UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

A multialarm fire occurred at a wood products plant that manufactured laminated cabinets for hospitals and other commercial facilities and made custom millwork (such windows and church steeples) for various customers. The facility was built in 1959, following a fire that completed destroyed the previous plant, and occupied approximately 7,300 square meters on two floors. The recent fire started in the basement of the administrative (office) section of the structure, between the drop ceiling and the floor of the level above. Fire crews from several fire departments responded to the fire at about 7:00 am. The firefighters alternated between offensive and defensive operations in an attempt to control the fire and contain it to the office area. At approximately 8:40 am, the office area was determined to be lost, and a four-person team from one fire department was sent into the adjacent warehouse to protect that area. Approximately 10 minutes later, one firefighter exited the building to change his air bottle. At around 8:55 a.m., the fire jumped to the warehouse and quickly ran through that area, burning through the team's 64-millimeter-diameter hose line and cutting off the firefighters' only means of egress. The captain issued a mayday, and a rapid intervention team from another fire department responded and rescued him. He was hospitalized with severe burns. In the next 15 to 60 minutes, the team located and removed two other firefighters from the building. One firefighter was pronounced dead at the scene; the other died at a local hospital. Both of them died from hyperthermia. Two members of the rapid intervention team suffered minor burns, and a third suffered a back strain during rescue activities.