Get fat for a cause

I can’t believe I failed to mention earlier two things close to my heart and my stomach. As many of you know it is “31 Cent Scoop Night” at Baskin-Robbins. The ice cream people will donate $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. So eat up.

911 and supervisor given days off after sleeping incident

Click here for complete audio recording

Click here to read complete story and watch news report

WMC-TV in Memphis has the story of a 911 call taker who fell asleep while taking an emergency call for a break-in. It happened in January, but the news report appears to have prompted some action. According to the station, the supervisor was given 20 days and the call taker 7 days. (Other news outlets are reporting the two were fired. For now, I am going with the station that originated the story.) Here are excerpts:

When you call 911, you expect help immediately. Lisa, a Memphis resident, got anything but.

Lisa can then be heard hanging up the phone.

Large church fire in Philly extends to homes

Click here for live helicopter coverage from WPVI-TV (as of 9:20 AM) of multi-alarm church fire at 32nd & Berks Street in Philadelphia. By 9:38 AM they had switched to a tower camera shot from a distance.

Earlier raw helicopter coverage from KYW-TV

Earlier raw helicopter coverage from WCAU-TV

KYW-TV image

As of 9:00 AM, the roof has burned off the large building in the Strawberry Mansion section. There still seem to Multiple master streams are in operation. Looking at a live picture on CNN it appeared there were some water supply issues for two of the streams at one end of the church. The fire has gone to six-alarms.

At 9:08 AM, the helicopter on WPVI-TV pulled back to reveal a rowhouse burning at least 5 homes down from the church. Fire showing from the top floor with firefighter working on the roof.

At 9:15 AM, the exposure fire now appears to be on the third floor of one side of what may be a duplex. A line is in place trying to keep the fire from spreading to a similar building on Side D. Heavy fire on the third floor, Quadrant C. Truck crew moved to roof over the non-burning side of the duplex.

At 9:20 AM, an interior attack has knocked down the bulk of the fire on Quadrant C of the duplex. Still have a bit of fire coming through the roof.

From KYW-TV:

Philadelphia firefighters are on the scene of a raging six-alarm fire in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section. Flames also damaged at least three nearby home and residents east of the church were evacuated.

The church, according to their Web site, http://rship.com, is a Missionary Baptist Church that partners with Missionary Conventions and Associations across the country, “We are a conservative, evangelism oriented, Bible-based congregation with a strong African consciousness.”

Fire burning on the West Coast, too

Not to be outdone, Los Angeles firefighters have a major blaze this morning in a building at the historic corner of Hollywood and Vine. Reported to be a a vacant restaurant. Click here for KNBC-TV live video (as of 9:35 AM EDT).

At 9:52 AM EDT there is still a good deal of fire coming through the roof of the building. Master streams are being used along with firefighters with handlines on the roof of what appears to be the taller, Side D exposure.

Earlier helicopter coverage from KCBS-TV

From KCBS-TV:

Flames broke out early Wednesday in a building being renovated at the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

Traffic has been routed away from the area.

“These people are hypocrites and liars”

That’s the response by Oak Grove, MN Mayor Jim Iund to claims by firefighters that a fatal house fire was mishandled. Mayor Iund, a charter member of the fire department who served 18 years, said Tuesday, “You’re talking about a small group of people who want to make trouble.”

Here are a few excerpts from the Star-Tribune:

Firefighters are now charging that Fire Chief Tony Hennemann repeatedly bypassed the most qualified candidates for leadership positions. Some said Hennemann won’t promote any candidate he believes could be a threat to his authority.

The City Council on Monday discussed hiring someone independent of the fire department — possibly a retired fire chief from the south metro area — to investigate the fire that claimed the life of James Verdi Blackford, 86.

But current and former Oak Grove firefighters told the Star Tribune that the turmoil dividing the department began years ago.

The mayor’s comments are a follow-up to the claims earlier in the week of a lengthy delay in trying to rescue Mr. Blackford:

The firefighter who reached him said he believes Blackford was alive when he and two other firefighters brought him downstairs in the smoke-filled house.

Powers, an Oak Grove firefighter who was at the scene, said, “We limited his chances. If we could rescue somebody, we should rescue somebody. Somebody should be held accountable.”

Among the questions are who knew, or should have known, that Blackford was in the house. Another question, according to Oak Grove firefighter Jon Faanes, was why the department did not hold its customary critique after this fire, particularly because it involved a fatality.

Rob Engler, the Oak Grove fire official who firefighters say ordered the backboard, declined to comment, saying he was told by Fire Chief Tony Hennemann not to speak to the media. When asked after a City Council meeting about the backboard, Assistant Chief Curt Hallerman, who was in charge at the fire, told the Star Tribune, “I don’t think they called for a board or anything. I would see no purpose to ask for a board.”

But Oak Grove officials did not send firefighters in immediately. Nor did they inform all the firefighters at the scene that Blackford was inside. Weiss, who has nothing critical to say of Oak Grove’s department, said, “We heard a rumor that somebody was in there.”

Oak Grove firefighter Tony Scavo said he was eventually sent into the house but said he was ordered to go to the attic to open up the ceiling. “I’ll be honest,” he said. “I didn’t even know there was a body in there.”

Faanes said he was told not to enter the house without a backup hose line, even though he said the backup line is not mandated by OSHA. He asked why firefighters were not allowed to walk around the structure “to perform a size-up” — a procedure often done by the first arriving officer, he said.

“Why did it take a firefighter from another city to perform the rescue?” Faanes asked.

Cops guard Boston fire HQ

From Boston.com:

Boston police, acting at the request of the city’s fire commissioner, have begun guarding Fire Department headquarters to make sure that no one tampers with evidence subpoenaed as part of a federal investigation into alleged pension abuse by firefighters, fire and police officials said yesterday.

A police cruiser has been stationed outside the Dorchester building since Friday to make sure no one breaks in to steal documents that the FBI has requested.

“I think, given crime in the city, those police resources could be better allocated,” Kelly he said. “I think the commissioner watches too many movies.”

Suffolk chief is positive about twister response

Suffolk Fire Chief Mark Outlaw said the initial assessment of the response to Monday’s damaging storms in Virginia is that things went well. Local governments expect to do further study of the response to the tornadoes that left more than 200 people injured. Read the article.

Click here to see our previous coverage with a number of videos from the storm.

MD mystery blast is no longer a mystery

Flashes of light in the air and loud booms. It was happening for months at 2:00 and 3:00 AM in a Pikesville, MD neighborhood. Until now, despite intense investigations using surveillance cameras, there were no answers. A day after WJZ-TV did the story of this mystery an arrest has been made of a 59-year-old man. Watch the story.

DC 2-alarm house fire

From DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter on a fire Tuesday in Northeast:

This wind-driven fire in the 300 block of Channing Street, Northeast climbed to two-alarms before firefighters were able to put it down. Dispatched at 1508 hours, firefighters arrived within two minutes to find a set of two-story rowhouses engulfed in flames involving the enclosed rear porches. Fire was present through the roofs of two rowhouses with extension to a third. Further, exposure ‘D’ was afflicted by wind-whipped flames leaping across a 15-foot alley and causing serious damage to the second floor, cockloft and roof. A second alarm was quickly transmitted – and as firefighters began taking their positions – the fire was reduced to smolder. It was fully extinguished within an hour – with no injuries to either civilians or firefighters. Red Cross was notified for several people who would be displaced. The cause of this blaze remains under investigation.

2 injured in MD automotive garage fire

From Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady:

Just before 3:00 PM, Tuesday, April 29, 2008, a citizen ran into Beltsville Fire/EMS Station #831 and alerted personnel of a fire at a nearby automotive garage. Fire/ EMS units responded about 1 block to 11250 Baltimore Avenue at Prestige Collision and Glass to find a 1-story, multi-bay, automotive garage with heavy smoke coming from two bays located on the rear of the structure. As additional units from surrounding communities were alerted to assist, Beltsville firefighters stretched hoselines and initiated a knock down of the fire. The Beltsville ambulance crew located an adult male employee, approximately 30 years of age, who sustained second degree burns to a small area of his lower legs. Additionally, a firefighter assigned to the College Park Fire/EMS Station #812 sustained injuries to his knee while operating on the fireground. Both patients were transported to area hospitals. Quick work by the initial arriving crews limited the fire to two bays. A total of 25 firefighters operated on the fireground. The cause of the fire is under investigation and fire loss is estimated at $40,000.

Gas prices impacting home response

That’s the story from the Hammond Fire Department in the state of New York. With volunteer ranks dwindling, gasoline nearing $4-a-gallon isn’t helping recruitment and retention. Read the story.

Telephone solicitation problems in DE

A story we have heard many times. This time it is going on in Delaware. From delawareonline.com:

The Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association is alerting residents that local fire companies are not conducting a telephone solicitation seeking donations for injured firefighters.

Anyone concerned about the validity of a donation request should contact the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association at 734-9390.

Rescuers intervene in suicide attempt

This is all the caption says with this interesting video: Rescuers Risk Their Lives Foiling A Suicide Attempt. This was recently broadcast on a Russian Citizen’s Journalism programme. A drunken man was threatening to kill himself and rescuers put their lives on the line to save him.The man lived, but sustained serious injuries.

FFs attempt to thwart another suicide attempt

This one is from Dubbo, Australia last week. Firefighters try to move a rig into place to save “Bruce” who is hanging from a railroad bridge. It doesn’t quite work out the way everyone hoped, but Bruce survived. Read more.

Plane crashes into home in Venezuela and burns

From Monday in the northern Venezuela city of Catia La Mar. Four dead and eight injured when a small plane crashes into a home. Click here for another view.

Who ya gonna call: Marion County, FL’s quack rescue team

Photo by David Henman, Marion County Fire Rescue

It doesn’t matter what heroic feat this highly trained professional does for the rest of his career, he will always be remembered for this moment. Firefighter/paramedic and technical rescue technician Max Riddle of Golden Ocala Station 20 climbed 18 feet down a ladder into a storm drain to save seven baby ducks. The picture above from OrlandoSentinel.com where you can read this story.

The long-awaited beach replenishment project in Bethany Beach and South Bethany, DE has, for the most part, been completed. Officials are already hearing complaints from people who can’t see the Atlantic from the Boardwalk or their homes.

Having seen these projects in other beach jurisdictions I am curious how beach patrols and other first responders alter procedures. There is now a small mountain of sand to climb and a much further distance to get patients to ambulances. When lifeguards aren’t on duty, fewer people will likely notice when someone is in trouble on the ocean.

The upside of course is that when the next coastal storm hits, emergency crews should be handling a lot fewer flooding and damage calls.

These pictures, on a gray and rainy Sunday, are off of my camera-phone from South Bethany.

(Updated at 12:11 PM)

Video of the day & Close Call Alert: From Skagit County, WA. This is a fire Sunday afternoon at an abandoned school in the town of Concrete. Watch what happens at 1:19 into the video. No one was injured. The film served as a backdrop for a 1993 movie starring Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio called “This Boy’s Life”. More video and details, here.

Dave’s an idiot

That’s what some people think of me for answering comments that question my past. I understand that some people feel I should ignore people who make those remarks.

Hey, I often am the one asking the tough questions and uncovering the skeletons in closets. If there are people who have doubts about me, I am glad to answer the questions no matter what the motive of the questioner is. It goes with the territory.

The good news is it dredged up a few memories for people. Even heard from a retired PGFD official who was so shell-shocked after years on the job that he escaped to cave in West Virginia and had barely been from since.

This morning one person wrote in to say they have records to indicate that Dave Statter did exist. That’s a relief. I was starting to get worried this whole fireman, CRT, dispatcher thing was just a bad hallucination from the 70s.

Also, some more memories of 5012 Rhode Island Avenue.

Click here to read about Dave the fraud and associated comments.

One item discussed was our summer running Prince George’s County Fire Communications out of a bookmobile. I am thinking of writing a few things more about that unique experience from 1978. Anyone with memories, please share them. If there is a picture of the bookmobile to be had, please let me know at dstatter@wusa9.com.

An absolutely bizarre series of events: TV station reports on paramedic and wife attempting to steal a patient

KSTP-TV reported on Sunday about a February crash in Osceola, WI that left a man badly injured with a broken back. As an Osceola Area Ambulance EMT and a Lifelink III paramedic prepared the patient for medevac, the ambulance door opened. According to the TV station’s report, a medic from Lakeview Hospital walked in and demanded to take over the patient’s care because it was his area. The medic got a sheriff’s deputy to back him up. The deputy is the medic’s wife. It is a story you must see to believe. Click here.

Puck you, Part 3: The demotion

Things are tense in Montreal and little of it appears to be about firefighting. My friend Bill Schumm, AKA FireGeezer and I have been following various aspects of the escalation of the battle between firefighters, top fire officials and the mayor. The latest chapter is the demotion of a captain to a lieutenant because he showed his true colors. Click here.

Airport delay

This story is about a delay and there is a delay in getting it to you (it was also reported by KSTP-TV, but at the end of March). The TV station has been trying to figure out why there was a long response time to a St. Patrick’s Day car fire at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Depending on which version is correct, it took anywhere from 17 to 33 minutes to get water on the fire. It spread to adjacent cars. The airport fire department promised an investigation. Click here to see the story.

(We also promise an investigation into why our crack staff failed to bring this one to you earlier.)

Hotel fire in PA

These pictures are from Steve Marshall who always keeps STATter 911 informed of the latest from the greater Erie area. Steve tells us this is a 3-alarm fire around 10:45 PM on Sunday that destroyed the old Hotel Evergreen in Edinboro, PA.

The hotel had been vacant, but the 4-story wooden structure still housed a bar and pizza shop. No one is certain, without sifting through the rubble, that there were no victims. A car was parked outside the building and can be seen burning in the bottom picture.

The building was very old and many people thought it was haunted.

Helmet-cam in Bucks County

A house fire on Trenton Road in Falls Township, PA on Friday. There are 3 parts. Click here for the rest.

More from 6-alarm CT fire

Raw video from Saturday’s fire from WFSB-TV through CNN.

Here is a comment that was sent twice on Friday and was posted:

Mr Dave Statter, I am upset that you called yourself a former Volunteer Firefighter, and a Cardiac Technician, when in fact you only signed up to be a volunteer but never rode or took any classes, and there is no record of no EMS training at MIEMSS department. You are alway trying to report stories on firefighters, carrer or volunteer because you think you know, how about WE, or other news department do a story on your background as a so call Volunteer Firefighter/EMT-C, that would be news for your rivals. I will supply them the records.

Don’t you know that all of my records burned up in the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904? Oh no, I’m sorry. I am confusing myself with FireGeezer.

Seriously, please share the records you have of mine that you say don’t exist. I will be glad to print them here. Or, if you would like, contact me and I will give you the name of a good investigative reporter (not a hack like me) who can help you break this story wide open.

Comments like this to STATter 911 seem to crop up when I report on a controversial story. Unless they are profane, I always print them. It is important that we be as transparent as possible.

I am sure there are others who have questions about my connection to the fire service in Prince George’s County, MD. It is now ancient history. So, let me try to fill in some blanks to help out my friend who has kindly written to STATter 911.

I joined the Oxon Hill Volunteer Fire Department (Station 21) in about March of 1974.

Your first tip: If you want some scandal to report about me, I rode fire trucks and went into burning buildings before getting any formal training. I also treated patients on ambulance calls without even having a first-aid card. In those days I wasn’t alone.

I later took Fire School (I believe, but could be wrong, that was part of the University of MD Fire Service Extension) with either Don Bornman or Frank Holmes. I know I took a class with each of those fine gentlemen, but can’t remember which class was which.

I also recall taking various other short courses, seminars and classes. One FSE class was Special Fires. My instructor in that class was Keith Fairfax, a long time member of the Bay District VFD in St. Marys County.

I took EMT in 1975 or 1976. Among those in the class was Laurie Gilman, then a volunteer at Clinton, who later worked with me at Prince George’s Fire Communications.

I delivered a baby before even getting to that training in my EMT class. Lucky for me I was reading ahead and got to that chapter while sitting at Rosecroft Raceway on standby about an hour before the call came in.

In 1976 I became a Prince George’s County CETA employee as part of the first group of civilians to work at Fire Communications. That later became a full time position. I worked at 5012 Rhode Island Avenue until 1979.

In 1976 or 1977 I was a sergeant at Oxon Hill. That lasted until career firefighters at Communications found some rule that precluded me from holding a rank higher than I held in the county, or some similar nonsense. I was ordered to relinquish that post and never held another line officer position. I was a member of the board of directors for a few years.

If you need it for your story, I can show you my picture as a board member that appears in the book for the 1979 Prince George’s County Volunteer Firemen’s Association Convention. It was held at Oxon Hill that year.

Another tip: Visuals are good when putting together a story like this.

Somehow they lost their minds at Oxon Hill, or were desperate, and let me start driving the fire trucks. My driver’s training and much other training came from Jimmy Barnes, who was then assistant chief or chief at Oxon Hill.

Jimmy retired as a captain from PGFD a few years ago. I emceed his retirement banquet. From all the nasty things I said about Jimmy that night, he should be primed to give you plenty of dirt on me. I believe you can find him sitting in a rocking chair in front of the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department waving to the traffic as it goes by. You can probably find more nasty stuff about me from his brother Tommy at Accokeek.

There are scores of other members at OHVFD from 1974 to 1980 who can tell you the good, bad and ugly about me. I could give you the names, but a good investigative journalist will probably want to develop some independent sources.

Another tip: That convention book has a lot of names.

In 1977 I was chosen to be part of the first class of Cardiac Rescue Technicians in the county. Our training was at Prince George’s Hospital. In fact, there is a picture of me in The Washington Star with other members of that class during our training. It actually has my name in the caption. So it is either me or some other ugly guy with a beard that looked like me and has the same name. Again, if you need that for your story, I can find it.

Also, sometime during our CRT training, PGFD Chief Jim Estepp asked me participate in a two-part “Town Hall” meeting on Channel 9 produced by Rich Adams. The topic was the delay in getting medic programs started in the Washington area as compared to Baltimore. Gordon Peterson and Bob Strickland hosted the programs.

It was the first time I met Rich and was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. It was also my first appearance on Channel 9. Rich used to have the tape of those shows, but I lost track of it after he passed away. This might not be available for your expose. Sorry.

By the way, for some unknown reason, to this day, I get confused with Rich Adams. For the record, I have met Rich Adams, and I am clearly no Rich Adams. At fire service events people often call me Rich or ask me how things are at BCC. He was a small, black male. I am a taller, white male. Go figure.

My partner for the beginning of the CRT class was Jack Snoddy. Sadly, it was discovered during the class that Jack had a terminal illness. I worked with Jack at Communications until he passed away.

Sorry that so many people who can verify my history are no longer with us. I know it doesn’t help your story and probably makes you even more suspicious.

One person who was in that class and is still around is Tom Carter, then a member of Bladensburg. There were also two or three people in the class from Laurel Rescue Squad.

I took the Maryland CRT exam at Montgomery County’s training center. I passed it. I got a plastic card saying I was a CRT. If you need it, I am sure it is somewhere. I also still have one of a number of blue shirts they gave me with PGFD and CRT patches. The shirts seem to have shrunk quite a bit. Cheap stuff.

When we completed our class, there were no medic units to ride. The career CRT class followed the volunteer class. I recall helping out in their training for one or two classes.

I believe the medic units hit the streets in the Fall of 1977. They were staffed by two career CRTs. The volunteers rode along as extras.

I rode a few shifts with Medic 2 at Silver Hill and I believe a couple of shifts with Medic 1 at Brentwood. It was clear that important partnerships were developing with th
e medic crews. While everyone was nice, I felt like an outsider and decided this wasn’t for me. I much more enjoyed spending my free time at Oxon Hill.

Another scandal: Dave wasted the county’s money on training he barely used.

I have no clue what documentation the state of Maryland has or doesn’t have on me in reference to my EMT and CRT status (nor do I much care). You apparently do, so feel free to share it with the class.

If it will help you with your investigation, I do have a folder with various paper work covering my time in PGFD and some albums with a fair number of pictures from Oxon Hill. There is also picture that a lot of people have showing the first group of civilian dispatchers.

About 15-years-ago a friend of mine recalls seeing my personnel file from Communications. All he told me is there were a number of nasty notes from Al Goode, who was then Chief 49. It was kind of a badge of honor to get one of those.

I believe I also have two audio recordings of radio traffic where my voice is heard. One is of me riding the front seat on a natural gas explosion and fire on Alice Avenue that went to a second-alarm.

The other is an audio recording that my friend Bob Marbourg of WTOP Radio made years before we met. It is from a deadly explosion at Lee’s Tavern in Hyattsville. I was working the Channel 1 radio that night.

Back in the Stone Age we didn’t have cameras everywhere like today or the ability to get fireground audio off of the Internet. So I can’t help you with much more documentation than what I have offered so far.

I make no claims to being even a decent firefighter, EMT, CRT or dispatcher. All of that would be for others to judge.

Hope this gives you a starting point for your story. I wish you good hunting. I am sure there is some dirt to be had. I can tell you I wasn’t an angel.

One final tip: Find out what happened after the party County Executive Winfeld Kelly threw for those of us assigned to Communications. This was to thank us for the summer we spent working out of the county bookmobile while they remodeled our facility. Now that’s a story (I am the only one who didn’t call in sick the next day).

Read previous coverage and see January 26, 2007 agreement between Berlin Hiligh and DC Fire & EMS Department

Watch my report from 9NEWS NOW at 7:00 PM

Joey Heidenberg said he thinks the man should be working at McDonalds. The man who shot at Heidenberg and a co-worker 17-months-ago isn’t working for a fast food restaurant. He is working at a District of Columbia firehouse.

STATter 911 has learned Berlin Hiligh returned in recent weeks to driving Engine 4 at the firehouse on Sherman Avenue, NW. DC officials first tried to fire Hiligh when he was arrested for the November, 2006 shooting incident. They tried again last summer when Hiligh was AWOL from the department while serving his jail sentence.

The last time Berlin Hiligh was allowed to come back to work he was even assigned to details at The White House despite the shooting charges against him.

Between the two attempted firings, a previous administration in charge of the fire department agreed to allow Hiligh to return to the job after serving a 240 hour suspension. At the time the written agreement was signed Hiligh had not yet entered a guilty plea and had not been sentenced.

Sources familiar with the document told STATter 911 last July the department was operating on the best information it had at the time the agreement was made. The sources, who were not in a position to speak officially on the matter, said they were assured by the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office that Hiligh would not be serving time in jail.

When Hiligh returned to work briefly in Spring, 2007, The Washington Times reported the firefighter “worked overtime details at sensitive locations like the White House, where a fire company routinely stands by during takeoff and landing of Marine One, the presidential helicopter”.

Sources confirm for STATter 911 that same January 26, 2007 agreement helped Hiligh keep his job. One part of the agreement reads, “WHEREAS, the parties wish to fully and completely resolve, without further litigation or expense, all charges that were brought or could have been brought against Firefighter Hiligh resulting from his arrest and conviction, as well as his enforced leave”.

Court documents show that Hiligh didn’t enter the guilty plea to a single misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment until March 7, 2007. More serious felony charges were dropped.

Hiligh was sentenced on May 24, 2007. He received a five-year sentence with all but six-months suspended. Hiligh served his time in the Prince George’s County Detention Center. He was also put on supervised probation for three-years.

Department officials prevented some of Hiligh’s fellow firefighters from covering his shifts or donating leave while he was in jail. Hiligh was then charged internally with failing to show up for work.

Battalion Chief Kenneth Crosswhite said the department can’t provide details on this personnel matter. Crosswhite believes there should be no worry for the public. “He went through the administrative process, the judicial process in the agency” Crosswhite said. “If they felt that he was a problem they wouldn’t have allowed him to continue with employment here in the city”.

Berlin Hiligh was arrested by Prince George’s County Police shortly after shooting at Heidenberg’s tow truck. Heidenberg was removing Hiligh’s Chevy Suburban after the vehicle was discovered with dead tags in a neighbor’s parking space at the Bowie town house complex where Hiligh lives. At least one bullet hit the tow truck and another struck a home where a child was sleeping.

Hiligh’s attorney, J. Wyland Gordon, told 9NEWS NOW, “We are glad he has his job back and is putting this matter behind him”.

Another jurisdiction apparently sees this matter differently. At the time of the shooting incident Hiligh was a volunteer firefighter at the Boulevard Heights Station in Prince George’s County. Hiligh is listed on the station’s website as a “non-operational” member. Sources confirm that the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has dropped Hiligh from its rolls because of the incident. This means he is unable to respond on emergency calls in Prince George’s County.

Prince George’s County is now handling another incident similar to the one involving Berlin Hiligh. This week a jury found career firefighter Carlos Johns guilty of pointing a gun at a tow truck crew attempting to repossess Johns’ car.

Johns is now in the Prince George’s County Detention Center awaiting sentencing. He faces up to ten years. Sources tell STATter 911 that termination proceedings have begun in this case with Johns being served papers at the jail.

(Updated at 11:57 AM)

Firefighters association says department not ready for hockey “celebration” (or the Habs and the Hab nots)

The Association Des Pompiers De Montreal (the Montreal Firefighters Association for those who don’t speak the language) is blasting management on what it believes is a lack of preparation for the “celebration” that occurred when the Canadiens eliminated the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs (see the video below if you are unclear on just what kind of gathering this was).

The firefighters group issued this scathing press release on Thursday morning that refers to a story FireGeezer covered about the Habs logos painted on firehouse doors earlier in the month. We will bring you the other side when it is available:

The Montreal Fire Department was not ready to respond during the mayhem following the Canadiens victory Monday night. Not only was the Fire Department not prepared for the events that should have been anticipated but the management of the Fire Department had actually removed several fire trucks from service that night reducing the amount of firefighters available to protect the population by nearly 20 firefighters.

The Montreal Firefighters Association hopes that the Director of the FireDepartment, Serge Tremblay, will understand in the future the importance ofpreparing in advance to ensure that the firefighters are able to adequately protect the population from events that risk ending in mayhem such as on the 21st of April.

Montgomery County, MD captain made $238,892 in 2007. IG report cites health, safety, fraud and abuse concerns.

Read IG Thomas Dagley’s entire report

The Washington Post reports today the top ten overtime earners in the Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service are all captains. With their base salaries of more than $97,000, the top ten grossed between $175,000 and almost $239,000 last year. Click here for the list (no names attached).

Below are excerpts from the article by Miranda S. Spivack and Ann E. Marimow:

Senior Montgomery County firefighters have worked so many extra hours that at least nine made almost $200,000 last year, a report by the county’s inspector general said yesterday. The highest-paid firefighter was a captain who more than doubled his 2007 salary in overtime, making $238,892 and working nearly 2,000 extra hours.

Two PGFD stories bring comments

Yesterday afternoon we updated two stories from the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department that were first posted Tuesday evening. We added comments from a department spokesman. We are also getting comments from a number of readers.

If you want to read or join the discussion, click here for the story on the career firefighter convicted of pulling a gun on two men.

You can click here for the story on the lengthy suspension given to a volunteer
chief over a convicted arsonist who was allowed to ride.

$26 million settlement in 2003 Cooke County Administration Building

Excerpts from Tribune.com:

Victims of the fatal 2003 Cook County Administration Building fire will receive $25.3 million, including $9 million from the county, under a series of settlements reached Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court.

Maddux noted, for example, that the plaintiffs allege a firefighter ordered fleeing office workers back up into the locked stairwell, which filled with smoke.

WGN-TV video and story

October, 2004 Fire Engineering article on fire department changes

VA fire webmaster fights cuts on the job

Rhett Fleitz wears many hats. He runs VAFireNews.com and many other sites. He authors books on fire service history. He is a lieutenant in the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department. And he is the secretary/treasury of IAFF Local 1132, the Roanoke Fire Fighters Association.

It is in that last role that Rhett has now become part of the news he normally tells us about. Roanoke, like many other jurisdiction is facing some tight budgets. The plan is for the fire department to feel some of this pain. Rhett Fleitz is speaking out against those cuts.

Click here to watch the story

Excerpts from WDBJ7.com:

“This is the tough budget year, toughest budget year the city has experienced in thirty years,” says Roanoke Fire Chief David Hoback. “It’s very difficult, and nobody wants to lose positions, nobody wants to make cuts.”

“Our performance standards will be met,” says Hoback. “We’ll be there in four minutes or less 90% of the time for fires and eight minutes or less 90% for advance life support calls. Nothing from a performance stance will change.”

Location, location, location

That’s the theme of an article in Ohio’s Buckeye Lake Beacon as it finds big differences in the level of response to fire calls on either side of the primary service area border between two fire departments. Click here to read.

Rescue training?

Don’t know anything about this video. Don’t know if its real. But it is interesting. Here is what the caption says: Guy falls from utility pole during rescue training.The guy had limited time to complete this rescue operation. He only suffered minor injuries.He should have grabbed that rope before cutting it.

Another interesting video without much info

The video indicates it is from April 16. This is all the caption says: Laborers accidentally cutting through a 12KV underground cable.

Chesapeake house fire video

Raw helicopter video of a house destroyed in Chesapeake, VA.

(Updated at 2:33 PM)

Old video of the day: From Bound Brook, NJ on 12-10-1990. Ten minutes of raw video from a structure fire on Talmadge Avenue.

Two PGFD stories: Volunteer department says it will ignore chief’s long-term suspension; Career FF convicted on gun charge. Updated response from PGFD.

Two stories broke yesterday afternoon involving the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. Both stories have been updated with comments from spokesman Mark Brady.

The first involves the latest in the continuing story of the convicted arsonist who ran for 8 months with Ritchie VFD (Station 837).

A trial board consisting of three volunteer chiefs convicted Ritchie’s chief and president for their roles in this incident. PGFD Chief Lawrence Sedgwick ordered a lengthy suspension for Chief William Cunningham that could keep him from being chief again until 2013. There is a shorter suspension for President Dave Crigger.

STATter 911 has also learned that Ritchie officials have sent a letter saying they won’t recognize Chief Sedgwick’s authority in this matter. Apparently this one isn’t over. Click here for the details.

The second story involves career firefighter Carlos Johns. The 44-year-old Johns faces up to ten years in prison after a jury convicted him Tuesday of threatening two men with a hand gun. The men were in the process of repossessing Johns’ car. Click here for that story.

5 Pittsburgh FFs hurt in ceiling collapse at ice cream plant fire

From KDKA-TV:

Investigators are searching for the cause of a pre-dawn blaze at the Reinhold Ice Cream Company on the North Side that sent five firefighters to the hospital.

Investigators believe the fire started in the boiler room of the plant; but the cause is still under investigation.

Click here to see KDKA story followed by raw video

Abandoned hotel burns in UK

This hotel burned Tuesday evening. There was another fire on the site 3 days earlier. Read details and look at a series of pictures here.

Rock, paper, scissors

Need to add water to that game. That’s what Miami-Dade firefighters used to put out the blaze in this 14-story rock melting machine. The fire started Tuesday afternoon when sparks from a torch being used to cut metal ignited a plastic coating.

News reports indicate a worker using an extinguisher failed to stop the spread of the fire.

The fire was in Medley, Florida at the Titan American concrete plant. No one was hurt.

Reading is fundamental … and so is firefighting

From Chula Vista, CA, an April 21 council candidates forum. The discussion is about serious budget woes. The issue here is overtime for firefighters versus expanded library hours.

MA house fire

A house fire in Northampton, MA on Tuesday afternoon.

Got to save the chocolate

Normally I don’t run response videos that end with the arrival on the scene. But the chocoholic in me makes an exception for this one. The Reiffton Fire Company in Berks County, PA responds to the Godiva factory.

A career firefighter in Prince George’s County, Maryland faces up to 10-years in jail after pulling a gun on two men who tried to repossess his car. A jury on Tuesday took three hours to convict 44-year-old Carlos Johns of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and the use of a handgun in a crime.

This stems from an incident on October 30, 2007 when Wade Gross and Keith Stokes attempted to repossess Johns’ 2003 Merecedes Benz from the firefighter’s home in Fort Washington. The car had been used as collateral on a loan.

According to a statement released by the office of Prince George’s County States Attorney Glenn Ivey, Johns confronted the men with a hand gun before driving off in the vehicle. Police arrested Johns a short time later. A neighbor witnessed the entire incident.

The bond for Johns was revoked and he is currently in the Prince George’s County Detention Center.

Contacted Tuesday evening, Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady was unable to provide information on Johns’ status or assignment as a firefighter. When asked what action was taken after the October 30 arrest, Brady wrote in an email, “Due to the serious charges against the firefighter, appropriate disciplinary action was taken immediately upon the arrest you mention”.

On Wednesday Brady added the following:

Mr. Johns was not on duty as a firefighter when this incident occurred; he did not represent himself as a firefighter, nor was he on fire department property when the crime occurred. He was a citizen that committed a crime and is now paying the price for that crime, at the time charges were filed and an arrest was made he was employed by the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. Appropriate and swift disciplinary action was taken by the Fire/EMS Department against Carlos Johns commensurate with the crimes he was charged with. The Fire/EMS Department is not able to provide any additional information as these are personnel matters.

Mark Brady indicated the Office of Law STATter 911 would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request to learn more about Carlos Johns employment history and status.

Note from STATter 911: Previously, work status and assignments have been something the department has often provided concerning career and volunteer staff without requiring a FOIA request.

Suspended Ritchie VFD Chief William Cunningham with Napoleon Queen. From December 22, 2007. Photo by Wayne Barrall at FITHP.net

STATter 911 has learned the chief of the Ritchie Volunteer Fire Department (PGFD Station 837) has been given a multi-year, tiered suspension after being found guilty by a trial board looking into how a convicted arsonist was allowed to respond on calls. The operational suspensions of Chief William Cunningham and President David Crigger are apparently sparking a showdown between Ritchie VFD and Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick.

Ritchie Vice-President Larry Lee tells STATter 911 the board of directors sent a letter to Chief Sedgwick indicating that Cunningham will continue to run calls as the chief. Lee said Tuesday the letter was hand-delivered to Chief Sedgwick’s office last Wednesday.

Summarizing the letter, Lee said, “We are not going to recognize his authority in this matter”. According to Lee, “As a chartered corporation in the state of Maryland, our chief and president are going to do what they were elected to do”.

While Cunningham hasn’t yet responded to emergencies, Lee said, “The chief is going to be the chief and run calls”.

According to Lee, Chief Sedgwick ordered Cunningham operationally suspended for one year. The order allows Cunningham to begin running calls after that year and would gradually let him rise through the ranks. Lee said Sedgewick’s order would not allow Cunningham to return as chief until 2013.

President Crigger was operationally suspended for 6-months. While that covers responding on calls, it does not preclude Crigger from continuing his role as president.

The finding of guilt came from a trial board made up of three veteran volunteer chiefs. The length of the punishment was determined by Chief Sedgwick.

County officials have long cited court rulings that gives the fire chief operational control over emergency activities involving career and volunteer forces.

Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady in an email Wednesday wrote, “The authority of the Fire Chief is clearly defined in the Prince George’s County Charter, no further explanation is needed”.

Brady also wrote, “In reference to the disciplinary process, findings and results involving Ritchie Fire/EMS Station #837, the Fire/EMS Department is not able to provide any information as these are personnel matters”.

Cunningham and Crigger were operationally suspended on February 19, twelve days after STATter 911 discovered that a convicted arsonist was living at the Ritchie firehouse.

Napoleon Queen served time in prison after being arrested as part of a 1990 arson ring involving young volunteers in Prince George’s County. Queen later became a member of the Bryans Road VFD in Charles County and began riding at Ritchie in July of 2007.

Prince George’s County officials said they were notified in September about Queen’s past and sent a letter to Queen and Ritchie’s leadership ordering Queen to stop responding on calls. Crigger and Lee have said that Ritchie never received such a letter.

Despite the September notification, Prince George’s County continued to keep Queen on its own rolls. Queen’s name appeared in February on a list of firefighters who needed a hepatitis B shot.

Queen stopped riding at Ritchie on February 6, the day STATter 911 brought his past to the attention of county and Ritchie officials.

When asked about the communication issues over background checks that surfaced in this case, Mark Brady responded, “Current practices of background checks will continue and could be expanded as the Fire/EMS Department adapts and evolves to meet the growing demands that are placed upon us everyday. Our internal line of communications have been expanded and improved to ensure it remains fluid and open between all facets of our combined Fire/EMS Department”.

(Updated at 11:38 AM)

Seattle FF falls from window

Image from KIRO-TV. Click here to see story.

A Seattle firefighter is very lucky this morning’s blaze on Rainier Avenue was in a first-floor apartment. The veteran firefighter “landed on all fours and never lost consciousness” after falling out a window. He apparently became disoriented while handling ventilation duties. It is described as a fifteen-foot fall that has left him with neck, back and shoulder injuries. More from The Seattle Times.

Larmore named Ocean City, MD chief

As expected Ocean City council members voted Monday night on the recently announced tentative agreement. Excerpts from WBOC-TV:

Members of the Ocean City town council unanimously passed a proposal to create a combined fire department with one chief.

Metrecic said, “We have to go through a healing process. There has to be a trust that’s re-established between the volunteers, the town of Ocean City, and the fire EMS division. I think Chris is the person to bring that trust to the table.”

CT deputy chief under investigation

WFSB-TV is reporting that Hartford Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Nolan is under investigation. Chief Nolan recently returned from a deployment in Iraq as a member of the National Guard. He is currently on paid administrative leave. Here are excerpts from WFSB.com:

Nolan also runs the department’s training division. Sources told Eyewitness News late Monday that Nolan’s conduct as a training officer is under investigation.

Eyewitness News spoke with Nolan’s attorney, who confirmed that Hartford Fire Chief Charles Teale met with Nolan on Monday afternoon and gave him a letter informing him of his paid leave until this investigation is over.

FF who impersonated cop is fired

It was exactly a month ago that we told you the story of Terry Petruzzi, a Palm Beach Gardens fire lieutenant. Petruzzi has now been fired for “conduct unbecoming a city employee and being untruthful”. He faces criminal charges of pulling over a speeding driver while using flashing red and white lights on his personal vehicle. Excerpts from the Palm Beach Post:

A Boynton Beach police officer arrested Petruzzi on March 20 on charges of impersonating a police officer following the incident near the Gateway Boulevard exit. Petruzzi told the officer he was on his way to Fort Lauderdale for work as a private investigator and thought he could get the other driver to slow down, according to an arrest report.

Palm Beach Gardens Fire Chief Peter Bergel ordered Petruzzi to return all city equipment, including badges and uniforms, in a termination letter dated April 4. In his request for approval for termination from the city manager, Bergel wrote that Petruzzi was “repeatedly untruthful during his internal affairs interview.”

I guess that means it would be okay for the second or third round?

Some hockey fans in Montreal burned a number of police cars as part of the celebration after the Canadiens eliminated the Bruins. The narrator of this film is a bit shocked and dismayed … sort of. Warning – there is liberal use of a four-letter word beginning with “f” and it isn’t “fire”.

The video below shows firefighters handling two of the police car fires with police in riot gear and the crowd surrounding them.

Arsonist caught in act and more fire setters north of the border

This is from a security camera last Wednesday night in the rear of City Lock Works in Penticton, BC. Man sets fire. Man and dog try to put it out.

Penticton seems to be having a bit of an arson problem. The video below is from an Apr
il 6 fire in a building under construction. Three teenagers were charged in this fire.

Fire in New Brunswick

Here is the caption that goes with this video: This mini home fire started from a cigarette, on the Homestead Road in Salisbury. New Brunswick. Volunteer fireman responded to the call from Salisbury , Petticodiac and Elgin NB.

Seoul BLEVE

A look back at an explosion in Seoul, South Korea

(Updated at 3:33 PM)

Minneapolis bridge collapse report

The US Fire Administration has released the Interstate 35W (I-35W) Bridge Collapse and Response Technical Report. The August 1, 2007 incident killed 13 and injured 121.

From the press release:

The local response to the bridge disaster—and the coordination with metro, State, and Federal partners—demonstrated the extraordinary value of comprehensive disaster planning and training. The city’s ability to respond had evolved over several years of investing heavily and widely in all the elements that make a crucial difference when disaster strikes. Their investment covered widespread training on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that extended beyond city department heads and into all employee levels. Over half of the city’s 4,000 employees have received NIMS training.

Click here for the report.

7-alarms in Philly

From KYW-TV

Overnight, a 7-alarm fire burned a factory building in the 1300 block of Adams Avenue. The fire was reported just before 3:00 AM. The fire sent embers on to nearby homes. Here is what KYW-TV reported at 7:30 AM:

After over four hours of battling intense flames, Philadelphia firefighters brought were able to get the upper hand on a 7-alarm fire at a Kensington factory Monday morning.

Traffic delays are expected in the area as firefighters remain at the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Click here for raw helicopter video from KYW-TV

Live report from KYW-TV

Images from WCAU-TV

Coverage from WPVI-TV

Image from WTXF-TV shows a dozen master streams in operation

FF/EMT accused of leaving scene of crash that injured pregnant woman

Police say a Methuen, MA firefighter plowed a pick-up truck into the side of another vehicle and left the scene, leaving behind three injured people, including a pregnant woman. It happened in January. Brett Paolantonio is also now charged with making up a story that someone had stolen his the pick-up truck and wrecked it. The fire department suspended him for two days without pay and assigned him to dispatch duties. Read more.

FF witnesses tornado

A storm Sunday afternoon ripped the roof off a school in the 6300 block of Riggs Road in Chillum, MD. Across the street is Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Station 844.

The National Weather Service confirms the damage was from an EF 1 tornado. FF/Technician John Michael Crisman didn’t need the NWS to tell him what his eyes saw. PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady, who took the picture above, wrote this about Crisman’s account:

He went out to the front ramp of the firehouse and observed several unusual occurrences. First, he felt the air being sucked out of the fire station, he then observed the U.S. Flag flying in one direction and then almost instantly in the opposite direction. Fire Fighter/Technician Crisman then observed a storm cloud with debris and rotating winds. Within moments, firefighters and paramedics were alerted that a roof had blown off of a school. The school was located across the street from the Fire/EMS Station in the 6300 Block of Riggs Road and firefighters arrived within a minute. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a 1-story educational building with a large portion of the roof now sitting in the parking lot. Natural gas was flowing from damaged lines inside the school; which firefighters quickly controlled by terminating the power and natural gas utilities to the structure. There was one administrative employee in the school at the time, she was able to exit the building safely. Overall, there were no injuries as a result of this storm. The school, George E. Peters Seventh Day Adventist School, a pre-K through eighth grade will be closed Monday, April 21, 2008. School officials will meet tomorrow to make future plans and contact families. A nearby Seventh Day Adventist Church sustained minor damage from flying debris. A large construction trailer was overturned and numerous trees were downed. Several homes and buildings in the Chillum community sustained minor damage from high winds and downed trees and numerous power lines were knocked down as a result of high winds as well.

Who needs The History Channel when you have the FireGeezer?

Bill Schumm is up to Day 3 of his detailed look at the San Francisco earthquake and conflagration 1906. Click here.

MOU approved on beach ambulance service

As we first reported 11-months-ago, the Millville VFC in Sussex County, DE will no longer provide ambulance service for the Bethany Beach area come next January. Now there is a memorandum of understanding between the Bethany Beach VFC and town officials to start providing ambulance service. From delmarvanow.com:

The council on Friday also approved a memorandum of understanding with the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company to provide ambulance service to the town beginning on Jan. 1, 2009. The Millville Volunteer Fire Company ambulance service, which currently serves the district, announced in 2007 it is ceasing ambulance service to the Bethany fire district at the end of the year.

At this time, South Bethany, Sea Colony, and Council members stated some concerns over some budgetary issues with the contract, although meetings are being worked out with the fire company to iron out details for a future contract. Councilman Robert Parsons, a supporter of the ambulance service, but not of the lack of state government assistance in bringing the service to Bethany, applauded his fellow council members on passing the latest step in ensuring the safety of people in the Bethany fire district.

Also from the beach resorts – former fire investigator finds second career

Bobby Luckett spent years investigating fire in Alexandria, VA. After retirement he took a job with the Ocean City Police Department. Luckett is featured in an article titled CSI: Ocean City that looks at evidence gathering at the Maryland resort town. Click here to read the story.

Suggestion to drop career crew

Excerpts from a Pittsburghlive.com story out of Uniontown, PA:

A Uniontown councilman’s suggestion that the city might need to disband its paid fire department has set off a fiery debate in the town.

It’s one that David Eckman has heard before — should cities in economic distress pay firefighters when the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania municipalities rely on volunteers?

But he and others believe the debate is heading in the wrong direction. With fewer and fewer volunteers, some companies are starting to pay members just to get the trucks out.

“The questions that need to be asked are what level of protection do we need? … How do we go about doing that, and how can we do it on a regional basis?” said Eckman, a professional firefighter in York County.

Nypaver said such a response time is harder for volunteer departments to meet because volunteers often aren’t available.

Holyoke, MA fire

A four-story, vacant building burned in Holyoke Saturday night. Water pressure problems hampered firefighters.

Two homes burn in Sacramento

Two alarms called to handle two homes on fire in Sacramento, CA Sunday morning.

DC Fire & EMS operations – double feature

No fire here. Just a steam scare. A box alarm response on Friday to the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 400 New Jersey Ave, NW on Capitol Hill (across the street from Engine 3’s quarters).

Below, a very brief helmet-cam video from a house fire on Sunday in the 5200 block of Drake Place, SE.

(Updated at 7:30 AM, Sunday)

Lieutenant with ADD should have been given extra time on captain’s test

Read the entire decision

Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities says that the city of Stamford violated anti-discrimination law becaused they wouldn’t give extra time on a promotion exam to David Lenotti. Lenotti is a fire lieutenant with attention deficit disorder. Excerpts from and article last week in The Advocate:

The city defended the denial by claiming a fire captain, the position Lenotti sought, must be able to read and process information quickly at a fire scene. But state officials said the city never proved that was true, never consulted with disability rights experts and does not use a promotional test that actually measures how fast a candidate can read.

“It’s a very nice victory,” Lenotti said. “The city has basically been shown they can’t just push people around.”

Disability rights experts had criticized the city’s stance, saying they can deny extra time only if the test closely simulates the real-life job. The city’s 100-question multiple choice test does not simulate a captain’s job of reading floor plans or hazardous materials reports at a fire scene, the commission ruled.

Lenotti has been a firefighter since 1990. He was diagnosed as learning disabled in 2000 and has said he has trouble reading and visualizing things at the same time.

“If reading quickly was truly a required qualification of the position of captain, one would think (the city) would provide an exam testing for the speed at which one reads,” the commission wrote.

VA firehouse remains empty

One Virginia firehouse that had been the subject of a long dispute finally opened last week in Arlington, VA. In Spotsylvania County, they actually held the ribbon-cutting for the new Station 4. four-months ago, but no one has moved in. Dan Telvock of The Free-Lance Star has the details of a dispute with the builder, along with a number of related documents.

April 18 – historic date

It isn’t just the 40th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah (an event Judaism has yet to recover from). On April 18, 1906 the great San Francisco earthquake and fire occurred. FireGeezer Bill Schumm has compiled a multi-part history of the event. Friday’s is the first of four installments. I believe you will even see some of the Geeze’s own home movies (a lot more interesting than my Bar Mitzvah films).

Last grain elevator burns

It was the last grain elevator in the village of Brownlee, Saskatchewan (northwest of Moose Jaw). It burned Tuesday. Read more from the Moose Jaw Times-Herald.

WV restaurant fire

A five-alarm fire in the Charleston, WV area. Details from WOWK-TV:

Flames lit up the pre-dawn sky Wednesday as Smiley’s Restaurant and Lounge went up in smoke. The fire eventually spread to the adjacent motel, forcing people to evacuate.

“We were hanging out in the bar and we left. The next thing I knew it’s like 4 a.m. and my buddy’s waking me up. He said the bar’s burning down and I said you gotta be kidding me,” said Tom Masten from Daytona Beach, Fla.

I refuse to use the obvious headline

The word “holy” was probably part of a two word phrase used by some who witnessed this scene in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on New York’s Fifth Avenue on Thursday. The second word probably wasn’t smoke. Police evacuated the block. But it was just a taxi up in flames, with nothing sinister behind it. Read more from WNBC-TV.

911 “glitch” causes delay in Ohio

From CantonRep.com:

The nearest fire station was less than half a mile away, but it took about 20 minutes Tuesday for dispatchers to send an ambulance to help a woman who was trapped in her car — apparently because she was at the boundary between Canton and Canton Township.

“This will continue to happen until we take the steps necessary,” said Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley. “What we can all agree on is that the 911 system is broken.”

Old close call: hose bursts

This one is from a few years back in Peru.

Accokeek video

A video featuring the Accokeek VFD, PGFD Station 824.

Agreement in Ocean City, MD

OCVFC Chief Chris Larmore

Statement from Ocean City VFC

IAFF Local 4269 website

Click here to read yesterday’s coverage & comments

From delmarvanow.com:

The resort and the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company have tentatively agreed to hand volunteer fire chief Chris Larmore the unified control of emergency response he and his volunteers have sought for months.

In return, Mayor Rick Meehan said, under a tentative agreement reached last night, Larmore would step down from his position as volunteer chief. He would become a city employee with authority over the fire marshal’s office and the town’s fire/EMS division as well as volunteer firefighters, Meehan said.

“The proposal is to establish a position for the town of Ocean City that will be a department position. That fire chief will be in charge of a number of agencies,” Meehan said. “That first fire chief, the offer will be to Chief Larmore.”

“With the approval of everybody, he will become a city employee,” Meehan went on, “and relinquish his position” with the OCVFC. He said the Ocean City town council would review the terms of the tentative agreement at its Monday meeting.

The tentative agreement was confirmed by councilmembers Jay Hancock and Joe Mitrecic Wednesday morning. Larmore and fire company spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

NC chemical fire report calls for a new national fire code to cover hazardous waste processing plants

Click image above to see CSB video

Read entire CSB report

More CSB links for Apex incident

Watch press briefing via WRAL-TV

Video, still images and earlier links from WRAL-TV

From the AP:

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Wednesday called for a new national fire code for hazardous waste processing plants based on its study of a 2006 chemical fire at a North Carolina facility.

CT house fire

A fire in a large house on Wednesday afternoon on Lyman Street in New Britain, CT. Read more about the fire.

30-years of DCFD and smoke detectors

Back in the 1970s Firefighter Burton Clark was on television and in fire stations in the District of Columbia pushing the need for smoke detectors on behalf of Chief Burton Jefferson. One of his fellow firefighters at the time was Dennis Rubin. Of course, Rubin is now the chief of the department. Dr. Burton Clark, from his perch at the National Fire Academy, writes about what DC’s latest chief is doing on the smoke alarm front. Click here for his column on Firehouse.com.

Click here to see some of Burt Clark’s smoke alarm efforts in an October 18, 1977 story.

FF saves family, fights fire in own home

From Berkeley County, SC, a volunteer firefighter wakes to find his home on fire. Read and watch th
e story.

(Updated at 3:19 PM)

Video of the day: FireGeezer found this one first. He has the details of this tanker explosion near Bristol, VA. While you are at the Geeze’s site check out the FossilMedic reading smoke through his bifocals.

Old video of the day: From August 31, 1987, this was shot by Sheldon Levy working the overnight shift at Channel 9. Not all that much interesting with this video except at 1:07 into the video you will see the office flashover. The notes with the tape say the address is 1030 15th Street, NW.

New tentative agreement in OC

Ocean City, MD officials say they have hammered out the long-simmering dispute that had OCVFD threatening to pull out of the resort town. News reports indicate the agreement will place Volunteer Chief Chris Larmore in charge. Click here for details.

Anniversary of Kyle Wilson’s death

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

Most people when they are talking about a tragedy that occurred in Virginia on April 16, 2007, will be referring to the shootings at Virginia Tech that took the lives of 32 students and professors.

But an hour before the first shots were fired on campus and three and half hours before the rampage at Norris Hall, Kyle Wilson was trapped inside a burning home in Prince William County, VA. He didn’t make it out alive.

What normally would have been our lead story of the day soon got lost in the crush of news from Blacksburg.

There will be much news coverage on the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. But we don’t want to forget Kyle Wilson.

Elisa Glushefski of the Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger spent some time with friends of Kyle Wilson’s. Read her story here.

Click here to read the extensive report looking into the factors that lead to Kyle Wilson’s death.

3 FFs killed in CO wildfires – two apparently died when bridge collapsed

Ordway, CO from KCNC-TV

A Colorado TV station is reporting that two firefighters died while fighting a wildfire that has burned a number of structues in the town of Ordway (pop. 1100). According to the Rocky Mountain news, this puts the death toll at 3 for the Colorado fires:

The Crowley County coroner confirmed two of the deaths, but didn’t provide details. KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs reported that the two were firefighters and said they were crossing a bridge in a fire truck when the bridge collapsed, trapping the two men underneath.

The third fatality was the pilot of a crop-duster tanker that crashed about 6:20 Tuesday evening along Colorado 115 at mile marker 34 near Fort Carson, said Michael Fergus, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration’s northwest region.

No passenger was aboard the plane. The downed aircraft and a second plane involved in the firefighting efforts flew from a base in Sterling, Fergus said.

KRDO-TV

KUSA-TV

Rocky Mountain News

Busy morning for PGFD

William Carey with Firehouse.com and his own “Charge The Line!” site was up early this morning. He took in the garden- style apartment fire at 7:00 AM on Cherry Hill Road. Click here for his series of pictures and an account of the fire in a third-floor apartment that had some extension in the cockloft. This was in the first-due of Station 841 (Beltsville).

On the other side of Prince George’s County, firefighters were already handling a two-alarm fire on multiple floors of a high-rise at 4311 23rd Parkway in Hillcrest Heights. This is Station 829’s area (Silver Hill).

Awards ceremony

Last night was the 3rd Annual Telecommunicator Awards Ceremony for the Fairfax County, VA Department of Public Safety Communications. Despite their guest speaker it was a wonderful event. Congratulations to all of the award winners.

Among the awards Donna Bird won the Richard A. King Award and the DPSC Director Achievement Award went to Jeffrey Davidson and the late Wes Gerald.

Thanks for inviting me.

Fundraiser in Ohio

This was passed along to STATter 911:

CAN YOU HELP? Colerain (Ohio) Firefighters Memorial Decal Fundraiser. As just one of many fundraiser’s planned, (this one by a local fire equipment/apparatus distributor owned by a Fire Chief) …here is a great opportunity to help support the memorial fundraising for the survivors of Colerain Fire Captain Robin Broxterman and Firefighter Brian Schira: http://www.campsafetyinc.com/catalog/c55_p1.html

Naturally, 100% of all proceeds of the decals (helmet size as well as window size) go to the fund.

Captain Broxterman, 37, a 17-year veteran of the department and the
township’s first female captain, leaves behind two children and a fiance’ who is also a Firefighter in a nearby FD. FF Schira, 29, was hired at the Colerain Township Fire Department in November 2007. He also served for the nearby Delhi Township Fire Department and worked in the tool department at the Home Depot in Western Hills.

Power plant fire injures 18

A two-alarm fire at the Orlando Utility’s Curtis Stanton Energy Plant in Orange County, Florida injured 18 people Tuesday afternoon. Read details and see more pictures and video.

Old dairy burns

This fire was from Sunday in Oklahoma City. The old Townley’s Dairy building, which has had fires before, burned again. Part 2 of the live coverage is here.

Arkansas house fire

Video, pictures and radio traffic from an April 1 house fire in Lowell, AR.

2005 St. Louis fire

This looks at a 2005 St. Louis, MO fire at the Praxair facility where they processed propane and other industrial gases. Read more.

Seat belt save documented

Saw this one on Firefighter Nation. It has pictures, 911 calls and radio traffic from a February 11, 2008 wreck of a fire truck in Colleton County, SC. Here are details from a WCSC-TV story that Firehouse.com ran in February:

His fire truck flipped and rolled with him inside, but tonight, a Colleton County firefighter is expected to go home from MUSC in good condition.

“He did have on a seat belt, which we’re crediting with saving his life. It kept him in the truck as it rolled,” said Colleton County Fire Rescue Chief Barry McRoy.

From WBOC-TV:

Ocean City officials have made a deal with volunteer firefighters after months of debate over who should run the fire department.

Mayor Rick Meehan said both sides agreed to have one paid fire chief oversee the entire fire department. That position would be held by Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Larmore.

The two sides have been at odds for months. At one point the volunteers threatened to leave the town. The Ocean City Town Council will vote on the recommendation next Monday.

From delmarvanow.com:

The town’s volunteer fire company and the mayor reportedly reached a tentative agreement Tuesday night to reshuffle the chain of command for emergency response to fires and medical crises.

“There was a tentative agreement made,” Ocean City Council President Joe Mitrecic said Wednesday morning, just before press time for this edition. “But it has to go in front of the whole council on Monday night.”

Jay Hancock, an Ocean City councilman, said he understood the agreement to be similar to one suggested by Mitrecic in February. At that time, the town council offered Larmore the job of overall fire chief — but with the condition that he quit as a volunteer. At the time, displeased volunteers voted to move operations to their West Ocean City station in unincorporated Worcester County, a move that would require the town to replace the volunteers with paid staff. That move has been deferred.

“It was the proposal that Joe presented in late February. That’s the basis for where we are,” Hancock said. “I understand that the proposal was accepted, so I’m guessing that the resignation came along with it.”

Details about the agreement were scheduled to be announced by mayor Rick Meehan and Larmore, Mitrecic said, and he declined to elaborate on the countours of the agreement. Meehan and Larmore did not return calls for comment Wednesday morning.

The ongoing dispute culminated in a two-day meeting this week that yielded stories, struggles and strategies cooked up by fire officials hailing from Salisbury, Baltimore, Montgomery County and suburban Richmond, Va. The Mayor and Town Council then met with Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company leadership behind closed doors Tuesday.

Visiting speakers addressed a panel that included Mayor Rick Meehan, the full Town Council, City Manager Dennis Dare, Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company President James Jester and Chief Larmore. Other panel members included Robert Paroda, manager of the Pyramid condominium, and Seacrets owner Leighton Moore.

(Updated at 2:29 PM)

Old video of the day: From March 29, 1995, a fatal house fire at 19025 Coltfield Court in Gaithersburg, MD. Food on the stove apparently started this fire. One resident was killed and another injured. From The Washington Post- A 74-year-old Gaithersburg man whose legs had been amputated was fatally injured when a fire spread through his home and he was unable to escape with family members, officials said yesterday. Lewis Woodson Phillips was pulled from the second-floor bedroom of his burning town house in the 19000 block of Coltfield Court by firefighters about 8 p.m. Wednesday. He was flown to Washington Hospital Center and pronounced dead a short time later.

4-alarms in Boston; Mayday called

WHDH-TV report

WBZ-TV report

Everyone was accounted for after a “mayday” call from the basement of this triple decker that burned this morning.

Report below from The Boston Globe:

A disoriented firefighter made a mayday call this morning when he became trapped in a Dorchester basement brimming with heavy smoke and flames as crews battled a four-alarm blaze near Codman Square.

Two firefighters on a ladder truck tried to douse the flames, which were shooting high above the roof. The fire is under control but still burning, with a plume of white smoke rising high into the sky.

A farewell in PA

We didn’t get to link over the weekend to the coverage of the funeral of Lawrence Park VFD Deputy Chief (and Erie firefighter) Michael D. Crotty. You will find a wonderful article and a lot of video and other articles on the life of this firefighter and Air Force veteran on GoErie.com. Click here.

Rescues at DC apartment fire

A fire Sunday afternoon left a 60-year-old man with serious injuries. Here is the write-up from DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter:

DC Fire & EMS responded at 3:01 PM for the report of an apartment on fire in the 2700 block of 30th Street, Southeast. First arriving firefighters found heavy fire visible from the front of a two story apartment building. They had a report of people being trapped. Squad 3 carried one person, a 60 year old man, from the building. He was suffering serious smoke inhalation and burns to his lower extremities and transported to MedStar. Two other adult males were able to climb down from their second floor apartments with ground ladders that had been supplied by first arriving units. They were evaluated on the scene and were not transported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Fill the boot likely to get the boot in MD county

It could soon be illegal to stand along the side of a road and solicit money in Prince George’s County, MD. House Bill 1010 is expected to be passed by the Maryland General Assembly and signed by Governor Martin O’Malley.

While STATter 911 has received a number of complaints from volunteer firefighters that this is an effort to stop boot drives and similar fundraisers, Gazette. net reports the bill had no opposition at a hearing. Here are excerpts:

‘‘There was no testimony against it,” said Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21) of College Park, the primary sponsor of bill’s Senate version, Senate Bill 685. ‘‘I think it’s something that folks in the community want. … It’s a public safety issue.”

Anne Arundel County passed the same legislation last year, and phone calls and e-mails from Prince George’s County residents shortly thereafter prompted Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Dist. 21) of College Park to push for a Prince George’s version of the bill.

‘‘Firstly, there’s the safety aspect of [panhandling]—it’s got people running through intersections and traffic trying to collect money,” said Del. Barbara Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville, chairwoman of the Prince George’s County Delegation, which sponsored H.B. 1010. ‘‘Second, as a woman, if you’re in your car, to have someone come up to you, it’s frightening. … [The bill] gets everybody out of the median. [Panhandling on roadsides] is just a dangerous practice.”

Frush said the bill does not preclude individuals from advertising the campaigns of political candidates but does forbid people from asking for money for charity groups

Though the Anne Arundel County Fire Department typically conducted annual collection campaigns on medians and sidewalks prior to the 2007 legislation against it, the Prince George’s County Fire Department has for several years urged its firefighters to ask for donations in other, less dangerous sp
ots and supports the bill’s passage.

‘‘While ‘Fill the Boot’ campaigns have been successful and a Fire Department staple for fundraising in the past, there are other safer ways to accomplish this,” said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire Department. ‘‘We support the [bill] based on safety reasons and look forward to a statewide effort to support legislation already on the books in Prince George’s County.”

Regional FD suggested for Monmouth County, NJ

Asbury Park Chief Kevin Keddy knows what he is saying is controversial. He claims he isn’t trying to put gasoline on the fire, but sees the day when a regional fire department will serve Monmouth County. Excerpts from APP.com:

It’s a volatile subject, he admits, one that touches on such issues as home rule and local pride, and sparks the suspicions of some volunteer fire companies that it’s little more than a subterfuge to eliminate them.

Add to those suspicions that it’s a ploy to hire more firefighters or even give Keddy a shot at commanding the regional force, and it becomes a tougher sell, he said.

“If you look at it objectively, we would be able to provide a better service,” he said. “I’m not trying to take anything away from anybody, but if you look at accepted practice, we don’t put the amount of people we should on our fire calls.”

“Regionalization should never be looked at as an anti-volunteer position,” he said. “A physically fit, well trained and qualified firefighter is the greatest asset any department can have, whether paid or volunteer.”

House fire

From Moncton, New Brunswick. A house fire with natural gas issues that forced the evacuation of 25 other homes.

GA house fire

No date on this house fire in Henry County.

House burning

No information on this live fire training other than it was posted by a CVFD firefighter.

Video of the day: 2 bodies were found in the rubble of this home in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The fire was discovered around 4:30 this morning. Neighbors reported hearing explosions that alerted them to the fire. Read more here.

(Updated at 5:54 PM)

New lead story: Needed – some firemen who can rise to the occasion

Sorry, but this one has to be at the top. I also think we can be specific and in this instance use the term firemen. The story should probably, as FireGeezer suggests, be under our continuing series, Who ya gonna call. It comes via Austria News, from Klagenfurt, the capital of Austria’s southern most state or land, Carinthia:

A clinic in Carinthia for in vitro fertilization is out of sperm.

Now they have started an appeal for help through the medias. Fire fighters from Carinthia should come and provide the clinic with their sperm.

The manager of the clinic for in vitro fertilization in Carinthias capital Klagenfurt is in deep trouble. He is out of good sperm.

“We cannot find men with a pleasing quality of sperm”, he moans. Now the manager thinks the sperm of fire fighters is the last hope for his clinic. He believes that fire fighters have a good sperm quality.

The spokesman of Carinthias fire fighters feels a deep honour for such kind of request. “Yes, we would love to breed ourselfes. We fire fighters have very good genes”, he says.

The sperm donors should have an age between 20 and 35 years. “We do not search for men who have a lot of muscles, and they should not have the face of Hollywood actor Brad Pitt”, confirms the manager of the clinic. The sperm providers are going to receive a salary of 70 Euro.

Role playing in DC

DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin says that within about two weeks 230 civilian single-role EMS providers will raise their right hands and be sworn in as uniformed members of the department. It is a revolutionary change in the structure of the department that effects retirement, pay, rank structure and discipline.

It also is a change in direction. Previously, the EMS workers were told the only way they could get parity with firefighter was to be trained as firefighters and become dual-role providers. That is no longer the case.

Click here for the details.

Getting GPS, but what about the AVL already in place?

By all accounts, there is no getting around the fact that a well-respected crew at DCFD’s Engine 6 made a bad mistake last Wednesday and went to the wrong address. A man died.

The press release that went out last Thursday night describing the error said the department would quickly move forward to provide GPS for emergency vehicles. Yesterday, Chief Rubin and Battalion Chief Demetrios Vlassopoulos showed off the portable GPS equipment that will be on fire trucks and ambulances within days. They also demonstrated the MDT technology the department expects to go to within two years.

STATter 911 asks: What about the technology already in place?

The AVL system is supposed to show dispatchers at the Office of Unified Communications exactly where the fleet is at any given moment. Was it used on the call with Engine 6? Could a dispatcher noticing that Engine 6 was in the wrong spot helped discover the mistake sooner? Should it be standard policy to consult the AVL when someone in the field reports they are on the scene but can’t find the emergency?

Click here to see and hear some answers.

Also, the Washington Post reports the family of the man who died while waiting for Engine 6 last week was not immediately told of Jeremy Miller’s death. Reporter Allison Klein asks the questions, doesn’t get much in the way of answers as to who should have been responsible for making notification to Miller’s parents. Click here for the story.

Caught on video: Two men injured in smoke grenade blast

A camera was rolling when two men received shrapnel wounds after igniting a “flameless smoke grenade”. It happened Sunday in Pinckney, MI. The device was bought online and is inside two feet of PVC pipe. You will see that it emits smoke for a bit and then it explodes. Read more.

Chicago church fire

A 2-11 on Thursday at 2226 North Hoyne St. apparently started in the basement and climbed the walls of St. Hedwig Catholic church. More video and details here.

Helmet-cam in Baltimore County

Engine 8 and Truck 8 on the scene of a dwelling fire.

Recycling firm in VA

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOu4CQynWSM&hl=en]

From Wednesday in Harrisonburg, VA. Fire on Route 42 at Dave’s Recycling. Click for local TV coverage.

House fire in South St. Louis

From March 20. Here is what is written with the video:

Fire in a house. 5901 Penn
sylvania Ave. @ Elwood Ave. E-23,4,19,34,14, Hook & Ladder 4, 804,803, and Rescue Squad 1. Heavy Smoke and Fire upon arrival of E-23 and 4. Fire extended to the 2nd floor via the walls and eventually took a strong hold on the attic. The second floor then flashed over causing the evacuation tones to be sounded. 2 aerial master streams were used to knock down the fire so crews could re-enter and get the fire in the attic. Just a few clips i put together. I took them with my digital camera so the quality isn’t the best and i had to get what i could between shooting still photos.

Watch raw video from press conference

Read press release

It is being called “One force – One Standard” and is scheduled to be put in place within the next two weeks. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chief Dennis Rubin announced Wednesday that the DC Fire & EMS Department will become “a fully integrated, all-hazards agency”.

What this means is that 230 civilian EMS workers should soon get pay raises, a better retirement system and other benefits. Previously the EMS employees, also known as single-role providers, could only get this parity by training as firefighters and becoming dual-role providers.

EMS union president Kenneth Lyons told STATter 911 he was surprised by the announcement even though it was recommended by the panel looking into the death of former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum died after being assaulted on a DC street in January, 2006. His care by fire, EMS, police and hospital workers was widely criticized.

While Lyons said the details still need to be worked out, he sees this as a “very good foundation and a positive sign”.

Lyons was disappointed last year when Fenty followed the recommendation of the Mayor’s Emergency Medical Service’s Task Force and did not remove EMS from the fire department’s supervision. The task force was lead by Chief Rubin. While campaigning for mayor, Fenty had committed to creating a separate agency.

The current EMS employees will still be able, if they desire, to train as firefighters. If not, they will get an orientation in what is being called “all-hazards operations”. They will then function as “specialized EMS providers”.

Chief Rubin said this plan will also bring the department under one rank structure and disciplinary process.

Watch report from 9NEWS NOW at 6:00 PM

DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin showed off GPS equipment on Wednesday that will soon be in every fire truck and ambulance in the city. The display was in reaction to a mistake a week earlier by a fire engine crew during a call to help a dying man.

But is technology already in place that could have made a difference when Engine 6 went to G Place, NE instead of G Street, NE? Could a dispatcher have noticed Engine 6 was on the wrong street?

Battalion Chief Demetrios Vlassopoulos confirms that dispatchers at the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) have automatic vehicle locator (AVL) screens that pinpoint the location of emergency vehicles. The AVL has been in place for a number of years.

Chief Vlassopoulos, who is the fire department’s liaison to the 911 center, said there are many other things going on for the dispatchers to track the movements of all fire and EMS equipment.

OUC Director Janice Quintana confirmed that the AVL “may have made a difference”, but that there is “a lot of apparatus in motion”.

9NEWS NOW asked if it should be policy for the 911 dispatchers to look at the AVL screen when a first responder says the can’t find the emergency scene. Quintana said it is something they will discuss with the fire department.

(Updated at 12:24 PM)

Live coverage of Ohio funeral; Reports that marijuana was found in basement of home

WLWT-TV

WCPO-TV

WKRC-TV

From WLWT-TV at 11:43 AM:

Thousands of people lined the streets while firefighters and family members marched in the funeral procession Wednesday for two Colerain Township firefighters who died while battling a house fire last week.

Also from WLWT-TV:

Investigators uncovered a secret inside the home where two Colerain Township firefighters were killed Friday.

If an investigation shows the room with the marijuana contributed to the deaths of Capt. Robin Broxterman and Brian Shira, the homeowners could be charged with involuntary manslaughter, authorities said.

Crack cocaine found in MD firehouse

I can’t remember if it was the late 1970s or early 80s when some members of a Prince George’s County fire station complained that their air conditioning wasn’t working right. The crew sent by the county to fix the AC went up on the roof of the firehouse and discovered the problem: marijuana plants were being grown right next to the unit and had apparently become large enough to somehow interfere with the air transfer.

While that story is ancient history, this one isn’t. On Friday, paramedics discovered drugs stuffed inside a chair in their office at PGFD Station 847 on Fort Washington Road. It wasn’t the type of drugs being pushed on Medic 847. Preliminary tests indicate it was crack cocaine. Click here for our coverage (link fixed).

911 calls on DC incident involving engine company mistake

STATter 911 has obtained the recordings of the three 911 calls made last Wednesday to get help for a dying man on G Street in Northeast Washington. This was the call where the crew from Engine 6 went to G Place. The calls have helped fill in the blanks on the timeline for that incident. Click here to read the details and hear the recordings.

24-minute 911 call of man trapped in mill fire

A 911 recording of a homeless man’s conversation as he was trapped inside a mill fire Sunday in Seneca, SC. The recording is not all that clear, but it gives you a good indication of the desperate situation the man was in as he reported fire all around him. Three firefighters were hurt during the blaze. Click here to hear the recording.

Unusual LODD in PA

Erie Times-News photo

A tragic situation in Erie County, PA. Deputy Chi
ef Michael Crotty of the Lawrence Park Township VFD (also a firefighter with the Erie Bureau of Fire) was killed when the waterway separated from an aerial ladder and struck him. It happened on the a fireground Tuesday afternoon. FireGeezer is on top of this one.

Some additional views of OC Boardwalk fire

This is video we previously hadn’t show you from the March 30 9-alarm fire at the Dough Roller on the Boardwalk in Ocean City. It is Part 2 of 7 parts. Click here to see the rest.

The video below is a longer version of one we had previously shown you excerpts from. Of course we always warn you the language on these videos may be similar to what you might hear in a firehouse.

Historic hotel burns in New York

The Sunday night fire was in one of the oldest buildings in the Village of Sodus. A cell phone charger is being blamed for the blaze in the 1812 Hotel on Main Street. One firefighter was injured. Read details.

Norwegian wood and a few other things burning

No details. Only described as a fire at a construction site in Norway.

Listen to the three 911 calls from 10 G Street, NE

Frustration was evident in the voices of those trying to get help for Jeremy Miller as the 35-year-old lay dying on a Northeast Washington Street. Bystanders attempted to follow instructions from the District of Columbia’s Office of Unified Communications (911 Center), as an engine company crew failed to realize they were at the wrong address.

DC Fire & EMS Department officials admitted last week that a critical mistake was made by the crew from Engine 6. Engine 6 was dispatched to the correct location, 10 G Street, NE, but instead went a block away to 10 G Place, NE. Both locations are adjacent to Union Station just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Minutes were lost before the firefighters on Engine 6 realized their mistake.

According to the 911 calls obtained by STATter 911 through a Freedom of Information Act request, at 1:05 PM last Wednesday the first caller reported Miller was apparently having a seizure on the street. Last week’s press release from the DC Fire & EMS Department indicates that Engine 6 and Medic 1 were dispatched to 10 G Street, NE, two-minutes and 36-seconds later.

A second call reporting the man down on G Street came in at 1:11 PM, about the same time Engine 6 was arriving on G Place.

Engine 6’s crew was unable to find a patient and OUC reported there was no answer when they tried to contact the original caller. The fire department reports Engine 6 went in service at 1:14:09, about 9 minutes after the original call to 911.

While OUC and DC Fire & EMS provided no specific time for the third call, the call lasted seven-minutes. It ends with the arrival of Engine 6 at the correct location.

Last week’s press release reported Engine 6 showed up at G Street and began resuscitation efforts at 1:19:03. That would mean this third and final call came in at approximately 1:12 PM. If correct, that would indicate OUC was on the phone with this caller at the same time Engine 6 was going in-service, having found no patient.

The third call was from the same man who made the original 911 call:

Caller: Ma’am I called in about three to four minutes ago for an ambulance to Number 10 G Street, Northeast for a seizure. And we don’t believe he’s breathing now.

As the call taker provides CPR instructions she also tries to verify the location of the incident:

911: Ok, they said they didn’t see anything. Number 10 G Street Northeast, that’s where you are?

Caller: Number 10 G Street, Northeast and it connects with First Street!

At one point the caller puts another man on the phone who tries to find out if help is coming:

Caller: Hello. Hello. Ma’am? Sir? Who’s on the phone? We’ve got to get somebody here. It’s been 10-minutes. Hello. Hello. Anyone there? Anyone there?

Later the 911 caller says:

Caller: Is somebody coming? This man is in dire shape. I think I see the fire truck now.

The DC Fire & EMS Department press release shows Engine 6 finally arrived at the correct location 14-minutes after the first call to 911. Medic 1 arrived a little more than two-minutes and-30 seconds later.