Fischer Rd Fire

Fischer Rd Fire (46 images)

On April 11 at 3:36am, German fire department was dispatched to a fire on Fischer Rd. A neighbor reported the fire but could not tell what was burning because he was viewing it on his security camera. The first on scene was 8A2 in 8R1 and he immediately called it a work fire, fully involved and requested a Suburban Move Up. The fire was so intense that it was fought as a defensive attack with lots of water. Water had to be brought in by tankers with a loop up Fischer to Orchard and th N. St Joseph Ave and McCutchanville Station 10 where they refilled and returned via Mohr and Kuebler to Fischer
It took about an hour to get the fire under control. From the very beginning there was suspicion that this was an arson fire. After checking with a female resident who was working, The firefighters on scene began to search for victims - her two children and her fiance. The fiance's auto was not at scene. Even though the auto was equipped with On Star the law enforcement were unable to use it to locate or communicate with the occupant. Kentucky Police stopped the car in the Covington area with a "stop sticks." The driver attacked the police with a knife and he was tasered. He was held in Cincinnati for various charges.

Meanwhile at the scene, all other fire departments were released and German firefighters were divided into two crews. One crew went to Company 9 and put the available apparatus back in service. The other crew began with the help of McCuthanville 5 Quint 5 to cool off hot spots, debris was pulled from the site and a section by section search of the remaining structure.
Cadaver dogs were brought in to search. First to be found was the boy, Caleb. The first crew was replaced by the second crew who continued the search after a search warrant was obtained. With the State Fire Marshal, Sheriff department, coroner, prosecutor, and firefighters it took another four hours before the second victim, Alyssa, was found. Firefighter and VSAR member Joey O'Neil and her dog Cloe was credited for the hit that ended the search.
A critical assessment debriefing session was held at the fire department headquarters on the evening of April 12 for the firefighters and their families. Also attending were the two 911 dispatchers who were monitoring traffic for close to 12 hours. After the session those who could attended a memorial ceremony at the scene.