Close Calls

Close Calls is an area where we can share the things that went wrong and how we learned by them. Things to share that someone else will not do the same mistake twice.
  • Butch McCurdy

    Have any of you had a CLOSE CALL?
  • PFC Harmon

    Feel through a roof while doin ventilation. Landed in the back bedroom knocked unconcious drug out by a rit team. Suffered a concussion and a broke leg. And I learned a valuable lesson. Stay safe
  • Dogg32

    I feel for ya Lt.H. I fell into a basement in 04. I was lucky enough that I could get out on my own, but I still feel it in my back.
  • Darrell Bear

    responded to a farm ...we were working on these huge piles of hay...i was on a line .....soaking er down . on the other side the farmer was using a tractor to turn the hay over....LOOK OUt was all i heard when this avalanche of fire and hay came barrelling towards me... think i took three steps and i was out of there!!! yeah that was a close call!!!
  • doug wehner

    up in a sec story home 0 visability. tried to work r way through to get to the base of the fire. when i heard over the radio had blown out windows in the first floor. told the crew were evacuating, at that time my low air alarm was goin off. no big deal i still had a good 5 min atleast. my parnter looses me when we get to the stairs so i turn back grab him and when we get to the stairs someone from outside pulled the hose line from us. well we got down to the bottom of the stairs and i forgot about the second part of the stairs and fell down. (my fault). visability 0 on first floor. all i hear is someone sayn go straight. so i went straight in to another room, not the outside. luckely someone grabbed my partner and got him out. so i started to find my way out the door and never could with all the crap in there. so i tried to find a window to bail out off. was none. so i said a little prayer and the sec i was done i seen a ligth and ran to it. never did find out who pulled the line from us. all i know is it wasnt one of my guys on the dept. was another dept that was there.
  • Alex, Ossendorf

  • Rich Manning

    Couple of years back responded as to single family dwelling fire. Temp at time of fire was around -2 degrees. Our first challenge was to work our way over and around the 5 ft snowbanks. We already had one household member burned and reports the other was still inside. Come to find out the other occupant slipped out the back door. We started to make an aggressive interior attack but were pulled out due to collapse on the Charlie side. After a difficult defensive battle due to freezing equipment and large lakes of ice from water run off, my partner and I noticed some flair ups coming from the kitchen on the Alpha side. We approached the window to find the source my partner was a few steps behind me pulling line through the snow. I got to the window and peeked inside, the kitchen then exploded in my face, threw me through a porch wall and outside flat on my back. Missing my gloves and my helmet next to me I was able to crawl away to safety. After eval by ER Dr. says welcome to the world of concussion headaches. Lesson learned STAY SAFE!!
  • Jeff Boyer

    Opened up a roof with the K-12 and made a 4 by 2 cut. Grabbed the flat head axe to open her up and got a face full of fire. Never seen so many big guys move so fast. Talked with a frog in my throat for a week after that. Remember don't be a dumb bunny like me and wear your SCBA
  • Roger Waters

    A few years back I was on the attack team advanced in and grabbed onto a hot electrical line. I got hung up on the line until the FF behind be pulled me back toward the entry door. We both spent most of the day in the ER. Lesson learned. Don't assume the power is out!
  • Chris Carrican

    Just Wanted To Pass On This Story About A Vestal Firefighter That Can Count Himself Lucky. After Falling Through A Floor During A House Fire Here In Broome County New York On Wednesday Oct. 27.

    Firefighter injured while battling blaze at doctor's house

    VESTAL -- A fire Wednesday in a house on Foxwood Lane south of the Vestal Parkway sent a firefighter to the hospital and left a family with an uninhabitable home.



    The Vestal firefighter, Josh Owen, fell from a second floor bedroom to the first floor of the house, but his injuries were not serious. He was treated at a local hospital for a strained shoulder and released, said Vestal fire Chief Doug Rose.
    Owen, 25, has been with the volunteer fire department for nine years and is a first lieutenant.
    The fire, at 2509 Foxwood Lane, a cul-de-sac off Holly Hill Road, was reported shortly after 3 p.m. by a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, said assistant fire Chief Chuck Paffie. No one was in the house when the fire broke out, according to fire officials.
    "In 10 minutes, we had the fire knocked down," Paffie said.
    Vestal, Endicott and Endwell fire departments responded, with the Town of Binghamton and Apalachin fire departments on standby.
    The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
    "We're leaning toward electrical at this time," Paffie said.
    The house had obvious damage to the first and second floors in the right front corner, causing fire damage to an upstairs bedroom and downstairs dining room. There was smoke damage and "a lot of heat damage," Paffie said.
    The house is owned by Dr. Ashokkumar R. Shah, according to town records