Two More Fallen Brothers
December 22, 2010 1:13 PM   Subscribe

This morning, firefighters responded to a reported fire in an abandoned laundry building on Chicago's South Side. There was a major collapse of the rear wall which caused the roof truss to fail. A "mayday" transmission (8 minutes in) prompted a 3-11 alarm response to rescue at least four firefighters were trapped in the rubble. Two firefighters, Edward Stringer and Corey Ankum, were killed. 14 other firefighters were injured, 4 critically. Many of the injured were hurt while frantically searching for their comrades.

The tragedy happened on the 100th anniversary of the Stockyards Fire, which killed 21 Chicago firefighters and was the largest single-incident firefighter death toll prior to 9/11.

Information on services will be posted on the IAFF Local 2's website when it becomes available.
posted by rollbiz (54 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 


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posted by Iridic at 1:23 PM on December 22, 2010


The US needs make-work programs: how about all the decrepit, abandoned buildings that are littered through our rust belt cities get two options - we give them away to nonprofits, artists collectives, or other organization willing to put them to any sort of worthwhile purpose; or we demolish them
posted by crayz at 1:24 PM on December 22, 2010 [17 favorites]


These men are real heroes.

If history has taught civilization anything it is the danger of fires in cities, and how high the cost of life can be in a city unable to protect itself against fire. Without these men, modern cities would be impossible.

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posted by strixus at 1:25 PM on December 22, 2010 [13 favorites]


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posted by clavdivs at 1:29 PM on December 22, 2010


Son of a firefighter here. I have no words.

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posted by Thorzdad at 1:33 PM on December 22, 2010


Detroit has actually been doing just that, partly to avoid the waste of and risk to human life like this fire in Chicago. A more enlightened approach to property rights should include some sort of 'use it or lose it' provision to reduce the economic incentives for letting land and buildings rot dangerously while the owner waits for their value to appreciate. Wouldn't surprise me if this laundry building in Chicago was bank-owned.

Sad news. Next time I hear someone grumbling about property or business taxes I'll remind them that they'd be lower if private business/individuals kept up with their responsibilities.
posted by anigbrowl at 1:37 PM on December 22, 2010 [3 favorites]


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posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 1:39 PM on December 22, 2010


5-5-5-5
5-5-5-5

(that's firefighter for .)
posted by deadmessenger at 1:40 PM on December 22, 2010 [5 favorites]


...we give them away to nonprofits, artists collectives, or other organization...

That sounds great but it's not that simple. I'm on the board of a neighborhood non-profit in Pittsburgh that buys properties like this and then tries to put them to light-industrial/commercial/residential use. The hard part is that it takes a shit-ton of money to fix these places up to the point where they're habitable. You can't just give a 120 year old warehouse away to a bunch of artists and hope that they can come up with a million or two dollars to fix the roof, fix the plumbing, rewire, mitigate lead and asbestos hazards, meet ADA regulations, etc. The kicker is that in this real-estate market, the places are never going to be worth what you put into them so banks won't lend money for all that work.

On the flip side, tearing them down is expensive too and there's no money for that either.
posted by octothorpe at 1:42 PM on December 22, 2010 [10 favorites]


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posted by AceRock at 1:43 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by bettafish at 1:44 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by axismundi at 1:45 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by Gridlock Joe at 1:46 PM on December 22, 2010


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(As an aside the 5-5-5-5 is fascinating thanks deadmessenger)
posted by Ad hominem at 1:47 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by Kadin2048 at 1:54 PM on December 22, 2010


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:-(
posted by -t at 2:03 PM on December 22, 2010


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The sad part is that a lot of the most dangerous abandoned areas are industrial - full of toxic chemicals and waste.

One of my buddies who is a firefighter in Detroit showed me a map in his firehouse- it listed the buildings that if they caught fire, the firefighters were to contain it but not try to directly attack it, because they know it's so toxic they can't afford exposure.

Privatizing profit and making risk public means paying in lives, sooner or later.
posted by yeloson at 2:04 PM on December 22, 2010 [9 favorites]


The other issue is that a lot of these properties are either owned by the city or the county for back taxes or in some intractable murky mess of leans and law suits that scare away any potential buyers.

And . for the firefighters.
posted by octothorpe at 2:13 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by spitbull at 2:18 PM on December 22, 2010


I'm on the board of a not for profit in Chicago that had a program space we rented damaged by fire early this year. We needed to find a space to run our programs and I really had an awakening about the state of buildings in urban depressed areas. Yes, there is a glut of empty buildings but the spaces that could be rented have plumbing, heating or roof issues that made the space unsafe and we are running programs for kids. Often there would be a promise of a break in the rent for repairs, but it wasn't cost effective and there were no guarantees that we weren't getting into a money pit that would strain our already meager resources. The kind of capital investment required to make these places useful only comes with gentrification, which of course has it's own issues.
Half the buildings we tried to find out about were up for tax sale or foreclosure and not something a not for profit can typically take on.

This is very sad "Firefighter followed brother into the ranks"

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posted by readery at 2:22 PM on December 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


Most fire departments have standing orders to only fight fires in abandoned buildings like this from the outside. But those orders only apply when there is no risk to human lives. This building, like so many others in urban areas, showed evidence of human habitation and search crews were sent inside automatically.

Given the state of most of the formerly-industrialized cities in the US, this scenario is likely to happen again.

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posted by tommasz at 2:23 PM on December 22, 2010


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Reminds me all to well of the Worcester Cold Storage fire where six fire fighters lost their lives when they ran in because there might have been homeless people inside. All of these men are true heroes.
posted by lilkeith07 at 2:31 PM on December 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


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posted by limeonaire at 2:31 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by Tiresias at 2:31 PM on December 22, 2010


Thank you for the post; we've been following it on The Secret List all morning at the station.

It's hard to explain to people not on the job the thrill of hearing the tones go off with "smoke and flames showing"; much of our work is now dominated by EMS and public education. That's important, but it's not why most of us are on the job. To have a working fire; morale generally goes through the roof, you feel worthwhile, and you remember the pride and excitement you have for the lifestyle.

It is frustrating, however, to see casualties and deaths as a result of shitty construction (trusses are firemen killers) and officers in command continuing to promote aggressive interior attacks within structures that have been vacated.

Do not think that I am a defensive-fireman; far from it. You take away our permission to attack interior, and I will be supremely disappointed. Structural firefighting is what I am called to do. But there are times when it's ok to make a parking lot.

It's been a year where Line-Of-Duty-Deaths in the US are significantly lower than average, and for that we are grateful.

Each day I want to call my brothers in various departments (we're a pretty close-knit group); I want to tell them I love them, and that I'm here for them, and that I want them to be as safe as possible. I can't do that; it's construed as weak. But they know I love them. They are my family. Regardless, I've wanted to pick up the phone all morning.

This year, there will be 2 brothers who won't make it home for the holiday; another empty seat at the kitchen table; one less coffee cup taken out of the cabinet next shift.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 2:33 PM on December 22, 2010 [26 favorites]


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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:42 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by steambadger at 2:57 PM on December 22, 2010


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I'm privileged to work with firefighters daily. To those of us who are part of the community, even as civilians, this hits hard. I can't imagine how the bereaved colleagues and families are feeling, as well as those folks who are hoping and praying for the full recovery of the injured. We are thousands of miles away but there has already been an email to all staff that we honour the fallen, and keep the injured and all the families and colleagues close in our thoughts.

Also: Stay safe, Sara.
posted by angiep at 3:00 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by effugas at 3:01 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by jlkr at 3:07 PM on December 22, 2010


Thank you for your willingness to work with a group such as us, angie. I promise I'll do my best to keep myself and my brothers safe.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 3:08 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by Unioncat at 3:10 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by Smart Dalek at 3:18 PM on December 22, 2010


Getting ready to head out with my wife to respond to a local apartment fire as volunteers with the American Red Cross (canteen service for the responders and support of all kinds for any people affected by the fire). Take a moment to thank a firefighter next time you can; we'll be doing it all night tonight, I suspect.
posted by Shotgun Shakespeare at 3:18 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by cereselle at 3:19 PM on December 22, 2010


Reminds me all to well of the Worcester Cold Storage fire where six fire fighters lost their lives when they ran in because there might have been homeless people inside.

I was so reminded of it watching the rescue ops this morning that I had to stop watching them for a while. I did a post on the Cold Storage fire last year that you might enjoy if you didn't catch it the first time around.


Thank you for your willingness to work with a group such as us, angie. I promise I'll do my best to keep myself and my brothers safe.


Thank you both for what you do, from a former firefighter and the son/grandson/nephew/friend of firefighters. As they say at the end of every Secret List email, "Take Care- BE CAREFUL".

Getting ready to head out with my wife to respond to a local apartment fire as volunteers with the American Red Cross (canteen service for the responders and support of all kinds for any people affected by the fire). Take a moment to thank a firefighter next time you can; we'll be doing it all night tonight, I suspect.

I am also a Red Cross DAT volunteer, and one of the things that gobsmacks me every time it happens is when I go to a fire and the men and women who just ran into a burning building and put their lives on the line come out covered in soot and thank ME for showing up with coffee and snacks.
posted by rollbiz at 3:36 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by liza at 4:02 PM on December 22, 2010


I was following this on Twitter today with a sick feeling. It reminded me so much of the Worcester fire and the scrambling in rubble to find colleagues. So sad.

I have no words sufficient to thank you firefighters and first responders for what you do for us all and for the risks you take, no words sufficient to state my admiration and appreciation.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:09 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by cavalier at 4:31 PM on December 22, 2010


Just arrived in Chicago for the holidays and this is huge here.

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posted by Ironmouth at 4:53 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by benzenedream at 5:15 PM on December 22, 2010


5-5-5-5
5-5-5-5
posted by bwg at 5:41 PM on December 22, 2010


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Thanks to all who serve.
posted by shiny blue object at 5:45 PM on December 22, 2010


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My deepest condolences to the families and colleagues of the fallen.
posted by gingerest at 6:11 PM on December 22, 2010


Sad on any day but even sadder a few days before Xmas when they have kids under 12 years old. How do you explain any of that to a kid? Ugh. So sad all for an abandoned building to see if squatters were in there. We've been watching the news since we woke up.
posted by stormpooper at 7:00 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by IvoShandor at 9:27 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by winjer at 11:19 PM on December 22, 2010


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posted by DreamerFi at 3:42 AM on December 23, 2010


"But there are times when it's ok to make a parking lot."

I just wanted to say thanks for saying that - it's good to hear it from an actual firefighter, because it's what I was thinking all day yesterday. I even saw the live shot on the morning news of the firemen digging in the rubble live as I was getting ready for work. I just kept thinking "if the building was abandoned, did it really need saving?" Though apparently, from the aerial camera shots it looks like it was sandwiched right between two other buildings so they were probably trying to make sure it didn't spread.
posted by dnash at 5:17 AM on December 23, 2010


dnash- Generally speaking, a "surround and drown" strategy is employed on abandoned buildings when they are known to be unoccupied. The reason that they did not do so in this case is because the building was known to be regularly inhabited by squatters. It doesn't matter if you're the mayor or the town drunk, a taxpayer or a transient, if firefighters show up and think there's even a chance that you're inside that building, they're going to come in and try to rescue you.

As I mentioned previously, this is exactly what happened here in Worcester. Two transients knocked over a candle, started a fire, freaked out, and took off.
posted by rollbiz at 6:27 AM on December 23, 2010


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posted by twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious at 5:48 PM on December 23, 2010


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posted by SisterHavana at 11:33 PM on December 23, 2010


former volunteer firefighter here. Last call for you, brothers.

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posted by Wuggie Norple at 3:25 PM on December 24, 2010


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