NOTE: Our condolences to the family and friends of the 31 American Soldiers who were shot down in Afghanistan this morning. 22 of the dead were reported as members of a Navy SEAL unit, along with other American service members and some from an Afghan unit. The copter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade inwhich the Taliban claimed responsibility.. Our condolences at all affected)
Hey,
The standpipe system inside of the office building where Asheville Fire Captain Jeff Bowen died in the Line of Duty appears to have been working, the Chief stated yesterday. In his first interview with Jon Ostendorff of the Citizen-Times newspaper, since the July 28 fire, Chief of Department Scott Burnette said the standpipe system at 445 Biltmore Avenue will be investigated, though he has no indication of problems.
“It is critical to us to understand whether or not that was functioning as it was designed,” he said. “We have no information, as of today, that there were issues with that standpipe system.”
Nearly 25 minutes passed from the time the companies left their stations about 1230 hours until Firefighters reported they had water on the fire. Firefighters, in a recording of their transmissions during the fire, repeatedly made references to a lack of water.
Captain Jeff Bowen, a 13-year veteran, died after exposure to heat and smoke in the arson fire.
Bowen, Captain of Rescue Company 301, was among the first firefighters to reach the medical office building and was conducting a primary search. The Captain reportedly transmitted a “mayday” over the radio after reaching the top floor and encountering the conditions. Additional personnel found him and Firefighter Jay Bettencourt on the third floor, all according to the media’s interpretation of radio transmission recordings.
Bettencourt was flown to a burn center in Georgia and later released and will be able to return to duty.
About 200 people were in the 150,000-square-foot medical office building when companies were dispatched.
The fire started on the fifth floor. Some offices there were vacant, some housed records and some were used by doctors. The fire Incident Commander on the recording can be heard trying to locate Captain Bowen after the mayday call. At some point, firefighters switched radio channels, according to the recording. It took seven minutes for rescuers to find Captain Bowen and FF Bettencourt after the mayday call, according to the recording.
Understandably, the AFD has declined to address the recording, other than to say it did not release it.
Chief Burnette on Friday said he has not yet listened to recordings but planned to. “I heard all of that live as it was happening,” he said. “A four-alarm fire with firefighter in a mayday situation, it sounded as I expect radio traffic to sound for that complex of an incident.”
The fire department requires building owners certify that standpipes are working properly. Owners typically hire companies to do the tests and prepare certified reports, Chief Burnette said. He said that he wasn’t sure of the status of the most recent standpipe certification at the building. The chief said there are three investigations into the fire that will answer many of the questions about what happened:
• Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force is leading a criminal homicide and arson investigation along with the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• N.C. Department of Labor is doing a workplace safety investigation into Bowen’s death and injuries of 10 other firefighters. The agency could fine the city if it finds fire department policies were violated.
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health will look at every aspect of the fire, including how it was fought.
The NIOSH investigation will be the most thorough look at how the fire department fought the fire.
Chief Burnette said he understands people have questions about what happened. He said answering the questions isn’t as easy as listening to the radio traffic of the fire and offering his opinion.
“We want as much information as we can provide out to the community,” he said. “The community is hurting just as we are. The community is needing understanding just as much as we are to help start the healing process. “We want to be responsible to the community, and we want to be able to provide those answers, but what is most important is that as we fill that need of providing understanding, we want to make sure that it is accurate.”
RESPONDING FIRE APPARATUS VS MOOSE CRASH IN MAINE
North Lakes Firefighters called to the scene of a collision between a van and a moose on Route 161 late Thursday night struck and killed another moose on the way.
The three people in the van suffered minor cuts and scrapes, though one passenger was taken to a Caribou hospital and the two firefighters walked away from their accident.
Firefighter Stephen Belanger, 53, was driving the North Lakes Fire and Rescue Department’s 1979 International tanker truck to the scene when a moose ran into the roadway in front of him a mile or so from the first crash. FF Belanger tried to avoid the moose but could not and also struck and killed the animal. Belanger and his passenger, FF Ben Pelletier, 54, were not injured in the accident. The tanker sustained heavy damage to the front and had to be towed from the scene.
The three people in the van suffered minor cuts and scrapes, though one passenger was taken to a Caribou hospital and the two firefighters walked away from their accident.
Firefighter Stephen Belanger, 53, was driving the North Lakes Fire and Rescue Department’s 1979 International tanker truck to the scene when a moose ran into the roadway in front of him a mile or so from the first crash. FF Belanger tried to avoid the moose but could not and also struck and killed the animal. Belanger and his passenger, FF Ben Pelletier, 54, were not injured in the accident. The tanker sustained heavy damage to the front and had to be towed from the scene.
WE TAKE TIME TO REMEMBER THE MANN GULCH FIRE-13 FF LODD’s
The Mann Gulch fire of 1949 was a wildfire in the Helena National Forest, Montana, which killed 13 Firefighters in the Line of Duty including 12 smoke jumpers who were parachuted into the area to fight the fire, but were unable to control it.
Lessons learned from the Mann Gulch fire had a great impact on firefighter training. However, some of the same problematic issues were again repeated in the South Canyon Fire (Colorado) of 1994, in which 14 Firefighters were killed in the Line of Duty. RIP.
MORE Mann Gulch Fire Investigation Info HERE: http://tinyurl.com/3nwcpvn
MORE South Canyon Fire Investigation Info HERE: http://tinyurl.com/43m3gfm
Take Care-BE CAREFUL.
BillyG
The Secret List 8-6-11 / 1325 hours
