Frederick County Box 17-9. At 1214 hrs, Engine 81 and Engine/Tanker 82 were dispatched for a house fire at 9602 Bessie Clemson Road. Moments later, Rescue Squad 8 and Medic 89 were dispatched as part of the "Rapid Intervention Team" Dispatch. Within 4 minutes, all Station 8 units were enroute with full crews.
First arriving units found a 2 story, wood frame, balloon construction house with heavy smoke and fire. A power wire down across the road on the south side of the house required first-in FC Engine 171 to position about 150 feet from the house. Two hand-lines were deployed off of FC Engine 171 by crews from both FC Engine 171 and FC Engine 162. Engine 81 began setting up ladders to the second floor.
FC 17 and 16 crews made the initial attack and as Chief 8-1 (Cartwright) arrived, he noticed the roof began to 'sag' and alerted "Bessie Clemson Command" of the situation. An evacuation was ordered until a bulk of the fire was extinguished 'defensively'. Then crews were able to return to interior operations after it was determined the situation had stabilized.
As other units arrived on-scene, RIT was established on Side "A" with Rescue Squad 8 and FC Engine 153. A hand-line was deployed from FC Engine 162 on the north side of the incident by Rescue Squad 8 for the RIT Line. FC Engine 172 and CC Engine 101 laid 'supply line' to the scene from Route 31, while FC Brush 175 and Engine/Tanker 82 established the "Dump Site" for tanker operations. The "Fill Site" was established near Libertytown.
The fire was "Knocked" after about 15 minutes and placed "Under Control" in about 50 minutes. Crews worked for at least another 2 hours while Fire Investigators from Frederick County and the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office conducted the investigation. The fire was possibly 'electrical' in nature but the investigation is continuing. No one was home at the time of the incident and no injuries occurred.
All units were back in-service at 1534 hrs. Pleasant Valley Engine 61 covered Station 8 during the incident.
Units:
E-81, E/T-82, RS-8, M-89, Chief 8-1
Mutual Aid:
FC E-171, E-172, Ta-17, B-175, A-179, Chief 17, Chief 17-1 (Libertytown), FC E162 (Woodsboro), FC Qt-11 (Walkersville), FC E-153 (New Market), FC A-248 (Walkersville EMS), CC E-101, E-102, PM-109(New Windsor), CC L-5 (Taneytown), CC E-141, Ta-14 (Winfield), FC E/T-134, FC Batt 901, EMS 901, Safety 902, FC Fire Marshal, MDSFM Office
FC Box 17-9. Fire burnt the second floor completely. Overhaul was extensive. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
Crews worked for a couple of hours completing overhaul after the fire was extinguished. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
After rearranging apparatus on the narrow road, FC Quint 11 sets up to begin working. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
Crews from CC 5 worked from FC Qt-11 to removed soffit and siding. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
The narrow road had units stacked in from the south and north side of the incident. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
Potomac Edison worker makes the scene safe. The power line was down prior to the arrival of first units. Photo: Lt. C. Harris
