Excerpts from nbclosangeles.com:
Flames engulfed a South Los Angeles store early Saturday when a fire burned for more than an hour at the two-story structure.
Firefighters were called at about 1:30 a.m. to the 4100 block of S. Broadway and 41st streets. Heavy smoke was billowing through the roof of the Best Bargain store and there were signs of possible structural collapse, forcing firefighters to battle the fire from the outside.
The department deployed used a RS3 robotic firefighting vehicle inside the building. The bright yellow robot has tracks like a tank. Hooked to a hose line, it can enter structurally compromised buildings and spray water from the inside as firefighters control the vehicle remotely from outside.
More than 80 firefighters extinguished the flames in about 90 minutes. No injuries were reported.
#1 by Dennis on July 14, 2023 - 9:48 PM
Chicago had one of this type devices in the 1960’s/1970’s but I don’t have information it was ever used. Got a photo of it for proof of existence though.
#2 by Bill Post on July 14, 2023 - 4:25 PM
Here are some recent examples of the LAFD dealing with fire through the roof.
The first one was only a few days ago in a Hollywood Apartment building where the fire began in a carport and spread to two apartment buildings.
https://youtu.be/VLVfgVTfrxE
https://youtu.be/h-NTllJj6Q0
https://youtu.be/-23UxJrUwdY
https://www.youtube.com/live/936CaTnG2D4?feature=share
#3 by Bill Post on July 14, 2023 - 3:59 PM
This LA City FD mobile deluge vehicle has already been in service for at least 2 years as that is the age of the news clip that is attached.
The Mobile Deluge “tank” is a good idea and I can see many other fire departments getting them including Chicago.
While to this day the Los Angeles City Fire Department has been a very unique and progressive fire department in some ways I wouldn’t let that mobile deluge gun fool you because when it comes to Elevating Platforms they are still living in the 1950’s.
In the 1968 and 1970 the Lafd City fire department had purchased 2 Large 85 foot Snorkels on Crown Chassis.
During July of 1970 their Snorkel 3 had flipped over while the boom was extended and Unfortunately a firefighter was killed and two others were injured. After an extensive investigation the cause of the accident was found to be a failure to deploy the out riggers on the right side of the rig. The Los Angeles City Fire Department however took their two 85 foot Snorkels permanently out of service.
The LAFD did run with 4 small 50 foot Snokels which were fitted onto 1,500 gpm pumpers and were part of 4 of their 5 (at the time) Heavy Duty Task Forces. For those unfamiliar a Task Force in Los Angeles consists of a Single Engine company and a Truck company which has crew less Engine attached to it. While a Heavy Duty Task Force was 2 full Engine companies with the Truck and its crew less or backup Engine.
The 2nd Full Engine on a Heavy Duty Task Force would either have a a 50 foot Snorkel built into it or a Telesqurt built into it. In July of 1978 all 5 of LA City’s Heavy Duty Task Forces were taken out of service due to Proposition 13 Californias tamous Real Estate Tax Cut. That in effect took the 50 foot Snorkel/Engine companies out of service however a couple of them were redeployed as Single Engine companies until the late 1980s.
For those of you who are wondering about the Crew less Engines assigned to the Trucks (which are known at Light Forces), the reason for that is so that the Truck crew can take off a line from its Engine if needed or they can also use it to charge a Ladder Pipe. All of the Los Angeles City Ladder companies (with One exception) as a back up Engine assigned to them. Normally 5 men ride on the Truck and an only an Engineer is assigned to the Engine , but if the Light Force is running with out a full Engine company then 2 men ride the back up Engine.
If any of you are confused don’t worry that’s the “Los Angeles way”. There is plenty more to confuse you but once you understand it will make some sense.
So here is the point of this. While the LA City Fire Department hasn’t used any Snorkel since at least the 1980’s they have never owned or to my knowledge even tried using Tower Ladders and the 2nd Largest City in America doesn’t have or use any Elevating Platforms on its world reknowned fire department.
All of their current (43) Truck companies use Tillered Aerial Ladders and while all of them have portble Ladder Pipes not one is even equipped with a Prepipped Waterway ( like our Aerial Tower 8).
So if the LA City fire department goes into defensive mode or needs to deploy an elevated Master Stream they need to have a fire fighter standing on a rung of an Aerial Ladder to direct the Ladder Pipe stream as opposed to being in a relatively safe Tower or Snorkel basket while guiding a fixed Turret stream of water.
While some cities need to used Tillered Aerials due to narrow streets that is not the case in Los Angeles as many of their streets are wide and the only place where the streets are real narrow in someplaces are in the Santa Monica Mountains (also known as the Hollywood Hills).
So while the LAFD is a good and a dedicated fire department they are oblivious to Tower Ladders and any type of Elevating Platform. Welcome back to the 1950s.