Story & Photos By Capt. Larry Chapman

On October 24th, 1997 Sergeant John Carter lost his life in the performance of his duty.  On September 23, 2010, members of Engine 24, Squad 2, number two platoon, met at the corner of 5th and Kennedy streets N.W. to help keep his memory alive by repainting the alarm box that had been placed there years ago as a tribute to John’s dedication to duty, to his comrades and to the city.  The members present were: Lt. J. Ward, Sgt. R. Thompson and Firefighters: M. Shea, K. Byrne, J. Carroll, D. Ayers, M. Trace, J. Vogt, C. Shyab.

Thanks to E24/R2 for keeping our traditions alive.

October 29, 2010: Story & Photos By Elliot J. Goodman

Friday evening October 29th, firefighters responded to the Metro Center Station for the report of a person struck by a train and trapped underneath the car. Engine 16, Truck 4, Squads 1 & 2, Hazmat 1, SPOPS BFC, and EMS units arrived on the scene and confirmed a trapped victim. The extraction took about 30 minutes and the victim was transported in very serious condition to George Washington Hospital.

Truck 13 Platoon 2

Engine 8 Platoon 2

October 30, 2010: Story & Photos By Vito Maggiolo

Four people suffered injuries as a result of an escalator accident in the L’Enfant Plaza metro station on Saturday, October 30th.

Units were dispatched around 2:15 PM for what was initially reported as an escalator collapse at the station, which was jammed with people attending the Restore Sanity Rally on the mall. The response including both the cave-in and North Mass Casualty task forces.

Firefighters arrived to find that the steep escalator apparently malfunctioned, stopping abruptly and sending several riders tumbling down to its base. All four of the injured had to be transported to area hospitals, including one suffering from fairly serious injuries.

October 26, 2010: Story by Vito Maggiolo

For the third time in recent weeks, DC FEMS responded to a city school to investigate a threatening white powder letter.

The latest incident took place on Tuesday, October 26th, at the Beers elementary school, 3600 Alabama Avenue SE.

A hazmat assignment was dispatched to the school, and took readings of the substance. All testing proved negative, and the incident was left in the hands of law enforcement.

Engine 12 Platoon 1

Pictures by Elliot J. Goodman

Saturday October 16th, well over 100 people attended the Light the Night Walk at Freedom Plaza in Honor of our son Kevin to raise money for continued research in the battle against blood cancers.

The Mullen family would like to extend a huge heartfelt thank you to all the DCFD family that donated and walked in honor of our son. Our team raised over $12,000.00 in a short 6 week time frame. That truly was amazing and shattered our original goal of 5K.

I would like to send out a special thank you to the following Companies from Platoon 1 who attended the event that evening. Engine Co. 12, Truck Co. 3, BFC 1, FFD, FIU, if I left anyone out please accept my apology, we truly are thankful all of you could attend and be part of this special evening walk with us.

Sincerely,

John , Laura & Kristie Mullen

Pictures by Elliot J. Goodman

To all of the retired and current members that attended, I would like to extend a huge 'Thank You' for helping make the Centennial of Engine 23 a success. It was good to hear the retired guys interacting with each other... Yes Butch, Chris gave me the message...Thanks for getting the word out to your membership. For those that missed it, there were over 300 visitors during the event. Council members Evans, Catania, and Mendelson were in attendance along with Chairman Gray, who came by later in the afternoon. To the FFA, Vito, and Elliott thanks for your support. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Thanks, Captain Mack for all of your efforts. To the DCFD Historian, Jim Embrey your work and contribution to the event is priceless. Thank You. I added the current members to the end of your booklet, I hope you do not mind. To the members of E-23 that contributed to the event, Congrats on a job well done..Ed Ellis, your tireless effort made the community smile.

Thanks to You All.

Capt. Kelton Ellerbe

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October 14, 2010: Story by Vito Maggiolo Photos by Sgt. Christopher Holmes

Heavy fire engulfing a Shaw neighborhood row house greeted firefighters arriving on a box alarm Tuesday morning, October 19th.

The blaze involved a two story, end-of-row dwelling at #14 T Street NW around 10 AM. Flames had full possession of the first floor and rear porch, and was extending to the second floor and attic, as well as threatening exposures.

A working fire dispatch was immediately sounded, and a vigorous interior firefighting effort knocked down the fire relatively quickly, preventing spread to the exposure.

There were no reported injuries.

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October 14, 2010: Photos and Story by Vito Maggiolo

A fully engulfed auto in the Third Street tunnel captured quite a bit of attention Thursday afternoon, October 14th.

The car erupted in fire around 3 PM in the southbound lanes beneath the E Street overpass, sending billows of smoke into the tunnel as well as into an adjacent building at 400 2nd street NW.

Traffic ground to a halt as fire units were dispatched to the tunnel and a box alarm was sounded for the 2nd Street building.

Despite the commotion, the blaze was quickly extinguished by Engine 3. There were no injuries.

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October 14, 2010: Photos and Story by Vito Maggiolo

Special Operations units from DC FEMS were called to the heart of Chinatown on Friday, October 14th to investigate the partial collapse of a commercial building.

Firefighters discovered that at 801 7th Street NW, a three story section of the building’s exterior rear wall had collapsed, and the remainder of the structure was in an unsafe condition. The three story building formerly housed a CVS store, and has been vacant for some time now.

Due to evidence that vagrants may have been living inside, a search dog was requested to the scene. Sergeant Chris Holmes and “Cazo” responded and conducted a search, which proved negative.

After further evaluation, the building was left in the hands of the DC buildings department and metropolitan police.

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October 13, 2010: Photos and Story by Vito Maggiolo

What at first appearances appeared to be a serious fire was quickly contained on Wednesday, October 13th.
A box alarm was dispatched to the 500 block of Hobart Place NW for the reported house fire. Responding units could see a significant smoke condition.

Engine 4 arrived and initially reported fire showing from the basement. Further investigation determined the flames to be primarily on the exterior rear of a two story row house on Columbia Road, and were quickly brought under control.

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October 9, 2010: Photos and Story by Jarrid Gaston

600 13th ST NW E16,2,23,3,6 T3,4 B6 R2 EMS 6. Truck 3 Technician Will Dantzler was sitting out front of E16 Qtrs and noticed heavy smoke coming from a building down the street. E16 T3 B6 EMS6 responded and found fire at M&S GRILL AT 600 13 Street.

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October 7, 2010: Photos and Story by Elliot J. Goodman

Early Thursday evening DCFD Firefighters responded on a box alarm to the U.S. Department of Commerce at 15th and Constitution Ave. N.W. for fire reported on the 3rd floor. 

Upon arrival, units encountered a heavy odor of smoke in the block.  As units made their way to the 3rd floor they encountered heavy smoke conditions with a working fire on that floor.  

Units had lines on the fire and as windows were being broken out, heavy black smoke was evident. It was then learned the area was being reconstructed and involved asbestos and the HAZMAT unit was requested with several special alarms for additional equipment including Engine 4 with the DECON trailer.

Even though the fire was knocked down quickly, units were on the scene for over 5 hours in the shadow of the Washington Monument.

Click Here for Vito Maggiolo's Slideshow 928 U Street N.W.

Click Here for Vito Maggiolo's Slideshow 1375 Mt. Olivet Rd NE

Click Here for Vito Maggiolo's Slideshow 1208 Meigs Pl. NE

October 6, 2010: Photos and Story by Vito Maggiolo

DC firefighters had a busy day Wednesday, October 6th, as they battled four working fires, including three in short order during the evening hours.

The first incident took place around 3:30 in the afternoon at 3017 16th Street NE. Responding units encountered fire on the first floor of a two story, balloon frame, detached house. Fire did extend up the walls before the blaze was brought under control. There were no injuries.

The U Street corridor was the scene of the next incident shortly before 6 PM, when fire broke out in a one story commercial building at 928 U Street NW. The flames were confined to one occupancy and quickly brought under control, also without injury.

Units were still operating on U Street when a box was sounded for the Webb School at 1375 Mount Olivet Road NE. First arriving companies found heavy smoke showing from roof vents of a one story portion of the school, which was under renovation.

The building was locked up tight, requiring considerable forcible entry efforts before firefighters could gain access. Once inside, they found fire in a storeroom, with very heavy interior smoke conditions. After being located, the blaze was quickly brought under control.

At around 7:30 PM, yet another blaze erupted in a two story apartment building at 1208 Meigs Place NE, just several blocks from the school fire. A working fire dispatch was again sounded, and among units assigned to this call was Bladensburg Engine 809 from Prince Georges County Maryland, which had transferred into DC due to the earlier fire activity. This fire involved a portion of the first floor with minor extension upstairs.

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October 2, 2010: Photos and Story by Elliot J. Goodman

E-16 " Leonard "Bud" Doggett Dedication..10-2-10....On a beautiful Saturday morning several hundred Firefighters and Friends of Mr. Leonard "Bud" Doggett gathered at the quarters of Engine 16 and Tower 3  to honor this great man and his wife Cherrie in the renaming of the fire station to what will be known as the Leonard "Bud" Doggett station.

Mr. Doggett started the organization HEROES INC., which over the years has helped so many Firefighters and Police officers who died in the line of duty with so many invaluable lines of support to make the worst tragedies somewhat managable for the future of their families and children.

We all thank Mrs. Doggett for allowing us to bestow this honor on such a great man as he was, and certainly his wife Cherrie. Many thanks to the members of Engine 16 and Tower 3 for the massive effort and great job in making the "Doggett'" station the very best looking "older" station in the nation.

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October 2, 2010: Photos and Story by Elliot J. Goodman

Saturday afternoon DCFD Firefigthers were dispatched to 1500 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. for the report of a fire. Units arrived on the scene with smoke showing from the front of the building and a Working Fire dispatch was sounded. The fire was knocked down and placed under control however 1 person was transported to the hospitol in serious condition.

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October 2, 2010: Photos and Story by Elliot J. Goodman

DCFD Units Participate in the National Firefighters Memorial....On Sunday October 3rd Truck Co.13 and the Canteen Unit made the trip to Emmitsburg Md. to help in honoring the 105 Firefighters who died this past year in the line of duty. Truck 13 again provided the arch at the entrance to the National Firefighters Academy. Sincere thanks to the members of Truck Co. 13 platoon #4 (pictured) and Chris Oliphant, John Gaskins and Elliot Goodman, the Canteen Crew.