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Late in the afternoon on
February 16, 2000, a neighbor reported to a 911 dispatcher that
they could see smoke coming from the residence of 34 Hunting
Ridge Drive in Simsbury. Considerable smoke was visible to units
responding from all over Simsbury, as the home sat high on a
ridge with an incredible view of the valley below.
Engine 8 arrived on scene within moments of the dispatch.
The crew made entry through the front door advancing a 2½
crosslay through the black smoke that was banked down to the
floor, and towards the fire in the rear of the structure. As the
team encountered intense heat, the nozzle man was ordered to
open up and sweep the ceiling. They recall everything being
black, then going red, and then back to black. The nozzle man
yelled he had been burned and the crew leader immediately
ordered everyone back to the door. The nozzle man had sustained
minor burns to his face and neck.
The hose team was reconstituted
and prepared to re-enter. They were ordered to check the floor
but were unable to confirm if it was there because of the heavy
smoke condition.
Believing the floor gone, the hose team worked from the outside.
They were strangely fortunate in not re-entering, as the fire advanced rapidly
throughout the foyer soon after and began to blow the glass
windows out above the hose team, showering them with glass.
The initial water supply for
the incident was from the booster tanks of arriving apparatus
and Simsbury's Tanker 9. Mutual aid companies with
tankers were called in, a drop tank deployed, and a water
shuttle established.
Hose teams were deployed around
the structure and Tower 12 was positioned in the driveway
to provide elevated streams. Much of the fire was knocked down
after an hour, but complete suppression was hampered by
structural collapse and instability. The front of the house was
cordoned-off for safety. Pockets of fire continued to burn and
flare-up for several hours because of inaccessibility due to
collapsed and unstable sections.
Firefighters are met with a heavy smoke condition upon entry. The first attack line was stretched through the front door and towards the rear of the structure. A heavy volume of fire is encountered, and the initial attack team is forced back and one member slightly burned upon opening the line. The fire rapidly spreads and intensifies, advancing into the front sections of the house. Fire venting out the rear side of the structure. Convective heating causes the furniture in this room to ignite. Looking through the house towards the rear. View of the rear from the C/D corner. Fearing burn-throughs in the floor and the possibility of upper level collapses, teams are forced to fight from the exterior. View of the rear from the B/C corner. Assistant Chief Michael Jepeal evaluates the situation from the front of the structure. With no hydrants on this street, booster tanks and Simsbury's Tanker 9 were the water supply until a shuttle operation could be placed in operation. Firefighters work to knock down flames on the "C" side. Tower 12 is positioned in the driveway to combat the fire in the upper reaches of the structure. With the majority of the fire knocked-down, crews utilize their limited water supply judiciously. A partial collapse in the rear of the structure. Firefighters work to breach an exterior wall to access fires still burning in the basement. Tower 12 continues to battle stubborn flames in the roof. Crews pull the interior walls of the garage searching for unseen extension. An excavator is brought in to help remove unstable portions of the structure. Major instability resulted throughout the structure because of significant structural damage.
Firefighters are met with a heavy smoke condition upon entry.
Photographs by
Ken Beliveau
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