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Took an interesting fire call today.
Mid afternoon we get toned out for a call to assist local PD with a dangerous building(?).
We roll and arrive on scene. 3 story boarded up wood frame structure on main street. Aluminum cap sheathing on the flat roofs parapets has peeled back in the wind. Some has already broken free and landed in the street, and some is hanging ominously off the side of the building.
Initial plan to ladder the back of the building and go to the roof externally is cancelled due to ice and snow build up that makes the risk not worth the reward.
We grab a set of irons and with a local cop force entry into the building.
Now, you have to understand what this building is. It's an 1860's vintage 3 story main street false facade building that was built as a restaraunt bar with the second and third floor as rooming/boarding house. Over the years it has been cut up into small apartments and a couple years ago condemned for habitation due to code violations. The really interesting aspect is that for as long as anyone can remember, the topmost floor has had all the windows boarded up and been unused since it lacked fire escapes and thus could not be rented.
We force entry and proceed up the center hall main stairs to the second floor. Place is a wreck. Now we are trying to find access to the 3rd floor. We split up (in retrospect not the wisest move, given the buildings condition) and someone calls out that they have found a narrow staircase leading upstairs.
We all pile into this narrow little staircase, me bring up the end of the parade behind the cop. I comment that it's a bad idea to put us all on the stairs at once, as it won't leave any survivors to fill out the indicent report when it collapses.
We get up to the 3rd floor which is dark because all the windows are boarded up from the outside. Helmet lights and Survivors and Streamlights.
Absolutely incredible.
It's as if it's a time capsule from 1890 or so. The walls still have the gas jet lighting fixtures and the wall paper and molding are the classic 1890 style. Once I had the opportunity to look at several hundred NYPD crime scene photos from the 1890-1910 era and the furnishings, decor and every other damn detail in this place was just like the old glass plate images (except we didn't find any bodies).
Again we unwisely went our seperate ways looking for roof access and I was the one to find a scuttle hatch. There was a good ladder (you bet you f'ing A I checked it!!) near by and we set it up, one guy braced it and irons in hand I popped the hatch and we accessed the roof. We did what we needed, securing the scene and closed everything back up.
The 3rd floor was great. There were two lareg openings in the floor that had been old staircases that had been sealed off when they put drop ceiling on the floors below. I was able to get a pretty good idea of how the place had been laid out originally and it was very cool.
Unfortunately the building is in such condition that it probably cant be economically restored and will likely need to be completely gutted or knocked down.
Pity. Very cool though. |
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