ANOTHER HIGHRISE FIRE? Hollywood Professional Firefighters were once again called out to the report of a high rise fire in another downtown building situated on Young Circle, not far from the previous week’s high rise fire. This time, it was the dreaded “Townhouse Apartments” Building located on 1776 Polk Street. The condemned structure, which is slated to be torn down, was in the process of being prepared for demolition. That usually means that the main supporting elements of the building had already been substantially weakened to ease in its collapse. Upon hearing the call’s location, Fire/Rescue Crews were already facing the daunting reality of having to enter the unsafe and unstable, boarded-up structure to carry-out any interior fire attack that may be needed, or the very real possibility for a victim rescue, as trespassing vagrants had consistently been a problem there. When they arrived, Crews saw flames running up the West side of the exterior, and noticed a worker on the 6th floor, not knowing if he was trapped or not….a prospect that automatically raises the stakes (and heart rate). After laying out the best fire ground set-up, assessing the situation, finding out if the building was safe enough to enter, and ascertaining that it wouldnt spontaneously collapse with the weight of the water we usually use to fight fires, Fire Crews then gained entry into the building and began the arduous task of climbing the stairs in the dark, abandoned structure to reach the fire floor and search for victims. Luckily, by the time the exhausted Fire Crews reached the fire floor, the exterior flames had already been extinguished, and no interior attack was necessary. This was especially fortunate since the condition of the dilapidated building’s interior piping to support fire operations was unknown, and we were unsure if they could support the high pressures needed for elevated fire operations without pipes bursting. You never know what surprises these old, abandoned buildings hold, and what may or may not work. Every situation is highly fluid, and no two are the same. This is where we rely on our Bureau of Fire Prevention and Life Safety to keep us apprised of building conditions and maintain the city’s working fire systems. It was later determined that the fire was caused by a wire that had snapped and draped over the exterior of the structure, causing it to ignite, and that the person standing on the balcony was a demolition worker that was already on scene. Anthony J Vera Photo Credit: Anthony J Vera (off duty)
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:37:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015