This is from Central PA Bravest page On December 3, 1999 at 1815 hours, box 1438 was struck for 236 Franklin Street (The actual address is 266 Franklin Street) for smoke coming from the roof of a 6 story warehouse. Initial alarm consisted of Engines 1, 6, 12, 13 Ladders 1, 5 Rescue 1 and a Chief. Upon the District Chiefs arrival, his Aide circled the building to conduct a scene survey, and saw the crews from Engine 13 and Ladder 1 enter the building. The Aide reported that he was on the C/D corner of the building and that he saw heavy fire burning in and up the elevator shafts. This fire was confirmed on the second and third floors by Engine 13. Ladder 1, in a freezer room on the second floor, reported they had a room full of fire. Upon the arrival of another Chief, who assumed command, it was first made aware that two homeless people still may be inside. Upon arrival of Engine, Ladder and Rescue 1, their crews were assigned search and rescue of possible civilians trapped. Two members of Rescue 1, after venting a 15 square foot sky light above the elevator shaft, began a top to bottom search of the warehouse for civilians. A combination of sudden zero visibility in a previously hazy floor and no rope lines used, members of the mentioned companies became separated from the group and ended up on separate floors. At 1847 hours, one of the victims from Rescue 1 made the following radio transmissions: Rescue to Command, I need help on the floor below the top floor of the building. We are lost”. And at 1848 “Rescue to Command, we need help on the fourth floor. A short time later, radio contact was made with the victims to determine their status. One of the victims replied, We need air, we need air. I’m sharing a tank off me right now. We are lost. You got to send a rescue team up here for us. Second floor down from the roof, two floors down. We were on the roof, and then we checked the next floor down. Now we are on the next one. Hurry. Part of the second alarm, Ladder 2’s task was to perform search and rescue on the fifth floor. The officer and one firefighter were quick up the stairs while a third trailed. Once at the third floor, this trailing member met with a firefighter from E3 who was separated and together took out the plywood covered windows from the third up to the fifth floor, were it was believed they would meet with the two members from L2 already there. After 10 minutes without seeing them and their low air alarm ringing, they proceeded to the first floor and tried to locate L2 officer via radio. His reply and location was on the fifth floor and at 1910 and 1914, L2 requested assistance in locating the stairwell and that they were running out of air. Upon arrival of Engine 3 on the third alarm, their assignment was to search and rescue for the now four missing firefighters all believed to be on the fifth floor. Engine 3 split into two teams. The officer and two firefighters were one team, and the senior and junior man making the second team. The officer’s team went to the Command Post and got instructions, leaving the other team at the engine who was still getting dressed. This was the last time these two men were seen alive. No command officer gave them an order in person or over the radio, but it is believed they made their way to the fifth floor. The officer’s team searched for Rescue 1’s missing men and having run out of air without locating them, exited the warehouse. At 1924 hours, the Incident Commander called for a head count of all the fire fighters, and it was then determined that six fire fighters were missing. At 1928 and 1929 hours, the victims from Engine 3 and Ladder 2 were radioed, but no response was ever received from either crew. At 1929 hours, the Chief of the Department called for a fifth alarm, and Engines 5 and 10 responded. At 1931, 1936 and 1948 hours, the victims from Engine 3 and Ladder 2 were radioed and again no response was received. At 1949 hours, the crew from Engine 8, who had responded on the fourth alarm, radioed that they were on the fourth floor and that the structural integrity of the building had been compromised. At 1958 hours Interior Command ordered everyone out of the building. The operations changed from an offensive attack, including search and rescue, to a defensive attack which lasted over 20 hours. It was at this time, the 3rd-6th floors collapsed onto the second floor. After the fire had been knocked down, search and recovery operations commenced until recall of the box alarm 9 days later, at 2227 hours on December 11 1999 when all six firefighters were recovered. AFTERMATH The fire is believed to have been started by two homeless people and to have been burning 30-90 minutes before detection by an off-duty police officer. At one point, the fire on the second floor (66,000 cubic feet) was so advanced, 5 2½” lines (1250gpm) were in operation and crews had to retreat due to no noticeable effect made. A total of five alarms were struck over a span of 1 hour and 13 minutes, with the fifth called in at 1928 hours. Responding were 11 engines, 4 ladders, and 1 rescue, for a total of 73 fire fighters. So hot the fire and heavy a fuel load, smoke venting through the roof carried tar globs with it and once the cold air cooled it enough to “rain” onto the fire ground, damaging several apparatus and gear. Construction has yet to begin, however a memorial site will be named Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park 5-1438, December 3, 1999. The numbers 5-1438 stand for the number of alarms struck and the Fire Department code for the location of the fire. The Cold Storage Warehouse was torn down and in its place, the Worcester Fire Department Headquarters was built. Dedicated on December 3, 2008, the structure was built with “Worchester 6” for all to remember with a bronze statue and stone wall murel recording the men and efforts of that day nearly 10 years prior. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Built in 1905 and vacant for 8 years prior to the fire, this brick and heavy timber structure measuring 88’ x 158’was built with 18” thick exterior brick walls, and 6”-18” interior walls. The interior walls were constructed, and for years patched, with cork, asphalt, foam glass, and polystyrene. In 1912 an addition of equal construction and size was built on the existing delta side. Two internal stairwells connected the 94,176 square foot structure on all 6 stories. Due to its vacancy at the time of the fire, the majority of the windows were boarded shut with plywood. NEVER FORGET OUR 6 BROTHERS WE LOST 14 YEARS AGO TODAY REST EASY BROTHERS
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 23:05:23 +0000