2/19/25 Brooklyn 3rd Alarm Box 0819

[captaindewey50267021@gm]

There is an old saying "no one saves a church with an advanced fire upon arrival" Sadly this is true in this case once again. Tower Ladders and Outside High Caliber Streams all too often are our only hope of control. Aiming a Tower Ladder stream into the round "Rose Window" often saves the exterior walls and helps control fire spread. An unmanned Blitz Monitor placed at the main entrance of the church can sweep the ceiling of the "Nave" = Main Body of the Church (Where the people sit) can sometime control some of the fire spread. The Nave which resembles the upside-down Hull of a wooden ship, "Nave comes from the same word root as Navy" is often very tall, covered with heavy plaster so interior fire operating in the nave are dangerous. The Collums are often hollow tubes allowing fire to travel to the upper part of the church. The Bell in the Bell Tower is very heavy and will crush anything including firefighters it it falls. The light fixtures/candlers are also very heavy and a real danger to firefighters during an interior attack on an advanced fire. Many older traditional Churches are built in the shape of a CROSS and have a heavy Timber Church Truss Roof and are often interconnected &/or surrounded by other buildings. Monitored Alarm Systems and better yet fully sprinkler systems can stop the fire from becoming advanced before Fire Dept. arrival. I wrote an W.N.W.F. Article in the early 1980 called "Unholy Smoke" on a major fire in the Episcopal Church pf the Holy Apostils and other church fires. Let us in the fire service be the ones in our church or synagogue or other place of worship be the one to advocates for fire safety before the fire starts. Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.

 

[jtsjc1]

Any time I see one of these church fires I always think back to the 1973 fire at Mt. Loretto.

 

[AuxWarYearsCapt]

Incident Location: 1155 Halsey Street

Phone Alarm Reporting Fire On The 1st Floor Of A Church - 10:44.

B37: 10-75 - 10:46.

TL124 - FAST.

CIDS: 2-Story 50x150 Class 3 Peaked Roof Church, Window Bars On The 1st Floor.

D15: s/c (1) Additional Truck, Make It A TL (TL111) - 10:50.

BK: Transmits The All Hands With Request For Extra Truck - 10:51.

B37: Fire On The 1st Floor. 2 L/S, 1 L/O. Have TL111 Come In From Central Avenue To Halsey Street - 10:52.

D15: Transmit The 2nd Alarm - 10:55.

BK: B38RUL, B57SO, E207 w/ Satellite 6.

*Selected Staging Area - Bushwick Avenue & Halsey Street*

FC: Transmit The 3rd Alarm - 11:10.

BK: E303CU, B35SM.

FC: Heavy Fire In The Bell Tower, All Members Have Been Removed From The Building. (2) TL's In Operation, DWH - 11:12.

FC: Collapse Of The Bell Tower, (3) TL's In Operation. 2 L/S, 1 L/O In Exposure 4. DWH - 11:23.

FC: Collapse Is Into Exposure 2, Fire Extending To Exposure 4. DWH - 11:27.

Exposures: 1: Street, 2: 1-Story Garage, 3: Rear Yard, 4: 2.5-Story PD.

FC: TL124 Put To Work As A TL, TL146 Is The New FAST Truck - 11:34.

FC: s/c (1) Thawing Apparatus Unit (TA330) - 11:40.

FC: Fire Throughout, (3) TL’s In Operation. Fire Is Darkening Down, DWH - 11:57.

FC: s/c (1) Additional Truck To Relieve The FAST Truck (L113 act. L112) - 12:29.

FC: s/c (2) Additional TL’s & Have Them Respond To The Front Of The Fire Building (TL170 act. TL124 & TL15 act. TL111) - 12:32.

FC: (2) TL's In Operation, 2 L/S/O. Continuing To Extinguish Hotspots, DWH - 12:57.

FC: s/c (2) Additional Battalion Chiefs For Relief Purposes (B2 act. B37 & B40 act. B44) - 13:02.

FC: Continuing To Operate With (2) TL's, Hydraulic Overhaul. 1 L/S, PWH - 13:30.

FC: s/c (3) Additional Engines For Relief Purposes (E219 act. E???, E220 act. E???, E310 act. E???) - 13:34.

FC: s/c (1) Additional Truck To Relieve The FAST Truck (L108) - 14:11.

D15: (2) TL's In Operation, Extended Operations, Under Control - 14:41 (Duration 3hr, 57 Min).

10-75 (All Hands):
SQ252, E233, E277, E222, E271
L176, L112, TL124F, TL111 s/c
B37, B28
R2
SQ288
D15
RAC2
*E271 In The Area, Assigned As Extra Engine On 10-75*

2nd Alarm:
E218, E227, E214
E207 w/ Satellite 6
TL120, TL135
B44FF, B38RUL, B57SO
RB, SB, FC, RM1, TAC1, CTU

3rd Alarm:
E286, E217, E332, E237, E303CU, E219 act. E??? s/c, E220 act. E??? s/c, E310 act. E??? s/c
TL127 act. TL124?, TL146 act. TL111, L113F act. L112 s/c, TL170 act. TL124 s/c, TL15 act. TL111 s/c, L108F s/c
B39FF, B35SM, B58AR, B2 act. B37 s/c, B40 act. B44 s/c
RAC1, MSU, TA330 s/c

CARS: 1, 4, 4C, 7, 11, 11A, 12C, 13R, 16J, 22G, 23D, 24

Relocations:
TL146 act. TL111
TL127 act. TL124?
TL15 act. TL111
TL170 act. TL124
L113 act. L112
E219 act. E???
E220 act. E???
E310 act. E???
TL159 act. TL111
E239 act. E222
E248 act. E214
E301 act. E218
B54 act. B58
B2 act. B37
B40 act. B44
B33 act. B38

The boss CAR 1. catching allot of work. I haven't seen a boss in years taking in so many jobs

 

[68jk09]

VARIOUS NEWS REPORTS.... CHURCH FIRE IN BKLYN NY TODAY

 

[1261Truckie]

Back in the mid-60’s there was a fire in St. Teresa’s Church on Classon Ave and Sterling Pl (around the corner from 280/132). It was started in a Confessional and spread upward to the Choir Loft. The responding units: 280, 219, 269, 132 and 105 went way above and beyond and stopped the fire before it hit the Cockcroft. A super effort by all members, a great stop and St. Teresa’s was saved. Some damage for sure, but the Church was repaired and reopened.

 

[captaindewey50267021@gm]

Philadelphia F.D. had a Church fire the last few days, in a church similar in size to the one in Brooklyn. This fire was designated an Exterior operation due to structural stability. Stability is ALWAYS a problem in almost ALL ADVANCED CHURCH FIRES. The fire in St. Teresa's Church is an exception to the rule. Great units E-280,219, 269 & L-132 & L-105 made a stop but that is sadly uncommon in church fires. Multiple voids in the walls and ceiling plus add to that often hallow columns often doom a church unless any fires are detected early and fought aggressively before the really take hold and reach all the hidden voids. I have worked at 12 major church fires in my 50 years of firefighting, in the FDNY and In Orange County N.Y. and the F.D. rarely wins the battle to save the church. Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.