By: Deputy Chief William Shouldis
This is the story of a captain and the importance of fireground safety.
Ladder Co.#07 was dispatched to the Carlyle Hotel for a fire in the middle of the night. As the unit turned from its Girard Avenue fire station, members could see a large smoke plume in the distance. While Ladder Co. #07 was still en route, the first-due engine company arrived on location.
The captain of Ladder Co.#07 listened to the brief initial report (BIR): Fire was venting from the first floor and smoke conditions were severe on the upper floors.
The initial incident commander gave clear and concise assignments to all first-alarm units. The fireground was geographically and functionally divided. Ladder Co. #07 was given the rear of structure (Side “C”) and told to begin search and rescue activities. The captain recognized the immediate needs. He ordered straight and extension ladders to windows on all levels. Once all the visibly trapped occupants were removed, the captain led a primary search of the upper floors. During the search, the captain noticed that there were no doors on the hotel rooms–only curtains, for privacy. This was not a “honorable” hotel; it was a hangout for drug addicts and prostitutes.
Continuing the search, the captain noticed a red glow coming from the exposures on Side “D”. With smoke rising from the first floor, the captain could not ascertain the extent of the problem. He decided to assess the conditions by climbing out a second-floor window onto a porch roof. Once on the exterior porch roof, he determined that the fire did not spread to the nearby exposure-it was only the reflection of flames venting from the top floor of the Carlyle Hotel. The fire was now on the fourth floor of the Carlyle.
In his haste to relay this vital information to the IC, the captain stood inside the collapse zone on the porch roof to give a progress report. After completing the verbal report and requesting assistance, the captain turned to reenter the structure when the cornice and wall fell. The curtain-type collapse was quick. The captain said that he “did not hear or see any danger signs.” The first indicator of trouble was falling bricks striking him. The captain told how the heat from the hot bricks burned his buried legs, how the sounds from the radio transmissions were clear: A responder was trapped–and the “Mayday” was himself!
The captain was removed from the debris field and treated. He claimed to have pain in his shoulder area, but the ambulance personnel immobilized his spine using a cervical collar. The drive to the hospital was slow and annoying to the captain. At the hospital, the emergency room staff began the painstaking process of identifying his injuries. In addition to bruises and cuts, an MRI revealed the most serious injury: a fracture to the C-5 and C-6 vertebrae. Immobilization became the highest priority. The captain was told not to move. Today, the captain still tells how he was “afraid to breathe” for fear of paralysis.
This fireground story has a happy ending. After 14 months of healing, treatment, and rehab, the captain was able to return to full active duty. Certainly, the dangers of rapid fire spread and the importance of proper search and rescue procedures, maintaining a safe corridor in which to operate, and proper pre-hospital emergency care are “universal” lessons learned from the Carlyle Hotel fire. However, the most important lesson of all was the one the captain learned about the dangers of violating the rules of the collapse zone.
I should know. I was that captain of Ladder Company #07 on May 26, 1985.
William Shouldis is a deputy chief with the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department, where he has served for more than 29 years. He is an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy’s resident and field programs, teaching courses in fireground operations, health and safety, and prevention. Shouldis has a bachelor’s degree in fire science administration and a master’s degree in public safety. He is a member of the Fire Engineering editorial advisory board and a frequent FDIC speaker.
