First arriving units found a one-story brick rancher with smoke showing and fire through a small portion on the back side of the roof. Firefighter’s on first-arriving Engine 6 deployed an 1-3/4” hose to the front door and made an aggressive interior attack to the seat of the fire. As they pushed in, they found fire had partial possession of the kitchen, involving mostly the kitchen cabinetry. The fire had breached the ceiling and was starting to extend into the attic crawlspace and had already burned through to the outside around a roof mounted kitchen vent.

Firefighters executed a textbook “knockdown”, immediately darkening the fire. As Tower 6 arrived, a crew was sent to the roof with a power-saw to open-up the roof deck, and extinguishing visible fire found in / near the opening made by the fire and subsequent cutting operations. With smoke removal underway, firefighters turned their efforts towards overhaul, i.e., making sure the fire is completely out. Prior to clearing the fire scene, we utilized roof patching materials carried for this explicit purpose, to cover the hole in the roof, making the structure weather tight.

Early in the incident, Delmarva Power was requested for the purpose of disconnecting the electric power. This temporarily displaced the resident, who was taken in by family.

We operated at this incident for approximately 90 minutes. There were no injuries to emergency personnel.

Departments dispatched to and operating at this incident:

Chestertown VFC

Kennedyville VFC

Church Hill VFC

Crumpton VFC

Kent & Queen Annes Rescue Squad

Kent County EMS

Departments dispatched for transfer / fill-in assignments:

Rock Hall VFC

Betterton VFC

Millington VFC

Sudlersville VFC