Sipesville Volunteer Fire Company

On the morning of Monday, October 23, crews were alerted of a structure fire at 242 Laurel Summit Rd, Jenner Twp. The first alarm included Somerset County Stations 606, 608, 605, and 607, as well as Westmoreland County Stations 43 and 42. Tanker 607-3 was the first responding unit on the alarm with a three minute response time per the incident CAD sheet. Squad 607-5 also responded approximately three minutes after the tanker. Chief 43, Paul Church, arrived on scene and performed and initial scene size-up. The size up revealed smoke showing from an eve on the bravo side of the structure, as well as smoke coming from the roof around a chimney near the bravo/charlie corner. Engine 606-1 arrive on scene first and crews quickly pulled two 1.5" preconnects. Tanker 607-3 followed directly by Squad 607-5 were the next units into the scene. Tanker 3 backed into the driveway and prepared to feed Engine 606-1, while the Squad staged in a nearby driveway. The crew from 606 made a quick knockdown, but due to the closed attic space and blown insulation in the attic, there were still numerous smoldering hotspots. The squad crew assisted the crew from 606 in salvage and overhaul operations inside the structure, including removing dry wall from the ceiling and displacing the blown insulation to extinguish the remaining hot spots. Meanwhile, crews from 605 and 42 laddered the charlie side of the structure and brushed the chimney to assure that no fire still existed. Chief 43 deemed the incident under control approximately five minutes after the arrival of the 607 units. All units remained on scene for one hour before clearing. Due to the quick knockdown of the fire and the effective overhaul operations, the fire was contained to approximately one half of a bedroom. No one was home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. All units and personnel worked well together on scene.