Cadillac dealership, well known for its homeless residents burns – again.
Bill Lang Cadillac in Vallejo, California is well known locally for is large number of squatters. Instead of razing the structure, officials and firefighters had to contend with another fire. Interesting is the safe approach the the Vallejo Fire Department used in order to control the blaze.
Now, before you insult the Vallejo firefighters for the actions they took or insult me for the position(s) I take, put yourself in their boots:
- Fire inside the main building, middle quadrant, where it is known that beams have been removed;
- Illegal dumping of hazardous materials;
- Bio-hazard from human waste.
I believe they made the proper choice.
Now, are you ready for me to throw the wrench in the works?
It begins at the :49 mark.
“Firemen were laughing, cops were laughing, they didn’t care. I told there was two people unaccounted or standing out here, I pointed exactly where they lived, I told the [unintelligible] law enforcement, she walked over and told them, and I watched and watched and they never once went in there to look for them.”
There is a lot of ways you can look at this. You can quickly identify her as a “crackhead” who is misleading you. Maybe she is drunk. Maybe she is stone cold sober and telling the truth.
All I can say is, if it happens to you, I hope you approach it with caution and a healthy sizeup and not with either fear of the unknown or fool’s courage. If they went in a made a grab, the aggressive crowd would be chest-bumping each other. If they went in and some died in a collapse the ‘go home’ crowd would be telling us, again, that we should never enter any vacant/abandoned building.
Your sizeup is your own.
What would you do if this was your fire?
Last reports state the firefighters did conduct an exterior recon and have determined that all “residents” are accounted for.
Maybe next week someone will tear the joint down so we don’t have to deal with this dilemma again.
I doubt it.
References:
“California Vacant Dealership, Known for Squatters, Catches Fire”, FirefighterNation
“Vallejo firefighters stay busy in blaze at long-shuttered Cadillac dealership”, Times Herald
“Blazing Fire Burns Vacant Car Dealership In Vallejo”, KTVU
“Firefighters extinguish fire at vacant Vallejo car dealership”, News10.com
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Also on Backstep Firefighter …
- Why We Search: Dropping the Hammer in Lewiston and Dead in Vegas – May 8, 2013
- Why We Search: Camden
Pot of Gold at the End of the Row? – March 14, 2012 - Vallejo Ventilation Video – June 22, 2012
- Why We Search: Australian Squatters – November 6, 2012
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I believe you summed everything up with one sentence, “Your size up is your own” I’m in the “go home” crowd. I also believe in being aggressive. My aggressive tactics include training, accountabilty, pre-planning and understanding your staffing/their capabilites and no two fires are alike. If we could all just agree on those things we wouldn’t have to label us as “chest thumpers” or “go home” crowd. It comes down to doing the best you with what you have everytime. Sometimes we make the right choice, sometimes were wrong and a lot of the times were just plain lucky. Thanks and always great commentary!
Let it burn. They did the right thing.
“It comes down to doing the best you with what you have everytime. Sometimes we make the right choice, sometimes were wrong and a lot of the times were just plain lucky.”
Well said, Chris. Well said.
Bill Carey