Chapel Oaks Fatal

We made 2nd Truck on this thing. We didn't get to do much. We played a little but then got tossed into the attached exposure. Lesson learned...follow SOP's. 1st Engine made fire attack, per the General Orders. The second engine, which happened to be a quint, ignored the General Orders and acted as a truck and went in without an extra hoseline. Had they had a hose like they were supposed to they would've had a better chance of saving the trapped children.

Speedy Recovery to the men of 7 & 9

Thoughts and prayers go out to the men of companies 7 (Riverdale VFD) and 9 (Bladensburg VFD). The men were burned when a fire in a vacant house in Riverdale Heights fueled by high winds took off. More information can be found @ statter911.com

Retreat Hell

On Jan. 29th just after 2 a.m. Engine Company 28 responded with 5 men to the 8000 block of Wingate Dr. Eng. 18 arrived first due and reported a house fully involved, which was not the case as you can tell from the pictures. Engine 28 arrived second due and picked up 18's line. We then stretched a 400' line along with 2 100' racks. I advanced the line to the second floor and encountered very heavy fire conditions in the rooms immediately to the left. We still had no water at this point so we dropped down and waited. The fire then began to grow and get so hot to the point our gear was burning. This was due to the first engine and truck company operating on the first floor backing out due to the fire conditions down there. Eventually we got water with decent pressure and the engine crew began to switch up nozzlemen due to the high heat conditions and collapsing roof/ceiling upstairs.
After switching with my backup man I went down to find another line and to find someone to finish putting out the first floor, which I did when I found a guy with a hose just standing around. I then yelled for more lines to the second floor which finally came a minute or two later by I believe the third due Engine but there was a big clusterfuck between them spraying water at nothing and stepping on our line keeping it from advancing. After finally getting a hold of the bitch upstairs we brought our line to the basement to help part of Truck 14s crew work on the basement while the rest of Truck 14 was working on overhauling and wetting down (with someones line) parts of the upper floors.
After all was said and done we got the fire out with our single line and the help of Truck 14 and their stolen hoseline.

This was taken after I believe the 4th due Engine arrived, was taken by their driver.

This one was taken a couple minutes after the first one, I think this is when 35 was finally bringing us some extra lines upstairs. We started to make some progress on the fire at this point.

Same thing pretty much. I think Truck 14 got a line right about here. Might even see the other engine company spraying it from the outside like they did since they backed out.

Nothing Evident

January has been a bit more interesting than the past couple months. Had a kitchen fire the other night that I believe was the first fire of the year, same as last year. 2 days ago our wagon was called to company 48's area for the house fire. We arrived to nothing showing but that didn't last long. The officer of the wagon, which arrived first due, discovered a fire in a back bedroom that was started by a small portable heater fan. Had it not been for the resident shutting the bedroom door behind him we would've undoubtedly arrived with fire showing. It doesn't seem like a big deal but it should make you think...you may not always have something evident, and what if conditions were different. What about a possible backdraft? Nothing Showing doesn't always mean there's nothing at all. It happens regularly in fact. Keep your eyes peeled.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Boys on the Hill!

Rabbit Season

Not much was going over the past few months. Some small kitchen fires and burnt holiday dinners. Nothing to brag about, been a slow fire season so far. Let's see what the new year will bring us since Santa only brought us coal.

Marine Stops on the Hill during 15,000 mile walk across America

In Mid-September we were visited by Mac Mcquown, A U.S. Marine (ret.) on a 15,000 mile walk across the U.S. in an effort to raise awareness for Veterans and Wounded Warriors. Mac started his journey from Virginia and will be walking to every state's capital. The trip is expected to take a whopping 4 years to complete.
Carrying a 4 wheeled custom made cart that held his spare clothes, supplies, a banner and 2 American Flags, Mac arrived at 28 on the afternoon of Sep. 19th and was treated to dinner by the members of 28 and was given a spot to hang up his hat for the night. Not much sleep would be had, though, as Mac's cart was damaged in the first week of his journey. We couldn't allow him to continue his journey the next morning without treating Mac to a Bay 3 West Lanham treatment. We hit up the Lowes and made extensive repairs and modifications to his cart. He was also given some supplies and a West Lanham t-shirt. All expenses on us of course. It was an honor to have Mac here, especially with all the veterans and active duty service members that currently volunteer at 28 and we were proud to be the first to sign his banner which I'm sure will collect thousands of more signatures throughout his journey. He was also hooked up with another firehouse to spend the following night at. We wish him the best in his journey and hope to see him again upon his return to the area. Included are some pictures, including some of the repairs made to his cart. See Mac and follow his journey via gps updates @ www.operationwalkusa.webs.com Semper Fi.

1st Annual 9-11 Memorial Stairclimb - PG County

On 9-11-11 members from Co. 28 headed out to handle some photography for PG County's 1st Annual 9-11 Memorial Stairclimb at the Maryland Trade Center One in Greenbelt. Participants, 17 teams of 4 or 5, climbed 11 floors of the MTC 10 times to represent the 110 floors of the World Trade Center. Each participant was given a card to wear around their neck while climbing...On each of those cards was the photo, name and company assignment of a fireman lost on September 11, 2001. A video is in the works by the Studio 28 crew and there are some pics posted here.

Beginning of fire season.

Had a guy walk into the firehouse and tell us " I think y'all got a fire or soemthin'". Walked outside to a column.

Just so happened to be a first due house fire. Pulled up in the wagon with fire showing. We made an aggressive push into the house and found fire extending into the living room from the back bedroom, dining room and enclosed porch in the rear. Quick work was made of the fire which appeared to start on the back porch near a heater. Second in companies didn't get a chance to see much.

85th Ave 2 Alarm Apartment Fire for The Boys on the Hill

On June 7th while doing some p.t. Eng. 282 (the Hahn) and Tk 28 were hit out to the 5400 block of 85th ave for the apartment fire. Now before I continue I must say that apartment fires on 85th ave are legendary. When they burn they burn big. We were right down the street at a local school and we could see the column as soon as we hit the street.
On arrival we had heavy fire on 2 floors on side Charlie which was facing toward the street. Side A of the garden style apartment, facing the back of the complex, was pushing thick black smoke. After laying out, the lineman (me) pulled a 250' 1.5" line and went to the first landing (or 2nd floor) and encountered heavy fire pushing from the apartment. The Truck forced entry and began a primary search. Another fireman from our wagon, after snaking out my line, stretched the 250' 2" line with a smooth bore to the 3rd floor where there was heavy fire in multiple apartments and fire through the roof which had spread through the cockloft. The 2nd floor was knocked in a few minutes. The next in companies, upon arrival, assisted in battling the inferno on the 3rd floor. Meanwhile, on the exterior, several occupants were rescued via ground ladders. During the initial push there were also several small explosions on exterior side C from the gas lines and meters which were later secured. Could've been bad.
All in all, some 8+ people were rescued, 5+ apartments burned and over 6 hours of work was put in by the boys. Video and the story can be found on statter911.com. Copy and paste the link.
http://statter911.com/2011/06/08/chopper-video-prince-georges-county-apartment-fire-with-rescues-on-85th-avenue-in-new-carrollton/
A youtube video uploaded by a local. It shows the gas explosions towards the end.

Seafood Fire Sale

At around 0100 on 5/14 Engine Co. 28 was alerted to the 8400 blk of Annapolis Rd for a building fire. We pulled out of the station and got a block down before we saw the column. We pulled up, layed out, stretched a 200' 1.5" attack line and forced entry. We encountered heavy smoke upon entry so we took out the front windows so the lineman could find the fire which was in the kitchen area. A good part of the kitchen was burning and was spreading into the cieling. We got a good knock on it as the other companies pulled up. Some things I noticed here were that every window and door in this building had bars on the inside of the windows. Sure glad we had those bolt cutters on the wagon. We cleared the scene in about 2 hours.
My 2 cents: Just about everything went fairly well. One thing I didn't like was that by the time we were racking up those bars on the windows were still there and not taken out. There were only a couple ladders thrown and no sticks went up even though we were working on the roof. I took a secondary line up myself to put water down the exhaust chutes leading from the kitchen, which didnt work well from an attic ladder considering the line took off from my hands like a jagaloon. The truck co. had a nice hole cut up there. The shitty part is our gear smells like fire and rotten seafood.

Fire Showing?

Ran this on the 3rd. Dispatched as a Street Assignment in our first due. Arrived to some flames coming out of the top of the "chimney". Went inside with the 1.5" line and found nothing inside. Went upstairs, still nothing. Climbed the wall up into the attic (no attic access ladder) and the only evidence of fire was the sound of the flames. Had to open up a nice sized closet on the second floor to find it. We beat the next in companies by a couple minutes so we not only had to do engine work and put it out but we had to open up and find it. The "chimney" was just a metal chute from the fireplace which was boxed in with siding supported by a wood frame. Didn't take long to spread. Could have been bad if the residents didn't know it was happening. A nice change of pace after a fire drought that lasted about 2 weeks.

Community Service (Really?)

Yes we still do things like this every so often. SMH. Make sure to wear a coat if you ever have to do this. This fella was dug into this tree almost at the top, and he didn't want to move. He's going to dig into something if it's not that tree.

Camera O.O.S.

Don't worry, I haven't neglected my blog. The lack of posts is due to my camera being out of service. Will hopefully have it operating again by the end of this coming week.

Developing New Ways to Rack Up Hose

Every department has their own preferences therefore you must take what's out there and slightly modify it to suit your needs or create something new. We are currently working on one we like to call the "Lanham Lazy Boy".
Photos and a full write up will be posted soon.

Running your calls.

It's been quiet lately. No fires for a couple weeks but there has been no shortage of medical locals, AFA's (alarm systems), wrecks and car fires. Today was a great example of why, no matter what, you should always want to be on the wagon (or truck) when it goes out. It happened like this......
After being placed in service while en route to an AFA, Engine 282 was put on a medical local at the metro station. While en route a column of black smoke could be seen coming from next to the highway in another company's area. With us being as knowledgeable about our area and whereabouts as we are we knew right where to go. When we got to the source of the thick smoke we found a dump truck well off. A nice change of pace from the regular medical calls or alarm systems, especially to pull up on it. Always ride, you never know what you'll miss.

9-11 Patch Project

WWW.9-11PATCHPROJECT.ORG

July 30,2011 the 9-11 Patch Project will be coming to West Lanham in their cross country trip to spread awareness of the 10 Year Anniversary of 9-11 and to recruit departments to wear their 10 Year patches. Anyone and Everyone is welcome to attend this event. Further details are to come but save the date. All proceeds go to charities, check out their website for more information or to purchase patches and decals.

For A Fallen Brother

The Hyattsville VFD Company 1 is mourning the loss of their Deputy Chief, James Hook. The Deputy Chief passed away on February 23 while in the hospital. He has been a fireman in the county since 2001 and was a month away from his 45th birthday. He will be missed but not soon forgotten. Please read the full story on Company 1's website http://www.hvfd.com/hvfd/content/view/300/2/

A day for the record books.

On Saturday Feb. 19th PG county went into a State Of Emergency due to the extremely large volume of calls coming in which was double the normal volume. Calls, ranging from small brush fires to house fires, were mostly a result of the extreme wind and dry conditions on that day. We responded to over 20 calls all over the county and at one point our Wagon made it as far as the D.C. line. Units from Baltimore City and the District were sent to PG to assist with calls. The PGFD also called in extra help from their career members. Some of the stats we came up with are as follows:
-3 crews (Wagon, Pumper & Truck)
-20+ calls
-3 Transfers adding up to 12+ total hours of time spent in other areas
-Multiple Brush calls of all sizes
-3 Working fires consisting of 6 houses, all a result of brush fires
-2500' of hose stretched
-Approximately 3 gallons of coffee consumed by members
Almost forgot to mention that a high speed police chase was ended out front of the station when MiniPumper 28 changed the light out front of the station and backed up traffic while going in quarters.

Tractor Trailor v.s. Overpass News Coverage

The Engine Company was called for a transfer to Co. 37's quarters during this ordeal.

1 Killed When Tractor-Trailer Strikes Overpass Along I-495 Near D'Arcy Road: MyFoxDC.com