Video: Lafayette County Firefighters Make Attack on Stubborn Attic Fire

The question is if the PPV worked? If vertical ventilation might have helped? One thing is for sure, another hose line would have helped.

In the beginning, the firefighters make an attempt at the fire. In the middle, the same firefighters are making an attempt at the fire. And in the end, the same firefighters are making an attempt on the fire.

The fire runs the roof on them, and they are unable to cut it off. You can watch it all in the video. It seems as though the PPV made conditions better inside. However, unless you are able to put the fire out, that fan will feed the fire. This is a known risk with PPV.

My department uses PPV all of the time. We know how it works and when to use it. Rarely does it feed the fire much before we get it out for good.

This fire is one of those that without any thought of potential victims, many departments would have put a stream through the window and waited for it to vent itself through the roof.

I have to say two major things that seemed to be missing here were:

  1. Another hoseline
  2. More firefighters to open up the ceiling so the firefighters could get to the fire better.

At the very beginning, I didn’t think anyone was going to follow that first firefighter into the fire.

I believe this is Lafayette County, Mississippi…but it could be anywhere USA!

What would you or your department have done differently?