Posted 4 hours ago on YouTube, a series of 10, well produced videos of Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley. They appear to be part of his reelection effort. This is the text with one of the videos:

Added: 4 hours ago From: rminteractive
Mayor Joe Riley Charleston, SCGo For … Mayor Joe Riley Charleston, SCGo For JoeVote Tuesday, November 6th (more) (less)

The video that is relevant to this forum are his comments on the June 18th fire at the Sofa Super Store. The message seems very similar to his televised speech from Tuesday night. You can see it here.

To see the rest of the videos, click here.

D.C. Fire & EMS official photographer Vito Maggiolo on the scene of a fire Tuesday night at 214 7th Street, Southeast. Vito and others, including Chief Dennis Rubin, were leaving nearby RFK Stadium for “Firefighters’ Appreciation Day”. The Nationals won and so did D.C. Fire & EMS, with a quick knock on the fire. As usual, Vito has details and more still images on DCFD.com.

Click here to see Vito’s raw video.

Two people are in the car that failed to negotiate the drive-thru at the McDonalds at 5948 Georgia Avenue, NW on Monday. D.C. Fire & EMS, led by the crew from Squad 2, stabilized the vehicle so the driver and passenger could be extricated and receive medical care.

D.C. Fire & EMS photographer Vito Maggiolo caught much of the action on video. You can see his raw video here.

Also, the newly redesigned DCFD.com has more still shots from the video and Vito’s account of the incident.

I have what I am told is the complete numbering system currently being phased in by the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. This is part of the effort to comply with the COG master system.

What I have is in spread sheet form. Below are the command staff designations, a sample battalion and mutual aid companies. Click on each one and then hit the icon to enlarge it (that icon will be on the bottom right of your screen).

You can also download the file yourself, here.

4th Battalion (two parts)

Mutual Aid (five parts)

Mayor Joe Riley from governing.com

FireGeezer seems to be first out of the gate that Charleston Mayor Joe Riley will speak at 6:00 PM.

STATter 911 has heard from some sources saying the Mayor will focus on the progress made since the Sofa Super Store fire and efforts to help the families of the fallen firefighters. But not being in Charleston, the information I am getting is somewhat limited. There are others with different versions of what the mayor will talk about.

Here is how WCBD-TV is portraying the event on its website:

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO Tonight, at 6:00 pm, Mayor Joseph P. Riley will address the Sofa Super Store fire during a community meeting. The mayor’s speech is expected to be an update on the investigations about what happened during and after the fire.

Click here to go to WCBD’s site for the live stream. There is also a way to submit a question to the mayor.

The IAFF has sent out this Frontline News Alert about the Mayor’s appearance:

In a speech scheduled to air at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley is expected to defend Fire Chief Rusty Thomas, whose failed leadership was responsible for the chaos during the June 18 Super Sofa Store fire that killed nine fire fighters.

The IAFF encourages members to watch his remarks via live steaming video.

Let the mayor know he’s wrong for standing behind the chief. Submit your comments:
WCBD News Franko Blog
Fire Fighter Hourly
The IAFF and Charleston, SC Local 61 have continued to exert pressure on the Charleston Fire Department and Fire Chief Rusty Thomas in an effort to improve training and safety standards and eliminate the potential for another tragic loss of life there.

As for the status of the investigation led by Chief Gordon Routley, I had a conversation with the teams spokesperson Pete Piringer. Piringer says in the very near future expect the first report from the team. This will be the detailed look at the structure and operations of the City of Charleston Fire Department.

These are the details that will backup the initial recommendations, and according to Piringer, go much more in depth on a variety of issues facing the department.

Piringer says the team will then focus its efforts on the continuing investigation of the June 18th fire, with a report to follow.

The final phase will be the development of a strategic plan for the fire department.

Unless they have discovered a new way of draughting, this picture from Ocala.com is probably not what a fire chief wants to see in the paper. Here are excerpts from the Star-Banner article:

What’s the difference between the ducks in Lake Tuscawilla and the firetrucks in Ocala Fire Rescue Station One across the street?

The truck, an E-One Typhoon model 1,000-gallon pumper, rolled into the lake until water nearly covered the driver’s compartment. It sat on the bank diagonally, with water almost to the pump control panel on the side. Shortly after it went into the water, the electrical circuit for the warning lights shorted out, turning the lights on, making it appear the truck was on a rescue call.

SUV fire spreads to adjoining vehicles on stop floor of a high rise parking garage in Philadelphia on Monday.

Back to court.

The St. Louis fire chief is going back to court after city officials confirm they will discipline Sherman George for failing to make promotions.

Video from double fatal fire.

Click the image above to go video on DCFD.com of Sunday’s fire in the 700 Block of Emerson Street, NW.

More from Everett

Some more video of the 4-alarm fire Monday morning in Everett, MA. This video does not have the rescue of the firefighters. You can find a short clip of the rescue here.

It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.

Am I the only one who looks at the video above and believes this isn’t the best type of entertainment to have for a kid’s birthday party? And what is worse, continuing on with the show after you have given yourself second-degree burns to the mouth (his own account), or posting the video to show how brilliant you are?

Video of the day: More than 9 minutes of raw video from a 2-alarm house fire in Clifton, NJ on Sunday. FireFightingNews.com has details and good still pictures.

A woman is dead in an overnight Houston fire that spread to four apartment buildings and went to four- alarms. Video and more details from KTRK-TV.

Inspector who interrupted mayor’s tour staying close to home.

A District of Columbia fire inspector is under investigation after his school inspection conflicted with a walk through by the mayor and reporters.

Close call in Massachusetts.

In Everett overnight a firefighter apparently ran out of air and was separated from his crew while searching during a fire in a combination commercial-residential building. He was rescued by ladder from the second floor and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and cuts. Articles on the four-alarm fire, here, here and here. Video of firefighter rescue, here. WHDH-TV reports two firefighters were in trouble.

Pick a number between 7 and 9.

Prince George’s County, MD is getting ready to switch over to the COG numbering system. Some career chief officers are already using it. The details are expected soon in a press release. PGFD are the 800 units. For example the first engine out of Station 33 (sorry, for some reason they were just the first to pop into my mind) will be Engine 833. The second engine will be Engine 833b. There will also be Tower 833. Of course the question still is, will there be an Ambulance 833?

Already quite a bit of discussion on thewatchdesk.com.

Update 1:53 PM: PGFD’s Mark Brady has issued a press release on this topic.

Help for fire victims who happen to be firefighters.

Chief Billy Goldfeder of firefighterclosecalls.com passes along this message about the fire at Schuylkill Hose Company No. 2:

As you may know, last Wednesday afternoon’s fire destroyed the Schuylkill Hose Company No. 2′s engines, hazmat truck and gear and caused more than $1 million in damage. This Fire Company in Pennsylvania can use some assistance. If you have safe and immediately usable fire equipment, PPE etc to donate or wish to assist them as they get back on their feet, please contact Glen Sattizahan. His e-mail is: gsattizahan@alphamills.com and his cell Phone # is 570-449-2613.

FireGeezer makes not of another firehouse fire. This one is in Kentucky.

Winnipeg makes changes in anticipation of LODD report.

After first saying it had done “everything by the book”, Winnipeg’s fire department is making changes after two firefighters died and four were injured last February. One of our readers points out this last paragraph in the CBC News article:

Under provincial law, the city could be fined up to $150,000 if workplace health and safety rules were violated; senior employees with the city or fire department could face up to six months in jail.

Smoke gets in your eyes. College fire drill practice questioned.

On Friday we showed you how a smoke machine was used for a college fire drill in Texas. A similar practice in Kentucky is being criticized.

A lot of questions and few answers on bodies missed at crash site.

Half of the victims at a Saturday car crash weren’t found until relatives searched. Fire department in Gary, Indiana says this is a police issue. Police aren’t talking.

Fair practice may be unfair.

Union complaint in Stamford, CT over volunteer department’s use of off-duty firefighters to protect a church fair.

SF drunken, groping probe stalling.

Everyone seems to agree something happened during the August 29th barbecue at an old San Francisco firehouse used as a soup kitchen. The “top-priority” investigation into the actions of off-duty firefighters may be hampered by uncooperative nun.

Planned demolition didn’t go as planned.

In Berlin, two of three smokestacks cooperated. When the third didn’t: “Five adults and two children were brought to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin with fractured ribs, lacerations, contusions, and sprains”.

Virginia house fire and more from the web.

VAFireNews.com has details and more pictures, like the one above, from a recent house fire in Abingdon.

WithTheCommand.com has the guided missile cruiser fire and a scrap metal bla
ze in CA.

FireGeezer, as always, has our multi-national coverage.

Firefighter Spot has video of the plane crash in Thailand.

SConFire.com has a link to the beautiful story of Indiana firefighters paying tribute to one of the fallen from Charleston.

Firefighter Hourly looks at more issues in the air as the probe into the June 18th fire continues.

FireFightingNews.com has the picture below and more from a weekend commerical building fire in LA.

Covering North Carolina, FireNews.net has a look at a fire in a busted natural gas line on a construction site.

Raw video from Charleston interviews.

You have probably seen the articles and the TV stories of some Charleston firefighters recently made available to reporters talk about the Sofa Super Store fire. WCIV-TV has posted raw video of its interviews.

Garage fires.

The one above with the exposure potential was posted today, but has no other information. The one below is a close call that goes back a bit.

And finally, Truck 44 or not Truck 44, that is the question.

Still have people debating the identity of the truck company with the PGFD seal pictured in a memories page from a few days ago. I think we can agree the picture was taken at Toledo Terrace. I will make the lame excuse that I was a south side boy who was drinking heavily in those days and can’t remember a thing.

One old timer (sorry) writes there were 4 trucks in the area at the time that looked similar. Truck 1 (before the demolition derby at East-West and Adelphi that resulted in a new tractor with an enclosed cab), Truck 44, Truck 28 (before it was painted yellow) and Silver Spring Truck 1 (unless they ran with a PGFD seal, it wasn’t them).

A fire destroys one home and damages a second on Sunday afternoon at Discovery Bay in California. A second-alarm was called by the East Contra Costa Fire District

As we warned you a little while ago, PGFD is in the process of switching to the COG numbering system. You can already hear some of the changes on the radio. Chief Spokesman Mark Brady (what 800 number is Brady?) has issued the following press release.

Notice, unlike STATter 911, Brady doesn’t use Station 33 as an example. Wonder how he happened to pick Branchville? I am guessing “11″ is just his lucky number.

Inspector Alan Lancaster, on the left, shows school officials mud filled boiler room on August 6th.

Watch 9News Now Report

It was called “Buff and Scrub”. Mayor Adrian Fenty touring a District of Columbia school in early August. The mayor was making sure it was ready for the coming school year, the first year he is in charge of the school system.

It is not unusual to hear cynical news people refer to these types of press gatherings as dog and pony shows. Planned events, that can often be not much more than a photo opportunity for a political leader to walk through a controlled environment.

As a reporter with this assignment, you are usually hoping to find something more in depth. A story with some meat on its bones, whether it is good news or bad. You want either the pony to be a Kentucky Derby winner or the dog to poop on the carpet. In the case of “Buff and Scub”, my 9News Now colleague, reporter Audrey Barnes, got a little of each.

Audrey followed her instincts and found a very clear look at the infrastructure challenges in the school system. She also has now discovered that somewhere along the chain of command leading up to the mayor, someone didn’t like the actions of an inspector for the D.C. Fire & EMS Department.

Inspector Alan Lancaster is currently on desk duty. Assistant Fire & EMS Chief Larry Schultz said Friday, “There is an internal investigation ongoing”. According to Chief Schultz, “We have expected behavior of all of our personnel when they are dealing with the citizens who are our customers”.

In this case, it appears the only “customers” Inspector Lancaster dealt with are all fellow city employees. They include the principal of Francis Junior High School, Stephanie Crutchfield and Deputy Mayor for Education, Victor Reinoso.

On August 6th, Inspector Lancaster came to the school at 2425 N Street, NW on a follow-up visit to a July inspection. It was at the very same time the mayor, the deputy mayor, and the principal were leading the press tour. Audrey Barnes and a photographer took a detour when they noticed that the inspector went to the school officials about a major problem that had not been corrected from the previous visit.

What 9News Now viewers saw on TV that day was less of the mayor and more of a mud filled boiler room that Deputy Mayor Reinoso called “appalling”.

Within a half-hour school officials and work crews began assessing the problem. It was fixed just days later. As the principal put it, “The response was immediate”.

But as reporter Barnes discovered, it was the other response that left Alan Lancaster with a problem. Barnes cites city sources who say some of the mayor’s staffers complained about how the fire inspector pulled them away from the media event.

On Lancaster’s side, Audrey Barnes writes, “His supporters say he was just doing his job, to help the city meet the mayor’s October 15th deadline to have a working boiler in every DC school”.

Francis Junior High now has its working boiler in a safer environment, but the District of Columbia currently has one less inspector to make sure this and other schools are hazard free.

Even though I find a fair amount of video, Firefighter Spot always seems to have something I don’t. This includes the controlled flashover above.

Box alarm on Memory Lane.

Yes, it’s a corny title, but we have more pictures from the Chillum-Adelphi VFD and beyond, thanks to Cranker Bob. There is also a debate in the comments section over whether the last picture on the page is of Truck 44.

Deadly D.C. fire.

A fire at 6:30 morning has taken two lives. A second alarm was dispatched to 721 Emerson Street, NW. Thirty-nine-year-old Ramsi Gilbert was found dead at the scene. His mother, 77-year-old Letha Gilbert was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to Chief Dennis Rubin, Ramsi Gilbert had escaped the fire, but went back in trying to rescue his mother. The fire is believed to have started in the basement. We have video of the fire’s aftermath here.

Fire in Canada.

The best I can tell, from what I remember of high school french, is that the video above is of an apartment fire in Quebec on Saturday. Lately most of the videos we have seen from Canada have been major conflagrations. Nice to see something more routine.

Update from a french speaking source. This is Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers), about 80 miles northeast of Montreal. The firefighters are “policiers-pompiers”. They arrive in police cars and don fire gear while waiting for the engine to arrive.

It is the last major city in Quebec that still uses cops to fight fires. Trois-Rivieres, population 135,000, recently opened its first station with full-time firefighters. The plan is to convert to a dedicated firefighting force by 2015.

Around the web.

WithTheCommand.com has some Texas fires this morning.

FireGeezer has some wildfires and more on the home separation tests NIST did 3 years ago (I swear I will get that video back up soon).

SConFire.com and Firefighter Hourly have SC and beyond covered. FireNews.net does the same for NC.

“I just want to say one word to you – just one word”.

Fans of the movie “The Graduate” know the one word that eventually follows that line is “plastics”. Well, that was what what was burning in Richmond, Indiana starting Friday afternoon.

It began in a downtown storage facility for Primex Plastics and spread. Including to a building across the railroad tracks.

The image above is in mid-collapse. You can see raw video, including the collapse (at about 34 seconds into the video), here. FireGeezer has been on top of it and has more stuff.

Steve Reid ailing.

Chief Billy Goldfeder has details on surgery scheduled for the former D.C. Fire & EMS assistant chief. Also, a reminder about a blood shortage.

Facing the music in St. Louis.

Chief Sherman George had a rough Friday. A judge ruled against him and now the mayor is ready to discipline George for failing to implement promotions. The long battle continues.

A dangerous blast from the past.

The video above from a fatal Vermont fire is 9-years-old, but was re-posted on YouTube on Friday. Here is the description that goes with it:

Fire in a Mixed Occupancy Balloon Frame 5 Story Building, just after midnight, almost 30 people in the building in apartments on the upper floors – did not want to evacuate. Initial conditions were nothing visible on the outside and light smoke on Division 2 – things went downhill rapidly a few minutes into the call around 1:15am when conditions went from minor to major with smoke boiling from the upper floors. The firefighters evacuated shortly after and the 2nd floor collapsed. In the end, the fire was seven alarms and 3 civilians lost their lives. Watching this, you’re about a block away and the firefighters are at an 45° angle to the A-side of the structure. – thanks to firefighterclosecalls.com for the video and Fire Chief Troy Ruggles from St. Johnsbury, VT for sharing it with them.

Hangar fire during and after.

Video of the large airport fire earlier this week and a tour afterwards by the fire marshal.

Bus fire.

The one is from Barcelona.

Repeat customer.

Not a lot of info with this video, other than being Detroit and that the house has burned before.

Only 100 shopping days until Christmas.

But somebody recently posted this NIST video of a dry scotch pine burning.

Please keep Steve Reid in your thoughts as he heads to surgery on Tuesday. I got to know Steve with his stints as PIO and running EMS in the District of Columbia. He has also been very supportive of my efforts with STATter 911. Steve’s friend Billy Goldfeder sent out this email earlier today:

Asst. Chief Stephen M. Reid, District of Columbia Fire/EMS Department – Retired, was recently diagnosed with a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST). Following a stint at Frederick Memorial Hospital, where an endoscopy was performed and identified the tumor, he was referred to Georgetown University Hospital where he will undergo an operation on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, at 1100 hours for the removal of the tumor and resectioning of the stomach. The procedure should last approximately 3 hours followed by 4 days of recovery in the hospital and 6 weeks of recovery at home.

http://www.gistsupport.org/

The supply of blood at various hospitals is dangerously low. It was extremely difficult to get the 3 units that he needed at FMH as they were “saving” it for emergency cases. So, if you can spare a pint, please contact your local blood bank.

11612 Meeting House Road Myersville, MD 21773-8906 301.293.3311
chief354@comcast.net

Thanks for keeping Steve in your thoughts and prayers. Please post, pass this on and forward.

Cranker Bob has been nice enough to provide some other photos and not all of them are of the Chillum-Adelphi VFD. The first pictures from Bob are here.

I assume the fire below is at Prince George’s Plaza. But my memory cells are quickly fading, which truck is in the bottom picture with the PGFD seal? It looks familiar.

That’s Chief Sherman George in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo. His boss, the mayor, says Chief George will now face punishment for failing to obey an order to begin department promotions. It was a months-long drama, that today, turned into a day-long drama.

The chief had a 1700 hours deadline to follow the directive. Instead, Chief Sherman went to court in an unsuccessful bid to stop the mayor. Here is an excerpt from the latest in the online edition of the paper:

Disciplinary proceedings will begin against Fire Chief Sherman George after he missed a deadline to end his hold on promotions, the mayor’s office said this afternoon.

The announcement from the mayor’s office came after last-minute negotiations to reach a compromise failed. On Friday, an attorney for George filed an emergency order to delay the ultimatum. That, too, was rejected.

Fire chief’s deadline is 5:00 p.m. today.

UPDATE 5:00 PM EDT:

The deadline is fast approaching for Sherman George. The judge isn’t giving him much wiggle room. His attorney says he doesn’t even know what the chief is going to do. Here are excerpts from the the latest St. Louis Post-Dispatch story:

A circuit court judge has denied Fire Chief Sherman George’s last-minute request to avoid the city’s ultimatum to promote from within his department.

Judge John Garvey ruled that while the power to promote lies with George, the city has the ability to discipline him if he does not.

UPDATE 2:24 PM EDT:

St. Louis Chief Sherman George is back in court today.

An attorney for fire chief Sherman George has a filed an emergency order to block the city’s ultimatum to end his hold on department promotions.

The case for the order was being argued in front of Circuit Court Judge John Garvey this morning. He ordered a brief recess at 12:45 p.m. to read case law on the matter.

George’s attorney, Tom Blumenthal, is arguing that the city cannot force George to act. The decision to promote — or not — is left solely to George, Blumenthal said.

More on late developments from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

EARLIER TODAY:

It appears the months long battle in St. Louis could come to a head today for Chief Sherman George (below, in a picture from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Here are excerpts from the paper’s story today:

The city’s top firefighter has been told that he has until this afternoon to end his hold on department promotions or face the consequences.

If the promotions are not made, Slay may find himself in a no-win situation. Suspending or demoting George, the city’s first ever African-American fire chief, could further strain racial tension. But failure to act could cost Slay credibility with the firefighter’s union, a weighty political force.

The paper has a good history of the issue, along with a timeline, here.

Mechanism of injury.

The picture above (from WMAQ-TV) shows the results after a car was hit by a Metra train in Chicago on Tuesday. The video below shows how it go to this point. An 89-year-old man was killed and another person seriously injured. Watch some of the bystanders to see how people react (or don’t react) when confronted with this emergency.

4-year-old sounds the alarm.

Click here to see the early warning system that allowed one MD family to make it to safety.

Video of hangar fire.

Not as spectacular as the picture below from NewTimesLive.com, but the raw video, above, gives you a better view of the fireground at the Danbury, CT fire.

MO warehouse fire.

Click the photo above to see a series of pictures from a warehouse fire Thursday morning off of I-70 in Truesdale, MO. Details here.

Ray Downey story.

A former Lancaster, PA firefighter has an interesting story about his first contact, thirty years ago, with the legendary FDNY special operations chief killed at the World Trade Center.

Statter rips off blast from the past.

I am full of excuses on why I have failed to provide anything from the video archives on this, just the second week of our new feature. But thanks to Cranker Bob on thewatchdesk.com we at least have something. Click here.

Popular with the public, but not the troops.

They said this Colorado chief did a great job with public relations. It was firefighter relations that did him in.

Giving it the old college try.

At the University of Texas in Arlington smoke machines help create a more realistic fire drill. See the video, above.

Around the web.

WithTheCommand.com has another Connecticut fire and more.

VAFireNews.com has pictures and an account of a house fire in Prince George.

FireFightingNews.com has medics on Harleys and Buffalo firefighters being allowed to sue over promotions.

FireGeezer’s featured video is of a Waterous steamer. I didn’t think Geezer was that old.

Firefighter Hourly looking at a TV interview about the rescue made at the Sofa Super Store fire.

If he wasn’t such a gentleman, Grant Mishoe could rightfully say I told you s
o, now that the paper has caught up on his SConFire.com story on the former Florence fire chief. I may have more on this later.

Firehouse.com has a story on the firefighters’ union giving a lot of grief to FDNY Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. The topics are helicopters for hi-rise firefighting and the deadly Deutsche Bank blaze.

FREEPETEY.com. That’s the name of the website set up to defend the FDNY captain reassigned after the Deutsche Bank fire.

EMSresponder.com tells us they are still trying to dismiss a CA EMT with a criminal past.

Some good apparently comes from 2-year-old with matches.

Usually it is a tragic combination. This time everyone was lucky and no one got hurt. But the boy’s uncle is now wishing someone hadn’t left those matches around.

No date or location on the above video. It is titled “Firework Factory on Fire”.

And this one is an underground electrical fire in New York.

Due to a shortened work week at the TV station I didn’t have time to stream the latest video from the vast STATter 911 archives, but Cranker Bob on posted these on thewatchdesk.com.

The Chillum-Adelphi VFD has a couple more pictures on its website.

The picture above of Truck 34 has sparked a discussion of jack screws on TWD. Remember them well.

UPDATE 3:50 PM: Rail traffic has resumed and streets have been reopened.

Fire, EMS and police have been on the scene of a developing situation in Gaithersburg, MD since about 1:00 p.m. They are concerned about a car in a garage at 108 Old Towne Avenue. The garage is next to what appears to be a 5-story residence.

The incident is adjacent to the CSX tracks. Rail traffic has been halted. This will effect MARC commuter trains, CSX freight traffic, and potentially, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited.

There is a heavy fire and police response. Montgomery County fire spokesman Pete Piringer says this a hazmat situation involving a suspicious vehicle. Piringer says some evacuations have been done nearby, and other people in nearby businesses are being sheltered in place.

S. Summit Ave. is closed between Hutton St. & E. Diamond Ave. and Olde Towne Ave. is closed from Fulks Corner to S. Summit Ave.

The fire department’s bomb squad is on the scene and the bomb robot is being deployed in an effort to check out this vehicle.

Here is more on how this began from the 9News Now assignment desk:

Gaithersburg police say one of their police officers came across it shortly after 12 noon. Originally this was a call for a car blocking traffic, The officer found the vehicle positioned in such a way as to block the traffic lanes of the parking lot.

Police tell us the vehicle has anti war stickers on it, and seemed suspicious. A bomb detection dog was requested to the scene. We are told the canine sniffed it and did not react. Police are going through the steps now to rule it out as a potential threat.

Also, we’re told that another factor in this incident is that someone had reported a smell of propane earlier. A source of that smell has not been determined.

Pictures from Jarrid Gaston of a fire Wednesday evening at #13 Temple Court, NW. Here is what public information officer Alan Etter wrote in an email about the fire:

Units responded at 8:19 PM with Battalion 6 for the report of the apartment fire in the 1000 block of North Capitol Street, Northwest. First arriving units found heavy fire showing from the third floor of a three story townhouse at #13 Temple Court. The fire occurred in the Temple Courts public housing complex. Mounting an aggressive interior attack, the fire was brought under control very quickly with no injuries. There were several people, including six children, in the apartment. Everyone was able to get out prior to the arrival of the fire department. Nine people were displaced. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Frederick County, MD Sheriff’s Department photos.

Libertytown VFD photo of Brush 175

A site I haven’t mentioned enough is Fairfax County 5th Battalion Training. Ron Kuley and his guest columnists are usually asking interesting tactical questions. Click the image above to get to the site. You can always find the link on the left side of this page.

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That’s the theme of Bill Schumm’s Morning Lineup on FireGeezer. He looks at a 1988 incident in Kansas City that killed 6 firefighters and is similar to the one in Mexico on Sunday night. Chief Billy Goldfeder also brought up the 1964 incident in Marshalls Creek, PA where 3 firefighters died. Below a video of 500 pounds of ANFO exploding in the trunk of a car.

Floyd Madison day in Rochester.

Often you see fire chiefs run out of town, either as administrations change or because of some scandal. Not so, for Floyd Madison. A former deputy chief in D.C., Chief Madison just finished up 8 years running the Rochester, NY Fire Department. He is now off to be the New York state fire administrator.

Fire 101.

Fire chief sends welcome to freshman at the University of New Hampshire. Interesting proactive idea.

BP getting a closer look.

Four fires in a month at BP facilities in Alaska’s North Slope are prompting some scrutiny from state officials. You may recall BP also had to answer for the explosion that killed 15 and injured 180 in Texas City, TX in 2005. Read Ed Bradley’s 60 Minutes report on the Texas City disaster.

Chief gets towed.

My reporter instincts tell me there is something more to this story from Massachusetts.The fire chief’s car gets blocked in by police and towed during a fire and water commission hearing.