Fire Buffs promote the general welfare of the fire and rescue service and protect its heritage and history. Famous Fire Buffs through the years include New York Fire Surgeon Harry Archer, Boston Pops Conductor Arthur Fiedler, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and - legend has it - President George Washington.

Monday, March 31, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

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.

Friday, March 07, 2008

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.