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Audio from PhillyFireNews.com

The link above has audio from a fire just before 6:00 this morning at 1618 N. 20th Street in North Philadelphia. You will hear the evacuation ordered at 5:28 in the audio, followed by the call for additional medic units for injured firefighters.

UPDATE from philly.com:

(Commissioner Lloyd) Ayers identified the seriously injured firefighter as Lt. Marvin Melvin, a member of the department since 1999. He is assigned to Engine 27, located at 19th and Master streets.

Melvin was in critical but stable condition Sunday night in the burn unit at Temple University Hospital. Ayers said he was alert and talking to his family, and "doing well."

Bill Gault, president of Local 22 of the firefighters' union, said Melvin was burned on both arms and his back.

From KYW-TV:

According to Philadelphia Fire Deputy Chief Michael Wahl, the call for the house fire came in at 5:58 a.m. at 1618 North 20th Street. Upon arrival initial reports were of heavy smoke and a couple trapped inside.

Upon entering the home, firefighters rescued two people while two others escaped on their own. Three women and one child were taken to Hahnemann hospital for treatment and were in stable condition.

Details on injuries from PhillyFireNews.com:

Three firefighters were injured while rescuing the trapped victims. One member with first and second degree burns to his arms. Two other firefighters were transported with minor injuries. Four civilians were also transported with smoke inhalation.

From the AP:

Fire officials say a blaze in a north Philadelphia row home injured seven people, including three firefighters, one critically.

Authorities say the fire in the three-story building was reported just before 6 a.m. Sunday. Arriving crews have reported heavy black smoke pouring from the third floor. Firefighters battled the flames for about an hour.

One firefighter has been taken to a hospital burn unit in critical but stable condition. Two other firefighters are reported to be in stable condition.

Firefighters helped two people from the building while two others escaped on their own. All four had minor injuries that were treated at a hospital.

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Audio from the fire, additional video & pictures at Monroe County Fire Wire

Letter from union via WHAM-TV

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A fire a week ago on Locust Street in Rochester, New York has become the center of a controversy. The union president says budget cuts and a fire department reorganization put lives and safety at risk. The fire chief says otherwise. Four firefighters and four civilians were hurt during the blaze (see the story below about their charred PPE).

From WHAM-TV:

President Jim McTiernan went on to detail various fire units that were out of service at the time that this fire was called in as well as the location of a Battalion Chief who had to respond from South Avenue because another Battalion Chief post was recently eliminated.

McTiernan’s letter also detailed the need for a round-the-clock Group Safety Officer that happened to be present at this fire scene but had been cutback on various shifts due to budgetary restraints.  A letter McTiernan sent to those same city leaders last week argued the union’s objections and concerns to cuts that lowered the number of on-duty firefighters from 99 to 86 over Fire Chief Caufield’s 4-Year Plan.

Fire Chief (John) Caufield fired back late Wednesday with a response of his own during an interview with 13WHAM News.  Chief Caufield said he disputes nearly every word of McTiernan’s letter and said that 13 firefighters were on-scene at Locust Street in four minutes and a total of 26 were on scene in eight minutes.  Caufield also pointed to a report from a senior officer, and a union member, who was at the fire scene and applauded the efforts and decisions of the firefighters that day.

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From the website of Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734:

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This is dash-cam video from Chief Jason Long of Milton Fire and Rescue in Milton, Kentucky. We have previously run video from this all volunteer department with two stations protecting about 3500 people in an area of 65 square miles along the Ohio River.

For those of us in urban areas, the video is a reminder of what can be the reality of rural firefighting where there are often long response times with limited staffing. 

The chief arrives at 5:30 in the first video, with an ambulance already on the scene but has to wait for suppression forces to arrive. Water is flowing a little after 4:00 on part 2.

Here are details about the fire yesterday from miltonfireandrescue.org:

At 1:12 p.m., Milton Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the report of a structure fire at 1283 Palmyra Rd. Car 8501 arrived on scene and found a fully engulfed two story residence. Crews from Milton, Bedford, Westside, and Ghent worked for several ours to extinguish the fire. There were no injuries in the fire and there was nobody home at the time of the fire. The fire appears to be unintentional and cause has yet to be determined. 8501 in Command.

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This is audio from a fire on Thursday at 181511A St. in South Edmonton, Alberta. It was reported around 2:40 PM and burned through the night. As an evacuation of the building was ordered, a crew, unable to exit from the top floor, called a mayday in an effort to get a ladder to their location.

In the end, much of the building burned to the ground. There is news video taken during defensive operations here and aftermath video below.

From the Vancouver Sun:

Firefighters had to fight the fire from outside the building after crews put in a mayday call while inside. Heavy smoke and steam generated by the cold temperatures can reduce firefighter’s visibility to zero, Lamb said.

Temperatures on Thursday evening were in the mid -20 C range with the wind chill. Equipment was damaged from ice buildup, and firefighters tend to tire more quickly in cold temperatures, Lamb said.

Crews were being rotated to prevent injuries and fatigue, (Deputy Chief John) Lamb said.

There were no injuries reported as of about 9 p.m. Thursday. At that time, the fire was still not under control.

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Engine 10, Truck 13 website

More from Vito Maggiolo at DCFD.com

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This video is courtesy of Engine 10 and Truck 13 (The "Trinidad Fire Department" & "House of Pain"). It was shot Sunday morning around 9:00 AM at 1236 Mt. Olivet Road in Northeast Washington.  

Here is an excerpt from the 10engine.com:

13 TRUCK had numerous locked gates and doors to breach to get THE DIME in position to attack the fire.  Once inside the structure crews were confronted with zero visibility while discovering a large pile of debris on fire that had extended to the roof of the structure.

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Pictures from the Jacksonville Fire Museum

Firefighter's first hand account of the fire

Reporter's account of the fire

Newsreel account of fire

The Roosevelt Hotel burned a little more than 48 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida. While I was vaguely aware of the fire I had never seen this footage before. It is more than 11 minutes of film, apparently shot by local TV crews on Sunday, December 29, 1963. The fire left 22 people dead and injured more than 100, including 20 Jacksonville firefighters. Among the dead was Assistant Fire Chief James Romedy, who apparently suffered a heart attack while directing rescue efforts. The film was uploaded yesterday to the YouTube Channel for IAFF Local 122. The union dedicated it to Chief Romedy.

Spend a few minutes watching the film, particularly the daring ladder rescues with ground ladders used to extend the reach of the ladder trucks. One of the ground ladders comes crashing down at 3:55 in the film.

This fire occurred a little more than a month after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The hotel was packed with guests in town for the Gator Bowl held the day before the fire, where the University of North Carolina beat the Air Force Academy 35-0.

Here's a summary of the fire from the Jacksonville Fire Museum's website: 

 The fire started shortly before 7:30 am in the ballroom ceiling on the first floor of the 13-story, 300 room luxury hotel. Firefighters arrived on scene to find people hanging out of windows by tied-together bed linens. The United States Navy suppled eight helicopters for rescuing victims trapped higher than aerial ladders could reach. These victims were air lifted to neighboring parking garages for treatment by rescue personnel. A Second Alarm was struck at 7:47am, followed by a Third Alarm at 7:50. A Fourth and General Alarm was sounded at 7:57am.

The fire was extinguished within two hours. In all, 475 people were rescued. 21 people were found dead in their beds during a secondary search of the hotel.

Among the distinguished guests in the hotel at the time were Norm Sloan, the head basketball coach at the University of Florida, and 1963 Miss America Donna Axum. Axum was treated for smoke inhalation and burns to her throat and nose. She was bed ridden for several days.

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A close call yesterday in West Haverstraw, New York. Firefighters were investigating the rupture of a high pressure gas line by a Verizon crew when there was an explosion that leveled a townhouse and injured two firefighters and two utility workers. The urgent message about the explosion comes from command at 4:49 on the audio above.

The injured firefighters are Gerry Knapp and Ken Patterson of West Haverstraw Volunteer Hose Company #2. As you will read below, Firefighter Patterson also had a close call a year ago.

From WNBC-TV:

Two firefighters were near the townhouse on Zarriello Lane investigating reports of a gas leak when the blast occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m..

“They knocked on the door at 52 Zarriello right before the explosion,”  said Orange and Rockland Utilities spokesman Michael Donovan. “No one answered so we assume no one was home.”

The firefighters were brought to Westchester Medical Center as other first responders battled to get the blaze under control and to contain further explosions. Nearby homes were evacuated after the blast, which leveled the townhouse.

From LoHud.com:

Knapp, who lives near the development and is West Haverstraw’s emergency coordinator, suffered first and second degree burns to his face, West Haverstraw Mayor John Ramundo said. Patterson, who works for the village Department of Public Works, suffered severe burns to a leg.

Patterson, one of the injured firefighters, was nearly killed while fighting a blaze almost a year to the day.

On Jan. 14, 2011, he was inside a home on Westside Avenue that had been illegally converted and became disoriented while searching for potential victims.

He ran out of air inside the burning building and issued a mayday call.

Another firefighter, Andrew Kolesar, found Patterson in the building and rescued him.

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In Cornwall, New York (Orange County) firefighters are still dealing with a fire at a former mill that came in just before 11:00 this morning. Here are all eight parts from Paul Anderson's video (bmxking1504 on YouTube). The still frames below are from Anderson's video and show the fire's spread. The top one is what it looked like when he arrived and below it is how it appeared at the end of Part 4 (not yet sure of the time interval).

In the audio above the first unit went on the scene with "fire showing all over". At 3:47 Cornwall 1 advises, "This is going to be an exterior attack. Nobody in this building."

At 16:45 the announcement is made again that this is an exterior operation. At 17:20 there are a series of messages from command telling units to get off the roof and indications from command that those orders are not be followed fast enough.

At 27:00 command becomes aware there are other firefighters operating on the interior and again orders everyone out of the building.

At 28:45 command is told that there are eight firefighters operating in the building and the roof is about to collapse. Command orders again that this is a defensive operation and tells units to sound their air horns.

There is a significant collapse at 1:15 on Part 5.

From YNN News:

A 911 call reporting the fire on Mill Street came in shortly before 11 a.m. and firefighters are still working at the site. Part of the building is still on fire, but officials say it is now under control.

The former mill is now being used to house seven businesses, which are now destroyed.

From RecordOnline.com:

More than 20 businesses — tech companies, food companies, food, furniture and art supply firms — are housed in the former Firth carpet company complex.

150 firefighters from 14 are fire companies are battling the stubborn fire. The flames are working their way through the large series of connected buildings that once housed the Firth mill company of Cornwall.

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DCFD radio traffic from Air Florida Flight 90 and Metrorail crashes- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Cockpit voice recorder audio from Air Florida Flight 90

Seconds From Disaster

Washington Post coverage of the anniversary

More on media coverage of the events from DCRTV's Dave Hughes

January 13, 1982 Pre-Internet Citizen Journalism

At 4:01 PM on January 13, 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River during a Washington snow storm. Seventy-eight people, including four who were in their vehicles on the inbound 14th Street Bridge, died in the accident. Within a half-hour of the crash into the Potomac, the area’s subway system, Metro, suffered its first fatal accident. It happened just north of the 14th street bridge in a tunnel south of the Federal Triangle station. Three people were killed and 25 were injured.

The video above is a compilation of coverage from Channel 9 in Washington. In it you will see some of the video shot by my friend Bruce Bookholtz who was on the 14th Street Bridge as five survivors were plucked from the icy Potomac by the US Park Police Eagle helicopter crew of Donald Usher and Gene Windsor. Bookholtz and reporter John Goldsmith were at nearby National Airport just prior to the crash and captured a shot of Flight 90 before take off as part of their coverage of the snow storm.

The failure of the plane to be properly deiced, along with a cockpit crew inexperienced in winter weather operations contributed to the accident, according to the NTSB. The most significant factor leading directly to the crash was the failure of the crew to use the engine anti-ice system during ground operation and takeoff. This allowed the engine pressure ratio (EPR) thrust indicators to provide false high readings. Because of it, the crew did not provide enough power to keep the Boeing 737-200 airborne and it came down just 30 seconds after leaving the National Airport runway.

The interaction of the crew and the failure of the pilot to heed warnings of the co-pilot have long been cited in the area of crew resource management for pilots and in other disciplines, including the fire service.

The Air Florida and Metro crashes were important to the fire service, particularly in the Washington, DC area, for another reason. There was little cooperation or coordination that day across jurisdictional lines. On the scene, working somewhat independently were DCFD, the Arlington County Fire Department, the National Airport Fire Department along with other resources. There was not a strong regional plan on how such disasters were to be handled, which brought much criticism.

Among the loudest critics was Channel 9 Editorial Director Rich Adams. Rich, who died in 1996, was also a columnist for Firehouse Magazine and member of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Rich did many on-air editorials prodding local fire service leaders to come up with better regional planning in the days and months that followed the twin disasters. Since the mid 1970s the Northern Virginia fire departments were working daily with an automatic aid policy. But that stopped at the Virginia state line. I urge you to listen to some of Rich's editorials related to the Air Florida and Metro incidents (above). Rich was an important voice in fire and EMS in the Nation's Capital and around the country.

Because of Rich and some progressive fire service leaders, the lessons learned from January 13, 1982, allowed for a much better response almost two decades later when the largest and longest DC area fire and EMS operation took place just south of the 14th Street Bridge. That, of course, was at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Another friend, Chester Panzer, then a videographer at Channel 7 and now at Channel 4, got the award-winning close-up video of the rescues. His account is above.

Some other notes from January 13, 1982

One story that wasn’t publicly known until I reported it on the 20th anniversary in 2002, is that the actions of another US Park Police pilot possibly saved the day. In 1982, US Park Police did not supply a snow plow for the hanger in Anacostia Park. Pilot Ron Galey took the call about the crash. As Usher and Windsor got the chopper ready. Galey jumped into his own snow plow equipped pickup truck and cleared a path for the helicopter’s take off. Without that effort, the helicopter may have arrived too late for the rescues.

Just short of 20-years later, Galey also took the call from National Airport’s tower for the notification that a jet had slammed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

There were a number of heroes that day. This includes Arland Williams, believed to be the sixth passenger who survived the initial impact. The other survivors say Williams repeatedly passed the life ring from the helicopter to his fellow survivors. Williams drowned by the time the helicopter came back for him. The inbound 14th Street span is now named for Arland Williams.

The other story from that day that has always touched me is of Roger Olian. Olian was then a sheet metal worker on his way home from his job at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. Olian saw the survivors flailing in the frigid waters before any rescuers arrived. Feeling he had to do something, Olian jumped in and swam toward the middle of the river. While he didn’t save anyone, the survivors all cited Olian’s act as giving them hope they soon would be rescued.

Olian’s actions were somewhat overshadowed by Lenny Skutnik who also jumped into the river. Skutnik grabbed survivor Priscilla Tirado who had been brought close to the shore by the helicopter, but couldn’t make it in on her own. Skutnik was recognized later that month during President Ronald Reagan’s State of the Union address. It began the tradition of honoring heroes during the event.

Click here for a detailed article on the day's heroes.

January 13, 1982 was more than three years before I started my television career. In fact, I was unemployed, having been fired as a traffic reporter for KIX-106 because I was concerned about a safety issue with the airplane we were using. But that day turned out to be my first day on the job at WTOP Radio where my wife Hillary Howard now works. If you care, that story of my live audition and hiring is in this month's Washingtonian Magazine, in an article by Cindy Rich titled Pre-Internet Citizen Journalism. You can click here to read it.

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