Category Archives:

Lessons from the Fireground: FDNY Vandalia Avenue 1998-2018 Twentieth Anniversary 
December 18, 2018 | "firefighter safety", "pre-fire planning", "Situational Awareness" assessment, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Combat Fire Engagement, FDNY, fire behavior, fire suppression, firefighting-operations, fires, Highrise, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday, ventilation, Wind Driven | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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FDNY Brooklyn Box 4080: 17 Vandalia Avenue 12.18.1998

Lessons from the Fireground-Buffalo, New York Genesee Street Fire
August 24, 2016 | building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, BUILDINGSONFIRE, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Collapse, commander, construction, firefighting-operations, floors, in-the-line-of-duty, LESSONS FROM THE FIREGROUND, LODD, Mayday, NIOSH, Occupancy Risk, Predictability of Performance, Reports and Case Studies, risk-based assessment, size-up | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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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 […]

Colerain and Eleven Minutes to Mayday: Lessons from 2008 Resonate Today
April 4, 2016 | "firefighter safety", assemblies, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, BUILDINGSONFIRE, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Collapse, Combat Fire Engagement, construction, Deployment, fire behavior, fire suppression, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting, firefighting-operations, first-due, floors, in-the-line-of-duty, LESSONS FROM THE FIREGROUND, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday, NIOSH, Occupancy Risk, Reports and Case Studies, RIT, Safety, size-up, strategies, structure fires | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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Eleven Minutes to Mayday: Lessons from 2008 Resonate Today

Houston Southwest Inn Fire
July 4, 2015 | "firefighter safety", Building Construction for the Fire Service, Christopher Naum, Collapse, Combat Fire Engagement, command presence, LESSONS FROM THE FIREGROUND, line-of-duty, LODD, Mayday, NIOSH, Reports and Case Studies | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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Southwest Inn Hotel Fire – 2013 6855 Southwest Freeway  Houston, Texas May 31, 2013 Incident Number 1305310305 A few weeks ago on Father’s Day, while in Houston (Texas) on business I stopped by to pay my solemn respects at the site of the May 31, 2013 Southwest Inn fire that claimed the lives of Four HFD firefighters and […]

Remembrance Firefighter Mark Falkenhan-Lessons from the Fireground
January 22, 2015 | "firefighter safety", dynamics, in-the-line-of-duty, lessons, line-of-duty, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday | Christopher Naum | No Comments

Buildingsonfire-Lessons from the Fireground Remembrance Firefighter Mark Falkenhan 30 Dowling Circle-Baltimore County, MDOn January 19, 2011, at approximately 1855 hours, a 43-year-old volunteer fire fighter died after being caught in a rapid fire progression. The victim and another fire fighter were conducting a search of a third-floor apartment above the fire, which had started on […]

A View from the Street; Remembrance and Paying Respect
September 2, 2014 | building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Collapse, compentencies, construction, fire behavior, Fire Service Tradition, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, first-due, floors, in-the-line-of-duty, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday, Naum | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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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 […]

Still and Box for CFD: Near Miss Stairwell Collapse in Chicago
April 13, 2013 | "Situational Awareness" assessment, building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, close-call, Collapse, construction, fire behavior, fire suppression, firefighter, firefighting-operations, floors, Mayday, near-miss, Uncategorized | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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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 […]

Cugees Restaurant Roof Collapse-1981 LAFD
March 31, 2013 | Arson, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, construction, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting, firefighting-operations, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday, roof | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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Recalling the Cugees Fire and Collapse of 1981

Worcester FF Brian Carroll recalls the Arlington Street Fire of December 8, 2011
December 3, 2012 | "firefighter safety", building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, close-call, Collapse, firefighting-operations, fires, floors, LODD, Mayday, near-miss, NIOSH, residential | Christopher Naum | No Comments

December LODD Remembrance: Worcester Fire Department with the Dec. 3, 1999, deaths of six firefighters at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. and the death of Firefighter Jon D. Davies Sr. on Dec. 8, 2011, during a blaze at 49 Arlington St.

Baltimore County (MD) Firefighter Falkenhan Line of Duty Death Report Issued
March 25, 2012 | "firefighter safety", building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Combat Fire Engagement, compentencies, construction, dynamics, fire behavior, fire suppression, firefighter, firefighting-operations, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, LODD, major-incidents, Mayday | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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“Firefighter Falkenhan was a well-respected and experienced firefighter. He died performing his duties during a very complex incident with severe fire conditions and unique fire behavior coupled with the immediate need to perform multiple rescues of victims in imminent danger. It would be easy if one particular failure of the system could be identified as the cause of this tragedy. We could fix it and move on. Unfortunately it is not that simple. No incident is “routine”. MarkÂ’s death and this report reinforce that fact”. From the Baltimore County (MD) FD LODD Report.

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