Escaping the SouthPark Construction Fire
Fire Engineering Podcast Network

Escaping the SouthPark Construction Fire

B1IntermediateSeptember 14, 20261 hr 39 min

On this episode of Mayday Monday, host Tony Carroll speaks with Captains Stephen Pettit and Michael Watts, of the Charlotte (NC) Fire Department. The guests walk through the May 18, 2023, SouthPark construction fire in Charlotte, North Carolina. They get into Ladder 1's inside crew's encounter with a fast, chemical-fueled fire in a parking-deck trailer full of spray-foam materials. They describe the radio and command challenges they ran into, as well as tunnel vision and use of search ropes. Pettit and Watts also address crew continuity and the engineer’s decisive master-stream application.

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Before we get too far into today's edition, I want to review last month's May Day. So again,

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incident we talked to Brandon Corley about his experience with a fire in Michigan. If

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0:00

Alright, welcome back to May Day Mondays. This is the September 2026 edition of May Day Monday. Before we get too far into today's edition, I want to review last month's May Day. So again, month you'll remember we we focused on moving a downed firefighter upstairs. Last month's incident we talked to Brandon Corley about his experience with a fire in Michigan. If

0:44

you remember they were the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Forsyth Township, Michigan. Brandon was part of the rescue team on a fire that took the life of Captain Ben Lauren. So if you go back, look at that, if you didn't get a chance to, go back and check out that that May Day Monday.

1:10

Listen to the testimony, listen to Brandon's story. learn more about Ben and how he was really involved in the fire service up there and the incident that took his life and also review your techniques for getting a firefighter up the

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