There is controversy in Weston, Missouri over a fatal July 4 fire that left George Treese, the owner of Old Geezer's Mantiques dead. Last night about two dozen citizens presented a video to the Weston City Council they claim shows a 14-minute delay before the Weston Fire Department and the West Platte Fire District put water on the fire. The West Platte fire chief disputes that account.
News reports indicate council members said they would review the video but advised the citizens to take up their complaint at fire district meeting later this month.
Among those talking to reporters and the council is Jennifer Koerper who lived with Treese. She told WDAF TV:
"Something was wrong, either with the truck or with the training of the personnel."
"You can see three or four times, a little bit of water being dispersed. We really felt a bucket brigade would have done a better job," said Koerper.
"I think they are going to sweep it under the carpet," said Koerper.
Lynn Johnson, the Fire Chief, did not feel comfortable talking about the tape on camera until she got a chance to see it. But she did say they did not wait 14 minutes to use water to fight the fire and that they had received conflicting reports about whether or not a person was trapped inside.
She also said once they did get inside the building it was hard to get him out because of all of the stuff around him.
The fire chief of the West Platte Fire Protection District now has a copy of the video. She told (reporter Dan) Weinbaum that there was a delay in getting water at the fire scene, but it did not hinder the firefight.
We have come to expect early video of Eastern Pennsylvania fires from our regular contributor Bill Rohrer at NewsWorking.org. But this time the lead video goes to a neighbor who was rolling three minutes before the first fire engine arrived at 135 North New Street in the Borough of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The three-alarm fire occurred Monday afternoon.
The neighbor shot about 12 minutes of video as the firefighters fought the fire and 90 degree temperatures. Below is Bill's later video and video from Lehigh Valley's Bravest.
Here's some of what Bill wrote about the fire that started in the garage and quickly spread:
Command arrives at the scene and has the garage, 2 cars and now the dwelling well-involved. He calls Hecktown and Upper Nazareth (52 & 54) to fill-out his first alarm. He also requested his company to hit the road as soon as possible with the first piece of apparatus. Ladder 50 was first to arrive.
As the fire progressed into the single-family-dwelling, command requested more companies.
Command requested additional companies throughout the duration of the incident for manpower as some firefighters were suffering from heat exhaustion.
One firefighter went down in the rear yard, bringing in more EMS units to stand-by. Firefighters worked the interior second-floor hitting the fire in the roof area. Numerous times, command ordered the evacuation tones. Once it was safe, crews would re-enter the dwelling to make interior progress.
Another vacant house in Buffalo: Don Murtha's been busy. Check out his YouTube channel where you will find seven fires in Buffalo posted in the last five days. Here's the latest from early this morning at 83 Warren Avenue.
Oh say can you sing? Apparently not: Like many of you who have read this story I keep waiting for more, trying to figure out what we are missing. A Philadelphia battalion chief with 38 years on the department faced a disciplinary panel on Friday because of a YouTube video taken inside a firehouse. In it BC John Grillone is singing the National Anthem and schmoozing with his fellow firefighters. The firefighter who posted the almost two-year-old video already has been given four weeks off and we are now waiting to see Chief Grillone's fate. We are assuming that this video of firehouse life became an issue because of some foul language in the clip (according to news reports). But we don't know for sure because the commissioner's office had no comment for reporters. Unless someone explains this one quickly, I can see this one ending up in Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert's hands before it is over with. See for yourself.
The diva is whisked away from the fire, but no ones seems to be in a hurry to do the same for the audience: When fire broke out Friday above the stage at American Airlines Center in Dallas, sent flaming debris down below and smoke through the arena, singer Rihanna was rushed off stage to safety. Dave's view of the many, many videos of the event leaves him with the opinion no one thought it was a priority to get the audience out of the building. Do I need to pull the fire doubles in size card when I point out it took more than five minutes for an evacuation announcement and then the sounding of the fire alarm? Here's the story. Plus, Firegeezer has some views on this issue.
Early fireground operations caught by U.S. Park Police chopper: More than 10 minutes of raw video from a July 1 fire consuming the rear of multiple row homes in Northwest Washington. Watch initial operations of the DC Fire & EMS Department at this two-alarm fire. Click here.
Sinking feeling: Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com has the story of a year old fire boat in North Carolina that sank. Read the details.
Judge tosses out firefighter's suit over mosque: Read why a judge dismissed the suit by Timothy Brown, a former FDNY firefighter, who has been trying to stop the building of an Islamic Center near the WTC site.
FDNY deputy chief exchanges blows during flophouse inspection: An "exclusive" New York Post story about Deputy Chief Joseph Woznica getting hit and hitting back during an inspection as part of the city's crackdown on illegal apartment conversions. Read the story.
Car avoids captain but hits fire engine: San Jose, California police have arrested a man on drunken driving charges after he swerved his vehicle to avoid a fire captain at the scene of a house fire and hit two cars and a fire engine. Here's more.
Dave must apologize … his lawyers insist: After describing the expected antics at Firehouse Expo Booth 743 last week as "Gilligan's Island meets Barnum & Bailey" I heard from some very irate people who demanded a retraction. Surprisingly it was not from the usually very sensitive Fireboy of Roanoke and his keepers. No, I received nasty letters from lawyers for TV producer Sherwood Schwartz and the estate of the late P.T. Barnum saying I am causing harm to the reputation of both the TV show and the circus with my comparison. Of course that was not my intent. So my next plan was to change the description of the Firegeezer/STATter911/Firefighter Nutcast booth to "The National Zoo meets The Gong Show". My lawyers are insisting that to be on the safe side and to limit my exposure I change that to "A generic zoo somewhere meets a talent show for untalented people". I guess that's a pretty accurate description of the mix of characters that will be at Booth 743. If you don't have your free pass for the convention floor yet you can get it by clicking here and putting in promo code EX 79.
We are a little late on this one, but I think you will find the video worth the wait. This is 11 minutes of raw video from a United States Park Police helicopter taken during the early stages of a rowhouse fire that began at 921 Decatur Street, Northwest on the afternoon of July 1. The fire went to two alarms. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
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This week's Antique of the Week at Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com made the news a few days ago and it wasn't good. The GM fire truck of the 40s from South Carolina was robbed. Click here for the details.
Looking at the video above and numerous others from last night's concert by Rihanna at the American Airlines Center, a little talk between the Dallas Fire Department and arena officials about evacuation procedures i probably in order. Something caught fire in a light grid area above the stage (one news account has it as a light and wiring and another quoes a fire captain saying a chair was burning). Concert goers say the fire broke out after on-stage pyrotechnics (this video shows some of the fireworks).
Whatever the source and the material burning it is clear that they had a bit of fire burning overhead with not a small amount of embers dropping below and smoke starting to billow through the arena. Guess who they made sure got out of there right away? Here's how WDFW-TV describes it:
Rihanna, dressed in a floor-length, canary-colored gown with bejeweled black and white neckline, quickly exited the stage. The light was fully on fire at that point.
Rihanna "ran off the stage," according to Elizabeth Teller, who attended the event.
Guess whose safety, based on the videos I have seen, was not a priority during this fire? Listening to and watching the video above the first announcement to leave comes almost five minutes after that video began rolling and after someone had used a fire extinguisher on the fire.
The video immediately below begins just as the last chord of what turned out to be the final song of the night was played. It has a much closer view of the activity and flaming debris that was falling. And below that are more angles including an on scene report from a citizen journalist.
A five-minute or longer decision making progress when fire is burning above an audience in a packed arena seems a bit excessive and potentially dangerous to me.
A veteran Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief has been accused of "conduct unbecoming' by the fire commissioner. The charges against John Grillone stem from a video posted to YouTube that firefighter Charles Tizol shot inside the quarters of Engine 71 on Cottman Avenue in 2009. Tizol has already been suspended without pay for four weeks and Chief Grillone had a disciplinary hearing yesterday.
So what is so bad about the video? According to KYW-TV the video shows Chief Grillone singing one of his favorite songs, the National Anthem and interacting with the firefighters. Here's more:
Grillone, a 38-year veteran, is seen singing, eating cookies and talking to co-workers in the video. There was some foul language used as well, but Grillone’s attorney, Alice Ballard, maintains the men were just simply having good clean fun.
Grillone says at the time, he was just trying to boost morale after the deaths of three firefighters.
The disciplinary hearing panel will make a recommendation to the commissioner in the coming days. A spokesman from the commissioner’s office said the fire department has no comment. As of right now, the fire department doesn’t have a social media posting policy in place.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about 20 feet onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game.
Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood, died at a hospital Thursday night, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Stone was a lieutenant and had been with the Brownwood Fire Department nearly 18 years, said City Manager Bobby Rountree. Brownwood is about 150 miles southwest of Arlington.
Stone was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball.
Arlington Fire Department officials said Stone, who witnesses said was conscious after the fall, "went into full arrest" while being transported by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a Fort Worth hospital less than an hour after he fell.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," team president Nolan Ryan said somberly after the Rangers' 6-0 victory over Oakland. "As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we're very heavy-hearted about this, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."
Ronnie Hargis was sitting next to Stone in the first row of seats in left field. The men had been talking before the accident. Hargis reached out to try to grab Stone, who fell headfirst through a gap of several feet that is between the seats and the 14-foot-high outfield wall.
"He went straight down. I tried to grab him, but I couldn't," Hargis said. "I tried to slow him down a little bit."
The area where Stone landed was out of sight from the field.
It is the second fatal fall at a major league stadium this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete during a Colorado Rockies game. Witnesses told police that the man had been trying to slide down a staircase railing at Coors Field and lost his balance during a game against Arizona.
There was an audible gasp in the stands at Rangers Ballpark when Stone tumbled over the rail, eerily similar to an accident there almost exactly a year earlier. Another firefighter fell about 30 feet from the second-deck of seats down the right-field line while trying to catch a foul ball on July 6, 2010.
Tyler Morris, a firefighter from the Lake Cities Fire Department near Dallas, sustained a fractured skull and sprained ankle last year when he dropped onto seats where other fans were sitting.
The latest accident happened in the second inning after Oakland's Conor Jackson hit a foul ball that ricocheted into left field. Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP elected by fans to start his fourth consecutive All-Star game next week, retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.
Safawna Dunn, who was sitting nearby, said Stone was calling for Hamilton to throw him the ball. Dunn said the victim was conscious when he was taken away on a stretcher.
Ryan described Hamilton as being "very distraught over this, as the entire team is."
The Rangers' clubhouse was closed to reporters after the game.
Rangers starter Derek Holland, who pitched a four-hit shutout, turned and glanced briefly at people looking down where Stone had land behind the outfield wall that supports a video board for replays and scores. Catcher Mike Napoli had motioned toward the outfield and Jackson looked that way as well before play resumed.
Between innings, Rangers manager Ron Washington spoke briefly with one of the umpires. Texas designated hitter Michael Young could be seen talking to A's catcher Kurt Suzuki and pointing toward where last year's fall happened.
"We knew about it, we didn't know exactly what happened," Washington said. "It's sad, it's very sad."
Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler was in the visitor's bullpen in left-center field, which can be accessed through the area where Stone fell.
Ziegler was in tears after the game when he found out about the death. The pitcher said when Stone was put on a stretcher, he told people tending to him that his son was "up there by himself" and asked them to check on the boy.
"He had his arms swinging. He talked and was conscious. We assumed he was OK," Ziegler said. "But when you find out he's not, it's just tough."
Former President George W. Bush, who used to be the team's managing general partner and often attends games, was sitting in the front row with Ryan near the Texas dugout when the accident happened. Ryan left moments later while Bush remained in the seats.
Ryan said Bush was aware of what was happening.
"It's just devastating. I don't even know what to say. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It filtered into our dugout. … I made a little announcement to the team after the game. Certainly baseball is not very important in light of something like that."
After Morris was hurt last year, he called the incident a "100 percent, total accident that could have happened to anybody." He said he didn't blame the Rangers or the ballpark.
In 1994, a Plano woman posing for a picture after the Rangers' first game in the stadium sustained multiple injuries after she fell about 35 feet.
Ryan wasn't prepared to talk about what changes, if any, might be made at the stadium.
"Tonight, we're not prepared to speak about anything further than the accident and the tragedy," Ryan said. "That's where I'm going to leave it."
Glenn Udsin's FireTruckBlog.com has this news story from Tonawanda, New York where a fire engine ended up pumping from a hydrant at a graduation block party. The chief says this calls for a policy review. Here's the story.
District of Columbia fire investigators, along with agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced at a press conference today they have made an arrest in the April 8 fire at 811 48th Place that critically burned Firefighter Chuck Ryan and injured four other DC firefighters.
Maurice Dews, 26, was picked up after a fire Tuesday night across the street from the April 8 fire. In addition, Dews is accused of setting a fire on June 14 at 4501 Grant St. NE.
Investigators say Dews also falsely claimed he was a volunteer firefighter from Bladensburg, Maryland. According to the investigators, Dews has called 911 about nine separate fires in DC and Maryland since 2007.
Charging documents indicate that Dews already was suspected in the series of arsons before Tuesday's fire. In fact, Dews called a DC fire investigator who had previously interviewed him to report information shortly after the fire Tuesday evening. This lead to Dews' arrest.
The Colchester Volunteer Fire Department is speaking out over a workers' comp denial for one of its firefighters, saying the state law has a loophole that could endanger other volunteers.
Volunteer firefighter Jason Stech was working on improvements to the fire station last month when he fell and shattered his ankle. Stech filed for workers compensation, but the insurance company denied his claim, saying it was not covered under the state's definition of "line of duty."
In June, Stech fell from a ladder while fixing insulation at the station. He fractured his ankle, broke his foot and shattered his heel. His injuries require surgery that will keep him from his paying job for about four months. Now the fire company's insurer is using Vermont law to deny his workers' comp claim.
"I think it's very unfair," Stech said. "We all go out in the middle of the night to put our lives on the lines in some cases."
But not in this case, says American Zurich Insurance Company. It based its denial on a legal issue concerning the legislative intent of "line of duty." The statute says it's when a firefighter is responding to a fire, a drill or a test, participating in a parade or fundraising. Since Stech wasn't doing any of those activities he's ineligible for coverage. But lawmakers argue the insurance company is twisting their intentions.
Very interesting July 4th video from Peoria, Illinois. Watch what happens starting at about 3:10. The firefighters and police had responded to a trash bin on fire in the Taft Homes complex. The city's fireworks display nearby in Downtown had just ended. The firefighters and cops came under attack in what Matt Buedel of pjstar.com termed a 'near riot':
At least three shells exploded on the engine, causing burn marks, and one hit a firefighter in the shoulder, charring his heat-resistant gear and temporarily initiating hearing loss. Division Chief Gary Van Voorhis said Tuesday the firefighter declined medical attention at the scene and remained on duty.
One of the first responding police officers also suffered some hearing loss and sought treatment at a local hospital later in the night, according to Peoria police Capt. Mike Scally, who also was the event commander for the riverfront fireworks display. The injured officer was not admitted to the hospital and had submitted a report on the incident before ending his shift.
Here's more:
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Peoria police and firefighters trying to get to a trash bin fire at a public housing complex on July Fourth say they were fired upon with commercial-grade fireworks and pelted with bottles.
Firefighters and a couple of police officers initially couldn't get to the fire Monday night because of what he said were several hundred people watching fireworks being fired in the Taft Homes complex near downtown Peoria, police Officer Doug Burgess told Peoria's WMBD Radio.
"Immediately once they got in they were fired on with commercial-grade fireworks and bottles were thrown at the police and firefighters," he said.
Officers had to use launchers that fire pepper spray or pepper powder to disperse the crowd, Burgess said.
Several officers and firefighters were burned and one officer was treated at a local hospital, he said. No injuries were reported among the residents of the housing complex and no one was arrested.
"We had such a few number of officers in ratio to the number of people who were there," Burgess said. "We could not risk losing an officer because he was arresting somebody. And, on top of that, the officers were getting fired upon from all sides they couldn't see where it was coming from."
Commercial-grade fireworks are frequently fired at the housing complex on July Fourth, he said, and police plan to review their security procedures before next summer's holiday.
Three clips from a fire in a vacant house on June 30 in Brownfield, Pennsylvania (Fayette County). According to the information with the video the Hopwood VFD was first on the scene.
Here's part of the description with the clip above:
Hopwood VFD was eventually assisted by South Union VFD manpower, North Union VFD air truck, Uniontown VFD ladder and Uniontown Firemen's Medic 403.
Here's part of the description with the clip immediately below:
Hopwood Fire Chief Bill Large and firefighter Art Metts on the exterior attack line.
Don Murtha III video of a fire at 1:00 this morning at 26 Hawley Street in Buffalo, New York. One firefighter was reported to be injured while evacuating the building.
Man with camera has the command & thinks it's the Fourth of July: It is just a car fire, but I love the direction the videographer is giving the firefighters. But if you are going to be in command you need to know the difference between burning fireworks and the magnesium that's part of the car.
Quite the video: If you haven't yet seen the video of the bomb tech in Thailand being blown back as the car he was standing over explodes, you will want to do so. Thanks to his PPE the man was able to get up and walk away. Dramatic video that was caught by three different cameras. Click here to see it.
More on last month's mayday in Milwaukee that was caught on camera: We have posted an interesting video on the bail out from the attic at a June 3 house fire by two firefighters. Check it out.
Is burning your neighbor's house down an inalienable right?: The idiot who runs this blog must be some liberal do-gooder who want us all to live in a nanny state. He is trying to make the case that living in a world where you can shoot the biggest, baddest fireworks in your neighborhood and build homes on top of each other without sprinklers or fire resistive barriers is not about freedom. In fact, if you read his comments, Dave believes the fireworks and home building lobbies like to stir up the masses with this freedom talk to disguise their own greed. As usual, Statter has it backwards and we should be banning sprinklers (and Statter) and putting fireworks in the hands of everyone. But I do admit that he has some pretty cool videos to illustrate his Commie dribble. Here it is.
Dave talks evolution: More evidence of Statter's political leanings. Now Dave thinks he's Charles Darwin in his rant about a man with a garden hose in one hand and a video camera in the other. Read this, if you must
Collapse caught on video sends firefighters scrambling: Dave Hernandez and our friends at PhillyFireNews.com have the video from a three-alarm fire in Camden, New Jersey where the was a bit of a close-call when a wall collapsed. Watch the video.
Fire department hit & run?: That's what some are claiming after two children on bicycles were hit in Richmond, Virginia last night. A police statement says, "Investigators are looking into reports that the RFD vehicle, traveling through the intersection responding to a call, may have come into contact with the bicyclists". Read details.
Suspicious package forces fire station evacuation: The package was left by the flag pole forcing the Central Fire Station in Manchester, New Hampshire to empty out. Here's more.
No confidence vote for fire chief: Turmoil in Huntington, West Virginia as the City Council tries to sort out the battles between the chief and his firefighters. Read the story.
Charges dropped against New Mexico fire chief: A judge in northern New Mexico didn't even have to hear Eddie Velarde's defense and told the Velarde Fire Department chief he was free to go after his arrest earlier this year while in command of a fire. Here's more.
Join us in Baltimore: Firegeezer Bill has been doing a much better job than I have of promoting our joint venture at Firehouse Expo. But, then again, if it wasn't for Schumm our collection of misfits wouldn't all be together in one spot on the convention floor. I can assure you that Booth 743 will be unlike any other you visit. It is kind of like Gilligan's Island meets Barnum and Bailey. This year, in addition to FossilMedic, Fireboy, Fireboy's father and Fireboy's weird uncle & business partner, we have a real live fireman from Texas selling books. Will Wyatt has lost his mind (if someone finds it please return it) and will be hawking his wonderful book, And a Paycheck, Too!. Some in that booth probably have never read a book, much less written one. And if all of that is not enough to entice you, come see the panel I am part of called, Social Media: An Opportunity, a Curse, or Both? on Saturday, July 23 between 8:30 and 10:00 AM. I will be joining Bill Delaney, Pete Piringer and Curt Varone. And BTW, make sure you get your free convention floor pass by clicking here and putting in promo code EX 79.
The clip above provides additional video and details from the story we brought you a month ago of two Milwaukee firefighters who were forced to bail out of a burning home. At least two cameras were rolling when Lt. Chris Schutte and Firefighter John Kokalj dropped from the attic onto a porch roof. The fire occurred on June 3 at 16th Street and Lincoln Avenue. The video was put together by Dale G. Pakel.
Here's some of what Pakel wrote about the incident:
MFD Engine 31 experienced a collapse in the attic while searching for two children who were reported trapped. The hose line they were on lost pressure and the collapse cut off their primary egress to the stairwell. As a result of rapidly deteriorating fire conditions, the Officer and Nozzleman were forced to bail out the front attic windows.
Must see video: One of our sharp readers must have been reading my mind. Even before I posted this column they sent me the video above. It is from Daybreak, Utah where a home fireworks show set the shooter's home on fire and injured a man and boy watching the display. Listen to the conversations of the neighbors. Read more about the incident. While some of the fireworks the Utah man was using have been described as illegal, the state has a new law that allows citizens the freedom to use aerial rockets that shoot up to 150 feet in the air (and, of course, the state refused to adopt residential sprinklers). Click here & here for other videos from this celebration of freedom in Daybreak.
At the same time another story from Maine caught my attention. Governor Paul LePage signed a bill into law Friday that eases a lot of the state's restrictions on consumer fireworks. It wasn't in time for this year's July 4th celebrations, but it will be for the next one. (My home state of Virginia almost did the same thing last year.)
I have a much different view about all of this. They are just more examples of big money from home builders and the fireworks lobbies winning the day over common sense about safety. Somehow I must have slept through the part of history class where one of the truths our founding fathers saw as self-evident is that the voice of the person with the deepest pockets is the one that counts.
Sorry, but I don't see being able to set my neighbor's house on fire with a flying missile and maim a few children along the way as an important freedom. Or is it freedom to stifle the voice of that state's expert in the field. And I don't see freedom as allowing the construction of houses with no fire barrier or effective suppression system, built so close together that a fire in my neighbor's house will more than likely take out mine and maybe a few others.
Prince William County (VA) Fire Chief Kevin McGee pointed out to me earlier this century that our founding fathers learned the hard way about the benefits of home separation, fire prevention and materials that can resist fire. Now, 235 years later we forget those important history lessons at the very same time we have been gutting firefighting forces across this great land.
And there is no doubt, despite what some will see as my negativity on this issue (and a few other issues about freedom), it IS a great land that we are celebrating today. Please remember all of those who are and have fought for our freedoms. They deserve our support, respect and admiration.
May I humbly suggest that we just keep in mind what those freedoms are really about and that they are not suddenly unimportant because of the passion of the moment or because the highest bidder wants to move us in a different direction.
On previous July 4ths I have told you about my 1993 trip to New York to see FDNY in action. Two videos from that trip with fire buff extraordinaire Vito Maggiolo are on this page.
One of the videos (above) is of a most unusual experience, the crash of a blimp. Here's what I wrote about that in 2007 (don't you love it when an ego driven blogger quotes himself?):
Independence Day in 1993 was one of the stranger days of my life. I had gone with my friend Vito Maggiolo to New York to experience July 4th, usually the busiest day of the year for FDNY.
In the afternoon we were visiting one of Vito’s friends at Manhattan Fire Alarm in Central Park.
As we were sitting around chatting, the phones suddenly began ringing. We were hearing bits and pieces of only one side of the conversation. But the call takers were asking questions with surprised looks on their faces. We heard: “A what?”; “Where”?; “It’s deflating?”; “Over the Hudson?”.
Vito and I raced south and then to the west toward the Hudson River. We arrived just after the first firefighters and saw Pizza Hut’s Bigfoot Pizza Blimp draped over the side of an apartment building. We watched as the two injured crew members were brought down from the roof.
The other video (above) is more relevant to today's column. It gives you a glimpse of Brooklyn at a time when citizens with massive amounts of fireworks helped make Independence Day the busiest day of the year for FDNY.
Here is what I wrote four years ago about my 1993 experience:
It seemed as if fireworks were going off on every street. Barrels of fireworks burned in the middle of many blocks. Bottle rockets struck our car. M-80s exploded in trash can after trash can. The radio blared with reports of neighbor’s homes set on fire by fireworks along with numerous reports of injured people.
On one hand it felt as if I had been transported to a war zone. I’ll admit, being new to this, it was a little scary. At the same time, it reminded me of something very beautiful — one of my favorite movies, Barry Levinson’s “Avalon”.
The scene of Russian immigrant Sam Krichinsky arriving in Baltimore on July 4th is repeated throughout the film. As he walks under exploding fireworks all around him, this is the voice-over dialogue:
I came to America in 1914–by way of Philadelphia. That’s where I got off the boat. And then I came to Baltimore. It was the most beautiful place you ever seen in your life. There were lights everywhere! What lights they had! It was a celebration of lights! I thought they were for me, Sam, who was in America. Sam was in America! I know what holiday it was, but there were lights. And I walked under them. The sky exploded, people cheered, there were fireworks! What welcome it was, what a welcome!
This is Dave Hernandez video from a fire at 3:40 Saturday morning at 970 Fairview Street in Camden. Check out the end of the video at 7:27 as a wall collapses forcing firefighters to scatter. Here's what Dave wrote about the fire:
Engine 10 arrived on location and reported heavy fire showing from a two story store front with an apartment above. 10's also reported 4 row dwellings on the "delta" side as an exposure. Battalion 1 (Glassman) placed all hands in service and requested a second alarm Command reported fire conditions spreading throughout the "delta" side exposure and requested a third alarm. Collapse zone established due to collapse of the building. EMS transported one firefighter with a broken ankle and one firefighter for dizzyness.
We are getting closer to the day that I predicted a few years back where I will be able to post videos shot by both the rescuer and rescuee from the same fire. I think this video is an important step in the evolutionary process that will eventually bring us to that momentous day.
For a number of years we have been seeing the helmet-cams in operation that give us point-of-view (POV) video of firefighters doing their jobs. The clip above is the poor man's version of the helmet-cam extended to the citizen firefighters who bravely staff the green lines. I believe this is what is known as a green line "all hands" job. Green line in the right hand. Video camera in the left. Burning Jetta in front. Garage with melting siding is screen right.
As for me, I would have put down the camera (or not picked it up in the first place) and tried to make sure the exposures were cooled down. But I guess that is just old school, pre-YouTube type of thinking. I'm such a dinosaur.
On a more positive note for future generations, I think the extended thumbs that constant texting will almost certainly bring to the evolutionary process will eventually also be of great help to green line stream presentation.
Remember the case of Eddie Velarde, the chief of Northern New Mexico's Velarde Volunteer Fire Department?
Velarde was arrested last March while in command of a brush fire. He was charged with obstructing a sheriff's officer, disorderly conduct and concealing his identify.
Geoff Grammer at The New Mexican reports that Chief Velarde received a directed verdict of not guilty on Friday. It occurred after Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Lt. Adam Archuleta presented his the to a magistrate. The decision came before Velarde's attorney called any witnesses. Now Velarde's attorney is considering a wrongful arrest lawsuit.:
Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Lt. Adam Archuleta on March 29 arrested Velarde, 54, at the scene of a small brush fire in Lyden, in which Velarde's department was the lead agency working the blaze. According to police reports, Archuleta arrested Velarde because he was creating general hysteria at the scene that was doing more harm than good.
"He was calling for a mass evacuation (of surrounding residents) with all these agencies responding under the false belief that this was a much larger emergency," said Jake Arnold, a spokesman for Sheriff Tommy Rodella, in March. "Numerous times at the scene, he was yelling about people being trapped when the fire was nowhere near any structure."
Within 10 minutes of Velarde's arrest, Arnold said in March, the 2- to 3-acre fire was contained.
The videos above and below show three different views as a car bomb detonates on Friday while a bomb squad technician in Narathiwat province, south of Bangkok, Thailand attempts to open a door.
From the AP:
On the eve of Thailand's national elections, insurgents carried off deadly attacks south of Bangkok yesterday, including a spectacular car bomb that exploded just as police tried to defuse it.
A member of the Thai bomb squad approached one of the bomb-rigged cars in Narathiwat province after a second car, three yards away had detonated, wounding a soldier.
The officer, who was wearing a protective suit, was attempting to open the front passenger door of the parked car when the bomb exploded.
Authorities arrived at the scene after receiving a tip-off about the abandoned car, which was left in a no-parking zone.
The bomb disposal expert despite being lawn away nearly 10-meters by the explosion, picked himself up and walked away. He was treated for minor injuries.
Authorities said the bomb was triggered by remote from someone near the scene.
It may be tough to top this story today. Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com has the story of a flying fire truck. Lots of video from Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York as driver Rocky Hardcore crashes a rig, on purpose, and walks away. Click here for your front row seat.
As we first told you Tuesday evening, DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Kenneth Ellerbe has made changes to the light duty policy that will impact pregnant firefighters and employees who become injured or ill while off duty. After IAFF Local 36 complained that 30 days of light duty was not enough for pregnant firefighters, Chief Ellerbe tripled the time frame to 90 days. The union says that isn't enough and still wants the same policy offered to DC police officers, which allows pregnant cops to remain on light duty through their pregnancy.
In an ongoing dispute between the DC Fire Department and the union representing firefighters, the DC Fire Fighters Association is applauding Chief Kenneth Ellerbe's decision to increase the number of light duty days to which a member can be assigned.
The chief has increased the number of light duty days from 30 to 90. But the firefighters union says the change in policy is still not sufficient for pregnant firefighters to tend to the needs of their unborn children.
Pregnant firefighters had to use their own sick leave after the 30 days ran out. Once their sick leave ran out, they would be without pay until they were able to return to full duty.
DC firefighter Melissa Davis said, "I'm concerned that it's not quite enough."
Davis is still eight weeks away from her due date, but she's already been off the job for more than two months after her light duty assignment expired just 30 days in.
About Thursday's change, Davis shared, "Three months is great. It's better than 30 days. But for an average healthy pregnancy, a woman would need five months that she would be eligible to work a desk job and then two months before she returned to full duty."
The president of the DC Fire Fighters Association agrees with Davis saying that "the change in policy will still force our pregnant female members to exhaust their sick leave and forgo a paycheck in the interest of their unborn children."
But Fire Chief Ellerbe says the department needs to be fair to all firefighters, especially since there's a limited number of light duty jobs.
"Any member who desires to be on limited duty beyond 90 days will have to submit a request and the request will be either granted or not granted based on a case by case basis," stated Ellerbe.
This new policy applies to all firefighters whether they're pregnant, sick or injured. Davis and her union, however, want the department to make a distinction.
"There's definitely a huge difference between a injury and an illness as opposed to a pregnancy," said Davis.
Chief Ellerbe says if the department does that he's worried it will be opening the door to discrimination lawsuits. But keep in mind, the Metropolitan Police Department already lets its employees do limited duty work throughout their entire pregnancy, which is the kind of policy that the firefighters union says it wants.
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