March Incidents 2018

A most unusual and, most assuredly tragic incident, occurred on Friday the 16th of March in the late afternoon hours in a complex known as the 'Cottages at Greenland' in the 5600 block of Greenland Road. JFRD units responded to the report of several people feeling 'ill,' with the aforementioned description occurring in several of the condo units located within the compound. With metering showing CO levels at an elevated 500 ppm in some of the dwellings, firefighters quickly began evacuation operations and, unfortunately, discovered a deceased, elderly female in her residence, an apparent fatality due to carbon monoxide poisoning. As firefighters continued mitigation objectives through the use of fans to move out all of the deadly 'air,' the first part of the investigative process revealed that the elderly woman had accidently left her car running in her attached garage, the exhaust fumes quickly and easily spreading throughout several residential units within the compound. Two other residents had to be transported to an area hospital as a precaution and were expected to make a complete recovery.  
A challenging event for assigned JFRD units unfolded just before dawn on the 22nd of March, as firefighters responded to the report of a 'strong odor' in the corridor of Buffalo and Virginia Street and, more specifically, in the direct area adjacent to Shaw Seafood. The arriving crews immediately confirmed an overwhelming, noxious scent in the area, with several housholds volunteering to evacuate their residences to escape the unbearable stench. As firefighters began to meter the atmosphere other members surveyed the surroundings and soon learned from workers at the seafood plant that a leak had sprung during repair work: a leak that had resulted in the release of ammonia. Thankfully the repair work had been completed with the leak successfully mitigated, and with the early morning wind gaining strength with every passing minute and metered levels deemed acceptable, the threat of a sizeable evacuation for the neighborhood area failed to materialize and the operation was terminated without any additional issues.
A far less successful outcome was noted on the 29th of March in the 5800 block of University Boulevard West as firefighters responded to the report of an apartment fire at the Avesta Grande Apartments. Although smoke, no flames, were visible upon arriving at the scene and crews were able to immediately make their way into the ground floor apartment, the discovery of a deceased adult female with no further fire damage anywhere in the unit was both tragic and puzzling. The State Fire Marshal was called to perform the investigation.