them. I was buffing at the time, not working.
So I will give you a nod at your critique. Valid points. However, it was not the worst.
One thing I have learned about while speaking about fires that I was never at and am “critiquing” via video or photo is that in order to have the full understanding of the fire you have to have either been there or have a keen understanding of the department. Neither of which I possess for this fire.
The Fire Critic
Robby O,
Worst, by far. I have seen some very bad firefighting skills.
I will give you the ground ladders, by account of the video there aren’t any. There should be.
As for the fire, it seems as though the fire has a pretty decent hold on the house. You say not enough overhaul. I have been in house fires where we spent way too long on overhaul. Not because we were wasting time, but because we had to get through too many layers of interior wall coverings. The fire was hidden in a lot of spaces. We did what we had to do and it took a lot of guys because of the heat inside and the 90 plus degree day we were having outside.
The water can, yes that was a futile effort and somewhat humorous.
It is hard to keep up with the time because the tape seems cut at times. We lose the timeframe then.
As for the flareup, that is not something you see, or should see, everyday. I remember watching a department burn a house down because they failed to put the fire out in each room they went to. The fire would flare up behind them. I was buffing at the time, not working.
So I will give you a nod at your critique. Valid points. However, it was not the worst.
One thing I have learned about while speaking about fires that I was never at and am “critiquing” via video or photo is that in order to have the full understanding of the fire you have to have either been there or have a keen understanding of the department. Neither of which I possess for this fire.
The Fire Critic