Video rich: Over the last few days we have been able to snag a fair number of interesting videos, but on a regular basis Firefighter Spot is hard to beat. Above is a house fire Jason found from Westhampton, NY. Also check out this interesting helmet-cam video from two different angles and see what those flames seen low in the first floor windows mean to you.
What does saving $10 million dollars mean?: The FY2010 budget proposed in Fairfax County, Virginia gives you a pretty good idea. It involves losing two rescue squads, four ambulances, safety officers, officer training, ALS training, life safety education and about 100 positions. Each item, its savings and the negative impact on the department and the public is spelled it in the budget document we have posted. Click here to read it all.
Of course, the big question in all of this has to do with the “L” word. A spokesman told me yesterday that it is hoped the reductions can be done by attrition, but that no one at the moment is completely ruling out the possibility of layoffs.
Report on Virginia LODD to be released tonight: You may recall the November death of Cecelia Turnbough of the Dale City VFD in Prince William County, Virginia. Turnbough, an EMT training to be a firefighter, stopped breathing while going through the maze at the county training academy. The report looking at her death is to be released during a press conference at 8:30 tonight. We have been told to expect a lot of discussion on medical issues and improving requirements necessary to make sure firefighters have been screened by a physician and are able to meet the physical demands of the job.
Darren Bates puts up a defense: The former union president in Omaha, Nebraska, who is a Council Bluffs, Iowa council member, says he didn’t have sex with that woman, didn’t want to have sex with that woman and was only their for a massage. Darren Bates and his attorney are now answering questions and Bates is back in public, including showing up at a council meeting. Click here to watch the story and here to read it.
At the same time, as Firegeezer told us yesterday, federal officials are probing the union. The former president and current Omaha chief has been dragged into the mess.
And since we are talking about so much non-firefighting, negative stuff, I thought we should at least see a little bit of what many would say we news people should be focusing on. Click here for some Omaha firefighters in action at a recent house fire.
Officials say dispatcher caused delay to help officer: It was 16-minutes before an ambulance got to a Dallas, Texas police officer injured in a training mishap. A dispatcher is taking the heat for this one and for not guiding an ambulance crew that couldn’t find the address. Click here.
While the article didn’t mention it, it was one-year-ago this week that we told you about another dispatcher delay in getting help for a Dallas Police officer. That officer died after his motorcycle went down during a motorcade for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
He’s been called a lot of things of late, but this is a new one: DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin took a good deal of heat last week from two former fire investigators suing Rubin and the city. This week Rubin gets a new title: Chief Medical Office. Read the press release for an explanation.
Scranton historian dies at fire scene: Fifty-seven-year-old Mark Boock died Saturday night at a fire. Boock collapsed while taking pictures, something he often died while Scranton firefighters, like his son, worked. Boock was the fire department historian and had a house full of pictures and memorabilia. Read the story.
Well anyone can do it with a can of gasoline: Sheriff’s deputies in Tulsa County, Oklahoma say throwing lit items out of his pickup truck just didn’t work for 44-year-old Merle Lawson. So, to get a grass fire started, witnesses say Lawson tossed a flaming can of gasoline into a field. That worked. And where did Lawson go next? To the Oakhurst Fire Department to wait for the fire to be reported so he could respond. Lawson is a former assistant chief. Apparently the witnesses include a fellow volunteer. Read the story.
Warning! Warning! Dave is about to talk about his childhood again: A story on FireRescue1 reminds me of being in my back yard one July 4th. I was braking open a metal bank that was in the form of a globe (probably desperately needed cash for a trip to Price’s Dairy and a candy fix). The buzz of a plane caught my attention. I looked up to see two people jumping out of the plane. Quite amazed, I watched them parachute gently to the ground until they were out of view lower than the trees. Just then the power went off in our neighborhood.
It was only later I learned it was part of the holiday celebration at nearby Gwynn Oak Amusement Park (famous as the inspiration for Hairspray). Gwynn Oak was the scene of a previous July 4th disaster when fireworks shot into the crowd. This time, one of the skydivers was hanging from power lines until help arrived. There is a similar and more up to date picture of such a rescue from Brattleboro, Vermont. Click here.
And finally, it isn’t just Dave with the Google Maps Street View fascination: You have probably seen those books that get a bunch of photographers to document a day in the life from various locations. In a way, Street View is the modern, electronic means of doing just that. As the Google-mobile drives down various streets, it will actually capture some interesting moments. Click here to check out a
video compilation of the best of Street View (and it has a fire department connection or two).
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