Two clips from a fire yesterday in Southeast Washington at 428 Newcomb Street. The video above is from the website of Engine 15, Rescue 3 where you will find this description:
Units with the 3rd Battalion were alerted for the Apartment fire at 428 Newcomb Street S.E. Engine 25 arrived to find a 2up 2down with smoke showing side (A). Engine 25 found a room off on the first floor, Engine 15 third due, backed up 25Engine which made quick work of the room. Rescue 3 completed their search that proved negative. Command 3 held the box with 1+1.
The video below is shot and narrated by a neighbor.
A blazing truck rolled into oncoming traffic on a busy Perth highway yesterday when the heat of the fire caused its brakes to fail.
The truck caught alight in a street off the Stirling Highway in the western suburb of Nedlands yesterday before the brakes stopped working and it rolled backwards into the oncoming highway traffic.
Saturday was a busy day for Ed Malik. Above is a house fire at 2788 Warren in Lake Station, Indiana that came in around noon. Here is some of what Ed wrote:
Just a note, the siding on the rear of the house was melted by an intense garage fire a few months back set by a disgruntled girlfriend and the melted siding on the side of the house was caused when the homeowner set a couch on fire about a year ago.
Around 3:00 PM, Ed shot the fire below at 15th and Connecticut in Gary, Indiana:
On arrival Battalion 4 advised of heavy smoke showing from a 2 story apartment building. Crews made an aggressive interior attack and brought the fire under control quickly.
In Vacaville, California, Firefighter Louis Jones had a rather unique experience. Jones and his fellow firefighters responded yesterday morning to a medical call at a mobile home park in the 1000 block of Nut Tree Road. Something seemed quite familiar in the home where the emergency was located. The first thing to catch the eye of Firefighter Jones was a yellow plastic block that looked like the one he had until a week earlier. Jones' vanished, along with other items, when the home he was preparing to rent out was burglarized a week earlier.
"I was kind of in shock, " Jones said. "Wow, I used to have something like that, and kind of looked around and saw some of the tools laying there that looked sort of familiar."
Jones and fellow firefighters finished their call and then he called police.
It didn't take long for officers to recover Jones' washing machine and dryer, a lawn mower and a number of his personal effects.
Police arrested 47-year old Ricky Mankini, of Vacaville, and booked him into the Solano County Jail for possession of stolen property.
Unfortunately, Jones still hasn't recovered a quad he loved to ride and a number of other items, but police are still investigating.
Vacaville police contacted Mankini at the hospital, wherehe was visiting his housemate, Jones said. A search of Mankini's vehicle revealed more stolen items and Mankini was arrested for possession of stolen property and booked into the Solano County jail, Lopez said.
"The only thing we recovered was the washer and dryer, a lawn mower, some paint, hinges, paint brushes and keepsakes — beer steins with firefighting related artwork," Jones said.
"Ninety percent of the stuff is still missing," Jones said. He estimates it's worth between $8,000 and $10,000.
Several businesses have been left in ruins after a blaze engulfed a three-storey building in a Surrey strip mall early Thursday morning.
The extent of the damage is not yet known and the cause of the blaze is still being investigated. Firefighters spent hours battling the blaze at 83rd Avenue and Scott Road. The fire rapidly spread through the building, devastating several businesses, including restaurants and a gym.
About 10 fire trucks, three rescue trucks and 46 firefighters responded to the blaze and had it under control by 7:30 a.m., though crews remained on scene targeting remaining hot spots.
No injuries have been reported in connection with the blaze, but a BC Hydro worker who is believed to have fallen down near the scene was loaded into an ambulance.
A fire a week ago on Locust Street in Rochester, New York has become the center of a controversy. The union president says budget cuts and a fire department reorganization put lives and safety at risk. The fire chief says otherwise. Four firefighters and four civilians were hurt during the blaze (see the story below about their charred PPE).
President Jim McTiernan went on to detail various fire units that were out of service at the time that this fire was called in as well as the location of a Battalion Chief who had to respond from South Avenue because another Battalion Chief post was recently eliminated.
McTiernan’s letter also detailed the need for a round-the-clock Group Safety Officer that happened to be present at this fire scene but had been cutback on various shifts due to budgetary restraints. A letter McTiernan sent to those same city leaders last week argued the union’s objections and concerns to cuts that lowered the number of on-duty firefighters from 99 to 86 over Fire Chief Caufield’s 4-Year Plan.
Fire Chief (John) Caufield fired back late Wednesday with a response of his own during an interview with 13WHAM News. Chief Caufield said he disputes nearly every word of McTiernan’s letter and said that 13 firefighters were on-scene at Locust Street in four minutes and a total of 26 were on scene in eight minutes. Caufield also pointed to a report from a senior officer, and a union member, who was at the fire scene and applauded the efforts and decisions of the firefighters that day.
This is a fire yesterday in the 1500 blk Sheffield Avenue in Northeast Baltimore, Maryland. IAFF Local 734 reports the closest engine company was closed for the day. The union also reports three firefighters suffered minor burns.
The fire at 215 Dartmouth Avenue was called in about 12:45 p.m. by dozens of people in the neighborhood who saw smoke pouring from the roof of the three-story structure, said Fire Chief John Caufield.
Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting from the second floor, and upon entering the home saw that the fire had spread throughout the interior walls and ceilings of the house.
Firefighters began fighting the blaze inside, but changed tactics and left the home, fighting it instead from the outside, Caufield said.
Tuesday afternoon, the firefighters prepared their final meal together as a Pontiac Fire Department. Forty-two of them will make the move to Waterford.
Several other are in the process of joining Waterford’s Fire Department.
Throughout the day, many people have been stopping by the building to support those worked there. "We’ve got guys that are off duty that have been here all day,” said Fortney.
Make sure you watch the video above and see how much difference one man with a few fire extinguishers can make. This is a fire on Luwum Street in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It turns out the man who jumped into action has been in the fire protection business for a good part of his life. According to The Monitor he is Arthur Ruhyama Acaali, a trader of fire-fighting equipment, who is in business near where the fire broke out and has jumped into action during previous fires in the area. His nickname is Arthur Fire. Here's how the Monitor describes what Acaali did:
There is smoke escaping into the air, a crowd on the streets has gathered just outside Namaganda plaza, and then the tongues of fire appear, leaping and tossing about. And that's when he appears on the scene, with his unmistakable shaven head, down at the centre of the flames, his right hand swinging back and forth, emptying a jet of white liquid onto the fire from a fire extinguisher he held.
He is seen pulling aside bags, sacks and clothes, retrieving what little he can from the flames. Moments later, screeching sirens announce the arrival of fire trucks.
The video clip ends with him pulling a water hose from the fire engine, to where a few obstinate embers of fire are still lit up.
Jason Low, STATter911.com reader and a firefighter at Redwood Meadows Emergency Services in for Redwood Meadows Emergency Services in Alberta, Canada sent us this information about a fire last night at a service station:
Redwood Meadows Emergency Services (RMES) along with mutual aid partners from Cochrane, Springbank, Elbow Valley, Priddis, Madden, and Langdon all worked together to extinguish a gas/service station that caught fire at 8:20pm MST Monday night. Initial reports are that a car being worked on inside the service bays contained gasoline fumes which were ignited by the overhead heater. One person sustained minor injuries.
Bragg Creek's commercial district is comprised largely of unsprinklered wooden structures. The fact that this was held to the building of origin and did not spread to the very close by strip shopping mall and another gas station can be directly attributed to effective water (tanker) shuttles and frequent pre-plan/table-top exercises by RMES.
A Bragg Creek gas station has been destroyed by a gas-fed fire, despite desperate attempts by fire crews to contain the blaze.
Firefighters spent hours battling an inferno Monday night, sparked inside a garage at the Bragg Creek Husky station on the corner of Highway 22 and Highway 22X.
Residents reported that gas inside the southwest station ignited sometime after 8 p.m.
Rob Evans, deputy fire chief with Redwood Meadows, said the blaze could have been far worse.
“Crews did a great job of saving it from going into the newer mall in Bragg Creek, as well as the old mall, “ he said.
Propane tanks in a cage outside of the gas station were whistling, said Evans — venting and ready to blow.
Evans said the preliminary cause of the fire is gasoline vapours from a vehicle being worked on in the shop at the time, ignited by a unit heater in the ceiling.
A fire fed by exploding welding tanks engulfed a home in central Greeley in minutes and scorched another Sunday afternoon.
Jacob Rodriguez, who was renting the home from Leroy Measner, was welding in the garage when a piece of the melted metal fell to the ground and caught some grease on fire. He tried to put it out but couldn’t and escaped before acetylene and oxygen tanks exploded.
Based on the TV stories I've watched, and what I have read on various new sites, Albuquerque Fire Chief James Breen is providing a good lesson on how to handle the bad news. On Thursday, one of his firefighters was arrested as part of a large drug and money laundering ring. Often when these things happen there is a tendency to circle the wagons with chiefs looking for any excuse to delay or not to talk. Reporters are told, "it's a personnel matter" and "it's currently under investigation". None of those phrases came from Chief Breen.
The chief made sure his voice was heard in the original stories on Thursday, providing a clear statement about his dissatisfaction upon hearing the news. On Friday, he met with reporters and had some very strong statements about the impact of this arrest.
In addition, it appears the chief helped reporters verify an aspect of this story that has to be very troubling for the department. The chief let it be known that AFD is investigating deposits as part of the money laundering scheme that may have been made while Firefighter Steve Chavez was in uniform, on duty and on a fire truck.
As long as there are no bombshells involving Firefighter Chavez's employment the department is not disclosing, I am giving the chief an "A" for getting the bad news out and behind them as soon as possible.
Watch the interview above with Chief Breen and read the quotes below on the latest issue.
From the AP:
Federal authorities said Friday they've taken down two major drug trafficking and money laundering operations in different parts of New Mexico, one involving an Albuquerque firefighter and the other southern New Mexico pecan growers.
In one case, 15 men living in the Albuquerque area were named in a 29-count federal indictment that was announced Friday by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales.
Prosecutors said those arrested included Steve Chavez, 32, a seven-year veteran of the Albuquerque Fire Department.
The department said Friday it has not heard from Chavez, who was scheduled to report for duty Saturday morning.
Officials said his future with the department would be decided soon.
"Firefighters stand and fight for what is good and honorable in this world and if these allegations are true, firefighter Steve Chavez has betrayed his profession and his fellow firefighters," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement.
“Apparently Mr. Chavez had a secret life that nobody knew about,” Breen said. “Some of the allegations state he may have some connection with drug cartels.”
“If these allegations are true, then Firefighter Steve Chavez has not only betrayed his profession but also his fellow firefighters,” Breen said. “I can say that the Albuquerque Fire Department has no tolerance for criminal activity within our ranks.”
"I've been with the Albuquerque Fire Department for 21 years and the allegations, the information contained in the indictment, are the most serious I've seen in my time,” Breen said. “And it's absolutely shocking."
Two deposits for $9,000 in August caught the eye of AFD.
"There is one day a deposit was made he was on a 24-hour shift,” Breen said. “So whether he, or he had a representative make a deposit we don't know that yet. But there was a deposit made in his name when he was on duty."
This video was uploaded to YouTube in September. Judging by the low number of views it has received, it must have not been noticed by the fire service media (that would include the editor of this site). One of our loyal readers pointed it out to us yesterday.
It is from a fire last February 4 at a home on Sixth Avenue in New Hyde Park, New York (Nassau County). Six firefighters were hurt and one of them, Firefighter Max Devane, had to be rescued from the basement. The firefighter is removed from the home at 6:40 in the video above.
Nassau County Fire Marshal Vincent McManus says two of the firefighters were in serious condition, while the other four were treated at area hospitals and released.
McManus says the firefighters were carrying a hose into the basement of the home when a sudden eruption of flames knocked them over.
Three of the firefighters immediately escaped up the stairs. One climbed out a basement window and the most seriously injured was rescued by colleagues.
Max required five weeks of hospitalization and rehabilitation to recover from his injuries and is continuing his recovery at home. Max was forced to withdraw from his college classes and has missed an entire semester of school due to his hospitalization and ongoing recovery.
Also hospitalized after the fire was Firefighter Sean Carton.
"We take what we learn and try to not let it happen again," he said. "Hopefully our guys learned a lesson from that."
The fire department took suggestions from a state inquiry conducted on the basement fire and has instituted new procedures to deal with such situations, Willers said.
Below is additional video shot after Firefighter Devane was removed.
Deputy State Fire Marshall Mike Turner says hot ashes from a wood burning stove caused the Scottsbluff house fire Thursday evening that claimed the life of 92 year old Sal Blanco.
Blanco's body was found in the kitchen area according to Turner.
Gering and Scottsbluff rural firefighters assisted the Scottsbluff fire department in fighting the blaze, which was reported at 8:23 p.m. at 1715 5th Avenue.
The video above is news coverage of Wednesday's hearing involving Macon-Bibb County Lt. Stephanie Burke, who was demoted from captain by Chief Marvin Riggins after learning of Burke's involvement in a September 18 hazing using a fake gunman at Station 108. The clip below has a longer, unedited version of the video that prompted the punishment. Chief Riggins narrates that video explaining why he believes Burke knew more than she admitted. At the bottom is the video that was posted to YouTube.
During testimony Wednesday, a former Macon-Bibb County fire captain denied that she had helped plan a hazing prank at a fire station.
Stephanie Burke also denied that she told another firefighter to video the prank. The video was later posted on the social media website YouTube, prompting an investigation and subsequent disciplinary action.
Earlier in the hearing, Fire Chief Marvin Riggins testified that Burke’s reactions on the video did not indicate to him “someone who is afraid.”
Burke took the stand Wednesday afternoon to say she knew about the stunt in advance, but didn't know the details.
In fact, one firefighter texted her to say he couldn't find anyone to play the role of a shooter, so the stunt was called off.
When the masked gunman entered the station house that day, she said, she was scared at first, but soon realized that the prank was back on.
Earlier, a Macon-Bibb fire battalion chief defended Burke. James Wallace was the first witness for the defense.
He says Burke was good at her job as captain and he would be glad to have her back in that role. He said demoting Burke to lieutenant for her role in the hazing stunt was too harsh.
Five firefighters were disciplined in the case.
Wallace today said he had heard scuttlebutt that a prank was in the works against a new private at Station 108. He says he did not know exactly what was happening, he'd just heard talk of it.
Wallace says pranking rookies had been a tradition at the fire department.
Wallace says he was on the other side of the building when the prank happened. He found out about it when he walked back across and everyone was laughing.
He said he saw the video that night and told them they would end in the chief's office for that. He says he thought that would end it.
Wallace says if he had to recommend discipline for Burke he would agree with a 20-day suspension but not demotion.
"Her, or any of them, I would take them back today," Wallace said when asked if he would be willing to have Burke serve as captain again.
Earlier in the day, Macon-Bibb's fire chief testified that Burke lied to him about planning the videotaped shooting stunt.
Chief Marvin Riggins was the first witness today against Burke.
He said he talked to Burke the day after the videotaped hazing stunt. When he asked her if she knew about the prank, Riggins says Burke told him she was as surprised as the rookies.
Riggins then showed an unedited version of the hazing stunt. He stopped it at several spots to point out Burke.
He says he can see Burke laughing with other firefighters while it happened. She put her hands over her ears just as the firecracker was set to go off, and she jumped up to give high fives at the end. The chief says those actions show she was not scared and had to know about what was happening.
Riggins says after initial interviews, three firefighters gave additional statements saying Burke was more involved than she let on.
Riggins says he asked her repeatedly if she was involved, and she said no.
During cross examination, Riggins says firefighter Justin hill came to him saying he did not feel safe or comfortable at station and was having sleep issues. He was one of the rookies at the firehouse, he said.
Capt Tom Musselwhite was the next witness for city. He was ordered by the chief to conduct a criminal investigation on the incident.
Musselwhite says after looking at the video frame by frame, there was no doubt everyone but the rookie was involved.
He says Burke laughed, moved away from the camera so you could see the rookie, and she clapped at the end.
Burke's hearing began just after 9 a.m. at Macon City Hall.
In his opening statement, Judd Drake the city's attorney, said Burke is guilty of improper conduct, breaking city guidelines, dishonest and disgraceful conduct.
Drake says video and testimony will show Burke failed to accept responsibility and was dishonest to the chief.
Burke's lawyer says the captain is a 25-year veteran of the department, who has never been never been disciplined and worked through the ranks.
She says Burke lost two months' pay and was demoted. They're asking the judge to overturn Chief Marvin Riggins' decision, restore her captain's rank and repay the days lost
Two firefighters have already had their appeal hearings. Josh Brewer who video-taped the incident was demoted and suspended. Christopher Hughes, who says he brought the gun used in the video, was fired.
Firefighters allegedly staged the stunt as a hazing prank, and the video was posted to YouTube.
This video caught my eye from Mathare, in Nairobi, Kenya. Here's the description with the clip:
A fire in Mathare that is suspected to have been started by a cooking stove has destroyed about 40 structures. The Nairobi fire brigade arrived half an hour later and had a difficult time trying to get to the fire point due to the narrow passageways. The damage is yet to be assessed.
Around 6:00 am on January 23, 2012, while returning from a dwelling fire, Battalion Chief 3 (F. Ruff) came upon a two-story, middle of the group dwelling, with heavy fire showing from the first floor. The box alarm and working fire were requested. While requesting the assignment, Chief Ruff sees a civilian jump from the second floor, front window. He immediately requests an additional medic unit. The civilian tells him that there are two other occupants in the second floor, rear room. That information is immediately relayed to responding units. Engine 14 arrives and begins an aggressive interior attack with a preconnected hoseline. Trucks 10 & 23 arrive, deploying ground ladders and initiating a primary search. Command orders the RIT engine to assist in search and rescue due to the known life hazard. Engine 8 arrives in the rear and reports that there is an adult civilian who jumped from the second floor rear as well as an infant who may have been thrown from the second floor. Additional medic units were requested,a total of five, as well as the EMS Battalion Chief. Engine crews worked quickly to extinguish all of the fire while Truck crews performed search and rescue while ventilating and checking for any hidden fire. Paramedics worked quickly to provide advanced life support to two adults and one pediatric patient. The Fire Investigation Bureau, as well as Police Arson Investigators, were on scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire. The victim that jumped from the front of the dwelling was a 45 year old female who was transported to Shock Trauma, in serious condition, with injuries sustained from her fall. The adult victim that jumped from the rear was a 21 year old female who was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, as well as injuries she sustained in her fall. The pediatric victim in the rear was transported to Johns Hopkins Pediatric Trauma Center for possible smoke inhalataion. There were no apparent injuries to the victim and it is not clear whether she was thrown to another person or landed on the ground.
This incident was a perfect example of how all aspects of the Fire Service work together, from the suppresion units to the emergency medical units to the exceptional job by the Fire Communications Bureau in relaying all pertinent information to responding units.
Departments working on the 1st alarm fire which gutted the 2nd floor at this residence on Vista Drive. 1st arriving firefighters from Hecktown and Nancy Run went to work on the 2nd floor with 2 1 3/4 hand lines and had the fire knock downed within 15 minutes of arrival, crews remained on-scene for extensive overhaul.
A house fire reported around 12:30 this morning in the 200 block of Devonshire Road in Tredyffrin, PA (Chester County). According to the description with the video, the call was dispatched as a fireplace fire. Read more about the fire here.
STATter911.com reader Michael Brogan shot this video last night at an apartment fire in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. At about 6:45 on the video firefighters remove a woman from the apartment where the fire started. The body of a man was found in the same apartment.
For those of us in urban areas, the video is a reminder of what can be the reality of rural firefighting where there are often long response times with limited staffing.
The chief arrives at 5:30 in the first video, with an ambulance already on the scene but has to wait for suppression forces to arrive. Water is flowing a little after 4:00 on part 2.
At 1:12 p.m., Milton Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the report of a structure fire at 1283 Palmyra Rd. Car 8501 arrived on scene and found a fully engulfed two story residence. Crews from Milton, Bedford, Westside, and Ghent worked for several ours to extinguish the fire. There were no injuries in the fire and there was nobody home at the time of the fire. The fire appears to be unintentional and cause has yet to be determined. 8501 in Command.
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