Don't Be Alarmed: Answer Man Is on the Scene

On Oct. 14, about 15 firetrucks and other fire department vehicles responded to the Folger Shakespeare Library due to a fire that turned out to be in the Folger Theatre's costume shop. The fire was described as a two-alarm fire. What constitutes a two-alarm fire versus, say, a four-alarm fire?

Jack Womeldorf, Capitol Hill

Think of the number of alarms raised for a fire as a sort of prix fixe menu.

Every reported fire in the District starts out as what's called a box alarm. The equipment and personnel dispatched to the scene comprise five fire engines (those are the apparatuses with water tanks and lots of hoses), two ladder trucks, a rescue squad and a battalion chief.

That will bring about 37 firefighters to the scene. "And that's just for the initial 911 call," said Alan Etter, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman.

If smoke or flames are spotted, the call is upgraded to a "working fire dispatch" -- essentially a one-alarm fire. Out come another engine, another ladder truck, another battalion chief and, depending on the situation, such resources as an ambulance and crew, an EMS supervisor, a safety officer, a unit that provides extra bottles of breathable air and a fire investigator.

Firefighting is not a leisurely pursuit. The idea is to throw as much at the fire as quickly as possible. If the fire just won't cooperate, a second alarm is called in. The deputy fire chief takes command, and the equipment is basically doubled: four more fire engines, two more ladder trucks, another battalion chief, as well as a canteen truck and a rehab vehicle that can treat injured firefighters. You might also get a hazmat truck and one or more EMS units.

A two-alarm fire can involve 100 firefighters and more than 35 pieces of equipment. Each subsequent alarm brings out an ever-increasing and prearranged collection of equipment and personnel. With minor differences, the same holds true with suburban fire departments. Fires in rural areas, where hydants are scarce, require more engines and tankers.

Fire buffs also speak of "equivalent" fires, as in a five-alarm equivalent. That's a fire that ends up requiring as much apparatus as a five-alarm fire without a fifth alarm being officially called in.

One of the largest fires in recent memory -- the blaze that consumed the vacant Kann's department store on Pennsylvania Avenue NW in 1979 -- was a five-alarm equivalent that took 12 hours to put out. Officials at Fort Meade said the fire there Friday was a six-alarm. The District's last bona fide five-alarm fire was July 7, 1963, when the W.T. Weaver & Sons hardware store on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown went up in flames, the blaze fed by cans of paint and chemicals.

The first alarm was turned in at 12:29 p.m., the fifth exactly an hour later. Wrote The Washington Post: "When the fifth alarm was sounded, television and radio stations broke into programs to broadcast urgent appeals summoning off-duty firemen to their posts."

Mandatory sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, and improvements in firefighter training and equipment have meant that five-alarm blazes are -- knock on flame-retardant wood -- pretty much a thing of the past.

Speaking of the past, on the third floor of Engine Company 3 on New Jersey Avenue NW is the D.C. Fire and EMS Museum. The museum and its collection of artifacts are in the renovated loft where hay was stored to feed the horses that pulled the fire engines. It's been open to firefighters for three years and just recently started hosting tours, by appointment. After an elevator for the disabled is installed, it will open to the public, probably in the spring. For information, call 202-439-1936 or visit http://www.friendshipfire.org .

Without Question Man and Curious Woman, there is no Answer Man. Send your Washington area-related queries toanswerman@washpost.com.