February 3, 2010 -- Level 2 Hi-rise Response in San Jose

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 9:46 P.M., Fire Associates was paged to a Hi-rise alarm in San Jose. Located at 111 W. St. John, a water-flow alarm was ringing on the seventh floor of a multi-story office building. Bruce Dembecki responded in Support Unit 2 and was met on scene by FASCV member Ron Green. This was Bruce's first response driving for FASCV and he has submitted the following report:

Upon arrival on scene, firefighters reported the alarm was active and strobes were flashing. They started a floor-by-floor search. Upon arriving on the 6th floor, they discovered water coming through the ceiling, signaling a sprinkler activation on the 7th floor. At this point, B/C Kevin Conant called for a precautionary Level 2 hi-rise response, which resulted in FASCV being paged by Sonitrol.

Bruce Dembecki hit the road with FSU 2 around 10:00 P.M. and arrived on scene at 10:20 P.M., just as FD department units were being demobbed. The fire operation was turning into a mop up being handled by the crews from Engine 1 and Truck 1. Chief Conant canceled both Ron Green and myself when we checked in at the Command Post.

Fire Associates members on scene: Bruce Dembecki, Ron Green

FSU #2 was back in the barn at Station 6 by 10:48 P.M.