Early Video: Rural Firefighting at a Double Fatal House Fire

Warning: this video below might be a little hard to watch for urban firefighters. This house fire is in the rural setting…

I watched and kinda gasped as the video ran. However, you have to put it into perspective. These guys are rural firefighters, most likely volunteers, and probably were not at the station when the call came in. As you can see, some firefighters showed up by POV, and some apparatus showed up with only 1 firefighter in it.

That is not uncommon in some rural areas.

The two things that really stuck out in my head that I would not have done in either rural or urban firefighting is forgetting at least 1 hand tool and I would have had a little more pep in my step.

There are so many things that urban firefighters have to their disposal that rural firefighters do not….manpower, quicker responses, quicker en route times, potentially more experience, and fire hydrants among other things.

It took around 3 and a half minutes for firefighters to make entry after the first firefighter got out of the engine. That would be unacceptable in my department…what about yours?

Consider the time it took firefighters to get to the station, response time, and time on scene before making entry and extinguishment. Do you think your department might have had a chance at getting to the victims while they were still viable victims?

The fire occured at 424 Horseshoe Bend Road in Logansport, KY.

Dave Statter also has the video posted here

More information on the fire at the Banner-Republican