UPDATE – Second fire this morning at same apartment complex. Click here and here for details and raw video.

Watch KOTV-TV’s story with Dispatcher Jeff Pestel

Watch KOTV-TV’s live interview with Pestel

KOTV-TV shows how “improved” method used in meth labs is more dangerous

Read the latest from Tulsa World

See our previous coverage of this story with links to the 911 call and more

A 35-year-old man has died from the fire on Tuesday in a Tulsa apartment building. Investigators say the blaze started in a meth lab. Tulsa World reports this is the fourth methamphetamine lab fire in the area over the past two weeks.

Three other people remain in critical condition from the blaze at the Royal Arms Apartments at 5132 Norfolk Avenue. This includes 55-year-old Nikki Cain, who was transferred to an Oklahoma City hospital.

Cain was on the phone for 10-minutes with 911 dispatcher Jeff Pestel. Pestel gave the woman instructions as firefighters from Engine 26 battled heavy fire conditions and a crumbling apartment building to get to Cain.

Pestel is a 17-year veteran of the 911 center and is the son of a firefighter.

KOTV-TV enlarged the image of two firefighters rescuing Nikki Cain from her burning apartment.

Read an account of the fire from then PGFD PIO Pete Piringer (beginning on page 113 of this document)

A press release on Wednesday from the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department recognized the accomplishments of Victor Ferreira Jr. who is retiring at the end of the month at the rank of major. Major Ferreira has been honored many times for his work as a bomb technician, including international exposure during the 1996 Centennial Park bombing in Atlanta. He also won a gold medal for his part in rescuing a family on 17th Avenue.

It is a different fire, where things didn’t turn out that well, that I always think of when Victor Ferreira’s name comes up. It has to do with the picture below, taken by Mark Brady, that was on the July, 1997 cover of Firehouse.

Here is the description that went with the photo:

After several attempts were made to locate a 14-month-old girl who was trapped on the second floor of a burning house, without the protection of a hoseline and with conditions worsening, Firefighter James Almoney dives out a second-floor window into the arms of Firefighter Ron Haufe and others. Both firefighters were knocked from the ladder to the ground. The fire occurred in Prince George’s County, Maryland on April 17, 1997.

Victor Ferreira, then a captain, was burned in that fire and so were Firefighter Almoney and Captain Charlie Flinn. Besides remembering everyone’s brave attempts to get to the child, what I also always recall is a different form of bravery by Ferreira.

On the day of the fire I interviewed Captain Ferreira. He wanted to talk about staffing. Specifically, how the first due company, Engine 311, arrived with just two firefighters on board. It was not an uncommon occurrence in Prince George’s County then, and it isn’t now. Captain Ferreira believed a fully staffed engine company would have had a better chance of getting to the child and might have prevented what you see in the picture above.

Having covered PGFD for some time, I knew it was a very rare occurrence (and still is) for a firefighter other than the president of IAFF Local 1619 to talk on-the-record about such issues.

Some people at the time thought Ferreira’s remarks were foolish rather than brave. Others saw the comments as anti-volunteer, though I don’t recall him bringing up any reference to the volunteer side. Ferreira just made his case that front-line fire suppression units shouldn’t be operating with two people.

Obviously there is much more to Victor Ferreira’s career than that tragic day almost 12-years-ago. The man who took the pictures from 1997, Mark Brady, lays it all out nicely for us in the press release.

A more up to date view of Major Ferreira in a PGFD photo by Craig Smith of the Fire/EMS Training Academy.

Read the story from Firefighter Nation

They laid off 11 firefighters on Monday and stopped filling other vacant positions. Now Woonsocket, Rhode Island city officials say the firefighters who are left are going to be so busy and tired making up for the loss of their colleagues, come April, they don’t want the firefighters working second jobs.

As you can imagine IAFF Local 732 president Steve Reilly is already questioning whether it is constitutional for the city to tell firefighters what to do in their off time. The outgoing chief is asking the same questions.

The cutback from 132 to 115 firefighters has already increased the amount of overtime for firefighters. In fighting the layoffs the union did bring up the fatigue factor in court. Now the city seems to be using it against them.

Read more from Russ Olivo in The Call.

A must see story from Tulsa, OK: The circle is around FF Chad Meyers of Tulsa FD’s Engine 26 as he carries a 55-year-old woman to safety Tuesday morning. Meyers and his crew were guided by a cool and calm dispatcher. Jeff Pestel was on the phone with the woman for ten-minutes until she passed out and then stopped breathing. There have been a number of stories of late about botched 911 calls. This isn’t one of them. We have the links for the entire 911 call (it doesn’t get much more dramatic than this one), the raw video, the interview with FF Meyers and the detailed account from Tulsa FD. Click here.

DC looking to change way it handles surplus gear: We are told steps are being taken to prevent the selling of surplus DC Fire & EMS Department PPE and uniforms to the public. We have an update on the story we first brought you a week ago. It also includes a link to the DC City Council hearing last week where the gear issue was discussed. That part of the hearing was tame compared to the rest of the hours long love fest. Click here.

It ain’t over till it’s over: DC’s Attorney General Peter Nickles taking the Yogi Berra role and telling STATter911.com the city will go back to court on the beard ruling from Friday. Click here for details.

Ultimatum from county for Fairplay volunteers: Washington County officials aren’t happy that the Fairfplay VFC had an inadequate response on 13 of its 22 calls in February. The latest in this months long dispute in Western Maryland has the county giving them 7-days to accepts a career firefighter during daylight hours and 90-days to respond again on medical calls. Read the story.

An unusual exit strategy: In Olney, Maryland a couple loaded up the pets, got into the car and drove through the garage door in an effort to escape from a fire at their home this morning. Read more.

More radio transmissions from Kansas City fire engine crash that killed child: The Kansas City Star has a more complete copy of the radio transmissions from the tragic collision March 2 that killed a 7-year-old boy. Click here for the radio traffic and here for the article.

Open season: A bad couple of days for firefighters as they find themselves under attack on medical calls. Read more.

It’s as if Rube Goldberg created this incident: Firegeezer describes the sequence of events from Old Bridge, NJ that kept firefighters and medics busy on Monday.

Early pictures as historic homes burn in Richmond: Click here and here to see photos of three 150-year-old rowhouses burning in Richmond on Tuesday. Watch the story and read more details.

Happy 100th birthday: Some scenes from Sunday’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the DC Fire & EMS Department’s Engine 21 in Adams Morgan. Truck 9, which was born at the same time as Engine 21 and also used to be at the firehouse at 1763 Lanier Place, NW, was invited back home for the event.

Click here for more fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Listen to 911 call

Raw video from fire

Watch story from KOTV-TV

Watch interview with Firefighter Chad Meyer about the rescue

Look at slide show

Read detailed account of the rescue from the Tulsa Fire Department

A 55-year-old woman trapped in her burning apartment stayed on the phone with 911 for ten-minutes as firefighters worked to find her. It happened around 4:00 on Tuesday morning at the Royal Arms Apartments at 5132 South Norfolk Avenue.

Public Safety Response Center Dispatcher Jeff Pestel took the call from the woman and guided her through the desperate moments. The woman lost consciousness and stopped breathing as the crew from Engine 26 worked through heavy fire conditions to get to her. Fire Equipment Operator Chad Meyer told reporters the door to the woman’s apartment had burned through from the fire in the common area.

Video from KOTV-TV shows Meyer carrying the woman to a balcony. She is reported in critical condition.

The fire went to a second-alarm and is believed to be connected to a
methamphetamine lab in the apartment where the fire started. Three others were injured in the fire including one person with burns who was dropped off at a local emergency room.

KOTV-TV reports this is the image of Firefighter Chad Meyer bringing the woman to safety from her burning apartment.

Police want to talk to this woman who dropped off one of the fire victims at St. Francis Hospital. Read more from Tulsa World.

Click here for more fire & EMS news from STATter911.com

Click above for an excerpt from the March 4 hearing of the DC City Council’s Public Safety and Judiciary Committee as Chairman Phil Mendelson asks questions about the auction of surplus fire department gear and uniforms. Click here to watch the entire oversight hearing for the DC Fire & EMS Department and the Office of Unified Communications (911 center).

See our previous coverage on this story

The DC Fire & EMS Department says it now knows more about how its marked gear and uniforms were sold to the public and are now considering eliminating the auction of surplus material. As STATter911.com first reported March 3, the auctions occurred despite concerns terrorists could attempt to pose as first responders.

At an oversight hearing before the DC City Council’s Public Safety and Judiciary Committee on March 4, Chief Rubin said the first his command staff became aware of the issue was when a reporter began asking questions a day earlier. At the time of the hearing, Rubin told Chairman Phil Mendelsen there was the possibility a criminal investigation would be needed. STATter 911 has learned this concern came from pictures showing what appeared to be brand new gear that was part of the auction.

Spokesman Alan Etter says it turned out not be a criminal matter and investigators have now determined the newer materials were specific models of equipment the department no longer uses. According to Etter, the city followed its standard procedures in auctioning surplus gear.

Rubin made it clear at the hearing, at the very least, all identifying marks from the DC Fire & EMS Department should have been removed. Now efforts are beginning to see if the department can completely opt out of the city’s public auctions.

Click here for more fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

DC Attorney General Peter Nickles from dc.gov

See previous coverage from STATter911.com

District of Columbia Attorney General Peter Nickles says the city will continue the legal battle over beards in the DC Fire & EMS Department. On Friday, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled against the District and affirmed a 2007 ruling by a federal judge in favor of the firefighters and medics. Friday’s opinion hinged on a procedural matter.

Nickles tells STATter911.com the safety issue is too important to let this case be decided on a technicality. He has directed his staff to petition for a hearing before the entire court.

Those suing the city have claimed shaving violates their religious beliefs.

The firefighters and medics have been allowed to perform their duties since the 2007 ruling as long as they are able to pass regular tests proving they can keep a proper seal of their mask. Most of the plaintiffs have been allowed to return to active duty.

Paramedic Steve Chasin, who has contended this is a grooming issue and not about safety, says he is not surprised by the city’s decision and wonders how much the city will continue to spend on this battle.

Peter Nickles cites expert testimony and federal regulations as the need to keep the safety standard set by the DC Fire & EMS Department.

Click here to watch the story from KOCO-TV

A Tulsa Fire Department crew arriving to help an ailing grandmother ended up in a brawl. Bystanders and relatives jumped on all three members of the company because they felt the firefighters weren’t doing enough to help the woman. All three were left battered and bruised. Click above to watch the story.

In Titusville, Florida it was the victim who went on the attack. Titusville Fire Department members had to handcuff Antwan Hair to the stretcher on Monday. Hair had been shot, but fire officials say that didn’t stop him from taking a swing at the firefighters there to provide care. Click here to read the story.

A firefighter close call?: I don’t know. But I can tell you they sure didn’t call them that 40 some years ago. At :57 into this vintage Pittsburgh film, from the collection of Captain Jack Marks, a firefighter who is prone on the porch roof seems to be in some kind of distress. Firefighter Spot first turned us on to this new source of old fire films. Check here for another one where we have some then and now comparisons.

Don’t try this at home (or anywhere). Sex toy and power tool make bad combination: An unusual medevac over the weekend from Southern Maryland. This is one of those calls, keeping HIPAA regulations in mind, that firefighters will be talking about for years to come. Read the details here.

The hills are alive with the sound of Billy: Apparently all it took was a home builder in Virginia to say that it’s mostly older homes that burn and new construction homes seldom catch on fire to push Chief Billy Goldfeder off the deep end. The man is now writing new lyrics to songs from old musicals. Click here to see I am not making this up and here to read the original article.

Well maybe it is Dave who has gone off the deep end: I don’t care if she if 61-years-old, Bernadette Peters looks unbelievable. But it shows how screwed up my priorities are when I spend more time interviewing Harold Schaitberger than Ms. Peters. I am not sure if it is my dedication to the blog or I am just plain stupid (please don’t answer that). Click here to watch both interviews. We will then see which one gets more hits and determine if I am all alone on this one.

Early video from vacant hospital building fire: We have two parts from Michael Schwartzberg’s raw video of Sunday’s two-alarm fire in Baltimore County. Big building. Lots of fire. It happened at the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills. Click here to watch it and read more details.

DC beard update: We have added an interview with one of the plaintiffs to our coverage of Friday’s federal appeals court ruling that upholds the religious freedom of firefighters and medics in DC. It allows them to keep beards as long as they also can keep a seal. Click here.

Moving toward medevac cutbacks in MD: From The Washington Post- A Maryland House of Delegates work group recommended yesterday that the state-run medevac program close at least one of its eight bases and reduce its fleet of helicopters to fewer than 10, in addition to increasing many of its safety and flight standards to meet or exceed those of commercial medevac companies. Click here for the article by Jenna Johnson.

Also in court, reopening a FD civil rights case that goes back 38-years: In Jacksonville, Florida there are questions whether the city is following hiring practices outlined in a court case with origins to 1971 that was settled in the 1980s. Read the story.

Looking at the layoffs in MA: A video report from hard hit Fall River.

Arson in West Virginia: There were five fires over the weekend in Berkeley County. Only one has been ruled arson at this point. Read and watch the story.

Fire in Brooklyn: In Crown Heights on Sunday people were forced to jump as fire raced through a home. Click here for pictures, video and details from the fire.

Higher and higher in Seattle: If you haven’t seen it, the video from the charity stair climb that attracted 1500 or so firefighters on Sunday is worth watching. Check it out.

PPV and you: VentEnterSearch.com is talking PPV and running a flashover video I think we ran a while back (if not, it was very similar). Either way it is well worth seeing.

Above, fire destroyed an animal hospital in West Barnstable, MA on Monday night. Click here for details from the Cape Cod Times. Similarly, a fire in a Kennel in Lehighton, Pennsylvania took the life of Martha Stewart’s dog. Click here to watch that story.

On Saturday they had one of those calls they are likely to remember and talk about for some time at the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department and the Lexington Park Rescue Squad. It is also one of those calls they are not likely to issue a press release about or post on their website.

At 1:30 Sunday morning crews responded to a 27-year-old woman who was bleeding. According to both BayNet.com and our wusa9.com, firefighters and EMS workers quickly determined the cause of the woman’s distress.

The man who made the 911 call said he had placed a sex toy over a saber saw blade, and then used the power tool on his partner. The blade cut through the plastic and injured the woman.

The injuries were serious enough that the woman was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to the trauma center at Prince George’s Hospital Center.

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department officials said they would likely follow up to make sure this was just an accident and involved consensual behavior.

It is unclear exactly what prompted the experimentation in Southern Maryland, but it appears there are commercial devices sold on the Internet that combine power tools with sex toys that don’t present the problems experienced with this home made device.

Above is Part 1, and below is Part 2 of Sunday’s fire on the grounds of Rosewood Center in Owings Mills, Maryland. The state-run residential facility for people with severe developmental disabilities once had a population of 3700. It is now down to 90 or so.

Michael “Firepix1075” Schwartzberg shot these videos. Below is the account accompanying Michael’s pictures on the Pikesville VFC website:

Around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, Baltimore County 911 dispatchers began receiving multiple phone calls reporting a building fire in the area of Jensen Lane and Axis Court on the property of the Rosewood State Hospital. PVFC Squad 322 was among the units dispatched on the call, Fire Box 31-5. Baltimore County Fire Department Engine 19 (Garrison career) arrived to find heavy fire and smoke showing from a large three-story vacant building on the Rosewood complex and requested a Working Fire Dispatch. Firefighters initially attempted to attack the fire with handlines and ladder pipes and prevent its spread to an adjacent building and other exposures, but command soon ordered defensive operations as the building was vacant and unsafe to enter. Fire extended into the second building and a second alarm was struck, bringing PVFC Engine 321 and additional units to the scene. Flying embers apparently ignited a third building several hundred feet away but quick work by firefighters prevented a significant fire in that exposure.

Firefighter Spot stumbled onto a gold mine of 1960s era films from Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in Pennsylvania. Jason has one of the films posted here.

The film above is described as being from the collection of Capt Jack Marks and identified as being “some time in the 60s”. Its a substantial fire at Guttendorf Press which was located at North Braddock Avenue and Finance Street.

The Google Maps Street View shows the building on the N. Braddock Avenue side still stands today. Click the image to tour the neighborhood and compare it to the old film.

Through the magic of Google Street View we can see that the Braddock Avenue side of the building still exists. The rest of the complex is a vacant lot with heavy growth.

The building that was a service station across Finance Street in the film is boarded up and for rent today.

A little then and now from North Braddock Avenue and Finance Street.

Below is another 60s video posted by LtDen27e, titled “Vintage Pittsburgh fire compilation”.

Click here for more fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Image from fire.gov

Read a different view on new homes in Firegeezer’s recent post titled, They’re Not Burning Fast Enough

The fire service’s victory in changing the International Residential Code requiring residential sprinklers in new homes come 2011 is being fought all over again at the state and local level. In Virginia it is the Board of Housing and Community Development that handles the Statewide Uniform Building Code.

Reporter James Heffernan at NVDaily.com takes a look at the board’s efforts to tackle the issue over the next two or three months. We figure you know all of the arguments from the fire service side. Below are excerpts from the aticle just giving the views of the home builders. Click here for the entire story:

Homebuilder associations, which have been busy lobbying regulators to exclude the residential sprinkler requirement, say the systems will add anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 to the cost of a new home.

“It’s mostly the older homes, and there’s no way to retrofit those [with sprinkler systems].”

Watch interview with IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger (or check the video menu here)

My assignment for TV Sunday night was to work the red carpet at the birthday celebration for Senator Ted Kennedy held in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center. Besides President Barack Obama, various former presidential candidates, and the rest of official Washington, there were a lot of stars of the entertainment world in the room. Among them, Bill Cosby, Lauren Bacall, James Taylor, Phyllis Newman (is there anyone reading this besides Firegeezer and me who recognizes the name?) and Bernadette Peters.

Despite all of the star power, who is it that Dave spends the most time talking with? The answer: the fire guy. (Over Bernadette Peters? … Are you nuts?)

IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger was invited to the party. We had a chat about Senator Kennedy, the state of the economy and what Schaitberger expects from President Barack Obama, whose campaign had the support of the IAFF.

Click the link above to see the Schaitberger interview and you can click here for Bernadette Peters.

Kory Burgess, a 27-year-old firefighter from Missoula, Montana (another Montana story!), is the winner of stair climbing event in Seattle to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Burgess climbed the 69 stories of the Columbia Center in 10:55.75. (That would likely be my time also, except that first number would represent hours.)

1530 firefighters from 244 departments, in 25 states, Canada, New Zealand and Germany took part in the fundraiser.

Read more from Casey McNerthney at Seattle 911.

House fire in PA: This was from February 27 in North Whitehall Township. It went to three-alarms as a water supply became an issue. Read the details.

New rules – don’t rain on our parade and don’t drink during it either: Boston firefighters planning to take part in next Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade have some new marching orders. Concerned about the scrutiny firefighters have been under, the union says it won’t allow firefighters who have been drinking to join the parade. Read more.

Must see pictures: Fire officials in Camden, NJ are calling it a backdraft after the second floor exploded at a rowhouse fire on Friday. It sent flying glass and debris onto a battalion chief in the front yard. As usual, PhillyFireNews.com is everywhere, and New Jersey editor Steve Skipton was right there when the explosion occurred. He captured the moment on his new camera. We put up a timeline with some of Steve’s photos. Click here for the pictures and more details.

PGFD staffing updates on land and on sea: We have posted the schedule and figured out the formula for the Prince George’s County Fire/Rescue Department’s overtime reduction plan. On a rotating basis, it removes career staffing from fire stations between March 15 and June 30. The new chief is asking for the volunteers to fill in the gaps. Click here for the schedule.

If volunteer crews are unable to fill in where career firefighters are missing, and the staffing is redeployed anyway, this will essentially be what some call “brown-outs” and others dub “firehouse roulette”. If the volunteers are able to do what Chief Jones is requesting, the political leaders will likely not feel the heat from the public about a cut in service.

It is an interesting crossroads in the long and often strained relationship between career and volunteer forces in Prince George’s County and could have ramifications for each side for years to come.

You may recall when PGFD furloughs went into effect last September, the original furlough plan was suddenly changed as we called county officials pointing out that this would likely leave firehouses without staffing. Public Safety Director Vernon Herron, in making those last minute changes, vowed that no firehouses would be without staffing. We have not yet heard if that statement is still operative under this new overtime reduction plan.

We also have a closer look at the redeployment of the crew from Fire Boat 858, the Lawrence Woltz. The firefighters assigned to Station 858 aren’t spending as much time at the National Harbor dock and are being used to fill in at area fire stations. Read the story.

UPDATE – We have added fireground audio for recent PGFD fires: Courtesy of DC Fire Feed, there is now audio with our postings on a Glenn Dale townhouse fire, and a Lanham townhouse fire.

UPDATE – A closer look at disability retirements of cops in Montgomery County, MD: We have mentioned this story before, but now The Washington Post is taking an in-depth look at why 41% of Montgomery County police officers retired on disability between 2000 and 2007. On top of that, a cop with a bad knee can get the same payment as a colleague who is paralyzed. Read the article.

The animal beat at home and at war: From Peabody, Massachusetts, Jimmy Daly has pictures of swan lake. No, we are not doing ballet coverage on STATter911.com. Still, the firefighters were quite graceful on their feet as they made the rescue. Click here.

There was a bit of a role reversal at another animal rescue. This one was on the ice in Billings, Montana. Click here for an explanation.

This is a bit old, but I didn’t spot it until yesterday. It is what one firefighter refers to as a cat in a tree call in Iraq. All I can say is if you see a cat in the tree this large, run the other way. Here’s the story.

Federal court of appeals rules against DC in beard case: A victory for the firefighters and medic who sued the DC Fire & EMS Department over grooming policies. The order violated religious freedom. One judge wrote that the city’s legal team blew any chance of winning this one. We have links to the opinions and the history of the issue.

A Geezer story if I ever saw one: A mid-air fire in a World War II bomber. The pilot was able to land it at a New Jersey airport, but was burned in the process. The plane is now charred wreckage. FireGeezer has the pictures, video and details.

Some different views of the Worcester 4-alarm apartment fire: One of them is from a woman inside the building, needing instructions from 911 to help her decide to leave. The other is from a man viewing the fire from the relative safety of his apartment across the street, who wants to know why no one has told him what to do. We also have links to other videos and pictures. Click here.

Two separate explosions in Montana rock business districts: I don’t think I have ever posted so much news from Montana. Besides the animal rescue above, on Thursday, it was the explosion and fire in Bozeman. On Friday, a somewhat similar event 60 miles to the west in Whitehall. In between, an earthquake that has some web sites talking about a connection.

Getting closer on our mystery video: A STATter911.com reader has figured out the address of an apartment building seen in an unlabeled rescue video we posted. Exactly when this fire occurred and the details are still open questions. One lead takes us right back where it started, Firef
ighter Spot. Click here for our partial answers.

Watch the story

IAFF Local 718 website

When the firefighters march next Sunday in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade they better be sober. That’s the word from IAFF Local 718 to its members.

On the union website there is this warning on the parade page:

Because of the tremendous scrutiny Local 718 has been under the last two years, we strongly ask any member who wants to participate NO Drinking until we finish the parade. If a marshal sees you drinking while wearing our shirts you will be told not to march.

Double click the image to read the parade rules.

Union officials are asking that no uniforms be worn and instead are offering “specially made tee shirts”.

The message goes on to say, “This is not a protest march, but a march to show our thanks to the citizens of South Boston for their support during this difficult time”.

Read more on how PGFD is cutting overtime

In recent days the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has been redeploying its dedicated staffing at Station 858 during the evening hours. The station operates the fire boat at National Harbor, the new massive convention and tourist complex on the banks of the Potomac River in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The firefighters at National Harbor also have a utility vehicle to respond to land-based fire and EMS calls.

When Fire Boat Lawrence Woltz was dedicated to the memory of the county’s first fire chief in July, 2008, the plan called for 24-hour staffing on site. The need for fully staffing the boat was revisited after Acting Chief Eugene Jones took over the department in early February. One of Chief Jones’ mandates is to reduce overtime spending.

The developers of National Harbor, the Peterson Companies, provided $500,000 of the $700,000 price tag for the boat. PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady tells STATter911.com the money from the firm was a “non-conditional donation”.

According to Brady the plan is to soon have the fire boat crews assigned to Station 821, about four miles away, at 7600 Livingston Road. The firefighters would respond to the dock if the boat is needed.

A similar arrangement is in place with Fire Boat 201 operated by the Alexandria Fire Department across the Potomac River. Both boats are considered the primary suppliers of the dry standpipe system for the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge carrying I-95 over the river. They are backed up by a boat from Fairfax County, about 12-miles to the south and fire boats in the District of Columbia about 7-miles to the north.

On February 27, when we first contacted the department about the new arrangement at National Harbor, Mark Brady provided the following detailed response by email:

The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has researched and reviewed plans that will allow us to operate with effective resource utilization, while continuing to provide best possible fire and emergency medical services to our citizens, residents and visitors. This Departmental review has at times been arduous; nevertheless, it is a ‘work in motion’ with many decisions still to come.

Our review determined that staffing at Station #858, the National Harbor/Marine Division, could be more effectively utilized to provide coverage at other Fire/EMS stations during periods of minimal activity,i.e., non-construction hours and cold weather. For now, Station #858 staffs 3-4 persons and operates daily until 1900 hours. After this time, personnel are sent to provide coverage at other Fire/EMS stations. In addition, depending on the day-to-day staffing levels at Station#858, a daily decision is made to either maintain staffing there or send the personnel to other stations. Both, weather conditions and the potential for water-related incidents are factored into this decision. It is anticipated that as warmer weather emerges and activity at the National Harbor increases, staffing will return to normal. Future plans include expanded training for Firefighter/Medics at nearby stations. The objective is to establish a larger staffing pool, thereby ensuring that adequate staffing for the Fire Boat is readily available at all times.

Staffing at Station #858 is responsible for both the Fire Boat and responses to the National Harbor complex for fire and EMS activity. As we have seen previously, Station #858 staffing personnel have played a key role in providing each of these services, which positively impacted the outcome of the call. When Station #858 is unavailable, nearby Fire/EMS stations will continue to respond and handle these incidents as they occur. For water-related incidents, the Department has on hand other ‘rescue style’ craft-based at the Water Rescue and Recovery Team facility; the Fort Washington Fire/EMS Station; and the boat operated by the County Police-that will be deployed when necessary. Mutual aid jurisdictions will be utilized whenever the need arises, which has always been the practice.

The Fire/EMS Department is also looking at other area jurisdictions that have fire boats and how they provide staffing. With the exception of the District of Columbia and Baltimore City, it appears that other jurisdictions have a land-based crew that provides staffing for their fire boats while also providing staffing at a Fire/EMS station.

Photo from Casey Riffe, Billings Gazette. Click here to see more pictures and read the story.

My friend Bill “Firegeezer” Schumm noticed there are some themes going at STATter911.com. In the last 15 hours we have posted stories on animal rescues of a swan and a camel. Since Friday we have had two significant stories from Montana. Now, thanks to Bill, we have an animal rescue from Montana.

That’s Duke the St. Bernard in the picture above. I remember clearly from watching many, many cartoons as a kid, that if you were stuck in a snow or ice storm or in an avalanche, the St. Bernard would come get you (often bringing along a container of brandy). Somehow Duke didn’t get that memo or watch the same cartoons I did.

Duke wandered out of his back yard and onto the lake at a nearby golf course in the Billings area. At 116 pounds Duke was too much for the ice. He apparently fell through. But Duke must have understood his heritage and didn’t want to let down the breed. He apparently pulled himself out.

The problem happened when the wet dog stopped to rest on the ice. Duke’s tail and the frozen pond became one.

Despite spending a long night unable to move, Duke survived. There is now a happy ending for Duke thanks to the Billings Fire Department and the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Department. Read the details of the rescue in an article by Casey Riffe at the Billings Gazette.

I am sure the rescuers did a great job, but did anyone have the courtesy to offer Duke some brandy after his ordeal?

If you want the real story of the St. Bernards and their history of saving many people in the Swiss Alps (going back to at least the early 1700s), click here.

On Thursday we told you about the intriguing video above first discovered by Firefighter Spot. Jason wanted to know more about the blaze, starting with where and when and then moving on to more details on the police department’s role in the operation.

Well, thanks to Gray, a loyal STATter911.com reader who likes a challenge, we think we have the answer to one of the questions. We know where it is. It appears to be an apartment building in Hempstead, New York.

Above is Microsoft’s Virtual Earth view of 20 Wendell Street. You can click the image to see more. Gray also found reference to a fire in that building on December 22, 2007. The article was posted on Firefighter Spot. So things have gone full circle in our search.

Not quite. The December 22, 2007 fire says it was started by a plumber doing shower repairs with a hand held torch. In the video above, it says the fire was intentionally set. So, if that is correct, these are likely separate fires. We will wait for more.

This is old news from a month ago. The video was posted on YouTube about ten days ago, but I somehow missed it. It happened near Ali Base in Iraq. A fire and rescue service crew chief called it “the weirdest call he has ever been on”.

Here is the description with the video:

Video about firefighters saving the life of a young camel stuck in a well just outside Ali Base, Iraq. Provided by 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs.

Click here to read more about the rescue.

Our New England bureau chief Jimmy Daly is apparently also stringing for Animal Planet. These are from earlier today at a pond in Peabody, Massachusetts. Jimmy tells us that Spring Pond is at the end of Sunset Drive and that is where Peabody Engine 5 and the Marine Company safely recovered an injured swan.

Judging by the bottom picture, it appears they didn’t do too bad a job with the immobilization.

While I don’t think this series is posted yet, Jimmy’s wonderful photography, fire and otherwise, can be seen at DALYImages on SmugMug.

Click above for 911 call

Video from Worcester fire at FirefighterNation.com

Photos from Worcester fire from FirefighterNation.com

More photos from emergencyservicepics

The 911 call above from Thursday’s 4-alarm fire at a Worcester apartment building is a clear reminder that people don’t know what to do when fire hits. I know this is no surprise to any of you and it isn’t to me. But it still leaves you shaking your head when you hear adults confronted with thick black smoke and they need someone on the other end of the telephone to tell them it is time to leave.

Below is a different view of the fire that I found almost as interesting.

12:26:18

12:28:55

12:29:37

All pictures above are by Steve Skipton, the New Jersey editor for PhillyFireNews.com. Click here to see the entire series from Steve and Keith James.

An explosion Friday afternoon about three minutes after Camden, New Jersey firefighters went to work at a house fire at 231 Grand Avenue. Battalion Chief Tony Phelps was first on the scene reporting a 2-story, occupied, end-of-row dwelling with heavy fire from the first floor.

Steve Skipton, the New Jersey editor for PhillyFireNews.com was also on the scene. He captured the events in a series of pictures that begins at 12:16:18.

Engine 11 is the first company to arrive behind Chief Phelps. Engine 11 would normally be second due, but sources say that Task Force 3 (Engine 9/Ladder 3) was out of service due to mechanical problems.

From the pictures is appears two firefighters from Engine 11 take a line into the first floor to attack the fire that is venting from two windows in Quadrant D.

Chief Phelps is seen observing the fire from the lawn on Side A at 12:28:55. At 12:29:37, Skipton’s photo captures flying glass and other debris from what witnesses say was an explosion on the second floor.

Chief Phelps was injured by the flying debris. He was treated and released from a local hospital. The two firefighters inside apparently were not hurt.

A second alarm was transmitted for the fire.

Al Ashley, president of Fire Officers Union Local 2578, told the Courier Post that the explosion was a backdraft.

Video above from Dan Pecka. Click here for video from Pecka taken slightly earlier.

Read article and see more video’s from Montana’s News Station

Click here for photo gallery showing more detail of fire department operations

Watch video from the Montana Standard

Coverage from the Montana Standard

Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion just before seeing a fire that heavily damaged part of Whitehall, Montana. The fire occurred around 11:00 AM and destroyed or damaged a half-dozen businesses.

No one was seriously injured. The cause is under investigation. Almost seven hours earlier, an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was centered two miles south of Whitehall.

The fire comes a day after a natural gas explosion and fire occurred 60-miles to the east in downtown Bozeman. A woman is missing and many businesses were damaged in that incident. See coverage here and here.