NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 73

The building and its contents, with a
collective value estimated at $500,000,
were a total loss.

WASHINGTON
Outdoor burn pile fire spreads to
house and claims life of resident
An early morning house fire claimed
the life of a male resident and caused
injuries to another person.
Transcripts of calls reporting the fire
described a chaotic scene, with explosions, a downed power line, trees on
fire, and a large fire that threatened
other residences. Callers indicated that
the occupant of the burning structure
was likely to have been home.
Firefighters reached the scene 10
minutes after the 2:46 a.m. dispatch
and reported that the residence was
fully involved with fire. Due to the
downed power line and the explosion
potential of liquefied petroleum gas
cylinders at nearby residences, crews
maintained a safe defensive posture
while attacking the fire from three
sides, seeking to control the fire's
further spread and to protect other
exposures.
Crews deployed two hoses in their
initial attack until a water tender
reached the scene and allowed them
to deploy an additional line for extinguishment. Maintaining their defensive
attack, crews brought the fire under
control approximately 45 minutes after
arrival. Crews began conducting overhaul operations and requested medical
assistance for a female who suffered
minor burn injuries.
Shortly after 5 a.m., crews confirmed
that they had found the body of the
male resident.
Newspaper reports indicated that
the injured female and another person
wspread to the victim's residence.
Nearby residents who heard an explosion and saw the fire were reportedly
unable to enter the home due to the
fire's intensity.
The residence was described as a
one- or two-family home, but no information was available on its dimensions
or damage estimates. Photographs of
the fire scene indicated that the house
was a total loss.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Cigarette, home oxygen, and hoarding
conditions result in fatal fire
Firefighters were dispatched to a residential structure fire following a 911
call by an occupant just after 10 p.m.
While on route, crews were alerted that
two occupants inside the residence
were incapable of self-rescue. A request
was made for mutual aid assistance
and for an ambulance to report to the
scene.
Upon arrival, crews reported heavy
smoke showing from the second floor
of a two-story duplex. Crews entered
the house with a hose line and located
a male resident who had a mobility
disability on the first floor. While
two police officers assumed responsibility for extricating the resident,
the engine crew stretched a charged
hose up the stairs to the second floor.
A second engine company arrived to
assist with extinguishment, search, and
ventilation.
Inside the house, crews reported zero
visibility, with black smoke banked
down to floor level and hot but tenable
temperatures. Crews were additionally
hindered by hoarding conditions inside
the home. Using a thermal imaging
camera, crews located and knocked
down a fire in the second-floor bedroom, then found a female occupant
in the room and carried her down the
stairs and out the front door.
Crews began performing CPR on
the female victim until a medical crew
arrived to assume patient care. Medics
were unable to resuscitate the victim,
who succumbed to smoke inhalation
injuries. A second ambulance arrived to
transport the male resident to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Crews inside the residence continued to search the second floor while
performing horizontal ventilation
and using a handline to extinguish
remaining hotspots. After completing
extinguishment, crews performed minimal overhaul in order to preserve the
scene for investigators.
Investigators determined that the
fire began on the second floor when
the female resident ignited her clothing
with a lit cigarette while using oxygen.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017
