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Dollar Store in Illinois: From Steve Redick on Tuesday. Read and watch more about the fire. Firegeezer makes the point there seems to be a lot of fires lately in Dollar Stores and that you might want to make sure your pre-plans are up to date. Click here.

Man confesses to fire that killed Detroit FF Walt Harris: This is starting to sound like an arson-for-hire that turned into murder. Read the latest.

My three sons, again: We told you about the cardiac arrest of Jim Moore the president of the Catlett VFR in Virginia. We told you that he has three sons who are also members. In our original story we failed to mention that all three were involved in helping save their dad. I left one out. Read the updated story.

Hydrant trouble in Toledo: Controversy after a water supply problem at a fire in an historic home. The chief says the problem was a 4-inch main. Council member wants to make sure hydrants are tested. Read and watch the story.

Arson was part of plan to win back girlfriend: A Delaware man has now pleaded guilty to a fire in a Maryland home with the intent of being a hero. Read more.

Mayor/firefighter killed in crash: Guy Lawson, a 29-year veteran of the Norfolk Fire Department and the mayor of Exmore on Virginia’s Eastern Shore died in a car crash. Click here to read more.

Someone didn’t hold the mayo: Look what spilled in a truck wreck in Maryland.

Scary Creek Road: I am not making that up, that is the name of this road in Putnam County, WV. Read how the rig became stuck.

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Previous coverage of FF Walt Harris’ death here, here and here.

More on today’s developments from the Detroit Free Press

From an article by Charlie LeDuff and Santiago Esparza of the Detroit News:

Police have a man in custody who is said to have confessed to setting the Nov. 15 fire that killed firefighter Walt Harris — making his death a murder.

Homicide investigators traced the phone calls of the man, placing him at the house at 7481 Kirby on the city’s east side both before and after the fire. Phone records show the man placed numerous calls to the owner of the house, said a source involved with the investigation who wished to remain anonymous because the case is ongoing.

Harris was the 292nd homicide victim last year.

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As if we haven’t seen enough: Yet another fire in Gary, Indiana. Edward Malik on the scene once again. This vacant house burned about 1:00 Tuesday morning at 2690 Monroe.

UPDATED – My three sons: Jim Moore’s three sons are firefighters and so is Jim. The Moore family fills a lot of leadership positions at Catlett Volunteer Fire & Rescue in Fauquier County, Virginia. All three of Moore’s boys were on hand Friday morning when dad’s heart decided to stop beating. Jim Moore is now recovering from bypass surgery. Read the story. (Note – The original information from Catlett Chief Butch Flippo did not include the role of Captain Mike Moore. The story has now been updated.)

If you haven’t seen this one, you will want to: A truck burning on the side of I-81 in Pennsylvania decided to suddenly take a spin down the road. Click here for the video.

DC firefighters stop stolen ambulance in its tracks: Police suspect PCP is involved in the case of a man who overpowered a DC ambulance crew Monday night. The patient took off with the ambulance. He got about 16-blocks, but could go no further thanks to the fire engine that blocked the road. Read more.

Settlement reached in 2002 death of MD recruit: 23-year-old Andrew Waybright died after collapsing during a run on a hot July day seven-years-ago at the training facility in Frederick County, Maryland. The Frederick News-Post reports there is a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his parents. Click here.

Funeral arrangements for Virginia firefighter: Rhett Fleitz at VAFireNews.com has the details on the death of Firefighter Jeffrey H. Reed of the Pulaski Fire Department who developed medical problems at a structure fire on Friday. He died on Monday. Click here.

Deadly Slim Jim plant fire, explosion and collapse: WRAL-TV’s website is a good source of coverage for the tragedy at the ConAgra complex in Garner, North Carolina. Firegeezer Bill Schumm was on this one early.

One house fire, two neighbors, two rescues, but only one victim: In Maine, neighbors had to twice save a woman from her burning home. The second time took. Read and watch the story.

Just say no: Some interesting collision videos in a CBS report on DWT, driving while testing. Click here to see the story.

Is it the end of the line for a VFD?: That’s the indication from the Montgomery VFD in Lycoming County, PA. The issues are pretty basic: Not enough volunteers and not enough money. Read and watch the story.

Fatal fire in DC this morning: The picture above is from a blaze at a two-story duplex at 5066 Just Street, NE just before 6:00 AM. DC firefighters pulled an adult female from the fire and, along with medics, attempted to revive her. Spokesman Alan Etter reports the woman was pronounced dead at the hospital.

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From left to right Lt. Jonathan Moore, Captain Mike Moore, Dave Statter, President/Chief Driver Jim Moore, Lt. Jeremy Moore. Picture taken at the October 25, 2008 dedication of Catlett Volunteer Fire & Rescue’s new station.

With many years of combined experience in fire and EMS, members of the Moore family in Catlett, Virginia have performed CPR on cardiac arrest victims numerous times. It is unlikely the experience has ever been more personal than during the emergency that occurred on Friday.

Catlett Volunteer Fire & Rescue President and Chief Driver Jim Moore collapsed in the day room at the firehouse around 9:00 AM. According to Catlett Chief Butch Flippo, two of the department’s volunteer lieutenants and a captain were nearby. They are Jim Moore’s sons, Jonathan, Jeremy and Mike.

Jonathan and Jeremy Moore pulled their dad onto the floor and began CPR. Captain Mike Moore coordinated the rescue efforts. They were assisted by other fire and EMS personnel.

Chief Flippo tells STATter911.com, in less than two minutes, a career medic at the station had a Lifepak 12 by Jim Moore’s side. The medic shocked Moore twice. On the second attempt normal sinus rhythm returned. Jim Moore was taken to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg where he underwent bypass surgery this morning.

Chief Flippo visited with Moore late today and reports he seems to be recovering nicely.

Chief Flippo wrote about the Moore children, “I’m proud of their professionalism, even though it was their dad they were working on. Everyone held it together and did what was needed. I could not ask for better officers than that.”

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Watch story from WCSH-TV

From Jason Wheeler WCSH-TV:

The call came in for a house fire on Lewis Street in Westbrook just before 8 o’clock Monday night. But it was what took place before first responders arrived on scene that made all the difference.

Westbrook Fire Department credits the quick thinking neighbors for saving the womans life. Her name has not been released and witnesses who saw her after the fire say physically she seemed to be ok.

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Watch raw video of burning truck rolling down I-81

This is an interesting one. A truck burning on the side of the highway on Monday takes off by itself as a video camera was rolling. Here is an excerpt from WGAL-TV’s website:

The incident happened at about 2:45 p.m. in the southbound lanes between the Camp Hill/Route 581 exit and the Mechanicsburg exit. Traffic was backed up for about two hours.

It is also not yet clear why the truck started rolling down the road. It had been parked, but several minutes after the fire had been raging, the truck started to move. It picked up speed and veered off the road, crashing into a swale.

It seems that the truck’s brakes may have been melted in the fire.

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Orange, NJ second-alarm: This is reported to be from Saturday at 173 Taylor Street.

Nationals Park fireworks to return to the same spot despite fire chief’s concerns: At tonight’s game with the Reds expect to see fireworks during the National Anthem and if the Nationals actually hit some home runs and win the game. The fireworks will be fired from the same roof top location as they were Sunday when DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin shut down the operation. The chief spent much of Monday telling us the fireworks would likely have to move because of debris falling on the fans. That message changed in the evening when a statement was released saying modifications in how they are shot will allow the pyrotechnics to stay put. Read and watch our coverage.

PIO Pete to cross the border, plus more exciting council testimony in DC: For the first time Chief Dennis Rubin discussed publicly that the new supervisor of his press office is fire service veteran Pete Piringer, currently with the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service in Maryland. The Piringer discussion was some of the easier going for Chief Rubin at a hearing of the DC Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. We take a closer look at the hearing, previous gatherings of the committee, some of the chief’s critics and Rubin’s constant sparring with Chairman Phil Mendelson. Despite what you may read elsewhere, yesterday was certainly NOT their most heated of many similar exchanges on the budget and other topics, but it gives you a good window on the relationship between the chief and the chairman. Click here.

Five firefighters briefly trapped after engine overturns: Five helicopters took the firefighters to the hospital after yesterday evening’s wreck in Meade County, Kentucky. It turns out all of the injuries are considered non-life threatening. We have pictures, raw video and news coverage.

Response from to Toronto local on dispatch issues: Remember the story claiming built in delays in dispatching fire equipment in Toronto? IAFF Local 3888 President Scott Marks has a different view of things. Click here to read the letter he sent to the Toronto Star.

OHP denies dash-cam video request: Despite the prosecutor urging the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to release its video of the confrontation between its officer and an EMS crew, OHP is denying the request, saying its video isn’t covered under the Open Records Act. Click here for the latest and here for our previous coverage of the story.

The eyes of Texas are upon the governor: At least fire chiefs have their eyes focused on how Gov. Rick Perry plans to handle a bill that would ban cities from requiring sprinklers in new or existing homes. The fire service wants a veto. The building lobby, as you might imagine, sees it differently. Read the article.

Four-alarm high-rise fire in PA: Rescues made after fire starts on the 5th floor of a nine-story building in Lancaster on Sunday. Read details. Watch the story. More here and even more info in the forums at Lancaster.com.

Another chance to view some must see pictures and video: Our most clicked item was the series of pictures from New Jersey as a firefighter escapes the roof of a burning bowling alley in Shrewsbury. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

If you are both a fire and train buff, this story is for you: Union Pacific has donated a 392,000 pound gift to the San Antonio Fire Department training academy. See what it is.

Cool Sweeps participation cooled by judge: Firegeezer has an interesting story from Rochester, NY where a judge sides with firefighters who went to court to stop their participation in the annual hydrant cooling program. Click here for Bill’s coverage.

Way-back machine turned on in Skokie: Steve Redick has a series of clips from Skokie, Illinois in the 1970s. Above is Part 4. We will add some other parts later.

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Watch story from WAVE-TV

Interviews with witnesses & update at hospital from WLKY-TV

Raw helicopter video

Slideshow

Meade County Fire Protection District

Firefighter Close Calls

From Emily Udell, Courier-Journal.com:

Five Meade County firefighters were injured when their firetruck overturned around 6:15 p.m. yesterday near Brandenburg as they responded to a report of a car wreck, a spokesman for Kentucky State Police said.

TV stations report Engine 42 is the oldest rig in the fleet.

One firefighter was examined and released by 10:30 p.m., and the other four were still being treated in the emergency room.

The driver of the truck was a 10-year fire service veteran and had been certified to operate the vehicle for six months, he said.

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Raw video and a lot more from a 3-alarm fire in Rockville, MD: Our old friend Tom Yeatman was on the scene with camera in hand early Sunday morning as historic Chestnut Lodge burned down. The above image is from Tom’s video. Chestnut Lodge started as a hotel for the rich in 1889 and later became a well known sanitarium. The novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden was based on author Joanne Greenberg’s experiences at Chestnut Lodge. Besides the history lesson from 9NEWS NOW reporter Gary Nurenberg, and Tom’s video, we also have some early photos from the fire from Rockville VFD and John Horrell. Click here for our coverage.

No charges in Oklahoma, but prosecutor wants OHP to release the dash-cam video: District Attorney Max Cook says his office will not be filing criminal charges against anyone involved in that melee caught on video between the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and a Creek Nation ambulance crew. Cook is urging OHP to release the dash-cam video. We have the story, links to news coverage and links to our long list of previous entries related to this story. By the way, this issue has become our most commented story in the two-years of STATter911.com. It has more than 300 comments spread over various entries. Click here.

Chief Dennis Rubin pulls rank to stop fireworks display at Nationals’ game: The Nationals lost their game on Sunday (7-0 vs. Mets) and they also lost their fireworks. According to The City Paper’s Jason Cherkis, the fireworks loss was a direct order from DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin. Chief Rubin was apparently hit by some sort of debris after the fireworks display for the National Anthem. Just what that debris was now seems to be in dispute. Cherkis has the basic story confirmed by PIO Alan Etter and uses sources familiar with the incident to provide play-by-play of the interaction between the chief and those in charge of the display. Click here to read the article.

By the way, starting just a few months after he became chief, Dennis Rubin has been pushing hard to halt the sale of fireworks to consumers and has urged people to seek out public displays (like at Nationals Park). So far, he has been unable to convince the DC City Council to move in that direction.

A must see series of pictures: Interesting series of pictures as a firefighter exits the roof from Friday’s fire at a bowling alley in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Click here for those pictures and more.

Volunteers not wanted or needed: In New York, the Owego Fire Department has sent goodbye letters to 315 volunteers. It turns our the department’s charter only allows a maximum of 40 volunteers per station. It has five stations and had 515 members. Many veterans who have decades as volunteers, but aren’t active in responding on emergencies, have been dropped from the rolls. Read the story.

Statter’s story was only correct for about three days then they pulled the plug: For months we have been following the ever changing status of the firefighters and medics assigned to the National Harbor complex on the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, Maryland. On May 28 we told you the fire boat crew would also be running an engine starting on June 1. We were right. The problem is that by June 3 Engine 858 was history. Click here for an explanation.

Firefighters cleared in fetus flushing: A strange story from Mesa, Arizona where police are embroiled in controversy after an officer flushed a four-inch fetus down a motel toilet. The fire department was at the same scene preparing to transport the woman to the hospital who had miscarried. According to Mesa Fire Department Assistant Chief Dan Stubbs, the firefighters never saw the fetus. Click here for that part of the story.

The police side of this one doesn’t appear to be going away so quickly. As an investigation continues, the police unions are unhappy with the police chief for holding a press conference. Click here to read and watch the story.

Gary, Indiana = lots of fire and lots of video: It has been a busy few days in Gary, Indiana. Videographer Edward Malik’s most recent YouTube posting is quite interesting and worth watching. Calls to a men’s shelter had Engine 4 calling for help twice in just four-hours. The second fire did the trick. Click here for that video.

A day or two earlier there were four house fires in just two hours in Gary. Check here for the video and details.

More new video worth looking at: Regular reader Crowbar gave me some grief about video I recently posted on a slow news day. He was right that it was none too exciting. Well, we are trying to make it up to you with a bunch of new videos over the weekend. Included are an attic fire in Lodi, NJ, Baltimore’s Truck 10 at a row house fire, a house fire in Rochester, NY with some fireground audio, and a vacant commercial structure burning in Shreveport.

Better late than never: That’s not always the best motto for your news operation, but I totally overlooked an interesting fire last Tuesday in Stafford County, Virginia. I overlooked it despite getting emails and pictures from three different people. (Just what kind of idiot runs this operation?) Thanks to a smoke alarm, 18 people escaped a single-family home that was destroyed by fire at 3:40 in the morning. I have finally posted still pictures and details here.

Historic train station burns: Helicopter video, a picture of a wall in mid-collapse and details from a fire along the Union Pacific tracks in Casa Grande, Ar
izona. Click here.

None of your business: That essentially describes some of the answers a reporter in Toronto got from top officials when trying to figure out delays built into the fire department’s dispatch system. The reporter was still able to get a lot of details about the problem. Read the story.

Don’t leave home without us: The easiest way to find us is to simply type in STATter911.com. We are here with regular updates 24/7. But there are many other ways to access our content. Click the links to find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn or Firefighter Nation. And there is also home delivery.

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Click here to see the entire series of pictures

On Friday morning a fire destroyed Memory Bowling in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. The website Red Bank Green has an interesting series of pictures showing a firefighter making his way down from the roof via a Red Bank aerial ladder. Watch the series of pictures.

Click here for more details, video and photos from the fire from the Asbury Park Press.

Below is a YouTube video that appears to be taken a little later as fire just rips through the place. The chief told reporters a gas line ruptured allowing the fire to take off very rapidly.

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Photos on this page by Paul Lof.

Read more about the fire at Fredericksburg.com

More at VAFireNews.com

I’m almost a week late on this one. Last Tuesday, at 3:40 in the morning, firefighters from Stafford County handled this house fire at 35 Vista Woods Road in the Garrisonville area. According to a press release from Lt. Mark Stone, the first arriving unit from North Stafford Station 14 quickly determined the 10 adults and 8 children were already out of the burning home. They had heard the smoke alarm. One adult female was slightly hurt escaping through a window.

The house fire extended to four automobiles and an RV. A neighbors home suffered damage to the siding.

The loss is estimated at $244,000. The fire is being blamed on discarded smoking materials.

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Pictures from Rockville Volunteer Fire Department minutes after arrival.

Slideshow of pictures from John Horrell and Rockville VFD

Watch Gary Nurenberg’s story on the history of the property (or here)

Watch raw video of the fire from free lance videographer Tom Yeatman (or here)

The six-story vacant building at 500 West Montgomery Avenue in Rockville became engulfed in flames at about 3:00 Sunday morning. For decades the building was known as the Chestnut Lodge sanitarium, but the structure got its start as a hotel 120-years-ago.

Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services, said that a neighbor heard some noises and called 911. When firefighters arrived, multiple floors had heavy fire conditions. It took about 80 firefighters to bring it under control.

According to Piringer, after the fire was controlled, two more floors collapsed. The building had no utility hook-ups because it was scheduled for conversion to high-end condominiums.

Built in 1889, this was the home of the Woodlawn Hotel (1889-1906) and of the Chestnut Lodge Sanitarium (1906-1996). Author Joanne Greenberg used her experiences as a patient at Chestnut Lodge to write the novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.

Montgomery County Fire officials say the cause of the fire is being investigated and that there is no dollar estimate of the damages.

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According to the account by Edward Malik, who took the video above, the Gary Fire Department had come to the shelter at 2120 Broadway around 6:00 PM and handled a small trash fire. Four hours later the fire department was again dispatched for something a bit more substantial. In both fires Engine 4 was sent out to investigate smoke and called for help.

Malik and the Gary Fire Department have had a busy few days. Click here.

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Picture by Oscar Perez of the Casa Grande Dispatch. Click here for more details on the fire in an article by reporter Joe Meahl.

Helicopter video from KPNX-TV (or here)

From the AP:

A fire has destroyed a historic train depot in Casa Grande that city officials had hoped to restore.

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See two more quick clips from Tim Karnisky here and here.

Scott Ellman at Monroe County Fire Wire alerts us to this house fire early Saturday evening in Rochester, New York. The fire was dispatched at 6:19 PM. Click here for fireground audio and pictures by Tim Karnisky. The clip below is when command ordered the evacuation of the home. Here are MCFW.com’s details of the fire:

Rochester Firefighters responded this evening for numerous calls reporting a house fire on Garson Ave. Quint 7 was on location with fire from the B C corner or a large 2 1/2. Battalion 3 took command and requested a restricted alarm for the working fire. Command ordered everybody out of the structure for an exterior attack. Quint & Midi 9 responded as the RIC while Quint & Midi 4 along with Truck 10 were special called to assist. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Previous STATter911.com coverage of the Sunrise Propane fire, including 911 calls & radio traffic, can be found here

Read entire article from the Toronto Star

The headline is the answer given by Toronto’s fire chief to a reporter asking a lot of questions about the fire department’s response times to some deadly fires. The focus of the story is on how fire calls are dispatched.

Besides Chief Bill Stewart saying this information isn’t for reporters, reporter Kevin Donovan with the Star.com ran into other obstacles trying to piece together why Toronto isn’t meeting response time standards. A police official in charge of 911 cited “privacy reasons”. An Ontario fire marshal who had initially offered to help Donovan with the data was told by his supervisor, “Don’t give it to him.”

Despite the lack of cooperation Kevin Donovan was able to write an interesting and pretty detailed story about an apparent logjam in the dispatching of emergencies.

Among the incidents looked at was the Sunrise Propane explosion last summer where it took the first Toronto Fire Services pumper nine minutes to arrive from the station just over two kilometres away (about 1.25 miles).

Also:

On Caledonia Rd. in the winter of 2008, firefighters arrived late, after police and ambulance, 10 minutes or more after a neighbour called 911. A father and two children died in the blaze.
Similarly, at a fire on Green Belt Dr. in May 2008, nine minutes – maybe more – passed before firefighters pulled up at the fatal blaze, also little more than two kilometres from the closest fire station.

More excerpts from the article:

The North American standard for urban firefighting states it should take six minutes or less from emergency call for the first pumper to arrive at a fire.

In the Star’s investigation of the dispatch system, we found records showing that, in most cases, the time it takes Toronto Fire Services to process an emergency call and get firefighters to the scene is at least a minute longer than the six-minute fire response standard. In four pockets of the city, the time is two minutes longer than the standard (new fire stations are to be built when land is found), and three or more minutes longer in some specific cases, including fires where people died.

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Video from Norm “Doc” Zaffater, Signal51group.com. Click here for some of Doc’s vintage videos.

Photo gallery from the fire

Story from John Andrew Prime, Shreveport Times:

Shreveport firefighters spent almost two hours Saturday afternoon battling a stubborn blaze in a metal storage building just south of the Market Street viaduct, at the northeast corner of Market’s intersection with 6th Street.

The building is at the intersection of Market & 6th Streets. Click the image above for the Google Maps Street View.

Firefighters arriving on the scene found heavy smoke pouring from the structure, the former Kairos Global Building.

He said a unit from Fire Station 1 will monitor the situation through the night and respond to flareups as needed.

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Information from the Baltimore City Fire Department’s Engine 8, Truck 10 website:

June 2, 2009, just as Truck 10′s A-Shift was getting settled from shift change, FCB alerted Box Alarm 23-25 for a dwelling fire at 104 N. Amity Street at 1514 hours. Engine 8 was closed during the day, and their night shift was not in yet. Truck 10 arrived with a two story end of group dwelling, fire showing, positioning themselves on Side A. Battalion 3 arrived at 1520 hours and sounded a Working Fire. Engine 14 arrived and began to place a hand line in service. Truck 10′s crew laddered the roof with the aerial and Side A with ground ladders. They then began a primary search, which was negative, and began to open up to check for extension. After the fire was knocked and the investigation completed, units overhauled the dwelling. Truck 10 returned to service after about 2 hours. No injuries were reported and the cause is still under investigation.

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We have posted Edward Malik’s videos many times at STATter911.com. He runs on a lot of house fires in Gary, Indiana. His most recent video, posted yesterday, is from overnight where he has three of four fires that occurred in a two-hour period. Here is an excerpt of his account starting with fire number one in the 2000 block of Kentucky:

The header was visible from the house so I knew it was a worker. The house was fully involved with flames shooting 40 plus feet in the air. Nobody was hurt at the scene, just as I pulled in front of the house from that fire the tones went off again for a still in the 1500 block of east 43rd Place. … Slight water problems delayed the fire attack, but the crews did an awesome job and nobody was injured. As I was trying to go home the third fire was toned out at 619 Hanley, Engine 9 got on scene and reported yet another fully involved house. This one was clear across town and Battalion 8′s turf so I blew it off, but did take in the 4th fire that came in just after 4am at 21st and Hendricks. I was late to the scene and it was Battalion 8′s again so I was in no rush.

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June 16 update: Paramedic White says Trooper Martin should have badge and gun taken away

Read press release from District Attorney Max Cook

Watch story and interview with Max Cook

Watch story from KWTV-TV

More STATter911.com coverage: Trooper’s lawyer says medic is danger to the community; Dash cam video released; Fox News interviews EMS crew & Trooper Martin; Trooper on administrative leave; No charges filed by DA; EMT-B Paul Franks speaks out; Read statements from Toopers Martin & Iker; Troopers identified; Statements from witnesses and the patient; Reaction from police officers; Statements from EMS crew.

Oklahoma District Attorney Max Cook (Okfuskee & Creek Counties) has decided not press criminal charges in connection with the May 24 confrontation between the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and an ambulance crew from Creek Nation. The incident involved Troopers Daniel Marin and Bryan Iker, along with Critical Care Paramedic Maurice White Jr. and EMT-B Paul Franks.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the District Attorney’s Office reports that Cook reviewed reports, statements from witnesses and videos and “has declined to file charges against White based on information presented.”

Earlier in the week Max Cook told STATter911.com that the focus of the investigation from the start was on the actions of Paramedic White, but that he had not completely ruled out other possibilities. Today’s press release provides these quotes from Cook:

“After careful consideration off all facts and circumstance, it does not appear it would be appropriate to file any charges against White, Martin or any other person involved. Although, I do not condone their actions, I do not believe that filing charges at this time would serve the best interests of the public or the interests of justice. It has been my experience that emergency service providers generally work well together and it was disappointing to see a situation where that clearly did not happen.”

“It is my hope that emergency responders, especially the Oklahoma Highway patrol, will use this incident to open dialogue about ways to forge good relationship with their partner agencies. The public is best served when emergency responders make concerted efforts to be respectful of the jobs that each of them are charged with and forge strong partnerships.”

According to the statement, now that he has closed the review of the incident, District Attorney Cook will request OHP to release the dash-cam video “in response to the public’s interest.”

Richard O’Carroll, White’s attorney, told KTUL-TV that Maurice White is aware of the decision and is disappointed.

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Here is the description that is posted with the video :

Lodi NJ Firefighters responded to 175 St Joseph Blvd on 6-4-09. They encountered very heavy fire upon arrival. During the final phases of the knock down. Firefighters from Hasbrouck Heights were opening the roof when a light to moderate smoke condition turned into the attic flashing over. The Chief ordered everyone out and they used a Tower Ladder, Deck gun and Ladder pipe to knock fire down.

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Photo by Mark E. Brady, PGFD.

Previous coverage of this story

As we first reported on May 28 the fire boat crew at National Harbor on the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, Maryland was expecting a new arrival. And it came. Engine 858, a 1989 Seagrave, showed up on Monday, but it was gone by Wednesday.

The plan was for the four-person boat crew to also operate the engine, responding to land-based calls at the sprawling complex and beyond. Running assignments were being altered in the computer aided dispatch system to carve out a first day area from territory currently belonging to the two Oxon Hill firehouses (PGFD Station 821 & 842).

PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady confirms that things weren’t quite ready for Engine 858′s arrival. Here are excerpts from an email he sent to STATter911.com on Thursday:

Yes, the area provided to us was not yet ready to house an engine. The dumpsters were to have been moved and there would have been adequate space for engine 858, however, the housing and security of the engine became problematic when the space was not made immediately available. Alternative plans are under consideration.

As for the future of an engine returning to National Harbor Brady responded:

The status of E858 will be discussed during our short/long term planning which is in progress.

While we had Mr. Brady’s attention we asked about the future of Station 822 in Cheverly, another topic of recent discussion. We first brought up its possible closing on April 6 and the Gazette talked about it in an article yesterday. Here’s his response:

The status of 822 is that it remains open and operating. Our long term plan is to move personnel and apparatus to St Josephs Fire/EMS Station in Springdale when it opens in the fall of 2010. All of our long term plans, however, could change pending a variety of factors including budgetary constraints, available staffing, consolidations, etc.

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Watch story from KCBS-TV

Watch story from KTLA-TV

From the AP:

A convicted arsonist was sentenced to death Friday for setting a Southern California wildfire that claimed the lives of five federal firefighters as they struggled to defend a rural home from raging wind-driven flames.

Witnesses testified that footprints and a trail of dropped gear at the scene indicate that at least one firefighter tried to run from the flames and fled for about 30 seconds before he was overcome.