Click here for May, 1994 story by reporter Miriam Hernandez
About every day I check the site Firefighter Spot to see what new videos Jason Thomas has posted. What I found today was the clip above that Jason found on YouTube (uploaded on Tuesday by someone who uses the name DCFDfirefighter100). Jason asks on his blog, “Anyone familiar with this job?”.
Jason, you are about to find out there are a lot people familiar with this one. It is from May of 1994 and is among the most controversial fires in Prince George’s County history. For PGFD that’s saying something.
Here is what I know about the fire. A 19-year-old pregnant woman, her two-year-old son, and a four-year-old girl who was a family friend, died in the burning home at 5206 Emerson Street in Edmonston, Maryland. The woman’s four-year-old daughter escaped the blaze.
The woman called 911 saying her son had set the couch on fire with a lighter and that she was trapped inside the with the two children. While I don’t have the exact times, that conversation with 911 happened shortly before the arrival of Prince George’s County firefighters. That information was relayed to firefighters.
What made this fire so controversial within PGFD is that the first units on the scene were ordered by a chief officer not to enter the building and were told to fight it from the outside (you can hear and see some of that on the video). There have been very bitter feelings about this fire ever since.
I believe this is the first time I have seen the complete raw video since 1994. The video is the one most requested by STATter911.com readers. The requests surged again as I finished my career at Channel 9 last month and began posting and writing about old stories from the archives. While I didn’t find this raw video in the archive room, I found a story done at the time of the fire by my friend Miriam Hernandez (now with KABC-TV in Los Angeles).
I had Miriam’s story ingested and started writing about the fire. But I got cold feet. I wimped out and never posted the story (though it did appear in the STATter911.com video player for a bit).
It is not that I am afraid of controversy. I just didn’t feel like dealing with it. It was not the way I wanted to end my career in broadcasting. I didn’t want to handle the comments and all of the finger pointing (and I still don’t want to).
Now that Jason has posted the video and asked the question, I feel somewhat obligated to provide an answer and share it with the STATter911.com audience (as I have done with other Washington area videos Jason has discovered).
Also on STATter911 …
- Raw video: Water supply problems with two dwellings off in Camden, New Jersey. – June 7, 2011
- Raw video & close call: Three-alarms in Camden, New Jersey. Wall collapse scatters firefighters. – July 3, 2011
- Raw video: Seven-alarms in Camden, New Jersey. Third major fire in two weeks. – June 19, 2011
- PGFD Chief sends out thanks to the troops. Encourages A.A.R. Read message. – February 21, 2011
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morale to this story .. Don’t trust vinney with your money OR your life….
and GOD forbid don’t let him become a division chief or any operational officer in PGFD
Does anyone know the name of the “cowardly” Chief officer?
Vince Harrison should still be in jail, and that is NOT the whole video
How can you tell who is in charge with half of the guys wearing white helmets?
DCFD_Demon says, “Does anyone know the name of the “cowardly” Chief officer?”
Forget the chief … let him holler until he loses his voice … what kind of firefighters don’t make a push on a fire like that with people trapped???? Do what has to be done to save lives and deal with the small stuff (like a spineless, or clueless, or in over his head, chief)later …
Ladies and Gentlemen…
MAJOR Vincent Harrison. The same guy who brought you lighting volunteers on fire under his command. Also known for placing one of the busiest ambulances in the county out of service for his own convenience, and then getting the newly appointed Fire Chief to lie about it.
Last seen… Company 830′s area on a fire… Drywall stuck to his face sporting a beard. Yes you to can now have your very own Goatee. The hell with OSHA regulations and PGFD grooming standards. When you own the department, you do what you want.
Yeah. He is the idiot who is Jones’ and Alter’s right hand man. He labors under the delusion he is in a dime novel but he isn’t smart enough to read one.
He is now running the firehouse over at 29!!!
So Sad. What really makes me sad is that Vince is on the Board of the Volunteer Fire Comission. This is an elected Board. Obviously someone is voting for this guy as their leader. Wake up people.
Criminal! I find it hard to believe he is on the fire commission. I would have voted no. Secondly, how in the world did this moron become a Major? Wake up Eugene! During last year’s convention in PG county it was funny to see Vince running and getting drinks for Eugene and Derrick, when he returned Eugene and Derrick had wondered elsewhere and there was ole Vincent holding two drinks looking like a tool.
Wow, our county has really turned into a joke!
Maybe this will exspose this coward for what he’s really worth! If I was Company 29 He wouldn’t even be allowed in my station yet alone Driving there! But, I guess when he’s running the place and bringing staffing around to help them keep that ladder truck in service there, cause he has the Chief doing and believing what ever he LIES about. They have no gripes with him. Jones is going to be the one to take the hit for this idiot.
WTF? I would have took a suspension! My crew and I would have moved in with that line and if he wanted us out he would have had to come in and get us! I can not beleive that there was no law suit over this cluster F^#K!
where is the rest of the video
From that day, “Pockets” should not have been permitted to partake in ANY operational issues in the County. When you get pissed off and tell a company to NOT make an attack with CONFIRMED persons trapped; you should be drawn and quartered. “Pockets” should be taken to court by the daughter and sued for everything that he has.
It was murder, plain and simple. He was the ranking Command Officer, he was told by PSC that they were still on the phone with the trapped occupant. Vinny was standing in the front yard when this was transmitted, it was still a very viable rescue yet he still chose to give the orders he did, not once but repeatedly as the crews continued to try to enter.
Has the OIC or anyone else connected with the FD ever given an explanation as to why the “no entry” order was given? From this video it sure looked like it was a fightable fire. Most certainly someone’s actions needed to be investigated, but this is PG county, where anything goes.
Ricjy Reilly, Get over it man it was years ago and you are still whining about it. Move on to another place.
This is what the video does not show; upon arrival there was fire blowing out the front door and the window to the right. The crew initiated an interior attack. The engine officer searched ahead of the attack line, about that time Vince Harrison arrived and begain yelling from the front yard to “get out of the house”. The engine OIC came to the front door to advice Vince that we had not found the people yet. This is where the video starts. Vince says; “I don’t care, get out”. If you look at the video you will see the crew attempt to go back in nad Vince once agai yells “I’m ordering you out”.
I was there, and this is what I saw and heard.
What a disgrace plain and simple. PGFD continues it’s demise thanks to the likes of Vinny Pockets and his cronies on both sides of the fence.
“Has the OIC or anyone else connected with the FD ever given an explanation as to why the “no entry” order was given?”
My guess – and it is only a guess – comes from one clue clearly witnessed in the video.
The individual in question was Volunteer Fire Chief 7 at the time.
Watching the video, you will notice that Truck 7 did not roll up on the scene until well AFTER Chief 7 — who had received multiple direct notifications from communications that there were confirmed people trapped in the structure, one of whom was ON THE PHONE with a 911 call-taker at the time — had issued the direct order for all personnel then on-scene to stay out of the house.
Interestingly – just after the arrival of Truck 7 – Chief 7 suddenly decided to reverse his “exterior attack only” decision in order to direct the crew from Truck 7 to enter the structure and gallantly search for and rescue the (by that point in time, unfortunately deceased) victims.
Now I might just be a little insensitive to the judgement of the individual in question, but it would appear to me that the Chief Officer from Station 7 may have been looking to hold the personnel on-scene back from entering the structure and conducting the primary search so that the crew from Truck 7 would be the first ones to enter and effect the rescues…and in the process, possibly gain a shot at a few valor awards.
As we all know now, that decision to delay the rescue severely backfired in Chief 7′s face, and three innocent people died as a result.
That’s just my opinion…you can draw your own conclusions from that timeline.
This brings up horrible memories. The real tragedy is that PGFD is in worse shape now than it was sixteen years ago. Vinnie was thrown out of the department and allowed back in and now one of the leaders within the commission. Jones loves the guy and would make him an operational chief if he could. Vinnie is connected to Jones and Johnson and if Jones stays as Chief stand by for more of the worst PGFD can dredge up.
This makes me want to throw up!
Years ago? Oh no. My comment about 30′s area was a fire one week ago today.
The Ambulance thing was about a year ago, and I don’t recall when the poor kid @ 7 got lit on fire.
Point being that we won’t get better with this clown running the circus.
wheres the rest of the tape, theirs plenty missing
How do you get over murder, if that was your wife and kids you wouldn’t be saying that. He should do really good over at 29 with the other clowns they have.
Listen to that fool say time and time again “do not enter the building” my god, it wasn’t that bad a fire. I have seen people go into a LOT worse jobs than that…..whilst I respect rank, this is a clear case of incompetence.
This website really makes me believe that Maryland (for the most part) is not the place to be if you are trapped in a fireor in need of emergency assistance. The amount of crying, complaining and infighting that goes on as well as the immature knuckleheads who apparently try to steal each others calls gives the impression of a Three Stooges comedy. And then there’s the numerous firescene videos showing people who don’t have a clue about firefighting putting on a show while property burns and human beings die …
I was at the crisis intervention meeting with all of the officers involved with that incident and Vince the prince said that if he was confronted with that situation again he would have done the same thing. Mike Herman and the County exec. allow him to be where he is today. Thanks for nothing.
And to think this POS is back to business just as before in gorgeous Prince Georges! He is just a waste of life! Wake up Eugene, you are supporting a “BABY KILLER”!!
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and the survivor. This is so sad. At what point during the incident was this video taken? During this portion, interior conditions appear to be hot, real dirty snotty smoke.Where were the company officers (Capt.’s, Lt.’s?) to try and reason with the chief? Why was the call made to pull out?
What a tool for a chief! I feel sorry for the PG guys that have to deal with that POS. If that happened here I totally would have made the push and dealt with that ass later. Probably with disciplinary actions against me after I decked him in the front yard for killing those people! Sad scene
My question is, if he is at 29 how can he be the District 2 Commissioner? Aren’t district 2 companies 1, 7, 12 and 55? If he is on the Commission I would assume company 7 had to nominate him, so what kinds of deals were made and with whom?
This video does not catch the initial attack or conditions. Also there is more video from where this one cuts off. There was a guy there taking pictures as we arrived wich gives a better indication of conditions on arrival. Harrison never gave a reason for his orders to pull out. There was never a critique of this fire or any mention of it since. The county wanted this nightmare to go away.
Chief Jones has only a few number of friends and Vinnie the trouble maker is one of them. He cant go a few months at a time without landing on the front page of some fire department controversy. He’s a reoccurring problem who recently has been bragging about his “unwritten” designation as the volunteer EMS major (deputy). This guy is always in trouble and he still manages to stay in the system. My advice for Col. Forby,,,Stay the hell away from Vinnie the clown at all cost. He’s gonna get you in chest deep trouble in no time flat.
How about a cold case investigation. The department told Vinny to get out of town and then tried to blame the career Major who arrived later in the incident.
Unfortunately, with the way the general orders are written, they allow morons like Vince to be in command of the fire. A company officer on the career side would be crucified if they disobeyed an order from a so called “command officer”( and I use the term loosely). What is even sadder is that there were high ranking PGFD career officers on the fireground and they would not take command away from Chief 7. What is worse now is that he has been put in a position by the so called County Fire chief that allows him to do basically the same thing anywhere in PG without having to worry about answering for his actions. This guy is like a bad penny that keeps showing up. My advice to anyone that has any dealings with him to watch their backs and don’t closely be aligned with the fool- if he ever goes down for anything he will take you along with him.
This Vinnie, dipstick, sounds like he should be right next to the other POS Jerry Engle. The two of them, shoulder to shoulder. Just reading about him, if he is supposed to be an officer he gets no respect from me, as in addressing him as such in this comment and I am from the northeast where thankfully I don’t have to worry about dealing with him or the rest of the ‘circus’.
My 2 cents from California.
1st. After watching both videos, I applied the current 2010 Fireground Operations Template considering NFPA 1500 6-2.1.1
“Risk Management” to the Operations as well as NFPA 6-4.3 2-IN/2-OUT (both 1997 ed.) as well as OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 (g)(4)
2-IN/2-OUT and the fireground at that time had plenty of personnel to fulfill a RIT/FAST assignment even though this requirement was just coming into use.
2nd. Noticed a total “Command Dysfunction” by the IC and in
1994, Retired Phoenix, Ariz., Chief Alan Brunicini’s “Fire Ground Command” was utilized by many fire departments across the Country. Obviously it can be seen that this person was not operating within the recommedations of essentially a “Fixed Command Post Location” as he can be seen walking around (Multi-Divisionally) talking into his portable radio.
3rd. As I read the previous comments, a lot of angry Firefighters who remember this fire and who the command (?) officers were.
4th. I agree with Thaddeus Fitzhumes’ comment:
“What kind of firefighters don’t make a push on a fire like that with people trapped”?
I’m certain the firefighters wanted to. The problem resides with the IC and his failure to organize the crews to make a rescue attempt in a timely manner.
Ukfbbuff, STAY IN CALIFORNIA!!!You can keep the “risk management”, NFPA (Not For Practical Applications), and Brunicini crap out on the West Coast. Here in PG County we get the wet stuff on the red stuff usually before the second due company is on scene and none of it is due to those 3 things you mentioned. Vince is a TRUE POS and thankfully the members of Riverdale kicked him to the curb!
The kid that got burned was from Sept. or Oct. of 2007. I can’t remember which, but I do know that it was just a ride along and they used the disinfectant foam on his arm. It was the kid’s mother that made all of the complaints. That’s why the ride-along program was shut down for awhile by Sedgewick, the vol. chiefs had to beg to get the current program.
Lots of emotion and understandably so. If the lady was on the phone I dont see mention of where she was at. Any reason why she could not have been pulled out a window. It looks like a bedroom already burning on the left. Vinny is probably what you all have called him but lets not forget that sometimes putting the wet stuff on the red stuff is happening without a little common sense. I don’t have enough info on this one but I can see one thing – I would have put out fire a lot quicker than that guy shooting at the ground and shooting at the top of the fire instead of the base!!!!!!! Last time I checked fire burns the same in California and PG. Maybe you Easteners ought to learn a little from the wildfire guys. Statistics done lie
UKFBBUFF, that was many years ago- yrs before 2 in 2 out, the IC had no idea what was going on with this fire- he wanted his boys to get the fire and the rescues.. what the video doesnt show is opposing handlines, the tards doing an exterior attack while crews were going for rescues from side 3 ( the back of the house) The initial crew (9) was pulled out and told to go around back and try to see what we could do there. We again tried to put the fire out and effect rescues! BTW Stay in California we don’t need you in PGFD…. Thank God we are still allowed aggressive interior attacks on fires.
Hard to know what is more unsettling, the video that captures but a small part of a sickening incident – or some of the bellicose comments (offered in the convenience and cowardice of anonymity) that entirely miss the point of why such a discussion thread is essential: To keep it from happening again. This isn’t about a fire on Emerson Street, or even the PGFD. It’s about our vocation.
Brian, I agree it is about learning from past mistakes. Other wise their would not be After Action Reports on fires that go “Good” or “Bad”. Their is always something to learn and improve on.
The tragedy is that people died when it was possible to have made a rescue.
If the IC told me not to go in, then fine, but if I knew people were talking to 911 while I was standing at the door, then screw this dope. I wonder if the guys on the knob knew people were still alive?
PG continues to this day to be a bunch of hot headed ff’s and will mark my words kill one of their own with there actions. When will they start realizing light weight constructions kills, maybe when they watch one of their own go down in front of them and are unable to rescue such they will wake the **** up. Surprised they can get out the doors of the stations will how big their heads are………..