We had a structure fire in a balloon style farm house undergoing a remodel. Heavy fire was burning in the second and first floors in the rear of the building. A sudden collapse of the secod floor, pancake style occurred during he fire extingusihment that was defensive at the time of the collapse.
LESSONS LEARNED: No warning was provided prior to the sudden collapse of the second floor on to the first floor. A limited initial response held the fire suppression to an exterior fire attack that was transitioned into a defensive attack by the IC. At no time did anyone on the fire ground expect the second floor to drop leaving the walls of the second floor hanging from the second floor ceiling.
