Charlotte Fire Department

On December 13th, 2009 at 2:34 pm, 14 units from the Charlotte Fire Department including 6 Engines, 2 Ladders, 1 Heavy Rescue, 3 Battalion Chiefs, and 2 Fire Investigators were called to service for a building fire at 1100 Hawthorne Lane, the Barnhardt Manufacturing complex. Engine 64 from nearby Station #8 arrived quickly and reported a large commercial structure with heavy smoke showing. Battalion 1 arrived shortly thereafter and assumed command and transmitted a 2nd alarm at 2:41 pm. Initial assignments were made in which 800’ of 5” supply line was reverse laid and pumped from the hydrant, three 1 ¾” pre-connects and one 2 ½” apartment load were stretched to extinguish a large amount of cotton bales. In addition Ladders 1 and 4 combined their efforts to cut 15 vent holes in pre-designated fiberglass skylight panels while the crew from Engine 4 opened all exterior doors. These initial operations allowed for a quick knock down and control of the smoke conditions to a point where a control time was given and companies still in staging were released. Forty firefighters were needed to bring this fire under control in 34 minutes. The fire was contained to the area of origin in a processing area located in the back building of the complex next to the rear entrance guard shack. The initial source of ignition was narrowed to a piece of machinery, which skims the top off of bulk material (much like a wood planer) and blows it through piping into bailers. This caused the material to ignite both in the bulk material and in multiple bailers causing large quantities of smoke to be generated throughout the building. The majority of damage caused by this fire was to content (machinery & product), there was minimal structure damage. At this point companies began removing materials with on site forklifts to a location in the parking lot. At this location overhaul was continued with the aerial device from Ladder 1 along with a hand line utilizing a foam eductor and surfactant kept on site. There were no injuries reported.

Respectfully submitted

Kent Davis, Battalion Chief

Mark Basnight, Captain

Charlotte Fire Department