December Incidents 2018

Barely a few days into the month of December and JFRD units were already confronted by a somewhat unusual or, at the very least less than 'ordinary' response, in the form of a partial roof collapse at a strip mall located at 11000 Beach Boulevard. Dispatched shortly after 11:30 AM, the first arriving units discovered that along the back in the far southeastern corner of the "L" - shaped building a substantial section of both wall and roof had simply collapsed into a heap of rubble. An immediate and thoroughly performed primary and secondary search thankfully revealed no victims trapped beneath the debris while all active business establishments in the strip mall were simultaneously evacuated, the latter objective enveloping a dog daycare facility with on scene firefighters happily lending a hand in escorting the canines out into the parking lot. The exact location of the collapse directly impacted one particular business enterprise by the name of 'Truth Entertainment Complex,' a moniker boldly displayed on a sign above the front entrance. Swiftly performed research of applicable databases soon revealed that the aforementioned entity had not been actively engaged in commerce at that location for several months and, hence, would not feel the financial impact of not being in business for a prolonged period of time due to the structural damage. Unfortunately though, the examination of the entire complex did reveal that the sprinkler system for the strip mall was now compromised in the wake of the collapse and thus all other businesses were delivered a 'cease and desist' order by the Fire Marshal's office. The cause? No one can say for sure, however, a storm cell had delivered a massive, torrential downpour that morning that could have possibly stressed the roof beyond the 'event horizon.' One ironic element of the incident was not lost on the assembled first responders: with the eventful Hurricane Season of 2018 just coming to an end, and without a single significant structural emergency occurring throughout that entire season typically devoted to Mother Nature's fury, the fact that a 'simple,' nearly run-of-the-mill storm system could (and would) cause such a catastrophic collapse was indicative of the capricious, unpredictable nature of emergency response.