The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District (SHFAD) responded to a call of a structure fire in the 28000 block of Marks Ridge Road at 6:14 p.m. on Sept. 28.
According to a press release from the SHFAD, the initial caller reported they saw gray smoke coming from the roof of a home. Just one minute later [6:15 p.m.] SHFAD was dispatched to a different location for a choking call.
The simultaneous calls meant there was not a full crew to staff the first-due engine company. This made it so arriving crews, on the house fire, could not make entry until a second fire unit, staffed by two volunteers arrived. This didn’t happen until over half an hour later at 6:58 p.m.
According to the press release, firefighters cannot make entry into a burning building until a minimum of four personnel are on scene. There is an exception to this rule, as if a victim is inside and requires rescue, crews are allowed to make entry. The incident commander, with the help of bystanders, was able to contact the occupant who was not at home and confirmed there was no one else inside.
Due to the unrelenting force of the fire and the lack of available crews, SHFAD implemented their second alarm. This brought crews from Lebanon Fire, Brownsville Fire and Halsey Fire. This was not enough, as crews continued to be hampered by extreme heat inside the structure as a result of an inability to effectively ventilate. The structure, built in 1932, had a layer of tongue and groove wood in the ceilings on each level of the two story house; which also had a basement. This construction made the firefight extremely labor-intensive.
This required the district to implement the third alarm, requesting more manpower to aid the firefighters who already utilized multiple breathing air cylinders. The third alarm assignments brought crews from Mohawk Valley. Medic units from both Lebanon Fire and Albany fire also moved up to cover ambulance calls in the area.
Originally, responders decided on an offensive interior attack. But after dealing with challenging building construction obstacles crews needed to transition to a defensive exterior attack for the safety of the firefighters on-scene. According to the press release, this transition took a significant amount of heat out of the building, allowing crews to move back to an offensive attack to overhaul the structure.
This fire was located in a rural area which was unhydrated requiring mutual aid water tenders who were a part of the second and third alarm. Overall, there were 16 fire apparatus on scene carrying a total of 31 personnel.
As there was no one in the building, no injuries were reported. Although one firefighter was evaluated by medics at the scene, they did not require transport to the hospital. The home sustained heavy fire damage to the second story and water damage to the first story and basement. It is believed the fire started in a storage area behind a knee wall on the second story. Heavy fire damage in that area, as well as damage inherent to firefighting efforts left investigators unable to determine the cause.
The press release concluded as follows. This fire is a reminder of how critical volunteer firefighters are to our community. We would like to encourage anyone interested in firefighting to apply for a volunteer position with their local fire department.