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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Many Are Questioning, Why So Many Pieces Of Equipment & More




I have been fielding phone calls this morning telling me there's a ton of equipment at the above location and that they have been there all morning. The road has also been blocked off all morning.

Perhaps a Firefighter can chime in and let people know what's going on?

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am not a firefighter, but they lost someone to cancer. Maybe that's where the processional ended up.

Anonymous said...

Shoot, nevermind. The service is Wednesday.

Anonymous said...

House fire behind warehouse. Heavy smoke when they arrived.

Anonymous said...

They do this when the railroad bars are not working, maybe the are frozen.

Anonymous said...

There was a fire in the basement of the old Holloway funeral home build that is now owned by Marion Barkley. The thought was homeless people make be getting in the build to keep warm and may have caused the fire.

Anonymous said...

Domestic trash can on fire , resident put it out before trucks arrived . The rest are on break afetr a hard pull on the trash can.

Anonymous said...

Wow looks like they put one out for A change.

Anonymous said...

I say if they're getting paid or volunteering the more the better.

Anonymous said...

Just around the corner from the Masonic Meeting House

Anonymous said...

It is definitely overkill thanks to the failed leadership of Hoppes and Tull. All of that equipment and personnel were not needed. Look at the photo on WMDT's website and you will see tons of firemen standing around doing nothing at the door. Wasted manpower and tax dollars at it's best.

Anonymous said...

This kind of response goes back to Hoppes, Gordy and See. This is what they want to justify all the money wasted on the numerous new fire trucks.

Anonymous said...

What a waste!!!

Anonymous said...

It's standard protocol, If you have a structure fire you empty the fire house.

Anonymous said...

Somebody better "re-define" that. I don't want my money & other tax payers money "thrown down the drain" like this!!!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

It's standard protocol, If you have a structure fire you empty the fire house.

February 12, 2012 3:53 PM

And I'm throwing down the Bullsh!t flag!!

Anonymous said...

And some might wonder why Hoppes was "Rejected."

Anonymous said...

You would want every piece of equipment if it was your property

Anonymous said...

The paid firefighters are on shift getting paid regardless. If it was a call to your home, would you want half the firefighters you were paying taxes for back at the firehouse drinking coffee waiting for things to get worse, or on scene ready to go?

Anonymous said...

I love all these untrained armchair firefighters who come out of the woodwork on every incident. You all are clueless!

Bullard Construction said...

I am not a firefighter and I never comment on the firefighter posts, but I'd like to say something here. I have been inside a few of the buildings in this area, and they are just plain what I would call tinderboxes! Really, what are they, 150 years old, balloon / pole framing, no fire protection; if a trash can caught fire ten feet away, the whole block would be gone in an hour! Really! If they got it out and did a fire watch for 4 hours (normal) then kudos. No foul here.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it better to have too much than not enough. If my house was on fire I would want every chance possible to save my family, property and belongs. Shut up and put up by going out to volunteer and you would not have time to put down firefighters. They risk their life every time they respond. What do you do that is that unselfish???? Problemly nothing.

Anonymous said...

The fire burned out the basement but was quickly put out by firemen. Once the fire was out all units picked up and returned. We were there less than 2 hours. Thankfully someone saw heavy smoke coming from the building and quickly called for the fire department. In the middle of the night may have had a much worse outcome.

Anonymous said...

Dear clueless firefighter haters, On every structure fire, you should see AT LEAST 3 crews "standing around"- the crew that just came out rehabbing, the crew getting ready to go in, and the standby emergency rescue team.

Anonymous said...

According to SFD website call dispatched at 10:14AM units returned 11:58AM that's hardly all morning. 1 1/2-2hours is about typical for any working fire at any department. There wasn't too much equipment there everyone had a job they did it and all went home.

JoeAlbero said...

Time for me to chime in here and correct some wrong firefighter information in comments.

I had been receiving phone calls all morning on this, all the way up until photos came in and I finally published something on it.

That being said, the large volume of equipment seen there was present for quite a few hours.

So stop trying to make it sound like you were in and out of there. That's not true.

Anonymous said...

Your a douche.what happens if they send only one engine and there is six people screaming for their lives? Its better to expect and be ready for the worse.

Anonymous said...

Bottom line who cares how long they were there if the fire was out when they left...Maybe you idiot's can tell me how long it takes to extinguish and verify all embers seen and hidden are out.

JoeAlbero said...

anonymous 5:43, Now I'm a douche? You must be a wet pants liberal to go right after the scare tactics. No one is suggesting one piece of equipment. Secondly, we appreciate what you do. Just because some of us challenge the VOLUME of equipment, the length of time you close down roads, etc, don't HATE us because WE pay your dsalaries. WHOOPS, have YOU forgotten who takes care of YOU??????

Anonymous said...

Most departmentsI don’t know how sfd operates nor do I care but what I can say is that most departments for a structure fire gets four engines, two trucks, one rescue A ems unit and and one battalion chief. And that’s for a well staffed department and the sfd is not one of those. To the people who want to cry do A little research and see what other cities run on A building fire assignment and you will see that what goes on around here isn’t really overkill. for a structure

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a pretty typical response for this type of structure.This insures front and rear coverage for fire attack,water supply,aerial and ground ladder placement and rescue of occupants.An EMS unit for immediate treatment and transport of civilian or FD victims.And sufficient command officers to insure proper span of control.Standard stuff just about anywhere you go.And yes it usually sparks critisism from those that dont understand FD procedures.

Anonymous said...

You all need to get a life Joe included. I was a fireman for 15years in a "real" fire department and have a master's in safety management. The response was well with the the description of appropriate.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

You would want every piece of equipment if it was your property

February 12, 2012 4:41 PM

That's why I pay homeowners insurance you idiot. Lame reply from a wannabe fireman.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

The paid firefighters are on shift getting paid regardless. If it was a call to your home, would you want half the firefighters you were paying taxes for back at the firehouse drinking coffee waiting for things to get worse, or on scene ready to go?

February 12, 2012 5:00 PM

If they are on a shift getting paid regardless you are admitting they aren't needed! You guys will do anything to justify your jobs.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Most departmentsI don’t know how sfd operates nor do I care but what I can say is that most departments for a structure fire gets four engines, two trucks, one rescue A ems unit and and one battalion chief. And that’s for a well staffed department and the sfd is not one of those. To the people who want to cry do A little research and see what other cities run on A building fire assignment and you will see that what goes on around here isn’t really overkill. for a structure

February 12, 2012 6:32 PM

Prove it! You clowns are always trying to prove your existence and having to much equipment, but you never seem to prove or justify.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

You all need to get a life Joe included. I was a fireman for 15years in a "real" fire department and have a master's in safety management. The response was well with the the description of appropriate.

February 12, 2012 7:25 PM

Fireman or fire fighter? There is a big difference. What is a "real" fire department? Is your "master's in safety management" supposed to impress someone? I bet with that and a $1 you might be able to buy a cup of coffee. From your "description" it sounds more like you were a fireman and not a fire fighter.

Anonymous said...

There is a picture on WMDT 47 News Facebook page that shows about 30 fireman standing outside near the door doing absolutely nothing and there is hardly any smoke visible.

Uh 5:33 pm I didn't see a crew in rehab or a crew coming out or a crew getting ready to go in. You are the clueless one. Pictures don't lie and Joe's pictures show enough for me. The pic on Facebook is what did it for me. There needs to be a major shakeup in the Salisbury Fire Department.

Anonymous said...

Armchair firefighters... Gotta love it. It takes a lot of equipment to put out a fire. Someone mentioned earlier that for every crew in, there's a crew out on standby to rescue them, another that has already been in rehabbing, and another getting ready to go in. Every one of those crews comes in on a piece of apparatus, there's four pieces right there. Why does it matter that they were there for a while? A thorough job takes a while, otherwise you get called back for the rekindle and even more damage is done.

If you don't like how its done, go volunteer and prove to them there's a better way to do it. If its so easy, it shouldn't be hard to prove, right? Have some respect instead of complaining and criticizing all of the time.

Anonymous said...

Call it a waste until you need them!

Anonymous said...

Ok, please help me out here on this one. Why in the world do you need 3 ladder trucks and 2 ambulances at this small fire? How many chiefs were there?

Anonymous said...

5:55PM- how much does your homeowner's insurance pay for your irreplaceable family heirlooms-- or for the life of your wife or children? Is it sufficient to cover the loss?

Anonymous said...

More scare tactics from 12:36 am to make the public think what they waste is ok.

Anonymous said...

11:23: you need 3 ladder trucks because truck companies are the major tool crub for a structure fire. Plus, if tis turned into a major structure fire, I'd want a ladder at every corner. Also, 2 ambos can handle a total of 4 pts max. With about 40 ff's on scene, Id want to be able to provide emer care to at least 10% of them immediately if necessary.

Anonymous said...

9:57PM- 30 firefighters, huh? OK-so at any given time there is about a max of 8 paid firefighters in operational roles at SFD. Let's say they all were there, and 2 were inside working-- that means there were 24 vollies there, on their own time, helping out for free, doing whatever is needed and being on standby. So what are you complaining about?

Anonymous said...

I don't know who wa there, but on a structure fire that has the potential to be catastrophic, I would want at least 3 chief officers there.

Anonymous said...

For those of you who would really like to learn something take a look at a report of comprehensive testing done in Montgomery County by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST ).
Its a long article.Just enter
NIST Technical Note 1661,report on residential fireground field experiments.This should explain it all.

Anonymous said...

you want to talk about waste.......talk about them taking the ladder truck all over town to get lunch when they have a palace to cook in. or talk about them working 24 on and 72 off and getting to sleep after 11 if they want. Now there is waste!!! Acting Chief Hoppes, why don't you put a stop to them all over town getting lunch and riding, and make it mandatory that the ladder truck goes out only on training or to actual fires. Have them cook and bring with them their meals.......after all they have 3 days to get their food together before having to work 24 or less. Or even better why don't you have them cover regular 8 or 10 hour shifts like most people do. They are getting away with this crap because of your poor management at that place.

Anonymous said...

Joe, here you go again starting trouble with the fire department. I guess you think only one truck should go to all working fires. With the exception of the pumper most of the trucks had two firefighters on it. I see a total of about 15 people on scene. Thats why they wait until the job is complete. Oh by the way they did cover all other calls while that was going on.

Anonymous said...

well, whe we finally get a real fire chief -- then this will change. We need transparency, somone who will tell us the truth.

Anonymous said...

some of those guys have to stand near the front door to get smoke on their gear. makes em feel good. like the 2 fire fighters at the fire at WI HI last week, sitting itn the ashes so their gear would look "pretty" til the fire marshel asked them to get out so he could do their investigation.

Anonymous said...

It saddens and frustrates me to read so many negative and hateful remarks about firefighters, both paid and volunteer. I am a volunteer FF myself and my research for my PhD was focused around volunteer firefighter commitment and the challenge that volunteer firefighters as a whole are experiencing with recruitment and retention. Many departments nationwide are being forced to close their doors because they can no longer fulfill the mission for which they existed, either becuase of financial reasons or lack of membership. In rural communities, 21% of fire departments deliver an average of 4 or fewer volunteer firefighters to an instance of a mid-day house fire; this violates the NFPA 1720 standard which calls for “a minimum of 4 firefighters on-site before an interior attack on a structure fire is begun”. The negative commenters should be thrilled to have so many people show up. It is pretty obvious from the comments those who understand firefighting tactics and those who don't. The ones complaining about too much equipment/people are probably the same ones who would complain when enough people and equipment didn't show up to their house in an emergency situation. What if all that apparatus and personnel didn't show up and the house burned to the ground? What if there had been someone in there that was not able to get out and they perished? Then the questions and finger pointing would be at the lack of response from the fire departments. Please consider that these people are risking their lives every day to save yours, and often with no compensation (volunteers). Consider where you would be if your local volunteer department had to shut its doors tomorrow - what is your next closest station to respond? How long would you be waiting for them to get a crew to respond? And kiss any benefit you are getting in your home owners insurance goodbye - with a department even further away, you can guarantee that your rates are going up. So please, before you continue to slam the response of fire departments, think about where you would be without them. Most of us volunteer to do this because we care about our neighbors, and some of us get paid to do it because it is something we have a passion to do - that is why most people work and get paid.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Armchair firefighters... Gotta love it. It takes a lot of equipment to put out a fire. Someone mentioned earlier that for every crew in, there's a crew out on standby to rescue them, another that has already been in rehabbing, and another getting ready to go in. Every one of those crews comes in on a piece of apparatus, there's four pieces right there. Why does it matter that they were there for a while? A thorough job takes a while, otherwise you get called back for the rekindle and even more damage is done.

If you don't like how its done, go volunteer and prove to them there's a better way to do it. If its so easy, it shouldn't be hard to prove, right? Have some respect instead of complaining and criticizing all of the time.

February 12, 2012 10:14 PM

When you start paying my tax bill then you can tell me to stop complaining. Until then STFU and keep your mouth shut. For some reason I seriously doubt you are a tax payer.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

11:23: you need 3 ladder trucks because truck companies are the major tool crub for a structure fire. Plus, if tis turned into a major structure fire, I'd want a ladder at every corner. Also, 2 ambos can handle a total of 4 pts max. With about 40 ff's on scene, Id want to be able to provide emer care to at least 10% of them immediately if necessary.

February 13, 2012 7:16 AM

WTH did you just say? Some of you volunteer FARMIN are to uneducated to state a defense. This is typical of a text book fire chief. I, I, I, My, My, My, Me, Me, Me, I'd, I'd, I'd. It's all about their ego and who is in charge. Look at me, Look at me! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anonymous said...

You are suppose to have a chief officer for each role in a fire. For this one it would be one for command, operations, 1st floor, 2nd floor, basement, and safety/accountability. This is the same way in big city fire departments as well. Big city fire departments get 4 engines, two trucks, and 1 rescue on all structure fires. The call comes from the citizens, so if someone calls and says their house is on fire when they just burnt toast, you get a full response instead of one engine. Crews must wait on scene for the fire marshall to investigate. And most companies, all though not in protocol, wait for the red cross to help the families displaced.

Anonymous said...

Ok since everyone just wants to dance around and take cheap shots I'll lay it out there since I was on the second arriving engine.
E-16 and AC-1 arrived at the same time with smoke showing from the rear of the structure. I was on E-2 and we arrived within a minute behind the assistant chief and the duty crew. E-16 caught the hydrant for their primary water source. Our engine established a second water source on the corner of E Church and Wailes st. E-16 had the primary attack. When they forced the door there was a good volume of dark brown smoke with medium velocity. And for those of you that don't know brown smoke usually means that the fire is burning structural members (wood). The density would constitute a good involvement and the velocity is relative to the heat trapped within. E-2's crew pulled a back up line and went to the basement with the primary attack crew. I don't know which truck did what because monitoring resources was not my job. But one of the ladder trucks checked for extension, the structure was balloon frame. Which means that the studs in the wall are an open chase from the basement to the attic. A basement fire in a balloon frame building can take the roof off if you don't head it off early. The second truck controlled utilities which makes the attack safer. They would shut off gas service, breakers, etc. The crew on the squad were assigned RIT (rapid intervention team). You always get two medic units on a fire. One for any potential patients and the other sets up rehab for crews working. We were fortunate that it seems that the fire was snuffing itself out rather than achieving flashover and taking off. Had the fire really got going it could have taken the building on either side with it. The buildings on either side were extremely close and had there been a high volume of fire they would have been a threatened exposure.

So yes, to some it may seem like overkill and a complete waste. But this is nothing out of the ordinary. It takes more than a truck and an engine to safely control a fire. And as for WBOC's photo showing "30" firefighters standing around and "very little smoke". By the time they got there the fire was out and crews were overhauling. So the people "just standing around" were staged to rotate in as the crew inside needed to be relieved. And Joe I just looked at the CAD from that call. It was dispatched around 10:00 and we were in quarters a little before noon. Now the AC and E-16 remained on scene after us assisting the fire Marshall with lighting and overhaul. If you all ask around you will find that this is how most fire departments in the COUNTRY respond to fires. This isn't something that is unique to salisbury. We are just fortunate that our help is so close together. Some of the county stations have to wait 10 minutes or more before their assistance arrives. We follow an acronym for our initial operations. RECEO, that stands for rescue, exposures, confinement, extinguishment, and overhaul. Now just the first three call for separate crews. Protecting those we serve is what we do. But we have to ensure firefighter safety while doing our job. And what to some might look like a job for 6-8 people actually requires double if not triple that to improve the safety of those protecting you and your property.


Daniel Hill
Lieutenant
Salisbury Fire Department Station 2

Anonymous said...

People on here just have no idea. That's because 98% of you aren't firemen. Normally I'd argue, but I'm just tired of defending my career to the know it alls on here. Oh and albero, karma sure is a b$tch isn't it. Didn't see you taking any pictures and bashing the fire dept when you ran into somebody else on 50. We were the greatest people in the world then I bet :)