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2nd alarm in Allentown, PA: A three-unit apartment building on fire Monday night at 751 N. 7th Street in Allentown. Seven people were displaced.

Update on the update about the firefighters who couldn’t play well with others: This story from Minneola, Florida is getting a lot of play. The fire department in the city is scheduled to reopen its station for business at 2:00 PM. This, after a 48-hour stand down. There are now new details on why the time-out was ordered. We have a city press release that has some insight on the fighting among the crew that caused the shut down. Click here. (We have just added links to other stories and videos on this one and a previous story involving the city putting firefighters’ personal information on the web.)

Remembering Kyle Wilson: Due to Blogger having technical problems yesterday we were late in posting our acknowledgement of the second anniversary of the LODD of Prince William County, Virginia’s Kyle Wilson. On Saturday there is a fitness walk in honor of Wilson. Check out the details.

Maryland flag to fly at half-staff in honor of chief’s death: Click here for more on the death of Chief Charles Clough Jr. of the Sudlersville VFC. Chief Clough died Wednesday evening while responding to a fire call. Click here.

No charges in Kansas City, MO after child is killed in collision with fire engine: The 40-page report found the 7-year old boy ran into the side of the fire engine and that the rig was traveling close to the speed limit. Read more.

New 911 center’s alert did not reach firefighters: An investigation is underway in York County, PA after a delay in notifying some firefighters Wednesday night about a house fire. The text message went out, but many firefighters didn’t receive it. Click here to read the story.

Building that was to become fire museum is now history: A two-alarm fire on Wednesday destroyed the old Gorham Silver plant. It was to be the home of the Providence Fire Museum. Three firefighters were hurt. Read and watch the story.

Price of stove is a hot topic: Click here to read the story from Wellfleet, MA where the elected officials think the fire chief spent too much money on a kitchen appliance.

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Minneola Fire Department from city website.

Watch and read story from WOFL-TV

Latest from OrlandoSentinel.com

Another article and videos on the investigation

March story on City of Minneola putting firefighters’ personal information on city website

One of the more interesting stories of the day in the fire service has to be the “major time out” issued to the Minneola Fire Department in Florida. It came from City Manager Sam Oppelaar who decided a 48-hour stand down was in order. It began on Wednesday at 2:00 PM and continues until tomorrow at 2:00 PM. (Read earlier coverage in Firegeezer’s entry titled Time Out – Hold Your Fires.)

There are new details about the investigation included in the city’s press release issued today. Here is the release in its entirety:

On 14 Apr 09, the Fire Chief of Minneola requested approval from the City Manager to investigate the circumstances surrounding two service calls made on 11 Apr 09 in the City of Minneola. On the same day, those involved in the events of 11 Apr 09 provided statements concerning their observations. At 1400 hours on 15 April 2009, after full coordination with Lake County Public Safety, the Lake County Administrator, Lake Sumter Emergency Medical Services, and the City of Clermont, the City Manager directed the Minneola Fire Department to stand down pending resolution of the situation.

The service to the city that the Fire Department provides is absolutely critical…to that end the City will promptly restore

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Today is the second anniversary of the death of Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue Technician I Kyle R. Wilson. Firefighter Wilson died on April 16, 2007 at the age of 24, after becoming trapped in an early morning house fire on Marsh Overlook Drive.

His death prompted an extensive investigation that resulted in a report that has had wide distribution. If you haven’t read it, you can find it here.

While the report looks at how Firefighter Wilson died, an event Saturday honors how he lived. The second annual Kyle Wilson Walk for Fitness begins at 9:00 AM at Hylton High School. His devotion to fitness and athletics prompted Wilson’s parents to create an athletic scholarship endowment fund in his name at George Mason University. Kyle Wilson attended both Hylton High and GMU. Click here for more details.

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Photo courtesy of Salisbury News. Click here for coverage of this story from SBYNEWS.

As we reported earlier Chief Charles “Buck” Clough Jr. of the Sudlersville VFC in Queen Anne’s County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore died Wednesday evening while responding on an alarm.

Clough became chief in January and had been a member of the department for 26-years. He was 41. Governor Martin O’Malley has ordered the Maryland State Flag to be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of Chief Clough’s funeral.

Officials say the pick-up truck Clough was driving left the roadway and hit a tree during the response to a report of an appliance fire in the 100 block of Main Street around 7:45 PM.

The image above and the message below are from the home page of the Sudlersville VFC website:

The Officers and Members of the Sudlersville Volunteer Fire Company are sad to announce the untimely death of our Chief Charles (Buck) Clough Jr. Buck was responding to an alarm at approximately 7:45 PM on April 15th when he was involved in a single vehicle collision. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Buck was a Life Member of our company and held numerous offices over his 26 year career with our Company. Buck is survived by his wife Sandy and their two sons Shane and Chase, his parents Charles Sr. and Beulah Clough, and a Sister, Charlene. Arrangements are still pending and will be posted on this site. Please keep Buck and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Buck was our Chief, our friend, and our Brother and he will be missed.

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A frustrating day at STATter911.com. We were unable to provide new content until now. This happened after Blogger shut down overnight for ten-minutes of “maintenance”. We will get some new material up over the coming hours. Thanks for your patience.

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Storage building at nursing home burns: This is from Friday at a two-alarm fire that damaged a storage facility at the Lehigh County, PA owned Cedarbrook Nursing Home. Motors and lawn equipment were stored in the area where the fire occurred. Read more here.

Maryland Eastern Shore chief dies in crash on way to call: We will tell you what is known about the death yesterday evening of Chief Charles Clough Jr. of the Sudlersville VFD in Queen Anne’s County. Click here.

Live coverage of Houston memorial service: We are not sure yet which stations in Houston will be streaming today’s joint memorial service for HFD’s Capt. James Harlow and FF Damion Hobbs. It begins at 10:00 AM Houston time. Here are the links to the live feeds usually used by three of the Houston TV stations. We will update later:

KTRK-TV

KRIV-TV

$259,000 for dismissed firefighter and his attorney: Lewis German says his dismissal as deputy chief of the Bethesda Fire Department in Montgomery County, Maryland violated his free speech rights. After a seven-year battle, German and attorney Mark Zaid walk away with a sizable settlement from the Bethesda FD. We have lots of documents from the case, the TV story that helped get German in trouble and more details. Click here.

Fire department stand down or as my wife says to Sam, “A major time out”: The Minneola Fire Department in Florida is shut down for 48-hours because firefighters are fighting with each other. From WESH-TV – “Nine paid firefighters, 11 volunteers and the fire chief have argued over policies and procedures. One lieutenant briefly resigned. The city manager’s solution was to close the station until Friday.” Click here for the story.

Lieutenant faces felony charges in cheating scandal: Cleveland Fire Department Lt. Paul Legeza is accused of shooting pictures of the computer screen while taking the Paramedic Functioning Test in 2007 and then putting them on a CD to share with others.

On Monday 27-firefighters appeared before a grand jury investigating the cheating allegations. The union president called that process a “witch hunt”. Read more.

We also found a different kind of story about Lt. Legeza when he was being honored by the Cleveland Browns.

Hartford, CT TV station investigates connection between mayor and fired probationary firefighter: WFSB-TV investigates the trail left behind after the firing of a new firefighter who was involved in a hit and run. The station questions how the city picks its recruits based on city records and claims of a fired deputy chief who says he was canned after not passing politically connected candidates through the academy. Click here to read the story and related documents. Click here to watch it.

FF says he was smoking crack when WV fire started: There is more to the story of a firefighter accused of arson in Berkeley County, WV. The barn fire seriously injured a firefighter from another station. Court records indicate James Blackford’s intentions were not arson, but rather smoking crack. Read more.

NIOSH report on Contra Costa LODDs: Read the report into the July, 2007 deaths of Capt. Matthew C. Burton and Engineer Scott P. Desmond. Click here.

Another reason to wear your PPE: In West Palm Beach, Florida a fire in a vacant house disturbed thousand of bees living in the walls. Firefighters found the bees swarming them as they went in to put out the fire. Being buttoned up helped save the day. Read and watch the story.

Texas tank farm fire: Pictures, video and a report from Ingleside, Texas. Click here.

Interesting rescue: Click here to read the account from Volunteer Fire Company #1 of Chesapeake City, MD as they saved a woman trapped in a well in the basement of her home. The woman was hanging on by the sump pump cord after trying to rescue her dog.

Virginia rescue squad dissolved: The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors has dissolved the Strasburg Rescue Squad and will take over the assets until a “viable volunteer EMS agency” can be rebuilt. This comes because of serious response issues. Read the story.

Another save for Kentland: PGFD Station 833, credited with making the rescue of FF Danny McGown, had another success story on Tuesday at a house fire in the Seat Pleasant area. Read the details from Mark Brady’s press release or Kentland VFD’s website.

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Sudlersville VFC website

FirefighterCloseCalls.com

See picture of crash scene

From the AP:

Emergency officials say Sudlersville’s volunteer fire chief has died in a single-vehicle crash while responding to a fire.

Kevin Afflung, public information officer for Queen Anne’s County Emergency Management, says 41-year-old Charles “Buck” Clough Jr. died in the crash about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Afflung did not have further details on the crash.

Clough was a 26-year member of the volunteer fire company, and became chief in January.

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Watch KIII-TV story including Lt. Cox’s video

Read more about the fire

In Ingleside, Texas on Tuesday night firefighters battled a fire at a crude oil tank at Flint Hills Resources’ terminal. A pump failure apparently sparked the blaze.

No injuries were reported. The pictures here are from Lt. Gillian Cox of the Ingleside Fire Department. Here is the account a very tired Lt. Cox sent this morning to STATter911.com:

6 Fire Departments (Ingleside FD, Naval Station Ingleside, Ingleside on the Bay FD, Aransas Pass FD, Refinery Terminal Fire Company, and Rockport FD) as well as Ingleside Fire Corp and San Patricio Sheriff’s, along with State response personnel on scene. About 85 First responders for about 5 hours. Initial crews from Ingleside, Naval Station Ingleside, and Aransas Pass along with crews from Flint Hills, used ground monitors and aerial apparatus to keep Crude Oil tank cool, while Refinery Terminal Fire Company responded from about 30 miles away to aid in the eventual extinguishment with their Arial Foam Nozzle. There were no explosions. No residential areas in danger at any time. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, and released. Efforts were aided when the first responding department received the initial page during their regular weekly meeting allowing all of their apparatus to respond within only a minute or two. Wind and extremely dry conditions increased danger of fire spread, however combined efforts of all responders prevented any spread.

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Read first amended complaint

Read hearing transcript

Read plaintiff’s summary judgment memorandum

See email sent to Lewis German on punishment agreement

Read press release

(The court documents above were all provided by attorney Mark Zaid)

Lewis German wasn’t paid as a volunteer deputy chief with the Bethesda Fire Department. But now, German, and his attorney Mark Zaid, are collecting $259,000 from that department in Montgomery County, Maryland. The money is part of a settlement reached in a lawsuit filed by German after he was dismissed as a volunteer in February, 2002.

Zaid announced the settlement in a press release. The case was scheduled to go to trial in June. German contended the dismissal violated his First Amendment rights.

The suit centered on German’s speaking out about emergency preparedness in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. In early October, 2001 German talked with newspaper reporters and WUSA-TV (full disclosure, I was the reporter who did the story) claiming that $500,000 worth of hazardous material gear was sitting in the Chevy Chase fire station and had not been distributed to volunteers in the county.

Then County Executive Doug Duncan disputed the claims made by German and Kensington VFD Chief Jim Stanton.

Copy of email Lewis German said was sent to him by Bethesda Fire Department officials after German spoke to the press.

Bethesda Fire Department officials, unhappy with German speaking to the media, demanded that German apologize to Duncan, take a 6-month suspension and never again contact the news media. When German refused, he was dismissed as a volunteer with Bethesda.

Duncan and other Montgomery County officials were previously dropped from the lawsuit with Bethesda FD remaining as the defendant. Sources indicate the insurer used by Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service to cover the volunteer organizations will now be responsible for paying the settlement.

STATter911.com has attempted to contact officials with the Bethesda FD.

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James L. Blackford III

An interesting twist in the Berkeley County, West Virginia arson case that left one firefighter with serious facial injuries and a second one under arrest. As Baker Heights VFD FF Kenneth Ayers recovers at the Washington Hospital Center, court records revealed today that Bedington VFD FF James Blackford admitted the fire began while he and another man were smoking crack cocaine. Investigators are still looking for the second man who ran off after the fire started. Blackford, a three year member at Bedington, ran to the firehouse which is nearby.

Here are excerpts from Matthew Umstead’s article in the Herald-Mail:

James L. Blackford III, 30, told investigators that the fire started after he and another individual ignited rubbing alcohol behind the barn to heat crack cocaine in a smoking device made from a plastic bottle, according to a complaint filed by Assistant State Fire Marshal Patrick J. Barker.

Blackford told investigators that he attempted to put the fire out by stomping the area but couldn’t put it out, according to Barker’s complaint.

Blackford did not say anything about the fire upon arriving at the station, but then responded to the blaze at 1495 Williamsport Pike with other volunteers, officials have said.

Blackford also was injured, though less seriously than Ayers, when a timber from a barn wall that collapsed outward fell on the firefighters, according to Barker’s complaint.

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Read the NIOSH report

Another LODD report from NIOSH. This one is on the July 21, 2007 deaths in California of Conta Costa Capt. Matthew C. Burton and Engineer Scott P. Desmond. The two died while searching for the occupants of a home, who also died in the blaze.

Here are the contributing factors listed in the NIOSH report:

Failure by the alarm company to report a confirmed fire

Failure to initiate/deploy a Rapid Intervention Crew

Susan Nicol Kyle has more on this and another LODD report from NIOSH at Firehouse.com.

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Block burns in Johnson City, TN: This is some raw video from Monday night’s fire that destroyed a 23-unit apartment complex and three houses. It also damaged a mattress factory. No injuries reported. Read more.

Danny McGown is back home: Make sure you take a moment to listen to PGFD’s Danny McGown and his father Bill on the firefighter/paramedic’s early escape from the hospital. McGown still has a lot of recovering to do from the house fire a week ago that sent him to the burn unit in critical condition. Click here for our coverage.

A Gold Medal for Loudoun’s Lt. Earley: A man who spent a much longer time at the MedStar Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center is Lt. John “Bones” Earley. He was critically burned in a house fire 10-months-ago. Yesterday afternoon Lt. Earley was honored by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce and was only the third person to receive the Gold Medal of Valor in the last 24-years. Read the story by the Washington Post’s Derek Kravitz.

A letter from the chief: Cincinnati’s fire chief and other city officials want to meet with all 840 firefighters and give them a message. Much of that message is also in a letter from Chief Robert Wright and has to do with recent arrests and other embarrassing publicity for the Cincinnati Fire Department. The city says it is going back to psychological testing for new firefighters. Read the letter and the story.

In Houston, reporters ask questions about tactics: James Harlow’s family went before the cameras at Station 26 on Tuesday to talk about the veteran HFD captain. Watch that story. There is also a YouTube video.

Are Houston firefighters too aggressive? That’s the question reporters are asking after the seventh LODD in the last ten-years. IAFF Local 341 president Jeff Canyon told KHOU-TV, “For example, if you had cancer and your doctor says we are going to treat this aggressively, I think you would appreciate that answer versus we are not going to treat it aggressively. It’s important, I think, for people to understand that aggressive does not equal reckless”. Click here to read the story and here to watch it.

The question of what firefighters knew about the status of the people who lived in the burning home where Capt. Harlow and FF Damion Hobbs died also continues to come up. Click here to read the story. Watch a similar story.

Despite all the sadness and questions, Houston firefighters still have a job to do. Here is their work on a fatal building collapse yesterday.

South Milwaukee chief gets three-month suspension for racial slur: An update on a story we brought you previously. From JSonline.com: “The city’s all-white Police and Fire Commission decided Wednesday to suspend Fire Chief Jay Behling 90 days without pay for using the N-word five times in front of employees of the all-white Fire Department.” The unanimous vote happened at 1:00 AM today after 90-minutes of deliberation. The action came after the firefighters union filed a complaint. Read the details. More here.

Read our previous coverage with the detailed official complaint against the chief.

What would the colonel say?: Make sure you see the interesting picture from the two-alarm fire at a KFC/Taco Bell in Montgomery County, MD on Monday. Click here. Plus a few action pictures from Laytonsville VFD’s site.

More to the manifold explosion story: We have been passing along what we can find out about the “street hydrant” that exploded in Lambertville, NJ. Now it appears there are some other similar incidents being looked at. We are told the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section http://www.iafcsafety.org/ has been made aware of as many as four “potentially similar events”. Chief Billy Goldfeder reports on The Secret List they will meet with “SnapTite at FDIC next week to find out the facts-and pass them on to you”. So stay tuned. In the meantime, here is what we have reported so far.

A brush truck with a 100-foot ladder: Actually I am stealing Firegeezer’s line about a very close call for Atlanta firefighters. If you haven’t seen the pictures yet or read the story about the tree that owned the ladder truck, click here.

Thieves strike fire station: Two 55-inch flat screen televisions were stolen from an Indianapolis Station 1 Tuesday morning while firefighters handled a report of a garage fire about a mile away. Read the story.

This is a slow motion version of the propane explosion during a garage fire on April 12 in Bergenfield, NJ. Watch the debris fly up the driveway. Thanks to Steve Marshall for getting this for us. Also thanks to videographer Alex Kneisler of the Bergenfield Fire Department Alert Fire Company #1. Check out the website. And a special thanks to Edward Kneisler III. Click here for Alex Kneisler’s original video that we ran on Monday.

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Read letter from Chief Robert Wright

Watch the story

In a letter to the troops after a series of arrests and other incidents embarrassing to the department, Cincinnati Fire Department Chief Robert Wright says the culture needs to be changed. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

In my opinion, over the last five years, too many of our members have found themselves under arrest or incarcerated for criminal behavior ranging from domestic violence to drug trafficking, theft, substance abuse, drunk driving, disorderly conduct, residency violations and so forth. There is no justification for that behavior!

The chief and other top city officials have started a series of meetings with firefighters laying out their expectations. Psychological evaluations will also once again be used for new hires. Here is the story from The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jane Prendergast:

Future Cincinnati firefighters will start undergoing psychological evaluations again before being hired as part of changes city officials hope will reduce the number of firefighters in trouble and increase public confidence in the department.

They hope their in-person visits to firefighters – after Dohoney did a video last month to be played for all employees – will reinforce how seriously they’re taking the issues of firefighters’ arrests and other behavior in recent years.

Click here to read the rest of the article

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Photo by PGFD’s Mark Brady.

Watch 9NEWS NOW 5:00 PM story (or here)

Still dealing with a lung infection, his voice very weak, Danny McGown walked up to the microphones in front of the Washington Hospital Center on his own during the noon hour today. Meeting with reporters, the firefighter/paramedic’s main message was one of thanks. He thanked those who found him, the medics who treated him, the staff at the MedStar Burn Unit and those who have visited the hospital and sent him messages.

Danny McGown was found unconscious early last Wednesday morning inside a burning home in Largo. His face piece had been knocked off. McGown was brought into the burn unit in critical condition with facial and respiratory burns.

The fire is considered suspicious, but no arrests have been made.

Bill McGown says his son “beat all the odds” and is going home much sooner than expected. Bill McGown is a retired deputy chief of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department and is now deputy director at the county’s 911 center. He says the entire system worked as it was supposed to, from the firefighters finding his son, to the medics, to the burn unit staff.

PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady says doctors believe the lung infection can be better treated at home and away from the hospital environment.

With all he is gone through Danny McGown says he is a happy man to be going home.

In addition to scores of firefighters visiting the burn unit, McGown was able to see digital messages from well wishers, including email and a special Facebook page.

The Facebook page, set up by Jim Key, is titled “Be Strong Firefighter McGown”. It already has more than 7,300 members.

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You may have seen the above sign at your local KFC. In Montgomery County, Maryland on Monday the ad campaign had greater meaning following the two-alarm fire at the KFC/Taco Bell on Gunners Branch Road in Germantown. Clearly there is truth in labeling in this case.

MCFRS spokesman Pete Piringer says the fire was spotted by an off-duty firefighter. According to Piringer it started in mulch on the outside and spread to the interior, under the roof.

Two-years ago MCFRS handled a similar fire at a KFC in Olney.

KFC also recently made the news over another fire issue. The company sued a supplier because KFC popcorn chicken boxes were bursting into flames after being put into a microwave for as little as 13 seconds. Read the story.

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From PGFD’s Mark Brady:

The medical condition of Fire Fighter/Medic Daniel McGown continues to improve and he has been given his walking papers from the Burn Unit. Medical staff has approved Daniel McGown to leave the hospital and continue his recovery at home. This will enable him to obtain more rest and fight off infection within the comfortable surrounding of home. His recovery and rehabilitation will require many more visits to the Burn Unit on an out patient basis.

FF/Medic McGown will depart the Washington Hospital Center today, Tuesday, April 14, 2009, at 12:30 PM. He will leave by way of the front doors of the hospital. Media are invited to attend as Dan will make his first public comments since the incident almost 1 week ago.

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Interesting photos from Sunday’s fire in Massillon, Ohio: We have gathered the 911 call, videos and still pictures from Sunday’s fire in downtown Massillon. Firefighters were injured during the blaze in a reported backdraft. You will want to take a look at the whole series of photos that goes with the above image. Click here.

Update – the latest from Houston: The wife and children of Capt. James Harlow are scheduled to provide a statement this afternoon at 3:00 at Station 26. We also have memorial service information, videos from the procession escorting the remains to the funeral home, raw video from Monday’s HFD press conference and many other links to news coverage following the deaths of Capt. Harlow and Firefighter Damion Hobbs. Click here.

A few more details on the exploding manifold: We have been able to dig up a little more information on the pictures we ran of the sudden failure of a “street hydrant”. Click here for the latest.

More flying propane tanks: Early video of a garage fire in NJ shows a propane tank taking off as firefighters pull up. Also a link to an interesting mayday, close call video that Firefighter Spot has posted. Find it all here.

More pictures along with video added to Delaware motel fire posting: Click here for links to additional Chuck Snyder pictures and a little video from Monday morning’s fire at a Hampton Inn under construction in Milford, DE.

What the world needs now is another twit-wit: Yes, if you haven’t heard, you can now sign up so STATter911.com can reach out and tweet you (Can you say that on a family friendly blog?). Read more about Statter and Twitter together again for the first time or just go to Twitter.

A Brother firefighter with a capital “B”: Click here to read about Brother Benjamin Brown, a volunteer firefighter in St. Meinrad, Indiana. Brown is also a Benedictine monk.

Going down to three in San Bernardino: Budget cutting measures cut 8 unfilled positions and also means three-person staffing at some stations. The union calls it “an affront to residents” of San Bernardino, CA. Read more.

Tigers pitch in for fallen firefighter’s family: Detroit’s Walter Harris’ memory was honored during the Tigers game yesterday. Read more.

“Tell Me Your Story” comes to STATter911.com: A free, brand new pumper isn’t something to sneeze at. Especially when money is already a problem for your department. We have previously mentioned the contest by E-One and that it is down to 7-finalists. One of the finalists is the Hines VFD in eastern Oregon. Hines Firefighter Jonathan Manski wrote us to make the case that “in the entire Harney County, we only have several thousand email addresses to vote for Hines and since we are one of the least populous counties, we need votes from across the nation”. Manski wants your vote. Click here to read his entire pitch. (Of course, we will be glad to give the same opportunity to the other finalists.)

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The image above is one of a large number of still photos that make up a YouTube video by Julianna Frantz from Sunday’s fire in downtown Massillon, Ohio. This particular photo is part of a series of images that appear to be taken in quick succession beginning at 1:53 into the video. It seems to show smoke suddenly pushing forcefully out of the 108-year-old building where the fire started and enveloping the entire street.

There is no information with the pictures, but looking at how the smoke seems to be moving, the reaction of some of the onlookers and a subsequent photo that appears to be the treatment of an injured firefighter, one has to ask if this is the backdraft reported to have occurred during the fighting of the fire.

This is what Chief Billy Goldfeder posted at FirefighterCloseCalls.com:

Several firefighters from the Massillon and Perry departments reportedly were injured by a backdraft that occurred as they forced their way inside a building. One Firefighter was taken to a hospital and others were being treated in ambulances at the scene.

Below are a few more videos from the fire. None appears to have caught the explosion. One of the clips is the 911 call from the woman who lives with her family above her business where the fire started.

Read more about the fire here.

More photos here (check out photo 27)

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IAFF Local 341 condolence book

Houston Chronicle talks with NIOSH and union officials about the fire

KPRC-TV story

KHOU-TV raw helicopter video of procession

KHOU-TV raw video of 10:00 AM press conference with Houston Fire Department and IAFF Local 341 president

Take a moment to watch the video above from The Houston Chronicle. Below are excerpts from a Chronicle article posted this evening:

The bodies of two fallen Houston firefighters were escorted by their grieving comrades through city streets to a funeral home today.

Image from IAFF Local 341′s website

The couple who lives in the house managed to escape. No other injuries were reported.

“We’re asking the citizens of Houston to pray for the Hobbs family, the Harlow family and the Houston Fire Department,” Fire Chief Phil Boriskie said during a news conference this morning. “We are grieving.”

A joint funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Grace Community at 14505 Gulf Freeway.

They declined to discuss details of the probe, saying investigators have a great deal of information to comb through before they know the facts and can release information.

Memorial service and viewing information from IAFF Local 341:

A public viewing will be held Wednesday from 12 pm – 6 pm Grace Community Church 14505 Gulf Freeway.

A combined Memorial Service will be Thursday 10am Grace Community Church 14505 Gulf Freeway.

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See previous coverage and safety bulletin

Last Thursday we ran a safety bulletin and a series of pictures that have been emailed around from an incident that occurred at a fire on March 28. There was not a lot of information with pictures that show a rather significant failure of a manifold or “street hydrant” other than it had happened in New Jersey.

We have since learned it was in Lambertville in Hunterdon County. While we have not yet received a response to an email sent to Lambertville’s chief, a neighboring chief, who had firefighters witness the event, gives us a few more details.

Here is the information from Chief Bradley Patkochis, Quakertown FD:

The manifold explosion occurred right after a water tender was completed being filled. Its my understanding that a couple different things could have come into play here..1)a structural issue on the manifold 2)an improperly functioning relief valve 3)a combo of both.

The device has been sent back to Snap-tite for testing. A couple different lessons we have put out to our volunteers since the issue 1) test and inspect all your manifolds to ensure the don’t have cracks 2)make sure the relief valve activates 3)place all manifolds in compartments (the one in question was secured to the tailboard) 4)wear PPE while conducting tender fills.

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Yesterday we showed you two views of the one of the propane tanks exploding at the 11-alarm fire in Alton Bay, New Hampshire (here and here). Today Jason Thomas at Firefighter Spot takes it to a new level with his discovery of the video above from a fire on Sunday in Bergenfield, NJ.

The interesting moment comes at 41 seconds into the clip. According to the write-up with the video, a chunk of the tank hit the house across the street.

Jason also has another interesting video worth seeing. It is some very clear helmet-cam action of a house fire with a good deal of fire on the first floor, a mayday and an injured firefighter. Not a lot of information with it, but worth seeing. Click here.

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Click here for STATter911.com on Twitter

It doesn’t matter that I was shamed into it by a couple of much older guys at another fire/EMS blog who gave the appearance of being more technologically advanced than I am. The important thing is I am there now.

Last week STATter911 and Twitter became one (@STATter911). You can now get the links to all the STATter911.com stories via Twitter, plus some additional commentary (as if I don’t write enough already).

At the moment you won’t find us in “find people” on Twitter. Twitter claims it is having a problem adding some members to that database. You can find us using Twitter’s “search”.

STATt911.com is also on YouTube (take that Geezer). Click here. There, you will find a library of some of the videos we have brought you recently.

Now back to Twitter. LAFD (motto – “a full-spectrum life safety agency”) has been on Twitter for a while. As for taking advantage of what the digital age has to offer, Devin Gales, Brian Humphrey, and d’Lisa Davies have been far ahead of Firegeezer.com, STATter911.com and just about everyone else with its alert service, electronic newsletter, blog and now Twitter.

I got a chuckle though when I saw the LAFD Twitter update below about a car crash last week. I think we have all had patients like this at one point or another. I just didn’t know when you had four of them the PIO needed to be notified.

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Chuck Snyder photo via The News-Journal. Click here for more of his pictures from this fire and even more here.

Watch video from the fire

From The News-Journal’s Damian Giletto:

Several fire companies from Kent and Sussex counties are battling a three-alarm fire this morning in Milford, said an official with the Kent County fire board.

DelDOT reports the right southbound lane of Del. 1 (Bay Road) is closed at Tub Mill Pond Road, and the DelDOT traffic cam at Thompsonville Road showed all southbound traffic narrowed to one lane and moving slowly at 9:40 a.m.

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Watch live press conference from Houston (earlier)

Click here for raw video from press conference

The Houston Fire Department has announced a joint investigation into the deaths on Sunday of Captain James Harlow and Probationary Firefighter Damion Hobbs that will include the Houston Fire Department, the Texas State Fire Marshal and NIOSH.

At the press conference details were also announced about the memorial service that will be held Thursday at 10:00 AM for the two firefighters.

More details later.

Read the latest from the Houston Chronicle

More from KHOU-TV

See previous coverage from STATter911.com

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11-alarms in New Hampshire as 50 buildings burn: This video above is from the fire in Alton that began late Sunday afternoon. Click here for a second video from the same person that apparently shows a propane explosion (a firefighter was seriously hurt when such an explosion propelled the hose he was holding into his face).The Alton Bay Christian Conference Center was at the center of the action and lost many cottages. Click here to see more videos, pictures and more details about the fire.

UPDATE – Veteran captain and young firefighter die in Houston fire: (We have added better pictures of the firefighters, new video and new links to the coverage. There is also a press conference this morning.) A STATter911.com reader alerted us that things weren’t good in Houston very early Sunday morning. By 5:00 AM we learned that two firefighters had died in the house fire on Oak Vista. Late Sunday afternoon it was revealed that Captain James Harlow and Probationary Firefighter Damion Hobbs from Station 26 were killed in the fire. Click here and here for our reports, including links to Houston media coverage of the tragedy.

FF Daniel McGown out of burn unit’s ICU and he is taking your messages: PGFDS’s Daniel McGown, burned last week, has made great improvement. Now upgraded to fair condition, he would like to hear from any of you via email and the various social networks. Click here for the details.

Firefighter arrested for arson in blaze that critically injured another firefighter: Firefighter Kenneth Ayers of the Baker Heights VFD is supposed to undergo surgery today at the Washington Hospital Center to repair broken bones in his face. FF Ayers was hurt Tuesday night during a Berkeley County, West Virginia barn fire. That barn was 150 yards or so from the Bedington VFD. West Virginia fire marshals have charged Bedington Firefighter James Blackford II with the fire and indicate there could be another arrest. Click here for our coverage.

6-alarms for Staten Island fire that burned brush and homes: Firegeezer has been on top of this one from Sunday afternoon. Click here to see the effort by FDNY to get ahead of these flames also fueled by strong winds.

Firehouse leveled by tornado: Click here for the story from Aiken, South Carolina.

Deputy chief’s home burns down: In South Carolina, the deputy chief of the Charleston County Rescue Squad went out to celebrate Easter Sunday with family and friends. When Gary Durgin came home his house was gone. Read the story.

STATter911.com on the road: The Tri-State Telecommunicators Banquet and Awards Ceremony got a visit by the Statter family on Saturday night at Charles Town Races and Slots. Two of the Statter’s emceed the event while the third took pictures. Please check out the list of call takers, dispatchers and supervisors from three states who were honored at the awards ceremony. Click here.