Abu Ghraib: Day 65
It was hovering around 130 degrees yesterday afternoon.
"Fire Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, this is FC... we've got a column of smoke coming from the area of the KBR laundry.."
And just like that, we had our first fire.
At 1218 yesterday afternoon, the entire department (Engines 901 and 902, Rescue 902, Tanker 901, and Car 901) rolled out to a report of smoke coming from the area where the Laundry is located. I was on Engine 901. We pulled along side of one of the buildings used by the Army as living quarters (one of the old prison buildings) and had fire showing out of a second floor window. I hopped out and flaked out the hoseline that my Lieutenant had pulled. Another firefighter had thrown a ladder on the side of the building. We heard rounds going off inside the building, so our Chief gave an order than no one enter the building until the fire was knocked back to the point that the rounds stopped going off. After the Lt. and I hit some of the fire from the ground through a window, I masked up, grabbed the line, and made my way up the ladder. I locked in and hit the fire in the window to my left. After a few seconds, it was knocked back. While I was looking through the window trying to see any flare-ups, my Chief shouted up to me that the fire was starting to come out of the window to my right. I lock my other leg in, and hit the fire in the other window. After knocking it back, I climbed back down to grab a tool and head up to the roof with the rest of my crew. We went to the skylights and pulled out any wood still left in order to ventilate the building. After ventilating the roof, Engine 902 made an interior attack from the other side of the building. While they were making the attack and we were finished on the roof, the Engine I was on drank some water and took a breather for about 5 minutes. After Engine 902 extinguished a majority of the remainder of the fire, we bottled back up and went inside to overhaul and check for any hidden fires or extension to other parts of the building.
The call couldn't have run any smoother. No military personnel were hurt, and we all went home afterwards. What was destroyed was destroyed before we got there, but we stopped the fire in it's tracks before it could take the remainder of the building (which considering the construction could have been a matter of minutes..). I feel bad for the guys who lost possessions in this fire. They're away from home in a war zone, and now they have lost letters, pictures, computers, and any other pieces of themselves that they brought with them. We've volunteered to help them out with any salvage or rebuilding or anything else they may need, but it's a damn shame.
"Fire Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, this is FC... we've got a column of smoke coming from the area of the KBR laundry.."
And just like that, we had our first fire.
At 1218 yesterday afternoon, the entire department (Engines 901 and 902, Rescue 902, Tanker 901, and Car 901) rolled out to a report of smoke coming from the area where the Laundry is located. I was on Engine 901. We pulled along side of one of the buildings used by the Army as living quarters (one of the old prison buildings) and had fire showing out of a second floor window. I hopped out and flaked out the hoseline that my Lieutenant had pulled. Another firefighter had thrown a ladder on the side of the building. We heard rounds going off inside the building, so our Chief gave an order than no one enter the building until the fire was knocked back to the point that the rounds stopped going off. After the Lt. and I hit some of the fire from the ground through a window, I masked up, grabbed the line, and made my way up the ladder. I locked in and hit the fire in the window to my left. After a few seconds, it was knocked back. While I was looking through the window trying to see any flare-ups, my Chief shouted up to me that the fire was starting to come out of the window to my right. I lock my other leg in, and hit the fire in the other window. After knocking it back, I climbed back down to grab a tool and head up to the roof with the rest of my crew. We went to the skylights and pulled out any wood still left in order to ventilate the building. After ventilating the roof, Engine 902 made an interior attack from the other side of the building. While they were making the attack and we were finished on the roof, the Engine I was on drank some water and took a breather for about 5 minutes. After Engine 902 extinguished a majority of the remainder of the fire, we bottled back up and went inside to overhaul and check for any hidden fires or extension to other parts of the building.
The call couldn't have run any smoother. No military personnel were hurt, and we all went home afterwards. What was destroyed was destroyed before we got there, but we stopped the fire in it's tracks before it could take the remainder of the building (which considering the construction could have been a matter of minutes..). I feel bad for the guys who lost possessions in this fire. They're away from home in a war zone, and now they have lost letters, pictures, computers, and any other pieces of themselves that they brought with them. We've volunteered to help them out with any salvage or rebuilding or anything else they may need, but it's a damn shame.