Station Night Club Fire

Comment

Comment byFrank Riccion April 21, 2008 at 8:56pm

Barry,
Yes these points and mistakes have all been made before. The sad thing is the fire service is still making the same mistakes. I use this film in recruit training classes to help them from making the same mistakes over again. It is rare to have a film that is quick and can show so much that you can back up with pratical training,
Be Safe,

Comment byMike Walkeron April 5, 2008 at 12:43pm

After a second viewing:

Since this was only a 2 person Engine their options were very limited and I don't mean to airchair quaterback, but the 1st line pulled was an 1 3/4". The brother needed some help and needed a bigger line.

想象一下,你把这一切;的injured persons, you don't have enough people to make a dent on the fire, what do you do?
With the advantage of 20/20 hind sight, I'm thinking Triage becomes the priority. Unfortunately the people still inside have little to no chance.

Talk about hell on earth.

Comment byMike Walkeron April 5, 2008 at 12:29pm

To the brothers who made this one, God bless ya! It doesn't get much worse then that one.

Teaching Points I saw after one view:

1. Reading Smoke
2. Time to ignition to total involvement (Around 6:20)
3. Mass casualty
4. Crowd control
5. Code issues out tha wazoo
6. and from David's remarks: the importance of staffing, Mutual-Aid, Automatic-Aid, Public Education, Bouncer IQ tests....

Though it is gruesome to watch, unfortunately we learn from tragedies or fortunately we hopefully learn from them.

Comment byDavid Arnoldon April 5, 2008 at 11:33am

In regards to what Brian said, remember the West Warwick Fire Dept. only had a 2 man Engine Company on scene first. Also the bouncer would not allow anyone to exit through the door near the stage. And we cannot ask him why because he died in the fire. This fire was a wake up call to the fire service in RI especially. The fire code was completely redone and reinspections of all places of assembly was made manitory. I do agree playing the "what if" game can make the crews stop and think how would they handle a situation like this, fire as well as EMS triage.

Comment byBrian Arnoldon April 4, 2008 at 10:43pm

Barry,
There are a bunch of training points to bring out from this tragedy. Look at the fuel loading in the bar, how long did it take to reach flashover, smoke generation in a short time, points of egress for the patrons, notice how most tried to go out where they came in and another exit went virtually unused. Note the occupancy at the time of the fire and compare it to some of your own local establishments. Play the "what if" game with members of your crew and talk about how you would approach something like this. Hose line placement and GPM flow of the first line, ventilation concerns and how it would benefit or hinder the rescue effort, building construction and how it contributed to the fire, traffic control, EMS concerns, etc. You could easily spin this 10 min. video into a 4 hr class going in a multitude of directions. We don't get too many videos of fatality fires from the start of the fire and usually have to rely on witness accounts or rebuild the scene in our own minds. Neither of which are as reliable as the video.
Hope that helps a bit.....take care brother.

Comment byRichard Kelleyon April 3, 2008 at 9:10am

This video is incredible. I had so many emotions going and I wanted to jump in and help. The feeling of helplessness makes me sick. God rest their souls.