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Vacant apartment building in Georgia: Click here for details of this fire in Clayton County.

NEW- While firefighter battles Station fire, he loses home in another fire: In Stockton, California, Robert Crowder is dealing with the loss of his rental home. That home was in the path of the 49 fire. The U.S. Forest Service firefighter was fighting the Station fire at the time his home burned. Read and watch the story.

As we reported yesterday, historic Mount Wilson Observatory and the adjacent communications complex apparently dodged the fire thanks to the efforts of firefighters and help from mother nature. Click here and here for detailed updates.

WUSA9.com’s Emily Cyr has been adding to here picture collection from the Station fire. Click here to see it.

NEW- Fifteen-days for chief who slept through call: We had mentioned this story when it occurred, but I apparently was dozing and let Firegeezer beat me in on the follow-up. A Chicago battalion chief has received his punishment or sleeping through what became a two-alarm fire. Click here.

NEW- Firefighter accused of having sex with teen he met at burn camp: Police and officials confirm that 28-year-old Raey Laureles, Norfolk, Virginia firefighter, had sex on multiple occasions with a young teenager. He apparently met the girl at the Central Virginia Burn Camp, where he was a volunteer and she was a camper. You can read and watch the story here.

Two Las Vegas fire engine crews fired on as they pulled up to a house fire: We have pictures & video of the damaged rigs and details of a very close call for firefighters in West Las Vegas. The firefighters were not hurt, a police officer was wounded and the man who had the shotgun is dead. Click here.

Taxpayers complain as Maine fire department tries to get rid of the penalty box: The penalty box is an unusual bunk for one of the Portland Fire Department firefighters assigned to the fire boat. The entire quarters is also unusual. It is part of a parking garage. There is a plan for a new facility, but some residents don’t lack the price tag. Check it out.

Firefighter files for Houston City Council seat: Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association wants to add another title to his name. Jordan, who has been critical of the department’s handling of recent allegations of racism and sexism, has filed for a council seat. Read the story.

Fire department employee and friend accused of selling fire equipment on eBay: Wisman Figueroa is a Tampa Fire Rescue inventory technician. He is now suspended without pay for stealing badges, protective gear, uniforms, helmets and a revolver used by investigators. Police say a friend was selling the stuff on eBay. Here’s the story.

VFD shut in West Virginia: The West Virginia State Fire Marshal has shut down the Coal City VFD because of financial problems. The fire chief is resigning and department is behind in its workers’ comp payments. Read the story.

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The images on this page come from KVBC-TV. Click here for the station’s video.

Firefighters responding to a house fire in West Las Vegas just after noon on Wednesday were met by a man with a shotgun. That man opened fire striking two fire engines and narrowly missing the firefighters. Police exchanged gunfire with the man, killing him. A police officer was wounded.

Investigators say the fire was deliberately set in the bedroom of the home. The fire destroyed the home as firefighters were forced to keep their distance.

The rigs struck were Engine 3 and Engine 203. The most detailed account comes from Billy Goldfeder at FirefighterCloseCalls.com. Here are excerpts from his report:

As Engine 3 pulled up in front of the house, flames and smoke was showing. As the captain radioed in his report, a male adult came from around the house with a gun and fired two times at the engine hitting it, one shot broke out the right rear cab window where two firefighters sit. The captain ordered the engine to take off and leave the area and he radioed that the crew was being shot at. At the same time Engine 203 pulled up and saw the man with a gun and proceeded to leave the area behind Engine 3, but not before that engine was also shot. It was hit just under the captain’s door window and once in a window on the right rear where the two firefighters sit. Windows in both cabs were shot out. The two engines left the scene, no one was injured.

The Battalion Chief at the incident kept crews out of the area and advised Metro Police that firefighters were being shot at. Within minutes several police units from several different law enforcement agencies converged on scene. At 12:51 p.m. Metro advised the scene was safe and fire crews could enter the scene under escort. While firefighters fought the fire two SWAT crews stood by to make sure they were safe. The suspect that shot at the firefighters was shot by police prior to the crews being let back in. When firefighters arrived the second time, there was heavy fire inside the residence. Firefighters did a quick search to see if anyone needed to be rescued, they could not find anyone and quickly evacuated the building. Because of the progress of the fire, the fire was attacked in the defensive mode for the remainder of the incident. Neighbors told fire investigators that a woman lives in the house alone, she was at work and saw the fire on the TV and came to scene later. She lives alone, relatives are with her. Police are working to determine who the suspect is and why he would be shooting at firefighters and police. There were no injuries of fire & rescue personnel during the incident.

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Click here to read and watch the story

Read follow-up story

Portland Fire Department

The image above are the plans for the new quarters for the Portland (Maine) Fire Department’s fire boat crew. The picture below shows the current housing used by the three firefighters assigned to the boat. When not on the boat they live inside a parking garage.

WGME-TV has a story about a taxpayers group that doesn’t like the almost $2 million dollar price tag to provide a new facility for the fire boat.

Here are excerpts from the article. (Make sure you watch the video and pay close attention to the bunk know as the “penalty box”):

Steven Scharf is the President of the Portland Taxpayer Association.

And Chief says, you can’t relocate these fire fighters because it could add up to 4 minutes of response time.

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Not a big California fire: From San Diego, two fires from Monday, relatively small in scale, that also show how dry it is.

The fight to save Mount Wilson: We have details, the last towercam image, maps, Street View, video and lots of links on the efforts to protect the historic Mount Wilson Observatory. Click here for our coverage. UPDATE- As of 6:55 AM PDT it appears Mount Wilson is now out of immediate danger. Click here for the story.

Also, Emily Cyr at WUSA9.com has been adding images from the fire to her slideshow. Click here to check it out.

This is a lot scarier than a Hitchcock movie: Tippi Hedren is actress Melanie Griffith’s mom and remembered best for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. Hedren has an animal sanctuary where lions, tigers and other animals roam and it is apparently in the line of fire. So far she has ignored the evacuation order. Officials acknowledge there may be some special circumstances here with the possibility of crating up the 36 animals and transporting them on the roads around the fire. Click here for the story.

NEW Still going at 91: Check out this interesting story by Daniel Patrick Sheehan in Allentown, PA’s The Morning Call. It is about Firefighter Anthony DiPierro who was at the 100th anniversary of Roseto’s Columbia Fire Company No. 1. It begins this way – He is 91, has been a firefighter for 72 years and has driven and maintained every vehicle the department has ever owned. In his house is a framed series of photographs demonstrating this, including a black-and-white snapshot from 1959 when the department celebrated its 50th anniversary and DiPierro led the way behind the wheel of a 1928 Hahn truck.

A picture is worth a thousand words and a great deal of embarrassment: Another reminder that cameras are everywhere. This one comes courtesy of the Lowell Fire Department and a fire department vehicle parked in a handicap spot at the post office. Check it out.

NTSB on emergency medical flights: Read and watch the details of the NTSB’s recommendations to the FAA on improving safety of emergency medical flights. We also have links to report summaries, the recent series in The Washington Post called Fatal Flights and the Post’s video on the crash of Trooper 2 of the Maryland State Police. Click here.

I spy: A Durango, Colorado firefighter testified before lawmakers how a workers’ comp insurance company used by the state spied on him and trashed his reputation. Read the details.

Another Florida city heard from on layoffs: Yesterday we told you about a consultant’s report that says West Palm Beach can make do with 25-percent fewer firefighters. Now it is Fort Meyers where the city manager says 32 firefighters may be cut. Read the story.

Is investigation intimidation?: The latest on the Houston Fire Department graffiti case. Click here to ready the story.

New fire chief and other staff changes: The latest from Topeka, Kansas after the departure of Chief Howard Giles. Click here.

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Photos by Jon Hill of The Lowell Sun.

Read and watch the story from WHDH-TV

Read the story from The Lowell Sun

Last week it was The Washington City Paper finding a fire department vehicle blocking the hydrant near the DC Fire & EMS Department headquarters. Now it is The Lowell Sun spotting a fire department car taking up a handicap spot. Not hard hitting journalism and earth shattering investigative stories, but they sure do attract attention.

In the Lowell case reporter Christopher Scott reports Firefighter Wallace Johnson went inside a local post office for five minutes. Johnson and the car he was in are assigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau of the Lowell Fire Department.

The paper also reports there were plenty of other spots at the lot that weren’t marked handicap.

A number of city officials aren’t too happy about these developments. Lowell Fire Department Chief Edward Pitta Jr. told WHDH-TV, “He [inspector] is somewhat embarrassed and regrets the whole incident.” Chief Pitta says that Firefighter Johnson has been counseled but will not be disciplined.

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Mount Wilson Observatory blog (includes how observatory staff is assisting firefighters)

The latest update on the “Station” fire from InciWeb

Watch Tuesday afternoon “Station” fire briefing

Watch Martin Mars air tanker make water drop on Mount Wilson

“Station” fire slideshow from WUSA9.com

UPDATE- As of 6:55 AM PDT on Wednesday it appears Mount Wilson is now out of immediate danger. Click here for the story.

At 13:49:06 PDT the image above was transmitted via the Internet. It is apparently the last image for a while from the camera mounted on the 150-foot solar tower at the Mount Wilson Observatory (Elevation: 5,700 ft., Location: N 34.224 – W 118.058). The UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy site posted this message with the picture:

The Mount Wilson webserver has gone down, most likely due to a backfire infiltration of a pull box containing telephone lines that bring us our T1 internet service. The will be no more updates from the Towercam …

As we have been reporting firefighters are in a battle to save this 105-year-old historic facility. It is considered the place where modern astronomy was born (a history lesson from USA Today) and is surrounded by an important communications infrastructure.

The Los Angeles Times late this afternoon posted a detailed account of the efforts. Here are excerpts from the article by a number of reporters (including Louis Sahagun at Mount Wilson):

But firefighters were frantically trying to save the historic astronomical observatory and dozens of critical TV and radio antennas from destruction. By 3 p.m., the fire was approaching closer than ever from two directions: one-half mile to the north and three-quarters of a mile to the west.

Tour Mount Wilson: Click the image above for the Bing’s Bird’s Eye View. Click here for Google’s Street View of the communications facilities.

“We expect the fire to hit the Mt. Wilson facilities between 5 p.m. today and 2 a.m. Wednesday morning,” said Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief James Powers. “Right now, we’re conducting controlled burns around the perimeter in preparation for the impending fire’s arrival. We’re also bringing in trucks and special equipment to coat all of the structures with protective gel and foam if necessary. We do not plan to cover everything with a gooey mess.”

An explanation on the importance of the Mount Wilson Observatory.

The equipment was driven in on the two-lane, five-mile long Mt. Wilson Road, which intersects Angeles Crest Highway. Access to the road was restricted to firefighters and law enforcement. Fire lined several sections of the road on both sides, and rocks were falling from denuded hillsides.

The air was also filled with the ear-splitting, blaring sounds of an observatory fire alarm system.

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Watch report from 9NEWS NOW’s Bruce Leshan (or here)

Read synopsis of NTSB report

More NTSB documents

The Washington Post’s series of articles Fatal Flights

The Washington Post’s video Trooper 2′s Last Flight

From the AP:

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday urged the government to impose stricter controls on emergency helicopter operators, including requiring the use of autopilots, night-vision systems and flight data recorders in an industry that suffered a record number of fatalities last year.

FAA spokesman Les Dorr said Tuesday those recommendations and more approved Tuesday by the NTSB will be considered as FAA develops new rules for emergency helicopters. Those proposals are due early next year, Dorr said.

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NEW- Mount Wilson Observatory still standing: This is the image from the nearby towercam a short time ago (5:35 AM PDT). Click here for the camera (it gets busy and unavailable at times). I haven’t yet found a decent morning update on conditions at the historic observatory and the latest on the fire’s progression in the area (found some conflicting earlier information). Here is the blog from the Mount Wilson Observatory, last updated yesterday. Besides its rich 105-year history (considered the place where modern astronomy was born), the site is home to 20 television transmission towers, radio and cellphone antennas. Many of us of a certain age remember it for a famous scene shot at the observatory in the movie Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean. Here is a look at the history from USA Today’s On Deadline.

Los Angeles County firefighters were trying to protect inmate crew: Captain Hall and Firefighter Quinones were looking for an escape route for an inmate crew when they ran off a mountain road Sunday. We have a detailed story on their deaths. Also, links to live coverage and fire and police radio traffic. Click here.

A slideshow from the Los Angeles fires has been put together by WUSA9.com’s Emily Cyr. Click here.

Los Angeles Fire Department stops brownouts hours before article questions response to drowning child: Responding to the massive fires impacting Southern California the new LAFD chief ordered the suspension of rotating closures. A few hours later the Los Angeles Times came out with a story questioning the response to an incident last week where a child drowned. Click here.

NEW- Los Angeles TV stations taking hits on coverage of fire: Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich says local TV stations didn’t serve the public with wall-to-wall coverage of the “Station” fire over the weekend as has been done with previous fires. A TV executive said initially the blaze did not show an imminent threat to life and property and was burning away from populated areas. He said economics was not a factor. Here is an excerpt from Greg Braxton’s article in the Los Angeles Times -

Television’s weekend coverage prompted steady tweeting, with many observing that stations gave more time to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s funeral and scheduled sporting events than to the fire.

Added Antonovich: “Now people know more about the coroner report on Michael Jackson or the problems with Britney Spears’ children than they knew about this fire.”

NEW – A little must see video: Firegeezer found this one of a reporter making a run for it during a fire at a compressed hay facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Click here, scroll down to the video and stay with it until the middle of the report.

NEW – Fire chief calls latest cuts embarrassing: In Elyria, Ohio city officials are shutting down the jail and laying off 8 more firefighters in the latest round of cuts. Here is what Chief Rich Benton told the Chronicle-Telegram’s Lisa Roberson –

“It’s embarrassing,” Benton said. “No other city in the state with 56,000 people operates their fire department like we do. One call will put the entire department out of service. The city charter calls for an authorized strength of 88 firefighters. I now have less than 50.” Read the article.

Consultant says city can safely cut one-quarter of fire department positions: In West Palm Beach, Florida, a study by a consultant says there would be no impact on safety if 34 positions were cut from the fire department. If city officials can convince firefighters to go from a 48-hour work week to 53-hours, 52 firefighters an go. Read the story.

Durham dispatcher fired: You may recall the story from Durham, North Carolina where firefighters were sent to the wrong side of town for a house fire. An elderly man died in the August 17 blaze. A dispatcher has now been fired over the incident. Listen to the call. Watch the story. Read the story.

The LODD that time almost forgot: Firegeezer has found a wonderful story from Seattle, Washington about the death of a firefighter 66-years-ago. Make sure you read it and watch the videos. Click here.

Fire department wants end to unofficial Twitter site: Interesting story from Austin, Texas where the fire departments wants the person with the “AustinFire” Twitter account to give it up. Currently it is posting dispatch information from the department’s website and using the department’s logo. Here’s the Twitter account. Here’s the story.

Probably one you want to show up in time for: Raleigh, North Carolina firefighters responded to the home of Mayor Charles Meeker on Monday after a small electrical fire. Read the story.

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Captain Tedmund D. “Ted” Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones.

Listen to fire & police radio traffic

Slideshow from fires

IAFF Local 1014

KCBS-TV live, when available

KABC-TV live, when available

Los Angeles Times

Pasadena Star News

Los Angeles County Fire Department

Here is the latest on the fires in the Los Angeles area from KCBS-TV:

A deadly wildfire that has blackened a wide swath of tinder-dry forest around Los Angeles took another menacing turn Monday as five people became hopelessly trapped inside a smoky canyon and thousands of suburban homes and a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex grew dangerously close to being devoured by explosive, towering flames.

A sheriff’s helicopter was unable to immediately reach them because of intense fire activity, but would try after the flames passed, he said.

There is a lot more information about the deaths of two Los Angeles County firefighters on Sunday. Here is the story from the AP:

As the roaring wall of flame raged through the Angeles National Forest, firefighters Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones worked feverishly to protect their fire-crew camp, made up mostly of prison inmates.

But that feeling of being on the edge was one reason firefighters said they loved their jobs. “Pretty much anyone who fights fires likes the excitement of it, the adrenaline rush, the atmosphere of the unknown,” said U.S. Forest Service firefighter Angie Bishop, 29, of Mendocino County. “It is really scary, but you don’t really process that.”