RSSAll Entries in the "The Collapse Zone" Category

Compromised Floor Assembly Traps (CT) Firefighters

Compromised Floor Assembly Traps (CT) Firefighters

A Taftville (CT) Firefigher was caught in a compromised floor condition while fighting a fire in a residential occupancy on Friday morning April 15th in Norwich, CT., resulting in a mayday and RIT deloyment to support the extrication and firefighter removal from the interior. Published reports from Theday.com indicated a fire fighter issued a mayday […]

Roof and Ceiling Collapses

Roof and Ceiling Collapses

There have been two fire ground collapse events this week; the first in Gary Indiana on April 5th, the other in Washington DC on April 8th that resulted in a total of eight firefighters being injured. The collapse conditions presented themselves during the course of operations in which suppression or search and rescue operations were […]

Ceiling Collapse Injures Three Gary, Indiana Firefighters

Ceiling Collapse Injures Three Gary, Indiana Firefighters

Three Gary (IN) firefighters were injured when the third floor ceiling of a burning building collapsed on Tuesday April 5th during search and rescue operations. According to published reports their injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening, but they were taken to a hospital. Battalion Chief Robert Groszewski stated about 20 firefighters responded to the fire at […]

Taxpayer Fire and Collapse with Mayday in Leslie, Michigan Injures Ten Firefighers

Taxpayer Fire and Collapse with Mayday in Leslie, Michigan Injures Ten Firefighers

Ten firefighters were among 11 people injured during a blaze that caused part of a building’s roof to collapse in the mid-Michigan community of Leslie. Leslie is about 20 miles southeast of Lansing, Michigan. The fire was reported just before 7 a.m. Saturday at Moo’s Bar & Grille in downtown Leslie, but a “mayday” alert […]

The Strand Theatre Fire Brockton (MA) 1941; 13 Firefighter LODD

The Strand Theatre Fire Brockton (MA) 1941; 13 Firefighter LODD

      The Strand Theatre Fire Brockton (MA) 1941; 13 Firefighter LODD The Strand Theater, Brockton, MA   Strand Theatre Background The Strand Theatre was first erected in 1915 on the site of a previous theatre which was destroyed by fire on April 7, 1915. The Strand Theatre opened in March, 1916 on School Street […]

World Trade Center Bombing-1993 Remembered

World Trade Center Bombing-1993 Remembered

At 18 minutes after noon on February 26, 1993, a huge bomb went off beneath the two towers of the World Trade Center. This was not a suicide attack. The terrorists parked a truck bomb with a timing device on Level B-2 of the underground garage, then departed. The ensuing explosion opened a hole seven […]

Maintaining Situational Awareness

Maintaining Situational Awareness

                                                    Maintaining focused situational awareness during all phases of fireground operation is mission critical for operational integrity and firefigher safety. Don’t forget value added task assignments and ensuring you always maintain effective and appropriate collapse zones.

Structural Collapse Type III Vacant

Structural Collapse Type III Vacant

Something exploded in this vacant building as firefighters battled a fire Monday night in Cairo, Illinois. A photographer for television station KFVS was rolling when the blast occurred and also caught the collapse a short time later.. The local fire chief says the fire started when four men were inside the building, looking for things to steal. […]

Theater Undergoing Deconstruction Collapses in Millville, New Jersey

Theater Undergoing Deconstruction Collapses in Millville, New Jersey

 There was great promise in the 102-year-old Levoy Theater. Just last week there were numerous articles about the gutting of the building with its facade left in place and new steel trusses for the roof. The new Levoy was supposed to be a centerpiece for downtown Millville with a scheduled reopening in July. The Levoy is now a […]

Three Firefighters were injured when they fell through the floor of a Vacant House

Three Firefighters were injured when they fell through the floor of a Vacant House

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Three Buffalo firefighters are lucky to be alive Wednesday night. The three firefighters were injured when they fell through the floor of a burning home on Mohican Avenue on the city’s east side.  Two of the firefighters were taken to the hospital for treatment. Officials say their injuries are not serious. […]

Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse

Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse

  The tragic events in the City of Chicago on Wednesday December 22, 2010, when Chicago Firefighter Edward J. Stringer – Engine Co.63 and Firefighter/EMT Corey D. Ankum, Truck Co.34 were killed in the line of duty while operating at a structure fire in an abandoned one-story brick building in the 1700 block of East […]

Block and Brick Warehouse Construction Live Fire Testing

Block and Brick Warehouse Construction Live Fire Testing

Another series of experiments were conducted in Phoenix, Arizona using a brick and block warehouse structure with a “traditional” wood frame roof assembly. This set of two experiments included measurement of temperatures and carbon monoxide inside the structure. The building was approximately 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. Infra-red (IR) cameras were used on […]

Wood Frame Structures Live Fire Testing

Wood Frame Structures Live Fire Testing

Four wood frame residential-like structures with different roof constructions were used in a series of fire tests conducted in cooperation with the Phoenix, AZ Fire Department. The roof construction was the primary difference between each structure: asphalt shingles and plywood, asphalt shingles and oriented strand board, cement tiles and plywood, or cement tiles and oriented […]

Double Chicago Firefighters LODD, 17 hurt during 3-11 alarm blaze and Building Collapse

Double Chicago Firefighters LODD, 17 hurt during 3-11 alarm blaze and Building Collapse

From emerging published reports, Two Chicago firefighters died after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 alarm fire at an abandoned South Side commercial building this morning, authorities said. Fourteen other firefighters were injured, including two who were trapped with the ones who died.  Police squad cars escorted two ambulances north on Lake Shore Drive to […]