Volunteers Cut Off Boat Yard Fire Despite Winds and Exploding Tanks
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A fire in a 14,000-square-foot, wood-frame boat storage shed destroyed or damaged 37 boats and ignited a couple of brush fires—one was a half mile from the main fire—in Portland, Conn., last April 25.
But good exposure protection saved a larger nearby boat shed, three 12,000-square-foot sheds and other buildings. Most were within 50 feet of the fire building. Winds gusting to 30 mph were reported, and some residences in the area were also threatened.
Over 130 fire fighters from three departments (including 106 from Portland) fought the fires. Personal safety was a constant concern. Primary eletrical lines running through the boat yard burned and dropped to the pavement, although it was later determined that the wires were not energized. Meanwhile, exploding fuel tanks shot huge balls of fire up to 100 feet in the air.
The setting
Portland, with 8300 residents, is located in the approximate geographical center of Connecticut.
The Portland Volunteer Fire Department has 90 active volunteers, plus perhaps 50 inactive or retired, in three companies, each run by a captain and three lieutenants. The department is headed by Chief Donald B. Kelsey.
The Portland Boat Works is located on almost 5 acres of land bordered by the Connecticut River on the south, Grove St. on the west and private residential properties on the north and east. The fire building was located in the center of the complex. It was sheathed and roofed with corrugated aluminum, and the work shed was separated from the building by the same corrugated aluminum siding.
First alarm
The first alarm of the fire came in at 10:25 p.m. as a telephone 911 alarm reporting a structure fire at the Portland Boat Works. Additional calls reporting the same fire filled all of the emergency lines immediately. Deputy Chief George V. Johnson, Engine 1 (750 gpm), Engine 2 (750 gpm), and Engine 5 (1000 gpm) responded with a rescue truck.
Kelsey responded when he was notified by the lieutenant from Engine 1 of a working structure fire at 10:28. The lieutenant then ordered Engine 1 to take the hydrant at the corner of Grove and Riverside Sts. Engine 1 dropped a double lay of 3-inch hose 500 feet into the complex, positioned to protect the surrounding structures. While the lines from the hydrant were being charged, the men from Engine 1 stretched three preconnected 1 1/2-inch hand lines and started to protect the exposed structures, using the 750 gallons of water contained in the booster tank.
As soon as the hydrant lines were charged, a 2 1/2-inch hand line was stretched and directed onto the involved building. Subsequently, due to the extreme heat on the men of Engine 1, both 250-foot, 3/4-inch booster lines were stretched and directed onto the fire fighters.
Photo by Matthew R. Kabel
While still a mile from the scene, but with a large amount of fire and smoke in the sky, Kelsey directed the dispatch center at 10:29 to transmit a second alarm. At the same time, Assistant Chief Salvatore Pitruzzello, in Ladder 1, a 75-foot water tower equipped with a 1500-gpm pump and a 300-gallon booster tank, responded with Portland 7, a brush truck equipped with a slip-on, self-contained tank, pump, booster reel and auxiliary lighting system. Portland 6, a 2500-gallon tanker, responded a minute later to attend to any firebrands.
Broad attack
At the scene, Ladder 1 proceeded into the complex where the assistant chief positioned it 50 feet south of the fire building and proceeded to raise the ladder. At the same time Engine 2 was directed by the deputy chief to draft from the launching slip and hand lay three 3-inch supply lines 150 feet to Ladder 1. As soon as Ladder 1 was positioned and the ladder raised, the water from the booster tank was used to protect the nearest boat shed, which by this time was starting to smoke. As soon as supply lines from Engine 2 were charged, the men from Ladder 1 stretched a 2½ -inch hand line to protect the shed. The ladder then directed its discharge onto the fire building, which by this time was fully involved. Four 1 ½ -inch lines were subsequently stretched from Ladder 1 to protect the southern exposures and to extinguish the burning boats stored against the south wall of the fire building.
At 10:34, Kelsey requested mutual aid from the Town of East Hampton to provide one pumper to stand by. East Hampton sent a 1000-gpm pumper to Portland’s Station 3.
Engine 5 arrived on the scene at 10:35 and was positioned to the rear of Engine 2 to draft from the launching slip. The men of Engine 5 then hand stretched a 3-inch supply line 350 feet to Engine 1 and one 3-inch supply line 150 feet to Ladder 1. A third 3-inch line was stretched and used as a hand line directed onto the fire. At the same time, Portland 7 arrived on the scene.
The Professional Ambulance Service, a commercial ambulance company located across the bridge in Middletown arrived with three ambulances and crews for any injuries that might occur. These crews treated many fire fighters for cuts, abrasions and debris in the eyes. They also administered oxygen to a few fire fighters who received too much smoke.
Third alarm
At 10:41, the chief requested a third alarm. The two reserve pumpers, Engine 3 and 4 (both 500-gpm pumpers) and another brush truck equipped with an auxiliary lighting system were dispatched.
A few minutes later Kelsey ordered the 1500-gpm Engine 1 responding from Middletown to report to the scene rather than the headquarters station for standby as originally requested. When it arrived it reverse laid two 2 1/2-inch lines part of the 500-foot distance towards the northeast corner of the yard. It then was positioned next to the river, in the southeast corner of the complex, to draft from the river. While Engine 1 was setting up to draft, the fire fighters from that engine completed the hand lay of the two 2 1/2-inch lines and positioned their deluge gun to the northeast corner. The deck gun was directed onto the fire building.
At this time, Chief John Riordon and Deputy Chief Donald Scranton of the Middletown Fire Department arrived and directed their men to hand stretch a third 2 1/2-inch line 500 feet from their engine to the northeast corner of the yard to use as a hand line to protect boats next to the fire building.
Standing by
At 10:44, Chief Phil Visintainer of the East Hampton Volunteer Fire Department, ordered East Hampton’s Engine 1, another 1000-gpm pumper to respond to the Portland headquarters, since Middletown’s Engine 1 had been diverted. He also directed that the men not responding to Portland on their equipment were to stand by in their own stations, should it become necessary to provide more assistance. He also asked the Haddam Neck Fire Department to stand by at their own quarters to provide back-up to East Hampton, since East Hampton’s two largest pumpers were out of town.
Soon after Engine 3 arrived, it and Portland 6 responded to a grass fire several hundred feet north of the boat yard complex and extinguished that fire, which apparently was started by blowing firebrands, in 10 minutes. But about 20 minutes later the dispatch center transmitted a report of a large brush fire approximately half a mile to the north of the boat yard. Engines 3 and 4 and Portland 6 and 8, as well as East Hampton Engine 1, responded to that fire and extinguished it in 16 minutes. After the brush fire was extinguished, all Portland units returned to the boat yard, while East Hampton Engine 1 returned to Portland headquarters.
Upon its return from the brush fire around midnight, Engine 3 was positioned in the boat yard complex and a changeover was made of all lines from Engine 1 to Engine 3, so that Engine 1, which had been stripped of all its hose, could return to its station to be repacked.
Overhauling and repacking
After Engine 1 was released from the scene to return to its station to be repacked, Engine 4 was placed in line at the hydrant on the corner of Grove and Riverview Sts. so that most of the supply lines could be broken down and picked up. The large-diameter hand lines were also broken down and only the small hand lines were left intact to complete the overhaul. As the used hose was picked up, it was returned to the various stations. However, due to a house fire and a barn fire which had occurred one week earlier, all three hose towers were full of hose that had to be taken down and rolled before the hose from the boat yard could be washed and hung.
One of the strengths of a volunteer fire department is the wide range of experiences of its fire fighters. Consequently, many of the more experienced fire fighters, having had their share of long, difficult overhauls, volunteered to return with their apparatus to their respective stations and take down and roll hose and repack their apparatus, leaving the overhaul to the newer members of the department. The newer members of the department, however, were pleased to be able to participate in the overhaul of the still-smoldering boat storage shed and boats. They got the opportunity to use foam eductors to completely extinguish the hard-to-get-at fires in the boats. A total of 10 5-gallon containers of 3 percent protein foam were used during the overhaul, and the actual overhaul gave newer fire fighters the opportunity to put their textbook and training sessions to the test.
Kelsey declared the fire to be extinguished at 6:00 in the morning. However, approximately 10 fire fighters remained on the scene to assist the boat yard employees in preventing sightseers from entering the scene and disturbing any evidence relating to the cause of the fire. Portland Fire Marshal Joseph F. Lynch, who is also a former chief of the department, arrived on the scene soon after the department’s notification of the fire and started his investigation. However, due to the complete destruction of the building, assistance was requested of the State Fire Marshal’s office. As of this compilation of data, no official cause of the fire has been determined and the investigation is continuing.
