Houston we have a problem

[cda]

"""Firefighters also had to deal with a problem with the building's internal water supply — apparently a broken pipe. HFD had to pipe water directly into the building."""

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7178727.html

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7639809

anyone hear of runners in the fire department, all they do is take equipment up the stairs, but do not wear turn outs, and do not go any where near hot areas??? So they just shuttle equipment????

 

[FM William Burns]

Yea, they're called rookies

 

[Builder Bob]

when bunker gear and airpacks add another 50 to 75 lbs to a person...... when "shuttleing equipment" it means carrying about 70 to 100 lbs of equipment in addition to what a fire fighter wears... In the old days, a 30 minute air cylinder lasted about 15 minutes while a FF was engaged in heavy activity. It takes about a minute a flight of stairs to travel one story.... so in the old days, a 7 story building was about the max a person could climb a set of stairs.....because as soon as they got to the top, they had to return due to low air pressure.

In other words, a highrise fire is a logistical nightmare - think about the military for combat ops, I believe in WW2 it was about a 3 to 4 to 1 ratio for the boys fighting on the front.

 

[cda]

have not had to wear equipment in ____ years, but seems like they would use runners to take equipment up, and they would not wear anything except a uniform, and carry it to one or two floors below the fire floor, so they would maybe make it up with less effort

 

[cda]

some of the rest of the story

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/7180590.html

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.