| At 01:09 Hours Station 4 was dispatched along with mutual aid from Station 3(Paoli), Station 5(East Whiteland) and Rescue 2(Berwyn) for RIT for a reported dwelling fire with possible entrapment in the 300 block of E King Street.
Shortly after dispatch Medic 4-1 signed on the air reporting smoke throughout the area, as the firehouse is mere blocks from the reported fire location.
Deputy 4(Gastwirth) responded and was advised that the Police were on location reporting a working fire with a subject trapped on the roof. At 01:13 hrs Deputy 4 arrived and confirmed a working fire and reported that one victim was trapped on the roof and that another victim was still inside the structure. He requested the working fire dispatch at 01:14 which re-alerted the initial companies and added an Engine from Station 2, Station 56(Goshen), Air/Light 52(Goodwill of WCFD) and a second RIT team out of 47(Lionville)
Ladder 4(Lt. Davis) responded at 01:15 with orders to set up on the Church Street side and to set up for the rescues. Ladder 4 arrived at 01:16 and crews went to work immediately. Firefighter Andrew Rychlak assisted Medic 4-1(McMullan) with removing a victim from the D-Side first floor stairs. Firefighter Rychlak then grabbed a ground ladder and along with Assistant 4A(Johnson) removed the second victim from the A-Side roof. It was later learned that the victim on the roof had actually jumped from a third floor window and landed on the second floor roof.
Chief 4(Wilkins) arrived at 01:17 and assumed King Street Command. He advised the county that crews had removed 2 victims at 01:21 and that they were still checking inside for reports of a possible third victim.
Engine 4-5 (Capt. Rychlak) arrived on the scene at 01:19 hrs and was ordered to supply Ladder 4, who now had a handline in service knocking fire on the second floor and making their way to the third. Malvern EMS transported one of the victims to a local facility at 01:23 hrs.
Additional crews arrived and began to do secondary searches on the lower floors, and pull back-up hose lines to assist the first in crews. The exposure buildings were also checked. The RIT teams from 2 & 47 were staged on the AD and CD Corners. Crews laddered the building and took care of other fire ground tasks.
As the attack line was being advanced to the third floor, firefighters passed the hoseline in an attempt to search the third floor due to reports that there may have been another victim still up there. Crews encountered heavy fire conditions and were unable to make the hallway. Shortly after, the attack line made the third floor hallway and was able to darken down the fire, however there was difficulty in advancing it into the involved apartments on the third floor.
At 01:40 Command confirmed that all victims had been accounted for (2).
As conditions began to deteriorate on the upper floor, Command ordered the evacuation. All crews quickly reported that they had accountability for all of their crew members and master streams were set up and put in service at 02:12 hrs.
During firefighting operations, Lt Wustner from Station 3 suffered injuries to his lower extremities. RIT 47 made contact with the downed firefighter and assisted EMS with patient care and packaging. Lt. Wustner was transported to a local facility with serious, but non life-threatening injuries.
At 02:39 hrs master stream operations were terminated and crews re-entered the structure to finish off the hot spots on the third floor. This process went on for several hours as there was much overhaul to be done on the third floor.
At 03:20 Hours Berwyn Ambulance 2-1 transported the second rescued victim to a local facility for evaluation.
Chief 4 placed the fire under control at 03:49 hrs. Crews continued to overhaul the third floor and began to pack up equipment, much of which was frozen solid in the freezing temperatures.
Units began to take up and go available, with Chief 4 terminating command at 06:07 hrs and the final station 4 units returning to service at 07:01 hours.
The Malvern Fire Company would like to send it's best wishes to both the victims of this fire as well as our brother from Paoli for a speedy recovery.
Engine 52-2 Stoodby at our station to cover calls during this incident.
Thank you to all of the mutual aid and covers for both enduring the freezing temperatures as well as assisting with getting our equipment back in service at the end of this incident.
Companies On-scene/Covering: Station 4, Station 3, Station 2, Station 5, Station 56, Station 47, Station 52, Delco Station 41, 55 Ambulance.
*Photos courtesy of EMS Capt 5(Badman) and Berwyn Fire Company. |
