Faces of Fire: Fire sprinkler battle highlights massive house fire featured in Faces of Fire

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Faces of Fire: Fire sprinkler battle highlights massive house fire featured in Faces of Fire

Massive fire at Meadowood Ct. in Loudon, VA changed four firefighters' lives forever

CBS-DC recently ran a story about the raging home fire sprinkler debate between the contractors who build the homes and firefighters who say they (new homes) are akin to living in a matchbox.

Documenting the “extensive urban sprawl” where “homes are being constructed at a blinding pace to keep up with the increasing number of people moving into the D.C. region,” the report highlights the threats of lightweight construction as a major safety hazard, and features a massive 2008 fire on Meadowood Court in Loudon County “as a prime example of the dangers lurking behind the walls of these homes.”

This fire was featured in one of our Faces of Fire stories, told by the fire’s commander Chief W. Keith Brower, Jr. “When the mayday was called, I was approximately seven to eight miles out, and my heart stopped,” Brower says. “It literally froze me. It was chilling.”

A video released by Loudon County documents the fire minute by minute. Three minutes after firefighters arrived, Capt. Micah Kiger led his men into the burning home and up the stairs to the fire. Just three minutes later, a flashover occurred. This fire changed their lives forever. “(It) actually trapped us,” said Kiger. “It was basically your worst nightmare hearing the other people scream that were burning up.”

Video: Investigative Report into the Meadowood Court Fire, Loudoun County, VA

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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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.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Wednesday, June 5, 2013