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Comment by J on January 22, 2011 at 8:18pm

These guys are twabbers. The camera man is closer than they are. The camera man has a better chance of putting this fire out than the firemen.

Comment by Matt Sherman on January 22, 2011 at 8:07pm

as I look around up and down the road it seems there is an increased frequency of the CNG placarded vehicles out there...... do our officers know how to identify and operate at these types of incidents?

Comment by capcityff on August 31, 2010 at 9:56pm

This is just sad. A fellow Baltimore City fireman sent me the link to this and we both had a good laugh. A ladder pipe for a bus? haha

Comment by FETC on August 25, 2010 at 10:05pm

Seattle had a near miss in 2007 with a Honda Civic

This was the CNG tank that suffered a BLEVE

Comment by Mike Frazer on August 25, 2010 at 7:27pm

Being familiar with the design and firefighting tactics of these buses, the CNG is designed to vent in fire which it clearly has. A good size up would have revealed that the tanks have vented. This being the case a well placed heavy stream below the tanks would have been the ticket. We should never be entinguishing the venting fuel fire for it causes more harm than good. Equipment placement is paramount most of the CNG buses have tanks mounted length wise on top of bus, the engine placed at the front or rear of the bus is not the place to be. Good learning video deserving of a better look at these type fires. CNG vehicles are another example of low frequency high risk incidents that can jam us up.

Comment by Stephen Nicholson on August 25, 2010 at 4:16pm

I assume the arriving units knew it was a CNG powered bus?

Comment by FETC on August 25, 2010 at 11:08am

The problem with master stream attacks is getting that precious booster tank water actually on the fire. This is a great video for just that. The stream provided very little effect, no steam coversion, missed the mark and most was bounced off the bus roof. Watching the video from the beginning, you will note the parking lot over to the right is clear and dry, at the 3, 4, 5 minute mark all of that booster tank water is running accross the lot.

The thing is the first due officer had his men/women's safety in mind for a safe attack, and thats good. Could apparatus placement been different? maybe. The stream would have been better suited from the side of the bus, where the water would have hit the flames inside.

I have a powerpoint from a CNG auto fire with explosion, the debris was thrown great distances. Farther than a master stream reaches. Safety is the key, remember they all go out eventually even when the booster tank is empty.