August provided another month of tragedy in the fire service as four brothers perished in separate blazes. Two brothers were killed in New York on August 18th and two brothers died in Boston on August 29th. Both fires potentially could have killed more jakes if not for the heroic work at the scene by other jakes to rescue their trapped and endangered brothers.

The August 18th fire was at the Deutsche Bank building which stands across the street from the quarters of Engine 10/Ladder 10 or the "Ten House." This building was heavily damaged during the attacks of September 11, 2001 and is in the process of being demolished floor by floor. This building continues to haunt the FDNY as in May of this year pieces of the building fell onto Ten House and injured some of the members on duty. Several days after the fire, as funeral preparations were underway a pallet jack fell and struck some of the firefighters on the scene causing injuries. On the day of the fatal fire, arriving members found the standpipe system was not operating. Later it was found that sections of the standpipe had been removed. Exits were found to be closed off and much of the fire floors were sealed by plastic to enclose the hazardous materials abatement that was ongoing as part of the demolition process. The brothers went to work like always only to discover many significant obstacles in their path. The inoperative standpipe was one. The mazelike conditions and sealed exits were another. It was only a matter of time before the fire conditions would overtake the members as they hustled to improvise stretching exterior hose-lines up 16 and 17 floors. Multiple may-days were being sounded as many struggled to find their way to a safe haven through the sealed off corridors and stairways. Heavy smoke conditions were permeating the floors as firefighters used up their limited air supply to find an exit. In spite of the dangers to them selves many members fought to retrieve the missing brothers and guide them to safety. Many of those who were trapped remained calm, recalled their training and were able to extract them selves from the dangerous and deteriorating conditions.

In Boston on August 29th, two more brothers perished during a fire in a restaurant. As a line was stretched and placed in operation for what was thought to be a routine kitchen fire it appears a fatal flashover occurred. A long smoldering fire may have been growing unnoticed in several of the confined ceiling spaces above the kitchen. Just as the fire department was beginning operations the fire flashed and quickly trapped the members in fiery collapse. As in New York, this fire could have caused more fatalities except for the rapid and heroic work by other fire companies to control the fire while the trapped brothers could be rescued.

As is commonly the case today, it wasn't long before the politicians and bureaucrats that consistently deny the fire department any meaningful control or resources to properly inspect and regulate buildings were jumping out to say there needs to be greater oversight of buildings. We'll have to wait and see if anything meaningful comes from the tragedy induced bluster and posturing but don't hold your breath. We are all aware of how little clout the fire service really has in enacting any real fire safety measures. There is always some type of hardship claimed or a phone call is made by a politically connected owner and mysteriously the violations are somehow misplaced. And if the opponents of fire safety measures fail in these areas they always have the last resort of grandfathering their existing occupancies. Maybe the fire service should come up with a response plan that we are grandfathered from responding to these occupancies.

In the Deutsche Bank fire there is alleged negligence by the contractors and criminal charges are being considered against various individuals involved. Several officers in FDNY have also been reassigned pending further investigation of their alleged failures to regularly inspect the building during the demolition. It also seems a policy existed not to inspect the building because of the hazardous materials present. In Boston, the fire has officials concerned that restaurants are not being inspected properly because a potential cause is grease in the duct work. As I said earlier, don't hold your breath waiting for rapid resolutions of the blame game and a sudden sincere interest in fire safety regulations.

Remember, no fire is routine! Stay safe and be vigilant!!