Tag: Battalion 5 (SE Seattle)

Seattle Firefighters Rescue Driver Trapped in Car after Collission with Train

April 20- Seattle Firefighter worked for 15 minutes to extricate a driver of a car struck by a light rail train at 7150 M L King Jr Way S.

The initial 911 call came into the Fire Alarm Center at 11:13 a.m. reporting the car versus train collision with the driver of the car trapped. A light pole had also fallen on top of the car which was jammed between a guardrail and the train.

During the rescue operation, all four lanes of traffic on South MLK Jr. Way South was shut down between South Myrtle Street and South Othello Street. Also, all Link train service along the tracks near MLK Jr Wy South were temporarily halted to allow firefighters a safe working space to extricate the driver of the car.

Medics transported the conscious and alert 50-year old male driver of the car to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition with complaints of neck and back pain.

Seattle Police Department will investigate the cause of the crash.

Firefighters Extricate Driver from Truck vs Bus Collision on Rainier Avenue South

March 7- Seattle firefighters spent half-an-hour extricating a mother from her pickup truck after a collision between the vehicle and a bus.

At 12:53 p.m.  firefighters were called to Rainier Avenue South and South Massachusetts Street for a car rescue. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found a pickup truck with a smashed-in driver’s door. The female driver was trapped in the driver’s seat of the extended cab pickup. Ladder Company 3 cut the roof off of the pickup truck and took the driver’s side door off in order to extricate the female driver.  The woman was conscious and alert. The approximately 30-year-old driver suffered a cut to her head. Medics evaluated her and transported her to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.

By the time firefighters arrived, the three children, whose ages range from 2 to 6-years-old, and the male passenger were already outside the car. All 4 patients were evaluated by Medics and did not require further treatment. The three children were secured in car seats at the time of the accident.

Three passengers on the bus were evaluated for minor injuries and did not need treatment or transport.

The Seattle Police Department is conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.

 

Tour Bus Fire Under Investigation

February 23- The cause of a fire inside the engine compartment of a bus parked at a bus maintenance yard remains under investigation.

At 8:33 p.m. Sunday night, workers at the lot located in the 4500 block of West Marginal Way SW saw smoke and fire coming from a coach that was parked inside the lot. The workers called 911 and directed firefighters to the burning tour bus.

Engine Company 11 arrived to find flames coming from both sides of the rear engine compartment of the coach with the flames exposing to a bus parked nearby. Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the single bus. However, the nearby bus suffered broken glass and some paint and trim melting and discoloration. The damage to the fire bus was $50,500.

 

South Seattle Home Fire Caused by Overheated Electrical Cord

 

January 22—Seattle Fire Investigators determined a house fire in South Seattle was accidental, caused by an overheated electrical cord. The damage estimate is $50,000.

Just after 6 a.m., dispatchers received a 911 call reporting smoke and fire showing from the windows of a 2-story home located in the 2400 block of South Graham Street. When firefighters arrived they found flames coming from the front of the house. Crews had to make forcible entry into the house.  The heavy amount of flames in the living room extended up the stairs to the second floor of the house.

Fire crews found one occupant on the rear roof of the structure. A ladder company rescued the man off the second floor roof.

Firefighter’s efforts were slowed down by a large amount of combustible materials packed inside the house. The combustibles are 4 feet high, blocked the front door and made navigation of the smoke-filled home more difficult. It took more than 5 minutes to knock down the flames and 45 minutes to completely extinguish the fire.

There were no injuries.

2-Alarm Recycling Plant Fire Ruled as Accidental Fire

Photo Courtesy: John Odegard

 

Photo Courtes: John Odegard

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  December 31—Seattle Firefighters determined a two-alarm fire at a SODO recycling plant was an accidental fire. The cause was most likely the ignition of smoldering materials or spontaneous combustion of recycling materials.

At 10:44 p.m. on December 30, a 911 call came into the Fire Alarm Center reporting a small fire in pile of paper at the recycling center located in the 2700 block of 3rd Avenue South. The first arriving engine company found flames shooting from the roof of the metal building and a rubbish fire extending into the structure.  The crew called for a full-response bringing in approximately 40 firefighters to battle the flames.

The fire extended into more than 1500 cubic yards of recycled paper and plastics. Due to the large size of the building and the large volume of fire, a second alarm was called to bring in additional resources to help control the flames. At the height of the fire, approximately 90 firefighters were on-scene battling the fire.

Firefighters used several hose lines, Engine Company deck guns and the building’s sprinkler system to control the flames. Recycle plant personnel used front loader tractors to haul 3-yard bucket loads of smoldering debris out of the piles so firefighters could wet down the embers. It took nearly 8 hours to completely extinguish the fire.

Some of the challenges the firefighters faced were several-story high smoldering recycling piles that were unstable and at a risk of collapse. Also, sub-freezing temperatures caused discharged water to freeze forming black ice around the fire scene. The ice was a fall hazard to fire crews and also made it more challenging to reposition fire apparatus around the fire scene. SDOT sent a sand truck to help alleviate the black ice hazard.

Also, King County Metro sent a Metro Bus to act as a warming station for the firefighters to rehabilitate between battling the fire on the front lines.

The damage estimate is $10,000 including damage to the fiberglass siding of the business and damage to the electrical systems. We do not have an estimate for the damage to the recycling materials.