Early Morning Job

On Sunday morning October 28, 2007 shortly before 6:30 a.m. companies 15, 52, 53 and 7 were alerted for a house fire in the 15 box, the dispatcher advised the caller said next to or across from a certain address, usually a good indicator that it is a job. The address ended up being 1144 Mainsville Road, Southampton Franklin. The Vigilant Hose Company was actually running as themselves and WEFR for the night while the West Enders had a fall party.

The Viggies with Engine's 15-1, 252 and Squad 15 were out right away. I just happened to be heading out in search of wildlife to shoot (with the camera) when the box was being dispatched and decided to take it in.

Chief 252 T. J. Silverstrim arrived with fire showing from sides A and B, while giving his size up Engine 15-1 was dropping at a plug a couple of hundred feet back and Engine 252 was picking up the line. A crew of Vigilant members aboard E15-1 advanced a 1-3/4 line to the front porch and forced the door. The fire quickly spread venting to the front porch and forcing the engine guys from the porch to finish donning mask and make entry. Once making entry the fire was quickly controlled with limited extension. Kudos to the Vigilant crew on a good hit.

The house was vacant at the time with a limited fire load. The fire Marshall was requested to determine the cause of the fire. One firefighter was injured when he got debris in his eye. At one point two firefighters were in trouble when they went partially through the floor to the basement. Both were removed with no injuries.

I followed the two engines to the scene and had the opportunity to get a few early shots. Unfortunately I did not have my flash with me and had to get creative in looking for light any place I could. In turn the flames are blown out in my shots with little detail. For those interested in the technical aspects of my shots check out my photography blog (linked on this page). I did get a few of the initial hit on the fire but because of the slow shutter speed they are a little blurry. If anybody has counties times for dispatch and arrival post them in the comments section. The first photo was taken at 6:31:33 a.m. as the line was being stretched, photo 2 at 6:31:59, photo 3 at 6:32:10 and photo 4 at 6:47:18. The time on my camera down to the minute (not sure about seconds) is the same as Cumberland County's time.

On this day October 29

October 29, 1977, 8:00 a.m. Byers Road, Greene Township. A fire started by an overheated chimney caused extensive damage to an occupied 2-1/2-story frame house. Most of the fire was confined to the voids with heavy smoke damage to the entire structure. Damages were estimated at $7,000. The West End Fire and Rescue Company assisted at the scene.