Like WHOA!: The Plainfield Walmart Fire
- Presenter(s): Greg O'Brien
- Session Length: 60 minutes
- Date: Jul 29, 2025
On March 16, 2022, the Plainfield Walmart warehouse fire, which spanned 1.2 million square feet and reached a 6-alarm level, required the collective efforts of over 30 agencies and 350 firefighters. The blaze resulted in over $500 million in losses. Remarkably, the incident was effectively coordinated and managed by 8 exceptional telecommunicators. This presentation will review and outline this incident from a 911 perspective containing radio traffic, pictures, video, and details that have yet to be presented to the public.
Learning Objectives:
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to identify what is a Mega Warehouse and its fire risk and protection factors.
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to understand what the PSAP's responsibilities are in managing a large-scale incident.
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to identify and review the opportunities that were presented in the aftermath, such as delayed dispatch, mass notification, CAD behavior, records requests and retention, CAD provisioning, and the difference between managing and supervising.
description
On March 16, 2022, the Plainfield Walmart warehouse fire, which spanned 1.2 million square feet and reached a 6-alarm level, required the collective efforts of over 30 agencies and 350 firefighters. The blaze resulted in over $500 million in losses. Remarkably, the incident was effectively coordinated and managed by 8 exceptional telecommunicators. This presentation will review and outline this incident from a 911 perspective containing radio traffic, pictures, video, and details that have yet to be presented to the public.Learning Objectives:
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to identify what is a Mega Warehouse and its fire risk and protection factors.
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to understand what the PSAP's responsibilities are in managing a large-scale incident.
- At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to identify and review the opportunities that were presented in the aftermath, such as delayed dispatch, mass notification, CAD behavior, records requests and retention, CAD provisioning, and the difference between managing and supervising.
