From box to three alarms in 10 minutes, Chelsea firefighters take in a Christmas Eve worker.

“I was just trying to stick with my officer, Lt. Matt Camara,” he said. “I was listening to him and doing everything he told me to do. He is a great officer, so I didn’t have to do anything except listen to him and do what he said and stay close.”

What stood out in the Captain’s story was the things that went right, and the potential for things to go so wrong. The first due companies arrived on scene to find nothing showing. These words alone often cause us to drop our guard, to become complacent.

An aggressive push makes for a successful rescue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Fire in Bronx 7th floor apartment jumped three floors.

“Every new ventilation opening provides a new flow path to the fire and vice versa. This could create very dangerous conditions when there is a ventilation limited fire.”

“They made an aggressive interior attack on the home and were hindered by pack rat conditions. – They made an initial search and rescue, a primary search and rescue, and were unable to find any way inside.”

Probably the best fire service “spring break” you could ask for.

First, your search was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I ‘must’ not honor you. And secondly, you must be a dressed firefighter for the Firefighter’s Code to apply, and you’re not. And thirdly, the code is more what you call “guidelines” than actual safety rules. Welcome aboard the fire service, Miss Turner!

Clear, concise, level-headed communication is one of the best characteristics a first-due officer can have. Especially when the local alarm turns out to be two floors of heavy fire and the exposures starting to go.