Previous coverage & video from this fire here & here
More video from the fire Tuesday at the Ozark Treasures Thrift Store, 1026 St. Louis St. in West Plains, Missouri. This time is is helmet-cam video from part of the crew on the initial attack on the loading dock and rear of the store.
This video captures collapse the roof and wall on Side B and the removal of crews that were up close on Side A starting at 11:00 in the video.
FireDispatch.com has posted a little more than four minutes of early radio traffic from Monday’s fire at the Stag Hotel in Watsonville, Califronia that left 17 people injured. There is above for the audio and some new video shot at ground level during the early stages of the fire. Also above is a link to TV coverage that includes some of the triage and treatment of victims from the fire.
This is a house fire yesterday handled by Sheldon Community Fire & Rescue in Houston, Texas. The description says there was a problem initially with low water pressure.
Sheldon is one of the growing number of departments that apparently has a band travel with the firefighters whenever they extinguish fires.
This is Part 2 of the raw video from a fire that damaged four businesses early Sunday morning in the Fashion District of Los Angeles. It is from firelensman at YouTube.
About 150 firefighters responded to the blaze at the two-story building near Olympic Avenue and Maple Street. It took crews about an hour and 40 minutes to put out the blaze.
One firefighter suffered a cut on his arm. He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was treated and released. No other injuries were reported.
Fire crews responded to the fire near Maple Avenue and Olympic Boulevard at about 2 a.m., said Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.
While battling the fire within the building, the roof began to give way, forcing firefighters outside, he said. The blaze was put out about an hour and 40 minutes later.
Engine 8 ran into a little snag when their pumps malfunctioned. With the fire being fueled by winds it spread quickly up the interior stairwell to the upper floors. With a lack of water units were forced to stand fast at the front door until they got water. Eventually crews were able to enter the dwelling and fully extinguish the fire.
During a press conference shortly after 4:00 PM Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers provided a more complete timeline of the rescue and recover of the firefighters trapped this morning. Here’s the information -
Collapse – 5:56 AM
FF Chaney removed – 6:12 AM
FF Nally removed – 6:22 AM
Lt. Neary removed – 7:06 AM
FF Sweeney removed – 7:25 AM
EARLIER:
At a noon hour press conference Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers says the firefighters who died and were injured in the collapse this morning of a furniture store at 2411 Kensington Avenue had gone back into the building to confirm that earlier efforts to extinguish fire in the exposure building had been successful. It was at that time, approximately a half-hour after the fire at a vacant warehouse and other exposures had been declared under control, that a wall and part of the roof collapsed at the furniture store. Four firefighters were trapped for an extended period as their colleagues worked to free them.
Above is raw video from the press conference during the noon hour.
Killed were Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney of Ladder 10. Firefighter Pat Nally is in critical but stable condition. Firefighter Francis Chaney is in stable condition. A fifth firefighter was able to free himself from the rubble and was treated and released.
Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney, Ladder 10.
“With deep regret,” Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers has disclosed the names of two Philadelphia firefighters who perished this morning battling a fire in a furniture store that spread from a raging five-alarm blaze that leveled an aging Kensington warehouse.
Neary was hoping to retire soon, and Sweeney was the son of a recently retired fire captain, according to Ladder 10 colleagues.
It took firefighters about two hours to dig out all of the trapped firefighters, said Deputy Fire Commissioner Ernest Hargett.
Google Maps view of furniture store at 2411 Kensington Avenue. Collapse reported to have occurred in the rear of the building. Click here to view the area.
The fire was first reported around 3:15 a.m. inside what was the Thomas Buck Hosiery Factory, which has been abandoned since the mid 1970s. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find heavy fire showing from all six floors of the building. Residents describe hearing explosions coming from inside the factory inferno.
Hot embers whipped up in strong winds started fires at six nearby homes and several surrounding businesses, including the furniture store. Firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames inside the furniture store when a rear wall collapsed, trapping five firefighters.
One of the firefighters managed to free himself but four others were trapped inside for several hours until they were finally pulled from the rubble.
The Baltimore Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 734 posted the clip above that includes fireground audio and video from yesterdays dwelling fire in the 800 block of Druid Park Lake Drive. Here’s the description from the union’s website:
Just before 3:30 pm on April 6, 2012, Fire Communications alerted Box Alarm 52-2 for a reported dwelling on fire in the 800 block of Druid Park Lake Drive, West Baltimore. Some units had to take alternate routes due to a double shooting at W North Avenue and McCulloh Street. First arriving companies reported an end of group dwelling with heavy fire showing. Battalion Chief 3 arrived, reported fire on the 1st & second floors of a three story dwelling. A working fire was transmitted, bringing additional units to the scene. A few moments later, fire began to penetrate the roof and engulf the third floor. Battalion Chief 3 at that moment ordered a defensive attack due to the integrity of the building. Crews used monitor pipes, large hand lines and ladder pipes to pour water on the fire from a safe distance. The Fire Investigation Bureau has the fire under investigation and no injuries were reported.
Above is fireground audio from today’s jet crash in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Below is more early video showing forcible entry by police officers and firefighters as they perform searches in units adjacent to the fire.
This is from a fire reported at 5:23 PM on Monday at a house in the 700 block of North Stratford Road. Firefighters discovered a dog dead in the house.
Dark smoke was coming out of the front door when firefighters opened the door. Brown smoke rolled out the top of the front door as firefighters advanced a hose line to the kitchen.
Firefighters reported a fire in the kitchen in a single-family ranch home. The fire was knocked by 5:35 p.m.
Earlier today we brought you West Plains Fire Department video of a house fire that occurred at 1019 3rd Street around 3:00 PM yesterday. That fire started in a closet and extended to the living area. Now, a new video from the department shows them returning to the same address around 6:00 this morning with the house engulfed in flames.
The home was uninhabitable after Wednesday’s damage. No injuries were reported in either fire.
West Plains Fire Chief Tim Bean says that the Missouri Fire Marshal is in town to investigate the original fire, and that the investigation is ongoing.
In fairness to those units involved in this incident, the investigating team had the advantage of examining this incident over the period of several months. Furthermore, given the size and nature of the event, and the fact that arriving crews were met with serious fire conditions and several residents trapped and in immediate danger, all personnel should be commended for their efforts for performing several rescues which prevented an even greater tragedy. The team did not identify a particular primary reason for FF Falkenhan’s death. What were identified were many secondary issues involving but not limited to crew integrity, incident command, strategy and tactics, and communications. These issues are identified and discussed, and recommendations are made in appropriate sections of the report, as well as in a consolidated format in the Appendix.
Some of the issues identified in this report may require some type of change to current practices, policies, procedures or equipment. Most, however, do not. Specifically, the analysis and recommendations regarding Incident Command and Strategy and Tactics show that if current policies and procedures are adhered to, the opportunity for catastrophic problems may be reduced.
Mark Falkenhan was a well-respected and experienced firefighter. He died performing his duties during a very complex incident with severe fire conditions and unique fire behavior coupled with the immediate need to perform multiple rescues of victims in imminent danger. It would be easy if one particular failure of the system could be identified as the cause of this tragedy. We could fix it and move on. Unfortunately it is not that simple. No incident is “routine”. Mark’s death and this report reinforce that fact.
The video above is from the website Lehigh Valley’s Bravest, where you will find more details on this fire in Nazareth, Pennsylvania Tuesday afternoon.
Nine people from five families were displaced after three row homes were destroyed by a fire this afternoon in Nazareth, according to the borough fire chief and the American Red Cross of the Lehigh Valley.
The fire started around 2 o’clock at 40 N. Green St. and spread to 38 and 36 N. Green, according to Nazareth Fire Chief Dan Keenhold.
As we reported on Friday, Milton Fire & Rescue in Kentucky had it's Station 2 destroyed by a tornado. Since 2008 we have been sharing some of the dash-cam videos from Milton Chief Jason Long here on STATter911.com. During the tornado warning Chief Long was rolling the video once again as the storm came into Milton. It's in foursix eight parts.
This is a message this evening on Facebook from Milton Fire & Rescue Chief Jason Long:
We lost a Station, an Engine, fish fry trailer, ice trailer, gear, radios, pagers, ETC. We had one member inside and he was not hurt. The only part left standing was the small part he was in. WE WILL REBUILD AND WE WILL NOT STOP OUR EFFORTS AT PROTECTING THIS COUNTY. Great job by all people involved. I could not be prouder of this county for the way it has handled this day. Thank you to everybody, I am very proud. Thank you to all thos who have requested to help us in our time of need. I can't say thanks enough.
EARLIER COVERAGE
Above is a picture from Milton Fire & Rescue's website of what Station 2 used to look like. The firehouse, in Trimble County, Kentuky near the Ohio River, was reported to be leveled this afternoon by what has been described as a tornado.
There were no injuries because no one was inside the station on Ky. 421 near Kings Ridge Road, said firefighter recruit Joey McQueary, who was answering phones at the department’s main station.
McQueary said the department is all-volunteer and all fire personnel were at headquarters when the other station was hit.
Radio traffic from Radioman911 on JustinTV as tornadoes are spotted approaching and hitting Milton Fire & Rescue Station 2. Firefighter describes station destroyed at 5:26.
This is video of a fire late Tuesday morning in a two-story duplex in Southeast Washington. Here's what Vito Maggiolo wrote about the fire on DCFD.com:
Fire was already showing from the basement at 5503 Central Avenue SE when box alarm units arrived around 11:30 AM.
A working fire dispatch was sounded as entry was made and an interior attack instituted.
Fire crews arriving to the scene found the front of the two-story home on fire with heavy smoke and flame coming out of the south and west wall windows.
According to Tracy Fire division chief Andrew Kellogg the residents of the home said they were frying food on the kitchen stove top. Fire crews believe the oil overheated and flashed over igniting nearby kitchen cabinets.
Kellogg said nearly 75 percent of the first floor of the home was ablaze when crews began to fight the fire.
Officials now say five students have been injured in a shooting at Chardon High School.
Three of the victims–all said to be students–were taken to Metro by Life Flight. Two of the victims were taken to Hillcrest Hospital.
The victims were found in three locations inside the school.
The gunman–also believed to be a student–is in custody. The sheriff says the teen turned himself in to bystanders off site from the school in Chardon Township.
From the AP:
A gunman opened fire inside a high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect was in custody.
FBI agent Scott Wilson said there was one suspected shooter. He wouldn't discuss the extent of the students' injuries.
The shooting was reported around 7:30 a.m. at the 1,100-student Chardon High School about 30 miles east of Cleveland, said Civil Deputy Erin Knife of the Geauga County Sheriff's Office.
Television news footage showed anxious parents escorting children away from a school building, and ambulances could be seen outside.
"We don't have any status updates on the students," Chardon schools spokeswoman Ellen Ondrey told The Associated Press. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them. We are very concerned."
A spokeswoman for Cleveland's MetroHealth System said a medical helicopter was dispatched to the high school. Angela Kiska, of the Cleveland Clinic, told WJW-TV in Cleveland that two of the victims were transported to Hillcrest Hospital.
Bob Herp, a Chardon trauma nurse, was at a command scene at a local Wal-Mart store where he told WEWS-TV helicopters were on the ground.
From WKYC-TV.
Ondrey said all classes in the district were cancelled.
Students at the high school and middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped, Ondrey said.
Parents of high school students were told to go to Maple Elementary School to pick up their children.
"We want to make clear that the students are safe," she said, advising parents not to rush to pick up students because the area is "extremely congested. The lines are very long."
Another video from Ed Malik. This one was today in at 320 W. 59th Avenue in Merrillville, Indiana. One firefighter, who apparently ran out of air, was treated by EMS.
Buffalo Firefighters responded last night at 2338 Hrs for a report of a structure fire with multiple phone calls on Hartman Pl.
Engine 26 went on location with heavy fire showing on the 2nd floor of a 2 1/2 story occupied dwelling. B-56 reported extension to the attic and requested animal control for 2 dogs rescued from the structure.
At 1716 hours, Engine Companies 2, 22, 5, 1, Charles 2, Truck 1, EMS Stations 29, and Charles 2 were alerted to 26616 Lawrence Adams Drive for the reported garage fire. Chief 2B(Bellevou) arrived first, moments after dispatch and advised he had a two story split level house, with an attached garage fully involved with extension into the basement and attic.
Engine 23(Lt. Colvin) arrived four minutes after dispatch, laying out the 4" LDH from the hydrant. The crew forced the front door, as no one was home, and advanced a 1.75" crosslay to the basement. Once in the basement, crews found the fire to be rolling out from the garage access and forced that door as well.
Firefighters extinguished the fire that was impeading on the basement then relocated the attack line to the second floor and extinguished the bulk of the fire on the second floor.
Engine 24(FF Copsey) arrived and assisted Engine 23 by advancing a second handline thus bringing the fire under control in ten minutes. Rescue Squad 2(Capt. Barnes) arrived completed searches and opened up.
With the fire under control, Command scaled the incident back and held the units from Station 2 and Engine 54 for short time.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital.
An internal safety investigation on the June 2, 2011, fire at 133 Berkeley Way indicates that firefighters Lt. Vincent A. Perez and Firefighter Paramedic Anthony M. Valerio were killed by extremely high temperatures of up to 700 degrees caused by a sudden flare up, known as a flashover.
The intense fire event, which lasted several minutes, was caused when a window shattered in the room where the fire started, sending a rush of oxygen to the flames, according to the report. The heat was drawn up a stairwell from a below ground-level floor, where the fire began, to the ground-level floor where Valerio and Perez were standing.
"They were caught in a chimney," said Assistant Chief David Franklin, who worked on the team that prepared the report.
"We were well on our way to developing some of the new policies that, in some ways, could have made a difference," Chief Joanne Hayes-White said. "But basically, you'll find that the key factor was something that was a variable that we really had no control over. It was the failure of the window on the back end of the floor where Tony and Vince were."
The report describes a number of errors and communication problems at the scene and makes recommendations for how the handling of future incidents can be improved. But fire officials said the flashover was not something that could have easily been prevented or predicted.
"What Vincent and Tony did is exactly what all of us would have done," said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, noting that it is standard practice in the department to make an aggressive attack and try to get water on a fire as quickly as possible. "The key factor was something that we really had no control over."
Hayes-White said the department is developing a risk assessment policy to help determine how to approach fires, particularly in difficult situations such as that presented by the multi-level home.
Official release from the San Francisco Fire Department:
(San Francisco, CA – February 10, 2012) The San Francisco Fire Department held a press briefing today, reviewing the results of their Internal Safety Investigation related to the Line of Duty Deaths of Lt. Vincent Perez and Firefighter/Paramedic Anthony Valerio at a fire at 133 Berkeley Way on June 2, 2011.
Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental. The ignition source was “a nonspecific electrical sequence”, likely caused by either a failure in a ground outlet or in the appliance connected to the outlet.
The results of the Safety Investigation determined that the two Firefighters, who died as a result of internal and external thermal injuries, were conducting fire operations in a stairwell of the home above the fire room. The stairwell acted as a chimney when a large window failed in an oxygen deprived room that was below them, “causing them exposure to a rapid high heat event at temperatures that no Firefighter would have been able to survive”, said Assistant Deputy Chief Jose Velo, a member of the Safety Investigation Team.
Inspection of the Firefighters’ Personal Protective Clothing indicated that they performed according to their specifications. “We do have some concerns related to the handheld radios that all of our Firefighters carry”, said Chief Velo. “Both radio microphones appear to have failed from exposure to extreme heat conditions.”
Upon receiving the findings related to the radios, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White requested that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) research and develop a standard for Firefighter handheld radios.
The Safety Investigation Team identified three factors that contributed to the tragic outcome of this event. These factors include an excessive live fuel load which contributed to the growth of the fire, the layout of the building with the origin of the fire being in a room below grade and, extreme heat conditions accelerated by the failure of a window on the fire floor.
Chief Hayes-White indicated that this Safety Investigation was internal and initiated immediately following the rescue of the two Firefighters. Additionally, she stated that an independent Safety Investigation had also been conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH). The NIOSH Report is pending.
“Twenty-five recommendations have been made as a result of information gathered from the Safety Investigation”, said Chief Hayes-White. “We take to heart all of the findings and recommendations in this report and will vow to do everything within our power to ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again in our Department.” The Department is in the process of implementing all recommendations and has initiated research and development where required.
President of San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798, Tom O’Connor said, “While there is nothing that we can do to change the outcome of that fateful day, we can learn lessons from this tragedy and make every effort to ensure that this does not happen again.”
“The two brave firefighters who died tragically in the line of duty in June last year – Lieutenant Vincent Perez and Firefighter/Paramedic Anthony Valerio are heroes,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “As a city, we will follow up on every recommendation and finding from the report issued today by the San Francisco Fire Department to ensure our first responders are as safe as possible as they serve the residents of San Francisco.”
The Fire Department has forwarded their report to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Cal-OSHA, the State Fire Marshal, and the CA Professional Firefighters Association for their review.
Approximately 45 Firefighters from Bay District, Hollywood and Valley Lee along with Lexington Park Rescue Squad responded to the Fox Chase Apartments in Great Mills in the 45900 block of Fox Chase Drive.
Crews arrived on scene and found nothing evident. Neighbors claimed to have heard an explosion and bystanders were yelling and pointing to a ground level apartment that a resident was trapped inside.
The man was in a chair in his living room next to cigarettes and the breathing tube of a home medical oxygen unit, according to authorities. The oxygen unit itself was in a bedroom, a spokesman for the state fire marshal said.
Most of the fire was confined to the living room of the two-bedroom apartment. Officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire and the man’s identity.
The City of Alexandria announces that the Alexandria Fire Department paramedic that was critically injured on the evening of February 8 is Joshua Weissman, 33, of Bristow, VA. Weissman is a seven-year veteran of the Alexandria Fire Department, and was hired in April 2006. As of this morning he remains in critical condition at Washington Hospital Center.
At approximately 6:21 p.m. on February 8, 2012, the Alexandria Fire Department responded to reports of a car on fire on the northbound lanes of I-395 near South Glebe Road. An Alexandria ambulance, of which Weissman was part of the crew, stopped in the northbound lanes of I-395 alongside the HOV lane to reach the burning vehicle. During the course of leaving the ambulance, Weissman fell off the roadway and into Four Mile Run Creek, which is approximately 20 feet below the interstate. Weissman was rescued from the creek by firefighters from Alexandria City and Arlington County and transported to MedStar with life-threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is under investigation by Virginia State Police.
From Google Maps, gap between spans where Paramedic Weissman fell.
An Alexandria paramedic is in critical condition after he plunged from an overpass along I-395 in Shirlington while responding to a car fire near South Glebe Road on Wednesday night.
Alexandria Fire Department paramedic Joshua Weissman, 33, of Bristow, Va. was leaving an ambulance at the scene and fell from the interstate into Four Mile Run Creek, approximately 20 feet below the interstate. The creek is described as rocky.
Weissman, who is with the Seminary Road Station in Alexandria, was extricated from the creek by Alexandria City and Arlington County firefigthers and taken to Med Star with life threatening injuries. He is currently in critical condition at Washington Hospital Center.
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