Ocean City-Wright Firefighters Battle Three Alarm Apartment Fire

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19th, 2008
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19th, 2008

Contact: OCWFCD, Public Information Officer
Contact Person: Capt. Ryan Christen
Company Name: Ocean City-Wright Fire Control District
Telephone Number: 850-862-1185
Email Address: rgchristen@ocwfcd.org   
Web site address: http://www.ocwfcd.org

Ocean City-Wright Firefighters Battle Three Alarm Apartment Fire

Just after 5:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon a fire was reported at 100 8^th Ave. in Shalimar. The location of the fire was at the Shalimar Garden Apartments. Ocean City-Wright fire department was the first to arrive on scene and found heavy fire coming out of several windows of a second floor apartment. There was also fire visible from the gable end of the roof indicating that the fire had already spread into the attic.

A full third alarm response was required to extinguish this fire. Units from Ocean City-Wright, Fort Walton Beach, Eglin AFB, Okaloosa Island, and Valparaiso responded to this fire. An off duty recall was also initiated to bring in additional personnel to staff reserve trucks, and provide fire coverage to the district.

The fire completely destroyed two apartments within the building. Aggressive firefighting tactics were utilized to prevent the fire from spreading further. Crews on scene performed a “Trench Cut” on the roof. This type of roof cut opens the roof with a trench like cut from one edge, over the peak to the next edge. By performing this technique the fire and super heated gasses are allowed to ventilate without spreading further through the attic. Combining a “Trench Cut” with aggressive interior hoseline attacks successfully stopped the spread of this fire.

One civilian was transported to the hospital. The patient was out of the building when firefighters arrived. Several animals were also taken from the building during the course of the fire. No firefighters were injured.

The damage is estimated to be near $400,000 dollars. The State Fire Marshall’s Office was contacted and an investigator was sent to the scene. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Apartment fires can be particularly difficult for firefighters due to construction type, and the higher number of occupants. Everyone on scene worked very hard to ensure the fire was contained as quickly as possible. The effort of all of the fire crews on scene prevented this fire from spreading to other apartments. It was a difficult fire that involved several fire departments working together as a team. It was that teamwork that prevented this fire from being much worse. We are extremely proud of the members of Ocean City-Wright, and all of the departments that assisted us in bringing this fire under control.

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For additional information, Contact:
Capt. Ryan Christen
OCW Public Information Officer
Work: 850-862-1185

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