More photos aand information is available at a new site that I am currently developing, YorkFire.Net.

Units arrived on the scene to find fire showing from the first and second floors of a three-story vacant building, middle of a row of three vacant homes. The building had been placarded with a "no FD entry" sign previously due to structural stability issues. All incoming units were advised that the fire was exterior operations only.

On September 7, 2006, the buildings were the site of a spectacular multiple alarm fire late at night that I also had taken photographs of.

Units arrived on the scene to find a fully-involved, three-story vacant building. The building had been placarded with a "no FD entry" sign previously due to structural stability issues identified earlier in the year. All incoming units were advised that the fire was exterior operations only.

Many years ago, the building was home to the Cozy Tavern. The fire quickly escalated to two alarms, and eventually went to four alarms. A large number of off-duty personnel were recalled to assist in fighting this stubborn fire in 90 degree heat.

A second alarm was sounded early into the fire to bring additional resources to the scene. The fire eventually involved five homes in this narrow street in the city's west end.

Later into the incident, a third alarm was sounded to bring additional personnel to the scene to rotate crews at the incident.

The fire eventually went to four alarms, bringing many units to the scene. At least three aerial trucks were in operation at the fire, and the county hazmat team was called to the scene to assist.

This building sits along the former right-of-way of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad, just a few blocks behind the still standing Red Lion train station, now owned by the Red Lion Area Historical Society.

A very smoky electrical fire was discovered in the basement of the building, a former railroad station. Additional units responded to the scene to support the efforts underway. Personnel received a gross decontamination after exiting the basement of the building. Met Ed representatives were on the scene to evaluate the situation.

We decided that we didn't want a puppy, but rather we wanted to rescue an adult dog from a shelter. So, we did some looking and finally visited the SPCA. We filled out an adoption application, and two weeks later we went back since we hadn't heard a yes or no. Well, it seems that the person that took our application had apparently messed up, so we found out that we were approved, and decided to visit with some dogs.

Our first visit was with a dog they recommended to us - Riley. Although Riley was a nice dog, the dog didn't make a connection with us, and we didn't make one with her. We walked through the kennel again, and made a list of dogs that we were interested in, and that seemed to respond to us in the kennel. We juggled the list, putting them in a priority. The first dog on the list was Ruby.

Ruby visited with us in an outside run, and really responded to Louann with a toy. We found this interesting since her sheet said she had little interest in toys. She responded well to both of us, so we asked if we could visit with her in an inside room so there would be less distractons for her. The inside visit went really well, and she really warmed uo to us. We made the decision and brought Ruby home.

Our first night with Ruby was excellent. Ruby is already house-broken, and she lets us know when she needs to go out. She also has been trained by a previous owner, and responds to sit and listens fairly well to both of us. She does well on a leash, and was actually in this year's Halloween Parade in the SPCA's group of walkers. She slept the whole night in a bed next to our bed, and didn't need to go back out until morning when we both got up.

Ruby's sheet says that she didn't get along with another dog in her last home, and we've noticed she's a bit timid around other dogs, although we haven't seen any aggression. There is also a note about her having a problem with a baby at her last home, but this really doesn't seem to fit her disposition. We'll continue to monitor that, but we suspect that there was another issue involved there.

So rememebr that there is now a canine resident at our home, our pretty girl, Ruby.

A well involved fire had already burned through the roof of the east end of the building, and was progressing its way through the remainder of the warehouse. The blaze required the use of several sources of firefighting water, including a tanker shuttle and a supply line of about a mile in length to a hydrant near the Adams Electric building on Route 616.

Around 6:00 p.m. units were dispatched to York Hospital for a fire alarm. Engine 1 and Truck A, responding from their quarters at Duke and King Streets, discovered heavy black smoke coming from a manhole cover on East King Street off of South George Street. Engine 1 remained to investigate while other units checked the alarm at the hospital.

The smoke was coming from a fire in the underground electrical grid that is maintained by Met Ed in downtown York. The Fire Department has dealt with several of these fires in the past, and knew what to expect. Additional units were brought into the area. The area was sealed off from the public, and Fire Department personnel started removing manhole covers in an attempt to prevent smoke explosions, which can hurl manhole covers dozens of feet in the air. One explosion did occur, sending a cover 30 to 40 feet in the air on East King Street.

A massive mutual aid response of fire police from throughout York County was required to seal off the area from the public, due to the many open manholes and the potential of more smoke explosions. Even so, one person managed to get past a barricade and drive a vehicle into an open manhole.

This was a challenging incident, and a very busy evening in the City.