Fire chief describes major fire response; two outside firefighters injured and crews used mutual aid

The New Carlisle fire chief reported to the City Council on March 3 that the department responded to a substantial fire the prior Friday that required mutual aid, prolonged on-scene operations and produced injuries to two outside firefighters.

"We were on scene for 12 hours. We were the first company on scene. We were the first ones through the door," the chief said. He described extreme heat that triggered thermal alarms in self-contained breathing apparatus and led him to order crews out of the structure. He said his helmet melted and bent in the heat.

A Huber Heights firefighter fell through a floor and suffered burns and was taken to the hospital for observation and returned to duty the same night, the chief said. Another firefighter from Wright-Patterson (Wright Patt) dislocated a shoulder while performing operations. The chief said teams quickly deployed ladders and extrication measures when the collapse occurred and that mutual-aid crews from multiple departments assisted.

The department reported using more than 100,000 gallons of water during the incident and received mutual aid from several neighboring departments. The chief said the department has used a critical-stress debriefing team and that mental-health debriefings have been called when needed; the department previously called the team after a child fatality earlier in the year. The council praised the chief and crews for their work and asked about firefighter support measures; the chief confirmed peer-support and debrief resources are available.

No formal council action was taken on the fire report; the item was informational and council members thanked the department for its response.