Latest

December 1, 2014

Worker Pinned in a Collapse; SOC Operations at Queens Box 3180

Author’s Note: This account is written from the perspective of the members of the first Special Operations Command (SOC) unit on-scene (Squad 288). While the intent is to convey a general impression of overall operations, it focuses on the operations of SOC companies, in general, and Squad 288, in particular. It is recognized that many […]

December 1, 2014

Queens Excavation Collapse with Pinned Worker Successfully Mitigated by FDNY

On the afternoon of June 18, 2013, FDNY units were called to the scene of a reported trench cave-in in the Kew Gardens section of Queens. A laborer, who had been working in the excavation, in conjunction with a heavy equipment operator operating an excavator, had been caught in the cave-in. The site excavation had […]

December 1, 2014

Chief in Quarters!

Chief in quarters! Not so long ago, these three words created more tension and apprehension than could be imagined. In an attempt to promptly reach the housewatch area, Firefighters would jump down pole-holes and run into each other on the apparatus floor. Icy-cold chills would run up and down the backs of newly promoted Lieutenants, […]

December 1, 2014

You Have a Fire in a What? Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs)

It’s approximately 0200 hours when you receive a Class 3 alarm for a three-story retail mall. En route, you receive a second source for smoke on the third floor. On arrival, the ladder Officer radios that he has heavy smoke in a restaurant on the third floor. As the Incident Commander (IC), you initially transmit […]

December 1, 2014

Class K Portable Fire Extinguishers — New Extinguishing Agent

There are tens of thousands of food establishments in New York City to feed the millions of people who live and visit the big apple each day. Cooking equipment long has been one of the leading causes of structure fires and, for the past 20 years, has surpassed heating equipment to become the number one […]

December 1, 2014

Collyers’ Mansion Conditions and Cockloft Fire Challenge FDNY

On Saturday, July 26, 2014, at 1105 hours, FDNY units were dispatched to a report of an electrical fire in an apartment on the fourth floor of a six-story, non-fireproof, multiple dwelling, with a lobby built slightly below-grade. Initial response was quick, with two engines, a ladder and a Battalion arriving simultaneously. (Engine 262, Ladder […]

December 1, 2014

Role of FDOC at Manhattan Box 55-1406

The Fire Department Operations Center (FDOC) provides real-time information to support Incident Commanders responding to an event. It also informs senior executives who will make decisions in support of the Department’s response. In the first five minutes of an incident, FDOC posts maps, cached photographs, building information and a size-up. Provided by FDOC are before […]

December 1, 2014

Worker Pinned in a Collapse; SOC Operations at Queens Box 3180

Author’s Note: This account is written from the perspective of the members of the first Special Operations Command (SOC) unit on-scene (Squad 288). While the intent is to convey a general impression of overall operations, it focuses on the operations of SOC companies, in general, and Squad 288, in particular. It is recognized that many […]

December 1, 2014

Queens Excavation Collapse with Pinned Worker Successfully Mitigated by FDNY

On the afternoon of June 18, 2013, FDNY units were called to the scene of a reported trench cave-in in the Kew Gardens section of Queens. A laborer, who had been working in the excavation, in conjunction with a heavy equipment operator operating an excavator, had been caught in the cave-in. The site excavation had […]

December 1, 2014

Chief in Quarters!

Chief in quarters! Not so long ago, these three words created more tension and apprehension than could be imagined. In an attempt to promptly reach the housewatch area, Firefighters would jump down pole-holes and run into each other on the apparatus floor. Icy-cold chills would run up and down the backs of newly promoted Lieutenants, […]

December 1, 2014

You Have a Fire in a What? Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs)

It’s approximately 0200 hours when you receive a Class 3 alarm for a three-story retail mall. En route, you receive a second source for smoke on the third floor. On arrival, the ladder Officer radios that he has heavy smoke in a restaurant on the third floor. As the Incident Commander (IC), you initially transmit […]

December 1, 2014

Class K Portable Fire Extinguishers — New Extinguishing Agent

There are tens of thousands of food establishments in New York City to feed the millions of people who live and visit the big apple each day. Cooking equipment long has been one of the leading causes of structure fires and, for the past 20 years, has surpassed heating equipment to become the number one […]

December 1, 2014

Collyers’ Mansion Conditions and Cockloft Fire Challenge FDNY

On Saturday, July 26, 2014, at 1105 hours, FDNY units were dispatched to a report of an electrical fire in an apartment on the fourth floor of a six-story, non-fireproof, multiple dwelling, with a lobby built slightly below-grade. Initial response was quick, with two engines, a ladder and a Battalion arriving simultaneously. (Engine 262, Ladder […]

December 1, 2014

Role of FDOC at Manhattan Box 55-1406

The Fire Department Operations Center (FDOC) provides real-time information to support Incident Commanders responding to an event. It also informs senior executives who will make decisions in support of the Department’s response. In the first five minutes of an incident, FDOC posts maps, cached photographs, building information and a size-up. Provided by FDOC are before […]