The Engine Company

(Photo courtesy of Tom Meloy, Fairfax County Company 4/A)

Post courtesy of Mike Deli, Fairfax County Battalion Chief 1/A

Now, take the townhouse from the last post about ground ladders (The Truck Crew 9/27/10), and think about fire streams. Look at the photo above. With the 14' roof ladder in place from your engine, could we have advanced an 1-3/4" line from Side C up the ladder, and operated it through the window into the attic? The fire that seemed to be unreachable was in the front of the attic, under the front gable, and partially protected from an elevated stream (most likely stream from an aerial than from a more manuverable tower ladder). The tower knocked it down quickly, but was this a 1000 gpm fire? The 2" smooth bore also pierced the fire wall and sent water into the D-1 exposure. How about an 1-3/4" stream from the roof of an adjacent exposure? Or an 1-3/4" through the front windows from a ground, aerial, or tower ladder? We've used this tactic before on other fires in the 1st Battalion, like the Cedar Cove and Fairwind fires. We should always consider what could have been done differently for the next time. Any thoughts?