South side arena burns down

[walking tall]

Early this morning the south side arena on Edward St burned completly to the ground. From my understanding it was a boxing arena that was opened and operating illegally.. With pour water and hydrant systems in that area HFD could do very little to save the structure it eventually collapsed nearly trapping to hattiesburg firefighters inside. Luckly they escaped unharmed.

Does anybody else think we have another firestarter on our hands? Just a few nights ago an vacant house on katie ave burned in the middle of the night

[Fire Extinguisher]

probably so on the firestarter...... HFD has a darn good investigator.

[Ted]

I heard at work this morning that it was the former Rush Hardware building.
Is it all one and the same place?

[brianinms]

HFD needs to learn to shuttle water. :) Glad the firefighters made it out safely, but its odd that they would make an interior attack with a lack of water supply. It gives me an eerie reminder of the Charleston fire that happened almost a year ago in which 9 firefighters lost their lives under the same conditions. Stay safe out there.

[Smoke Diver]

Hattiesburg tried to get some tankers ago. I do not know what happened with that idea. What needs to be done is fix hydrants that are turned in for repairs every year. I could show you hydrants that have been written up since I was a new firefighter in the eighties. The infrasturcture of The Burg needs a lot of repairs and upgrades. That takes money. Progress Hattiesburg would have helped. IF Hattiesburg deteriorates it effects all the communities around Hattiesburg.

[Fire Extinguisher]

Hattiesburg tried to get some tankers ago. I do not know what happened with that idea. What needs to be done is fix hydrants that are turned in for repairs every year. I could show you hydrants that have been written up since I was a new firefighter in the eighties. The infrasturcture of The Burg needs a lot of repairs and upgrades. That takes money. Progress Hattiesburg would have helped. IF Hattiesburg deteriorates it effects all the communities around Hattiesburg.
The city Council nixed the tankers...... I could have gotten them with grant money...... The chief at the time nixed that..... had to prove a point as he was always trying to do.

Yes City Firefighters are way behind the Vols in Tankers and water shuttle. But the cCITY needs to fix the darn water problems!

[noway]

I was at work last night and dispatch didn't call requesting us to standby with HFD. I'm glad we weren't needed but would have been there to standby if they had called.

[brianinms]

The city Council nixed the tankers...... I could have gotten them with grant money...... The chief at the time nixed that..... had to prove a point as he was always trying to do.

Yes City Firefighters are way behind the Vols in Tankers and water shuttle. But the cCITY needs to fix the darn water problems!

I understand they need to fix the water problems, but I am willing to bet that adding a couple tankers to the arsenal would greatly ease the problem in the mean time. Heck you could always get a engine with a 2500 gallon tank and use it as a tanker or an engine. Additionally 2 tankers with dump tanks and some hard suction lines would be vastly cheaper and faster then fixing all the water problems.

[Smoke Diver]

If you are shuttling water with tankers you lose manpower at the fire scene. If you are shuttling water instead of having hydrants that are worth a darn I would bet the insurance rating would increase.

[MSfire1]

I agree that the tankers would be a cheaper and faster fix but if you didn't read Extinguisher's comment. We tried to get the tankers but we don't control the check book in the City. If the Mayor, Council, & (bent) former Chief had provided the funding the problem would've been addresses already. Even with the tankers the City still needs to address the water issues immediately.

[Conveyor Belt]

Yeah, using a pour water system to put out a fire is just stupid. That's so 1835...

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/brody/fire/4-50.jpeg

[Fire Extinguisher]

Thinking back, what we should have done was an end run and got the tankers with HS Grants anyway..... Chief didnot really really have to approve if the RRT Council had voted for it..... as a "good" Trooper I followed orders and never brought it up. RRT also needs them just in case they are called and need water for decon in a place where its not available...... as it it they would have to rely on the local Vols..... which I am sure they would be more than willing to help but it would be best not to tie up their resources....

[mac]

The article says the place was operating illegally. I drive down Edwards St. every morning on my way to work, and I am 99% sure I have seen a hand-painted sign advertising boxing matches on Friday nights. So how do they manage to operate something illegally and advertise it openly? Why wouldn't the cops just bust the place up and shut it down?

Call me crazy but I have a feeling that if I hand painted a sign advertising dog fights and stuck it out on Hwy 42, the po-pos might make an appearance.

[Oni Zen]

sign advertising dog fights

When did we move from boxing to dog fighting? Or did I miss something?

I taught some at-risk youths who were involved with the facility. I don't know enough about the place to determine whether it was a positive or negative influence on them. Wasn't there a write up in the HA about the boxing program? Or was that another place?

[walking tall]

HFD needs to learn to shuttle water. :) Glad the firefighters made it out safely, but its odd that they would make an interior attack with a lack of water supply. It gives me an eerie reminder of the Charleston fire that happened almost a year ago in which 9 firefighters lost their lives under the same conditions. Stay safe out there.


There was one hydrant that was able to supply one truck the other 3 hydrants that were hooked to were unable to keep up with the supply needed which made the ladder truck useless..

I dont think the city is going to ever do anything about the hydrant situation downtown. I guess there thoughts on it would be (1900 hydrants in the city they cant all be perfect and work like the ones on the west side of town.) that is why resinol company downtown had to put in there on water tower on there property because the city could not supply enough water if something happened out there..

[mac]

When did we move from boxing to dog fighting? Or did I miss something?



Fair enough. I was just trying to make the point that it's illegal. Dog fighting is illegal, and they said the boxing arena was being operated illegally. What's the difference? Why would the po-pos bust one illegal activity and not the other? :smt102

[walking tall]

I am not 100percent sure that it was an illegal opeation or what was illegal about what they were doing. Maybe some of our law enforcment guys on here can fill us in on that.. For all we know they just might not have had a permit or something. I will do some digging around and see what i can find.. Mainly I just hope we dont have another firestarter going around

[marion]

I taught some at-risk youths who were involved with the facility. I don't know enough about the place to determine whether it was a positive or negative influence on them. Wasn't there a write up in the HA about the boxing program? Or was that another place?

Could someone please post the link to the article? I hate the new H'burg American website and can't find anything on it.

I'm also wondering if this is the same group. I always thought it was. When they were meeting at the house in front of the depot before it was torn down, I'd always see the kids running/training together. One day they were washing cars to raise money for some kind of event and I let them wash mine. I was introduced to all the kids and their leader and I have to say I was quite impressed.

Now, I'm not sure what to think. They have signs up all the time advertising events. If they were illegal, I don't understand how they were able to continue so long either.

[mac]

I am not 100percent sure that it was an illegal opeation or what was illegal about what they were doing. Maybe some of our law enforcment guys on here can fill us in on that.. For all we know they just might not have had a permit or something. I will do some digging around and see what i can find.. Mainly I just hope we dont have another firestarter going around

Oh okay. For some reason I was thinking I had read that it was illegal in an article, but now I see that you said that was your understanding and not an official word. My bad.

[Conveyor Belt]

I always thought it was a backyard wrestling program that found a building.

[thrillseeker]

Well I hope that the city gets Hattiesburg's water problem under control before some one is seriously injured. I hope and pray that all you brave souls are safe out there doing your job to protect us citizens. Thanks for doing a great job.