Thursday, October 21, 2010

Fire Press Release

ISSUING OFFICER: Bob Green/Battalion Chief
DATE OF INCIDENT: 10/20/2010
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 2709 W Broadway
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99201

NARRATIVE: The Spokane City Fire Department dispatched fire fighting crews and their apparatus to 2709 W Broadway at 05:57 hrs in the early morning of Wednesday, October 20th, for a reported house fire. The first arriving fire crews, from the historic Browne's Addition neighborhood, reported a 1.5 story wood/frame dwelling with lazy smoke issuing from the roof and a dormer window. While additional resources were nearing the house, those initial crews were entering the building to determine what was causing the smoke and where the source of the smoke was located. The crews discovered a smoldering type fire located in the ceiling space above the kitchen area. With fully charged hose lines in place inside the dwelling the crews began pulling down the ceilings in not only the kitchen but also in adjacent rooms to get at the slow moving fire that had already done considerable damage to the structural components of the ceiling and the underside of the roof. It took about 20 minutes for the initial crews and some of the later arriving crews to dig out the fire and to get it fully extinguished. There were no reports of any injuries to the fire fighters at the scene or to the owner of the home. The owner was awakened by a loud noise from the kitchen, discovered a ceiling fixture which had fallen to the floor, noticed a bright orange glow coming from the hole left in the ceiling by the fallen fixture, called the Fire Dept. for assistance, and then safely exited her home. Unfortunately there will have to be extensive repairs done to the structure before it can be occupied again, the owner has indicated that she will be staying with friends and/or family until those repairs can be made. Initial indications are that the fire was electrical in nature and an investigator from the City Fire Dept.'s Special Investigation Unit arrived on scene to pin point the exact nature of the possible electrical malfunction. Three pumpers, two ladder trucks, a heavy rescue apparatus, and two Command vehicles delivered 22 firefighters to the scene of this fire.

PROBABLE CAUSE: Unknown electrical type of malfunction in the building's electrical system.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Considerable damage to the structural mebers of the ceiling and the underside of the roof above the kitchen area, smoke damage throughout the structure.
DOLLAR LOSS: 30,000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 22
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Fire Press Release Three fer

ISSUING OFFICER: AC Brian Schaeffer
DATE OF INCIDENT: 10/19/2010
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 2230 West Pacific Avenue
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99201

NARRATIVE: On Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 3:38 PM, 6 Companies of Spokane Firefighters; 3 Engines, 1 Pumper-Ladder, 1 Senior Ladder and 1 Heavy rescue under the direction of Battalion Chiefs Moline and Green responded to a structure fire at 2230 West Pacific Avenue.

Firefighters responding to a garage fire were notified by multiple callers that fire and heavy smoke was emanating from an adjacent apartment complex's garage structure. A nearby SFD unit arrived within four minutes and reported that a two-story, multiple vehicle garage was heavily involved with fire and endangering nearby apartment buildings to the east and west of the fire building. The alarm was upgraded to a "working fire" which automatically adds an additional fire company and other FD resources to the incident.

Due to a nearly simultaneous incident at 3rd/Maple where a vehicle was involved in fire and thought to have two-persons trapped, the normally nearby fire companies were not available causing farther stations to respond to this incident. The simultaneous incidents led to a longer than expected delay and extremely rapid fire growth.

Once an effective firefighting force was on-scene, firefighters swiftly forced entry into areas of the multiple garage building and made a coordinated offensive attack on the fire with aggressive vertical ventilation by ladder companies. After a complete search of the building, it was determined that there were no occupants present on either floor. The fire was completely extinguished within 30-minutes. There were no civilians or firefighters injured during this incident.


PROBABLE CAUSE: The cause is under investigation by the SFD's Special Investigation Unit.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Four vehicles were destroyed and the eight bay garage sustained varied levels of damage. Structural integrity is still being assessed at the time of this release.
DOLLAR LOSS:
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 27
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE


ISSUING OFFICER: Battalion Chief Bill Donahoe
DATE OF INCIDENT: 10/18/2010
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 3125 W. 14th Ave.
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99204

NARRATIVE: On Monday October 18th, at 1:55pm the Spokane Fire Department responded 3 engines, 1 senior ladder, 1 pumper ladder, 1 heavy rescue and 2 Battalion Chiefs to a reported structure fire at 3125 West 14th. The first crew on scene reported a split entry home with light smoke showing from the front door. The homeowner met the crew and reported all the occupants had safely evacuated the house. Hose leads were advanced into the home and a thermal imaging camera was utilized to locate the fire in the basement laundry room. The fire was quickly extinguished and crews ventilated the building and searched for smoldering hot spots. The home suffered damage to the laundry room along with heavy to light smoke damage to the rest of the home. Eight occupants will be displaced from the home until the smoke damage can be resolved. No injuries to occupants or firefighters were reported.

PROBABLE CAUSE: PROBABLE CAUSE: Captain Kevin Smathers of the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigation Unit investigated the cause of the fire and determined it started in the clothes dryer, due to malfunctioning temperature sensor.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Basement laundry room and contents along with smoke damage through out the home.
DOLLAR LOSS: 10,000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 20
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE


ISSUING OFFICER: Battalion Chief Steve Sabo
DATE OF INCIDENT: 10/16/2010
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 1307 E. Walton Ave.
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99207

NARRATIVE: This morning, October 16th, at 8:01 A.M. the Spokane Fire Department was dispatched to a reported house fire at 1307 E. Walton Avenue in the city of Spokane. The first crew on scene reported a one and one-half story house with smoke and flames from the roof vents. The homeowner met the crew and reported all occupants had safely evacuated the house. As additional fire crews arrived, hose leads were stretched into the house and up to the attic. Concurrently, crews cut vent holes in the roof to relieve the heat and smoke, allowing the interior crews to quickly reach and extinguish the fire in the attic. Fire had also extended down through an interior wall containing plastic plumbing pipe, and was burning on the main floor as well as the basement. Using thermal imaging cameras, crews rapidly located and extinguished the fire hidden in the walls, stopping its spread. In all, 3 engines, 3 ladder trucks, 1 heavy rescue truck, and 2 command vehicles, with a total of 23 firefighters operated at this fire. Four adult occupants and several pets will be displaced from the house until extensive repairs can be completed. No injuries to firefighters or the occupants were reported.

PROBABLE CAUSE: Captain Kevin Smathers of the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigation Unit investigated the cause of the fire and determined it started as a result of an unintentionally overloaded electrical circuit.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Fire damage to the house was confined to part of the roof, attic, and an interior wall. Water and overhaul damage also occurred in the process of locating and extinguishing the fire. Roof, structural, electrical and plumbing repairs will need to be made before the house can be reoccupied.
DOLLAR LOSS: 30,000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 23
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE

Monday, October 18, 2010

Local 29 Nominations and Election.

At the October 12th union meeting, the following nominations were made:

VP- Waller
E-Board- Frater, Wood, Archibald, Skipworth
Grievance- Turpen, Walsh
Trustee- Mathews
Awards- Moore

Having no opposition and therefore by acclamation, Waller was elected as VP, Turpen and Walsh were elected to the Grievance Committee, Mathews was elected as Trustee and Moore was elected to the Awards Committee.

There will be an election for two E-Board positions. On the ballot will be:

Frater
Wood
Archibald
Skipworth

Members will be directed to pick two candidates. The top two vote receivers will be elected to the E-Board for a two-year term. The voting will take place on the Local 29 website's secure voting page. The online polls will open on November 24th and will close on December 13th. Members are encouraged to make sure that they are able to log onto their account ASAP. Once the polls open, they will be unable to register or change their information. If you need assistance, please email one of your E-Board members or info@local29.org. A contact link is provided on the website under "Contact us."

Thanks,

John Griffith
Elections Officer pro tem