By Michael M. Dugan
Preplanning pays off! Every department, every firehouse, and every company has one: a building that you dread hearing the tone drop for, the address that scares you and all of the members of your unit. These buildings are in every district and in every town. What makes one operation at these buildings go like clockwork and another one take a bad turn? The answers are preplanning and prefire knowledge. Companies and departments that drill at these buildings usually have a better and safer firefight and fewer issues during a fire.
Such was the case on January 4, 2014, when the East Northport (NY) Fire Department responded at 1454 hours to a report of fire in a building with stores and a single apartment on the first floor and four apartments above. Department members were familiar with the building because of numerous drills at that location. The building is of ordinary construction with wood joists and concrete block walls and a large attic above the second floor. Three separate buildings form an I-shaped building; the fire was in the front building.
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