Re: A Sad Day In Cincinnati, OH

"John A. Weeks III" <john@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:john-52EF63.13355407042008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In article <47fa5b47$0$24091$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>  "Joyce" <jahs68nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> > "John A. Weeks III" <john@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> > news:john-27DEEF.16280005042008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > In article <47f7cc73$0$6480$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> > >  "Joyce" <jahs68nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > But their best efforts were in vain. Two of their own, 37-year-old
Capt.
> > > > Robin Broxterman and 29-year-old Firefighter Brian Schira, died in
a
> > Friday
> > > > morning house fire. Investigators attributed their deaths to “a
> > catastrophic
> > > > structural failure” that trapped them inside the house.
> > >
> > > Most firefighter deaths are purely dumb mistakes.  In this case,
> > > the occupants were out of the house before the fire company arrived.
> > > There was no need to send anyone into that fire.  All they needed
> > > to do was sit back and roast some weenies and make sure the fire
> > > did not spread.  Sending those two men in was stupid, and it put
> > > far more firefighters at risk trying to rescue their corpses.
> > >
> > > -john-
> >
> >
> >
> > In this situation the first engine on the scene had NO idea that the
> > occupants had evacuated.  An automatic alarm had notified the fire
> > department, but the residents were at a neighbor's house calling 911
when
> > the fire engine arrived.  Nobody was there to give the firefighters
any
> > information.  It was 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning, so it was thought
that
> > people might still be asleep in the house.
>
> Communications is the key.
>
> 911 operator - is anyone in the house?
> 911 caller - no, we are all out
> 911 operator - calling truck #1, all the occupants are out of the house
> truck #1 - roger
>
> See?  I just saved 2 lives without even getting out of my chair.
>
> -john-
>


I know what you are saying, and it makes sense in a perfect world.  I
guess
these firefighters were too fast, and 911 was too slow.  I don't know.
There was either a breakdown in communication or total non-communication
somewhere.  This is from an article in Saturday's Cincinnati Enquirer:

"Called to the two-story house about 6:10 a.m., Broxterman re****ted at
6:24
a.m. that she had arrived, according to dispatch tapes. It's unclear from
the audio recordings whether she knew the homeowner had said everyone was
evacuating.

Broxterman and Schira put on gear that's supposed to withstand
1,200-degree
heat and strapped air tanks on their backs - 50 to 60 pounds of equipment
in
all. Unaware how long the basement fire had been burning or how hot it had
gotten, they went in. Within minutes, after they said several times they
were ready for water to be pumped inside, there was no more contact from
them. Their colleagues called a "mayday" at 6:39 a.m."