Remembering the “23rd Street Fire” October 17, 1966-2019; 53th Anniversary and Remembrances On October 17th, 1966, Manhattan Dispatch recorded an alarm from a resident at 7 East 22nd Street for smoke on the 4th floor of a brownstone. Box 0598 was transmitted at 2136 hours. Engine 14, 3 & 16, Ladders 3 & 12, Battalion […]

  Lessons from the Fireground: FDNY Lt. Howard Carpluk, Jr.,  and FF Michael C. Reilly August 27.2006 Box 33- 2797  1575 Walton Avenue, Bronx, New York On August 27, 2006, FDNY Lieutenant Howard Carpluk, Jr., and FF Michael C. Reilly died in the line-of-duty after the floor they were operating on during fire suppression operations […]

Lessons from the Fireground: Buffalo (NY) Fire Department On August 24, 2009, 45-year-old Lieutenant Charles “Chip” McCarthy and 34-year-old Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom died in an early morning fire after a partial first floor collapse at a mixed occupancy commercial/residential structure.   Basement fires in both residential and commercial occupancies are one of the most […]

Eleven Minutes to Mayday: Lessons from 2008 Resonate Today

Taking it to the Streets with your host Christopher Naum and regular guest Joe Pronesti for a conversation and remembrance- “Buffalo, Bronx and Basements” Join us on Tuesday evening August 25th at 7:30pm ET on; Taking it to the Streets with your host Christopher Naum and regular guest Joe Pronesti for a conversation and remembrance- […]

Operational Considerations for Residential Basement Fires Basement fires in both residential and commercial occupancies are one of the most challenging tactical operations that present numerous risk factors requiring the highest degree of situational awareness, training skill sets and continuous incident monitoring and assessment to gauge building structural integrity, fire behavior and fire dynamics and corresponding […]

A View from the Street; Remembrance and Paying Respect A brief trip on Friday took me to the City of Buffalo, New York. Following business, I made my way to 1815 Genesee Street. As the morning sun began to burn off the light layer of fog, I came upon my destination which at first glance […]

A fire in a three story multiple family apartment building injured four City of Chicago (IL) firefighters when an interior stairway collapsed during firefighting operations. The building was constructed in 1927 and consisted of 5456 square feet of space with 3-5 apartment units. Built of masonry wall construction with a wood floor joist system, the […]

Been in the field lately looking at your buildings under construction? Here’s a new look at a common Engineered Structural Support (ESS) system.