Just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, November 27, Truck 1 was dispatched along with units from Co. 834 (Chillum-Adelphi) and surrounding areas for a reported house fire in the 2400 block of Griffen Street.
Truck 1 responded with eight volunteer firefighters, arriving just behind Engine Co. 34 as dispatchers reported possible people trapped in the one-story home in the Lewisdale community.
Truck 1’s crew split with interior and exterior crews. The interior crew went in behind the line, beginning an aggressive interior search and quickly locating a six-year-old boy in a bedroom. The child was brought out by the crew to the front, met there by members of Truck 1’s exterior team and other fire and EMS units.
The interior crew returned to search for additional victims. Companies 812 (College Park) and 814 (Berwyn Heights) were also conducting searches, locating two adult victims in rear bedrooms. The victims were taken out of the home via rear windows, where members of Truck 1’s exterior team assisted and began rendering emergency medical care along with EMS crews.
Despite the very best efforts of firefighters, paramedics and emergency room staff the young male, 6 years of age, succumbed to his injuries. The two adult females, 30ish and 60ish, were successfully partially resuscitated and have been transferred to a hospital for hyperbaric treatment. This treatment is used in cases of smoke inhalation and will provide the best possible chance of survival for the two females. They remain in
