Chief Penland ordered 2 ladder trucks from the city of Asheville and Mutal Aid from Black Mountain, Riceville, Reynolds, Enka, Skyland Fire Departments and from the Asheville Area Rescue Squad.
Line placements from the first in engine incuded Deck Gun taken from the top of the engine and placed on a ground mount for a blitz attack/defense in the courtyard, a 2.5" attack line and 2 1.75" lines for mobility.
The deck gun and the 2.5" line played a vital role for GPMs on the fire. The deck gun was moved around a few times due to trees blocking the stream projection and the occasional need to turn the deck gun the other direction to help keep heat off of firefighters. Although the courtyard was 100'x100', firefighters had to continue breathing off of SCBA from smoke conditions as well as radiant heat and superheated gases that remained a factor from the wind conditions.

On arrival of the ladder companies from the city of Asheville, the first ladder was placed in the 1-5 corner to aid in containment. The combination of elevated stream and handlines was essential for the corner. The elevated stream would not have stopped fire spread under the roof/building connectors and handlines could not have effectively aided in the sheer volume coming from the sector 5 roof area. Operations of protecting the Sector 1 building and the exposure on Sector 3 continued for several hours.
Once the threat of fire spread to the Sector 1 building had diminished, streams were turned in other areas to begin mop-up and general overhaul.

Initial Attack & Defense

Photo of deck gun deployed in the courtyard

Photo Album