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Firefighters injured after collapse of Paleto Bay house fire Sunday, 26/MAY/2019 LSFD Public Relations: Marcia Ambrose An image captured from a bystander shows two fire engines, two ambulances, a command unit and police on scene. PALETO BAY - A residential structure fire had two Firefighters flown by air ambulance to a major hospital in Los Santos with critical injuries when the roof of a burning home came down on a Sunday evening in Paleto Bay. At 17:30 on Sunday, April the 26th, the Los Santos Fire Department were notified by 911 of a fire involving a home at 1119 Procopio Drive in Paleto Bay. It was unknown if persons were inside or not. One short staffed fire engine and a commander's unit was sent to the scene while a pager for two more fire engines and an ambulance were sent out. On arrival the one story home had flame showing from the roof and north-east side. Faced with the probability that persons may still be trapped inside, Engine 1's crew; Firefighters Malcolm O'Connor and David Bell, entered the structure for a search while Battalion 1's Chief, Chloe MacKenzie, setup Paleto Incident Command (Paleto IC) and begun on ventilating the property. At 18:00 tragedy struck shortly after the arrival of Engine 2 as part of the building gave way to the flames and collapsed on top of Firefighters O'Connor and Bell. Contact with the firefighters inside was lost after the collapse, prompting Paleto Incident Command to transmit a MAYDAY. Chief MacKenzie and Firefighter Huston assigned themselves as the Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC) and prepared to enter the structure for a rescue at great risk to their own lives. Six minutes later, the Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC) made contact with the unconscious Firefighters inside who were trapped under a beam of roof panels. The RIC - consisting of only two - had a daunting task ahead of them to remove the debris, using specialist rescue tools, to remove both firefighters from the collapsed burning building. After roughly 11 minutes, both Firefighters were dragged out from the building at 18:17 to the rear of Engine 1 to begin life-saving treatment for a number of critical complications with the help of a Basic Life Support certified Police Officer of the Los Santos Police Department. Rescue Basic 3, staffed solo by Firefighter Ambrose, and Rescue Basic 4, staffed solo by Firefighter Hough, arrived on scene shortly thereafter before transporting both Firefighters to the nearby Paleto Bay Care Center to be transferred by Life Flight 1, an air ambulance, to a trauma center in Los Santos. After the Firefighters were treated and transported to hospital, Firefighters switched to a defensive form of Firefighting by protecting the exposed buildings next to the burning structure, and setup a master stream on the fully involved building until knock down was declared at 19:02. No other persons were injured, and no other properties were involved in the fire due to the successful work of Los Santos Firefighters committed to protecting and serving their community. The cause of the major fire, which involved gasoline, remains under active investigation by the State Fire Marshals. The cost of damage to the property is still being tabulated by investigators. Both Firefighters injured remain in hospital undergoing treatment for their injuries. From all us at the Los Santos Fire Department, we wish Firefighters O'Connor and Bell the best of luck with their recovery. Dispatched LSFD Units: B1, E1, E2, E3*, RB3, RB4, LF1

Two homes damaged and garage destroyed by fire in Rancho Friday, 30th November 2018 LSFD Public Relations: Chloe MacKenzie An aerial shot shows fire apparatus and firefighters tackling the fully involved garage with deck guns and hoses. RANCHO - At 00:19 on Friday the 9th November 2018, the Los Santos Fire Department were notified of a structure fire involving a garage with exposure to two homes at 2332 Jamestown St in Rancho, and dispatched a 1st alarm structure fire assignment to the scene. On arrival Chief 1 reported a garage fully involved in flame with spread to one of the homes north of the garage while a home south of the garage was exposed to the rapidly spreading flames. Engine 1 geared up in Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and entered one of the homes to search for any occupants while Engine 2 got to work attacking the fire and preventing spread to the second home. Inside the home, Engine 1 began to perform a search while shouting out for any occupants to evacuate. They began to knock out the windows to ventilate the structure of smoke, feeling around for any bodies and attacking any flames they came across while working in almost zero visibility. How-ever during the search Chief 1 ordered Engine 1 to evacuate as the roof became fully involved in flame, presenting a risk of collapse. Crews quickly made their way out and went into DEFENSIVE mode. Helmet cam footage showing flames spreading from the garage to the home as Engine 1 prepared to enter. The flames were doused in water by hoses and a deluge-gun from the deck of Engine 1. After 27 minutes of aggressive firefighting, at 00:46 the Fire Department declared a knock-down and crews moved into perform a secondary search. Engine 1 went back in to the property to search for anyone caught up in the fire. Luckily no one was found in the property and no injuries were declared during the incident. By 01:08 the Fire Department concluded all fire and rescue resources and began to clear away from the scene. The cause of the fire is still to be determined and the cost of damage is yet to be tabulated. For more information, contact the Los Santos Fire Department's public relations desk by sending an email to [email protected]. Dispatched LSFD Units: C1, E1, E2, RB1, WT1 Interested in joining the Los Santos Fire Department? Apply to be a firefighter/emergency medical technician/paramedic today at lsfd.sa.gov/recruitment