The video above is from Tampa Fire Rescue as 22-year-old Dwayne Duke and his passenger, 30-year-old Zachary P. Zachariades, wait on top of the 2003 Dodge Ram they had been riding in before plunging through the Brorein Street Bridge guardrail and into the Hillsborough River.
Duke was driving too fast when he tried to switch lanes and hit the brakes, police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. Duke will be cited with careless driving.
The Dodge was westbound on Brorein when it hit the metal grating of the drawbridge and started to fishtail, said Wes Zweibel, a Tampa Tribune employee who was on his way to work just before 8:30 a.m. when he saw the crash.
The red and white truck swerved between lanes before crashing into the railing near the span’s apex. It hung on the railing for a split second before plunging into the river on the north side of the bridge, Zweibel said.
NEW VIDEO: Above is fairly early video just posted from our regular contributor Bill Rohrer at NewsWorking.org. Besides a neighbor’s cell phone video below, it seems to be the earliest close-up view of the operation.
STATter911.com previous coverage, including fireground audio, here & here
According to relatives five people, including an infant, were killed in the apparent natural gas explosion in Allentown, Pennsylvania last night. The official death toll is at three. We’ve posted additional video from various sources.
A couple in their 70s and a 4-month-old were among those killed, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said. The child’s mother and great grandmother were also killed, according to a family member.
The owners of a home destroyed at the epicenter of the blast died, their daughter-in-law confirmed this morning.
In all, the 10:45 p.m. explosion and ensuing fire destroyed eight row homes near 13th and West Allen streets in Allentown, city fire officials.
A UGI official said the gas company is investigating a cause for the explosion. The utility had been doing no recent work in the neighborhood, said Robert Beard, a UGI vice president.
Besides the eight homes destroyed, 16 were damaged. Heavy equipment was being brought in just after 8 o’clock as a backhoe dug for gas leaks behind the Halls’ home, where the blast originated. The house was obliterated.
Fire destroyed the Contract Glass Service building on Andover Street in Wilmington, Massachusetts in the middle of the day Wednesday. It was reported as a small electrical panel fire that employees tried to contain. First arriving firefighters found fire through the roof.
Wilmington Fire Chief Ed Bradbury says it didn’t help that the structure was built before sprinkler systems were required.
Chief Bradbury said, “Lack of sprinklers here allowed this fire to essentially go unchecked until we arrived.”
The chief says because of the extensive damage large equipment had to be brought in to dismantle the building so crews could put out all the hot spots.
Chief Bradbury said, “What became a real big problem for us was the roof had collapsed down and created protected areas that we had to get at in order to fully extinguish the fire.”
The AP reports as many as six people missing after a suspected natural gas explosion destroyed eight homes at 13th Street and Liberty Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At 5:30 AM Mayor Ed Pawlowski told reporters the number six may be a little high for fatalities. Another briefing is scheduled for 11:30 AM.
There are a number of people injured including a firefighter who was slightly hurt durting the operation. The initial explosion occurred at the home of an elderly couple at 544 North 13th Street. At least two homes were leveled by the blast with six others destroyed by fire. More than 20 other homes were damaged. Numerous utility poles were knocked down by the explosion that was heard over a large area.
More than 250 people have been taken from the neighborhood to Agricultural Hall, the mayor said. The Associated Press is reporting that number could be as high as 500 to 600. Channel 69 is reporting nearly 200 residents of the Gross Towers highrise have been allowed to return to their homes.
Fire and UGI officials worked through the night to shut off the gas and put out the fire, Pawlowski said. The mayor said “from what we can determine” natural gas caused the explosion.
The gas leak was under control by 4:30 a.m. and crews began returning residents to portions of the towers. The two houses on the southwest corner of 13th and Allen streets were destroyed and the remaining six houses on the block were a complete loss, Scheirer said.
Fires from underground gas lines joined the conflagration, emergency radio reports said. The blast broke nearby glass-enclosed porches and downed dozens of power lines, leaving about 150 area residents without power as of 2:30 a.m., according to PPL Electric Utilities.
In 1994, Gross Towers was at the epicenter of another huge explosion in Allentown. An excavation crew bent a natural gas line leading to the complex on May 23, 1994, while removing a buried heating oil tank. The company left the pipe uncovered and unsupported until damaging it again June 9.
That night, a gap in the gas line caused gas to flow into Gross Towers, triggering two explosions and a fire at the apartment building for the elderly. The accident killed one person and injured more than 60 others. The cause of Wednesday’s explosion is not yet known.
A massive explosion tonight in Allentown was heard as far away as West Bethlehem and Northampton, authorities and a resident say.
Lehigh County 911 dispatch said the explosion occurred at a home in the area of 14th and Allen streets. A dispatcher had no further information available because Allentown handles its own dispatch. A call to Allentown 911′s non-emergency line went unanswered.
Emergency radio broadcasts described the call as an “MCI,” or mass casualty incident.
The blast happened around 10:45 Wednesday night on Allen Street between 13th and 14th streets in Allentown. Witnesses calling into the 69 Newsroom reported the house to be leveled.
Initial reports from the scene indicated multiple people have been injured. So far, there’s no word on how serious any of the injuries are.
Residents of at least two city blocks have been evacuated from their homes.The blast happened around 10:45 Wednesday night on Allen Street between 13th and 14th streets in Allentown.
Witnesses calling into the 69 Newsroom reported the house to be leveled.
Jim Davis has written us an email insisting we tell you the above video, from a WUSA9.com video player, that he sold to 9NEWSNOW/WUSA9.com, was shot by him.
The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has publicly released its Safety and Investigative Team (SIT) report from the fire that critically injured Firefighter/Paramedic Daniel McGown. Two other firefighters were hurt in the April 8, 2009 fire at 87 Herrington Drive. PGFD Spokesman Mark Brady says that SIT completed its investigation in December 2009, but until now it had not been made public.
According to Brady, the following issues were identified:
Failure to establish an initial water supply
Incomplete size-up reports
Improper tactics
Lack of company-level supervision
Lack of effective crew integrity
Inadequate communication on the fire ground
Failure to provide adequate ventilation
Lack of training and experience in fire fighter survival skills
Here’s more from the PGFD press release:
From the findings of the investigation, the SIT developed a total of nine (9) recommendations. Five (5) of these recommendations were identified as “primary recommendations” as they relate directly to actions, inactions, or factors that contributed in a direct way to the resulting injuries. The remaining four (4) recommendations were identified as “ancillary recommendations” because they were discovered in the course of the investigation and identified as issues, but did not contribute directly to the resulting injuries.
Prince George’s County Acting Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor commented on the public release of this document by saying, “In the interest of communicating the lessons learned to prevent occurrences of a similar nature, I am officially releasing this report. Lessons learned by our department can be of value to others in preventing injury and death to firefighters across the country.” He concluded by saying, “I would like to thank the team that compiled this report. One of our most challenging tasks as an organization is to pause and conduct a through and honest critique of ourselves in an incident such as this.”
Andrew Pantelis, President of the Prince George’s County Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 1619, stated, “The intent of such reports are not to cast blame or second guess split second decisions that are made on the fire ground but rather to provide a tool for members to use to apply in training and future incidents.”
A fire on Tuesday afternoon at 43 East Hill Road in Canton, Connecticut. No injuries were reported. The fire is reported to have started in the kitchen. Here’s a description from Canton Patch:
Canton volunteer firefighters, Colin Narducci and Bob Barsalou ventilated the roof to release the smoke. The first attack team, Jonathan Gotaski, Juan Gonzalez and Jason Ronan found heavy smoke and fire in the kitchen, but were able to knock it down within minutes. Fire, that had extended to the second floor through the walls, was also knocked down by another attack team.
This fire was early on Monday morning at 2814 Crest Street in West Durham. According to news coverage, the occupant of the home says the fire started in a clothes dryer.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has the raw video from Warren, Michigan where four firefighters walked away with minor injuries this afternoon after a tractor-trailer collided with their engine. Click here for the video and the details.
After The Buffalo News asked about Niagara Falls (NY) Fire Chief Roger Melchior’s postings on the forum of the Baltimore Fire Officers Association the mayor fired the chief. According to the paper, postings under Melchior’s name referred to people from Cairo as “camel jockeys”. Melchior, 63, previously worked in Baltimore and Green Bay.
The paper says it was contacted by a ranking firefighter in Baltimore concerned about the comments.
The article says Melchior had been under fire after taking a two week vacation following a long medical leave shortly after he started in Niagara Falls.
Late last week, Melchior denied to a reporter — then to city officials — that he posted any messages on the forum used by firefighters in Baltimore, where he once worked, and said that someone must have been posting under his name.
Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster and other city leaders, however, concluded that because some of the posts contained information about meetings and other events in the Falls that were known only to a small number of people, Melchoir was misleading them.
“There were two separate issues,” Dyster said today. “What comments were posted and did he own up to posting them? He did not.”
The flap involving the online postings was “just the icing on the cake” which led to Melchior’s termination, (City Council Chairman Samuel) Fruscione said. He said there were other problems the Council had with him.
“Since his appointment in November, he has hardly ever worked. He spent most of time on sick leave and vacation time,” the Council president said. “He wasn’t a big performer overall.”
He collapsed shortly after he was sworn in, and after leaving the hospital, collapsed again at his home, breaking his leg.
Above is a taped report and links to live coverage of a fire at the Enterprise Products facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas about 35 miles east of Houston. The fire was reported around 12:30 PM local time
Witnesses say the heat is intense, and trucks in a nearby parking lot exploded as a result. Other callers to FOX 26 News report having heard explosions.
FOX 26 News briefly spoke with Enterprise Products company spokesman Rick Rainey, who said there are no reports of any injuries at this time.
“We store natural gas liquids at the plant, which comes out when natural gas is produced out of the ground,” said Rainey. “I am getting an operations report very shortly. All I can confirm is that we have a fire at the West Storage Facility at the Mont Belvieu plant. I’ve not heard of any injuries. We are still trying to confirm all of this. We are a part of Mont Belvieu mutual aid, and we have trained firefighters at all facilities who help fight the fire. In addition to the local firefighters, we have plant workers in the mutual aid network trained.”
FOX 26 Chief Meteorologist Dr. Jim Siebert says winds in Mont Belvieu are moving at 14 miles per hour out of the southeast, pushing smoke from the fire over Crosby.
According to its website, Enterprise Products operates 49,100 miles of natural gas, NGL crude oil, refined products and petrochemical pipelines around the world. Its company headquarters are located in downtown Houston.
You may recall our coverage of the National Labor Relations Board ruling in the dispute between Dawnmarie Souza and her former employee American Medcal Response of Connecticut Inc. That case was settled yesterday, the day before the hearing.
The NLRB ruled that Souza’s firing for a Facebook comment about her supervisor was improper. Her remarks were considered protected speech. The NLRB claimed AMR’s rules were overly broad when it came to the Internet and communications between workers. This is the first case in which the NLRB has made this argument about the web.
AMR has agreed to change those rules.
AMR and Dawnmarie Souza are not commenting, but Souza did post a brief comment to STATter911.com when our original posting ran on November 9:
While I have been advised to avoid interviews, I feel obligated to say something. First of all my page is private and I am a medic, not emt. The story has been greatly altered and I can only say please do not judge me until all the facts are out. Thank you.
Souza, a paramedic for AMR in New Haven, posted the comment on her Facebook page on the same day she was suspended from work after refusing her supervisor Frank Filardo’s request to write up a report on a complaint about her performance. Management rejected her request for union representation.
The company did not respond late Monday to a question about whether Souza will be rehired, and had said in the past that her firing was not for her Facebook post, but for “multiple, serious issues.”
In the three years before her firing Souza had missed a lot of work because of treatments and follow-up surgeries for breast cancer. Her illness was not part of the NLRB’s case.
Legal experts have said the Souza-AMR case would be groundbreaking for unionized workers, but would probably not affect the rights of most nonunion workers, who typically are employed “at will,” meaning they can be fired for any reason as long as it does not illegally target them on the basis of race, age or other protected categories.
Warning: This video contains language that some of you might find offensive.
THIS VIDEO HAS NOW BEEN MADE PRIVATE BY MERCYSOUP
JEMS Connect posted this interesting video this morning that was uploaded to YouTube by mercysoup on Saturday. Seven minutes of an EMT complaining about the actions of his partner on a run in a neighborhood that doesn’t have the best reputation. I am not quite sure why anyone would record this video much less post it for the world to see. But it’s there, along with some earlier videos taken inside the unit. You can find it all on mercysoup’s YouTube channel.
Already on JEMS Facebook page there are a lot of folks who think publicly blasting your partner in this manner is probably not a good idea.
A woman who lived in an apartment in a home on South Park Street in the Woodsdale section of Wheeling, West Virginia says her cat woke her when fire broke out yesterday morning (WheelingFire.com reports the fire is in Ohio County). The early video (above) starts just after Engine 10 from the Wheeling Fire Department, with quarters just two blocks way, arrived on the scene. The video is from WheelingFire.com. Here is an excerpt from the website’s report on the fire:
Engines 2 and 5 with Ladder 1 and Rescue 1 arrived on scene moments later and together, the crews made an aggressive interior attack. Engine 11 came in to supply Engine 2 and Ladder 1. The electric company had a longer than normal response time and the live wires and electricity presented a danger to the firefighters. Since the resident was out safely, firefighters were forced out of the structure until the power could be cut off. The fire extended upwards and crews went on a defensive attack with the bucket of Ladder 1 up and flowing water.
Below is a report from WTRF-TV that includes video taken later in the operation after the fire became a defensive operation. Here is more from WTRF-TV:
Firefighters said the fire spread throughout the two-story house very fast.
They said the layout of the house and the origin of the fire made it difficult for crews to put out the flame.
“Initial crews found heavy fire in the basement but there was an electric hazard there. We had to wait for AEP to get here and cut power to the structure, so we had to fight the fire from the outside until then,” said Wheeling Assistant Fire Chief Jim Blazier.
Melvyn Newman shakes the hands of the first responders at Fire Station 23.
He survived his first heart attack during the snow storm that trapped the area’s commuters in a massive gridlock, Jan. 26, 2011. Through the thunder snow, four first responders treated and transported Newman in a fire engine.
“They were very efficient, capable, and cool, fortunately, knew what they were doing,” says Newman who later choked up and says words cannot fully express his gratitude to his rescuers.
During snow fall, Newman felt tightness in his chest after shoveling his driveway around 7 p.m. His wife, Linda Singer, saw him lying down inside the house. She realized he was suffering from a heart attack and dialed 9-1-1.
“He was just totally white, no coloring at all, and he was shaking like a leaf,” says Linda Singer. She says after getting the busy tone a few times, she got through to a dispatcher. Four first responders arrived in a fire engine.
Lead paramedic Dwayne Dutrow says he was determined to get Newman to Suburban Hospital before his heart stopped.
The snow storm slowed down the rescue. The crew treated and transported Newman to the hospital in 18 minutes, according to Dutrow.
The fire engine navigated its way around stranded cars and snow- covered roads.
“I tried to figure the best way to get there, stay away from hilly terrain and go as flat as possible,” says Lawrence Morton, the driver.
“It was unprecedented and the traffic conditions were terrible at best,” says Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers.
The physicians at Suburban hospital said he had ten or fifteen more minutes before he might not have survived the heart attack, according to Newman.
Fire Chief Bowers says Newman’s rescue is a shining example of the importance of the work done by four-person first responder teams.
One of the logisitical problems at the Super Bowl yesterday had to do with 400 people who had tickets but did not get to see the game live and another 850 who were moved to different seats. It was an issue of safety and it has become a bit of a controversy in Arlington, Texas.
Asked who made the final decision to close the four sections, (Eric) Grubman (NFL’s executive vice president of business ventures) said the Arlington fire and police departments were responsible for certifying the temporary structures.
“They made the decision as to what the certification was, and from there it was very easy: those seats were not going to be in play,” he said.
But last night, Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Richard said the city’s fire marshal “played no role” in deciding that the unfinished seats would not be used because the NFL never asked the city to inspect those seats.
“That was all the NFL’s call,” she said. “The fire marshal had no participation in the seats that were not completed. The fire marshal only inspected the seats that were completed.”
But later in the day Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson says the responsibility for closing down the section was his and that the NFL and Cowboy officials did not give him a hard time. Here is what WFAA-TV wrote:
Chief Don Crowson blamed a temporary stairwell that was not ready for use and he did not feel comfortable allowing fans to sit in those areas.
Chief Crowson said there was no way to get people out of their seat in case of an emergency. That is why he claimed he closed those sections down.
Preliminary reports also point to a contractor who did not finish the work on time, even though the crew was close to finishing the job on time.
“My job is to inspect and make sure jobs are safe,” said Chief Crowson. “The assembly of the stands is up to the owner.
Illinois house fire: This is from the photographer for the Dwight Fire Department showing a fire Saturday morning.
Ego kills: I have seen this time and time again. A boss with a high profile job and an over-sized ego has a melt down when the news media does a story that is less than positive about the boss or the organization he or she runs. I am pretty certain though, that I’ve never seen one this bad. Of course I am talking, not about a fire chief, but the man who owns the Washington Redskins. Dan Snyder is a great case study on how making PR decisions based on hurt feelings will almost always make things worse. Click here as I take you inside the world of the most hated man in the Nation’s Capital. The trip should provide some valuable lessons.
Automatic aide debate: There is a lively one going on over an article we posted from the Colorado where the closest fire company was not sent to a woman trapped by fire in the basement of her home. Check out the coverage and the comments.
Big Ikea burns in Israel & someone quickly posts before video to go with the after video: Over the weekend a 21,500 square foot Ikea in Netanya was destroyed by fire. Interesting that, either just before or during the early stages of the hours long fire someone posted video to YouTube of a couple of locations inside the same store. Here’s our coverage.
New rules: A house fire where firefighters couldn’t find a woman talking to 911 that occurred a year ago brought new training requirements for firefighter in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. One volunteer chief says he is resigning after decades because the new rules discount his experience and that he would be unable to do the 1000 hours required. Click here.
Chiefs to meet and Dave is invited: A reminder that the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Expo & Symposium from the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association is being held February 24-27 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. They are even going to let me speak at the Sunday morning breakfast gathering. Click here for the details and to register.
Smithsonian fire in DC: (More below) WTOP Radio has the picture this morning of the plume rising above Constitution Avenue, Northwest. It turns out to be a fire in a cooling tower for the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. Click here for more.
Let’s get away from it all: That’s what a lot of firefighters in the State of New York did this week. It was the annual winter games on a ski slope. Click here to watch the fun.
Camden, NJ restores some positions, along with reports of possible Philly mutual aid: A property tax levy is expected to allow Camden to rehire 13 of 67 firefighters recently let go. Here’s more. At the same time, the site First In, run by a Philadelphia fire captain, reports that Philadelphia firefighters could be going across the bridge into Camden on mutual aid. The captain isn’t pleased. Click here.
Rio fire has carnival impact: In Rio de Janeiro’s Samba City a fire today has destroyed at least four warehouses where floats and costumes are made for Rio’s carnival celebration. A carnival museum and a school were also destroyed. Read more. Also, more from Firegeezer.
More from Smithsonian fire: It is just a small, detached mechanical building, but the smoke plume attracted a lot of attention this morning in the Nation’s Capital. One reason is that it is in the federal area downtown. The little building is part of the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. Here are the details. Also, more pictures from the fire at WUSA9.com.
Super Bowl Sunday and Dave is trying to be relevant with a football tie in. It’s about the owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder. A Super Bowl Champion, no doubt. Certainly not his team since he’s owned it. But Snyder himself is a World Champion. Dan Snyder reigns supreme when it comes to uniting an entire city and region against you. And his most recent moves in the fields of public relations and image management give strong indication that the trophy should be Dan’s to keep.
Anyone who has heard me speak in recent years, or ever dealt regularly with Dave Statter the TV reporter, probably knows my views on dealing with a news organization that has published negative stories about you or your organization. I have a simple message: If you are going to complain about news coverage, complain about the facts of the story. Make sure it isn’t really just the bruised ego or hurt feelings of you or your boss doing the talking. Trust me, it’s good advice.
I never had the chance to share those words of wisdom with Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. But even if I did run in those circles, history shows it’s advice Dan probably wouldn’t listen to.
I don’t know how much play this is getting beyond the Beltway, but here in Washington over the last few days you can’t go a couple of minutes without reading or hearing another negative assessment of Dan Snyder. These darts lobbed at Snyder are not about the dismal showing of Washington’s football team. Instead it’s about one of the worst examples of how to deal with negative news that we’ve witnessed in a long time. Pull up a seat, there’s a lot to learn from this master of turning a terrible public image into a horrendous one.
It’s as if Snyder purposely pasted “kick me” signs all over his body. Right now, everyone is obliging and kicking him hard. There’s no end in sight. Often, when a public figure is beaten down like this, at some point they might become a sympathetic figure. I don’t see that happening here. Just read the hundreds of comments attached to the articles I’ve linked to and you will see what I mean.
This latest chapter started on November 19 when Washington City Paper’s Dave McKenna wrote an article called The Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder. McKenna is a talented sports columnist who has never been afraid to question authority and the status quo. Snyder’s antics and ethics have long been a favorite topic of McKenna’s.
But the free, alternative paper McKenna works for is not what you would call a major player in the Washington media world. Certainly not something a powerful businessman like Snyder needs to worry about. It’s as if McKenna has been constantly barking away like a wiener dog at the feet of a giant and poweful Great Dane (I would have used Clifford the Big Red Dog here, but comparing Snyder to Clifford might ruin the animated canine’s image for generations of children). This article caused Snyder to do more than just shake off the tiny nuisance and move on. Suddenly Dan Snyder saw McKenna as a pit bull that needed to be euthanized.
Snyder’s plan for handling this was about as subtle and well thought out as the much publicized Redskins’ stadium policy of October and November 2009. That one had security people trashing fan’s signs brought to Fed Ex Field because Dan’s feelings were hurt by a very strong anti-Snyder sentiment following a decade of impulsive, bone head moves in running the team. Management tried unsuccessfully to get the public to swallow the company line that the signs were suddenly a safety issue.
I covered that story and talked to legendary DC sports PR guy Charlie Brotman. Charlie, one of the nicest guys around, and rarely publicly critical of anyone, had some advice for Snyder. Essentially, Charlie told Dan to stop wasting his time by trying to control what people think. These actions were further destroying Syder’s reputation with the public. Instead, Charlie urged Snyder to start reaching out and connecting with the fans. Pretty solid advice.
If it’s advice Dan Snyder heard, he ignored or forgot it by November 2010 when he came up with the plan to deal with McKenna. Instead of contacting the columnist or his editor about what Snyder thought were great factual errors, Dan, always the businessman, went right for the money. The general counsel and COO for the Redskins, David Donovan, wrote a letter to the investment company that owns the parent company that owns the Washington City Paper. Besides listing all of the ways McKenna’s article harmed Snyder, the letter made clear what damage would come to Atalaya Capital Management if this wasn’t dealt with to the satisfaction of the Redskins owner. And it is this portion of the letter, that stands heads above the rest of the Snyder PR circus, and has Washington abuzz. Here it is:
Dan Snyder’s public relations policy may not be a smart one, but it sure gets high marks for consistency. Just like destroying the fan’s signs when they had bad things to say about Dan, Snyder threatens to crush the news media. And this threat to sue has now become reality, again making headlines.
There are a lot more angles to this story and details that we don’t have time to cover here. But there is currently no shortage of articles to read and videos to view on the topic where you can learn more. Let me suggest a few, starting with the response by Washington City Paper publisher Amy Austin.
So, why have I spent all of this time on a blog dedicated to fire and EMS talking about the owner of a football team? Because, whether it’s Dan Snyder and the National Football League or a one pumper fire department in the middle of Snyderville, USA (my apologies to the folks of Snyderville, Utah) your image and how you tend to it matters. The mistakes Dan Snyder continually makes on the large scale are often made on the small scale by fire and EMS departments and the people who run them.
These are basic errors. Ones that any crisis management firm or good PR person or PIO would try to avoid. I’m sure Dan Snyder can afford the best in the business. It’s obvious that, like a few public safety bosses I’ve met through the years, Snyder and his ego think they know far better than the PR pros.
Dan Snyder and the Redskins made sure that a relatively little read article blasting the owner got enormous play, not just in Washington, but around the world. So much so that the City Paper’s server crashed on Wednesday. How often have I cautioned about turning a simple one day story into something much bigger?
Remember this: When your public relations policy is based on the fragile ego of a Dan Snyder, a fire chief or a mayor, you will lose every time.
If the reporter or columnist significantly gets the facts wrong, absolutely get out and fix that with the correct facts. This is something quite important in the digital age where information, accurate or inaccurate, is rapidly repeated over and over again on numerous sites. During a radio interview on Thursday, the Redskins COO David Donovan even acknowledged that very point in justifying their offensive against the City Paper saying, “In the Internet age, when something gets published, and it gets linked to and linked to and linked to — and you can go around the Internet and see the number of times people have linked to that column from the November City Paper.” But as the Post’s Dan Steinberg points out, that article is now getting a hell of a lot more links than it did originally (including now on the ever popular STATter911.com) and no one is really correcting any facts.
If the goal is to set the record straight, wouldn’t a better tactic have been to take the Washington City Paper up on its offer to get the facts out in a Dan Snyder penned guest column?
If it’s the opinion of a columnist you want to change, that isn’t going to happen by heavy handed, thuggish threats (which in Snyder’s case illustrates McKenna’s thoughts about the owner much better than what the sports columnist wrote in the first place).
Settling a score by trying to get a reporter or columnist fired just to keep the boss happy rarely works (again, you better have some facts to back it up). The same goes for the often used tactic of freezing out or not talking to a reporter who doesn’t play the way you want them to. All you will do is ensure your message isn’t heard with the coverage provided by that publication.
The short version of the response from Snyder and the Redskins is to argue that McKenna is out to get Snyder, that McKenna attacked Snyder’s wife, a breast cancer survivor and spokeswoman (an unfounded claim against McKenna that absolutely no one can sense of), and that a City Paper picture of Snyder as the devil is antisemitic.
Let me be so bold as to offer Dan Snyder, or even a fire or EMS chief who may be equally as sensitive, a different way to go. You’ve dug yourself a big hole that you are trying desperately to get out of. You have failed to provide any shoring and the walls are coming in. Stop burying yourself further by attacking the news media with nothing to really back it up except your hurt feelings. Ditch the ego. Write an open letter to the public and have a press conference telling everyone you’ve made lots of mistakes through the years, but this one tops them all. Take a lesson from Gene Weingarten and do this with a sense of humor. Make sure that sense of humor is directed at you. Beg for the public’s mercy, telling them you have learned your lesson and will do better in the future. Go the Hollywood route and tell everyone you will be in rehab for a few months. Then find a Betty Ford type clinic for egoholics and control freaks. You will know you have the right building because the doorway is extra tall and wide to enable those oversized heads and egos to enter.
In short, heed the words of my friend and former colleague Brett Haber, “The truth that Snyder fails to grasp is that the only way to stop being portrayed as such an unlikable figure — is to stop acting like one.”
It may be Super Bowl Sunday, but WBNG-TV is broadcasting as different sport.The 6th Annual Firemen’s Association of the State of New York Winter Games is occurring this weekend at Greek Peak in Virgil, New York:
“The fire service works very hard three hundred and sixty five, sixty four days a year and we take this weekend off and have a time to meet and greet each other,” said David Jacobowitz, President of FASNY.
More than 300 firefighters have shown up from all over New York State and forty six teams showing their strength, team-work, skills and having a great time.
“I would say it strengthens morale wise, the competition wise it brings us together as a team and same as fighting a fire, everybody works together,” said Hampton Bays Firefighter, John Tedesco.
Jacobowitz says it’s important to allow firefighters to have this time to get away and build up the morale for their departments.
The Games continue Sunday with the Broome Ball Tournament at the Suny Cortland Ice Rink.
The first Ikea store in Israel was destroyed by a fire that was discovered early Saturday morning and burned past dawn. Built in 2001, the building had 21,500 square feet over two floors. It is located in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv.
Interestingly, if you click here you will see four videos of the interior of the same store that appear to have been taken by an employee. I discovered them while looking for fire video. The videos show the loading dock and the cafeteria. As expected, it appears the store had a sprinkler system. These videos were uploaded to YouTube around 3:30 AM Netanya time on Saturday morning.
Martin Grube’s Fire Rescue TV was on the scene as Virginia Beach, Virginia firefighters went to work at a house fire in the 800 block of Brittlebank Drive just after 9:00 this morning.
According to WAVY-TV, investigators believe the fire was caused by smoking materials discarded on the deck.
What’s with Jersey City, New Jersey’s Ladder 8? Twice in as many years the rig has become stuck in a sinkhole on Linden Avenue. Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has details.
FireTruckBlog.com has much more apparatus news, including the fate of a pair of Stratford, Connecticut pumpers hit on I-95, a parade from Down Under, used fire trucks for sale and more weather related troubles. Just click here and scroll down.
Video from a house fire at 49 Hillside Avenue in Woonsocket, Rhode Island yesterday afternoon. Some details from WPRI-TV:
Flames quickly engulfed the garage and office of the home which is owned by Paul Jacob and his wife. They arrived home from lunch to find their home on fire, and could only watch as crews worked to save the place they’ve called home for almost 50 years.
The firefight was so intense that a Woonsocket firefighter was treated on the scene for exhaustion.
Jacob owns a video and sound company, and often tapes and often tapes City Council and other events for the city of Woonsocket. A cart of his expensive equipment was doused in water. He’ll now have to figure out what can be salvaged.
Bill Rohrer of Newsworking.org was on the scene last night for this fire in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Here’s what Bill wrote:
Box 2317 was transmitted at 2215 hours for a house fire at the corner of 9th and Tilghman Streets. Engines 9, 4, 6, truck 2 and BN1 (Shott) respond.
Engine 9 arrives and transmits a working fire at 641 N. 9th Street in a 2.5 story M/O/R, heavy fire venting 2nd floor front.
Crews stretch 3 lines into the dwelling and make a quick attack, darkening down the fire in about 25 minutes. A supply was laid from 9th and Allen Streets about a block away.
Primary searches came up negative. BN1 on the secondary advised that 5 people were unaccounted for. Secondary searches came up negative.
Firefighters were on the scene for about 2 hours mopping up.
2nd alarm companies: Engines 10 (RIT), 13, 14, Air 1 and car 40 & 46.
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