Remembering Firefighter George Jackson

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On October 21, 1990, Firefighter George Jackson was assigned to engine company that was dispatched to a report of a stove fire at an occupied two-story brick row house in Camden, NJ. Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke showing from the rear of the structure causing the company officer to call for a box assignment at the location. Firefighter Jackson and his crew was shortly thereafter assigned to fire suppression and advanced a handline into the structure and conducted a search of the first floor.

When the ladder company arrived on scene and entered the structure with their crew, Firefighter Jackson split from the engine company and joined the ladder company to the second floor of the structure and began assisting in search. It was at this time that the fire in the kitchen on the first floor had proven too difficult to control along with the pump operate having difficultly opening the fire hydrant in front of the house to establish a water supply. Due to the issue with the hydrant outside, the pump operator of the engine radioed that crews should back of the structure due to water supply issues.  

At this time, the fire in the kitchen had began to spread rapidly prohibiting the firefighters from the ladder company on the second floor to exit the structure due to heat and fire conditions on the stairs. Three of the firefighters retreated back to the second floor and were able to exit the structure through second floor windows however, Firefighter Jackson was overcome by the conditions inside the structure and was unable to exit.  

Later arriving fire companies were able to establish an alternate water supply and suppress the fire that had spread onto the second floor. It was at this time, where firefighter accessing the second floor over ground ladders found Firefighter Jackson just inside the window and was extricated shortly thereafter. He suffered from critical hand and face burns and was transported to a nearby hospital. 

Firefighter George Jackson remained in a coma until his death on March 7, 2006 at the age of 67.

We remember…

Firefighter George Malcolm Jackson, Ladder 2, Camden Fire Department (NJ)

Remembering Lt. Arnie (Arnold) Wolff

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On Sunday, August 13, 2006, Lieutenant Arnie Wolff, assigned to the ambulance for the shift responded to a call at 438 Edgewood Drive around 12:30 afternoon. Upon arrival Lt. Wolff and his partner were assigned to assist the first due engine with attaching the 5-inch supply line to the engine for water supply. The engine company they were assisting with the supply line was currently conducting an attack on a suspected basement fire, while the ladder company was performing horizontal ventilation of the structure. The Incident Commander had then requested Lt. Wolff and his partner to conduct a primary search of the residence. With a few steps into the residence at around 12:34 PM, while beginning a lefthanded search, it was quickly noted there was near zero visibility with minimal heat conditions. Due to these conditions, the crew knelt down, sounded the ceramic floor and took one crawling step to advance in. Moments later, a large crack was heard just before the floor gave way, sending both firefighters into the basement.

A second alarm was immediately requested by the IC and rescue efforts began. The firefighter with Lt. Wolff fell into a finished portion of the basement and was assisted through a basement window by fellow firefighters. Lt Wolff fell into a room of the basement that did not have windows and his path to an exit was blocked. Due to the advanced fire conditions after the collapse, firefighters were unable to reach Lt. Wolff. His body was recovered 13 hours into the incident and his cause of death was asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation.

An autopsy was later performed and it was found that the carboxyhemoglobin level in Lieutenant Wolff's blood was 49.6 percent. The cause of the fire at the time was undetermined but it was concluded that the fire had been burning for some time in the basement prior to its discovery. The trusses that failed were in the area that was most damaged by fire. It is to be noted, the trusses that failed were TGI trusses, an engineered lumber product.

Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Report F2006-26 | NIOSH | CDC

Arnie Wolff joined the Green Bay Fire Department in January 1989 and was currently assigned to Engine 451 at Station 5 and was also a paramedic. He was 5 days from receiving his promotion to lieutenant and was awarded it posthumously. Wolff leaves behind his wife and three children.

We remember…

Lt. Arnie (Arnold) Wolff, 55, Engine 451, Green Bay Fire Department

Remembering the West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

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It was a typical spring evening with temperature s around 80 degrees on the evening of April 17, 2013 in central Texas. Humidity that evening was low with scattered clouds and 20 mile per hour winds blowing in from the south south east (SSE).

At around 7:30 that evening in the City of West, an explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company plant. An explosion so powered it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake and felt over 80 miles away damaging many homes and school throughout the area. 

At this time, dispatched received a 911 call reporting smoke coming from the West Fertilizer Company plant and at 7:34 PM, the West Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the scene with two engines, a brush trick and tender responding to the scene along with two more firefighters arriving in their personal vehicles. The first arriving unit on scene was at approximately 7:39 PM confirming a structure fire at the plant and deployed an initial attack line (1 1/2 attack line) to extinguish any and all visible fire and to establish a water supply using a 4-inch diameter supply line. Please note, the nearest fire hydrant was more than a quarter mile away from the scene. An initial mutual aid alarm was struck with included an aerial ladder truck and four more firefighters which responded in their personal vehicles.  

Within 12 minutes of the initial arriving unit on scene and 22 minutes from the initial 911 dispatch, an explosion occurred at the plant leaving multiple firefighters down.

Ten first responders were killed in this explosion due to an estimated 40 to 60 tons of ammonium nitrate exploding just outside the city limits.

Five firefighters from the West Volunteer Fire Department were killed in the explosion along with four firefighters from 3 neighboring departments along with one off-duty career fire captain and two civilians who offered assistance to the fire department on scene. 

Factors of the incident

The department did not recognize the hazards associated with the ammonium nitrate

  • There was limited pre-planning of the facility

  • Rapid fire spread in wood construction commercial structure with no sprinkler system

Post incident recommendations as per NIOSH

Fire departments should conduct pre-incident planning of buildings within their jurisdiction to facilitate the development of safe fireground strategies and tactics especially in high hazard high risk structures

  • Fire departments should have a written management plan, use risk management principles at all structure fires and especially at incidents with high risk hazards

  • Fire departments should implement and enforce the Incident Management System (IMS) at all emergency operations

  • Fire departments should ensure all firefighters wear personal protective equipment appropriate for the assigned tasks

  • Fire departments should ensure all firefighters are training to the standards that meet or exceed NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications

 We remember:

Firefighter Morris Bridges

Firefighter Cody Dragoo

Firefighter Joseph Pustejovsky

Firefighter Douglas Snokhous

Firefighter Robert Snokhous

Firefighter Jerry Dane Chapman

Firefighter Cyrus Reed

Firefighter Kevin Saunders

Fire Captain Harris Kenneth

Firefighter Perry Calvin