Residential Structure Fire with Mayday called - Millvale - 3/29/2021 

The purpose of these videos are for the first responders to have something to look at and learn from after the fact and for others to use as a learning tool. Yes, there probably is things done wrong and a lot of things done right. NO FIRE GROUND is perfect. Fire ground video’s should be used as training tools, not for Keyboard Fire Chief’s to bash everything they see in a video. Remember, you are seeing ONE angle of a very complex scene and hearing only some audio that was picked up by the camera. At this particular fire, a Mayday was called 16 minutes into the incident. The fire was dispatched at 4:02pm and the Mayday was called at 4:18pm. The firefighters who issued the Mayday self-extricated themselves in 1 minute and 10 seconds from issuing the Mayday. I have seen many Mayday videos and listened to many Mayday audio and the average time of the Mayday to Rapid Intervention Team deployment is 6-8 minutes from the time of the Mayday. Also, usually when a Mayday is issued, I’ve observed command yelling and screaming and usually a lot of chaos happening. This video, the Chief and assisting officers stayed calm, no yelling and screaming. No firefighters just running around like chicken’s with their heads cut off. What you don’t see is the Rapid Intervention Team in the rear of the home getting ready. They were in the rear due as it was easier access than going up all the steps in the front and limited access in the front for them to stage. Some people have commented that the Fire Chief didn’t even see his guy on the second floor coming out. I don’t know what video you are watching but the firefighter said they were coming out the window and you can clearly hear someone with the Chief pointing out the firefighter at the window. The Mayday was cleared in under 2 minutes and an evacuation order was given 2 minutes and 8 seconds after the initial Mayday was called. From what I observed, and I’ve observed a lot of fires over the years, things went right. Yes, I’m sure some mistakes were made as with every single fire ground but 16 minutes into an aggressive interior attack, conditions rapidly changed, a flashover occurred, a Mayday was called. Command stayed calm, cool and collected, the firefighter escaped in 70 seconds and the Mayday was officially cleared in 2 minutes. Again, you are seeing only a single angle. You are not seeing what is happening behind me, behind the home or anything, just one angle. It’s great that there keyboard Fire Chief’s and they are very good at bashing everything they see because clearly they are better and run perfect fire scenes from the comfort of there home behind a keyboard. The internet is a safer place with your internet command experience. I would love to see videos of your perfect fires (one actually posted a link to “good” fires on a different video and what they were bashing, the second video I watched was worse than what they were bashing….) Anyway, these are fine people and fine firefighters who volunteer their time to serve their communities. They should not be bashed. Constructive criticism is okay but the down right negative comments and bashing should not happen. Again, you are seeing one angle of a very complex scene. Thank you and stay safe.

Nice footage. I would have been spent before I got to the front door. I feel for those dudes.

God Bless and Protect the MVFD and all Fire Departments everywhere.

I can’t believe what it is like living in a like. What a job just getting your food and packages inside that house.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR !

This is not a criticism of the fire service in this video or any other, just an observation about equipment and the resultant tactics. I know the structures in the US are often wooden and require high flow rates to effectively combat a well developed fire. However in the UK most of our pumps carry 60 meter long hose reels which can deal with most domestic situations we encounter without having to upgrade to jets. We have enough water on board to supply one with constant use for about 7 mins. A house fire with no persons trapped will get 2 pumps. So you've got 14 mins of water supply onboard in which time most domestic fires can be bought under control. And if the fire can't be extinguished the hosefeels can subdue it whilst a hydrant is accesses and jets can be deployed. I routinely see videos of the US where there are multiple appliances in attendance and the fire ground is swarming with people yet no water is being applied to the fire due to the time it takes to get sufficient water supply to feed the larger bore jets. It just seems like lost time when in the first 3-4 mins you could have a crew applying thousands of litres of water to the fire and if nothing else slowing its development whilst hydrant supply is being established. Whereas no fire suppression happens, sometimes for 4-5 mins in which time the fire develops into something much larger than it was on arrival. A good crew with a hose reel will have water on the fire within 20 - 30 seconds of arrival. As I say, not criticism of those in this video or elsewhere, just a comment on equipment and tactics.

Great fire department. Thank you

Thanks for the thumbs up i'm from Pittsburgh be safe friend

They did a damn good job of keeping it from spreading! What a nightmare!

Great job firefighters! Those hills we have in PA give challenges. Great video! Thanks for sharing!!

That looked like a pain in the ass from the start. Glad all members made it out ok. No one or fireground is ever perfect. Could have very easily been alot worse. Good job under tough conditions brothers.

I'm glad that the firefighters are okay!

Nice engines and trucks

Good job to all at the scene

The location of the power lines is probably what prevented the ladder trucks from being able to make much of an attack from the front.

Wow , incredible video !

Yes I know Millvale it's across the River from the city of Pittsburgh

My concern is for the firefighter who bailed onto the front porch and got no assistance. That's a disgrace in my book.

Great footage

Awesome video!

That must have been a nightmare to get to.... I hate long upward hikes like that... and yet I live on the third floor.... GG Laddies! From a retired pro FF. And I guess I missed the MayDay call unless it was from that one guy coming out the window. Next time... put the "WET stuff on the RED stuff".

How do you get a flashover after an aggressive 16 min interior attack?

Wondering if they looked at a Sutphen Mid ship Quint too nice Rosenbauer btw

Can someone tell me the purpose of the tele-squirt? Fully charged but no attack. Granted, the terrain was challenging and all you can really do is protect adjacent properties but didn’t make a lot of sense. No disrespect to my brothers but not a tactic ( or lack thereof) I have ever seen. Thank you for your service but cant follow your on scene chief.

It’s the first time I see USA firefighters "run" to their work once they get off their truck. I can’t believe

Apparently calling a mayday isn't a big deal with this dept.

It would have been easier to fight this fire from the colton st side. I hope that everyone is ok

Can you please come to more penn hills fires

toasted...disaster! ....what use is that ladder truck without a hose?

Don’t you just love arriving on scene only to find a set of power lines blocking your access with an aerial

Lem-me get this straight. The front door is up those phucken steps.... no way

12 hours later.... that fire is still burning.😉. I did like seeing the hustle of the firefighters. They made a pretty quick interior attack considering what that were dealing with. I’m not sure why know one heard the mayday when the firefighter bailed out the window. That needs to be reviewed by someone. Also, not a fan of someone fighting fire from the outside when you got a crew making an interior attack. From first hand experience I know what it feels like to be on the nozzle when some moron on the outside decides to put water in a window and hits you in the head and disrupts the thermal balance of the room. Those kinds of mistakes warrant and a$$ whoop’n. Hope the firefighter who called the mayday is ok. Be safe guys.

The fire fighter that came out of the window, looked like he was in pain and agony!! Glad they were okay!

A lot of the fire could have been put down if the chief had authorized use of the water ladder in the attic, there wasn't anyone up there yet.

This is standard ??? omg

If this cuts off in the middle without any final info who got out what hPpened period! Just as bad as on scene no rt after no panning spectators the whole human aspect!!!

Okay, Freddy. I TOLD you that you should not play with matches!!! You FIREBUG!!!

Can't believe that ladder could handle the weight of the MASSIVE set of balls that firefighter must have that cut a hole in the roof of that house around the 9:00 mark. These guys are amazing.

what a horrible spot for a house fire. not sure what the guy crawling around on the front roof of the house was doing for the first five minutes though.

Attention, all experts in firefighting from their computer. Make comments below.

Where was the ground ladder to the second floor. Truck company needs to do their job before making entry. Situational awareness/ attention to detail!!!

GREAT VIDEO ! THE R I T TEAM MUST HAVE HAD THE SHIFT OFF ! MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL !

I don't know if this is a tactical nightmare or just a tactical nuisance either way the firefighters seems to adapt to the situation.

where's the mayday?

🙏🙏🙏💪💪💪🙏🙏🙏

Whoever the f*ck was the operator of Truck 191, I'm sorry, but you should not be operating that unit AT ALL. That ladder was left up in the air the entire time, no water flow, no rescue operations, nothing. The most you could have done was get that man off the roof instead just letting him there. As for your chief, how the f*ck he didn't see one of his own hanging out the window to get someone over there pronto, no excuses. That part absolutely upsetting to leave him there.

Does his department not like him?

dude you need fire coms on video

Ford F-150 1:24 R/C Police Monster Truck

Communication and listening goes far in a situation like this.

There doing nothing but pushing it through out there not hit the main body of fire

Don't depend on samsung junk for videos

Helmet Cam of what happened that day. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nUTjT-pJKd0.html

@Ben Paynter GPM kills BTU... period Also, there is a reason most modern FDs started ditching hose reels back in the 80/90's... Because they suck Same for fog/combo nozzles, if an FD is using a reel line it's 100% guarantee they are still using outdated nozzles As for time to water on fire, you would have to provide an example to get an informed reply from me But any modern engine and experienced crew can pull a cross-lay and have water on a fire in the same OR LESS time than with a reel line, all with far more GPM, more maneuverability, and more distance. The difference in deployment time for an interior attack between a rigid hose reel and a pre-connect is substantially in favor of the pre-connect, and once the water is flowing it's not even close. I know because I started my firefighting career in the 80's when reel lines were still common on US engines, and I can attest they are a pain in the ass and far less effective than larger pre-connect. Work a fire (real or training) while observing through a TIC and you will see the MASSIVE difference between a 3/4" or 1" rigid line off of a reel (a booster as we call them) and a 1-3/4" pre-connect with a quality large bore tip with stream shaper. Do a training burn with the two side by side, thermocouples and/or TIC, and the difference in cool down is not just significant, but flat out remarkable. I know because we trained it at the academy for more than two decades and saw it in countless live structure fires. A typical booster line might flow 50-100gpm at 100psi with a fog/combo tip While a pre-connect will flow over 400gpm at the same 100psi but with a fraction of the effort Drop the pressure to 50psi and we can still flow 250gpm out of an 1-3/4" and control it with one hand Which makes a huge difference on interior attacks Which brings me to your "14 mins of water supply onboard". A proper set up as I mentioned above doesn't need 14 minutes. Again I started out with reel lines in the 80's and Ive worked fully involved rooms with them... yup, one often needs the minutes you mentioned to darken and cool things down. On the other hand, bank 400gpm at 100psi off the ceiling for 4-5 seconds and I've watched the temp drop from 2,000 to 200 almost instantly. All without air entrainment which keeps the whole open structure cooler resulting in far less chance of burning a firefighter or victim. Think about it this way, if your kid was trapped in a room on the other side of a fire, would you rather have: a) 14 minutes of slow & stiff glorified garden hose that can push flesh burning steam throughout the structure b) An easy to move handheld cannon that with a 5 seconds burst can darken the room and lower temperatures 1500+ degrees As firefighters go I'm an old-timer having first started in the 80's... but unlike many I welcome science and technology advancements that result in fighting fires SMARTER 😉

The first line should have been putting Tank water through the gable end vent as soon as the pressure came up while they were trying to make entry instead of being used on the front porch ceiling. A ladder should have been immediately placed on the front porch roof so the windows could be vented. The second line could have been used inside once those windows were opened. The roof didn't need to be vented with both gable end vents belching flames. The attic needed water and wasn't getting any.

Guy calls a Maday, and is damn near ignored... WTF...

What the heck. I see 2 truck companies and zero ladders on the building. Description says mayday was upstairs. Those poor guys didn't have any windows to bail out of since nobody bothered to throw any ladders. But hey... they got the absolutely useless stick up. That's all that matters. Don't yell about my critique. I'm not criticizing their attack or how long it took to put it out or scba like most usual quarterbacks. These guys almost killed their guys because they failed to throw a single ladder. Absolutely DISGUSTING!

4:46 haha

Future reference guys. Dont waste your money on shitty ass shorter aerials . 95+ are the only ladder trucks that should he out there.. an extra 5-10 feet would have made a huge difference in this situation . Useless..

we carry several "pony sections" of LDH for situations like this , not being critical , just curious why they dont

If your studying to be a captain, this video exemplifies ineffective foreground strategies. Failure, in a simulation, to get water on a residential fire within in a minute is surely going to get you a failing score!

They have been on scene 10 or 15 minutes and still no water on the fire, that's bad in my book.

I didn’t subscribe.

Don’t move to millvale

What good can come from FF going into a house with flashover conditions? Risking the FF lives to save people that would 100% have perished. Bad tactics imo. Now I obviously don't have a;; the details but if this is inface the case.. Shame on that Chief for risking his FF lives..