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The video above from WDIV-TV, which includes a close call shot by CTV out of Toronto, was taken last night during a two-alarm vacant warehouse fire at John R and State Fair. Alertpage Text Alert Notification Service provided the radio traffic from the incident.
WDIV-TV says one of the firefighters on the roof is part of a group of firefighters from The Netherlands visiting Detroit on their own to learn from the city’s firefighters. WXYZ-TV reports that crew is actually from neighboring Belgium. Here’s an excerpt from a report filed yesterday:
“We know that Detroit has a lot of fires. So, there’s no better place to learn about firefighting than Detroit”, said Marc Opstal from the fire department in Zaventem, Belgium. “We have good prevention. We don’t have that much vacant buildings. So, we don’t get to see fire that much. And in order to really learn something, this is very good place for us”.
The Belgian firefighters arrived in town Sunday to spend the week training with Detroit firefighters, and what they learn here in the city is so valuable that each Belgian firefighter paid their own way to way to get here. They’re even using vacation time for the learning experience.
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Also on STATter911 …
- Detroit close call revisited: Additional video from warehouse & other Detroit fires with Belgian ride-alongs. Plus more on the controversial Charlie LeDuff comments. – October 2, 2012
- UPDATE – Belgian firefighter says TV reporter wrong that they paid $2K each for Detroit FD ride-along/training. LeDuff rains on critically acclaimed ‘Burn’ local premiere. – September 29, 2012
- UPDATED – Raw video now added: Detroit couple jump to escape fire before firefighters arrive. – December 21, 2011
- Caught on video: Church steeple collapses during fire. – March 27, 2013
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They don’t fight fire the American way so why would they “train” with American firefighters?
SOooo…the “pay to play” policy is in effect for the motor city? I thought after the last news story the Fire Commish said it was an internal memo & just a plan to kick around…
I guess European lawyers dont have as much clout as the class action ones here in ‘Merica does, so they don’t carry the liability domestic Firefighters have!
Interesting…
The guys from Belgium have been coming to our Dept in CA for years…Every 5 years or so. They pay their own way but they don’t pay anything to the Dept…They usually ride along for a few days and throw in some sight seeing when they get a chance.
Last memorable incident was 5 pasty white Belgium guys in speedos with black socks and shoes riding on one of our guys ski boat shouting “America, we love this country” every time they passed a boat with girls in bikinis.
happen to be listening in to Detroit last night during that call. What occurred was hugely predictable. The first Engine in (44) called off with smoke showing then shortly cancelled the Box reporting something about “cooking”. A minute or so later he requested “the Box” continue. The BC (Chief 8) reported the building to be 100X200. One of the companies reported fire coming through the mortar on one of the buildings outer walls and stated that he was not real keen on sending any of his guys inside. The BC also reported fire venting through the roof. The next thing you hear is crews making entry from both the front and the rear of the building. You could almost see it coming. It took forever for the first Truck to get there, the second Truck was held up by a train. No RIT was in place. The safety officer was one of the Engine FAO’s and who knows where he was standing running his pump. Somebody is going to get killed and for what?
Company FAO? It’s FEO and only company officers are assigned safety. Yeah pump operator on the pump going to be safety. People have to go to Detroit to understand Detroit. Is it getting worse. Yes it is. Detroit FD is the best at what they do & what they work with. Any true, real, hardcore firefighter would take that trip to go run with the big boys. Risk of injury & worrying about all the damn safety crap is on the backburner. What fire scene has no risk? Are there firefighters or just plain p*ssies in the fire service anymore? You want to go to work. You go to Detroit. Plain & Simple. There is a big difference of going to work & waiting on “a” fire shift after shift after shift. Then you go to Detroit where you are guaranteed 2, 3, 4 + fires a shift
Only a moron would call somebody that, especially somebody that isn’t a firefighter but a tirebiter. Balls without brains gets you killed. And for what, a building?? Yeah, Detroit has is rough, and they work their butts off everyday. We all get that. But even Detroit firefighters can’t walk on water. More important than anything else is going home in one piece at the end of a shift.
Nooooooooooo! Who will make the waffles!
Obamas already on his way to Belgium to apoligise
What is the american way 8truck? Kill some firefighters for an abandoned building? WTF.
No packs too. Real pros.
Anon, why would they report a cooking fire in a warehouse-maybe it was a company at a different alarm you heard, or they arrived at a different location first.
Scooter, you go work there and see how many fires you can fight in a day and be on air all the time. They have only a few compressors in the city, often they don’t get a chance to refill between calls. 35 companies with 60 working fires a day, you do the math. I am not excusing the way they do things all the time, but they are under pressure you will never understand.
Getting cancer is a risk of the job that we should be TRYING to avoid- not practically volunteering for it. No matter how many fires you run.
John, I seriously doubt they do 60 working structure fires a day, check your math. Regardless, it’s no excuse to not use basic gear & some common sense. On top of that, throw in firefighters visiting from another country 7 allow them to do the same stupid things they do, there’s no excuse for that.
If one of them had been killed, I wonder what the family would’ve thought about it.
I’m usually quick to defend these guys. That they deal with on a daily basis you can’t even wrap your mind around but,C’Mon Man! This stuff is getting stupid.
We hosted rookie firefighters from Canada in the late 80′s and 90′s. They came down to the US to get certified at our academy. It was a great program.
Hi people I’m Richard a firefighter from Belgium. I’m also a member of the fire-observers. Here you can see the link http://www.fireobservers.org/
how everything works. Here you can see all the stages in the USA we allready did for a couple of years. I must say American or Belgian firefighters and other countries are one family. We do the same work but on an other way, different equipment, vehicle, tactics, …. That’s why we”re so pleased to learn from each other. Its a win/win situation. Most of our firefigthers in Belgium are volunteers. We work completely different. Most of the cities in Belgium just has one firestation. A great city like Brussel or Antwerpen only has 6 stations and they are professionels. Voluntairs and professionals has the same training. We are lucky we don’t have so much fires in our cities. In my city Nieuwpoort (11000 inhabitants and in summer 90 000 inhabitants) an average of 50 fires in a whole year and 3000 interventions for all kinds of things. That’s why we’re so happy to stay a week in a firedepartement in the USA. And yes we also have to save a lot of money to make this dream come true.
Fires will let you get away with misbehavior for a long time. The consequences are infrequent, but severe. This is especially true with experienced, cohesive teams. Their experience and teamwork allow them to dodge and recover from events that would maim or kill firefighters in other places. This does not prove their tactics or methods.
If the American fire service is going to reduce fireground LODDs, it’s not going to be by adopting detroit’s tactics and methods.
If the American fire service is going to reduce civilian fire death and losses, it’s also not going to be by adopting detroit’s strategies and tactics.
“If the American fire service is going to reduce fireground LODDs, it’s not going to be by adopting detroit’s tactics and methods.”
RIGHT ON, Commenter.!!!
I think very little of the egomaniacal bloviating twits who continue to handicap
the fire service with their demented demands to follow “the tradition”.
A tradition that has proven to hurt, burn, maim and, all too often, kill the Brothers.
Yet, not even a LODD will bring any real change.!!!
In fact, it will be the stimulus for the ultimate tradition..
The Grandiose FD Funeral to bury the “hero” that tradition killed.
Isn’t that special.!!!
The ultimate sacrifice on the alter of tradition.
Of course, LODDs produce endless REPORTS which expose the glaring
faults of “the tradition”. But to what end.?!!
Very little ever changes.
How many followup stories state, “5-10-15-20 years after the REPORT
very few of the recommended corrections have been implemented”.
Why?? The Tradition must live.!!
It’s the identity of far too many of these little boys who have become “firefighters”. (NOT Firemen)
You’ll have to forgive my disgust of the fire-boys who demand “the tradition”.