Posts Tagged house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane

Prospect Heights Box Alarm, 11-21-13 (pt2)

Lengthy video from Thursday night’s house fire in Prospect Heights.

A gallery of photos is HERE.

This from Prospect Heights Deputy Chief Drew Smith (901) who worked as the interior chief at the fire:

Fire confined to second floor bedroom walk-in closet and office area. Closet was large enough to be its own room and office area was attached to walk-in closet. Multiple peaks of roof and vaulted and cathedral ceilings required extensive overhaul to check for fire spread. A total of five 1&3/4 hose lines were deployed:

Line 1 fire area inside closet

Line 2 fire area outside closet

Line 3 cover balance of second floor while ceiling opened to check for fire spread

Line 4 covered base of stair

Line 5 was used exterior

Terrain and a small stream to the west of this area made access to nearby Wheeling hydrants impractical. Long-distance LDH relay used. Normally, E9 would be attack pumper and E39 would start relay with a mutual-aid company extending the lay if necessary. Since AH E4 arrived first Squad 9 dropped its full bed then E39 finished the lay and pumped. We have a procedure for this, have used it many times, and it allowed us to obtain an ISO Class 3 even in our non-hydranted areas.

Due to the location of the house in relationship to the cul-de-sac (which has an island) and that the first engine and tankers could only get so far out of the way, Tower 12 could only access the roof at the A-B corner. Had there been much fire in the attic and roof areas we may have had a hard time with suppression.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

This is the Box card (as actually filled).

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Diagram of fire scene.

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Prospect Heights Box Alarm 11-21-13 (pt 1)

This from Larry Shapiro:

A Prospect Heights homeowner called at roughly 6:20PM to report smoke in the house at 415 Cherry Creek Lane. As this street is on the northern edge of the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District, the first unit to arrive was Arlington Heights Engine 4. They reported light smoke showing and pulled a line. Prospect Heights units arrived within minutes with Engine 39, Squad 9, Tanker 9, and Battalion 9.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Smoke pushes from a 2nd floor window at 415 Cherry Creek Lane in Prospect Heights, Larry Shapiro photo

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Palatine firefighters raise a ladder to support the interior crews. Larry Shapiro photo

 

The house is located in a cul-de-sac at the end of the street, in an area without fire hydrants. Long Grove Tanker 55 was also en route as part of the Code 3 automatic aid dispatch, as well as Wheeling Engine 23 and Battalion 24, plus Palatine Ambulance 83, . The alarm was upgraded immediately to a Code 4 for the working fire which brought Northbrook Tower 12, Palatine Rural Tanker 36, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Squad 51, Glenview Ambulance 8, and Mt. Prospect Engine 14.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Prospect Heights Tanker 9 nurses Arlington Heights Engine 4 in front of the house. Larry Shapiro photo

Before Engine 4 used their 500 gallons, Tanker 9 was nursing them with a 3,000-gallon tank that was supplemented quickly by another 3,000 gallons from Tanker 55.  The nearest hydrant was across Hintz Road in Wheeling, 1/2 a mile away. As the nursing operation was underway, Squad 9 dropped their full bed consisting of 1,500′ of 5″ and then Engine 39 dropped another 700′. Since this supply line crossed Hintz Road, the police department activated an ILEAS Box Alarm for additional police units from Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Wheeling, and Northbrook.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

A section of the 2200′ hose lay from the fire scene to the nearest hydrant. Larry Shapiro photo

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Prospect Heights Engine 39 on a hydrant across Hintz Road supplies water through 2200′ of 5″ hose. Larry Shapiro photo

Companies made an interior attack on the fire which was reportedly in a closet area and communicated to multiple levels of attic space. Heavy smoke pushed from the ridge vent, windows, and eaves. A vent hole was cut in the roof over the garage which allowed heavy fire to escape.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Fire vents from the attic above the garage. Larry Shapiro photo

The alarm was upgraded to a Box Alarm as conditions began to deteriorate. Additional companies included a quint from Palatine, a tower ladder from Buffalo Grove, a Deerfield squad, a Morton Grove squad that was running as Niles Service Truck 2, a tanker from Elk Grove Township, engines from Des Plaines and North Maine. Chief officers arriving on various alarms included Niles Battalion 2 (for North Maine Battalion 1), Glenview Battalion 6, Northbrook 1100, Wheeling 2400, and Long Grove 5500 in addition to Prospect Heights Chief 900 and 901.

The interior crews were able to knock down the fire preventing an evacuation and subsequent defensive attack. Most of the box alarm companies were not used.

Prospect Heights Fire Department fights house fire at 415 Cherry Creek Lane 11-21-13

Smoke vents from the large, two-story house at 415 Cherry Creek Lane in Prospect Heights. Larry Shapiro photo

Here is a link to a full gallery if images.

A video has been added.

 

 

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