Firefighter Corey Shaw was killed in a collapse at a multi-alarm fire Friday morning. The fire occured at an antique mall which spread to the Opera House next door. Corey, 22, was killed when operating on a ladder and a wall collapsed on him.
The fire consumed the Pinckneyville Antique Mall and the Kunz Opera House.
Fireground audio is below from the deadly Tabernacle of Praise Church fire in Muncie, Indiana. The fire took the life of Firefighter Scott Davis.
The fire was quickly made a 2nd alarm. After that you can hear something about firefighters taking in an 1 3/4″ line. Water was an issue as they had several tankers respond.
A homeowner near the Church advised that units could draft out of his pond.
At 6 minutes in, there is talk about backing out because they don’t have water supply set up….and then there is radio traffic about needing EMS because they have a firefighter trapped and not out of the building yet.
The following is the funeral information for our fallen Brother from Muncie FD, IAFF L-1348,Firefighter Scott Davis.
Visitation: Monday June 20th from 3-8 PM and Tuesday, June 21st from 10-11 AM at the Horizon Convention Center (401 South High Street Muncie, IN 47305-2328)
Funeral: Tuesday, June 21st at 11AM at the Horizon Convention center, followed by burial at Elm Ridge Cemetery.
Lt. Mark Greenburg of the Muncie FD will be in charge of the Honor Guard. You may contact Mark at (765) 730-9577 if you have members that wish to stand honor guard, act as ushers or be utilized any way Lt. Greenburg determines.
Update: Firefighter Scott Davis has been identified as the firefighter who died battling the Church Fire today. Davis was 40 years old and a father of of three children. He was also a former Yorktown Fire Chief.
A Muncie, Indiana Firefighter was killed today battling a church fire at the Tabernacle of Praise Church . Details are still coming in as to what exactly happened.
What we do know is that a firefighter has been killed. It is another sad day in the fire service.
In the 4th video, near the beginning, you can tell there are firefighters inside by the hose stream being sprayed up and out from the interior. You can also see what seems to be one firefighter exiting the structure by jumping through a window just after. This is about the same time that the roof collapses even more.
Images of the scene can be seen here. One includes the firefighter jumping out of the window. LINK HERE
Photo by Chris Bergin / The Star Press as seen on TheIndyChannel.com
The video series below is from the scene of the fire that began around 4pm today.
A report is about to be published on a three alarm apartment fire that injured 7 firefighters in Coatesville, PA.
We almost lost 7 firefighters that day. Luckily, they escaped with injuries only and no one died. This could have been a bigger tragedy than it was.
An article on the fire and upcoming report is blaming Incident Command, lack of communication, lack of doing a 360, and freelancing among other things that culminated with 7 firefighters injured. Some of those firefighters jumped from the second or third floor balconies.
In addition, firefighters had to go back in to search for a missing firefighter. That firefighter was later found safe at home after he simply left the scene. What the hell is up with that?
Investigators found that Coatesville Fire Bureau Chief Kevin Johnson and other leaders failed their duties during the Sept. 10, 2010, fire at Millview in the 1800 block of Saginaw Drive. More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze that caused roughly $1.5 million in damage to the 28-unit apartment building. Read the entire article here
The article later states:
“The false assumption of the exact location of the fire being the third floor caused others on the interior to also bypass the uncontrolled fire burning in the second-floor apartment,” the report states. “Responders’ reports and interviews indicated that everyone in the fire building was working for themselves. Read the entire article here
As I mentioned in the title, this could have very easily been a dark day for the fire service. We almost lost 7 firefighters that day and potentially more. Luckily, all lives were spared. However, some of the injured are still recovering.
One of the firefighters, Deputy Chief Pacana is also a firefighter in DC. He has been unable to return to work due to a hurt leg.
Lentz, the local union president for the city’s paid firefighters — the International Association of Fire Fighters — said in a prepared statement Monday that the Coatesville Fire Department has been working with administrators to update the department’s manual of Standard Operating Guidelines and an updated manual was finished April 4. Read the entire article here
Two firefighters died after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 alarm fire at an abandoned South Side commercial building this morning, authorities said. Fourteen other firefighters were injured, including two who were trapped with the ones who died.
Police squad cars escorted two ambulances north on Lake Shore Drive to Northwestern as ramps were closed to clear it of traffic, according to fire communications. One of the firefighters taken there has died, sources said. The condition of the other one was not known.
CHICAGO — Two Chicago firefighters were killed and 14 others injured after a building collapsed during a fire this morning . The collapse prompted a Mayday alarm just after 7 a.m. in an abandoned brick building at 1744 E. 75th Street when a wall collapsed trapping them at least four of them inside.
Four of the firefighters were listed in critical condition, another eight in stable, according to Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Robert Hoff.
“We got firemen unaccounted for,’’ according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford who was on the scene at 7:30 a.m. “Right now we’re working to get inside the building,’’ Langford said.
As of 7:24 a.m. the alarm has been elevated to a 3-11 and an EMS Plan II, which automatically sends about ten ambulances to the scene, is in effect, Knight said.
Firefighters dig through rubble as they search for trapped colleagues after a brick wall collapsed at a South Side fire in a vacant commercial building. (WGN-TV)
Obviously this fire has a decent hold on the house. This is a house Fire from a house on Summer Creek Rd in Oconomowoc, WI. It doesn’t take long for a good portion of the house to collapse. The placement of the aerial is not the best, but their might be a reason for it. If they have the water for that aerial, then they should have enough water for a 2 1/2″ (that would be my choice at this fire). Strong winds are never fun at a fire.
Firefighters must realize the collapse danger of walls while operating at fires. No matter the construction, I assure you buildings can and will collapse after being attacked by fire. Hose streams can also assist in weakening walls or finishing them off after the affects of fire.
While operating on the scene, and more importantly when we arrive on scene we must place our apparatus out of the collapse zone and operate at a safe distance if a collapse were to occur. Parapet walls, cantilevered walls, fancy facades, awnings, and signs on the buildings all have a tendency to collapse or fall.
I just got finished reading the chapter on Michael Goff in “Last Alarm” by Jerry Laughlin. The book was published in 1986 and features 5 true stories about firefighters who died in the line of duty. Michael Goff, a Petersburg (VA) Sergeant was killed when a wall collapsed on him following an explosion at an apartment complex. The explosion also injured many firefighters, EMT’s, and civilians (some who had just been rescued).
Even if you are just beginning as a firefighter and have not had time to delve into building construction, you need to know the risks of collapse.
In the videos below, you will see a parapet wall collapse, a building collapse, and firefighters operating inside a 1 story residential after the roof has collapsed.
Parapet Wall Collapse in Brewster, Ohio
Building Collapse Collapse videos from large Pawtucket, Rhode Island mill fire.
Here is a bonus video of another fire in Brewster Ohio that they fought earlier in the evening
Firefighters inside after roof collapse
I must admit that I love fighting fire. However, it makes no sense at all to be inside this structure from my vantage point. That being said, maybe they saw something I didn’t. One thing is for sure, they don’t really do a lot of good in putting the fire out from the inside. I am not sure where this fire occurred.
A tanker carrying a lot of flammable “stuff” wrecked and caught fire in Hazel Park Michigan. The fire occurred directly under an overpass. The bridge “overpass” later collapsed due to the heat and fire. You can watch the video here. I took a screen shot of the video at one point where it shows a single firefighter hitting the fire with some water. The image caption might be “pissing in the wind”. We have all been there though…The first in engine to a lot of fire and not enough firefighters on scene to do much about it. You gotta do what you gotta do and in this case it meant this lone firefighter manning the line. I am sure they had plenty of time to put bigger lines in place and put the fire out.
I would have rather had more water and reach from a solid tip on a deck gun or aerial waterway so I didn’t have to get so close to that fire though. You never know when a secondary explosion could occur.
A tanker was traveling south on Interstate 75 about 8:30 p.m. in Hazel Park near the Nine Mile Road overpass when it exploded, Lt. Shannon Simms of the Michigan State Police Metro North Post in Oak Park told CNN.
The force of the explosion went upward, causing the overpass, carrying two lanes in each direction, to collapse, he said.
“We’re unable to determine the number of vehicles involved at this point,” he said. Nor, he said, had investigators determined the cause of the crash.
He said firefighters would have to bring the fire under control before investigators would be able to determine whether anyone was killed.
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