Article by Jane Lerner and Rob Ryser at LoHud.com:

Ten families were left homeless today after an early morning fire broke out at an apartment complex off Old Nyack Turnpike across the street from where fire damaged a separate house the night before.

Investigators don’t know if the two fires are connected.

Three firefighters were injured battling the blaze today at Sleepy Hollow Gardens apartment on Lunney Court.

The fire apparently started in Apartment 34 sometime after 6 a.m. It spread to the attic and then to adjacent units, Spring Valley fire Chief Ken Sohlman said.

Michael Choinski, 16, who lives in the apartment next door to where the fire broke out, said his mother was awakened by the sound of windows shattering from the fire. Choinski helped get his family out of the building and then ran to the other apartments in the building.

This is video from a house fire in the same area of Spring Valley around 9:30 PM on Thursday. Click here to see more clips from the fire.

“I was banging on the doors — telling everyone to get out,” he said.

All residents, including the women and her three young daughters who lived in the unit where the fire started, were out of the building by the time firefighters arrived.

It took firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control. Firefighters from Spring Valley, Hillcrest, Monsey and Tallman were at the scene along with Spring Hill and Ramapo Valley ambulance corps.

Thursday night, Spring Valley firefighters were called to a single-family house at 123 Old Nyack Turnpike, directly across the street from the Sleepy Hollow Gardens apartments, shortly after 9:30.

It took them nearly two hours to put out the fire, which caused extensive damage to the house. No one was injured.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused both fires.

The Red Cross was being asked to help residents relocate.

A Kanawha County firefighter was lost and presumed dead in Raleigh County overnight, after the boat he was in capsized.

The firefighter, whose name was not released Saturday morning, was in the Bradley area on a rescue mission when a boat that he and several other firefighters were in turned over.

“It appears that he was lost when his boat capsized,” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said Saturday morning. “They are hoping they can find him. We’ve got a Blackhawk helicopter, other people from Kanawha County, the National Guard … they’re all out there looking.”

The other firefighters who were in the boat are OK, he said.

Excerpts from article by Danielle De Souza, LoHud.com:

Monica Bowens stood in the cold with tears in her eyes, hugging herself and watching her family’s apartment building and all the family’s possessions burn.

“The most important thing is that we are here, but we have nothing,” the 39-year-old said Thursday evening, shaking her head.

She and her three children were among the 12 families – 48 people – left without a home by the four-alarm fire that started around 4:30 p.m.

The blaze started on the rear porches of 66 Elliott Ave. and spread to the roof, Yonkers Fire Commissioner Anthony Pagano said at the scene.

“There were no reported injuries and no one was reported missing,” Pagano said. “There were people who were trapped inside, but they were brought out.”

As clouds of black smoke blew down the street, people watched, took pictures with cameras and cell phones, cried and prayed.

Some of the displaced residents said they heard that the fire started after a group of children set a cat on fire.

“I heard that too,” Bowens said. “But, I don’t know.”

A fire official said Thursday night that the cause was not yet known.

Bowens said she was lying down when a friend told her that there was a fire in the building. She said she had tried to go out the back door, but her nephew told her it was a “serious fire.”

An alarm activation around 1:00 this morning sent police in Rockville to the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service logistics and supply building at 701-C Dover Road. Assistant Chief Scott Graham, a department spokesman, says three 17-year-old firefighters from the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department were caught in the act of stealing equipment. Their names have not been released, but all three have been charged with theft and illegal entry by officers from the Rockville City Police Department.

The three are assigned to Station 3 at 380 Hungerford Drive and have now been suspended from the department. Sources indicate police are investigating the possibility the teens were able to get a key from a Knox Box to enter the building. The sources, who are not authorized to speak on this matter, said the firefighters had gathered up Halligan bars and personal protective gear. Officials have not indicating why the young firefighters wanted the equipment.

The arrests came two days after nine other members of Station 3 were suspended when police discovered them inside a locked community room at the Fenestra Apartments at 20 Maryland Avenue. The apartments are across the street from Station 3. No charges have been filed in that case.

Sources indicate that firefighters had been allowed access to the room in recent weeks, but on Tuesday evening a door had been forced to gain entry. The room has a pool table and other amenities. Sources indicate there had been alcohol use. Some of the volunteer firefighters discovered by police are under 21 years of age. The sources also say others, besides firefighters, were in the party room.

Eric Bernard, the president of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, referred STATter911.com to Assistant Chief Graham for comments about the two incidents.

Graham said, “Whenever such incidents occur, whether it involves career or volunteer personal, it leaves a black eye on the fire service as a whole. We take this very seriously and are disappointed in the actions and behavior of the personnel involved.”

Asked about the supervision of teenaged firefighters, Chief Graham said they are properly supervised when inside the fire station and involved in other fire department sanctioned activities.

Click the picture for more images.

Three people were seriously hurt after a crash involving Rescue Squad 1 at 14th Street and Constitution Ave in Northwest Washington.

DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer says the crew was responding to a report of a fire at a library at George Washington University when it was involved in a crash with two other vehicles around 7:30 AM today. Three people in the two cars were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. No firefighters were hurt.

The fire at the library ended up being a small fire in the heating and air conditioning system. Piringer says it was quickly contained.

Read Chief Dennis Rubin’s prepared testimony

DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin testified Friday before the DC City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. This was a scheduled oversight hearing. It included discussion of the recent death of two-year-old Stephanie Stephens. A criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch is determining if there was criminal neglect by a senior paramedic when the decision was made not to take the little girl to the hospital after her mother’s initial call to 911 in the middle of a blizzard on February 10.

Kenneth Lyons, president of AFGE Local 3721 representing civilian EMS workers, gave indication to reporters that the transport decision was a mutual one between Stephens’ mother and the paramedic. Numerous sources have confirmed the medic failed to get a signed release or fill out an electronic patient care report after the response.

In his opening remarks at the hearing Chief Rubin said, “The department is revising our non-transport policy to include the addition of a mandatory supervisory verification that assures all patient protocols were followed prior to the unit leaving the scene.”

On numerous occasions during the hearing Chief Rubin took full responsibility for the failures in the Stephens case. Here is an excerpt from his prepared testimony:

Before I begin, I must offer my most sincere and heartfelt apology to the parents and family of Stephanie Stephens for her death. I am the father of three children and grandfather of one and I cannot begin to imagine how I would feel if placed in the same position. I can only say that I was profoundly shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the circumstances of this case and since learning of them I have devoted almost all of my time to investigating and reviewing this Department’s actions. My heart goes out to the parents and family of this little child and if there was anything I could do to change what occurred, I would act immediately to make it happen. That said, and as the Fire and EMS Chief for the District of Columbia, I must accept responsibility for the actions of our employees. Public responsibility for failure in this case will be mine and mine alone and I do not intend to share this responsibility with others. Good leadership begins and ends at the top and I can only hope that my testimony today will reassure this community that the emergency medical services system in the District of Columbia is not broken and does not suffer from a lack of sound judgment and responsible actions by the vast majority of our employees.

Here’s more on the hearing from 9NEWS NOW’s Audrey Barnes:

A day after DC police launched a criminal investigation into a decision by a senior paramedic not to transport a child who later died, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin was summoned to a council hearing to explain some recent department missteps.

Like the case of Stephanie Thomas, who testified that she called paramedics to her home last spring when her nine-year-old asthmatic son was having chest pains and trouble breathing.

“I requested transport to Children’s Hospital,” Thomas says. “The paramedic told me that wasn’t necessary, to put him in the shower with some steam, and if I needed them later, call back.”

Within an hour, she says her son’s condition worsened, so she drove him to the hospital herself.  The first question she was asked was, “Why did I take so long to bring him in?”

Thomas’ son survived. The case is eerily similar to that of Stephanie Stephens, who died the day after one crew refused to take her to the hospital to treat her breathing difficulty, and suggested steam as a treatment.

“The buck stops with Chief Rubin,” the head of Local 3721 Kenneth Lyons says. “He knew about these other cases and tried to cover them up, blaming it on semantics, while families grieve.”

Rubin says he accepts the blame and will investigate the Thomas case. He says he just learned about it.

“We will get to the bottom of this,” Rubin says. “We’ll get it resolved.”

The council’s oversight committee expects to release its findings soon.

Vacant car dealership burns, firefighter hurt: The firefighter hurt his knee helping homeless squatters get out of this vacant building in Vallejo, California yesterday morning. The fire went to three-alarms. Read the details.

NEW – DC Rescue Squad 1 involved in serious collision: On the way to a reported of a building fire in Northwest Washington, DC Fire & EMS Department Rescue Squad 1 collided with a vehicle that then hit another vehicle. It happened just after 7:30 this morning at 14th and Constitution, NW. Spokesman Pete Piringer says three civlians were hurt, listed as traumas by mechanism. No firefighters were injured. We will have more later.

Was paramedic criminally negligent?: That’s the question the Special Victim’s Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch has been charged with determining following the death of two-year-old Stephanie Stephens. The mayor, fire chief, police chief and attorney general of the District of Columbia contend there is enough information about the actions of the paramedic in charge when the decision was made on the initial 911 call not to transport the little girl that detectives specializing in the deaths of children need to take a closer look. Here’s the story.

DC’s former fire chief now says fire & EMS should be separated: Former DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Adrian Thompson now believes EMS in the District of Columbia should be a third service. Thompson tells Matt Cella of The Washington Times, “It’s not working. It’s a cultural issue. They’re not going to change the culture of this department.” Here are more excerpts-

The former chief, who is black, said white firefighters with generational ties to the department largely have been less accepting of the job’s evolving responsibilities, particularly an increased emphasis in recent decades on providing pre-hospital care.

“They want to be firefighters and firefighters only,” he said, adding that black firefighters have entered the department in significant numbers in only the past 20 or 30 years and largely have been more open to other responsibilities if it meant securing a job.

Deputy Chief Kenneth Crosswhite, a spokesman for Chief Dennis L. Rubin, who is white, called Mr. Thompson’s conclusions “totally ludicrous.” He estimated that the department has about 45 percent non-minority employees and 55 percent minority employees.

“For someone to make an assertion like that is totally, totally out of touch with today’s reality,” he said. “Leadership starts at the top. If he had that notion during his tenure, he should have solved the problem.”

Chief Thompson was in charge of the department in January, 2006 when former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum was murdered. Thompson initially told reporters that his review of the case found no problems in the care provided to the dying man. An inspector general’s report discovered many issues in how first responders and Howard University Hospital dealt with Rosenbaum.

Life sentence for man who killed Delaware’s Michelle Smith: Joseph Taye was give his sentence yesterday for running down Firefighter Smith as she tended to the victim of a motorcycle crash near the Wilmington airport. Taye, a paraplegic, apologized in court for the harm he has done. Click here for the story.

Black firefighters talk about race relations in Chicago: As the Supreme Court deals with a case that hinges on hiring practices, some firefighters give their views on the state of race relations in the Chicago Fire Department. Click here and here.

Late assault report between firefighters in North Carolina: In Elon a fire captain is accused of assaulting a firefighter who was welding at the firehouse after some initial horseplay over keys. Here are the details.

The Metropolitan Police Department is now handling the investigation of a paramedic who was in charge of the care for two-year-old Stephanie Stephens when a decision was made not to take the little girl to the hospital in the early morning hours of February 10th. A second crew transported Stephens to Children’s National Medical Center about nine-hours later. She died the next day at the hospital. Her family says the girl had pneumonia.

Officials have not said why the girl wasn’t taken to the hospital after the first call, but Mayor Adrian Fenty, flanked by his attorney general, police chief and fire chief said at a press conference there is enough concern that a criminal review of the unidentified veteran paramedic’s actions is warranted. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says that investigation will be handled by the homicide detectives in the Special Victim’s Unit. Lanier says the detectives specialize in dealing with the deaths of children.

The family of the girl has indicated an EMS crew member pointed out the difficulty of traveling on snow clogged streets in the middle of the second of two back-to-back blizzards to hit Washington.

Sources have indicated the paramedic crew failed to get a signed release from the girl’s mother or fill out an electronic patient care report. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin indicated there is a specific protocol on handling an incident where the patient is not transported to the hospital.

Attorney General Peter Nickles says the criminal review only involves the paramedic and not the EMT who was her partner on the call.

In today’s Washington Post an editorial is critical of the progress made by the city since the death of former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum in 2006. It echoes a recent letter to the editor by a top doctor at Children’s National Medical Center. 

When asked about such criticism, Mayor Adrian Fenty points to the more than 140,000 EMS calls in the city that are handled without incident. When asked by a reporter, Fenty says he has full confidence in Dennis Rubin who is about to celebrate his third year as chief.

Providence, Rhode Island fire: A fire on Violet Street around 9:00 last night. Clip from Providence Fire Videos. More details from WPRI-TV.

Investigation into why firefighters couldn’t reach woman in time who was on phone with 911: A tragic story from Spotsylvania County, Virginia. A 911 call taker listened to Sandy Hill’s last breaths as firefighters tried desperately to find her on the second floor of the burning Cape Cod. By the time they get to the woman it was too late. STATter911.com/9NEWS NOW had filed a FOIA for the fireground & 911 audio in this case, but we were scooped by the local paper. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star’s Dan Telvock takes a close look at this story and has the recordings. Click here.

DC crew received disciplinary action after failing to take woman to the hospital: This is a case from December with strong parallels to the investigation on-going into the death of a two-year-old girl during the second blizzard in February. In both cases it took a second 911 call to get a ride to the hospital. And in both cases the initial crews failed to get a signed release or file a patient care report. Click here for our coverage. 

Five firefighters injured in Brooklyn fire: Five firefighters were hurt around 4:00 this morning battling a fire on Concord Street. Two are reported to be in serious condition, but the injuries aren’t considered life-threatening. Here’s more from WCBS-TV.

Driven to distraction: Back in the day I used to find it a challenge when going driver only to a call, keeping the hands on the steering wheel, shifting gears, talking on the radio and blowing the siren. Now you have computers, GPS and other electronics to distract you in the front seat of an emergency vehicle. The New York Times looks at the growing concern that first responders may be distracted by all these bells and whistles. Check out the article.

Fiery multiple-vehicle crash on the highway: Firegeezer has the story and video from Indianapolis. Click here.

We are the fire service, why do we need to be fire safe?: There was a destructive fire at the UK Fire Service College last May. Now it’s been determined that the school didn’t exactly comply with fire safety laws. Read more. 

Another blue light special: In Martinsville, Indiana a volunteer firefighter didn’t like the way a woman was driving. He pulled her over and yelled at her. His blue light is now history for six-months. Read more.

Firefighter is canned after two women come to blows: The two women squared off after a city council meeting in Johnston City, Illinois where layoffs and pay cuts were dealt with. A man, who is a firefighter and part-time dispatcher, says he was fired because of the fight. Click here for the story.

Drawbridge rescue: Raw video from yesterday’s rescue of four workers in Pompano Beach, Florida. Check it out.

Houston considers furloughs: Houston’s mayor is the latest big city officials to talk about furloughs for fire and police to help balance the budget. Read more.

Fireground audio

Transcript of fireground radio traffic

Transcript of Sandy Hill’s call to 911

Read the entire article

An investigation is underway after firefighters in Spotsylvania County, Virginia failed to find a woman who was on the phone, trapped in her house, while firefighters were inside searching. It apparently took repeated attempts and more than 20 minutes before firefighters finally found 43-year-old Sandy Hill on February 5.

Firefighters were able to rescue another person trapped in the fire. According to Dan Telvock with the Frederickburg Free Lance-Star, Hill was on the second floor of the 2000 square foor, four bedroom, Cape Cod. The paper has the fireground audio, audio of part of Sandy Hill’s conversation with 911 and transcripts of her calls. 

Here is an excerpt from Telvock’s article:

Carl Maurice, a Spotsylvania resident who spent 32 years with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, is the only expert who listened to the recordings and also viewed the exterior of the house.

“If someone presented this scenario to me in theory, I would have expected the victim to survive,” Maurice said. “The question everyone has to ask is ‘Why didn’t she?’”

Kevin Dillard, the administrative chief and spokesman of Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, initially sent an e-mail a few hours after the fire praising the 45 volunteers involved for an “awesome job.”

But this week, after learning more about the response, Dillard said he thinks an investigation is warranted.

Dillard said he knew few details when he sent the e-mail. Only after after some volunteers criticized the response two weeks ago did he begin to realize “serious” problems related to the response, he said.

For example, thermal imaging cameras that could have helped locate Hill and the teenager were available at the scene but were not used.

Dillard said a ladder was never deployed to Hill’s bedroom windows, and the crews seemed to be confused with the layout of the house and where Hill was trapped.

Dillard said ventilating the house to remove smoke came late in the process because there was a delay in announcing that the fire had been extinguished.

This incident seems to have a lot of similarities to a fire in Fairfax County in May, 2007 where firefighters were unable to find 49-year-old Debra Chiles on the top floor of her small townhouse. Chiles was in the bathroom on the phone with 911 as firefighters pulled up to battle a kitchen fire. The acting chief of the department admitted at the time that Chiles should have been found.