In October 2009, I accompanied a friend and fellow fire buff Danny Alphonso (FDNY E-75) to the City of Detroit to check out the work in this city which is known to have been ravaged by fire in recent years.

The Detroit FD covers a city that encompasses 138 square miles and has approximately 100,000 vacant structures within its borders. Detroit firefighters operate 38 engines, 22 ladders, 6 squads, under the direction of 9 Battalion Chiefs. The department responded to over 68,000 working fires last year.

You really have to give a 'tip of the helmet' to these guys! They deserve a lot of credit. I was very impressed with how quickly these guys can get two attack lines into operation. They also frequently use deck guns (a.k.a. monitors) to darken down large volumes of fire upon arrival. They use an "Old School" approach, which appears to work for them.