Brush fire destroys Kent fire truck

[Geppetto 31]

Stamford Advocate

March 31, 2011

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Brush-fire-destroys-Kent-fire-truck-1316093.php

[newsbuff 286]

That was my department that I started out with as an explorer! Been in that truck many times. Sad to see it like that.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Here's WTNH's article with a picture of the truck: http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/litchfield_cty/kent-fire-department-loses-truck-in-blaze

By what is being told, the truck was driven up to this point and the fire had been moving in the opposite direction. The operator began experiencing some mechanical problems with getting the pump into gear and the wind then shifted pushing the fire towards the truck. They tried to get the truck going but the problems persisted so they had to abandon it. The good thing was no one got hurt.

Me personally, I rather loose a truck than loose a member.

[PFDRes47cue 653]

Glad no one was hurt. Sad to see the truck burned up like that.

[capt2102 64]

Glad to see that no one was injured... burning L.D.H. sure does make alot of black smoke doesn't it?

[38ff 250]

So this brings up a question. Your truck is broken down as in the situation above, and it's not going to be able to move out of the fire's way. Your have a few minutes of before the fire gets to the truck and/or it endangers your escape route. Do you attempt to save any of the loose gear on the truck? Air pack, AED, TIC, portable radios, nozzles, ect? Or do you hope insurance will cover it all?

I'd atleast make an attempt for the high dolar stuff even though insurance would cover it. TIC/AED/Airpacks/portable radios if there was a few minutes. One guy can carry a bunch of those items out of harms way in just one trip. 2 or 3 guys could save a ton of stuff on their retreat to safe ground. This is all assuming there is no "run for your life" situation. In that case, it's all going up in smoke.

Edited March 31, 2011 by 38ff

[JetPhoto 626]

So this brings up a question. Your truck is broken down as in the situation above, and it's not going to be able to move out of the fire's way. Your have a few minutes of before the fire gets to the truck and/or it endangers your escape route. Do you attempt to save any of the loose gear on the truck? Air pack, AED, TIC, portable radios, nozzles, ect? Or do you hope insurance will cover it all?

I'd atleast make an attempt for the high dolar stuff even though insurance would cover it. TIC/AED/Airpacks/portable radios if there was a few minutes. One guy can carry a bunch of those items out of harms way in just one trip. 2 or 3 guys could save a ton of stuff on their retreat to safe ground. This is all assuming there is no "run for your life" situation. In that case, it's all going up in smoke.

It's very hard to say, unless you are there and actually see the conditions saving anything besides your backside may be the only thing you can do.

Sad situation I'm glad no one was hurt.

So on another note I guess they will be getting a new engine soon.

[newsbuff 286]

It's very hard to say, unless you are there and actually see the conditions saving anything besides your backside may be the only thing you can do.

Sad situation I'm glad no one was hurt.

So on another note I guess they will be getting a new engine soon.

That was their newest engine, aside from an 02' walk-in rescue.

[JetPhoto 626]

Kent Fire Dept web site

[osufire90 18]

according to their website their old ambulance was also destroyed in a fire!

[newsbuff 286]

according to their website their old ambulance was also destroyed in a fire!

That one lit up from the engine bay.

[Newburgher 241]

Not to sound like a know-it-all, but a simple question: Why did that rig even leave the street?

When you go to a fire that is burning a field, or any fire that doesn't have an immediate exposure, and life is not in danger, quite often, we bring the highest dollar exposures, and park them in harms way, then put a bunch of life hazards(our people) into the mix. Don't get me wrong, not trying to criticize, and I know it is only a small snapshot into what is happening there, but it puzzles me.

From what I can see, it looks like it was a field. If there is no humans, animals, or buildings/equipment in the way, how big a deal is it really? Keep the rig (which in this case appears to have been two wheel drive?) on the pavement, and stretch a line or two to it. After the spring we have had, it's surprising the truck isn't sunk in the mud anyway. If there was a building involved, I would think it is connected to the road by a driveway.

To me, seeing a burned up pumper in the middle of a burned field, with no hose stretched, just doesn't make sense.

[firemoose827 324]

Not to sound like a know-it-all, but a simple question: Why did that rig even leave the street?

When you go to a fire that is burning a field, or any fire that doesn't have an immediate exposure, and life is not in danger, quite often, we bring the highest dollar exposures, and park them in harms way, then put a bunch of life hazards(our people) into the mix. Don't get me wrong, not trying to criticize, and I know it is only a small snapshot into what is happening there, but it puzzles me.

From what I can see, it looks like it was a field. If there is no humans, animals, or buildings/equipment in the way, how big a deal is it really? Keep the rig (which in this case appears to have been two wheel drive?) on the pavement, and stretch a line or two to it. After the spring we have had, it's surprising the truck isn't sunk in the mud anyway. If there was a building involved, I would think it is connected to the road by a driveway.

To me, seeing a burned up pumper in the middle of a burned field, with no hose stretched, just doesn't make sense.

I dont know the specifics for this fire so I am clearly not speaking for these guys, but in my experience up here by me, driving into farms, fields, or logging roads is sometimes the ONLY way to get to the fire. I have driven in a fire engine into field and forest many times to extinguish brush fires that could easily have turned worse without water. We dont have choppers (aerial tankers?) so we have to drive it or walk it in.

SOme of our departments have 4wd engines, and some dont. We have brush trucks, but they only carry 250-300 gallons of water. If we can get the 1000 gallon engine close enough to use it as a fill station for the brush units than we do it, its an effective tactic, otherwise we have to drive the brush units long distance to a pond, creek, or other water source to refill. Having the engine, or even a tanker with a pump, close to the scene helps out in the long run.

Besides...every brush fire has the capability to turn into a major fire, threatening homes, businesses and lives, so the earlier you jump on it the better. Just saying that could be the reason they drove the rig into the field.

Hope that helps. Stay safe.

[NWFDMedic 58]

So this brings up a question. Your truck is broken down as in the situation above, and it's not going to be able to move out of the fire's way. Your have a few minutes of before the fire gets to the truck and/or it endangers your escape route. Do you attempt to save any of the loose gear on the truck? Air pack, AED, TIC, portable radios, nozzles, ect? Or do you hope insurance will cover it all?

I'd atleast make an attempt for the high dolar stuff even though insurance would cover it. TIC/AED/Airpacks/portable radios if there was a few minutes. One guy can carry a bunch of those items out of harms way in just one trip. 2 or 3 guys could save a ton of stuff on their retreat to safe ground. This is all assuming there is no "run for your life" situation. In that case, it's all going up in smoke.

I'm sure you could try to save some of the more expensive and portable stuff if you can but I'd be more worried about the dangerous stuff. If there were any oxygen or other compressed gas cylinders on the rig, they could become a significant danger.

[ckroll 101]

So this brings up a question. Your truck is broken down as in the situation above, and it's not going to be able to move out of the fire's way. Your have a few minutes of before the fire gets to the truck and/or it endangers your escape route. Do you attempt to save any of the loose gear on the truck? Air pack, AED, TIC, portable radios, nozzles, ect? Or do you hope insurance will cover it all?

I'd atleast make an attempt for the high dolar stuff even though insurance would cover it. TIC/AED/Airpacks/portable radios if there was a few minutes. One guy can carry a bunch of those items out of harms way in just one trip. 2 or 3 guys could save a ton of stuff on their retreat to safe ground. This is all assuming there is no "run for your life" situation. In that case, it's all going up in smoke.

Stop. Brush fire 101, you set a backfire to scorch the grass around the truck and save it all. Has no one read Young Men and Fire? It is one of the greatest true stories ever written about fire. Everyone just stop and run to a library now.

[ckroll 101]

Stop. Brush fire 101, you set a backfire to scorch the grass around the truck and save it all. Has no one read Young Men and Fire? It is one of the greatest true stories ever written about fire. Everyone just stop and run to a library now.

Norman MacLean wrote the telling of the Mann Gulch Fire of 1949. 13 died. It is the seminal event for the fire service and wildland tactics as we know it. If you haven't read it, please, stop everything you are doing and read it now.

[x635 4,066]

This is why pumps on brush trucks should be completly independent of the chasis engine, and run via their own engine. Grass fires move fast, and we have a lot of them down here. Most are designed to be quick and agile to avoid situations like this.

[FiftyOnePride 100]

This is why pumps on brush trucks should be completly independent of the chasis engine, and run via their own engine. Grass fires move fast, and we have a lot of them down here. Most are designed to be quick and agile to avoid situations like this.

I agree, too bad this was an attack engine however.

From what was being relayed to me at our standby point this fire was threatening homes. The winds that day were light but persistent, easy chance for this fire to have grown to a much larger capacity than it did in the first place.

[Geppetto 31]

Insurance to help out Kent firefighters

The Greater New Milford Spectrum

April 21, 2011

"Kent Volunteer Fire Department should have a check within a week for $250,000 -- an insurance settlement for replacement of its primary response truck destroyed in a March 30 fire...."

http://www.newmilfordspectrum.com/news/article/Insurance-to-help-out-Kent-firefighters-1346045.php

[Dinosaur 844]

Stop. Brush fire 101, you set a backfire to scorch the grass around the truck and save it all. Has no one read Young Men and Fire? It is one of the greatest true stories ever written about fire. Everyone just stop and run to a library now.

Nobody should be starting any backfires or burnouts without being properly trained to do so. How many structural firefighters have the wildland firefighting training and experience to do this safely and effectively?

Improperly starting one can cause an even bigger problem and put crews in harms way.

Brush fire 101 = L180, S130, S131, S133, S190, FFT1, FFT2. Plus experience!