Imagine that, Jerry Engle didn’t tell the truth to STATter911.com: A little more than a year ago the self-proclaimed baddest firefighter in all of PGFD Land (and former “mayor” of Kentland) told me it was other firefighters who set a March, 2008 blaze at a vacant house in Riverdale Park. Jerry claims he just watched and tried to report it to the top officials of the Riverdale VFD. I am guessing not too many thought that story made a lot of sense when we ran the extensive interview of the author of the book Probie Days. Now Jerry has said in court that he actually set that fire, entering a guilty plea on a second-degree arson charge. Co-defendant James Martinez, a former Riverdale volunteer and career firefighter in Montgomery County, has a court date in a month, accused in the same fire. Check out this latest, and maybe our final chapter in the life and times of Jerome Engle. (Note: We were a4re having trouble embedding videos, but we now have the links working to the interview and other videos from the Engle archives, including when he used his bottle rocket launching pad.)

Here’s an excerpt from an article by Scott McCabe in the Examiner who was with Engle in court yesterday:

Careful not to choke on your breakfast when you watch this: We have Part 2 of this must see series of videos selling life saving techniques (and lingerie) in a unique way. I also pay tribute to a friend of mine who  introduced the Heimlich Maneuver to the public. Check it out.

The firefighters saved the beer and then drank it: When a hotel burned in Oliver, British Columbia firefighters apparently had their priorities on straight, rescuing as many as six kegs of beer from the flames. Now it turns out  those kegs found their way to the fire hall. The mayor is not happy. Two firefighters are under suspension. Here’s the story.

And on a similar note, firefighter is charged with driving the fire engine while drunk: This is from Jefferson County, Oregon where a firefighter who crashed his car on the way to work is accused of then taking the fire engine out to a camp ground, racing through with the siren on and yelling obscenities at the campers. Read more about this smooth move.

Interesting vehicle fire video: Firefighter Close Calls has one you will want to see where the hose got away.

The instructor was “just trying to help fellow EMTS”: The words of a Lexington, Massachusetts firefighter in the center of the EMS training scandal. The help came in the form of giving a passing grade on recertification and not having to take the course. Read the details.

Closed drive-in burns: In Ceres, California Monday night the Ceres Theatre and Flea Market burned. Here’s the raw video. A report of two separate fires in the complex. Here’s more.

Click here and here for much more on this arson case & Jerry Engle

Watch May, 2009 interview with Jerry Engle

See video of Engle’s unique car

Video of the March 17, 2008 fire at 5413 Riverdale Road

Jerry, back in the day. Click the image to watch the other side of Mr. Engle.

In May of last year Jerry Engle told me he did not set fire to the vacant house at 5413 Riverdale Road on March 17, 2008, but instead blamed it on other firefighters Engle had turned in to Prince George’s County fire investigators. My guess is that those familiar with the long saga of Mr. Engle won’t be surprised to learn that Jerry didn’t tell me the truth that day (I know I am not surprised).

This morning the 46-year-old Engle entered a guilty plea on second-degree arson. Besides his time at Riverdale VFD (when the fire occurred), Engle had previously been a long-time member of Kentland VFD.  After leaving Riverdale he ran with both Bladensburg and Riverdale Heights. 

Co-defendant James Martinez, who was also a Riverdale volunteer and a career firefighter in Montgomery County, is scheduled for trial in a month.

Rather than tell the whole story of  Jerry Engle again (even I get tired of that stuff) you can listen to the interview (sorry, only Part 1 is available online) and follow the links to the extensive file available on STATter911.com.

 Below is the press release from the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney:

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney, Glenn F. Ivey announced today that volunteer firefighter, Jerome Engle, 46, of Bowie, pleaded guilty to second degree arson in connection with setting fire to a building located at 5413 Riverdale Road, Riverdale, MD on March 17, 2008.

Mr. Engle was a firefighter with the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department.

As part of the plea agreement Engle faces up to 10 years in prison but could receive the guideline recommendation from the sentencing commission of 1 year in jail. The State’s Attorney will seek $200,000 restitution from Mr. Engle on behalf of the property owners.

“We expect our firefighters to battle blazes not burn buildings. Mr. Engle not only violated the public trust but also put property and people at risk. We are holding him accountable with today’s conviction,” said Glenn F. Ivey.

A sentencing and restitution hearing is set for July 1, 2010 in front of Judge Graydon McKee who oversaw today’s proceedings.

The co-defendant in the case James R. Martinez of Damascus is set for trial on July 22.

Investigation of this and similar incidents is on-going; anyone with information should contact the Prince George’s County Fire Department at 301-77ARSON.

Statement from Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Eugene Jones: 

“As the Fire Chief of this Department, I fully support the work of the States Attorney’s Office in reaching a guilty plea in this case of arson. I commend their staff as well as the Fire/EMS Department’s Fire Investigators for their due diligence in compiling evidence and building the case. I also want to acknowledge the volunteer leadership of the Riverdale Fire/EMS Station for their support and cooperation during this difficult period.

To the citizens and residents of Prince George’s County; this heinous act is a result of the actions of individuals and should not be a systemic assessment of our Department. Our combination, volunteer and career, Fire/EMS Department strives to provide the very best in fire and emergency medical services possible and are dedicated and committed to keeping our County safe from the perils of all hazards.

One person has been deemed guilty for his actions and a second person is soon to have his day in court.“

From KOMO-TV/CNN via WUSA9.com:

An SUV plunged down an embankment and into the frigid Nisqually River on Saturday inside Mount Rainier National Park – but the driver made it out alive, thanks to the quick actions of strangers.

Witnesses said a silver Pathfinder was heading down a road along the river about a mile from Longmire when it suddenly left the roadway and crashed into the strong current, swollen with snowmelt.

Anton Engleman and his buddies were among the first on the scene. They were riding down the road on their motorcycles when they saw the tracks leading off the road, down the steep embankment and into the water.

They heard that someone was still in the vehicle and jumped in the river to rescue him without a second thought.

He jumped into the roaring current and saw the driver inside the Pathfinder.

“When I went in there and looked in the back, he didn’t look so good,” Engleman said.

The current was so strong the man was stuck in his seatbelt and couldn’t move. But Engleman and others at the scene were able to get one of the doors open, and Engleman cut the seatbelt, freeing the man inside.

Meanwhile, a trained National Park rescue team also had arrived at the scene.

Finally they were able to get the man out – so many hands helping to guide him to safety.

Busy Sunday morning in Minneapolis: This fire at 1169 14th Avenue, SE is one of three handled by Minnesapolis firefighters early Sunday. Click here for more information.

This is why you should vote for Firegeezer for the best blog: The scene is Sunday afternoon at the World Headquarters of STATter911.com and I have plenty of things to do before I get to work at the TV station after a week-long vacation. So, what is it am I doing? I am mindlessly watching an episode of Emergency! embedded on Firegeezer.com instead of doing my work. This is exactly the reason why Bill Schumm should win FireCritic.com’s Fire/EMS Blog of the Year of 2009 contest. Bill knows his audience and he panders to us big time. Bill realizes fire & EMS types of a certain age can’t resist taking one more look at Johnny and Roy in action. Just like he knows they can’t resist all of his writings about beer and hockey mixed in with a whole mess of fires. If his standards and practices committee (Mrs. Firegeezer) would let him get away with it, Bill would probably throw in some soft porn, too. While I have been accused of being the Jerry Springer of the blogs, Bill is our Phineas Taylor Barnum. Which sort of makes sense, since for five-and-a-half years Bill was assigned to a fire station just down the street (second due) from Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia. That Bailey is the same family as P.T.’s partner in “The Greatest Show on Earth”. While the name Firegeezer would make you believe the blog is the AARP of the fire/EMS sites, Bill has an instinct for all kinds of news. It’s a talent that many people in my business would envy.  Now that you know who I have voted for and why, make sure you send Rhett Fleitz your nomination at firecritic@firecritic.com. Vote early and vote often.

Our top story of 2009. If you missed the New Year's Day list of our top 20 stories and the name of our contest winner, click the image.

It wasn’t Jerry Engle and it had nothing to do with PGFD: In case you missed it, on New Year’s Day we published the most popular stories for 2009 and named the winner of our traditional first-annual, year-end contest (we shall see if it actually shows up again at the end of the year). Your guesses, for the most part, were far off the mark (that’s it Dave, insult the people who actually read this stuff), but they were fun to read. If you click here you can see the top 20 and who won the contest.

On a related topic, the top video for the year on the STATter911.com YouTube channel was the DC Fire & EMS Department sprinkler demonstration mishap. It was followed by the controversial Cincinnati beer commercial video.

Two fired over noose: If you were too busy on New Year’s Eve to check in, you may not yet know the end of the year was also the last day for two Loudoun County, Virginia firefighters. Both were fired for their involvement in an incident where a noose was left in the vehicle of a black firefighter in early December. Read the details.

Remembering Steven Koeser: The funeral for the Wisconsin firefighter killed last week after an industrial dumpster exploded was held on Saturday. We have video and details.

Ladder rescue in Murray, Kentucky: Click the image to take you to WPSD-TV's Facebook entry of a series of pictures taken by neighbor Lisa O'Neal after a woman became trapped on the second floor of a home on Poplar Street on Sunday.

Explorer programs under scrutiny after teens hurt in two incidents in two days: I am just stating fact and not an opinion when pointing out that I, like many others, was in the fire service at a time when 16 and 17-year-olds did just about everything except drive the apparatus (and even that happened once or twice). It was not a rare occasion that I was the only one on the rig who wasn’t in high school. I can think of quite a few of those junior members who are now, or have been, in the upper ranks of some large career fire departments. But times have changed.

We have been getting a lot of comments about the story where one 16-year-old Boy Scout Explorer was hospitalized with exhaustion after apparently taking part in interior firefighting operations in Sonoma County, California. Officials there say it is not supposed to happen that way. Read more.

The second incident was the exploding dumpster in Wisconsin that killed the St. Anna’s Steven Koeser. Captain Adam Schuh, who was on the scene and has been handling press inquiries, says one of those hurt in the explosion is his 17-year old stepson. That teen is of legal age to be a firefighter. Also hurt was a 15-year-old boy who is an Explorer. Captain Schuh indicates the boy was at what was believed to be a safe distance from the fire. Read the details. 

Politicians home destroyed: A Pennsylvania state senator escaped in the middle of the night as fire tore through his Montgomery County home. Click here.

The latest from Modesto: Two firefighters were burned, one over 40-percent of his body, after falling through the roof at a house fire on New Year’s Day. Our two earlier postings with video and details are here and here.

Snakes alive …. and some dead: In St. George, Utah they rang out the old year with the traditional trailer fire involving 19 pet pythons. Not all of them saw 2010. Read more.

Fireground audio: Our friends at FireSceneAudio.com have been keeping us busy with timely postings of some interesting incidents. One is a Sunday house fire where a Chicago firefighter was burned. Click here.

We have another entry with fireground audio from a Prince George’s County house fire, a triple-fatal Detroit residential hotel fire, a New Orleans three-alarm fire that damaged three home and a Chicago fire where two people were rescued out of a burning basement. All of that is here. 

Video’s: Since our last Quick Takes way back in 2009 we have posted a few interesting videos. Here’s a run down of things you might have messed if you didn’t take us along for your New Year’s celebration: Major commercial fire damages row of stores in Enterprise, Alabama; Two-alarm frame shop fire in Fairfax County, Virginia; A garage fire in Detroit.

Who made this video?: The folks at SprinklerAcademy.com posted this old flashover video of some time ago and our now trying to figure out who produced the video. Here’s the contact information if you have the answer.

We have a winner! The very first entry into our top stories contest for 2009 correctly guessed the top story of the year. Even though the rest of that person’s top five weren’t on target, it gave me hope for you people and this contest. Once again, Statter was wrong.

Many of you were blinded by our extensive coverage of PGFD and one man in particular, who at last look was still in the Prince George’s County Detention Center. You will have to scroll way done to number 14 to find his picture on this page. Other entries, including one from a person who should know better, focused way too much on our coverage of the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department. Only one DC story made the list (but it was a big one at number two).  In fact, only eight of the top 20 were local stories from the Washington, DC area. Remember that for next year’s contest. We are global in scope here at STATter911.com (yeah, right!).

To get a winner we had to go deep down to someone who guessed two of the top five. While he had the two top stories in reverse order, author and fire service veteran from Baltimore County Chris Hawley was the only entrant to get more than one out of five. The good news is the two Baltimore boys should have lots to talk about when this one buys lunch.

Our rankings are based on the number of pageviews between January 1 and December 31, 2009 according to Google Analytics. If a story had multiple postings we only counted the top one for our list.

The interesting thing is that the bottom two stories and the 21st story were just nine clicks apart. Their rankings kept changing up until the closing hours of 2009. In the end, a somewhat odd, but newer story from Montgomery County, Maryland moved up, knocking off one of my personal favorites from earlier in the year. Number 21 is the story of Alexandria Fire Department (VA) veteran Doug Townshend who, while off duty, rescued his brother Mike from a burning home. Click here for that story.

Click the Popeye cartoon to see what used to pass for a year-end review at STATter911.com.

By the way, I did this type of year end review, rather than the more humorous (at least I thought so) version of the two previous years, because I thought it would be easier to manage. I am writing this at 4:00 AM on New Years Day, so now I am not so sure. If you miss the old one, here it is (I am sure most of it is still true today anyway).

Obviously isn’t just us taking a look back at 2009 and ahead to 2010. Other fire service sites beat us to the punch. Paul Peluso at Firehouse.com says 2009 was the year of the video (look below for proof). FireRescue1.com has a host of characters writing lots of words under its year in review banner. Billy Goldfeder has a message for the new year at FirefighterCloseCalls.com. Paul Combs has a great thought in his December cartoon at FireEngineering.com. I am sure Bill Schumm will have something to help bring in the new year Firegeezer style and so will many others who share the FireEMSBlogs.com site with this rag. .

And Rhett Fleitz at The Fire Critic, who is a great inspiration and supporter to all of us who blog, has a contest that is better than mine. Rhett  is looking for the Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 (now you know why I said those nice things about him). Rhett’s is better because he is promoting it as the contest with the prize where you don’t have to sit across the lunch table from Dave Statter.

Thank you to all who entered our contest. Thank you to all who read and comment each day. Thank you to all who link to STATter911.com and carry our stories. Most important, a happy and safe 2010 to all of you and especially those out there protecting us each and every day.

So, drum roll please! We present our 20 most popular stories from 2009:  

1. May 30 – Confrontation caught on video between Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Martin and Creek Nation Paramedic Maurice White Jr.

This was the story that dominated 2009 on STATter911.com. Not only did the posting on May 30  (our fourth posting on the topic) bring in 43 percent more pageviews than our number two story for the year, three other stories on the confrontation would have taken places two, three, and four. When you add up the clicks for the almost 20 stories we posted on this topic they account for about five-percent of the overall traffic on the blog for 2009.

There have been more than 700 comments (actually a lot more than that, but many we couldn’t publish). A couple of comments still arrive each week.

If you would like to see some of the other stories on this one, click here and keep scrolling.

I think the reason for the high numbers, besides being a hot topic, is that we apparently reached way beyond our normal fire and EMS service audience on this story. It helps that the YouTube video above, which has more than two million views, has our link in its description.

2. October 9 – District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department Sprinkler Demonstration mishap.

As much grief as I get for carrying too many negative stories on the blog, the only reason the world knew about this one is because I was trying to do a good deed and post some positive news. On Wednesday, October 7 there were two sprinkler demonstrations scheduled in the National Capital region. One at Gallaudet University and the other at the University of Maryland (at MFRI). My goal was to get to both of them, but the Maryland one was the priority because of the release of a study about Prince George’s County’s mandatory residential sprinkler law. I never made it to DC and no one said anything to me about a problem during that demonstration.

As I was about to leave work the following evening I was feeling guilty the DC sprinkler video didn’t get any play in my story the day before (there had been a photographer on the scene from LNS, the local news service run by my station and two others in Washington). I pulled the video up with the intention of editing something for the blog and possibly WUSA9.com. Of course, as I watched the video, I immediately realized there was a little bit more to this demonstration.

This entry had 128 comments. More comments came in after Chief Dennis Rubin, when talking about what he saw, used the term “comedy act”.

Click here to see our follow-up stories on the sprinkler demonstration.

3. December 17 – Flashover in Erwin, North Carolina.

Firefighter Will Gregory exits the home with his PPE on fire. Photo by Brian Haney, The Daily Record.

This was a late entry for the year. It came about because FirefighterCloseCalls.com first put out the story of the close call based on the newspaper article by Brian Haney at The Daily Record in Dunn, NC. Figuring that there might be more than one photo, I called Mr. Haney and he told me he had shot 210 images from that fire. Brian sent a bunch to STATter911.com and gave us permission to use the photos.

4. January 9 – The crash of Boston Fire Department Ladder 26 killing Lt. Kevin M. Kelley.

Until a day or two ago, this was in the number three spot for the year. In my heart I wish it was number one. I was blogging away on the Friday afternoon that Ladder 26 wrecked trying to keep up with the developments from Boston. Later in the evening when we learned that Lt. Kevin Kelley was the firefighter killed, it didn’t take long to find his appearances from Firehouse USA on the web. How can you not smile when you watch these?

5. November 15 – Was that a leaf blower? Yes it was.

While I get a lot of stories and videos from your tips, this is one I found all by myself. Going through fire related YouTube videos on a Sunday evening I happened upon this clip. I usually don’t run controlled burning type training exercises, but this one looked different. After picking my jaw off the floor upon seeing the unusual PPV via the leaf blower, I decided this was one worthy of a wider audience.

6. February 3 - Cruise ship takes out DC fireboat.

You have to admit this one was different. The 160-foot Spirit of Washington squeezed the 72-foot John H. Glenn Jr., putting a big gash in the Glenn’s hull and sidelining the boat for many months. The collision also crushed a small FBI boat at an adjacent dock.  

7. September 11 - A rewarding save in Muskegon, Michigan.

This is a rather simple story of a rescue in that it was popular despite there being no video of the event. Firefighters saving the day when it looks like that might be impossible.

 Here’s how WZZM-TV’s Lambrini Lukidis described the story:

Kelysse LaBelle is full of energy today. But when fireman Scott Campau rescued her from the bottom of Fisherman’s Landing in Muskegon last week, Kelysse was purple, her eyes were gray and lifeless.

“The stroller was actually sitting up-right on its wheels on the bottom of the lake and she was unconscious,” said Campau.

“She wasn’t breathing, no heart rate,” said Battalion Chief Ken Chudy who lead the team on the call. “She was lifeless when we pulled her out of the water,” said Fireman Kevin McMillan also assisted by firemen Chad Horn and Scott Hemmeslbach.

8. May 7 – Natural gas explosion injured 8 firefighters in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Eight Prince George’s County firefighters were hurt when an explosion occurred while they were investigating a natural has leak at a shopping center in Forestville. 

9.  July 20 – Firefighter brothers from Milwaukee save child from burning car.

Truly one of the great stories of the year. John and Joel Rechlitz received national attention for their off-duty rescue of a young boy from a burning car. Their efforts didn’t stop after the rescue. The firefighters remained close to D.J. Harper and his family. Click here.

10. February 28 – Tower audio from plane crash at Denver airport.

In December, 2008 Continental Flight 1404 ran off a runway and burst into flames at Denver International Airport. This was the audio as the airport tower controllers directed firefighters to the scene.

11. September 6 – Ladder collapses at Pennsylvania fire.

Photographer Wayne E. Ray captured the before and after pictures of New Eagle VFD’s Ladder 14 during a building fire in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

12. August 24 – Lt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy & FF Jonathan Croom, Buffalo Fire Department.

The fireground audio provided by Erie County Fire wire was very difficult to listen to as these two men responded to a call for help inside the burning building on Genesee Street.

13. April 29 – Flint firefighters say cutbacks delayed getting water on fatal fire.

Layoffs and budget cuts were THE story of 2009. We saw a lot of stories like this one, but for some reason the Flint fire got more attention than the others.

14. May 6 – Former Prince George’s County volunteer firefighter Jerry Engle talks about possible arson ring involving firefighters.

What more can I say about this frequent subject of STATter911.com stories. In the interview Jerry Engle told us all about an arson ring involving firefighters. Later in the year Engle and another former volunteer from Riverdale were both charged with the fire Jerry told us about. If you haven’t read enough about him, click here for our Jerry archive.

15. April 8 – Firefighter Daniel McGown burned in Prince George’s County house fire.

PGFD’s Daniel McGown was rescued by fellow firefighters from this burning Largo home and is now back on the job.

16. January 16 – Prince William County dissolves Gainesville VFD.

After concerns over a long period of time the county moved in to make rather dramatic changes at a long time volunteer company. 

17. August 18 – The 50th anniversary of the BLEVE that killed five firefighters in Kansas City.

A touching tribute to firefighters who were lost 50-years earlier. The incident is believed to be the first time the term BLEVE was used to describe the rupture and rocketing of a flammable liquid container during a fire.

18. March 11 – Risk a lot to save a lot: A story from Tulsa.

It took teamwork and a lot of guts as a dispatcher and engine company worked to save a woman trapped in an apartment fire started thanks to a  neighbor’s meth lab. Video shows Chad Meyer from Engine 26 basically walking through fire to bring out Nikki Cain.  

19. December 1 – Firehouse sleepover becomes a waste management problem in Burtonsville, Maryland.

This entry from Montgomery County had to be one of the more unusual stories of the year. A firefighter’s date spent the night at the firehouse and got lost on the way to the bathroom.

20. January 26, 2008 – Report into the April, 2007 death of Prince William County, Virginia’s Kyle Wilson.

Yes, you read the dates correctly.

What this means is that, even though Kyle Wilson died in a house fire in April, 2007 and the report was released nine-months later, firefighters are still interested in learning from this tragic situation. Enough people searched, found and apparently read that entry in 2009 to make it part of our top 20.

I think that’s a good sign.

Mug shots of Jerry Engle (l) and James Martinez provided by PGFD.

“When you are the best fireman in the county and you come from Kentland, I mean, yeah, everyone’s going to try to knock you off the pedestal.”: The words of Probie Days author Jerry Engle, talking with STATter911.com in May. That interview came just a day after a raid by fire investigators of the Riverdale VFD and the home where Engle was living. Engle is now in the Prince George’s County jail on arson charges (a return visit for Engle who there on unrelated charges in July). Engle was indicted Thursday along with James Martinez, a career firefighter in Montgomery County. Both men were members of Riverdale in March, 2008 when a vacant house was set on fire down the street from the Riverdale VFD. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey and PGFD Chief Eugene Jones say the investigation is still active with more arrests possible. Sources indicate the investigators are looking at a list of fires that includes more than just homes and apartments that were vacant. We have updated our coverage from yesterday adding an official statement from Riverdale VFD , the press release from PGFD and more. Click here.

Volunteer recruitment in “rural” Prince George’s County is down: I use the word “rural” in quotes because the Route 381 corridor in the southern part of the county isn’t quite as rural as it used to be and that appears to be the problem. Despite PGFD touting recent records on volunteer recruitment, the fire companies in this part of the county point to declining numbers of firefighters. Zoe Tillman at Gazette.net has the story.

$20 to kill a firefighter: That’s the sad truth from Detroit where it has surfaced that the man accused of starting the fire that killed Firefighter Walt Harris was paid $20 to burn down the home. Read the details.

DC’s overtime questioned: The Examiner’s Melanie Ciarrone looks at how the staffing of water supply companies is impacting the DC Fire & EMS Department’s overtime spending.

Geezer cranking them out: Firegeezer Bill and his partner FossilMedic Mike had a very productive Thursday. Lots of good stories. Click and scroll. I particularly liked the pictures of the two derailments at the same bridge.

Finding the plug: Fire inspectors in Bonita Springs, Florida are cracking down on hidden hydrants.

Sleeping dispatcher update from Ohio: We told you recently about the Warren County 911 director who resigned in the controversy of a dispatcher who may have been dozing as a call came in that was a key to a high profile murder case. The call taker’s discipline and more details have now been revealed. Read the story.

Dispute over how to pay OT settlement: We have been following the story from Louisville on the recent settlement of a 9-year dispute over firefighters overtime. Now questions are being raised over how the city will pay out the almost $45 million in back pay. Read the story.

Inside the Command Post: It has been a while since we have checked in with this continuing series of videos from San Bernardino, California

Above is the raw video of  Part 1 from our May 6, 2009 interview with Jerry Engle. Click here for Part 2. 

Watch 9NEWS NOW 6:00 PM story

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s press release and the indictment

Read statement from Riverdale VFD

Read PGFD press release

Read May 6, 2009 story about our interview with Jerry Engle along with links to previous stories

Watch 9NEWS NOW story from May 6, 2009

A volunteer firefighter who told fire investigators earlier this year about a firefighter arson ring operating in Prince George’s County has been indicted on charges he set fire to a vacant Riverdale Park, Maryland home. Forty-six-year-old Jerry Engle is accused of breaking into the home at 5413 Riverdale Road on March 17, 2008 and setting it on fire. At the time Engle was a member of the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department.

5413 Riverdale Road on March 17, 2008 from the Riverdale VFD website.

Charged with Engle is 24-year-old James Martinez. Martinez was also a member of Riverdale VFD and is a career firefighter in Montgomery County, Maryland. Both Martinez and Engle responded to the early morning house fire as part of the firefighting crew from Riverdale.

On April 21, 2009 STATter911.com first broke the news about the investigation of a firefighter arson ring in Prince George’s County. At the time a handful of volunteer members at Riverdale had been suspended.

Sources confirmed that Jerry Engle provided information about firefighter arsons to Prince George’s County fire investigators. Engle made the accusations after he was investigated for stealing firefighting equipment from the Riverdale station. At the time Engle, who has been associated with at least four volunteer companies in the county, was riding with the neighboring Riverdale Heights station.

On May 5 Engle gave an extensive interview to STATter911.com about his actions in the hours prior to the fire on Riverdale Road and other related topics. The tape of that interview was subpoenaed by fire investigators.

Engle told STATter911.com he watched as three firefighters set the vacant house on fire. According to Engle, he left an anonymous letter for the chief and president of the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department alerting them to this serious problem. Engle says no actions were taken.

Engle claims the episode began when he drove the fire engine to check out a report of smoke in the area during the overnight hours. According to Engle, he waited inside the cab of the engine as the three other firefighters on board walked toward the home carrying road flares. Thinking that was odd, Engle says he followed the firefighters and saw them using the flares to ignite debris inside the house. Engle claimed that James Martinez was part of the crew on the fire engine that morning.

According to Engle, he drove the fire engine with the crew back to the Riverdale firehouse a few blocks away. Once there, Engle says two firefighters then left the fire station with a gasoline can. A short time later the call was dispatched for a house fire at 5413 Riverdale Road.

Jerry Engle in July, 2008.

Jerry Engle contacted STATter911.com immediately after a May 4 raid at the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department. Fire investigators served a search warrant looking for evidence of an arson ring. Engle said at the time a warrant was also served at the Bowie area home where he was living.

Jerry Engle denied being involved in the Riverdale Road fire or setting any other fires, but admitted investigators have questioned him extensively about the arsons. Engle told us he wanted the investigators to administer a polygraph examination to prove his innocence. It is not known if that ever happened.

Engle believes the investigators were already looking at the possibility firefighters were involved in a string of arsons when he provided the information about the Riverdale fire.

According to area fire department websites the same house also burned two days earlier in the early morning hours of March 15, 2008 and possibly in the evening hours of March 16, 2007.

James Martinez picture from PGFD

This is the account of the March 17, 2008 fire posted on the Riverdale VFD website. It has some similarities to the version of events provided by Jerry Engle in the May  5  interview. (Click here for the description of the fire and pictures from the Bladensburg VFD website.)

At about 0545 hours, a citizen heading to work called the station stating he smelled what seem to be mulch burning in the area of Tanglewood Drive and Riverdale Road. He added that he did not see any smoke or fire in the area. The station notified Public Safety Communications (PSC) and responded to the location with E807 staffed with 8 volunteers. After arriving in the area and finding nothing the crew returned to the station.

As they were heading back to bed, PSC alerted the station for a reported house on fire at Kenilworth Avenue and Riverdale Road at 0621 hours. E807 went on scene at 5413 Riverdale Road with fire and heavy smoke coming from the 3 story vacant structure. 

Above, Jerry Engle in happier times at the Kentland VFD. This is part of the video that surfaced in July, 2008  of apparent hazing and the shooting of illegal fireworks inside the Kentland firehouse. Engle can be seen using his body as a launching pad for bottle rockets. Click here, here and here to read more about this episode. Click here to watch our interview with Engle about the videos.

Engle has long been a controversial figure in the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. He wrote a book called Probie Days about Engle’s many years with the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department, one of the busiest volunteer fire companies in the world.

Last year, videos surfaced of Engle’s time at Kentland. It showed firefighters apparently hazing a new firefighter and shooting off illegal fireworks inside the station. Engle was seen using his body as a launching pad for a bottle rocket.

In May, Engle was driving a red Volkswagen adorned with numerous pieces of small fire equipment, including nozzles and axes. Many firefighters who have seen the vehicle questioned how Engle got the equipment. Engle said in his interview none of the items were stolen, but they are surplus equipment he was allowed to take from the various stations where he was a volunteer.

Engle admits his departures from the volunteer fire departments at Kentland, Riverdale and Bladensburg each involved controversy. Engle was suspended from the Riverdale Heights Volunteer Fire Department in March following the accusations that he stole items while his company was transferred to the Riverdale station. Engle says the nozzle and nozzle bale he took were his own that he had left behind after parting ways with Riverdale VFD last year.

Back in May Engle said he was told by a top official in the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department that he is now permanently barred from being a firefighter in the county.

The Riverdale VFD has issued a statement indicating both Engle and Martinez had been dismissed for “unrelated reasons” prior to Riverdale officials becoming aware of the investigation (Engle rode at both Bladensburg VFD and Riverdale Heights VFD after leaving Riverdale). Here is an excerpt from the statement:

These indictments should in no way reflect on the sincere dedication that the majority of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel put forth each and every day protecting life and property. The Riverdale Fire Department and the many other volunteer departments continue to provide a professional and competent volunteer force answering the majority of fire and EMS service calls during nights, weekends, and holidays due to the County’s budgetary constraints.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service officials tell us Firefighter Martinez remains on administrative leave with pay as he has since late April.

Jerry Engle faces the possibility of 51-years in prison on charges of second degree arson, burglary, conspiracy to commit second degree arson, burning with intent to defraud and malicious burning.

The same charges were filed against James Martinez along with making a false report. He faces up to 54-years in prison.

Mug shot of Jerry Engle from the Prince George's County Department of Corrections

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

On this Labor Day weekend I found a few articles that grabbed my attention about the relationship between labor and management in the fire service.

The fall guy

In Lincoln, Nebraska the issue is the Lincoln Fire Department’s daily minimum staffing level of 76. The union was able to get that provision a year ago as a trade off for mandatory drug testing, following a scandal involving the arrest of two paramedics.

Union president Dave Engler explained to the Lincoln Journal Star’s Deena Winter his rationale for the trade off:

“I said, ‘I’ll give you that, but I think it’s less of a safety issue than staffing is,’” Engler said.

He said the drug cases were isolated incidents, whereas running firetrucks with fewer than four firefighters is unsafe and contrary to industry standards.

But the minimum staffing has come back to haunt the fire department. It is not because of anything the union did. This was a mistake of the fire chief who failed to adequately estimate the real cost of minimum staffing for the Lincoln City Council.

At least that’s what the mayor’s office had the public believing for more than a month. Since July, Chief Niles Ford has been told not to talk to the press and to be the fall guy for the $300,000 in overtime the agreement is costing. Now the truth has come out.

The chief has now finally been allowed to speak to reporters on the condition that the mayor’s chief of staff stand by his side (you trust the guy with life and death decision making, but not to speak to the public?). It turns out that Chief Ford provided the correct numbers to the mayor’s office. For some reason it just never got to the council. You can read the complete story here.

Overpaid, budget busting firefighters with Jerry’s Kids in the middle

We have been occasionally checking in with the fire department in Anchorage, Alaska. Like many departments it is dealing with budget cuts that have meant layoffs and brownouts. At the moment, the firefighters are feeling a bit under siege as the union battles these issues with Mayor Dan Sullivan.

Adding to this feeling are the views of conservative talk radio host and columnist Dan Fagan and orders from the mayor that puts a stop to on-duty MDA fund raising at intersections.

Fagan’s recent list showed some firefighters with total compensation packages of more than $150,000. He thinks the previous mayor gave away the store to the unions.

In light of all of this Julia O’Malley at the Anchorage Daily News spent a day with the local firefighters. Her story is worth reading.

He would rather switch than fight

Actually that is not really the case and may not be a fair headline (but it’s catchy), because Kurt Henke has been fighting battles for a long time in Firegeezer’s favorite bankrupt city, Vallejo, California (click here and scroll down for Bill’s long list of stories). Along the way, Henke has been fired by one mayor (reinstated by the next) and certainly ticked off a few people.

Now Henke, an assistant chief in Vallejo and 15-year president of regional IAFF Local 1186, is moving on. He takes over the number two job in the Sacramento Metro Fire Protection District.

The Times-Herald’s Jessica A. York has an interesting profile of a man who has walked the difficult line between management and labor.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

A funny thing happened on my way to pick up my son at camp in the Poconos: Thanks to a wrong turn by Mrs. STATter911.com while I was sleeping, an unrelated email from Michael Schwartzberg, and just dumb luck, we ended up at the morning gathering for the Pennsylvania Pump Primers annual get-together just 90-seconds after learning the event even existed. From across the parking lot I immediately spotted one of the first fire engines etched in my memory from childhood (it used to belong to Schwartzberg’s company). So, to top off this series of coincidences, in his haste to get back on the road, the ace reporter misses the story of the day right under his nose. But Firegeezer, probably still cozy in his bed in Virginia gets the scoop. Go figure. Click here.

Fire chief confirmation hearing during difficult times: Heading into today’s confirmation hearing in front of the Prince George’s County Council, PGFD Acting Chief Eugene Jones is not getting the support of IAFF Local 1619. Union officials tell STATter911.com the career firefighters plan to voice their opposition to the appointment of Chief Jones. They cite the staffing plan implemented on July 1 as a major reason for the union’s position. While some volunteers have also been critical of the rotating removal of career staffing, the volunteer leadership appears to be supportive of Chief Jones. Jones has embraced the volunteers in a way that was not done by the previous chief. We should have more later in the day. Our most recent coverage and the ongoing debate in the comments section can be found here.

Owner of historic home says FD provided too little, too late and doesn’t believe their statistics: A man who lost his historic Pomona home during a fire that spread through vegetation on Saturday doesn’t believe what the Los Angeles County Fire Department is telling him. He says it took at least 15 to 20 minutes to get help as opposed to just two. Larry Henry says once firefighters got there “it took them forever to set up”. On top of that Henry is certain there were only half the number of firefighters on the scene that the fire department claims. Read the story.

Yet another problem for Houston: HFD officials confirm that they are investigating another noose incident at a city fire station. This one was reported by white firefighters at Station 78 last week, a day after the graffiti incident at an airport fire station. Read more.

Is it really hazing?: I asked the questions and you have answered. Comments are coming in about the videos from Houston that claim to be of firehouse hazing. Click here to join in on the discussion.

More Houston issues – Fire code violations at furniture store that burned: Our last story about the big fire at Gallery Furniture store had to do with firefighters and the department having ethical issues with thank you gifts offered by “Mattress Mac”, the store’s owner. Now it turns out the store had fire inspection issues. The city refused to give the records to reporters until late last week. Here’s what’s in those records.

East Texas community without ambulance service: If they can get someone to respond, people who live in rural Jefferson County, just 17-miles west of Beaumont, are likely to wait 60 to 90 minutes for an ambulance. Read the details.

Of mice and mold (and asbestos and opossums): Just some of the issues at the Englewood (NJ) Fire Department’s 85-year-old station on William Street. Read a detailed article about all of the problems and the plans for a new building.

Letting the parade pass you by: Now that it’s voluntary, the firefighters from San Diego’s Station 5 are saying no thank you to this weekend’s Pride Parade. A different decision two-years-ago is still being dealt with. Click here for the latest.

The reverse of Spotsylvania’s problem: Yesterday we told you (actually it was Firegeezer) how Spotsylvania County, Virginia was putting in some new restrictions on living at a firehouse. In Aurora, Missouri they have been searching high and low for a volunteer willing to make Station 2 their home. Read more.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Three alarms in Andover, MA: This is from a fire a week ago. Fire reported to have started by lightning. No one was injured. Read more.

Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

Santa Barbara burning: Three firefighters are reported to be in a burn unit, injured while fighting the Jesusita fire. Click here for all our links to this Southern California fire.

Interview brings out the critics: Both Jerry Engle and Dave Statter are taking a few hits in the comments section following the airing and posting on Tuesday of the interview with the former PGFD firefighter. Engle claims he saw three firefighters lighting a fire in the town of Riverdale Park, but didn’t tell investigators until more than a year later. Click here and scroll down to see what readers are saying.

Testimony of fire official blocked: In a move that was somewhat expected, DC Attorney General Peter Nickles isn’t going to allow a deputy fire chief and another city official testify before a City Council hearing looking at the aborted pumper and ambulance to a Dominican Republic resort town. Bill Myers has the story in the Examiner.

Four-alarm fire at historic Vegas hotel-casino: The first integrated casino in Las Vegas was destroyed by fire Wednesday. The Moulin Rouge was in the process of being restored following a 2003 fire. Click here for video, images and details about its history.

More on the Australian fire captain questioned about deadly fire: We first told you about CFA Capt. Ron Philpott yesterday. He has been questioned about the Marysville bushfire in February that took 38 lives. The veteran volunteer firefighter proclaims he is innocent. Click here to view an interview with Capt. Philpott.

I guess it takes all kinds: In Delaware a man who was turned down by three fire companies was arrested for impersonating a firefighter. Apparently he was inspecting a fire alarm system when he was caught. Read more.

Geezer’s other favorite topic: This is another perfect Firegeezer story. It is about beer and it is about fire. A large building that had been part of a German brewery caught fire during demolition. Bill has lots of pictures and videos. Click here.

More pictures from Burtonsville 2nd-alarm: Jim Codespote has an extensive series of pictures on the Laurel VFD website from Saturday’s tw0-alarm fire in Montgomery County, MD. The pictures begin as an injured firefighter is brought from the building.