Around 9:45 AM on Thursday, August 22nd, the Croton-on-Hudson Fire Department was dispatched on the Working Fire Assignment to the Landmark Diner in Briarcliff Manor for our Firefighter Assist & Search Team.

Car 2082 (Assistant Chief Dinkler) and Utility 14 with six members took in this assignment within minutes of dispatch. Upon arrival, heavy fire conditions in the rear of the diner were present, so based on the fire-load and size of the building, we requested an additional FASTeam to assist us, bringing in the Thornwood FD as a second team.

Members stood by on both the front and rear of the building while interior operations commenced. After a little while, the Incident Commander moved to a Defensive Attack and pulled all members out of the building. At this point the Thornwood FASTeam was released, and our team remained on scene if needed for anything until being released five hours later.

In addition to Briarcliff Manor, assistance on scene was provided by the Ossining, Chappaqua, Millwood, Pleasantville and Hawthorne Volunteer Fire Departments. Pocantico Hills and Yorktown Heights FDs stood by in Briarcliff, and an Engine from the Montrose VA was placed on automatic response to any calls in Croton, as we were down one Engine for maintenance.