Posts Tagged firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene

Chicago 5-11 Alarm + 2 specials 1-22-13 (pt 5)

Jan 23

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News, Fire Service Photos, Fire Truck photos, Firefighters working | 12 Comments

Tim Olk submitted several images from the fire on Tuesday. Tim’s images show the earliest on-scene images as compared to the other contributors.

Chicago Engine 8 from Chinatown covered with ice. Tim Olk photo

A firefighter coated with ice from the spray of the master streams. Tim Olk photo

Chicago Engine 47 pumping at the scene of the 5-11 Alarm warehouse fire. Tim Olk photo

A battalion chief surveys the fire from the turntable of Truck 18. Tim Olk photo

Silhouette of a firefighter on Truck 18’s ladder. Tim Olk photo

A line is taken to the roof of an adjacent building. Tim Olk photo

Truck 18 on the Ashland Avenue overpass is setup to an exposure building. Tim Olk photo

fire department tower ladder at fire sene

Tower Ladder 39 surrounded by flying embers hits the fire with a master stream. Tim Olk photo

Phenomenal fire fully involving the entire structure. TIm Olk photo

Tim has a gallery with substantially more images.

Additionally, there are several images taken today (Wednesday) as companies remain on the scene.

Chicago reserve Snorkel on Ashland Avenue in front of the ice covered ruins of the 5-11 Alarm fire. Tim Olk photo

ruins of massive warehouse fire in Chicago

A tower ladder works at the ruins of the 5-11 alarm fire. Tim Olk photo

Another tower ladder working the day after the fire was detected. Tim Olk photo

There is a separate gallery with follow-up images.

Tags: 5-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, Chicago Engine 47, Chicago Engine 8, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Snorkel works at commercial fire, Chicago Tower Ladder 39, Chicago Truck 18, fire scene with building collapse, firefighter covered with ice, firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene, firefighters working, firefighters working at fire scene, Luverne fire engine, master streams at fire scene, master streams deployed at commercial fire, nighttime warehouse fire, silhouette of firefighters, Snorkels in the Chicago Fire Department, Spartan fire engine at fire scene, Spartan Gladiator, Tim Olk, winter fire scene

Chicago 5-11 Alarm + 2 specials 1-22-13 (pt 4)

Jan 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

Media articles covering the 5-11 Alarm fire on 1-22-13:

From the Chicago Tribune:

Firefighters were still on the scene of a smoldering warehouse in Bridgeport this morning, pouring water on hot spots after a 5-11 alarm fire raced through the five-story building as a third of the department’s on-duty personnel fought it.

The blaze was spotted by a fire chief passing by the former Harris Marcus Group building at 3757 S. Ashland Ave. shortly after 9 p.m. Extra alarms were quickly called as the fire spread throughout the warehouse and the roof collapsed and the more than 200 firefighters contended with frozen hydrants and icy ladders. The fire was finally brought under control around 12:30 a.m.

Chicago Fire Cmsr. Jose Santiago said the fire was Chicago’s largest in seven years. “This was a very large fire, unbelievable fire load, a lot of wood, timber, old stuff, varnish,” Santiago said on the scene. “Once it caught, it caught and ran.

“Everything is wood inside these buildings, beautiful façades on the outside. They’ve been up for a long time. When they start burning like this, they start coming down,” Santiago said.

The commissioner said the freezing cold made the firefighters’ job tougher. “We run into a lot of problems, like the ice weight on the building and ladders,” Santiago said. “We had the Water Department to come out and steam off our ladders.”

The commander at the scene called for a 5-11 with two “special alarms” to bring in special equipment and more manpower as the massive five started spreading to other buildings.

Special alarms are rare. A 5-11 with two special alarms was called in 2006 when a fire gutted the historic Wirt Dexter Building in the South Loop. That fire broke out before 3 p.m. on a weekday, snarled downtown traffic and forced the CTA to stop service on Loop L tracks.

There was a 5-11 alarm fire in the Avondale neighborhood on the Northwest Side last year. That fire burned for hours and required about 200 firefighters, but no special alarms were called.

Alarms normally escalate one at a time beyond a normal fire response up to a fifth alarm, though the scene commander skipped a fourth alarm Tuesday night once the fire jumped to another building.

Press interview with Commissioner Santiago (obnoxious commercial precedes the footage)

Radioman911.com radio traffic:

1/22/13 Chicago 5-11 Alarm + 2 Specials
Warehouse Fire 3757 S. Ashland Ave.
with extension to 3737 and 3711 S. Ashland Ave.5-11 Order http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359905432
Fireground Radio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi5Bdd5sE_w
Photos/Video http://www.facebook.com/Radioman911

Real Time Recording
Part 1 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359874615
Part 2 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359872478
Part 3 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359871889
Part 4 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359870848
Part 5 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359870273
Part 6 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359869430
Part 7 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359868058
Part 8 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359867255

Tower 5’s Basket Frozen In Place
Part 9 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359865499

5-11 + 2 Specials Struck Out By Orders of 2-1-4
Part 10 http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/359864414

thanks Chris and Dave

Tags: 5-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, Chicago Fire Department, firefighter covered with ice, firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene, firefighters working, firefighters working at fire scene, master streams at fire scene, master streams deployed at commercial fire, nighttime warehouse fire, radio recordings from massive warehouse fire in CHicago, radioman 911

Chicago 5-11 Alarm + 2 specials 1-22-13 (pt 3)

Jan 23

Posted by Admin in Fire, Firefighters working, Firefighting Video | Comments off

Larry Shapiro has posted a video from the 5-11 +2 specials

Tim Olk visite the ruins today and submitted these images showing some of the ice sculpture at the scene.

Frozen box truck at the scene of the 5-11. Tim Olk photo

Another truck cab that was covered with ice and is located behind the fire building. Tim Olk photo

Tags: 5-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, Chicago Engine 16, Chicago Engine 29, Chicago Engine 8, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department Snorkel Squad 1, Chicago Snorkel works at commercial fire, fire scene with building collapse, firefighter covered with ice, firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene, firefighters working, firefighters working at fire scene, Larry Shapiro, Luverne fire engine, master streams at fire scene, master streams deployed at commercial fire, nighttime warehouse fire, silhouette of firefighters, Snorkels in the Chicago Fire Department, Spartan fire engine at fire scene, Spartan Gladiator, turret wagon, winter fire scene

Chicago 5-11 Alarm + 2 specials 1-22-13 (pt 2)

Jan 23

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News, Fire Service Photos, Fire Truck photos, Firefighters working | Comments off

From Josh Boyajian:

Here are my pictures from last night!

Tower Ladder 5 was in a spare apparatus last night. They were at the corner of Sectors 1 and 4. Josh Boyajian photo

Sector 1 fully involved. Josh Boyajian photo

firefighter putting water onto huge fire

A deck gun in use from Engine 49. Josh Boyajian photo

A view looking at Sector 1 from the Ashland Avenue Frontage Road. Josh Boyajian photo

A multi-versal works by Engines 49 and 8, both of which are operating deck guns. Josh Boyajian photo

Engine 29 from deploys a deck gun at 36th Street and the west frontage road of Avenue. Josh Boyajian photo

A view from underneath the Ashland Avenue bridge looking down 38th Street after a portion of the fire building collapsed. Josh Boyajian photo

From Jeff Rudolph:

Some pics from last night, Jeff R

Huge fire seen in Sector 3 well after the interior collapsed. Jeff Rudolph photo

A firefighter from Engine 8 coated with ice. Jeff Rudolph photo

Squad 1A with a master stream in Sector 3. Jeff Rudolph photo

Truck 33 with an elevated master stream in Sector 3. Jeff Rudolph photo

black and white photo of fire engine covered with ice

Engine 8 icing up in Sector 1. Jeff Rudolph photo

large fire scene silhouetted firefighters

Firefighters on Truck 33 in the rear. Jeff Rudolph photo

ABC Chicago has an article HERE.

A Chicago Fire Department spokesman said a southside warehouse that caught fire Tuesday night will be a total loss.

“Totally involved. … This is a major fire,” read a message posted to Twitter at about 9:50 p.m. Moments later there was a message that a portion of the structure had collapsed.

Firefighters were in “defensive mode” in attacking the fire in a building on the 3700 block of South Ashland Avenue, spokesman Larry Langford said.

But despite his initial, confident remark that the fire would be isolated, flames spread to at least one nearby building. The owner of a printing company, at 3801 S. Ashland Ave., was on the scene and expressed concerns about chemicals inside that could explode.

Tags: 5-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, Chicago Engine 16, Chicago Engine 29, Chicago Engine 8, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department Snorkel Squad 1, Chicago Snorkel works at commercial fire, fire scene with building collapse, firefighter covered with ice, firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene, firefighters working, firefighters working at fire scene, Jeff Rudolph, Josh Boyajian, Larry Shapiro, Luverne fire engine, master streams at fire scene, master streams deployed at commercial fire, nighttime warehouse fire, silhouette of firefighters, Snorkels in the Chicago Fire Department, Spartan fire engine at fire scene, Spartan Gladiator, turret wagon, winter fire scene

Chicago 3-11 Alarm fire 5-29-12

May 29

Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News | 4 Comments

The Chicago Tribune has an article about Tuesday’s 3-11 Alarm commercial fire on the city’s North Side.

Fire crews were called to the furniture store about 3:20 p.m. A 3-11 alarm, bringing more than 110 firefighters to the scene, was called by about 3:45 p.m., sending extra equipment as the fire got close to the tracks. The fire was under control about 6:30 p.m., but firefighters still were pouring water on the north side of the building about 6:45 p.m., according to Deputy Fire Cmsr. Michael Callahan.

The fire was finally out by about 9:45 p.m., but the building was considered unstable and fire officials were awaiting an expert opinion on whether the building would have to be demolished, accordign to Fire Media Affairs.

The complete article is HERE.

Steve Redick was at the scene and submitted several images.

Chicago 3-11 Alarm fire 5-29-12 on Sheffield Avenue

Firefighters in Tower Ladder 21's bucket direct a master stream into a second floor window. Steve Redick photo

Chicago 3-11 Alarm fire 5-29-12 on Sheffield Avenue Chicago Engine 22

Engine 22 was on the initial alarm and had a hydrant on Sheffield at Fullerton. Steve Redick photo

Chicago 3-11 Alarm fire 5-29-12 on Sheffield Avenue Chicago Engine 55

Chicago Engine 55 was the first engine on the scene and took a hydrant across from the fire building. Steve Redick photo

The fire building was at the corner of Sheffield and Montana. This shot shows two multi-versals working as smoke pushes out of the first floor windows along Montana. Steve Redick photo

Tower Ladder 21 works the front of the building on Sheffield. Steve Redick photo

Overhead power lines and large trees forced Tower Ladder 21 to take a position that would allow them to get under the wires to hit the windows. Steve Redick photo

Squad 1, working from a spare apparatus, setup in the parking lot to deploy their Snorkel. Steve Redick photo

Engine 35 was on a hydrant around the corner. Steve Redick photo

Smoke pushes out of all windows on the first floor and the street is full of water as debris clogs the sewers. Steve Redick photo

Noxious brown smoke fills the streets around the fire building. Steve Redick photo

Against a dramatic backdrop of heavy smoke, Squad 1 uses a master stream from the Snorkel. Steve Redick photo

Except for the cab, the majority of Tower Ladder 10, also working with a spare, is concealed by heavy smoke and trees on this residential street. Steve Redick photo

More images can be viewed HERE.

Tags: Chicago 3-11 Alarm Fire 5-29-12, Chicago Engine 22, Chicago Engine 35, Chicago Engine 55, Chicago Snorkel works at commercial fire, Chicago Squad 1, Chicago Tower Ladder 21, Crimson Fire, elevated master stream used to fight fire, fire at Sheffield near Belmont in furniture store, firefighters use multi-versals at fire scene, Roy's FUrniture store fire, Spartan Gladiator Classic, Steve Redick