While it can be a jumble to listen to, it does give you a perspective of what both departments faced during yesterday’s ambush that left West Webster FD members Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka dead and wounded Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter.
Previous STATter911.com coverage including radio traffic here & here
We have put together some of the latest information and videos from the ambush at a house fire in Webster, New York yesterday that left West Webster Fire Department members Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka dead and wounded Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter. The killer has been identified as William Spengler Jr, who beat his grandmother to death with a hammer 31-years-ago. Spengler shot and killed himself at the scene.
As police tried to get to the wounded and dead and evacuate neighboring homes, seven houses were destroyed by the fire set by Spengler. If you haven’t done so already, click here to listen to the chilling and amazing audio as the two wounded firefighters calmly describe what happened, guide the incoming police, fire & EMS units and work on their own escape. It is a remarkable recording.
Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter (l-r).
In the pre-dawn hours of Christmas Eve, William Spengler Jr., who in 1980 beat his grandmother to death with a hammer, set fire to his home and car at 191 Lake Road. Spengler then burrowed into what police described as “a hollow,” and lay in wait.
As firefighters arrived, he opened fire, killing a 19-year-old volunteer firefighter and a 20-year veteran of the Webster Police Department, while injuring two other firefighters and an off-duty Greece police officer.
Slain were volunteer firefighters Mike Chiapperini, 43, a Webster Police Department lieutenant and the department’s public information officer, and Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, a Monroe County 911 dispatcher.
Spengler then shot himself. Police found his body on the Lake Ontario beach.
Pickering said the first 911 call is believed to have been made by a neighbor. The caller reported a car and a house on fire.
Police and firefighters were on scene within minutes, and that’s when the first shots were fired. Police say it appears that Spengler had positioned himself in a higher area where he could fire down on first responders.
A Webster Police officer responding to the scene exchanged gunfire with Spengler, and is credited with saving lives by keeping others back.
Pickering said one of the firefighters was able to escape in his private vehicle, while the others remained pinned down for around an hour.
Webster Police Lieutenant Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka were firefighters with the West Webster Fire Department.
Tomasz was a 911 dispatcher. He came up through the Explorer Program and had been a firefighter for a little more than a year. His manager at Webster Golf Club told News10NBC all that Tomasz talked about was being a firefighter.
Mike Chiapperini was a lieutenant in the Webster Police Department. He was named Firefighter of the Year two weeks ago. He has two little daughters and an older child.
Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter were also shot and are recovering at Strong Memorial Hospital. An off-duty Greece police officer, John Ritter, was also hurt by shrapnel.
Police say Spengler was convicted in 1981 for beating his grandmother to death with a hammer and was released from prison in 1998. They’re trying to determine how he had weapons in his possession.
“Spengler was a convicted felon. He’s not allowed to possess weapons. Did he legally possess those weapons? No,” said Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering.
NOTE: Due to the tragic news of the day we will delay the announcement of the STATter911.com contest winners.
phillyfirenews has posted the radio traffic from this morning’s tragic shootings in Webster, New York that took the lives of two firefighters and wounded two others. The audio is mostly a radio conversation between the two wounded firefighters, dispatchers and responding units.
The injured firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter, who is also a career firefighter with the Rochester FD, and Theodore Scardino, are amazingly calm, despite their serious wounds as they provide updates and wait for help.
Killed by the gunman are two other West Webster firefighters, Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka.
For the second time in little more than a week, Chicago firefighters made a sad procession to the morgue today to honor a fallen colleague.
Walter Patmon Jr., 61, an 18-year veteran, died late Sunday night after going into cardiac arrest within hours of responding to a small kitchen fire in the 1500 block of West 99th Street, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight said. The firefighters discovered meat burning on a stove, officials said.
After returning to his firehouse, Patmon experienced shortness of breath while cleaning equipment, Knight said. He was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 11:21 p.m.
Firefighter Walter Patmon Jr., 61, was an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department. He worked out of Engine Company No. 121 at 1700 West 95th Street.
Patmon returned to his firehouse last night after responding to a small kitchen fire in a home on West 99th Street. He said he felt short of breath and was rushed to Little Company of Mary Hospital. On the way he went into cardiac arrest and later died.
Patmon is survived by his wife and three daughters.
“Walter was a super dude. I mean, every day when we see him, he always got a smile,” said the Chicago Fire Department’s Michael Griffin.
Patmon, who was known by his childhood nickname “Bubble,” was just a few years away from retirement.
“I used to say, ‘Walter, you’re kind of in a busy fire house. Isn’t it time to kind of slow down?’ He said, ‘No, I’m not going anywhere. I love this fire house. I love this department, and I’m staying where I’m at,’” retired senior firefighter Irving Brown said.
Patmon’s death comes three days after the funeral of Cpt. Herbie Johnson, also of the Chicago Fire Department.
On the day they buried Capt. Herbie Johnson, a veteran TV anchor used his commentary section to urge city leaders to work out a new contract with Chicago firefighters. Here’s an excerpt:
We owe his memory, and his fellows, some payback – and the respect of a new contract. They’ve been saving lives without a contract for four and a half months.
City Hall, skimping on a contract, aiming to take away the firefighter clothing allowance and holiday pay and physical fitness incentive. Don’t do that, don’t insult Capt. Johnson’s memory. Think about him, feel for him.
This is video just uploaded yesterday that a neighbor shot of Friday’s house fire that took the life of Chicago Fire Department Capt. Herbie Johnson. The fire occurred at 2315 W. 50th Place and also injured Firefighter Ryan Woods. Click here for our previous coverage of the fire.
A Chicago fire captain has died from injuries suffered while battling a South Side house fire, the first firefighter to die in the line of duty in nearly two years.
Capt. Herbie Johnson (l) with Commissioner Jose Santiago in CFD picture.
Captain Herbie Johnson, 54, was a 33-year veteran of the department. He had just been promoted from lieutenant this summer during a ceremony at Navy Pier.
Fire department spokesman Larry Langford said Friday’s fire was in the attic of the two-story frame house. He said the firefighters were injured during a possible “flashover” of flames.
“He was the best, he was the best guy,’’ said Chicago Fire Dept. Lt. Steve O’Malley who was relieved by the 54-year-old Johnson this morning about 6 a.m. from Engine 123, Tower Ladder 39, on 51st Street after O’Malley had worked the 48 hour shift.
“He was his usual crazy self, laughing,’’ said O’Malley of the Johnson. “He always had a smile on his face,’’ said O’Malley, whose voice was quaking with emotion during a telephone interview after hearing the news from another firefighter that he passed.
Johnson died at the U. of C. emergency room. Paramedics had to perform CPR on him at the scene, said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Johnson was assigned to Engine Co. 123 in Back of the Yards for the night, but normally worked from firehouses all around the city.
As Ahlheim spoke near the hospital tonight, Chicago Fire Department Truck No. 16 sat at the corner of 58th Street and Drexel Avenue with its ladder extended to mid-air and the roar of its engine sounding, a ritual saluting fallen brethren. A firefighter hoisted the American flag atop the ladder.
Below are tweets about the fire from CFD spokesman Larry Langford (@CFDMedia)
Fifteen-years-ago this morning DCFD Sergeant John Michael Carter failed to make it out of a fire in a small corner grocery at 400 Kennedy Street in Northwest Washington. Sergeant Carter had fallen into the basement as his crew left the building. Today, our thoughts are with the family and many friends of John Carter.
I knew John Carter, but not extremely well. More of a passing, “Hi, how are you?” and a few words on a fireground or a wave, as he did shortly before his death during a visit to the TV station where I worked. But I learned all about John Carter two days after he was gone and it was one of the more unforgettable experiences in 38-years of covering news.
On Sunday morning, October 26, 1997, IAFF Local 36 Vice President Kenny Cox called and said that Debbie Carter wanted to do an interview with me about her husband. It was a surprise because, out of respect, we were keeping our distance and I hadn’t even requested an interview. But I consider it one of the great honors of my life to get that call.
To this day, my friend videographer Greg Guise and I are still in awe of what we witnessed. Despite this unbelievable loss occurring just two days earlier, Debbie sat perfectly composed telling us about her husband. She was not going to let tears get in the way of letting everyone know who John Carter was. There was even a proud smile on her face at times as she talked about John Carter, the firefighter, father and husband.
Photo by Dave Iannone.
But it was hard for anyone who saw the story not to shed some tears when we heard Debbie say how happy she was that very early on a chilly Friday morning she decided to get out of bed and walk out of their Maryland home to give her husband a kiss as he headed off to what turned out to be his final shift. What a lesson for us all.
I’ve said it many, many times since that interview and I will say it again. We should all be as fortunate as John Carter was to have someone speak so eloquently on our behalf once we are gone.
Unfortunately because of a change in servers at WUSA9.com a few years back, that entire interview is no longer available online. But below is a story the station did two-years-ago about a scholarship for John and Debbie’s son Brian. Brian was just eight-years-old when his dad died. In the story is a small excerpt from that 1997 interview.
This will be our the sixth year streaming the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Memorial Weekend telecasts and we are grateful many, many other websites are doing the same. WUSA9.com is once again providing the live streaming. Saturday’s Candlelight Service begins at 6:30 PM EDT. Sunday’s Memorial Service starts at 10:00 AM EDT. See both telecasts via STATter911.com.
Please encourage your department and your local news media to also run the live streaming so that as many people as possible will see the tribute to the nation’s fallen firefighters.
In addition, there are many other ways to take part in Memorial Weekend even if you can’t join us in Emmitsburg. Here is a link that has all of the information you will need – http://weekend.firehero.org/creative/2012/ . Here are some of the highlights:
LIVE STREAMING
Be part of the FireHero Network and embed live streaming of Saturday’s Candlelight Service and Sunday’s Memorial Service on your website. And please encourage general news websites in your community to do the same. Click here for streaming information.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In addition, you will be able to follow the weekend events through social media. NFFF has a team of firefighters on campus in Emmitsburg to provide pictures, video and details throughout the weekend,
There are two new campaigns this year for firefighters and the public to show their support of the fallen on their Facebook pages. On Saturday, October 6 at 6:30 pm please “Light a Virtual Candle for a Fallen Firefighter.” And on Sunday, October 7 you can “Ring a Virtual Bell for a Fallen Firefighter.” All the details are available here:
There is now a webcam that gives you a view of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial 24/7. It can be seen at http://firehero.org/camera.html.
IN YOUR COMMUNITY
The second annual Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters is going strong and more departments and places of worship are signing on every day. Please continue to spread the word of this important program that encourages the public to pause and remember the firefighters who have died. http://bellsacrossamerica.com/
YOUTUBE
Over the weekend NFFF will be posting video remembrances of firefighters from their survivors. As always, there is a growing library of Memorial Weekend videos on FireHero TV, the NFFF YouTube channel http://www.firehero.tv.com.
MORE ON THE WEB
The Virtual Remembrance Banner is available for anyone to pay tribute to a fallen firefighter or share a special memory of Memorial Weekend. It’s a wonderful way for family, friends and others who can’t be in Emmitsburg to have a connection to the events. http://weekend.firehero.org/remembrance/banner.php
Departments and individuals can still add the National Fallen Firefighters Tribute Widget to their website, blog or Facebook page. Go to http://weekend.firehero.org/widget/ to copy and embed the widget.
Of course, webmaster Jenni McClelland will be constantly updating the Memorial Weekend website with fresh pictures and information at http://weekend.firehero.org/. And you will always find information about all of the programs of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation at http://firehero.org.
On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, a former state representative now running for the Pinellas County Commission criticized fire unions, accusing them of using the tragedy for their own gain.
“The firefighters have really taken advantage of 9/11 and what happened then and capitalized on it and the emotion,” Janet Long said Monday during a meeting with the Tampa Bay Times editorial board.
The one thing every candidate for local office welcomes is exposure.
But Janet Long, a Democrat running for the Pinellas County Commission, has earned the unwanted kind after her comments on the eve of Sept. 11 about firefighters using the attacks to their advantage created a firestorm.
On Tuesday, fellow Democrats distanced themselves and lawmakers of every stripe rushed to declare their love of firefighters. After being deluged with comments on Facebook, Long took down her page, then replaced it with an apology.
A Republican consultant supporting Long’s opponent says Long’s campain is over and calls it the “greatest mistake” he’s ever seen from a local candidate. As for Janet Long, she stands by her underlying points but has apologized for Monday’s remarks. Long is married to a retired firefighter.
My remarks, as reflected in the Times regarding firefighters and 9/11, were ill chosen and taken out of the context of a much longer conversation. I apologize for that unfortunate reference. I deeply respect what professional firefighters and paramedics do every day. That’s especially true when you consider I’ve been married to one for 34 years.
No one knows better than I, the sacrifices firefighters and their families make everyday for all of us. My family has made them, too.
The real debate is whether we allow the lobbyists and firefighter union bosses to bully our county commissioners into making multi-million dollar deals they cannot afford and issuing checks that they cannot cash. My frustration is with the years of internal squabbling while millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted, not with the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day.
In my frustration with this important issue, I used the wrong words and I regret that.
Excerpts from two of the latest comments reacting to Long’s apology:
#1
As a spouse, daughter, granddaughter, & sister of all firefighters it literally made me nauseous to read what you said. I don’t care if your husband is a firefighter & you think you know everything that involves the career. You were completely out of line.
#2
Your position in society as a self serving council woman, commission person, congress person is the reason people hate politic and politicians. You will say what ever it take to get what you want and then step on people who oppose you.
On February 13, 2011, 21-year-old Firefighter Zachary Whitacre fell off the tail board of Gore Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department Tanker 14 when the rig spun out of control on ice and crashed while heading to refill during a house fire in Capon Bridge, West Virginia. Whitacre’s father Donald was driving Tanker 14 when the accident occurred. NIOSH released it’s report today. Below are a summary of the findings:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 13, 2012, a 21-year-old male volunteer fire fighter (victim) died after falling from the tailboard of a fire department tanker (Tanker 14). The victim, acting as a spotter and using the driver’s side mirror, had successfully guided the driver in backing the tanker to position its tailboard near the dump tank. The driver of Tanker 14 stayed in the driver’s seat and watched the water gauge indicator lights on the pump panel through his side mirror.
The victim, located on the tailboard, operated the dump valve to fill the folding tank. When the driver saw the tank-empty light flash, he leftthe fire scene to go to the water source to refill the tanker.
Unknown to the Tanker 14 driver, another tanker (Tanker 9) had inadvertently dropped approximately 1,500 gallons of water on the roadway while also responding to the incident. Tanker 9 had reported the inadvertent drop to their dispatcher, but Tanker 14 had not heard this communication. As Tanker 14 traveled this same roadway en route to the water source, it hit a patch of black ice that had resulted from the inadvertent water drop. The Tanker 14 driver lost control and the tanker spun around a number of times before impacting a berm on the shoulder of the roadway (see Photo 1 and Photo 2). The Tanker 14 driver was injured but was able to radio for help and crawl out of the passenger side door. The driver then saw the victim lying unresponsive in the roadway. A rescue unit from the fire scene responded to the crash along with other units and emergency medical aid was performed. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Failure to check the apparatus before leaving the scene (driver walk-around)
Inadequate communications between the driver and victim
Unintentional discharge of water onto roadway in freezing conditions
Ice on roadway
Fire department communication interoperability.
KEY RECCOMENDATIONS
Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters are properly trained to ensure that the apparatus is ready for the road before leaving the fire scene (including a driver walk-around)
Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters are properly trained and equipped to communicate task-level functions
Fire departments should ensure that fire department driver/operators are trained in techniques for maintaining control of their vehicle at all times
Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters from different departments can communicate with each other via radio
Fire departments should consider installing rear view camera(s) with monitor(s) inside the cab
Fire apparatus manufacturers should use engineering controls (such as electronic lockouts and engineering guards) to ensure that water dump valves cannot activate unintentionally.
About a month after the events of September 11, 2001 I was asked by journalist Allison Gilbert to contribute my experiences at the Pentagon on that day to a book called Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report September 11. While I knew I was only one of many TV and radio reporters and anchors who would be contributing to the book, and Allison would only be using a couple of blurbs, it was an opportunity for me to write a chronology of the day and put a few thoughts down.
Below is that account. It is a view of September 11 through the eyes of a TV reporter who arrived on Washington Boulevard in front of the Pentagon helipad six-minutes after impact. YouTube has some of the TV coverage from that day broadcast by my colleagues at WUSA-TV in Washington. I have added those clips at the appropriate times.
I conclude with a postscript written 40-days after the attacks that looks at the public’s perception of firefighters following the sacrifice made by 343 members of the Fire Department of New York.
September 11, 2001
8:52 AM: Spending time with my son is always the best way to start the day. Sam, almost two years old, is eating his breakfast. I bring my toast into the den to sit with him. The television is on so we can do what we usually do in the morning, watch my wife, Hillary Howard, Sam’s mom, do the weather on WUSA-TV. Instead of the “Early Show” ending to make way for local news, I see the open to a “CBS News Special Report”. I turn the sound up, but don’t need Bryant Gumbel to tell me that something is very wrong at one of the World Trade Center towers. The thick, black smoke pouring out of many windows and from the roof makes it very clear this is a major disaster in the making. Gumbel says there is a report that a plane hit the building. Those words send me out of the room and upstairs to quickly finish getting dressed.
9:03 AM: I occasionally glance at the TV upstairs. A little slow to comprehend some of what it going on, it dawns on me that this appears to be a crystal clear day. I am starting to wonder if this plane crash is really an accident. As I think about calling the newsroom to suggest we might be dealing with a terrorist attack of some sort, any doubts I had are immediately erased. My head quickly turns toward to the TV as I hear a woman say to Byrant Gumbel, “Oh, there is another one! Another plane just hit! Oh, my gosh! Another plane has hit! Another building! Flew right into the middle of it. Explosion.”
It hit me instantly that our lives have suddenly changed.
9:05 AM: On the phone to the station, I talk to Dave Roberts, our news director. I am convinced that if the people who did this were organized enough to quickly hit two targets like the World Trade Center towers, Washington would be next. We decide I will head into town to start looking around for increased security measures and be ready if another attack occurs.
9:10 AM: No time for our normal goodbye ritual. I give Sam a quick kiss and hug. Sam says something about “Jay Jay”. “Jay Jay the Jet Plane”, Sam’s favorite TV show, comes on soon. Not knowing what he may have already seen on TV this morning, I tell him calmly that “Jay Jay” is having a bad day. With the uncertainty of what was ahead, I didn’t want to leave Sam. I knew, though, he was in good hands with Glenda, the woman who takes care of him while we are at work.
9:15 AM: Realizing my good friend, Dan Patrick, our night assignment manager, is probably asleep and has no idea what is going on, I wake him. Dan doesn’t believe me when I describe the events of the morning along with my concern that Washington is next. Certainly I would have thought this was one of his sick practical jokes if the situation were reversed. Hanging up, I’m not sure he is convinced that this is for real.
9:25 AM: My first stop, the State Department. I circle the block and notice some extra officers being deployed around the building. Other street activity appears normal. Checking out the Pentagon never enters my mind.
9:38 AM: East bound on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, I turn north on 17th Street. At that moment the scanners in my car come alive. On numerous police and fire radio frequencies, people are yelling that a plane hit the Pentagon. Making a fast U-turn, I see the smoke rising across the Potomac River. I get the assignment desk on the phone. It’s a bad connection. I yell into the phone, “Pentagon, Pentagon, Pentagon. Send everyone to the Pentagon. I should be there soon.”
I carefully bust a few lights on southbound 17th Street. Making a right turn, traffic is light on westbound Independence Avenue.
9:41 AM: Anchors Mike Buchanan and Andrea Roane break into CBS coverage to report that there has been an apparent plane crash at the Pentagon. They have distant, but clear pictures of the Pentagon ablaze from our rooftop camera in Rosslyn.
9:43 AM: There is also little traffic heading outbound on the Memorial Bridge. Across the river, I now have a distant view of the Pentagon. The very black smoke I am seeing is surely caused by the fuel, now burning, that was in the plane’s tanks. I call the control room to try and get on the air, but the call cuts out as the anchors lead to me.
9:44 AM: Somehow I end up on southbound Washington Boulevard directly in front of the Pentagon helipad. That is good news, but for the moment it does me no good because there is wireless gridlock. I am unable to get a phone call out.
9:46 AM: I have my home video camera out and on the tripod, rolling off a few shots. The phone still isn’t working.
9:48 AM: Walking down Washington Boulevard is Heather Cabot a recently hired reporter for WUSA. She tells me her phone isn’t getting out either. I ask her to take over my camera and I will work on trying to get a phone call to the station. Heather tells me she is with photographer Mike Trammel. I look back to see Trammel and put my camera away.
9:52 AM: Heather’s phone finally gets through. I describe the scene as firefighters from Ft. Meyer and National Airport put the first water and foam on the burning Pentagon. Some people are looking at the sky, making sure another plane isn’t approaching. I suggest to Heather, that it is probably a good idea for us to do the same. Amazingly traffic on northbound Washington Boulevard has not been blocked and drivers are just whizzing by the burning Pentagon as they head to work.
A familiar red van pulls a few feet past us. It is one of our microwave vans with Bruce Bookholtz at the wheel. I am a bit amazed that, with no communication, we all end up at the same spot.
We hear a number of small pops and explosions. I am guessing those are tires popping from the vehicles that were parked against the building and are now burning, or possibly some small canisters exploding. Among the vehicles on fire is the new crash/rescue fire truck, belonging to the Ft. Meyer Fire Department. It is stationed at the Pentagon and is routinely on hand for helicopter landings and takeoffs, in case of an emergency. It is a fire truck designed for just this rare event, a plane crash, and it can’t be used.
9:55 AM: Heather tells me to look down on the street around us. I was so intent on watching the burning Pentagon, I hadn’t noticed there are what appear to be small pieces from the airplane at my feet. I had already seen the large amount of debris scattered on the Pentagon lawn, but so far no piece is large enough to be easily identified as an airplane part.
9:57 AM: Our first live video is on the air. You see flames crawling up the familiar face of the Pentagon along with some of the first victims as they are carried away from the building.
9:59 AM: I am on the air with Michael Kelly, an eyewitness Heather pulled out of the crowd. Kelly was driving on nearby I-395 when he saw the plane take aim on the Pentagon.
10:00 AM: Anchor Andrea Roane interrupts me, “Dave, Dave, Dave. We want to break in, because we want to go back to New York, where Dan Rather is anchoring our coverage, where one of the towers at the World Trade Center has collapsed”.
These words stop me in my tracks for a moment. I have no TV monitor to see this for myself. Just Andrea’s words. It doesn’t compute in my brain. I had been a firefighter. I had studied high-rise firefighting. There had been a number of major high-rise fires throughout the world that burned for many hours. To my knowledge there had never been a catastrophic collapse of an entire building. This was just one of many things happening today that no one has ever had to deal with.
Knowing how aggressive New York firefighters are, I realize there must be scores of dead rescuers. The last pictures I saw out of New York were from an hour ago. Even then it was pretty apparent, from the amount of fire, that anyone at the impact points and above had little chance of survival.
10:05 AM: They come back to me for our first interview with someone who was in the Pentagon at the time of the attack. Two or three men on stretchers pass by us. It is our first close-up look at the injured and they are severely, if not critically burned over a good portion of their bodies. These victims are flown out by helicopter to a hospital burn unit. Their lives will never be the same.
10:10 AM: A Virginia State Trooper starts moving everyone back. There is concern another plane is coming toward the Pentagon. We don’t move.
10:15 AM: As they come back to our live shot, five floors suddenly collapse around the jet’s impact point. There is now a large gash on the west side of the Pentagon.
10:18 AM: People start running away from the Pentagon. This time, FBI agents are telling us another plane is just minutes out. They order us to move immediately. I am able to get in a few quick words, attempting to explain to Mike and Andrea what is happening, before the transmitter is turned off and the live truck’s mast starts coming down.
10:28 AM: We move just a short distance off Washington Boulevard and down the ramp to Columbia Pike. As Bruce tries to re-establish a signal, I hear through my earpiece that the second tower in New York has collapsed. I just can’t imagine what it going on in Manhattan. The death toll must be staggering. I recall my wife once telling me her grandfather hauled truckloads of steel used to build the Twin Towers. Now those buildings don’t exist.
10:32 AM: We are again feeding live pictures of the burning Pentagon.
10:36 AM: Witnesses are giving different descriptions of the plane that hit the building. Some say it is an American Airlines 757, while others believe it was a business jet. The fire is still burning out of control.
10:38 AM: Mike Buchanan asks me if I have seen any large pieces of an airplane at the scene. As I answer this question, he interrupts me,“Hold on Dave. Hold on just a second. We’ve got a bulletin from AP. A large plane has just crashed in Western Pennsylvania.”
Mike also reads an AP report about a car bomb going off at the State Department. We are just across the river from State and we didn’t hear an explosion.
10:42 AM: An F-16 makes a low pass near the Pentagon. That, along with the plane crash in Pennsylvania, makes me think there was something to the threats that forced us move away from the building. I notice a large group of people huddled under the Washington Boulevard overpass.
10:52 AM: A Lt. Colonel with Air Force Public Affairs passes our location. We snag him. He urges people to keep far away from the Pentagon. If you have loved ones you can’t account for, he asks that you not come to the Pentagon. He has no idea of the number of dead or injured. Not much in the way of information, but it is the first official word.
WUSA anchorman Gordon Peterson, who was originally sent to nearby National Airport for a flight to New York, arrives at our location.
10:54 AM: Mike and Andrea confirm there was no car bomb at the State Department. A little bit of good news.
11:06 AM: Gordon interviews Mike Walter, a television reporter for “USA Today Live”. Mike, on his way to work in Rosslyn, witnessed the Pentagon crash and offers the most vivid description so far.
11:10 AM: We are again ordered to move our live truck further away from the Pentagon.
11:31 AM: Our shot is back up. This time, from a hill in front of the Quick Mart. This Citgo, looks like a normal service station, but it is exclusively for use by military personnel.
11:39 AM: The fire is spreading. Suddenly there are flames showing in a number of windows far from the point of impact.
People again start moving quickly from the Pentagon. There is more talk of another hijacked plane heading our way.
11:52 AM: Again, more people rush from the Pentagon.
12:16 PM: I listen to Dan Patrick, with a phone report, describe his attempts to get from Northern Virginia to the TV station in Northwest Washington. Dan says he had to show identification to a police officer and explain his business in the city. Only then was he allowed to cross Key Bridge into Georgetown. The city is in lockdown.
12:18 PM: Gordon notices an ambulance convoy from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad pull up along Columbia Pike. It was a repeat of a scene I had witnessed, just on the other side of the Pentagon, almost 20 years earlier. The same Maryland squad sent a similar contingent after Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge on January 13th, 1982.
12:20 PM: If I am not convinced how much turmoil there is in the country from these attacks, this does it. Mike and Andrea announce Disney World is being evacuated.
12:28 PM: A Navy public affairs officer officially confirms what has been painfully obvious. Besides the dead on the aircraft, Pentagon workers are dead inside the building. He has no idea how many people didn’t get out.
12:32 PM: Talking on the air with Mike and Andrea, it still isn’t clear which of the four hijacked jets smashed into the Pentagon. Right now, American Airlines believes the hijacked flight from Dulles crashed into one of the towers in New York.
Police move everyone, including the news media, off the hillside. Bruce pulls the truck around to the other end of the service station lot. This fourth move winds up being our last. It becomes home for the better part of two weeks.
1:19 PM: The first official briefing from the Pentagon. Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, announces that this was “a full assault on the United States of America”. The admiral says there was no way to prepare for an attack like this. I am shaking my head at the fact that the spokesman for the military headquarters of the United States of America is forced to talk to the world from a service station parking lot.
1:30 PM: CNN Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins me on the air for a few minutes. Our first time working together was at WTOP radio, 20 years ago, covering the Air Florida plane crash. Jamie says they always anticipated a terrorist attack at the Pentagon, but figured it would be on the other side of the building where all the top brass is located.
Off camera, Jamie tells me that just yesterday his son’s class in middle school had a discussion about the bombing in Oklahoma City. Jamie’s son told the class he always worries about his dad being hurt by an attack like this, because his dad works at the Pentagon. Jamie tried getting word to the school to let his son know he was okay.
1:50 PM: Andrea announces that the Urban Search and Rescue Team from Fairfax County, known as Virginia Task Force 1, has been activated and will be at the Pentagon shortly.
American Airlines now says they aren’t sure where Flight 77 ended up.
WUSA-TV’s Mike Trammel’s shot of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (third from the right) helping carry one of the injured from the Pentagon to a waiting ambulance.
1:56 PM: Admiral Quigley sets the tone for his second briefing by saying “you are going to have a lot more questions than I have answers.” Quigley doesn’t have an answer to the one question all of us are asking. He can only say, “we know there are casualties.”
He tells us Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was among the Pentagon workers hurrying from the building after the explosion. Rumsfeld helped the injured for about 15 minutes, getting several people onto stretchers. Then he went back inside to the National Military Command Center. The command center is reportedly smoky, but not damaged. (NOTE: Approaching the one-year anniversary of the attack, CNN’s Vito Maggiolo contacted me after looking at the raw video from September 11 shot by WUSA-TV photojournalist Mike Trammel. While many people had viewed that video, and all of it played out in front my own eyes, Vito was the only person to notice that one of the men carrying a stretcher with one of the first victims removed from the Pentagon was Secretary Rumsfeld.)
2:10 PM: Virginia Task Force 1 arrives. Normally Fairfax County’s Urban Search and Rescue Team is sent to some far off land by way of military transport. This time it was just a quick drive down Interstate 66 to the county on its eastern border.
2:23 PM: WUSA Photographer Greg Guise is able to provide some details surrounding the hijacked jet that went down in Pennsylvania. Greg grew up a few miles from the crash site and has business interests in the community. Greg relays a description of the scene from a radio engineer friend in Somerset County.
2:43 PM: For the past few hours we’ve seen no ambulances leave the area with lights and siren. We’re pretty certain that anyone alive is already being treated. Now reporter Jennifer Ryan, at the Virginia Hospital Center, confirms no more victims are expected from the Pentagon.
2:49 PM: Mike and Andrea report it’s now fairly clear the plane wreckage at the Pentagon is from American Airlines Flight 77 out of Dulles.
2:55 PM: Rear Admiral Stephen Pietropaoli, U.S. Navy Office of Information, tells us that in the recently renovated wedge of the Pentagon, where the attack occurred, there is blast resistant glass on the windows. In the days to come we hear from many who believe that this very expensive glass saved lives.
3:53 PM: Now briefing us at the Citgo press center, Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clark and Defense Protective Service Chief John Jester. Jester tells us the impact from the jet extends through to the C ring, the middle of the 5 rings of the Pentagon. All we see from our location, is that a portion of the E ring, the outer most portion of the Pentagon, has crumbled.
Clark admits she can’t confirm that all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are accounted for. That news is a bit unsettling. We also hear about a Navy captain who burned his hands rescuing others. Clark says that man is already back from the hospital and wants to be put to work again, helping at the Pentagon.
4:12 PM: Rumors have been spreading that the U.S. military brought down the hijacked plane in Pennsylvania. Rear Admiral Craig Quigley says, “That didn’t happen. I cannot explain to you the cause of the crash of the airplane near Pittsburgh, but it was not engagement by a U.S. fighter aircraft.”
The Pentagon now confirms all the Joint Chiefs are accounted for.
4:54 PM: The second Urban Search and Rescue Team arrives. This one is from Montgomery County, Maryland.
5:04 PM: I see International Association of Firefighters General President, Harold Schaitberger and his press person, George Burke arrive at the Citgo. I grab Harold for a live interview. Harold has been in close touch with his people in New York. We learn for the first time that more than 200 New York firefighters probably perished when the towers collapsed. He calls firefighters “our domestic soldiers”. Schaitberger says the civilian death toll will be in the thousands. Off camera he lets me know that much of FDNY’s command staff was lost, including the Chief of the Department and the head of Special Operations.
5:36 PM: Harold Schaitberger joins me again with the story of two Ft. Meyer firefighters who were at the Pentagon when the crash occurred. They were standing near the fire truck we saw burning this morning. Both men were knocked down and injured by the force of the crash. They helped rescue a group of people through some of the office windows, before the firefighters themselves were hospitalized.
6:42 PM: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield briefs the press. For the first time since the crash, the press conference is held inside the Pentagon. I watch it from our van. Pushed for a body count, Rumsfeld says, “It will not be a few”. The Pentagon “will be in business tomorrow”.
8:45 PM: New information has been slow in coming, but marching up Columbia Pike with the television lights reflecting off his orange vest is a member of Montgomery County’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team. Captain Scott Graham gives us the first solid information about the fire and rescue efforts. Scott becomes a lifeline for information in the days to come.
Despite the large fire still burning, Graham says the USAR team members are always optimistic about finding people alive. He says, “We have to look at it as a rescue effort for us. We have to look at it as a very unstable building. And our job, pretty much, is to take the name of the Pentagon off the outside of it and go in and rescue the people that are in there”.
9:52 PM: Another familiar face shows up at the Citgo. Ed Plaugher is the fire chief of Arlington County. The Pentagon is in Arlington County, Virginia and Chief Plaugher is the man in charge of the fire and rescue operations. None of the other reporters nearby seem to know who Plaugher is, or if they do, they don’t care. Ed joins me live at 10:00 PM with the first solid news about the loss of life at the Pentagon. There are no figures as of yet, but the Pentagon has given him a range to work with. Plaugher says it is believed that anywhere from 100 to 800 people work in the area where the impact occurred. While that is fairly large range, it lets us know that the death toll will likely be in the hundreds at the Pentagon, as compared to the thousands presumed dead in New York. Plaugher’s guess is, when it is over, the number at the Pentagon will be in the low hundreds.
Plaugher later receives some heat when his statements are taken out of context. Some news reports claim Plaugher estimated the death toll at 800. Days later we learn that 125 were killed on the ground and 64 perished aboard Flight 77.
On another topic Chief Plaugher says, “To be honest with you, we always were afraid of the Pentagon as being a target, but never in our wildest dreams to this extent. I am still in disbelief.”
11:03 PM: Fire has broken through in at least four places along the Pentagon roof. Chief Plaugher says aggressive interior firefighting operations will cease until daylight. But, crews overnight, will continue to pour in water from the outside to keep the fire from spreading further.
I relay a phone conversation with Scott Graham a few minutes before our 11:00 PM newscast. Scott and most of the USAR team members from Montgomery and Fairfax Counties worked very closely with Deputy Chief Ray Downey from the Fire Department of New York. Downey, commander of FDNY’s Special Operations, is unaccounted for after the towers collapsed. Scott says Downey commanded all the USAR teams in Oklahoma City after the bombing there. He says Downey wrote the book on urban search and rescue. Skills Downey taught will be utilized in New York and Arlington by hundreds of rescuers in the difficult days to come. His voice cracking, Scott tells me, “We lost a damn good man”.
We lost a lot of good men and women today.
October 27, 2001
11:15 PM: As I am looking back at September 11th, I have just spent a week covering the deaths of two Washington, D.C. postal workers, from inhalation anthrax. Others are hospitalized because of anthrax that was sent through the U.S. Mail. No one knows how this story will play out.
There is a lot of uncertainty since September 11th. Our war efforts, our security in public places, our ability to travel safely by air, our economic future. Like all parents, Hillary and I worry over what this will mean for our young son.
This much I’m sure of. Through the thick smoke hanging over New York and Washington, it became clear that some remarkable people walk among us.
Some are just ordinary citizens who put other people’s lives ahead of their own. Staying behind, trying to make sure everyone gets out.
Others are paid to protect us. But I don’t think anyone believes for a moment that a police officer, paramedic or firefighter’s modest salary is enough to encourage someone to walk into the places that these men and women did on September 11th. It takes much more than money. It takes heart, and courage, and a belief you can make a difference.
I know firefighters the best. Six years in a busy volunteer company during my youth, and almost 30 years making the fire service my beat as a reporter, have given me some perspective.
In many big cities, including our Nation’s Capital, the fire departments have long taken a back seat when it comes to funding. Citizens who can tell you how many times the police patrol car comes down their block, or how many officers are walking the beat, have no idea how many firefighters are on duty in the neighborhood fire station. Political leaders know this to be true and through the years have made drastic cuts in fire protection, often without protest from the public.
Through the years, I have reported many stories where citizens and firefighters have died because of these cuts. Just last week an understaffed ladder company became an issue in Houston, Texas, after a fire captain died in a high-rise apartment building fire.
Firefighters are can-do people. Their skills at making things work under adversity often hides from the public the shortcomings in their staffing, equipment and facilities.
Some of the good that has come from the sacrifices made by the 343 members of FDNY who died on September 11th, is the recognition, by the public, of what firefighters really do.
A recent trip to Arlington County Fire Station #2 brought this home. The firehouse is covered with cards and letters from all over the world. Many are from school children, with drawings of the firefighters in action at the Pentagon and World Trade Center. All say thanks.
Veterans of more than 20 years in the fire service are astounded by the reaction these days as they drive through local streets. People stop and wave. When the firefighters walk into a building in uniform, they are applauded.
On October 7th, I was at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Just two hours before military action in Afghanistan began, President Bush told the stories of some of the 99 domestic soldiers who died in the line of duty in the United States last year. I watched as spouses and children received a flag and a red rose, and heard a bell toll in honor of their loved one, our hero.
I have forced myself on most days since September 11th to read the New York Post, Daily News and Times and the accounts of the daily funerals of New York firefighters. It is difficult to read about the pain their wives and children are going through. It is the least, though, that we can do. It is important to remember this unbelievable sacrifice.
My hope is that people all over the United States are paying very close attention to these same stories of heroism. My hope is that they don’t forget these stories when someone is trying to save a little money and close down their local firehouse.
Right now when Sam sees a fire truck he says, “Evan”. “Revvin’ Evan” is the animated fire engine on that “Jay Jay the Jet Plane” cartoon show he loves. When Sam is old enough, I will make sure he knows a lot more about firefighters. I will make sure Sam understands exactly who those people were climbing up the clogged, smoke filled, stairways, as he sat in his high chair, watching the first pictures transmitted from New York, at 8:52 AM, on September 11th, 2001.
Our friends at FireNews.net have alerted us to the release of the City of Asheville (NC) Fire Department’s line of duty death report looking at the July 28, 2011 fire at 445 Biltmore Avenue that took the life of Captain Jeffrey Scott Bowen.
Chief Scott Burnette talked about some of the changes for the department outlined in the report.
Chief Scott Burnette reviewed some of the changes the department has planned during a presentation for City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday.
The chief also released the department’s 522-page internal report on the Biltmore Avenue fire that killed Capt. Jeff Bowen in July of last year.
“It is our hope that the lessons learned from the fire at 445 Biltmore Ave. will create positive improvements in the fire service as a whole,” Burnette said in a letter included with the report.
“We have sent every one of our firefighters through a rapid intervention team certification course,” said Burnette.
The new course is required by the state of North Carolina and teaches crews how to rescue a firefighter in trouble.
Burnette hopes it will help prevent another tragic loss.
“We have also added an extra fire engine to structure fire responses, so that way we can make sure we have enough personnel to serve as a rescue team,” adds Burnette.
NIOSH released reports into the line of duty deaths of two firefighters whose deaths we covered. Below are the reports and some related links. Both men’s names will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial during Memorial Weekend, October 6 & 7.
January 19, 2011, Baltimore County, MD, Firefighter Mark Falkenhan:
A week from tomorrow is the first anniversary of the death of Asheville Fire Department Captain Jeffrey Bowen. The first annual Carolina Brotherhood Ride, a 5-day cycling event made up of firefighters and police officers from the Carolinas begins Monday in Wilmington and is dedicated to the memory of Captain Bowen. Click here to learn more about the event.
From Montreal, word from our friend Chief Gordon Routley on the funeral for Firefighter Thierry Godfrind, who was struck and killed by a fire truck on Friday:
The civic funeral for Montreal Firefighter Thierry Godfrind will be held at Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal Friday, July 20 at 11am. There will be a reception following the service.
Emergency officials in Accomack County say a volunteer firefighter for the Bloxom Volunter Fire Company died Monday during a single-vehicle crash involving a fire engine.
The identity of the firefighter has not yet been released.
Tomorrow (Monday) is the fifth anniversary of the Sofa Super Store fire that took the lives of nine firefighters in Charleston, South Carolina. Lost in that fire were Engineer Bradford “Brad” Baity, Captain Mike Benke, Firefighter Melvin Champaign, Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, Asst. Engineer Michael French, Captain William “Billy” Hutchinson, Engineer Mark Kelsey, Captain Louis Mulkey and Firefighter Brandon Thompson.
June 18, 2007 was also a Monday and, as I am now, I was at the beach attending the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Convention in Ocean City. STATter911.com was a little more than a month old when the fire occurred. Here are my first two posts on the fire as information began to trickle out that evening and into the next morning:
One TV station reports 2 firefighters missing at a fire this evening at the Sofa Superstore on Route 17. Another quotes long-time Charleston Mayor Joe Riley as saying “several local firefighters” are missing.
Some early still pictures on WCBD-TV’s website.
UPDATE: At 11:00 p.m. a reporter at WCSC-TV said, “as many as 6 firefighters” have been killed in this fire. There is video and more details here. Witness claims to have heard firefighters last words on radio.
UPATE: At 11:46 p.m. WCSC-TV’s website claims “as many as 7 firefighters” missing following a collapse of the furniture store.
WCBD-TV has unedited video of the fire in Charleston, SC where, at 2:00 a.m., it appears at least 7 firefighters have died. The video starts as the photographer works his way up to the scene.
By the time the photographer is close to the building the collapse has already occurred. It appears to be a very chaotic scene at that point with people in civilian clothing pulling hose lines.
This is the video (in three parts) the ATF produced to accompany its engineering analysis utilizing Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) of the fire that killed Lutherville VFC Firefighter Mark Falkenhan last year. There are links above to the ATF report by Adam St. John P.E., Fire Protection Engineer ATF Fire Research Laboratory and the internal report the Baltimore County Fire Department released in March. The modeling is matched with the fireground and dispatch radio traffic.
Description with video:
This video summarizes the ATF Fire Research Laboratory’s Engineering Analysis of the fire that occurred at 30 Dowling Circle on January 19th, 2011. ATF Fire Protection Engineers were asked to utilize engineering analysis methods, including computer fire modeling, to assist with determining the route of fire spread and the events that led to the firefighter MAYDAY and subsequent Line of Duty Death of Firefighter Mark Falkenhan.
Forty-seven-year-old Lieutenant Richard Nappi of Engine 237, a 17-year veteran of the FDNY, died during a fire reported around 1:00 this afternoon at a warehouse on Flushing Avenue in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Lt. Nappi was a Bronx native who lived in Suffolk County. He has a wife Mary Anne, a 12-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. According to a statement from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lt. Nappi overheated, suffered exhaustion and collapsed.
A veteran city fire lieutenant died of an apparent heart attack on Monday afternoon while battling a three-alarm warehouse blaze in Brooklyn, the authorities said.
Fire Lt. Richard Nappi, 47, was commanding a hose line at the fire, at 930 Flushing Avenue in Bushwick, when he began feeling dizzy, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said. He soon went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at Woodhull Medical center at 3:32 p.m., the authorities said.
“This is a very tragic day for New York City,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a news conference at Woodhull. “Someone who devoted his life to keeping us safe is no longer with us.”
After becoming overheated, Lt. Richard Nappi, 47, of Farmingville, L.I., was taken in cardiac arrest to Woodhull Medical Center, where he died, officials said.
“Outside of his family, his life’s work was keeping New Yorker safe from fires, and by any measure he succeeded magnificently,” said Mayor Bloomberg, speaking at a press conference at the hospital.
They mayor comforted Nappi’s wife, Mary Anne, at the hospital. Nappi, a 9/11 first-responder, also leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.
Five-years-ago April 16 also fell on a Monday and the week started off with some very bad news. Shortly after breakfast, word started coming in from a number of sources that a firefighter had been killed in a house fire in Prince William County, Virginia. Of course it was a big news event in the area and my job was to try and confirm some information about the fire for our morning news broadcasts while WUSA-TV, the station I worked for and our competitors began sending news crews to the fire scene.
This fire occurred a little less than three weeks before the birth of STATter911.com, but even without the blog, covering the fire service in the Washington, DC area was part of my beat as a TV reporter. I was able to get some preliminary information, confirmed from various sources, including career and volunteer firefighters in Prince William County. As I finished getting dressed for work it was obvious where I would soon be headed and what my news story would be for the day, and probably days to come. But I never got there and the large majority of the news crews already at 15492 Marsh Overlook Drive were suddenly told by their editors and assignment desks to leave the scene of the fire.
Most were told to head toward the southwestern portion of Virginia, to the town of Blacksburg, as word started filtering in of a double shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall at Virginia Tech. It had occurred about an hour after the fire was reported on Marsh Overlook Drive. Then two hours later there was more gunfire on campus at Norris Hall. In the hours to come the number of dead and wounded would climb to become the deadliest massacre by a single gunman in U.S. History.
But back at Marsh Overlook Drive, Technician I Kyle Robert Wilson was dead and for the most part there was barely a mention in the local news. Even though I, as much as anyone, understand why it was that way, it is something that always bothered me and still does. In my on-air role during the week, reviewing Internet and social media sources of Virginia Tech news and videos, I found a few opportunities to remind people that a firefighter also had died. It was far from adequate as far as I was concerned.
So that is why I want to make an extra effort to ask you to remember Kyle Wilson and his family tomorrow on the fifth anniversary of his death. It will once again, and unfortunately always, be overshadowed by another important and tragic anniversary. But as we know that does not diminish the sacrifice made by this young firefighter and the loss felt by his family and friends.
It is with deep regret that the Department announces the death of Lieutenant Robert Neary, assigned to Ladder 10, Platoon “C”. Lieutenant Neary, a veteran with over 37 years of service, died in the line of duty Monday, April 9, 2012.
All off-duty officers and members are invited to attend the services in uniform. Uniform of the day will be Class “A” Dress, with blouse coat and cap.
VIEWING AND MEMORIAL: Friday, April 13, 2012 1600 Hours Givnish Funeral Home 10975 Academy Road Philadelphia, PA 19154
ADDITIONAL VIEWING: Saturday, April 14, 2012 1700 Hours – 2000 Hours Givnish Funeral Home 10975 Academy Road Philadelphia, PA 19154
INTERMENT: Private Members attending the viewing and memorial on Friday, April 13, 2012, who wish to be part of the formation will report to BC Michael Yaeger at 1430 hours in front of the Givnish Funeral Home. Archbishop Ryan High School will be available for the overflow parking.
DEATH OF FIREFIGHTER DANIEL SWEENEY
It is with deep regret that the Department announces the death of Firefighter Daniel Sweeney, assigned to Ladder 10, Platoon “C”. Firefighter Sweeney, a veteran of almost 6 years of service, died in the line of duty on Monday, April 9, 2012, while on duty.
All off-duty officers and members are invited to attend the services in uniform. Uniform of the day will be Class “A” Dress, with blouse coat and cap.
VIEWING: Friday, April 13, 2012 1900 Hours – 2100 Hours St. Cecilia’s Church 535 Rhawn Street Philadelphia, PA 19111 Saturday, April 14, 2012 0900 Hours – 1100 Hours St. Cecilia’s Church
SERVICE: Saturday, April 14, 2012 1100 Hours St. Cecilia’s Church 535 Rhawn Street Philadelphia, PA 19111
INTERMENT: Saturday, April 14, 2012 Immediately following the Service Holy Sepulchre Cemetery 4001 W. Cheltenham Avenue Philadelphia, PA
Members attending the viewing and service on Saturday, April 14, 2012 who wish to be part of the formation will report to BC Albert Anderson at 0845 Hours in front of St. Cecilia’s Church.
The father of 25 year old firefighter Daniel Sweeney remembering his only son, a 6 year firefighter who graduated from Bishop Mcdevitt before joining the fire department.
David Sweeney knows all to well the dangers his son faced rushing into a burning building. He was a former fire captain recently retiring after 36 years with the department.
Above is additional fireground audio. This clip, from PhillyFireNews.com, starts when the fire was brought under control about 30-minutes before the collapse at the furniture store.
Neary, a 37-year veteran, was close to the end of his tenure. He recently had applied for the city’s Deferred Retirement Option Program so he could leave within the next four years and spend time with his wife and three children – and his boat – at the Shore.
The two injured firefighters, Francis Chaney and Pat Nally, were taken to Temple University Hospital. Chaney, 43, was treated and released.
Nally, 25, required CPR at the scene of the fire. He remained in the intensive care unit in guarded condition Monday, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said.
A Lieutenant since 1983, Robert Neary had been awarded four unit citations in his career. He was a Philadelphia police officer for three years before joining the fire department, and served as an Army reservist for 10 years, where he attained the rank of Sergeant 1st Class. Neary leaves behind his wife, Diane, and their three children.
Daniel Sweeney is the son of retired Philadelphia Fire Captain David Sweeney. Daniel joined the fire department in July of 2006 and had been awarded two unit citations during his time in service.
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.
Commentary: Chicago TV anchor says honor Capt. Herbie Johnson by giving CFD firefighters a contract.
2 commentsOn the day they buried Capt. Herbie Johnson, a veteran TV anchor used his commentary section to urge city leaders to work out a new contract with Chicago firefighters. Here’s an excerpt: