I've worked rural fire both paid and volunteer. You can only do your best and that's what you did. I know some people will start with the tactics bull, but I'm proud that at least put in the work even on a total loss. A lot of times I've gotten there on the paid engine to a fully involved fire like this and it's just do you best to control the exposures (including the fields) and drown it. That's why there is home owners insurance, but it don't help if it hits a feeding field or grazing pasture. Good job boss!
It’s hard being a volunteer department in a rural district My department is roughly 230 square miles and we have 16 volunteers 8 of us responding regularly
Just like our house. 2 am, got hit by lighten. By the time the volunteers got out of bed, to the fire station and drove 10 miles the roof was falling in. I told them just don't let it spread into the fields. Nothing more anyone could have done and I was thankful they were there. Had paid homeowners insurance for over 40 years. That was my first claim.
I wouldn't call pulling a small handline on a fully involved structure "doing your best"... Nor would I say bringing a brush truck to a structure fire was any kind of a tactic...
@@aaronlandry6461 After retiring from a full-time career of firefighting I still volunteer where our home & ranch is located. We are a county based FD covering nearly 4,000 square miles and only have about a dozen members who can be relied upon regularly, largely because we are all retired so have the time/freedom. There are another dozen or so that will respond if able due to their work schedule. But given the size of our district and the rugged terrain it can be a struggle, which is why so many out here have their own fire fighting plans & equipment, especially up on the mountain as it is densely forested.
I’m glad no one was hurt and thank God no one was home. I still feel bad for the family that must be devastating to lose your entire home and everything in it. When you have a family your house becomes a home and losing it is devastating. Prayers for this family! 🙏🏼♥️
I have a few friends that are firefighters, one that’s a paid position, rest are volunteers. They used to say on average that it only takes about 3 to 4 minutes for a typical house structure to be completely destroyed by fire. Doesn’t seem like very long, but most houses around our area are built with pine, and wrapped with OSB. That stuff burns very fast.
A few years back I saw a local report about the issues with modern homes. Apparently too many modern homes have flammable cheap wood. Thank God I live in a 50s house LOL
@@jrockyhill I read your other comment , "lots of hugs given" and assumed no-one was hurt. Glad no-one was injured. It's awful to hear of people and families killed in house fires.
That is one of my biggest fears I suppose if you're in the game long enough it will happen eventually I was scared on this one because there was a truck there and I really didn't know but by the time I got there I don't think there was anything that could have been done but I always make it a point to do whatever I can supportive wise for the family who has just lost everything
Dang. Either no one noticed the fire for quite some time or someone lit it up. Usually, even in the country, a house won't be that far gone before first due shows up. The entire house was blazing from end to end. Poor family. A fire like that is total. Everything is lost. I hope everyone was out and is safe.
Yes no one was home and nobody called it in tell my father saw it from a mile away and called me we were the first ones on scene the nearest fire station was 13 miles away by the time I got there from 2 miles away even if I was driving an engine I would not have been able to stop it
Those reel lines aren't doing squat. They need to get a ground moniter, a BlitzFire, or even a deuce and half preconnect on that thing to knock it down. Big fire, big water.
Yeah ‘big fire needs big water’ is fine in the city, ain’t gonna work when you’re pumping out of porta-ponds, so many guys that have zero idea about rural operations just opening their mouths without having any knowledge of what’s involved.
I feel bad for the family that lost their home. I am wondering if sprinklers in the home would have stopped this fire? I live in rural California and all new homes built where I live have to have 200 gallon tanks hooked to a fire suppression system inside the home to pass code.
There's a good possibility it might have the main part of that house was 100 years old to be honest I don't know anybody in rural Kansas that has a sprinkler system
This was likely fully involved by the time the first FD unit even arrived on scene. All they can really do is to put as much water on it as they can, watch for exposures (structures, dry fields, etc), and hope that the structure was unoccupied, or that any occupants escaped. I can't imagine how difficult rural firefighting must be, and scenes like this are a great example of why. Kudos to everybody who responded to this gruesome scene.
Yeah nobody was home to call it in so it had been burning for a little bit my father saw the smoke from a mile away and we were the first ones to call it in
There are very few feelings worse than running out of water at a fire. The only other terrible feeling is bringing out a body that you work your tail off to ave.
Any area where water is scarce wldn't it make sense to just let a house 3/4 gone just burn to ground level. Save the water for use to prevent spreading elsewhere.
My goal is to always try to put the house out because you never know what you might find in the corner of that house that would mean the world to somebody that has just lost everything
Never give up. Wind was a contributing factor in the spread of this fire. Letting it burn with that much wind blowing would surely spread embers. You can see in the first video where grass and brush was already involved. No matter what was left, every effort must be made to extinguish all fire. It could take days with a fire this intense to extinguish all of it. There was an immense effort put forth with limited resources. Put the wet stuff on the red stuff.
Well the home owner was trying to find her wedding ring in the aftermath soooo in my eyes the more intact the house is the better chance things like that have of surviving
Sometimes you just can't get there fast enough it doesn't matter if you're right across the street or 10 miles away fire burns at a very rapid rate and not every fire department can get there in time. This seems to be one of those times that it's a total loss and all they're doing is keeping it from spreading, at least no one got killed the smoke detectors did their job this time.
I live out in the middle of nowhere this is actually a neighbor's house that was two miles away from mine even if I was driving an engine from my house to there we probably wouldn't have saved it
Sad as it is, a lot more are letting fires burn themselves out as their isnt enough water any more. Just in a week 3 major cities declared they can no longer fight fires if any type. 2 no longer have enogh water for use of any kind.
I don't understand why they are trying to put it out now it's done gone now I feel for the people but the fair department was late to get there if I was the people I would tell them it's gone now so don't y'all hurt your self trying to put it out now you should have been here sooner when people call you not after my house is gone then try to put it out
It was a sad deal Noone was home thankfully and it was right next to interstate and I do not understand why nobody called it in for so long my father saw the smoke from a mile and a half away and I have been burning for a while the house also sits right on the jurisdiction line they're nearest fire station was like 11 Mi away and our nearest station is 7 miles away and like you said by the time I got on scene it was too far gone but my motto is you never know what you will find in the corner of a burnout house that will mean the world to somebody who's just lost everything water here is cheap as long as you're safe we do everything we can
Is it just me, or do I wonder why they put water on fires like this. The house is a total loss, just make sure everyone is out and keep it from spreading is all that really should be done. Sucks for those that own it, but that's what insurance is for.
They're mostly just trying to knock down the heat and sparks to help minimize risk of spot fires taking off in the woods and such, and trying to get the fire out so it's safe to leave without any worry of the wind kicking a spark off to somewhere and starting a fire that'll destroy more homes
First of all I hope everyone is safe and got out or we're not in there to begin with. . .... Second from the moment this video started this fire was extremely out of control and it appeared that you guys never had control on putting it out. ? Everything burned but brick and rock. You did your best. Can't say if more water would have helped. Not sure where you're at but you definitely wasted a lot of water. Don't know what the Homes materials were made out of but it did burn extremely fast.
No one was hurt no one was home nobody called it in until my father from a mile away saw it drove their saw what was on fire and called it in by then it was too advanced even if I was driving in the engine when I got there I still wouldn't have been able to stop it we are in Central Kansas water is not an issue here
Residential firefighting in the US really seems to be somewhat of a lost cause, unless you can protect an adjacent structure or arrive and get water on the fire within 10 minutes there is just no stopping these fires, you may as well sit back and watch it burn, as long as houses are built from sticks they will be tinder boxes, I have seen so many fires where 5 engines roll up and it takes them 10 to 15 minutes to get water on the fire, clearly taking their time always resulting in a total loss, is it an insurance thing or whats the deal
The department I'm on can generally have water flowing on the fire within 3-4 minutes after arrival of the first due engine. But that being said much of our district is very remote and takes as long as 15-20 minutes to get to the scene and much of it is on County gravel roads. But good leadership and training is the key to success and we train for aggressive firefighting and quick knock down with big water. We also have strong mutual aid agreements and train with all neighboring fire departments in tanker shuttles and water supply. Our first alarm for a residential structure is 2 of our engines, 2 of our tankers, 3 mutual aid tankers from the closest departments and 1 extra engine company from the closest department. There are several different departments in our 3 counties but when on scene we look like one giant department since we all operate on the same SOGs and train together on a regular basis. About the only thing that isn't the same throughout the departments are our SCBAs, some departments prefer Scott's and others prefer MSA. Since we started doing this in 2001 we can usually stop 85% of the structure fires that are called in in a timely manner, I'm a firm believer in the mutual aid system we have set up and all three counties involved have better fire protection because of it.
@@jackburgess9482 Well if what you said is true about only two engines, that is some good training and attack drills you have done then for a structure fire where you are actually inside fighting a fire. I would assume your RIT team will have two extra packs going in, if they were ever needed to go in. Since you guys have different packs. That has to be extra work refilling bottles on scene? Or is it all same? Never messed with Scotts yet. Department just now moving. I guess everything has its ups and downs.
@@GamerMason123 We have a third engine company from a mutual aid department as well as our two on a first alarm RSF. As for the RIT team we use the crew from our second due engine for that. And as for filling air bottles on scene the air truck can fill all 2216 or 4500 bottles no matter the brand. But all our local departments have 4500 psi SCBAs.
I guess all those years ago when the Deputy Chief of our city fire service who was the Safety training officer for the department came out to my workplace to do a fire safety lesson and he taught us to *always aim at the base of the fire* NOT at the top he must have somehow been wrong about the laws of physics and about the nature of fire. All these RU-vid fire videos I watch feature lots of examples of guys spraying hoses *above the licking flames* like they're making it rain on down to the burning building. Live and learn? Maybe not!
Well pretty much that house was a total loss. And yes hitting the base is correct but only when you can reach the base of the fire. So a house fire or any building fire like this your not getting the base.
@@Brian13549 The base is literally there open in front of him (with the POV camera) and he DOES hit the base at times then inexplicably diverts away to sprinkle the brickwork and the flaming peaks once in a while like he's bored by doing it correctly and needs a change for change sake. The structure was soon a total loss anyway I agree.
@@johnwallace482 Feel free to buy some new ones then, over 90% of the departments in Kansas are volunteer, and many of us don't have they budget to afford fancy new stuff.
The house was a total loss when the nozzle opened. What was the point of wasting water? Was this a training exercise? Where are the rest of the Fire Fighters at?
Nah, you wouldn’t be able to supply sufficient water to feed one deck gun let alone 2 and a master stream, they way these guys did it was pretty much all you could do.
2 comments. First the nozzle man was way to far away from the seat of the fire. Second. Yep the seat of the fire. Stop it at the seat the rest takes care of itself.
Just let it go protect the area around it your not saving anything at all . Your just wasting water you might need if the grass catches fire around that total loss ...
Why waste your time and water. The house is EXACTLY where it would be if no one did anything. Hundreds of gallons of water and it burnt down to the slab anyway. Next time just bring hot dogs and marshmallows.
I would have pushed in but I was extremely worried about a collapse the front of that house had two pillars two stories high and I didn't want that to come out and crush me
just wasting water. that place was gone before the FD even got there. protect exposures, prevent the spread, and let it burn. at least the homeowner will save on demo and waste hauling fees.
He isn't a "fire department" He's a neighbor trying to help with all he had available In many rural areas of the U.S. we are so isolated and remote that we do not have water systems, we use our own wells. And because of the distances we often rely on ourselves and neighbors to help fight fires before the FD can get there, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
