Boston MA 2nd Alarm Box 5184 Basement Fire Brighton 10-26-13

[mack]

Response 0630 hrs to 52-58 Ridgemont St in Brighton - basement fire

Heavy fire

2nd alarm requested

GROUP  2      BOX 5184  LOCATION: CAMBRIDGE & ELEANOR STS      56-58 Ridgemont St Large 2? Story Wood Dwelling 
Act DC Ellis L-14/D-11a(Ops), Shaffer D-4(Rit), Jones H-1(Safety), Dowling D-9(2nd) ,Act DC Sloane E-4/D-3a(Act),  DiBenedetto C-6(IC) 
0631 1st Alarm        By FA  E 41-29-51      L 14-11      R-1        D-11a
0633 Rehab and Rit Cos By FA  E 42            L 15 TL-3    RHU        D-4(Rit) H-1(Safety)
0635 2nd Alarm        By D-11aE 37-33-22      L 26          SU ASU TaC  D-9(2nd) D-3a(Act) C-6(IC) A-65
0646 1 X Eng (Rit)    By D-11aE 3
0722 Detail            By C-6  E 18            L-24
0840 Detail Terminated        IGNITION FACTOR 34                             
1642 All Out                  Loss $ 100,000
ORIGIN: over heated Heating unit basement heavy smoke extended via heating ducts
   
Thanks Elliot M. Belin

 

[nfd2004]

That's a long stretch just to the front door. Then sometimes climbing up two or three more flights of stairs once inside the building.

Many cities, espically in the northeast, have to deal with that. Then ladder placement is another very diffucult thing to deal with. Getting ground ladders to the upper floors in back or sides could certainly be tough.

  Any thoughts on how the job can be done easier ? I guess using the tower ladder or aerial ladder is one.

 

[grumpy grizzly]

Boston has 2 "tower ladders" not like a FDNY TL. A Brighton box gets you TL-3 from downtown, Brighton is just about the ass end of their response area. Narrow streets, if humping ground ladders was a pain I do not think you could get the rig anywhere near the fire. Lived in Brighton, many narrow streets, winter and snow make make apparatus placement extremely difficult

 

[fdny1075k]

Sounds like a great job by District 11 first in companies and the BFD all around, with a great rundown by A65(Mr. Belin).

nfd2004 (Willy "D") raises a good topic. Especially in New England(Boston in particular) aerial ladder placement at fires can be very difficult and not an easy task to master. The locale of many buildings like this, makes aerial placement even more difficult.

Additionally, you often can get a long stretch to a fire. Many times, buildings or multi-family homes, particularly in older cities, are on an incline or back a ways from the street. Engine Co.'s have to make a stretch to the door, then a stretch up stairs on the inside, back stairs, or fire escapes to get to the seat of the fire.

From a Boston FF o/s:

"Fire showing from D side basement. Forced hot air system pushed the smoke throughout the D side. One resident came down L 14's aerial. I think it was L 15 guys who helped him down. Good knockdown by 41 and 29. 2nd alarm trucks did a real good job laddering the building with ground ladders while primary search was being done by L 11 and L 14. Building was set up on a 20' hill and the aerial ladders were hampered by overhead power lines."

 

[grumpy grizzly]

Like I was saying, sometimes you cannot get the stick to the fire!