A new slogan for the Fire Service should be " Know Whats Under Your Feet " and " Time is the Biggest Enemy "

 Note : This article is not to criticize it is to show why training is so important and-in this case it did and I has taught some very valuable lessons .The National Fire Code has been written on past tragedy's and what was learned at this fire will be  very useful in the future.


March 26 ,2016 will go down in memory's in Penn Hills and Allegheny County after the former Rivers Edge Restaurant  in its latest reincarnation as Vicinos Italian Restaurant   burned to the ground and taught several valuable lessons to Firefighters .Who did not know about a sub basement and almost cost them their lives.  When 7 where trapped and 3 injured  Their training kicked in and they got out alive. This was one of the biggest baddest and scariest fire's in the history of Penn Hills.
and it will not be the last

In the Construction Trades one of the valuable lessons you learn on a construction site is " know whats under your feet ". Know that the floor is solid the beam or board your about to walk on is solid
  the tiles you walk on have not just been set and are drying etc. so you do not injure yourself and end up in a basement hurt or dead.  many a construction worker has ignored this rule and paid the price  I paid this price when a set of  wooden steps improperly reinforced came out from under me in 1992  causing me to fall 12 feet to a wooden floor and crushing my heal resulting in a life time of pain and 2 plates and seven screws  in it  and permanent disability , but building owners and general Contractors fail everyday to follow the rule of time and allowing proper amount of time for construction to take place this gets people hurt and killed and caused many fires and collapses.
  and so now you have Firefighters who have become victims of the rule of  the late Francis Brannigan   The father of modern Construction as he was known in Fire service " The Building is The Enemy Know the Enemy"  a good rule to know as a construction worker as well.

http://www.wtae.com/news/firefighters-working-to-battle-blaze-in-penn-hills/38709214

The Rivers Edge as it was known for many years and was owned by a man named Sonny Casale who Ironically died on the day fire started  he started the restaurant

CASALE

PHILIP "SONNY"

Age 84, of West Deer, formerly Penn Hills, on March 26, 2016. Husband of Lorraine Pennetti Casale;  Sonny was the proud owner of The Rivers Edge Restaurant in Penn Hills for over 40 years. There will be no viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday 10:30 a.m. in St. Victor Church, West Deer. Fr. Charles Speicher, celebrant. Donations in Sonny's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital . Arrangements entrusted to SCHELLHAAS FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, LTD., Bakerstown.

Published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar. 27, 2016

some time in 50's  and was added on to several times  over the years with an apartment on top. One of the additions My dad and I  did the  electrical wiring in back around 1969 when I was a  10 yr old child and  my dad had his own electrical company which he closed before I started mine as he had a full time job as an Electrician at J&L / LTV  Steel
I knew about that sub basement but was in Altoona when the fire broke out and even had I been in town and known of the fire and called the chief would he have heard my phone call already being overwhelmed with problems on scene including lack of sufficient water to put out the fire .  The firefighters responding  did not know about the sub basement but should have but  so many buildings go unchecked  because firefighters are volunteers and do not have the time to check each and every business, let alone all the changes the place has gone thru over the years as it changed hands several times as well as sat vacant for long periods  after it was the Rivers Edge. A restaurateur named Mike Roman tried to make a go of it and the venture failed  in under a year and the latest venture Vincinos  closed last year after the  two partners got into a dispute and closed it within 6 months of opening so there have been several remodels over the years.

What we had in the making was the perfect death trap for firefighters.
No one  on sight knew the building  upon initial attack and No one knew the fire was burning for a long period in the sub basement just waiting to burst out and explode right under their feet.  Would a thermal camera of the floor have helped them determine a sub basement  was underneath full of fire  ? This I can not answer But it is a question that needs to be answered is it a tool which can prevent these kind of issues ? As so many firefighters have been trapped and killed in basements and sub basements or have fallen thru floors into them. 4 Firefighters lost their lives  just a short piece up the river from Penn Hills in early 90's  in Harrison Hills when a  concrete floor collapsed under them because a fire had been burning underneath for hours With all the new technology out there we need something which will allow firefighters to better see what they are facing

This is where building construction knowledge is essential the fire academy's offer building and structure classes but most firefighters want to slay the dragon and take the structure burn class than sit in class and look at pictures of building interiors and how they are put together.  Just a good solid walk around when on scene can reveal many details to the trained eye when coming upon an unfamiliar building but in the chaos which consumes the fire ground there is often not time to do it.
Add in the fact you have an apartment upstairs to worry about if it was occupied or not and little amount of water . This fire time was the enemy.

Yes some community's have an excellent computer based program gives firefighters every thing they need to know about a property and Penn Hills  doe not have that kind of money it takes to build and maintain such a service.   But they have  appointed a new Fire Marshal who is doing everything he can to make it a better community including whats going on in buildings and working hand in hand with firefighters .He even put in place" The Compliance Engine" Program to help track building fire alarm inspections  his efforts also includes showing up at fires to provide this knowledge  and providing information on whats in the buildings  But in this case timing was everything. Firefighters where already well into the attack and things went wrong fast before information could be disseminated by the Fire Marshal. 

So  to this is where Code Enforcement dept needs to be a player as well and  should be working hand in hand with the firefighters but again this dept has all new inspectors since the older ones have retired and where adequate records even kept before these inspectors took there  position ? In many cases it is not possible because as soon as the inspector signs off and allows a business to open some back door hack contractor is inside putting up walls and cutting in door ways etc with out the building inspectors knowledge and it goes on everywhere. The new inspectors are well trained and trying to help with being part of the solution which is fantastic that that Code  Enforcement ,Fire marshal and Firefighters  are working together to make it safer for all .

People have been quick to criticize Chief Snyder for the way he ran the fire you could not have had a better chief running it he has many hours of training and I have been beside him as a working  Driver/ Engineer at some big fires and he was presented with so many obstacles so fast that he had to make in a split second with out second guessing . Its easy to arm chair  fire chief I know plenty of fire chiefs would have needed to change their shorts coming up on a fire like this. Again Chiefs Snyders training and Knowledge kicked in. and many lessons learned
It was a brilliant on his part to start the tanker loop as fast as he did and to bring in Greensburg Foam Unit  He ultimately  saved lives and protected surrounding properties because of his decisions including calling immediately for a RIT team  he should be praised not criticized.

It would be nice if the fire dept could pull up and have X-ray Vision and be able to see whats going on inside but thats not possible thats where common sense and skills developed over many years is your best friend in this case that training paid off and the firefighters got out alive when fighting a fire always expect the unexpected and be ready for it.
Thats why it is essential that firefighters learn how buildings are constructed and attend these classes which many do not to their detriment. which brings my saying " The Fire Service is its own worst enemy. "

 Know the rules.

The Building is the Enemy Know the Enemy

Know Whats Under Your Feet.

Time is your Biggest Enemy  -Be ready for anything 

 Know the Fire Service is its own  worst enemy -  and you need to educate yourself on everything you can so when you find your self in a bad situation you are able to get out of it.

Why are you paying $30-50 or more dollars a month for alarm monitoring when dealer providing it could be paying the central station as little as $2.50 per month . The dirty Secret alarm dealers do not want you to know.

I recently replaced a woman's alarm in her home she was paying $43.95 a month and a 3rd party monitoring who wanted to raise it to $46.95 a month to monitor over a plain old telephone line 2 doors and a motion.  no cell phone or automation or included maintenance service.

Thats just plain crazy to pay that much .
 I put a new and much better  Honeywell Lynx Plus system for $450.00 and  she now pays $15.00 a month 

Yes monitoring of alarm systems has gotten out of hand and I often get criticized by other dealers as  I have kept my monitoring rates at half or less  what every one else charges. I am not in it as a revenue stream I make a couple bucks for handling administrative stuff . no contract its month to month

When I started $10 -15 a month was average then some one got a big idea sign a 3-5 year contract at $30.00 a month and we give you a free worthless alarm system worth $250.00  and you are now providing them a continuous  RMR or Recurring Monthly Revenue stream which earns dealers thousands of dollars a month.

That was the beginning of the end of professional alarm monitoring and installation services for residential customers. Just like cell phones Free is not free you are paying for it often thousands over what the service cost the dealer.

Take monitoring  some dealers are sending there accounts to All American in Florida.

Yes thats right the post card they recently sent out they are charging dealers only $2.50 cents a month
so out of $30.00 monitoring $ 28.50 is going right in the dealers pocket for what exactly? and All American is not alone there are others like Mason Monitoring offer cheap 3rd party monitoring as well .

Now  for $30.00 are  you getting included  cellular or internet  back up communication or interactive cameras and automation  or  discounted or free repairs ? Yes then it is worth it otherwise your just another cash cow for the alarm dealer.and see what those uniforms and flashy trucks are paid with.

Tired of paying all these excessive fees check around for a small alarm dealer in your area.  who offers competitive monitoring and much better service than many big company's.  Also consider Simply Safe a DIY product which offers a $15.00 a month no contract plan .
 

Not all lines lower on Telephone Poles are Low Voltage Beware what looks like 3 twisted thick wires which look like Phone Lines they are actually 23,000 volts ?

Yes if you have ever been to any  electrical safety classes or been a fireman and seen the poster showing what voltages are where on a pole it usually starts with  Phone and cable at bottom then service wires to home and business which are  120/230   then at top 4700 volts  all the way to 45,000 volts or higher

But this is not always the case  some utility's like Duquesne Light Company  run a sub feed line between  substations which consist of   3 large  oil filled  lead and rubber lined wire twisted together  which look like phone lines but are not and these run above the 120/230 volt service lines .People often mistake what they are seeing are telephone wires and it could have very deadly consequences for them if they think so and approach one at an accident scene think hey are phone lines.

As you can see in picture above there are 3 wires with large insulators attached which are feed  from
high voltage wires  above and then go down pole and begin to twist these wires are above the 120/230 service wires. yes they look like phone wires but they are not they have as much as 23,000 volts running thru them . these are used  to allow multiple high voltage wires to be run on smaller poles  and around and thru tight areas open high voltage wires can not be run and also used to feed high voltage into some commercial and industrial buildings transformers,like I have at one of my indistrail customers in Baraddock Pa.
Even thou they look like 3 twisted phone lines they are not.

This is exactly why

 ALL DOWNED  WIRES    PHONE - CABLE - POWER SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ENERGIZED  ( LIVE )AND POWERED AND NOT APPROACHED EXCEPT BY TRAINED ELECTRICAL PERSONAL

Even a simple cable wire can have as much as 70 volts running in it  and telephone and cable wires can become energized when high voltage wires fall on them during an accident

STAY SAFE STAY ALIVE   AND STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED LINES 

If your a contractor running wires between buildings and poles get proper training so ypou know to avoid these dangers .Especially when using bucket trucks and lifts .