It's Been a Busy New Year for the LBFD

After responding to seven working fires through all of 2010, the Long Beach Fire Department has already put out four such blazes in January – two of them almost simultaneously, which is the first time that has occurred since 1982, fire officials said.

The first fire, called into the department at 6:18 a.m. on Jan. 11, was at 173 Bermuda St. in Atlantic Beach, a neighboring town that the LBFD provides fire protection for its residents. It is believed the fire started in the home’s fireplace and it was quickly extinguished, according to LBFD Chief Scott Kemins. No injuries were reported.  

The second and third fires were battled on the same day, Jan. 23. One was at 114 Wilson Ave., in the Presidents Streets neighborhood, called in at 10:56 p.m. Second Assist. Chief Antonio Cuevas arrived at the scene to confirm that smoke was billowing from the one-family home, as a couple who rented the home was able to safely evacuate before firefighters arrived.

A faulty fireplace apparently caused the blaze and flames quickly climbed from the living room walls into the attic, Kemins said.

“The chimney somehow failed and the fire went up through the walls and traveled into the attic,” said Kemins.

About 50 firefighters from Long Beach, with help from a unit from Island Park, fought the blaze and brought it under control in about 40 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, as firefighters were packing their hoses back onto the fire trucks at Wilson Avenue, a report of another fire, at 510 Lincoln Blvd., came in at 11:57 p.m. The Point Lookout-Lido, Oceanside and Island Park fire departments responded and confirmed a working house fire.

“We were still tied up at the original fire when the second one came in,” said Kemins, who added that the other departments were standing by to respond to Lincoln Boulevard. “The Island Park unit arrived within a minute because they were right around the corner.”

Upon arrival, firefighters saw heavy fire coming from the rear of the house, with flames shooting up into the attic and back room, Kemins said. Two occupants had evacuated the home before firefighters arrived and were uninjured.

One firefighter slipped on the ice and was treated for a shoulder injury at Long Beach Medical Center and released, and a second was hit on the shoulder by falling debris and was treated at the scene, Kemins said.

“The whole street was a sheet of ice,” he noted. “In fact, in both fires we asked a sander to sand the streets.”

About 100 firefighters from Long Beach, in addition to the units from the neighboring communities, battled the blaze and brought it under control in about 55 minutes.

There was extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the entire Lincoln Boulevard house, rendering it uninhabitable, said Kemins.

That fire also was not deemed suspicious, but was still under investigation by the fire marshal. The blaze was apparently caused by the exterior electrical service provided to the house, Kemins said.

“The last time we had two fires at the same time was in 1982,” he said. “That’s the reason neighboring departments provide standby for us and to be prepared and last night they needed to do that.”

The weather provided an extreme challenge for firefighters battling the blaze as temperatures dipped to the single digits.

“It takes a toll on the guys,” Kemins said. “When I got home I needed three blankets [to warm me] because I couldn’t stop shivering.”

The next day, Jan. 24, a fourth fire was reported at 6:18 p.m., at a one-story house at 91 Farrell St., in the Canals neighborhood. First Assist. Chief Richard Corbet arrived and witnessed flames shooting form the back of the house and confirmed a working house fire. Kemins said that the fire started in the boiler area inside, and that three firefighters were injured but not seriously.