| 19:31 hrs, Company 7, along with Quint 6 (Monarch), Ladder 1 (Mt. Penn), Engine 25 (Exeter Twp), Tanker 23 (Gibraltar), Rescue 25 for Rapid Intervention, and Medic 680 Station 1 (Southern Berks EMS) were dispatched to the Beacon Container Corporation, 700 West First Street, Birdsboro Borough, for a reported building fire. Initial reports from several callers reporting that the roof was on fire. Chief 7 (C. Bickings) was the first arriving fire unit. He reported a large industrial facility with heavy fire on the roof. The first in Engine and Tower were instructed to go in service upon arrival.
Command was established and Assistant 7-1 (M. Hernandez) assumed Incident Commander. Crews from Engine 7, lead by Chief 7, and Rescue-Engine 25 made entry into the facility and stretched one 1 ¾" handline to the fire location and made a quick knock of the bulk of the fire. Crews from Tower 7, Ladder 1, Quint 6, lead by Assistant 7 (S. Kulp) began opening the roof to ventilate the structure and search for extension, while extinguishing any visible fire on the roof. A 2nd and subsequently a 3rd alarm were struck for manpower.
Crews worked for several hours locating and extinguishing hot spots. The cause remains under investigation by the Birdsboro Fire Marshal (K. Templin) and Birdsboro Police Department. There were no reported injuries of civilian or firefighters, and final crews cleared the scene at 00:39 hrs.
At 05:26 hrs, Saturday March 30, crews were alerted to this location for a rekindle. Crews arrived and found visible fire showing. The bulk of the fire was contained within 25 minutes of dispatch. Crews worked for several hours again locating any hot spots, while overhauling the area. Crews were clear of the scene at 08:23 hrs.
Local News Coverage:
WFMZ 69: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-berks/Fire-crews-battle-3-alarm-blaze-at-Beacon-Container-in-Birdsboro/-/121418/19527642/-/out1lk/-/index.html
Reading Eagle: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=464500
Pottstown Mercury: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130330/NEWS01/130339968/more-than-a-dozen-fire-companies-called-to-fire-in-birdsboro |
