Building Anatomy If you don’t know how the building was built, its materials, the degree of compartmentation, workmanship, level of fixed or passive systems and layout: then how do you expect to effectively and efficiently engage in a structural fire on the building on fire? Many times phased construction on large scale building projects allows […]

  On October 17th, 1966, Manhattan Dispatch recorded an alarm from a resident at 7 East 22nd Street for smoke on the 4th floor of a brownstone. Box 0598 was transmitted at 2136 hours. Engine 14, 3 & 16, Ladders 3 & 12, Battalion 6 & Division 3 turn out. Upon arrival, they were confronted […]

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 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.

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 […]

A large warehouse fire in a 211,000 SF complex resulted from from a transformer explosion this morning at the Wix Distribution Center in Gastonia, NC.  The building complex was a former textile mill and was built in 1917. Published report indicate that more than 60 firefighters operated at the scene to control the fire. It was reported that  Fire Chief Phillip Welch stated […]

Remembering the 701 University Ave Fire: 1978 in Syracuse, New York

Eleven Minutes to Mayday: Lessons from 2008 Resonate Today