Ten families were left homeless today after an early morning fire broke out at an apartment complex off Old Nyack Turnpike across the street from where fire damaged a separate house the night before.
Investigators don’t know if the two fires are connected.
Three firefighters were injured battling the blaze today at Sleepy Hollow Gardens apartment on Lunney Court.
The fire apparently started in Apartment 34 sometime after 6 a.m. It spread to the attic and then to adjacent units, Spring Valley fire Chief Ken Sohlman said.
Michael Choinski, 16, who lives in the apartment next door to where the fire broke out, said his mother was awakened by the sound of windows shattering from the fire. Choinski helped get his family out of the building and then ran to the other apartments in the building.
“I was banging on the doors — telling everyone to get out,” he said.
All residents, including the women and her three young daughters who lived in the unit where the fire started, were out of the building by the time firefighters arrived.
It took firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control. Firefighters from Spring Valley, Hillcrest, Monsey and Tallman were at the scene along with Spring Hill and Ramapo Valley ambulance corps.
Thursday night, Spring Valley firefighters were called to a single-family house at 123 Old Nyack Turnpike, directly across the street from the Sleepy Hollow Gardens apartments, shortly after 9:30.
It took them nearly two hours to put out the fire, which caused extensive damage to the house. No one was injured.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused both fires.
The Red Cross was being asked to help residents relocate.
Monica Bowens stood in the cold with tears in her eyes, hugging herself and watching her family’s apartment building and all the family’s possessions burn.
“The most important thing is that we are here, but we have nothing,” the 39-year-old said Thursday evening, shaking her head.
She and her three children were among the 12 families – 48 people – left without a home by the four-alarm fire that started around 4:30 p.m.
The blaze started on the rear porches of 66 Elliott Ave. and spread to the roof, Yonkers Fire Commissioner Anthony Pagano said at the scene.
“There were no reported injuries and no one was reported missing,” Pagano said. “There were people who were trapped inside, but they were brought out.”
As clouds of black smoke blew down the street, people watched, took pictures with cameras and cell phones, cried and prayed.
Some of the displaced residents said they heard that the fire started after a group of children set a cat on fire.
“I heard that too,” Bowens said. “But, I don’t know.”
A fire official said Thursday night that the cause was not yet known.
Bowens said she was lying down when a friend told her that there was a fire in the building. She said she had tried to go out the back door, but her nephew told her it was a “serious fire.”
Three people were seriously hurt after a crash involving Rescue Squad 1 at 14th Street and Constitution Ave in Northwest Washington.
DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer says the crew was responding to a report of a fire at a library at George Washington University when it was involved in a crash with two other vehicles around 7:30 AM today. Three people in the two cars were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. No firefighters were hurt.
The fire at the library ended up being a small fire in the heating and air conditioning system. Piringer says it was quickly contained.
Vacant car dealership burns, firefighter hurt: The firefighter hurt his knee helping homeless squatters get out of this vacant building in Vallejo, California yesterday morning. The fire went to three-alarms. Read the details.
NEW – DC Rescue Squad 1 involved in serious collision: On the way to a reported of a building fire in Northwest Washington, DC Fire & EMS Department Rescue Squad 1 collided with a vehicle that then hit another vehicle. It happened just after 7:30 this morning at 14th and Constitution, NW. Spokesman Pete Piringer says three civlians were hurt, listed as traumas by mechanism. No firefighters were injured. We will have more later.
Was paramedic criminally negligent?: That’s the question the Special Victim’s Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch has been charged with determining following the death of two-year-old Stephanie Stephens. The mayor, fire chief, police chief and attorney general of the District of Columbia contend there is enough information about the actions of the paramedic in charge when the decision was made on the initial 911 call not to transport the little girl that detectives specializing in the deaths of children need to take a closer look. Here’s the story.
DC’s former fire chief now says fire & EMS should be separated: Former DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Adrian Thompson now believes EMS in the District of Columbia should be a third service. Thompson tells Matt Cella of The Washington Times, “It’s not working. It’s a cultural issue. They’re not going to change the culture of this department.” Here are more excerpts-
The former chief, who is black, said white firefighters with generational ties to the department largely have been less accepting of the job’s evolving responsibilities, particularly an increased emphasis in recent decades on providing pre-hospital care.
“They want to be firefighters and firefighters only,” he said, adding that black firefighters have entered the department in significant numbers in only the past 20 or 30 years and largely have been more open to other responsibilities if it meant securing a job.
Deputy Chief Kenneth Crosswhite, a spokesman for Chief Dennis L. Rubin, who is white, called Mr. Thompson’s conclusions “totally ludicrous.” He estimated that the department has about 45 percent non-minority employees and 55 percent minority employees.
“For someone to make an assertion like that is totally, totally out of touch with today’s reality,” he said. “Leadership starts at the top. If he had that notion during his tenure, he should have solved the problem.”
Chief Thompson was in charge of the department in January, 2006 when former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum was murdered. Thompson initially told reporters that his review of the case found no problems in the care provided to the dying man. An inspector general’s report discovered many issues in how first responders and Howard University Hospital dealt with Rosenbaum.
Life sentence for man who killed Delaware’s Michelle Smith: Joseph Taye was give his sentence yesterday for running down Firefighter Smith as she tended to the victim of a motorcycle crash near the Wilmington airport. Taye, a paraplegic, apologized in court for the harm he has done. Click here for the story.
Black firefighters talk about race relations in Chicago: As the Supreme Court deals with a case that hinges on hiring practices, some firefighters give their views on the state of race relations in the Chicago Fire Department. Click here and here.
Late assault report between firefighters in North Carolina: In Elon a fire captain is accused of assaulting a firefighter who was welding at the firehouse after some initial horseplay over keys. Here are the details.
Investigation into why firefighters couldn’t reach woman in time who was on phone with 911: A tragic story from Spotsylvania County, Virginia. A 911 call taker listened to Sandy Hill’s last breaths as firefighters tried desperately to find her on the second floor of the burning Cape Cod. By the time they get to the woman it was too late. STATter911.com/9NEWS NOW had filed a FOIA for the fireground & 911 audio in this case, but we were scooped by the local paper. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star’s Dan Telvock takes a close look at this story and has the recordings. Click here.
DC crew received disciplinary action after failing to take woman to the hospital: This is a case from December with strong parallels to the investigation on-going into the death of a two-year-old girl during the second blizzard in February. In both cases it took a second 911 call to get a ride to the hospital. And in both cases the initial crews failed to get a signed release or file a patient care report. Click here for our coverage.
Five firefighters injured in Brooklyn fire: Five firefighters were hurt around 4:00 this morning battling a fire on Concord Street. Two are reported to be in serious condition, but the injuries aren’t considered life-threatening. Here’s more from WCBS-TV.
Driven to distraction: Back in the day I used to find it a challenge when going driver only to a call, keeping the hands on the steering wheel, shifting gears, talking on the radio and blowing the siren. Now you have computers, GPS and other electronics to distract you in the front seat of an emergency vehicle. The New York Times looks at the growing concern that first responders may be distracted by all these bells and whistles. Check out the article.
Fiery multiple-vehicle crash on the highway: Firegeezer has the story and video from Indianapolis. Click here.
Another blue light special: In Martinsville, Indiana a volunteer firefighter didn’t like the way a woman was driving. He pulled her over and yelled at her. His blue light is now history for six-months. Read more.
Firefighter is canned after two women come to blows: The two women squared off after a city council meeting in Johnston City, Illinois where layoffs and pay cuts were dealt with. A man, who is a firefighter and part-time dispatcher, says he was fired because of the fight. Click here for the story.
Drawbridge rescue: Raw video from yesterday’s rescue of four workers in Pompano Beach, Florida. Check it out.
Houston considers furloughs: Houston’s mayor is the latest big city officials to talk about furloughs for fire and police to help balance the budget. Read more.
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.
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.
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 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.
Tom Yeatman shot this video of a BP service station burning overnight in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The fire was reported at 5:30 AM at Addison Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Seat Pleasant. No injuries were reported. damage is estimated at $200,000.
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.
This fire in a vacant home was on Thursday at 80 North 16th Street in East Orange. One day short of a year earlier there was a fire in a vacant house at 48 North 16th Street. Click here for pictures and to read more on that fire.
A Vietnamese market on Main Street in Worcester, Massachusetts burned on Friday. The fire is reported to have started in the basement and was discovered around 11:00 AM. Two people in the store suffered smoke inhalation. The store had been recently renovated.
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.
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.
The video above is from Tuesday in Sellersburg, Indiana. Here are details from the AP:
A fire that started in a bowling alley spread to destroy several neighboring businesses in a southern Indiana strip shopping center.
No injuries were reported from Tuesday’s fire at the Silver Creek Plaza in Sellersburg. Flames burned through the structure’s roof, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the sky.
The cause wasn’t immediately known. Building owner Hellen Bridges says renovation work was being done on the closed Silver Creek Lanes bowling alley about 10 miles north of Louisville, Ky.
The view from the ground in Sellersburg.
Sellersburg Volunteer Fire Department president Mark Ball says the blaze shot rapidly across an attic and had too much of a head start for firefighters to control. The fire also destroyed a bar and grill, a bakery, a sandwich shop and a hair salon.
Click the image for more photos from Fond du Lac’s fire by Justin Connaher at FDLReporter.com.
An early morning fire has caused extensive damage to Last Stop Bar and Lanes — formerly West Side Lanes — in Fond du Lac.
City fire and police departments responded to a call at 4 a.m. today reporting smoke in the area and a possible fire at the business, located at 350 W. Division St. Upon arrival, firefighters found the building interior engulfed in flames and immediately went into a “defensive operation,” according to Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O’Leary.
Firefighters used aerial ladders to battle the fire from the outside. At 5:45 a.m., flames were visible through the roof at both the north and south ends of the building, as well as through a glass door on the structure’s east side, a witness said.
Nearby homes were evacuated, but did not sustain damage.
By 8 a.m., O’Leary said 35 firefighters were on the scene. The fire was under control, but O’Leary said it would be several hours before firefighters and investigators could safely enter the building.
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.
Four businesses were destroyed by fire today morning in the restaurant-packed lower Greenville Avenue area of Dallas — when the places were closed.
The multi-alarm blaze left one firefighter being treated for smoke inhalation.
Fire department spokesman Jason Evans says the fire apparently started in Terrilli’s, a popular restaurant in the neighborhood east of downtown known for its eateries, funky retail stores and live-music clubs.
Evans says the adjoining restaurants that were destroyed share a crawl space with Terrilli’s.
Gregg Merkow of Plano, a well-known tournament poker player who owns two restaurants destroyed by the fire, said he raced down to the area to see smoke billowing from his bar.
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.
A man was killed Saturday afternoon when the single-engine plane he was flying crashed in the yard of a home on Warehouse Creek Lane in Anne Arundel County.
Diane Spitaliere of the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, a Hawker Beechcraft, crashed at about 4:30 p.m. one quarter mile east of a runway at Lee Airport.
The plane caught fire and firefighters quickly extinguished it. The identity of the pilot was not released.
Airport manager Van Lee said the pilot was the only person on board as the plane was returning to the airport. Lee said the plane suddenly banked to the right and struck some trees before crashing.
Lee said a big plume of smoke was visible from the airport.
One of Boston’s bravest saved the life of a woman on his way to work Saturday.
Boston firefighter Pat Foley was heading to Engine 21 in Dorchester around 7 a.m. when he noticed a fire in an apartment building on Sumner Street, about a block away from his station.
Foley called in the fire, ran inside, banged on doors and found the apartment that was burning.
Firefighters from Engine 21 forced their way in and found an adult woman unconscious.
She was taken to a hospital in serious condition. No one else was hurt.
Bill Harrigan is a retired freelance TV news photographer who worked the overnight hours covering Eastern Massachusetts from 1981-2007. Harrigan has his own extensive video library of the stories he covered over that 26-year period. You can click here to read more details about Harrigan and see his story log, here.
A twin-engine cargo plane crashed into a residential neighborhood three miles short of Logan Airport early this morning, killing the pilot and setting off a nine-alarm fire.
The fire gutted three houses and seven automobiles. Three of the 18 residents of the houses were hospitalized with burns, one of them in critical condition.
The plane, a Piper Seneca, was carrying bank notes, checks and financial papers from Teterboro, N.J., when it veered off course and dived into a three-story wooden house in the Dorchester section at 1:08 A.M., shaving off the front of the building. ‘It Was Like a Meteor Hit’.
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