(Updated 12:36 PM)

Firefighter charged with raping colleague. Victim given day off.

In St. Lucia, a 12-year veteran of the fire service is charged with raping a 19-year-old female firefighter. Despite being traumatized, the victim was expected back at work after just one day off. From HTS Channel 4:

Fire Chief Leslie Fontenelle says this is the first time a male officer has been charged with the rape of a female colleague since females were first inducted into the Fire Service over two-and-a-half decades ago. A twelve-year veteran was charged on Tuesday with the rape of a nineteen-year-old female officer. Leslie Fontenelle says fellow officers are still coming to grips with the news they first learnt on Tuesday morning. He says they are incensed with what happened to a member of the Fire Service family.

Police say the Fire Officer was arrested and charged with a rape on Tuesday. The Chief Fire Officer says the alleged victim remains traumatised – she was given the day off on Tuesday, but is expected back at work on Wednesday. He says there is separate sleeping quarters for women at the barrack room at Vigie. Fontenelle says there was no evidence of forced entry and thinks the door was left open. He says there will be no additional security measures implemented as a result of the incident.

Houston FF “takes a turn for the worse”

Those are the words of FF Brandon Everette’s wife Irene. Everette, a five year veteran, was critically injured, suffering lung damage, in a January 21 fire where his mask became dislodged after a ceiling collapse. Read the story. IAFF Local 341 has note from Irene Everette.

A 99.99 percent accuracy rate

The Washington City Paper is looking at the claim by DC 911 center director Janice Quintana that her staff has a 99.99 percent accuracy rate. The article by Arthur Delaney is titled Q as in Cucumber and can be read here.

Talking with firefighters, Delaney has a list of incidents from 2006 and 2007 that question Quintana’s accuracy. He also mentions the incident three years ago when Tony Carroll fell down the elevator shaft on Goodhope Road unaware that there had been an explosion in the building. It was something the first callers told the Office of Unified Communications, but was not relayed to firefighters. During his 7-month recovery, Tony went on TV with me and sounded the alarm about the way this call was handled and other similar issues.

STATter 911 has been waiting for OUC to answer a number of FOIA requests on some recent and not so recent calls.

Here are a couple of more incidents we have mentioned before that could be added to the City Paper’s list:

December 19, 2007: The original dispatch for the fire in the Old Executive Office Building was for the 900 block of 17th Street, NW with a cross street of Connecticut Avenue. The building, since before any of us was born, has sat in the 600 block of 17th Street, NW with a cross street of Pennsylvania Avenue (right next to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW).

October 16, 2007: Read the account of the delayed alarm for a fire at 814 49th Street, NE on Engine 30,Truck 17’s website.

February 27, 2007: It took at least 7 minutes for OUC to dispatch a box alarm assignment for Metro’s Farragut North station. A photographer and I heard Metro call for the fire department on the DC radio system. We drove from Capitol Hill to Farragut North, stopping at all of the signals, before the dispatch was made.

January 31, 2007 (one year ago, today): OUC confirmed for 9NEWS NOW that it took ten minutes to dispatch another box alarm for Metro’s Farragut North station.

PetSmart fire

Photo from Dwayne Clark from a 2-alarm fire that began around 11:30 AM at the PetSmart in the 6000 block of Oxon Hill Road, in Oxon Hill, MD. Prince George’s County Fire/EMS spokesman Mark Brady says as of 12:30 PM, so far, all of the pets have survived.

MD apartment fire

Just before midnight, Montgomery County firefighters dealt with a garden-apartment fire in the 12,100 block of Georgia Avenue. Neighbors helped rescue a number of people including a young child. Seven people, including the child, were transported to the hospital. Watch the wusa9.com story.

Another DC multi-alarm fire

The picture above from DC Fire & EMS PIO Alan Etter of Wednesday afternoon’s blaze in the 2700 block of Cathedral Avenue, NW. A second-alarm was called as fire began to spread from a row house that was being remodeled to an adjoining home. One worker had a laceration to the arm.

Familiar territory

I imagine that no apartment complex in Prince George’s County, MD has had as many serious fires in the past year as Spring Hill Lake. The picture above is from PIO Mark Brady of Side C of the building after crews made a quick stop of this fire on Springhill Lane Wednesday evening. this went to a second-alarm. Investigators say it was started by an 8-year-old playing with matches.

One flake too many

Not sure where or exactly when.

SC apartment fire

A fire on Tuesday afternoon at a Greenville apartment complex. Fire officials say it started as a brush fire that spread to the building’s vinyl siding. The video above is the response and some of the fire. Click here for Part 2 on the fireground
. The story and more video, here.

Fireground audio Las Vegas

This is poor quality audio of some of the radio traffic from Friday’s hotel and casino fire in Las Vegas.

Broken coupling

Not sure if this is old or new, but it was just posted in Live Leak.

(Updated at 7:05 PM)

Old video of the day: On 2:30 PM on October 20, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio, the first in a series of explosions that killed 130 people and destroyed a square mile of the city’s east side. It started with a leaking liquefied natural gas tank in the East Ohio Gas Company’s tank farm. The film above shows the aftermath. Read more.

Prince William County, VA report

There has been great interest in the report released Saturday looking into the April, 2007 death of Technician I Kyle Wilson. Since it is STATter 911’s local area, I have added a link to the reports and our coverage on the left side of the blog.

Two ambulance fires

In Columbus, Nebraska early this morning the call was a for a building fire at the Midwest Medical Transport Company. Inside firefighters found the engine compartment of one of the firm’s ambulances burning. Read the article, here.

A little later in the day a fire broke out in a garage that houses ambulances for Wishard Memorial Hospital in Marion County, IN. Read the story.

On another ambulance topic, FireGeezer looks at the issue of stolen ambulances (he’s had a long list lately).

Taking a closer look at a close call no one mentioned

A number of fire service websites reported yesterday about Monday’s motel fire in Oklahoma City that injured one firefighter after a 4-inch hose burst. Steve Marshall, an alert STATter 911 reader, saw the video from KOCO-TV and spotted a close call no one mentioned. At 31 seconds into the video, just as the reporter on the scene tosses to the videotape, you will see a shot as water from a ladder pipe cuts through a wall and sends debris on to firefighters below.

Looking around the Internet I discovered a much clearer view of the same moment from NewsOK.com. It comes at 48 seconds in the video above. Apparently none of those firefighters were injured.

As for the hose bursting, KWTV-TV was rolling from its helicopter when that occurred. It comes at :58 in this video just before the chopper camera zooms in.

Firefighter who won Carnegie Hero medal wins comp case (for now)

I missed this when it was published on Friday, but it is an interesting issue worth reading about. Keith Leuci was recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for pulling a man trapped in a burning car to safety in August of August, 2004. Click here to read the description of the rescue (just type in Leuci’s name). He also received a valor award from the Atlantic County Firefighters’ Association.

At the time Keith Leuci was a member of the Cologne VFC in Hamilton Township (Atlantic County), NJ. Leuci was in his own vehicle when he happened upon the fiery crash in Egg Harbor Township. Leuci was injured during the rescue and applied for workers’ comp benefits through both Hamilton Township and his fire department. The claim was denied because he was not officially on-duty and Egg Harbor had not requested mutual aid.

Keith Leuci says his injuries forced him to give up his remodeling business and move to a less expensive place (Tennessee). But he got some good news last week when a judge ruled in this favor. Here is an excerpt from The Press of Atlantic City:

Judge Cosmo Giovinazzi III ruled in Leuci’s favor Thursday, said his attorney, Christopher Day.

Day said an appeal is unlikely to succeed, as Giovinazzi is one of the most respected judges in the state.

Another hotel-casino fire

7-alarms were called on Tuesday to handle a relatively small but stubborn fire under the roof of the Great Cedar Hotel at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Watch the story from WFSB-TV. Read the story.

Union and Topeka chief keeps on going

The latest chapter between Topeka Fire Chief Howard Giles and IAFF Local 83 is over transfers. The union says the transfers are retaliatory. The city says its to spread experience around for public safety. Read and watch the story.

Chief accused of threatening 2 volunteers scheduled for trial next week

The two former volunteers in Rollinsford, NH say the chief tried to hit them back in September after they didn’t respond on a call. The pair claim they were following the chief’s orders not to take calls while in a training class. Watch
the story.

Old video of the day: More Chicago. This may be my favorite, a 1960s film called Fire Academy. Click the image to see it.

Links to VA LODD report

Since our story on the report into Kyle Wilson’s death in Prince William County has been picked up by a few other sites, I wanted make sure you can easily find the links to the report and videos released on Saturday. Click here to see our coverage.

River of fire (or at least a stream)

In Sydney, Australia a truck fire caused a massive traffic jam this morning. FireGeezer has more details and links.

ALF Q & A

American LaFrance asks itself questions they think you might have about the bankruptcy filing. Firehouse.com has posted them.

Battle over paperwork

They’ve changed the locks and suspended the chief in Atwater, Ohio. The word is that volunteer firefighters failed to provide social security numbers and meet the requirements of the township’s insurance carrier. But you get the impression from reading the article in the Record-Courier that there is a lot more to the story.

Parrot stars in the latest edition of our regular feature “Who ya gonna call?”

San Mateo, CA firefighters spent 90 minutes chasing down Cookie on Monday. The parrot kept flying away as ladder-bearing firefighters got close. In the end it was a successful rescue for another “all hazards” department. Read more.

MD barn fire

Short video from Monday evening’s farm house fire on Marley Neck Rd. in Anne Arundel County.

Volunteer sets fire to radio station over music picks

Got your attention, but its not that kind of volunteer. This was a volunteer for a community radio station in Austin, TX. He didn’t like the fact that his music playlist was changed from the jazz he loved. I’m also a jazz fan, but apparently not as passionate. Read the story.

Spain boat fires

From Puerto Banus on Sunday.

OK school fire

A vacant school burned on Sunday in Chickasha, OK. An 11-year-old boy is accused of setting the fire. Read more.

IN house fire

From around noon on Monday in Bethlehem, IN. Read more and see additional video.

NJ 2nd-alarm

From Friday in Newark. Click the image above to see it.

Put out a fire, be in a commercial

What appears to be a small fire at Honest Charley Speed Shop in Chattanooga, TN, brings out some good old fashion salesmanship.

(Updated at 8:17 PM)

Lessons learned

Click here to read coverage of the Prince William County report along with links to all of the documents and videos

As we first reported on Saturday an extensive report on the LODD of Prince William County’s Kyle Wilson is out. The investigative report itself is 382 pages long and that is only one part of what was released. The fireground audio, animations, fireground videos and still pictures are part of a video timeline of the fire’s early stages. Of course, the hardest part is listening to the two radio transmissions as Kyle Wilson calls for help.

In a way I am glad I listened to the audio before beginning the reading (I’m still going through it). It helped me keep in mind why the report is so important.

Bill Schumm at FireGeezer.com, a fire service veteran, calls the report “a model of how this type of inquiry should be done”. Rhett Fleitz at VAFireNews.com is urging every firefighter to read it.

Chief Billy Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls.com says Prince William County “is saving future lives by sharing their LODD Investigative report to honor Kyle, in an effort to reduce and prevent firefighter line of duty deaths at the local, region, state, and national levels.”

An interesting question: Is the fire service doing enough to educate the public on providing information to arriving firefighters?

After reading our coverage of the Prince William County report, Sandy Ross sent me this email:

As the wife of a firefighter, I was so sad to hear the recordings of the fire that killed Kyle Wilson in Prince William County. It makes me sick that he died searching for occupants that, unknown to fire personnel, were across the street in a house. Why are we not teaching the public to let the fire department know when they are safely out of a house? We teach them to practice their evacuation route, and to stop, drop and roll – shouldn’t we be teaching them to immediately get in contact with rescue personnel on the scene to let them know if anyone is still in the house? I have no doubt that they would have pulled personnel out of that house much sooner if they had known that the homeowners were safely across the street.

Any suggestions?

Here is what the report says about the occupants:

Several of the occupants exited the house from Side A and others from Side C. The occupants dressed in night time clothing sought shelter and gathered in an adjacent house and in a vehicle that was parked between the involved and adjacent house on Marsh Overlook Drive.

Mrs. Ross makes a good point. Is enough emphasis placed on educating the public that as vital as it is to let arriving firefighters know someone is trapped in a burning home, it is also extremely important to inform them when everyone is out?

Sussex, DE ambulance wreck (update)

Chuck Snyder photo for the News Journal via delawareonline.com

A Millsboro VFC ambulance and an SUV collided this morning. Initial reports from Chief Billy Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls.com was that a paramedic had died. Chief Billy just provided this (12:10 PM) update:

We were initially advised (and confirmed twice) by officials that hospital staff had advised that the Paramedic in Sussex County had passed away, but now the good news and updated information is that the Paramedic is still alive. We will keep you advised. Please keep all in Delaware and especially Sussex County, the Paramedics family and all affected, in your prayers and hope for the best following this very positive news.

From a Sussex County EMS press release:

Millsboro VFC EMT Mercedes Berry was treated and released with minor injuries.

Millsboro VFC EMT Frank Deford is in serious condition.

Sussex County Paramedic III John Schmitt is in serious condition and has been admitted to ICU with possible head injuries.

Read the entire release

delmarvanow.com

WBOC-TV

WGMD-FM

American LaFrance files for bankruptcy protection

From Summerville, SC this morning, American LaFrance is seeking help with the bill collectors. The Post & Courier in Charleston reports the fire apparatus manufacturer filed under “Chapter 11″. Read the story.

Raw video from 2 multi-alarm fires in DC

The picture above is part of a slide show on DCFD.com by DC Fire & EMS photographer Vito Maggiolo at Friday night’s four-alarm fire in a vacant apartment building at 5408 1st Place, NW. DCFD.com also has some other picture compilations from the fire.

Freelance videographer and photographer Bob Pugh was also at the fire. He has provided STATter 911 with his raw video of the fire. The fire burned for a number hours. I have condensed Bob’s video to about 10 minutes. While shots have been shortened and a few removed, it is all in chronological order. Bob’s video starts with the interior attack of the fire. At bout 5:45 on the video, you will hear the sirens and air horns sounding as the order comes to evacuate the building.

Watch Bob Pugh
’s video of the 4-alarm fire at 5408 1st Place, NW

Sunday night, two-alarms were needed for a fire in the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, SE. This one started as an exterior attack and there were severe exposure issues. 9NEWS NOW photographer Jeff Cridland was on the scene and we have his raw video.

Watch 9NEWS NOW’s Jeff Cridland’s video of the 2-alarm fire in the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE.

Shuttered fire station impacts ice rescue

In Weymouth, Massachusetts a special rescue boat, donated by a family who lost a loved one to drowning, sat in a closed fire station one-half mile from where it was needed early Sunday morning. The rescue, caught on tape, was ultimately a success. In his coverage, FireGeezer asks an interesting question.

Double the pleasure, double the fun

From Woodbury, Minnesota, it was decided the way to save money was to have police officers double as firefighters. Read the story.

Amazingly, not one police car was damaged

Yes, it is a cheap shot (sorry to my police friends). Video from a bus smashing into a doughnut shop in Los Angeles on Sunday morning.

Old video of the day: Weehawken, 61 years ago

A pier fire in Weehawken, NJ on January 9, 1947.

Water rescue from Los Angeles

Helicopter coverage of the Los Angeles City FD rescuing two woman on January 17.

Technician I Kyle Wilson in a Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue photo

“I need water (inaudible) 512 bucket. I need water, I’m burning up in here, I need water fast!”

What are apparently the last words of Kyle Wilson. A radio transmission from the Prince William County, VA firefighter at approximately 6:19 AM on April 16, 2007. About four minutes earlier Technician Wilson had alerted his fellow firefighters that he was trapped, with these words: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Tower 512 bucket, I’m trapped inside, I don’t know where I am, I’m somewhere in the stairwell, I need someone to come get me out.” By the time firefighters were able to get to Kyle Wilson it was too late.

View of burning home taken by neighbor prior to the arrival of the first fire units. Photo from the report.

A report released on Saturday by Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin McGee lists the major factors leading to Wilson’s death. They include two things that are beyond the department’s control: the morning’s high winds, with a peak gust of 48 mph reported at the time of Wilson’s second radio transmission, and the lightweight construction of the single-family home.

But the report also cites factors that require improved training and a commitment of resources. They include: the size of the initial suppression force, size up, rapid intervention, incident control and management.

Review team

Chief McGee calls this “the most comprehensive after action analysis” in the department’s history. This was also the first line-of-duty death in the department’s 41-year history. The team responsible for the report included five people from Prince William County: Battalion Chief Jennie Collins, Battalion Chief Jerry Shepherd, Captain Rob Clemons, Captain Brian Cooke and Lieutenant Ramon Perez. They were joined by Division Chief Richie Bowers of the Montgomery County, MD Fire and Rescue Service and Battalion Chief Danny Gray from the Fairfax County, VA Department of Fire and Rescue.

In his cover letter Chief McGee cited the efforts of those who tried to save Kyle Wilson:

I recognize the many heroic efforts of the firefighters that placed themselves directly in harms way under intense and extremely dangerous conditions in their repeated attempts to rescue Technician I Wilson. These firefighters were willing to sacrifice their own lives to save Technician I Wilson, and I will always be grateful to them. We were fortunate that additional firefighters did not suffer injuries during the extreme fire conditions experienced in this incident. As Chief, I could not have asked for, nor expected, our personnel to have tried any harder or done more in their personal and physical expenditure of effort, energy, and attempts to rescue Technician I Wilson.

McGee was an assistant chief at the time of what is known as the “Marsh Overlook incident”. He was appointed chief in September, 2007 after the retirement of Mary Beth Michos. Chief Michos retired last summer and now works for the IAFC.

Fireground issues and staffing

As with most after-action reports problems were identified in numerous areas, including the initial size-up due to no one performing a 360 of the structure, hose selection, RIT coordination and activities, and mayday procedures. It also makes very clear, at numerous points, the department has a significant staffing issue:

Current unit minimum qualified staffing levels provide an insufficient amount of personnel to perform all the necessary, concurrent critical tasks associated with firefighting activities.

In his cover Chief McGee said the department has already been addressing many of the issues.

Wilson followed mayday procedures

The report is inconclusive about exactly why Kyle Wilson was unable to self-rescue. It is something that will likely never be known. But in its discussion of mayday procedures the report points out, despite the conditions he faced, Kyle Wilson followed procedures:

Technician Wilson activated the EA button on his portable and broadcasted a clear, concise UCAN (Unit-Conditions-Actions-Needs) report. He identified his unit and riding position, advised he was trapped somewhere in the stairwell, and that he needed assistance. His actions initiating a mayday were consistent with procedures and firefighter survival training.

While rescue attempts were immediately initiated, radio transmissions indicate no one responded to or stayed in contact by radio with Technician Wilson:

There was no attempt by Command, OPSC, or any other fire ground personnel to establish direct radio communication with Technician Wilson to acknowledge his mayday transmission.

Here are the links to the 6 parts of the report. The LODD Death Report Video is a multi-media presentation that includes the radio transmissions mixed with still pictures, video and graphics of the fire modeling. It provides an audio-visual timeline of the conditions and some of the events during the initial stages of the fire. And a warning, it also includes Kyle Wilson’s last words.

LODD Report Fact Sheet

LODD Investigative Report

LODD Report Presentation

LODD Report Basic House Model

LODD Report Death Video

LODD Death Report Fire Model

Excerpts from Fact Sheet

(These are highlighted recommendations for improvements)

• Staffing related:
o Increase the minimum staffing on all engine companies from three to four qualified firefighters.
o Increase the minimum staffing on all specialty pieces from four to five or six qualified firefighters and/or addressing the deployment of specialty unit crews on an incident scene.
o Increase the amount of resources that are dispatched and adopt a standard structure fire dispatch complement for all types of structures and address modifications to those resources during extreme environmental conditions.
o Perform a specialty unit resource allocation study.

• Communications related:
o Development of a standard method for communicating important weather related information to all personnel.
o Radio technology improvements.

Complete Executive Summary

This Line of Duty Death (LODD) Investigative Report is dedicated to Technician I Kyle Wilson, his parents Bob and Sue Wilson, his sister Kelli, his brother Chris, his fiancée Kristi, and his extended family and many friends. Kyle will never be forgotten and to honor his supreme sacrifice, the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue commits to sharing our lessons learned in all aspects of this report within our department, system, region, and industry so that no other family or department suffer a similar tragic loss.

This report was developed with a multi-dimensional team approach. The objectives of the LODD Investigation Team were to examine the events that occurred at the Marsh Overlook fire incident and identify the factors involved with the line of duty death of Technician I Kyle Wilson. The Investigation Team has reviewed all available information at the time of publication and documented the factual findings, discussions, and recommendations in an effort to prevent another tragic outcome from occurring again.

Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed independent investigations of the Marsh Overlook fire incident. The Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue’s LODD Investigation Team’s report took a dissecting approach from every aspect which reaches beyond the scope of the VOSH or NIOSH reports. To prevent another tragic event, a critical self assessment of the organization was necessary. This report represents thousands of hours of effort to analyze fire and rescue operations and recommend needed improvements. These organizational improvements range in complexity and many will have budgetary impacts that will be impossible to achieve in a single fiscal year. However, the report provides a framework for improvements that when enacted will improve responder safety and elevate service delivery to the citizens and visitors of Prince William County.

The LODD Investigation Team had the advantage of examining this incident over a period of months. The team would spend days dissecting a single snapshot of time and considering what actions were taken and what the resulting impacts were. However, this is starkly contrasted by the actual incident the responding personnel faced on that fateful day. The Marsh Overlook incident was an immense fire fueled by extremely flammable building material products and a vicious wind. It was an environment where information gathering and decision making had to be performed in a time measurement of seconds. During the chain of events that occurred and under severe circumstances, fire and rescue personnel performed at exceptional levels. In an attempt to rescue Technician I Kyle Wilson, personnel displayed heroic efforts and jeopardized their own safety to try and reach their missing comrade.

The major factors in Technician Wilson’s line of duty death were determined to
be:
• Initial arriving fire suppression force
• Size up of fire development and spread
• High wind impact on fire development and spread
• Structure size, lightweight building construction and materials
• Rapid intervention and firefighter rescue efforts
• Incident control and management

The fire conditions that were present in the structure, the large size and lightweight building construction of the structure, the behavior of the fire impacted by the high wind environment, and the organizational preparation for and response to the incident were contributing factors in this tragic event. The weather conditions and construction features resulted in the rapid and catastrophic progression of fire conditions and the loss of integrity to the building. The conditions of the fire cannot be changed but this incident investigation shows organizational response to similar incidents can and should be improved. Resulting from this tragic incident and the dissecting analysis that followed, the Department will be improving numerous aspects of their operations centered on staffing, training, procedures, and communications.

We will never forget Kyle and by sharing our loss and knowledge unfortunately gained from our pain, we will ensure that he is not forgotten nor will his sacrifice have been in vain.

To Technician I Kyle Wilson, may you rest in peace. May your family, both immediate and fire and rescue, also find peace.

(Updated at 2:59 PM, Saturday)

Video of the day: This is raw video of a house fire in Austin, TX on January 17. It is in the West Campus area at the University of Texas. The students who live next door to the burning home began the recording before the first firefighters arrived. The electrical service is arcing and the home is well off. Read more and see additional video, here.

FF crashes SUV into station

In Syracuse, NY a medical condition is being blamed for a firefighter crashing his SUV into the firehouse. This happened as the firefighter was leaving work Saturday morning. The station was heavily damaged and the firefighter was conscious and apparently uninjured by the crash when medics got to him. Read more from WSYR.com.

Another multi-alarm blaze for DC

Master streams in play as the DC Fire & EMS Department dealt with heavy fire conditions in a large 2-story apartment building. The location is the 5400 block of 1st Street, NW. The fire was reported around 10:30 PM Friday.

Report on Technician Kyle Wilson’s death to be released on Saturday

At 2:00 PM on Saturday, we will finally know more about the LODD 9-months ago of Prince William County’s Kyle Wilson. Here is the announcement of the briefing for reporters:

The Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue will hold a media briefing, during which Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin McGee will review the report recently completed by the Department for the line of duty death of Technician Kyle Wilson. Wilson died on April 16,2007, while fighting a fire in Woodbridge. This is the first line-of-duty fatality in the 41-year history of the Department.

Volunteer suing over firing by employer for being late

Maine has a law passed in 2005 aimed at protecting volunteers who are late or miss work because of a fire emergency. What may be the first test of that law is underway with a lawsuit filed by Clinton volunteer Katherine Billings. Billings was fired in February, 2007 after failing to report to work at a nonprofit corporation following an overnight fire. Click here for the story.

Hotel fire on Las Vegas strip. Large fire on roof and upper floors of Monte Carlo now out. Almost entirely exterior fire fought from the interior. Full coverage below.

Watch 10 minutes of raw helicopter video from KLAS-TV via wusa9.com

Click here for KTNV-TV live coverage of a fire in the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino. Looks like fire along two wings of the massive complex. Fire has consumed a large part of the roof area and portions of the upper floors.

The AP picture above was taken earlier. Since this image was shot the fire spread most of the way down the wing on the right of the picture (these are two of three wings of the hotel, the third wing does not appear to be involved) and dropped down to lower floors on that wing (see Las Vegas Sun photo below, probably taken about a little more than an hour after it began).

Fire is reported to have started on the roof or penthouse area of the building and in spots dropping down at least 5 floors below (appears to be about a 30 story hotel … website says more than 3000 rooms … when it was built it was the world’s 7th largest hotel). An interior attack has been underway with much of the fire being extinguished by leaning out windows on the upper floors with hose lines. The bulk of the fire appears to be traveling along the exterior of the building. Speculation on TV is that this is a stucco and foam exterior.

As of 3:00 PM most of the fire appears to have been knocked except at either end of the burned portions. Looking at live coverage on CNN you can still see fire on the top floor at the far edge of the burned area on the wing to the right.

No injuries reported, but there is concern on the news coverage about the whereabouts of some workers. CNN reporting there had been welders working on the roof.

Las Vegas Sun confirms it is a 32-story hotel. The fire began around 11:00 AM Las Vegas time and is at 3-alarms. As of 12:23 PM it was reported contained. More here.

Around 3:30 PM Clark County Fire Chief Steven Smith confirms this was almost entirely an exterior fire. No injuries and no one trapped. There had been welders working on the roof, but the cause is under investigation. A hotel spokesperson says anything above the top row of windows is a facade with no rooms behind it.

KVBC-TV coverage including early video

KTNV-TV story and earlier coverage

As most of you know this is a completely different story than the largest fire disaster to hit Las Vegas. That, of course, was the MGM Grand fire (both the current MGM Grand and the Monte Carlo are owned by MGM Mirage) of November, 1980 that killed 87 people and injured almost 800. Watch below.

3 New York FFs injured in house fire

Just after noon 3 FDNY members were injured battling a 2-alarm house fire in Elmhurst, Queens. At least two of the injured were taken to the burn unit at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Burn Center. It happened on Gorsline Street. Civilians have also been injured in this fire. WABC-TV has details.

New York State Fire Wire already has the fireground audio on this one.

2-alarms in Scranton

Decent video, still images and a running account of a fire in a building under renovation in downtown Scranton, PA. All of it is here from the Tines-Tribune.

FF on disability leave praised for rescue, but the mayor says he should have stopped there

Sean Curley is a hero for twice removing a woman from her burning home on Monday. The Johnson City, NY firefighter’s disability retirement is pending. Mayor Harry Lewis praised Curley for taking action after driving by and spotting the fire. After the rescue, Curley apparently grabbed gear from his car and starting fighting the fire. That’s where the mayor and other city officials draw the line. Read more.

The last time the Johnson City Fire Department received a lot of press attention was when its assistant chief decided to pay a visit to a firehouse dressed very, very casually.

Things are not peachy for FDNY in Georgia

Other than the FDNY Emrald Society’s Pipes and Drums, New York City firefighters are not welcome in Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Citing “drunken misbehavior” at past parades, FDNY members are not getting any Southern hospitality this year. Here’s the story.

Fire lieutenant/arsonist sentenced reduced for being a model prisoner

A Tribune columnist says Jeffrey “Matches” Boyle is out of prison way too soon. The former Chicago Fire Department lieutenant set eight fires, including one in a Catholic school. Boyle served one year and 9 months of a 6-year sentence. John Kass looks at how Boyle was promoted and his family’s political and criminal history. Read more.

For women and minorities only

97 percent of the members of a UK fire brigade are white males. To correct that problem the Avon Fire Service is doing some recruiting. But, “Only women and people from ethnic minorities are allowed to attend four of the five open days being held by Avon Fire Service to attract new recruits”. Now there is a claim of discrimination. Read the Telegraph’s story.

Brief FF’s strike

As we first told you yesterday, firefighters in Sydney, Australia had a two-hour strike today (leaving behind skeleton crews at the station). FireGeezer has the update.

And we posted this for everyone to see?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KAArCWmQSY&rel=1]

It takes all of the fun out of being an investigative reporter when the people pose for these videos and then allow them to be posted on the Internet. Chief Billy Goldfeder and The Secret List gave us the heads-up on these two videos. I don’t know how I missed them.

Over at Firefighter Spot they are taking a poll on what you think of the videos.

Oil transfer station fire

3 people were injured during a fire at an oil transfer station fire in Gilcrest, CO. Watch the story from KUSA-TV. See the slide show. Read the story.

Omaha FF talks about fall through floor

A basement fire in Omaha, NE led to a close call for one firefighter. Kevin Mandina says the floor felt spongy and the next thing he knew he was falling through. FF Mandina’s shoulders didn’t make it into the hole and other firefighters pulled him out as flames attacked him from below. He was uninjured. The firefighter tells his story to KETV-TV.

(Updated at 7:59 PM)

Old video of the day: Our vintage films have been Chicago oriented because of a bunch of recent postings of videos to YouTube. This one is a 5-11 with specials on District Boulevard on May 27, 1973.

FFs two hour strike

In Sydney, Australia firefighters have called for a brief strike. Here is the story from The Sydney Morning Herald:

Firefighters across Sydney have called a snap two-hour stopwork from midday Friday.

He said firefighters would congregate with their fire trucks at the corner of Pottinger Street and Hickson Road at 1pm.

Houston firefighter on life support

TV Station KPRC is reporting that Firefighter Brandon Everett is on life support. Firefighter Everett, 26, was critically injured during a house fire on Monday. Reports are his face piece dislodged when he was hit by part of the ceiling. Read the story. The Secret List.

Mayday in Chicago

A TV station reports a Chicago firefighter called a “mayday” around 6:00 AM at a house fire on the South Side. The firefighter was reported to be temporarily trapped on the second floor and was removed through a window. The firefighter was said to be conscious during the incident. Read the story. Watch video of live coverage during “mayday” (picture is very dark).

Here is a better video from another TV station.

The Chicago Sun-Times has more:

The blaze was elevated to a second-alarm when a mayday was called for a firefighter trapped in the building, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

“The firefighter became disoriented, but was able to get to a window,” Langford said. “It happens sometimes in a fire.”

Another photographer arrested

A Herald-News photographer in Paterson, NJ, who says police kept her a block and a half from a house fire, and watched the public being allowed to pass in front of her, was arrested on Tuesday. Here are excerpts from The Record:

A lawyer for North Jersey Media Group, which publishes the Herald News and The Record, vowed to fight the charge.

A photograph taken by Barbaro immediately before her arrest shows Pichardo blocking her while two pedestrians were walking behind him on Sassafras Street in the direction of the fire.

Here is the Herald News story

Fire station burns

The fire station in Paulette, TN burned Tuesday morning. Read the story on Firehouse.com. Watch the video.

NJ warehouse fire

3-alarms in Perth Amboy for a warehouse fire early this morning. More video here. Read the story.

Utah fire

A 4-alarm fire destroyed a vacant building that once housed a night club in Salt Lake City Wednesday night. FireGeezer has more links.

Old arms factory fire

In Bridgeport, CT a suspicious 3-alarm fire Wednesday at the abandoned Remington Arms factory. Read details.

Paint factory burns

At least 10 people have been hurt in a paint factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan today. Read the story. Watch more clips.

Sex scandal in Anne Arundel

As we first told you late yesterday, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department is being sued over allegations that the now-dead president of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company molested two teen members. They claim that higher-ups at both the county
and company level failed to act when told of the problem. The president committed suicide after being arrested with a male prostitute. Read the story.

Women rising in MD

Also in Anne Arundel County, Michele DeLalla is the first woman to became a division chief. Click here to read the story.

In Prince George’s County, checking with some other PGFD old timers, the best we can tell is that Kathryn Fortgang is the first woman to be a volunteer chief in the county. She was recently elected by the members of the Accokeek VFD (Station 824). There have been female assistant and deputy chiefs, but apparently no chiefs until now (I am sure if our memories are faulty, someone will quickly correct us).

Chief Kathryn Fortgang from accokeekvfd.com

Rhode Island fire in historic carriage house

A fire late Wednesday night at an historic building in Newport went to 3-alarms. Watch the story. Read the story.

Houston FF wins his second lawsuit

Charles Julian first beat the Houston Fire Department in court over being passed over for promotion because at age 56 he was too old. Now he has won a second suit for retaliation, age and race discrimination after being demoted from the promotion he got after winning the first suit. More details.

More comments on seat belts

We are still getting comments about the seat belt and door issues with the case of the firefighter who fell off the fire engine in Bladensburg, MD. Check it out.

Catching up

A few things from some local fires that we haven’t been able to get to until know. DCFD.com has three good photo gallery’s you should see. From the tire fire in Northeast there are pictures from both Jarrid Gaston and Vito Maggiolo. DC Fire & EMS Department’s photographer Maggiolo also has some images from the strip club fire on Wisconsin Avenue, NW.

The Accokeek VFD has pictures from the latest arson just down the street from the fire house.

Worcester, MA 3rd-alarm

A fire early Wednesday morning started in a vacant building and spread to two others. Details and more video, here.

IN fire

No date for this house fire on Ash Street in Hobart, Indiana.

Helmet-cam on NJ 3rd-alarm

This is from Monday’s fire on Wright Street in Newark.

New Zealand garage fire

Good quality video from Wainuiomata, New Zealand on Wednesday.

Bicyclist rescued

In Portland, Oregon firefighters rescue a woman who drove her bike down a ravine in a cemetery.

Who you gonna call? … the latest chapter

In Salem, CT it was the fire department to the rescue to save this deer on an icy pond Tuesday morning. Read more.

(Updated at 5:19 PM with Anne Arundel story)

Video of the day: It is not often we get good quality interior pictures. Most are of the lop-sided helmet-cam style. This one has veteran fire photographer Bill Bennett behind the lens during a storage company fire on Saturday in Island Park, NY, a village in Long Island’s Nassau County. Quite an interesting view.

Sex abuse claim at MD firehouse involving now-dead president

The Capital newspaper is reporting two former volunteer firefighters are suing Anne Arundel County, “claiming they were molested by a now-dead company president while they were teenagers”. The two men also say the information about the Odenton VFD was brought to the attention of the top brass of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, who turned them away saying it was a company matter. The two were 16 and 19-years-old in when the abuse is alleged to have occurred.

The suit claims that Louis A. D’Camera sexually assaulted the teenagers, forced them to strip naked and sit on his lap. D’Camera killed himself in 2005 after police caught him with a male prostitute.

An Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman says the department would not turn a blind eye to sex allegations. The paper could not get a comment from the Odenton VFD.

Read the story.

Firefighter killed in Scotland

46-year-old John Noble from the Alloa Fire Station died after a crash in Clackmannanshire. The Alloa appliance was responding to an emergency call when it left the road. Four others were injured. The BBC reports:

Mr Noble, who was based in Alloa, had recently returned from a two-week intensive urban search and rescue course in Texas.

He was one of only 22 firefighters in the UK certified as structural collapse technicians following the course.

Fire engine driver and truck driver both at fault in wreck

The Florida Highway patrol says a Jacksonville Fire Department engineer is at fault in a January 3 wreck that injured four firefighters. The FHP says the driver of the truck the fire engine collided with is also at fault, so no charges are being placed in this accident. Rookie firefighter Shawn Hall is still undergoing rehabilitation because of injuries received in that crash. Read the story.

No seat belts plus door problems

Our story yesterday that confirming that a Prince George’s County, MD firefighter who fell off an engine was unbelted, along with continuing door handle problems on the rig, has ignited a lively discussion in our comments section. Click here to see the story or provide your view.

Suicide by firefighter

The image above from WGAL-TV’s website from a fire early Tuesday morning in Springettsbury Township in York County, PA. The TV station reports it is the second time in less than a year someone attempting suicide has started a fire in this complex. There was a very similar situation two weekends ago in Fairfax County, VA.

Watch raw video from the fire

Read the story

Student journalists use fire code to rid school of secret cameras

After learning what looked like smoke detectors at their high school were actually hidden cameras to prevent theft and vandalism, two student journalists consulted the fire code. This line in the code caught their eye: “any device or object that reasonably appears to be a smoke detector … [that is] neither designed nor capable of performing such life safety or fire prevention function shall be prohibited.”

Read how this is all playing out in Newton, MA.

Pipeline explosion

In Rapid City, SD an explosion at the Rocky Mountain Pipeline Terminal on Tuesday.

Orlando fire

Not much information other than it involves Station 2.

Mississippi video

Jackson Fire Department vacant house fire on November 8, 2007.

Old video of the day

This is from March 25, 1990 in Puyallup, WA.

It pays to advertise

This is quite a video. It is the Davao Volunteer Fire Brigade in action recently at a roaring apartment fire in the Philippines. First of all, you are not going to miss that they are volunteer. Just look at the windshield. You are not going to miss their rigs. They are a shade of green that makes them very easy to spot. So the visibility is there. Apparently that is why there is a large advertising banner hanging on the side of one the trucks touting some sort of grand opening that will serve Coca Cola.

The Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department (PGFD Station 809) admits its firefighter was not wearing a seat belt when he fell from a fire engine on Monday. At the same time, on its website, Bladensburg brings up mechanical concerns about the door on the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department’s reserve engine. Today, a PGFD spokesman confirms there are known problems with the design of the door.

The volunteer firefighter, Ryan Raneiri, was treated and released at Prince George’s Hospital Center after falling off Engine 809. Raneiri was part of a 5-person crew enroute to a reported first-due apartment fire on Monday afternoon. PGFD spokesman Mark Brady says the fire engine was negotiating the turn from Edmonston Road onto Route 450 when the firefighter fell off the piece. The location is just down the street from Station 809. Brady says no other vehicles were involved. The incident happened at 1:30 PM.

On the Bladensburg VFD website the department writes, “(the incident) does bear witness and proof as to why seat belts must be worn”. Bladensburg also notes “this is not the first time firefighters have fallen from this type, make and model fire truck in Prince George’s County”.

The engine involved is a 1989 Seagrave normally operated by Station 822. Spokesman Mark Brady says the vehicle was inspected this morning and problems were noted that would allow the door to open when it shouldn’t. In an email to STATter 911, Brady writes:

On this particular unit and the majority of our similar units the interior door latches are designed to open the door when the lever is pulled upward. There is a stop on the lever to prevent the lever from going down. However, if lever is overpowered in the down position it will break the stop and permit the door to open from the inside by pulling the lever up or pushing it down. The unit was inspected this morning and found that both rear cab doors would open by pushing the lever down. This situation will be corrected prior to it going back in service.

Brady also confirms this is not the first time this problem has been discovered:

Following a similar incident with Fire/EMS Station 807, the Safety Office conducted a survey to determine if there were any other vehicles with a similar issue. Those units were identified and corrected at that time. Apparently, it does not take a lot of effort to over ride the lever stop in the down position and any unit that is found to have this condition is repaired as soon as possible by Apparatus Maintenance. The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department will never “ignore” a safety issue that is brought to our attention, rather, any and all safety issues will be addressed as soon as being identified.

Brady reports the inspection found no problems with the seat belts.

Entire response from PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady:

Dave: As soon as the incident occurred on Monday a “Safety Review” was put into motion. These Safety Reviews are standard procedure after injuries and significant crashes. The engine that Fire/EMS Station #809 was using was a 1989 Seagrave, normally assigned to Fire/EMS Station #822.

Additionally, I would like to provide you a recent Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Newsletter in PDF format. Please take the time to open the document and read the articles on the Fire Service Seat Belt Pledge. Thank you for posting this important information for all in the Fire/EMS Service to read and to pledge and sign-up.

Here is Bladensburg VFD’s full account of the incident:

At approximately 1330 hours today Engine 809 (Prince George’s County Reserve Engine 222), having just cleared a non-emergency public service call was dispatched, along with the box assignment for a first due reported apartment building on fire at 5461 Madison Way. Supplemental message via radio was that there were smoke conditions in the hallway preventing escape with a female occupant who could not breathe and was going to jump from the 2nd floor.

Engine 809, responding from the previous call made a left turn onto Annapolis Road off of Edmonston Road. In the process of this turn the crew door on the officer side of the apparatus came open and Fire Fighter R. Raneiri fell from the apparatus landing on the street. The remaining crew instantly notified the Officer and Driver who brought the apparatus to an immediate stop and all went to render aid. F. F. Raneiri crawled to the curb and sidewalk to keep from getting hit by the remaining impatient drivers. He was boarded and collared for transport to PG Hospital Trauma Center where he was treated and released, with no serious injuries, within two hours. Ryan is home resting well at this time, a little sore and bruised but in good s
pirits.

We are very fortunate this time but it does bear witness and proof as to why seat belts must be worn. This is not the first time firefighters have fallen from this type make and model fire truck in Prince George’s County. Although repair orders were issued in years previous malfunctions can still occur, thereby reminding all to exercise caution and safety regulations at all times.

Bladensburg would like to extend our heart felt “Thank You” to all personnel (22, 28, 33, 14 and numerous others) who responded, filled in or called to check our well being and that of brother Raneiri. Your thoughts and words are greatly appreciated.

Click here for today’s fire/EMS news from STATter 911

(Updated at 11:13 AM, added New Jersey, Indiana & Michigan fires)

Old video of the day: Another one from Chicago. This is the 1940s. Here’s the caption for a Very Classic C.F.D. Part 1 – “Video of Engine Co’s. 37 & 41 and other misc. apparatus drilling. Also video of the old 27th Batt. w/ Engine 70, Trk. 47 and Engine 102 w/ Trk. 25 drilling”. Click the image above to see it.

2-alarm fire at DC strip club

Overnight, DC Fire & EMS needed 2-alarms to handle a fire at JPs Nightclub in the 2400 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW. Multiple master streams once again for fire through the roof of the building. You may recall that a few months ago there was a fire across the street at the other strip club in the block, Good Guys. In that case a disgruntled customer threw gasoline in the clubs entrance and ignited it, critically burning a manager who tried to stop the man.

Both businesses have long been targets of neighbors in the Glover Park community who would like to see the clubs closed.

In today’s fire, PIO Alan Etter says there was smoke and no visible fire when firefighters first entered the club around 3:30 AM. Simultaneously the crew from Truck 12 raised a ladder to the roof to remove the club’s manager who became trapped above the fire. He was safely removed and the fire at some point took off. There were heavy fire conditions on all floors and through the roof. A laundromat on exposure D has also been damaged.

Watch 9NEWS NOW 6:30 AM report

Latest on DC 3-alarm tire shop fire

The picture above was taken when DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin and PIO Alan Etter took a ride in a helicopter to survey the scene at Monday’s fire at a tire shop in the Trinidad neighborhood. It took extensive evening foam operations to get a handle on the burning tires. We have a lot more pictures, reports from the scene and raw video. Click here.

MD VFD says seat belts weren’t worn and cites apparatus issues in FF falling off engine

A volunteer firefighter with Prince George’s Fire/EMS Department’s Station 809 (Bladensburg VFD) was released from the hospital a few hours after falling off a fire engine on the way to a reported apartment fire. The Bladensburg VFD website points out this is why “seat belts must be worn”. Bladensburg also suggests problems with the PGFD reserve engine they were using. More details and video of the scene can be found here.

Pictures, more video and links from Lawrence, MA, along with talks of FD cutbacks

The picture above is from Jimmy Daly. We have many more like this one, along with raw video and links for Monday’s fire in Lawrence, MA. Click here.

At the same time arson appears to be on the rise in Lawrence, there have been talks of cutbacks in the fire department. Threats that as many as 20 firefighters and two of the city’s six engine companies could go depending on how a property tax battle is resolved. FireGeezer is on the case.

Heavy rescue

In Gladwin, MI it took ten firefighters and a hole in the wall to rescue a 600 to 700 pound man from a fire. They had to take him out mattress and all, but they did it. Read the story.

NJ 3rd-alarm

Yesterday in Newark. Read more.

Indiana fire

No details for this fire reported to be on High School Road and Route 36.

More fireman funnies, we think

Don’t know where. Don’t know when. Don’t know why. This one had the title “Bored Firefighters”.

Above, 8 minutes of raw video. Collapses occur at 4:55 and 6:04.

It is being called the largest fire to hit Lawrence, MA since 1995. 7-alarms were sounded early Monday morning. In the early 90’s Lawrence had the dubious distinction of being the fire capitol of New England. With the number of vacant buildings rising, there is concern that history will repeat itself.

The Eagle-Tribune has extensive coverage including a look at some major fires of the past. Click here.

Above, video of a collapse during Monday’s 7-alarm fire in Lawrence, MA.

Below, pictures of the fire courtesy of Jimmy Daly. Thanks Jimmy.

More fire/EMS news from STATter 911

The picture above is from Ty Savage’s early video of the fire at 12th and K Streets, NE. Click the image to see some of the raw video.

Watch Scott Broom’s report from the scene on 9NEWS NOW at 11:00 PM

Watch Gary Reals’ report from the scene on 9NEWS NOW at 6:00 PM

See the view of the smoke along the DC skyline on Monday afternoon

Read the story from wusa9.com

Fireground audio available for download

A blanket of foam spilled out of Jimmy’s Tire Shop in the Trinidad section of Northeast Washington Monday evening. Eight hours after it began the foam helped eliminate stubborn flames and reduce the thick black smoke hanging over the neighborhood.

Foam availability had been an issue, with foam units responding to the fireground from as far away as Fairfax City, VA. Extra foam was also brought to the scene for DC foam units.

Firefighters and equipment from Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Arlington County were on the fireground at 12th & K Streets, NE or filling-in at DC fire stations through the evening.

DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin said at an earlier press conference there have been no water supply issues with the DC Water & Sewer Authority (WASA). But some problems developed early in the evening. Some of the units supplying master streams reported pressure problems. A water main break on nearby Montello Avenue required the moving of some engines hooked up to hydrants on that main. Chief Rubin had a very public battle with WASA over hydrant issues and water supply problems at two major fires in the city during 2007.

The alarm came in at 1:29 PM. The first units reported smoke showing on sides A and C of the three-story building. Public Information Officer Alan Etter says that an intial interior attack was abandoned and the evacuation order given after “an explosion caused the fire to gain in intensity”.

Chief Rubin said it was quickly realized that smaller water mains at the scene would not be adequate for the exterior attack. As master streams were put in operation, additional engine companies laid dual lines and LDH from hydrants on larger water mains blocks from the scene.

Around 3:30 PM Chief Rubin boarded a Metropolitan Police Department helicopter for an aerial view to check the integrity of the roof. He was joined by Alan Etter who took the aerial and ground pictures below.

More fire/EMS news from STATter 911

(Updated at 9:45 AM with Bethlehem, Grand Rapids & Cleveland fires)

14 buildings burn in suspicious Lawrence, MA fire. Blaze is just days after concerns raised about city again becoming arson capitol of New England.

WCVB-TV image

From The Boston Globe’s George Rizer

Overnight, a massive fire in Lawrence, MA. Seven-alarms have been called to handle a fire that started in a nightclub under renovation. The fire began around 2:30 AM. The fire chief call the blaze suspicious. One injury has been reported.

From WFXT-TV

Raw helicopter video from WFXT-TV

Video 1 from WCVB-TV

Video 2 from WCVB-TV

Video 3 from WCVB-TV, live report

Video 1 from WBZ-TV

Video 2 from WBZ-TV

More details from BostonChannel.com

Above, an interview with Lawrence Fire Chief Peter Takvorian.

This fire comes one week after a four-alarm fire in Lawrence. Just last Thursday WBZ-TV reported on concerns Lawrence’s past as the arson capitol of New England is making a comeback because “the meltdown in the housing market has left many buildings in the city vacant”. The city has “250 vacant properties and 600 in various stages of foreclosure”. Read the story. Watch the story.

Grand Rapids fire

I have no idea why someone added music to this TV video of a large apartment fire in Grand Rapids, MI on Sunday evening. FireGeezer has been following this one.

Arson in Accokeek. Firebug returns to scene of December 4 fires.

Just before midnight two homes caught fire in the 16,900 block of Livingston Rd. in Accokeek, MD. One home under construction has burned to its foundation. Investigators says a second home ignited from radiant heat. Prince George’s County Fire/Rescue Chief Spokesman Mark Brady says investigators have already labeled this a set fire. These are the fourth and fifth homes to burn just in that block alone since November, 2005. $50,000 worth of construction equipment previously burned in the block.

In fact, both of these homes were set on fire on December 4. The one heavily damaged today was slightly damaged previously when fire was set in a stairwell. It was extinguished before causing major damage. The house that was damaged by radiant heat today was the one gutted on December 4.

All of these fires are now on the list of incidents being investigated by the Accokeek Arson Investigation Group (For some reason “group” has apparently replaced the term “task force”).

It has been a very frustrating experience for residents and investigators as 7 homes under construction, 1 under renovation, and 5 vacant homes have burned causing more than $2.5 million damage.

This recently posted video from the Accokeek VFD (Station 824) has video from some of the previous fires. For those unaware of the geography, Accokeek’s firehouse is at 16,111 Livingston Road. Twelve of the fires have occurred on the same road between the 15,900 block and the 17,800 block. The rest weren’t far away.

Not on the list, but looked at when this pattern was first discovered, is a police car set on fire and other vandalism at the Accokeek station.

Bethlehem fire

This was apparently one of two fires on Sunday in Bethlehem, PA.

House fire in OH

Early video from a house fire on Darley Avenue in Cleveland on Friday.

Rescue in CA

In Sacramento Sunday night firefighters pulled a man out of this burning home. He has critical burns. The fire apparently started in the garage.

6-alarms in Philadelphia

The 4-story Point of Purchase Furniture building burned Sunday in Philadelphia. The fire broke out in the 1300 block of N. Front Street around 4:30 PM. It took three hours to bring the blaze under control. Read more.

KYW-TV 11:00 PM report

KYW-TV raw video from remote camera

Hot news

In Grand Junction, Colorado fire destroyed a TV station Sunday morning. The loss is estimated at $6 million for the KREX-TV building. KREX-TV was the first station in the market and this was its original 1950s building. More from KREX-TV’s site. Better video, and more information.

Some timely training

The class had been planned since November,
long before the recent death of Capt. James Robeson in Scranton, PA. But some of Capt. Robeson’s fellow firefighters attended the “Line of Duty Death” training in Lackawanna County on Saturday after having just experienced the real thing. It was provided by Task Force 1. Ron Richards of TF1 and WithTheCommand.com was one of those featured in the WYOU-TV report about the class. Read the story. Watch the story.

Big fire

Other than the title, “5-Alarms What Would You Do?”, this one doesn’t have a lot of information.

The view from the rear

Here is another somewhat unique response view. It is from the tiller seat on the Reading, PA Fire Department’s Ladder 3.

(Updated at 7:30 PM, Sunday)

Old video of the day: We have discovered an early prototype of the modern day quint in this 1940 film. Click the image above to watch the film. While we don’t have the time for a complete critique of this fire that destroyed what appears to be an historic firehouse, we have a few observations. Chief 13 is clearly one of those screamers who just doesn’t have the respect of his troops. He also likes to toot his own horn. We understand staffing issues, but the chief probably should not be driving the ladder truck. The use of underage children in an active firefighting role could be an issue that a number of federal and state agencies might want to investigate. We also don’t think it is advisable for a family member (uncle) to have direct supervision over other relatives (nephews). Clearly, if your last name isn’t Duck, you have little chance of joining this department. Once again, the issue of cameras in the hands of first responders could come back to haunt this crew. They give us a view of some bunk room antics that probably shouldn’t be broadcast to the world. We will leave the fireground tactics to those with a little more expertise than I can offer.

Breaking news: Multi-alarm fire in Philly

The fire is in a multi-story warehouse type building in the 1300 block of N. Front Street. The image above is from WTXF-TV.

The fire has gone to 6-alarms. It is reported to be in a furniture manufacturing shop. At 7:30 PM the fire was reported under control. Here is some video from KYW-TV.

Firefighter shot by gun that no one fired

A Muskogee, Oklahoma firefighter is recovering after being shot in the thigh during a house fire late Friday night. Fire Chief Derek Tatum says the bullet came from a gun that had been exposed to the heat from the fire. The firefighter, who hasn’t been identified, is now recovering at home. The story from NewsOK.com.

Ouch!

The Belle Valley, PA fire department had been waiting for the return of its pumper after being refurbished at Sutphen. It was on its way home Saturday when the firefighters stopped to help out at an accident along I-79 during a snowstorm. Someone plowed into the rear of Engine 31. The firefighters apparently are going to be okay. The engine will once again need some work. Chief Billy Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls.com has more.

New homes for firefighters apparently killed proposal for new station

Lockport Township, MI has long had housing next to its fire station that “first responders” can live in rent-free. Planning for a news firehouse included three similar homes. That may have been the deal killer preventing a special assessment district to pay for the project. Read more.

Funeral for Firefighter Jarrett Dixon

On board a 1951 Mack B pumper, Baltimore County FF Jarrett Dixon was escorted to Pikesville’s Druid Ridge Cemetery on Friday. Dixon died three days after suffering chest pains while on duty. Michael Schwartzberg, FirePix1075 took the pictures above. He has details from the day, along with more than 100 pictures from the church and the cemetery that can be seen here. You will want to check it out.

Striker strikes gold

A Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue canine named striker found a crash victim in marshes around 2:00 AM Saturday. Read the story

A mayor for all seasons

Right now it is the stormy season in Arlington, Oregon. We told you a little more than a week ago about Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, she of the black bra and panties fame, posing on the local fire engine (before she became mayor). Now Mayor Kontur-Gronquist has gone public with her story and her effort to stay on the job. She talked to ABC’s 20-20. Read the story. Watch the story.

FDNY response video

Here’s all the information with this video:

FDNY Queens 2nd-alarm. E275 L133 arrive 1st due at a fire involving 2 private dwellings.

2-11 church fire in Chicago

A fire Friday morning in a church on Chicago’s West Side. Read the details.

Sacramento auto repair shop

The owner of this business was burned in the two-alarm fire on Thursday afternoon. Read the details.

Apartment fire in Baghdad

According to the YouTube posting this is not war related, it is just a fire. No date given.

State president defends Boston union

Boston’s union leaders have been under fire in recent weeks. A letter to the editor in Saturday’s Boston Globe from President Robert B. McCarthy of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachu
setts gives a different view:

YOUR LEAD Jan. 15 editorial “Blitzed by the firefighters union” was an absurd and false illustration of the conduct of the Boston Firefighters Union. To blame the firefighters for the mismanagement of the Boston Fire Department is ludicrous. The Globe is the entity that has been blitzing with wave after wave of negative stories and editorials since October. The paper has been fueling the fire and essentially negotiating the contract for the City of Boston.

I am confident, as a participant of the Joint Labor Management Committee for the past 25 years, that the committee members will perform their duties faithfully and impartially in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth and their oath of office.

Early video of MO house fire

Neighbor starts rolling before fire trucks arrive. Fire on Thursday involving firefighters from Battlefield and Brookline, Missouri.

CA house fire with dog rescue

Good, early video from a Long Beach, CA house fire. No date given.

House fire in Rochester

A second-alarm on Roycraft Drive on Saturday in Rochester, NY.

9 firefighters arrested on arson charges in 8 days

Fire investigators in the US and Australia have been kept busy by firefighters. A look at a bad week and some old reports on the problem. Click here to see our coverage.

Another multiple-alarm fire in Cambridge and a fatal fire that is arson

An very busy week in Cambridge, MD. An apartment fire this morning on Choptank Street. Also on Willis Street, Thursday night, an apartment fire killed a man. This comes following the major blaze that gutted businesses on Race Street on Tuesday. WBOC-TV has the coverage.

Update: The fatal fire is an arson case and two arrests have been made. The latest from WBOC-TV.

Two Baltimore fires

It was also busy last night and early this morning in Baltimore. The picture above is from WMAR-TV showing a fire that destroyed 3 rowhouses in the 700 block of Brune Street.

Just before 11:00 PM two-alarms were sounded for a lumber yard fire at Pulaski Highwat and E. Monument Street.

DC water rescue

We told you yesterday about Lt. Steve Von Briesen from DC’s fire boat jumping in to pull a woman out of the Washington Channel early Thursday. The audio of some of that operation was released. DCFD.com has it (We have it too, but we are missing one of the files and STATter 911 is always glad to link to the nice folk at DCFD.com).

You may recall this is at least the second such save by the boat crews in about 7 months. You can see video of Rich Shaffer’s plunge, here. At least he had the good sense to do it in June.

PA fire

2-alarm house fire in Montgomeryville, PA. No date.

Police rescue man from burning car

Just posted to LiveLeak, this video is from Ames, Iowa at the end of December.

Storage units in WA

Fire in a self-storage complex in Spokane. No date.

Netherlands subway fire

In Rotterdam teens are caught on camera setting fires. No date listed.

Not fire and rescue related, but easily could have been

This will be one of the more brilliant driving maneuvers you will likely have seen recently.

Since my days as a volunteer (ancient history now), I have been aware of the issue of firefighters setting fires. The company I belonged to had a couple of firefighters arrested not long before I joined. I was told they were caught when communications heard one of them on an alternate radio channel, on their way to a fire, asking the other if he removed the gasoline can.

Despite that, I’m still always somewhat bewildered when I hear of another firefighter charged with arson. This past week, I have found it a real eye opener to watch the stories pile up about firefighters accused of going over to the other side. When SConFire.com’s Grant Mishoe let us know about the arrest in South Carolina on Wednesday, I decided to see just how many there were. It turns out, in the eight day period beginning Thursday, January 10, there have been at least eight firefighters accused of setting fires in the United States and one in Australia. Here’s the list:

Thursday, January 17: A 19-year-old Australian Rural Fire Service volunteer is charged with 11 counts of arson in the Sydney area.

Wednesday, January 16: Bluffton, SC police arrested a 21-year-old Lady Island/St. Helena career firefighter for a weekend fire and suspect him in 4 others going back to November.

Monday, January 14: Illinois State Fire Marshals arrested a 19-year-old State Park Place volunteer firefighter and charged him with three fires within two weeks.

Monday, January 14: A 30-year-old career firefighter from Shawnee Heights, KS, and his wife, were charged with setting fire to their car in an effort to get the insurance money.

Friday, January 11: Three volunteer firefighters (no ages give) in Mason County, WV were charged with setting multiple fires over the last few months.

Last Thursday, January 10: Two Talbotton, GA volunteers (ages 30 & 32) were charged with two fires. One last November and one in May, 2004.

You may recall the story 60 Minutes did about this problem in 2003. Here is an excerpt:

Ken Cabe has been asking questions about firefighter arson for much of the past decade in his job with the South Carolina State Forestry Commission. He became curious about exactly who was setting the state’s arson fires.

“We found generally that these were young white men from ages 17 up to mid-20s. They were folks of average to above average intelligence but maybe didn’t do too well in academic endeavors. We found that a lot of these young men didn’t have an awful lot in their lives to distinguish them except for their association with the fire service. They were highly motivated, they were highly trained and maybe the alarm didn’t go off often enough for them,” says Cabe.

You can read the entire story here.

The USFA issued a study in 2003 called Special Report: Firefighter Arson. Click here for the report.

(Updated at 1:20 PM)

Water rescue in DC

From DC Fire & EMS spokesman Alan Etter:

Lt. Steve VonBriesen is credited with jumping into the frigid Washington Channel early today and saving the life of a woman, who tells investigators she was pushed into the water. Dispatched at 12:04 AM for the water rescue, fire and MPD harbor crews responded in force to conduct a surface search. At least two 911 calls were placed reporting a person in the water. After a brief search, the crew of Fireboat 2 located the woman floating in the South Channel near East Potomac Park. As the vessel approached the woman quickly but cautiously, Lt. VonBriesen jumped in, secured the woman and lifted her aboard the Fireboat. She was then transferred to land-based units at East Potomac Park, where warming techniques were applied. She was transported via US Park Police medevac to MedStar, where her condition was listed as stable this morning.

Boston columnist takes on union president

The Boston Herald’s Michael Graham is far from a fan of Mayor Tom Menino, but he says there is one person who can get him to sing Menino’s praises. That would be Ed Kelly, the president of IAFF Local 718. It has been a week of charges and counter charges and here is what Michael Graham is lobbing in Ed Kelly’s direction today:

Here’s my question to those who accuse the mayor of being “anti-firefighter.” Who is doing more to harm our heroes – the politician trying to protect them with a drug and alcohol policy? Or the union honcho who keeps sending drunk firefighters into danger until somebody pays up?

The frontline firefighters are smart enough to figure that one out. And, believe it or not, Tom Menino is, too.

Another look at forced retirement

Jamie Thompson at FireRescue1 is taking a closer look at the forced retirement of those injured on the job. The article covers the efforts to change the law in DC and work by Paul Antonellis, former Salisbury, MA chief, to have some national impact on this issue. Read the story here.

5-alarms in NH

Two firefighters are reported injured in a fire that spread from one apartment building to two others in Manchester. See a report from the scene. FireGeezer is also on this one with some other links.

A new heir to the SConFire.com fortune born

You may have noticed a little less activity of late on SConFire.com. The reason is that Grant Mishoe has been producing more than fire news in South Carolina. Congratulation on the birth of his second son, Logan Michael, born Wednesday morning. Grant reports he is a healthy 8lbs 10oz and 21 ½” long. Everyone is well and Grant is posting news today on a firefighter charged with arson Beaufort.

Who needs a helmet-cam when you have TV news photographer living in your first-due?

STATter 911 has the raw video of this fire on Wednesday in Frederick County, MD. 9NEWS NOW photojournalist Kurt Brooks was on the scene as the first firefighters arrived. Click here for our coverage.

Seeing red

The chief of the Medford, MA fire department and the union aren’t seeing eye to eye over Red T-shirt Fridays. It is a support the troops campaign that is running into some difficulty in Medford. Read the story.

FF accused of threatening to kill chief can keep his job

We first told you about this story at the start of the week. Now the city has ruled on the case. The Sandusky, Ohio firefighter who is accused of threatening to shoot the chief will be able to keep his job if he apologizes and signs a “last chance” agreement. Read more.

First call of the year

This one is a little different for a response video. Instead of the view through the windshield, you get the rear of a heavy-duty rescue squad on the way to a crash. It is from the Potomac Volunteer Fire Department (Co. 22) in Allegany County, MD. Nothing spectacular happens, but it caught my attention.

Raw video of fire, Part 1

Raw video of fire, Part 2

A fire Wednesday afternoon destroyed a home in the Jefferson area of Frederick County, MD. Firefighters from Frederick County and Loudoun County, VA responded to the home on Horine Road around 1:30 p.m.

Waiting for the arrival of the fire trucks, with camera out, was 9NEWS NOW photojournalist Kurt Brooks. Kurt lives less then a mile from the scene. Even on his day off, Kurt has the scanner on.

His video shows fire and smoke coming out of a window(s) of a room in quadrant B of the one-story, single-family home. By the time the crew from Engine 201 (Jefferson VFC) stretches the first line to the front door, smoke is starting to pour from around the eaves, most of the length of the attic.

No one was home when the fire broke out, except three cats. The cats were killed in the fire.

Investigators blame the fire on unattended candles. Damage is estimated at $475,000.

(Updated at 4:51 PM)

Old video of the day: Tuesday was the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth. April 4 will the 40th anniversary of his murder and the devastating riots that rocked a number of cities, including Chicago. Click the image above to see Part 1 of a film looking at how Chicago firefighters, dispatchers and others handled the unrest. It includes fire department radio transmissions. Part 2 (which apparently loses the narration in the middle of it) can be seen here.

Early view of Baltimore townhouse fire

This is from Tuesday evening in Baltimore City, the 6600 Block of Snowberry Court in Dutch Village. WJZ-TV’s chopper arrives with the first firefighters. Click the image above to see the video.

VA fire victim dies

The man burned in the natural gas explosion and fire in Seven Corners on Saturday, died the day after the incident, but the information was not released until today. The Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department reports, in an emailed press release at 11:43 AM, that 39-year-old Mark Christopher Williams died late Sunday evening. Spokesman Dan Schmidt says his office released the information as soon as it was made available by police.

The 3-alarm fire was at 6200 Wilson Boulevard. Click here and scroll down to see the original story.

FireGeezer takes the challenge and has the scoop

Bill Schumm claims he is old, but don’t let that fool you. After some recent top-notch journalism on some rather unusual fire stories, I figured the Geeze was just the guy to delve futher into the mayor/restaurant owner versus the fire chief/hair salon owner battle we told you about the other day. Make sure you read his follow-up.

Fire gear winds up in the middle of a domestic

In Kankakee, IL police are investigating the torching of a firefighter’s gear. The firefighter was not wearing it at the time. It was in his home. His wife is accused of setting fire to the gear belonging to the Kankanee Fire Department. Police are investigating. If you want to know more, click here.

Surf shop burns in Texas

A lot of fire, as a surf shop burns on South Padre Island Tuesday evening.

Cambridge, MD fire: FFs return to handle a flare up this morning

WBOC-TV’s chopper was back over the Race Street fire in Cambridge this morning as firefighters dealt with some hot spots that flared up. Click here to see the new video.

The image above is from WBOC-TV’s coverage of the fire Tuesday in Cambridge’s historical district. It destroyed two businesses dealing in antiques. It was first reported just after 10:30 AM and involved about 225 firefighters from the Eastern Shore. According to WBOC-TV:

Five firefighters were injured while fighting the fire and have been taken to Dorchester General Hospital for treatment. Two- firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation, one for an injured leg, another suffered a heart attack and the other firefighter suffered a seizure.

Investigators have determined that the fire originated inside the Shore Bid Antiques shop. The exact cause for the fire remains under investigation. Investigators will be returning to the scene in the morning to continue with the investigation.

Click here to see STATter 911’s coverage from Tuesday morning and afternoon, along with links to WBOC-TV’s raw video from the air and ground.

Boston mayor takes on union leaders at State Of The City address. Union accuses Menino’s administration of manipulating LODD independent investigation.

Not much detail, but it is nicely shot.

911 recordings from tiger attack

We told you about the confusion and delay in getting help to the victims of the New Year’s Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. Above is a story on what the first callers to 911 were saying. Click here for some of the raw audio.

Teens torch SUV, get burned

In Olathe, KS, police say three teens seeking revenge, vandalized and set fire to another teenager’s SUV. Nobody apparently warned them to be real careful with the gasoline (or other flammable liquid). You need to watch until the middle of the report to see the security camera video.

Apartment fire in Los Angeles

The attic of an apartment building was reported well off when L.A. firefighters arrived Tuesday afternoon. Live coverage above. FireGeezer also has some good still images from this fire.

(Updated at 1:29 PM)

Old video of the day: A little more than 3 weeks shy of 30-years-old, this is described as a 3-alarm fire on Brooklyn’s Pier 6. The date is February 8, 1978. Click the image to see the video.

Breaking news: Fire in Cambridge, MD

Click here for early raw helicopter video from WBOC-TV

Click here for more recent raw helicopter video from WBOC-TV

Click here for raw ground video from WBOC-TV

At my desk, looking at a live feed from WBAL-TV (1:02 PM). The roof is burned off the building with the sign Wm G. Willikers Antiques, along with the rooftops of what may be one or two separate attached addresses on Side B (hard to tell, it may all be one firm, though there is a sign for a separate business on one of the buildings).

The buildings are three-story and fairly deep (the better part of a block long). Firefighters appear to have stopped the fire at the attached exposure on Side D of the antiques firm (at least the roof is still intact). Mostly steam coming from the buildings with occasional flare ups.

Counting a snorkel and four tower-ladders working.

Bill Carey at Charge The Line! is very familiar with the area and has been keeping tabs on responding companies.

Here are some details from AP:

Firefighters are battling a large fire in downtown Cambridge.

WBOC-TV reports the fire is at the Shore Bid Auction and Antique store building in the 400 block of Race Street.

Crews from 10 area fire companies are on the scene. No injuries have been reported.

The area has been blocked off to the public.

At Craig’s Pharmacy down the street, employee Betsy Willoughby reported seeing flames and black smoke. She added that flames were coming out of the top of the antique store building and appeared to be moving to the adjacent Salvation Army building. “Right now it looks like it’s snowing,” Willoughby said as ash from the fire could be seen flying nearby.

Here is what WBOC-TV is reporting:

Firefighters are on the scene of a massive fire at the Shore Bid Auction and Antique store building on 446 Race St. in Cambridge.

Crews from 10 area fire companies are on the scene. No injuries have been reported. That area of downtown Cambridge has been tempoarily blocked off to the public.

Funeral arrangements in Baltimore County

Preliminary information on funeral arrangements for Jarrett Dixon, a career firefighter in Baltimore County and a volunteer with the Liberty Road VFC were released Monday evening. Click here for details.

The Baltimore Sun reports on FF Dixon’s death.

Some DC action

The pictures above are from a Monday morning fire in the 1000 block of Kenyon St., NW. DC Fire & EMS spokesman Alan Etter who provided these pictures reports that the first arriving units from the 4th Battalion found heavy fire on both floors of the rowhouse. A 2nd-alarm was called as the fire was discovered extending to exposures on Side B and Side D. Despite a report of people trapped everyone got out on their own. One firefighter suffered a minor injury and a child was treated on the scene for mild smoke inhalation.

The fire is blamed on smoking materials improperly discarded. The utilities to the home had been cut off some time ago, but three people were living there.

The video below comes from Engine 17 and is from a fire Sunday at 65 Hawaii Avenue, NE.

Judge rejects privacy claim on FD’s use of GPS

We recently showed you an internal report where the DC Fire & EMS Department used its GPS based AVL system to back up its charges against a lieutenant who made claims about being ordered not to fight a fire. No
w a different twist on the use of such technology comes from Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Unlike DC, in this case, four fire inspectors didn’t know that GPS devices had been added to their fire department vehicles. They all are facing termination for using the minivans for personal use.

A judge has now rejected the claim of two of the inspectors, that by secretly using the equipment, the department violated the state’s electronic-monitoring law. Read the story.

More on the fires set at Salvation Army’s HQ

The Salvation Army is willing to offer help to the person who set three of its vehicles on fire Sunday afternoon in the charity’s Alexandria, VA parking garage. That’s where I have spent the last two days. Watch the story.

Old FD audio makes it to LiveLeak & YouTube

I had planned to tell you about this Sunday on the 26th anniversary of Air Florida Flight 90 crashing into the 14th Street Bridge and a fatal Metro derailment, but I didn’t get around to it. MackDiesel who is now providing DC FEMS audio on the web, has posted the audio from January 13, 1982. This is the first of multiple parts. Click here for the rest.

Close call in Rochester

A TV station in Rochester, NY reports that a firefighter had to be pulled through a second floor window to safety after running out of air during a Monday night fire. Not a lot of details other than the firefighter is expected to recover following the fire in a building with a barber shop on the ground floor and apartments above.

Scholarship fundraiser and training tip

Bill Carey, as usual, has a couple of interesting items on his Charge The Line! site.

One is the Colleen and Erin Marlatt Scholarship fund event in Clarksville, MD on January 19. They were the daughters of MFRI Assistant Director F. Patrick Marlatt, killed in the 2001 tornado at the University of MD.

The other is an obscure training tip that will make you Glad.

All you need to know about this one is the mayor owns the restaurant and the fire chief owns the hair salon

Because of a parking dispute between two business owners in Belle Rive, IL, the mayor has fired the fire chief. But wait, the village board says the mayor doesn’t have the authority to do that. Read more (if you really care), here.

You know, you really can’t make this stuff up. FireGeezer are you listening? I think this one could use your investigative touch.

Getting rid of the firefighters, but not the Internet service

“Some was porn, some was fight scenes or executions, all of it was inappropriate for work.” That’s the quote from Butler Township, Ohio Trustee President Joe Ellis after an investigation around Thanksgiving into excessive bandwidth usage. Three firefighters were let go and three were suspended. Four others quit before disciplinary hearings. Read more.

More fireman funnies

This one from the Gretna Volunteer Fire Department in Pittsylvania County, VA.

Baltimore County Fire Department’s Administrative Duty Officer sent out this information Monday evening on arrangements for Jarrett Dixon (more specifics on staging and lineup will follow):

The following are the funeral arrangements for FADO Jarrett A. Dixon Station 5-B shift who passed away Saturday, January 12, 2008.

Additional information about a fund set up for Jarrett Dixon’s 5-year-old son:

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested a trust fund be set up for Gavin Dixon, Firefighter Dixon’s 5-year-old son. Donations should be made payable to State Farm Mutual Fund and mailed to State Farm Insurance, PO Box 87, Randallstown, MD 21133, Attn: Melinda Lathe. Please note “Gavin Dixon Trust Fund” on any donations.

Old video of the day: This is the 1964 film, The 72 Hour Alarm from WGN-TV. It chronicles a horrendous couple of days of intense winds and major fires in Chicago. Click the image above to see the film.

Remembering Jarrett Dixon

As we first told you Sunday, Baltimore County Firefighter Jarrett Dixon died three days after suffering chest pains during PT. Read the story here.

The picture above is from the Liberty Road Volunteer Fire Company where Jarrett Dixon had also been a volunteer. More pictures on LRVFC’s website.

We will pass along funeral details when they are available.

More weekend coverage

On the same page with the coverage of FF Dixon’s death we have other news from the weekend. Included: Vehicles destroyed during a suspicious 2-alarm fire at the Salvation Army’s HQ in Alexandria, VA; A suicide attempt sparks a 3-alarm fire in Fairfax County, VA; Kentland’s run to DC.

Also, there is a bit of discussion going in the comments section over the internal report into the actions of DC Fire & EMS Lieutenant Gerald Burton. Click here for our exclusive coverage and to read the entire report.

Fire burns for 3rd day

We had been waiting to post this massive high-rise fire from India until there was video available. One reason for the lack of video may be found in a report today that cameras and TV transmission trucks were damaged and journalists attacked (conflicting reports over who is trying to kill the messengers). Thousands of small shops have burned in the three days the fire has been moving through the 12-story building.

Another video can be found here. An earlier news report is here.

More details and pictures from FireGeezer.com, who by the way also has the latest installment in his series on Donna and the unusual (to say the least) fire department in Seligman, AZ (no connection to the fire in India, just a chance for a shameless plug).

You always remember your first

From Bellingham, MA, the story of a fire just after Christmas that is the first save in town under the state’s new sprinkler law for bars and clubs. A kitchen fire only destroyed a couple of boxes, thanks to the sprinkler. Read the story.

Substation burns in CA

This is reported to be from San Leandro on Sunday morning.

3-alarm house fire

A fire Saturday in Monroe, NY. One firefighter slightly injured. Read the story.

Atlanta fire

Reported to be the Evergreen apartments. No date given.

NY house

Oceanside, NY house fire on Saturday.

Creating a fire department, Custer County, Montana

The legislative process on the local level. May not be as interesting as watching a fire, but for fire chiefs, it is part of the job.

Fireman funnies

Boys will be boys. A firefighter’s new truck. A well placed smoke bomb. A video camera. A Boots Randolph sound track.

(Updated at 6:18 PM, Sunday)

Baltimore County firefighter dies 3 days after suffering chest pains during PT

FF (FADO) Jarrett Dixon at a fundraiser, two years ago, for the Maryland Fallen Firefighters Memorial

Chief Billy Goldfeder with FirefighterCloseCalls.com tells us about the death of Jarrett Dixon on Saturday:

This afternoon (Saturday) at approximately 1300 hours, Fire Apparatus Driver Operator Jarrett Dixon, 36 years old, of the Baltimore County Fire Department suffered cardiac arrest and was not revived. FADO Dixon had developed chest pains at work while conducting physical training at his assigned duty Fire Station 5 “B” Shift on Wednesday. He was treated and transported by EMS personnel from his career station to a local hospital. Following a “negative” cardiac catheterization on Thursday, he was released to home. While at home, Jarrett tragically suffered a seizure followed by Cardiac Arrest while being transported by his volunteer company (Liberty Road Vol. FD) EMS to a local hospital.

Fire Apparatus Driver Operator Jarrett Dixon is survived by his 5 year old son, his girlfriend and his parents. At this time arrangements are incomplete. Our sincere condolences to the members of the Baltimore County FD, Station 5 crew, the Liberty Road VFD (Baltimore County 46), his family…but especially his surviving 5 year old Son.

There are some wonderful tributes to Jarrett Dixon coming in to TWD. Click here to see them.

Second alarm called for vehicles burning in Salvation Army’s national headquarters in VA

No official word that it is arson, but Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Thiel is providing a big clue. When asked by 9NEWS photojournalist Kurt Brooks the key question of the day, “Were the vehicles located near each other or were they spread apart?”, Chief Thiel answered, “We understand they are in separate locations”. The fires were discovered around 2:00 PM Sunday. By evening, the department’s new PIO, Captain Byron Andrews, was able to officially confirm that investigators are calling the fires suspicious.

A second alarm was called as the two vans and a sedan burned in the underground parking lot for the Salvation Army’s national headquarters in the 600 block of Slaters Lane. Chief Thiel said the sprinkler system kept the fires in check until firefighters could put hose lines in place. A hole was cut in a garage door and a window broken in the lobby for access and ventilation. Chief Thiel says the fire was handled mostly by the first-alarm units.

The vehicles, all unmarked, were parked in the Salvation Army’s section of the garage. Three other vehicles were not damaged. The garage serves four buildings in the Towngate office complex. The Salvation Army is in two of the addresses, joined by a common lobby. A variety of lawyer’s offices and other organizations are in the other two buildings.

Fire investigators brought Engine 204 back to the scene Sunday evening for tools to cut away a piece of evidence.

Florida firefighter injured in collapse

From TheLedger.com:

A Lakeland firefighter is being flown to Tampa General Hospital tonight after a building collapsed on him, said Polk County Fire and EMS.

EMS was on scene by 11:22 p.m. Only one firefighter was taken to the hospital. His condition was not available.

Kentland finally runs mutual-aid to DC as bid is made on FRI

Back in September, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department denied the DC Fire & EMS Department’s request for Rescue Engine 33 to transfer to Engine 2’s quarters during a 4-alarm fire in Northeast. But last Monday, Kentland finally made a run into DC. It was more of a non-emergency service call, a transfer to the Walter Washington Convention Center,in support of the District’s bid for the 2010 Fire-Rescue International Expo. Kentland’s engine was on display with apparatus from DC and Montgomery County

We saw the team from the IAFC at the press conference at Engine 3 announcing the city’s efforts to solve the disability retirement issue for injured firefighters. You can read more about the day on Kentland’s website.

3rd-alarm in 7 Corners

Watch 9NEWS NOW 6:00 PM Story

My neighbor and 9NEWS NOW photojournalist Greg Guise was awake earlier than I was this morning. Greg called me from the landing zone waiting for the helicopter to arrive to transport a person burned in a fire at 6200 Wilson Blvd (Essentially the Fairfax, Falls Church, Arlington border, 1.7 miles from STATter 911’s world headquarters).

The fire started about 8:00 AM in or around a ground floor apartment at the Cavalier Club hi-rise apartment building (approximately 12-stories). Second and third alarms were sounded in an effort to keep the fire from extending. Three police officers suffered smoke inhalation. Greg reports investigators are looking into the possibility of some sort of dispute or altercation just before the fire broke out.

The AP now reports police received a call about a suicide attempt. There was also an apparent natural gas leak prior to an explosion. One man from the apartment where it started was on fire. Two other men from the sam
e apartment were injured.

Pictures courtesy Robert E. “Bob” Dunbar via Greg Guise

Three people barely rescued from the flames as truck full of tires burns on CA highway

The smoke could be seen for 20 miles after a trailer full of tires caught fire on an East L.A. freeway. The fire broke out Saturday morning after a car ran under the trailer of the truck. A man following his wife in another car on the way to Disneyland, pulled the wife, daughter and another person out of the vehicle. All of the injuries are said to be minor.

The photo is from Callie Miller on LAist.com. You can alse read more, here.

What was once the second tallest structure in the world collapses

A 2000 foot tower for two Little Rock, Arkansas TV stations collapsed during maintenance Friday. One worker on the tower had only minor injuries. Read more. Watch the history of the tower and film of it being built in 1965.

Report paints very different picture of lieutenant who went public with his complaints. AVL system documents response. Read the entire DCFEMS report.

In one of two STATter 911 exclusives, we have the other side of the story involving DC Fire & EMS Lt. Gerald Burton. When Lt. Burton told reporters in mid-December he was being punished for failing to follow orders after his engine company arrived first at a house fire, reporters were essentially left with a no comment from DC Fire & EMS officials. Citing personnel laws, a spokesperson said they unable to shed light on Burton’s complaint that he was ordered not to put out a fire.

The story received a great deal of attention (it was the number 9 story for the entire year on the wusa9.com website). The brass at DC Fire & EMS took a lot of heat from across the country. The Washington Post even wrote an editorial urging Lt. Burton to fight the charges (I saw the editorial reprinted on an Alaskan newspaper website). The forums for the various news websites were filled with comments. But with all of the words written, we still only had one side of the story. Now there’s another view of this situation.

STATter 911 filed a Freedom of Information Act Request in an effort to learn more about the investigation that led to internal charges against the veteran DC firefighter. Some of the report by Assistant Chief of Operations Lawrence Schultz is based on the automatic vehicle locator technology attached to the department’s fleet. The report questions the truthfulness of what Lt. Burton reported to superiors and said in television interviews. It also claims that lives were put in jeopardy by his “cowboy” actions. Read the story and the entire 3-page report.

We are making no judgments as to which version is correct or if the truth is somewhere in-between. The only opinion STATter 911 is offering is that it is always good to have more than one side when reporting a story (and when passing judgment).

Dispute over baby born on Capitol Beltway

In our second exclusive story, we try to explain why a high risk delivery was performed on the side of the road along I-495 instead of in the labor and delivery area of Laurel Regional Hospital. The story told by the parents and the ambulance crew is in conflict with the hospital’s version of events. The soon-to-be mother and father say they clearly heard the hospital tell the ambulance crew to bring the patient to its facility even after learning this was far from a full-term pregnancy. Once at the hospital, the parents and fire department sources claim the staff said they had no facilities to handle a premature birth. The hospital denies this. Read and watch our stories.

“This is serious enough to get someone killed”

That’s what a State Department official tells The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler about the potential safety problems, including the firefighting system, at the $736 million U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. Here are excerpts from the article:

Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. “This is serious enough to get someone killed,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation. “The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant” and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks.

The finger-pointing over fire safety is a microcosm of the suspicion that hangs over the troubled project, which is built on acreage almost four times the size of the Pentagon. Originally expected to be completed by July 1, 2007, at a cost of $592 million, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world has been plagued by poor planning, shoddy workmanship and design changes that have added to the cost. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of the contract and related subcontracts, sources said.

Patrick F. Kennedy, the undersecretary of state for management, said he was aware of the fire-safety concerns. He said that although the project manager determined last month that the facility is substantially complete, it will not be considered finished until Kennedy signs the certificate of occupancy.

Father saves family and now faces questions about the house

Apparently the West Hempstead, NY home pictured above (in a Newsday ph
oto by Lou Minutoli) lacked an occupancy permit. But a doctor, his wife and six children lived there. He was able to get everyone out safely. Read the story.

Stolen ambulance recovered

As far these cases go, the ambulance from the Hampstead VFD in Carroll County, MD was gone for quite a while. It vanished from the Carroll Hospital Center around 11:00 PM Thursday and apparently wasn’t recovered until Friday afternoon.

How do you hide the thing? I’m reminded of the movie “Jumbo” that I saw as a kid. Jimmy Durante was in it and the funniest scene for me was him standing in front of this big elephant saying, “What elephant, I don’t see no elephant!”

But either way, the unit has been recovered in Anne Arundel County and one person is in custody.

Watch WJZ-TV’s story

Watch WBAL-TV’s story

Two dead in DC house fire

In just 11 days of the new year, there have been three fire fatalities in the District of Columbia. At 2:30 this morning a basement fire extended to all floors in the 5600 block of Kansas Avenue, NW. A second-alarm was called. Firefighters found the bodies of an elderly woman and her daughter inside the single-family home. What they didn’t find were smoke alarms. Watch the story.

PGFD retirement

The man on the cell phone in the picture above (by PGFD’s Mark Brady) is Lt. Col. Robert McCoy. As we first reported yesterday, he has turned in his retirement papers after 20 years as a career firefighter and five as a volunteer in Prince George’s County, MD. More details at the top of yesterday’s news digest. We would have run his picture yesterday, but we didn’t want it to compete with the mayor from Oregon.

Old video from Canada shows barn fire explosion

This video, reported to be from the 1980s, shows firefighters in Ontario dealing with a barn fire when an explosion occurs.

Citizen FFs bring back the bucket brigade

No word on where this was other than on Dolphin Street. It isn’t much of a fire, but I like the effort by the neighbors.

Speaking of fire department history like bucket brigades, FireGeezer is waxing poetic this morning as he looks back at the role of the hose tower or watch tower.

High pressure tactics

Not a bucket brigade, but a man heading to work in San Antonio used his pressure washer to fight a townhouse fire. The fire department says it was effective. See the story.

Also in San Antonio, a 3-alarm fire at an illegal recycling plant

The owner of the recycling center already had three warrants out for his arrest for failing to shut down the complex. He doesn’t have to now, because it was destroyed Thursday afternoon. Read and watch the story.

Dallas 2nd alarm

A good deal of fire in an apartment complex on Amesbury Drive. Doesn’t say when. A lot going on with the people shooting this (with all of these videos, we warn you that the language may be a bit strong for some tastes).

The only cheers are for the neighbor who saved the day

Early this morning in Toronto, the people who lived in apartments above the Cheers bar had a very rude awakening. Their building was crumbling around them. Many credit a neighbor for sounding the alarm and making sure everyone got out safely. Read the story.

A look back

A video of paintings and still pictures from back in the day. Part 2 is here.

(Read more fire and EMS news from STATter 911)

Read the entire report from DC Fire & EMS

Watch Nancy Yamada’s December 18 story with Lt. Burton

When DC Fire and EMS Lieutenant Gerald Burton told his story to the news media in mid-December, his department declined to respond, saying it was a personnel matter. Now, a 3-page report prepared by a top ranking fire official and obtained by STATter 911 disputes many of the claims made by Lt. Burton.

The report, written by Assistant Chief of Operations Lawrence Shultz, says that Burton “disobeyed a direct lawful order, failed to secure an independent water supply and placed Engine 9 directly behind Truck 4 which prohibited them from using their ground ladders.” It also found the veteran firefighter “was not truthful in preparing an official District of Columbia report.”

The report was prepared on December 20, 2007 for D.C. Fire/EMS Chief Dennis Rubin. STATter 911 obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report, while clearly referring to Lt. Burton, was released with his name crossed out.

The incident stems from a November house fire in the 1800 block of 2nd Street, NW. Lt. Burton claims he was on his way to a training drill with the crew from Engine 9 when a run was dispatched for a nearby house fire. When he called on the radio, Burton says he was told to disregard the fire, as there were other crews responding. As he continued on his way, Burton says frantic citizens flagged him down, asking for his assistance with the fire.

On December 18, Lt. Burton told 9NEWS NOW, “I don’t know if someone’s trapped, if there’s a baby trapped inside.”

When he called by radio to the battalion chief responding to the call, Burton says he was told to be the back-up to another engine and take the third-due position. But Burton claimed the first-due engine hadn’t arrived yet. So he made the split-second decision to pull out the hoses and fight the fire.

Lt. Burton spoke out to the media after he was officially informed by the department that he was under investigation and facing 2 days unpaid suspension for defying his supervisor’s order.

The finished report disputes many of Lt. Burton’s claims. Among them, that he was flagged down by citizens. The report states, “A review of the AVL system (this system indicates speed and location of all apparatus, to include apparatus stops as 0mph) indicates that Engine 9’s speed went from 35 mph to 15 mph as it turned left on 2nd Street. There was no point or time where the speed of Engine 9 was reduced to below 15 mph. It would seem impossible and unlikely for Burton to have stopped his fire engine to talk to a citizen as he has reported in many media interviews.”

The report also disputes Lt. Burton’s contention that he did not have time to wait for another engine before he began fighting the fire. It finds that Engine 6 (first-due) arrived 28 seconds after Engine 9, followed 21 seconds later by Engine 12. Engine 26 was on-the-scene 1 minute and 38 seconds after Engine 9. Truck 4 arrived before any of the engine companies, including Engine 9.

The report concludes, “There was no delay of arriving resources and the 28 second unauthorized pre-arrival of Engine 9 potentially created a situation of much more ‘risk’ than ‘benefit’. Combine this confusion with the failure to follow operational policy and you can quickly see just how Lt. Burton placed many lives in jeopardy with his ‘cowboy’ actions.”

The report further states, “When one unit does not follow Departmental Standard Operating Guidelines, this causes confusion, improper fire ground operations and assignments that may adversely effect an entire operation.”

Lt. Burton was found “guilty” and will be suspended for 48 hours. The report claims Lt. Burton has “refused this penalty which he is at liberty to accept or not accept, thus the next step will be a ‘Formal Hearing’ by a completely different Battalion Chief.”

A phone call to Lt. Burton’s lawyer, seeking comment about the findings, has yet to be returned.

9NEWS NOW reporter Nancy Yamada assisted with this report

(Read more fire and EMS news from STATter 911)

Watch my report from 9NEWS NOW at 5:00 PM

Watch Armando Trull’s interview with the parents from 9NEWS NOW at 11:00 PM

It is not all that unusual to have a baby delivered along a highway in the back of an ambulance. But Friday’s case on the Capitol Beltway is a bit different and is a source of controversy between a hospital and a fire department.

The newborn girl was 14 weeks premature and just 1 pound 7 ounces. The mother, minutes earlier, had been inside the labor and delivery area of Laurel Regional Hospital, taken there by the same Prince George’s County, Maryland ambulance crew that then delivered the baby along I-495. Why the woman left Laurel Regional Hospital is in dispute and reviews are underway.

Spokesperson Delores Butler tells STATter 911 that, “Laurel Regional Hospital did not tell the patient to go elsewhere and did not deny access or treatment at the hospital”. But the parents, who asked not to be identified, tell us that the hospital made it very clear they would be unable to care for a premature baby, something Ms. Butler denies.

All of this occurred only after Laurel Regional Hospital’s emergency room accepted the patient. Prince George’s County Fire/EMS spokesperson Mark Brady says at 5:29 AM, the crew from Ambulance 849 consulted with the hospital by radio and was told to bring the pregnant woman to the facility. Both parents say they clearly heard the ambulance crew warn the hospital that the water had broken and that this was a high risk birth.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital at 5:33 AM and went directly to the labor and delivery area. The family said it was only then that they first heard about the hospital’s inability to handle the delivery. The father says he felt there was no other choice but to go elsewhere.

At 5:59 AM, 26 minutes after arriving at Laurel Regional Hospital, Ambulance 849 radioed they were taking the patient to Holy Cross Hospital. But the baby wasn’t cooperating. On I-495, in sight of the second hospital, the ambulance crew delivered the baby.

The parents say all things considered, mother and child are doing well. The baby is still at Holy Cross. The parents are bewildered by the whole chain of events wondering if Laurel Regional Hospital wasn’t negligent for first telling them to come to the facility and then claiming to be unable to deal with the situation.

When questioned about this, Delores Butler, speaking for Laurel Regional Hospital, points out “The woman was never a registered patient”.

Mark Brady says the fire department is looking closely at this case saying, “Due to the circumstances that occurred during this incident, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has initiated a Quality Assurance Internal Review”.

Sources tell STATter 911 that Prince George’s County has requested the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct a further investigation.

As for the ambulance crew, Mark Brady says, “Despite the challenging circumstances the ambulance crew faced, they performed their duties professionally and per protocol during the childbirth”.

(Updated at 1:48 PM)

A change near the top at PGFD

STATter 911 has confirmed that Lt. Col. Robert McCoy Jr. today turned in his papers and is expected to be officially retired by the end of February . McCoy has been the Deputy Fire Chief of Emergency Operations and has had to handle some rather delicate matters in recent times. Most notably, he had been the point man for the department on the Kentland matter and issued the order temporarily banning ride-alongs after a teen was set on fire at Riverdale (ride-alongs are now back under new rules).

Chief McCoy’s career certainly involves a lot more than those controversial incidents. He has 25 years as a career and volunteer firefighter in Prince George’s County. In November, on the 20th anniversary of the Thanksgiving Day fire that killed 6 members of a Seat Pleasant family, McCoy told me it was also the 20th anniversary of being notified he had been hired by Prince George’s County.

Contacted today, Chief McCoy tells STATter 911: “I have loved every minute of my combined 25 years of service as a volunteer and career member of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department”.

Detroit tanker fire engulfs home

This morning a gasoline tanker runs through a guard rail on I-75, bursts into flames and catches a home below on fire. The driver is dead, but the people in the home escape.

On the early video you see the separate plumes and fire some distance from each other.

Early cell phone video before firefighters arrive

WDIV-TV story and video

Our friend the FireGeezer is on this one and also the five-alarm warehouse fire overnight in Littleton, NH.

Volunteer FF files in federal court suing over arrest in his POV

Sevier County Volunteer Fire Department Lt. Michael Huskey has filed a federal lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol after being arrested during a home response a year ago. With his family in the car, Huskey heard a call over his scanner and began responding. From Knoxnews.com:

When the trooper activated his blue lights, Huskey said he thought Bailey also was headed to the emergency call.

“However, just in case the officer was trying to follow him to pull him over, Huskey radioed central dispatch to advise the officer of the traffic call he was responding to, and central dispatch (confirmed) his request.”

Dispatch records back up Huskey’s account. What’s not clear is whether the trooper’s dispatcher conveyed that information to Bailey. THP has its own independent dispatch system.

As Huskey turned his vehicle onto the curvy, two-lane roadway in Flat Creek, Bailey began spot-lighting Huskey. Before Huskey could clear a dangerous blind hill and pull over for the trooper, Bailey executed a maneuver to intentionally crash the firefighter’s car, the lawsuit stated. Dispatch records also document the crash.

Bailey handcuffed Huskey as the firefighter, whose children were screaming in the background, repeatedly tried to explain to the trooper that he was a volunteer firefighter responding to an emergency call, the lawsuit alleged.

More POV response issues below.

Two important stories from late Wednesday: Missouri FF gets 3 years in POV wreck and San Antonio medics disciplined

Click here for our coverage and links to these stories that broke yesterday.

Lights, camera, action

While I am getting more private emails than public comments, the two videos we posted with William Carey’s look at firefighters and cameras is generating some interest. Click here to see the videos and read Bill’s thoughts.

Polk County 911

911 calls from the deadly chain-reaction pile-up on I-4 in Florida. Click here for another version of the 911 calls. Here is some raw helicopter video as the smoke and fire rise above the fog.

Power issues

No date on this church fire from Los Angeles showing firefighter on the roof as nearby power lines start arcing and popping.

It’s a good bet you won’t hear the firefighters complaining about this mayor

One story on how Arlington, Oregon got its name is that enough Southerners had come to town that they decided to name the place after Arlington, Virginia, the home of Robert E. Lee. I can tell you from first hand experience, that Arlington, Virginia doesn’t have any political leaders like the mayor of Arlington, Oregon. That’s Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, in her black panties and bra, posing on one of the town’s fire engines. Until recently, the picture was on her MySpace page open for all to see. That’s changed now that all hell has broken loose after a TV station and other news media showed it to everyone (those TV reporters ruin everything, don’t they?).

The mayor isn’t apologetic:

“That’s my personal life,” she said. “It has nothing to do with my mayor’s position.”

Kontur-Gronquist, who is also the fire department’s executive secretary, said the photos were taken before she was elected mayor three years ago, and she saw no reason to remove them from the Internet after taking office.

“I’m not going to change who I am,” she said. “There’s a lot of officials that have a personal life, and you have people in this community who have nothing better to do than scrape up stuff like this.”

Read the story from KATU-TV

Watch the story

A mayor not likely to pose on the fire engines

In Mequon, Wisconsin, the mayor is not happy with an alderman, the Common Council president, who has decided to become an on-call firefighter. The mayor believes it is a conflict of interest. Read the story.

One mayor too hot, one too cold and now one just right

In Pontiac, Illinois, the mayor apparently has figured out his role when it comes to the fire and police departments. He grabbed the video camera (keeps the first responders from having to deal with it, doesn’t it?) and caught the action as a woman was rescued in the flood-swollen Vermillion River on Wednesday.

Boiled chickens for fire trucks

That is the basic premise behind a barter that went bad between an Austrian firm and Bangkok, Thailand. A sixth suspect has been named as irregularities were found leading to Bangkok being overcharged for 315 fire trucks and 30 boats. Read the story.

What could be so important?

This video is described as being taken on December 28 on the Kiev Highway. A man identified as an “EMT” makes his way into a burning car to save someone’s coat, which apparently has important papers in a pocket.

Fire in Rockville, MD

Not sure when this was taken.

Very close call

This was posted back in August on LiveLeak. I missed it, but I thought it was worth running. From Antwerp, Belgium. Apparently the ladder wouldn’t move.

TX house fire

Reported to be a fire on Denmark Lane in Dallas.

1980’s EMS in Louisiana

A TV story in Shreveport from about 20 years ago.

3-alarm trailer fire

No information on when and where.

Garage fire

No date on this fire at 28th and Dekalb in Lake Station, Indiana.