The Metropolitan Police Department is now handling the investigation of a paramedic who was in charge of the care for two-year-old Stephanie Stephens when a decision was made not to take the little girl to the hospital in the early morning hours of February 10th. A second crew transported Stephens to Children’s National Medical Center about nine-hours later. She died the next day at the hospital. Her family says the girl had pneumonia.
Officials have not said why the girl wasn’t taken to the hospital after the first call, but Mayor Adrian Fenty, flanked by his attorney general, police chief and fire chief said at a press conference there is enough concern that a criminal review of the unidentified veteran paramedic’s actions is warranted. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says that investigation will be handled by the homicide detectives in the Special Victim’s Unit. Lanier says the detectives specialize in dealing with the deaths of children.
The family of the girl has indicated an EMS crew member pointed out the difficulty of traveling on snow clogged streets in the middle of the second of two back-to-back blizzards to hit Washington.
Sources have indicated the paramedic crew failed to get a signed release from the girl’s mother or fill out an electronic patient care report. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin indicated there is a specific protocol on handling an incident where the patient is not transported to the hospital.
Attorney General Peter Nickles says the criminal review only involves the paramedic and not the EMT who was her partner on the call.
In today’s Washington Post an editorial is critical of the progress made by the city since the death of former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum in 2006. It echoes a recent letter to the editor by a top doctor at Children’s National Medical Center.
When asked about such criticism, Mayor Adrian Fenty points to the more than 140,000 EMS calls in the city that are handled without incident.
An investigation is underway after firefighters in Spotsylvania County, Virginia failed to find a woman who was on the phone, trapped in her house, while firefighters were inside searching. It apparently took repeated attempts and more than 20 minutes before firefighters finally found 43-year-old Sandy Hill on February 5.
Firefighters were able to rescue another person trapped in the fire. According to Dan Telvock with the Frederickburg Free Lance-Star, Hill was on the second floor of the 2000 square foor, four bedroom, Cape Cod. The paper has the fireground audio, audio of part of Sandy Hill’s conversation with 911 and transcripts of her calls.
Carl Maurice, a Spotsylvania resident who spent 32 years with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, is the only expert who listened to the recordings and also viewed the exterior of the house.
“If someone presented this scenario to me in theory, I would have expected the victim to survive,” Maurice said. “The question everyone has to ask is ‘Why didn’t she?’”
Kevin Dillard, the administrative chief and spokesman of Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, initially sent an e-mail a few hours after the fire praising the 45 volunteers involved for an “awesome job.”
But this week, after learning more about the response, Dillard said he thinks an investigation is warranted.
Dillard said he knew few details when he sent the e-mail. Only after after some volunteers criticized the response two weeks ago did he begin to realize “serious” problems related to the response, he said.
For example, thermal imaging cameras that could have helped locate Hill and the teenager were available at the scene but were not used.
Dillard said a ladder was never deployed to Hill’s bedroom windows, and the crews seemed to be confused with the layout of the house and where Hill was trapped.
Dillard said ventilating the house to remove smoke came late in the process because there was a delay in announcing that the fire had been extinguished.
This incident seems to have a lot of similarities to a fire in Fairfax County in May, 2007 where firefighters were unable to find 49-year-old Debra Chiles on the top floor of her small townhouse. Chiles was in the bathroom on the phone with 911 as firefighters pulled up to battle a kitchen fire. The acting chief of the department admitted at the time that Chiles should have been found.
Click here, here and here for previous coverage of Stephanie Stephens case
DC Fire & EMS Department officials confirm an EMS crew has been disciplined for failing to take a woman with trouble breathing to the hospital after she called 911 on December 22. Kimberly Kelsey of the 900 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NW was transported to a hospital only after she called 911 a second time, about 56 minutes after her first call.
According to Kelsey, crews from a paramedic engine company and an ambulance refused to take her to the hospital because they determined she was not symptomatic.
On the second response, a paramedic supervisor treated Kelsey for her chronic asthma and accompanied the woman to Georgetown University Hospital. Kesley says she was put into the intensive care unit and spent a week at the hospital.
Department spokesman Pete Piringer confirms that supervisor immediately followed up on Kimberly Kelsey’s complaint. According to Piringer, the supervisor counseled the crew and disciplinary action was taken.
Piringer also confirms there was no patient care report filled out on the initial response.
This incident has parallels to the case of 2-year-old Stephanie Stephens who died on February 11 at Children’s National Medical Center. An investigation is still underway into why a medic crew did not transport Stephens to a hospital after her mother’s first call to 911 a day earlier. It was about nine hours later that a second call to 911 resulted in the little girl being taken to the hospital by paramedics.
The call to the little girl’s apartment occurred in the middle of the second of back-to-back blizzards in Washington. Stephens’ family said the girl died of pneumonia.
A paramedic and EMT have been removed from field operations while the probe continues. Numerous sources confirm, like the December case, the EMS crew failed to fill out a patient care report or get a signed release from the girl’s mother.
STATter911.com has been provided internal department emails showing regular notifications to supervisors about missing electronic patient care reports. The emails from January and November each show at least 30 missing reports. The department has not been able to tell us the percentage of reports that are missing because of technical issues versus those that first responders failed to submit.
One of the more interesting videos I have seen recently: Have to give Jason Thomas at Firefighter Spot credit for finding this. The photographer springs into action and moves a police car blocking the way as firefighters in Maple Shade, New Jersey pull up to a motel fire on Sunday. In Part 2 you will see where the cops were. Check out the third floor as they break out windows, apparently looking for victims.
A top doc socks it to DC Fire & EMS over child death: It is only two paragraphs long, but Monday’s letter to the editor in the Washington Post from Dr. Joseph Wright packs a wallop. You will want to take a look at the doctor’s credentials in the field of pediatric emergency medicine as it relates to EMS. Dr. Wright not only questions what happened in the recent death of 2-year-old Stephanie Stephens, he is critical of how the system generally provides pediatric pre-hospital care. The DC Fire & EMS Department stands on its record of improvements since Mayor Adrian Fenty’s task force provided an outline for the future of EMS following the 2006 death of former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum. Dr. Wright looked at Stephens’ death as a “pediatric Rosenbaum”. Click here for our coverage.
Long Island fire chief & FDNY member accused of “vigilante” justice: Hempstead Fire Department Chief Michael Charles. who is a retired NYPD detective, and FDNY’s Brian Schuck from Ladder 111, are accused of stopping and searching a pedestrian at gun point and then letting them go. The men were in the fire SUV. The incident happened after shots rang out near the Hempstead firehouse. Schuck has been suspended without pay. Read and watch the story and here.
Pay attention to this report and you can get rid of STATter911.com: The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association is trying to put this blog out of business and I am helping them. It is called reputation management and the CVVFA folks put together a special report on how some firefighters are tarnishing the image of the fire service. They even asked me to give them some insight on the awful stories I cover. Forget my role and just read the document. Here it is.
Speaking of reputations – it doesn’t look like Chicago’s mayor is ready to help salvage the fire commissioner’s image: The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting Mayor Richard Daley “conspicuously refused today to give embattled Fire Commissioner John Brooks a vote of confidence”. Brooks, accused of sexual harassment, made this memorable statement to the Sun-Times:
I do not proposition women. I don’t have to. Women usually proposition me. God has blessed me like that.
Los Angeles City Council has second thoughts on cutting ambulance service to save money: The plan is to stop using 10 of the department’s ambulances during night time hours. But after hearing testimony the council is getting cold feet. Here is the story.
Smoking ban for new firefighters rejected: In Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin the police and fire commission is bucking the trend and said no to a new tobacco free policy for newly hired firefighters. Check out the story.
Exploding cell phone: It wasn’t even plugged in, according to a family and firefighters in Seffner, Florida. Here’s the story.
Fire chief lays down the law over convicted arsonist/bomber: Read the story from North Haledon, New Jersey about a convicted arsonist/bomber who was participating in fire department activities.
Fire chief lays down the law over accidental fire: Actually that’s this chief’s name, Jonathan Law. He’s the chief of Oklahoma’s Nescatunga Fire Department. Chief Law told the Alva Review/Courier, “I will not stand for such kinds of incidents” after a firefighter accidentally started a small grass fire. Here’s the story.
The Fire Critic has lost his mind: Where The Fire PIO yesterday had one of the more interesting blog postings I have seen in a while, our friend in Roanoke has gone far in the other direction. There will be nothing socially redeeming in Rhett’s Top Ten Best/Funniest Firefighter Dance Videos, but I am sure you will get a few laughs. That also pretty much describes my first encounter with Rhett at the blogger meetup on Friday. Click here to see what I am talking about.
As the investigation into the death of Stephanie Stephens continues, a top official at Children’s National Medical Center has made his views about the case known. In a letter to the editor in Monday’s Washington Post, Dr. Joseph Wright said, “The decision not to immediately transport a 2-year-old with respiratory symptoms is inexcusable.”
Dr. Joseph Wright from Children's National Medical Center website.
Dr. Wright is referring to the crew from DC Fire & EMS Department’s Medic 33 who did not take the little girl to the hospital after her mother’s first call to 911 on the morning of February 10. It wasn’t until another 911 call, about nine-hours later, that a different crew from Medic 33 took the girl to Children’s. She died the next day. The family told 9NEWS NOW Stephanie had pneumonia.
Dr. Wright, a senior vice president and pediatric emergency physician, pointed out in his letter that he believes the city has made little progress since the controversy surrounding the inadequate care provided to dying former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum. Wright wrote to the Post, “It was only a matter of time before a pediatric Rosenbaum case surfaced.”
According to Dr. Wright’s biography, he is a founding director of the hospital’s Institute for Prehospital Pediatrics and Emergency Research and “provides state-level leadership as the EMS Medical Director for Pediatrics within the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems”. Wright is also a senior investigator and medical director with “the federally-funded Emergency Medical Services for Children National Resource Center.”
DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer disputes Dr. Wright’s claims. In an email to STATter911.com Piringer said, ”During the past few years significant progress has been made in many areas concerning the state of EMS in the District of Columbia.”
Piringer points to the implementation of the large majority of the goals from the task force ordered by Mayor Adrian Fenty to provide a blueprint for the future of EMS following Rosenbaum’s death in 2006. According to Piringer, “As of today, the Department has completed 39 of those 50 action items, most well ahead of schedule, and is making substantial progress on completing the remaining 11 items.”
Chief Dennis Rubin headed the the task force. Rubin is about to celebrate his third anniversary in command of the DC Fire & EMS Department. Critics, like Kenneth Lyons, president of the union representing civilian EMS workers, point out that Chief Rubin is now in search of his third medical director and is on his fourth crew to lead EMS training. Lyons calls the lack of continuity ”schizophrenic”.
While Lyons believes Dr. Wright is premature in judging the EMS crew in the Stephens case, he concurs with Wright’s claims there are problems in providing pre-hospital care to children. In his letter Wright said, “I have stated often for the public record before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary just how little attention D.C. Fire and EMS has paid to preparing its workforce in the care of children.”
Lyons tells STATter911.com that Dr. Wright has long been an advocate for improved training and protocols in dealing with children who are ill or injured and has offered to assist the city in making these improvements.
The public relations staff at Children’s National Medical Center was unable to schedule an interview with Dr. Wright on Tuesday.
We need to start this posting with some full disclosure on what some may see as a possible conflict of interest for me. I generally don’t report on stories I am involved in. I leave that to others. You need to know that I had a small role in the fact finding phase of this new report from the Cumberland Valley Firemen’s Association and you will see my name listed under group members.
At the request of Steve Austin, I spent two days in Emmitsburg last year talking with the other group members about the various stories that I cover that can be seen as damaging to the repuation of the fire service. I am almost always willing to talk to anyone about what I do and why I do it.
I find it to be a compelling topic and an important issue for the fire service, despite my role (or maybe because of it) as the conduit for much bad news. This is something that has been discussed on STATter911.com many times, particularly as it relates to social media. What I had to say on the topic echoes what I have posted on the blog and my responses to readers in our comments section since I began writing Statter911.com in May of 2007.
Now that you know my role, rather than characterize the report any further, I going to let you be the judge of what this is all about. The link to the report is above and the press release is below:
Reckless Conduct Endangers America’s Fire Service –
Fire Service Reputation Management White Paper Examines Issue
Hagerstown MD, March 10, 2010- Reckless and inappropriate conduct by a small minority of the nation’s fire service is eroding the high moral ground occupied by firefighters says a White Paper sponsored by the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association, (CVVFA) a century-old organization dedicated to enhancing communication and continuing education among the fire service.
The contents of the White Paper represent a distillation of several fire service leadership meetings that identified a series of social, cultural, and ethical issues impacting the fire service nationwide that demand increased awareness.
The White Paper is intended as a wake-up call to the fire service. The detrimental impact from fire service members that engage in unethical, immoral, inappropriate, criminal, or other activities reflects back not just to these individuals, but to their departments and communities, and to the fire service as a whole.
Recognizing that the actions of a small minority of bad actors can have grievous widespread consequences, the fire service as a whole must be increasingly vigilant in policing itself. Through a combination of enhanced and improved internal controls, increased vigilance, and greater acceptance of personal responsibility perhaps including, but not limited to, abiding by a Code of Ethics, the fire service can ensure that it remains true to its roots and heritage of protecting and serving this great nation.
The Fire Service Reputation Management White Paper clearly identifies these individuals and behaviors in a clear and cogent manner, articulates some excellent solutions, and clamors for a Code of Ethics as the next logical step for our profession. We may never have the opportunity again, and I urge all fire service leaders to develop, establish, disseminate, abide and enforce a Fire Service Code of Ethics” said Kelvin Cochran, United States Fire Administrator.
Copies of the White Paper are available at www.cvvfa.org . In the next several weeks the CVVFA will launch www.firefighterbehavior.com a website that will chronicle inappropriate conduct by members of, the fire service. The website will serve to raise awareness of danger to the reputation of the fire service and will advocate for a code of ethics and standards for proper behavior.
About the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association: Established in 1901 the CVVFA provides firefighters and other emergency responders with Training, Leadership, and Fraternalism. The Association created the Emergency Responder Safety Institute in 1999 to address dangers responders face on the roadways. Much of that work is carried out through its nationally recognized website www.respondersafety.com.
Twice in eight hours: Edward Malik reports Gary, Indiana firefighters responded for two fires yesterday in a vacant home in the 4700 block of Washington. One was a day time fire, the other at night.
One of the more interesting postings I have ever seen on a fire & EMS blog. Make sure you read it: To me the worst blogs are those that spout some company line, refuse to publish comments that disagree with the blogger’s point of view, usually state the obvious, believe the answer is always black or white with no gray area and stay away from anything that might smack of controversy because it might be perceived as critical of what fire and EMS crews do (I think I just described my own blog). The exact opposite of this is the most recent posting by Jeff Bressler at The Fire PIO. It is titled, A PIO’s ethics dilemma: Spinning a point he does not believe in. A fascinating look at the problem facing a PIO for a Long Island fire department. It looks critically at whether a fire department can justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a motorized drill team. The article shows how a public information officer may have to be the public face of a policy they disagree with. This is the reality of being a PIO. It isn’t just responding to fires and getting your mug on TV. I am eager to read more columns like this from Jeff.
A closer look at the death of Boston’s Lt. Kevin Kelley: A board of inquiry released a 127-page report looking at the January 9, 2009 crash of Ladder 26. Click here to read the report.
FDNY not allowed access to Freedom Tower to assist with injured worker: Some tension at Ground Zero between the Port Authority and FDNY. News reports indicate most of the FDNY units were not allowed access to the site when a worker fell two stories. Read more about the dispute.
Firefighter passes out behind the wheel of fire engine: In Nevada County, California they are saying the problem was one of dehydration when a firefighter on the way to a hospital to pick up his partner blacked out. Read the details.
Accused firefighter arsonist has charges dropped: We covered this odd story from Indiana when charges were placed a little more than a-year-ago. A Lafayette firefighter was accused of setting his Battle Ground home on fire in October, 2008 and then ripping a firehose out of the hands of firefighters and knocking off the helmet of a firefighter. Now, the arson charge has been dropped. Eric Tendam was fired a month after the charges were filed. Read the details.
Arson charges placed against firefighter: In Penn Township, Pennsylvania a farmhouse fire is being blamed on Eric Penska, a volunteer from Irvin Borough, and two others. Read the story.
Old home burns in Maryland: One firefighter from Montgomery County suffered a second degree burn to his leg fighting this fire yesterday in a late 1800s home in Poolesville. Check our player at the top right for more videos from the Washington area and around the country.
A board of inquiry says a number of factors, including lack of an adequate preventative maintenance program, contributed to a deadly fire truck crash in Boston.
Lt. Kevin Kelley was killed in January 2009 when the ladder truck he was riding on lost its brakes on a steep hill and slammed into a building.
In a 127-page report released on Monday, the board cited 15 “causative factors,” including inadequate funding for preventative maintenance, insufficient manpower in the fire department’s maintenance division, and the installation of improper parts by outside vendors working on fire equipment.
The investigation was one of several into the accident
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino says the department has already implemented recommendations from previous reports, including the hiring of certified civilian mechanics.
Security camera image as Ladder 26 busts through fence before hitting the building. More pictures like this in the report.
A two-alarm fire last night destroyed one Rochester home, damaged another and caused the deaths of two dogs.
Flames were showing on the front and rear of a two-and-a-half story wood-frame house at 156 Ackerman St. when firefighters arrived about 10:25 p.m., said Rochester Deputy Fire Chief Ron Mendolera. Firefighters had to attack the fire from the exterior.
The fire got into the second-floor eaves of a house at 150 Ackerman St. and damaged the attic. Mendolera said that house also sustained some exterior exposure damage.
Mendolera said the house at 156 Ackerman St. was razed to extinguish the fire and because the building’s structural stability was in question. Two tenants, whose dogs died, are being helped by the Greater Rochester Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Ackerman Street is off Bay Street in northeast Rochester.
This is clearly a mistake: In the spot where you normally would find a compelling fire video, I am giving you a bunch of talking heads this morning. Some are people you may know by name or the blog they write (you will see that most, like me, have a face for blogging). They were all at Friday night’s fire and EMS bloggers meetup at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor as part of EMS Today. Besides the bloggers (they had a special area taped off just for us, but I think it was meant to keep us from mixing with the sane people), it was nice to hang out with the folks from JEMS, FireEMSBlogs.com and George Washington University who sponsored the event. If you want a complete run down of who was there and all of the scoop, check out the posting from a man of great stature in the blogging community (don’t be fooled by the pictures), The Fire Critic, Rhett Fleitz. After almost three years of communicating via some sort of electronic means, the hardest working man in the blogosphere and I were finally in the same room. But I was immediately a great disappointment to Rhett, when I was unable to make good on my promise to introduce him to one of the “VIPs” in the room. The person kept avoiding me, which fits with Rhett’s quote that “some love to hate Dave” (I’m not sure I like me either). Well, enough of us patting ourselves on the back and let’s get on with the news.
UPDATE – Bensalem, Pennsylvania medic Daniel McIntosh dies while dealing with suicidal patient: From Bucks County, Firefighter Close Calls and The Trentonian report the medic was stabbed while dealing with a suicidal patient during a call around 7:00 PM last night. But there are also some possibly conflicting reports about what happened, including a police officer indicating no weapon was involved. The latest information from Philly.com is that McIntosh had a head injury received while chasing after the mentally ill man. But the cause of death will not be released until the autopsy has been completed. We do know the 39-year-medic later died. He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. McIntosh was a medic for the Bucks County South SWAT Team. He also recently took a job as a part time police officer for Hulmeville Borough. Read and watch the story here, here and here. Also, check JEMS Connect, PhillyFireNews.com and Bensalem EMS.
The razor’s edge: If you haven’t read the story from the Florida Keys about one of the most unusual causes for a vehicle collision, you will want to. Truly a classic that will be retold for generations. Check it out.
One giant leap by Dave Statter: I somehow made a connection between the above must read story to the must see video from Erie, Pennsylvania where an SUV’s left turn took priority over a fire engine responding to a call. Probably poor taste and not journalistically sound, but I did it. So watch the video.
And then there’s this quote: We never really had a quote of the week category, but we started it on Saturday and we are already retiring the trophy. If you haven’t checked it out you will want to see Chicago Fire Commissioner John Brooks public defense to a sexual harassment charge. Click here.
Enough of the silliness, now back to the stuff that matters - watch the wires!!!: There were two incidents in two days were a ladder and a tower made contact with power lines injuring eight firefighters. One in Delavan, Wisconsin and one in Houston, Texas. Everyone survived. In the Wisconsin case two chiefs disagree over whether there should be an investigation. We have details, pictures and video on both, plus a look back at two other incidents. Here is our coverage.
Static electricity behind fatal car fire: Fire at a gas pump in Lower Allen Township, Pennsylvania is being blamed on static electricity. No sign of cell phone use. Smoking was also ruled out. Here is the story.
Philly recruiter denounced for email outlining plan to break rules in efforts to increase minority applicants: Captain Troy Gore says he immediately sent out an email denouncing his own scheme to allow minorities to apply to be a Philadelphia firefighter after the deadline closed. Despite that, Captain Gore is now on paid leave and has been denounced by the Valiants Club Inc. , the African American firefighters organization that has long challenged the department’s hiring practices. In fact, the president of the Valiants, Kenneth Greene Sr., leaked the email to the Philadelphia Inquirer. It also turns out that Gore had planned to challenge Greene in the next election. Read more.
How it is supposed to work – citizen sings the praises of first responders even though the had a 45-minute response time that stretched to almost three-hours before transport: We have already heard horror stories about questionable EMS responses in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC during the recent blizzards. Here is a different view, where fire, EMS and private citizens in Loudoun County, Virginia beat the expectations of the public in their response through five-foot snow drifts in an effort to help an elderly woman who had fallen and broken her hip. Check it out.
See, I told you: I have no clue if it is true, but I saw this coming. You may recall what I wrote last week about how the current goings on in Clark County, Nevada fit a pattern all over the country as overtime is targeted by political leaders looking to cut budgets. Part of that pattern is a claim of abuse of the system by firefighters. That piece of the puzzle was detailed yesterday in the Las Vegas Sun where there are claims firefighters are “gaming the system” with sick leave abuse translating into more overtime. Click here for the latest.
It happened again yesterday. A Houston Fire Department ladder truck was operating near power lines in front of Station 51 when three firefighters were shocked and the rig heavily damaged. An assistant chief says the use of the ladder on the ramp of the station is routine as firefighters check out the equipment each day. When the incident occurred the fire truck’s operation was being demonstrated to a newer firefighter.
Click the image for the Google Maps Street View of Station 51.
When the ladder briefly touched the power line, some sparks flew up and other firefighters came over to see what was going on, a Houston Fire Department spokeswoman said.
That’s when the tire exploded, causing the firefighters to suffer ringing ears and headaches.
Click the image to learn more about an August 5, 2008 incident involving Philadelphia’s Snorkel 28 in front of quarters.
In Wisconsin five firefighters from the Lake Geneva Fire Department have returned home after they were shocked when a tower ladder came in contact with a 72,000 volt power line. The tower was from the Delavan Fire Department operating at a 6-alarm fire on Friday that destroyed Mulligan’s Sports Bar and Grill in Delavan.
Click the image for pictures from the Delavan fire by Dan Plutchak at Walworth County Today.
According to news reports, Lake Geneva’s chief wants a full investigation of the incident. But Delavan’s chief says they already know what happened and doesn’t believe much could be done differently. Chief Gerald Edwards believes it was just a case of the operator of Delavan’s tower not being able to see the lines because of the smoke from the burning sports bar. Click here to read and watch the interviews with Chief Edwards and the injured firefighters.
“I have never sexually harassed any woman or man in my life. I do not proposition women. I don’t have to. Women usually proposition me. God has blessed me like that.”
I wonder what advice TheFirePIO.com’s Jeff Bressler would have for this one. An interesting reaction from Chicago Fire Commissioner John Brooks over allegations that he sexually harassed a former fire department auditor. Brooks is taking some time off “to stay out of the way” as the previously stalled investigation gets moving again. Read more in the Chicago Sun-Times article by Fran Spielman and Fank Main.
Did snow storm play a role in decision not to transport little girl who died?: That’s what the grandmother of 2-year-old Stephanie Stephens believes happened. The actions of a paramedic and EMT called to the girl’s apartment in Southeast Washington continue to be reviewed. As we reported yesterday, sources indicate there wasn’t a signed release from the girl’s mother when no transport was made during the first of two responses on February 10. The latest information is in the story above, or click here to read more.
Shootout at the Pentagon: We have the radio traffic from the Arlington County Fire Department and our own video as the medic units arrived at George Washington Hospital following last night’s shootings at the Pentagon. Click here for our coverage and more at wusa9.com.
DeKalb County rekindle?: The same Georgia county where the chief and five firefighters were fired following a poor response to a fire that turned fatal had an interesting situation on Wednesday. There was fire through the roof of a Stone Mountain home after the fire department returned for the third time within 24-hours. The original call was apparently for a dryer fire. Watch the video and read more.
Bus rollover in Arizona: Emily Cyr posted a bunch of videos from the tragic bus crash this morning on I-10 south of Phoenix into our player at the top of the right hand column. Six people died and about 15 were injured. Here’s one of the clips and click here for details.
It’s open mic night at STATter911.com: This could have been me on any number of moments during my years behind a microphone on radio, TV and as a dispatcher. A Chicago Fire Department dispatcher working the radio yesterday forgot to close the mic before saying how she really felt. Click here to take a listen. Feel free to share a similar story in our comments section. Just make sure the expletives are deleted.
More from the arson to make a baby story from Vermont: This one just seems to get stranger and more complicated each time I check for an update. The police affidavit from Bennington indicates both 34-year-old Stacy Brown’s husband, Bennington fire-police captain Ralph Brown Jr., and her 26-year-old boy friend, Joseph Thomas, plotted to twice set fire to their home and use the insurance money to pay for surgery so Stacy Brown can become pregnant. All three are charged in the plot. It turns out that Thomas also had a fire department connection. An excerpt from TimesArgus.com:
Thomas told Plusch (Bennington detective) he had been a firefighter with the North Bennington Fire Department for two years and in Pownal for a year although, he said, he could neither read nor write.
Prior to this arrest, Brown was already on probation for driving with a suspended license. The latest charge has caused Brown’s suspension from the fire-police and will likely result in a swift termination, according Chief Tyler Hollister. Catch up on the story here, here and here. Also, you know Bill Schumm just couldn’t resist this story. Check out Firegeezer.
Fireground audio from Louisa, Virginia plane crash: A house was destroyed by the crash and fire that took the life of the pilot. A resident escaped the basement. We have the radio traffic and pictures here.
I am sure recall the recent problems with a fire response in DeKalb County, Georgia that left a woman dead and the chief and five of his employees without jobs. An alert STATter911.com reader pointed out this fire on Wednesday morning that has caught the attention of WSB-TV. Here is what is posted on the TV station’s website:
Firefighters told Channel 2 Action News they went to the home on Magnolia Trace in Stone Mountain three times in 24 hours.
They believe the first fire started near a clothes dryer.
Crews put out that fire and then went back a second time to put out hot spots.
Then another fire broke out in the attic, according to Fire Department officials.
”Roughly 2-3 hours later we responded back to flames through the roof,” said Capt. Eric Jackson of the DeKalb County Fire Department.
No one was at the home when that final fire started.
STATter911.com has confirmed with DC Fire & EMS Department sources that no pre-hospital care report was filed in the initial response to assist a little girl with trouble breathing. That incident is now under review as the department tries to determine why the child, who died the next day, was not transported to a hospital when her mother first called 911. With no report, that also means there is no signed release from the family of Stephanie Stephens indicating a family member or guardian declined to have the girl taken to a hospital.
According to the department sources, who are not authorized to speak on this incident, the review will also look at the family’s claim that the medic told the mother to use steam from a hot shower to help open up her daughter’s lungs.
As 9NEWS NOW first reported on Wednesday, the toddler’s family is publicly asking why the medic crew did not take the two-year-old girl to the hospital after the initial emergency call was placed.
A second 911 call resulted in the girl being taken to Children’s Hospital about nine-hours after the initial response. The girl died the next day at the hospital.
Stephanie Stephen’s paternal grandmother, Tondalia Richardson, tells 9NEWS NOW, ”I just don’t understand it. I just don’t understand it. If they were called then why didn’t they take her? That’s the part I don’t understand, this is an infant, why wouldn’t you take her?”
Investigators say it was just before 5:00 AM on February 10th, in the middle of the second round of back-to-back blizzards, when the child’s mother called 9-1-1 because Stephanie, whom many called Tu-Tu, had trouble breathing.
DC Fire and EMS released a statement on Wednesday that says in part, “Within minutes a Medic Unit arrived on the scene. Emergency first responders performed a patient evaluation. There was no transport.” The statement does not indicate why there was no transport.
The sources say both Engine 33 and Medic 33 were dispatched on the call. Medic 33 had a veteran paramedic and an EMT aboard. Both are civilian EMS workers, or “single-role-providers”, as the department calls them.
The release indicates at 1:45 PM the second 911 call was received from the child’s home reporting “abnormal breathing”. This time a different crew aboard Medic 33 transported the little girl to the hospital.
Richardson looked after her granddaughter every week and says, “She was the bubbliest thing. She was loving and happy and outgoing.”
Stephanie was laid to rest this past Tuesday. Her grandmother is wondering why this little girl’s life had to be cut short just shy of the girl’s third birthday.
The grandmother claims Stephanie died of pneumonia.
The paramedic and EMT on the initial call are on administrative duty and are not to have contact with patients as the review continues.
DC Fire & EMS crew under review after toddler dies: Several first responders with the DC Fire & EMS Department have been removed from contact with patients while the care they provided to a 2-year-old girl is reviewed. The investigation centers on exactly why the girl was not taken to the hospital during the first call for trouble breathing on February 10th. Nine hours later the child was transported after a second call to 911. She died the next day. This occurred during one of the major snowstorms that hit Washington. Surae Chinn has our story. Read and watch it here.
Firefighter accused of setting his home on fire twice in an effort to get his wife pregnant: I know that is a bizarre headline, but this is a bizarre story. Investigators in Bennington, Vermont say Capt. Ralph Brown Jr. needed money to pay for surgery so his wife could have a baby and decided insurance money was the way to finance the operation. The home caught fire twice. Now Brown, the wife, and another man are facing charges. Read more.
Three dead in 3-alarm Baltimore fire: The fire was reported around 2:00 AM in the 3500 block of Woodbrook Avenue. Two people escaped the home uninjured. Watch the video. Click here for details.
New Jersey firefighter’s decision to quit IAFF brings in the comments: Cherry Hill, New Jersey firefighter Michael Schaffer’s decision to quit the IAFF, rather than face charges over his activities as a volunteer, has people talking in our comments section (Schaffer himself joins in). The response was not unexpected. The only question was how long it would take before it got nasty and personal. Not long. Click here for the story and the comments.
Home of DC/Calvert County firefighter burns: Officials with the DC Fire & EMS Department confirm the home of one of its firefighters was destroyed in a two-alarm fire in Calvert County yesterday afternoon. The fire was at the home of Paul O'Conner in Bayview Hills. The Huntingtown VFD reports O'Conner, who is a member, used his radio to report the fire. Click the image for more details from TheBayNet.com and a series of pictures by Dennis Hook. The Maryland State Fire Marshal's office says the fire was started by a space heater used to dry materials in a shed under a wooden deck.
Another I-Team discovers firefighters make overtime: Contract negotiating time when money is very tight and suddenly everyone realizes the fire department is way over its overtime budget. This has happened in jurisdiction after jurisdiction across the country since the economy went south. We have run a bunch of stories that fit the pattern. The script goes like this. Political leaders say the OT is busting their budgets and often someone leaks the details to a newspaper or TV station. The news media runs the story showing how firefighters are all the top money makers in town. Someone claims there is something fishy going on. The IAFF points out if you hire firefighters and fill all the vacant positions you can then spend less on overtime. Then there is usually the call to lower minimum staffing requirements. Some of that is now going on in Clark County, Nevada. Check it out.
TIC save in New Jersey: Firefighters from the Sayreville Fire Department are getting credit for pulling a woman out of a fire last Thursday. They were aided by a thermal imaging camera. Here’s the story.
Scrambling to safety: Video from Chile as rescuers rush out of a building because of an aftershock. Check it out.
Former firefighter sentenced for 48 false calls: Caryn Sodaro will get a few more weeks in jail and have to pay $11,000 for her series of false suicide and other EMS calls. Officials say she called them in and then listened to the responses on the radio provided to her by the fire company where she volunteered in Weld County, Colorado. Here are the details.
Three of seven Detroit children died in a house fire while their mother went to the store Tuesday evening, according to investigators.
The Detroit Free Press featuring a Dennis Walus photo from the deadly fire. Click the image for more Detroit pictures from Dennis.
When Detroit Fire Department crews arrived at 4956 Bangor around 6:30 p.m., flames were shooting from the two-story, single-family home, Fifth Battalion Fire Chief Gary Lauer said today.
“There was nobody on the scene telling us there was anyone inside,” Lauer said. “The way it was burning was like it’s a vacant house. But somebody finally said, ‘There’s three girls upstairs.’ ”
Three brothers had already jumped out of a second-floor window with an infant, Lauer said. Investigators were unclear about the age of the oldest boy today, thought to be between 10 and 12 years old.
But the girls, between 3 and 6 years old, remained trapped.
“They … found the girls pretty quickly,” Lauer said. “But the smoke and the heat and the fire was so intense, they were in pretty bad shape when we found them.”
The mother arrived at the home shortly after the fire broke out, hysterical about the tragedy, Lauer said.
“At the time there were no adults at home,” he added. “I’m just going by what was said at the scene, that she had gone to the party store.”
An aunt took the boys to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and they’re expected to survive. The condition of the infant, who was being given CPR before being transported to the hospital Tuesday night, was unknown this morning, Lauer said.
A space heater was found in the home, but Lauer said the cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined.
Officers from the department’s Arson Investigation Unit are expected to continue searching for a cause today.
Detroit’s Ladder 13, hit by a train yesterday, was caught on video when it crashed last year: In July, Ladder 13 went out of control as it made a turn at Lawndale and Vernor. The video above is from a security camera that caught the collision. Click here for our coverage of that story.
Detroit commissioner blasts Ladder 13 driver & union blasts commissioner: If you checked with us at all yesterday afternoon and evening you have seen the pictures and video of the aftermath of Ladder 13’s collision with an Amtrak train. It isn’t just the executive fire commissioner and union president who have opinions about this one, we have received a few comments. Click here for our extensive coverage of the wreck.
The most bizarre fire story you are likely to see in some time: In the UK a fire engine crew member was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by negligence. His crime – he blew the lights and siren causing a stampede of Holstein Friesian cows that ran over Harold Lee, a 75-year-old farmer from Somerset. According to the Daily Mail, “Mr Lee’s son Andrew claimed the incident could have been avoided had the fire crew waited for just a few minutes as the cows were safely herded off the road.” Here’s the entire article.
Firegeezer Bill Schumm thinks this isn’t the United Kingdom’s only recent trip through the looking glass when it comes to the fire service. Check out Bill’s view.
Fairfax County still on standby for Chile: I spent some of yesterday afternoon watching the mobilization of Virginia Task Force 1 at the training academy for the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. While the USAR team hasn’t been officially activated they were following USAID orders to get a 52 member team (with 4 search dogs) together and ready to deploy. Here’s the story. As of 8:00 this morning everyone is on 4-hour standby waiting for word from USAID. Here is a slide show from Fairfax County yesterday and here is the video (also in our player to the right). By the way my favorite image from yesterday was not captured by a camera. It was of a firefighter in uniform preparing his gear for deployment, talking on the cell phone and changing his toddler son’s diaper all at the same time. Now that’s multitasking. Also, here is some video from Califronia Task Force 2 doing the same drill.
Trying to explain brown-outs to the public: In Springfield, Illinois the local paper is trying to let the public know when the local fire station might be part of rotating closures. They are finding the answers a bit more complicated than expected. Check it out.
Comment number 15k: Yesterday morning we posted our 15,000th comment since starting STATter911 in May of 2007. It was from JasoninVA responding to a recent posting of a video from Gary, Indiana-
Good comment Chris. Now for those that want to pick this and every other video they see apart. Are you serious? Do you live in a dream world where every fireground goes perfect? It makes no difference whether you are from NOVA, DC, PG, Southern Va. or Western Md. We all have our own highlight reels and those that we wish we could go back to quarters and start again from the beginning. Sure, there were some questionable ops, but then again, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t taken a window or two (or 20) w/o PPE as the wagon driver because the truck was delayed or cut a roof without a roof ladder. This is not an attack on anyone but more of an observation. With the age of technology, you never know who is there and watching. Pictures and videos are on the internet before you can even get back in quarters. Before we get on a “holier than thou” kick, you may want to think about something. The next video on here may be you doing something that “The Book” says isn’t safe and then you will find yourself justifying / defending your actions.
If you go to that entry and scroll down to comments you will see one by me. I think I actually ask some thoughtful questions (I don’t have any of the answers, but I sure can ask questions) on this whole topic of people pointing out issues in the fireground videos we post. Click here to see it all.
“I’m very upset,” said executive fire commissioner James Mack. “I’m going to make it known that this is not acceptable and we’ll do some training.”
The truck was struck by a commuter train late this morning in southwest Detroit.
“The fire truck was parked right on the tracks,” said Willfrido Gutierrez, 27, whose Monte Carlo was struck by the tractor trailer. “I tried to get my wife and kid away from there and I heard a huge explosion.”
Photo by Andre J. Jackson, Detroit Free Press.
The four firefighters jumped in the rig and tried to get it off the tracks in time, but were unsuccessful. The truck, Ladder 13, was T-boned by the westbound train and crushed like an aluminum can and dragged a considerable distance before coming to rest on the tracks.
The driver was treated and released at a local hospital and will be off-duty.
The same ladder truck had been involved in an accident earlier this year, but Mack was unsure if it was the same driver.
“It was a $600,000 truck,” Mack said. “We’re trained professionals. We should always be thinking. I don’t think the citizens of Detroit are pleased that he parked on the tracks.
“I’m very upset. This was a disservice to the citizens. It’s their fire truck — they paid for it.”
The commanding officer of the ladder truck was Lieut. Gerard Martinez, according to a fire official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.
“Right now I can’t say anything about it,” Martinez said when reached by telephone at the fire house.
The head of the Detroit Fire Department is red hot about firefighters parking a $600,000 ladder truck on railroad tracks before it was hit by an Amtrak train today.
One firefighter — who was trying to drive the truck off the tracks when it was hit by the train – was treated and released at an area hospital, said Executive Fire Commissioner James Mack. Another firefighter initially parked the truck to wash away gas from an 11:30 a.m. accident in the intersection of Lonyo and John Kronk next to the tracks, he said.
“I’m very upset,” he said, standing in front of the mangled red truck body, a gold #13 on the side. “I think about the citizens when I’ve got a fire truck out of service. This is their fire truck. They pay for it. It should be in service and they should be careful.”
One person was taken off the Amtrak train on a stretcher, but did not appear to be seriously hurt.
“I wish the commissioner would express relief that no one was seriously hurt or injured in this accident,” said Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association. “No one — firefighter, civilian, or otherwise — in an accident was hurt. That’s our No. 1 concern.”
Beyond that, he said, “We’re going to sit back, make sure everything’s going OK and moving forward properly and see how things unfold. We’re not going to knee-jerk react.”
In the original car accident, Wllfrido Gutierrez, 27; his wife, Anna, 24, and their 3-month-old baby Suri were northbound on Lonyo crossing Kronk when they collided with a semi-tractor trailer eastbound on Kronk.
The couple and their baby were fine, Gutierrez said. Anna sat back down in the car with the baby while firefighters from Ladder 13 fire station on Lawndale at Lafayette at Lawndale washed gas away.
But then the crossing gate bells began to ring.
Gutierrez’s uncle, Bernabe Gutierrez-Amana, 39, of Detroit, who had come to the scene to help, looked up.
“We hear a noise, the train was coming, about 20 yards away,” he said. “I grabbed my nephew’s wife and run — fast. I go, ’Run!’ She didn’t know what to do. And when I looked back, there was big dust. It sounded like an explosion.”
Bob McLean, 41, of Redford Township, who was driving nearby, saw the train hit the fire truck, pushing it off the tracks.
Click the image for the Google Maps Street View of the area.
The fire truck was parked across all three railroad tracks, and the Amtrak train came … with the horn going and they couldn’t move it. And the train just crunched it. It flew up over top of it, the train. I never heard nothing like it in all my life.”
The train, which was heading to Chicago, wasn’t evacuated. At 2:09 p.m., the engine, pulling seven silver cars with blue and red stripes, softly blew its whistle twice and pulled away, heading west to the Windy City.
Watch out, this could be a firing offense: This text-to-movie animation “educates” the public on when not to call 911. It is the type of video that cost a South Carolina firefighter his job. See the story below.
Warning! Warning! Warning! This video that got a South Carolina firefighter fired has language that some might find offensive. Now that you have been warned, you can watch it by clicking the image.
LEAD STORY – Firefighter canned over YouTube video: It isn’t just the video you shoot at a fire or in the firehouse that can get you in trouble. Animation can also cost you your job. Most likely you have seen those text-to-movie videos from xtranormal.com (see above) that seem to be very popular with firefighters and others. One created by a South Carolina firefighter and posted on his Facebook page has resulted in his firing. WCSC-TV in Charleston has the dismissal letter issued to Firefighter Jason Brown by Colleton County Fire-Rescue Director Barry McRoy. It says in part, ”You [Brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center.” Brown told a reporter, “There was no malicious attack to anybody involved personally or countywide or any certain department ever.” Read the letter. Watch the story. Read the story.
Ocean front block gone thanks to fire during storm: The Atlantic Coast storm helped drive a fire in Hampton, New Hampshire. It spread from the Surf Hotel to eight or nine other businesses along the ocean. Click here for our coverage.
The keep back 500 feet sign ignored with almost disastrous results: In Washington, DC last night a 14-year-old skateboarder latched onto the rear of Truck 11 as it was leaving a box alarm. It apparently didn’t work exactly how the teen anticipated. The rig ran over his foot. He is in Children’s Hospital with injuries that aren’t life-threatening.
A man and young child were rescued by firefighters from this burning Hyattsville, Maryland apartment building this morning. Both were burned and CPR was being performed. PGFD called two-alarms to handle the fire. Click the image for details and check the video player at the upper right of this page for an interview from the scene.
Firefighter/union president made acting chief over higher ranking officer: One day he is a firefighter and the next day he is chief. In Nahant, Massachusetts a lieutenant is calling it a “bag job” in the move that makes Firefighter Kevin Howard the acting fire chief. Howard had to resign as union president to take the position. Read more.
Two firefighters charged in bar brawl: Three from FDNY turned themselves into police investigating the fight at a firefighter hang out in Brooklyn. Only twoof the firefighters were charged after police identified them on the surveillance video. The dispute started over a spilled drink. Click here for more.
Another off-duty bar brawl leads to suspension: This one is in Frankfort, Kentucky and it took an eight-hour personnel hearing to give a firefighter three months without pay. Brian Olds says he was trying to break up the fight, but the chief says Olds has a past with anger management issues that left him barred from the city’s contracted fitness facility. Here’s more.
Arrest in the Philly sound fire: A man described as so drunk it is amazing he didn’t pass out and die in the fire has now been charged in the blaze we told you about that destroyed the offices of Philadelphia International Records. Investigators say the man has no connection to the legendary recording company that brought us artists like Teddy Pendergrass and Patti LaBelle. Read more.
Firefighter charged in fatal collision: Firefighter Close Calls has the story of a firefighter being charged in a wreck with a fire engine earlier this month that killed a 54-year-old man in Vaughan, Ontario.
Sheriff’s deputy makes grab: In Indiana, the Angola Fire Department is crediting Steuben County Sheriff’s Corporal Chris Emerick with crawling in on his hands and knees armed with a flashlight to rescue a man from a burning home at Jimmerson Lake. Here’s the story.
The Urban Firefighter debuts: I was greatly disappointed when I learned thehousewatch.com was about to handle its last alarm. The writings of Erich Roden have been a favorite of mine. Whether I agree with what Erich has to say or not, I believe he is one of the most talented writers in today’s fire service. It would be easy to be almost condescending and say for a front line firefighter he’s a good writer. No, for a writer he’s a good writer and he makes me look like a hack (which I am). When I discovered Erich was putting his efforts to a new venture I got out of my depression. Continuing his partnership with Ray McCormack, whose articles constantly remind me that firefighting is more an art than a science, they have debuted Urban Firefighter Magazine. It is online. It is free. Check it out. Also, Firegeezer has his view on Urban Firefighter.
Two alarms in Providence: This is from Sunday’s fire on Goddard Street in Providence. One firefighter was injured when debris fell from the roof breaking his ankle. According to projo.com, “Another firefighter working from the turn-table controlling the ladder on Ladder 2 sprained his wrist after a railing he was leaning against snapped — sending him falling 10 feet.”
Buffalo report: In case you haven’t read the 28-page internal report obtained by the news media looking into the deaths of Lt. Charles McCarthy Jr. and Firefighter Jonathan Croom here it is. Here is what The Buffalo News wrote-
“What is clear is Firefighter Croom quickly ascertained the general area that Lt. McCarthy had been calling from and then selflessly attempted a rescue operation,” according to preliminary results from the Fire Department’s recently completed internal investigation of the blaze that killed Croom and McCarthy.
At the same time the dispute continues over the city’s reimbursement of the union for funeral expenses. IAFF Local 282 says it will go to arbitration rather than accept a partial check. Buffalo officials still say they will not pay for the thousands of dollars in liquor purchased for three receptions. There is even a dispute over how much was spent on booze. The original news report pegged it around $11,000. The Buffalo News now has the city saying $9630 and the union saying $7600. Here is more.
Roof of New Jersey firehouse New Year’s celebration leads to an arrest: A rookie volunteer has been charged after illegal fireworks set off from the roof of the Wallington VFD’s Park Row firehouse crashed through the window of an infant’s room at a nearby home. Here’s the story.
Better job for chief officer accused of cheating: We ran this allegation of cheating back when it first made the news in March 2008. Rudy Johnson a command officer with the Orlando Fire Department claimed he was a “scapegoat” after being demoted one rank following allegations he listened in on radio transmissions that were part of a test he would soon be taking. Now, there are complaints that Chief Johnson is being promoted to command a shift of firefighters. Here is the latest.
Three from FDNY expected to turn themselves in today: Police are expecting to make arrests in the bar brawl at the Salty Dog that was captured by a surveillance camera. A spilled drink is believed to have sparked the fight between firefighters from Brooklyn’s Engine 310/Ladder 174 and a group of cousins. Read more. Watch the story.
An analysis of the UK arrests: Firegeezer asks some interesting questions following three fire officers turning themselves in to police in the investigation of a fire that killed four firefighters in Warwickshire in November 2007. The arrested men were kept overnight. Here is the latest from the BBC.
Firefighter fired up over layoffs is fired: A firefighter in Lehigh Acres, Florida has been let go after being accused of falsifying records for a paramedic class. Sarah Fritz had previously been suspended after asking laid off firefighters to donate their sick leave to her. Read details.
Very early video in Tempe, Arizona: A neighbor grabbed his camera as he escaped a neighboring apartment from this February 16th fire at the Worthington Place complex on Hardy Drive in Tempe. He began rolling before the arrival of firefighters. A man and a woman who escaped through a second floor window were injured. The man, Alan Schuler, was seriously burned. He is a member of an improv comedy troupe. The fire occurred just after midnight.
Two firefighters struck by EMS captain in Fairfax County: An EMS supervisor pulling up to the scene of a cyclist struck in Herndon, Virginia last night hit two firefighters already treating the patient. The SUV, driven by EMS 401, was described as “slow moving” at the time of the collision. One of the firefighters was flown to a trauma unit, but both have since been treated and released. We have pictures & video from the scene, along with the radio traffic. Click here.
What happens in Las Vegas leaves Las Vegas: This includes a memo from City of Las Vegas Chief Greg Gammon. Firefighter Nation alerted us to this story from the Review-Journal. The paper’s Lawrence Mower reports, “The Las Vegas Fire Department chief is urging his firefighters to avoid spending time at the gym during work hours and not to ‘abuse sick leave’ as his department battles poor public perception during its stand to avoid pay cuts and layoffs.” There is much more. Read the memo. Read the article.
Lots of opinions on the border war: It seems like I spent most of yesterday moderating comments about the story of the dispute between Anne Arundel County and Calvert County’s Dunkirk VFD. More than 50 comments so far. If you missed the update, Dunkirk’s wagon driver, David Stream, has been charged by Anne Arundel County police in the February 14 collision with Tower 40 that has brought many issues to the surface. Stream is also a career firefighter in Prince George’s County. Here is our coverage and all the comments.
Driver of ambulance responding to his own burning home charged: Ron Young alerted us to this follow-up to a really tragic story. Joseph Sims Jr. has now been charged with careless driving in the crash that occurred while he was responding in a Middle Township, New Jersey ambulance to a fire at his own home. That fire trapped and killed Sims’ elderly father. Officials say Sims responded on his own with lights and sirens and not in an official capacity. That played a role in the decision to charge. Read the latest. Click here for our earlier coverage of the crash and the fire.
Three UK fire officials in custody over deaths of four firefighters: The November, 2007 fire at a vegetable packing plant in Warwickshire has resulted in the arrest of three men described as fire service staff and members of the union. The three turned themselves at a police station to be ”questioned on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and offences under health and safety laws.” More from the BBC.
53 days later, burned Modesto firefighter walks out of the hospital: Fire Engineer James Adams is now home and his colleagues who were by his side through his ordeal made sure Adams’ departure from the burn unit was celebrated. Adams had been there since New Years Day when he and Firefighter Jason Clevenger fell through the roof of a burning home. Read the story. Watch the raw video. Click here and here for our previous coverage of this story.
Chief cuffed: The other story that has people talking is the February 15th incident where a battalion chief was handcuffed by a member of the California Highway Patrol at a crash scene. If you didn’t see the latest version of our story we added interviews with the CHP spokesperson and the Montecito fire chief. Click here for our coverage.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating why a firefighter was handcuffed for refusing to move a fire engine from a freeway in Santa Barbara County.
CHP Capt. Jeff Sgobba says the incident on Feb. 15 was rare, regrettable and embarrassing.
The confrontation took place in Montecito when CHP officers responded to a freeway crash that caused minor injuries.
Sgobba says arriving Montecito firefighters blocked the fast lane with an engine to shield responding authorities from traffic.
Sgobba says a CHP officer ordered the rig moved and handcuffed a fire battalion chief who refused. The firefighter was released when a CHP supervisor arrived a short time later.
The crash occurred on the center divide, there were 2 vehicles involved, 6 patients, 1 known minor injury. The squad crew pulled past the fire engine, then it blocks the lane to provide a safe working area, (per FD SOP). Before we go further, it should be noted that the MFD normally have-and are quite proud of-the excellent relationship they enjoy daily with the CHP and area law enforcement officers. This is an isolated and rare incident.
At this point the recently assigned (very new to that area) CHP officer tells the Battalion Chief that the apparatus cannot block the lane because it will cause too much traffic backup, and to move the rig. The Battalion Chief tells him no, that he needs his crew protected until they take up from the run. About one minute from the time the BC goes on scene, the BC is now on the radio asking for a CHP supervisor to be sent to the scene. Next thing the crew saw was the CHP officer handcuffing/arresting the Battalion Chief.
At this point, the Firefighters had not even made patient contact yet. The CHP officer then goes to the Fire Captain and tells him the same thing, move the engine or “I am going to arrest you and the (Fire Engineer) as well”. Then the CHP Officer called for a heavy tow truck to tow the fire apparatus off the freeway.
The Fire Captain finally gave in as the fire dispatcher warned him that the heavy tow was 2 minutes out. Within a few minutes, the CHP officers supervisor showed up and un-cuffed the Battalion Chief. The original arresting officer then went back over to the Battalion Chief and gave him an “obstructing a police officer with an investigation ticket”.
Turns out the CHP officer just transferred from Bakersfield to that area less than 2 weeks ago. The picture on our home page is the Battalion Chief sitting handcuffed against the center guardrail. The ticket still stands and they haven’t heard what is up with the CHP officer, but he never backed down. It seemed like he never felt like he did anything wrong. Seeya in Court.
So now, what is the next thing that should happen? Why, naturally, someone in the “public safety community” almost always attempts to “take the edge off” (lighten up the situation). Sooooo, some fun-loving Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies stopped by the firehouse right after that incident with 2 cakes, and one had a file in it. Are those SBSO Deputies funny or what!?
On a more serious note. the CHP Night watch Sergeant came over to the firehouse too and couldn’t apologize enough. We’re pretty sure this will be taken care of-both short term and long term.
Restaurant fire in Guatemala: Posted yesterday, there is no date on this fire in Xela. Listen to the crowd reaction.
Crash between two Maryland fire trucks exposes deeper mutual aid issues: If you read all of the emails and statements coming from both sides of the Anne Arundel – Calvert border you will likely draw the conclusion that the crash of Tower 40 and Engine 51 on February 14 is only a symptom of a greater problem. There are accusations from the leadership of both the Anne Arundel County Fire Department and the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department that the other side is responsible for their relationship woes. We have a lot for you to read and to see. Click here for our coverage.
Our friend Steve Skipton took in this fire in Camden, New Jersey on the way home from work last night. He has more pictures from the blaze on Mt. Ephraim at PhillyFireNews.com. Click the image.
Fireground audio and pictures from 3-alarm PGFD fire: A fire yesterday afternoon tore through the garden apartment building on Mistletoe Springs Road. We have pictures from Mark Brady and other sources and radio transmissions from our friends at FireSceneAudio.com. Check it out.
$300,000 severance package for fire chief who makes more than the governor: Chief Scott LaVielle’s salary running the North Highline Fire District in King County, Washington was $186,370. LaVielle was responsible for two station’s and 35 employees. By contrast, Seattle’s Chief Gregory Dean, managing 32 stations and 1155 employees, makes almost $13,000 less. I am also guessing that Chief Dean doesn’t quite have Chief LaVielle’s golden parachute. In this tough economy LaVielle’s position has been eliminated, but he walks away with a severance package worth $300,000. Keith Ervin at The Seattle Times takes a look at how this came about.
City stalling on funeral bill because more than 40% was for booze: City officials in Buffalo say they aren’t backing down from their refusal to pay for almost $11,000 in alcohol that was part of the $25,000 bill submitted by IAFF Local 282 to cover expenses for the funerals of Capt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom. Union says the city is breaking a contract and the law. Read the story from WKBW-TV.
Ops chief is cool under fire: Reno’s Joe Durousseau deftly landed his Cessna 172 in the middle of traffic on I-80 yesterday. The operations division chief was returning from a humanitarian mission to Mexico when the plane had engine problems. No one was hurt. Read the story. Watch the story and the interview.
Volunteer firefighter guilty of speeding to a fire: In Erin, Tennessee, volunteer firefighter and alderman Brian Richardson has been found guilty of going 77 mph in a 30 mph zone while traveling in his own vehicle to a fire. But there is so much more to this story. Richardson blames it all on politics and an ongoing conflict between the cops and firefighters. The story gets somewhat complicated to follow, but I will let you figure it out. Click here.
Suburban chiefs say layoffs will impact mutual aid: Concern around Flint, Michigan, with the latest fire department cut backs, that mutual aid to the suburbs will be less mutual. Read more.
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