California Fire Fatalities Building Collapse Training for Firefighters

In March, 1995. Lt. Louis Mambretti and two firefighters had made an initial interior attack through the garage, not knowing that 70 mile per hour winds were blowing the fire up from the rear of the house. Mambretti quickly realized that a defensive measure was needed and backed his crew out. Unbeknownst to them, the automatic garage door somehow came down and trapped them inside. Mambretti died and the other two firefighters suffered serious burns. This case history shows the fire from the time of rescue and goes through the department’s findings and recommendations. Discussion topic: Discuss the importance and reality of disengaging automatic garage doors upon arrival.

In this incident analysis, the Stockton Fire Department chronicles the house fire that claimed the lives of two firefighters and the homeowner in 1997. The layout and construction of the house are analyzed and how the fatal collapse occurred. This training also includes the rescue effort and scenes from the memorial for Firefighters Bryan Golden and Brett Laws. Discussion Topic: Discuss the importance of size-up and establishing “burn time” early in an incident.

This is the follow-up report to the fire and wall collapse that occurred in 1995. Los Angeles City firefighters responded in the middle of the night to a vacant building completely engulfed in flames. Initial knockdown was accomplished and crews entered to put out spot fires when word came that some floor joists were weak. The incident commander pulled the crews out. As they exited, a wall came down, initially trapping seven firefighters. All but one, Surgey Tomlinson, was rescued within three minutes. He was rescued ten minutes after the collapse. This segment shows the collapse and follows up with lessons learned from the incident Commander, the Captain on the crew and the injured. Discussion topic: Discuss how RIT has changed how departments respond to such an incident.