<![CDATA[NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria.]]>NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/fb7da383-7059-430b-95e0-ea5163843d37/nyc-big-fire-4th-alarm-now-across-a-church-and-several-multi-unit-residential-buildings-at-12th-st-and-27th-ave-in-astoria.RSS for NodeFri, 01 May 2026 07:15:21 GMTThu, 23 Apr 2026 23:34:49 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:29:12 GMT]]>@mattblaze the Battalion Chief is the person who shows up in a general purpose vehicle (typically a small SUV these days) painted like the engines/trucks. This person coordinates the firefighting staff for larger incidents.

If you watch the order of vehicles heading to a fire, you can get a sense of the type and severity without knowing anything else about it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/mweiss/statuses/116460391806564882https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/mweiss/statuses/116460391806564882Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:29:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:46:30 GMT]]>@mattblaze

2/ They became necessary because the Mumbai transit system is so crowded commuters cannot carry very much. The system was designed to deliver to small offices and honeycombed streets. But deals with large offices and has been expanded to collect from restaurants. Computerisation would only work at the node points, mainly the stations, but it has been tried and slows down the sorting dramatically and led to mistakes.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/DziadekMick/statuses/116459280166418175https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/DziadekMick/statuses/116459280166418175Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:46:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:39:27 GMT]]>@mattblaze

I loved reading this thank you. Fascinating mechanical system still effective: Another I would share with you is the dabbawalla food delivery system in Mumbai. They collect cooked food from a workers home and deliver it to them at their desk at lunchtime. After lunch they collect the containers and return them to homes. All done with numbers and markings on the containers. …/2

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/DziadekMick/statuses/116459252469966972https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/DziadekMick/statuses/116459252469966972Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:39:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:37:47 GMT]]>@mattblaze oh man, I hope not too many people are injured and that nobody dies.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/obrien_kat/statuses/116459009959559412https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/obrien_kat/statuses/116459009959559412Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:37:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:10:29 GMT]]>@mattblaze Fascinating thread, thank you. I had no idea this existed, although now you explain it, it makes perfect sense.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://twit.social/users/gilester45/statuses/116458902625000257https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://twit.social/users/gilester45/statuses/116458902625000257Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:10:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:57:23 GMT]]>@carstenfranke
And then gets told where to shove it. Disaster response communities are pretty careful about this kind of thing and have a certain amount of autonomy because of the whole people dying thing.
@mattblaze

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/dymaxion/statuses/116458379244807334https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/dymaxion/statuses/116458379244807334Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:57:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 04:33:06 GMT]]>@mattblaze I appreciate learning about this from a guy named Blaze

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://stranger.social/users/catmisgivings/statuses/116457811907443579https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://stranger.social/users/catmisgivings/statuses/116457811907443579Fri, 24 Apr 2026 04:33:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:35:26 GMT]]>@mattblaze how long until a tech bro comes and says: "wow, that system is outdated. Look at my shiny AI... We feed it with the fire location and it will tell the dispatcher who to send..."

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/carstenfranke/statuses/116457349223148311https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/carstenfranke/statuses/116457349223148311Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:35:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:16:34 GMT]]>@mattblaze Very interesting! I never knew how the x-Alarm system actually worked.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://famichiki.jp/users/tsturm/statuses/116457275049344455https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://famichiki.jp/users/tsturm/statuses/116457275049344455Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:16:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:10:21 GMT]]>@mattblaze 😱

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/ai6yr/statuses/116457250582706177https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/ai6yr/statuses/116457250582706177Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:10:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:10:01 GMT]]>@mattblaze I quite like the names we use here in Toronto, which are… quite descriptive. “Engines” are Pumpers, “trucks” are Aerials, and then we have Rescue Pumpers, Hazmat, Heavy Rescue Squads, and two High Rise units as the other primary apparatus (plus some variants like Tower and Platform). Then all the secondary apparatus like the Air/Lights, the giant “Tower One” (which is support, not primary; the other Towers are primary I think), and all the chiefs are just called “car” over the radio.

They also have a pretty cool foam pumper I’ve seen around once or twice, and I’m not sure if it would be primary or secondary (not sure how it’s crewed). It is, fittingly, assigned the unit number FP121.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://unstable.systems/users/demize/statuses/116457249288762939https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://unstable.systems/users/demize/statuses/116457249288762939Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:10:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:09:38 GMT]]>This is a BIG fire, and still burning. They just called in two additional trucks. But it's starting to wind down. They just declared "probably will hold", which is the step before "under control". Over three hours so far.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116457247782655955https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116457247782655955Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:09:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:52:38 GMT]]>@DarcMoughty @tehstu There's a lot of terminology that varies, but a "FAST" truck is often specially assigned outside the fire building in case other firefighters become trapped and require rescue. It stands for something like Fire (something) Search Team

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116457180919049837https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116457180919049837Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:52:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:46:49 GMT]]>@mattblaze @tehstu I live in a metro area of about 500K, and I hear terms like "box number" and "fast company" on dispatch all the time. I'm guessing this is some simplified version of the system described. They usually just dispatch specific apparatus by name (e.g., Ladder 7, Rescue 4) after that.

I wonder if "fast company" is basically the 'on call' for actual fires and major events.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/DarcMoughty/statuses/116457158051750808https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/DarcMoughty/statuses/116457158051750808Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:46:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:06:23 GMT]]>@mattblaze

I grew up in NYC but only knew part of that. Telegraph and not-nearest for second order responders: yes. Predetermined second order responders and "battalions": no.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fed.qaz.red/users/elithebearded/statuses/116456999045083017https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fed.qaz.red/users/elithebearded/statuses/116456999045083017Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:06:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:04:05 GMT]]>@VE2UWY I have that book, somewhere!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456990024667622https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456990024667622Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:04:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:01:37 GMT]]>@mattblaze It really is fascinating! I went down this rabbit hole learning about my large suburban FD (Montgomery County MD) and the pre-planning and training is *very* detailed. For each apparatus, once they’re told “you’re the second due” each person (defined by seat) already knows exactly what their initial assignment will be on arrival.

Obviously, very dynamic thereafter. But as they say, plans are useless, but planning is essential.

Nerdsniped. 🙂

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://lingo.lol/ap/users/116404198720403352/statuses/116456980301223031https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://lingo.lol/ap/users/116404198720403352/statuses/116456980301223031Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:01:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:57:40 GMT]]>@mattblaze My obsession with nominative determinism makes this thread 100x more fun.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/log/statuses/116456964811311325https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/log/statuses/116456964811311325Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:57:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:55:28 GMT]]>@mattblaze Super cool. Thanks for sharing!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.foolish.computer/users/ted/statuses/116456956155626194https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.foolish.computer/users/ted/statuses/116456956155626194Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:55:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:52:30 GMT]]>@mattblaze This is absolutely fascinating and I'm grateful to you for sharing it. Thank you.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/msbellows/statuses/116456944497010127https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/msbellows/statuses/116456944497010127Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:52:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:50:16 GMT]]>@Dougfir Yeah, this system works in large dense cities (LA and SF, maybe).

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456935654951153https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456935654951153Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:50:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:49:32 GMT]]>@mattblaze
CalFire generally sends the closest units, then has further away units move up to cover empty stations. But California is still not as densely populated as NYC.
With all the mutual aid agreements in place, the cover units will frequently be from another agency.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/Dougfir/statuses/116456932813016178https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/Dougfir/statuses/116456932813016178Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:49:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:48:26 GMT]]>Some terminology: There are two basic kinds of firefighting vehicles: "Engines", which carry hoses and pump water, and "trucks", which have telescoping ladders. Each is crewed by 4 or 5 firefighters. Engines are chiefly responsible for putting out the fire, while trucks are chiefly responsible for rescuing people (and getting access to high floors). In NYC, a "battalion" has a chief that supervises (generally) two engines and one truck

Each additional alarm adds roughly 4 engines and 2 trucks.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456928490077256https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://federate.social/users/mattblaze/statuses/116456928490077256Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:48:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to NYC: Big fire (4th alarm now) across a church and several multi-unit residential buildings at 12th St and 27th Ave in Astoria. on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:42:52 GMT]]>@mattblaze Boston's fire boxes are very much still around, and although the backend systems have been computerized for quite a while now, the boxes themselves are still very much a wind-up telegraph inside. As a nice feature, the wiring is entirely independent of the phone and electrical systems, so should there be a major systems outage in one area, the boxes still work. They actually did work last time 911 went down state-wide and someone pulled one out of desperation. Thankfully the news reported on that, and it was promoted enough for people to actually read it and learn those are still actively maintained and monitored...

The fire museum has one of their oldest computers, as well as a disconnected box for people to pull and look inside of. (Well, it's connected to the computer behind it, but not to the actual fire system)

And yes, they still have the manual telegraph key in the box. AFAIK it's only really used for testing stuff these days?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/becomethewaifu/statuses/116456906555477571https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/becomethewaifu/statuses/116456906555477571Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:42:52 GMT