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ooh ooh that smell...
Lat night... right before the official change of shifts... fire alarm got a call from Classic Pizza reporting that they could smell something burning inside of the building, but no smoke/fire visible.
A full 1st alarm response was dispatched. Since my relief had not yet arrived, I was detailed to the call.
Engine 3 arrived first and reported nothing showing. I arrived in C2 right behind the Rescue. Ladder 2 and Engine 1 arrived right behind me.
There was definitely a funky odor in the restaurant.. a combination of rubber, wood and the smell of ballast burning. Since the restaurant dining area didn't have florescent lighting, that ruled out ballast.
Engine 3 and Rescue 1 checked the second floor area, Engine 1 scoped the restaurant area and Ladder 2 prepared to throw the stick if necessary. Nothing showed on the thermal imagers, yet the smell got stronger.
The second floor was cleared, so efforts were concentrated in the restaurant area. Thinking that the odor was emanating from the HVAC units, power was shut down. The smell persisted....
We started lifting ceiling tiles near the light fixtures.. the smell intensified, but there was no smoke.
One of the firefighters from Engine 3 noticed that there was a "dark spot" on one of the ceiling tiles near the door...
That tile was lifted and voila! the source was found. A transformer/ballast unit for the restaurant's exterior sign had burnt out, causing the rubber/ballast smell. The wood strapping that the unit was attached to was charred, causing the burnt wood smell. Our new ISG Elite thermal imager showed the temperature of the unit at almost 300 degrees, it glowed a nice red on the imager.
Power was restored to the HVAC units, power to the sign was shut down and the restaurant owner was advised to contact an electrician to repair the unit.
Persistence pays!
A full 1st alarm response was dispatched. Since my relief had not yet arrived, I was detailed to the call.
Engine 3 arrived first and reported nothing showing. I arrived in C2 right behind the Rescue. Ladder 2 and Engine 1 arrived right behind me.
There was definitely a funky odor in the restaurant.. a combination of rubber, wood and the smell of ballast burning. Since the restaurant dining area didn't have florescent lighting, that ruled out ballast.
Engine 3 and Rescue 1 checked the second floor area, Engine 1 scoped the restaurant area and Ladder 2 prepared to throw the stick if necessary. Nothing showed on the thermal imagers, yet the smell got stronger.
The second floor was cleared, so efforts were concentrated in the restaurant area. Thinking that the odor was emanating from the HVAC units, power was shut down. The smell persisted....
We started lifting ceiling tiles near the light fixtures.. the smell intensified, but there was no smoke.
One of the firefighters from Engine 3 noticed that there was a "dark spot" on one of the ceiling tiles near the door...
That tile was lifted and voila! the source was found. A transformer/ballast unit for the restaurant's exterior sign had burnt out, causing the rubber/ballast smell. The wood strapping that the unit was attached to was charred, causing the burnt wood smell. Our new ISG Elite thermal imager showed the temperature of the unit at almost 300 degrees, it glowed a nice red on the imager.
Power was restored to the HVAC units, power to the sign was shut down and the restaurant owner was advised to contact an electrician to repair the unit.
Persistence pays!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rusty Mancini on
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Great job to you and your crew Ron! The persistent search payed off. You had me going with your topic title. lol..
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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on
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The personnel of E1, E3, L2, and R1 did all the hard work and get the credit... I just coordinated...
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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Very interesting. We can still use all our senses and our grey matter, but I sure like what we can do with thermal imagers, too.
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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
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The tiger in you and your crew showed us all what persistence can do. Never shrugging your shoulders and walking away prevents returning to an extra alarm call in the middle of the night with egg all over your face. A tip of the helmet to you and your crew.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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Anyone needIng a good definition of what professionalism is all about only needs to read this discussion post.
CBz
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