Multiple Gainesville Fire Rescue crews respond to afternoon house fire

Crews from Gainesville Fire Rescue (Stations 1, 5 and 8) responded to a residential building fire in the 2500 block of NW 34th Boulevard this afternoon.

Engine 5 arrived on scene within six minutes of being dispatched and was assigned fire suppression by the Incident Commander, Jeffery Schuhmacher, who updated crews still responding that flames were coming from the roof and that this would be a “working fire”.

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The designation as a working fire lets crews know not to stage and to go to work on their initial assignments based on their order of arrival. As GFR’s crews arrived they began searching the home, locating, and extinguishing the fire; which was found to be isolated to the attic.

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Although this is a common occurrence for the crews at GFR, this was the first fire as a promoted officer for the lieutenant of Engine 5. Lt. Christopher Silcox reported to his new assignment on B-shift and met his crew this morning at 8am.

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Chief Schuhmacher said he met with Lt. Silcox this morning to give him his expectations for the “big three” calls; EMS calls, extrications, and building fires. Lt. Silcox said as the Engine Lt. his crew’s job on fires is to “get in the door and extinguish the fire” and that’s just what they did.

Crews on scene quickly extinguished the fire and covered belongings to minimize damage as truck company crews overhauled the scene checking for the fire’s extension into small crevasses.

Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Hillhouse said the fire is still under investigation but noted the crews did a great job stopping it before it had the opportunity to spread further.

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At the conclusion of the fire, Chief Schuhmacher issued Lt. Silcox his new badge to commemorate his new rank.

 Gainesville Fire Rescue would like to remind everyone that home is where most smoking-material fires occur. Smoking materials are the leading cause of fire deaths and are preventable. If you must smoke, use only fire-safe cigarettes; smoke outside; keep cigarettes, lighters, matches, and other smoking materials out of the reach of children; and do not discard cigarettes in vegetation such as mulch, potted plants, landscaping, peat moss, dried grasses, leaves, or other things that could ignite easily.

Editor’s Note: Photos courtesy of Gainesville Fire Rescue

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