Advertisement They kept Liberty Bridge from falling down: how Pittsburgh firefighters' quick action saved the day Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Pittsburgh's firefighters now know they averted a disaster with their quick action to put out the fire on the Liberty Bridge on Friday.They knew the heat from the flames was intense, but going in, they didn't know the full threat that the severe fire damage to a metal beam under the Liberty Bridge was creating.VIDEO: Watch Bob Mayo's reportPennDOT has since then made it clear the Liberty Bridge could have collapsed in minutes had they not stopped the fire in time.Fire Lt. Stephen Grenesko had his first indication from a PennDOT inspector after the fire was out."He told me, 'Call your chief and tell him to get all your rigs off this bridge as quickly and as gently as possible.' That's when I kind of figured we might have a little bit of trouble," Grenesko told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.Firefighter Richard Miles, who, with Grenesko, put out the flames from a position underneath the bridge desk, saw for himself the extent of the damage as the superheated metal beam cooled."My lieutenant said, "Hey, look up.' I looked up and the beam was -- it looked like an 'S.' I was like, 'I don't think that's good,'" Miles said. "One of the PennDOT guys came down and told us. He said, 'This is bad.' So as soon as he said it was bad, we realized what was happening."Grenesko and Miles were the ones under the bridge who put out the flames of the intensely hot and burning plastic pipes stockpiled for the bridge reconstruction project.Firefighters downplay -- but acknowledge -- how many of their ranks were at risk in the event the bridge collapsed."At the apex of the incident, as we were beginning to put water on it, if that span that may have collapsed, perhaps 20 firefighters, maybe 25," said Deputy Fire Chief Frank Large, who, with Fire Battalion Chief Robert Ciesielski, directed the firefighting efforts up on the bridge deck."That one could have lost some lives. We could be speaking differently at this time. But I really want to praise the men for doing a job well done.They did a great job," Ciesielski said.Get the WTAE Pittsburgh's Action News 4 AppCity firefighters involved in the effort are downplaying their heroism, crediting their teamwork, training, and leadership for quick action."We got very, very lucky. We got water on the fire quickly and kept that from happening. I'd rather be lucky than good, any day," Grenesko said. While firefighters downplay their heroism, their leaders give them credit."Some people would say you guys were pretty lucky, and I would say, no, our guys are pretty professional," Large said. "An old chief said to me once, 'You become a hero when you take the oath of this job.' It's kind of what we do.""I took this job for a reason. So, if something happens, something happens. But we do what we did and put it out," Miles said.Firefighters connected with workers under the bridge who got them to the fire via construction ladders and scaffolds."Without those two gentlemen, it would have been very difficult to navigate through those series of ladders and over the shielding that was installed under the bridge," Grenesko said.On the Liberty Bridge deck, they relayed water for 2,000 feet by connecting trucks and hoses. They then dropped hoses down to the firefighters fighting the flames below them."When the chief looked over and looked down and he saw me, he cracked a big old smile because he knew maybe this was going to be maybe a little easier than he thought," Grenesko said."I saw his face, it was very, I felt very comfortable knowing we have this fire under control quickly," Ciesielski said.While much of the public's attention was drawn to the large tarp that was burning at the bridge reconstruction site, it was the burning plastic that caused intense heat of up to 1,200 degrees. The pipes were 1.5 feet in diameter by 12 feet long and stacked several feet high. Firefighters said burning plastic produces intense heat and black smoke. "The guys did a tremendous job. It was a very challenging situation, a very unusual situation," Large said. "The system worked. What the citizens pay for, they got their money's worth on Friday."