A CBS News 11 report looked an internal documents regarding a 2013 apartment fire that killed a Dallas (TX) firefighter.
The report suggested there was was confusion, flawed communications, and a sense that things were getting out of control at a 2013 apartment fire that killed Dallas firefighter Stan Wilson.
Firefighting News: ATF Investigating Fire That Killed Dallas Firefighter
Internal documents and an audiotape obtained exclusively by the CBS 11 I-Team gave a detailed look at the fire scene. Wilson, a 28-year-old veteran of Dallas Fire and Rescue, died May 20 when the burning building collapsed on him as he and fellow firefighters searched one last time for anyone still inside.
The news investigation found that the search came more than two hours after the fire had started, and that powerful aerial ladder pipes were, at the time, continuing to pound water onto the top of the building.
Structural Collapse Under Fire Conditions
Firefighting experts told CBS 11 those “master streams” should have been turned off because of the risk of a collapse–a risk that became even greater because the fire had been going on for more than two hours when Wilson and other firefighters went inside.
Read more and see video at http://cbsloc.al/1eiII94
For more training-related information on fireground communication, consider IMPROVING FIREGROUND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS, Preventing RIC Radio Chaos: The 3/3 Option, and USFA and IAFF release Voice Radio Communications Guide for the Fire Service.
For more on search and other firefighting considerations, consider RESIDENTIAL SEARCH AND RESCUE:reordering priorities, Firefighter Survival: On the Line: Crawl Before You Walk, and Five Skills to Practice Before Your Mayday.
