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Read John Pekkanen’s article from Washingtonian.com
Read Mannie Garza’s article from JEMS.com
Is the future for the DC Fire & EMS Department bright or is it just more of the same when it comes to EMS? That’s a very good question.
Two magazine reporters recently tackled the issue. Both articles featured quotes from the same people. But the answer to our opening question is likely to be different depending on which piece you have just finished reading.
The most recent article is in February’s edition of The Washingtonian. It is by veteran medical writer John Pekkanen and is called What Happens When You Call 911 in Washington, DC. (Note: While I read this article earlier in the month I delayed mentioning it until I found it available online.)
Pekkanen’s conclusion is summed up right at the top:
After years of bad blood between District firefighters and emergency medical personnel, DC’s system is still broken. The suburbs do it much better.
In January, JEMS.com published the article From Worst to First? by Mannie Garza. It seems to set a more optimistic tone with the opening paragraph:
Can our nation’s capitol transform its EMS system from what USA Today declared in 2003 to be the nation’s worst EMS system into a model for systems nationwide? Washington, D.C., is now moving forward with an ambitious plan to accomplish just that goal. Can our nation’s capitol transform its EMS system from what USA Today declared in 2003 to be the nation’s worst EMS system into a model for systems nationwide? Washington, D.C., is now moving forward with an ambitious plan to accomplish just that goal.
So, which article really captures what is going on in the DC Fire & EMS Department? I am not sure I have a good answer for that one.
Every time there has been a change in leadership or direction in EMS in Washington, I pretty much tell the new person just what I told the ones who came before them: I’ve been covering this problem since 1983 and I just want someone to fix it so I can move on with my career. It has just been my way of saying the citizens deserved better than they had been getting.
Despite all of its problems there have been many wonderfully skilled people providing top notch emergency care through all of these years. They have just been practicing their craft in what has been a dysfunctional system, alongside a smaller number of people we have reported on who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near an injured or sick person.
As for what is currently going on in the DC Fire and EMS Department, I know there are still some very dissatisfied people working on both the fire and civilian EMS side who don’t think the current plan will work. You probably can say that about many departments.
On the other hand, whether it is everyone’s cup of tea or not, there is a plan for the future. There hasn’t always been one. Chief Dennis Rubin, like any other fire or EMS leader, can’t suddenly wave his wand and fix the ills that were decades in the making.
No matter who is in charge, or whether it is fire department or third service based, it will still take time and a long term commitment by city leaders to take EMS in the District of Columbia from worst to first.
At some point we will be able to look back and see which of these articles did a better job of capturing the moment.
Apparently it is the season for the shuffling of fire chiefs in the Washington area. The latest to announce he is leaving is Fauquier County Department of Fire and Emergency Services Chief Philip Myer (seen above in a county website picture). Chief Myer sent out an email yesterday that caught many by surprise, saying he would be leaving before the end of the month. More as we know it.
Where they came from: Howard County, Maryland’s new fire chief Bill Goddard, on the right, with Sgt. Larry Glaubitz on the left and FF Charlie Daniels in the center, at PGFD’s Company 8, Seat Pleasant, in 1973. More 1970s PGFD pictures from IAFF Local 1619 website.
The naked truth: Anne Arundel County, Maryland County Executive John Leopold has issued a statement answering some of the questions surrounding a 911 call that turned out to be about Leopold and his official car. The caller reported there was some sexual activity going on in the back of the car in a shopping center parking lot. What police apparently found is Leopold in the back seat by himself. Police and the County Executive aren’t answering questions and letting the 911 and police radio transmissions speak for themselves. Click here.
More on PGFD shakeup: Numerous sources confirm that Lt. Colonel Victor Stagnaro is the operations chief replacing Tyrone Wells. Fire investigations no longer is under the command of Lt. Colonel Carla Blue and will report directly to Acting Fire/EMS Chief Eugene Jones. As we reported yesterday Chief Jones is already making some significant changes. We are hearing from both sides of the career/volunteer fence to expect a kinder and gentler relationship between the chief’s office and the volunteers. The administration of Lawrence Sedgwick, the outgoing chief, was noted for rocky dealings with volunteer leadership. The volunteers often saw it as efforts to chase them away and many on the career side viewed it as accountability. Stay tuned.
FF’s wife is the victim: Pender County, NC volunteer Jamie Kornegay talks about responding to a pedestrian killed in a hit and run accident on Monday. Once on the scene Kornegay discovers the victim is his wife. The interview and details are here.
Another St. Louis FF shot: For the second time in a little more than 3-months the St. Louis Fire Department is dealing with the shooting of one of its firefighters who interrupted a crime in progress. FF Ernest Strong is reported in critical condition after returning home from lunch with his wife and finding himself face to face with three burglars. Police say they caught two of the three. You may recall that it was November 5 when FF Leonard Riggins was shot and killed by a carjacker after stopping to help out at a crash scene. Click here to read the story and links to news coverage.
Reno 911: Council members are praising Reno’s fire and police unions who have offered wage concessions in an effort to avoid layoffs and the closing of a fire station. That said, the political leaders aren’t sure if that is enough. Read the story. Watch the story.
Fire department wrongly fired union organizer: That’s the ruling of the Public Employee Relations Commission over the case of a Plantation Fire Department EMT. A fire department spokesman reminds a reporter that this is just one step in the process and that it ain’t over until it’s over. Click here.
For the second time in 3-months a St. Louis firefighter is shot interrupting a crime. Details on the wounding of FF Ernest Strong.
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Click here or here to watch the story from KSDK-TV
More from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Three months after losing Firefighter Leonard Riggins who was shot and killed by a carjacker, the St. Louis Fire Department is dealing with the critical wounding of another of its members. The story below is from sister station KSDK-TV:
An off-duty firefighter was shot while interrupting what appeared to be a burglary at his house Wednesday afternoon.
St. Louis Police Department spokesperson Kathleen O’Sullivan said the shooting happened in the 900 block of Beach. The victim, 53-year-old Ernest Strong, was shot four times. He was rushed to an area hospital and remains in critical condition.
St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson believes Strong, who was returning home after having lunch with his wife, interrupted three people attempting to burglarize his home.
The couple’s adult daughter was in the house when the shooting happened but is reportedly not hurt.
The suspects fled the scene, but police were able to apprehend two of them, according to St. Louis Metro Police Chief Dan Isom. The third suspect remains at large.
“It is difficult when you know people are putting their lives on the line to protect the city of St. Louis, running into violence in the community,” said Isom.
Strong is a 10 year veteran of the St. Louis Fire Department, and was currently stationed at Lambert Airport.
Strong’s boss says while family are friends are praying at the hospital, they are also angry.
“There are a lot of people who had been trying to bring a neighborhood back and Ernest was one of them, he was one of the pillars in the neighborhood,” said St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson.
Anne Arundel 911: County Executive in car where caller claims sexual activity was taking place. Exec says there is no fire with this smoke.
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Listen to 911 call and police radio traffic here or here
Watch report from 9NEWS NOW reporter Scott Broom
Not a fire or EMS item, but a 911 story from Maryland. My colleague Scott Broom wrote the story below:
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold says he will not respond to rumor and gossip after the Baltimore Sun published an article about an “unfounded” and anonymous 911 complaint about alleged sex in a car that led police to Leopold in an Annapolis parking lot
Leopold now finds himself charged with nothing, but is facing questions anyway.
According to a recording released by Anne Arundel County police, the caller told a 911 dispatcher he thought there were “naked people” in a small black Chevrolet parked near the Nordstrom at Annapolis Mall at about 5:47 pm on January 30th, and he was calling because “it looks like sex to me.”
Responding police officers call back to say the complaint is “unfounded.” One officer radios in to say “its the actual county executive himself in the back seat.”
“He’s always in his car,” Leopold Spokesman David Abrams told the Baltimore Sun. “He sits in his car and talks on the phone and takes notes and does work.”
No charges have been filed or are expected.
A written statement from Leopold says, “As a public official it is unfortunate to have to respond to rumors and gossip. I have been asked to respond to an allegation from an anonymous caller that was found to have no merit. The police acted within minutes and found absolutely nothing improper. I will not dignify this matter with further comment.”
Meanwhile, a Washington-based crisis consultant called the reports a “no win situation in the digital age.” Gene Grabowski of Levick Strategic communications said that whether true or not, the information is now flowing at the “speed of electricity” on blogs and websites.
“Almost nothing he says now is going to sound right,” Grabowski said. He suggests that Leopold needs friends and allies to rally to his support by overwhelming blogs, and media website comment threads with testimonials about Leopold’s character and attacks on the anonymous complaint.
Firefighter talks about finding his wife dead after responding to hit and run accident scene. Watch Jamie Kornegay's story from Pender County, NC.
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Watch interview from WECT-TVFrom the AP:
A volunteer firefighter found his wife dead when he responded to a hit-and-run call on a rural North Carolina road.
The Star-News of Wilmington reported Wednesday that Jamie Kornegay of Penderlea Fire Department in Pender County was responding Monday to the call and found his wife lying in the road near their home.
Kornegay says 30-year-old Amy Suzanne Kornegay was on a regular walk with her cousin when she was struck by a pickup truck. The North Carolina Highway Patrol was investigating the incident and the 71-year-old driver hadn’t been arrested.
Her husband said his wife was a substitute elementary school teacher and a part-time accounting clerk. The Kornegays had two sons.
Watch raw helicopter video from WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV reports one firefighter was hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening medical condition during a three-alarm apartment fire in Charlotte, NC. A second firefighter had a burn to his foot.
The fire was in the 7700 block of Creekridge Road near Village Lake Road.
Video of the day: In the middle of the death and destruction from Australia’s wildfires, Firefighter David Tree pauses a moment to help one of the non-human victims. Click here to read more about the saving of the koala. For the rest of the news from Australia, with few happy endings, click here.
New PGFD chief hits the ground running: We expect to hear more later today, but a variety of sources tell STATter911.com that Eugene Jones is making some significant personnel changes almost immediately after taking over as acting chief of Maryland’s Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. We are told to expect high level retirements and that there is already shuffling of command staff responsibilities. With a much leaner budget expected, figuring out ways to do more with less will be at the top of Chief Jones’ agenda. Stay tuned.
Going from bad to worse? Not just yet: Despite the frankness from the fire chief and his staff at the start of brownouts in Sacramento, California, the economic crisis appeared to be winning the battle. The clear warning that response times would be affected came true, adding more than 90-seconds to the average since rotating closures began last July. Still, Chief Ray Jones fully expected city officials to double up their bet on what many call firehouse roulette, and increase the number of closed companies. The chief was pleasantly surprised when that didn’t happen during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Click here and here for the latest. Earlier coverage is here.
Bucking the trend. Big pay raise in Houston: Saying they need to retain firefighters by fairly compensating them and bringing pay closer to that in other cities, Houston’s mayor is giving firefighters a 10-percent raise over the next two years. The contract has to be ratified by the City Council and there are already critics of the agreement. Click here.
OT in the news: In tight budget times fire department overtime is becoming a bigger issue than normal. It is on the agenda in Pittsburgh. It has also made news in New York after an article in the New York Post about OT for those on light duty who are getting close to retirement. Click here for the update on the FDNY story and new plans to curtail discretionary administrative overtime. You will likely note in the article that the mayor isn’t as outraged as the Post.
Fires in Australia too much for alerting system: A new paging system to call out firefighters for the Country Fire Authority apparently was a bit overwhelmed by the conflagrations of recent days. Read more.
Hot air balloon + power lines = ?: Looking at the video of this incident in Indiana over the weekend it is pretty surprising everyone survived. Check it out.
Latest from Omaha: Darren Bates, who had been the IAFF local president in Omaha, NE, and is a Council Bluffs, IA council member, is laying low after being caught up in a prostitution sting. Click here for the latest.
This sure tops drunk dialing: Police say Navajo Nation firefighter Nathan Guy took a wild ride in the department’s 2008 International fire engine on February 6. Officers first became aware of the problem when Guy got on the radio to the Dilkon Police District asking if there were any calls for him. At one point in the radio conversation he admitted he was “f—– up”. Read more from the Independent.
FEMA director update: The latest on the Obama administration’s search for David Paulison’s replacement. Click here.
SC church fire (above): Investigators says a malfunction in the HVAC system sparked a fire that destroyed a church in Anderson County. The picture above is by Paul Brown from GreenvilleOnline.com. Click here for some raw video.
A hot-air balloon exploded Sunday near Terre Haute, Indiana after hitting several power lines.
The explosion and ensuing fire were caught on camera by a man leaving a nearby store.
The video shows the balloon on the ground as it is engulfed by flames.
The pilot managed to escape without injury, but a passenger suffered second degree burns to his face and arms.
He was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Brownouts increase response times by more than 90 seconds in Sacramento. Number of brownouts may double.
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Previous coverage of Sacramento’s cutbacks here, here and here.
The latest from Sacramento from KOVR-TV reporter Mike Dello Stritto:
With Sacramento’s city budget $58 million in the red, cuts are coming across the board, and now fewer firefighters will be working on the city streets.
The controversial “rolling brownout” program has shut down one fire station in the area and increased firefighter response times an average of more than a minute and a half, and that number could soon climb. The Sacramento City Council will vote Tuesday to expand the program and shut down a second fire station.
A new city report says that before the brownouts, response times averaged about 5 minutes, but the program has delayed responses an additional minute and 34 seconds, taking the average up to six minutes and 34 seconds.
With a second station “browned out,” another 30 seconds of delays can be expected, taking the total fire response time to seven minutes and four seconds.
3rd-alarm in Paterson, NJ: Firefighter Spot first had a bunch of pictures and wrote about this fire shortly after it happened on January 26th. Click here to read the detailed account and see the photos.
Goddard is new Howard County chief: Bill Goddard has been tapped to be Howard County’s new chief. Goddard retired from PGFD and then served a variety of positions in the administration of Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening. Click here for the details.
Firefighter reported dead from China inferno: One firefighter is dead following the hotel fire Monday in Beijing. Click here for the story.
The state-run television system is now apologizing for the fire that was sparked by an unlicensed fireworks display by its own staff. Click here for more details about the fire.
We also have a bunch of videos, here.
No pictures, but a good story: Early Sunday morning there was a high-rise apartment fire in DC at 1200 Delaware Avenue, SW. Three residents and a police officer who was banging on doors had to be hospitalized. One of those injured was a 66-year-old man who was rescued by firefighters. According to sources familiar with the incident, the tillerman from Truck 7 got off the ladder onto a balcony to put his body between some pretty heavy fire conditions and the injured man in an effort to shield the victim. The man was hospitalized smoke inhalation and burns.
A judge who gets it: In Edmonton, a Provincial Court judge threw the book at a landlord who thought it was okay to have bars with padlocks on basement windows at an apartment building. The problem is the judge doesn’t think the book is heavy enough. While no one was hurt in this fire, the judge believes the $2,000 fine isn’t much of a deterrent. Read the details.
12 to 24 years for FF/arsonist: We’ve told you before about 52-year-old Chester Cypher’s arson spree in Northeastern Pennsylvania. One of the fires left a fellow volunteer paralyzed. Cyphers, who was eventually caught in the act by investigators has now heard his fate. Read the story and watch the story.
Early video from last week’s 2-alarm fire in Hamburg, PA: Video shows the initial attack and then roof operations at a house fire in Hamburg that spread to two neighboring homes. Click here for the video and more links.
Good video from New Hampshire: A five-alarm fire in an apartment building in Nashua. Click here for the video.
Trooper saves child from burning car on Virginia’s Eastern Shore: In Accomack County a Virginia State trooper crawled into a burning car on US 13 and saved a 3-year-old girl. Read the story.
Ambulance delay isn’t first responders issue: My old friend Jeff Alderton at Maryland’s Cumberland Times-News has an interesting article from Keyser, West Virginia where school officials apparently delayed calling for help when a student suffered a seizure. Here’s the article.
More honors for water main rescuers: On Friday the firefighters and helicopter crews involved in the dramatic rescues on Montgomery County’s River Road were honored again. Click here or here to watch the story from Greg Guise. (Sorry for the delay in adding this item, but there were some technical difficulties.)
Remembering Mark B. Davis: Firegeezer and Captain Tom Lindtveit do a nice job looking at the funeral for EMT Mark B. Davis gunned down on an EMS call in Cape Vincent, NY on January 31. Click here to check it out.
This is video showing the initial attack on a house fire last Wednesday afternoon that spread to two adjoining homes in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. The video then focuses on roof operations.
Two firefighters suffered minor burns as a ceiling came in on them. Two-alarms were sounded. For a while power was shut down in the borough due to the fire.
The fire was reported to be caused by an electrical malfunction.
Click here for other videos and coverage
This is the latest from thestandard.com:
A firefighter has died after battling a blaze that engulfed a luxury hotel being built near the iconic state television headquarters in central Beijing, state media reported.
Six other people were injured in Monday night’s fire that consumed the Mandarin Oriental Hotel within the complex housing the future base of China Central Television, Xinhua News Agency said.
Zhang Jianyong died early today at a hospital from toxic gases he inhaled while fighting the fire, Xinhua said.
Excerpts from a story by Albert McKeon at NashuaTelegraph.com:
Firefighters battled a five-alarm fire for more than three hours today, as the stubborn blaze produced massive plumes of acrid smoke and was severe enough to force them to abandon the three-story building.
The building, with 17 apartments and two ground-floor storefronts, sits at the corner of Lake and Vine streets. No injuries have been reported, and as of 12:35 p.m., the blaze was under control.
At noon, fire officials sounded a loud horn to get all firefighters out of the building, including several who had gone into the third floor from ladders, because of concern about its structure.
Bill Goddard, left, with County Executive Ken Ulman from Howard County website.
Read the press release from Howard County
STATter911.com started to hear from some of our readers last night that Bill Goddard, long retired from the Prince George’s County Fire & EMS Department, has been picked to take over from Joe Herr as the new fire chief in Howard County. Details from AP:
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman has named a former colleague in state government to be the county’s next fire chief.
Ulman has nominated Bill Goddard, who worked with Ulman in the Maryland secretary of state’s office under former Gov. Parris Glendening.
Goddard is a former Prince George’s County fire official and served in the state fire marshal’s office. He is also a former chief of state for the secretary of transportation and is an executive with a development firm.
He will serve as acting chief until the county council confirms his nomination.
Goddard succeeds Chief Joe Herr, whose retirement takes effect March 1.
Here are some videos posted to LiveLeak today from the massive high-rise fire in Beijing. Below are excerpts from AFP:
A huge blaze sparked by fireworks engulfed a hotel late Monday in the unfinished headquarters of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, one of the icons of Beijing’s architectural rebirth, state media said.
The blaze consumed the Mandarin Oriental Hotel due to open later this year within the complex housing the future headquarters of China Central Television, the country’s state television broadcaster, Xinhua news agency said.
The unfinished hotel was just a few hundred metres (yards) from the showpiece 234-metre (770-foot) CCTV tower designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, an AFP journalist at the scene said.
CCTV reported that the fire was brought under control by fire crews nearly four hours after it erupted.
Six firefighters and a CCTV worker were injured and admitted to hospital, Xinhua reported, adding that none of their lives were in danger.
Hollywood history up in smoke in Massachusetts fire: The video above is from a two-alarm house fire in Woods Hole last week. The place has an interesting past. Check out Firegeezer for the details.
Listen to the controversial Philly radio ad: The mayor calls it irresponsible. The union wants the raw data used in the study to support the closing of 7 companies. Firefighters are marching, asking for the commissioner’s head and making appeals directly to the public. Look, read and listen to it all, here.
3-year-old discharged from hospital after rescue from apartment fire in Randallstown, MD: A fire Thursday morning in Baltimore County had firefighters rescuing 6 people. Included was a 3-year-old boy found in the apartment where the fire started. There is a detailed account of the fire and a picture from Engine 3′s website.
The cat in the hat (both of them): FossilMedic Mike Ward must not be feeling the love these days. I think he just wants to hear from some old friends. Why else would he want to write about one of the more controversial fire service topics you can find?
Mike, looking once again at the two-hatter issue, gives a little history of IAFF Resolution 43 at the 2000 convention and Resolution 2 from the 2008 meeting. Read it all at Firegeezer.com.
A bridge to nowhere (if your vehicle is higher than 11’8″): It has been a while since we checked in with my favorite bridge in Durham, NC. The one where they take more than a little off the top if you don’t heed the signs. Some new videos and some new views. Click here to see it all.
Is it the retirement system that is disabled?: That’s what some political leaders are asking after FDNY disability retirements get some scrutiny in tough economic times. The New York Post reports 70% of the retirements in the past five years were disability retirements. It also looks at the issue of earning overtime while on light duty and how it helps a disabled firefighter’s pension.
Union officials defend the stats, saying illness and injury go along with the job. There is also discussion of the impact of September 11. Click here to read the article.
Holiday cheer leads to dismissed chief: In Clare, Michigan the fire chief is out after allegations that he encouraged drinking as firefighters did some Christmas caroling. Read more.
Update on Selden, NY fire: Newsday has been giving some scrutiny to a fatal fire last week in Selden. The first concerns were about water supply. The latest article is about a longer than normal response time. One reason is firefighters had to scrape ice off windshields before responding to the firehouse. Click here for the latest.
The 411 on 911: Chief Billy Goldfeder is making note of the 911 center issues we reported on recently in Atlanta and Fort Wayne, along with some other examples of successes and failures. Look at Billy’s views on the real first responders and some helpful links.
Passion and romance emanating from one 911 center: Rachael Herron is dispatching fire. Not just for Alameda County, California. Some of her dispatches are in the written form. Herron is a romance novelist. Here is the story.
Everyone’s a critic: One person who commented on Friday’s fire in California that prevented Billy Ray Cyrus from performing, apparently isn’t a fan. Read more, here.
I only have ice for you (and animals): Icy waterways are becoming magnets for animals and firefighters are going in for the save. See the raw video of a dog rescue in Massachusetts that sent one firefighter to the hospital with exhaustion. And a horse save from Kentucky. Not everyone is supporting the idea that firefighters should be put in harms way for animal rescues. Read the comments at the bottom of the Massachusetts story.
Biting the hand that rescues you: This dog was rescued from a house fire and wasn’t all that grateful about the whole thing. Read the details.
At least the animals were in real distress when someone called 911. Not so this guy: A Florida man had a real emergency for 911. Burger King was out of lemonade. The cops took care of that problem. Click here.
Radio traffic from Chicago 3-11: We have the fireground audio to go with the video of last week’s fire at the Holy Name Cathedral. Click here.
He put them on one leg at a time. They just didn’t stay on: A rescue from Down Under caught on video leaves a man over-exposed. Click here for the video.
Close call in France caught on video: Something went boom awful close to a firefighter at the top of a ladder. Watch the video.
Rescue me from DTV: The St. Louis Fire Department is the latest to have its firefighters hitting the streets helping with DTV conversions. Read more.
Obama supporter’s arson is said to be self-inflicted: Remember the Georgia woman who missed out on the Inauguration because of the vandalism and fire at her home. Investigators said her alibi of being in Washington didn’t add up from the start. Now she’s been charged. Read the details.
Did 3M’s foam contaminate the drinking water?: That’s what they want to know in Minnesota. Here’s the story.
A BBC report on the tragic wildfires in Australia. The death toll is at 130 and is expected to top 200. The devastation is greater than conflagrations in 1983 and 1939. Read more here.
Chief dismissed after being accused of encouraging firefighters to consume alcohol during Christmas event
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Chief Doug Randle has been dismissed by the City of Clare, Michigan after accusations of a “party bus” surfacing during Christmas carol activities by the fire department on December 12. Chief Randle was suspended on January 19 and a police investigation was started. He was officially told to leave on January 30.
Here are excerpts from an article today by Susan Field in the Morning Sun:
Randle was accused of having open alcohol in a vehicle, and either drinking alcohol or allowing others to do so during a fire department event in December.
City Manager Ken Hibl on Jan. 19 instructed the Clare Police Department to conduct a formal investigation into allegations of “inappropriate or illegal presence, transport and consumption of alcoholic beverages by member and/or associates of the Clare Fire Department within the Clare Public Safety Building and/or on city-owned vehicles,” according to the lengthy police report.
Several firefighters signed a letter outlining alcohol being consumed Dec. 12 when the department was participating in Christmas caroling activities throughout Clare, according to the report.
Firefighters said they believed that a “party bus” had been provided because alcohol was being used and to their “astonishment,” Randle instead told the group to “get on the truck,” according to the report.
“Many witnessed the presence of a bottle of alcohol in the fire hall lobby, which was used to fill travel mugs,” firefighters said in the letter. “All of this was under the direct vision of the chief.
“He then, along with others, boarded the (fire) truck. While some members were not drinking, especially the driver, others were. We cannot say if the chief was drinking or not, but he allowed alcohol to be on the truck and consumed under his direct supervision.”
The Gregson Street Guillotine's greatest hits: Dave combines two of his passions as LiveLeak meets Google Street View.
No commentsClick here for more fire and EMS news from STATter911.com
Click here for a March, 2007 article about the bridge
Someone with too much time on their hands has made this blogger very happy. They have gathered videos of the South Gregson Street railroad bridge into a “best of” compilation.
Anyone who has followed STATter911.com closely may recall that Dave has been fascinated by this spot in Durham, North Carolina since about May of last year. But it has been a while since I have posted a video. I am hoping this makes up for lost time.
The bridge has been slicing and dicing box truck tops for many years, despite warnings and NCDOT’s placement of a crash beam just before the bridge in Spring, 2003 (click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page).
It has been dubbed the “Gregson Street Guillotine” by some. It is just a Norfolk Southern railroad overpass on a one-way street in downtown Durham that was built many years before modern standards, under NC regulations, required a minimum bridge height of 14-feet, 6-inches. The best I can tell is that these crashes have happened about four times per year since 2000.
Now with Google’s Street View I have added a whole new dimension to the Gregson Street experience.
Click the image above to tour the area with Google Street View. Comparing Street View with the video, it appears the video camera is mounted somewhere on the building at 24 West Jefferson, but I couldn’t find it (speaking of people with too much time on their hands).
Clearly there are big signs to the right and left indicating the maximum height for vehicles. It also has one of those flashing lights that activates if the truck is too high. Still, people hit the crash beam and the bridge.
I am fascinated by this continuing problem, not because I like to see property damage happen, but because it is continuing. How many more warnings do drivers need? Is it because truck drivers don’t know the height of their vehicles? Or is it because they are too busy talking on the cell phone or texting to pay attention to the signs around them?
On that final question, how many of those drivers who have had a little taken off the top said something like this to the person on the other end of the phone: “I wonder what that flashing light …. Oh @#$%!!!!” ?
A view of the back side of the crash beam and the underbelly of the much abused bridge.
Listen to the radio ad that Philadelphia mayor thinks is irresponsible. IAFF takes closing battle to the public and the streets.
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Click above to listen to the radio ad.
SavePFD.com website by IAFF Local 22
More from FirefighterNation.com
Watch KYW-TV coverage of Friday’s protest
On Friday nearly 200 Philadelphia firefighters rallied at the department’s administration building to protest budget cuts that closed seven fire companies. Citing no confidence in Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers and Mayor Michael Nutter, the firefighters blocked traffic for an hour and carried signs saying, “Burn, Nutter, Burn” and “Lloyd must go”.
The mayor and IAFF Local 22 president Brian McBride traded quotes and sound bites over whether the city’s study supporting the closings is flawed. Click here for that story.
The union is taking its message directly to the people with a website, radio ads and billboards. Nutter has denounced the ad campaign. Here are excerpts from a Philly.com article by Jeff Shields:
“I think it is unfair that the union would engage in those kind of scare tactics,” said Nutter, saying the issue was overtime, not safety. “This is virtually akin to someone shouting ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater,” he added, questioning whether the union was “trying to create more public hysteria” with tough contract negotiations coming up.
Brian McBride, Local 22 president, said Nutter could dispel much of the union’s concern if he turned over raw data used in the city’s decision to close five engine companies and two ladder companies. No firehouses were closed, though McBride pointed out that five firehouses without engines have no ability to put out fires. Nutter has said the city has provided all the information it has to give.
More from the AP:
Philadelphia firefighters are taking to the airwaves to express their anger about the mayor’s closure of seven fire companies.
Radio advertisements have begun running that call Mayor Michael Nutter’s decision “irresponsible.”
Nutter announced at the end of last year that five engine and two ladder companies would be eliminated to save the city more than $10 million.
Nutter had asked city officials to cut spending to close a $1 billion deficit over the next five years. Then in January he said declining revenues will mean an additional $1 billion shortfall.
Firefighters union chief Brian McBride says, “The public’s got to realize that their lives are put in jeopardy due to these cuts.”
Nutter insists the cuts don’t jeopardize safety.
Fire leaves that achy, breaky feeling. Bill Ray Cyrus concert called on account of fire.
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Photo by Brandon Wood via Daily Press. Click here to see more photos of the fire at vv.dailypress.com.
Just moments before Billy Ray Cyrus was to perform at a fundraiser at Hesperia, California’s Boulder Creek Ranch a fire broke out. The adjacent 4,000 square foot Boulder Creek Lodge was destroyed. No one was injured.
The fire was first noticed in a chimney around 5:30 PM Friday. The concert was to raise money for an exotic wild animal sanctuary and was in conjunction with the TV show, Extreme Makeover, Home Edition.
Read details at vv.dailypress.com. More pictures at TMZ.com.
The before picture of the 4,000 square-foot Boulder Creek Lodge from the Boulder Creek Ranch website.
All hazards, all the time: DTV may be delayed, but firefighters will still respond to help convert you.
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I admit it. A month ago I made a little fun of the the fire department in Dulth, Minnesota’s efforts to make DTV house calls. Little did I know this trend in customer service would be expanding.
The picture above is by Erica Burrus of Suburban Journals. It shows St. Louis firefighters Bill Boeser, Michael Mattingly and Joe Waring assisting an 84-year-old woman with her DTV conversion. The St. Louis Fire Department has partnered with KETC-TV to help those who can’t be helped over the phone.
Steve Redick and Dave Weaver have combined forces in Chicago to bring us the video above. It adds some of the radio traffic from Wednesday’s fire at the landmark Holy Name Cathedral. (By the way, if you haven’t figured it our yet, click the “watch in high quality” option in the bottom right of these YouTube videos. It makes a big difference.)
Dave Weaver’s site Radioman 911 streams “six radios tuned to the Chicago Fire Department, suburban fire departments, and a variety of police, mutual aid, and news media channels”. Click here to listen.
This rescue by Queensland Fire and Rescue Service in Australia was from Wednesday.
Not quite as graphic as the rescue a month ago in Vail where the man was dangling from the ski lift, but it reminds us our mothers were right.
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