May Incidents 2017

On Wednesday afternoon just after 2:30 on May 4th, JFRD units assembled for a Second Alarm assignment in the 2200 block of Atlantic Boulevard to extinguish a commercial structure fire at "Angel Hair Braiding." As the first units arrived on scene they were promptly confronted by heavy smoke that was visible from the single story, concrete block building, but without any further prominent visuals of flames and fire to provide additional information or evidence as to the actual magnitude of the task at hand. Firefighters began at once to gain access into the business and, upon entering, found zero visibility and extreme levels of heat present throughout the interior areas. The aforementioned conditions, coupled with a heavy fireload comprised of both a variety and multitude of items (such as several mattresses found on the floor), quickly made the interior fire attack a difficult and dangerous proposition. In order to lessen the profound levels of smoke now aggressively swirling about the firefighters, Command initiated a vertical ventilation sector along the roof that would soon witness the first responders cutting into that area of the structure to mitigate the inimical elements of both smoke and heat. Now revealing the precise location of the fire as being within the attic area, crews were capable of quickly thwarting any forward progress of the flames and the incident was called under control in just under 30 minutes. With ceiling tiles pulled to search for any additional extensions and overhaul measures enacted, the arrival of the State Fire Marshal at the scene signaled the beginning of the painstaking process of determining the exact area of origin and cause for the blaze. Damage estimates were not readily available in the immediate aftermath of the incident due to the numerous, damaged items found throughout the business.