Historic Farm House Burns

At 12:11 PM, on January 13, Task Force 69 was dispatched for a dwelling fire on the 700 block of Warwick Road. While responding, 69101 received reports of a large 3-story dwelling with smoke showing from the first and second floors, and possible people trapped. Once on location 6910 quickly confirmed that all occupants were out of the dwelling. An Initial attack was order in Division “D”, but due to the heavy storage known to exist on all three floors, and the pre-existing condition of the dwelling, interior access was extremely difficult. The first attack crew was quickly driven back from the dwelling, and 6910 ordered a defensive attack only. At the ten-minute mark heavy fire was reported in Divisions “A” & “D”, on floors one and two, with extension to the 3rd floor and roof. Ladder 82 went in service with master streams, and crews from Stations 691, 29, 65, 64, and 60 operated hand lines in both divisions. 6910 ordered the “all hands” which brought Quint 75 as the RIC Unit, FM691, Rehab 13, and the County Fire Police. BLS Units 64 and 29 provided EMS assistance, and Squad 272 and Ladder 32 provided a cover from Station 691. During the blaze the family dog was rescued and one firefighter was injured. Both the firefighter and dog are doing fine. The fire was placed under control at 12:59 hrs.

The dwelling was built in the mid 1700’s, and is the largest residential property in Hi-Nella. Over the years Station 691 personnel preplanned and studied the property many times. The overall knowledge of the layout, contents, and condition of the property was a major contributing factor to the successful fire ground operations.