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Read letter from Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Kristopher Baumann and D.C. Firefighters Association President Edward Smith to the Office of the Inspector General

Alan Suderman, Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips:

D.C. police and firefighters union officials are asking for an investigation into what they say was a giant blaze involving three dumpsters and an abandoned car’s worth of personnel records, including medical files containing private information.

In a letter sent to the Office of the Inspector General today, the heads of the two unions say that last Friday around 5 p.m., a D.C. fire engine company was dispatched to the city’s fire department training academy to put out three dumpster fires. After the firefighters started putting out the fires, they realized that some of the documents were personnel files of cops and firefighters, the letter says.

The letter continues: “In addition to the burning documents, there were unburned documents scattered on the ground throughout the training facility and unburned documents in an abandoned car. Members of FEMS were able to identify their own training and medical records in the documents in the abandoned car.”

Video & pictures on this page from IAFF Local 36.

Andrea Noble, The Washington Times:

The responding firefighters expressed their concerns to Deputy Fire Chief Michael Willis and took several pictures and videos to document the incident before leaving the scene. Some of the documents shown in the photos appear to be training academy documents from 1997.

At 11 p.m., firefighters were called back to the training academy to extinguish a fire in an abandoned car that was located next to the trash bins that earlier had been ablaze.

“In an apparent effort to assuage their concerns, they were told all of the documents on the ground had been picked up and placed in the car,” the union leaders wrote. 

Liz Farmer, Washington Examiner:

A fire department spokesman said the matter “is currently under investigation.”

The documents, not all of which were successfully destroyed, contained private information such as medical records and Social Security numbers, the letter says.

The unions are asking Willoughby to investigate the incident on the grounds that the files may have been improperly handled, possibly violating personnel privacy. The letter also notes the fire could have destroyed “potential evidence.”

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A fire this morning has shut down the 3rd Street Tunnel under The Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The fire on a school bus that was being towed is now out. Drivers and passengers in the tunnel were forced to abandon their vehicles and DC Fire & EMS Department crews evaluated many for smoke inhalation. Some, including police officers who assisted in the evacuation of the tunnel, have been transported.

A second alarm and mass casualty task force were dispatched.

WTOP Radio:

Drivers are being escorted back to their cars after a school bus fire inside the 3rd Street Tunnel in Southwest closed the tunnel, forcing people to evacuate.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, who is on the scene, says about 60 people were removed from the tunnel after the fire was reported around 10:30 a.m.

 Image via IAFF Local 36 Twitter feed.

D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Lon Walls says the bus was on a tow truck when the fire broke out. He says the blaze has been brought under control.

Police evacuated drivers who were behind the bus after smoke from it began wafting back.

One woman tells WTOP the incident brought on an asthma attack. 

WUSA-TV:

An empty school bus that was being towed caught fire in the northbound side of the 3rd Street Tunnel. The northbound and southbound sides of the 3rd St Tunnel are closed.

The fire was reported at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday. Between 40 and 50 cars were in the tunnel at the time, say authorities, and the tunnel was filled with smoke. Some of the fumes from the fire made it into the ventilation system at the nearby D.C. courthouse.

 Image via IAFF Local 36 Twitter feed.

About 30 people who abandoned their vehicles in the tunnel are waiting for a Metrobus to shelter them. The people describe a boom, followed by smoke and flames. the same people are praising police for their fast evacuation. There were no major injuries but at least one asthma attack.

DC Police are escorting people back to the tunnel via police cruisers to get their vehicles.

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Image from Brian Hopkins, WJLA-TV.

Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino (l) and Firefighter Robert Beddia.

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Read about the Deutsche Bank scandal here, here and here

Almost five years after the deaths of FDNY firefighters Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia word comes that Graffagnino’s widow has reached a $10 million settlement with the city and the contractor over safety issues at the Deutsche Bank building. The building caught fire on August 18, 2007 while it was in the process of being demolished after being damaged in the September 11th attacks. The two firefighters became trapped in a stairwell. Firefighter Beddia’s family previously reached a reported $6 million settlement.

Gregg B. Smith, New York Daily News:

Nearly five years after the tragedy, Bovis Lend Lease has agreed to pay Joseph  Graffagnino’s widow, Linda, and her two small children $9 million, while the  city has signed off on covering another $1 million, documents obtained by the  Daily News show.

The settlement still must be approved by a Manhattan Supreme Court justice,  which is expected at a hearing set for Monday.

The settlement will mark the final chapter in a painful saga that exposed  outrageous incompetence by the contractors tasked with tearing down the wrecked  office tower and their government overseers.

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Allen Carlyle on the left and Shane Cranfield on the right.

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Previous STATter911.com coverage of this story here & here

Salisbury Post:

Two former East Spencer firefighters and a former police officer were found not guilty this week during a non-jury trial five months after a junior firefighter was shocked with a stun gun.

The incident was said to have occurred at a department Christmas party. The two firefighters — former Chief Shane Cranfield and former Assistant Chief Allen Carlyle — were accused of using a stun gun on junior firefighter John Resino, 18.

According to arrest warrants, the stun gun came from former East Spencer Police Officer James Lambeth.

WBTV-TV:

“I want to say thank you to all my true friends who stood behind me,” Shane Cranfield told WBTV Tuesday afternoon.  When asked if had been confident about the outcome, Cranfield said “I had my doubts, I knew I didn’t do it, but I still.”

Cranfield said he believed inconsistencies in Resino’s story led to the not guilty verdict.  Even though he was found not guilty, Cranfield said the accusations have taken their toll.

“I have lost my position as the Chief of the East Spencer fire department, as well as my part time paid position. My reputation, career, and life have been ran threw the mud and destroyed.  I have been blacked balled throughout the county and shunned by people I have known for years and considered to be my brothers. Along with me, two other people, firefighter Alan Carlyle and officer James Lambeth, have also faced the same ridicule and public embarrassment as myself.”

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Previous coverage here, here and here

Watch WPLG-TV story

Read Miami-Dade 33 page investigative report

WSVN-TV:

The Miami-Dade Fire Department has decided on a two-rank demotion for Brian Beckmann from fire captain to firefighter effective immediately, after a two-hour administrative meeting on Monday.

A 33-page document detailing the allegations against former captain Beckmann and the meeting claims he violated county and department policy with posts he made on his personal Facebook page having to do with the Trayvon Martin case.

In addition to his demotion, Beckmann will have to go through diversity training and have a psychological evaluation. Miami Beach Mayor Carlos Giminez supported the decision in a statement saying: “… Public servants have a responsibility to uphold the highest levels of integrity and decency, especially when you consider our multicultural, multiethnic community. There’s no such thing as being off-the clock; we are public servants 24/7 and must conduct ourselves with the utmost professionalism at all time.” 

Diana Moskovitz, Miami Herald:

Capt. Brian Beckmann’s post lambasted the prosecutor, Angela Corey, who charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder in Martin’s death.

In the post, Beckmann suggested “urban youth” are the products of “failed, sh–bag, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents.”      

He also brought his fellow firefighters into the post, saying: “I and my co-workers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, sh–bag, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents, but like Mrs. Corey, we speak only the truth.”

It ended with, “They’re just misunderstood little church-going angels and the ghetto hoodie look doesn’t have anything to do with why people wonder if they’re about to get jacked by a thug.”

WFOR-TV:

In addition to the loss of rank, the 17-year-fire department veteran’s paycheck will take a major hit because a firefighter’s salary is dramatically less than a fire captain. The amount is still unclear but CBS4 found Beckman made $125,616 as a Captain during a 2007 investigation done on firefighter salaries. 

Before returning to work Beckmann will have to undergo a psychological examination by a county doctor and be required to take diversity training courses.

Beckmann, with the help of the firefighter union, is expected to appeal the demotion.

“Today the Fire Chief demoted Brian Beckmann by two supervisory ranks back to the rank of Firefighter. As union President, I believe this discipline is excessive,” said Rowan Taylor in a statement.  “We will immediately file an appeal to an independent arbitrator.  We anticipate that the case will be heard within the next few months.  The decision of the independent arbitrator will be final and binding.”

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Previous STATter911.com coverage

Read Baltimore County Fire Department report on Firefighter Falkenhan’s death

Read ATF report

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. 

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WGCL-TV:

Atlanta fire officials said they received the 911 call about the fire at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Russell Evans lives across the street from TP Studios. Evans said he heard the fire before he saw it.

“I started filming the fire and the explosion. I though the tower where senior citizens live at was on fire. I found out it was Tyler Perry Studio,” said Evans.

Atlanta fire officials initially said multiple buildings were engulfed in flames when they arrived.

AP:

Atlanta fire officials say they have put out a 4-alarm blaze at Tyler Perry Studios that damaged a building at the complex.

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jolyon Bundrige says there were no reports of injuries from the fire that started before 9 p.m. Tuesday. Officials said in a news release it was extinguished about an hour later.

He says the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the complex was not immediately known

4-Alarm Fire Damages Tyler Perry Studios: MyFoxATLANTA.com

A spokesman for Tyler Perry did not immediately comment Tuesday evening. The studio’s website says the complex includes a 200,000-square-foot studio, five sound stages and a 400-seat theater in southwest Atlanta.

In March, pop star Cee Lo performed for donors at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama at the studios.

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Watsonville Fire Department

This is as dramatic a video as we’ve seen in some time. It is best viewed in full screen and at the 480p quality (the star at the bottom right group of controls).

The fire broke out around 5:45 PM at the Stag Hotel in Watsonville, California. The hotel is at 117 West Beach Street. The injuries, according to news reports, include burns, smoke inhalation and fractures.

In the video it appears police and civilians are making some of the initial rescues using a ladder on Side A. Firefighters arrive, stretch a line and assist with getting others out. It appears that a police officer picks up the first line hitting the fire on the ground floor. Others are brought down a ladder on Side D.

The Stag Hotel is described as transitional housing for those receiving substance abuse treatment and those leaving incarceration.

Rachel Stern & Maria Grusauskas, WatsonvillePatch.com:

Three victims of the fire were air lifted out of the area, one for a broken leg from jumping out a window, and the other two for major burns.

“The first guy got burned pretty bad. They took him away first because his hide was falling off. His shirt was smoking,” said Russell Leckbee, a resident in room 37 of the hotel.

Leckbee had been dragged out of a window by two police officers.

Donna Jones, MercuryNews.com:

Firefighters from the station a block away on Second Street responded quickly, Rickman said. Fire Chief Mark Bisbee said they immediately went to work rescuing residents and doused the flames in 8-10 minutes.

Rickman said the hotel has 50 rooms – three apartments in two buildings. He said about 45 men lived there. The fire was in the larger front building.

The building, constructed in 1927, had no sprinklers. The residents are a mix, some disabled, some struggling with substance abuse or in recovery, some on parole. All are men with little income.

 Tom Dunlap, Tarm Hannula Register-Pajaronian.com

Many bystanders helped police and firefighters get people out of the burning building or helped with ladders and hoses.

One man reportedly jumped from the second-story window to avoid the smoke and fire. Other residents said they considered jumping from the second story.

“I stuck my head out the bathroom window,” said Rick Cresswell, whose face was blackened from the smoke. “I thought about jumping.”  

Bing Maps Bird’s Eye View shows Watsonville Station 1 & Stag Hotel.

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News coverage can be found here and here (the second article has a good aerial shot showing which homes were lost).

The pre-arrival video above is from a kid who lives in the neighborhood in Chesapeake, Virginia where five single-family homes were destroyed by a fire on April 12. This video and Part Two, at the bottom of this page, were posted yesterday to YouTube.

The clip in the center is another neighbor’s early video shot just after the arrival of the first engine and truck in the 600 block of Sweet Leaf Place.

While I have gone through a lot, but not all of the coverage, what I couldn’t find was any real outrage that five homes were lost just like that. Except for one article, there was no mention that the construction of the houses may have been a contributing factor in such a loss.

I know it was a windy day, but I don’t recall seeing many fires like this one 35-years-ago. Now they seem to happen all of the time in similarly built neighborhoods. In fact I’ve seen quite a few all over the Commonwealth of Virginia. Funny how you don’t see this happen in the older neighborhoods that were built before lightweight construction.

But what am I saying? I am so sorry for even bringing that up. Clearly I am being unpatriotic (once again). Let me explain.

According to the people who build these homes, when you look at these videos, what you really are looking at is the cost of freedom. It’s a sacrifice these homeowners made so you and I can live free.

If the government required residential sprinklers, better home separation and fire barriers on the outside wall assemblies, that would be un-American. Remember, it should be every homeowners right to have a fire start in their home and then spread to their neighbor’s homes two and three doors away. It’s right up there with mom and apple pie.

I think the home builders lobbyists in Washington and their affiliates all over this great land should start putting up American flags in front of the shells of houses that were lost like these as a way to remind us of this important freedom they hold so dear. Don’t forget, the home builders are fighting hard for you and me and especially the nation’s firefighters.

The building lobby, after losing the battle for one of our freedoms four decades ago, when smoke alarms were added to the code said, “Never again”. And they have fought valiantly and bravely to protect us ever since. We know they know what’s best for us.

So, from the reaction to this fire, I guess, the indoctrination is complete. We now just accept disposable homes as a way of life. Silly me. What was there really to be outraged about? What was I thinking?

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NOTE: Some of our readers pointed out the comments were off on this post and wondered why. A very good question. It was completely accidental and was unknown to the editor until the emails arrived. As of 11:35 PM on 4-18 the comments are on.

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Press release from PGFD’s Brady:

Prince George’s County Firefighter/Medics rescued a worker that was trapped within a large piece of machinery in what proved to be a very challenging rescue. Firefighters and Paramedics were dispatched to an industrial area in the 5400 block of Van Dusen Road in Laurel at about 11:00 am. A worker at a mulch plant had become trapped inside of a machine that is used to inject colored dye into mulch. First arriving Firefighter/Medics found an adult male that had both legs trapped within heavy machinery and very little to no space to move in the machines “hopper.” Access to the victim was only possible by using ground ladders. 

The victim was so entangled in heavy metal machinery that paramedics feared surgical intervention would be required to free the critically injured worker. Paramedics requested a “Go Team” respond to the scene. A GO TEAM is a group of medical professionals that normally work in a hospital environment. When requested, a team of surgeons, nurses, anesthetists and other medical staff will be taken to the scene and if needed do what they need to do to remove the patient from entrapment. 

Additional Fire/EMS Department resources including the Technical Rescue Team, Hazardous Materials Team, a tower ladder and additional engine companies operated on the scene for just over 90 minutes. There were a total of 50 firefighter/medics on the scene. 

A CRNA was first member of GO TEAM to arrive at the scene. Photo by PGFD’s Mark E. Brady.

A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) was the first member of the GO TEAM to arrive. He was brought from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Hospital on board Maryland State Police Trooper 2 to the scene. A combination of Fire/EMS Department Paramedics, the CRNA and the flight medic from Trooper 2 worked together to devise the best course of medical treatment for the victim in conjunction with the members of the Technical Rescue Services. 

Parts of the machine were disabled and removed, however, the victim still remained wedged in the machine. The victim was in severe pain and was sedated and intubated. The combination of the removal of parts of the machinery and sedation allowed rescuers enough room to maneuver the victim’s legs out of the machinery without causing additional pain and without surgical intervention. The victim was free of entrapment at about 12:30 pm. 

Once extricated the victim was placed into a stokes basket suspended from the extended bucket of the Tower Ladder from Laurel Fire/EMS Station #810 and control maintained by a rope and pulley system established by the Technical Rescue Team. 

Once on the ground the victim was treated by a combination of Prince George’s County Paramedics, the flight medic from MSP Trooper 2 and the CRNA. MSP Trooper 2 Medevac transported the patient to a trauma center. The victim was still intubated and suffering from critical injuries to both legs. His injuries, while critical, are not considered life threatening at this point.

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