| On Thursday, April 5th, 2007 the Westwood Fire Company, Sadsburyville Fire Company, and a Tanker from the Cochranville Fire Company were dispatched at 2149 to the 900 block of West Chestnut Street in the Quiet Village Section of Valley Township for a reported house on fire.
Chief Sly responded at 2150 and was advised by the Chester County 911 Center that a neighbor had called to report flames from the rear of a house next door. Additional callers began to advise that it was unconfirmed if anyone was inside the residence, but one neighbor reported that usually the home is occupied.
With this information, Chief 44 requested Brandywine Hospital Medic 93 to be dispatched to the scene for the possibility of occupants trapped inside the home.
Firefighters from the Sadsburyville Fire Company were just cleaning up from their weekly Bingo fundraiser and happened to still be at the fire station. This enabled them to provide an almost immediate response with Sadsburyville Engine 31-2, Engine 31-1, and QRS 31.
Captain Grossman arrived on location approximately 4 minutes after the call to 911 and advised Chief Sly of heavy smoke throughout the neighborhood, subsequently updated with a report of a working fire in the rear of the home. Chief 44 requested a "Working Fire Dispatch" which provides an additional dispatch of all companies assigned to the incident, an Air Cascade unit to refill our self contained breathing apparatus air cylinders on the scene, an additional Medic unit, and automatic notifications to the County Fire Marshals and Utility Companies.
Assistant Chief Tracey of the City of Coatesville Fire Department quickly updated Captain Grossman's report to confirm a victim trapped inside the home. Sadsburyville Engine 31-2 had arrived on location within 7 minutes and began to deploy hoses to suppress the fire when Firefighter/EMT Dill and Sadsburyville Deputy Chief Reynolds came upon a victim laying approximately 10 feet inside the front door. Firefighter/EMT Dill and Deputy Chief Reynolds immediately began a rescue operation to bring the victim outside the home. Captain Grossman and Firefighter/EMT Pacana took over the suppression operations while the victim was being rescued and began to knock down the fire which was spreading throughout the home.
Chief 44 arrived on location and assumed "Chestnut Street Command" and requested an air medical helicopter to be placed on standby due to the occupant of the home receiving burns. Westwood and Sadsburyville EMS crews immediately began to treat the victim in the front yard of the home to attempt resuscitation. The victim was not breathing and did not have a pulse.
Engine 44-5, Rescue 44, and Ambulance 44 all arrived on location within the next few minutes.
Deputy Chief Paulukinas of the City of Coatesville Fire Department was assigned as the Operations Officer while Assistant Chief Tracey of the City of Coatesville Fire Department was responsible for the roof operations and ventilation.
The fire was placed under control 19 minutes after the arrival of the first units. A vigorous search of the home concluded that no one else was home at the time of the fire.
Following extensive resuscitation efforts, the victim that was rescued from the home had apparently succumbed to injuries sustained prior to the arrival of firefighters. Air medical unit Skycare 1 was canceled from standby mode and the Chester County Coroner's Office was requested to respond to the scene as well as the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshals Office.
The bulk of the fire was contained to the kitchen and dining room areas of the home. Heavy smoke damage was also sustained throughout the house.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Chester County and Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshals Office. This was the first fatal fire in Valley Township in more than 10 years.
All units cleared the scene at 0053.
From initial observation, there were no working smoke detectors in this home. We urge everyone to please check your smoke detectors and if you do not have a working smoke detector, please contact your local fire company.
Westwood Fire Company had 22 volunteers involved at this call.
Thanks goes out to all of the volunteers who assisted at this tragic incident.
Thank you to the Honey Brook Fire Company for standing by for us with Engine 33-5 to protect our community while we were on this call. |
