APPARATUS BAY

Photo: Photography on the Net
Truck 105 and Engine 105 at Crystal City, Virginia

FOAM 161

Photo: IAFF Local F-253
Foam 161 of the Fort Myer Fire Department is a 2001 E-ONE TITAN. It replaced the foam wagon destroyed at the Pentagon attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Foam 161 is assigned to cover the Pentagon fire station.

FEATURES
1000 Gallon Tank
200 Gallon Foam
500 lbs. of Purple K
1500 GPM
Roof and Bumper Turrets
100' Hose Reel (Water, Foam, Purple K)

FLEET - 1960

Photo: www.acfd3.com
Fire department fleet at drill school in 1960.

MCKAY'S FAREWELL

Operations Chief Scott McKay, a veteran of the Pentagon attack on Sept. 11, 2001 who also led a team of firefighters during the Hurricane Katrina recovery along the Gulf Coast, retired in January 2009. In his farewell message, he wrote: "I wanted to express my gratitude and admiration to all of you. Working alongside some of the finest people I have ever met, this has been one hell of a ride. This fire department has come a long way since I joined in 1980. The level of professionalism at all levels of the organization is what makes this a great place to work."

OLD NO. 6

Photo: www.acfd3.com
Old Fire Station No. 6 at Falls Church, Virginia

OLD GLEBE ROAD

On Nov. 25, 2009, James Bea, a 24-year employee of the Arlington County public works department, was electrocuted at the site of a watermain break at Old Glebe Road and Glebe Road. Another worker was seriously injured.

---

Photos: Channel 5 television and Arlington County Government

FIRE CHIEFS

Schwartz

Plaugher

Hawkins

Groshon

Clements

Scheffel

EAGLE 2

Photo: U.S. Government
Arlington County firefighters and paramedics transfer patients to the U.S. Park Police helicopter "Eagle 2" at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

GOV. KAINE

Photo: Arlington County web site
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine meets Arlington County firefighters at ceremony in 2006. Rescue 104 is in the background.

911 CENTER

Arlington County ECC - Emergency Communications Center

FACTORY FIRE

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR LARGER IMAGE

Photo: www.acfd3.com

LADDERS UP!

Photo: www.acfd3.com
Dec. 7, 2008 - Two-alarm fire at 124 Rolling Trace, Falls Church

BUCK & TUCK

Buck Cumberland (left) served for many years as chief of the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department in Arlington County, Virginia. His brother, Tuck, was chief of the Ballston Volunteer Fire Department, also in Arlington.

Photo: Cherrydale VFD

PLANT FIRE

Photo: www.acfd9.com

Fire at concrete plant, 2006

OLD WOODLAWN

Photo: Falls Church Volunteer Fire Dept. web site

Crews on the scene of an April 1974 fire at the old Woodlawn School, which was located at 4715 North 15th Street. Today, the old school building is occupied by the Capital Hospice in-patient unit. Woodlawn School was merged into the H-B Woodlawn school in Cherrydale in 1978.

HECHINGER FIRE - 1969

Photos: Falls Church Voluteer Fire Dept. web site

Images of fire at the Hechinger hardware store in the City of Falls Church on May 31, 1969

HOLIDAY INN - 1987

On Aug. 23, 1987, an underground transformer exploded in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, ``sending a billowing tower of flames and black smoke high into the air,'' The Washington Post reported. Firefighters expressed concern about exposure to the chemical PCB used in the transformers at the hotel at 1850 Fort Myer Dr.

JACKSON CITY

Jackson City - a notorious strip once located along the Potomac River, near the current Boundary Channel Drive and Jefferson Davis Highway - was a fire trap.

Nicknamed the ``The Monte Carlo of America,'' the settlement featured all the ingredients for a memorable night on the town - saloons, gambling houses, bordellos, vice dens and a race track.

On July 14, 1902, flames swept a row of card parlors, as The Washington Post reported:

``Fire that originated in a policy shop last night wiped out every gambling house in Jackson City, at the Virginia end of the Long Bridge. (It) was not much of a fire when it started - a bucketful of water would have quenched it - but the habitues were so absorbed at the roulette wheel and faro table that they refused to put cut the blaze.''

District of Columbia firefighters doused the flames, the shops were repaired - and the games returned.

Fire also visited Jackson City on Nov. 30, 1893, and the next day's Washington Post said:

``Monte Carlo, the notorious resort at Jackson City, is in ashes. About 11:30 o'clock last night fire broke out in one of the row of frame buildings occupied by the free and easy, and before the flames could be checked almost the entire row was destroyed. The fire started in James Wells' one-story building on the west side of the road.''

The final fire broke out in 1904 when a band of vigilantes - ``The Good Citizens League'' - cleared out the undesirable elements and set much of Jackson City alight, according to the Arlington County Historical Society.

LUNA PARK - 1915

On April 19, 1915, fire destroyed the roller coaster at Luna Park, a forgotten amusement park which was located in the vicinity of Glebe Road and Jefferson Davis Highway.

``The origin of the fire is thought to have been from sparks from a blaze in the woods adjoining the park,'' The Washington Post reported. `` The flames spread through the woods, destroying a considerable section. No estimate was placed on the loss.

``The fact that the structure destroyed was isolated from others of the park and the wind blowing away from them in all probability prevented the destruction of every building on the grounds,'' the Post reported.

According to a history of Arlington County, posted on the county's web site:

``This amusement park, located in the area where Glebe Road meets Route 1, was built in 1906 for more than $350,000. It claimed facilities for 3,000 picnickers as well as a large ballroom, restaurant and circus arena.

``Exhibits were housed in large buildings of various styles -- Gothic, Moorish, and Japanese. A 'shoot-the-chutes' with a 350-foot incline was a leading attraction. The park was eventually damaged by fire and dismantled in 1915.''

At that time, the closest fire stations were located in the City of Alexandria and the District of Columbia.

HORSES SAVED

About 2oo U.S. Army horses were saved from a stable fire at Fort Myer on Oct. 24, 1925. The blaze was ``started by a short circuit in the electric wiring in Battery A stables'' and ``destroyed the stable and because of lack of water threatened to spread to surrounding buildings housing artillery equipment,'' according to the next day's Washington Post.

ALL HANDS!

Photo: http://www.acfd3.com/

Ballston Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1920s

Clarendon was the scene of a general alarm fire in September 1924.

``Fire yesterday afternoon in the home of Miss A.L. McCoy, 307 Popular avenue, Clarendon, caused a loss of $3,000,'' The Washington Post reported on Sept. 13 of that year.

``Fire companies irom Cherrydale, Ballston, Arlington and Clarendon found the roof in flames and seeing several frame houses close by in danger, a second alarm was sounded, bringing out all the apparatus in Arlington County,'' the newspaper said.

FALSE ALARMS - 1923

``A concerted effort is being launched in Arlington County to apprehend the person who is calling out the fire apparatus on false alarms. The second false alarm within a week was turned in Monday night, calling the engines to the Texaco Oil Company in Rosslyn.''

- The Washington Post
Sept. 26, 1923

OLD ROSSLYN

Oct. 23, 1916

FIREMEN AID IN ROSSLYN

Engine and Hose Wagon Sent to Fight Blaze Across River.

Late yesterday Afternoon Engine Company, No. 5, and the hose wagon of Truck Company, No. 5, went to Rosslyn, Va., on orders of Chief Wagner for a fire of undetermined origin in a two-story stable owned and occupied by W.O. Pickett.

In days of old, the District of Columbia Fire Department sometimes made runs into Rosslyn, just across the Potomac River from Georgetown via the old Aquaduct Bridge. Chief Frank J. Wagner (mentioned in the newspaper excerpt) was chief of the D.C. Fire Department from December 1908 to September 1920.

RIVER SEARCH

UPDATED MAY 9, 2009

Photo: Fox TV web site
On April 26, 2009, firefighters from the District of Columbia and Arlington County scoured the Potomac River between Chain Bridge and Key Bridge for an 11-year-old boy who fell into the river south of Chain Bridge. His body was found more than a week later. He had been fishing from the shore. D.C. Fireboat No. 2 is pictured above. The body of a fisherman, who was reported missing by his family after he failed to return home, was also located several days later. He jumped into the Potomac to rescue the boy, police said.

2111 JEFF DAVIS

UPDATED

Photos: Courtesy of Larry Patterson

These are images of a high-rise apartment fire at 2111 Jefferson Davis Highway in Crystal City in February 1979 as photographed by Larry Patterson, who served as a fire department volunteer.

Firefighters said the blaze looked like a ``towering inferno'' and had the intensity of a ``blowtorch.''

Lt. John Walker, of Truck 79, suffered severe respiratory injuries that ultimately led to his retirement. Patterson said Walker may be the firefighter on the hoseline in the top photo. Several other firefighters suffered lesser injuries.

``We were fighting a losing battle,'' said Assistant Fire Chief John Spink, quoted by The Washington Post.

For 90 minutes, crews struggled against the flames.

Courtesy of retired Capt. Howard Piansky

CLICK on newspaper images to read Washington Post report

Retired Fire Capt. Howard Piansky was one of the first firefighters to arrive at the blaze and provided this account of the incident:

``I was the wagon driver for 5A and we were of course first in ... The engine pulled up with nothing showing and the crew composed of Captain Rahner and firefighters Piansky, Tabscott and Cooper, with McPherson and Orgel on Rescue 5. McPherson came running into the lobby after the engine company and reported fire showing.

``Hooking up to the standpipe, the crew proceeded towards the apartment on fire when the evacuation alarm sounded, bringing scores of people out into the heavy, down-to-the-knees smoke. (That) caused us to abandon extingushment and make numerous rescues. Several crew members were injured ... and a flashover in the hallway had a least one medic thrown down the stairs.''

TERROR THREAT

Terrorists are threatening a new attack on the nation's capital in retaliation for U.S. missile strikes along the Afghan border, according to news reports.

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington,'' said Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, quoted by the Associated Press on March 31. CBS News reports intelligence officials are concerned Mehsud could eclipse Osama bin Laden as a threat.

CHIEF'S BUGGY

Photo: www.acfd3.com

Battalion Chief Wilber "Gabby" Gray at the wheel of the chief's buggy at the Drill School. The vehicle is a 1967 Ford Ranch Wagon - topped by a ``bubble gum machine."

REFURBISHED

Photo: IAFF Local F-253
Engine 161 - Fort Myer - 1984 KME/2007 Pierce Dash

PUMPER BURNS

Photo: www.acfd3.com
On Jan. 16, 2009, a fire destroyed a reserve pumper housed at "The Hut" at the Arlington County Fire Training Academy on South Taylor Street.

INAUGURATION - 1953

Photo: www.steamlocomotive.com

On Jan. 15, 1953, the Arlington County Fire Department made one of its most dramatic mutual aid runs into Washington, D.C.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's "Federal Express" - packed people with headed to the nation's capital for the inauguration of President Eisenhower - crashed into Union Station after its brakes failed.

The District of Columbia Fire Department summoned assistance from Arlington County and other communities to help with the casualties.

Miraculously, there were no fatalities aboard the train or inside the terminal, which was evacuated moments before impact.

16 RESCUED

Photos: Channel 7

On Jan. 6, 2009, Arlington County firefighters rescued 16 people from the windows of a burning apartment building near Rosslyn. There were a number of injuries and several victims required hospitalization .

At least two others jumped, according to news reports, and witnesses said a child was dropped or passed from a window before firefighters arrived at the two-alarm blaze. Engine 103's crew carried an unconscious man from the building.

The fire, which was reported at 4:47 a.m., started in the basement storage room of the three-story building in the 1500-block of Fairfax Drive. Firefighters from Fort Myer and Fairfax County, as well as paramedics from the City of Alexandria, were also dispatched with the crews from Arlington County.

Battalion Chief Benjamin Barksdale, quoted by Channel 7, said residents ``couldn't make it down the main entrance - all the smoke from the basement had been pouring out into the stairwell. … There was no way they could have come down the stairs.''

The evening before, many of the same firefighters attended a two-alarm blaze that gutted a townhouse at 1180 North Vermont Street near Ballston.

OBAMA VISITS 301

Photo: Airport web site

On Nov. 10, 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama paid a mysterious visit to Fire Station No. 301 at Reagan National Airport in Arlington after calling on President Bush at the White House.

It later emerged Obama was at the airport authority's firehouse for a secret meeting with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who agreed to remain as defense secretary in Obama's cabinet.

``They pulled the trucks out so that our cars could go in,'' said Gates, quoted by the Los Angeles Times. The Pentagon, like the airport, is located in Arlington County.

According to ABC News:

``Outside of Fire Station 301, there were numerous Secret Service agents, and when Obama returned about an hour later to board his American Airlines jet bound for Chicago, whoever had been meeting with him slipped out a back gate. Now we know.''

Or as CNN noted:

``Washington is full of seemingly obscure places where history is made. Deep Throat's parking garage, the balcony at Ford's Theater. Now you can add the fire station at Reagan National Airport.''

BEAUTY & BEAST

Photo: Library of Congress

Circus performer Beatrice Kyle - in repose on wheel of steam fire engine at Fort Myer in Arlington - between acts at the Society Circus for the benefit of the Army Relief Fund on April 25, 1924. She is wearing a high driving outfit.

HURRICANE ISABEL - 2003

Photo: Washington Post

On Sept. 18-19, 2003, Hurricane Isabel downed trees and power lines across Arlington County and the rest of the Washington metropolitan area.

Arlington County firefighters rescued a man trapped in his bed by a falling tree on Military Road. Thousands of homes and businsses went without electrical service for days.

The county issued a press release on Sept. 19 that said: ``Initial assessments include two homes destroyed; 36 homes with major storm damage, 141 with minor storm damage; and 43 cars flattened.''

The Civil Air Patrol provided an aerial assessment of the damage.

Fire Station No. 7 in Fairlington provided drinking water to residents of the Alexandria, where water supplies had been contaminated by the hurricane.

BURIED ALIVE

On Oct. 28, 2008, a construction worker digging to reach a water line died when he was buried by a pile of dirt in the 800-block of North Greenbrier Street. Arlington County firefighters were assisted by firefighters from Fairfax County.

WOMAN, 84, DIES

Photo: Channel 7

On July 28, 2008, an apartment fire killed Lois Day, 84, on the seventh floor of 5535 Columbia Pike. The following units - from Arlington County and Fairfax County - responded to the mutual box: Engines 410, 101, 109, 102, Rescue 109, Truck 410, Tower 104, Medics 101 and 410, Battalion 111, EMS 111 and Safety 114, according to the web site of IAFF Local 2800.

MEDIC SHORTAGE

From Sun-Gazette
Sept. 9, 2008

A plan to augment Arlington County's seven emergency-medical services (EMS) ambulances with an eighth unit for peak times will have to wait until the government's budget situation improves.

Fire officials had hoped to bring the unit into service over the summer, but pulled back the idea due to “serious budget constraints,” Fire Chief James Schwartz said.

The proposed eighth unit, which would have operated weekdays when the system is most overloaded, was not included in the fiscal 2009 budget adopted by the County Board. But, given an increasingly high level of service calls, Schwartz earlier this year tried to find a way to add it.

“I tried to see if it was possible to create the additional unit with existing resources,” Schwartz told the Sun Gazette. “I ultimately determined that it wasn't possible.”

Schwartz cited increasing personnel costs, due to higher-than-anticipated turnover, for his decision to scrap the proposed eighth unit. He said he will wait until the fiscal 2010 budget process to request the new medic unit.

The extra unit has long been sought by some safety advocates and the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, which represents many firefighters.

They point to “paramedic burnout” and the increasing number of times that the county government runs out of available medic units over the course of the year.

OLD NO. 8

Photo: Collection of Capt. Randy Higgins
Hall's Hill Volunteer Fire Department
Old Fire Station No. 8

The Hall's Hill Volunteer Fire Department protected Hall's Hill - a historic African-American neighborhood in the northern part of Arlington County.

Hall's Hill is ``situated on land that was an antebellum estate'' and ``a number of current residents are descended from the estate's slave families,'' according to the web site arlingtonarts.org. The residents of Hall's Hill ``endured the era of segregation and the struggle for civil rights,'' the web site said.

Until the early 1960s, the Arlington County Fire Department was also segregated and only black firefighters - paid and volunteer - were assigned to old Station No. 8.

The old station was replaced in 1963 by the current firehouse, which is located adjacent to the site of the old structure.

Read more about Hall's Hill and the book ``Up On The Hill" at:

http://www.arlingtonarts.org/cultural_affairs/uponthehill.htm

PORTRAIT OF ATTIC FIRE

Photo: IAFF Local 2800 web site
734 North George Mason Drive - July 5, 2008

HISTORY OF ENGINE 2

Old Wagon 2

Photos: acfd3.com and IAFF Local 2800 web site

21st Century: At 1130 N. Randolph St. on July 2, 2008

Arlington County Fire Station No. 2 - home of Engine 102, Medic 102 and EMS 112 - traces its roots to a volunteer fire company organized in 1904.

According to a history of the Ballston Volunteer Fire Department:

``The first registered agent of the BVFD was Mr. John Ball, a direct descendent of the John Ball who established a farm on land deeded to him by his cousin, George Washington. The farm was located near a crossroads which became known as Balls Crossroads.

``The BVFD first operated out of a garage belonging to one of the members, where the members would assemble when the bell was sounded, to pull the hand-pumped engine to a fire. The bell was located atop a pole alongside the trolley tracks at the intersection of Ballston Avenue and Fairfax Drive.

``In 1921 the permanent station was built on Ballston Avenue. When the County renamed streets and numbered houses the station address became 911 North Stuart Street.

``When Arlington County formally established the Arlington County Fire Department in 1940, the Ballston Fire Station was designated as Arlington County Fire Station No. 2.

``In 1976, the entire block where Fire Station 2 was located became the site for the new Glebe Road" Metro Rail station. At that time, only the BVFD and the Ballston Baptist Church still used the Ballston community name.

``The BVFD's negotiation with Metro and Arlington County provided for the construction of the new Fire Station 2 at 4805 Wilson Boulevard.

``In addition, the BVFD required the changing of the name of the Metro stop from Glebe Road Station to Ballston.''

FIREHOUSE BOND

Photo: http://www.scripophily.com/

In 1955, Arlington County issued bonds to finance the construction of fire stations.

Station No. 9, on South Walter Reed Drive, and Station No. 10, in Rosslyn, were the first stations actually owned and operated by the county government. The other stations were owned by volunteer companies.

Station No. 9 opened in 1957 and Station No. 10 opened in 1958.

Today, Station No. 3, in Cherrydale, is the last of the volunteer-owned firehouses in Arlington County.

'SALLY'

Photo: www.acfd3.com
The late Larry "Sally" Robey at the pump panel at a second alarm on South 8th Street in 1981. The 1977 GMC-Burco was part of a "two-piece" engine company - comprising a wagon and a pump - assigned to Station No. 9 on South Walter Reed Drive.

SMOKE SHOWING

Photo: www.acfd3.com
Exterior Attack
1944 Chevy-Oren at fire (circa 1960)

STRIKE UP THE BAND

VINYL FIREFIGHTERS: Arlington County's Old Engine 72 served as backdrop for the ``Fanning The Flames" album by the blue grass band Dry Branch Fire Squad. This scene is at Station No. 2 on Wilson Boulevard in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

HARD LUCK

Photos: WUSA Channel 9

Lightning struck twice for the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority's fire department. In May 2008, Engine 327 caught fire during a pump test at the Fairfax County fire station in Chantilly. In October 2007, Rescue Engine 335 flipped over in Crystal City while responding to an alarm in the City of Alexandria.

TRUCK 1

TRUCK 1 - This photo was submitted by Tim Eisner whose father - Walter J. Eisner, pictured to the left - delivered this 1966 American La France aerial to the Arlington County Fire Department.

METRO TRAIN DERAILS

Medic Units at Court House
PHOTO: Channel 4 News

CLICK ON MAP FOR LARGER IMAGE

On June 9, 2008, the Arlington County Fire Department responded to a Metrorail derailment on the Orange Line between Rosslyn and Court House. The six-car train - No. 905 - was bound for Vienna when its third car left the tracks at about 2:45 p.m. There were no injuries among the 400 passengers. Passenger Nina Janopaul, 50, quoted by The Washington Post, said firefighters escorted passengers to a rescue train that backed into the tunnel.

BREAKFAST TO GO

On Feb. 26, 1954, diners abandoned their bacon and eggs just before a natural gas leak triggered an explosion and fire at a Cherrydale restaurant.

Newspaper accounts credited Arlington County firefighter Joe Fetzer - who was eating breakfast at the Rice Bowl Restaurant at 4032 Lee Highway - with evacuating the eatery.

A plumber raised a ladder to a second floor apartment, allowing two men and a woman to escape, according to a service station attendant who witnessed the explosion.

ALEXANDRIA - 1929

PHOTO: Alexandria Public Library

On Jan. 2, 1929, fire swept the Doniphan Building at 725 King Street in Alexandria's Old Town. Firefighters raised ladders and rescued residents.

The Washington Post said: ``Alexandria experienced its worst fire in years yesterday afternoon in the destruction of the Fairfax apartments, a four-story building at King and Columbus streets in the heart of the business district.''

Damage was estimated at $100,000.

It's likely the Town of Potomac - a section of Arlington County later annexed by the City of Alexandria - sent mutual aid as did Jefferson District, now known as Crystal City. The District of Columbia may have sent assistance, too.

The Potomac Fire Department was organized in 1924. It merged with the Alexandria Fire Department as a result of the annexation, and today its firehouse is the quarters of Alexandria Engine 202.

ABINGDON PLANTATION - 1930

On March 5, 1930, flames gutted Abingdon Plantation, birthplace of Nellie Custis, the mother of Martha Washington. ``The Jefferson District Fire Department responded to the alarm, but was unable to lend any aid owing to the lack of water,’’ a newspaper account said. The house - built in 1695 along the Four Mile Run - had been in disrepair. Today, a plaque marks the site, which is on the grounds of National Airport.

PHOTO: Alexandria Public Library

ODD FELLOWS - 1949

Aerial ladder in action

PHOTOS: www.acfd3.com

On April 14, 1949, flames raged in the two-story Odd Fellows Hall at Wilson Boulevard and Hudson Street, the heart of Clarendon’s business district. Firefighters saved the building, which still stands today.

The Washington Post called it ``Arlington’s worst fire in five years.’’ A merchant quoted by The Post estimated damage at $50,000.

The first alarm was sounded at 9:45 a.m. Second- and third-alarms followed. Offices on the second floor of the brick and masonry structure were gutted. On the ground floor, the Baby Fair Linen Shop and Mayer gift shop sustained smoke and water damage.

Firefighters advanced a hose line into the entrance to a beauty shop on the Hudson Street side of the building and also raised Truck 1’s aerial ladder on Wilson Boulevard to advance lines to the second floor. Ground ladders were also raised.

A police line was established across from the blaze, where spectators lined the sidewalk in front of the old Ashton Theatre, which was showing the movie ``Command Decision,’’ starring Walter Pidgeon and Clark Gable.

TAVERN FIRE - 1962

On July 28, 1962, three Arlington County firefighters were injured in a two-alarm fire at the Spot Tavern.

The midnight fire - the third in less than a month at the tavern - broke out in a basement men’s room of the two-story frame structure, which also housed an apartment and six rented rooms.

Ray Evans, then deputy chief of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, was among those injured and was admitted to Arlington Hospital, according to The Washington Post. A roomer was also injured in the fire.

The Spot Tavern was located at 1200 North Fort Myer Drive.

PARKWAY SEARCH - 2008

PHOTO: Fox 5

On May 27, 2008, Arlington County firefighters recovered the body of a motorcyclist who swerved off a cliff on the George Washington Memorial Parkway about 12 hours earlier.

The body was hidden in brush along the Potomac River. The accident occurred north of Spout Run. A second and unrelated wreck nearby forced the closure of parkway.

HOTEL FIRE - 2008

On May 23, 2008, fire destroyed three buses parked at the Hilton Crystal City. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million. Battalion Chief Carol Saulnier of the Arlington County Fire Department attributed the cause of the fire to a diesel fuel leak, according to the Associated Press. About 150 guests were evacuated from the hotel at 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway.

PHOTO: Fox 5

NEW 911 CENTER

``When the Pentagon dials 911, Arlington County answers.''

In May 2o08, Arlington County opened a new Emergency Communications Center for the fire and police departments.

New digital radio system

Arlington is the first jurisdiction in the region to install a digital radio system that adheres to Project 25, a new national standard of public safety interoperability. The new system will enable Arlington’s first responders to better communicate with our regional partners. More 9-1-1 lines – Tripled the number of 9-1-1 lines from 16 to 48 to increase call capacity. Also includes dedicated lines for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.

­Digital Monitors

14 digital monitors enable ECC to monitor numerous video and data systems, including traffic and security cameras, mapping, and real-time status of utility outages; such inputs are essential for emergency management.

Enhanced emergency management

Arlington ECC is the first in the region to train all its ECC supervisors as sworn emergency managers.

Watch Desk

Monitors incidents and activate emergency protocols for events such as winter storms; major power outages; events with substantial first responder presence. Watch Desk Officers also activate the outdoor warning system and 1700AM Arlington emergency radio. Improved work conditions – Created a more comfortable environment to maximize productivity.

________________________________________________

• FIRE/EMS COMMUNICATIONS: 800 Mhz trunked

"FIREFIGHT" - BOOK REVIEW

UPDATED MAY 2008


___

Review by MICHAEL DOYLE, MODESTO (California) BEE

ARLINGTON, Va. - Remember the Pentagon.

It burned, too, dismembered by the same terrorists who brought down the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. Circumstances, though, have rendered the Pentagon a Sept. 11 afterthought. It's the place that survived.

At the World Trade Center, 343 New York City firefighters died. At the Pentagon, every firefighter returned home. But not all came back safe and sound. The Arlington County Fire Department subsequently lost 9 percent of its force to health-related retirements.

But still.

The FDNY battalions marched into the World Trade Center and were entombed there. The Arlington crews subdued a different beast, smaller but still lethal, and in their victory they've remained largely anonymous.

Until now.

Six years on, the Arlington firefighters and their compatriots are getting the accounting they deserve.

In "Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11," authors Patrick Creed and Rick Newman detail what happen- ed after American Airlines Flight 77 flew into the nation's military command center at 530 mph, killing 189 people, including the 64 people aboard the jet.

The plane hit at 9:37 a.m. It weighed 182,000 pounds, carried a bit less than 11,000 gallons of jet fuel and plowed forward, Creed and Newman write, "like a horizontal volcanic eruption." In eight-tenths of a second, the plane disintegrated. Six- hundred-thousand bolts and rivets blew out as shrapnel. The concussion rattled fire station doors nearly a mile away.

"What the (expletive) was that?" Arlington firefighter Derek Spector exclaimed.

"That was a (expletive) explosion," firefighter Brian Roche replied.

That's how firefighters talk. The way anyone talks when they have been hit in the gut.

Honest reporting prevails

There's a lot that can go awry in a big fire and rescue operation. Competing agencies can't communicate. Turf fights erupt.

Egos intrude. Honest reporting attends to these mishaps.

One example, recounted in "Firefight": An exhausted Arlington crew was resting in the Pentagon courtyard when several District of Columbia firefighters tried to steal the crew's air packs and face pieces.

About such perfidy, only one thing could be said.

"What the (expletive)?" Arlington fire Capt. Brian Spring shouted.

A lot, too, can go wrong in reporting such a story.

Misimpressions can coalesce into convenient anecdotes. The facts can grow soggy with sentiment. The fraternal order of those who were there fends off feelers from those who were not.

"Firefight" seems to get it right, as best I can tell.

Everything gets its proper measure. Mistakes happen, but steadfastness is the enduring virtue. At one point, an ailing firefighter sneaks behind an engine to vomit, knowing that if the medics see him, he'll be yanked off the biggest job of his career.

Technical competence is esteemed. When hulking Truck 105 couldn't fit through a Pentagon tunnel, officers cut the rear tiller cab off with an electric saw. The truncated vehicle squeezed through with two inches to spare.

Good management matters. By Sept. 21, incident commander Jim Schwartz, now the Arlington County fire chief, and his colleagues could relinquish control to the FBI. Arlington's deft crisis management is taught as a case study to Harvard Business School students.

Creed and Newman appear well-suited to capturing this story.

Creed is a volunteer firefighter and Army civil affairs officer.

He's obviously got heart. At one point, after Creed deployed to Iraq, he conducted one evening interview with an Arlington firefighter by satellite phone while his base was under mortar attack.

Newman is a reporter for U.S. News & World Report, a former Pentagon correspondent and the author of another book.

Faithful account of experiences

One of their Arlington sources is Capt. Joe Lightfoot, who once ran the fire station where I've ridden as a volunteer EMT since 2002. Hanging out in Station 2's kitchen, waiting for the emergency tones, Lightfoot and I have talked about, well, whatever: Iwo Jima, say, or Hillary Rodham Clinton's latest melodrama, or Led Zeppelin's personnel dynamics. In time, we also talked about the Pentagon. In every profane and poignant particular, Lightfoot's experiences as I heard them are faithfully recounted in "Firefight." So are many others.

Detail abounds here, and 486 pages may weigh down some readers. Inevitably, the drama that's white-hot at the beginning flags a bit by Day 8 or 9. It's a big story, though, and not just on the surface. It takes space to delve into an event so complicated. It takes space, too, to plumb the heart of a man; a man, say, such as Arlington Battalion Chief Bob Cornwell.

Cornwell fought in Vietnam a generation ago. Five months before Sept. 11, he had a tumor removed. His debilitating chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was barely done when the Pentagon was hit. He easily could have checked out of the fight. Instead, he was running all over the building, weighed down by 45-plus pounds of turnout gear and air pack. When he finally was ordered to rest at the command post, he declined. He'd stay with his men, "Firefight" recounts.

"Doing good, Joey," Cornwell told Lightfoot, as the Pentagon burned and the firefighters worked. "Doing good."

Remember: Steadfastness is a virtue. "Firefight" gives it its due.

___


LINK TO FIRE JOURNAL REPORT ON PENTAGON ATTACK:
http://arlingtonfirejournal.blogspot.com/2005/03/attack-on-pentagon-sept-11-2001.html

`MICRO-QUAKE'

On May 6, 2008, a small earthquake - a ``micro-quake'' - rattled Northern Virginia. The magnitude 1.8 temblor was centered near Annandale. There were no reports of damage or injury, according to the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management. The time of the quake was 1:30 p.m. EDT. The last major earthquake centered in Virginia occurred more than a century ago - on May 31, 1897 in Giles County in the southwestern part of the state.

NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK

Medic 325
Photo: Airport web site

It was a busy night for the Reagan National Airport Fire Department.

On April 3, 2008, a norovirus infection sickened a dozen travelers with nausea as they headed home from a conference in Maryland. The airport fire department - with the assistance of Arlington County paramedics - treated the victims who were apparently infected at the conference.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control:

``Noroviruses are a group of related, single-stranded RNA, nonenveloped viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis. ... People can become infected with the virus in several ways, including eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus; touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then placing their hand in their mouth; having direct contact with another person who is infected.''

DC RIOTS - 1968

40th Anniversary

In 1968, Washington, D.C. burned following the April 4 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. Arlington County sent Wagons 2, 9 and 10, Engines 4 and 10, Truck 2 to aid the city's fire department. Disturbances broke out in sections of Arlington County as well.

Photo: Progressive Review

NEW STATION 5

STATION No. 5
Crystal City
1750 South Hayes Street
Arlington, VA 22202
Engine 105, Truck 105 & Medic 105

In 2008, the Arlington County Fire Department opened a new Station No. 5 in Crystal City - the latest in a series of firehouses to protect the community.

The original Company No. 5 was organized on Dec. 17, 1926, when the County Board of Alexandria County - as Arlington was then known - approved the charter of the Jefferson District Volunteer Fire Department.

The original company listed seven firefighters on its rolls and operated from a member’s garage at 206 Frazier Avenue - now 23rd Street South - in Aurora Hills.

In 1928, the volunteers opened a station at 101 Frazier Ave. (With the adoption of a new street naming scheme, the station was addressed 501 South 23rd St.)

During the early years, the members operated a hose wagon, a rescue squad and an ambulance.

In 1940, paid firefighters augmented the volunteers with the creation of the Arlington County Fire Department, and as time went on, the ACFD took over staffing of the engine company and ambulance.

In 1978, the original station was closed and firefighters moved to a station at 1750 South Hayes St., which is also the site of the new firehouse.

A monument stone from the original 1928 station - which was refurbished by Station 5 personnel - was placed at the new station, home of Engine 105, Truck 105 and Medic 105.

-Adapted from Arlington County Fire Department web site

HOUSE ENGULFED - 2008

UPDATED MAY 2008

PHOTO: Fire Lt. Jeff Kramer via http://www.acfd3.com/

Box 7602 - April 19, 2008 - 5:37 a.m.

``Units arrived with heavy fire showing from an old balloon frame single family home with extension to the `Delta' exposure,'' according to www.acfd3.com. ``A second alarm assignment and master stream devices brought the fire under control.''

RESCUE DOG `GUS'

Photo: U.S. Army

The Arlington County Fire Department received assistance from across the nation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.

Among those to answer the call to duty were rescue dog ``Gus'' - and his handler, Ed Apple of Tennessee Urban Search and Rescue Task Force No. 1.

SNAKE BITE

On March 24, 2008, Arlington County firefighters used a fire extinguisher to freeze a rattlesnake that bit Andrew Bacas, crew coach at Yorktown High School. Bacas, 49, was unpacking his duffel bag after a team trip to South Carolina. A 10-inch-long rattler had stowed away in the bag - and bit his right hand. According to The Washington Post: ``Using a 10-foot pole, rescue workers gingerly unzipped the duffel bag, just enough to slip in the nozzle of a carbon dioxide extinguisher.''

PAGE AIRWAYS - 1945

On April 27, 1945, a Page Airways passenger flight crashed at National Airport:

Washington, April 27 -- (AP) -- A transport plane en route from Miami, Fla. to Rochester, N. Y., crashed and burned in taking off at the national airport today killing two persons and injuring a number of others.

A civil aeronautics administration official said the plane, operated by Page Airways, was carrying 13 persons including the pilot and co-pilot.

Coroner's deputies identified the dead as:

MRS. J. WELLAN, of New York City.
RALPH WEISMAN, Forest Hills, Long Island.

Names of the injured were not immediately available.

An officer at the army dispensary at the airport said 11 persons were taken there for treatment.

Airport attaches said the plane was on a chartered flight and had stopped at the airport for fuel.

CITY OF ALEXANDRIA

Alexandria Fire Station No. 1 - Old Town

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Alexandria Fire Department participates in the Northern Virginia regional response plan and regularly answers alarms in Arlington County.

­Washington Examiner

The Alexandria Fire Department is critically short of staff and equipment and needs $5.5 million - which Alexandria is ill-equipped to spend - to bring it up to speed, a city-hired consultant has found.

City Manager James Hartmann hired consultant J. Gordon Routley in the wake of an August three-alarm fire at a high-rise condo building on Edsall Road in which three firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and dehydration and three more were injured.

"Alexandria's increasing population density, commercial activity, traffic and related factors are placing increasing demands on the fire department," Routhley wrote. "The fire department has innovated, reorganized and adapted to make the most efficient use of its resources. The resulting organization is very lean and its resources are stressed to meet normal day-to-day demands."

In February, the state cited the department for procedural failures, including that the first firefighters at Edsall Road fought the fire for one continuous hour instead of in 15-minute shifts as outlined in department procedures, "apparently due to staffing issues."

Routley, a fire investigation expert and former fire chief, details a laundry list of staffing, equipment and procedural issues that contributed to the injuries.

Most significantly, he noted a need for a minimum of four-person staffing on fire trucks instead of Alexandria's three-person minimum - an initiative Arlington County already has phased in. Fairfax and Prince William counties also are trying to add firefighters, but are suffering from budget woes.

Meeting the consultant's recommendation would require hiring 36 new firefighters and would cost the city more than $3 million.

Alexandria, as well as most jurisdictions in the area, is struggling to maintain its current programs in a tight budget year.

The Aug. 25, three-alarm fire at Edsall Road happened at the same time as two other multiple-alarm fires in the area, all of them sparked by thunderstorms.

The high number of incidents was one reason that the first firefighters to respond to the Edsall Road scene were not relieved by backup personnel quickly enough to avoid injury, but inadequate department communication also contributed, Routley said.

The department does not have a command vehicle - a $250,000 specialized vehicle equipped with radios, computers and meeting space.

"An environment that provides multiple radios, telephones, work stations with computer terminals, proper lighting and other enhancements is much more functional than standing at the rear of an SUV in a crowded parking lot," Routley said.

"It's a very sobering report," Vice Mayor Del Pepper said. "I had no idea that we had these needs - we knew some of these things, but certainly not the extent."

Mayor William Euille said the City Council will review the financial impact of the recommendations at April budget meetings.

MUTUAL AID TO DC

Photos: Channel 5, Channel 9

On March 13, 2008, the District of Columbia Fire Department requested mutual aid from Arlington County and other suburbs for a fire that swept an apartment building and church.

Firefighters encountered "heavy, heavy fire" at the general alarm in the Mt. Pleasant section of the city, D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said at a news conference.

FATAL HOUSE FIRE

Photos: Channel 7 WJLA web site

On March 7, 2008, a house fire killed an elderly woman in Arlington County and injured a firefighter. According to Channel 4, firefighters ``found the victim in her bed.'' The Washington Post reported the injured firefighter ``fell through the second floor of the structure while battling the blaze.''

Battalion Chief Carol Saulnier, quoted by the Post, said firefighters were called to the 5500 block of South 4th Street at 5:30 a.m. They found two people sitting outside the house with minor injuries who told them a third person was still inside. The elderly woman's body was recovered on the first floor of the dwelling. The firefighter's injuries weren't considered life-threatening.

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CIVIL WAR WEAPON FOUND

Old Arlington Hall

By David Shultz of The Connection newspaper

A PIECE of weaponry dating back to the Civil War was discovered underneath a local Arlington building late last month.

The weaponry consisted of an unexploded shell from the mid-1800’s. It was discovered on the evening of Jan. 31 underneath Arlington Hall which is located on Route 50 between Glebe Road and George Mason Drive.

Benjamin Barksdale, the Chief Fire Marshall for Arlington County, said that “They were doing some construction work and one of the construction people found it and called 911… You could clearly see it was a shell. It was one foot long, five inches in diameter. It looked like a large bullet.”

He said that County fire officials were unsure if the shell was live but, as a precautionary measure, the workers who were in the building above the shell were temporarily moved to another part of the building.

Because the shell was found on federal property, Barksdale said that bomb experts from Fort Belvoir were brought in to handle the shell.

The Arlington County Fire Department has handled buried munitions before, Barksdale said, but “Not like that… We’ve come across more modern day stuff. Every once in a while we’ll get a call that someone has got something from [the] Vietnam [era].”

KENNEDY GRAVE

On Nov. 28, 1982, tourists visiting Arlington National Cemetery discovered the charred body of a man at the grave of President John F. Kennedy - lying three feet from the eternal flame, The New York Times said. Police determined the man was intoxicated and had been trying to light a cigarette with a rolled newspaper.

ALARM SYSTEM

UPDATED MARCH 2008

Old bell at Station No. 4

Heart attacks from stress are a leading cause of firefighter deaths, so the Arlington County Fire Department has found a safer way to ease firefighters into emergencies - a soothing computer-generated voice over firehouse public address speakers.

Rather than the blast of an airhorn, a piercing radio tone or a bell jolting them into action, firefighters are alerted by a calm female voice - "Engine Company, structure fire" for example - followed by full details announced by a live 911 dispatcher.

Battalion Chief Ben Barksdale said the system has improved response times because firefighters aren't startled, according to Channel 5 News.

_____

Regarding the ``soothing alarm,'' a Fire Journal reader - who grew up in Ohio many years ago - writes:

``Even as a kid, my heart always took a jump when Columbus rang four quick blows on a bell - sharp and loud - over the radio as a prefix to a structural response.They changed it some years later to a tone, that was only slightly less terrifying.''

_____

Monday, March 10, 2008

By Daniela Deane - Washington Post Staff Writer

Jesus Escobedo is nodding off atop his Batman sheets when the little red lights flip on, casting a low light across his face. A woman's voice informs him gently, almost seductively, that it's time to get up. An alert is going out because an elderly nursing home patient is on the edge of death.

"Engine, medic, altered level of consciousness," the voice tells the Arlington County firefighter as he jumps out of his bed at the Ballston firehouse. In a matter of minutes, Escobedo is dressed and hurtling down Carlin Springs Road toward the nursing home.

"One minute you're sleeping, and the next minute you're going 50 miles an hour," said Escobedo, 27, sitting in the firetruck, sirens blaring, on his way to the 911 call last week. "And it can happen several times a night. It's a lot better when the waking up part is a little bit nicer."

A firefighter's job can be very stressful, involving long shifts, emotionally draining work and a response time measured in seconds, often many times a night. To reduce the cumulative stress on their 315 firefighters and paramedics, Arlington was one of the first jurisdictions in the Washington region to install kinder, gentler wake-up calls in its 10 firehouses.

"Before we put this in, fluorescent lights would snap on overhead, lighting up the whole place, and there would be this loud, shrill, rapid-fire beeping," said Capt. Randy Higgins, an Arlington firefighter for 24 years and Escobedo's shift supervisor. "You'd go from sound asleep to your heart beating wildly in your throat several times a night."

The consequences can be alarming.

Cardiac arrest -- not fighting fires -- is the leading cause of death among the estimated 300,000 full-time firefighters throughout the country, said Patrick Morrison of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Morrison, assistant in charge of education and training at the union, said that more than 50 firefighters die each year of heart attacks.

"The big thing we're seeing is that loud, sudden sounds give them a huge adrenaline dump," he said. "And the cumulative effect of that is contributing to early heart disease."

Morrison said studies have shown that heart rates more than double when firefighters, even the youngest, most fit ones, are roused by loud sounds and lights. Arlington is at the forefront of a national trend toward less jarring wake-up calls at firehouses, he said.

"When you go through that surge of adrenaline as many times as we do, it's worth making these kinds of investments in a system that diminishes that effect just a little bit," Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz said.

Arlington installed its system in 2004, just six months after the city of Manassas Park. Since then, Prince William and Stafford counties have opted for the system, which is sold by several vendors.

Other local fire departments, including Fairfax, want to make the switch as they upgrade their facilities or their budgets allow it.

With the economic downturn, it is unclear when funds will be approved for the county to install the system in its 38 fire stations, Fairfax Battalion Chief Dean Cox said. "It's becoming the standard in the Metro area," he said.

Besides a healthier wake-up, the system has other advantages.

It's targeted, so it alerts only the crew needed on a specific call, not everyone in the firehouse. And the computer-activated system is faster, so it shaves important seconds off response time. The firefighters are usually already running toward their vehicles by the time they hear where they're going.

"It might save them 10 to 15 seconds," said Carol Saulnier, Arlington's chief fire marshal. "That might not seem like a lot, but it can really make the difference between life and death."

Arlington's average response time -- from the moment the dispatcher advises the firefighters to the time they get to their destination -- is four minutes, which is better than the national standard. Arlington firefighters and paramedics answered 24,215 emergency calls in 2007; Escobedo's station in Ballston took 5,565 of those calls.

Schwartz gets excited about another feature of the system: the ability of one jurisdiction to directly dispatch firefighters from another. That won't work until everyone is on the same page, though.

"Several times a day already, units from Fairfax run into Arlington to serve our citizens who dial 911 on the west end of Columbia Pike, since the closest unit to a good deal of that portion of Arlington is in Baileys Crossroads," said Schwartz. "When Fairfax comes online with the system, we will be able to alert them from our own dispatch center, which could cut up to a couple minutes off our response time."

Schwartz said that "response time is everything" in the emergency services business. "If you're in cardiac arrest, you need CPR within four minutes," he said.

A few decades ago, volunteer firefighters in many rural communities across the country would be roused from beds in their own homes by loud wailing sirens that would wake up the whole area.

Then came the night-watch method of alert, where firefighters would take turns staying up to answer a dispatcher's call on the phone and then wake up the rest of the team. Or one firefighter would sleep next to the phone and have the responsibility of answering it and waking everyone up. After that, the radio-based system with the loud, shrill beep-beep prevailed.

Still, in some fire departments in the country, every time there's a call, every fire station in the area gets notified, according to the IAFF.

Escobedo, who's only worked with the new system, admits he's got the sultry woman's voice turned up as high as it goes. He said he tends to be a heavy sleeper.

Is there any worry that it's all just a little too gentle?

"Nah," said Higgins. "There's a lot of peer pressure to get up quickly in this job. You don't want to be the guy who slept through the alarm. You get called Rip Van Winkle and stuff like that. You never live it down."

ARFF TRAINING

Photo: acfd3.com
Aircraft rescue and firefighting drill at National Airport - 2007

MR. LEROY

Harold LeRoy, long-time president of the Arlington County Fire and Rescue Association, died Jan. 22, 2008. He would have celebrated his 91st birthday on Feb. 1.

Firefighters - both career and volunteer - addressed him as "Mr. LeRoy'' as a sign of respect. He remained active with the volunteer association, the fire department historical society and the ``Chowder Club'' until his passing.

Mr. LeRoy joined the Jefferson District Volunteer Fire Department in the late 1930s, and during the manpower shortages of World War II was sworn in as a member of the Arlington County Fire Department - though he never collected a paycheck.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Beth.

Mr. LeRoy, who also served as chief of the Jefferson District VFD when he was younger, enjoyed sharing stories of his career, including his many runs on old Squad 5.

Recalling the 1959 general alarm at the Pentagon, LeRoy said one image that remained with him into old age was that of a paid firefighter, Eddie Dodson, emerging from the smoke-charged basement of the massive building covered in soot. ``He sat down on the running board of the wagon – and promptly lit a cigarette,’’ LeRoy chuckled.

`MURPH' THE FIRE DOG

Modern fire dog

Many years ago, Murph - "The Fire Engine Dog" - resided at Old Station No. 2 in Ballston, and we are told that when the bells went off, Murph was the first one to hop on the wagon - even before the firemen.

After one fire call, Murph climbed on the wrong engine and went back to another firehouse. The firemen at the other station knew him, though, and phoned No. 2. ``We have Murph. Come and get him," they said.

There are no active canines in Arlington County firehouses as of this writing.

HIGH-RISE FIRE - 2008

UPDATED FEBRUARY 2008

Photo: Station 28 web site

Photo: Fox 5

A three-alarm fire erupted in a 12-story apartment building in Seven Corners on Jan. 12, 2008. More than 100 Fairfax County and Arlington County firefighters raced to the blaze triggered by a natural gas explosion. The alarm went out as a seemingly routine medical local for Engine 428.

According to The Washington Post: ``The initial call came in at 7:52 a.m. as a suicide attempt at the Cavalier Club Apartment on Wilson Boulevard. But when rescuers arrived, they found a natural gas leak that led to an explosion in a second floor apartment.''

The Fairfax County Fire Department said in a press release: "Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and fire in Apartment 211 (and) brought the fire under control in approximately 15 minutes."

Mark Williams, 39, a resident who suffered severe burns, died at the Washington Burn Center on Jan. 13. Five people, including three police officers who assisted with the rescue, were treated for smoke inhalation.

FIRE JOURNAL

UPDATED APRIL 2008

Photo from Station 4 web site

Photo from Station 9 web site

"See you on the big one.'' - Firehouse salutation

Welcome to the ARLINGTON FIRE JOURNAL - an online history book. The fire and rescue service in Arlington County, Virginia, has a storied history, from the first volunteers to today's career Arlington County Fire Department, as well as the fire departments at Fort Myer and National Airport and the volunteers' Arlington County Fire & Rescue Association.

TOTAL FIRE & EMS RUNS FOR 2007 - 44,115

FIRST DUE ON 9/11/01: The Arlington County Fire Department was "first due" at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Read about the response in the article entitled "ATTACK ON THE PENTAGON." Other articles recount the hiring of the nation's first female firefighter in 1974, the Air Florida crash in 1982, a tragic school bus accident in April 2005 - and much more.

The ARLINGTON FIRE JOURNAL - written and edited by Vinny Del Giudice - is dedicated to the memory of retired Battlion Chief Robert ``Cuz'' Carpenter and retired Battalion Chief James ``Jimmie'' Fought, founding members of the Arlington County Fire Department Historical Society.

E-MAIL - wb2kqg@arrl.net

VISIT OUR RELATED SITES

http://londonfirejournal.blogspot.com

http://springfieldfirejournal.blogspot.com

OFFICIAL FIRE DEPT. WEB SITE

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Fire/FireMain.aspx

TRUCK COMPANIES

From Collection of Arlington Fire Capt. Randy Higgins

ENGINE 66

Engine 66, staffed by federal firefighters, protected the old Arlington Hall Station of the U.S. Army until base closed in 1990.

The two-piece engine company, which consisted of a wagon and a pumper, covered Box 6672 - and rarely left the post. It was a quiet station. Very quiet.

Today, the site - at Route 50 and George Mason Drive - is occupied by the State Department training center and the National Guard.

This photo of Engine 66's wagon is from the collection of Arlington Fire Capt. Randy Higgins. The rig - a 1980 Hahn/Firetec 1000/500/30 - was transferred to the Fort Belvoir Fire Department in Fairfax County, according to Higgins.

APPARATUS ROSTER

Engine 103 and Rescue 104
(Photo courtesy of www.acfd3.com)

Station No. 1 - Engine 101, Medic 101, Hazmat 101, Battalion 111
Station No. 2 - Engine 102, Medic 102, EMS 112, Mobile Command
Station No. 3 - Engine 103
Station No. 4 - Rescue 104, Truck 104, Medic 104, Battalion 112, Safety 114
Station No. 5 - Engine 105, Truck 105, Medic 105
Station No. 6 - Engine 106, Truck 106, Medic 106, Ambulance 106, Utility 106, Canteen 106, Light & Air 103
Station No. 7 - Engine 107
Station No. 8 - Engine 108, Medic 108, Air 108
Station No. 9 - Engine 109, Rescue 109, Medic 109, EMS 111
Station No. 10 - Engine 110, Medic 110, TRT 110
Station No. 61 - Rescue Engine 161, Rescue Engine 162
Pentagon Heliport - ARFF
National Airport - Rescue Engine 335, Medic 325, ARFF

BUS FIRE

ADDED FEBRUARY 2008

On June 7, 2007, fire destroyed an Arlington Transit ART bus as it was making a night-time run.

According to an official Arlington County press release:

``The fire broke out at about 7:40 p.m. on an ART bus making the final northbound run on ART Bus Route 75, as the bus entered the intersection of South Carlin Springs Road and 6th Street. All three passengers aboard and the driver evacuated without injury.

``The bus driver told Arlington County Fire Department officials that he saw smoke coming from rear wheels and pulled over in front of 601 Carlin Springs Road. Flames quickly engulfed the bus, and damaged cable and power lines directly overhead. The utilities were shut down to avoid any injuries on scene, causing some temporary cable and power outages.''

COLD WAR CLASSIC

Arlington County operated CD Rescue unit in 1950s
(Photo courtesy of www.civildefensemuseum.com)

A LETTER FROM PATTON

OFFICE OF THE COMMANDING OFFICER
FORT MYER, VIRGINIA

March 1, 1934

Fire Chief,
Clarendon Fire Department,
Clarendon, Virginia

Dear Sir:

On behalf of the officers and men garrisoned at Fort Myer I desire to thank you and your men for the prompt and effective manner in which you participated in fighting the fire in the Riding Hall at this station on the night of February 28th-March 1st.

Your assistance was invaluable and it is felt, but for your efforts, the fire might and probably would have spread to other buildings, possibly endangering the very existence of Fort Myer.

Again assuring you of our deep appreciation, I am

Most sincerely yours,

G. B. PATTON, Jr.
Major, 3d Cavalary
Commanding

________________________________________

Transcript of letter courtesy of Betty Fought

________________________________________

Comment from Senior Station Officer Ian Munro, Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, Melbourne, Australia:

"Back then he would have been `George Who ??' And what would have happened if he had lost Fort Myer? Would he have made it to General? And would it have affected the army capacity in later years?
One for the `Alternate History` writers to `what if` about."

IN REMEMBRANCE

Graves of Sept. 11 victims at Arlington National Cemetery

DEADLIEST FIRES IN ARLINGTON COUNTY HISTORY

• Pentagon - Sept 11, 2001 ... 189 victims


• Park Warren Apartments - Nov. 15, 1996 ... 4 victims


• Rooming house, Ballston - Nov. 14, 1986 ... 3 victims


• House, South Arlington - Dec. 1944 ... 3 victims

ASSORTED PHOTOS

WRECKAGE OF FOAM 161 - PENTAGON 9/11/01

HOLLINGER BOX COMPANY - 1950s

OLD RADIO ROOM - STATION 4

OLD SQUAD 5

THROUGH THE YEARS

FOR HISTORICAL 'RUNS & WORKERS'
CLICK ON FIRE ALARM BOX

Updated May 15, 2007

REFINERY FIRE - 1924: Fire broke out at the Crown Oil and Wax Company in Rosslyn on Aug. 6, 1924 - and threatened nearby petroleum storage tanks. The District of Columbia Fire Department assisted Arlington's volunteer companies. The fire was ignited by ``a short-circuit in wires connecting the pumps,'' according to The Washington Post.

DISPUTE OVER MUTUAL AID - 1924: ``Chief Jack A. Spates of the Cherrydale fire department, answering charges made by J.M. Duncan, assistant chief of the Alexandria department, last night denied any property was in danger as the result of the fire Monday, which destroyed the home of William Sothern in Jefferson district, when he refused Duncan's request for use of the Cherrydale hose.'' - The Washington Post, Nov. 19, 1924

CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY - 1934: Two children perished in a house fire in Arlington County on Dec. 23, 1934. The fire occurred ``in a detached two-story frame house'' on Malvern Place in Thrifton Village, according to The Washington Post. The children were home alone on the second floor of the dwelling. Malvern Place no longer exists. Thrifton Village is believed to have been the name of a neighborhood near Cherrydale, Maywood and Woodmont.

ROSSLYN EXPLOSION - 1945: The Dec. 10, 1945 edition of The Washington Post reported: ``The early-Sunday quiet of Rosslyn, Va., was spectacularly broken yesterday when a 5000-gallon runaway truck-trailer loaded with high test gasoline crashed into a parked milk truck and exploded.''

FIREMEN OVERCOME - 1952: On July 4, 1952, six firefighters were injured at a blaze at the Drug Fair store at 4821 Columbia Pike. Five of the men suffered smoke inhalation, The Washington Post said. About a week earlier, June 26, 1952, dozens of firemen were overcome by smoke and heat at a fire at the Noland Co. warehouse in Rosslyn.

DAMAGE TO STATION NO. 7 - 1954: ``The four-ton pumper housed in the Fairlington firehouse has been moved out after two cracks appeared in the concrete floor,'' according to the Oct. 9, 1954 edition of The Washington Post.

AIR FLORIDA - 25 YEARS

Jan. 13, 2007 - the 25th anniversary of crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into the 14th Street Bridge
CLICK ON PHOTO FOR FIRE JOURNAL'S FLIGHT 90 REPORT

HIGH-RISE RESCUE

(Photos from ACFD and The Washington Post)

A concrete slab collapsed Dec. 8 on the 24th floor of a high-rise building under construction in the Rosslyn district of Arlington County, trapping three workers and injuring a dozen more.

Arlington County firefighters - along with fire crews from the Fort Myer military post, the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County - treated the casualties. A surgical team from George Washington University Hospital also responded. The size of the alarm assignment was the equivalent of a general alarm fire.

The incident - at 1901 North Lynn St. - recalled high-rise construction accidents at job sites in Crystal City in 1968 and Bailey's Crossroads in 1974.

Construction worker Oscar Moscoso, who was on the roof of the high-rise, told reporters that a scaffold failed - triggering the collapse of wet concrete at about 8:30 a.m. Workers - who had planned a "topping-out" party later in the day - used their hands and shovels to reach the injured before firefighters and paramedics arrived.

Arlington County Fire Captain Tom Polera said an approximately 60 x 30 foot area of the roof collapsed onto the 24th, or top floor, of the building about 2 1/2 hours after workers began pouring concrete, according to The Washington Post.

During the rescue, a firefighter suffered a back injury.

Battalion Chief Scott McKay - Battalion 112 - was the incident commander.

Units assigned to the alarm, according to ACFD3.COM:

Engines: 102, 103, 105, 106, 108, 110, 161, 202

Trucks: 104, 208

Rescues: 104, 109, 206

Medics: 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 109, 110, 202, 205, 208, 401, 418

Also: Command Unit, Hazmat 101, TRT 110, Hazmat 202, Mass Casualty Unit, Battalion 111, 112, FM 114, EMS Chief, Services Chief.

The Falls Church volunteers sent their canteen unit, Canteen 106.

WILLARD HOTEL FIRE - 1922

Over the years, the Arlington County Fire Department has answered mutual aid requests from the District of Columbia Fire Department for fires, explosions, riots, a train wreck and other emergencies. The following tale - based on a speech by former President Gerald Ford - shows almost anything can happen on a run to the nation's capital. (To be sure, it's not known whether any Virginia fire companies attended this particular incident.)

In 1922, a general alarm fire broke out in the ballroom atop the Willard Hotel in downtown Washington, and firefighters evacuated the guests - including then Vice President Calvin Coolidge. As the time passed, Coolidge grew tired of waiting in the street and decided to return to his hotel room.

As he headed for the stairs, a fireman demanded identification.

"I am the Vice President," Coolidge said.

The fireman asked: "Vice President of what?"

"Vice President of the United States," Coolidge said.

"Then get back here," the fireman said. "I thought you were Vice President of the hotel."

FIRE AND FLOOD - 2006

Falls Church warehouse fire
(Photo courtesy of http://www.acfd3.com/)

The Arlington County Fire Department contended with fire and flood in late June and early July 2006.

Firefighters employed master streams to extinguish a three-alarm warehouse fire in the 2000-block of North Westmoreland Street - just across from Station No. 6 in Falls Church - on July 15.

``Engine 106 arrived to find heavy fire blowing out of the Adam and Baker sides of a vacant one-story 75' X 150' former moving and storage warehouse,'' according to Capt. Randy Higgins on acfd3.com. ``The second and third alarms were quickly sounded bringing virtually the entire on duty crews from Arlington and over 11 units from Fairfax County.''

Just over a week earlier, on June 30, firefighters tackled a two-alarm fire in a high-rise at 4250 North Fairfax Drive in Ballston - an alarm that initially came in as a medical emergency.

Instead of a patient, a building engineer greeted Engine 102 and Medic 102 and ``advised them of sparks coming from an electric panel in the main electric vault on the P-1 level,'' according to Higgins. ``Engine 102 called for the box to be filled ... and then proceeded to the fire control room where multiple devices on multiple floors were lighting up the panel! ''

Office workers on the 13th floor reported water pouring from the ceiling, and firefighters sent to the floor above - No. 14 - discovered heavy smoke and fire, which was promptly entinguished, according to Higgins.

Firefighters also answered hundreds of calls during the worst rain in more than 100 years of record keeping in late June.

The Arlington County Emergency Communications Center dispatched more than 580 service calls to police and fire units between 9 p.m. on June 25 and and 11 a.m. the next day, according to the county government web site.

Career and volunteer firefighters activated additional units to respond to all the alarms.

APPARATUS GALLERY

Foam 161 - Pentagon Heliport & Fort Myer

Foam 326 - Reagan National Airport

"Christine" - Old Reserve Truck

No. 3's "wagon" in Rosslyn

Old Wagon 9 and other apparatus

Old Truck 3

Old Falls Church firehouse

Light Unit & Utility 73 - Iwo Jima Memorial (1990)

Truck 106 on the job

Rescue Engine 324 - Reagan National Airport

Engine 3 - Cherrydale firehouse

Engine 3 refurbished as foam wagon

Quints 104 & 109

Old Engine 61 - U.S. Army Fort Myer

MEDSTAR CHOPPER CRASHES

Medstar service at Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001

A Medstar helicopter that serves Arlington County and the rest of the metropolitan area crashed May 30, 2006, as it approached the Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia.

The medevac patient - already in grave condition - died hours later in surgery. The crash injured Medstar's three crew members.

According to The Washington Post, the Eurocopter - on a flight from Greater Southeast Community Hospital - plummeted onto a golf course on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home on North Capitol Street, Northwest, at about 5 p.m.

The pilot had transmitted a distress call.

"I could see [the helicopter] laboring," witness Jay Speights, who was getting out of his car at the golf course parking lot, told the Post.

According to a 2005 report on the Washington Hospital Center's web site, the helicopter service - which is operated by the hospital center - carried more than 36,000 patients ``with a perfect safety record since its inception in 1983.''

The Medstar service evacuated casualties from the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

The fleet consists of three EC-135 choppers, which have a cruising speed of 150 mph and a range of approximately 250 miles, according to the Medstar Transport web site. The standard flight crew consists of a pilot, critical care nurse and a critical care paramedic.

2-ALARM CHURCH FIRE

By Captain Charles A. Gibbs
Arlington County Fire Department

On 24 May 2006, at 1058 hours Box 4603 was struck for a structure fire at 103 West Columbia Street, Columbia Baptist Church (Falls Church). This church is a large complex consisting of several different interconnected buildings fronting on four streets. The church houses and hosts quite a few ministries including 250 pre-school children. The fire was in a storage area above the pulpit area of the main sanctuary.

EMS 112 arrived on the scene within three minutes reporting smoke showing from the eves on the W. Jefferson Street side. He designated this side Adam and established command. He quickly called for a second alarm. Engine 106 arrived and stretched a handline to the second floor through a doorway on the Baker side, quadrant Adam. Truck 106 took a position on side David. They positioned the aerial to the roof and raised numerous ground ladders on side David and Baker. The crew proceeded inside to assist Engine 106. Engine 102 reversed laid a supply line for Engine 106 and the crew advanced the backup line from Engine 106 to the second floor.

Engine 418 (Fairfax County) established a secondary water supply in the parking lot across the street from the church. The crew proceeded to the second floor. Rescue 418 proceeded to the second floor to assist with extinguishment and checking extension. Engine 103 established the RIT side Adam at Engine 106. They surveyed all sides checking ground ladder placement.

Battalion Fire Chief 112, Blankenship, established the command post at the buggy across the street from side Adam. Truck 104 positioned on Side Charlie, raised the aerial to the roof and assisted with ventilation. BFC 111 was designated the interior division. Medic 102 established an aid station on the Adam side and later established the rehab division. Units on the interior had no difficulty locating and extinguishing the fire. The fire was knocked down in ten minutes and completely out in twenty minutes. There was no extension above the fire room.

The second alarm units were ordered to report to command on arrival. Engine and Truck 410 relieved Engine 106, Engine 102 and Truck 106 on the second floor. I do not know the other companies assignments.

The fire was in an area above the pulpit in a 15’ X 15’ concrete room. It was used for storage. The all concrete construction held the heat for quite awhile but it did not present any problems. The location of the fire room allowed for fairly quick smoke removal from the fire area but unfortunately it dissipated into the sanctuary.

As is found in a lot of churches the sanctuary was approximately 50’ high and proved challenging for smoke removal. Smoke removal was accomplished by strategically placing several positive pressure fans. There was some minor smoke travel in other areas of the church that mostly dissipated on its own. Fairly late in the operation a crew from 418 went to the roof to check for extension.

All building occupants including the 250 children self evacuated and were accounted for very early on in the incident. It must be stated that for the teachers to control and account for 250 children is a testament to their responsibilities. They maintained control of the children without incident.

Courtesy www.acfd3.com

'GALLANT FOX 06' - PENTAGON

The Arlington County Fire Department participated in a bio-terrorism exercise at the Pentagon on May 17.

The Defense Department issued the following account of the drill, written by Army Sergeant Sara Wood of the American Forces Press Service:

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Arlington County Fire Department, Red Cross, and other local and federal agencies participated in the exercise, dubbed "Gallant Fox 06," based on a scenario involving a suspected anthrax attack inside the Pentagon that triggered a sensor. In the scenario, testing was done and the presence of anthrax was confirmed.

Sixty-two Red Cross volunteers played the roles of affected Pentagon employees. They were evacuated out of the Pentagon to a decontamination site in the building's north parking lot. There they removed their "contaminated" clothing, took showers to rid themselves of any anthrax spores, and were given antibiotics to prevent infection. Some players also simulated special situations, like symptoms of anthrax infection or people with disabilities who needed assistance.

The exercise was a success, but the agencies did identify some areas where improvement is needed, said Arlington County Fire Chief Jim Schwartz. The decontamination of potentially contaminated people poses a challenge, he said, because right now the procedures are for people to remove their clothes outside, shower in a trailer, and come back outside.

"You can imagine what kind of circumstances we would be facing if this were a day in mid-winter, trying to do the kinds of things that we were doing," he said.

FIRE STATIONS

Station 1 - Glebe Road

Station 2 - Ballston

Station 3 - Cherrydale VFD

Station 4 - Clarendon (Special Services)

Station 5 - Crystal City

Station 6 - Falls Church

Station 7 - Fairlington

Station 8 - Hall's Hill

Station 9 - Walter Reed Drive

Station 10 - Rosslyn

Station 61 - U.S. Army Fort Myer

Pentagon Heliport

Reagan National Airport

LIGHT & AIR 103

FROM THE WATCH DESK

(Photo courtesy www.acfd3.com)

SAFETY YELLOW - Robert Groshon, during his tenure as chief of department in the 1970s, advocated the use of ``safety yellow'' for the county's fire apparatus, replacing the traditional red. Yellow it remained into the 1990s, when a white with a yellow safety stripe scheme was adopted. Today, the fleet is again red.

RESCUE 104 & 109 - ``The rescues went in service January 1997 in `single pull status' (both #4 and #9 housed a truck and a rescue staffed by a single crew - call type determined which unit the crew took to the incident). The quint units were built in 1998, and placed in service during the fall of the same year. On the same day, Quints #4 and #9 were placed in service, E104 and E109 were placed into reserve status along with T104 and T109.'' - Battalion Chief Robert Gray

THE MYSTERY OF TRUCK 71 - When Fire Station No. 1 moved to its new quarters on South Glebe Road in the early 1990s, the lettering on the station identified it as the home of both Engine 71 and Truck 71. As it turned out, a full-time Truck 71 was never placed in service, and instead a reserve ladder - AKA ``Christine'' - was briefly parked in the apparatus bay. The lettering, however, remained in place for 15 years. (The station is now home to Engine 101, Medic 101, Hazmat 101 and Battalion 111. EMS 111 moved to Station No. 9. - Thanks to Lt. Nick Salameh of Engine 101)

THE NICKEL- Retired Capt. Stan Bowen reports that the firefighters at old Station No. 5 ``helped me decide that fire and rescue work would be an exciting and noble career after my stint in the Navy.'' Back in 1965, ``The Nickel'' ran less than 300 calls annually, according to Bowen, who retired after 31+ years as a career firefighter and is also a former member of Jefferson District VFD #5. Today, Station No. 5 - Crystal City - is a busy house!

OLD TRUCK 78 - ``In the early 80's Arlington disposed of three American LaFrance tiller trucks at auction. One of the trucks sold was a combination of Truck 74's 1965 tractor and Truck 78's 1963 trailer. The rig was purchased by the Paxtonia VFD located near Harrisburg, PA. The ladder truck ran for many years as Truck 34-1 in Paxtonia before allegedly being sold to a collector in Michigan. ... Thanks to ACFD Firefighter Ralph Parsons (and Paxtonia VFD member) for the information.'' - www.acfd3.com

(If anyone knows the whereabouts of Old Truck 78, please contact Capt. Randy Higgins at Station No. 3)

BUSY MONTH - JANUARY 2006

$200,000 FIRE AT PENTAGON

Box 7560 - Pentagon
(Photo courtesy www.acfd3.com)

On Jan. 19, 2006, a three-alarm fire caused $200,000 damage at the Pentagon. The fire broke out in a kitchen on the third floor of the building and flames traveled to the roof.

FIREFIGHTERS SAVE CHURCH

Arlington County and Fairfax County firefighters battled a two-alarm fire at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church on Jan. 28, 2006 - and saved a part of our local history.

``The blaze started about 11 a.m. in an outdoor trash can and spread into the building on East Broad Street, causing fire and water damage to ceilings, the choir room and administrative offices,'' The Washington Post reported.

Arlington County ECC (Emergency Communications Center) received multiple 911 calls and Battalion 112 radioed ``heavy smoke showing'' as he arrived on the scene.

According to the web site http://www.acfd3.com/ -``Units stretched lines to the second floor and attic area and made an impressive attack on the fire. The fire originated on the exterior and entered the huge stand-up attic via the soffit vents. An aggressive interior attack by the first alarm units saved this historic building from destruction.''

In his 1972 text "Fireground Tactics," Emanuel Fried wrote: ``Fires in old churches are extremely difficult to fight and constitute unusual dangers to operating forces. Once seriously involved, a church fire generally continues until the church is destroyed.''

FIRST ALARM
Engines 106, 428, 418, 102 Truck 106, Tower 104, Rescue 418, Medic 106, Battalions 112, 404, EMS 112, FM 114

SECOND ALARM
Engines 108, 103, 410, 413, Tower 401, Medic 418, 102, Light and Air 103, Battalion 111. The volunteers of Canteen 106 also assisted.

CIA SHOOTING - 1993

Court hearing
(Sketch from CNN)

On Jan. 25, 1993, a gunman named Mir Amal Kansi killed two people and injured three others outside CIA Headquarters at Langley in Fairfax County, Virginia.

The Arlington County Fire Department responded on the ``mutual box'' and helped Fairfax County paramedics and firefighters treat the casualties.

Fire/EMS Captain Miguel Serra recently shared the following with the Arlington Fire Journal:

''I looked through the 'blog' ... and there is one incident of national significance, to which some of the ACFD units responded which is not mentioned. I don't remember the exact date, but in the winter of 1992/3 (I think) Medic 106 ("A" Platoon, Mark Girard and Clayton Deskins) and EMS 72 (Miguel Serra) responded to the CIA building in Langley, Virginia to assist Fairfax County units with multiple shooting victims. (This may very well have been the first ``Islamic terrorist'' attack on U.S. soil ... It was before the 1993 Trade Center bombing.) Medic 106 treated and transported one of the survivors to Fairfax Hospital. EMS 72 assisted Medic 106 and other units on the scene.''

Kamil fled the county and was arrested four years later in Pakistan.

A statement issued by the CIA and FBI on June 17, 1997 said:

``FBI Deputy Director William J. Esposito and Acting Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet today announced the apprehension of Mir Amal Kansi, an FBI Top Ten Fugitive and the suspected gunman in the January 25, 1993, attack outside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters which killed two CIA employees and wounded three others. Kansi has been delivered abroad by Afghan individuals to the custody of United States authorities. He has been transported to the United States where he will face trial in Fairfax, Virginia. ''

Kansi was convicted and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

CHIEF FOUGHT 1914-2005

Chief Fought

Retired Battalion Chief James ``Jimmie'' Fought of the Arlington County Fire Department, a founder of the Arlington County Fire Department Historical Society, died at his home in Arlington, Virginia, on Dec. 16, 2005. He was 91.

The chief was a member of a firefighting family. His father served as a sergeant with the District of Columbia Fire Department, and his late son served as a captain in the Arlington County Fire Department.

Fought's career as a firefighter started as a volunteer in the 1930s with the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department and later the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department.

The county hired Fought as a full-time paid firefighter in 1943 and he advanced through the ranks to become one of the county's first battalion chiefs in 1956.

He spent his career ``on the road'' as he liked to say, supervising fire and rescue operations.

``The fire won't wait for you!'' the quintessential chief would tell his firefighters.

Major Fires

Fought helped supervise firefighting operations at a general-alarm fire in the basement of the Pentagon on July 2, 1959. That fire was listed as among the nation's worst in a book published by the National Fire Protection Association in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial. A number of firefighters were injured at the 1959 Pentagon fire.

He also supervised the daring rope rescue of a 12-year-old boy who fell into a deep well at a construction site in Rosslyn on June 11, 1959.

Earlier as a fire captain, Fought was in charge of the county's old ``Squad 5’’ that responded to a pair of disasters in Washington on Jan. 15, 1953 - ``Black Thursday'' - the day a runaway Pennsylvania Railroad train plowed into the concourse at Union Station, and a later unrelated explosion at the Standard Tire and Battery Store in Northeast Washington that injured a number of D.C. firemen.

He was also among Arlington firefighters sent to the district for the riots in April 1968.

Active Retirement

Fought, a member of the International Association of Firefighters Local 2800 in Arlington, retired in 1972.

He remained active in firefighting circles until his death and co-founded the Arlington County Fire Department Historical Society with the late Robert ``Cuz'' Carpenter, also a retired battalion chief, in the 1990s.

The chief helped with the compilation of the historical society's ``Red Book,'' a history of the fire and rescue service in Arlington County. He also contributed to the ``Arlington Fire Journal’’ newsletter.

Fought was also an active member of ``The Chowder Club'' and ``The Lunch Bunch'' - social clubs for retired members of the fire department.

HAZMAT TEAM

HAZMAT 101