body
WHEREAS, Friday, September 2, 2016 Pittsburgh Firefighters were called to the scene of an intense and unexpected fire on the Liberty Bridge; and,
WHEREAS, although the Liberty Bridge Fire presented some unique and serious challenges for access and water supply, the team effort provided by the City of Pittsburgh Fire Bureau and other Public Safety Personnel, saved the bridge from collapse and potentially saved many lives; and,
WHEREAS, first arriving on the scene was Lt. Stephen Grenesko and his crew; FF's Matt Stasiak, Rick Miles and Justin Zietak of Engine 4, who immediately sized up the incident, requested assistance and began accessing the lower levels of the bridge structure as to the location and intensity of the fire and began addressing the need for a positive water supply to the middle of the bridge; and,
WHEREAS, Battalion Chief Robert Ciesielski (4024), initially assumed Command of the incident and began the process of organizing a relay of water, with the members of Engines 4, 24 and 27, which spanned over 2,000 feet from the south end of the bridge and evaluated how to best reach the members accessing the fire area below; and,
WHEREAS, Battalion Chief Jerry Hirschfeld (4022) operated as the Safety Chief, supervising E-12 as the Rapid Intervention Team, the "MAC" unit, and addressing real and potential safety concerns; and,
WHEREAS, members of Engines 3 and 10, Truck 4 and Truck 14 collectively supported the ongoing operations and were working to provide back-up to the initial units as the fire was "knocked down" and brought under control; and,
WHEREAS, finally, Fire Investigators 4110, and 3884 who arrived promptly to initiate a "Cause and Origin" investigation and helped identify with PennDOT engineers, the serious damage done to the bridge structure; and,
WHEREAS, without the collective skills, knowledge and abilities of all Fire Bureau members at the location, the assistance of other Public Safety assets such as Police and EMS, and unidentified bridge construction workers, the incident may have concluded much differently; and,
title
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire who spearheaded such a monumental task in the midst of such unknown danger; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, September 20, 2016 to be “Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.