By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — An operation that started with 55 Atlanta firefighters Monday swelled to some 300 by Tuesday afternoon, as firemen from across the state swarmed the collapsed parking garage at Spring Street and Abercrombie Place.
Some came because they were ordered. Many others came from a sense of professional kinship. The Atlanta Fire Department said it still needed more men too.
"We're still putting out a call for other agencies to help," Atlanta Fire spokesman Bobby Stewart said Tuesday night. "They are tired and with the intensity of the heat, you can imagine the exhaustion of some of the crews."
Firemen call them "Shirley Days," the euphemism for their mandatory furlough, implemented by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran said the furloughs have forced the department to rely on more volunteers from other agencies. But the collapse was so large that even without furloughs, the department would have needed to recruit outside help.
Warner Robins firefighter Rick Reynolds thought about those furloughs and his fellow firefighters working in 90-degree-plus temperatures when he decided to spend his day off in Atlanta.
Reynolds said he heard about the collapse Monday afternoon and made a few calls. By Tuesday morning, the Warner Robins department had assembled 30 volunteers to make the 90-minute drive to Atlanta.
Firefighters were divided into three main tasks: search and rescue, shoring and fire suppression.
White and his five buddies from Atlanta Station 8 on Marietta Boulevard built wooden trusses out of 6-by-6 posts to support the crumbling concrete.
"It may not look like they can hold but one of those beams can hold about 20,000 pounds of concrete," said Capt. Douglas Hatcher of Atlanta Station 14. "We line the beams up and it's a good support system."
Each of the parking garage's floors had 56 firefighters working on the shoring equipment, Hatcher said.
"We shore and then they search. The process is repeated so they can move cars out safely," he said.
Firefighters from Covington to Carrollton and Riverdale to Rockdale strapped on air tanks and lined the basement of the garage later in the afternoon. They weaved hoses around the parking spaces as rescue crews combed each car.
"We're on standby in case a fire breaks out," Cherokee County firefighter Benjy Pearson said.
Pearson and his team each carried about 75 pounds of gear, which raised the temperatures at least another 30 degrees, he said. That mandated a rotation.
"We work 30 minutes and then rest for an hour," Pearson said as he lay on the ground of the parking deck. "At least this coat makes a good pillow."
The firefighters expected to work throughout Tuesday night and most of Wednesday finishing the search, which involves bulldozers, thermal imaging cameras and high-tech sound equipment.
Copyright 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
