You can tell this a Chief that takes great pride in his job. I've watched a lot of fire videos on youtube and this department is one of the best. Very well trained and professional!
My father was a paid firefighter for 30 years. He loved every second of his job. From the camaraderie, to fighting fires, to saving peoples lives. When he retired I could tell that while he was enjoying life in Florida, he truly missed being a firefighter. Hard to believe this March 25th it'll be 19 years since he passed away! I love watching your videos, Brian not only because it's clear that you love what you do, but it also shows how much of a hero my dad and all firefighters are. Be safe out there!
Thank you for the feedback. And I'm sure you're right, those who love the job while on it, never really want to retire and miss it every day after. It's a job that's hard to really explain to others, but it's really the best one out there!
After 30 years in service in a metro of ~1 mil, I retired just a few years ago I made it just a few months and was going batty... or should I say driving my wife batty 😄 So I joined our local VFD and have been enjoying the slower pace
Constant communication, safety first, property second, excellent initial attack, common sense, and topnotch leadership. Firefighting doesn't get any better than this. Well done, and stay safe.
Not going to lie, you guys gave that one hell of a shot saving it. The organization, the aggressive approach at something that most would probably consider a loss was very very impressive to watch! Job well done!!
Thank you! It's a tough call and one we don't take lightly. We swore to protect the citizens and their property. The tough decisions come when we have to make those border line calls to withdraw.
I appreciate your kind words, but I don't know if I agree. Being fairly new to this position there is still a lot for me to work out and learn. Hoping to Iive up to the standard set by the chiefs who've gone before me and put in to practice all they taught us.
I was so amazed at this guy's calm demeanor. He never let them see him sweat. I don't know anything about firefighting, but I know a great boss when I see, in this case hear, one. Great job and loved this video upload.-GSH *Edit* P.S.- I wasn't trolling, nor am I a mutt. This video was recommended by TH-cam as a video to watch.
Thank you for checking out the video and for your feedback. We work hard to provide the city with the best services we can. Sometimes we take a beat down in the process.
These firefighters and particularly the Chief are some of the most well organized I've witnessed! My hat's off to this department and the Harrisburg citizens should be extremely proud and supportive of them! Great video and I like the PIP giving you two different perspectives simultaneously!!!
Thank you for your kind words. We work hard to get out there in a competent and effective manner. Thanks for the feedback on the PIP, not everyone likes it but I think it helps tie the helmet cam to the overall incident picture.
Chief Bastinelli you and your Department sir do a BANG up job during all these incidents that you post sir! Kudos to you and the department for always giving an all out effort. Stay safe and keep these videos coming sir!!!!!
Thank you! We work very hard to be efficient and effective when we roll out the door. Training and dedication! The members of our department give it their all day in and day out. I am humbled to be able to serve along with this group of individuals.
These are what we call terraced houses in the UK . Vital with these types of houses that there are partition walls in the roof space between each house. Terraced houses are very common in UK towns, but ours are built of brick or stone.
These homes were built in the 1860-70's.They have a fire wall every two houses on this street. They are build of brick. The wood is an exterior cladding that was added in the 1880's.
This chief is pretty awesome. He’s completely in control and Harrisburg residents should feel good having him in charge of life and death situations like this. Amazing work.
@@brianbastinelli I know That first Hand My friend, They all Do Great work Saving Others, At Whatever cost. I video for My city's fire service and Love every minute of It, Thank You For Your Service Chief. Stay Safe Dizzy.
Where I work, only two apparatus would have been initially dispatched. The report of a Fire Alarm activation is called a Single Source alarm, with only the two closest apparatus dispatched. If the Comms Centre received calls about smoke, the call is upgraded.
Not sure if you missed it or misunderstood but there were 2 seperate calls for service. An initial auto alarm on Market street and shortly thereafter, 911 calls about a structure fire on Dauphin Street. Chief diverted all equipment to Dauphin street minus squad 8 who was to continue onto the auto Alarm and investigate.
I loved when Chief said we gotta stop it here. The good ones always have vision and see what others miss in the mayhem of action. Great job Chief abs crews.
Harrisburg FD shows up ready to work. A well motivated, well trained, well led Fire Department. Every video I’ve seen of this Dept proves it. Great job 👍👍
Nice job, Chief. All your guys were definitely in "game day" mode. The high winds definitely showed how a solid block of buildings can hide a working fire without a good 360\size-up. I've been inside in zero visibility when two alarms worth of air horns sounded the evac......still gives me chills.
Thank you. These guys work hard to be ready for moments like these. There are so many voids in this type of construction that can hold a tremendous volume of fire. We don't like to end up in these situations, but there comes a time when you recognize that the cards are stacked against you and you have to account for the safety of the firefighters.
I was a career and volley for 30 years... Love the way this officer has a full, up to the moment grasp of the scene, and how he's anticipating trouble. Great communications and working relationship with the rest of the crews.... No panic or undue stress...
Thank you. We work hard to create a playbook that is simple and easy to coordinate and the guys do a great job getting that work done, which makes it all easier!
After watching more and more from Harrisburg I’m starting to think this city rivals the greats with its fire tactics and fire ground operations. It seems like very firefighter at this scene is energetic and ready to work, the city of Harrisburg is blessed
Chief you and your crews did an excellent job. I was glad to see you pull people out when you did. There was a lot of commotion there but your cool head prevailed! Nice work by all of yinz!
Thank you. We were fighting not only a fire with a good hold of the voids, but a strong wind. Sometimes it just doesn't go the way you hoped. Nonetheless the men did a great job in getting after it!
I just want to say thank you for the insets. The helmet cams are great. but frequently are not looking at the fire. I enjoy watching how everyone works together. Nice job.
Good job keeping it contained. It looked like a firewall was a great help. I was a little concerned about the huge kink in the initial supply line though. It appeared that it must not have been too much of one since firefighters just kept stepping over or around it. Just an armchair quarterback but it seems that can't be good for the GPM.
Thank you, as you know we don't always see what is right in front of us during these moments. Obviously, we would rather not have a kinked line, but we did. I think it also helped that he also had a hydrant feeding his front intake.
Always nice to see a Chief calling the guys by their first name. Its very obvious you take pride in your craft and your crews. Great job Chief. Subbed!
Thank you. Serving the citizens of HBG and the members of my department and specifically my shift is one of the biggest honors of my life. I look forward to going to work with these guys every day!
From Central Texas, where we USUALLY don't get weather like this(2021 was the exception - I endured 4.5 days without power in an all electric area). When I first saw this, I thought they were going to lose it. Great job guys and gals. Some of the best work I have seen recently. FYI, anyone who has been in a burning building and have the ceiling come down on you - you know, they will always miss it once they are no longer fighting the monster. I got out early, so it has been 47 years for me. I did 6 before I left. I still carry my gear, just in case.
Strong work, great communications, and great leadership. Well done from those in charge to the ones pulling hose and opening up. I’m very impressed. Good job boys ! You’ve got a community that can be proud of their fire dept.
I watched a lot of Videos if it comes to Firefighting in the US. The Videos shown here have by far the best tactics, skills and organization! Be proud of yourself, Team and Training! Stay save and healthy
Great attention to detail by command. They noticed fire conditions were rapidly deteriorating and made the decision to evacuate and switch to a defensive strategy
I live in Lebanon pa I am a fire buff. Like to see these vids great job on the angles great job on the vids I like watching big ones and a lot of fire keep making these vids I will keep watching
The paramedics and firemen deserve a lot of credit your service and time and efforts are deeply appreciated thanks to everyone who responds keep them safe out there job well done you should be proud love and respect you guys thanks good catch as usual ! Joe
This video is great for me, as an experienced Fire Buff and person who is wanting start a firefighter career as a volunteer. I realize this is a paid department and TH-cam is unkind sometimes with comments. But, this department is one of my favorites. We are located near Pittsburgh, in Wheeling, WV. Something else that this video does well is capture the reality of the job. It's nice to see music videos and fun videos, but in light of the events of the past few weeks in Baltimore and the reality that firefighting is one of the toughest and most dangerous professions in existence, shit can get real real fast and its not always rock music and flashing lights. This is an emergency and every firefighters' job is carefully coordinated. Thanks Chief!
I was concerned with the volume of smoke too. The wind was definitely not any help. It made getting a good visual difficult. I too was glad to see the troops being brought out.
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback and good luck on following your path into the fire service. You're right, though we often see glamorized versions of what we do, it is a down and dirty job, but it requires education and understanding and not just skills training. The decisions are tough and often made on your gut feeling. Coordination and constant communication and feedback are critical to helping make the correct decisions at the right times. You always hope you're doing the right thing, but sometimes the fire wins and sometimes as you noted in wins in horrible ways.
@ Brian Bastinelli another good job caught on camera, I must say I was reading the smoke on arrival and was a little worried until it self vented, Great Job HBF!
Definitely east side cowboys. If that was western Pa, sticks up and let it rain for the next few hours as an initial attack. Granted there are some heavy hitters on the west, but few and far between.
Excellent job here had a lot going on and the fire was well advanced good call going defensive too chief great job on the air horn Evac blasts too keep up the good work on your videos
Thank you. We don't like to go a defensive posture if we can avoid it but with the poor condition of these buildings, the significant amount of fire in the voids and the never ending wind it was the right thing to do.
Ya, that one threw a lot at us. The wind was a pain for sure. combined with the fire having a good hold of all of the voids and the poor condition of the homes, once we knew they were clear of occupants, and conditions weren't improving it became clear that we had to pull back.
Greeting his men, Calling them by name respectfully and it did not seem like at any point he avoided danger to get things done which can be a problem usually, But this chief played no games and was very safe and calculated.. it was a great watch!
Thank you. We work hard to function as an effective team on the fire ground. The firefighters make running these fires much easier because of their dedication, knowledge and skills.
@@brianbastinelli honor to get a reply from you Chief!..Im on a binge as now i see you guys have a lot of videos....Crazy cool stuff and serious work, Are you guys volunteer? either way nothing but pros
Chief does HFD have a safety officer or is it you just doing the best you can? Because just from this video you guys do an awesome job of keeping track of your people with just yourself! We used one of your older videos in my ISO class last week in Maine keep up the awesome videos chief!
Thanks for the question. We do not have an assigned safety officer. Initially I am the sole incident commander. As the incident is upgraded the duty chief and possibly other admin chiefs will respond. We then assign roles to them as they arrive.
Always look forward to your videos, Chief. Two questions. 1) Is that a typical response to an automatic alarm in Harrisburg, or was this call upgraded to a box alarm after the initial dispatch? 2) What was the reason for entering on the Alpha side, as opposed to the Charlie side? Seems like Charlie side was a better option as it would’ve put the wind at your back instead of in your face. I’m sure there was a good reason for the decision that was made, and I probably just missed something. Can you elaborate on this?
Thank you. Our typical AFA response (and initial fire response)is 2 engines, 2 trucks and a chief. If we find a 'working' incident we upgrade to the full 1st alarm which adds our remaining engine co, a county truck company, a heavy rescue for RIT a county air unit and our staff chiefs (up to 3). The fire was hit from the rear by the first line, but the back of the building was well involved and in very poor condition with holes in the floor etc. Also, with row construction many times entering from the rear is not something we are able to do due to access issues. A lot of these neighborhoods are backed right up against the next street with no alley or foot alleys and with many fences. That we had this type of access to this building was something atypical for us.
@@tomcander3669 Why not? This was a question that I had due to the video not providing all of the information. If these types of videos are shared in order for firefighters to learn from them, asking questions should be encouraged.
@@michaelcannon3978 because...there are too many factors that he sees at the moment that viewed differently after the fact. Biggest reason is, you're not there or to even know if the video has been edited and so forth.
Thank you. I am. A little sore as that was the first of like 5 or six falls and many more funky dances on the ice. Nothing a little ibuprofen didn't fix though!
Thank you. That was the first of many falls on that call, but Ibuprofen took care of that, lol. These were actually class III ordinary (brick and joist) construction, I do not believe there was any balloon framing. But there are many interconnected voids nonetheless and that coupled with a strong wind and good fuel source for the fire made for a rapid fire advance.
Wind basically blowing fire from fire side to unaffected side. That is definitely going to be a fun one. Especially with old connected townhouses. Wind probably going to push fire into any crevice.
They are all brick and joist construction from the 1800's. In the 1980's they were purchased by a guy (all of them) for $100.00 each. He did some rehab work to them and sold them off. Part of that rehab work was to clad them all in T-1-11 board on the exterior. Many people are supposed when they find out the age and construction of these buildings.
Hello just found your channel. I live in Columbus, Ohio and watched many of Chief Decker's videos since Newark, Oh is just east of Columbus. You guys remind me alot of Decker's dept, well done Harrisburg! Do the rowhouses have cock lofts where the fire can race across the whole structure or are there fire walls extending all the way to the top?
Thanks for the kind words. I too enjoyed Chief Decker's channel. The row houses can have open cocklofts. It depends on when and how they were built. It could be an open loft over just 2 or many more. Fire walls in the cockloft are not guaranteed. And even if they are there, there are often in very poof condition.
Horrible situation with cold weather and wind pushing fire towards attached exposures Fire Officer did a great job keeping his cool. When the IC starts losing it the attitude permeates the rest of the on-scene crews. Great call on the evacuation order! Better safe than sorry Guy from the gas company did a great job realizing the IZ was busy and gave him a minute....
Thanks for your feedback. We work hard to be ready for these moments and work in a smooth coordinated manner. Our utility company partners are top notch. They always make it easy to work with them.
Couple of questions, especially about the evacuation: Do you not use BA Entry Control boards? Here in the UK we have a firefighter assigned as BA entry control. Every BA set has a tally on it. The BA entry control takes it off the BA set the firefighter is wearing and writes the firefighters name, how much air they have and what time the need to be out of the building at on it. It is then inserted into the board. Next to each tally the BA entry control firefighter will write what that firefighter is doing in the building and where. They keep in radio contact any any additional information is written down and passed on etc. The BA Entry Control will advise the firefighter when it is time to start making their way out. If they don’t appear then they sound the alarm and they know exactly which firefighter is missing and where they are likely to be in the building. When a firefighter comes out of the building they go back to board and the BA Entry Control firefighter hands them back their tally to put back on their BA set, thus confirming that they are safely out.
Depends on the department. My department has GPS built into our radios and SCBAs so the chief can see how much air everyone has and should know where they are for their assignment. They can send an evacuate command through everyone's SCBA and it alerts everyone in our HUD in the face piece to get out plus the air horn on the trucks.
@@jutinoyazuka Good to see at least one department using the technological advances that are available. US firefighting, to me, seems to lack basic safety standards. Firefighters going into a structure alone, with no one keeping BA entry control is unthinkable here.
Wagon 3 was connected to 2 hydrants and had 4 lines off prior to calling everyone out. Once the lines are deployed and the supply lines hooked up it is not that easy to relocate the primary engine to use its deck pipe. We would have had to shut down all water flowing in and out of that rig in order to move it. So we stretched a 2 1/2 handling and used the ladder pipe from truck 2.
In our two larger stations there are several gear washers in each. They are gross deconed on scene as need, hosed off at the station and then placed int he gear washers for washing. There are several drying options that include the air drying rack and hanging.
Love the great work here, but see one flaw here with multiple hydrants needed. Why can each hydrant have a gps pin and fire departments being able to see on a computer screen to exactly where they are ?
I'm not sure if you're mentioning that as a general statement or specific to this incident. We do have out hydrants gps located and they show up on our map screen.
Outstanding job Chief. What was the temperature that day? Also like Chief Decker’s videos from Newark, Ohio. He’s a great professional also. He’s retired now. I’m from Boston another outstanding FD.
Thank you. I believe the temperature was 18 at the time of the fire. I too like Chief Decker's content. I was actually in a class that he taught at Firehouse Expo earlier this year.
I just have to say how great these firemen are. That you can see them actually hustle is rare, and also a sad commentary on other fire departments who often arrive on scene, and wander around for whatever reasons, while properties burn.
I am not a firefighter and never have been one. This Chief has been calm through the whole incident. However, I do think it took too long for the water supply to come I think it was a 4:49 mark when the water finally arrived. It just seems as though there was not a lot of direction coming out at first. I do not know these people, I am just assessing through this video. Since these buildings appear to be old, maybe they should have just done an all-out attack from the outside.
Thanks for your comments. We operate on a strong set of standard operating guidelines based on our staffing, training, environment etc. Companies can arrive and deploy with little initial direction because they have been trained to recognize conditions and deploy as they dictate according to our policies. Each piece of arriving equipment and each firefighter has a job to carry out. It determined by policy and riding position. The water arrived at the 4:49 mark in the video, but it is also not just that simple, there is a unit assigned to charge that line and they did that when they arrived on scene. In reality it was about two minutes from their arrival until the hydrant was hooked up and charged. There is 750 gallons of water carried on the engine prior to the hydrant being charged. While the homes look old, and are (circa 1870), most on this street are occupied normally and some by homeless persons. Our job if at all possible is to get into these homes clear them from occupants and attack the fire. We swore an oath to stand between danger and civilians and their property. There is risk calculated into our deployment policies. We will but ourselves in harms way to carry out that oath.
Very quick department great communication, seen too many american departments with heavy fire on arrival and theyre walking around the scene "when we get to it we get to it".
Two years later and i still go back to watch these vids. Great work.
You can tell this a Chief that takes great pride in his job. I've watched a lot of fire videos on youtube and this department is one of the best. Very well trained and professional!
Thank you. We work very hard to provide a service worthy of our citizens and our oath.
Bro the guy is amazing. I’m thinking about applying there. They do such a great job
I second those remarks! That chief is amazing - he handles those situations with the steady calmness of an air traffic controller. Well done.
@brianbastinelli I have a question for you so what wagon 4?
@@Haydenwolf344if you're asking what is wagon 4 wagon is just another term for engine .
My father was a paid firefighter for 30 years. He loved every second of his job. From the camaraderie, to fighting fires, to saving peoples lives. When he retired I could tell that while he was enjoying life in Florida, he truly missed being a firefighter. Hard to believe this March 25th it'll be 19 years since he passed away! I love watching your videos, Brian not only because it's clear that you love what you do, but it also shows how much of a hero my dad and all firefighters are. Be safe out there!
Thank you for the feedback. And I'm sure you're right, those who love the job while on it, never really want to retire and miss it every day after. It's a job that's hard to really explain to others, but it's really the best one out there!
After 30 years in service in a metro of ~1 mil, I retired just a few years ago
I made it just a few months and was going batty... or should I say driving my wife batty 😄
So I joined our local VFD and have been enjoying the slower pace
God bless him. I was a volunteer for 10 yrs and I feel his pain bout wanting to be there
The subtle hello at the beginning was awesome. Good to hear a chief that’s calm and ready to lead his people. Great videos Chief.
Thanks Zach. You can't expect a smooth ride if you bring your own chaos to the street!
the best was from that beck god like you can get keep and him who man
Constant communication, safety first, property second, excellent initial attack, common sense, and topnotch leadership. Firefighting doesn't get any better than this. Well done, and stay safe.
Thank you! The team works hard to be prepared for these incidents!
The fire moved very quickly. Great communication and teamwork. You are all heroes and serve your community proudly. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you.
This is the greatest leather helmet video in the history of mankind. Always love your videos and leadership, chief. Keep up the great work.
Thank you, though I am not really sure what the qualifications are surrounding a leather helmet video... lol
Not going to lie, you guys gave that one hell of a shot saving it. The organization, the aggressive approach at something that most would probably consider a loss was very very impressive to watch! Job well done!!
Thank you! It's a tough call and one we don't take lightly. We swore to protect the citizens and their property. The tough decisions come when we have to make those border line calls to withdraw.
This Chief is the best I’ve seen on all the videos I’ve seen. Excellent video.
I appreciate your kind words, but I don't know if I agree. Being fairly new to this position there is still a lot for me to work out and learn. Hoping to Iive up to the standard set by the chiefs who've gone before me and put in to practice all they taught us.
Kudos to this chief for keeping track of this chaos. That's alot of equipment and personnel in a very small area.
Thank you. We try hard to be prepared and to do our best when we're faced with these situations.
I was so amazed at this guy's calm demeanor. He never let them see him sweat. I don't know anything about firefighting, but I know a great boss when I see, in this case hear, one. Great job and loved this video upload.-GSH
*Edit* P.S.- I wasn't trolling, nor am I a mutt. This video was recommended by TH-cam as a video to watch.
Thank you for checking out the video and for your feedback. We work hard to provide the city with the best services we can. Sometimes we take a beat down in the process.
These firefighters and particularly the Chief are some of the most well organized I've witnessed! My hat's off to this department and the Harrisburg citizens should be extremely proud and supportive of them! Great video and I like the PIP giving you two different perspectives simultaneously!!!
Thank you for your kind words. We work hard to get out there in a competent and effective manner. Thanks for the feedback on the PIP, not everyone likes it but I think it helps tie the helmet cam to the overall incident picture.
Chief Bastinelli you and your Department sir do a BANG up job during all these incidents that you post sir! Kudos to you and the department for always giving an all out effort. Stay safe and keep these videos coming sir!!!!!
Thank you! We work very hard to be efficient and effective when we roll out the door. Training and dedication! The members of our department give it their all day in and day out. I am humbled to be able to serve along with this group of individuals.
These are what we call terraced houses in the UK . Vital with these types of houses that there are partition walls in the roof space between each house. Terraced houses are very common in UK towns, but ours are built of brick or stone.
These homes were built in the 1860-70's.They have a fire wall every two houses on this street. They are build of brick. The wood is an exterior cladding that was added in the 1880's.
Building them of brick or stone is right. America well money money money.
Thanks for sharing this. A graphic demonstration of the complexity of managing a fireground. Good job by the Chief!
This chief is pretty awesome. He’s completely in control and Harrisburg residents should feel good having him in charge of life and death situations like this. Amazing work.
That gas company man was johnny on the spot 👌
Amazing how quick conditions changed on side A while you took mere seconds to do ur 360. Great job HFD and Chief Basintelli, as always!
Thank you!.
You Are Making Us Very Proud Of You Chief 7, Thank You For all you Do the Help others, Stay Safe Dizzy.
Thank you. But the credit goes to those guys in there taking a beating! They make us proud!!
@@brianbastinelli I know That first Hand My friend, They all Do Great work Saving Others, At Whatever cost. I video for My city's fire service and Love every minute of It, Thank You For Your Service Chief. Stay Safe Dizzy.
Great training and leadership at its best. Fantastic job.
Thank you. I am glad you found some value in it!
Where I work, only two apparatus would have been initially dispatched. The report of a Fire Alarm activation is called a Single Source alarm, with only the two closest apparatus dispatched. If the Comms Centre received calls about smoke, the call is upgraded.
Not sure if you missed it or misunderstood but there were 2 seperate calls for service. An initial auto alarm on Market street and shortly thereafter, 911 calls about a structure fire on Dauphin Street. Chief diverted all equipment to Dauphin street minus squad 8 who was to continue onto the auto Alarm and investigate.
I loved when Chief said we gotta stop it here. The good ones always have vision and see what others miss in the mayhem of action. Great job Chief abs crews.
Thank you. The guys did a great job here!
Harrisburg FD shows up ready to work. A well motivated, well trained, well led Fire Department.
Every video I’ve seen of this Dept proves it. Great job 👍👍
RapMan
Grew up right around this area. Thank you guys for you service 🙏🏾
You're welcome. We love getting out there and serving the residents of our great little city!
Good job chief. Your guys did the best they could with a heavily involved structure. Kudos for knowing when to turn defensive.
Thank you. They gave it a good shot, once it was cleared of potential occupants and we weren't making any progress, it became a pretty easy decision.
Great video Chief, keep them coming. It's nice to see some aggressive firefighting and its great to see a leader make tough choices like evacuating.
Thank you. These guys are the best. I love working with them.
Nice job, Chief. All your guys were definitely in "game day" mode. The high winds definitely showed how a solid block of buildings can hide a working fire without a good 360\size-up.
I've been inside in zero visibility when two alarms worth of air horns sounded the evac......still gives me chills.
Thank you. These guys work hard to be ready for moments like these.
There are so many voids in this type of construction that can hold a tremendous volume of fire. We don't like to end up in these situations, but there comes a time when you recognize that the cards are stacked against you and you have to account for the safety of the firefighters.
This is good to go. There is chaos but there is also calm and command. Thank you for the video! NC/MS firefighter.
Chief BB, bang up job as always! Love watching your guys work.
Thank you, the guys busted their asses on this one.
Man that smoke engulfed that entire building like a tornado. That was crazy!
I was a career and volley for 30 years... Love the way this officer has a full, up to the moment grasp of the scene, and how he's anticipating trouble. Great communications and working relationship with the rest of the crews.... No panic or undue stress...
Thank you. We work hard to create a playbook that is simple and easy to coordinate and the guys do a great job getting that work done, which makes it all easier!
Great video of command operations with limited resources compared to bigger cities! Great management of fire scene by command.
After watching more and more from Harrisburg I’m starting to think this city rivals the greats with its fire tactics and fire ground operations. It seems like very firefighter at this scene is energetic and ready to work, the city of Harrisburg is blessed
Thank you. We work really hard at being prepared, efficient and effective!
Chief you and your crews did an excellent job. I was glad to see you pull people out when you did. There was a lot of commotion there but your cool head prevailed! Nice work by all of yinz!
Thank you. We were fighting not only a fire with a good hold of the voids, but a strong wind. Sometimes it just doesn't go the way you hoped. Nonetheless the men did a great job in getting after it!
I just want to say thank you for the insets. The helmet cams are great. but frequently are not looking at the fire. I enjoy watching how everyone works together. Nice job.
Thank you. I agree! And thank you for commenting, most people who comment don't like it!!
Great video and tactics as always, Thank you for sharing. I hope you are ok.
Thank you. I fell about 5-6 times all together at that fire. It was very icy. But. nothing a little ibuprofen count handle!! lol
@@brianbastinelli good Chief I’m glad. It’s amazing our boots have improved over the years except for how well the keep us on our feet. 🇺🇸
@@MooseP148Jim 😮
Good job keeping it contained. It looked like a firewall was a great help. I was a little concerned about the huge kink in the initial supply line though. It appeared that it must not have been too much of one since firefighters just kept stepping over or around it. Just an armchair quarterback but it seems that can't be good for the GPM.
Thank you, as you know we don't always see what is right in front of us during these moments. Obviously, we would rather not have a kinked line, but we did. I think it also helped that he also had a hydrant feeding his front intake.
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing, Lots of good lessons here!
Thank you. I am glad you found some value in it.
Always nice to see a Chief calling the guys by their first name. Its very obvious you take pride in your craft and your crews. Great job Chief. Subbed!
Thank you. Serving the citizens of HBG and the members of my department and specifically my shift is one of the biggest honors of my life. I look forward to going to work with these guys every day!
From Central Texas, where we USUALLY don't get weather like this(2021 was the exception - I endured 4.5 days without power in an all electric area). When I first saw this, I thought they were going to lose it. Great job guys and gals. Some of the best work I have seen recently. FYI, anyone who has been in a burning building and have the ceiling come down on you - you know, they will always miss it once they are no longer fighting the monster. I got out early, so it has been 47 years for me. I did 6 before I left. I still carry my gear, just in case.
That was intense .. Chief you did a hell of a job! Great stop.. Thank God for that fire wall too though
Thank you. The men did a great job getting after this fire for sure. That fire wall did make a huge difference in how this went.
Man you guys are awesome amazing and having to deal with the added complication of the narrow street and terrible weather surfaces to deal with.
Thank you. The crews work hard to do the best they can every time.
that wind made the situation very hard to deal with. great call pulling them out and resetting them to the defensive.
Love the coverage thanks for sharing
Strong work, great communications, and great leadership. Well done from those in charge to the ones pulling hose and opening up. I’m very impressed. Good job boys ! You’ve got a community that can be proud of their fire dept.
Did that make you feel good? Because they stunk!
Thank you! ❤
Thank you sir. I always enjoy your videos. Also my 7 year old loves them.
Thank you. I am glad you guys find some value in them.
I'm so glad and relieved that my daughter lives in a city with a great fire department!
Thank you. We work hard to do the best job we can.
Great video coverage Brian !!
I watched a lot of Videos if it comes to Firefighting in the US. The Videos shown here have by far the best tactics, skills and organization! Be proud of yourself, Team and Training! Stay save and healthy
Thank you! You as well.
There's one even better...Command Vision, Bat. Chief out of Newark, Ohio
That Chief is an amazing officer. What good leadership and communication
Kudos to the Chief he did a magnificent job! Thank you Chief
Heroic job in horrible conditions. Any chance you could do a video explaining how you use the command board?
Thank you. I am working on that. It will be a minute until I get it done, but it's in the works.
I love the Improvised AirHorn on the Tiller when he ordered full Evac of the buildings.
Great call on the evacuation. Another well executed job.
Thank you. Sometimes it's the only thing to do. Nobody want that to happen, but sometimes it is what it is.
Great attention to detail by command. They noticed fire conditions were rapidly deteriorating and made the decision to evacuate and switch to a defensive strategy
Love how he does the 360 on the structure, when i was volunteering we made that our number 1 priority
Wow
I thought I was watching an episode of CHICAGO FIRE
THIS IS AWESOME
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS
HA! you were actually watching a episode of Harrisburg Fire, all the fire none of the soap opera! lol
I am impressed. No hollering. The firefighters are doing their assignments without someone leading them by the hand.
Thank you. We work hard on being effective on the fireground. Having high quality individuals working these fires makes it all so much easier.
I love how chief didn't forget the kids in 24 and wanted to check on them even though it was not envolved.
I live in Lebanon pa I am a fire buff. Like to see these vids great job on the angles great job on the vids I like watching big ones and a lot of fire keep making these vids I will keep watching
Great video! Chief 7 does a awesome job!!
Thanks. Every one on this fire ground works hard to be effective. It makes al of our jobs so much easier!
The paramedics and firemen deserve a lot of credit your service and time and efforts are deeply appreciated thanks to everyone who responds keep them safe out there job well done you should be proud love and respect you guys thanks good catch as usual ! Joe
Thank you.
This video is great for me, as an experienced Fire Buff and person who is wanting start a firefighter career as a volunteer. I realize this is a paid department and TH-cam is unkind sometimes with comments. But, this department is one of my favorites. We are located near Pittsburgh, in Wheeling, WV. Something else that this video does well is capture the reality of the job. It's nice to see music videos and fun videos, but in light of the events of the past few weeks in Baltimore and the reality that firefighting is one of the toughest and most dangerous professions in existence, shit can get real real fast and its not always rock music and flashing lights. This is an emergency and every firefighters' job is carefully coordinated. Thanks Chief!
There was so much smoke on this job. Very strange smoke conditions. Must be a lot fire and heat build up that we can't see.
I was concerned with the volume of smoke too. The wind was definitely not any help. It made getting a good visual difficult. I too was glad to see the troops being brought out.
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback and good luck on following your path into the fire service. You're right, though we often see glamorized versions of what we do, it is a down and dirty job, but it requires education and understanding and not just skills training. The decisions are tough and often made on your gut feeling. Coordination and constant communication and feedback are critical to helping make the correct decisions at the right times. You always hope you're doing the right thing, but sometimes the fire wins and sometimes as you noted in wins in horrible ways.
@@brianbastinelli Hey Brian, stay safe my friend!!! I retired from the job 10 years ago. I still miss the firehouse antics. And the meals!!!
@ Brian Bastinelli another good job caught on camera, I must say I was reading the smoke on arrival and was a little worried until it self vented, Great Job HBF!
Ya we had a strong wind out of the north and the back was opened up pretty good because the other fire and building degradation prior to the fire.
Tuff fight . working fire . Balloon type structure. Wind conditions. Snow cold. Nice job guys 👍. please be safe !!
Thank you! It certainly threw a lot at us!
Biggest group of badasses in PA 🤟
The Eastern side of Pa is so much better at fighting fire than the Western side.
100% facts! It’s night and day difference, and I can speak from experience from both.
Where does that put us? We're South Central PA??? lol
@@brianbastinelli I consider you guys Eastern! You don’t wanna see the Western Pa! Stay far away! Haha
Definitely east side cowboys. If that was western Pa, sticks up and let it rain for the next few hours as an initial attack. Granted there are some heavy hitters on the west, but few and far between.
@@brianbastinelli 😆 🤣 😂!
I literally laughed out loud!!
Excellent job here had a lot going on and the fire was well advanced good call going defensive too chief great job on the air horn Evac blasts too keep up the good work on your videos
Thank you. We don't like to go a defensive posture if we can avoid it but with the poor condition of these buildings, the significant amount of fire in the voids and the never ending wind it was the right thing to do.
Very good video. The members sure had their hands full
Hi handsome 😗
Not the first fire, as can be seen from the gaps in the settlement.
Presumably, every abandoned house will be set on fire at some point.
Wow Brian. You guys had a lot going against you on that one. Most of which seemed to be the wind which was not letting you monitor conditions.
Ya, that one threw a lot at us. The wind was a pain for sure. combined with the fire having a good hold of all of the voids and the poor condition of the homes, once we knew they were clear of occupants, and conditions weren't improving it became clear that we had to pull back.
Man the smoke! Firefighters = heroes. My son is a firefighter for our local stations 12 and 13. Tower/ladder trucks make all the difference!
Thank you! Who doesn't love a good Tower Ladder!!!???!!!
Excellent job chief on communication with your firefighters. I would love to come and do a ride along as I am a firefighter from up north in pa
Great job. That looked like a tough fire.
@Brian Bastinelli
Tiller with twin 888's and a Roto-Ray = Classy 😎
Extra credit for the Power Call I heard incomming
Greeting his men, Calling them by name respectfully and it did not seem like at any point he avoided danger to get things done which can be a problem usually, But this chief played no games and was very safe and calculated.. it was a great watch!
Thank you. We work hard to function as an effective team on the fire ground. The firefighters make running these fires much easier because of their dedication, knowledge and skills.
@@brianbastinelli honor to get a reply from you Chief!..Im on a binge as now i see you guys have a lot of videos....Crazy cool stuff and serious work, Are you guys volunteer? either way nothing but pros
We are a 24/7 career department. That said there is a small volunteer contingent that occasionally rides with us.
Chief does HFD have a safety officer or is it you just doing the best you can? Because just from this video you guys do an awesome job of keeping track of your people with just yourself! We used one of your older videos in my ISO class last week in Maine keep up the awesome videos chief!
Thanks for the question. We do not have an assigned safety officer. Initially I am the sole incident commander. As the incident is upgraded the duty chief and possibly other admin chiefs will respond. We then assign roles to them as they arrive.
Thank You all for what you do🙏🏽❣️
You're welcome!
Always look forward to your videos, Chief. Two questions. 1) Is that a typical response to an automatic alarm in Harrisburg, or was this call upgraded to a box alarm after the initial dispatch? 2) What was the reason for entering on the Alpha side, as opposed to the Charlie side? Seems like Charlie side was a better option as it would’ve put the wind at your back instead of in your face. I’m sure there was a good reason for the decision that was made, and I probably just missed something. Can you elaborate on this?
Thank you. Our typical AFA response (and initial fire response)is 2 engines, 2 trucks and a chief. If we find a 'working' incident we upgrade to the full 1st alarm which adds our remaining engine co, a county truck company, a heavy rescue for RIT a county air unit and our staff chiefs (up to 3).
The fire was hit from the rear by the first line, but the back of the building was well involved and in very poor condition with holes in the floor etc. Also, with row construction many times entering from the rear is not something we are able to do due to access issues. A lot of these neighborhoods are backed right up against the next street with no alley or foot alleys and with many fences. That we had this type of access to this building was something atypical for us.
Probably shouldn't question a chief on the ground from a video!
@@tomcander3669 Why not? This was a question that I had due to the video not providing all of the information. If these types of videos are shared in order for firefighters to learn from them, asking questions should be encouraged.
@@michaelcannon3978 because...there are too many factors that he sees at the moment that viewed differently after the fact. Biggest reason is, you're not there or to even know if the video has been edited and so forth.
@@tomcander3669 You’re right. I wasn’t there. That’s why I asked the question!
Great video Chief. I hope you are okay from slipping
Thank you. I am. A little sore as that was the first of like 5 or six falls and many more funky dances on the ice. Nothing a little ibuprofen didn't fix though!
Nice video sir. Hope you’re ok from your fall. Was this structure ballon frame?
Thank you. That was the first of many falls on that call, but Ibuprofen took care of that, lol. These were actually class III ordinary (brick and joist) construction, I do not believe there was any balloon framing. But there are many interconnected voids nonetheless and that coupled with a strong wind and good fuel source for the fire made for a rapid fire advance.
New to this channel. Job well done.
Thank you.
Wind basically blowing fire from fire side to unaffected side. That is definitely going to be a fun one. Especially with old connected townhouses. Wind probably going to push fire into any crevice.
Man great job guys. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any firewall’s in that attic. That’s unusual for those newer townhouse buildings
There is a fire wall every two buildings. These were built in the 1860's or 1870's.
@@brianbastinelli ohh no kidding! They look like new from the video. Thanks Chief
They are all brick and joist construction from the 1800's. In the 1980's they were purchased by a guy (all of them) for $100.00 each. He did some rehab work to them and sold them off. Part of that rehab work was to clad them all in T-1-11 board on the exterior. Many people are supposed when they find out the age and construction of these buildings.
Hello just found your channel. I live in Columbus, Ohio and watched many of Chief Decker's videos since Newark, Oh is just east of Columbus. You guys remind me alot of Decker's dept, well done Harrisburg! Do the rowhouses have cock lofts where the fire can race across the whole structure or are there fire walls extending all the way to the top?
Thanks for the kind words. I too enjoyed Chief Decker's channel. The row houses can have open cocklofts. It depends on when and how they were built. It could be an open loft over just 2 or many more. Fire walls in the cockloft are not guaranteed. And even if they are there, there are often in very poof condition.
Horrible situation with cold weather and wind pushing fire towards attached exposures
Fire Officer did a great job keeping his cool. When the IC starts losing it the attitude permeates the rest of the on-scene crews.
Great call on the evacuation order! Better safe than sorry
Guy from the gas company did a great job realizing the IZ was busy and gave him a minute....
Thanks for your feedback. We work hard to be ready for these moments and work in a smooth coordinated manner. Our utility company partners are top notch. They always make it easy to work with them.
Nice work guys keep it up 🚒👩🚒🚨🇺🇸
Couple of questions, especially about the evacuation:
Do you not use BA Entry Control boards? Here in the UK we have a firefighter assigned as BA entry control. Every BA set has a tally on it. The BA entry control takes it off the BA set the firefighter is wearing and writes the firefighters name, how much air they have and what time the need to be out of the building at on it. It is then inserted into the board. Next to each tally the BA entry control firefighter will write what that firefighter is doing in the building and where. They keep in radio contact any any additional information is written down and passed on etc.
The BA Entry Control will advise the firefighter when it is time to start making their way out. If they don’t appear then they sound the alarm and they know exactly which firefighter is missing and where they are likely to be in the building.
When a firefighter comes out of the building they go back to board and the BA Entry Control firefighter hands them back their tally to put back on their BA set, thus confirming that they are safely out.
Depends on the department. My department has GPS built into our radios and SCBAs so the chief can see how much air everyone has and should know where they are for their assignment. They can send an evacuate command through everyone's SCBA and it alerts everyone in our HUD in the face piece to get out plus the air horn on the trucks.
@@jutinoyazuka Good to see at least one department using the technological advances that are available. US firefighting, to me, seems to lack basic safety standards. Firefighters going into a structure alone, with no one keeping BA entry control is unthinkable here.
Chief, I know it's arm chair quarterbacking and all that but I was curious why you didn't move W3 to use their deck gun into the fire building?
Wagon 3 was connected to 2 hydrants and had 4 lines off prior to calling everyone out. Once the lines are deployed and the supply lines hooked up it is not that easy to relocate the primary engine to use its deck pipe. We would have had to shut down all water flowing in and out of that rig in order to move it. So we stretched a 2 1/2 handling and used the ladder pipe from truck 2.
@@brianbastinelli copy
@@ronamatlow7716Hi Rona 👋
I have a silly question: how do the men get their gear clean again? I mean the oily soot, the dirt, how do you get that off after a mission?
In our two larger stations there are several gear washers in each. They are gross deconed on scene as need, hosed off at the station and then placed int he gear washers for washing. There are several drying options that include the air drying rack and hanging.
@@brianbastinelli thank you für your comment! Greets from austria
Love the great work here, but see one flaw here with multiple hydrants needed. Why can each hydrant have a gps pin and fire departments being able to see on a computer screen to exactly where they are ?
I'm not sure if you're mentioning that as a general statement or specific to this incident. We do have out hydrants gps located and they show up on our map screen.
EXCELLENT COVERAGE!
Nice work Brian! Gave it a 👍 and subscribed!
Awesome, thank you!
@Brian Bastinelli 👍👍
Looks like "D" Platoon has been busy lately with another job as I post this. Great work brothers! Keep the videos coming they are awesome.
You're right on that, small job in the Midtown. Thank you, I'm glad you find value in them.
Excellent job chief Well organized
Howse
Outstanding job Chief. What was the temperature that day?
Also like Chief Decker’s videos from Newark, Ohio. He’s a great professional also. He’s retired now.
I’m from Boston another outstanding FD.
Thank you. I believe the temperature was 18 at the time of the fire. I too like Chief Decker's content. I was actually in a class that he taught at Firehouse Expo earlier this year.
We had Tillers in Wichita during the 70's. My dad was lucky to drive them. I'm fine with my modern Quint and AP. 😁
I just have to say how great these firemen are. That you can see them actually hustle is rare, and also a sad commentary on other fire departments who often arrive on scene, and wander around for whatever reasons, while properties burn.
I am not a firefighter and never have been one. This Chief has been calm through the whole incident. However, I do think it took too long for the water supply to come I think it was a 4:49 mark when the water finally arrived. It just seems as though there was not a lot of direction coming out at first. I do not know these people, I am just assessing through this video. Since these buildings appear to be old, maybe they should have just done an all-out attack from the outside.
Thanks for your comments. We operate on a strong set of standard operating guidelines based on our staffing, training, environment etc. Companies can arrive and deploy with little initial direction because they have been trained to recognize conditions and deploy as they dictate according to our policies. Each piece of arriving equipment and each firefighter has a job to carry out. It determined by policy and riding position. The water arrived at the 4:49 mark in the video, but it is also not just that simple, there is a unit assigned to charge that line and they did that when they arrived on scene. In reality it was about two minutes from their arrival until the hydrant was hooked up and charged. There is 750 gallons of water carried on the engine prior to the hydrant being charged. While the homes look old, and are (circa 1870), most on this street are occupied normally and some by homeless persons. Our job if at all possible is to get into these homes clear them from occupants and attack the fire. We swore an oath to stand between danger and civilians and their property. There is risk calculated into our deployment policies. We will but ourselves in harms way to carry out that oath.
Very quick department great communication, seen too many american departments with heavy fire on arrival and theyre walking around the scene "when we get to it we get to it".
Thank you! That is not going to happen here, I guarantee you that.