FDNY: Breezy Point IC: 80 to 100 homes destroyed in wind driven Queens conflagration

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

FDNY: Breezy Point IC: 80 to 100 homes destroyed in wind driven Queens conflagration

More than 190 firefighters contained the blaze but were still putting out some pockets of fire more than nine hours after it erupted at the height of Hurricane Sandy, fighting winds, flooded streets and no water pressure as at least 80 homes destroyed in the wind driven Rockaway Queens conflagration.

FDNY Update: 6th Alarm. Breezy Point. Fire has been reduced to numerous smoldering foundation expanse Atlantic walk to Jamaica walk and Ocean Avenue to the promenade no searches have been conducted moving companies due to incoming tide approximately 50 homes destroyed, 50 homes completely gone 10 homes still actively burning.

Note: FDNY's response matrix. A 5th alarm is 20 Engines, 11 Ladders, 5 Battalion chiefs, and 1 District Commander. There isn’t even a 6th Alarm on their matrix.

Far Rockaway, Queens, NY. The destruction is devastating

NEW YORK (AP) — A huge fire destroyed 80 to 100 houses in a flooded beachfront neighborhood Tuesday, forcing firefighters to undertake daring rescues and injuring three people.

More than 190 firefighters contained the blaze but were still putting out some pockets of fire more than nine hours after it erupted.

As daylight broke, neighbors walked around aimlessly through their smoke-filled Breezy Point neighborhood, which sits on the Rockaway peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. Electrical wires dangled within feet of the street.

Officials said the fire was reported around 11 p.m. Monday in an area flooded by the superstorm that began sweeping through the city earlier.

Firefighters told WABC-TV that the water was chest high on the street, and they had to use a boat to make rescues. They said in one apartment home, about 25 people were trapped in an upstairs unit, and the two-story home next door was ablaze and setting fire to the apartment's roof. Firefighters climbed an awning to get to the trapped people and took them downstairs to a boat in the street.

Video footage of the scene showed a hellish swath of tightly packed homes fully engulfed in orange flames as firefighters hauled hoses while sloshing in ankle-high water. Many homes appeared completely flattened by the wind-whipped flames.

Injuries: One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was taken to a hospital. Two civilians suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
CFN - California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Tuesday, October 30, 2012