STATter 911: Chief Dennis Rubin takes full responsibility for sprinkler demo mishap. No briefing or backup line. "The Rube" thought it looked like a comedy act.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Chief Dennis Rubin takes full responsibility for sprinkler demo mishap. No briefing or backup line. "The Rube" thought it looked like a comedy act.

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Click here to watch the sprinkler demonstration from Chief Rubin's point of view.

Read Paul Peluso's article at Firehouse.com

STATter911.com and 9NEWS NOW have been trying since Thursday to find out details of what went wrong during a sprinkler demonstration in the District of Columbia a day earlier. The gear worn by three firefighters caught fire during the public display at Gallaudet University. One of those firefighters, a sergeant with the DC Fire & EMS Department's Engine 6, spent the night in the MedStar Burn Unit of the Washington Hospital Center.

A Plexiglas draft curtain set up to hold in the heat and smoke burned and dripped onto the firefighters sent in to put out the fire in the unsprinklered side of the demonstration.

While details have not been provided to us, Chief Dennis Rubin gave specific information about the errors made during the demonstration in an interview with one of the participants in the event, Ed Comeau with Campus-Firewatch.com. The recording of that interview was made public today during Comeau's podcast, Fire Marshal's Corner at Firehouse.com.

Paul Peluso with Firehouse.com has written an article based on the podcast. Here are excerpts:

"Some of the failures on our part -- and I'll take full responsibility -- had to do with the idea that we wanted to have a demonstration was impactful so that the equipment would work in a reasonable timeframe," Rubin said. "Next time we will need a draft curtain that will probably be something that is not as combustible."

Rubin said despite technical failures, not following NFPA 1403, the Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions, is really where the demonstration went wrong.

"I don't believe we briefed the crew before they went into the structure and I think (that was) a recipe for near-disaster," he said.

"I stayed pretty busy doing some of the administrative tasks and 20/20 hindsight, I wish I would have had the chance to take a closer look, but we didn't have a checklist."

Rubin said another issue was that two hoselines were laid out, but only one was active.

"I thought one was a backup and one was an attack line, but that turned out to be incorrect. The backup line I thought I was looking at turned out to be the feeder line going into the sprinkler system. When it came time for a second crew -- which was not on location -- to wet down and protect the first crew; that simply wasn't there." (On the video Chief Rubin can be heard calling for the backup line that didn't exist.)

Comeau also pointed out that the firefighters went right into the flames, instead of attacking it from a distance.

"I think they wanted to demonstrate their bravery and skill and that was just the wrong place to do it," Rubin said. "The other horrifying part of the incident was that they were unaware of the fact that they were burning."

Rubin said that over the years he's been present for more than a hundred demonstration burns and that his department simply forgot the basics.

"We worked very hard for weeks to prepare for this event . . . It was the perfect setting on the perfect day," he said. "You can never let your guard down. I just feel horrible about it. Thank goodness it was very minor injuries, but it looked like a comedy act."

Also, Chief Rubin said in the interview that there was no safety officer in place for the event. The chief says he is going to make sure this does not happen again in his department. Chief Rubin told Ed Comeau he plans to write an article for a national fire service publication on the lessons learned from the demonstration.

We have expressed our concern to DC Fire & EMS Department Director of Communications Pete Piringer about not being able to interview Chief Rubin and not being provided similar details about the incident. Piringer reiterates that the chief has taken full responsibility for the errors made during the event. Piringer said the chief is currently out of town.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 5:09 PM

Comments:

Thanks a lot chief for getting someone hurt & thinking it was a "Comedy Act".

Some think "The Rube" is a "Comedy Act"...SAD. (Good Job Kenny)

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 6:14 PM

The chief didn't get anyone hurt. The dumbasses on the line got them selves hurt.

DCFD Officer

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 6:46 PM

Sounds to me like he's saying "I take full responsibility, but I was just too busy/I thought they took care of it/they were showboating. I'm not from the NCR and I'm not a Rube hater but I think his statements here are pretty low. He says he's taking responsibility but in the same breath he's pawning it all off on the guys. Pathetic.

# posted by

FIREhat : October 12, 2009 7:05 PM

maybe the sergeant (guy in white helmet?) would not of been burned if he had his Earlap down instead of tucked up inside his helmet and also had his chinstrap secured instead of across the back of his helmet. train like you fight.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 7:11 PM

"The chief didn't get anyone hurt. The dumbasses on the line got them selves hurt."

Wow, spoken like a true, kool-aid drinkin' completely devoid of actual experience, coward in action, never been mistaken for a fireman, DCFD officer.

Yeah, we know who you are. You are a disgrace to the ever dwindling numbers of proven, skilled, real world experienced, fire officers in this Department.

You, and all the others like you can just go back to your Dennis Worshiping ways. Stand aside and let the real firemen go about their business.

And yeah, "The Rube"...comedy act all by himslef.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 7:18 PM

Good Job (no gear wearing, non-fire fighting) Kenny...Buddy !!!

MMmm...that "Kool-Aide" is sooo good !!"

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 7:44 PM

By "...Kool-Aid drinkin..." is that a reference to any particular type of person? Or are you too much-a-coward to admit what you mean? (like the Anonymity you've insulated yourself with)

And please spare me any rhetoric pal, I think you should just man- up and say what you mean, afterall you seem to place yourself in a higher regard than a Kool-Aide drinkin type, should be no problem. Spill it!

# posted by

Sammy : October 12, 2009 8:03 PM

What more do you guys want? The Chief is taking responsibility for the screwup. Who do you think is embarrassed by this? He is, and he certainly should be. He knows he is a nationally recognized figure in the fire service and an incident like this under his watch does not bode well for him. Just goes to show you, no matter how good you think you are, your'e not invincible. this includes the chief as well as everyone else involved.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 8:08 PM

"Stand aside and let the real firemen go about their business."

Real Firemen, the real firemen that used to be on this job laugh at you crying, whining, living on the back of real men, children.

DCFD Officer

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 8:46 PM

Hey, Mr. Statter don't expect chief rubin to talk to you himself, he's been "Pimpin" the fire service for years.

D.C. is just a stop-over.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 8:53 PM

The Rube: all hat and no cattle. Welcome to the big show. The Rube's a perfect example of a man who sells the sizzle, not the steak. Face it, dcfems is still not very good at EMS, no thanks to Ruben, Rosenbaum, and Sa'adah; now it's not very good at putting out fires: from Eastern Market, to the Cafritz Mansion, to a plywood shack.

The department and it's members can't focus on everything at once. Hopefully one of the 'good' chiefs will realize this before someone gets hurt much than this.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 8:57 PM

"Kool-aid drinking" is in reference to Jim Jones and his cult followers that committed mass suicide. It is not in reference to a "particular type of person" or ethnicity.

"One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, "Don't drink the Kool-Aid." This has come to mean, "Don't trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side." Of course, you would have to know of Kool-Aid's dubious connection to Jim Jones to understand the proverb."

# posted by

The Road Doctor : October 12, 2009 9:06 PM

Well thank God he is writing an artile about it. I was beginning to wonder how he was going to spin this to get more time in the limelight and more money for his pocket.
Dave, since he won't talk to you, maybe you should do some good old investigative reporting on Ole Rube's house of cards. Since Piringer told you he is out of town you could start with just how much time Rube spends out of town.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 9:12 PM

Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by the Kraft Foods Company.

However, in this case it refers to the ridiculous concoction Rubin keeps in a cauldron beneath his desk. Its has already infected many officers and back step guys alike. If ingested, it mysteriously dumps every credible shred of knowledge of the job you have and transforms you in to one of the "Yes Men". Its pretty sad. Don't try it, there is no antidote.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 9:24 PM

"Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by the Kraft Foods Company.

However, in this case it refers to the ridiculous concoction Rubin keeps in a cauldron beneath his desk. Its has already infected many officers and back step guys alike. If ingested, it mysteriously dumps every credible shred of knowledge of the job you have and transforms you in to one of the "Yes Men". Its pretty sad. Don't try it, there is no antidote."

LADIES & GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER !!! LOL !!!

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 9:57 PM

This post has been removed by the author.

# posted by

michael : October 12, 2009 11:11 PM

Who was the OIC / IC of this event? The Fire Chief, Eng. 6 Sgt. or the Fire Educators?

Just because the Chief was there doesn't mean he was running this event/ scene.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 12, 2009 11:35 PM

"Who was the OIC / IC of this event? The Fire Chief, Eng. 6 Sgt. or the Fire Educators?

Just because the Chief was there doesn't mean he was running this event/ scene."

Hey "Kiss-A_ _", the chief, put together the Event !! Stop Sipping, whew !!! They never stop.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 12:43 AM

There is another meaning to "Kool Aid drinker" that has a derogatory racial meaning. It refers to African AMericans from low income housing projects and low income neighborhood whose choice of Kool Aid drinks is not really by choice, but because of the low cost of the powdered drink mix.
I hope this is not the intended meaning of this post, but use of this term can be interpreted by some here as an insult.
To all my brother brothers here, much respect and solidarity.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 6:39 AM

I always thought the Kool-Aid was a reference to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. "Don't drink, it's bad!" Drink and you turn into a mindless zombie. Blood of Kali equals red Kool-Aid. Let's go people, get with the classics.

# posted by

SIR : October 13, 2009 8:26 AM

I thought Kool-Aid was was a reference to the ancient peoples of the planet of Kool and it's lone moon Aid. In ancient times they would dance around in the buff and drink a beverage named after the planet and it's lone lunar friend. To say "drink the kool aid" without dancing and dressing up in your birthday suit is a clear snubb at the cultural ancestry of the Kool-Aidians/ Clearly it is bigoted to do this and I hope that all will please be sensitive to the culture of our ancient alien friends.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 8:41 AM

I heard a rumor from the DCFD that this whole event was misunderstood. It was actually an attempt by the rank & file of the DCFD to wish Chief Rubin a happy birthday by becoming human candles. If you listen closely on the video you can hear DCFD members singing "happy birthday dear Ruby, happy birthday to you" I think the Chief missed his Q to blow out the candles, neccessitating the firemen to self-extinguish themselves. Thank God the Safety Officer vetoed the idea to use "Trick Fireman" (the ones that won't go out) or it coulda got ugly.
Happy Birthday Chief!!

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 9:09 AM

Say what you want about Kool-Aid, but Country Time is how i get down!

# posted by

Chris Gough : October 13, 2009 9:24 AM

"Chief Rubin told Ed Comeau he plans to write an article for a national fire service publication on the lessons learned from the demonstration."

Since he gets paid for writing these articles, I hope he takes the money he receives when this article is published and donates it to the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation. That would be appropriate as I think it wouldn't be good to profit from having one of your members getting burned at an event that you mismanaged.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 10:38 AM

"Kool-Aid drinking" is a very popular saying in the fire service, and the way it is used in the fire service has nothing to do with race.

The fact that you saw this otherwise shows your predisposition where you just look for race in everything.

Anyone with a minute in the fire service knows exactly what this saying means in this business.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 10:41 AM

Durn people - How quickly we forget! Don't drink the koolaid comes from the Jim Jones mass suicide in Guyana back in 1978. Remember? Over 900 people drunk the koolaid (actually flavoraid) laced with cyanide.

Derogatory racial meaning my butt.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 10:53 AM

I'm drinking my Kool Aide now, BBQ Team flavored.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 1:28 PM

As a card carrying Yellow Dog Democrat here in Texas I am especially sensitive to remarks about race, religion, and sexual orientation.

That said, the reference to Kool Aid drinking in my mind has always applied to the Jim Jones suicide. I work with some great rednecks, and when they want to express their displeasure with those of us who are politically correct in the world, they have a tendency to say exactly what they mean. A great part of living in Texas is people say what they mean, and stand behind it.

Don't look for racism where it doesn't exist.

# posted by

Texas Gordo : October 13, 2009 2:25 PM

"Say what you want about Kool-Aid, but Country Time is how i get down!"

I prefer Tang. The Astronauts drink it.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 4:14 PM

Those of you with enough time on the job will remember another "first time" mayor who went outside the department to hire a chief and how that turned out. This guy must have some good dirt on the mayor. He's fired other departnment heads for far less.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 4:55 PM

Another nail in The DCFD coffin.Alot of DCFD chief's would roll over in their graves if they saw that fiasco.I wonder what "Big Foot" would say about the state of affairs.Incidents like this don't happen with good leadership.
May the injured brothers get back to work ASAP.Back to Dothan Rube they don't do fires.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 5:41 PM

I've seen better demo's on Jack-Ass, give the guy a 7 on hard dictatorship!!!!????

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 5:47 PM

Blame the Chief for that??? I know nothing about DCFD or it's Chief...but seriously..does the Chief have to show up to every fire and hold hands to make sure it goes out??? So he set up a demo for the public..half of a dorm room. Most would think in a paid dept like DC a crew of 3 could handle such a "blaze". I mean...there werent any issues with water supply as has been seen before, so when the crew screws up what do they have left to blame?? The Chief...so sad. These "trained" firefighters cant take responsibility and just say yeah...our guys screwed up on that one. No, they blame the chief for not coming up with a safety plan and everything else that went wrong. Wasn't there another Chief behind the crew of 3 in his uniform??? Don't hear anyone here blaming him...What's the deal?? Just admit your crew from Engine 6 tried to be grandstanders and got pinched because of it...don't bring that BS of it's the chiefs fault...thats WEAK!!!

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 7:43 PM

This has nothing to do with Chief Rubin and everything to do with the Sgt in charge of Engine Co. 6. Hes the one who ran into that plywood shack to show-off his untrained Kentland VFD and very weak DCFD Skills. SHAMEFULL, SHAMEFULL!!

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 8:14 PM

shoulda pulled out my lawn chair and watched a bunch of clowns run around. not to mention I coulda had some delicious goodness of fried chicken wings, watermelon and washed it down with some warm cold Kool-Aid.

Seriously WTF! Who ever built this box and had the right mind of using plastic as a barrier is an idiot!!! if you know your going to burn that box down as a demo... so why the F***k would you use plastic instead of some plywood.

plastic MELTS! plywood Burns!

# posted by

Anonymous : October 13, 2009 9:06 PM

Plastic was used so people could actually see the demonstration. It wasn't made to enter you dumbass. This was a sprinkler demonstration, not a firefighting demonstration. And thank God that it wasn't, because it would have been one poor demo.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 14, 2009 12:05 PM

It's entertaining to read some of these comments because everyone wants to blame one side or the other. Isn't it possible that EVERYONE is to blame?

The chief was completely clueless as to what was occurring. He called for a back-up line that didn't exist. He was the narrator and didn't even know the second fire had been lit or why the sprinkler system activated. No, the chief doesn't have to be in charge... But it needs to be made clear who is if he's not going to be.

Meanwhile, the company officer has to have situational awareness... especially with a *demonstration* fire where there is no life or property at risk. There is no excuse not to see the melting plastic above their heads and then sending people underneath it.

# posted by

I work for a showboat chief, too : October 14, 2009 6:02 PM

There seems to be the response of the comments to point fingers and verbally chastise Chief Rubin. Stop acting like spoiled children. Take a time out and drink some of your Kool Aid. First of all it was a most unfortunate situation that occurred. Yes something unforseen did happen. Whatever the actual cause and origin of the mishap will be acknowledged and everyone will then realize lessons Learned.
It is admirable for the Fire Chief to publically admit he takes responsibility. Truth be known there is enough blame to around where everyone can/must share some responsibility. As for the continued Bias Sterotype words of vile (with no significance or meaning) against Chief Rubin is totally out of line. The DCFD is a well Respected Fire Dept with a History and Tradition of being the best. It is time now for those over aged juveniles who constantly speak terrible words and thoughts against the Fire Chief of our Nations Capitol Fire Dept. What is wrong with you people. Chief does something right away this group of immature individuals run to the City Council to tell on him. Just like children pitting one parent against the other The Councilman who is chairman of the Public Safety Committee Mr. Phil Mendilson is another complete mental midget moron. Clueless in the Operations and how,why, when,
who the DCFD under Leadership of a Nationally recognized Fire Service Expert Chief Dennis Rubin. Just as before this same group of juvenile mentality criticised Chief Rubin for low Water Pressure on several recent working fires. As it has been noted and today it still is a fact WASA has the sole responsibility of maintaining the ever aging infrastructure of Water Mains. Chief Gordon Routely did an extensive study/research on the Water pressure concept within the District of Columbia. He too was criticised. Again the children ran to Mendolson. As usual Mendolson continues to be a clueless do nothing/know nothing moron when it comes to DCFD. Ok children. Back off your smart mouth attitude, now.

Thank you

# posted by

Anonymous : October 17, 2009 1:46 PM

Learn from the mistakes made and move on.

# posted by

Anonymous : October 19, 2009 9:18 AM