3rd Alarm Fire @ 1104 Gordon Ave

On November 1, 2014 @ 0708 crews were dispatched for a report of a warehouse fire at this location. Engine 13 arrived on scene and found a single story warehouse with heavy smoke visible from the "A" and "B" sides and immediately a working fire was declared. Rescue 1 forced entry while Engine 13 and Engine 17 attempted an interior attack. All units were pulled out after fire started ventilating from the roof and a 2nd Alarm was declared @ 0732. Truck companies worked to open up the structure for master stream devices, while ground and elevated master streams were put into place on the main fire building. Heavy fire was endangering an adjoining warehouse, multiple lines were put in place to protect this exposure and attack the initial fire which prompted the BC to declare a 3rd Alarm @ 0749. As a result, the exposure suffered only minor roof damage from the original fire. The fire crews did a great job of stopping it before it spread to adjoining warehouses which would have cause catastrophic damage. Heavy elevated and ground master streams remained in place until the fire was marked under control @ 1034.

The last crew on scene cleared up @1726; the initial warehouse which stored plastic bottles for recycling was completely destroyed, while the adjoining warehouse only suffered minor damage. There were no civilian or firefighter casualties or injuries... Weather played a major factor as wind obstructed visibility and increased the possibility of the fire spreading. Without the assistance of our partners, this fire could have gone very wrong very fast. Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities boosted hydrant water pressure to accommodate what we needed otherwise we wouldn't have had enough water to put the fire out as quickly. Richmond Police Department and Richmond Ambulance Authority provided immediate support with traffic and Medical Services. Mutual Aid coverage was provided by Henrico's Engine 18 to Station 11 and Chesterfield's Engine 11 to Station 21. VA Dominion Power assisted as well to provide electrical shut down on the property to keep all personnel on scene safe. The cause of this fire was determined to be faulty electrical equipment per the investigators.