29-13 Dwelling Fire and Partial Roof Collapse
10 February 2010 - Members of Company 28 had a busy morning on February 10 fighting the weather, trying to navigate the hazardous road conditions, and dealing with several medical calls in one of the most significant snowstorms in history. Crews were recovering from an earlier medical call when the tones were sounded for a dwelling fire in 29's first due area. Engines 282 and 283, Truck 28 and Utility 28 responded on the call with a total of 17 personnel.
Engine 211 arrived on location to find a one-story mobile home with heavy fire showing. After confirming that all residents were out of the home, defensive operations were employed. E283 arrived and aided in protecting the closest home with an attack line. E282 and Truck 28 took a position on the opposite side of the building and, after gaining access to the lot by cutting a wooden fence, began to knock the fire down. Crews worked for 45 minutes in snow above their knees to get the fire under control.
After the fire was placed under control, a resident of the neighborhood approached firefighters from Company 28 to express concern about a citizen that was trapped in her home due to a partial roof collapse. The crew from E282 checked into the report and found a dwelling with the front porch awning that had collapsed preventing the resident from exiting her home. The resident also expressed concern about the amount of snow on her roof, stating that she thought her roof might cave in. Crews from E282 and Truck 28 quickly went to work to remove the snow from the roof and cut down the collapsed awning, working in blizzard conditions.
It took members 40 minutes to complete the work and allow the resident to vacate her home. After a quick inspection of the home, the county building inspector was called. The home was suffering from extreme snow loading and was not inhabitable any longer. Crews from Company 28 returned to service after 3 1/2 hours of work between the two incidents.
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