Technical Rescue on Ship

Incident Date: August 27,2010
Issuing Officer: Bruce Bouyer
Incident Location: 3401 Taylor Way
Incident Type: Technical Rescue

At 1025am today, 10 Tacoma Fire Department companies responded to the report of a worker down on a ship.  When units arrived on scene they found the worker approximately 50 feet down in the hold of the ship.  A total of 3 engines, 2 ladders, 2 medics, 2 command units, 1 safety officer and the technical rescue unit responded to the scene. Once on scene, fire department personnel performed a high angle rescue to safely remove the worker from the hold of the ship.  The worker was then transported to a local medical facility. The extent of the workers injuries are unknown at this time.

Commercial Stucture Fire - South Tacoma Way

Incident Date: August 22, 2010
Issuing Officer: Joe Meinecke
Incident Location: 7231 S. Tacoma Way
Incident Type: Commercial Structure Fire

Narrative: At 3:15 p.m. 10 companies of Tacoma and Central Pierce Fire and Rescue Firefighters, 5 engines, 2 ladders, 2 medic units and command staff responded to a reported commercial structure fire.

First arriving companies found heavy dark smoke coming from the vents and roof area of the 3,200 sq ft unoccupied commercial business. Firefighters forced entry into the building and used hand lines and vertical ventilation techniques to extinguish the blaze. A thermal imaging camera was used to check for any “hot spots” to assure the fire was extinguished in the attic area.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and there were no injuries to report.

Residential Garage Fire

Incident Date: August 21, 2010
Issuing Officer: Joe Meinecke
Incident Location: 858 S. Fife Street
Incident Type: Residential Structure Fire

Narrative: At 11:38 p.m. 8 companies of Tacoma Firefighters, 5 engines, 1 ladder, 1 medic unit and command staff responded to a reported residential structure fire.

First arriving companies found flames shooting from the attached garage area of the 4 unit condominium. An aggressive attack contained the fire to the garage area, and limited the extension of the fire into the primary residence. Search and rescue revealed all of the occupants were able to escape safely and there were no injuries to report. The occupants in two of the units were displaced due to damage to the buildings electrical supply equipment.  

The cause of the fire has been determined to be incendiary and the fire resulted in an estimated $63,500 dollars of damage to the structure, vehicles and contents.

Technical Rescue Near the Puyallup River

Incident Date: August 16, 2010

Issuing Officer: Toryono Green

Incident Location: 20th St E/Pacific Hwy E, Tacoma

Incident Type: Technical Rescue

At 6:25pm today, the Tacoma Fire Department responded to a call for a man over the bank of the Puyallup river. The call for help came from the victim using a cell phone.  A total of an engine company, a ladder company, a medic company, a technical rescue unit, command units, and a safety unit responded.

Guided by the victims instructions via cell phone to the dispatch center, the responding fire department personnel were able to locate the victim along the bank of the river. Once the technical rescue systems were in place, the victim was assisted to the road above the bank. The victim was evaluated by EMS personnel and was not transported to a local medical facility.

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Save the Date - September 11, 2010

The Tacoma Fire Department Honor Guard invites you to join us for the 9th anniversary “Remembering 9/11” ceremony.  The event begins at  9:00 a.m. Saturday September 11, at the Tacoma Fire Fighters Memorial at 3301 Ruston Way.

We Have Not Forgotten

TFD Responds to Chlorine Alarm

Incident Date: August 15, 2010

Issuing Officer: Toryono Green
Incident Location: 2001 Thorne Rd, Tacoma
Incident Type: Hazardous Materials Response

At 2:55pm today, the Tacoma Fire Department received a call reporting a chlorine alarm activation at 2001 Thorne Rd.  A total of two engine companies, a ladder company, a hazardous material unit, a command unit, and a safety unit responded. After fire department arrival and a joint investigation with plant personnel, it was discovered that there was a power failure at the plant.  Although the facility's alarm system indicated a minor detection of chlorine, fire department detection equipment found no readable traces of chlorine outside of the plant.

It is unclear whether the alarm was activated by chlorine or the power failure.  Tacoma Public Utilities restored power to the plant and plant personnel returned the facility to its normal state.  The plant was unoccupied at the time of the incident.  There were no injuries.
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Suspicious Powder Incident

Incident Date: August 4, 2010
Issuing Officer: Joe Meinecke, Dan Crotty
Incident Location: 737 Fawcett Ave.
Incident Type: Hazardous Materials Response

At 2:20pm today, a Tacoma Fire Department engine company was dispatched to investigate a report of an unidentified powder found in a piece of mail at the Multicare administrative offices located at 737 Fawcett Ave in Tacoma.

Shortly after arrival, the engine company officer requested a full hazardous materials response. A total of 4 engine companies, 2 ladder companies, 2 medic units, a hazardous materials unit and several command and safety units responded.

Firefighters evacuated 197 Multicare employees while Haz-Mat teams secured the unidentified powder for testing. Four Pierce Transit buses were called to the scene to provided shelter for the evacuated employees while several tests were conducted to determine if the powder was dangerous.

As per protocol's, the 10th Civil Support Team from Camp Murray was called to confirm the initial test results.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., testing confirmed that powder was not dangerous and the employees were released.

No one was hurt during the operation, TFD officials said.

Law enforcement is investigating the source of the package.

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