Three parts of video with radio traffic by James Botham of a house fire at 2416 Bryant Avenue S. in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 29. At 8:30 into Part 1 is the first report from Engine 17 on the interior that they had lost water. Water is restored but then Ladder 11 reports that the primary line and back-up line on the second floor have no pressure. This is followed by a report from RIT of pumping issues with Engine 17. This conversation continues into Part 2 when the evacuation is ordered at about 1:15.
First responders were sent to 2416 Bryant Ave South shortly after 12:00 p.m. and arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from the second and third floors of the large home. Unconfirmed reports say the fire started on a deck and soon jumped to other parts of the building.
Firefighters attempted an interior attack but were soon evacuated due to a heavy volume of fire. At that point a second alarm was called and crews concentrated on an exterior attack.
Emmitsburg, MD – For South Carolina’s Charleston Fire Department change has come rapidly and in the most difficult of ways. After the deaths of nine firefighters at the Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007, the department has remade itself in ways both dramatic and inspiring. For the first time, the nation’s fire service gets a close-up view of those changes through the eyes of company officers, command staff, peer counselors, community leaders and survivors in a new documentary called “Charleston 9: The Ultimate Sacrifice”.
Produced by STATter911 Communications and Greg Guise Media for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the half-hour video focuses on what some firefighters describe as a generation’s worth of operational changes in just five years, all geared to the safety of firefighters and the public. Battalion Chief Mark Davis puts it this way, “Our name is still the same. Everything else has changed.”
Such change doesn’t come easily and without significant challenges. Firefighters are quick to credit the leadership of Chief Tom Carr. The video looks at Chief Carr’s management style and how he simultaneously dealt with his own challenge of a debilitating disease. Chief Carr, who was interviewed for the film, was able to view the final version about six weeks before his death last month at age 59.
“On behalf of the hardworking members of the City of Charleston Fire Department, we hope you will view this video with an eye on what has been accomplished by the department to honor the sacrifice of the Charleston 9 and the dedicated leadership of the late Chief Tom Carr. I am proud to be a part of the legacy of progress our members forge every day,” commented Chief Karen E. Brack.
“Charleston 9: The Ultimate Sacrifice” also shows the important work in the area of behavioral health as peer counselors helped firefighters deal with the loss of close friends and co-workers.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone affiliated with the Charleston Fire Department who willingly shared their insights and experiences,” Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki, NFFF executive director said. “The lessons learned from the loss of nine brave firefighters, the amazing progress in the tragedy’s aftermath and Chief Carr’s leadership are invaluable to the fire service.”
I thought it was a wonderful gesture back in October when Maryland’s Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department became one of a number of departments across the country to have a pink fire engine in honor of National Breast Care Awareness Month. It takes some tough firefighters to drive around in a pink fire truck.
What could be the downside to a small fleet of pink fire engines across the country giving recognition to an important cause? Well, it takes the cynicism and twisted mind of a veteran, washed-up reporter to find something negative.
Look at the pictures below sent to me by @NPPNick1 on Twitter. I am told they were taken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, scene of Fire Expo this past weekend.
Is it possible that the driver of every pink vehicle thinks they are now part of the fire department?
Or, is it just those who drive the pink Caddy’s of Mary Kay Cosmetics, like this one. Maybe it has nothing at all to do with pink fire engines and this is a specialized MURV assigned to a CRT.
Unfamiliar with those acronyms? I am referring to a Make-Up Response Vehicle that is part of a Cosmetic Response Team. I believe in most states you will find that if there is a legitimate FCI, or Facial Casualty Incident, a certified MURV operator can park in a fire lane to ensure a quick response.
I think we can all agree that when an FCI occurs, every second counts. A simple blemish doubles in size every minute (at least in the eyes of the victim). Mary Kay Cosmetics and the rest of the industry have been lobbying hard for automatic cosmetic alarms to be required at every bathroom mirror. In addition, despite objections from the building industry that it would be cost prohibitive, Mary Kay and the others want legislation that mandates automatic cosmetic sprinkler systems. These systems cover up imperfections on any man, woman or child before significant harm is done to the person’s face and ego. By the time a MURV arrives it is often only a mop-up operation. Think of how many fewer tears there would be through the teenaged acne years.
So, if you see pink flashing lights behind you, please pull to the curb immediately and let these brave face responders get safely to their destination. Remember, Mary Kay is running in when the rest of us are running out (or, when our make-up is just running).
On a personal note, it’s a shame MURVs and CRTs weren’t around when I was reporter. My career might have survived the transition to HD TV for a little longer. But there would have likely been pink Cadillacs ringing the entire building, when second, third and fourth alarms were called as they went to defensive ops surrounding and drowning my sorry-looking face.
Video above from Ken Kintner and below (three parts) from Jennifer Trull of a fire around 6:00 PM on Friday at 828 E. Maumee Street in Adrian, Michigan.
Neighbors reported hearing a loud explosion and then seeing black smoke pouring out of the house.
Dennis Rodriguez, a deputy in the Lenawee County sheriff’s reserves, lives on the opposite corner and was outdoors when the fire started. He said the house was in flames almost immediately.
Lt. Tim Bartenslager of the Adrian Fire Department said no injuries were reported and the house is likely a total loss. The fire appears to have started outside, he said, but the cause is undetermined. He said the Adrian Police Department is conducting an investigation.
Fire departments from Adrian, Cambridge, Madison and Raisin Townships and from the cities of Tecumseh and Morenci joined Adrian city firefighters on the scene. Bartenslager said Palmyra Township firefighters manned the Adrian station while the fire was being fought and responded to four or five medical emergencies in the city.
A fire Sunday night in the southwest building of an apartment complex on Sandra Avenue in Mendota displaced 15 people as firefighters from Mendota, Mendota Troy Grove, La Salle, Sublette and Paw Paw battled the blaze.
The fire was raised to a Mutual Aid Box Alarm level 2 with Peru, Amboy and Utica covering the Mendota station. No injuries were reported in the fire that claimed the roof and most of the contents on the second floor of unit. Mendota Fire Department did not have a cause for the fire or an estimate of damage. Assistant fire chief Dean Ege said there may be some personal items that could be salvaged from the first floor of the unit, but most of the contents were lost.
A meteorolgist at KFOR-TV said a short time ago the devastation from today’s tornadoes in Oklahoma will dwarf the infamous May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak. KFOR-TV’s live coverage of the aftermath, and the continuing outbreak is above.
Particularly hard hit is Moore, Oklahoma where there are reports of two schools leveled, with searches of those schools continuing.
AP:
Authorities say an elementary school in an Oklahoma City suburb took a direct hit from a mile-wide tornado.
Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department says there is no word of injuries from the elementary school. Knight says the school suffered “extensive damage” on Monday afternoon. He did not say which school was hit.
Neighborhoods in Moore, Okla., are flattened and blown apart, with shards of wood and pieces of insulation strewn everywhere. Television footage also showed first responders picking through rubble and twisted metal in the suburb south of Oklahoma City.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The suburb of Moore was hit hard by a tornado in 1999. The storm had the highest winds ever recorded near the earth’s surface.
More from AP:
A mile-wide tornado churned through the Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying homes for the second day in a row Monday, as part of a severe weather outbreak that was expected to spread in other parts of the Plains and Midwest.
A massive black-and-blue cloud dragged across the landscape just south of Will Rogers World Airport.
Television video showed debris from homes and businesses being carried aloft as the twister rolled through Moore, a community on the south side of Oklahoma City. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
In advance of the storm, the Oklahoma House of Representatives stopped work so Capitol employees could take shelter in the basement. Television and radio broadcasters urged residents to take shelter because the storm’s strength and size.
“We’re just waiting to see what happens. It’s a mile-wide tornado. It’s still grinding out,” said Mark Meyers, a spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office. “We are currently on standby for tornado response. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready to respond.”
The strongest winds on earth — 302 mph — were recorded near Moore during a tornado May 3, 1999.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman had predicted a major outbreak of severe weather Monday in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Storms on Sunday killed two people near Shawnee, about 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Gov. Mary Fallin earlier Monday took a tour of the areas hardest hit and she expressed concern that, with power out, Oklahomans might not receive warnings about the new round of storms.
Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth said a 79-year-old man, who was later identified as Glen Irish, was found dead Sunday out in the open at Steelman Estates, a mobile home park near Shawnee. The state medical examiner’s office said Monday that a 76-year-old man, Billy Hutchinson, was found dead in a vehicle.
The office said both men lived in Shawnee, but the city wasn’t hit by the tornado and it wasn’t immediately clear if either or both lived in the mobile home park, which is near the city.
The body of a Dallas firefighter who radioed for help after becoming trapped in a burning condominium has been recovered.
The firefighter, Stanley Wilson, was among the 100 Dallas firefighters who responded to a six-alarm fire at the Hearthwood Condominiums at 12363 Abrams Road Monday morning.
According to Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright III, Wilson was a 28-year-veteran of the fire department. Wilson was a native North Texan and a Lake Highlands graduate.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said of Wilson, “he’s a hero. As I told his boys, they should be very proud.”
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans says the firefighter, who has been identified as 28-year department veteran Stanley Wilson, radioed in shortly before 5:30 a.m. that he was trapped and lost, at which point his radio went dead. It’s believed he became trapped when one of the floors collapsed. Almost three hours later his body was recovered from the wreckage.
The body was draped in an American flag as it was removed from the wreckage. Firefighters lined the path from the wreckage and saluted as Wilson was carried into an ambulance to be taken to the medical examiner’s office.
Wilson, 51, is survived by his wife and two sons. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Wilson was a 1980 graduate from Lake Highlands High School, a few miles away from the condo complex where he died.
At 11 a.m. Monday, Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright, III confirmed that 28-year veteran Stanley Wilson was found dead inside the rubble of the fire hours after a radio message was heard from the firefighter saying, “I’m trapped.”
“A longtime member with the department,” Bright said. “A hard worker, certainly a hero with us for all of his efforts today.”
At about 8:30 a.m., a gurney set up for the missing firefighter was moved and firefighters formed a line around the burnt out building. The firefighters saluted as Wilson’s body, draped with a United States flag, was carried to an ambulance.
In addition to pulling the boy from the rubble, firefighters were able to rescue five other people during the blaze, Evans said.
Two Dallas firefighters, both with leg injuries, were taken to a hospital and a resident was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.
The body of a Dallas firefighter who radioed for help after becoming trapped in a burning condominium has been recovered.
The firefighter, whose name has not yet been released, was among the 100 Dallas firefighters who responded to a six-alarm fire at the Hearthwood Condominiums at 12363 Abrams Road Monday morning.
When firefighters arrived shortly before 3 a.m., smoke was seen billowing through the roof of the complex. Dallas Fire-Rescue’s Jason Evans said firefighters initially started to attack the fire offensively, but moved to a defensive posture due to how fast the fire was growing.
At about 5 a.m., one of the firefighters radioed that he was trapped inside the building and that he wasn’t sure where he was. Evans said crews had not been able to reach the firefighter by radio since that message.
At about 9:15 a.m., the body of the firefighter was found. He was removed from the rubble, covered in an American flag and carried to an ambulance as dozens of firefighters and onlookers flanked either side, removed their helmets and saluted the procession.
Jason Evans with Dallas Fire-Rescue told NBC 5′s Kendra Lyn that the missing firefighter used his radio to say he was trapped inside and did not know where he was. Evans says crews have not been able to reach the firefighter by radio since that last message.
Evans also said the huge fire is keeping crews from searching the building for any injured or trapped residents inside the building.
At least 24 units in the complex are involved in the fire and embers from the flames have been reported landing on town homes behind the complex.
Dallas Fire-Rescue elevated the blaze to a six-alarm fire at 5:23 a.m. Monday, bringing in additional units to help battle the blaze. Ninety firefighters and 15 fire engines were at the scene as of 5:16 a.m.
Dallas firefighters are “still looking” for a comrade they believe is trapped inside a six-alarm blaze that has devoured a condominium complex at Abrams Road and LBJ Freeeway.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans says the firefighter radio’d in that he was trapped and lost, at which point his radio went dead. He has not been heard from since. It’s believed he became trapped when one of the floors collapsed.
Evans says the call first came in at 2:52 this morning. Firefighters arrived to find an elderly woman trapped in a third-story unit. She was rescued, with a ladder truck, and treated at the scene by paramedics.
Thanks in part to gusty winds, it didn’t take long for the fire to spread: “It went to six at 5:22,” says Evans.
“It got defensive pretty fast,” says Evans, who adds that “at least 24 units in the complex are completely destroyed.”
Three adults, a cat and a dog will need to be relocated after a no-injury house fire in North Portland this morning, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
Crews have mostly knocked down the fire at the corner of North Hudson Street and North Oswego Avenue, but several dozen firefighters are still on scene, said Portland Fire spokesman Ron Rouse. Portland Fire responded to the fire at 8:25 a.m.
Neighbors reported hearing gunshots, but those turned out to be from ammunition that was stored in the house, Rouse said.
… fire crews were dispatched to another house fire (9005 N. Oswego Ave.). Station 22 (St. Johns), which has a fire engine and a truck, arrived to a “fully involved house”, said Fire Lieutenant Stew White. Firefighters decided to make a transitional attack…. fighting the fire from the outside initially, and then going into the structure to put out the remaining hot spots. Engine 26 (Portsmouth), Engine 8 (Kenton) and Engine 24 (Swan Island) were also on the initial response. Truck 8 and Station 10(Burlingame) were also dispatched to assist with firefighter efforts.
NOTE: The City of Phoenix also lost a police officer today. Officer Daryl Raetz was also pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He had been hit by a vehicle that fled the scene at an incident in West Phoenix (scene video here).
A Phoenix firefighter has died after being pinned between two emergency vehicles while responding to a fire.
According to officials, Bradley Harper, 23, got caught between an ambulance and a fire truck as the two were trying to pass each other on a narrow road.
The crews were responding to a mulch fire at a business in southwest Phoenix at 39th Ave. and Lower Buckeye Rd. around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Emergency crews were able to rock the ambulance back and forth to free the firefighter, who was then rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
23-year-old Bradley Harper had just finished fighting a mulch fire in south Phoenix Saturday night, when a fire truck and ambulance tried to pass each other on a narrow road. Harper, who was taking off his gear at the time, found himself pinned between the two vehicles.
He would later be pronounced dead following his arrival at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
“When you’re one of us, you really love these people,” said Phoenix Fire chief Bob Khan. “It’s an uncommon bond.”
Phoenix lost two first-responders Sunday as a firefighter who was wounded in a mulch fire died from his injuries and a police officer was killed in a hit-and-run incident in west Phoenix, authorities said.
The police officer, identified as Daryl Raetz, was killed early Sunday in an incident at 51st and Cambridge avenues, just south of Thomas Road. Authorities said the driver of the vehicle that struck the officer fled.
Raetz, 29, was a veteran of the Iraq War, officials said. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.
Department officials said the firefighter was trapped between two emergency vehicles and was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition. The Phoenix Police Department is investigating the accident, which happened around 5:30 p.m. in the area of 39th Avenue and Miami Street. The fire department was responding to a fire at a fertilizer company, according to fire officials.
A firefighter was critically injured at the scene of a mulch fire near 37th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road on Saturday night.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson says the firefighter somehow got pinned between two fire vehicles when crews were re-positioning while fighting the flames.
What we know about the injured firefighter is that he is 23-years-old, part of engine rescue 21 and has served two years with Phoenix Fire Department.
Phoenix Fire Chief Bob Kahn said, “This is a very serious situation and we’re heartbroken, but we still have hope.”
Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the 23-year-old firefighter was “gravely injured” when he became pinned between two vehicles that were “re-positioning.”
There is no word on the specifics of the firefighter’s injuries, other than he is in extremely critical condition.
Dozens of family members, firefighters and even police officers and the mayor turned up to support him.
Phoenix fire Chief Bob Khan called the fire department “close like a family” and said he was praying for the injured firefighter.
Phoenix police said crews were repositioning several trucks when the firefighter became pinned. It’s still unclear exactly how that happened.
Saturday night firefighters were huddled outside the entrance of the emergency room at the hospital while the young man’s wife and parents waited inside.
Phoenix Fire Chief Bob Khan described the firefighter as resilient. Khan said the 23-year-old had been a member of the department for two years and that he volunteered to be assigned to Phoenix’s busiest fire unit.
Helmet-cam video from Jimmy Hopp of Plattekill Fire Rescue in Orange County, New York from a house fire on Tuesday at 50 Prospect Hill Road in Wallkill.
According to Platttekill Fire Chief Chris Mancuso, the fire was discovered when City of Newburgh Fire Chief Mike Vatter, who lives nearby, noticed smoke on his property and went to investigate. Departments quickly responded, and the blaze, which started in half of the house, was put out quickly.
Teachable Moment of the Day: As anyone who has seen my presentations knows, I urge leaders who make controversial decisions they believe in to stand before the cameras and answer the tough questions. Running from it undermines your credibility and your decision. The sight of DC Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe making a run for the elevator after yesterday’s hearing on EMS staffing, along with his communications director giving the appearance of physically blocking the reporters and videographers, didn’t look very good.
It never looks good running from the press. Chief Ellerbe must have throught the same because he quickly changed his mind, moved Lon Walls out of the way and got off the elevator to answer the questions (check the videos above and below). It’s best to really think this strategy through ahead of time and make the right decision initially, instead of providing reporters with better video than a boring hearing. In fact, a better use of your communications director is to use their brain to anticipate and plan for these situations rather than their brawn as media blockers. Now for the news.
The chairman of the D.C. City Council’s Judiciary Committee says he has “grave concerns” over the staffing of the D.C. Fire Department. And Friday questioned its ability to provide quality emergency medical care in the city.
Tommy Wells made those statements during a hearing in which the fire chief testified about his plan to redeploy ambulances during peak hours of the day.
D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe today told the city council he has “more often than not” a surplus of ambulances in the middle of the night and he wants to move them to what’s being called a power shift where they will be available to respond to a high number of calls.
But the Firefighters Union is against the plan and the chief admitted it requires a change in shifts.
Ellerbe does not have the authority to redeploy his EMS resources without the approval of the D.C. city Council.
So Friday, he tried to convince the head of the judiciary committee it could be done and needs to be done.
The unions generally agree, because of a changing city and an increased population, there is a need for additional ambulances during peak times of the day but not at the cost of leaving the middle of the night uncovered.
Under the chief’s plan no advanced life support units would work from 1 am to 7 am and the firefighter paramedics would have to move to 12 hour shifts. A move that’s very unpopular.
The chief admitted he has far exceeded his overtime budget and told the council in order to have enough paramedics to handle a shift change the union would have to agree to the plan.
Thursday night we reported the fire department has lost 53 paramedics since the chief took office and none have been replaced.
One other note, we have asked repeatedly over the last several months for a sit down interview with Chief Ellerbe. He has declined every time. So Friday was our only chance to ask him questions in public.
But instead of stopping for reporters’ questions the chief headed right for the elevator.
His handlers tried to bar us from getting in the elevator but after repeatedly asking to speak with the chief
He did come out of the elevator to take some questions. It was an acrimonious encounter to say the least.
When asked if the reason he was not hiring paramedics is that he is hoping the three shifts finally goes through Ellerbe answered, “Well, we are hopeful the three shifts goes through and hope it goes through by the end of the summer…see what happens.”
The union says paramedics are being forced to work overtime nearly every day because the department does not have the staffing.
D.C.’s firefighters union and Chief Kenneth Ellerbe are at odds over a scheduling shift for ambulance crews in the District.
Ed Smith, president of the D.C. Firefighters Assoc. Local 36, says the changes could jeopardize lives.
Ellerbe’s plan would shift the number of paramedics. Fewer would work over night. More would work during the day.
Smith admits there is a peak time in demand during the day, but he doesn’t think the solution is to take away from the night shift.
“It’s gambling on people’s lives,” Smith says. “You’re going to take 14 units off the streets from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. It’s a bad, bad idea.”
If approved, the proposal would affect advance life support paramedics.
Smith called the plan antiquated, saying some of the most violent medical emergencies happen overnight.
“When you take 14 units off the street, out of that 39, you’re decreasing our transport capabilities, the ability to take somebody to the hospital by 36 percent.”
He says the solution is not redeployment of staff but rather to hire more staff, something Smith says is not happening.
“It’s tearing the department apart and the citizens and visitors are suffering,” Smith says.
Initially, it seemed Ellerbe didn’t want to answer questions from reporters. Then he changed his mind and addressed concerns from the union.
“We understand their concerns and we’re going to do everything we can to accommodate them, the best way we can,” Ellerbe says.
Ellerbe was questioned over the vacancies and lack of hiring in his department that some argue has created more tension with an already frayed union. But he says the department will start hiring.
“A lot of our attention has been turned into the District to help reduce the unemployment numbers here in Washington, D.C.,” Ellerbe says. “If we don’t have qualified paramedics here in the city, then we’ll go outside the city.”
A man who was found naked on a fire truck was high at the time and now faces an attempted murder charge for shooting his childhood friend.
Prince George’s County police arrested Mohamed Sulaiman Bah, 24, of Silver Spring, and charged him with shooting a man in a car parked in the 11900 block of Beltsville Drive. He also faces a charge of first-degree assault.
Police found the injured man, whose name has not been released, about 6 p.m. Wednesday, after officers were called to Beltsville Drive for a report of a car accident. The injured man was in the backseat of the car suffering from a gun shot wound.
He remained in the hospital in critical condition Thursday, police said.
Police have no motive for the shooting and say the victim was Bah’s childhood friend. They were in the car with a third man, who was driving, when Bah turned to the back seat, shot his friend, then stripped naked, and ran from the scene, police said.
Police soon found Bah at the Calverton Shopping Center, which is just a block or two away on Beltsville Drive. He had removed his clothes and climbed onto a fire truck.
A video posted on YouTube shows a man walking on the top of the ladder truck, shouting threats. He also allegedly performed “lewd acts.”
Bah initially refused to come down off the truck. When he did climb down, a Prince George’s officer shot him with a Taser stun gun to subdue Bah, police said.
The officer used the Taser because Bah refused to comply with police commands and because of his erractic behavior, which led police to believe he was high on drugs. They called it a textbook case on how and when to properly use a stun gun.
Police said Bah exhibited classic characteristics of someone who is high on PCP at the time of his arrest.
Officers recovered the gun used in the Beltsville Road shooting near the car. The driver of the car was not injured and is not considered a suspect, police said.
The crew from PGFD Truck 831 eneded up with something that wasn’t on their grocery list when they made a stop for food Wednesday at a store in Calverton, Maryland. They found a naked man on the tip of the aerial ladder. Working with PGPD, firefighters maneuvered the ladder and eventually the man came down for a meeting with the police officers. It ended with a tasing. Video above by crotti2009.
According to PGFD, the person shouted threats and performed lewd acts to himself while climbing on the ladder bed. The man was taken to an area hospital after he was tased.
Video above from Jeff Zenner of a fire Sunday in Craigmont, Idaho that spread and took out at least five structures at a complex of grain elevators and bins. At 1:40 in the video Zenner captures a collapse of part of an elevator.
A large fire that destroyed an elevator and three grain bins in the tiny northern Idaho town of Craigmont was declared contained even as piles of twisted metal and grain continued to smolder Monday morning.
The fire was reported at around 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Hinrichs Trading Co. garbanzo bean elevator. Lewis County authorities said the fire spread to three grain bins.
Grain spilled out the side of the burning elevators and caught fire as the blaze spread from structure to structure.
Hazardous materials were removed from the area shortly after the fire was discovered, Lewis County authorities said.
More than two dozen agencies responded to help fight the fire. Officials evacuated several blocks around the fire and worked through the night to protect a nearby Columbia Grain office and storage building.
The Lewis County commission declared a state of emergency in the town of about 500. School was canceled Monday and the Highland High School gymnasium was available for temporarily displaced families.
Craigmont Volunteer Fire Chief Rick Samsel told The Lewiston Tribune the fire was contained Monday morning, but firefighters were bracing for wind and thunderstorms expected in the afternoon.
Huntsville Fire crews returned to the scene of an apartment fire at Brittany Point Tuesday morning to prevent hot spots from flaring up.
The fire started before 2 p.m. Monday at the complex at Willowbrook Drive and Benton Street.
Several units in one of the buildings were on fire and smoke could be seen for several miles. Huntsville Fire had eight fire units on scene, including several rapid intervention teams.
The fire destroyed at least eight units. District Chief Ronnie Dodson said the fire was coming out through the windows when crews arrived on scene.
Video from phillyfirenews of a house fire today on Reiffs Mill Road in Ambler Boro, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County). While the evacuation tones and airhorns are heard two separate times on the video, the audio appears to be the same evacuation from two different angles, even though the video shows some different action going on the second time your hear the evac tones (indicating the sound is dubbed pn one of them). J.D. Brooke reposted this video with the original audio at the 3:14 mark instead of the earlier evac order being dubbed in.
As for the evacuation, it appears not everyone came out. The conversation from firefighters questioning the water still being put on the attic fire from inside indicates that it was being applied via the first floor. There are also firefighters being told to go in and help someone out who was still inside. It’s unclear if this was related to the injured firefighters PhillyFireNews.com reports about below:
The fire extended into numerous void spaces on the second floor. Several firefighters were caught in a flash over on the second floor. Command evacuated the dwelling due to heavy fire conditions. Exterior lines were placed in to operations. Two Firefighter were transported to the hospital. One with burns to his ears, second with a laceration.
Freemansburg Engine 1212 arrived to find a 3 story row home with heavy fire blowing out of the 2nd floor windows. Two firefighters from Engine 1212 stretched a 1 3/4 line to the fire floor knocking the fire down within moments of arrival. Engine 6341 arrived along with Bethlehem Township fire Companies and assisted with throwing ladders and checking secondary occupancies for extension. All companies made quick work on this fire holding it to the fire floor with minor extension to the third floor.
It’s been a while since we’ve run something from our friend Paul Bassett (OLDIRONSIDESWAY)) in New Jersey. This time he does double duty with a helmet-cam rolling while he shoots pictures of the May 1 fire at 585 Hoboken Road in Carlstadt (Bergen County). The airhorns start sounding on this one at 4:43.
The blaze started in the basement of the three-story building at 585 Hoboken Road shortly after 8 a.m., fire officials said. The flames shot through the windows and up the exterior walls of the wood-frame structure, forcing smoke through the roof.
It took more than two hours for dozens of firefighters from Carlstadt and surrounding departments to bring the blaze under control. Assistant Chief Rob Popejoy of the Carlstadt Fire Department said the fire remained under investigation on Wednesday afternoon but did not appear suspicious. Peter Melchionne said authorities told him that the cause was likely electrical, and that the fire started in or near the laundry room.
Video above from JC Kriesher (jck5055) of FireandFilm.com from a fire just before midnight at 231 Pierce Street in Pottsville, Pennsylvania that left four children and two adults dead. Below is video from SpankMan2009.
The police department arrived on the scene and confirmed a fully involved single family dwelling. Police requested one of the truck companies come right down Pierce Street and set up. Engine 11 arrived and took the address and began to stretch lines. Ladder 21 came up Pierce Street while Ladder 51 came from the opposite direction. Engine 32 arrived and also began to stretch lines. P-5 arrived and assumed command of the incident requesting a second alarm be struck.
Policed relayed they received reports of multiple people unaccounted for in the house. Multiple EMS units from Pottsville and Schuylkill Haven ALS staged at different points around the scene.
Crews experienced water issues while trying to contain the blaze which let the fire burn rapidly. Foam was introduced to the lines off Engine 11 which also utilized the deck gun charged with foam.
The fire continued to tear through the building and lick up the side of the exposure on the “D” side of the building. Crews entered the exposure and also went to the roof to check for extension.
The bulk of the fire was knocked down within twenty minutes of the first arriving crews. The fire was put under control at 12:57 AM. Extensive overhaul was needed with crews remaining on scene throughout the morning.
Firefighters were called to the home at 235 Pierce St. and found heavy fire to the rear of the building and smoke pouring out of the front, Pottsville Fire Chief Todd March said.
March said the six unaccounted for are believed to be four children and two adults.
March said due to the amount of fire damage to the building, firefighters have to proceed cautiously when looking for those missing and unaccounted for.
The fire was reported at 12:40 p.m. Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Nick Swinhart said arriving firefighters used a defensive attack on the blaze — instead of trying to enter the burning house, they used hoses to spray water from the outside.
“We just dump a lot of water on it until we can get it out,” he said. “This fire just got too much of a head start on us.”
Using several hoses and a water cannon, firefighters sprayed the sides of the house, using a shield of water to protect neighboring residences. Houses next door stand about 10 feet away from the flame-engulfed residence.
“Sometimes it’s a helpless feeling for us too, but it’s all we can do,” Swinhart said.
Video from Tom Stanford as the first firefighters arrive at a fire around 7:00 Thursday evening at the Sonora Apartments on Golf Course Road in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.
It’s believed it started on a second or third floor balcony.
At its peak, about 60 firefighters were fighting the blaze that eventually destroyed one three-storey 36 suite apartment building.
Throughout the several hours fire crews fought the flames, gusting winds made the task difficult.
“Wind was probably our biggest enemy in this whole scenario,” Stony Plain Fire Chief Dan Badry said Thursday night. “It basically pushed the fire up the side of the wall and into the attic area.”
At the same time, firefighters had a difficult time reaching all parts of the burning building.
“They weren’t able to get into the east portion of the building, because of the heavy smoke that accumulated in that area,” Badry said. “But everybody on that side of the building has been evacuated, and made it out safely.”
More video from last night’s fire in a duplex on Wilkes Barre Street in Easton, Pennsylvania. This one is from Dan Clerico at NortheastBravest.com. Make sure you watch closely starting at around 2:00 as a firefighter tries to exit the roof.
Here’s some of what Dan wrote about the fire:
Two minutes into the video a Easton Firefighter fell off the main roof onto onto a 2nd roof after missing the ladder rungs. The firefighter appeared to be uninjured and continued to work. Firefighters were eventually forced to evacuate the building due to conditions quickly deteriorating conditions a loss of water pressure and dead hydrants.
Reporters and photographers were evacuated briefly from the West Wing of the White House early Saturday because of smoke from an overheated transformer in a mechanical room.
President Barack Obama and his family were not affected by the incident, according to the White House.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Max Milien said that at about 7 a.m., smoke was seen coming from a mechanical room closet on the first floor.
Reporters were evacuated from the White House on Saturday morning after an overheated transformer drew fire trucks to the West Wing.
“The transformer problem was quickly resolved. Electricity and personnel access to the West Wing has returned to normal,” a White House official said in a statement to Reuters. “The First Family was unaffected.”
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