It was shortly after midnight on February 14,1995, Valentine's Day where three Pittsburgh firefighters tragically died in the line-of-duty at 8361 Bricelyn Street. This was a fire the fire service and the community would never forget.

The House

8361 Bricelyn Street home sat top of sloped hill in the densely populated residential area of the city causing the front entrance to actually be on the second floor level. The front view of the home only appeared to have two stories while the basement was exposed above grade level and the house now appeared to be equivalent to a four story home. In reality, the first floor was one level above the backyard and one level below the front door.

The home was a single family dwelling that stood approximately 20 feet wide and 33 feet deep and three occupied floors above the partially finished basement.  The interior walls of the residency was made of plaster and lath and the exterior had aluminum siding over asphalt shingles attached to balloon frame construction. The density of the area posed significant exterior exposure problems with the neighboring house to the left was only 27 inches from the incident and the right side was a 12 foot wide yard between the homes. 

The Incident

Engine Company 17 responded to 8361 Bricelyn Street for the reported residential structure fire and were assigned to fire suppression in the basement division of a reported arson fire.  While operating in the basement on the hose line, three firefighters became separated from the other crews after the stairwell collapsed causing the firefighters to become trapped and disoriented in the basement. The three firefighters later died of asphyxiation after running out of air. When found, all three of the firefighters were together in the one room with three other firefighters being rescued from the same room. This caused confusion over the status of the initial attack team.

The Aftermath - Pittsburgh Drill

The fire on Bricelyn Street exposed the fire service for the need to develop rapid intervention team training. At the time, Assistant Chief James Crawford, was a firefighter in Pittsburgh and a member of the RIT assigned to attempt the rescue of the three firefighters. Crawford discusses the difficulty in dragging, pulling and lifting the firefighters from the structure, saying he himself barely made it out during the operation.

Following the incident, Crawford developed a formal RIT program that has spread through the county and is part of the RIC training today which is now known as "The Pittsburgh Drill". The three main concepts of this drill are based on the Bricelyn Street fire: low profile (under), ramp type obstacle (over) and a tunnel (through).

The drill itself requires the four-member crew to work in sync in an order to reach a downed firefighter, package for removal and remove the firefighter through the same manner the crew entered. All of this to be completed in 20 minutes or less. 

The drill emphasizes key areas from that incident such as teamwork, communication, effective use of time and critical thinking.

 May we remember and never forget…

Captain Thomas Brooks - father of two children and a 13-year department veteran

Firefighter Patricia Conroy - first female LODD in the departments history

Firefighter Marc Kolenda - second-generation Pittsburgh firefighter. Engaged to be married

NIOSH Report: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=484126

Pittsburgh Drill: https://youtu.be/2IUE8CFob7k

Remembering the Bricelyn Street Fire: https://fb.watch/iHqd9rlqa4/?mibextid=v7YzmG