20180308 - Unincorporated Mount Juliet - Fatal House Fire
806 Crystal Court - At 7:33PM, firefighters from the Wilson County Emergency Management were dispatched to a reported house fire, with the possibility of an occupant still within.
The first units to arrive on scene were Engine-41 (A Shift) and Medic-41 under the command of Lieutenant Lisa Heckman [605]. She reported smoke showing from the A and B sides of a two story wood frame, brick faced, residential structure. She was advised by neighbors that if there was a vehicle in the driveway, and there was, that the occupant was home. One neighbor said they had banged on the door and hollered in but there had been no answer.
One hand line was stretched to the front door and entry was attempted, but the floor was collapsed and entry was not possible. There was visible fire and they extinguished it. Firefighters then made their way to the rear of the structure and had fire showing from a window in the B / C corner.
Engine-31 with Captain Alan Kaiser [601], Engine-61, and A-Shift Commander James Copas [600], and WEMA Deputy Director / Fire Chief Jeremy Hobbs [901] arrived in short order and additional suppression efforts began.
Crews were unable to make entry on the first floor through any doors or windows due to the floors being collapsed or unstable throughout.
Since conventional methods of attacking the fire would not be possible, additional manpower and resources from the Fire Department of the City of Mount Juliet were requested to respond to the scene to assist. FDMJ Squad-103 (C Shift) under the command of Lieutenant Drew Noland [1130], Chief Jamie Luffman [Chief-101] and Deputy Chief Christopher Allen [Chief-102] responded to the scene. FDMJ Ladder-111 staffed with volunteer personnel also responded to the scene. These 15 Mt Juliet firefighters augmented WEMA's 11 firefighters already on the scene making work / rest cycles possible, preventing burnout.
The Wilson County Emergency Services Rehab Unit [Rehab 23] provided refreshments so that crews could safely return to work and face the difficult task ahead.
Since entering the structure by normal ways would not be possible, firefighters were forced to improvise. Following the suggestion of FDMJ Deputy Chief Chris Allen, Commander Copas ordered crews to breach the B side of the house and attack the fire that way. Crews located fire in the walls and in the floor and between the floor joists in the crawlspace, and were able to put water on it.
A primary search was conducted but had no result. Due to the collapsed floors, a more thorough secondary search would have to wait until daylight.
Crews were on scene for nearly 7 hours before taking up and returning to quarters. A fresh crew returned in the morning to attempt to investigate the cause of the fire and conduct a thorough daylight search of the residence. This secondary search did turn up one victim of the fire. Administration and Law enforcement were notified and responded back to the scene.
No firefighters were injured fighting this fire, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Read MoreThe first units to arrive on scene were Engine-41 (A Shift) and Medic-41 under the command of Lieutenant Lisa Heckman [605]. She reported smoke showing from the A and B sides of a two story wood frame, brick faced, residential structure. She was advised by neighbors that if there was a vehicle in the driveway, and there was, that the occupant was home. One neighbor said they had banged on the door and hollered in but there had been no answer.
One hand line was stretched to the front door and entry was attempted, but the floor was collapsed and entry was not possible. There was visible fire and they extinguished it. Firefighters then made their way to the rear of the structure and had fire showing from a window in the B / C corner.
Engine-31 with Captain Alan Kaiser [601], Engine-61, and A-Shift Commander James Copas [600], and WEMA Deputy Director / Fire Chief Jeremy Hobbs [901] arrived in short order and additional suppression efforts began.
Crews were unable to make entry on the first floor through any doors or windows due to the floors being collapsed or unstable throughout.
Since conventional methods of attacking the fire would not be possible, additional manpower and resources from the Fire Department of the City of Mount Juliet were requested to respond to the scene to assist. FDMJ Squad-103 (C Shift) under the command of Lieutenant Drew Noland [1130], Chief Jamie Luffman [Chief-101] and Deputy Chief Christopher Allen [Chief-102] responded to the scene. FDMJ Ladder-111 staffed with volunteer personnel also responded to the scene. These 15 Mt Juliet firefighters augmented WEMA's 11 firefighters already on the scene making work / rest cycles possible, preventing burnout.
The Wilson County Emergency Services Rehab Unit [Rehab 23] provided refreshments so that crews could safely return to work and face the difficult task ahead.
Since entering the structure by normal ways would not be possible, firefighters were forced to improvise. Following the suggestion of FDMJ Deputy Chief Chris Allen, Commander Copas ordered crews to breach the B side of the house and attack the fire that way. Crews located fire in the walls and in the floor and between the floor joists in the crawlspace, and were able to put water on it.
A primary search was conducted but had no result. Due to the collapsed floors, a more thorough secondary search would have to wait until daylight.
Crews were on scene for nearly 7 hours before taking up and returning to quarters. A fresh crew returned in the morning to attempt to investigate the cause of the fire and conduct a thorough daylight search of the residence. This secondary search did turn up one victim of the fire. Administration and Law enforcement were notified and responded back to the scene.
No firefighters were injured fighting this fire, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
