Hot Shots 2/21

NEW CITY, NY, DEC. 21—Upon arrival, New City Fire Department firefighters found heavy smoke and fire showing from a 1½-story, wood-frame, 1930s-era house. As hoselines were stretched off of the first-due rig, a search crew made an attempt to gain access through the front door but was driven back when fire erupted from the home, ending the attempt. All three occupants of the home had escaped the blaze prior to the department’s arrival, but one of those occupants was unaccounted for when firefighters arrived. With mutual aid from several departments, the fire was extinguished quickly.

Photo by Kenny Flynn

LAS VEGAS, DEC. 30—Firefighters from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue battled an intense two-alarm fire that destroyed a business and 16 vehicles. The fire was reported in a large single-story automobile repair shop. A second alarm was called shortly after crews arrived. Flames spread from the repair shop to at least 12 vehicles in a parking lot. Gasoline that flowed from inside of the business also caught fire, setting four other vehicles on fire. At least 75 firefighters with 30 pieces of equipment responded to the fire. Crews got the bulk of the flames extinguished within 30 minutes. Investigators determined that mechanics were removing a fuel tank from a vehicle, which caught fire, possibly because the tank was dropped. Workers used several fire extinguishers in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but the blaze was too intense.

Photo by Robert Pitts

MEMPHIS, TN, NOV. 7—At least three boats that were docked at the Mud Island Marina along the Mississippi River were destroyed by an early morning fire. The Memphis Fire Department (MFD) said an electrical problem in the engine of one of the boats was the cause of the fire. Smoke from the fire was intense, and it caused problems for drivers on the nearby Hernando de Soto Bridge. MFD’s fire boat was stored at the marina, and the fire scorched one side of the vessel. Responding companies saved the vessel and then used it to help to fight the fire.

Photo by Raymond Chiozza

BALTIMORE, DEC. 22—The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) is shown here attacking the blaze at one of 11 fires at vacant buildings that were within a few miles of each other that occurred in a 24-hour period. At one point, six of the fires were reported within an hour-and-a-half of each other. Here, upon arrival, Engine 14 transmitted a working fire, and firefighters made an aggressive interior attack to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings. It took about 50 members 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control. The cause of this fire and of the others was under investigation by the BCFD’s Fire Investigation Bureau.

Photo courtesy of Baltimore Firefighters Union IAFF L-734