When Tower 6 responded, with Lieutenant Rideout as the front-seat officer, Kent Dispatch provided the additional information, and reported they were receiving multiple 9-1-1 calls. Without a qualified crew on Engine-Tanker 7, Lieutenant Rideout directed dispatch to “Fill the Box”, and also dispatch a “Working Fire Dispatch”.

Here in Kent County, the Fire Chief’s Association has a policy that if the first apparatus on an incident does not have a qualified officer, the next in senior officer from the next mutual aid company will assume command upon arrival. In this case, as it wasn’t already done, Lieutenant Rideout called for it. This directive tells dispatch to replace all the missing suppression equipment with the next appropriate equipment in the box alarm running assignment. In a perfect world, if every piece of equipment assigned on the initial alert is responding, this could be considered a 2nd Alarm but technically it is not. The goal is to get fire suppression equipment on the street ASAP. The “Working Fire Dispatch” adds additional equipment to the response. Summing it up, it might be considered an abbreviated 2nd Alarm.

The ambulance from Rock Hall VFC, arriving ahead of Engine-Tanker 7, provided the BIR (Brief Initial Report) indicating Smoke Showing from the Charlie (rear) side of the house. Investigating further, they determined the fire appeared to be mainly exterior, around an HVAC unit and extending a little into the home. They used the fire extinguisher from the ambulance to achieve a solid knock down of the fire. Arriving, Engine-Tanker 7 deployed a single 1-3/4” hose line to the rear of the dwelling and knocked down the remaining fire.

When Tower 6 arrived, Lieutenant assumed command. The crew from Tower 6 split up into teams to help execute remaining tasks that hadn’t been completed. That included the placement of ground ladders, making entry to the house for the purpose of searching for potential victims, and supporting the operations around the seat of the fire. This also included sending one of our members into the crawl space to “Check for Extension” … Making sure the fire had not penetrated the crawl space. (It was clear.)

After a thorough assessment of the situation, it was determined the fire was contained to the outside of the home. The response was scaled back to just the Rock Hall VFC, Chestertown VFC, and the Crumpton VFC, to assist with smoke removal from the home’s interior. During the operation, the Rock Hall VFC Fire Chief arrived, was briefed, and command of the incident was transferred. (By Lieutenant Rideout assuming command at the outset, this should NOT be inferred as the Rock Hall VFC members were doing an inferior, substandard job. Quite the opposite! Their performance was solid, and were doing everything right… And should be congratulated on a job “Well-Done!”. "

The power company was requested to disconnect the electric, as the meter was severely damaged. With no power to the residence, the Red Cross was requested to assist the family during their temporary displacement.