Early Morning Frederick Co. Barn Fire
 
By Captain Christopher Harris
March 4, 2014
 

FC Box 17-44. At 0354 hrs, Engine 81 was dispatched, 4th Due Engine, for a "Barn Fire" at 13631 Glissans Mill Road in Frederick County. While enroute, units were advised that multiple calls were received and it was believed to be a working fire. The tanker task force and rapid intervention dispatch were requested.

Duty 15 arrived with a 60' x 60' barn, fully involved. He established "Glissans Mill Road Command" as FC Rescue/Engine 153 and FC Engine/Tanker 154 began an aggressive defensive attack utilizing hand lines and a deck gun. Chief 15-1 arrived and assumed the Command upon his arrival and Duty 15 was reassigned as the Water Supply Officer.

Response to the scene for Station 8 units was slow due to the route of travel being compromised by icy road conditions. For this reason, unit assignments were changed to reflect actual first-in unit arrivals. As additional units arrived, crews were rotated due to the extremely low temperatures (-6 F degrees). Icy conditions also presented hazardous walking conditions on the scene. A tanker shuttle was utilized for a short time until the bulk of the fire was extinguished.

Engine 81's crew assisted with fire attack, while Engine/Tanker 82 arrived to assist with the tanker operations. Rescue Squad 8 was also on-scene as part of the Rapid Intervention Dispatch, but since no interior operations were conducted, RIT Operations were not needed. FC Battalion 902 (T. Coe) arrived about midway through the incident and assumed Command until the end of all operations.

With all of the large capacity tankers on the scene; and the quick knock-down of the fire, Engine/Tanker 82 was not utilized. After their first rotation on the scene, Engine 81 was also released. Rescue Squad 8 remained on the scene assisting with picking up hose as the operations were reduced.

Crews operated for about 2 hours before all of the fire was extinguished. The fire marshal for Frederick County responded and placed the incident "under investigation". Units cleared around 0630 hrs with no injuries reported. The structure was a complete loss.

Units on-scene: FCE172, FCR/E171, FCTa17, FCM17 (Libertytown); FCR/E153, FCE/T154, FCA159, FCChief 15-1, FCDuty 15 (New Market); FCE/T254 (Green Valley); FCTa9 (New Midway); FCQt11, FCE/T114 (Walkersville); FCE331 (Spring Ridge); FCBattalion902; FCSafety901; FCCanteen1; CCE12, CCTa1, CCM19 (Mt. Airy); CCE81, CCE/T82, CCRS8 (Union Bridge); CCE142, CCTa14 (Winfield); CCE102, CCDecon30 (New Windsor)