Location: Elyria Ohio Responding Agency: Elyria Fire Department Event Date: January 18, 2015 Event Type: Working Structure fire with Victim Trapped Location: Skylark Court Elyria Ohio Time:1600 Hours 

Approximately 1600 hours on January 18th the Elyria Ohio fire department was alerted to a house fire.  The initial dispatch was directed to an industrial area with a large warehouse structure and first arriving unit advised nothing showing. Updated dispatch information redirected the responding units to the correct address and also advised the responding chief of confirmed occupant trapped.  Dispatch also passed along information from the caller that the occupant was a “Hoarder”and they could see visible flames. 

Engine 3 arrived on scene with smoke showing throughout the structure with the heaviest amounts seen from division 2. Engine 3 chose and offensive posture with 1 3/4 sized line for primary search and fire control. Ladder 7 advised heaviest fire division 2 side c while chief 3 instructed them to ventilate vertically.  Rescue 31 directed for occupant search and rescue. Supply line was established by engine 4.  An unknown unit advised chief 3 of an awning that is compromised by fire with “a lot of trash underneath it”.  

Upon hearing that report Chief 3 ordered an emergency manpower recall.  Shortly thereafter Chief 3 was advised fire was extending to upper floors and roof.  A transitional attack was used after the discovery of fire extension the roof area.  Chief 3 then requests a MABAS box alarm assignment 1341 to respond and stand bye.  Second due company advised they were unavailable due to another assignment.  Chief 3 then advised the box would be sufficient without them and requested the fire prevention and training officer to the seen.  

WRIGHTSVILLE, Pa. —Six adults and one a child are out of their home after fire through it Friday morning in Wrightsville, York County.The fire started in a basement laundry room around 4:30 a.m. at the home along the 500 block of Walnut Street between 5th and 6th streets. The homeowner told News 8 that he tried to fight the fire with an extinguisher, but the flames were too much. The state police fire marshal is investigating, but because damage is so extensive, the cause is not yet clear. Firefighters said the blaze was difficult to fight due to hoarding conditions in the basement.

Hoarding fire kills Cats in New Mexico 

Albuquerque firefighters say six cats died in a house fire Sunday morning. The incident happened around 11 a.m. on Alder Drive NW near Unser. The homeowner wasn't injured, but she did lose six of her cats. Another five were taken to the veterinarian. The Albuquerque Fire Department says the fire was contained to one room and extinguished quickly. But what they found inside the home appalled them. "This was a hoarding situation. Lots of garbage and feces on the ground this fire could've been much worse because of all that extra fuel in the house," said Larry Gallegos, Bernalillo County spokesperson. "You don't normally have that much fuel, papers and boxes stacked up so high. All of that is fuel for fire that's what makes it so dangerous." According to Bernalillo County Animal Care ordinance, in most cases, residents are not allowed to have more their four animals in their home without a permit. Albuquerque fire said two of her cats are still roaming the neighborhood. If you see them, call animal control at 311.

By ABC7.com staff Friday, February 13, 2015 11:45PM ENCINO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- California Highway Patrol officers rescued an elderly woman living in pack rat conditions who was trapped by flames in her Encino home near the 101 Freeway on Friday. The officers happened to be driving by. "We heard screaming coming from the other side of the house," California Highway Patrol Officer Edward Diffner said. "She was lying on the floor, 4 or 5 feet from the house, and she was screaming for our help," CHP Officer Kevin Mendel said. Crews responded to the one-story home in the 15000 block of Magnolia Boulevard near Densmore Avenue at about 5:50 p.m. Two people, an elderly woman and a man, were treated by firefighters at the scene. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital and was treated for moderate burns and smoke inhalation. She was in fair condition. The fire was confined to the one-story home, but excessive storage made it difficult to put out the flames. Fifty-five firefighters spent more than two hours battling the blaze. No firefighters were injured. The home was heavily damaged. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Neighbors were grateful for the CHP officers who arrived on the scene. "They did a great job, fast, good, very good," witness Sam Volchauck said.

WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) - The problem of hoarding came into focus in a neighborhood near West Palm Beach on Wednesday.

Frank Buttaravoli's company, Hello Junk Removal, got a call about a man whose condo was filled with packaged food. The owner had placed cans at the base of piles of boxed and bagged staples, filling the man's living room, dining room and bedroom.

About an hour into the job of hauling away the thousands of packages, rodent sounds could be heard in the apartment.

Eventually worker Rafael Sinkal found what appeared to be a nest of rats, and the animals went scurrying in every direction.

"I have not in any hoarder situation seen rats running around like children on a playground," said Buttaravoli.

Great footage from Statter911.com of a three alarm fire in PG county Maryland that was complicated by Hoarding Conditions.  This is a great reminder that Heavy Content conditions can be found in any occupancy.  It is common to find these conditions in multi-family dwellings.  The case study from 200 Wellesly Ave in Toronto is a HUGE reminder of Hoarding in a High Rise occupancy.

The news explains the initial call for service as being a respiratory distress call that evolved into a HazMat situation, due to the suspected Meth Lab inside.  

This is a great example of the exposure potential to all first responder agencies. Let’s take a look as some learning points from this news clip:

EMS: Many EMS agencies do not carry the needed equipment needed to protect their responders from the airborne dangers of hoarding, managing the collapse risk, and facilitate a safe removal.  the need for additional resources should be made immediately. 

Police:Our brothers and sisters in blue often do not receive the awareness training when faced with hoarding conditions.  When education is taking place adding them into the classes should be mandatory. Often they will respond for a well being check and, without understanding the danger, enter a environment that is hazardous. 

Hoarder Fire from Dolton IL

Dolton,Illinois Still & Box House Fire 14641 Lincoln Avenue

Hoarder Fire Bob Donaldson / Post-Gazette By Molly Born / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Firefighters crawled over piles of books, newspapers and other items Tuesday morning while trying to put out heavy flames in a vacant house in Homestead. Allegheny County assessment records show the house belonged to Margaret Mary Vojtko, the former Duquesne University adjunct professor of French whose death in September sparked a debate about the workloads and pay of adjuncts at U.S. universities. A West Homestead firefighter was injured helping battle the blaze at 1110 Sylvan Ave. Homestead Deputy Fire Chief Ron Kalupson said the firefighter, whose name was not released, was taken to UPMC Mercy for observation after he received an electric shock while extending a hose. The house, while unoccupied, still had electrical power, the deputy chief said. Firefighters had to crawl over a lot of “debris” to extinguish flames coming from the second floor of the two-story brick home, the deputy chief said. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2014/03/25/Firefighter-hurt-in-West-Homestead-blaze/stories/201403250176#ixzz2x55PoQ7L   News Video Coverage Found Here

Since the days of the Collier Brothers in Manhattan first responders have been     dealing with the affects of compulsive hoarding disorder.  The ChamberofHoarders.com is a website dedicated to teaching educating first responders on the needed changes to tactics and challenges they will face when entering the hoarding environment.  From bio-hazards during a medical response to a working structural fire hoarding offers dangers that can affect responders for years. The mission of this website is to deliver actionable content that you can put to action immediately.  Starting with this post we would like to walk you through the causes, challenges, and solutions when dealing with the conditions caused by compulsive hoarding.  Over the next 52 weeks we will be posting fresh content that offers insight into the disorder and how to change  our operations to bring everyone home safe. History of Compulsive Hoarding: Week 1 Compulsive Hoarding Disorder is defined as  the accumulation of and failure to discard a large amount of belongings that have no apparent value, the accumulation makes living spaces unusable, and causes significant distress on the occupant (Frost and Hartl 1996) This clinical definition describes the inability to discard belongings that eventually accumulate from floor level until, eventually, ceiling height.  Compulsive Hoarders receive positive feelings from the acquiring belongings and are unable to part with them because of the negative feelings they receive when parting with them. This collection often is comprised of things that you and I would consider to have little value. Common items collected include:

Since attacking the problem of emergency responses in Hoarding Conditions, from the perspective of first responders, the questions from the family members of people who are suffering from Compulsive Hoarding Disorder keep coming in.  How can I help my family member? How do I make their home safer are a small examples of the questions that are commonly asked. ]

Hoarding Fire Safety Should include a Escape Plan Answering these questions is complex and has no one simple answer, but there are some steps to help protect your loved one from the dangers of fires in hoarding conditions.  While these simple steps may not eliminate the risks to them it can improve the chances of survival if a fire were to happen. Since starting the research into hoarding fire safety many common causes have been identified.  Sharing these common causes will help family members protect their loved ones until they can be treated by the mental health professionals.   Cooking Fires Cooking fires are commonly seen in the fire service today. Hoarding conditions complicate these types of fires because the clutter has accumulated to the edge of the heating source.  When the belongings are allowed to invade the space adjacent to the stove the potential for cooking fires goes up.  If you add ordinary combustibles to a heat source the resulting fire can spread fast and trap the occupant who is in the kitchen. 0"] Hoarding Fire Safety In the Kitchen. Fire proofing your family member’s kitchen may be a huge undertaking, especially if the hoarding level is at or above waist level.  Compulsive hoarding disorder prohibits the occupant from distinguishing between things that have great or little value. If you were to try and move their “treasured” valuables you will be met with passionate resistance. Being understanding and compassionate in your response will keep the family member at ease as you try to explain the risk for fire. Approaching them with some tradeoffs will allow them to move their belongings away from the heating source, thus reducing the risk for a cooking fire.  Example: “Can we take the belongings from the counter and move them over to the table, away from the stove.”  If the family members understand how the thought process works they will focus on a positive solution to this problem. This approach may be met with resistance and take time to explain the risks of cooking fire inside their environment.  Persistence with this process will be needed and the kitchen may need to be revisited multiple times as the family member replaces the belongings that have been moved. Electrical Fires Another leading cause of fires inside hoarding conditions are electrical fires.  Having stacks of belongings closely placed near electrical outlets increase the risks of fire from a sparking electrical outlet.  Much like the cooking fires the ordinary combustibles, newspapers and like materials, can make a fire more likely and increase the burn rate trapping occupants. Moving the stacks of belongings away from the outlets is a simple solution to this problem.  Approaching the family member with the example of electrical outlet malfunction and explain that you are not asking to throw anything away, just move it away from the outlet will ease the pain felt when approached with the thought of losing their “treasures”.   Explaining the process of “moving” not “removing” the items can reduce their anxiety. "] Hoarding Fire Safey A blaring similarity, in electrical fires, seen in the hoarding environment, is caused by extension cords.  They are commonly stacked one on top of the other as electric outlets become unusable.  If an electric outlet becomes non-functioning the occupant often just runs an extension cord from a functioning one increasing the chance of overloading one outlet.  When you enter the family members home you should take time to investigate the status (usable or not) of all the outlets in the home.  This access can be difficult as the access to them can be blocked with the hoard.  Use the pathways established by the occupant to access the points available first before trying to go through the stacks.

Much like the education given to elementary students in fire prevention month family members afflicted with compulsive hoarding disorder should be exposed to the exit their home plan.  Fires today are known to double every thirty seconds, offering less time for occupants to escape.  Taking the time to explain this danger to your family members will help offer some simple solutions, while starting the treatment plan. Taking the time to explain this danger and evaluate the presence of multiple exits paths is paramount for their safety.  Example: “If a fire were to happen in the current condition blocking this only exit, you will burn to death” While this sounds somewhat extreme it may be necessary to bring home the dangers presented by not having multiple exit points in their home. Ask your family member “What is your plan in the event of a fire and this pathway is blocked?”  

By far the most important part of the visit should be the instillation of smoke detectors in EVERY room.  When hoarding conditions are present available airflow for smoke can be restricted.  This restriction can delay the time needed for a standard smoke detector to be alerted.  Delayed alerting can lead to less time for escape of an occupant.  Expecting this delay should lead family members to install more smoke detectors, one in each room.  Mounting them on the ceiling in the center of the room is a best option, if the stacks of stuff allow.  If not the closest proximity to the center ceiling will allow for the most coverage.

Dealing with loved ones that are dealing with compulsive hoarding disorder can be an emotion filled challenge that takes years.  Keeping a positive, reassuring approach that always keeps in mind the complexity of Compulsive Hoarding Disorder can lead to a successful safety intervention.  While this is not a cure it is an intervention that could save your loved ones life.  Make sure to reach out to your local fire departments, hoarding tasks forces, mental health professionals, and health officials for resources to help in your journey.   Additional Links: http://www.hoarders.org/f-c.html http://childrenofhoarders.com/wordpress/ http://hoardingdisorderinstitute.com/