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DCFD Pilots New
Driving Simulator |
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March
2007 |
On January 9, 2007 the DC Fire Department received and installed a
computer controlled video driving simulator constructed by FAAC of Ann
Arbor Michigan. FAAC has built simulators for the FDNY, LAFD,
and Kentucky University. The simulator is comprised of an
engine/ladder truck cab built by Seagrave, it is an exact duplicate of
the Seagraves used in the DCFD fleet, and it also features a Seagrave
tiller bucket.
The simulator has many scenarios that can duplicate day to day
routine driving in the city as well as emergency responses. These
lesson plans can be used to help train the newest members of the
department on the feel of driving fire apparatus (even if they have
never driven anything larger than a VW Bug), it can also help the
seasoned veteran sharpen their driving skills.
The installation of this new training tool is just another example
of how DCFD is using new technology to better protect the citizens of
the District of Columbia. |
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Working Incidents |
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Apartment Well Off In Northwest |
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March
16, 2007...John Mullen |
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Dispatched at 15:24 for the
apartment at 1307 12th St. Northwest. Tower 3 first arriving reported
smoke showing from four windows on the top floor of this five-story
apartment building. When firefighters reached the top floor they
reported an apartment well involved.
The incident was upgraded to a
second alarm as firefighters encountered pack rat like conditions and
the threat of extension into attached exposures.
Crews made a very aggressive
attack on the fire in normal DCFD fashion and knocked it down quickly.
At one point, a civilian reported the possibility that someone was
still in the apartment. An aggressive search of the unit proved
negative.
There were no injures reported,
and as many as 20 people may be displaced. The cause of the fire
was under investigation.
click here more pics |
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| Box: Engines
2-9-4-6-3, Twr-3 & T-4, BFC 6 & Squad 1, PIO.
WFD: Engine 1, Truck 2, BFC 1,
Air 1, SAFO, Car 44, A-25, M-4.
Second Alarm: Engines
23-12-13-11, Trucks 10 & 6, BFC 4, Squad 2, FFD, HMU, Canteen. |
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Fatal Metro Rail
Incident |
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March
13, 2007...Alan Etter |
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Units responded on the Metro
Rescue Alarm at about 1:45 PM for one reported struck by a train at the
Columbia Heights Metro Station.
First responders found what
was reported to be a viable patient under an inbound train. Crews
worked quickly to extricate the 57-year-old man and begin resuscitation
efforts. By the time the man was placed on the platform, CPR was in
progress. Despite the best efforts by FEMS personnel, the man, who is
not yet identified, did not survive. Metro Transit and Metropolitan
Police were investigating. |
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Fire Heavily
Damages Northwest Home |
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March
12, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Firefighters
battled a basement blaze in the upper reaches of the fourth battalion
on Monday night, March 12th.
Units assigned on a box alarm arrived at 6601 7th Street N.W. to find
heavy fire in the basement of a two-story, detached home. Battalion 4
sounded the Working Fire dispatch as an aggressive interior attack was
initiated.
The fire did extend to the first floor before it was brought under
control. No injuries were reported. |
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Small Fire Fills
Dupont Rowhouse With Smoke |
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March
9, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
small but smoky blaze in the Dupont Circle area was quickly extinguished
on Friday evening, March 9th.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke filling the basement of a row
building at 1514 21st Street N.W. Fortunately, sprinklers had activated
and confined the flames to a stuffed chair.
There was no further extension, and a search of the building proved
negative. |
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Two Alarm Fire
Destroys Adams Morgan Apartment |
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March
1, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
raging fire in an Adams Morgan area apartment building sent dozens of
residents fleeing into the bitter cold of the night on Thursday, March
8th.
The two alarm blaze erupted around 1:15 A.M. in an eight-story apartment
building at 2100 19th Street N.W. Firefighters arrived to find flames
roaring from the windows of a second floor apartment.
Scores of frightened residents were trying to escape the building, with
at least one attempting to use a consumer quality escape ladder from her
window.
Faced with an extreme fire condition and severe life hazard, Command 4
quickly requested a second alarm.
It took a stiff battle to control the flames and safely evacuate or
shelter in place numerous occupants, several of whom required medical
attention.
This same building was struck by a second alarm last Fall, when fire
destroyed a seventh floor apartment. |
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Residents Awakened
By Firefighters |
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March
1, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Seven people
made it safely out of their burning D.C. home on Thursday, March 1st,
despite flames blazing in the attic overhead.
The fire erupted in the pre-dawn hours at 424 Hamilton Street N.W., an
occupied two-story row dwelling. First arriving firefighters found heavy
fire in the cockloft and threatening to extend into the adjacent houses.
A second alarm was quickly requested.
An aggressive interior attack confined the blaze primarily to the
structure of origin. |
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Baby
Rescued From S.W. Apartment Fire |
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February 28, 2007...Alan Etter |
At about 4:45 PM (2/28), fire
alarms sounded at 201 I Street, SW the Capitol Park Plaza
Apartments. Heavy smoke and fire raged in a fourth
floor apartment the North side of the building. DCFD
responded quickly and in force, eventually closing down the
intersection at Third and I Streets, SW. Residents on floors
below the fire were instructed to evacuate the building;
tenants on floors from the fourth to the eighth were asked
to stay in place, inside their apartments, because of heavy
smoke conditions.
From the outside of the
building, it appeared that firefighters had to battle
prodigious smoke and flames. Several residents were forced
to their balconies as smoke filled their apartments. Truck
10 was able to get its aerial ladder up to a fourth floor
unit in the rear, where a mother and her baby awaited
rescue. The Trucks driver, FF Technician Kevin Logan,
climbed the ladder and calmed the family in the apartment,
which was two units away from where the fire started. As a
precaution, he cradled the womans six-month-old baby in his
arms and climbed back down the ladder to safety. The
infants mother and an adult male were sheltered in place.
One firefighter suffered
second degree burns to his legs. His injuries were
considered non-life threatening. Several civilians were
assessed by EMS, including the 84-year-old woman in whose
apartment the fire started. While some were treated on the
scene for mild smoke inhalation, there were no civilian
transports.
There was significant damage
to the sprawling apartment complex. As yet, the fire
marshal has not determined the cause of the blaze, which
displaced several residents, most of whom were relocated to
vacant apartments inside the building.
Box:
Engines 13, 18, 2, 8 & 15 Trucks 10 & 7 BFC 2 RS 1
WFD: Engine 6,
Tower 3 BFC 3 SAFO A 18 EMS 2 FIU RS 3 PIO
AIR 2
Second:
Engines
16, 19, 23 & 10 Trucks 13 & 2 BFC 6 FFD MCU HM
EMS 5 A 12
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Room &
Contents On Crittenden St. N.W. |
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February 28, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Fourth
Battalion firefighters made quick work of a dwelling fire in the
Petworth neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, February 28th.
A box alarm assignment arrived at 524 Crittenden Street N.W.
shortly before 4:30 to find smoke showing from the second floor
of the two-story row dwelling. A Working Fire Dispatch was than
sounded.
The fire was found to involve a room on the second floor and was
quickly knocked down. There were no injuries. |
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Vehicle Wrapped
Around N.E. Tree |
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February 27, 2007...Alan Etter |
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Units responded at 4:38 PM
2/27 for the MVA with a report of a person trapped at 5300 Blaine St.,
NE.
First arriving units found a
one-vehicle accident with two trapped, one was severely pinned. Squad 3
blocked the vehicle and began extrication procedures. Both victims,
adult males, were successfully removed and transported with serious
injuries. |
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House Fire 3005
Clinton Street Northeast |
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February 27, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Engine 26 first due on
this two-story single family dwelling. Units had heavy fire in the
basement and walls, a fast attack by firefighters in normal DCFD fashion
brought this fire under control quickly. One firefighter was transported
to the hospital with burn injuries. |
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Overnight Fire
Damages Large N.W. Home |
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February 27, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
fire burning in the walls and attic of a large home in upper Northwest
brought a second alarm assignment to the scene on Tuesday morning,
February 27.
A box alarm assignment was dispatched shortly before 4 A.M. to 602
Butternut Street N.W. Upon arrival, heavy smoke was pushing from |
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the attic of the
large, 2.5 story detached frame dwelling. Units making an interior attack
found the flames had originated on the first floor and had eaten their way
upstairs.
The labor intensive operation required to root out the blaze led Command 4
to request a second alarm.
There were no reported injuries, but four residents and their two pets were
displaced by the fire. |
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Excellent Work By
Third Battalion Firefighters |
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February 22, 2007...Alan Etter |
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Units with Battalion 3
responded at 5:19 PM for the house fire at 2307 16th Street,
Southeast.
When firefighters arrived,
heavy smoke was billowing from the basement of the two-story rowhouse.
No basement access from the rear meant innovative tactics had to be
employed to extinguish the fire, which had extended to the first floor.
A handline was extended from the alley, and water delivered from the
exterior to knock the fire down enough to allow an aggressive interior
attack to finish the job.
There were no injuries
reported. Five people were displaced. And the cause of the fire
remains under investigation. |
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Rescue Assignment
For One Trapped |
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February 22, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
An elderly man had to be
extricated after overturning his vehicle on Rock Creek Parkway north of
Massachusetts Avenue on Thursday afternoon, February 22nd.
A rescue assignment dispatched on the late afternoon call found the
vehicle on its side with the one occupant within. Rescue Squad 1
stabilized the van, and than cut free the roof so the victim could be
safely packaged and removed.
The patient was transported by medic unit to a local trauma center. |
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Quick Knock On
S.E. Apartment Fire |
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Story and Photos
From www.27engine.com |
February 20, 2007
Units on this
Box Alarm with Battalion 2 were alerted to 5010 Southern Ave. S.E.
Engine 30
arrived with smoke showing from side A. Engine 27 arrived on side C
with fire showing. Engine 27 backed up Engine 30 with a back up line
to the fire apartment.
The bulk for
the fire was knocked in minutes and command 2 Held it with one and
one.
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Two Vehicle MVA
With One Overturned |
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February 20, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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A major
accident on I-295 sent two cars careening off the highway and created a
complex rescue scenario for D.C. firefighters on Monday, February 20.
Units dispatched on a rescue assignment located the collision on
Northbound I-295, north of Bolling Air Force Base. Both vehicles were on
an incline, with one overturned partially atop the other. Further
complicating the scene was treacherous footing due to ice, and that the
vehicles were intertwined amongst small trees.
Rescue Squad 3 did extensive work stabilizing the vehicles and cutting
open the overturned car, so that its three trapped occupants could be
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freed. A fourth
occupant was removed from the other vehicle.
All four victims were transported to area hospitals. |
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Photos By: Scott Glazer/FFA |
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Serious Gas Leak
Shuts Down 13th Street In Northwest |
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February 19, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A serious gas leak downtown
brought a full box alarm, the hazmat unit, and some kindness from the
owner of a nearby McDonalds.
Firefighters responded around 8:30 A.M. on Monday, February 19th, for an
odor of gas in the lobby at 725 13th street N.W. Upon finding
indications of a substantial gas leak, they requested the box be filled.
The hazmat unit was also dispatched.
As an extended search progressed for the source of the gas, and elevated
readings were found in several buildings and coming from manholes, the
canteen unit was requested.
As operations continued into lunchtime, Mr. Abdel Mossaid, manager of
the McDonald's at 1235 New York Avenue N.W., generously agreed to
provide hamburgers and fries for the canteen to serve to the hungry
firefighters.
The incident was under the joint command of the Battalion 6 and the
special operations battalion Chief. |
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Heavy Smoke
Conditions Panic Northwest Residents |
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February 18, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
brief but smokey fire in an occupied apartment building panicked
residents there on Sunday evening, February 18th.
Firefighters responding on a box alarm to 5531 Colorado Avenue were
advised that people were reported trapped in the five story structure.
On arrival, they had smoke showing from the lobby area.
Searching for the source, they found fire burning in a basement trash
room with heavy smoke conditions. The blaze was quickly contained, and
frightened occupants were reassured by firefighters. |
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Duplex With Fire
Showing On Arrival In Deanwood |
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Story and Photos
From www.27engine.com |
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18, 2007
Units with the
Second Battalion were dispatched to 4409 Hayes Street N.E. for the house
fire.
Engine 27
arrived to find fire showing from the second floor sides A & D. Engine
27 advanced their line to the second floor were fire met the crew in the
hallway. Engine 27 advise command 2 that they had two rooms off and the
fire was knocked.
Box: Engines
27,30,3,19,06 Trucks 17,16 BFC 2 and Squad 1. |
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Heavy Fire Rips
Through Upper Northwest Duplex |
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February 18, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Two homes in upper Northwest
suffered heavy damage as fire raged through a large frame duplex on
Sunday morning, February 18th.
The box alarm assignment arrived
at 3907 McKinley Street N.W. to find heavy fire on the second floor
rear of the 2.5 story home with a similar attached structure on side
B.
The flames quickly spread into
the attic of the large house, and despite an intensive interior
attack, also ate their way into the attic of the B exposure.
As the blaze spread, a second
alarm was requested, and than two more engines and another truck to
fill the depleted staging area.
Three firefighters had to be
transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries as a
result of the battle to bring this fire under control.
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Photos By Retired AFC/S William
FitzGerald |
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Rush Hour
Collision With Entrapment |
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February 16, 2007 |
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Units responded with
Battalion Two this morning for the MVA with one trapped at Half and M
St's Southwest.
E-7, T-10, RS-1 BFC-2,
M-8, A-18 |
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Firefighters
Assist With Dangerous Ice Condition Downtown |
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February 15, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
heavy sheet of ice hanging over a downtown street posed an unusual
challenge for D.C. firefighters on Thursday afternoon, February 15th.
Tower 3 was initially dispatched to the 1300 block of F Street N.W. to
assist with a dangerous ice condition. They found a large ice sheet that
had formed on an overhang approximately ten stories up.
Sizing up the lethal threat to passerby below, the area was cordoned off
and a request made for the Sixth Battalion Chief to further evaluate the
problem.
The battalion chief requested Squad 1 to the scene, and a game plan was
developed to knock the ice off in sections, using a 12 foot hook. Squad
One firefighter Eric Waddy, secured in a safety harness, sat on a ledge
above the ice sheet and began to break it apart.
Some portions of the ice were beyond Waddy's reach, and the hook
had to be rigged with a rope and dangled from an adjacent section of the
building to reach the isolated portions. Finally, a bag lowered from a
rope was able to brush the remaining chunks from the ledge. |
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The mission was
accomplished despite gusting winds and biting cold, with no injuries, and
police were able to reopen F Street for the evening rush hour. |
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Firefighters
Rescue Eleven From S.E. Apartment Fire |
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February 13, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
D.C. firefighters made numerous rescues as fire engulfed an apartment in
Southeast on Tuesday evening, February 13th.
Flames were billowing from the third floor at 5040 D Street S.E. when
Truck17 arrived at the four-story building around 5:15 P.M. To make
matters worse, panicked residents were at numerous windows pleading for
help.
As an interior attack was mounted on the blaze, aerial ladders swung
into position and ground ladders were thrown to reach the trapped
occupants. Limited access in the rear required that numerous ground
ladders be carried and raised under difficult and icy conditions. At
least 11 people were assisted from the structure.
Although all residents were safely removed or sheltered in place, four
required hospitalization, including two in serious condition with smoke
inhalation. |
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Apartment Fire At
1414 V Street N.W. |
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February 11, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
Fire struck a garden apartment on
Sunday afternoon, February 11th, damaging one unit and filling the four
story structure with heavy smoke.
The fire took place at 1414 V Street N.W. around 2:45 PM. Although
there was smoke showing from the top floor of the building, firefighters
quickly located the flames in a ground level apartment.
A Working Fire Dispatch was sounded, and the fire was quickly knocked
down with no extension beyond the apartment of origin. |
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Special Operations
Ice Rescue Training |
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February 11, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Units with the
Special Operations Division took advantage of the recent frigid
temperatures to conduct ice rescue training this past weekend.
Personnel from Rescue Squads 1 and 2, the Hazmat Unit, and the special
operations battalion chief, gathered at an inland pond on the grounds of
the U.S. Soldiers Home to practice the cold weather techniques. |
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Above: 1070 44th St. N.E. |
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Above: 916 46th St. N.E. |
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Firefighters
Battle Two House Fires Three Blocks Apart |
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February 1, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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Two house fires minutes apart of
each other brought approximately 20 firefighting units racing to the
Deanwood section of the city on Thursday afternoon, February 1st.
The first fire erupted shortly
before 4 PM in a two story frame duplex at 915 46th Street N.E.
Firefighters found flames in the walls and ceiling of the first floor
that had extended to the floor above and into the cockloft. As they
battled to expose and extinguish the spreading blaze, units at this
first incident were startled to see a large column of black smoke
rising into the sky several blocks away.
The second blaze originated in a
large garage at 1070 44th Street N.E. and quickly spread into an
adjacent one-story detached home. By the time companies arrived, the
house was also heavily involved.
Both fires required Working
Fire Dispatches, and were contained through aggressive interior
attacks. One firefighter was injured at the 46th Street blaze.
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Photos Courtesy Of
Elliot J. Goodman |
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Unusual Fire In
Engine 10's Area |
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January 29, 2007...Elliot J. Goodman |
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Dispatched as a
double local at 15:45 hrs for smoke in the area of 300 Florida Ave. N.E.
Engine 10
arrived with fire and thick black smoke showing from a large underground
dug up section of Florida Ave. The fire involved piping and other
materials from an underground construction project.
There were no
injuries reported. |
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Basement
Fire 4816 Kansas Ave. N.W. |
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January 23, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A
basement fire in a Fourth Battalion row house resulted in
the sounding of a second alarm on Tuesday, January 23rd.
Rescue Squad 2 was first on the scene of the late morning
blaze at 4816 Kansas Avenue N.W., and reported smoke showing
from the first floor of the two-story, occupied row
dwelling.
As
units began their attack, the fire was located in the
basement. When it appeared the flames were possibly
extending to upper floors and threatening exposures,
Battalion 4 ordered the second alarm.
Despite threatening conditions, the fire was quickly knocked
down, and second alarm units returned. There were no
reported injuries.
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Fire Rips Through Northwest Building |
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January 22, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
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A stubborn building fire near
Howard University severely taxed the efforts of D.C. firefighters on
Monday, January 22nd.
The blaze was first spotted shortly after midnight in an
abandoned three-story apartment building at 2nd and W Streets N.W.
Units arrived to find fire on the second and third floors, and a
Working Fire Dispatch was requested by Battalion 1. Although the
initial visible fire was quickly knocked down, the upper floors
continued to ooze heavy smoke, indicating there were still flames
burning in the walls and ceilings.
It was a see-saw battle as
firefighters struggled to open up and find the elusive fire, despite
the heavy smoke and deteriorated condition of the vacant structure.
Making no headway, and determining that the building was becoming
structurally dangerous, Battalion Chief 6 interior commander
Kevin Byrne recommended pulling all firefighters out. Units were
ordered to abandon the structure, and fire erupted thru the roof as a
defensive attack began utilizing Tower 3 and Truck 4's ladderpipe, and
the wagon pipe on Engine 4. A second alarm was also sounded.
The blaze continued to rage
for at least another hour until it was finally beaten down by the
master stream attack, and firefighters carefully reentered and mopped
up the final hotspots. |
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Traumatic Injury
At Union Station |
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January 22, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
A worker doing installation
work at Union Station suffered serious traumatic injuries after a
several thousand pound cabinet fell over on him on Monday evening,
January 22nd.
A rescue assignment was
dispatched to the railroad station for what was reported as a person
trapped under a piece of machinery. Firefighters were directed to
the chiller room in the bowels of the building, where they found the
injured man already removed from under the electrical cabinet.
He was treated and packaged by
personnel from Medic 2, Engine 6, and Rescue Squad 1, and rushed to
the Medstar trauma center.
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Numerous Manhole
Explosions Downtown |
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January 22, 2007...Vito Maggiolo |
Several manhole explosions in
downtown D.C. brought a major response from D.C. Fire and EMS during
the evening rush hour on Monday, January 22nd.
A box alarm was dispatched for
the reported explosion at 17th and I Streets N.W. Firefighters
arrived to find one manhole with the cover blown upwards and heavy
smoke billowing from a second one a block away.
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As Battalion 6
and the Special Ops Battalion established command, reports were received
of heavy smoke in the basement of 910 17th Street N.W. Units sent to that
location confirmed heavy smoke in the basement, but no fire.
As further
reports were received of buildings without power and people in stalled
elevators, additional units, including the hazmat task force, were
dispatched to the area.
Pepco was finally
able to arrive at the scene to secure the problem in their underground
power grid, after which the situation stabilized and fire department units
were able to be released.
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E-Mail The Staff
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John F. Mullen |
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Administrator |
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Kevin D. Copley |
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Graphics |
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