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So here's an 800 sq. ft. home in the Salisbury/Hebron area that catches on fire. I believe it was a small kitchen fire. Nevertheless, I couldn't fit all the emergency vehicles into one picture for a couple of reasons. One, they kept coming and going and two, they were spread out too far to capture them, even at a distance.
That being said, who made the call to send out all of these tankers to put out a fire? Was it a three alarm fire? Is that how it works? One alarm for each Station, I don't know? There was Hebron, Mardella and Delmar at this fire.
Regardless, with all that went on (and nothing has been said) about the Hebron accident a COUPLE weeks ago, one would think they'd be more careful about sending out the troops when not necessary?
I know I'm going to get blasted over this but you know what, tough sh*t! There needs to be some kind of accountability while these people just go off and do whatever they so choose. Someone died recently because of, (IMO) the lack of leadership and control and I looked at this yesterday and I though, this is a Family Reunion. Even after the fire was out the Delmar Fire Department rolled in one of their big trucks and at least 10 minutes later you could hear the sirens from another one on the way. It turns out it was another loaded tanker of water from Delmar. I'd estimate it to be anywhere from 8 to 10 miles away and Hebron to have been 3 miles from this scene. The Delmar Tanker no sooner pulled up to this road, pulled in, backed up immediately and headed back home without ever getting out of the vehicle.
Again, I know you're going to knock me but this is not professionals! A professional knows how to manage a situation and IMO this is a reunion because there's nothing better to do and that can get people killed. Fortunately the animals were saved.
house fire...well better "Overkill"then get out there and not have enough emergency vechiles and need them!How about the elevator rescues Now thats overkill all 3 stations are allerted how many emergency persons are needed for that?
ReplyDeleteMan you really need to leave the fire service alone. This is one thing you know nothing about!
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteAny "reported" structure fire is automatically toned out as a three station response. Every area in the county has a first, second and third due company. All three companies roll for a structure fire. It's better to have too much than not enough. Thank's for making my case for me. The whole thing about delmar being 10 minutes away and still continuing in, is precautionary. Just because the fire is out doesn't mean the situation is "under control". You still have to check for extension and potential hot spots. House fires are very dangerous. They can go from almost knocked, to out of control in a flash. I as a firefighter would much rather have an overabundance of water and manpower, than have to wait those 10 minutes you speak of for water. A lot can go wrong in ten minutes. We don't know when we leave the station how big the house is, or even what's inside. Yes it may only be 800 sq.ft., but what if it belonged to a self employed painter. Wanting to cut overhead cost he stores hundreds of gallons of oilbased paints in a bedroom. Now you may only have an 800 sq.ft. house, but the load fueling the fire is going to require a whole lot more water. Even worse, say some city drug dealer used this rural home for cooking meth. Just examples of what could have been. You don't know what people store in their homes and all of that effects the resources needed at that particular incident.
The only comment I'm going to "blast " you on, is them not being professionals. These men/women were following the S.O.P.'s (Standard Operating Procedures). This is the nice big book by which we operate from. It may not make sense to you, but then again it doesn't have to. These guidelines are in place to prevent the freelancing you just accused hebron of and to help reduce injury or death to the victims and their rescuer's. You honestly had legitimate questions. Which unlike in the past, you asked them instead of going straight at us with your hammer. But the accident in hebron should and will not prevent the rest of these "professionals" from doing their job. Oh and just f.y.i. even with Steve's "horrible driving record" as stated by you, the accident was ruled as the deceased's fault. Before you can even think it, it's not some elaborate cover up by MSP. There have been and unfortunately will be firefighters who act negligently, but those who have and will be found at fault are prosecuted just as they should be.
And to "B" elevator rescues are only a two station response, just as a motorvehicle rescue is. Thanks for trying to help but you obviously are just an outsider looking in or you would have known that.
Good response "salisburyfire"
ReplyDeleteAlso glad to hear the news on the hebron case!
How is steve doing? I wish him the best of luck in his recovery.
Excellent points SF.
ReplyDeleteSay Cheese,
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard any new information on his condition. I know he's stable but that's the last I've heard.
Thanks Joe,
ReplyDeleteThe way you approached this post, in my eyes is the best way to go about it. Yes, we "Firefighters" get pretty sensitive when we're attacked. You approached this with the professionalism you should always use. We risk our lives daily for the people we serve, when an unfortunate incident happens like it did in Hebron we are labeled as careless killers abusing our privilege. However those same people are the first to say "what the hell took so long" when it's their loved one in need. Well sir/mam there are seventeen stop signs, twelve traffic lights and the posted speed limit is only 25 MPH, so even though you only live five miles from the station we have to obey every traffic law and that adds up to a twenty minute response. Now on the same hand, it is the driver/operator of that fire truck to evaluate the conditions (weather, traffic, etc.)
and adjust his/her speed and driving technique accordingly. We by any stretch of the imagination are not perfect. But in our line of work seconds, and yes seconds, can be the difference in life or death.
Alot of fire alarms could be avoided if more people kept an ABC rated extinguisher in their home within easy reach.Most kitchen fires can be squelched with these in no time and home use extinguishers are not very expensive-I think the Jaycees used to sell smallones for 10 bucks.
ReplyDeleteIts funny that while we wouldnt think of living in a home w/o a smoke and Co detector,but alot of us dont have extinguishers,another part of the first line of fire safety in the home,actually in our homes.
Hm. Seems od to me that so many firefighters and their equipment have to respond. Don't you guys have communication with all the stations? The reason I ask, is it would seem prudent to only call out what is actually needed. This is tax dollars that are being used here, or am I wrong on that? And I'm not just being a wise guy here.
ReplyDeleteThese are honest thoughts.
Tax dollars are the majority of the funding fire departments use for their budgets. But I as a tax payer and a firefighter would much rather pay a little extra for extra equipment, then to know being "cheap" cost someone their life because they didn't have enough water or manpower. The death benefit payed out to a LODD (Line Of Duty Death) well exceeds what most departments spend a year in fuel. So you tell me what you would rather your tax dollars pay for....
ReplyDeleteWe are just going to have to settle to agree to disagree here. I'm heading to the State Police right now to get a copy of that report.
ReplyDeletein my opinion there is no such thing as overkill... joe, you are really grasping at stuff to complain about. I guess, since you really cant talk about the mayor and the police cheif anymore, you had to find something new..
ReplyDeletebad news man, this isnt the area you need to be in, cause you havent a clue about what your talking about. go back to politics, at least there you have a little bit of knowledge.
What kills me the most about it all, is that if it was your family, or your house, or your horse stables, you would want every peice of equipment on the shore to respond, and then when they didnt you would want to sue them all..
Where's all the "press" coverage of Littley Joey's brush with the Black & Whites today? No pictures? No Law Enforcement nut hugging? What gives?
ReplyDeleteInital response for this exact fire was Hebron, Mardela, and Delmar. Hebron had 1 Engine and 1 Tanker. Delmar Had 1 Truck and 1 Tanker. And Mardela had one Engine and 1 Tanker on scene. The dispatch went like this...Central to Station 5, 9 and 74, reported Structure fire...and the address. The dispatch does not say what type of structure or house it is. All the departments know is a house is on fire..could be a 1 room bungalow, could be a 3 story cape cod. All companies have a pre-plan. Therefore the OIC (officer in charge) knows what is coming. We also know the area in question is non-hydrant. The OIC for Hebron went on scene, with a working fire. The crew from Hebron made a very good and quick knock down. Shortly after, the OIC held told Central to put all units not on scene in service. There was 6 pieces of apparatus because the response was quick. This was not overkill by all means.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to keep in mind that in a non-hydrant area, you might need to set up a ferrying operation for water.
ReplyDeleteWe had a situation up here in Maryland Line about 6 months ago when a historic mill went up, and they called in three tankers (MLVFC's plus 2 more) just to ferry water the two miles from the cistern at MLVFC to the scene.
It's also not always about just having more people on scene either-- sometimes you need the extra equipment trucks and engines carry, and FFs also do more than just "eat smoke" at a scene.
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ReplyDeleteOn the subject of overkill, might I remind you that not to long ago our esteemed county administrator felt the need to make Fire Department territory decisions, citing "not enough help, or quick enough response". Ok so now here we are following the rules and you all still are not happy. Come on - you can't have it both ways. Here is a question to ponder "What if we had a fire and no one came?" Scary thought isn't it!!
ReplyDeleteWhere's the scoop on Runaround Sue's traffic stop in Delmar? Better start hanging on DPD's nuts like you do the rest of the local law enforcement agencies....doesn't hurt to have a "get out of jail free" card handy.
ReplyDelete