Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog  -

Let's wrap a weekend of shooting and posting photos with a recap of last night's woods and rubber fire in Apex, with information drawn from news reports, radio traffic, FireNews incident report, and other sources. Same started as woods fire reported in the area of the Wake County Fire Training Center at 5620 Shearon Harris Road about 8:00 p.m. The fire subsequently threatened the nearby Cary Police Department firing range on Shooting Drive. Crews protected the structures there, but flames spread to a quantity of tire rubber serving as a backstop for bullets. The resulting melting rubber created a runoff hazard for Harris Lake, and sand trucks and heavy equipment were called to the scene to mitigate the hazard and assist with extinguishing.

Water shuttle operations were utilized with tankers from Apex and Moncure in Chatham County. The water point was Apex Fire Station 2, about four miles away. Additional personnel was requested from Fairview Fire Department. Medical monitoring and rehab was conducted by Apex EMS and Wake County EMS. Units on scene included Apex E2, Tanker 1, Tanker 2, Brush 1, Brush 2, Battalion 1, Car 1, Utility 1 and foam trailer, Mobile Command 1; Fairview E1, Brush 1, Car 2; Moncure tankers; Forestry units 1190, 1191, and the plow (unit number?); EMS 42, District 2, Truck 1; and WC1. Others? See preliminary photos by Legeros¹, taken after the woods fire but before the rubber fire was extinguished. Click to enlarge:
 

FireNews finds this dramatic photo posted by the Wilmington StarNews of this afternoon's major fire at an optical fiber plant at 310 N. College Road, and the billowing smoke that was seen across town. The plant's brigade began fighting the fire prior the arrival of the Wilmington Fire Department, which the article says sent eight trucks to the scene. They were assisted by the New Hanover Fire Department, which also helped cover calls in the city. The fire was controlled in about an hour. Read the article, and see more photos.
 

Jeff Janowski/Wilmington StarNews photo

This vintage photo was shown and shared with visitors to yesterday's live burn at the Buffaloe House. The photograph of the framed picture has been converted to greyscle, with heavy contrast adjustments, and corrected for the distortion of viewing at an angle. The house was built in sections, correct? With rear additions in later decades? Click to enlarge the top photo:
 

Here's another shot from yesterday's live burn at the Buffaloe House. Though the photographer wasn't harmed during the making of this image, he did get a bit wet, when a deflected stream sprayed his way. Took some 600 or 700 shots. Maybe a third are keepers. Lots of people shots, as these events are good for. Some are slightly posed. Look at the camera please, but that's just to turn someone's face toward the sun and out of shadow. Big trucks and blazing buildings are compelling subjects, but the human face is endlessly interesting. Pics to be posted soon enough. Click to enlarge:
 

That's the so-called Buffalo House at 4115 Buffaloe Road, which gave up the ghost this afternoon for the occasion of firefighter training with New Hope, Bay Leaf, Durham Highway, Falls, Knightdale, Rolesville, Stony Hill, Wake Forest, and Western Wake fire departments. (Did I miss anyone?) Tax records say the two-story structure dates to 1915, and the two-story wood-frame structure measured 2,605 square-feet. The land measures 6.13 acres. Numerous interior evolutions were performed in the morning and afternoon, and the structure was allowed to freely burn beginning about 4:00 p.m. Needless to say, quite a crowd of folks had gathered to watch. What other history do folks know about the building or the property? Click to enlarge:
 

Deployed on Colby Drive by Ladder 2 and photographed by Lee Wilson. That's Thursday morning's apartment fire, and which a reader observes is a great example of good ground ladder placement. See more photos. Click to enlarge:
 

Lee Wilson photo

Those shiny shapes behind Station 8 are cisterns for collecting rainwater. Four have been installed, along with an outdoor electric pump discreetly hidden under a plastic rock. The water is non-potable, but perfect for utilitarian tasks, such as washing vehicles or watering lawns. Several fire stations are having harvesting equipment installed, as we reported earlier.
 

On Sunday, March 14, at 1:50 p.m., Engine 16 was dispatched to a request for service at Shelly Lake. The requestor's (or as called in the trade, the complainant's) dog was stranded in the middle in the lake. The animal had been swimming (and chasing birds, if memory serves) for an hour, and wouldn't return to shore no matter who was calling its name. The owner was distressed and there may have been talk of swimming to reach the animal. A city park's ranger was on scene, but no boats were available. Presumably locked away for the winter.

The fire department was called, and Engine 16 requested Rescue 3 to respond with its boat. They arrived and with assistance of the ranger, placed their rigid hull inflatable boat in the water. They paddled to the location of the dog, and Roxy was removed from the water about 2:30 p.m. For firefighters this was, well, a day in the park. They had their equipment at the ready, expediently deployed same, and performed their task. For the public, it was a positive example of their fire department in action.

Shelley Lake was busy that day, and Yours Truly (who lives two blocks away) watched and overheard dozens of appreciative remarks and comments and applause from observing citizens. It was a neat of example of positive response to the job. First responders do their work and the public appreciates them. See photos from the incident. We'll call myself Canine Photo 1.
 

First, see the previously posted agenda and related documents. Very short meeting tonight, perhaps a record. Adjourned about 7:35 p.m. On the regular agenda, the Fire Commission approved distribution of FY10 contingency funds, as well as a revision to the small vehicle policy. The latter changes the mileage replacement for administrative-type vehicles from 75,000 to 100,000 miles.

Department appropriations are assumed as the same as this budget year, at least during this process. Added expenditures include increases for staffing, local government retirement system adjustments, and operating costs for Garner Station 4. That facility is expected to be operational in November. Funding includes training of some personnel, as well as the operating costs once opened. There are also a mess of system-wide appropriations. CAD, radio, haz-mat, forestry, etc.

Discussion topic for the day, inspired by this firehouse.com article about engineers developing a flashover detection device that could give firefighters a 20 to 30 second warning when interior conditions are worsening. What are implications for firefighters as technology develops? And what are your feelings therein about what's gained in tools versus what might be lost in skills? Draw from the experience of the introduction of thermal imaging cameras as needed. What say you?

Here's a nifty photo from the North Carolina State Archives, showing a horse-drawn hose wagon in Goldsboro in the 1890s. The driver is identified as Samuel Thorton, and the wagon appears lettered for Goldsboro No. 1 Fire Company. Or perhaps Goldsboro No. 1 Hose Company. What do we know about their fire department then?

Sanborn Maps from January 1891 list the fire department as having one steam fire engine, one chemical engine, three hose carts, and 2,000 to 2,500 feet of hose in good condition. The town had a waterworks, though perhaps no hydrants. Population 5,000.

By April 1896, the fire department consisted of volunteers plus paid engineers and drivers, one Silsby steamer, one chemical engine, two horse-drawn hose wagons, two hand-drawn hose reels, and 1,800 feet of hose. The water system was equipped with 85 double hydrants, with average pressure of 50 pounds per square inch. Population still 5,000.

Looking closely at the photo-- click once or twice to enlarge-- a few features are visible. There's a gong opposite the floorboard, and that would be foot-powered. The rear of the wagon has the tailboard, and what might be a pair of lamps in the rear. That might be a toolbox on the tailboard as well. No other equipment is obvious.
 

Courtesy North Carolina State Archives

Here's a nifty find on Craigslist, a 1949 Chevy fire truck for sale in Angier. Same looks like an ex-military crash truck, and quite a bit like Raleigh-Durham International Airport's first crash truck, which was a 1946 International/Bean US Army Class 125 crash truck.
 

Here's a later photo of the RDU rig, after it was repainted white and apparently requiring some manual assistance, and which you can click to slightly enlarge. Read about the Class 125 apparatus at the nifty Fire Trucks at War web site. As for the Angier truck, there's little else in the posting. We'll mail the seller and see what else we can learn.
 

Raleigh Times photograph

From boots to shoes. The Wearing of the Grin was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. That's the legendary pair that produced some of Warner Brothers most memorable cartoons ever, including Duck Dodgers in the 24^1/2 Century, One Froggy Evening, Rabbit Fire, and the classic of classics, What's Opera Doc? The short was released theatrically on July 28, 1951, and was the final cartoon featuring Porky Pig solo and without a sidekick. The title refers to the old Irish ballad The Wearing of the Green, while the green shoes come from Hans Christian Andersen's fable The Red Shoes. Read more. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
 

Who and where? Click to enlarge, if it helps.
 

We started the morning with Statter911 and footage of a car running into a rock slide. Highway 129 in Blount County, Tennessee. Begin with one rock slide. Add one camera crew, filming said rock slide. Add one distracted driver, watching said camera crew. To the guy's credit, they were on a curve. But, really, aren't we all? No apparent injuries on that one.

Afternoon saw an aircraft accident in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. A single-engine Lancair IV-P was gliding to an emergency landing on the beach, when it struck and killed a jogger. The victim was listening to his iPod, and apparently didn't the plane's silent but deadly approach. He was killed instantly. The pilot and passenger were unharmed. Read the WIS10 account.

Also this afternoon, and right here at home, a sport-utility vehicle crashed off the end of Interstate 540 near Knightdale. The vehicle traveled down an embankment, and into a dense cluster of trees. The driver was discovered dead, though investigators say that there's a different reason for his death. Additional details have not been released, reports this WTVD story. They also posted a number of aerial and traffic camera photos.
 

WTVD photo

For those interested in the finer points of sausage-making, the Fire Commission Budget Committee meets tonight, Tuesday, March 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the EMS Training Facility in the lower level of the Wake Commons Building at 4011 Carya Drive. Same place as regular Fire Commission meetings. This is the first of several scheduled meetings. The calendar is below, and reflects a revised schedule consisting of evening instead of day meetings. These are public meetings, and the new evening times are intended as more citizen-friendly.

Fire Commission Budget Committee Calendar

• March 16 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Review Capital Budget Recommendations from Capital Committee
• March 23 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Address Feedback / Issues from March 18 Fire Commission Meeting
• March 30 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Topic TBD
• April 6 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Topic TBD
• April 13 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Topic TBD
• April 20 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Topic TBD
• April 2 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Topic TBD

Location for all at the EMS Training Facility, Wake Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive.

On May 6, the Budget Committee presents its final recommendation to the Fire Commission. On May 13, if needed, the Fire Commission meets to further discussion. On May 17, the County Manager presents his budget recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

With Lee's pictures now posted from Saturday's airport drill, you can see those "smoke guns" in action? What the heck are those things? That's  the Afterburner 2000® Aerosol Delivery System, we later learned, designed, developed, and sold by MSI Delivery Systems in Rocky Mount. It's a "multi-mission, multi-purpose smoke generator" that can be used for fire department and first responder training, obscuring the battlefield for military application, entertaining and special effects, and so on.

Or the non-toxic smoke can be mixed with specific chemicals for purposes including neutralizing chemical attacks, decon, urban warfare, tactical incursions, riot control, and infestation control. Read more including the specs. Such as a one-second trigger burst that releases 1,500 cubic-feet of smoke, and with a range greater than 100 feet. Pretty cool.
  

Lee Wilson photo

Found by Lee. He certainly picked the perfect tree for landing, right beside the engine! Our prior posting on same.
 

Discussion topic for the day, how should fire departments and EMS agencies use and better use social media for the benefit of their customers? e.g., for the benefit of citizens, which we can call their stakeholders. There's the obvious objective of prevention and life safety. What about base education on emergency services? What you do, how you do it, and how much it costs? Also, how can these tools help media awareness, or expedite media contact? Does a dynamically updated incident blog, say, cut down on phone calls to dispatchers or other officials? What about educating officials, and keep them in better loops? The options are many. E-mail, discussion groups, blogs, Wikis, web pages, photo sharing (Flickr), video sharing (YouTube), microblogs (Twitter), social networks (Facebook), and so on. What say you?
 

The morning news brings reports of a suspected chemical suicide in Oxford late last night, when police were called to a residential neighborhood about 10 p.m. to investigate a suspicious vehicle. They found a woman slumped over in her vehicle, and apparently deceased. When an officer opened the door, chemicals were found on the front passenger seat. That officer was also overcome-- or at least affected, as reports vary-- and transported to the hospital. A Raleigh Fire Department hazardous materials unit was called to the scene for assistance. This mimics a similar incident that occurred in Cary last month. We subsequently blogged about some good presentation slides on the subject of chemical suicides and responder safety. Sources: WRAL, WTVD.
 

Stacy Davis/WRAL photo

Incident photography is challenging. You're trying orient yourself in a dynamic physical environment, while staying safe and out of everyone's way, while composing and anticipating shots, while traversing as many sides of the scene as possible, and while operating one or two cameras. And those cameras have controls. Buttons, dials, etc. What happens when you're rushed, and perhaps more prone to manhandling your gear? Lately that's meant accidentally switching to manual focus-- resulting in blurry photos-- or accidentally switching to a manual shutter setting. The latter was done during the height of yesterday's airport drill. Right when the action started, in fact. Here's an example of the resulting overexposure. See more examples in the soon-to-be-posted full series. Thankfully, the mistake was caught within a few minutes. Always keep an errant eye on the LCD screen, even in sunlight. And, duh, listen for that ever-so-perceptible sound of a lagging or slower shutter.