Pennsville Fire & Rescue Co. # 1

On Saturday, August 5th 2000 Pennsville Fire and Rescue Co. 1 was dispatched to 100 Block S Hook Rd. for a Building Fire. The Building was a restaurant. The restaurant was located on S Hook Rd near a group of houses.

Fire Location
The restaurant was one story. It is in the south part of town near Winslow farms.

Weather
The weather was cloudy. The temperature was hot and there was no significant wind.

Contributing Factors
The company picnic was wrapping up and several members were in Carney’s Pt at the Sportsman’s club. Chief Hoffman was at the Penn Salem Bridge at the time of the call.

The Incident
Dispatch was made for a building fire. The initial alarm was Station 5 and Station 7.

E5 the T5 and E72 were on the scene in eight minutes from dispatch.

In the National Fire Protection Association’s Fire Protection Handbook, 18th edition, published in 1997 there is a critical statement. It states on page 10-31 that, “…crews at fire stations should be able to have an initial attack team comprising an entire first alarm response on the scene within eight minutes of the receipt of the alarm.”

Station 5 and 7 were dispatched to a building fire. Several units reported a large plume of smoke coming from the area. Both stations were re-alerted for a “working fire”. Upon arrival significant fire was showing from the kitchen area of the restaurant. Chief Hoffman was on the scene and assumed command. E5’s crew stretched an attack line into the structure. Chief Hoffman and Driver Cowperthwait secured a hydrant using a 50’ section of 4”. The line was stretched to the kitchen area and the fire was quickly knocked down. E72’s crew stretched a 1 ¾ from E72 and moved to the fire area. They were assigned primary search of the eating area. The search proved negative. L5’s repositioned in the front of the structure and provided support with lights, ladders, fans. Blowers were placed in service at the fire door and the dining area door. There was some extension into the roof. The roof of the dining area was separate and higher than the roof of the kitchen. This extension was stopped by using an attack line from underneath the area via little giant ladder in the dining area. Overhaul was then performed by E5 and E72’s and R5’s crew. E71’s and A58’s crew supported the overhaul operation. A secondary search was performed with no findings. The fire was placed under control.

Cause of the Fire
The fire official ruled the cause as a grease fire. Pop off valves from nearby propane tanks released causing the fire to quickly grow to beyond the control of the owner

Filed under: Scrap Book