Thirty Year Remembrance: Buffalo (NY) Box 191 North Division & Grosvenor Street, December 27, 1983 As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a three-story radiator warehouse (Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters instantly and injuring nine […]

The company and command officer’s ability to accurately and effectively read the building establishes not only the direction of an incident but also its potential outcome. What can you access from this street view of this building, its occupancy risks and structural and collapse profile? What type of strategies and tactics would you employ upon […]

A View from the Street; Remembrance and Paying Respect A brief trip on Friday took me to the City of Buffalo, New York. Following business, I made my way to 1815 Genesee Street. As the morning sun began to burn off the light layer of fog, I came upon my destination which at first glance […]

Don’t neglect to look at the little things when conducting a Building Size-up and assessment

The Art and Science of Firefighting is aligning in a manner that will ultimately forge enhancements in…

The FDNY members killed in the Waldbaums fire included:     Lt. James E. Cutillo, Battalion 33 Firefighter Charles S. Bouton, Ladder Company 156 Firefighter Harold F. Hastings, Battalion 42 Firefighter James P. McManus, Ladder Company 153 Firefighter William O’ Connor, Ladder Company 156 Firefighter George S. Rice, Ladder Company 153  

The Thirty-five year anniversary of the FDNY Waldbaum’s Fire and Collapse: Do you know the lessons learned?

You are integral to all that’s required on the fireground: failure is not an option.

June 17, 2001 Remembering FDNY Father’s Day Fire-June 17, 2001 The relative calm of a quiet Sunday, Father’s Day, June 17th , 2001 was broken at 14:19 hours with a phone call to the FDNY Queens Central Office reporting a fire at 12-22 Astoria Blvd, in the Astoria Section of Queens, New York. For almost […]

A fire in a three story multiple family apartment building injured four City of Chicago (IL) firefighters when an interior stairway collapsed during firefighting operations. The building was constructed in 1927 and consisted of 5456 square feet of space with 3-5 apartment units. Built of masonry wall construction with a wood floor joist system, the […]