In June of 2005,at about 1130 am ,the WHFD (Engines 3,1,4 Ladder
1 a 100′ rearmount with 103 the command chief),along with PC Fire
Rescue (Battalion 5 and Ladder 8 a 50 ‘telesquirt) responded to a
commercial structure fire at a fast food restaurant.Upon arrival of E3
the first due,smoke was issuing from the side 2 rear door of the
structure.E3 established command and upon the arrival of County ladder
8 as a RIT team made an exploratory search.Fire was noted coming from
the main electrical disconnect of the structure about 15 feet inside
the store.E3 firefighter attempted to shut power to the box with the
service disconnect switch, and had extreme difficulty in doing so, as
apparently the disconnect was failing from the heat.The disconnect
finally broke and a power drop was ordered.E3 discharged a CO 2
extinguisher at the box knocking down all visible flame.Upon arrival as
this was happening, E1 stood by at the hydrant about 100′ away across
the street from side 2,E4 staging for manpower,L1 moved to the side 4
of the building in the event of aerial master stream became
necessary.(L8 was already on side 2 with E3) L1 crew with tools
reported to Command (Now 103) County Battalion 5 became
safety/accountability.The power company arrived on scene and after the
store cleared naturally from natural ventilation,E1,E4 and L8 and Bat 5
were released as no flame was noted in the ceiling or near the panel.
After the power company confirmed power to the structure had been
disconnected,a few facts became clearer.1.The store had been
closed in anticipation of completely leveling the building and
rebuilding the structure, and the fire was a result of electricians
removing interior service to the many electrical components of the
structure that were no longer there.2.The power was scheduled to be
disconnected the next day in anticipation of the bulldozing of the
building the following Thurs.3.Witnesses
reported hearing 2 distinct “pops”.The first in the store in the box
the fire broke out in.The 2nd,on the pole that served the restaurant
their power(we believe that this was the breakers on the pole
opening.)3.E3 before moving into the store checked the ceiling tile
directly over the door they entered thru.No fire was noted.4.After
overhauling the electrical boxes and the wall behind the electrical
boxes,L1 and E3 crew took a good look at the electrical panels.The
wires coming from the roof,were charred and melted together from the
box all the way to the roof thru the chase pipes.As near as we can
tell,that when the fire started,the box was energized from the incoming
line service .Several seconds to less than 5 minutes later,the power
pole tripped shutting down the power automatically to the structure.Had
the power not tripped automatically,there was a good chance that the
box was still energized when E3 ff tried to kill power to the store,
possibly killing or severely injuring him.5. While on the roof
using a water can to wet down the inside of the pipe chases,and what
was left of the wiring,(the hose line was too big to operate
effectively on the chases. More water was wasted around the outside
than actually getting in the pipes themselves) crews noticed lots of
very heavy objects on the roof.(ACs etc)The lesson learned was
that during fires involving electrical boxes, ASSUME THEY ARE STILL HOT
UNTIL THE POWER COMPANY CAN DISCONNECT THE SERVICE AT THE POLE! Even
then use extreme caution.At a residential doublewide mobile home fire
about 2 years ago,the IC called for a power drop.The power company
responded and cut the power to what was thought to be the burning
trailer.After the power lines were cut,the neighbor came out trying to
figure out why she no longer had power. Apparently,the owner of the
burning trailer had switched service unbeknownst to the power company
or any one else with the neighbor to cut electrical costs.So in the end
it is best to assume that all power connections,panels etc, are live
until proven otherwise by the power company.