| At 04:08 the Good Will Fire Company was alerted, as apart of the Working Fire Dispatch, to assist the Longwood Fire Company, as the Rapid Intervention Team, on a house fire on Center Mill Road, in Kennett Township. While the members were responding to the firehouse, Tanker 52 was added to the incident as a part of the 1st Alarm Tanker Task Force. Longwood chief officers arrived to find a 2 story, wood frame, single family house with a large volume of fire evident from the front of the house. Assistant Chief McCarthy established Center Mill Command and requested the Working Fire Dispatch, the 1st Alarm Tanker Task Force, and ultimately the 2nd Alarm Assignment.
Engine 52 – 1, under the command of Lieutenant Good, with 6 firefighters, Air 52, under the command of Lieutenant Ferriola, with 4, and Tanker 52, under the command of Firefighter Miller, with 2, responded simultaneously shortly after being dispatched. While Engine 52 – 1 was responding, Lieutenant Good split the R.I.T in two separate groups; the R.I.T Recon Team and the R.I.T Heavy Team.
A Rapid Intervention Team is a group of highly trained and skilled firefighters who stand by at working incidents and complete the rescue of a firefighter if an emergency arises. The Good Will Fire Company uses a two team approach for incidents requiring a Rapid Intervention Team. The R.I.T Recon Team carries fewer hand tools, such as 6' Pike Poles, Rope, a spare Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, and a Thermal Imaging Camera. The R.I.T Recon Team usually consists of two firefighters who will secure their tools and proceed directly to the fire building upon their arrival. Once the R.I.T Recon Team arrives at the fire building they will check in with the Incident Commander and begin their 360 degree survey of the fire building, checking for fire conditions, where firefighters are working, location of portable ladders, building construction features, and any hazards that may be out of the ordinary. If a MAYDAY is transmitted, the R.I.T Recon Team will enter the area where the firefighter in distress is located and assess the firefighter's air supply in their Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, package the firefighter for removal from the fire building, radio their findings to the R.I.T Heavy Team and advise them of what additional resources may be needed, and begin removing the firefighter from the building. Lieutenant Good and Firefighter Davis were assigned as the R.I.T Recon Team for this incident.
The R.I.T Heavy Team is made up of the remaining members who responded on the Engine and Air Truck, they are responsible for carrying the remaining equipment that they are required to carry, such as saws, additional hand tools, additional spare air cylinders, and whatever other tools they feel would be necessary to perform a rescue of a firefighter in distress. The R.I.T Heavy Team will stage, along with the R.I.T Recon Team, close to the main point of entry to the fire building and continually monitor conditions and prepare themselves for any emergency that may arise. Firefighter's Creager, Green, Rychlak, and Jimenez made up the R.I.T heavy Team.
Engine 52 – 1 arrived and the R.I.T Recon Team secured their tools and proceeded to the fire building, completed their 360 degree survey, and staged on Side D of the fire building. The R.I.T Heavy Team gathered the remaining required tools and proceeded to Side D and staged with the Recon Team. Once both groups discussed the fire building, conditions present, and where firefighters were working, a member of the R.I.T was sent to gather Self Contained Breathing Apparatus' from Longwood, Kennett, and Hockessin as they use a different S.C.B.A. manufacturer then the West Chester Fire Department.
Air 52 arrived and their crew initially assembled with the Rapid Intervention Team but was reassigned, by the Operations Officer, to relieve crews working on the second floor. The crew, under the command of Lieutenant Ferriola, entered the second floor where they opened ceilings and walls to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the remainder of the house. Three members from Engine 51 – 2, 1st West Chester Fire Company, worked hard to open the ceilings and walls, which were covered with drywall on top of plywood in some spots. The crew working on the second floor extinguished several pockets of fire found at the peak of the roof and in a knee wall on Side D. Later into the incident, after the fire was under control, some members of the Rapid Intervention Team were sent into the second floor to assist the members of Air 52 with extinguishing one pocket of hidden fire and opening up the remaining walls on the second floor and wetting down all of the burnt materials.
Tanker 52 arrived and staged on Center Mill Road, they were later released when it was found that all of the Tankers on the Tanker Task Force were not needed, since the water supply was handled by New Castle County Tanker 19, who were drafting out of a pond in front of the house.
At the end of the incident, Center Mill Command released all companies, with the exception of Longwood and Good Will, but a short time later he held the incident to Longwood units only and released Good Will. Engine 52 – 1 and Air 52 were back in the firehouse by 07:15, where they cleaned their tools, replenished their Self Contained Breathing Apparatus', and completed all required reports. All members were out of the firehouse, on their way home or work, around 08:15.
All Photos are Courtesy Steve Nuse Sta. 36. |
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