Quick Takes

Early video from Tampa: Watch the initial attack on a house fire yesterday at 4906 Wishart Boulevard. Investigators say smoking materials caused the fire.

Close call in Baltimore: It sounds like Truck 12′s crew was by themselves for a bit last night when fire broke out across Berwyn Avenue from the firehouse. Two firefighters were hospitalized. One in serious but stable condition after bailing out of a burning apartment. We have fireground audio and more.

9-alarms in Boston: Listen to the radio traffic as firefighters in Boston dealt with a fire on the seventh floor of a 10-story apartment building. Also, early fire video. Here’s our coverage. Bill Carey’s Backstep Firefighter also has an updated story.

Two-alarm fire in Prince George's County, Maryland overnight. WUSA9.com's Ava-Joye Burnett snapped some pictures as fire damaged three townhomes on Jacobs Drive in Greenbelt. Click the image for more.

Houston has a problem that may take the wisdom of Solomon: Mayor Annise Parker made it clear she wants a “complete house cleaning” at Station 54 after lengthy investigations failed to determine who was responsible for the racial and sexual graffii that targeted two female firefighters. This was the same station where a “team building” exercise in January to welcome back Firefighter Jane Draycott went so bad the fire chief stepped down. Despite the mayor saying yesterday, “We’re going to break up the culture at that station and we’re going to move on”, the Houston Chronicle reports the city attorney and acting fire chief are indicating not so fast. City Attorney Arturo Michel points out what the mayor wants is “not going to happen” because essentially Draycott’s shift mates have already been moved to other shifts and fire stations. Draycott’s attorney doesn’t believe enough has been done to pave the way to bring the firefighter back to the airport station. Meanwhile, the union president points out nine months of investigations essentially exonerated the firefighters and officers of Station 54. And you wonder why Phil Boriskie, the former chief, was glad to take a demotion and get back to firefighting. Here’s the latest.

Lawsuit in Chicago after family finds the body firefighters failed to locate: A lawsuit has been filed by relatives of a man Chicago firefighters failed to locate after a fire a year ago. Read more.

Reporter takes on firefighters in Missouri after they failed to find woman’s body: Calling what happened to Gloria Banks in Northwoods, Missouri an “undignified way to go”, KMOV-TV reporter Mark Schnyder has some pointed comments for the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District. This was the story we first alerted you to yesterday of the woman found in the bathtub hours after firefighters initially left the scene of a house fire.  In his blog Schnyder writes, “What an embarrassment for the fire department… but what bothers me more is that someone’s loved one was left inside a burned out building and no one seemed to care enough to find out she was there… in her tub… covered in debris.” Click here to read more.

Northeast is also having some difficulties on the EMS side of things. Click here for that story.

Wine man whines about firefighters: In St. Helena, California wine maker Dario Sattui writes to the local paper saying firefighters have it good, too good. Check it out.

Money for Flint?: Federal grant money may hold the key to get as many as 39 firefighters back on the job for two years. Check out the story. There have been more than 80 fires in Flint in two weeks. Here’s the update on the impact of the arsons.

Why did the firefighter cross the road? Apparently to kill the chicken: No, the next riddle is not why did the chicken wear red suspenders, but it might as well be with this silly story. Much is being made in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania about the police officer, when confronted with a large chicken “terrorizing” a neighborhood, called in his buddy the bow and arrow toting firefighter. The firefighter ended up having a nice dinner, but the meal turned out to be someone’s pet (I don’t recall this transgression coming up in the recent report on firefighters behaving badly … clearly we overlooked something). Click here to find out if someone can turn this bad turn of events into chicken salad.

Kentland firefighter saves infant: Before they could get to the patient, the choking baby came to them. Click above for the details on a life saved in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Also on STATter911 …

• Private ambulances under fire in Philly. TV station joins feds in probing potential fraud. – March 17, 2011
• Detroit reporter Charlie LeDuff at it again. Finds donated tower unused & Highland Park’s mayor begging for it. – May 8, 2012
• Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker suffers smoke inhalation & burn helping rescue neighbor from house fire. Tweets about experience. – April 13, 2012
• Quick Takes: December 2, 2010 – December 2, 2010