May’s multiple alarms were unique in that three of them started out as still, or local, alarms. (more…)
Archives for massachusetts
March and April were full of multiple alarm fires in beantown, most notably the nine-alarm fire on Beacon Street. Here is the summary of latest: (more…)
Firefiighters pulled Graling to the roof and performed CPR on her. (WBZ)
“Upon reentering the blazing complex, [Firefighter Joe] Hughes aided in the rescue of a young woman on the roof in “full cardiac arrest, with no pulse and no respirations.’’ Firefighter Scott Coyne performed CPR, while Lieutenant Robert Dean gave her his face piece, Hughes said. “Things spiral really quickly,’’ Hughes, of Walpole, said, adding that the hot weather, the heavy smoke, and the old building’s narrow stairwells and lack of a sprinkler system all contributed to the confusion. (more…)
Boston firefighters battled a mid-day job that just went to nine alarms. Ladder 15 was on the box alarm 483 Beacon Street and reported heavy smoke on the No.7 floor and from then on it became multiple alarms and multiple rescues.
Firefighters work to extinguish a nine-alarm blaze that broke out this afternoon at the Beacon Towers at 483 Beacon St. (Photo by Mark Garfinkel)
The box came in just before 1400 hours, for a fire on the seventh floor. Additional early reports noted extension to the floor above as well. Complicated by a 100+ year old building with no sprinklers and narrow stairwells, multiple alarms were quickly struck. As companies moved in and went to work, occupants on the fire floor and below were removed. Some on the floors above, and in the penthouse, went to the roof. (more…)
Tuesday brought Boston another multiple alarm fire. Box 3842 was struck for 1904 River Street, fire in the apartment building.
Boston Firefighters battled a 2 alarm fire at 1904 River Street in the Readville section of the city just after 1pm on Tuesday March 23, 2010. (Stephen Walsh/Box 714 Imaging, with permission)
The fire was in a 2 story brick apartment building with fire on both floors. (Stephen Walsh/Box 714 Imaging, with permission)
See more of Steve’s photos here at:
Boston 2nd Alarm 1904 River Street
Fire in the basement ran the walls into the first floor of the 1 1/2 story structure.
1303 Box 3842
E.49, 48, 53 – L.16, 25 – Car 12 acting(Ops)
1305 R.2
1306 Rehab and RIT
E.16* – TL.10* – W.25 – Car 9*(RIT)/(2nd)
1311 2nd Alarm
E.55, 30, 52 – L.26
SU, FlC, W.12 – H.1, Z.1(2nd)/(RIT), C.7, Car 8 acting – A.65
1317 Special
E.21 – L.4 – Z.1
Courtesy A.65, Belin
On a side note, Stephen Walsh captures more than Boston fires. The time he doesn’t spend roaming the suburbs for working fires he devotes to being President of the International Fire Photographers Association. Chances are there is someone in your department, or buffing your calls, who is good with a camera and composition. Let them know about the IAFP.
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Josh faces the Pirates this afternoon. Hopefully he’ll finish with a W.
Flames breaks through the roof of the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 123 McKeon Road during a 3-alarm blaze Monday March 22, 2010. (Rick Cinclair / T&G Staff Photo) Worcester Telegram & Gazette Note the vacant building placard in the lower right corner.
March, as they say, comes in like a lion. In Boston, March has come in with three two-alarm fires in three weeks. Rescue 2 was on the box alarm for each, the latest being a house fire in District 12. A nice start for the new rig. (more…)
Safety inspector at work in January 2009.
32 St. Stephens St. (on right with awning). Hard to determine from the exterior signs of hoarding. (Google Map image)
February was relatively quiet as far as multiple alarms for the Boston Fire Department, with only two 2-alarm fire struck back to back during the month. (more…)
Engine Co.24, 2010 E-One/Cyclone II, 1250/500 (Boston Local 718)
Boston, October 1998
CBS 48 Hours comes to town and catches a nine-alarm fire at 85 Essex Street, a six-brick vacant.
Leo Stapleton was the Commissioner at the time.
Two water mains were shut off for construction and oh yeah, there were fireworks inside as well. (more…)
Firefighters untangle hoses in front of a three alarm fire on East Seventh Street in South Boston. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)
This morning (11 January) a three-alarm fire struck a apartment house in Boston’s South End on East Seventh Street. Fire on the second floor extended into the attic. A frozen hydrant caused a slight delay and three firefighters suffered minor injuries. (more…)
Herbert Portillo ran out of his home with his mother and father. A neighbor gave him a jacket to keep him warm. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)
On Saturday, fire out the rear basement of a three-decker in east Boston went to the attic and exposures, prompting the chiefs to strike four alarms. The homes on Princeton Street sit relatively close to one another. (more…)
The first multiple of the new year for Boston turned out to be a third-alarm in District 9, in Roxbury. (more…)
Ladder 26 was pulled from a building after its deadly crash. Police officials concluded that the brakes were manually adjusted repeatedly, which may have masked deficient performance. (Evan Richman/ Globe Staff)
A detailed police report from a recent investigation of a fatal Boston firetruck crash concludes that a Fire Department contractor installed the wrong parts on the ladder truck’s brakes several months before the crash and that firefighters who were not licensed mechanics repeatedly adjusted the brakes in violation of national safety guidelines. (more…)
Firefighter John Smith spoke with his comrades after leading a squatter from the burning warehouse. (John Guilfoil/Boston Globe)
In this ever evolving safety culture of ours, there are some who make the hard choice of whether or not to search strictly by knowledge of a building’s occupancy alone. Prior to arriving on the scene they have set their mind fast to an unchangeable bias that says they will not go to dark places deep within an larger unknown, for they have to save themselves and their ‘brothers’ first. (more…)
Fomer Boston Fire Department District Chief Robert Winston has allowed us to share his rememberance of the Worcester fire. Thank you Chief.
It was December 3, 1999 when an abandoned cavernous warehouse was set afire by two homeless people who “lived” in the hulking structure. This was the Worcester Cold and Storage Warehouse that was located in the City of Worcester, Massachusetts. The scene of this fire was to become one of fiery collapse, death, heartache, heroism, and camaraderie under the most extreme firefighting conditions. (more…)
This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Company fire. The tragic blaze claimed the lives of six firefighters and was the catalyst for the push to remove vacant buildings from the landscape of Worcester as well as the rest of the nation. As the fire service looks upon the tragic fire, local Worcester-area media looks at the efforts to reduce vacant buildings. Twice as many vacant buildings are listed now than five years ago when the building marking system began. (more…)
Unscientific Culture Study: Boston
2 commentsCowboys, who do they think they are jumping in there without any SCBA on…
Fire in Dorchester, Boston, November 1982. Courtesy ‘fourdeuce1′. The tactics may have changed, but the principles still apply. (more…)