ATF: The Death of a Firefighter-Critical Video (The Secret List)

In January 2011, Firefighter Mark Falkenhan of Baltimore County's Lutherville VFD, a highly respected veteran career and volunteer Firefighter, died in the Line of Duty at a fire in a multi-family dwelling on Dowling Circle.

Now-in addition to the previously published internal report and recommendations (link below) ....the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has published a MUST SEE FIRE MODEL VIDEO with audio and related minute by minute detail.

The Fire Protection Engineers from the ATF Fire Research Laboratory worked with the Baltimore County FD to create a computer model of the fire that resulted in the Line of Duty Death of FF Mark Falkenhan on January 19th, 2011. The following 36 minute video details the entire incident, beginning with the 911 call and ending after the firefighter MAYDAY. The statements of each firefighter were reviewed and their individual actions (breaking windows, opening doors, etc.) and observations (fire size, smoke conditions, etc.) were recorded on floor diagrams. The actions and observations of the firefighters were then associated with specific times in the fireground audio to generate an overall event timeline. All events in the model are based on this master timeline of events. In addition, all photographs were time stamped and synchronized with the model and scene audio.

Several alternative fire modeling scenarios were also including as part of the engineering analysis and are included in the video. The purpose of the alternative fire modeling runs were to explore how the ventilation flows paths through the apartment building would differ if apartment entrance doors were shut during suppression/search efforts. The video is intended to be used as an educational tool that provides insight on potential methods for preventing similar tragedies in the future.

The following three conclusions result from the analysis:

1. Unidirectional flow of 600 degree Fahrenheit gases in excess of 6 mph up the stairs resulted in a high rate of convective heat transfer to the firefighters, making initial fire attack down the stairs very difficult.

2. The open apartment entry doors allowed the main stairwell to act as an open channel for fire and smoke spread between the 2nd and 3rd levels, resulting in flashover of the 3rd floor approximately 30 seconds after the 2nd level.

3. The model supported the scene observations and indicated that shutting the entrance doors blocked the flow of buoyancy driven fire gases, ultimately preventing fire extension to the 3rd level apartment via the stairwell.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ATF VIDEO/AUDIO OF THE DOWLING CIRCLE FIRE:

http://www.atf.gov/explosives/programs/research-development/fire-research-lab.html

===Again-please don't miss the opportunity to use this outstanding above linked video information for use and discussion in your firehouse.

HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE FIRE AND PREVIOUS REPORT INFORMATION:

As pointed out in the reports, this fire, like many other LODD's, this Lin e of Duty Death was not the result of one specific issue within the event-but numerous issues that lead up to the tragic loss. 
A detailed timeline of the fire, leading up to the loss, from the time the initial call went out until Falkenhan was removed from the third floor of the building, is included in the below report. The timeline also includes transcripts of the radio transmissions between FF Falkenhan and others as he sought assistance in escaping the building. We have also included an edited link to the RADIO TRAFFIC below.

In summary, FFFalkenhan and his partner entered and made their way into the building to search for victims, without a hoseline. The apartment, like ANY dwelling any FF operates in today-is filled with plastics and other petro-chemical based consumer items (carpeting/flooring, furniture, TV's etc) that create a gas filled and subsequent fire environment of explosive potential. Firefighters searching saw fire in the corner of the apartment shortly before coming across a victim-but those conditions were not communicated via radio. At 1841 hours, crews were ordered to evacuate the building and about a minute later Falkenhan called a MAYDAY. At 1850 hours, Firefighters found Falkenhan unconscious and eventually removed him from the building.

Some of the main recommendations in the report include:

=STRICT/DISCIPLINED CREW INTEGRITY: 
Company officers shall ensure that crew integrity is maintained at all times by all personnel operating in an IDLH environment. Falkenhan and his partner separated while searching the third floor-and his partner was forced to bail due to the conditions.
=A RADIO FOR EVERY FIREFIGHTER:
=No personnel should operate in an "immediately dangerous to life or health" environment without a portable radio. Falkenhan's partner did not have a portable radio.
=PORTABLE RADIO AND RADIO SYSTEM USAGE:
=Develop ways of reducing inadvertent radio interference, including developing a rubberized cover for the push to talk buttons on radios which would reduce the chances of accidentally pushing it.
=COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT YOU SEE:
=While performing operations above the fire, notify command of changing conditions, and immediately request resources to support your function. The Firefighters conducting search and rescue operations saw fire in the corner of the apartment shortly before coming across a victim-but never communicated the fire conditions to command. The room flashed as they were exiting the apartment.

The report concludes that while Falkenhan's death was tragic, there is little need for massive changes to the department's related protocols. As you and we have all read in previous Line of Duty Death reports, if current policies and procedures were/are adhered to, the opportunity for tragic outcomes may be reduced.

In a statement from the report: "It would be easy if one particular failure of the system could be identified as the cause of this tragedy.
"We could fix it and move on. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. No incident is 'routine.' Mark's death and this report reinforce that fact."

HERE IS THE INITIAL REPORT:
http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/Fire/report/finalreport120320.pdf
HERE IS THE EDITED RADIO TRAFFIC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMsc8nuEvVw 

HERE IS THE ATF LINK TO THE VIDEO OF THE DOWLING CIRCLE FIRE:

http://www.atf.gov/explosives/programs/research-development/fire-research-lab.html
Once again-the above NEW information, the previous report, radio traffic etc is an excellent opportunity to learn, and HONOR the memory of FF Mark Falkenhan.

Take Care-BE CAREFUL,

BillyG

The Secret List 5-3-12 / 1500 Hours

www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SECRET LIST: http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/secret.php
GET SECRET LIST ALERTS VIA TWITTER: http://twitter.com/thesecretlist
FOLLOW THE SECRET LIST ON FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/y855vmt 

Anti-Sprinkler Legislation- Because our Families & Firefighters are an Acceptable Loss?

80% of all structure fires in the US occur in 1 & 2 family dwellings.  That is also where the majority of fire deaths occur. People are not dying by the 100s in public assemblies, they are dying by 2s and 3s in their own homes.  We (the US) have one of the highest fire death rates of all industrialized countries. And our LODD rates for firefighter...well, you know. And if not here you go 

• http://www.firerescue1.com/lodd-line-of-duty-deaths/  LODD Memorial
• http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/)  Fire Service Fatalities and Resources.

Today, home fires flash over much quicker than ever before

Synthetic Materials in Homes Turn to Toxic Gases in Fire, Families May Not Have As Much Time As Expected To Escape House

Watch this short video and see for yourself:  http://www.wisn.com/r/19324548/detail.html

And Yet, the Lawmakers are passing ANTI Fire Sprinkler Legislation- PROHIBITING the adoption of building codes requiring sprinklers in NEW one-and-two family homes.

Tenn; Hawaii, and Colorado are all in the process of passing ANTI fire sprinkler legislation.

http://nfpa.typepad.com/firesprinklerinitiative/2012/01/anti-sprinkler-legislation-putting-politics-above-proven-safety-technology.html

This is because the model building codes (beginning Jan of 2012) now require sprinklers in all new homes. The building codes are not effective however, until they are adopted by a jurisdiction, thus the legislation trying to block the adoption. This article " Home Fire Sprinklers will Save Lives and Won't Kill the Housing Recovery" does a good job of explaining it.

Another benefit home fire sprinklers, is they won't kill firefighters.

You will find a rich collection of resources at EveryoneGoesHome.com including videos and lesson plans supporting the Life Safety Initiatives in general, and Initiative #15 Code Enforcement and Sprinklers, in particular.

The code change was not a quick process.Here is a resolution supporting the legislation from 2008.


National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Resolution

A Resolution Supporting a Change to the International Residential Code to Require Fire Sprinklers in One - and Two-Family Dwellings and Townhouses

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is an organization created through Public Law by the United States Congress to honor and remember America's fallen heroes, to provide necessary resources to assist their survivors in the rebuilding of their lives, and to work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has worked since 2004 to implement a national blueprint to reduce firefighter line-of-duty deaths through its "Everyone Goes Home" Program, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation considers it unacceptable that in the 21st century, more than 3,000 people in the United States are killed and thousands more suffer burns and injuries in fires each year, with an overwhelming number of these deaths occurring in homes, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation recognizes that many fire deaths and injuries occur in the most vulnerable populations-the young and the elderly, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is working to have a positive and consequential impact on reducing the nation's losses due to fire, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation recognizes that fire sprinklers represent a proven, reliable, efficient and effective method of protecting life and property in both commercial and residential occupancies, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has incorporated within its vision that advocacy must be strengthened for the installation of home fire sprinklers, and

WHEREAS The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation supports the concept that the widespread use of residential sprinklers will improve fire occurrence outcomes for civilians and decrease firefighter injuries and deaths due to firefighting.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

1. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation supports the installation of fire sprinkler systems in all residential structures, and
2. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation hereby encourages jurisdictions to adopt legislation that further strengthens the installation of these life saving devices, and
3. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation advocates for firefighters nationwide to stand in support of these efforts.

Ronald J. Siarnicki
Executive Director, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
August 1, 2008

Here are the most common   myths about home fire sprinklers - busted. (Average cost in new construction is $1.61 per square ft. ).

The Fire Sprinkler Initiative has many other resources, reports and presentation materials for advocates.

What uses the most water? An fire hose or  fire sprinklers? Try putting out a fire with each one at the City of Franklin's web site.and then you can check out these interactive videos  and games.

Here are some more videos and interactive materials from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition.  including fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations, facts about home fires and construction information.

NFPA has a variety of videos available at YouTube including their "Faces of Fire" series which tell the personal stories of people who have survived a fire.

Anne Mazzola was working in her home while her new floor received its last coat of sealant. The combustible product ignited an intense fire that was extinguished nearly as quickly as it started, thanks to her home's sprinkler system.

>

A former operating room nurse, Princella underwent numerous painful and time-consuming surgeries followed by frequent hospital stays following a devastating home fire. She believes it all could have been avoided had her home been equipped with fire sprinklers

My all time favorite argument for home fire sprinklers however is what Fresno FD said:

It's like having a firefighter in your home 24/7, only

 better!

Truck Ops Electrocution Close Call Video

Vintage footage of a truck company operations involving power lines.  Graphic Content.

How Not To Drive A Fire Truck

U.S. Fire Administration Firefighter Fatality Notification - Tucson, AZ

Please reply to this message if you are experiencing technical difficulty. For all other inquiries, please Contact USFA.
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality:
Name: Dennis Robinson
Rank: Captain
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 26
Date of Incident: 03/30/2010
Time of Incident: 1500hrs
Date of Death: 03/31/2010
Fire Department: Three Points Fire District
Address: 11200 S Sierrita Mtn RD, B328, Tucson, AZ 85736-1434
Fire Department Chief: John Williams
Fire Department Website: www.threepointsfire.org
Incident Description: A few hours after participating in roof ventilation training on the fire department’s portable burn trailer, Captain Robinson fell ill at Three Point’s Station 92.  He was transported to Saint Mary’s Hospital, but succumbed to his injury the following day. The nature of the fatal injury is still under investigation.

EMT struck & killed during response

April roars in like a lion - showers, snow, winds - SignOnSanDiego.com

SAN DIEGO — A Pacific storm moved through the county Thursday morning and brought along with it chilly temperatures, high winds, snow and heavy showers that made for a treacherous drive on the freeways.

Dozens of accidents were reported throughout the morning, including one that killed an emergency medical technician who was responding to a crash.

Esteban Behana, 24, had arrived at a collision on state Route 163 just north of Washington Street about 7 a.m. and was putting out flares when he was hit, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

Click the link for full story.

Illegal NYC apartment walls create firetraps - Life- msnbc.com

Illegal NYC apartment walls create firetraps - Life- msnbc.com

NEW YORK - The firefighters were trapped in what amounted to a burning maze: a Bronx apartment illegally divided into extra rooms for the sake of making a buck in this cramped city.

With flames licking at their bodies and black smoke making it nearly impossible to see, the men had little choice but to jump from a fourth-floor window. Two were killed and four others were hurt in the January 2005 fire.

"Next thing you know, that I remember, is hitting the ground 40 feet below," firefighter Jeffrey Cool testified recently in court. "I was in a world of hurt. I was in the worst pain I've ever found myself in."

The former owner of the building, the current owner and two tenants are being tried on manslaughter and other charges, accused of allowing illegal construction that prosecutors say turned the building into a deathtrap.

The case highlights the persistent fire hazard of using temporary walls for illegal apartment conversions — a common problem in a city where rents are high and space is always in demand.

Across the city, such makeshift warrens can be found in neighborhoods popular with college students, recent graduates on their first jobs and immigrants. A lock is often slapped on the extra rooms so they can be rented for extra money.

"Owners complain to me, every door of every bedroom has a padlock on it," said Frank Ricci of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 property owners in the city. "It's tremendously difficult for them to gain access to their apartments."

Permit required for walls
To build such walls, a permit is needed from the city's Department of Buildings. If any electrical wiring is installed, an electrical permit is also needed. And the agency recommends working with an architect.

"Illegal walls can put tenants and first responders' lives in danger. Owners and tenants must obtain a permit to safely install a wall," said agency spokeswoman Kate Lindquist, whose department gets thousands of complaints annually related to illegal conversions.

Apartment owners often plead ignorance, saying they have little control over tenants because they rarely see what goes on within the apartments. But renters say owners are just as guilty.

In one example, tenants at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, a massive rent-regulated complex in Manhattan, complained to city fire and buildings officials about owner Tishman Speyer Properties advertising "convertible" apartments.

The firm purchased the complex in 2006 for a record $5.4 billion, setting off fears among tenants and some public officials that it was hoping to make a profit by seeking to charge market rates for the rent-stabilized apartments.

Jim Roth of the tenants association said he remembered the deadly fire in the Bronx when the association filed the complaint. "I thought, can they do this? The answer was no, not without a permit," he said.

City officials told the company it couldn't advertise apartments with the suggestion that it was OK to add so-called pressurized walls, and that permits were needed for any changes. Since then, Tishman Speyer has obtained permits, and it declined to comment further.

In the last six weeks of the year, the city vacated at least four buildings in Chinatown because of building and fire safety violations, mostly because the floors were divided into single-room units that had blocked sprinklers and exits and little or no ventilation.

As a result, many of the tenants, mostly immigrants from China, were displaced, though some were relocated by the city. Both owners and tenants are pointing fingers, each claiming the other was responsible for the illegal construction.

Clck the link above for the rest of the story

Firefighter Dies When Fire Engine Crashes

A firefighter was killed in an evening accident that involved a fire truck.

The Pitt Township volunteer fire department was responding to a car fire at 8 p.m. Monday when driver Richard L. Kear went off the road and rolled over on state Route 294, according to troopers.

Kear, 58, was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. Another firefighter reportedly crawled out of the engine and began first aid until EMS units arrived, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

Kear was airlifted to Grant Medical Center but did not survive his injuries.

Kear of Harpster had 16 years of service as a firefighter.

The accident remained under investigation Tuesday.

You also may visit http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/.

Fire service 'could face charges'

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Coventry/Warwickshire | Fire service 'could face charges'
A fire service could be charged with corporate manslaughter over the deaths of four firefighters, police have said.

Ashley Stephens, 20, John Averis, 27, and Darren Yates-Badley, 24, were found dead in the gutted remains of a warehouse in Warwickshire.

Ian Reid, 44, died in hospital following the fire on 2 November.

Police said Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service could face charges and they were "ruling nothing out". The fire service has not commented.

Officers have spent the last four weeks searching the shell of the Atherstone-on-Stour warehouse and are treating the blaze as suspicious.

Cause unknown

At a news conference held on Wednesday morning, Warwickshire Police said a "meticulous" search of the site had not provided clues to the cause of the fire so far.

Asked whether the fire service would face charges, Det Supt Ken Lawrence said: "It is possible. We are exploring every single possibility and ruling nothing out."

He added: "I still don't know what started it. I am erring on the side of caution, treating it as if it was arson, but clearly I would add that I am open-minded about that."

A fire service spokesman told the BBC it "would be inappropriate" to comment while the investigation was ongoing.

Mr Lawrence said initial reports that migrant workers had been sleeping in the warehouse on the night of the blaze were untrue, although it might have happened on previous occasions.

He added that the search of the site could take at least until the end of January.

Police officers are still interviewing warehouse workers and have drawn up a list of 400 people who were on the site in the days running up to the fire, on 2 November.

Ch Supt Paul Mason Brown, in charge of operations at the scene, said the building was still unstable and the safety of those working there was a priority.

He added that an air raid-style siren was being used to warn people of any movement in the warehouse.

Floral tributes have been laid in front of the site.

Last Moments of FDNY Firefighters Revealed -

Last Moments of FDNY Firefighters Revealed - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty

NEW YORK-- "Mayday, mayday, mayday! . . . Engine 75, 15 feet in, running out of air."

Veteran FDNY Lt. Howard Carpluk spent his last conscious moments pleading for air and desperately trying to communicate his position after being buried in a floor collapse, says an FDNY report on the tragic Aug. 27, 2006, Bronx blaze that also killed rookie firefighter Michael Reilly.

"You see where the line went in? There's a hole for me to get air - we need a mask toward the back," Carpluk told searchers minutes after his initial "mayday."

A mere four minutes later, he gasped: "Mask. Get it back here. I'm out of air . . Keep coming straight back here, we only need a mask. There's a void for me, come here, you'll see it. All I need is air, bro."

Carpluk, Reilly and eight other firefighters tumbled into a trash-filled abyss while fighting a blaze in a 99-cent store.

According to transcripts of FDNY handie-talkie recordings made at the scene and included in the report, which was obtained by The Post, Reilly was never heard from after the collapse.

But Carpluk, 43, almost immediately began calling for help, calmly and heroically communicating at least a dozen distress calls from 1:01 p.m. until he was found at 1:26 p.m.

Amid the chaotic radio chatter, some of Carpluk's mayday calls went unheard.

"All handie-talkie traffic cease," a Division 6 commander barked in frustration at one point. "Unit with the mayday, go ahead."

Carpluk responded with directions, trying to lead frantically digging firefighters through the harrowing maze.

"75 to Alpha . . . you have to go further back. Mayday, further back," he said.

Later, as his 40 minutes of oxygen ran out, he pleaded with the firefighters that he could hear rummaging around him.

"Come on, see the guy with the line. Forget the water, give me the mask first and turn around and hit it. You go down the left side, 75 mayday, go down the left side. You'll see me sticking out my hand."

Carpluk finally grabbed the leg of a firefighter crawling past him - and got his air mask.

"Save my probie," he urged. "He's underneath me."

The fallen firefighters were hidden beneath a massive air-conditioning unit.

The motion sensors on their bunker gear - designed to beep and flash when a firefighter has not moved in 30 seconds - failed to alert rescuers to their location, the report revealed.

One by one, eight other entombed firefighters were freed.

But Carpluk and Reilly, trapped face down, bent forward from the waist and partially wedged under a splintered girder, were all but unreachable.

By the time Carpluk was freed at 2:15 p.m., he was in cardiac arrest. He died the following day from asphyxia and head trauma.

Reilly, buried for one hour and 40 minutes, died at the scene of asphyxiation due to "compression of the chest," the FDNY said.

The Bronx DA's investigation into the deaths continues. The FDNY report concluded that the engineer hired by building owners in 2000 to repair prior fire damage had illegally removed some support beams from the basement and failed to notice the remaining ones were significantly weakened by decay and termites. The city allowed the engineer to self-certify his work.

Click the link above for more information about this incident.

Report Details Calif. Wildfire Drama

SAN DIEGO — Powerful winds were driving flames through the rugged hills along the U.S-Mexico border when Thomas Varshock and his son drove up to a fire engine near the highway and asked for help saving their home.

The fire, just two hours old, was chewing through chaparral west of Potrero, about 40 miles east of San Diego. Varshock told a fire captain there were residents still in a house near his.

The captain told Varshock to obey evacuation orders and get out of area, and the engine set off down the dirt access road toward Varshock's mobile home.

Within an hour, the captain, three firefighters on his team and Varshock's teenage son were severely burned; Varshock was dead.

A preliminary report released Thursday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection offers the most detailed official account of events that led to a dramatic helicopter rescue.

The report gives the following account:

Varshock and his son followed the firefighters. When their vehicle stalled, the firefighters let them hop into the engine cab.

Firefighters met thick smoke but kept going after Varshock told them there was water and a good place to turn around near his ridgetop home.

Flames licked the side of the fire engine when they arrived at the home, where the living room was already being consumed and attic vents were exhaling smoke.

The fire captain ordered his men to abandon the operation and get back in the engine, but the truck didn't have enough room to back out of a small clearing and stopped running.

The heat blew out the passenger windows of the engine cab. Three firefighters took cover with Varshock's son in a rocky area, where they began sending radio distress calls that alerted helicopter pilots above.

A fourth firefighter ran the other way after being overtaken by wind-driven flames. He was found about 40 minutes later behind another rocky outcropping.

One firefighter remains in a medically induced coma and two others are being treated at UCSD Medical Center in San Diego. The fourth firefighter has gone home.

The body of Varshock, 52, was found next to the fire engine. His son was critically burned and remains at the hospital. Calls to family members were not immediately returned.

The department said it will review how firefighters respond to information provided by residents and how they decide which homes to protect. A final report may take months to complete.

The report did not indicate whether other residents were nearby, as Varshock had told firefighters.

The region's fires directly killed nine people, destroyed about 2,200 homes and burned more than 500,000 acres. Seven other deaths involving evacuees fleeing the blazes have been indirectly linked to the fires.

Also on Thursday, firefighters contained a 2 1/2-week old wildfire in Orange County. The fire, set by an arsonist Oct. 21, burned more than 44 square miles of canyon and forest land and forced thousands from their homes.

A $250,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arsonist.

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review-Under the influence?

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review - Yahoo! News
BOSTON - When firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne died in a fast-moving restaurant fire in August, they were hailed as heroes — the first Boston firefighters to die in the line of duty since 1999.

But leaked autopsy results that reportedly showed the two may have been impaired have led Mayor Thomas Menino to demand a review of the fire department and prompted calls for more random drug testing of firefighters.

The reports said Cahill had registered a blood alcohol level of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit in Massachusetts, and Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.

Cahill, 55, and Payne, 53, died battling a blaze in a one-story Chinese restaurant in the city's West Roxbury neighborhood.

Click the link above to read the entire story.

Inspections after WTC fire uncover 120 plus violations

Inspections after WTC fire uncover 120 plus violations -- Newsday.com
The Fire Department has found dozens of fire hazards at construction sites - including broken water pipes and elevators - in stepped-up inspections following a deadly blaze at a ground zero skyscraper that it hadn't inspected for more than a year.

After visiting hundreds of sites around the city, the department has uncovered more than 120 violations since the Aug. 18 fire at the former Deutsche Bank building. The inspections have caused the city to shut down construction sites at a rate twice as high since the fire, compared with the months before, according to city records.

Some of the sites - close to 500 - are being inspected for the first time, despite city law requiring inspections every 15 days. The lapse in visits to the former Deutsche Bank tower failed to uncover a broken standpipe that supplies water to fire hoses, complicating firefighting efforts in the blaze that killed two firefighters.

Click on the link above for the rest of the story.

OSHA Cites Fire Department: Three Serious Violations

ABC News 4 Charleston - OSHA Cites Fire Department: Three Serious Violations

State officials have handed the Charleston Fire Department four citations for violating firefighter safety.

The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the department for one willful violation involving firefighter safety and three serious violations for firefighters on the scene not wearing full protective gear.

OSHA's report on the June 18th fire at the Sofa Super Store was released Thursday.

The Sofa Super Store was also cited for locked or improperly working exit and fire doors.

Nine firefighters died in the blaze. OSHA officials say the violations will result in monetary fines.

New York Fire Officers Reassigned After Fatal Blaze

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
According to the Mayor "Inspections are not up for debate."

Three New York City Fire Department officers were stripped of their commands for failing to inspect and plan for a possible fire in the former Deutsche Bank building where an Aug. 18 blaze killed two firefighters, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Deputy Chief Richard Fuerch, Battalion Chief John McDonald and Captain Peter Bosco of Engine Company 10, the firehouse closest to the building near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan, were transferred to headquarters, Bloomberg said at a City Hall press conference.

Investigators are trying to determine why Bosco's firehouse failed to inspect the building's water standpipe, which had been broken, every 15 days as law required. The probe will also explore why Fuerch failed to prepare a pre-fire plan for the building under demolition, Scoppetta said.

``These apparent failures in oversight, judgment and responsibility may require disciplinary action,'' Bloomberg said. The mayor said officials are cooperating with separate criminal probes by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The officers' reassignments will be temporary until the investigations into the fire are complete, the mayor said.

The fire started because demolition workers tossed lit cigarette butts on to the building's 17th floor, said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, who joined Bloomberg at the news conference. The city Fire Marshall ruled out electrical equipment or connections, he said.

``Cigarette smoking was rampant in the building and it was prohibited,'' said department spokesman Francis Gribbon.

Fire Investigation

The mayor said the investigation would seek to answer why the standpipe became inoperable, which left the burning building with no internal water supply, and why it hadn't been inspected, violating city regulations and the contract between the owner of the building, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., and the demolition contractor, Bovis Lend Lease Co.

``The broken standpipe made it very difficult for firefighters to put water on the fire until they improvised and hoisted hose lines from the street, costing them valuable time,'' Bloomberg said.

Compounding the problem was the presence of plywood and polyurethane placed throughout the gutted building to contain asbestos and other toxic contaminants during the demolition process.

``High-rise fires almost always burn up, not down as this one did,'' the mayor said. ``We suspect that the effects of the negative air pressure system put in place as part of the containment operation pulled the fire down several floors quickly, putting the base of operations on the 14th floor at great risk.''

Failed to Act

Bloomberg said Bosco, captain of Engine Company 10, was reassigned because as commander of the firehouse closest to 130 Liberty Street, he should have ensured inspections of the standpipe were made every 15 days. McDonald, commander of Battalion 1, supervised Bosco.

Scoppetta said Fuerch, a division commander with more than 30 years experience in the department, had failed to act after Battalion Chief William Siegel in 2005 sent him several memoranda requesting that he draft a plan should a fire break out.

`Two Crimes'

John McDonnell, president of the Uniform Fire Officers Association, which represents the three officers, said the building was too hazardous to inspect every 15 days, requiring any firefighters to don protective suits and masks and go through time-consuming decontamination procedures.

``The real problem is that two crimes were committed in that building: someone who removed the standpipe so that water was unavailable, and the people who were smoking in that building,'' McDonald said in an interview. ``Both were criminal and neither fell under the fire department's purview.''

Pre-fire plans should be drafted whenever a demolition or construction site presents unique problems, Bloomberg said. This building, located near the World Trade Center and next door to Engine Company 10, ``where decontamination and demolition require equipment, that makes it a more dangerous situation,'' Bloomberg said.

Black Shroud

The building at 130 Liberty Street, shrouded in black mesh and filled with polyurethane and plywood to contain asbestos and other contaminants, has been vacant since Sept. 11, 2001, when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed near it.

The fire killed Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn. The two worked out of the same firehouse, Engine 24-Ladder 5, that lost 11 firefighters on Sept. 11.

The mayor said the Fire Department's deputy chiefs would inspect all buildings that are under construction or being demolished to make sure of adherence to regulations ``regarding fire protection and public safety,'' the statement said.

``Structurally, we need to also put in place mechanisms to ensure that necessary fire inspections of buildings in our city take place as required,'' Bloomberg said. ``Inspections are not up for debate.''

Firefighters Bid One of Their Own Farewell

Firefighters Bid One of Their Own Farewell - New York Times
RIP

The firefighters in crisp blue uniforms stood in formation for the second successive day, for the second funeral of a fallen comrade, a day after two more of their colleagues were injured at the same site where these two had perished.

There was grief today at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, and even some laughter at a few memories of Firefighter Robert Beddia, a 23-year-veteran of the department who died on Saturday doing the work he loved.

The Rev. John Delendick, a fire department chaplain, told the mourners gathered at the ornate church that Mr. Beddia, 53, “didn’t become a firefighter for the money, he didn’t become a firefighter for the glamour.”

“He became a firefighter because of certain values,” the chaplain said.

But along with the grief there was weary frustration and simmering anger at the circumstances that had claimed Firefighter Beddia’s life.

He died on Saturday along with a colleague, Joseph Graffagnino, while battling a seven-alarm fire in the former Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan, which was in the process of being dismantled. Both were assigned to Engine 24 and Ladder 5, based at a firehouse at Avenue of the Americas and West Houston Street in SoHo.

The fire raised troubling questions about why it had taken so long to bring down the 41-story building that was damaged beyond repair in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.

On Thursday, as Firefighter Graffagnino’s funeral was taking place in Brooklyn, two more firefighters were injured at the building when a worker lost control of a small forklift on the 23rd floor of the building, sending it tumbling down 200 feet to the ground.

The forklift crashed through a construction shed on the ground level, and part of the shed collapsed on the two firefighters.

Both firefighters, Neil Nally, 35, and William Carbettis, 51, of Engine 258 in Long Island City, Queens, were listed in stable condition today at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. They both sustained head injuries.

Firefighter Carbettis had his spleen removed. Firefighter Nally also had an injured back and right hand, according to a fire official, and could be allowed to leave the hospital today, fire officials said.

At today’s funeral for Firefighter Beddia, there were echoes of the funeral on Thursday for his colleague, Firefighter Graffagnino.

At both, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace” for a crowd of mourners that again included Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

And as a backdrop for both funerals, there were thoughts about the troubled building where all four fighters had been harmed, and about why city officials and building owners can’t seem to get to the bottom of the task of bringing down the condemned building.

Mayor Bloomberg, who said he had never met Firefighter Beddia, said he had been described to him by others as a dedicated professional.

“For 23 years he was a quiet hero,” the mayor said at the Mass. “He rarely spoke, but when he did others listened.”

The mayor also talked about the fire that took Firefighter Beddia’s life.

“This fires raised a lot of difficult questions,” the mayor said, adding that city and fire officials would “investigate to get to the bottom of what happened.”

Such an inquiry, he said, would hopefully “lead to actions to make the Fire Department stronger and safer.”

Firefighter Beddia often drove the fire truck for Engine 24, a post referred to as the chauffeur, but when he was not behind the wheel, he was working with the younger men, firefighters said.

Lt. Richie Quinn of the Fire Department spoke to reporters outside St. Patrick’s today about Firefighter Beddia.

“He was our chauffer, he knew every building inside and out, which was extremely helpful for us,” he said.

Firefighter Beddia’s sister, Susan Beddia Olson, spoke about him before his flag-draped coffin, in the form of a letter to him, which she began by saying, “Dear Bobby,” the name those close to him called him.

“Remember walking me down the aisle?” she asked. “Remember dancing with me at my wedding?

“You are my friend, you are my brother,” she said. “You are my hero.”

Two hours after the funeral mass had begun — as the family and other mourners accompanied the coffin out of the cathedral, from where it will be taken to a cemetery in Staten Island for burial — hundreds still lined Fifth Avenue.

A church bell tolled, and the crowd went silent as Firefighter Beddia was led out of Manhattan, a borough whose streets he knew so well, for the last time.

Critics Say Lessons From 9/11 Were Not Followed in Deutsche Bank Blaze

After the Sept. 11 attack at the World Trade Center, an independent consultant studied the Fire Department’s performance and identified a number of lapses amid all the undeniable valor of that day. It said that too many men rushed into the buildings before anyone realized the danger they were in, contributing to the staggering death toll.

The consultant, McKinsey & Company, said the Fire Department needed to use more caution and preparation when it approached such a major, complicated fire, and not send too many men in before it knew what it was dealing with.

Saturday’s fire at the former Deutsche Bank building, which left two firemen dead, presented its own set of challenges, but it also bore similarities to Sept. 11 that went beyond geography, including the fact that the building was a high-rise.

Now, some are questioning Saturday’s response, noting that, at one point, more than 100 firefighters were inside the building even though the fire was out of control and wildly unpredictable — and that those men had to be called out. And they were inside even though, unlike the situation in the twin towers, no workers were trapped.

“Clearly firefighters were sent into a deathtrap,” said Stephen J. Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “I think the Fire Department’s position is they didn’t know how bad it was. We certainly need to find out why they didn’t know.”

Yesterday, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta directed his investigators to determine why the department did not have a plan in place to fight a fire in the building.

Mr. Cassidy made his remarks as the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, announced that his office had opened an investigation into the fire to determine if any crimes had been committed. The move extends the prosecutors’ subpoena power to the fire marshals who are working with the district attorney’s office.

Mr. Cassidy also called for an independent investigation of the fire by the state attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who said last night that his office had begun reviewing the circumstances of the fire. Mr. Cassidy said the department was “not capable” of doing its own investigation because of its own involvement and its relationship with other city agencies involved.

In a way, it is a debate that goes to the heart of Fire Department culture — rushing into burning buildings, after all, is what firefighters do. And for their part, fire officials said they believed that Saturday’s fire was well managed, and that the department’s response could not be compared to its actions on 9/11.

“This is a fire in a high-rise building; it is not a terrorist attack,” said Francis X. Gribbon, the department’s chief spokesman. “They see the fire, they know where the fire is. They use the protocols in place to fight the fire.”

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended the department’s decision to send the more than 100 firefighters up into the building to fight the blaze, saying they bravely improvised in a crisis.

The Deutsche Bank building is being dismantled. Sheathed in black netting and plywood, the floors where the men were trapped had been sealed off with plywood and plastic sheeting, creating a maze that became especially daunting as the building filled with wind-fanned black smoke.

Radio transmissions captured the moment when high-ranking officials ordered all the men out — a striking echo of Sept. 11. With two men down and 29 Maydays coming from hellishly fire-engulfed floors, commanders wanted to do a head count.

The priorities of those in charge of the fire response are crystallized in one transmission: A senior official cursed as he said he did not care about the building, and shouted, “Where are my men?”

Firefighters were trapped without water because the standpipe system — plagued by a shut valve, cracks and a broken pipe — malfunctioned. The two firefighters who died, Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, ran out of air. Investigators are focusing on a discarded cigarette or faulty electrical panel as the cause of the blaze.

“This was an unoccupied building,” said a former fire official. “On 9/11 we sent too many people in. McKinsey said that we should not rush men in and, even though the investigation is ongoing, it seems obvious at this point that we still have not learned the lesson that if you’re going to send people in, there should be adequate time and means to get them out.”

Charles R. Blaich, a retired deputy chief who was in charge of safety for the Fire Department at the ground zero site, said the McKinsey report changed how the department managed disasters.

“After 9/11 there were directions that came out from the chief of department that we never get ourselves into a position at these huge disasters where we just blindly assign assets without reasonably assessing what risks we face and what benefits we will achieve,” Mr. Blaich said. “What are we going to achieve by doing this?”

Thomas Von Essen, the fire commissioner on Sept. 11, said he had had many conversations with firefighters who responded on Saturday. He said many felt the operation had moved too quickly.

Mr. Von Essen said it was widely known that the bank building was undergoing a complex and dangerous demolition. He said fire officials should not have been surprised by what the firefighters encountered.

John J. McDonnell, the president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said he believed the lessons of Sept. 11 had been learned “to some extent.”

“I don’t know if the upper echelons of the Fire Department were aware of the complex nature of the abatement within the building, I mean everyone from the fire commissioner to his staff,” said Mr. McDonnell, whose union represents 2,450 members.

“Were they aware of the complex nature?” he asked. “If they were aware prior to that, maybe there would have been a different fire plan in place.”

He added, “Under a hazardous materials condition, you approach things on a much more cautious level. ”

Firefighters at the scene checked in with commanders, said Mr. Gribbon, the department spokesman. “They were given assignments and they went to work.”

Mr. Gribbon declined to release a minute-by-minute breakdown of the department’s response because he said the department was conducing an internal review that involved listening to radio transmissions, transcribing the tapes, interviews and re-interviews, among other things.

Mr. McDonnell said no one had been prepared to find the stairwell landings blocked by the heavy plywood boards used to compartmentalize buildings where asbestos was being removed. Firefighters had to use an exterior elevator and scaffolding stairs to get up and down.

Jerome M. Hauer, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management from 1996 to 2000, said it was “unfair” to contrast the department’s operations on Saturday with the findings of the McKinsey report because “I don’t feel that the report was accurate in some of its assessments.”

He said the accountability for what occurred “has to rest” with the building owner and the demolition operators, not with the Fire Department.

Subcontractor at WTC site dropped after fire

The abandoned Deutsche Bank building was filled with hazardous chemicals, holes in the floors and a maze of plastic sheeting that made it a virtual death trap for firefighters.

Yet the New York City Fire Department did not have a contingency plan for fighting a fire there, as is required for every building in the city, city and fire officials said Wednesday.

The building's central water pipe, which was disconnected on Saturday, the day of the fire, and is one of the factors being blamed for the deaths of two firefighters, also was not being inspected regularly as the law requires, city and fire officials said.

"Things didn't go right," Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association said Tuesday. "In the end, we lost two firefighters in a toxic building that's about to be torn down. It's unacceptable that it happened."

Both Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched investigations into the fire this week.

Meanwhile, a controversial subcontractor in the project, the John Galt Corp., was let go Wednesday, days after it was revealed that both the city and federal governments had issued it numerous violations for problems including holes in the floor, falling debris and sparks flying near combustible material.

The Fire Department is still investigating how the deadly blaze started Saturday afternoon, city officials said Wednesday.

The firefighters killed, Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, and Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island, will be buried Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Cassidy said for more than a year before the fire, local firefighters were not allowed into the building to do regular inspections because of the poor air quality there. He is asking who was doing the inspections, if not the local firehouse.

Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said the department is looking into why there was no pre-fire plan for the building and why the department was not inspecting the water pipe regularly.

However, even if the fire department was not doing regular inspections of the water pipe, the city building department was, city officials said. According to building department records, only the day before the fire, an inspection showed that the pipe was assembled properly and seemed to be working.

When it was taken apart -- part of the pipe was found lying on the floor after the fire -- remains a mystery, city officials said.

Work on deconstruction of the building was stopped immediately after the fire, and now that John Galt has been taken off the project, it isn't likely to resume soon.

In a letter to John Galt explaining why the company's contract is in default, James Abadie, the principal-in-charge of Bovis Lend Lease, the primary contractor, said: "The numerous citations issued with respect to employee safety and the failure to properly maintain all required site safety precautions are only some areas of concern."

Standpipe Flaw Examined in Fire at Ground Zero

Standpipe Flaw Examined in Fire at Ground Zero - New York Times
The Fire Department is investigating whether a malfunctioning standpipe sent water cascading into the basement of the flaming Deutsche Bank tower at ground zero on Saturday, denying water to air-starved firefighters battling the seven-alarm blaze above, including the two men who were killed.

Members of Engine Company 7 said they connected their hose to the standpipe and pumped thousands of gallons into the building, but one investigator said yesterday that the water never made it beyond the fifth floor, leading to suspicions of a cracked or broken valve. The basement, officials said, was filled with water.

Firefighters were forced to spend crucial moments carrying and pulling hoses up the sides of the ghostly black-shrouded building — a scarred remnant of the 9/11 attacks that was being dismantled — as wind-driven flames caught on 13 different floors after snaking up and down through voids and holes.

Officials were still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, suspecting either a tossed cigarette or a faulty electrical panel, but one thing was clear: From the beginning, even before the standpipe failed, the blaze presented a series of unique challenges to those fighting it.

The building had been contaminated by the fallout of Sept. 11 with toxic substances and tiny bits of human remains; insurance fights delayed its fate for years. Asbestos had been removed from the building, and sealed plywood hatches in stairwells divided the floors, forcing firefighters — possibly including the two who died — into the wide-open floors, where they could easily become disoriented.

Containment areas of plywood and thick plastic sheeting meant to keep in potentially dangerous particles sucked in air, fanning flames. Plywood that had replaced windows on the upper floors can be seen burning in photographs.

Flames got around and under the firefighters who died, Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33. A voice believed to be that of Firefighter Beddia was heard on a radio transmission saying he had run out of air and was trying to follow his hose out. It may have been his last transmission.

“There were problems getting water on the fire,” one official said. “They are trapped and they run out of air because of how rapidly the conditions change, and now they have no refuge and they cannot get out. They now cannot see and they have no air.”

Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the state agency that owns the building, promised investigations, and an official with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency had cited the John Galt Corporation, the subcontractor doing the demolition, for 20 serious violations at the building.

At the same time, officials said that results of air test results from around the building were negative for asbestos, but that it would take several days before they knew about other substances.

Residents in the area expressed an array of frustrations.

“You’d think that after six years, we would have learned something, but when this fire broke out, there was no notification system in place, and the people who live around here didn’t know what to do,” said Patricia L. Moore, who lives at 125 Cedar Street, in the shadow of the burned building. “Some of us left the building and some of us stayed, but we’re all concerned.”

Avi Schick, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said the fire was a “perfect storm of misfortune that worked together to turn what is, under any circumstance, a hazardous situation into something that was perhaps even more treacherous.”

Mr. Schick said the mechanism to ensure negative air pressure within the containment areas might have worsened conditions by bringing in a supply of outside air that wound up feeding the flames and by drawing smoke across the floor without fully venting it, since the exhausts have filters designed to trap particles in the air.

“It’s likely that the very measures that were insisted upon by the E.P.A. to protect those on the outside had a less than salutary effect when the fire started, because there were too many pulls on the oxygen,” Mr. Schick said. “And the firefighters paid the ultimate price.” Officials said the fire would delay the dismantling of the building by about three weeks.

Fire at WTC was hard to fight

Air-quality tests on asbestos negative
A fire that killed two firefighters in an abandoned skyscraper near ground zero may have been harder to fight because of the protective polyurethane on several floors in the building, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Sunday.

The former Deutsche Bank office building has been a toxic site since it was damaged on the morning of the 2001 World Trade Center attack, and was in the process of being disassembled. The federal Environmental Protection Agency had required the polyurethane sheets to prevent asbestos and other harmful debris from leaking out, Spitzer said.

The polyurethane in the building "may in fact have made this fire harder to fight," Spitzer said.

Questions about other complications were emerging on Sunday, including why the building's standpipe, or source of water, did not work, forcing firefighters to run hoses up to the 17th floor, where the fire started.

"The standpipe was not operating. We don't know why yet," fire department spokesman Frank Gribbon said.