Box 5-14 Building Fire

Box 5-14. At 1133 hrs, Station 5 (Taneytown) and Station 11 (Harney) were dispatched to a "Structure Alarm" at 1621 Francis Scott Key Highway near Keymar, Maryland. Before units responded, the assignment was upgraded to a "Box Alarm". Additional units from Carroll, Frederick and Adams County (PA) were included in the "Box Alarm" and "Tanker Task Force" dispatches for a Barn Fire.

Ladder 5 arrived first and Sergeant Houck assumed "FSK Command", advising they had a large building, fully involved, with no exposures. Engine/Tanker 54 reported back the lane for the initial attack and Engine 52 laid 5" supply line back to Engine/Tanker 54. The building was about 75' x 50' and was in use by a local catering business. Defensive [fire] Tactics were used during the entire incident.

Engine 81 arrived, began setting up a 'tanker dump site' and Lieutenant C. Harris was assigned "Water Supply". FC Tanker 9 provided two 'Fold-A-Tanks' for the 'Dump Site' and pumped their tank water into a saimese to provide initial water to the supply line. As additional tankers arrived, Engine 52 went to a draft site (Big Pipe Creek) on Keysville/Bruceville Rd and Special Unit 6 went to a dry hydrant (pond) in the 1900 Block of FSK Highway. At this point, a constant water supply was established. Francis Scott Key Highway (MD194) was also shut down during the incident.

At the height of the incident, the smoke could be seen from about 15 miles away. Nearly 50 firefighters were on the scene to battle the blaze. The bulk of the fire was knocked down by 1205 hrs and operations were completed by 1410 hrs. An estimated 20,000 gallons of water was used. At the conclusion, foam (E112) was used to finish the 'mop-up' of the debris. The building and contents were a complete loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.

Stations 5 and 8 recieved Engine transfers from Pleasant Valley and New Windsor respectively.