A small plane crashed into a house in Louisa County around 12:30 this afternoon killing the pilot.
The FAA tells 9NEWS NOW a Cessna 303 twin engine crashed into a home on Quiet Lane at Route 33 shortly after take off from Freeman Field/ Louisa County Airport.
The FAA says the plane’s registered owner is from Reston, however, they have not confirmed who was on board.
The FAA reports that witnesses say the engines appeared to quit.
Police say one person inside the home was in the basement and got out safely.
As you will hear from the audio below by FireSceneAudio.com, Medic 1 in Louisa County called in the report of the plane crash and reported it had struck a house.
A pilot furious with the Internal Revenue Service crashed his small plane into an office building that houses federal tax employees in Austin, Texas on Thursday, setting off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as thick plumes of black smoke poured into the air.
A U.S. law official identified the pilot as Joseph Stack and said investigators were looking at an anti-government message on the Web linked to him. The Web site outlines problems with the IRS and says violence “is the only answer.”
Federal law enforcement officials have said they were investigating whether the pilot crashed on purpose in an effort to blow up IRS offices. The Web site featured a long note dated Thursday denouncing the government and the IRS in particular and cited the Austin man’s problems with the agency.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
At least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalized, said Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton. She did not have any information about the pilot. About 190 IRS employees work in the building, and IRS spokesman Richard C. Sanford the agency is trying to account for all employees.
Flames shot out of the building, windows exploded and workers scrambled to safety after the blast. Thick smoke billowed out of the second and third stories hours later as fire crews battled the blaze.
“It felt like a bomb blew off,” said Peggy Walker, an IRS revenue officer who was sitting at her desk in the building when the plane crashed. “The ceiling caved in and windows blew in. We got up and ran.”
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford initially said the plane was identified as a Cirrus SR22, but later said it might be a Piper Cherokee.
“It’s so destroyed that it’s hard to identify,” Lunsford said.
He said FAA has confirmed that the plane that took off from an airport in Georgetown, Texas, and that the pilot didn’t file a flight plan.
In a neighborhood about six miles from the crash site, a home listed as belonging to Stack was on fire earlier Thursday. Authorities in Austin would not comment on the house fire Thursday afternoon.
For the fourth time in as many days we are telling you about a firehouse that has been greatly damaged or destroyed due to fire, collapse or both in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. This time it is the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department in Carroll County, Maryland.
News reports indicate the roof over the social hall collapsed and then sparked a gas fed fire. This happened around 8:45 AM.
By 10:00 AM the fire had gone to a third-alarm plus additional equipment.
Below is the early fireground audio from FireSceneAudio.com.
Yesterday, two other firehouses were destroyed. Baltimore County Fire Department Station 6 in Dundalk caught fire around 2:45 AM. That fire went through the roof. The brand new Engine 6 was among the fire and EMS rigs lost in the blaze. Click here for video of the damage and here for our earlier coverage.
Later in the day, heavy snow brought in the roof of the Townsend Fire Company in New Castle County, Delaware. Seeing that the roof was compromised, crews were able to get the apparatus out of the building before the roof came down. Click here if you haven’t seen the video of the roof collapse.
Early Monday morning heavy snow collapsed the flat roof at Fairfax County’s Station 410 in Bailey’s Crossroads. Eighteen firefighters inside escaped without injury. That firehouse is destroyed and a ladder truck, engine, EMS units and a boat were under the rubble. Here is our coverage of that incident.
There is also a sagging roof at Station 408 in Annandale three miles away. For now, at both stations the apparatus is outside in the elements. In Annandale, crews are sleeping in tents inside the bingo hall. 9NEWS NOW’s Greg Guise spent some time during the blizzard yesterday with the crew at Station 408. That story is below.
Concerns about the roof at Alexandria’s Station 206 three miles east of Bailey’s Crossroads resulted in the evacuation of that station Monday night. Snow was removed from the flat roof and a structural engineer gave the okay to return to the firehouse on Tuesday.
Damage pictures from Baltimore County Fire Department
An alarm alerted firefighters to a fire in the bay area of Baltimore County Station 6 at 2815 Sollers Point Road around 2:30 this morning. The fire went to two-alarms and there were no injuries. This is the Baltimore County Fire Department’s career station in Dundalk.
A Baltimore County Fire Department spokesperson says the firefghters were able to get one engine out of the firehouse (reported to be Engine 61) and begin attacking the fire. The station had additional personnel because many firefighters scheduled to work the next day were sleeping at the station due to the latest snowstorm.
Officials said firefighters sleeping in the firehouse’s living quarters, which is next to the fire engine bay, awoke to the sound of a fire alarm. When they opened the bay door, they saw heavy smoke and fire and immediately evacuated, Price said. Numerous explosions were reported from oxygen tanks in the medic units.
Inside were eight firefighters and paramedics assigned to the overnight shift, as well as five firefighters from day work who spent the night and two members of the National Guard who were helping crews respond to calls in the heavy snow storm. Price said one firefighter managed to drive one engine out of the bay and crews were able to train hoses on the fire “to keep it in check.”
Click the image for Google Maps Street View of Station 6.
But the fire quickly spread and dozens of firefighters from other companies were called in to help. Shortly after 4 a.m., fire commanders deemed the building unsafe and crews were ordered to train water on it from the outside. Price said the roof collapsed from the fire, which was placed under control shortly after 4:30 a.m.Three manhole covers then exploded about a block away, at Merritt Boulevard at Sollers Point Road, due to a natural gas leak. No injuries were reported. This morning, a crane was called in to removed debris.
According to the Baltimore County website, Station 6 houses Engine 6, Engine 61, Brush 6, Medic 6 and Medic 106.
Deaths and a large number of injuries are reported in an explosion at a power plant in Middletown, Connecticut. Most sources are saying about 100 injured, but WFSB-TV is citing sources saying as many as 250 people have been hurt.
Here are a variety of links and news reports from a story that is developing in Middletown, Connecticut.:
From the AP:
Police are reporting a gas explosion and fire at a power plant in Connecticut.
Several ambulances and fire trucks responded to the explosion on at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown on Sunday, and witnesses say black smoke was visible for miles.
No details were immediately available, but police advised people to avoid the area.
Reached by phone, plant general manger Gordon Holk said he was enroute to the plant, and did want to speculate on the number of injured. He said the plant is a 620 megawatt gas-fired power plant.
We’re hearing reports of an explosion of a gas line by the Kleen Energy plant on River Road. All of Middletown’s fire departments are working at the scene, and Durham, Middlefield, Portland and Cromwell fire departments have been called in to assist.
There are reports of numerous casualties.
Four ambulances and a Life Star helicopter have been called to the scene. Most of River Road has been blocked off. Flames were shooting out of a pipeline at one point, but the gas line has now been shut off.
From WVIT-TV.
The incident, which happened around 11:30 a.m., shook most homes in Middletown and as far as Portland.
Former Common Council member Earle Roberts called and left a message that about 11:15 an explosion nearly rocked his house off of it’s foundation on nearby Bow Lane. Roberts said that the force of the explosion nearly tore the roof from his house, and sent a cloud of brown debris into the air above the plant which is under construction, and was scheduled to come on line later this year.
I felt the explosion myself at my house on Pearl Street. It sounded as if something had fallen off of my roof, and onto my porch.
STATter911.com has learned Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Lt. Col. Victor Stagnaro was presented papers late today saying that his services were no longer needed. Numerous sources within the department indicate Major Tyrone Forby, Chief Eugene Jones’ executive officer, presented Stagnaro with a letter saying Stagnaro’s last day is February 12.
Chief Jones, through a department spokesman, is presenting a different picture of what happened this afternoon. Mark Brady issued the following statement from the chief:
Colonel Stagnaro has indicated this afternoon his intent to retire from the fire and EMS department in the next two weeks. He will be on leave until the official date of his retirement.
Acting Lt. Col. Derrick Lea will move from Administrative Services and transferred to Emergency Operations.
No replacement to fill Colonel Lea’s former position has been determined.
Stagnaro has headed the Emergency Operations Command for about a year. There has been no information yet on what specifically brought about today’s actions, but STATter911.com has long been aware of tension between Stagnaro and Jones over staffing and other issues.
Despite the problems, in November, Chief Jones presented Stagnaro with a Distinguished Service Award. In a press release, the honor was described as prestigious and rarely awarded. The release included this letter of commendation by Chief Jones:
The Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department has faced many challenges in 2009. From fiscal challenges to large scale emergencies, the Emergency Operations Command has responded to all of them due in large part to your growth as a leader. As the award suggests, you have distinguished yourself as a leader. You have implemented a new patient care reporting system, a billing system, commanded one of the largest rescues in the history of the Department and operated with a reduced complement and budget.
Your actions and efforts as the Emergency Operations Commander have been remarkable. I have seen your growth as a leader and that growth has enabled your command to maintain and, in some areas of the County, enhance the quality of service that the Fire/EMS Department delivers to the public. This Distinguished Service Award is presented in recognition of the meritorious actions you have taken to keep the Emergency Operations Command operating at peak efficiency despite the resource challenges you and your command have faced.
I appreciate all the hard work and dedication you have exhibited. You are growing into the leader I always believed you had the capacity for. Thank you for your distinguished service.
STATter911.com has attempted to contact Lt. Colonel Stagnaro. Stagnaro has been with PGFD for 24-years.
A Los Angeles Times photo of an LAFD battalion chief’s vehicle that became caught up in the rains and mudslides of this afternoon.
More on the weather from the AP:
Another storm has roared into Southern California, bringing lightning, street flooding and gusty winds that flipped over a car, blew out windows and closed piers.
No major damage or injuries have been reported, but the National Weather Service says intermittent rain may continue through Tuesday.
The worst damage came when a thunderstorm with rotating, surging winds moved quickly through southern Los Angeles County and northern Orange County.
In Seal Beach, the wind knocked a sport utility vehicle on its side, smashed windows in a home and knocked over small trees.
STATter911.com has learned the United States Agency for International Development has activated a second urban search and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia. Virginia Task Force 1 is now gathering a 42-member team at the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department’s training academy. The first team of 72-members from Fairfax has been on the ground in Port au Prince and has made at least one rescue. This is apparently the first time two teams have been employed from Fairfax County for an international response.
A man walked out of the collapsed United Nations building in Port au Prince, Haiti today thanks to the firefighters from Northern Virginia. Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department’s Lt. Mike Davis told CNN word came in overnight of someone trapped alive in the building. A four-person recon team confirmed the victim and called for a 15-person rescue squad.
A camera then confirmed the victim’s location and Lt. Davis said the crew began de-layering almost three floors of concrete in an effort to free the man. The man’s escape was hampered by a chair that blocked his way out. Firefighters were able to pass him a Sawzall to cut up the chair. Rescuers say the man walked out of the wreckage on his own.
The rescued man is a United Nation’s security guard from Estonia.
Virginia Task Force 1 arrived in Haiti at 4:00 PM on Wednesday. They have set up a base of operations at the American Embassy compound.
A tanker truck carrying between 7500 and 9000 gallons of gasoline overturned and caught fire as the rig exited I-270 at Montrose Road. Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services Assistant Chief Scott Graham tells STATter911.com the tractor trailer turned onto the driver’s side around 4:40 AM, but the driver was able to escape unharmed as the truck caught fire.
According to Graham firefighters kept burning gasoline rolling down the road in check with handlines as they let much of the fuel burn off. A foam crash truck from Dulles Airport arrived about 30-minutes into the incident and about a half-hour later was used to extinguish the fire. A second foam unit from Frederick County, Maryland was also on the scene.
Graham says the burning fuel did not appear to impact the integrity of the Montrose Road overpass above I-270 as the fuel run off generally burned away from the structure.
A 33-year-old St. Anna firefighter died and four other firefighters were injured, one seriously, in an explosion Tuesday night at a foundry just west of the unincorporated community in southern Calumet County.
Image from the St. Anna Fire Department website.
Calumet County Sheriff Gerald Pagel, who declined to immediately identify any of the victims, said there was no initial indication of what caused the blast in a dumpster at Bremer Manufacturing, W2002 County Q. The company is located about one mile west of St. Anna. The scene is not far from Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties.
The blast occurred in one of several dumpsters located about 50 feet from the highway.
Pagel said the state fire marshal and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were being called in to assist with the investigation.
Pagel said one of his officers on patrol saw a fire on the Bremer grounds about 7:20 p.m. and called for the St. Anna Fire Department to respond.
No employees were at the foundry at the time of the fire. Bremer officials could not be reached for comment.
The 33-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, said Calumet Sheriff’s Lt. Brett Bowe.
Megan Wilcox, a spokeswoman for Appleton-based ThedaCare, said one firefighter was in critical condition at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah after being flown there by ThedaStar helicopter.
She had no information about the victim’s identity or extent of injuries.
The other three firefighters had non-life-threatening injuries and were being treated at Calumet Medical Center in Chilton, Pagel said. Their identities were not released.
Alice Thome, who lives about a quarter mile from the foundry, said she heard an explosion some time before 8 p.m. “It sort of shook everything,” she said.
David Boll, who lives about a half mile from the site, said he heard the blast at about 7:50 p.m.
“It rocked the house,” he said.
Boll immediately drove to the scene to see what happened.
“There was a large plume of white smoke in the sky,” he said.
Boll said he left after he saw firefighters were already on the scene. He said officials blocked off about a one-mile stretch of County Q.
Bill Braun, who lives about 500 feet from the blast, said he was home with his wife, Linda Suda, at the time. He thought something had exploded inside his house.
“It just shook everything,” he said. “Things fell off the wall. It just rocked the house. It was just a bad explosion.”
Braun said he went to the blast scene and said the front of the Bremer building did not appear to be damaged.
“You wouldn’t think the building would still be standing. This was a real bad explosion,” he said.
Suda said she thought a car had hit their house. “We have cracks in the wall that we didn’t have before,” she said. “It was massive.”
Suda said this event will be difficult for the area.
“It’s a really close-knit community,” she said. “Everybody knows everybody, and everyone is related.”
After the explosion, the New Holstein and Kiel fire departments relieved St. Anna firefighters at the scene. Also responding were New Holstein first responders and the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was among the officials to attend a press conference Sunday afternoon about the series of fires that occurred between 2:00 AM and 3:15 AM in the college town of Northampton. A $5,000 reward has been offered in the investigation that includes one fire where two men were killed.
Officials now report a dozen incidents within a half-mile radius of downtown to include five house fires, four vehicle fires, two attempted house fires and an attempted vehicle fire. But according to the news coverage the officials at the press conference would not state the obvious conclusion that an arsonist is on the loose. The would only refer to the fires as suspicious.
All of the fires took place in a half-mile radius of downtown. The people who died were occupants of a Fair Street home that was destroyed in the blaze, according to Northampton Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Norris, who spoke at the Carlon Drive fire station this morning.
The street list identifies the occupants of that home as Paul Yeske Sr., 81, Paul Yeske Jr., 39, and Elaine Yeske, 73. Authorities said today that two male residents of the home died, while one survived; officials had not yet officially released the names of the fire victims.
Norris said firefighters were initially called to a fire at a Union Street home. While battling that blaze, he said the department received multiple calls of other structure and vehicle fires in the area.
The second fire was reported on Highland Avenue, the third on Fair Street and the fourth on Northern Avenue, which involved a garage.
In all, firefighters responded to structure fires on Fair Street, Union Street, Highland Avenue and Northern Avenue, Williams Street and Pomeroy Terrace. Vehicle fires also took place on Fair Street, Williams Street, Pomeroy Terrace and Crescent Street. Multiple car fires were reported on North Street.
At 26 Union St. fire, two residents were able to get out to safety after the house began to burn.
A Northampton police officer taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital for treatment after suffering an injury while investigating the fire of two porches on Highland Avenue
Residents on Fair Street said an arsonist has been setting fires for at least a year in the area known as Ward 3, which is between the city’s downtown area and its small airport.
Neighborhood groups have met with police and fire officials several times to discuss the problem, which in the past were nuisance fires such as leaves being set ablaze or car fires, the Courant reported.
Northampton, where Smith College is located, is known for its vibrant downtown and is part of an academic community that is home to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College and Hampshire College.
Earlier coverage:
A tragic and busy night in Northampton, Massachusetts. There were at least eleven separate fires within a half-mile radius according to WGGB-TV.
Northampton Fire Chief Brian Duggan told reporters that there were four significant building fires, four vehicle fires next to buildings and three smaller fires. Fourteen surrounding towns provided mutual aid.
Image of Fair Street fire from WWLP-TV.
The first fire was reported shortly before 2:00 this morning.
Northampton Fire Chief Brian Duggan tells ABC 40 and Fox 6 that just before 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning the first call came in for a fire and they just keep coming. In a little more than an hour eleven calls, for eleven separate fires all for the most part within a half-mile radius.
Fourteen surrounding towns responded to assist Northampton Fire, and the City Emergency Operation Center has been activated.
While it has been difficult this morning finding specifics about the fires on the web, WSHM-TV reports the fatalities occurred in a home on Fair Street.
Northampton fire officials met with neighbors in November after a string of fires that caused property damage. In late 2007, the city also logged several vehicle fires that were believed to be the work of an arsonist.
Baltimore City Fire Department Chief Jim Clack confirms for STATter911.com this morning they are making three of the five daily rotating closure slots permanent. Engine 14, Truck 15 and Truck 16 are scheduled to shut down on January 1. There will still be two daily rotating closures of fire companies.
The details are outlined in the message below from Chief Clack posted this morning on the forum of the IAFF Local 734 website by its president Bob Sledgeski:
Because I have committed to keeping the entire command staff and both the Union Presidents informed as soon as important decisions are made, I have copied all of you this morning on this very important message from me regarding unit closures for the rest of FY 2010.
1. For the rest of December 2009, we will continue the current practice of up to five rotating closures of fire companies per day.
2. We are going to permanently close Engine 14, Truck 15 and Truck 16 effective January 1, 2010. The personnel assigned to these companies will be reassigned to other companies per the current MOU provisions with the unions. Appropriate notifications will be made as soon as possible (today).
3. There will be some reduction in the number of Emergency Vehicle Operator, Pump Operator, Lieutenant and Captain promotional positions available going forward. We will work with the unions during the next week to come up with the appropriate number for each rated position within the guidelines of the labor agreement. One of the goals in this process will be to avoid reductions in rank if at all possible.
4. We will move Engine 31 down into the quarters of Truck 15 on January 1, 2010 and they will remain running from there until their station is finished.
5. The quarters of Engine 14 will be used for apparatus storage only. No in service fire or medic units will be stationed there. The building will need to be marked appropriately so that residents know the station is out of service.
6. We will still have to accomplish up to two more rotating closures of fire suppression units for vehicle maintenance and overtime control during day works and to reduce the need for overtime during night works. This will maintain our current practice of up to five companies out of service each shift (three “permanent” and two “rotating” closures for the remainder of this fiscal year.
7. We will also continue to relocate companies when a single house is vacant for any reason. Apparatus will not sit outside during the winter months. This restriction will limit the “pool” of available companies for closure and many fire companies will not be participating in the rotating closure plan for this reason.
8. Once Engine 31 goes back into their station around July 1, 2010, the station of Truck 15 will permanently close. The quarters of Truck 15 will also need to be marked appropriately to notify the public at that time.
9. This leaves us with very little room for error in deploying our suppression forces on a daily basis. The Shift Commanders and Battalion Chiefs will need to be more engaged than they ever have been in the minute by minute management of resources on the street.
10. Chief Officers must continue to carefully assess risk to firefighters vs. expected benefits to be gained by interior operations when deploying companies for interior operations at the scene of structure fires. Since there will be less fire companies available on the fire ground within four minutes at fires, it will become necessary to pull companies out of structures quicker than in the past.
11. I also expect that all Incident Commanders will insure that there are always companies available in the staging area near the fire ground for immediate deployment. This will require even quicker declarations of working fires and quicker use of multiple alarms as conditions dictate. The Shift Commander will respond to all working fires and may take command at their discretion.
12. For my part as Fire Chief, I will be working very hard over the next several months to argue that we have done as much as we can do to get the city through the current economic depression and that the fire department very much needs to be spared further cuts to the fire suppression force in FY 2011.
UPDATED AT 7:20 PM: Two fires in Rochester, New York today at Family Dollar stores. The first was out quickly. That was not the case at the second fire. It occurred about two miles away and was reported 50-minutes after the first blaze. There is a lookout for a suspect. Firegeezer Bill Schumm has been writing for months about fires at Family Dollar stores and the chain’s similarly named competitors.
In an interview at the bottom of this entry, Rochester Fire Department Chief John Caufield called the second fire one of the fastest moving fires in his career. The chief says the first arriving units had smoke in the building that quickly showed itself as a rapidly advancing fire throughout the building.
A four-alarm blaze in a Rochester Family Dollar store that started around noon today spread through the Ridge-Clinton Plaza.
Rochester Fire Chief John Caufield said the blaze was under control at 5:20 p.m. today, although firefighters will be on the scene throughout the night.
Dozens of fire trucks are at the scene, and the front and rear of the building are fully engulfed, with flames shooting through the roof. Portions of the plaza have collapsed. Heavy black smoke is blanketing the area. The smoke was visible from miles away.
Traffic on Route 104 near the fire site — restricted much of the afternoon — was open again in both directions by 6:30 p.m..
Caufield would not label the fire arson, but he said, “We’re definitely going to look at that. We certainly want to explore that angle.”
He said that a team of investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are expected to arrive in Rochester tomorrow morning to assist in the investigation. Caufield said that they would provide assistance because of the magnitude of the fire and because of the fire reported at a different Family Dollar store about the same time today.
The fire investigators were called on because of “the multimillion-dollar loss here and “We have some questions about the cause of this fire and we need some of their expertise to help us do some of the analysis.” Caufield said.
Dozens of fire trucks are at the scene, and the front and rear of the building were fully engulfed, with flames shooting through the roof. Portions of the plaza have collapsed. Heavy black smoke blanketed the area. The smoke was visible from miles away.
A crowd of nearly 200 onlookers has gathered to watch, many taking photos.
Rochester Fire Lt. Willie Jackson said the fire started around noon at 1731 N. Clinton Ave. More than 60 firefighters from 15 city companies and at least two suburban departments are at the scene, he said.
Jackson said there have been no firefighter or civilian injuries and all customers of plaza businesses were able to escape safely.
A cache of paint, paint thinner and other possibly explosive chemicals was safely removed from the Auto Finishers Supply Co. store in the plaza, Jackson said.
Joe Ignizio, 35, of Greece, co-owns the Fireball Wireless store just two doors down from the Family Dollar. He said he was working in his office in the back of the shop when he heard people rush outside. He was surprised by how quickly the fire moved.
“The flames are in there now,” he said earlier of the store his family has run since 1994. “I didn’t think it would get this far.”
“A whole lot of people (in the plaza) are going to be out of work,” he said.
The North Clinton Avenue fire is the second fire at a city Family Dollar store this morning. A fire at the store located at 836 N. Goodman Street was reported at 11:39 a.m.
Jackson said that fire was “small and contained.”
He said authorities have notified all local Family Dollar stores that “there may be a problem.”
Around 12:15 p.m., 911 dispatchers broadcast a “special attention” call throughout the county for police agencies to be on the lookout for an apparent arsonist striking Family Dollar stores.
Jackson said the city’s arson investigation team was at the scene, but he would not speculate on the cause of the fire.
The video above includes an interview with Rochester Fire Department Chief John Caufield.
Paraplegic Joseph Taye was found guilty today of first-degree murder for running into Michelle Smith of the Delaware City Fire Company on Dec. 20 2008 as Smith tended to an injured man lying on the side of U.S. 13.
By the end of a 10-day bench trial in October, there was no doubt that 29-year-old Taye had been driving the car — using a stick to work the pedals — that struck and killed Smith, 29, and defense attorney Joe Hurley had largely conceded that point.
The question that did remain for Superior Court Judge Jerome O. Herlihy to decide was Smith’s status at the time of the accident. If she was a firefighter, then Taye was guilty of first-degree murder, which carries an automatic sentence of life in prison. If she was best defined as an ambulance driver or emergency medical responder – or even a firefighter who was not “in the line of duty” when she was struck – then Taye was guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter, which carries a minimum sentence of two years in prison and a maximum of 25 years.
In a brief proceeding this morning, Herlihy ruled that even though Smith was not riding on the fire truck that responded to the scene, and was not dressed as a firefighter that night, she qualified as a firefighter under the law because she had completed her training and had been designated a firefighter by the Delaware City Fire Company. In addition, Herlihy said the duties, and commonly accepted definition, of a firefighter go far beyond just fighting fires and include such things as responding to motor vehicle accidents.
The evidence in the case concluded five weeks ago and all sides had been waiting for the judge to render a verdict.
Several days ago it was announced that Herlihy would be announcing his verdict this morning, so the courtroom was packed to overflowing. Dozens of emergency services personnel from around the county, attending in dress uniform, had to wait in the hall because they could not fit into the courtroom.
When Herlihy read his verdict on the lead charge, a small cheer came from Smith’s family. Taye, who is in a wheelchair and was in court dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, had been staring at the floor during the proceeding, briefly looked up an over at the Smith family, then returned to staring at the floor.
Herlihy then announced he also found Taye guilty of manslaughter, first-degree assault, reckless endangering, leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license.
Hurley said his client would be appealing the ruling.
As Taye exited, a family member shouted, “Love you Joe,” and “Ain’t nothing but another fight.”
Outside the courtroom, prosecutors Sean Lugg and John Down said they were pleased with the result.
Dave Carpenter Jr., a spokesman for the Delaware City Fire Company, praised the ruling as a landmark. “It sets a precedent for defining a fire fighter,” he said, and can now be used to help protect others.
A Montgomery County, Maryland firefighter is in a local hospital after being hit by a car at the scene of a working fire Monday night. The injured firefighter was the driver of the first arriving engine to the alarm at 10320 Westlake Drive in Bethesda around 7:30 PM. The 47-year-old firefighter is a veteran of the department assigned to Station 26.
According to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Assistant Chief Scott Graham, the firefighter, wearing a reflective vest, was dragging a supply line across the street to a hydrant, when a car lurched forward. The firefighter ended up on the hood of that vehicle.
The firefighter has serious, but non-life-threatening trauma. She is being treated for orthopedic injuries.
According to Graham, the firefighter had actually made contact with the driver before being struck. The firefighter told the man to wait until she moved a coupling. Graham said her intention was to allow the driver to move his car before the line was charged.
Sources indicate the driver of the car is elderly and may have confused the brake with the accelerator. Police have filed charged against the man.
The fire generated a lot of smoke on the fourth floor of the apartment building. A task force and rapid intervention dispatch was sent to the fire in addition to the initial box alarm.
Three crew members died when a medical helicopter crashed northwest of Reno in California’s Lassen County around 2 a.m. today.
The Mountain Lifeflight helicopter 3 had dropped off a patient in Reno and was returning to Susanville at the time of the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
Google map of crash site.
The crash was on the west side of U.S. 395 between Hallelujah Junction and the north loop of the Red Rock Road intersection with U.S. 395.
The helicopter is an Aerospatiale AS350 and it was destroyed by the crash impact and the fire, the FAA reported. The pilot was not communicating with air traffic controllers at the time of the accident, the FAA said. FAA and NTSB investigators were headed to the scene.
Mountain Lifeflight issued a brief statement confirming three crew members were lost and said more information would be released when it was made available.
It was a Mountain Lifeflight 3 helicopter that crashed in March 2002 after dropping off a patient in Reno, killing the pilot.
The helicopter with three on board had just passed over Honey Lake with pilot Raymond Watson at the controls.
Nurse Gary Zahniser recalled in a 2002 interview that he sat chatting with flight paramedic Chuck Jerpeon and then the next thing he remember, Zahniser was underwater, struggling to get his seat belt off so he could swim to the surface.
“It happened so fast,” Zahniser, said then. . “It’s like you’re in a dream, and it’s surreal.”
“We were flying over Honey Lake and both just kind of chitchatting, and then the next thing I knew I was underwater,” Zahniser said.
Click the image for the Google Map Street View of the area.
Prince George’s County firefighters and medics have been on the scene of a carbon monoxide emergency at a church since about 6:30 this evening. The location is Saint Bernard Catholic Church in the Riverdale Park area.
In a press release, PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady said that the original call was for a person feeling faint and dizzy. When the first EMS unit arrived other reported similar symptoms.
Here’s more from Brady’s press release sent just before 8:00 PM:
Additional Firefighters and the Departments Hazardous Materials Team, Mass-Casualty Support Unit and Mobile Ambulance Bus were called to the scene to assist. One person reported that work on the church’s boiler had been performed earlier in the day. A gas meter detecting the level of CO in the atmosphere showed levels at 1300. A normal CO level should be around 0 – 30 parts per million (ppm). The building was evacuated and the utilities were shut off. CO levels have started to decrease.
At this point 3 patients have been transported to area hospitals, an adult female and two children, both around 10 years of age. As many as 10 additional patients are receiving oxygen, being monitored by paramedics on the scene and are being prepared for transport on-board the Departments Mobile Ambulance Bus.
UPDATE- A press conference at 2:20 PM with Orlando officials confirms the gunman has been apprehended. One person is confirmed dead. Five others wounded and one person transported with medical issues.
A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago.
At least six people were hurt and police are not confirming earlier reports that two were killed. Police were searching for a gunman in a sport utility vehicle.
From FloridaToday.com
People streamed out of the 16-story Legion Place office building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices.
Orlando Fire Department District Chief Michael Droege said an unknown number of people were still in the building and could be injured. He said the SWAT team was trying to pull people out.
“The building is not secure now,” he said. “It’s still unfolding.”
Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones identified the gunman as Jason Rodriguez, 40, and said he might be in a 2002 silver Nissan SUV with license plate D119UX. She said he used to work at the building but did not say where or when he left.
“I would consider him armed and dangerous,” Jones said. She said at least five people were taken to a hospital and another had chest pains but did not go to the hospital. Orlando Regional Medical Center said four people were being treated in the emergency department.
From FloridaToday.com
She confirmed witnesses told police the shooting started at Reynolds Smith & Hill, a transportation engineering consulting firm in the building.
Company spokesman Mike Bernof told CNN all the people shot were in the firm’s office. He could not say if any died.
Rodriguez, an engineer, was released in June 2007 for performance issues, Bernof said. He could not say why. The firm performs transportation engineering work with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.
“She yelled, ‘There are gunshots! There are gunshots! Get back in your office,’” Gilgo said.
Will Halpern, an attorney works on the building’s 17th floor, was among the last group to be evacuated. He said the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear, carrying assault weapons, ready to search.
Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and nearby schools were locked down.
Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.
Orlando police are asking that anyone with family who works at Reynolds, Smith & Hills to go to College Park Baptist Church, located at 1914 Edgewater Drive, so they can speak with them.
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