Buchanan Fire - 7/6/08

[x648eng119 2]

Date: 7/6/08

Time: 17:45

Location: 264 White Street

Frequency: 46.26, Peekskill/Buchanan PD freq

Units Operating: BPD, BFD

Description Of Incident: House Fire

17:45 BPD 267 (Det. Piehler) reports smoke from a structure, then confirms working structure fire.

17:47 BFD toned out, Montrose Tower Ladder 8 Req, Verplank stand by in quarters.

17:50 Hitting Hydrant - laying in.

17:51 req CCVAC

17:58 E160 reports fire knocked down, checking for extension, 2 handlines in operation.

18:03 C&O Zone 4 toned for response.

18:06 Montrose VA RIT req - standby on Albany Post Rd.

18:19 Croton E119 relocate to Montrose VA

18:20 1404 en route to Buchanan

A FANTASTIC job by the boys (and girl ) of Buchanan FD! This fire had quite a bit of potential, but BFD, with the assistance of the truck crew from Montrose got in there quickly and made a great stop! The fire started in a basement apartment due to an overloaded electrical circuit, and quickly spread. Engine 160 went in with an 1 3/4" and knocked it down quickly before it had a chance to spread out of control. Here's a rundown of the units on scene and standby.

Buchanan FD: 2551 2553 E160 E161 R26 U12

Montrose FD: 2271 TL8

Montrose VA FD: MA28 (RIT)

Cortlandt VAC: 88B3, 8805

WCDES: CC2 BAT10 BAT17 1404 (C&O)

Standby Units:

Verplanck FD: E126 In Quarters

Croton FD: E119 In Montrose VA HQ

[Remember585 815]

I've got a complaint regarding our relocate to 257HQ...

I see all the patches and helmet fronts collected.

WHERE'S THE E119 or T10 HELMET FRONTS?!

After all, our members working there hail from the northside, no?

(I may have one, either you or FDVA356 have to ask nicely though!)

Edited July 7, 2008 by Remember585

[RES20CUE 40]

I've got a complaint regarding our relocate to 257HQ...

I see all the patches and helmet fronts collected.

WHERE'S THE E119 or T10 HELMET FRONTS?!

After all, our members working there hail from the northside, no?

(I may have one, either you or FDVA356 have to ask nicely though!)

There used to be one there from E119, however, due to budget contraints it was returned for use by the company!

[Guest FFNick]

I've got a question for the VA guys.

When you go M/A to the surrounding areas, what resources are you sending - I see you went as RIT - how much personnel are you sending and what equipment do you have?

Also, how does your fill in M/A work out? Are they familiar with your facilities and special hazards and occupancies? Do you have a representative of the VA do a ride along with them for access and direction?

Any info would be appreciated - thanx.

[FDVA356 23]

Yes John we used to have a 119 helmet front but went to a new member, I will donate one to put up.

To answer the question of what the FDVA RIT provides, it works as follows:

MA 28 will respond with 2 fully trained firefighters to serve as your two members there solely for firefighter rescue if needed during the operations. The VAFD will be there for the beginning of the incident, and the appropriate FAST is also dispatched. When the FDVA RIt gets there, they will set up where the IC wants and will begin with a walk around, get accountability and find out where firefighters are operating etc. and will also begin to ladder building etc. whatever FAST duties need to be done. Once the FAST gets there, which is from 5-15 minutes or so, the RIT then either supplement the FAST or assist in other operations, or be released. The RIT is a great thing for the firefighters operating on scene, as the RIT is usually there during the beginning stages, where the most chance of someone getting hurt, lost etc.

Tools we carry:

axe, haligans, rabbit tool, pike poles, assorted tag lines, search lines, spare SCBA for down firefighter, hand lights, stokes, saws if needed, extrication tool, various rope and associated hardware, tripod, MA 28 is basically a rescue with lots of tools.

Every firefighter at the FDVA is trained as:

Firefighter/EMT/Rescue Tech Basic/Haz Mat Tech/Confined Space Tech/FAST and are well trained in the fire service. Lots of talent and experience here, and willing to come out to assist you!

When the RIT is called, we still have a Class A pumper, and a minimum of 2 firefighters still on station, and once we are called a CALL BACK is conducted. Depending on the ETA of the incoming Call Back personel, a standby company is requested until the station is staffed accordingly. In reference to the incoming standby company knowing the campus etc. there will still be 2 firefighters to ride with the M/A companies. We all have to remember, the FDVA is there to protect our Veterans, so we have to make sure we have sufficient resources covering the campus. This also goes for if you happen to call for our engine, or Haz Mat o Marine unit. If you call us though, you are guaranteed to get at a min. of 2 fully trained firefighters for RIT, and Marine, and 3-4 firefighters on a engine or Haz mat depending on manning for that shift. We are here to assist in anyway, and will have a smile when called upon!!

I hope I was able to clear up any questions you may have.

[PFD165 1]

If I am reading your response correctly your RIT team consists of 2 highly trained and qualified firefighters and you also call in a FAST. Was the FAST team cancelled enroute for this call as I do not see one listed on the IA? I would assume that the FAST Team would have been Croton?

[DonMoose 3]

If I am reading your response correctly your RIT team consists of 2 highly trained and qualified firefighters and you also call in a FAST. Was the FAST team cancelled enroute for this call as I do not see one listed on the IA? I would assume that the FAST Team would have been Croton?

Didn't hear any FAST requests when I was writing the IA. Just RIT.

[Guest FFNick]

So just trying for some clarification. Most places generally see a RIT and FAST as the same, just a difference in terminology, so I am assuming they are the same here - if not, please clarify for me if you can.

It looks to me that in this instance from what I've read, that the VA runs as a stop gap RIT until a full RIT arrives - is that the case? So I would assume then that the local protocol is to dispatch FDVA as RIT and simultaneously dispatch another FD as RIT, and once this FD shows up and is ready, the VA RIT stands down.

Is this the way it goes?

Thanks again - sorry for so many questions.

[x648eng119 2]

Didn't hear any FAST requests when I was writing the IA. Just RIT.

After speaking with Buchanan's IC, by time the RIT was called, the bulk of the fire was knocked down, so no FAST was called.

Difference between a FAST and a RIT - not much, except a RIT is a quicker deployment just to get someone there during the initial stages of the fire, as FDVA356 said, when people are most likely to get hurt or lost. Whereas a FAST may take a few minutes to gather, the VA RIT team can be out the door and on the road immediately after dispatch. In most cases, both are dispatched at the same time, and again as FDVA356 stated, the RIT can supplement the FAST, or assist with fireground operations.

Edited July 7, 2008 by x648eng119

[RWC130 594]

17:45 BPD 267 (Det. Piehler) reports smoke from a structure, then confirms working structure fire.

Kudos to Detective Piehler from Buchanan PD!!!

Good job ALL Firefighters who responded.

[Guest FFNick]

Difference between a FAST and a RIT - not much, except a RIT is a quicker deployment just to get someone there during the initial stages of the fire, as FDVA356 said, when people are most likely to get hurt or lost. Whereas a FAST may take a few minutes to gather, the VA RIT team can be out the door and on the road immediately after dispatch. In most cases, both are dispatched at the same time, and again as FDVA356 stated, the RIT can supplement the FAST, or assist with fireground operations.

Just for my clarificaion then - the RIT and FAST as discussed here really are the same as far as their fireground role - it is more a factor of their speed of response and manpower, and not necessarily their training or equipment.

If that's how it goes, it's an interesting concept, I have never quite seen it done that way. Looks like a good way to take advantage of a local and willing resource.

[BFD1054 1,552]

Idealy, our 1st Alarm assignment should have been dispatched upon the confirmation of the working fire. Unfortunately this was not done for whatever reason, but thankfully everything worked out great.

Our first alarm assignment would have been:

Re-tone for the working fire; full dept. response from Buchanan

Montrose TL-8 to the scene

FDVA MA-28 to the scene as the RIT

Croton FASTeam to the scene

Cortlandt VAC to the scene (ambulance & rehab unit)

Verplanck to re-locate (1) engine to our quarters.

As stated, BPD Det. Piehler (who is a former FF) arrived and confirmed the fire, which was relayed to us. Steve is an excellent LEO and always there to lend a hand, even helping stretch the initial line.

One of our units arrived shortly thereafter, confirmed the fire and requested only TL-8.

The initial crew was made up of a highly trained FF on the nozzle, backed-up by our Captain, who stretched an 1 3/4 inch line with a smooth-bore nozzle. The fire started in the kitchen of the basement apartment, which was occupied, but the tenant was not at home. The house was a 2-story ordinary construction, with an apartment in the basement and the upper 2 floors making up one apartment. The upper 2 floors were under renovation and were basically gutted. This fire was discovered early, which made a huge difference in the outcome. Other factors that saved the house were the initial crew making a great push into the fire apartment, the fact that there were mostly brick walls and not much fire load (due to the upper floors being empty).

It was definately a good stop that could have had a much worse outcome. The Montrose guys (and girl) did a great job laddering the building (ground ladder), assisting with ventilation and releiving the initial crews. The FDVA crew was a great asset as always. They walked into the scene with their stokes & RIT equipment and even hung around to help rack hose and help wherever else was needed.

FFNick...the FDVA guys on here did a great job at answering your questions, i'll just add a bit. As you can see, i listed our 1st Alarm assignment above. Our department, like many in the County, have our pre-planned Alarm Assignments set up with 60-Control. If one of our units gets on scene with a working fire, all they have to do is advise 60-Control to dispatch the 1st alarm and they handle the rest.

We added the FDVA to the assignment a few years back i believe. You pretty much hit the nail on the head; we use them because they are another local, reliable resource that we can depend on in the first moments of an incident. In most cases, they will arrive, check in with the IC, do their walk-arounds and stand FAST until the arrival of our designated FASTeam (Croton, unless unavailable). It is then up to the IC if he wants to release the FDVA or hold them to assist the FASTeam or use them in another capacity. The FDVA is a good resource as a whole and they work closely with their surrounding depts. There are bunch of guys that are FDVA FF's that also volunteer in the area (Buchanan, Croton), which helps tremendously.

I hope that your questions were answered, if not feel free to ask away!

[DonMoose 3]

Quick question - I see that BFD uses Croton FAST for 1st alarm assignments, but back a couple months ago at the fire at W.I.C. Peekskill FAST was utilized. Is there sections of Buchanan that use Croton vs Peekskill or vice versa?

[BFD1054 1,552]

Don, yes, Peekskill was our FASTeam for the fire at the WIC complex. The night of the fire, Croton was conducting a department-wide drill at the WCFTC. We (Buchanan) were actually on stand-by with Montrose TL-8 at Crotons Harmon Firehouse when the call came in. This changed up the assignment, bringing in Peekskill's FASTeam and Verplanck TL-46, rather than Crotons FASTeam and Montrose TL-8.

But Croton the primary FASTeam on our 1st Alarm assignment, unless they are unavailable, as was the case for the WIC fire.

[Guest FFNick]

BFD1054 - Thanks for the info, I think I got it now. Back when I was a member of The Point, I never heard too much of the FDVA on the radio. It's good to see them getting off campus. A lot of industrial/private FDs in CT have agreements with their local FDs to run M/A or RIT/FAST.