After responding to a Light and Air 103 call for a flooded basement at a single family dwelling, and a house fire on N. Longfellow St. (will be covering this [...]]]> Upon arriving at Dulles International Airport on Dec. 26 after 14 days back home in Seoul, things shifted to full gear with the fire department.

After responding to a Light and Air 103 call for a flooded basement at a single family dwelling, and a house fire on N. Longfellow St. (will be covering this in a separate posting) I responded with other Falls Church volunteers to the water main break at Reagan National Airport Terminal C.

Responding Company 6 units included Utility 106 and Light and Air 103.

Upon arrival to the scene, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority fire units and several Alexandria units set up a command post and began directing personnel for recon.

The Falls Church volunteers were assigned to a MWAA engineer to and headed to the lower floors of Terminal C that was reported to have the most severe leaks.

The lower floors were heavily flooded with nearly an inch in water.

Crews used squeegees to guide the water to the elevator shaft that one of our Falls Church officers discovered to have a sump pump at the bottom.

Others took down sagging ceiling panels damaged by water and deployed salvage covers in rooms with ceiling leakage.

I had to leave early for work, but the entire incident lasted over 5 hours.

Read about the water main break here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/26/AR2009122601382.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Lessons Learned:

– Buy some small tools (screw drivers, plyers, etc.)

– Get some DOOR CHOCKS!

– Control your enthusiasm

– Situational awareness, especially in situations where the ceiling is unstable

Here are some photos of the offices under Terminal C that were flooded.

Salvage covers deployed to guide water from the ceiling into trash bins

Pike poles and hooks used in combination with salvage covers to form a water chute to guide water into trash bins. Heavy leaking from the ceiling can be seen.

The point of origin. Water from the upper floors flowed into the offices in the lower floors of Terminal C. Shown is where the leaking was most severe. Heavy leaking can be seen.