Rochester officer trapped in hire rise fire

[mark7777]

http://www.mcfw.com/?p=1079

video and audio

they needed the hurst tool to get him out of the elevator which was smoke filled. if your going to go up to a fire floor in a high rise use the stairs

[tactical208]

Mark,
You may want to rethink or at least reword your statement about using the stairs. There were NO STAIRS available to get upstairs, just the elevator. So the officer who is also a very good friend of mine did the only thing he could do in this situation.

By the way I visited him in the ICU tonight, he is sedated and will be there for a week or more.

[deputy x 2]

So the officer who is also a very good friend of mine did the only thing he could do in this situation.

By the way I visited him in the ICU tonight, he is sedated and will be there for a week or more.

Prayers for a speedy recovery.

[GrayState]

Hope he has a quick and full recovery.

[STXHammer]

My prayers for a Speedy Recovery.

[tactical208]

Thanks guys, I will let Gerry know that his brothers in blue are thinking of him and wish him the best.

He is still sedated as the doctors are trying to get his lungs cleared up so that he will be able to breath on his own in the next week or so. He is on a respirator for the time being.

His family thanks everyone for their support during this difficult time.

[rubyrose]

A lengthier, more detailed story (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20081215/NEWS01/812150329/-1/archive1):

High-rise fire displaces 18 in Rochester
KATE PERRY • STAFF WRITER • DECEMBER 15, 2008

An early morning high-rise fire in the city displaced 18 people and sent one Rochester police officer to the hospital Sunday.

Officer Gerardo Vasquez was "recovering and doing well" Sunday afternoon said Rochester Police Capt. Kevin Costello. Vasquez was the first responder on the scene at St. Simon's Terrace, a 256-unit apartment building at 360 St. Paul St., when the fire was reported about 5:15 a.m.

Vasquez got caught between two floors in one of the building's elevators for 20 to 25 minutes and suffered smoke inhalation, said Chief John Caufield of the Rochester Fire Department. Three residents also suffered smoke inhalation and were treated at area hospitals.

Rochester Fire Deputy Chief Bill Curran said use of the elevator was just one of four basic fire safety rules broken that made the fire's impact worse than it should have been.

He said there was evidence that tenants tried to fight the fire themselves, that they left the apartment door open when fleeing the fire, and that a stairwell door was propped open. Curran said the latter two allowed the fire access to the hallway and more oxygen.

"Those (actions) made the situation much worse than it needed to be," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rochester Police Capt. Todd Baxter said Vasquez saw smoke and fire billowing out of the fifth floor and people trapped on a balcony there. He was attempting to assist those people, Baxter said, and apparently got on the elevator.

When the elevator doors opened, smoke poured in and crews lost contact with Vasquez after he made distress calls for almost five minutes, Baxter said. Vasquez eventually was pulled from the elevator car unconscious on the fourth floor.

Neither Curran nor Costello could explain why Vasquez, a veteran police officer, used the elevator during the fire.

There is no entrance to either of the building's stairwells from the lobby on the ground floor. The ground floor stairwell entrances are located on the outside of the building. The doors are not marked from the outside as stairwell entryways.

Paul Rosa, the building's maintenance supervisor, said the doors are locked from the outside of the building unless the facility's fire alarms have been activated. Rosa did not know if the alarms had been tripped by the time Vasquez arrived.

Curran said it is unusual for a building like St. Simon Terrace to have no stairwell entrances from the lobby.

He said the cause of the fire, which started on the 10-story building's fifth floor, is still under investigation.

"One of the tenants said it was a stove fire, but we are leaving it undetermined at this point," he said. "We still have to talk to a couple of victims and they still suffer from smoke inhalation."

On the fifth floor, heavy smoke damage blackened the walls and by 2 p.m. crews were suctioning water from the carpets. Both the fourth and fifth floors had water damage. Both elevator cars were blackened inside and an acrid smell filled the building. According to certificates in the elevators, the last inspections of the cars are valid until Feb. 28, 2009.

Curran said the only structural damage was in the apartment where the fire started. The fire was under control by 6:19 a.m. and about 9 a.m. authorities started giving permission to residents who were evacuated from the building to go back to their apartments, Curran said.

Curran said 18 of them were temporarily displaced and the Red Cross was assisting 12 with lodging. The others were staying with family or friends, said Liz Hill, spokesperson for the Red Cross.

Among those is Tanya Gause, 38, who lived across the hall from the apartment where the fire started. Soon after the fire alarm started ringing, smoke began seeping into her apartment, she said.

"It started coming in through the cracks. I thought I was going to die," she said.

When she opened her door, thick, black smoke poured in, so she shut it and called 911. Gause said she was instructed to place a wet towel under her door and wait for a rescue. Soon two firefighters arrived and they led Gause and her 19-year-old daughter, Dezmonique Noble, through the smoke and down the stairwell to safety. The women covered their faces with wet towels to make it through the smoke-filled hallway.

One floor down, Vandora Judge, 52, saw smoke in the hall and sprang into action.

"I went banging on every door on the fourth floor to let them know there was a fire," Judge said. "If they didn't answer I went back and banged harder."

She eventually escaped down the stairwell with a few neighbors, including one who has severely limited mobility due to arthritis.

Perry Pearsall, 48, lives on the ninth floor and he was one of several residents who retreated to the building's balconies to wave for help when smoke filled the building's hallways.

"I couldn't see, I couldn't breath," Pearsall said. "I went out on the balcony and waved hoping they would see me."

Eventually they did and like Gause he was escorted out of the building by a firefighter.

St. Simon's Terrace, with 224,000 square feet available for apartments and townhouses, is operated and managed by the Landsman Development Corp. Landsman Chief Executive Officer James Goff said in August that the company planned $8 million in renovations to the complex. The goal has been to have the renovations completed by fall 2009.Goff could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Follow the link (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20081215/NEWS01/812150329/-1/archive1) to see more video.

Sounds to me, from the details here, that there are serious design flaws to the building, at least in terms of fire safety.

[deputy x 2]

Thanks guys, I will let Gerry know that his brothers in blue are thinking of him and wish him the best.

He is still sedated as the doctors are trying to get his lungs cleared up so that he will be able to breath on his own in the next week or so. He is on a respirator for the time being.

His family thanks everyone for their support during this difficult time.

And sistahs!!

[tactical208]

and sisters !!!

[deputy x 2]

and sisters !!!

Just giving you a bad time.:p

Hopefully Gerry will be home for the holidays!

Be safe out there!

[95mercury]

No stairs in the building? That's kinda messed up. Hope he recovers quickly.

[tactical208]

There are stairs inside the building you just can't access them from the outside like most buildings. This building is old and has some serious design flaws to it.

Gerry is still in guarded condition, I will keep everyone updated on his conditions as I get it. I will be going to see him this weekend at the hospital.

[SlowDownThere]

Gerry is still in guarded condition, I will keep everyone updated on his conditions as I get it. I will be going to see him this weekend at the hospital.


We are all pulling for him, and praying for him. And his family.

The man is a true hero.

[NYSP61]

We are all pulling for him, and praying for him. And his family.

The man is a true hero.

Amen to that. Keep us updated Tactical.

[mark7777]

Mark,
You may want to rethink or at least reword your statement about using the stairs. There were NO STAIRS available to get upstairs, just the elevator. So the officer who is also a very good friend of mine did the only thing he could do in this situation.

By the way I visited him in the ICU tonight, he is sedated and will be there for a week or more.

hey tact sorry if the way i wrote that sounded the wrong way that was not my intent I wish him and you the best and a complete recovery...

he is a hero for making the effort to help without regards t o his own safety.. as for no stairs in the building I do apologize I figured every high rise had stair wells in case of a fire...

[rubyrose]

UPDATE:

Officer injured in high-rise fire discharged from hospital

Victoria E. Freile • Staff writer • January 9, 2009

The Rochester Police officer rescued from a burning high-rise last month has been discharged from Strong Memorial Hospital, hospital officials said today.

Officer Gerardo Vazquez was the first responder on scene of a four-alarm fire at St. Simon’s Terrace, a 256-unit apartment building at 360 St. Paul St., about 5:15 a.m. on Dec. 14. Eighteen residents were displaced by the fire.

Fire officials previously said Vasquez saw smoke and fire billowing out of the fifth floor of the 10-story building, and people trapped on a balcony there. He took the elevator to get up there but when the elevator door opened, he was overcome by smoke. Vasquez was stuck for about 20 to 25 minutes and was found unconscious when rescued.

Officials noted that it appeared that Vazquez took the elevator because a stairwell was not located in the building’s lobby.

Rochester Police Officer LaRon Singletary today confirmed that Vazquez, a 16-year member of the department, was discharged from Strong and sent home to continue recovering. It was not yet clear when Vazquez will be able to return to work, Singletary said.

***
Good news to hear that he is recovering & is finally home.

BTW, the Chief's press aide Off. Singletary used to head up the citizens group in my sector. One of these days he's gonna be chief himself.