It will be a day northern Virginia firefighters will be talking about for years. Wednesday, May 2, 2018, was a clear day that was warmer than Tuesday. The wind picked up to 10 – 13 miles per hour with 20 mph gusts, dropping the humidity from 80% at 7 am to 21% at noon to 17% at 3 pm.
The first alarm was struck at 12:46 for 14401 Woodmere Court (Box 43800). Engine 438 reported fire coming from a third-floor balcony with extension to the fourth floor and attic. That started a working fire Level I Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) that added an engine and heavy rescue squad. A second alarm was immediately struck, followed by an EMS Task Force. Additional resources resulted in a third-alarm assignment.
Around 13:30 the Fairfax Police helicopter was reporting a row of townhouses on fire. Some units responding to the Woodmere Court greater alarm diverted to this fire. Engine 440 arrived at 5801 Watermark Circle reporting multiple rows of townhouses burning and requesting a Level 1 RIT and a second alarm. Sitting on a hydrant, 440’s crew deployed a deck gun, 2.5″ and two 1.75″ attack lines to Side C. While waiting for reinforcements, Engine 440 had “a nozzle for everyone.”
Off-duty firefighter/paramedic Brent Schnupp was taking pictures in a nearby park and got this picture of Tower 440 and Engine 416 setting up for exterior attack on Side A. As commanders arrived, they observed one row of townhouses well involved, the second row of townhouses behind Watermark Circle with burning decks/siding/roof and the third row of townhouses smoking.
At 13:39 command broke the Sully II fireground into two incidents, assigning a first alarm assignment for 14709 Beaumeadow Dr. in addition to the resources committed to Watermark Circle.
The equivalent of two 3rd alarm fires dispatched within 53 minutes in Box 43800.
West Centerville, the location of both fires, is the most westward tip of Fairfax County. In less than an hour, Fairfax County Public Safety Communications had assigned the following resources from Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Arlington County, Alexandria City, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, and the Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority:
- 27 engine companies
- 11 truck companies
- 5 rescue companies/rescue engines
- 17 ALS ambulances
- 10 EMS Supervisors
- 10 Battalion Chiefs
- 2 Safety Officers
- 2 light/air units
- 1 mass casualty unit
- 1 mobile command post
The county fire department was under “Condition 3” when operations and communications are streamlined to handle a heavy workload. This occurs during blizzards, tornados and other situations that tax the department’s response capability.
While this hour was evolving, companies at the Academy cleared training and responded to one of these events, including Engine 407B staffed by Academy instructors.
Fairfax County volunteers also responded, staffing 2 engine companies, Rehab 413, 2 canteens, 3 ALS ambulances and 9 BLS ambulances. Falls Church volunteers placed Ambulance 102 in service to cover Arlington County.
There are still other incidents to handle
There are over 500 fire and rescue events in Fairfax County every day. Fire/rescue units from northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia were moving around Fairfax County to provide 9-1-1 coverage while the events progressed in West Centerville.
Events that included an afternoon rush-hour tractor-trailer crash on the Capital Beltway that released a swarm of bees.
At 16:13 Engine 414 arrived at the United Bank on 13060 Fair Lakes Shopping Center with fire through the roof of a stand-alone commercial building. This working fire required the use of multiple master streams that overwhelmed the hydrant system. This initiated a Tanker Task Force response.
With the West Centerville fires under control, transferred companies started to return home. Steve Sisler, former Falls Church VFD chief, took this picture of Tower 405 as the second arriving truck at a working single family dwelling fire on 6704 West Falls Way. This incident started at 18:23. The location is 16 miles away from the Franconia fire station.
Pat Evinger provided this tidbit: “If (West Falls Way) had gone out about 20 minutes earlier the first due squad would’ve been Rockville RS703. They were filling Station 1 (McLean) and had just gotten to 270 headed home when they heard the dispatch.”
There were brush fires requiring extra resources throughout the evening.
At 2:10 Thursday morning Fairfax County sent 4 engines, 3 aerials (including Tower 405), 1 rescue company, 2 ALS ambulances, 1 safety officer, 1 Light/Air unit and 1 battalion chief to Alexandria for a working highrise fire on the 9th and 8th floors of 6300 Stevenson Ave that required a Level 1 RIT and second alarm assignment.
Chief Marc Bashoor, retired PGFD, reflecting on a day that included a 3 alarm townhouse construction fire in Prince George’s County and a 2 alarm commercial fire in Fredrick, Maryland, posted this tweet:
5/9/18: Post edited to correctly identify photographer Brent Schnupp (sorry, brother!) and clarify incident information (thanks Jeremy). – Mike Ward