Multiple House Fires when a so called controlled burn was not controllled.

3

3CATSAILOR

Well-Known Member
Not long after an elevated fire danger from dry wind, someone decided to have a "controlled burn". So much for being controlled. Of course everything was still quite dry. The fire spread. Based on the pictures and the report in the news it looks like multiple homes caught on fire. The picture is only one of many. I hope someone has good insurance. My heart goes out to the poor people that lost their homes because of such recklessness.







Photo by Seventh District VFD
On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at approximately 1:35 p.m., firefighters from Seventh District, Leonardtown, Hollywood, Mechanicsville, and Valley Lee responded to 37434 River Springs Road in Avenue, for the reported house on fire.
Crews arrived on the scene to find fire showing from a 2-story single family dwelling and upon further investigation, an attached garage was found fully engulfed to the rear or the residence.
Firefighters continue to operate on the scene as of 3:00 p.m., and brought the fire under control in approximately 45 minutes.
A working fire task force was dispatched which alerted additional firefighters from Bay District, Ridge, and Charles County.
While working on this incident, St. Mary’s 911 Center received multiple calls reporting black smoke in the area of Cartwright Road and Megan Lane in Leonardtown and a short time later, a 911 caller reported a controlled burn got out of control and needed assistance.
Firefighters from NAS Patuxent River, Bay District, Solomons, Leonardtown, Ridge, and Hollywood responded and located a large debris pile on fire and spreading to the nearby overgrown area.
Maryland Forestry has been requested to the scene to provide heavy machinery due to the size of the debris pile. Crews continue to operate on the scene as of 3:00 p.m., and are utilizing a nearby pond for water supply operations.
Some photos courtesy of the Mechanicsville VFD, and Seventh District VFD. Updates will be provided when they become available.
SMECO and the Maryland State Fire Marshal is responding to the structure fire in Avenue. No known injuries have been reported in either incidents.
American Red Cross has been requested for one adult male.
 
Sneakers

Sneakers

Just sneakin' around....
Last week there were two side-by-side stories, I think in SoMD News Net ,one for a severe fire potential, and another for a controlled burn. And I thought to myself how stupid to attempt a controlled burn in these conditions.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
More to the story. The residence that burned is directly across the street from the address in the report. The owner was working out behind the house and didn't even know that his house was on fire and that the fire had already been called in. Had to have his arm twisted multiple times before he was convinced he needed to pull his Mustang out of that garage.

7D VFD couldn't manage to fight the fire. Hollywood, Mech'ville and 2D responded...it was a clusterfawk and they created a chaotic apparatus traffic jam in our club parking lot at the bottom of the hill. No water was moving until after the house was already totally involved and a total loss.
 
T

tipsymcgee

Active Member
side question - are fire trucks equipped to be able to just pull from the river in these types of waterfront places or do they still need to hook to a water source. Seems I remember the boats doing testing/maintenance while overboard and just spraying and figured it was just a suction hose put overboard.
 
3

3CATSAILOR

Well-Known Member
tipsymcgee said:
side question - are fire trucks equipped to be able to just pull from the river in these types of waterfront places or do they still need to hook to a water source. Seems I remember the boats doing testing/maintenance while overboard and just spraying and figured it was just a suction hose put overboard.
Click to expand...
They can draw water from ponds, creeks, etc. Salt water isn't the best. But, it could be used so long as everything it went through has been cleaned out with fresh water. Normally Fire Depts. will call for tanker trucks. They did in this case.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
tipsymcgee said:
side question - are fire trucks equipped to be able to just pull from the river in these types of waterfront places or do they still need to hook to a water source. Seems I remember the boats doing testing/maintenance while overboard and just spraying and figured it was just a suction hose put overboard.
Click to expand...
7D had a water truck that's only purpose in life was to park next any water source and pump water to the other apparati... It had a huge hose reel that was powered by a small diesel engine just to move hose on or off the reel and a massive water pump running off engine PTO to actually move the water.
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
tipsymcgee said:
side question - are fire trucks equipped to be able to just pull from the river in these types of waterfront places or do they still need to hook to a water source. Seems I remember the boats doing testing/maintenance while overboard and just spraying and figured it was just a suction hose put overboard.
Click to expand...
Short answer is yes. If they need to do it regularly they will equipped with a bronze pump with monel shaft. If not it isn't that big of a deal as long as they drain the tank and flush the pump with fresh water for about 15 minutes.
 
TPD

TPD

the poor dad
Gilligan said:
7D VFD couldn't manage to fight the fire. Hollywood, Mech'ville and 2D responded...it was a clusterfawk and they created a chaotic apparatus traffic jam in our club parking lot at the bottom of the hill. No water was moving until after the house was already totally involved and a total loss.
Click to expand...
are you suggesting the fire departments have too much equipment and not enough know-how?
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
TPD said:
are you suggesting the fire departments have too much equipment and not enough know-how?
Click to expand...
I stood by and watched our beautifully restored 1860s house burn clean to the ground while 2D idiots fumbled around with every large unit they brought to the scene, and couldn't put out more water from a single hose than I coulda pissed. They saved the concrete steps and the concrete porch slab.

But no..I'm not suggesting that.

And then that POS Todd Morgan decided they just needed an 18 million dollar firehouse and everything would be all better. So they have it,. And still couldn't put out a bonfire in Crowders back yard.
 
TPD

TPD

the poor dad
Gilligan said:
I stood by and watched our beautifully restored 1860s house burn clean to the ground while 2D idiots fumbled around with every large unit they brought to the scene, and couldn't put out more water from a single hose than I coulda pissed. They saved the concrete steps and the concrete porch slab.

But no..I'm not suggesting that.
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Concrete is expensive so glad they were able to save that...
 
TPD

TPD

the poor dad
Gilligan said:
Justin Browne hauled that away with the rest of the debris...
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But that is such a great material to put along the shoreline for erosion control. If not for the old concrete my father hauled away from a job site at Pax River in the 80s, our farm would be much smaller.
 
Tech

Tech

Well-Known Member
Ken King said:
Short answer is yes. If they need to do it regularly they will equipped with a bronze pump with monel shaft. If not it isn't that big of a deal as long as they drain the tank and flush the pump with fresh water for about 15 minutes.
Click to expand...
Plus they need access to a suitable drafting site.
 
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