You may have remembered me sharing statements that used to be on the walls of fire stations, during my career.
- Risk a lot to save a life
- Risk little to save little
- Risk nothing to save nothing
I am writing this article to the firefighters that read my column, in response to the Pineville volunteer firefighter that was killed Saturday evening. Units were dispatched to a strip mall on fire in Pineville N.C., near Charlotte. From news reports, it appears that the fire originated in the golf shop. I know very few details about this fire, except for the fact that maydays were declared and firefighters had to be rescued.
Strip mall fires are out of the norm. Size up is key, but difficult to perform. The lap is performed by a ride around, or reports are received as units see a particular side of the mall. Determining the location of the fire is difficult. The time of this fire was around 9 p.m., which means that some of the stores might have been closed, while others were open and had to be evacuated. For the stores that were closed, keys had to be accessed via the knox box, or forcible entry had to be done. Strip malls have construction features that allow for fire spread above the sprinkler heads, as well as steel bar joists in the roof assembly that lead to early collapse.
Many years ago, in Chester, where the Dollar General sits, used to be Turner’s TV. This fire came in at 2 a.m. Engine 1 arrived quickly, since it was about three to four buildings down from the station. The engine had an experienced acting officer that night. Engine 1’s crew entered through the front door, after the officer had made his lap. As they entered, they began removing ceiling tiles immediately. There was fire above them, the moment that they removed the ceiling tiles. The acting officer made the decision to back out and a ceiling and roof collapse occurred moments after they backed out. No one was hurt because of the decision made by that officer that night.
The firefighter that was killed in the Pineville fire was that he was a recipient of numerous awards in his three years as a volunteer. He was 20-years old. Again, I do not know the circumstances of his death or what caused another firefighter to get injured. Investigators are working to figure all of that out. My fear is that this young man lost his life for a building. From what I read, I did not get the impression that they were operating in the rescue mode, believing that someone was inside. There is no building that is worth any firefighter’s life. If they were in the rescue mode, then I stand corrected.
These types of buildings, though usually protected by a sprinkler system, take the lives of far too many firefighters. Storage in the void space above the ceiling tiles, as well as large HVAC units on the roof, brings the ceiling down on firefighters quickly. When firefighters respond to these fires, they face multiple challenges and dangers. This is why it is of great importance for firefighters to visit these places, as they are being built. Understanding building construction, being able to read smoke and knowing the signs of collapse are also important in these incidents. My heart goes out to everyone involved in this particular fire. May many lessons be learned from this young man’s death.
