WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. HEAVY DISCOLORATION AROUND THE WINDOWS TESTIFIES TO THE INTENSITY OF THE FIRE.
A portable heater burning either kerosene or gasoline in a home without smoke detectors sparked a blaze that killed seven people — four of them children — late Friday night in Southwest Philadelphia, fire authorities and eyewitnesses said.
The fire erupted in a basement social room of a three-story duplex at 6418 Elmwood Ave. where a group of adults was watching the Bourne Ultimatum, a spy thriller, while the children slept on the floor, said one of the adults who escaped, Harris Murphy, 35, a Liberian immigrant.
A female who lived at the property and was renovating the basement was pouring fuel into the heater when it exploded, Murphy said. He and the woman, as well as two other adults, escaped through the only exit, which was then blocked by the burning heater. The staircase to the rest of the house had been removed as part of the renovation, officials said.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!
It took me some time to finally blog about this. It brings back bad memories. Early in my career I made a fire where four children and their grandmother perished. A couple of firefighters were badly hurt as well that day. It was also a fire sparked by a portable kerosene heater. The intensity of that fire is something I still remember to this day.
You never shake memories like this. This is a Fireman’s nightmare. While Police Officers may confront many deaths over their careers, they rarely are confronted with so many people killed at once. It’s strange that Firefighters often confront multiple fatalities and are often killed in multiples. It’s almost the direct Opposite for Cops. Sudden, extremely traumatic episodes are the hallmark of the fire service.
As a younger Lieutenant I used to work at the first in company involved in this job. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims their families and the firefighters especially. It will take a while before they can work through their emotions after a job like this.
I talked with some of my coworkers in that part of the city to get the details. They confirmed what the news papers are reporting. Sadly sometimes there is not much that can be done. This disaster like most was a perfect storm of bad decisions, ignorance and bad luck. It reads like a script for a horror movie:
From the reporting it appears that there were 1) No smoke detectors. 2) Illegal or improper renovations in progress including the removal of a staircase. 3) Improper use or refilling of a liquid fueled space heater. 4) Filling the heater in such a way as to block the only exit from the property.
HEAVY DAMAGE IS EVIDENT IN THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY
Even though the fire was around the corner from the station the victims didn’t have a chance. The flammable liquids involved decided the issue long before the firemen had a chance to bring their hoses to bear. Here are some further excerpts from the article:
Charlene Rawlinson, who runs a day care center next door to the fire-ravaged home, said the woman renovating the basement had lived there for about a year.
SO THIS COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN WORSE IF YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT.
A previous owner of the house, Mike Kingwood, said he sold it two years ago to an owner who did considerable renovations, adding at least three bedrooms and a bathroom to make it a nine-bedroom home.
PROBABLY NO PERMITS, OR INSPECTIONS FROM L & I.
The blaze was reported at 10:47 p.m. in the 6400 block of Elmwood Avenue. Firefighters were on the scene within three minutes and had the fire under control in 33 minutes, Ayers said, but even that was too late to save six of the victims, who died at the scene. The toddler died just before midnight at CHOP.
THUS PROVING THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF QUICK RESPONSE OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. IF THIS WASN’T A FLAMMABLE LIQUID FIRE IT’S LIKELY THESE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE MADE IT. 33 MINUTES IN A FIRE IS AN ETERNITY, LITERALLY.
According to the fire marshal’s office, the seven dead from last night’s tragedy increased the total number of fire deaths to 37 for the year, compared to 47 by this date last year. Fire deaths have been decreasing in recent decades because of improved fire prevention strategies and milder winter weather, allowing residential occupants to avoid using risky home-heating methods.
IT’S STILL PLENTY COLD IN PHILLY. IT’S MOSTLY DUE TO OUR FIRE PREVENTION EFFORTS, CONSTRUCTION, DEMOGRAPHICS AND A FEW OTHER FACTORS. NOT WARM WINTERS IN PHILLY.
SADLY WITH THE MAYOR’S POLICY OF CLOSING FIRE COMPANIES OUR FIRE DEATH TOTALS WILL ONCE AGAIN BEGIN TO CLIMB. IT’S INEVITABLE.
THE BUTCHERS BILL..
Posted by CaptainAmerica 
