Brooklyn 3rd Alarm: 12/31/07 @ 05:00

[JuniorBuff88]

Brooklyn,  N. Y.  12/31/07  @  05:00 hrs.

Bedford  /  Stuyvesant  Section



Box  674

address:              540  Willoughby  Ave.  x  Marcy  Ave.



674  @  04:47

Engs.  217,  235,  216

Lad.  102,  T. Lad.  119

Batt.  35  s/c



10 ? 75 ? 674  @  04:51

TowerLadder  111  is  designated  as  the  ?FAST?  Truck

Eng.  211

Rescue Co. #2

Squad  Co. #252

Batt.  37

Division  11



Fire  Building:

4  Story  Brownstone  25 x 50  O. M. D.

Surrounding  Properties:

Exp. #1:  Is  a  Street

Exp. #2:  -------------

Exp. #3:  Is  a  Rear  Yard

Exp. #4:  Is  a  Similar  Type  attach



All ? Hands:

7 ? 5 ? 674  @  04:54

Batt.  35  reports:    Box  674,  All ? Hands  on  arrival.      Extra  Engine  &  Truck.

Fire  on  the  top  floor  of  a  4  Story  Brownstone  occupied  multiple  dwelling.



@  04:54

Engine  211  &  Ladder  112  s/c



2nd  Alarm:

2 ? 2 ? 674  @  04:59

Engs.  218,  214,  222

Lad.  104

Eng.  207  w /  Satellite  6

Batt.  31  ?Safety  Officer?

Batt.  38  ?Resource  Unit  Leader

Rescue  Battalion  /  Safety  Battalion

Fieldcom  1  /  Tactical  Support  Unit #1



3rd  Alarm:

3 ? 3 ? 674  @  05:11

Engs.  210,  277,  237,  221

Lad.  110,  T. Lad.  105

Batt.  44

Batt.  28  ?Staging  Manager?          Staging  Area:    Willoughby  Ave.  &  Throop  Ave.

Batt.  39  ?Air  Re ? Con  Chief?

Mask  Service  Unit #1

Car  4 ?henry?    Assist.  Chief  James  Manahan



@  05:29

Fieldcom  1:    Progress  Report  for  the  3rd  Alarm,  Box  674,  Car  4 ?henry?  Assist.  Chief  Manahan  reports:

Fire  top  floor  and  Cockloft  of  a  4  Story  Brownstone.      Fire  extended  thru  the  Cockloft  to  Exp. #4  &  4 A.   

Trucks  are  ?Opening  Up?  in  Exp. 4 B.          Doubtful.



@  05:35

Fieldcom  1:    Progress  Report  for  the  3rd  Alarm,  Box  674,  Car  4 ?henry?  Assist.  Chief  Manahan  reports:

Main  body  of  fire  has  been  knocked  down.    Primary  Searches  on  the  1st;  2nd;  &  3rd.  floors  of  the  Fire  Bldg.

are  complete  and  negative.      Trucks  are  continuing  to  ?Open  Up?      Fire  remains    Doubtful.



@  05:42

Fieldcom  1:      Special  Call  ( 2 )  additional  Trucks.    Ladder  108  &  Ladder  132  are  s/c



@  05:53

Fieldcom  1:    Progress  Report  for  the  3rd  Alarm,  Box  674,  Car  4 ?henry?  Assist.  Chief  Manahan  reports:

We  have  a  collapse  of  the  Cockloft  into  the  top  floor  of  the  Fire  Bldg.      Trucks  are  continuing  to

?Open  Up?  in  the  Exposures  checking    for  extensions.      Still  Doubtful.



@  06:10

Fieldcom  1:    Progress  Report  for  the  3rd  Alarm,  Box  674,  Car  4 ?henry?  Assist.  Chief  Manahan  reports:

All  Primary  Searches  in  the  Fire  Bldg.  and  the  Exposures  are  complete  and  negative. 

He  place?s  this    fire  at    Probably  Will  Hold.



@  06:31

Fieldcom  1:    Progress  Report  for  the  3rd  Alarm,  Box  674,  Car  4 ?henry?  Assist.  Chief  Manahan  reports:

Secondary  Searches  are  complete  and  negative  in  the  Exposures.    Secondary  Searches  on  floors  1,  2  &  3

in  the  original  Fire  Bldg.  are  complete  and  negative.      Secondary  Search  of  the  top  floor  of  the  Fire  Bldg.

was  conducted  from  the  Bucket  of  TowerLadder  119  and  is  reported  negative.

Chief  Manahan  place?s  this    Fire  UnderControl.



(  Job  Duration:    1 hr.  /  44  mins.  )

 

[tbendick]

For the first time since it was issued, a firefighter used the FDNY?s new Personal Safety System (PSS) to escape a fire on December 31.

The PSS is a hook, 50-foot rope and descender device that is used by firefighters as a last resort to escape a fire.

?This is a great success story,? said Battalion Chief Stephen Raynis of the FDNY?s Safety Command.

Firefighters responded to a fire in a wood-frame building on 540 Willoughby Avenue at 3:41 a.m.

As firefighters began operations, Firefighter Raymond Pollard of Ladder 102 was venting the fire on the fourth floor by breaking the three windows facing the street with the aerial ladder.

He then climbed the ladder to the window above the stoop on the fourth floor to begin his search for occupants.

After searching the room and entering the hallway, the fire quickly spread up the stairway. It blew over his head and out the window from which he entered the building, blocking his means of egress.

Firefighter Pollard, a 24-year veteran of the Department, then entered the adjacent room and was chased to the window by the fast moving fire.

As he straddled the windowsill, he said that fire was blowing over his head out the window. Since he had no other means of escape, he hooked his PSS to the window frame and escaped outside, where he dangled two feet below the ledge.

Firefighters manning the aerial and bucket ladders saw him and immediately moved their apparatus to meet him and lower him to safety.

?Fire was blowing out all three windows as he escaped,? said Chief Raynis. ?He?s home now because of teamwork.?

The fire, which began in the basement, escalated to a third-alarm at 5:11 a.m. and the roof collapsed into the fourth floor at around 5:50 a.m. The fire was deemed under control at 6:31 a.m.

Firefighter Pollard suffered second-degree burns to his left hand and three other firefighters suffered minor injuries in the blaze.

Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire, which they believe to be suspicious.