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 […]

Rapid changing conditions and smoke explosion result in close call to operating companies in New Jersey

In an effort to make personal safety a top priority, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) today released a new video, Chicago Fire Department – Everyone Goes Home®.

Four years after nine firefighters died battling Sofa Super Store fire, a report details an eerily similar set of breakdowns in a March blaze.

It is mission critical to comprehend and understand your department’s operational capabilities and the necessary deployment demands for fire suppression, fire flow and phased operations at commercial building fires. Training Download Available.

There are numerous factors to be cognizant of at commerical building fires especially when it comes to identifying precursors and indicators for collapse. Got Fire? Anticipate Collapse!

Sizing up a structure for a fire attack is a skill that takes time, practice and experience to fully develop. In some cases, if the size-up is too rapid, critical points can be overlooked.The National Fire Fighter’s Near-Miss Reporting System’s Report of the Week (ROTW) has some insights.

Reading the Smoke, Fire Dynamics and Smoke Explosion

Take the time to revisit two Firefighter LODD incidents that both occurred in the month of August in 2006 and 2009 respectively. Both of these incidents involved a double firefighter line-of-duty death (LODD) and resulted from a floor collapse during the conduct of operations within the fire involved structures. There are numerous lessons learned and recommendations that can be considered and applied in organizations and agencies across the country, both large and small; career or volunteer.