| Smoke Detector Information Presented By The Barre City Fire Department |
| I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n O f F i r e F i g h t e r s L o c a l # 8 8 1 T h e B a r r e C i t y F i r e D e p a r t m e n t 15 Fourth St. Barre Vt. 05641 (802) 476-0254 Copyright © 2006-2010 All Rights Reserved. |
| Recent Emergency Calls / Case Studies |
| Since we became aware of the differences between the two types of smoke detectors on the market, and have become familiar with their limitations, we have had several incidents where we have “seen it with our own eyes”. This page is dedicated to telling you those “real” incidents that we have had. If you have had your own, please share them with us so we may post them here as well. Lt. Ashe |
| JUNE 04, 2006 At 0751 we received a call from dispatch advising the fire alarm at a 12 story apartment building had activated. We initiated a normal response for us, an Engine with two men and a Tower with one man. Call back procedures were used. When we arrived on scene, I noted there was nothing showing from the outside. In the lobby, the enunciator panel indicated a sprinkler alarm on the 10th floor. We rode the elevator to the 8th floor and walked to the 10th. On the fire floor, we noted a very faint smell of smoke, almost electrical in nature. We were thinking a ballast. We began to go door to door searching for the problem. As we approached the fire room, water began to pour from under the door and we could hear a loud hissing sound. When we opened the door, we found thick black smoke in the apartment, which made it impossible to see to the windows. The hissing sound was the water coming from a sprinkler head in the bathroom. The smoke detector in the apartment was not activated. Entering the room required the use of breathing apparatus, yet the detector was not sounding. This fire began in a bathroom vent. The motor over heated, causing the fan blade to melt and drop into a trash can. The can smoldered for sometime before breaking into flames. At this point, the sprinkler head in the bathroom popped and the fire was extinguished. This apartment was unoccupied at the time of the fire. However, if it was occupied and the occupants were asleep, it is likely they would have perished. This apartment had an ionization smoke alarm in it that was found to be working at the time we were there. |
| JUNE 13, 2007 At 2011, we were advised of a fire alarm going off at a downtown apartment complex. I felt this was odd, as this building was tied into our municipal fire alarm system and this box did not ring in. We had just returned from another fire call and so our initial response was more than normal, two engines and a truck. As we were turning the corner and approaching the building, dispatch advised us they were receiving multiple calls of a fire on the second floor. As they said that, I could see smoke coming from a second story window. At this point, the alarm was upgraded one alarm. Myself and another firefighter entered the building and made our way to the second floor with a water can and hand tools. Crews were stretching a hand line behind us. On the second floor, there was no smoke in the hall way and the buildings alarm system was not sounding. While searching for the fire room, we walked right by the door and didn't know it. An occupant from a near by apartment told us which room it was. The door was locked and so we took it, while maintaining control of it, as we only had 2 ½ gallons of water at this point. When the door opened, we were met with thick black smoke that was less than a foot from the floor. I looked in and could see a small fire on a far wall. I was able to quickly knock it down with the can. At this point, the alarm system still had not activated. The other firefighter entered the room and began to ventilate. At about this time, the alarm system did activate. This fire began from careless disposal of cigarettes into a trash can. The can smoldered for some time and broke out into open flame. There was a table over the can which helped to contain the fire. The smoke was very thick. The apartment was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The building is protected by ionization type smoke alarms that were found to be working at the time we were there. |
| DECEMBER 03, 2006 At 1842, a box rang into the station for a downtown apartment complex. A normal response was initiated. Before leaving the station, dispatch advised they were receiving calls reporting a fire in the building. At this point, the alarm was upgraded one alarm. Upon arriving on scene, there was nothing showing from the outside. The buildings alarm was activated and water was visibly splashing against a second story window from the inside. Once on the second floor, smoke was noticed in the hall way. The door to the fire room was opened and the apartment was charged with thick smoke. The sprinkler system had activated in the room. The smoke alarm in the apartment was not sounding. (This alarm was new since the last fire in this building) No fire was visible. It was later determined that careless disposal of cigarette butts into a trash can caused a smoldering fire, eventually erupting into a flaming fire which caused the sprinkler head in the apartment to pop, extinguishing the fire. The buildings alarm system and the box was activated when the sprinkler head popped, not because of the smoke alarm. The building has ionization smoke alarms that were tested by us and found to be working. |
| JANUARY 01, 2007 At 0422, we were called for a report of smoke in an apartment. A normal response of one Truck and one Engine responded. Once on scene, found nothing showing from the outside. As we approached the apartment, we were met by an occupant at the door bringing out material that was smoking heavily. When we entered the apartment, we found a trash can melted to the floor still smoking. The fire was extinguished quickly. The apartment had working ionization smoke alarms and they were not sounding. The apartment was full of people, some children. The smoke was noticed by chance. We tested the detectors before leaving the scene, and they all tested fine. |
| FEBRUARY 03, 2007 At 1449, we received a call from a local motel reporting the lobby was filling up with smoke. A normal response of one Truck and One Engine responded. While responded, an off duty Lieutenant arrived on scene and advised the lobby was full of smoke and that it smelled like wood burning. At this point, the alarm was upgraded one alarm. We arrived on scene with nothing showing from the outside, but the lobby was heavily charged with smoke. No alarm was sounding. The lone employee advised me the apartments were occupied. I found the nearest pull station, and activated the alarm myself. This fire was caused by a burned out motor in a furnace downstairs. The smoke was contained to the unit and came out thru the vents in the lobby. There were no injuries and no damage. The lobby had so much smoke in it that I couldn’t see across to the windows on the other side, yet no smoke detectors had activated. This motel is protected with ionization smoke alarms, which were working at the time we were there. |
| THE SIMPLE MESSAGE PHOTOELECTRIC AND IONIZATION SMOKE ALARMS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS, LOCATED IN THE PROPER LOCATIONS, IS THE BEST EARLY WARNING PROTECTION YOU CAN AFFORD YOUR FAMILY. YOU NEED TIME TO GET YOUR FAMILY OUT. YOU NEED BOTH. |
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| Firefighter Matthew J. Cetin & Deputy Chief Russell Ashe Mcetin@BarreCityFire.org Rashe@BarreCityFire.org |