5-alarm Task Force!

Even though the premier example of “heavy content” or hoarding fire dates back to the Collyer brothers’ mansion fire in Manhattan in1947, the problem has taken on a new urgency in today’s fire service over the last decade or so. With television programs displaying various interventions for people who may be suffering from a disorder, the public has no idea what it is like for members of the fire service to battle a blaze that breaks out in a structure where extreme clutter is the norm. Our guest, Lt. Ryan Pennington, considered one of the country’s foremost firefighting experts in this topic, returns to the podcast to share with us additional information he gathers from speaking with firefighters both in the U.S. and Canada, who have come face-to-face with this serious problem. If there is one warning that Ryan emphasizes, it is that no firefighter can enter this type of structure fire, thinking that his/her general firefighting education and experience has prepared them for this type of incident. “It doe