Just a few photos and video of a house fire we fought late on Saturday, November 20th. (You may have already seen some of these on Facebook.) Albion and Churubusco fire units were initially dispatched, and fire was through the roof within minutes of the first report. Several other departments were brought in for water and manpower--the home was about five miles from the nearest hydrant. No one was injured; the house was under renovation and unoccupied.
As the safety officer a large part of my job is to just watch, which allows me to take photos every now and then of what I'm watching, anyway.
The roof and attic were built with lightweight wood construction and metal gusset plates, which are notorious for failing early in a fire. That allowed the fire to quickly spread through the whole attic area, and made operating inside dangerous.
I'm not sure how many times I went around the building; in most cases the safety officer, unlike many other fireground incident command positions, has to stay mobile. But hey, it kept me warm.
On cold nights we often run into the problem of (comparatively) warm water from our hose lines mixing with the smoke from still-hidden fire, making it hard to tell if we're looking at smoke or steam. That's when thermal imaging technology comes in handy, to find those embers in hidden spaces and insulation.
Here are a few quick videos I took, too:
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https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
Having had been through one house fire, I'm hoping it never happens again. I lost some things, but was able to salvage a lot. And I'm convinced to this day that my scumbag ex landlord set it. Fortunately the tribunal board agreed with me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you cam out uninjured, and were able to save most of your stuff. Sometimes a building gets so filled with superheated smoke and gasses that even where the fire doesn't reach, most items are damaged beyond repair.
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