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Started by L. Wakefield, March 10, 2003, 07:23:04 PM

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L. Wakefield

   This morning at about 345am they toned out fire and rescue to a structure fire at the local sawmill. I was not on call but it was close enough to shift change that I took my rescue gear up to do rehab and rescue as necessary.

   It was fully involved when we arrived. The pipe for shooting sawdust was jetting flame about 20' long at one point. There were a couple of explosions and some transformers were burning away quite vigorously.

   It wasn't the -10 they had predicted, thank God, but it was 0 and it got a lot colder up on the hill after they knocked the fire down.

   I didn't always find this business easy to trade with- they are a big wholesaler and don't have time for little orders- but they cut a LOT of wood and it is a tragedy to see the business lost. The woodpiles and log pile were intact- the barn with the horses and  the office were OK. But the mill is toast. Unbelievable how hot it burned.

   The fire marshall is in charge of the scene now. No one got hurt either in the incident or the response. We rehabbed 2 ffs- there wasn't much in the way of interior work to do, and it was so cold the smoke was going straight up after the first few minutes. They did use scba for the close in work, and for the interior work after the surround and drown part. Several trucks froze up, and the hoses were half full of ice when they shut down. They hauled some salamanders up to the scene after a while, and it makes me wonder if that could be incorporated earlier to prevent some of the freeze-ups. It's difficult to keep those trucks warm.

   The FFs were covered in ice. I am glad in retrospect that after I started doing rescue I stopped with the fire. It's just too DanG cold up here. I said something to the chief about firefighting in Georgia and he said it's too HOT down there. Wants something bout midship.

   Well, it was hot for a while. By dawn's light it had grayed down.

   Awfully final end to a very busy bunch of equipment. I don't have any idea what the outcome will be, but my stepson will have to find another job- I know he was looking anyway- now he has no choice.  lw
L. Wakefield, owner and operator of the beastly truck Heretik, that refuses to stay between the lines when parking

Tom

Your right, it's good that no one was hurt. Your son will appreciate what happened  as he ages.  Others plight makes for quite an education when we realize that it could have been us.

Were you  late for work? :D

Frank_Pender

Thanks of the wake up call, LW.  No matter the season for the years fire is a tragic scene.   We can all take a lesson in paying close attention even if it is still in the midst of Winter for some of us. :-[  Even here in good ol' wet Oregon, fire is always a danger at any mill site, or any other business for that matter.  :-/ I am happy that now one was injured in the slightest.   As for your step-son,  I learned from a very dear frind of mine: (my wife)  The end of a beautiful thing is often the beginning of another.  I wish him the best in his quest for a job change. ;D
Frank Pender

chet

Just returned home from a fully engolfed structure fire. A retired minister and his wife recently relocated to the area. They had left to go to the lybrary for some reading material for the evening at 3:00. We got the call at 4:15,  where on scene at 4:24, and the home was already totally gone.
I am a true TREE HUGGER, if I didnt I would fall out!  chet the RETIRED arborist

L. Wakefield

   Structure fires seem to be more prevalent in the winter, and the conditons are truly hellish (not that it's a walk in the park at any year) All systems are strained in the heating process so risks of fire from heating and electrical goes up. Access is very bad in a lot of cases. Icy roads and tanker/pumpers are a VERY bad combination. I remember one fire up on Shaw's Ridge where there was no getting the most of the trucks up there, so there was a mile or more lay of 5" hose and a long walk for the FFs. At that point I was still on the FD and of course I wanted to carry up scba- we didn't- and so it was surround and drown again.

   When we built the underground house in wv it was concrete, steel and glass- still is, for that matter- and that is one structure that will still be standing even if you gutted it. It's got a lot of other problems, though.  lw
L. Wakefield, owner and operator of the beastly truck Heretik, that refuses to stay between the lines when parking

RavioliKid

Glad to hear that no one was hurt, but I shudder to think of the economic implications for the area.

I really appreciate emergency responders! You folks are wonderful!

RavioliKid

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