June 10, 2020 01:00 Bedford, TX – 911 Dispatchers received a call reporting a house on fire. Bedford police officers and firefighters were dispatched, along with automatic mutual-aid from Euless. Police officers arrived quickly and reported the back of the single story home was fully-involved. They did a quick check and determined there was a car in the garage, but no obvious signs of any residents. Moving around to the back of the house they located 1 resident and escorted her to safety. Battalion 15 declared a working incident while en route as well as directed one of the medics to swap their MICU for the Air 151(for light and air support). Engine 152 arrived first reporting heavy fire showing, followed by Engine 153, and others. They attempted a quick knock down, but conditions worsened and command called for defensive operations using 3 hand lines and the deck gun on Engine 152. Once Truck 151 cleared an EMS call, they responded with their new Spartan ERV mid-mount 105′ platform aerial. It and Engine 152 (also a Spartan ERV) were scheduled to be wet down and pushed in just hours later. Due to trees in the front of the home, Truck 151 was placed around the corner, where they extended the platform over a neighboring home. Once crews were safely outside, the truck opened up their master stream and provided scene lighting from above. They were able to knock down the bulk of the fire, and eventually shut down, so crews could resume their attack and mop up from ground level. This was also Rehab 15’s first response to a scene. Station 2 Lt. Lance James built Rehab 15 from a couple of old police department RADAR trailers. Although the Bedford Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association (BCFAAA) rehab team is not new, this was the first call out in quite some time after the program was revamped.

Unfortunately, the home was severely damaged due to the accidental fire(a malfunctioning pool pump was determined to be the cause). However, there are no known injuries at post time.

This was also the first fire for my new Nikon D850, as well as my first fire using “back button focus”. That’s a new technique to me, that requires me building some new muscle memory and practice in the way I shoot. I currently have a Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 zoom on the D850, and a 24-70mm F2.8 on a D750. I also use a couple of GoPros for video. I’ll try to get through and post some video if there is anything worthwhile. It was very dark and the smoke was hanging low and blowing towards the street. Additionally, the flashing lights of fire apparatus and police cars is especially challenging to photograph.