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Truck fire in PA: Fire was on State Route 41 just outside of Chatham Village.

SCOTUS reaction: The Supreme Court ruling yesterday morning has dominated the fire service news over the last 24 hours. A late addition to the coverage is a statement of disappointment about the ruling issued Monday evening by the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters. If you haven’t read the ruling or seen the coverage, here it is.

DC fire PIO moves on: Alan Etter, who has worked for at least four different fire chiefs is moving on. He is taking a position in the communications office of the University of the District of Columbia. Etter’s last day is July 10, a few days after his new boss at the DC Fire & EMS Department is scheduled to start. Pete Piringer has left Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service to take Billy Hayes’ position running the PIO office. Hayes is taking over public education and community outreach for the department. Read Etter’s goodbye note at DCFD.com.

As if you don’t get enough of me: If your daily does of STATter911.com isn’t enough, or if it’s too much and you want to tell me so, there are two appearances coming up where you can do just that. One is in Baltimore at Firehouse Expo where I will be loitering in Firegeezer’s booth and doing a little talk. The other is in October at the Fairfax County Professional Fire and Rescue Officers Association 7th Professional Development Seminar. Click here for the details.

Also, for Firehouse Expo, if you are interested in an Exhibit Floor only pass, that also includes access to the opening ceremony and keynote presentation, register before July 1o using Promo Code 69SFP and it will be free.

You have had the worst fire in the city’s history and the after-action report suggests more FD training, what is your next step as a city leader?: If you somehow guessed cut the fire department’s training budget by 40-percent you aced this pop quiz and there may be a career path for you in North Myrtle Beach, SC. This is how Mayor Marilyn Hatley describes it, “It’s a decrease in discretionary, outside training, not in essential training”. Read more in a Sun News article sent to us by a STATter911 reader.

Race to retire in Boston: 29 Boston firefighters filed for disability retirement yesterday and more are expected today. Starting Wednesday the rules change thanks to a new state law that will no longer provide an enhanced pension to those who claim injury while filling in for a superior. Officials believe the provision had been abused. Click here to check out the new retirement rules.

Texting 911: The next step for helping the hearing impaired report emergencies is being tested in Iowa. Check it out.

Lawrence update – the clock is ticking: In Lawrence, Massachusetts some city councilors have heard the message from the fire chief loud and clear and have vowed not to close two fire stations. The problem is they have to send a budget to the state by tomorrow and a solution isn’t at hand. They meet again tonight at seven. Read the story.

Is public opinion on side of the firefighters in Providence?: A letter to the editor of the Providence Journal calling firefighters “greedy” in their long contract dispute with the city prompted WPRI-TV to ask some questions. Watch the story.

Dollar loss: Firegeezer has been keeping tabs on the growing number of Dollar Stores burning across our vast land. He was the first to really pick up on this pattern. Not sure what is going on here, but Geezer is right when he suggests if you have a Dollar Store in your area it is a good time to dust off the pre-plans. Check out the latest fire.

Read the Haverhill, MA agreement that is causing problems: From the Eagle-Tribune – After weeks of private talks between the firefighter’s union and Mayor James Fiorentini to keep the Bradford fire station open for at least one year, cut down on Fire Department spending including soaring overtime costs, and avoid the demotions of seven fire officers, the firefighters voted to approve this draft agreement. However, the union made changes that would prohibit the mayor from closing not only Bradford fire station, but any fire station in the city for one year. Fiorentini rejected the agreement. Read the agreement. Here is an updated story.

Two Alabama firefighters face arson charges: Two volunteers in Jackson County are under arrest and a third man is being sought following an investigation into a barn fire. Read the story. Watch the story.

Posted by dave statter on June 30, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

STATter911.com coming to a neighborhood near you (or at least some of you). Appearances at Firehouse Expo and Fairfax County Officers Seminar.

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Three guys looking at a lot better than they should thanks to some airbrushing by Mike Legeros.

Recently I warned you that if you didn’t sign up on Twitter, Facebook and all of the other ways to reach STATter911.com, I would start going door to door. This is the first step.

Here are a couple of upcoming personal appearances by STATter911.com.

Firehouse Expo: At noon on Thursday, July 23, I will be joining a couple of local PIOs, Mark Brady (PGFD) and Pete Piringer (no one is sure where he will be working by then), providing words of wisdom at the conference on a topic titled, Community and Media Relations and the New Media – Maintaining Your Reputation (as if I even have a reputation to maintain).

Actually, I expect it to be a lively discussion where we talk about many of the issues you regularly read about on the blog. Don’t expect the three guys up front to agree on everything. In fact, you will be lucky to find us to agree on anything (except maybe where to have lunch). What I do guarantee is that we will give you a lot of things to think about as you and your department deal with issues surrounding the use of the new media.

Most of the rest of the time in Baltimore you will find me on the exhibit floor at Booth 2200, the Firegeezer booth. I will be hanging out with Firegeezer Bill Schumm and FossilMedic Mike Ward. Standing next to them helps me keep my youthful appearance. Please come by and say hi.

Special offer: If you are interested in an Exhibit Floor only pass, that also includes access to the opening ceremony and keynote presentation, register before July 10 using Promo Code 69SFP and it will be free.

Visit http://www.firehouseexpo.com/ for all the event details.

Fairfax County Professional Fire and Rescue Officers Association 7th Professional Development Seminar: Now these are people who should really know better. They have seen my act up close on TV for many years and yet Chuck Ryan has still invited me to be the keynote speaker. It is being held at the Marriott Hotel, Tysons Corner Virginia on October 1 and 2. I talk at 8:00 AM on October 2. There are a lot of others speaking who are really worth the price of admission. Check out the details and register online here.

Posted by dave statter on June 30, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Just don't call 911 this way while you are driving

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From the Des Moines Register:

A northeast Iowa county has begun implementing technology that will make its 911 call center the first in the nation to accept text messages, officials said Tuesday.

The service is currently in test mode, but Black Hawk County officials say their plan is to go live with the service as early as July.

The technology is designed to allow people with speech and hearing impediments to text 911, and for the emergency operator to communicate back by texting.

Read the rest of the article.

Posted by dave statter on June 29, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

UPDATED: Supreme Court rules in favor of white New Haven firefighters in Ricci v DeStefano. Watch press conference with New Haven 20.

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Read Supreme Court ruling in Ricci v DeStefano

New Haven Register coverage

WUSA9.com coverage

Watch raw video from press conference with New Haven 20

More video from Firegeezer.com

Read statement from President Joseph B. Muhammad of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters

“I think this is proof positive that if you work hard in a America that you can accomplish anything.” The words of lead plaintiff Franks Ricci as reported by the New Haven Register following today’s ruling by the US Supreme Court.

Here’s more from William Kaempffer’s article:

Fire Lt. Matt Marcarelli, a plaintiff who scored first on the captain’s test, said he felt “humbled…elated…and proud,” Monday.

The last four years have been hard but “you have to have faith in the system,” Marcarelli said, and the decisions in the lower court “shook our faith.”

Coming to work during the past four years and putting on a lieutenant’s badge, while working as an acting captain, he said he “felt robbed,” and “was constantly reminded that we were discriminated against.”

“As firefighters we certainly did not want to make our mark in firefighter history in a courtroom but it appears that’s what we’ve done,” Marcarelli said.

Monday evening, Joseph B. Muhammad, president of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters, issued a statement expressing the organization’s disappointment with the ruling. It said in part:

Especially disheartening is the Court’s failure to see the changing face of race issues and the need for diversity in this country; particularly in our safety forces as they continue to take not only a community, but a more global role.

From the AP:

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide and make it harder to prove discrimination when there is no evidence it was intentional.

Frank Ricci, courtesy PenWell Corporation’s Fire Engineering.

New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

The ruling could give Sotomayor’s critics fresh ammunition two weeks before her Senate confirmation hearing. Conservatives say it shows she is a judicial activist who lets her own feelings color her decisions. On the other hand, liberal allies say her stance in the case demonstrates her restraint and unwillingness to go beyond established precedents.

Coincidentally, the court may have given a boost to calls for quick action on her nomination.

The court said it will return Sept. 9 to hear a second round of arguments in a campaign finance case, and with Justice David Souter retiring there would be only eight justices unless Sotomayor has been confirmed by then.

In Monday’s ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions.” He was joined in the majority by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters “understandably attract this court’s sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them.”

Justices Souter, Stephen Breyer and John Paul Stevens signed onto Ginsburg’s dissent, which she read aloud in court Monday. Speaking dismissively of the majority opinion, she predicted the court’s ruling “will not have staying power.”

Kennedy’s opinion made only passing reference to the work of Sotomayor and the other two judges on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who upheld a lower court ruling in favor of New Haven.

But the appellate judges have been criticized for producing a cursory opinion that failed to deal with “indisputably complex and far from well-settled” questions, in the words of another appeals court judge, Sotomayor mentor Jose Cabranes.

“This perfunctory disposition rests uneasily with the weighty issues presented by this appeal,” Cabranes said, in a dissent from the full 2nd Circuit’s decision not to hear the case.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Sotomayor should not be criticized for the unsigned appeals court decision, which he asserted she did not write. “Judge Sotomayor and the lower court panel did what judges are supposed to do, they followed precedent,” said the Vermont Democrat who will preside over Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings next month.

Leahy also called the high court decision “cramped” and wrong.

In New Haven, Nancy Ricci, whose son, Frank, was the lead plaintiff on the lawsuit, carried a large cake decorated with red, white and blue frosting into the law office where the firefighters were celebrating their victory.

The ruling is “a sign that individual achievement should not take a back seat to race or ethnicity,” said Karen Torre, the firefighters’ attorney. “I think the import of the decision is that cities cannot bow to politics and pressure and lobbying by special interest groups or act to achieve racial quotas.”

At a press conference on the steps of city hall in New Haven, firefighter Frank Ricci said the ruling showed that “if you work hard, you can succeed in America.”

Monday’s decision has its origins in New Haven’s need to fill vacancies for lieutenants and captains in its fire department. It hired an outside firm to design a test, which was given to 77 candidates for lieutenant and 41 candidates for captain.

Fifty-six firefighters passed the exams, including 41 whites, nine blacks and six Hispanics. But of those, only 17 whites and two Hispanic
s could expect promotion.

The city eventually decided not to use the exam to determine promotions. It said it acted because it might have been vulnerable to claims that the exam had a “disparate impact” on minorities in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The white firefighters said the decision violated the same law’s prohibition on intentional discrimination. The lawsuit was filed by 20 white plaintiffs, including one man who is both white and Hispanic.

Kennedy said an employer needs a “strong basis in evidence” to believe it will be held liable in a disparate impact lawsuit. New Haven had no such evidence, he said.

The city declined to validate the test after it was given, a step that could have identified flaws or determined that there were no serious problems with it. In addition, city officials could not say what was wrong with the test, other than the racially skewed results.

“The city could be liable for disparate-impact discrimination only if the examinations were not job related” or the city failed to use a less discriminatory alternative, Kennedy said. “We conclude that there is no strong basis in evidence to establish that the test was deficient in either of these respects.”

But Ginsburg said the court should have assessed “the starkly disparate results” of the exams against the backdrop of historical and ongoing inequality in the New Haven fire department. As of 2003, she said, only one of the city’s 21 fire captains was African-American.

Until this decision, Ginsburg said, the civil rights law’s prohibitions on intentional discrimination and disparate impact were complementary, both aimed at ending workplace discrimination.

“Today’s decision sets these paired directives at odds,” she said.

Posted by dave statter on June 29, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Quick takes

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Fire at a vacant lumber company: This is a short clip from the fire before dawn on Saturday at the Church Hill Lumber Company in Queen Anne’s County, MD. The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office says the fire was deliberately set. See more small clips here, here, here, here, here and here. Read a detailed account of the fire from the Church Hill Volunteer Fire Company website.

New Haven decision today: The Supreme Court is expected to release a decision today on Ricci v DeStefano. That is the reverse discrimination case where 20 firefighters from New Haven say they were denied promotions for racial reasons. Read more.

Well it’s not like any fires occur there: In the past, Lawrence, Massachusetts has been dubbed the arson capital of New England. There has long been a fire problem in the city. Still, with the budget issues everyone is facing, the Lawrence Fire Department isn’t being spared. On the loss of 14 firefighters and two firehouses Chief Peter Takvorian tells The Eagle-Tribune, “I cannot provide an adequate level of public safety in the city. It is just not possible.” Chief Takvorian added, “With these low levels, there will be negative consequences. It’s not a matter of if it will happen. It’s a matter of when.” Read the article.

Layoffs in Portland, Maine: The union says the city won’t consider its cost cutting moves and wanted concessions instead. The firefighters said no to a wage freeze and now are expecting a layoff announcement this week. Read more.

A new form of roulette coming to Las Vegas?: Clark County, Nevada is now considering rotating closures, dubbed by some as brownouts and by others as firehouse roulette. Read more.

Speaking of gambling: They are back in business in Joliet, Illinois three months after the fire that damaged the Empress Casino on the waterfront. Read more.

Fire and gunfire at a Detroit apartment building: Police shot and killed the gunman on Sunday. Neighbors say he is the one who set the fire and wounded two people walking by the building and fired on police and firefighters. He apparently was fed up with the rats and bugs. Details are here.

Clearly there was a pattern on Sunday in Michigan: A few hours earlier, in Ypsilanti Township, sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man leaving his mother’s burning home. She was already dead inside. Read the details.

Looking for a job as a fire chief?: Firegeezer has some job leads for you.

Ambulance fees on the table again: County Executive Isiah Leggett’s bill is before the Montgomery County (MD) Council again with a Tuesday deadline on the issue. Click here.

Disabled woman saved by neighbor from California fire: Click here for some good quality video of a mobile home fire in Loomis on Sunday. Before firefighters arrived a neighbor kicked down the door and rescued a disabled woman. More on the story from KOVR-TV.

Apartment fire in Kansas: Chopper view of a fire on Friday in Shawnee.

Posted by dave statter on June 29, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

House fire in Connecticut. Video from a fire Friday in Trumbull.

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This is video from a Friday evening fire in Trumbull, Connecticut. The video is from First Due Fire Photos where you will also find pictures from the fire.

Click here for details.

Posted by dave statter on June 29, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Quick takes

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Woman found in St. Louis fire dies: One woman was taken from this fire late Friday morning in St. Louis. She has since died. At bout 5:20 into the clip the evacuation orders were given.

Anatomy of a 911 call: More details of the rush to try and save Michael Jackson. If you haven’t heard it yet, the 911 call is out. Plus, some more video from outside his home as the events unfolded. Also, JEMS.com talked to the LAFD medical director. Check it out.

PGFD finally has issued the plan for July 1: We have all of the details of a very complicated staffing plan that Prince George’s County, Maryland officials are hoping will get them through tough times. The plan relies on volunteer firefighters to take the places of career staff that will be redeployed or furloughed. Click here to read it for yourself.

Heritage Foundation takes on fire grants: At a time when the fire service is fighting for all the funding it can get from Congress with the FY 2010 FIRE Grant budget (also check CFSI.org), The Heritage Foundation (Conservative policy research and analysis) “summarizes the findings of a forthcoming Center for Data Analysis (CDA) report that evaluates the effectiveness of the Assistance for Firefighter Grant (AFG) Program, Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants”. Pointing out that the study found the grants had no impact on fire casualties, David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., a Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation writes that Congress should eliminate funding for the fire grant program. Read the article.

Softball tournament to benefit and ailing firefighter: A family event in Manassas, Virginia to assist Firefighter Firefighter Zalys with his battle with cancer. Click here for the details.

Firehouse thefts were an inside job: That’s the story from Pittsburgh where police say a firefighter would call in false alarms so he could take wallets and money from the firehouse. Police claim the firefighter admitted to having a heroin habit. Read the details.

Firefighter arson in Buffalo area: A Rural/Metro Medical Services EMT who is a volunteer firefighter with the Vigilant Fire Company in West Seneca now has two arson charges against him. Read the story. Watch the story.

Fire department cuts 50% of its force: That’s the story from Weston, WV where they had four career fighters and now there are only two. Read more.

Sexual harassment claim in Indiana: This time it is male against male. An 18-year-veteran of the South Bend Fire Department says he complained to superiors about another firefighter rubbing up against him in a sexual manner on three different occasions. The firefighters says he was retaliated against for complaining. Read more.

Two for the price of one: Steve Skipton at PhillyFireNews.com reports two dwelling fires a few minutes and a block apart on Friday afternoon in Camden. Click here and here to see his pictures.

Posted by dave statter on June 27, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Softball tourney to help ailing Manassas, Virginia firefighter. Come to the "Z" Tournament.

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Read press release about the tournament

We have mentioned before the battle being waged by City of Manassas Firefighter Zygimantas Zalys. At 32-years-old he is suffering from advanced pancreatic and liver cancer. Above are the details of an event on Sunday to help raise money to assist “Z”, his wife and infant son.

You can also send donations directly IAFF Local 4466, Attn: “Z” Fund, P.O. Box 505, Manassas, Virginia, 20108.

Posted by dave statter on June 27, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

911 call from Michael Jackson's home. The view from the tourist bus. More on treatment by EMS.

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Watch video shot from tourist bus in front of Michael Jackson’s home (via TMZ.com)

More details on EMS response from JEMS.com/FirefighterNation (check out the discussion on the now widely distributed photo of Michael Jackson snapped through the window of the ambulance)

STATter911.com previous coverage here and here

I had mentioned this morning that, to me, one of the most bizarre moments of the video from Michael Jackson’s home was the chopped top Hollywood tour van passing by Engine 71 as Paramedic Rescue Ambulance 71 was leaving. Now TMZ.com has that video.

The celebrity website was also first with the 911 call.

JEMS.com talked with Marc Eckstein, MD, MPH, FACEP, Medical Director of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Here is an excerpt:

“LAFD members immediately took over CPR and intiated both basic and advanced life support interventions,” Eckstein continued. “They aggressively attempted resuscitation on scene for approximately 30 minutes, and after consultation with on-line medical control at the UCLA base station, they continued resuscitative efforts during the short transport to the UCLA emergency department. There was no change in the patient’s status during his prehospital course.”

TMZ.com is reporting other details, indicating that the paramedics did what some have referred to in our comments section as a “PR protocol”:

When EMTs arrived there was evidence someone had been performing CPR on Michael for “quite some time.” There was evidence of Lidocaine — an old-school drug that can be used to treat disturbances in the heart’s rhythm. Medics took over performing CPR but determined Jackson was lifeless — and wanted to call the coroner to pick up the body.We’re told Jackson was flat-lined when EMTs arrived. But our sources say M.J.’s doc demanded EMTs continue performing CPR anyway, and demanded that they take Michael to the hospital.

Posted by dave statter on June 27, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

New Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department staffing plan. Relies on volunteers to fill rotating removal of career staffing.

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Read staffing memo, plan and July-August schedule (PGFD notes there is an error with the calendar that will be fixed on Monday)

Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady sent STATter911.com an official copy of the department’s new staffing plan to take effect with the budget year that begins on July 1. With an approximately 75% reduction in overtime spending. and a pledge to live within its budget, the plan again calls for volunteers to fill shifts where career staff is redeployed. It includes a schedule that shows removal of career staff on a rotating basis for July and August.

The plan is different than one that county officials had privately and publicly talked about as recently as June 17. In that plan career staffing was to be completely removed from a handful of stations. In recent days sources within county government indicated that plan proved unpopular with members of the Prince George’s County Council. They were concerned citizens would see it as a reduction in services and a de facto closing of some fire stations.

In the directive outlining the plan, Acting Chief Eugene Jones makes it clear that such a reduction of services could occur where volunteers are unable to fill in for the career staff:

It is important to note that it is not anticipated that the County Fire/Emergency Medical Services Department will have the means to increase staffing even when Volunteer participation is minimal or non-existent.

Chief Jones also points out the department will, when necessary, further reduce staffing on a temporary basis where there are personnel shortages and a lack of overtime funds. The plan gives a formula for how those reductions will be done.

Posted by dave statter on June 26, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Quick takes

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The 911 call seen around the world: To go with our picture yesterday of the current most famous ambulance in the world (and Mike Ward’s motherly comment) is the mobile data display of that response as shown in The Sun. LAFD reports it sent an ambulance with two paramedics, a four-person engine company with one paramedic and an EMS captain to 100 block of N. Carolwood Drive for a 50-year-old male who was not breathing. The call, according to Capt. Steve Ruda, came in at 12:21:04 on Thursday afternoon and took 42 seconds to process. The first unit was on the scene in 3 minutes, 17 seconds. The crews were at the house working on the patient for 42-minutes and arrived at UCLA Medical Center at 1:14 PM. In case you somehow haven’t seen the video of the ambulance heading to the hospital, I have added it above. The shot of the day is the chop top Hollywood tourist van pulling up next to Engine 71. Does it get any more bizarre than that? If you don’t know by now whose home this was, just go back to sleep and forget about it.

Public wants head of dog-killing firefighter: The president of the IAFF in Columbus, Ohio says he has received hundreds of emails and calls from people who want David Santuomo fired. We told you yesterday about the firefighter getting jail time for shooting his two dogs in order to avoid paying a kennel charge while on vacation and then left the bodies in the trash behind the firehouse. Read the latest.

Firefighters want head of dog-snatching chief: Firefighters in Brownsville, Texas called police after their chief took Chief. Chief is the 3-month-old puppy found dehydrated and malnourished two-months-ago by the firefighters from Station 6 while on a diving drill. They rescued the dog. Chief Lenny Perez came by the station on Tuesday and took the dog to the pound. The firefighters are accusing their chief of theft. Chief Perez says the firefighters didn’t follow his orders to get rid of the dog. Read the story. Watch video of Chief.

The trail of the donated fire engine & ambulance: Mike Debonis, AKA Loose Lips in Washington City Paper, attended yesterday’s hearing on the aborted donation from DC to Sosua in the Dominican Republic. As you may recall, DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin was taking all of the heat when reporters uncovered this issue. The mayor’s office was quiet on the matter as Chief Rubin was left to answer the tough questions. At the time, even though he says he knew little or nothing about it, Rubin took responsibility as the chief of the fire department. Now the fingers are being pointed at one of the mayor’s friends and a top aide. Read the story.

In case you missed it: Listen to the fireground audio from Monday’s Metro collision in Washington, DC.

Watch video as mayor abruptly ends meeting when asked about fire department layoffs: The meeting with citizens didn’t go exactly how Muncie, Indiana Mayor Sharon McShurley had planned. The questioning about the layoffs of 32 firefighters and the closing of two stations is apparently what prompted the mayor to end the meeting 90-minutes early. Click here to watch story. Read the story.

Despite chief’s warning of brownouts budget is cut: San Francisco Chief Joanne Hayes-White says she will work with the Board of Supervisors to avoid closing stations, but she isn’t confident it can be done after losing $6 million from the budget. Read the latest.

Judge rules for volunteers: We have told you before about the funding dispute between Stamford, CT and the volunteers from Turn of River FD. The volunteers won the latest round in court with the judge ordering the city to pay almost $300,000 by next Tuesday. Read the details.

More fires in Hinton: The seemingly never-ending Arson problem continues in Hinton, WV. Read the latest.

Text addicts: Firegeezer devotes his Morning Lineup to the dangers of DWT. Click here.

Homes come with own water supply: Marine operations in evidence from Thursday at Liberty Dock, Waldo Ponit Harbor in Sausalito, California. Fire involves two houseboats. Read more about Thursday’s fire.

Posted by dave statter on June 26, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

At the moment, the most famous ambulance in the world. Michael Jackson Dead. LAFD medics rush King of Pop to the hospital in cardiac arrest.

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Image from TMZ.com

The website TMZ.com was the first to report the King of Pop is dead. Now, mainstream media outlets confirm the same news. LAFD reports the 911 call came in at 12:21 PM.

Posted by dave statter on June 25, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

UPDATED Quick takes

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Fifth-alarm in Lodi, NJ: A fire at an abandoned industrial sire on Tuesday evening. According to the Star-Ledger – The site used to house Interplast Universal Industries, a company that made vinyl-coated fabrics and is on the state Department of Environmental Protection’s list of known contaminated sites, the report said. Read more.

Fireground audio, new video and new details from the Metro train collision: Click here for audio from DC Fire Feed of Monday’s crash on the Red Line. We also have DC Fire & EMS Department photographer Vito Maggiolo’s raw video shot track side shortly after the accident occurred.. The members of Rescue Squad 2 gave us some new info on Tuesday confirming that most, if not all of the victims who died had been in the first car of the striking train. Also, one woman died while the firefighters tried to extricate her. The details and Vito’s video can be found here.

Check out the latest on the Metro collision investigation at WUSA9.com.

Rather than even try to compete with the exhaustive compilation of Metro crash related stories Mike Debonis apparently stays up all night compiling, I give you the link to Loose Lips Daily at Washington City Paper.

Another DC story: Remember all of the issues surrounding the fire engine give away to a resort town in the Dominican Republic? There is a City Council hearing scheduled today where new details are expected. Mike Debonis, apparently in his spare time, talked with the star witness. Read the story.

Sleepy battalion chief in Chicago: An investigation is underway into why a South Side battalion chief missed an overnight run last week. The rest of the house was able to make it out the door to the firebombing call. Read more.

90 days for firefighter in dog killing, money saving scheme: Sloppy and Skeeter were disposed of in a dumpster behind his fire station. The two dogs were shot to death in Columbus, Ohio Firefighter David Santuomo’s basement, attaching a plastic bottle to his rifle for a silencer. The killings were a way to save kennel fees while he was on vacation with his girlfriend. Details can be found here.

Firehouse thief: That’s the story from El Paso where numerous lockers were broken into and a firefighters car stolen. Read more.

Tulsa tussle has claim that system has “run amuck”: Budget battles have sparked a war of words between public safety unions and Councilor Bill Martinson, who said, “We have a system run amuck when our two public safety departments operate with impunity when it comes to their union members; deciding which laws to obey or what information they feel inclined to disclose.” Read the story.

Seven from FDNY punished over double LODD: Both Firegeezer and Firefighter Close Calls are all over the story from New York where loss of command and reprimand’s have been given almost two years after Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in the Deutsche Bank building fire on Liberty Street.

Fire department calls off search: Click here for a great picture of the Delaware Water Gap fire chief taking a hands on approach to a large search operation behind the fire station. Sad news that, despite the fire department’s great efforts, the search was called before Prudence could be found. Did we mention that Prudence is a pot-bellied pig whose belly apparently is doing just fine during this time away from her owner?

Overnight in Detroit: A Dennis Walus picture from this morning. Here’s his account- Detroit Fire companies responded to the area of Rupert & Caldwell for a reported dwelling fire, upon arrival of Ladder 30 they reported a vacant 2 story dwelling going throughout. Engine 60 stretched on the dwelling, Ladder 30 set up for tower operations on arrival. This fire was fought defensively until the fire was knocked down and conditions improved allowing for interior operations, Companies operated at this fire for aprox 1.5 hours to bring the fire under control with 4 lines used. Engines 60/58/39/35 Ladder 30/16 Squad 6 and Chief 5 responded to this box alarm. EMS was also ordered to the scene for an injured firefighter. Click here for the rest of the pictures.

Posted by dave statter on June 25, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Listen to DC Fire & EMS Department radio traffic from Monday's Metro crash

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DC Fire Feed has posted the radio traffic from Monday’s collision between two Metro Red Line trains that killed nine people and injured scores of others. Click above to listen to it.

Posted by dave statter on June 25, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

New raw video from Metro crash site. Rescuers report one woman died while attempts were made to free her. Most of the dead in older rail car.

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Watch raw video from DC Fire & EMS photographer Vito Maggiolo (or here)

Lt. Tony Carroll and Firefighter Scott Hudson describe video and rescue attempt

Listen to DC Fire & EMS Department radio traffic from incident

DC Fire & EMS Department Lt. Tony Carroll says one of the two women his crew initially tried to untangle from Monday’s wreckage on the Red Line died during the rescue operation. While she didn’t speak, the firefighters report they heard moaning. The women are two of the nine people who died in the worst accident in the 33-year-history of Metro.

Lt. Carroll, of Rescue Squad 2, looked at early video from the crash scene taken by DC Fire & EMS Department photographer Vito Maggiolo. The department released the video Wednesday afternoon. According to Carroll, most, if not all of those who died were in the lead car of the striking train. That train was made up of the older, 1000 Series Metro cars.

Firefighter Scott Hudson said the crew had to focus on trying to get the two women out as quickly as possible. Both Hudson and Carroll describe how shocked they were to see the 75-foot long car compressed to about 15 or 20 feet, with the outer shell of the car separating and rising over top of the other train.

The firefighters said to get to the trapped women they passed one man who was alert and conscious but entangled from the waist down in the mangled seats. Other firefighters tended to that man.

Posted by dave statter on June 24, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Metro round-up: A look at some of the early findings, the fire & EMS response, and issues surrounding the darkest day in the transit agency’s history.

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Images on this page from DC Fire & EMS Department photographer Vito Maggiolo via DCFD.com.

Instead of our normal “Quick takes” to start the day, we are focusing this morning on Monday’s crash on the DC Metro system.

The latest on the investigation: Check out WUSA9.com for the latest stories on the investigation and details about the victims of Monday’s crash. The headline from the Tuesday afternoon NTSB briefing is that the Metro train that collided with a stopped train was in the automatic mode and the train operator put the train into “emergency” in an apparent effort to halt the train. Watch Gary Nurenberg’s 11:00 PM wrap-up.

“Small incident” became big problem: Reporters are asking lots of questions about why this disastrous crash was originally reported, as Chief Dennis Rubin said on Monday, as “a small incident”. So far, what everyone at Metro’s OCC and DC’s OUC knew, and when they knew it, has not been released. What is known is there is a long history of communications issues between Metro and area fire departments. Not all of them have been Metro’s fault. Click here for that story.

First responders to Metro crash heard from, finally: After a day of trying to interview firefighters and EMS workers who responded to Monday’s deadly crash, the crews from Rescue Squad 2 and Engine 26 were allowed to speak shortly after 6:00 PM on Tuesday. Their first hand accounts came at the end of a long late afternoon press briefing. It didn’t give us a lot of time to put together the type of story these highly praised first responders deserve. But it is an important story nonetheless. Click here for the accounts of Tony Carroll, Bill Whetzel, William Kennedy and Nicole Norris. Sgt. Kennedy and Firefighter/Paramedic Norris are seen carrying a patient (facing the camera) in the image below by Vito Maggiolo.

There’s more with rescuers from The Washington Post’s Allison Klein and Michael Ruane.

DC Fire & EMS Department command staff tells its story to national fire service and EMS press: Apparently off limits to the local media (not sure why, but we have asked Chief Rubin and his staff for an explanation) are detailed accounts of how the incident was handled by the people in charge of Monday’s response. Check out FirefighterNation.com/ Fire Rescue Magazine, Firehouse.com , FireRescue1.com and JEMS.com.

It isn’t just STATter911.com that noticed the media relations issues at Monday’s collision: While the fire department, with Chief Rubin at the helm, was the lead agency from the initial dispatch on Monday until the last body was removed on Tuesday, STATter911.com has confirmed that it was DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier who gave the orders to clear the press away from areas where the crash site could be seen. This came about an hour and fifteen minutes after the initial dispatch. We are still trying to determine from city officials why this occurred and why PIOs were told not to do interviews during the early stages of the incident. As we reported yesterday, the no interview orders came from Mayor Adrian Fenty’s press office. The Washington Post’s Nikita Stewart has more on critics of the mayor’s efforts to control the message. Also, WTOP’s Hank Silverberg has a frustrated radio reporter’s version of trying to get access and information on Monday. Go to DCRTV.com and scroll down.

Since how messages during times of crisis are delivered has long been a topic of discussion on this blog, let’s look beyond just the city’s efforts. Metro General Manager John Catoe probably has had the toughest questions to answer of any public official. Still, he has been out in front of the cameras on numerous occasions since the news coverage began. A Baltimore Sun reporter has some criticism of Metro’s efforts, but his complaints are web-based. Check it out here and here.

Also, Metro’s email alerts to riders apparently weren’t timely and the Post’s Dr. Gridlock, Robert Thomson, talks with Metro about how it kept its passengers informed.

Views from some cameras that were allowed access on Monday: DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter shot some close-up video that you can find here.

DC Fire & EMS Department photographer Vito Maggiolo’s early track side images are on DCFD.com.

Retired dispatcher and veteran fire photographer Elliott Goodman also has some gripping close-up images on DCFD.com.

FF/historian gives us some history on the crash site: Rich Schaffer is a DC firefighter with a passion for the department’s and the city’s history. Rich alerts us in our comments section to a very similar train collision in the early 1900s that took place in almost the exact location along the railroad in Fort Totten . What is known as theTerra Cotta wreck killed 53 people. Obviously it wasn’t Metro. It was the B & O Railroad (now the CSX tracks running
on the outside of the Metro line). According to Rich, after the crash, Congress mandated changes to the railroad industry to prevent rail cars from “telescoping” during a train collision. Telescoping is also what happened in Monday’s crash and has been a major concern with the NTSB. Here is a link to read more about the B & O collision.

Posted by dave statter on June 24, 2009 • Filed under: Chief Dennis Rubin • Tagged: Dennis Rubin

Who knew what and when about DC’s deadly Metro collision? A lot of questions based on past performance, but no facts showing there was a problem.

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For more on communications issues between Metro and area fire departments click here

You may have noted in our Monday evening story the mention of Chief Dennis Rubin’s saying that the original call was dispatched as a derailment on the Red Line and not a major collision with critical injuries. It wasn’t until firefighters arrived six minutes after being dispatched that they realized this was not a “small incident” as was originally thought.

A lot of reporters, including Jason Cherkis at Washington City Paper, William Ehart and Gary Emerling at The Washington Times, and The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock are asking questions about what information was relayed from Metro’s Operations Contol Center (OCC) to DC’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC or 911 center). In fact we have filed a Freedom of Information Act request in an attempt to learn this information.

The reason for this is there has been a long history of miscommunication, slow communications or no communications between OCC and OUC , which has delayed response or kept vital information from the first responders. We are also wondering what information, if any, OUC received from 911 callers on the train and what was relayed to firefighters.

We have covered this issue since 1996. In previous incidents, investigations have determined problems at both ends of the line. For example, after the Mount Vernon Square derailment on January 7, 2007, DC Fire & EMS Department Assistant Chief Larry Schultz called Metro’s response “unacceptable” because of a 12-minute delay reporting a derailment to the 911 center.

A month later, OUC officials admitted they booted three calls from Metro and took ten-minutes to dispatch a call for smoke at the Farragut North station.

So far, no one has specifics on how Monday’s call was handled. Just a lot of questions.

Posted by dave statter on June 24, 2009 • Filed under: Chief Dennis Rubin • Tagged: Dennis Rubin

DC Fire & EMS video from Metro collision that killed nine and injured 70.

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This is video shot by DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter from yesterday’s collision on the Metro Red Line.

Posted by dave statter on June 23, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Quick takes

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UPDATE – Final count is 9 dead in DC Metro crash: It is, by far, the deadliest crash in Metro’s 33-year-history. One train plowed into the rear of a stopped train north of Fort Totten on Metro’s Red Line.

Late last night, city sources confirmed there were at least 9 dead and more than 70 injured. At a morning press conference, Mayor Adrian Fenty says the official death toll was at seven. Around 10:00 AM city sources again confirm the number of dead is nine, with five bodies removed from the train this morning.

Prior to the removal, firefighters had been using a camera to view parts of the crumbled car that were not accessible.

As of 1:30 PM city sources indicate the number of dead will remain at nine.

Mayor Fenty expects that by 5:00 PM the city will be able to provide a final update on the number of dead.

Three-alarms were sounded to bring in enough fire and EMS crews to handle the injured. A number of the victims had to be cut from the wreckage. More bodies were discovered during recovery operations as firefighters made their way into the rear car of the stopped train that had been crush by the second train.

Watch raw video from morning press conference.

Watch live coverage from WUSA9.com (when available).

Click here for the coverage.

Where are the PIOs?: With a large section of the city shut down, Metro’s Red Line at a standstill, and loved ones desperately looking for information, the city went into an information blackout mode within the first hour of the crisis. While at least one fire department PIO provided initial information in the first minutes, sources within city government tell STATter911.com that word came from Mayor Adrian Fenty’s press office that no more interviews were to be done, or information relayed to reporters until a 7:15 PM press conference by the mayor. At about the same time, TV photographers and live truck crews were suddenly pushed back from vantage points where the wreckage could be seen. Many of these spots were out of the way of first responders working to treat patients. Reporters and photographers report being confronted by police and other officials even though they were on private property a considerable distance from the crash site. Law enforcement sources familiar with the situation say the efforts were made because of concerns by city and Metro officials that photographers might get pictures of bodies being removed from the train. A live truck crew with 9NEWS NOW (my station) was forced off an overpass and ordered to leave the microwave truck behind, cutting off a line of communications for the reporter to relay information to the public. A police PIO later intervened and allowed the operator to retrieve the truck. More on this information policy as we know it.

Staffing plan for PGFD: As we wait for the top secret staffing plan for the new fiscal year to be revealed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, STATter911.com has obtained the schedule for the temporary plan that takes the cash strapped department through June 30. Word from officials has been the July 1 plan will permanently remove career staffing from some stations. Click here to see how the rotating schedule, now in place, plays out over the next eight day.

Mystery siren revealed: It turns out the siren I heard in my neighborhood Saturday, and a few years ago, comes from a nearby private school. They have a weather alert system on the campus. Sources familiar with the incident say officials are supposed to alert the neighborhood when the siren is tested. That didn’t happen on Saturday. Click here for more.

Growing pains: In West Brookfield, Massachusetts a house uncovered a pot growing operation. Firefighters found more than 120 plants in four rooms of the house. Click here to watch the story.

Controversial chief leaving: Gee Dave, that headline really narrows it down. This one is the resignation of Reno, Nevada Chief Paul Wagner. Read the details.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet … : In Oberlech, Austria that could be the motto of the fire brigade. Firegeezer has found a most unusual primary attack vehicle at this ski resort. Check it out.

Posted by dave statter on June 23, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

UPDATE: 9 dead as two Metro trains collide in Washington, DC. Deadliest crash in the system’s history. Watch morning briefing.

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Live coverage from the scene (when available)

Raw video from Tuesday morning briefing

Watch slideshow from scene

Early raw video

Raw video from NTSB Monday night briefing

9NEWS NOW reporter Bruce Leshan’s 11:00 PM report

January 13, 1982 Metro collision that killed three people

(If video links fail to work with your browser, click here, where you will also find more videos from the crash)

City sources again confirm for STATter911.com that nine people have died in the collision of two Metro trains on Monday. The sources originally confirmed that information shortly after 11:00 PM, but in a morning press conference Mayor Adrian Fenty reported the official toll was at seven. Seventy-six others were hurt, at least two of them critically, in the worst wreck in Metro’s history.

DC Fire & EMS Department sources indicate the higher death count was originally based on views from a camera used to access parts of the wreckage firefighters couldn’t reach. Parts of bodies were discovered. The sources now confirm (10:00 AM on Tuesday) five more bodies were removed from the wreckage this morning, in addition to the four previously removed. The sources indicate there are no further signs, at the moment, of bodies in the wreckage.

Mayor Fenty expects a final death count to be announced at 5:00 PM.

Sources tell STATter911.com that Metro train controllers frantically tried to radio at least one of the operators of two trains that collided on the Red Line this afternoon just prior to the collision.

The call came in around 5:00 PM for a derailment near the Fort Totten Metro Station in Northeast. DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin confirms the original information from the city’s 911 center did not indicate there had been a collision between two trains with injuries.

Firefighters quickly determined the serious nature of the incident. One six-car train, Train 112, had collided with and run over the top the rear car of another six-car train, Train 214. Metro officials confirm that both trains were heading toward Shady Grove, or in-bound toward the city, approaching the Fort Totten station.

In an early briefing DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter reported as many as nine-people trapped in the wreckage. By 7:00 PM sources confirmed that four people had died, with more fatalities likely. City officials held their first briefing at 7:15 PM, lead by Mayor Adrian Fenty.

A short time later the other two fatalities were confirmed. One of those dead is the woman Metro worker who was operating Train 112.

Chief Rubin reports a total of 70 people were transported to area hospitals. According to Chief Rubin, fifty were green tags, 14 were yellow tags, 6 red tags and 6 black tags. Two firefighters received minor injuries while at the scene.

Three-alarms were sounded, with much mutual-aid from neighboring jurisdictions responding to the scene and covering the rest of the city. A mass casualty type EMS bus and other equipment was sent from Fairfax County. Much closer Montgomery County, sent numerous ambulances and firefighters to the incident.

At 9:45 PM recovery operations were still underway to free bodies from the mangled wreckage of the trains. Fire officials expected to find more bodies in the crushed read car of Train 214.

Shortly after 11:00 PM, sources familiar with the investigation confirmed three more bodies were discovered in the wreckage.

The Metro tracks run adjacent to the CSX tracks. The incident shut down CSX and MARC Train traffic. Amtrak’s Capital Limited also uses the CSX tracks.

Prior to this incident, the deadliest crash in Metro’s history was on January 13, 1982. Three people were killed and 25 injured when a car was crushed against a tunnel wall at a malfunctioning crossover switch. This happened shortly after Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge during a snowstorm.

Posted by dave statter on June 23, 2009 • Filed under: Chief Dennis Rubin • Tagged: Dennis Rubin

Mystery solved: Dave can sleep better now that he has an answer about the phantom siren.

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Previous story on the siren mystery

It has taken three or four years, but I have now confirmed that one of my original thoughts on the source of a siren I have heard twice in my neighborhood is correct. This morning, the nearby Congressional School confirmed they have a siren that is used as a warning system for weather emergencies. A person at the school also believes it went off on Saturday morning as part of a test of the system.

When this happened a few years back, I thought that Fairfax County had checked with the school when I contacted county officials about the siren. I had also looked at Congressional and didn’t find the siren.

For the siren experts who contacted me, I will make an attempt to verify details about the siren. Thanks to all who participated.

Posted by dave statter on June 22, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Quick takes

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Big barn burns: Chickens and rabbits were the casualties when this barn burned in Seekonk, Massachusetts on Sunday. Details are here.

The bones rattling in the closet: Reporters look into the past of both Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Martin and Creek Nation Paramedic Maurice White Jr. Interesting stuff. You be the judge if it is relevant to the confrontation video and discussion. Click here.

Also, a look at the camera system that OHP uses and the rules for releasing video.

Dave’s siren song: A siren sounding in the area of STATter911.com’s world headquarters has Dave wondering about its source. Lot’s of input from readers and siren buffs. Listen for yourself.

Discount Dave’s findings conflict with fire investigator’s: The latest from Lansing, Michigan where a furniture store owner disputes the findings of the fire marshal. The FM says it is arson. The owner’s guy is leaning toward a natural gas explosion. Check it out.

Another business owner unhappy with authorities after a fire: This time it is in Madison, Wisconsin and the owner was arrested and charged with fighting with three police officers at the scene of the fire. Things got worse at the police station. Click here for the story.

Contract with firefighters called a burden: In Norco, California they are fighting the same battle that is going on most everywhere. The politicians are looking at the four-person engine companies and see that as one of a number of places to make cuts the fire department. Click here.

Opening of resort hits a snag: The $480 million Terranea Resort and Spa in Rancho Palos Verdes, California opened over the weekend. But the place had to be evacuated Sunday when a laundry room fire spread smoke through the building. Details are here.

Collapse in Brooklyn: A four-story building housing a bar and apartments collapsed in Clinton Hill on Sunday. The New York Times has pictures, video and even the “before” picture from Google Maps Street View. Seems that idea is spreading.

FD helicopter almost creates some business: A close-call on Saturday at the San Diego County Fair when Fire-Rescue Copter 2 did a low pass. The rotor-wash knocked over a sign. No injuries reported. Read more and see a picture of the damage.

Geezer’s stuff: Firegeezer has a lot of new content from over the weekend, just click and scroll. Just don’t miss FossilMedic Mike Ward’s mid-life crisis unfolding right before our eyes.

Careful Tulsa, this type of stuff didn’t go so well in DC: Tulsa, Oklahoma is donating a fire truck to a city in Mexico. Here’s more.

Lessons in public relations: This isn’t directly fire related, but it could be. Either way, it is an interesting look at a press policy by an agency serving the public. The general manager of California’s Palmdale Water District recently issued the following memo: “Effective immediately while working for the PMD no employee is to converse, or share information in any way with Antelope Valley Press reporter Alisha Semchuck. Failure to follow this directive will subject an employee to disciplinary action up to and including termination.” That ban was then extended to all reporters of the paper. Clearly GM Randy Hill was upset with recent news coverage about a possible bankruptcy. What is interesting is that someone is continuing to leak each of Hill’s memos about the ban. Not sure that policy is working too well. Read the story.

Posted by dave statter on June 22, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Reporters look into past of Oklahoma trooper & paramedic seen on confrontation video. One is called a bully, the other unprofessional.

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You may recall in the press conference held by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Martin’s attorney he encouraged reporters to dig around in Paramedic Maurice White Jr.’s past. Tulsa World reporters Ron Jackson and Sheila Stogsdill did just that and at the same time looked at the work history of Trooper Martin.

It turns out Martin was the police chief of Fairfax, Oklahoma in Osage County from March 1999 to July 2000 where residents characterized him as a bully.

As for White, he was fired in June 2004 after 11-years with Muskogee County EMS. White was accused of unprofessional behavior.

I am sure there will be much discussion over the relevancy of such information in connection with the May 24 incident. As long as this high profile situation remained a hot issue, with charges and counter-charges on both sides, it should be expected reporters will look into the past of the two men, in an effort to give insight into who they are. I am just surprised someone didn’t do it sooner.

On the surface, it would appear the skeletons in Trooper Martin’s closet have more direct bearing on the confrontation between the two men than the previous accusations against Paramedic White. But you be the judge. Here are excerpts from the article:

Martin’s tenure in Fairfax ended with a unanimous vote for his firing.

“Yeah, I remember him,” store clerk Linda Burgess said. “That’s a sore subject around here. He left quite an imprint on this community, and not a good one, either. He was a bully with an attitude.

“And he was always pulling people over and using the f-word.”

EMS Director Terri Mortensen criticized White in a termination letter, citing his “unprofessional behavior” toward her and “misuse of authority over your subordinates.” The letter listed other reasons for his termination:

Failure to complete run sheets in a timely manner.

Short notice on cancellation of teaching assignment.

Failure to schedule a relief EMT to cover his shift while he taught a class in a timely manner.

Forty of White’s former co-workers wrote a letter to the editor of the Muskogee Phoenix in support of White’s firing.

White was respected in other quarters. In Siloam Springs, Ark., he completed a one-year contract in 1992 as a paramedic for the fire department. Siloam Springs Fire Chief Jimmy Harris remembered White as “a good medic” and someone “pleasant to be with.”

Gary Padgett, who supervised White as a paramedic in Harrison, Ark., in 1991, remembered him as “a pleasant young man” and a true professional.

Longtime Fairfax barber shop owner Linda Bevill described Martin as a bullish man who ran off teenagers from cruising Main Street and constantly accused residents of drinking alcohol during an endless stream of “unnecessary” traffic stops.

“He struck me as a man who probably didn’t have any control over any part of his life growing up, someone who needed control and power,” Bevill said. “I remember he even went and bought one of those portable police lights for his own car. He just needed to play cop even when he was off duty.

“He needed to be admired, but he could never figure out why people didn’t like him. He just didn’t have any feel for people. And he was always making something big out of nothing.”

Former board of trustees member Ted Smith remembered Martin as someone who “didn’t take orders very well.”

Smith recalled one incident he witnessed in which two handcuffed teenagers were lying facedown on the sidewalk. Martin stood over one of the youngsters with his pistol aimed at the youth’s head.

“The boys were already handcuffed and on the ground,” Smith said. “Why pull the gun? … Yeah, we had a lot of trouble with him. We’re not surprised at all by what has happened. He just had an attitude.

“I always knew he’d be famous some day.”

Posted by dave statter on June 21, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Help me solve the mystery of it. Can someone explain the siren that sounded this morning in the 7 Corners area of Fairfax County, Virginia?

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I have lived in the Seven Corners area of Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside the City of Falls Church, for about ten years. For only the second time since moving here I have heard a loud siren sounding in this area. I have no clue what it is about. For that matter, neither do officials in Fairfax County or the neighboring jurisdictions they contacted following my inquiries (Falls Church and Arlington).

I am told by a county government source that the firefighters at Station 28, on Sleepy Hollow Road at Seven Corners, did not hear the siren this morning. They also didn’t hear it the last time. I am also told there was no sudden rush of calls from citizens to 911 looking for answers.

I believe it was September of 2006 when I last heard the siren. There was a meet the teachers event a few days before school started at Sleepy Hollow Elementary. A woman rushed into the lobby as I was leaving. She was quite distressed, wanting to know what the “air raid” siren was about. After walking out and hearing it I also wanted to know.

I checked numerous spots around the area, including the fire station, Congressional School and Lake Barcroft, looking for a siren mounted somewhere. No luck.

I also made numerous calls to Fairfax County officials looking for answers. They had no idea what I was talking about and probably concluded I was just nuts.

Now I have the proof (about the siren and not my sanity). If you have any answers, please leave a comment or write me at dstatter@wusa9.com.

Posted by dave statter on June 20, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized

Discount Dave's investigator discounts arson & says furniture store fire possibly from a natural gas explosion. Latest from Lansing, MI.

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Dave Sheets in a photo by Greg DeRuitter of the Lansing State Journal.

Video tour of the building

See our previous coverage of this story

On Tuesday we brought you the story of Discount Dave Sheets. His furniture store in Lansing, Michigan burned down on May 3. With city fire investigators calling the fire arson, Sheets believes the public will think he set his own store on fire. Dave Sheets has Charles Barnes of C.A. Barnes Consulting in Bellevue, Michigan looking into this matter.

Here is the latest in an article by Kevin Grasha at LSJ.com:

An investigator hired by the owner of Discount Dave’s Buy Rite Furniture said a massive explosion on one of the first two floors likely caused the fire that destroyed the building.

Charles Barnes of Bellevue-based C.A. Barnes Consulting, who was at the site today, said arson likely was not the cause.

He said a natural gas explosion was a possibility.

Lansing fire investigators said this week that they believe the fire was intentionally set, but did not release any details or say if there are any suspects.

An accelerant like gasoline being poured on couches and furniture would not cause the kind of explosion that appeared to happen, Barnes said.

“I don’t know what you’d put in there that would cause that kind of explosion,” said Barnes, who was photographing the scene today.

Many refrigerators, washers and driers in the basement showroom had been overturned or moved several feet. The fire did not reach the basement, which has a 2-foot-thick concrete ceiling.

“The explosion could have happened on the main floor and come down the stairway,” Barnes said.

Insurance company investigators have determined that the May 3 fire wasn’t arson.

The 23,000-square-foot furniture store on South Washington Avenue is now a pile of brick, charred wood and twisted metal.

Owner Dave Sheets, who suffered an anxiety attack when someone called to tell him about the fire and said he was hospitalized for three days, has always disputed the arson theory.

Sheets has criticized the city for ruling that the fire was intentionally set.

“The more I think about it, the more agitated I get,” he said today.

Posted by dave statter on June 20, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized