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Working House Fire in Bitter Cold - Capital Green

Thursday, July 2, 2015

On February 9, 2011 at 0238, the Dover Fire Department was dispatched for a working house fire at 455 New Castle Ave. E4, under the direction of Chief Fortney, was first on scene and found heavy smoke billowing from a “middle of the row”, row home. E4’s crew established a water supply and advanced a 1-3/4” attack line into the residence through the front door. L2 arrived on scene and performed an initial search and advanced a second 1-3/4” attack line into the residence. E54-5 and E6 arrived on scene minutes afterwards and set up the RIT and the aerial. E3 and E41-3 arrived on scene and were directed to perform searches in the exposure residences and a secondary search in the fire residence. All searches proved negative. Interior crews encountered heavy fire conditions and also had a large volume of fire above in the attic. As crews were inside pulling the ceiling to gain access to the attic space, the fire vented through the roof and sections began to sag. At 0254, Chief Fortney directed the removal of all personnel from the residence and the evacuation tones were sounded. After a quick par check was complete, crews placed the aerial in service and knocked down the bulk of the remaining fire. When deemed safe, crews again entered the structure and placed hand-lines back in service to extinguish a few hot spots and perform a lengthy over haul. The crews worked in adverse conditions in bitter cold with the temperature dropping to 8F with the wind-chill. Due to an aggressive attack, the fire was contained to the residence of origin and there was no extension into the adjacent residences. The fire is under investigation by the City of Dover Fire Marshal’s office. Units on Scene: Dover Engine E2, E3, E4, E6 Dover Ladder 2 Little Creek VFC Engine E54-5 (RIT) Camden-Wyoming VFC E41-3 Station 1 Cover-up: Magnolia VFC E55-3 Station 2 Cover-up: Cheswold VFC E43-3 ALS KM5 BLS A63 City of Dover FMO (FM2) Dover Police Department