2 Escape House Fire in Portland 2-18-13

[Guest]

At 11:12 Portland Fire Dispatch transmitted a box for a house fire at 32 N. Fremont St. The assignment was E24, E14, E13, E8, T13, C2 and C4. Later, an extra truck (T8) and Rehab 12 were ordered by C2.

Chief Munro (C2) was first to arrive and reported heavy fire. He was also informed that a man had jumped from a 2nd floor window. Another man had escaped through the front door. Neither man was injured.


Battalion Chief Munro (C2).



The front porch had been heavily involved.



This is when I arrived after a long ride across the city.



The low hanging wirtes were a hazard.







They saved a little fire for me.



Some ladder work around back.


 




First due Engine 24's Lt. Dave Keller comes out for air.

[129k]

Awesome pics and some damn good truck work...I really just can NOT get past the facts that the Chiefs sit in their trucks...sorry!

[ACPD227]

Awesome pics and some damn good truck work...I really just can NOT get past the facts that the Chiefs sit in their trucks...sorry!

 

The chiefs in the metro for wayne indiana area stay in their trucks also. I was not aware their were depts anywhere not doing this. I have seen some times they stand in back of command trucks but its an office.

[hank]

Good photos, Dick!

 

tHANKs

[Guest]

Awesome pics and some damn good truck work...I really just can NOT get past the facts that the Chiefs sit in their trucks...sorry!

Yes, when i first got out here from Boston, I was surprised too, but it works very well. The 2nd chief becomes the safety officer and usually does a 360 of the scene and reports back to Command. On a large fire more chiefs take command of various areas, all reporting back to Command (the first due chief).

[BILL S]

Awesome pics and some damn good truck work...I really just can NOT get past the facts that the Chiefs sit in their trucks...sorry!

I totally agree about the chiefs sitting their buggies while at the scene. Also being from New England (NH) even if it is a down pour or a blizzard they are out in it with everyone else.

[hank]

Seems now, we have more chiefs than indians!

[Dickey]

Awesome pics and some damn good truck work...I really just can NOT get past the facts that the Chiefs sit in their trucks...sorry!

I can't get over that there are chiefs that still walk around buildings as "roving command". I can't believe some stand at the back of an SUV in the weather, noise and can keep things straight.

 

I like to hang my command board on my steering wheel, my notepad next to me and roll up the windows and lock the doors. I can concentrate on the radio traffic much better. If there are multiple agencies then they all climb in my truck for unified command.

 

To each his own I guess.

[Guest]

Just a question out there. I am seeing a lot of pictures on this and other sites that command is on a car / SUV and does not get out this loots like a mid-west west coast thing. Is this normal for command to do that. I know that all the commands i have seen in the northeast they are out of the car in front of the building. In classes it is taught that command does a 360 then back to the front of the building. just a question with command in a SUV in front of of the building does this work ? I am not sure as a command officer i think that having done a walk around give the officer a better idea of what the building looks like and the hazards.  

[BFD190]

pretty soon you can operate some little drone type to do a  sizeup from the seat of some vehicle... Then some blow hard will bitch about some high paid chief that just sits in his truck and plays with a remote control helicopter ...  o the times they are a changin...

[Guest]

Great photos...we get two chiefs on any job, one as IC, another as C side/safety. One thing I noticed that I don't see many departments doing is placing the fly section of the ladders towards the building. It's safer and you only lose a small amount of strength.

[Dickey]

Just a question out there. I am seeing a lot of pictures on this and other sites that command is on a car / SUV and does not get out this loots like a mid-west west coast thing. Is this normal for command to do that. I know that all the commands i have seen in the northeast they are out of the car in front of the building. In classes it is taught that command does a 360 then back to the front of the building. just a question with command in a SUV in front of of the building does this work ? I am not sure as a command officer i think that having done a walk around give the officer a better idea of what the building looks like and the hazards.  

 

Lad4Lt,

 

To answer your question, it is very common, at least in my state of WI, that the IC is either in an SUV or some other command post that you can actually be inside of. It is not common for IC to stand outside behind an SUV and certainly not standing in front of the building. It is taught in the WI technical college system that the first arriving officer does a 360 and then is IC until releived by a higher ranking officer. In my department, myself and the chief respond directly to the scene. If I am on scene first, I do a 360 then get back in my truck to run command. That is pretty common in my neck of the woods. I have a buddy who lives in Pennsylvania who says it's common there for the IC to do a 360 then stand outside near the pumping engine. In my opinion, I would rather be inside a quiet place to listen to my radios and so I can keep track of my assignments on my command boards. I carry all this with me in my truck.

 

I'm sure it's a regional thing. I have seen commanders who stand outside who have no idea what their assignments were and miss radio traffic because they are standing next to a loud engine or fan or something. Personally I wouldn't be caught dead without some sort of command board or at least a yellow pad to keep track of assignments if there would ever be a MAYDAY.