Monday, May 26, 2008
Six FFs hurt in Virginia house fire. Two remain in burn unit. Cause of fire & sequence of events released.
(Click here for more fire & EMS news from STATter 911)
This picture and the others on this page are from neighbor Diana Stumm
Above is the early morning 9NEWS NOW report by Scott Broom. Click here for the 11:00 PM report from Brittany Morehouse.
Wednesday, June 4
While the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management has not officially identified any of its firefighters injured on May 25, the most seriously injured has been named as part of fundraising efforts.Firefighter John Earley is a career firefighter and is also a member of the Leesburg VFC. Leesburg Chief Ian Buchanan has asked STATter 911 to help get the word out about the John Earley Relief Fund. It is an effort to help FF Earley and his family during the long recovery that's ahead.
Checks can be mailed to:
The John Earley Relief Fund
c/o Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company
P.O. Box 23
Leesburg, VA 20178
If you go to the Leesburgfire.org you will find a way to pay by credit card.
On the site you will find details about a June 28 dance where the proceeds will go to the fund.
Also, there is a June 21 blood drive at Station 1 from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM.
4:30 PM, Tuesday
Only one firefighter remains hospitalized at the MedStar Burn Unit of the Washington Hospital Center. The remaining firefighter is the one who suffered significant burns and at last word was in serious, but stable condition.
8:00 PM
Only two firefighters remain in the hospital. The firefighter who was at Lansdowne and one of the three firefighters at the burn unit have been allowed to go home.
One of the remaining firefighters at the burn unit is in serious, but stable condition with significant burns. The other is listed in stable condition.
Excerpts from a press release issued just before 5:00 PM:
“The road ahead is going to be challenging for our firefighters,” stated Loudoun County Fire-Rescue Chief Joseph Pozzo. “On behalf of the Loudoun County Fire-Rescue system, we wish to thank all who have extended their support and well wishes. Something of this magnitude has a far reaching impact on all of us within fire-rescue. It is comforting and reassuring to know that there are many out there who are standing by us during this time.”
Around 1:00 PM, Sunday, May 25, 2008, Loudoun County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management received a 9-1-1 call for a structure fire in the 43000 Block of Meadowood Court in Leesburg.
Fire and rescue personnel arrived on the scene to find heavy fire coming from the attic of the two-story single-family home and the fire was quickly spreading. Firefighters went to work to quickly to perform a search of the home and to initiate fire attack. However, with the fire spreading and conditions deteriorating rapidly, the firefighters were forced to escape from the home through a second-story window. In the process of escaping, four firefighters were injured.
The rest of the release has information from the previous release that you will find below, including the address for the DC Firefighter's Burn Foundation.
3:30 PM:
According to Loudoun County Fire Marshal Keith Brower, Sunday's fire that injured six firefighters was accidental. Brower said Monday afternoon it was caused by smoking materials left on the back deck.
According to Brower, once the wooded deck began to burn it spread "upward and inward". Damage to the home is estimated at $600,000.
Brower tells STATter 911 they are still working on the exact sequence of events leading to the firefighters being injured. At this point, Brower says the best information is that there was a sudden increase in the fire, possibly a flashover. The firefighters called a mayday and rapidly exited the home. It appears after they were out, the roof collapsed.
Brower confirms our earlier report the roof structure was a lightweight truss with gusset plates and the floors were help up by dimensional lumber (possibly 2 X 10s or 2 X 12s).
Brower believes the more substantial floor assembly may have prevented a more serious problem for the firefighters. He says, with no second floor collapse, it also made investigator's jobs easier in searching for the cause.
2:15 PM:
A press release was issued this afternoon by Loudoun County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management with an update on the conditions of the firefighters. As warned by the department's spokesperson earlier in the day, the identities of the firefighters are not being officialy released, nor are the station assignments (the release does say where two injured volunteers are members). Here is a copy of the release:
Press Release
3 Firefighters Injured in Two-Alarm Fire Remain in Hospital
Three of the four career members of the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management who were hospitalized yesterday due to injuries sustained during a two-alarm fire on Meadowood Court, Sunday May 25 remain at the Washington Hospital Center Burn Center at this time.
One of the firefighters is listed in serious, but stable condition and the other two are listed in stable condition. The fourth firefighter is scheduled to be released from Lansdowne Campus of Inova Loudoun Hospital Center today.
The fifth firefighter, who was treated and released from the hospital yesterday, is a volunteer member of the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company. The sixth firefighter, who was checked out at the scene yesterday, is a volunteer member of Loudoun Rescue.
The cause of the fire, which resulted in extensive damage to the home, remains under investigation by the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Anyone interested in making a donation on behalf of the injured firefighters, may do so through the DC Firefighter Burn Foundation. Persons may make donations by check or through PayPal.
DC Firefighter's Burn Foundation
PO Box 71056
Washington, DC 20024
www.dcffburnfoundation.org
Previous coverage:
A house fire in Loudoun County, VA has injured six firefighters. Two of the firefighters were flown by helicopter to the MedStar Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center. A third was later taken by ground to the Burn Unit after initially being transported to Loudoun Hospital Center at Landsdowne. At 9:05 PM on Sunday, all three were reported in serious, but stable condition.
Two other firefighters with lesser injuries were also taken to the Landsdowne facility. One was being held overnight for observation. The other has been released.
Another firefighter was treated at the scene.
The injured are a mix of career and volunteer firefighters. Loudoun County officials did not release names of the firefighters, identify their companies, or provide any details on the injuries Sunday night. At 10:30 AM on Monday, Mary Maguire, a spokesperson for Loudoun County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management said this information was not likely to be released today.
It wasn't until about 8 hours after the incident occurred before Maguire could acknowledge the firefighters were being treated in the burn unit.
On its website, IAFF Local 3756 has a report from Secretary Nicole Hankin that two of the injured were on Tower 606 and the other two from Reserve Engine 6.
Mary Maguire said the house fire assignment was dispatched around 1:00 PM on Sunday to 43,238 Meadowood Court. The neighborhood is located east of the Town of Leesburg and north of Route 7.
Maguire said the first units went on the scene with fire in the attic and discovered a rapidly spreading fire on the second floor. No residents were home at the time of the fire.
Other than to say that the four who are currently hospitalized were all involved in interior firefighting when they were hurt and were forced to rapidly leave the structure, Loudoun County officials are declining to talk about what is known, so far, about the circumstances of the injuries.
The other two who were hurt were apparently injured later in the operation.
Sources familiar with the incident tell STATter 911 there was early word the roof came in as initial crews were operating on the second floor. Sources added on Monday that the exact timeline of when the roof collapsed is not yet clear. What is certain in all accounts is that conditions rapidly worsened forcing firefighters to retreat.
The most seriously injured firefighter was seen suddenly exiting a second floor window with flames all around him. Reports are his gear and facepiece suffered significant heat damage. According to sources the firefighter was able to talk with crews who treated him until the medevac helicopter arrived.
According to sources, the firefighter has significant burns, but the PPE seems to have worked well and the injuries are not quite as severe as originally thought.
Maguire did confirm while there was a mayday call, all firefighters made it out on their own and did not have to be rescued.
A second-alarm was dispatched.
While we initially reported the home is of lightweight construction, that is only partially correct. According to sources, the attic is a lightweight truss with gusset plates and failed pretty quickly. But the second floor is held up by solid beam, dimensional lumber.
The IAFF Local 3756 website has this statement from Chief Joseph Pozzo:
I ask that each of you keep our brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers during this time. This is going to be a long process for all of us and it is important that we work together to not only provide support to the families, but to support one another. We will provide updates on the events as they unfold through the Loudoun Career Firefighters Association website http://www.iaff3756.com/ and through the County's Email system. Updates will also be provided via the Tandberg System Monday, May 26 @ 9:00 AM. It is imperative that each of you stay focused on your own safety, too. Should you need any assistance, you may contact CISM at either 703-737-4110 or 703-777-0320.
Click here for more fire & EMS news from STATter 911
Engine Company 4
District of Columbia Fire Dept.
"The Hornets Nest"
: May 25, 2008 11:32 PM : May 26, 2008 8:13 AM : May 26, 2008 9:04 AM Right now it does not matter how. We just need to pray for our hurting family members. Our thoughts are with them all
: May 26, 2008 9:52 AM There are too many fire commands that do not read the building and pull their people out until its too late. Yes we lose buildings, but they can be replaced. These FF's have families. Wake up!
: May 26, 2008 9:55 AM i refuse to engage in a debate with you while there are much more important issues( i.e. injured members and their recovery). however if you wanted to make a generalized educational statement, you could have simply reminded everyone to be cognizant of building construction and building materials and how they potentially react to fire and potentially contribute to fire spread. the well being of the firemen(and women) involved in this incident is paramount and that is what we should be discussing within this time frame(less than 24 hrs. after it occured), not trying to place blame and making ASSUMPTIONS about things you don't have the full details on! Stay safe!
: May 26, 2008 10:49 AM FF/EMT Alex Wilson (former Leesburg resident)
EMS 1st LT
Eureka Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company
Stewartstown PA (York County Station 54)
www.eureka54.com
: May 26, 2008 11:24 AM I have to side with Mr. Newcomb on this one. What he said is completely valid and something that we all need to stop and think about. I too am concerned for the brothers from LCFR who were injured, but what happened to them is done. The reality is that someone else is going to run the same call either today or tomorrow and maybe by asking these hard questions and discussing these issues now, we might be able to prevent the next tragedy. What we do is dangerous and we cannot engage in battle without engaging our brains first, that includes engaing our brains to discuss these issues. We need to learn ALL we can from EVERY incident that we run; especially one with a tragic outcome such as this one. We do NOT need to delay learning to show support for our fellow firefighters. If we do, we might be mourning another unnecessary loss.
Clearly, all of us wish things had gone differently for LCFR yesterday. But the real question is, are we brave enough to risk hurt feelings and bruised egos to look at this hard and take away some real lessons that could save a life? I am sure that if you asked any of the men at Medstar, none of them would ever want anyone to go through what they are going through. Getting all emotionial and feeling bad for them after that fact is not going to help the people who run the next one of these fires.
We just suffered our own serious event just over three weeks ago in Montgomery County. Luckily, the three firefighters are all home recovering now and we look forward to their return to work. Unfortunately, they will all have scars for the rest of their lives. We were lucky that the firefighters did not lose their lives that night. Hopefully, we all learned from what happened in that incident as well and hopefully we will continue to learn as the investigation continues and more details and facts come out.
We look to these events to try to learn and get better at what we do, not to put people down or place blame. If we are afraid to try to learn, then we will continue to repeat our mistakes and the pain and suffering and loss of life will continue...and that would be a true tragedy.
: May 26, 2008 11:35 AM : May 26, 2008 11:59 AM To the Brothers of the LCFR... thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
: May 26, 2008 12:07 PM I don't think anyone would argue that we need to know all we can about building construction. We all need to do a good size-up including, when feasible, a lap of the building. We all need to be adept at rapid risk-benefit analysis. We all need to be proficient at developing solid tactical plans with appropriate contingency plans.
Using incidents such as these to reevaluate how we are doing what we do and to refocus and sharpen our skills is entirely reasonable and should be the norm. Doing so brings to light such dangerous thinking as looking for "cars in the driveway, kid's bikes and toys on the lawn" and then potentially using those observations as justification for a high-risk search before the fire is under control.
Go drive around your neighborhood and see how many houses have a car in the driveway and toys in the yard. Do you think someone is home in all of them? I seriously doubt it. All cars and toys indicate is that they own a car and the kids won't pick up their toys. That is it. No surprises there, right?
Again, my thoughts and prayers are with those injured firefighters, their families, friends and coworkers. However, if we are going to stick our heads in the sand (or somewhere even less pleasant) and pretend like something didn't go wrong yesterday, then we can expect to get more of the same. We can wait the months and months for the formal investigation to determine all of the facts and clarify all of the timelines, or we can start learning now. For me and my shift, we will start learning now.
: May 26, 2008 12:54 PM : May 26, 2008 2:52 PM : May 26, 2008 3:53 PM I would also like to state that as a fire service we HAVE LEARNED, over and over again that building construction is our worst enemy not the fire ! Through training we have learned to contain and control fire but we have failed to contain and control the construction industry that builds the homes and buildings we are challenged with each and every day. We have failed to vote in favor across the board to have new construction sprinklered knowing its potential when on fire. Yes we look to find answers for WHY and HOW? That only lies in changing building construction, materials, and adding sprinklers ! Until THAT HAPPENS we will still see this all to familiar scenario play out. The toughest part of our job is the decision that sends our family to the hospital or someone elses and then their family asks why? The answer,BUILDING CONSTRUCTION !!
Respectfully Capt.D Sampson
So yes, this is a dangerous job and no we don't like to risk life for property. But lets not comment on what our brothers did until all the facts are in.
Be Safe and Train hard.
: May 26, 2008 6:51 PM Joe Hartman
FF/Chaplain
American Township Fire Dept.
Would you all expect someone to be home on a Sunday afternoon? I would think it is logical. Was a lap made? Yes! So now what? Wait out in the front yard and hope no one is home!
Sure property can be replaced, but we still have to protect the lives of the citizens that pay our salaries (remember the Lorton, VA Incident?). Firemen have dangerous jobs, if you are unwilling to accept the risk find alternative employment.
: May 26, 2008 9:58 PM : May 27, 2008 1:18 AM : May 27, 2008 3:57 PM Earl Boswell
District Chief 6
Hanover Fire & EMS
: May 27, 2008 7:16 PM : May 28, 2008 3:33 AM : May 31, 2008 9:23 AM : November 3, 2008 5:41 PM Links to this post:
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
