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Guest column: ‘Nano news’ & why you should care.

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Read more from Gerald Baron at Crisisblogger

My friend Gerald Baron is very good at figuring out what new things mean and the impact on those in emergency management. We’ve been living with “nano news” for a while but probably didn’t realize what it was. Essentially it’s instant news without the editing, processing and context that journalists traditionally provided. Or, as Gerald has written, “realtime information sharing from the source–from the scene, the front-lines or by real time sharing of police scanners and the like”. The aps and websites broadcasting public safety radio traffic that we’ve become familiar with are part of what fuels “nano news”.

What bothers me greatly is that too often these days during breaking news coverage, traditional news media puts unconfirmed scanner information and other unconfimed reports (AKA rumors) on the air and/or on the web. We once counted on reporting by these organizations to be an important source of reliable information. With many of the mistakes made during the Boston Marathon news coverage and other significant events in recent years, some of the major news organizations are becoming no more valuable as a source of reliable information than the neighborhood gossip on Facebook or Twitter. More reason an “official” flow of information on social media platforms needs to be established in the very early stages of an incident.

As the Boston Marathon bombings proved, “nano news” can have a direct impact on the management of an incident. Here’s Gerald’s view as orginally posted in his blog Crisisblogger (a site you will want to read regularly).

In a recent keynote presentation I made to an emergency management conference and in a post on Crisis Comm over at emergencymgmt.com I used the term “nano news.” Since it has been referenced lately by others I thought some further thoughts here might be worthwhile.

Webster defines “news” as ” a report of recent events.” “Nano” is one billionth of a second. Nano has come to refer to anything very small. So what is very small news?

In the Boston bombing manhunt one new feature of reporting news came to the wider public attention. This was the quite wide-spread use of police scanner apps, websites like “broadcastify” and linking police scanners to the internet through Ustream. What all of these methods do is the same: they capture the realtime police communications as the responders are doing their job. In this case, hunting down and capturing the remaining suspect in the Marathon bombing.

News media using police scanners to gather information is nothing new. And of course, there are those, some might call them geeks, who make a hobby of listening in on police radios. What is new is the use of the internet and social media such as Reddit, 4chan and Ustream to share that real time police activity with the rest of the world. This is a game changer in several respects.

One, it takes “instant news” to a whole new level. This is getting as close as it seems possible to being one of the eyewitnesses on the scene, except you can be on the other side of the globe. How do you get faster than instant? Nano, I guess.

Second, it is “small news.” It comes in the tiniest bits and pieces. For example, the Redditor who was following a police scanner app reported during his or her continual stream of reports from the police scanner that “we have movement, arm is moving.” This was one of the first indications to the police and simultaneously to the world that the suspect was alive under the tarp covering the boat. A tiny bit of information, but yet so significant to those “on the scene” eagerly watching events unfold.

Third, it is fully unfiltered, unchecked and unreliable. It’s long been said that the first reports about almost anything are bound to be wrong. But when those first reports are not about what HAS happened, but what IS happening, it seems almost more certain they will be wrong. We saw that to tragic effect in the Boston situation, where a police scanner referencing the name of a possible suspect was picked up and distributed widely throughout the internet. One women’s organization with 300,000 Facebook likes put that name out and apologized when it turned out to be a missing student who was found dead a few days later. The apology included the explanation “I’m not a journalist,” as if that excused the distribution of a false report to hundreds of thousands. What the new “nano news” reporters seem to not understand is that they are “journalists” or “broadcasters” in the sense that what they say can and often is distributed to thousands or even millions and they bear some responsibility when the false information ends up impacting response activity or the lives of those involved.

Fourth, related to the above, information true and false can be harmful. It can hurt police or response operations. It can compromise public safety. It can cause untold damage to reputations and cause extreme emotional pain. Because of this, no doubt the emergence of “nano news” will prompt the further use of encrypted radios, but I would guess may also spur legislation. Legislation is often a recourse when people act irresponsibly and most “5-0 Scan kids” as I call them (after the popular app 5-0 Scan) would not consider it irresponsible to simply relay what is on the police scanner. But it can be and often is. When they use their computer to live video a police scanner and share that on Ustream they would not think of the harm they could be causing. But they should.

We have left an era of “processed news.” That is information that is gathered, vetted, verified, compressed, packaged and distributed to a waiting audience. The audience has become the broadcaster and those charged with vetting, approving and packaging are struggling mightily to figure out how to be responsible when they can’t possibly beat the police scanners or the on-the-scene eyewitnesses sharing what they observe on Twitter. As they get closer to nano news themselves, mistakes with potentially huge consequences are inevitable. But, when it is desperately important to us, we can accept those errors are part of the price we pay for getting what we want right now.

Nano news is here to stay. For good and ill.

UPDATE:

Just after writing this I read this excellent post by Bill Salvin about using Twitter in the first hour after an incident. He’s right on the money and since Twitter largely created the nano news phenomenon, it is essential that crisis communicators follow Bill’s advice.

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Posted by on June 16, 2013 • Filed under: 911, Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Dispatch & Communications, Emergency Communications, EMS Dispatch, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Dispatch, Fire Prevention & Education, Firefighter Safety & Health, Fireground Audio, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mayday radio traffic: Three-alarm fire in Boston with two maydays. Six firefighters hurt. One resident dead.

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Broadcastify.com audio via firefighterdispatch from a fire reported around 6:30 this morning on Linden Street in Boston, Massachusetts.  There are two separate maydays on the audio. One at 9:50 and the other at 22:00. The pictures on this page are from the Boston Fire Department.

AP:

The Boston Fire Department says a house fire in the city’s Allston neighborhood has killed one person and injured 15 people, including six firefighters.

Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Fire Department, said the fire at the 2-1/2- story wood frame house was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

He says none of the injuries to the firefighters or residents were life-threatening and all firefighters were treated and released. Some of the residents remained hospitalized late Sunday afternoon.

Laurel J. Sweet, Boston Herald:

One firefighter fell through a second-story floor while another fell down the stairs, Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

One resident jumped from the upper floors while three others were taken down ladders. An BFD aerial tower was unable to reach the upper floors because of power lines, MacDonald said.

“It got so bad that the chief ordered everyone out of the building,” MacDonald said. “One resident told us someone was missing. We could not make entry. We knew there was a good possibility we would find someone inside.”

WBZ-TV:

Boston Fire Department spokesperson Steven McDonald said the person who died in the fire was in the attic of the home.

McDonald said 19 people were living in the 7 to 9-bedroom home. Six of the residents were Boston University students, McDonald said.

Firefighters were hurt after falling through the second floor of the home and landing on the first floor.

Posted by on April 28, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Dispatch & Communications, Emergency Communications, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Dispatch, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Fireground Audio, Fires, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Rescues • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

To share is human. To be right, divine. Be skeptical. Stop helping the people who prey on your emotions.

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Our emotions run high after a day like yesterday. We are outraged. We want to help. But for most of us our only direct connection to the people in Boston is through the keyboard of our computer via Facebook. When we see a picture like the one above our first instinct is to immediately share this outrage with our Facebook friends. As of 8:20 AM EST, this version of this image was shared by more than 37,000 people (up from 31,000 an hour earlier).

But do you know what you are sharing? Consuming news and information on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter requires a healthy dose of skeptisism. There is an enourmous amount of crap out there, including this picture and the description with it.

It was not a girl, but an eight-year-old boy who was one of three people murdered yesterday in Boston. His name is Martin Richard. His death is tragic enough that we don’t need a back story connecting a child’s fictional death to the Newtown tragedy to get our attention. Even if you didn’t know that information, there were a couple pretty obvious warning signs that this image and message were a hoax, including that this girl was participating, not in the Boston Marathon, but a 5K.

There are people out there who know many of us are easy marks after something like this. Some of them will be asking you for money. Others will try to suck you into their political cause. And then there are the ones who get their jollies by getting us all worked up over something that just didn’t happen.

We all have friends on Facebook whose day isn’t complete unless they are outraged or mourning something or many things. There is no filter between what they read and the share button. Some of it comes from what a journalist in St. Louis referred to a number of years ago as COD, Compulsive Outrage Disorder. For others, it comes from a good, well-meaning place of just wanting to show compassion.

Believe it or not, there are ways any of us sitting at home watching can help after a tragedy that go a little beyond telling your friends to wear a certain color or to post a certain picture. Among them, volunteering for an organization that is assisting victims or donating to a legitimate charity in honor of a victim.  

And while it takes more time and effort than liking a slogan or a poster on Facebook, we can actually increase our own knowledge and undertsanding of what happened by finding the real stories of the real victims and taking the time to read them. Then maybe you will be inspired to write a few sentences to send to your friends, sharing your own thoughts rather than forwarding someone else’s slogan or agenda.

But even if you don’t like any of those suggestions, please just do a favor to all your Facebook friends and be a little more cautious and skeptical before hitting the share button. When we share a picture like this one, I think we are actually dishonoring the people we were intending to honor.

Posted by on April 16, 2013 • Filed under: EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Major Incidents, News, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATED: Listen to initial fire & police radio traffic from Boston explosions. Raw video of blasts at Marathon. 3 dead & more than 100 hurt.

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Previous coverage

My Fox Boston live 

Listen Live: Boston Fire Department 

Boston Police Department Twitter

Audio from firefighterdispatch. Above is the initial audio from the Boston Police Department and below is the radio traffic from the Boston Fire Department.

From the AP:

Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people and injuring more than 130 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S.

A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.

President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will “feel the full weight of justice.”

The fiery twin blasts took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course. Blood stained the pavement, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories.

“They just started bringing people in with no limbs,” said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children’s eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but “they saw a lot.”

“They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,” Lisa Davey said. “Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed.”

Authorities shed no light on a motive or who may have carried out the bombings, and police said they had no suspects in custody. Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The FBI took charge of the investigation.

Police said three people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 134 injured, at least 15 of them critically. The victims’ injuries included broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency services, said: “This is something I’ve never seen in my 25 years here … this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war.”

Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathons.

One of Boston’s biggest annual events, the race winds up near Copley Square, not far from the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution, at Concord and Lexington in 1775.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis asked people to stay indoors or go back to their hotel rooms and avoid crowds as bomb squads methodically checked parcels and bags left along the race route. He said investigators didn’t know whether the bombs were hidden in mailboxes or trash cans.

He said authorities had received “no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen” at the race.

The Federal Aviation Administration barred low-flying aircraft within 3.5 miles of the site.

“We still don’t know who did this or why,” Obama said at the White House, adding, “Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this.”

With scant official information to guide them, members of Congress said there was little or no doubt it was an act of terrorism.

“We just don’t know whether it’s foreign or domestic,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

A few miles away from the finish line and around the same time, a fire broke out at the John F. Kennedy Library. The police commissioner said that it may have been caused by an incendiary device and that it was not clear whether it was related to the bombings.

The first explosion occurred on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the finish line.

When the second bomb went off, the spectators’ cheers turned to screams. As sirens blared, emergency workers and National Guardsmen who had been assigned to the race for crowd control began climbing over and tearing down temporary fences to get to the blast site.

The bombings occurred about four hours into the race and two hours after the men’s winner crossed the line. By that point, more than 17,000 of the athletes had finished the race, but thousands more were still running.

The attack may have been timed for maximum carnage: The four-hour mark is typically a crowded time near the finish line because of the slow-but-steady recreational runners completing the race and because of all the friends and relatives clustered around to cheer them on.

Runners in the medical tent for treatment of dehydration or other race-related ills were pushed out to make room for victims of the bombing.

A woman who was a few feet from the second bomb, Brighid Wall, 35, of Duxbury, said that when it exploded, runners and spectators froze, unsure of what to do. Her husband threw their children to the ground, lay on top of them and another man lay on top of them and said, “Don’t get up, don’t get up.”

After a minute or so without another explosion, Wall said, she and her family headed to a Starbucks and out the back door through an alley. Around them, the windows of the bars and restaurants were blown out.

She said she saw six to eight people bleeding profusely, including one man who was kneeling, dazed, with blood trickling down his head. Another person was on the ground covered in blood and not moving.

“My ears are zinging. Their ears are zinging,” Wall said. “It was so forceful. It knocked us to the ground.”

Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured, while race stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site.

Roupen Bastajian, a state trooper from Smithfield, R.I., had just finished the race when he heard the blasts.

“I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor,” he said. “We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. … At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing.”

The race honored the victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting with a special mile marker in Monday’s race.

Boston Athletic Association president Joanne Flaminio previously said there was “special significance” to the fact that the race is 26.2 miles long and 26 people died at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Associated Press writers Jay Lindsay, Steve LeBlanc, Bridget Murphy and Meghan Barr in Boston; Julie Pace, Lara Jakes and Eileen Sullivan in Washington; and Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

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Posted by on April 15, 2013 • Filed under: 911 Audio, Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Dispatch & Communications, Emergency Communications, EMS Dispatch, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Dispatch, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fireground Audio, Major Incidents, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Raw video: Five-alarms for Boston apartment fire. Resident jumps on & injures lieutenant.

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These clips are from  and BostonFireVideo.com of a fire early this morning at 62-64 Quint Avenue in the Allston section of Boston, Massachusetts.

Alli Knothe & Dan Adams, Boston Globe:

A woman leaped from the third floor of an apartment building in Allston to escape a five-alarm blaze early this morning and landed on a fire lieutenant, according to officials. The three-story white wood building at 62-64 Quint Ave. was destroyed in the fire, to which firefighters responded at about 6:15 a.m., according to the Boston Fire Department. Six residents were transported to local hospitals, as well as the lieutenant. A man also jumped from the second floor and a few residents were being treated for smoke inhalation.

Steve Annear, BostonInno.com:

(Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve) MacDonald said nine residents were displaced and six were sent to the hospital on Saturday morning, including a woman who jumped from the third floor window, bounced off of the first-floor rear entrance roof and then landed on a Fire Lieutenant at the scene of the heavy fire. “Before the ladder was in position, she jumped,” he said. Both the victim and the fire official were transported to the hospital, according to MacDonald. 

John Zaremba, Boston Herald:

The woman is in critical condition, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. The firefighter was also hospitalized, he said.

The woman leapt from the rear of the burning three-story on Quint Avenue as firefighters were extending a rescue ladder. She landed on a pitched roof, then rolled off onto one of the firefighters, MacDonald said.

Another man inside leapt from a second-floor window, MacDonald said. The occupants were not identified, but MacDonald said they appeared to be in their 20s.

Posted by on October 27, 2012 • Filed under: Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Arrival video (this is not a drill): Seven-alarm residential fire with exposures on Chelsea Street in East Boston.

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Boston.com:

A seven-alarm fire destroyed a brick duplex in East Boston on Sunday afternoon, displacing 30 people, injuring three firefighters, damaging adjacent properties and snarling traffic in the heavily congested area, officials said.

Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman, said the initial call came in shortly before 2 p.m. and officials rapidly raised the number of alarms because of the size of the building, which is located on Chelsea Street, the number of families it houses, and the proximity of neighboring buildings. The building next door, which was damaged by the flames, is about four feet away, officials said.

WBZ Radio:

At one point, the 7-alarm blaze seemed to be contained, but then it flared up again, causing ceilings and walls to buckle.

Three firefighters were hospitalized. Two suffered shoulder injuries, while one suffered an arm injury. 

WFXT-TV:

When firefighters arrived on scene, there was heavy smoke and fire coming  from the top floor of the multi-family home. The top floor houses two residents  who were not home at the time of the fire.

The fire quickly spread to other buildings while additional fire crews were  called to knock down what became a seven-alarm fire.

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Posted by on April 1, 2012 • Filed under: Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fireground audio & raw video: More from Boston six-alarm apartment building fire.

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Earlier coverage of this fire

More from the six-alarm apartment fire in Boston early this morning that left a dozen people hurt. The fireground audio is above and raw video below.

Posted by on October 17, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fireground Audio, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Six alarms in Boston. Numerous rescues at Roxbury apartment fire.

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From the AP:

A 6-alarm apartment building fire that authorities say was deliberately set in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood has injured more than a dozen people and prompted dramatic rescues.

Residents say they heard an explosion in the large building on Wardman Road just before the fire started early Monday.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald tells the Associated Press that a man walked into a hospital with burns and told officials he started the fire.

MacDonald says the man was arrested. His name hasn't been released and investigators weren't sure if he lived in the building or was visiting.

Firefighters rescued about 15 people, including a 6-year-old boy who was dropped from a third-floor apartment into the arms of a firefighter.

MacDonald says 10 residents, two firefighters and one police officer were taken to hospitals.

 

Posted by on October 17, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EMS official grabs WNBC-TV camera. Apparently they don’t read U.S. Court of Appeals decisions in Suffolk County, New York.

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Read more at Firegeezer.com

More details from the Reporters Commitee for Freedom of the Press

Read entire opinion from U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Read FireLawBlog.com's Curt Varone's view

Previous coverage of cameras & first responders

It took only a week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the right of the citizenry to shoot video of public officials working in public places for someone to decide that the law of the land doesn't apply in their jurisdiction. Interestingly, that jurisdiction is Suffolk County, New York, where a little more than a month earlier a veteran police sergeant decided he was editor in chief after chasing a freelance videographer from a crime scene and later arresting him for daring to point a camera in the direction of cops doing their jobs. Did I miss the footnote to the First Amendment that says "except on Long Island"?

Even more interesting is that the confrontation above was shot by Phil Datz (and posted on September 3), the same cameraman who the good sergeant arrested on July 29 (see the video below).

Mike Ward, AKA FossilMedic, found and posted this one at Firegeezer and has his own comments about this one. Here are mine.

Mike and others report it is a Suffolk County EMS officer who grabbed the camera at a Haz-Mat scene in Bohemia, New York. Now, I know a lot of people will look at this one and say the cameraman, from WNBC-TV, is too close. The information with this video and posted elsewhere indicates no police or fire line was established until after this incident occurred.

Whether he is too close or, as the official says in the video, "I told you to stop", is really meaningless here. An EMS official grabbing a camera like that makes him and his agency look foolish and opens the organization up for all kinds of issues. You rarely win pulling a stunt like this.

Yes, for all you press haters, it looks good giving the nasty media what those scums deserve. But where in the job description does it say someone in fire or EMS has the right to decide what can be photographed or the right to grab a person or a camera to enforce their orders?

My advice is unless someone's life or safety is in imminent danger you might want to leave the enforcement to police. Though in Suffolk County we have discovered that some police officers have a lot to learn about this same issue.

Posted by on September 13, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Cameras & firefighters, EMS & police, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, must see video, News, PIO, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The First Amendment lives. U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston says there is nothing illegal about shooting video of police doing their jobs.

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Appeals Court opinion doesn't give a lot of support to the belief of the EMS crew member in this July 22, 2011 video from Coudersport, Pennsylvania that she can decide who takes her picture in a public place.

Read entire opinion from U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Previous coverage of cameras & first responders

Watch ACLU video that includes cell phone video that lead to arrest

We have written often about confrontations between first responders and the people who take pictures of them doing their jobs. The videos on this page are two of the most recent ones we have posted. The discussion has been quite animated, with some in our comments section believing that police, fire and EMS have a say in what the press and private citizens can and can't shoot in a public place.

I have often expressed my bias in this conversation as a strong supporter of the First Amendment. In an important ruling that addresses new technology and the reality that cameras are everywhere, I am very happy to report the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has the same view I do.

The case involves Simon Glik who was arrested in 2007 after using his cell phone to record an arrest by police on Boston Common where Glik thought excessive force was being used.

Police claimed Glik was violating Massachusetts law prohibiting audio recording without the consent of the person being recorded.

Here's an excerpt from an article by Robin Harris at zd.net.com:

Glik was charged with wiretapping, disturbing the peace and aiding the escape of a prisoner. The last was so silly the state dismissed the charge.

The Boston Municipal Court found Glik not guilty of the other charges, noting the audio recording was not secret and carried out in plain view. Glik complained to the police, but they refused to investigate, so he filed a civil rights suit for violation of his 1st and 4th Amendment rights.

Last Friday the court issued a ruling agreeing with Simon Glik that his rights were violated.

The opinion touches on many of the issues we have discussed in this forum about just who the press is these days and what rights the public has in using their cameras. Here is some of the operative language from the ruling.

The First Amendment issue here is, as the parties frame it, fairly narrow: is there a constitutionally protected right to videotape police carrying out their duties in public? Basic First Amendment principles, along with case law from this and other circuits, answer that question unambiguously in the affirmative. It is firmly established that the First Amendment’s aegis extends further than the text’s proscription on laws “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” and encompasses a range of conduct related to the gathering and dissemination of information. As the Supreme Court has observed, “the First Amendment goes beyond protection of the press and the self-expression of individuals to prohibit government from limiting the stock of information from which members of the public may draw.”

Moreover, changes in technology and society have made the lines between private citizen and journalist exceedingly difficult to draw. The proliferation of electronic devices with video-recording capability means that many of our images of current events come from bystanders with a ready cell phone or digital camera rather than a traditional film crew, and news stories are now just as likely to be broken by a blogger at her computer as a reporter at a major newspaper. Such developments make clear why the news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status.

The Suffolk County (NY) Police sergeant in this July 29, 2011 incident isn't likely to find a lot in this opinion that gives him a legal right to become news editor and decide when it is okay for the public and the press to use their cameras.

Posted by on August 30, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Cameras & firefighters, EMS & police, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Patient Management, Police, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A great message from Syracuse chief & union president at annual firefighter memorial service. But will anyone hear it?

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The video above, by Charlie Hannagan at Syracuse.com, is from Firefighter Memorial Park in Syracuse, New York. On this day in 1939 the Collins Block building collapsed taking the lives of eight firefighters and an assistant chief who died three days later. With this memorial service, the Syracuse Fire Department each year honors all of the city’s firefighters who have died in the line of duty. Currently that number is 45.

What isn’t on the video, but is the focus of an article by Hannagan, are the speeches by Chief Mark McLees and IAFF Local 280 president James Ennis. Each man takes the opportunity to remind political leaders and the public that we are the same ”hometown heroes” who were held in such high esteem after 9-11. They address the budget cuts impacting safety and the attacks on firefighter pensions. An important message that needs to be heard all across the country.

But will the citizens and the politicians listen?

It is extremely tough out there right now for firefighters. It isn’t just that you are often losing these economic battles. That’s horrible in itself and is having a devastating impact on scores of departments. It is the image and reputation of firefighters that is also taking a hit. This week alone, on opposite sides of the country, firefighters are making big news with some very unflattering stories about their work ethic (click here and here).

As I pointed out earlier in the week, I am not here to argue the facts of any of these stories. It is the bigger picture that has me worried. Chief McLees and President Ennis are on the right track, but so much more needs to be done. Make sure you read the comments already popping up about their statements to get the full picture of what’s out there.

Here are excerpts from the article:  

Today, “the economy has bottomed out. The government has bailed out Wall Street, the banks, the automobile, insurance and housing industries. Firefighters’ pensions are now being blamed for the financial woes of the state and many other states across the nation,” he (Chief McLees) said.

“Are you kidding me? Firefighters’ pensions are the cause? Seriously?” McLees said.

“The last time I checked there was no plaque with the names of bankers who died in the line of duty. There are no statues of Wall Street executives who laid down their lives for total strangers,” he said.

James Ennis, president of Syracuse Firefighters Local 280, continued on the same theme.

“In these extremely difficult economic times, when pundits and others may argue about the number of firefighters needed to safely operate at a working fire, or complain about the pensions and benefits we receive, I remind you of the 45 brave men whose memories we honor here this morning,” Ennis said.

“I ask, and implore, that you assist us from ever having to add yet another name to the wall behind me,” he said.

Ennis then reminded those present that firefighters and retirees face a shortened life expectancy, a greater risk of getting cancer and other diseases because of their continued exposure to smoke, toxins and other byproducts of combustion in the course of their careers.

Posted by on February 3, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, IAFC, IAFF, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, News, Social Media, Reputation Management, News Media, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FireTruckBlog.com: Apartment building’s insurance company sues City of Boston & repair shops in connection with Lt. Kevin Kelley’s death.

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Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com looks at the lawsuit filed by an insurance company in connection with the January 2009 death of Lt. Kevin Kelley. Lt. Kelley was killed when Boston Fire Department’s Ladder 26 lost its brakes and slammed into a building. The company insures the Mission Hill apartment complex the rig hit. The suit is against the City of Boston and six truck maintenance shops. Lt. Kelley’s family has also filed suit against the same inspection and repair shops. Click here for the coverage from FireTruckBlog.com.

Posted by on January 8, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Apparatus Wrecks, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Courts, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just squeeze me: An interesting look at new apparatus & old buildings on FireTruckBlog.com.

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Read more at FireTruckBlog.com by Glenn Usdin

Many years ago I gave a speech at a fire department banquet in Virginia. It was my first visit inside this fire hall. One of the things I noticed immediately was the ladder truck and how it fit into its bay. It was clear to me the only way this truck was leaving the building is if the tillerman ducked on his way out. I’m not exaggerating. I believe I even cracked a joke that night about a friend of mine who was rather short being assigned as permanent tillerman. (See Rhett it isn’t just you. I’m a regular Randy Newman, but without talent).

How fire departments adapt new, large rigs into old, smaller firehouses has caught the attention of the mainstream press. Specifically the Boston Globe. Check out FireTruckBlog.com which is featuring that article today.

Posted by on December 11, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Career - Volunteer Issues, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, News, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Raw video: Helmet stolen from Boston’s Ladder 26 & firefighters take down a suspect. Complaint to TV station that man was roughed up.

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Above is the  raw cell phone video of the take-down recorded by Jodie Smith.

More from WFXT-TV

Something tells me there isn’t going to be a lot of sympathy on this forum for the man being wrestled to the ground by firefighters from Boston’s Ladder 26. That man, identified by friend Nicholas Duncan as James, is accused of stealing a helmet from the rig and then pushing a firefighter in the chest as he tried to flee.

According to WFXT-TV, Nicholas Duncan says that James was injured when he was roughed up by firefighters who slammed his head into the pavement. A police report says the injuries came when James ran into a pole. WFXT-TV says that Duncan does not dispute who stole the helmet. According to Duncan the helmet ended up in his backpack after James and another man took it.

Jodie Smith, a bystander who took the video, claims a firefighter confronted and pushed him.

 The video above is the story from WFXT-TV.

Posted by on November 1, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, News, Police, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Fire in New Philadelphia, PA: “An early morning fire destroyed four homes and a former restaurant Thursday and damaged at least 19 other homes.” – from RepublicanHerald.com.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in: After a couple days of coverage and posting the fireground audio my hope was to give the Obion County, Tennessee story a rest today. But that changed with the lengthy comment sent overnight from Union City Chief Kelly Edmison. Chief Edmison’s department is also one providing subscription fire service to residents in Obion County. Please take the time to read his comments here.

You will find some not as well thought out remarks from Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz. When you don’t have a good argument you usually do two things: attack your opponent and blame the news media. Rhett does both. Check it out for yourself. He’s turning into a master of distortion.

A Presidential MCI – President Obama dispatches EMS: PGFD PIO Mark Brady tells us what happened when President Barack Obama starts dispatching EMS from the podium during his speech at Bowie State University yesterday. Exhaustion and dehydration seemed to be the major symptoms. Click here for pictures and details from Brady’s blog.

Another new fire service expert tells us four firefighters on a rig aren’t needed: A columnist for the Orlando Sentinel apparently has all the answers on fire department staffing. Lauren Ritchie seems to think even two firefighters is adequate staffing for a fire truck as she is encouraging of Leesburg, Florida’s decision to take another vote after approving money that would save the jobs of two firefighters-

For example, precisely how does service to a citizen drop when two rather than three firefighters go to a call? If there is a full-blown fire, clearly the more firefighters the better. More hoses can be pulled more quickly and so forth.

However, 85 percent of the 8,000 calls to which Leesburg firefighters respond are medical emergencies. And the number of major fires? 1 percent? Less?

So just how many columnists does a paper need anyway? If there is a full blown news emergency, can’t we get opinions from columnists at other papers further away? You be the judge. Click here.

A clean start: In Boston, after years of controversy, a random drug testing program for firefighters has finally started. The first 50 tested apparently have nothing to worry about. Here’s the story.

Firefighter dies after collapsing at brush fire: In California, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Firefighter James Saunders died in the hospital yesterday morning after suffering an apparent heart attack during a grass fire on Saturday. Read more about Firefighter Saunders here and at Firefighter Close Calls. 

Paramedic found murdered in her home: A tragic story from Ontario, Canada about an hour southwest of Toronto. According to GuelphMercury.com, Adrienne Roberts, a Guelph-Wellington EMS paramedic, “was found murdered in her Arthur home Wednesday evening. She was reportedly the victim of a violent domestic dispute.”

Firefighter’s gear stolen during graduation ceremony: In Utah, Colby Robison had just graduated from the West Valley Fire Academy and was celebrating in a restaurant. When he got back to his car it had been broken into and his PPE and badge had been stolen. Here’s more.

Like father, like son: Anyone who has met Vinnie Brennan Jr. likely won’t forget him. The still hard working retired FDNY firefighter can only be described as a character (in the absolute best sense of the word). I’ve known him through my work at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, an organization Vinnie has worked with since the death of his firefighter brother Peter on September 11, 2001. Susan Nicol at Firehouse.com tells us the story of Vinnie’s son, Vinnie Brennan III, also an FDNY firefighter, who tackled a cell phone thief at about the same spot his father came to the aid of a police officer who was being attacked by drug dealers 30-years earlier. Check out the story.

Posted by on October 8, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Career - Volunteer Issues, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, News, Patient Management, PGFD, PGFD (MD), PIO, Quick takes, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nine-alarms in Boston: Praise for early setup of collapse zone at Roxbury warehouse.

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Photos from Stephen J. Walsh at Box 714 Imaging

Excerpt from a Boston Globe article by John Guifoil:

When the alarm sounded and fire Chief Erik Pettaway arrived at 31 Norfolk Ave., he knew the fire was big. He also knew the building. The neighborhood native recently did a pre-plan of the complex, which takes up a block.

He gave the order for firefighters to back up and stay out of the building. Pettaway called out nine alarms, the maximum response in Boston, and units throughout the city and region rushed to the scene.

Minutes later, a section of a building collapsed near where fire trucks and firefighters would have been standing had the chief not given the order to back off.

“Chief Pettaway made the decision to pull the trucks back, and after the trucks were pulled back it collapsed. He probably saved a lot of injuries to firefighters, and that’s how well-trained these firefighters are,’’ said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, at the scene. “They made some real good calls early in the evening.’’

“What I tried to do was establish a collapse zone,’’ Pettaway said at the scene. “My concern is no one gets hurt. I wanted to make sure my men are OK.’’

Posted by on August 22, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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The mob mentality and a little explosion: Officials in Los Angeles are trying to identify some of the people in this video “celebrating” the victory by the Lakers Thursday night. If you haven’t seen or heard about this yet, these folks are taking part in the destruction of a taxicab. Isn’t that the standard way to show joy? But smashing in various parts of the vehicle wasn’t enough, so it was set on fire. Watch the little explosion coming from Side A of the cab at around 5:42 in the video. Lucky the cops had arrived or some of these brilliant people might have been standing in the way of the blast and that would have been a shame. The driver was pulled from the cab by the mob. He’s okay and has already received a $10,000 donation.  

Picture from the New York Daily News.

Defaced image of President Obama at Bronx firehouse under investigation: The New York Daily News reports the defaced image of President Barack Obama has been placed on a tool box at a Bronx firehouse next to a picture of the Unabomber. Here’s an excerpt from the story-  

An iconic picture of the President above the word “BELIEVE” appears to have been stenciled on a large toolbox visible inside Engine 45, Ladder 58 in East Tremont. 

Right across Obama’s face is the word “HUSTLER” in big red letters.

And underneath the image, someone scrawled “Allah Akbar” – “God is great” in Arabic – in black ink.

An investigation was started after the newspaper brought the image to the attention of FDNY officials.

One-year anniversary of deadly Metro crash in DC: It was a year-ago today that nine people died and 8 were injured after two trains collided on Metro’s Red Line. Some DC firefighters look back at the day with WUSA9.com’s Scott Broom (watch the story here).   

We have links to our coverage from a year ago. Listen to the DC Fire & EMS Department radio traffic from the crash. More coverage here, here, here, here and here.  

There are all kinds of reasons for arson, but have you heard this one?: A 19-year-old man is accused of setting a vacant house on fire in Stowe, Pennsylvania to lure a 21-year-old volunteer firefighter to the scene. The plan was to beat-up the firefighter (did they think he was coming alone?). The motive is a broken heart by a 15-year-old girl who the firefighter said he parted ways with after learning her age. Check it out.  

Firefighter remained on the job while in jail for four months: An investigation is underway in Haverhill, Massachusetts over the somewhat secret New Hampshire jail sentence of Firefighter Kevin Thompson. His shifts were covered and the top brass apparently were in the dark about the incarceration. Thompson has put in his retirement papers, an effort the mayor is trying to fight. Read more.  

While were in Haverhill: Another Haverhill firefighter is suspended while an investigation is underway into what his role may have been in the ever-widening EMS scandal in Massachusetts. Jeffrey Given is one of 30 Haverhill firefighters who have lost their EMT certification as state officials probe allegations that required training never happened. Given’s EMT suspension is for two years, while the rest of the Haverhill firefighters face suspensions of nine-months or less. The Eagle-Tribune reports the city wants to know more about money changing hands to pay for recertification without the training. Click here. 

A fire early yesterday morning in Harford County, Maryland. Click the image to learn more from the Joppa Magnolia VFC website. Photo by Craig Tontrup JMVFC

Cop suspended after arresting man who rushed his wife to the hospital: Interesting story from Chattanooga, Tennessee where a police officer is on administrative leave. The cop’s actions are being investigated after he confronted a man at a hospital emergency department. Eric Wright says he thought his wife Aline was having a stroke and knew he could get her to the hospital faster than an ambulance. The officer saw Wright bust three red lights. Read the details.  

Deputy goes out with a bang: Firegeezer Bill Schumm has the story of the final shift for Deputy Chief James Coughlin of the Peabody Fire Department in Massachusetts. The multi-alarm fire was still burning when Chief Coughlin was relieved. Here’s the story.  

It never ends in Flint: Another round of arsons kept firefighters busy over the weeked. Eight fires in 15 hours. Watch the story. 

Ex-Raven fights fires in Howard County, Maryland: He’s the son of a 23-year veteran Phoenix firefighter, but Joe Maese only has a year on the job in Howard County. Before that he was a professional football player, having spent four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Read more.  

Dale City VFD loses assistant chief to cancer: From Prince William County, Virginia comes word that Dalve City VFD Assistant Chief Carl Persing has died. From the department’s website-  

Carl retired from the City of Manassas Fire and Rescue Department in 2007.  He also served with distinction with the Burke Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Department, the Dumfries-Triangle Volunteer Fire Department, the Fort Belvoir Fire Department, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Fire Department, the Silver Hill Volunteer Fire Department, and the United States Army.  

  

Ten-years-ago in Boston: A five-alarm fire in Dorchester shot on November 2, 2000. This is another in a series of videos posted by Bill Harrigan, a retired freelance TV news photographer who worked the overnight hours covering Eastern Massachusetts from 1981-2007.  

Posted by on June 22, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Chief Dennis Rubin, Command & Leadership, DC Fire & EMS Department, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fireground Audio, Fires, Funding & Staffing, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Patient Management, PIO, Quick takes, Special Operations, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Fatal 2-alarm house fire in Buffalo: A 58-year-old man on oxygen and in a wheel chair could not escape this fire Tuesday night around 11:00 PM on Wyoming Avenue. The man’s daughter did get out.

Dispute over WTC steel coming to Washington, DC: The DC Fire & EMS Department disputes allegations that a disagreement over the date for bringing pieces of the Twin Towers to the Nation’s Capital centers on Chief Dennis Rubin’s schedule. The chief is supposed to attend Fire Rescue International in Chicago on August 28, the day organizers hoped to move the steel to Washington. The fire department says there is a lot more than the chief’s schedule impacting this decision. What is clear in all of this is that those running the Iron and Steel program aren’t very pleased right now. Here’s the story.

Just off the boat: One of the first of many reader comments I noticed under this story from Boston asked, “Who cares?”. I am sure a lot of you are going to say that after reading what WCVB-TV has uncovered. A citizen alerted the TV station to the fact that a Boston firefighter had his boat parked in the firehouse and was washing it while apparently on duty. The story has generated more than that one comment. Check it out.  

Seattle firefighters dealing with multi-fatal fire: The Seattle Times looks at how firefighters are handling frustrations over not being able to rescue a woman and five children during Saturday’s apartment fire. Compounding the issue was the inability to get water from the first arriving engine. Here is the latest. 

Savannah’s union stretching their wings into neighboring community isn’t making everyone happy: It wasn’t their fire. The burned out home is in the neighboring community of Southbridge. But a day after the blaze IAFF Local 574 from Savannah, Georgia canvassed the neighborhood touting the services of their department. It all has to do with the potential annexation of Southbridge. Check out this unusual story.

More on the Hawaiian punch: A police report indicates a man yelled obscenities and grabbed a Honolulu area firefighter’s shirt before that firefighter decked the man. It happened when firefighters showed up to investigate the man’s barbeque. Read the update. 

Fire at the Port of Tampa: Firegeezer Bill Schumm is all over yesterday’s four-alarm fire with details, pictures and video. Check out Bill’s coverage.

Hobart, Indiana apartment fire: This is the first clip in a month we have seen from Ed Malik who shoots all of those Gary, Indiana videos. Not Gary this time, but Hobart and a May 30 fire at the Cressmoor Apartments. Read more here.

Posted by on June 17, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Buffalo Fire Department, Career - Volunteer Issues, Chief Dennis Rubin, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, DC Fire & EMS Department, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, IAFF, Major Incidents, News, Quick takes, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Trying to save what is going to be destroyed anyway: The plans call for the old BASF plant in Anderson, South Carolina to be torn down to make way for a tissue factory. A fire yesterday helped get the process started. Click here for more details and video.

Letter from PGFD union prez takes on editorial position that ”The public will be safe and money will be saved”: The statement came in a Gazette editorial over Local 1619′s complaint about reduced holiday staffing (here’s our coverage of the issue). Andrew Pantelis makes the point that the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department is the only department in the region frequently staffing its rigs with two people. Here’s the letter.

North York fire photo by Jeffrey Waltman.

Major fire in North York, PA: Firegeezer beat us to Steve Roth’s fine pictures as fire took hold of an attic connecting six addresses in North York Tuesday night. We also have the picture to the left from Jeffrey Waltman. Click here for the Geezer’s coverage, including Steve’s photos and some video.

Finally, a settlement in Boston: The battle between Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston firefighters is older than this blog. The average Boston firefighter will receive a check for $29,000 in back pay in the coming months after a compromise was reached on their contract. The City Council approved a 17% salary increase over five years (2006-2011). The deal means a savings of $45 million over the controversial award by an arbitration panel. It also means mandatory drug and alcohol testing for firefighters. Read more.

Health also an issue in Boston contract: According to Boston.com, “The contract will award a 1.5 percent annual increase in the base pay of firefighters hired after June 30 who undergo an annual physical”. This isn’t a requirement for those already on the job. Dr. Michael Hamrock, a former Boston firefighter who oversees medical issues for the department, wanted mandatory annual physicals and a wellness program for everyone. Here’s the story.

Bourne now battles over investigations that haven’t happened yet: For while last year the Bourne Fire Department in Massachusetts seemed to be in the news daily over a series of serious personnel problems. Now the union and town officials are fighting over how to go forward. Bourne wants to compel firefighters to testify under oath in future investigations. Read details. 

We have an all Massachusetts show going this morning: Remember the young firefighter who wrecked the Provincetown ladder truck while taking a friend for a spin? OUI charges have been dropped against Elias Martinez  because of problems with how the evidence gathering was handled. Read the latest.

How is that sprinkler argument holding up now? The place where Al Capone got his kicks is destroyed by fire: The Riveria Roadhouse on Route 66 in Gardner, Illinois is no longer. The former speakeasy and Al Capone hangout burned Tuesday. In recent years the owners have been in a battle against a required sprinkler system citing the historic nature of the building and that it was on the National Registry. Not sure how well that argument is playing right now. Here’s more.

No water training meant firefighters couldn’t help fishermen: In Scotland an inquiry is underway over the actions of firefighters the night three men died. Firefighters heard their last cries but were forced to stand on the banks of a loch because of a lack of water safety training. By the time a fire boat from 70-miles away arrived the men were dead. More details.

Seattle talks about cutting from four to three: The proposal by Mayor Mike McGinn would bring the minimum staffing for an engine company down to three. Here’s the story.

Posted by on June 10, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Bourne Fire Department, Career - Volunteer Issues, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, IAFF, Major Incidents, News, PGFD, PGFD (MD), Quick takes, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Early video from Edmonton house fire: A neighbor got to the scene with a camera before firefighters arrived at this house fire on Manning Drive in Miller. Click here for Part 2 which shows the initial attack.

Virginia USAR dog is injured and dies during training: The news just came out yesterday about an incident Friday during training of Virginia Task Force 2. A search dog known as Win received a puncture wound while looking for a “live” victim. Win died later in the day. Here’s the sad story. 

Fire Station One just opened in Silver Spring, Maryland. It is the old firehouse at 8131 Georgia Avenue (the new one is across the street). The restaurant held a fundraiser last night for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). Click the image to read more about the eatery & brewery that is the dream of Jeremy Gruber, a retired Montgomery County Firefighter/Paramedic. Full disclosure- In his "retirement" Dave is doing work for NFFF. More on that later.

Fire & explosion cuts power for thousands: Lights flickered all over Denver Monday evening. We have news coverage and home video from the electrical substation explosion and fire. Click here.

Dramatic rescue video: A TV news crew was rolling when citizens and a rescue team got a man out of an SUV in the Nisqually River in Mt. Rainier National Park. Watch the rescue.

Florida firefighter isn’t good around lightning, or is he?: We mentioned this yesterday, but you can now listen to the story of Mike Brasol a Volusia County firefighter who for the second time in his life had a close call with lightning. Watch the story.

Demotion after claiming female firefighters are ”OTWOS”: That stands for “oxygen-thieving wastes of space” and it is why a part time station officer in Whyalla, Australia was demoted. George Dunbar lost his appeal. Here is an excerpt from WhyallaNewsOnline-

He was also reported to have referred to women as “cannon fodder”, made remarks about the size of their bottoms and allegedly stated that they should “self-explode at a certain age”.

Flying hydrant: In Meyersdale, Pennsylvania the message came over the radio during a house fire yesterday, “I lost the hydrant, she blew boys”. It was one of two holes in the ground from a main near the fire on High Street. No one was injured from the airborne hydrant. Click here to read the story.

No hydrants, flying or otherwise: Firegeezer Bill Schumm takes a look at the water-supply problems in Booneville, Iowa during a fire Sunday night. Read Bill’s story and watch the video.

And it continues: The Boston Globe is urging the City Council to hang tough against firefighters and vote against anything that has the city paying for the right to do random drug testing. Click here for the editorial. The impasse continues in this four year journey for a contract. Here’s the latest.

More lawsuits in Charleston: As the third anniversary of the Sofa Super Store fire approaches four more former firefighters file suit over the trauma of losing their nine colleagues. Glenn Smith has the latest in the Post and Courier.

Posted by on June 8, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, Major Incidents, Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service (MD), National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, News, Quick takes, Special Operations, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Grain elevator: No date listed on this from Lake Park, Iowa, but a TV station reports there was a controlled burn of a grain elevator yesterday afternoon.

A list of people to blame: First of all, thank you for putting up with Dave’s trip down memory lane over the last couple of weeks. Friday was my last day as a TV reporter, so the blog should be getting back to normal soon as I start to settle in to a new routine. For those of you who have been looking for someone to blame for my career (I know I have), I’ve come up with a short list. At the top is a wonderful man who, to this day, people confuse me with even though we are of different races and he passed away almost 14-years-ago. Click here to watch editorials on fire and EMS issues from Rich Adams.

A much more significant retirement than Statter's: Without Dave on television the man on the right decided it just isn't worth going to work any longer. Captain Larry Jenkins (on the right, with Battalion Chief James Walsh) spent 36-years with the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. He worked his last shift yesterday at Fire Station 8 in Annandale. Photo by Sam Statter.

Much more detail from Spotsylvania, Virginia investigation: Free Lance – Star reporter Dan Telvock has been able to get hold of the raw material that made up an investigation into February’s fire where firefighters could not find a woman who was still on the phone with 911. It is worth reading. Click here.

Roof ops with a twist: This is a bit different. Watch some firefighters from the U.K. deal with a fire on a thatched roof.

Video round up: Click here for some recent fires in British Columbia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Nearby lightning strike sends firefighter to the hospital: The firefighter was checked out after a bolt hit nearby during storms yesterday in Ponce Inlet, Florida. Click here for details.

Boston mayor says union offer not enough: Things seem to be getting worse in Boston, if that is possible, after Mayor Thomas Menino urges the City Council to reject the offer by firefighters to delay a pay raise. Check it out. 

Is it a conflict?: In Massachusetts a state ethics board is trying to determine if it is okay for the building commissioner to also be an assistant chief/call firefighter in Charlton. Curtis Meskus has done both for the past seven years. Here’s more.

Is he exempt or non-exempt?: That’s the question in Southbury, Connecticut where the fire marshal has been making the case for four-years that he is owed thousands of dollars for responding to fires after hours. Read more. 

Hazard Zone Management Conference in Indiana: There are lots of well known names heading to South Bend for an October 18 gathering of Brunacini’s Hazard Zone Management Conference. Here’s how they describe the event- “This conference will focus on all three of the major hazard zone breakdowns that are killing and injuring firefighters today; incident command systems, the critical decision making process, along with the most up to date and inclusive fire/ burn studies done over the past two years.” Click here for more details and registration info.

Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, IAFF, News, Quick takes, Uncategorized, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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Baltimore County fire just before midnight: Michael “FirePix1075″ Schwartzberg shot this video from a house fire at Pembroke Avenue and Flannery Lane in Woodlawn, Maryland last night. Details and pictures from the Pikesville VFC website.

The way we were: We posted some interesting videos yesterday giving a view of EMS in the 1970s. The first is a look at DC in 1976 and a paramedic unit that really wasn’t. Then from 1979 a half-hour special on how EMS was being handled in DC and the suburbs. Check it out here.

Selling out: In the early day of his blog back in 2007, Firegeezer Bill Schumm told the story of the fire chief in Stockton, California selling naming rights for a fire engine. Bill was not a big fan of the idea. Now it has been learned things went a step further and Bill likes it even less. Read his rant.

Boston’s battle: A rally by Boston firefighters and a marathon City Council hearing are the latest development in the debate over the 19-percent pay raise that came with mandatory drug testing after the city and the union went to arbitration. Click here to read and watch the story.

FDNY’s Medal Day helped launch campaign against budget cuts: The Uniformed Firefighters Association parked a large mobile billboard outside Medal Day ceremonies pointing to the plans to close 20 fire companies. Read about the awards and the controversy.

Two crew members killed in Texas medical chopper crash: Click here for the story from Midlothian about yesterday’s CareFlite crash. Two crew members died. The crash sparked a grass fire.

Pennsylvania firefighter accused of arson: A volunteer in Bedford has been arrested accused of setting fire to the home where his ex-girlfriend and her parents live. Read more.

Ammunition plant blows up: A bullet manufacturing plant in Bend, Oregon exploded yesterday. There’s lots of damage but no injuries. Here’s the story.

Shed fire in New Jersey: This occurred Tuesday in Milford, New Jersey.

Posted by on June 3, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Aviation Incidents, Baltimore County Fire Department, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, FDNY, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Arson, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, HazMat, Major Incidents, News, Patient Management, Quick takes, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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 Second-alarm on arrival in Baltimore County: Michael “FirePix1075” Schwartzberg on the scene in Garrison, Maryland around 11:30 last night as thunderstorms rolled through the area. According to Michael, first-due Engine 19 was on another call. When Engine 2 from Pikesville approached the scene the officer called for a second-alarm. More details and pictures on Pikesville VFC’s website.

Dave’s long goodbye: It really is getting sickening. Can’t he just go quietly without making us sit through his home movies? Probably not. I’ve been loading in more videos from the Channel 9 archives as I head into my final days at the TV station next week. (Yes, we know you are leaving. Can’t you just give it a rest?) I have a bunch to feature over the next couple of days that are already in the video player to the right (if you want a sneak preview without Dave’s ramblings). Here are links to some of the videos already featured – 1973  deadly collapse of a 26-story building in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia; 1986 9-alarm fire in Baltimore’s Pigtown; 1985 hazmat on I-95 in Prince George’s County.

Fire & police unions want new mayor in DC: Saying Mayor Adrian Fenty has poisoned his relationship with first responders unions representing firefighters and police officers want current City Council Chairman Vincent Gray as the next mayor. Read more on the endorsement.

Faking it – the investigation widens: State investigators in Massachusetts says they are up to 200 EMTs and paramedics in at least a dozen jurisdictions who were recertified without attending the classes. This includes 18 Boston firefighters. Read and watch the latest. 

And then there was one: In Coal City, West Virginia (Raleigh County) all of the volunteer firefighters except one have resigned following a dispute with the president of the board. Read and watch the story.

He called everybody except 911: Investigators believe a light from a marijuana growing operation started a December fire that rapidly spread through five homes in Calgary last December. Not only has the man who had that operation entered a guilty plea, it turns out he made 25 calls on his cell phone when the overnight fire was discovered. Not one of the calls was to 911 or to his neighbors to alert anyone about the rapidly spreading blaze. Here’s the latest. 

Internet reporter wants to know more about “crappy crime caper”: New York’s Chestertown Fire Company is having a tough time with a web reporter’s requests for more information following charges against three of its members (all from the same family) over the theft of gasoline and toilet paper. The North County Gazette is blasting the fire company’s efforts  to put limits on the Gazette’s FOIA request. This is another good reminder that you don’t need a newspaper or TV station anymore to call yourself an investigative reporter. Check it out.

Hollywood’s version of New York rises from the ashes: Do you recall the large fire two years ago at Universal Studios that destroyed, among other things, the New York street sets? The sidewalks of New York have now been rebuilt and over the next five years Universal is donating $100,000 each year to the fire department. Here’s the latest.

Geezer vents over waste: The doubling in cost and the delays in building a fire station in Bexar County, Texas has Firegeezer Bill Schumm making a few points about how fire departments handle such new construction. Read Bill’s thoughts on the subject.

Posted by on May 28, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Baltimore City Fire Department, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Fires, Funding & Staffing, News, Quick takes, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick Takes

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 Dayton, Ohio junkyard fire: Firefighters are still on the scene of the junkyard fire involving thousands of junked cars. It began around 3:00 Thursday morning. Here’s details and more video. This is just one of many daily videos WUSA9.com’s Emily Cyr adds to the player in the right hand column of the STATter911.com. There are lots of good fire and EMS stories and raw video from around the country here. Check them out.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!: Your comments here, on Facebook and by email about the news that I will be leaving Channel 9 after 25-years have been quite touching (even the one from Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz). I believe I replied to each of you either in the comments, on FB or by email (hope I didn’t miss anyone). Just to ease some who seemed generally concerned about me and the blog, let me clarify a few things. No one forced me out. While I am a  pain in the butt shop steward for our union, our current management has been very kind to me and quite supportive of STATter911.com.  This decision was based on a buyout deadline that is at the beginning of June. It is something I had been planning for since it was negotiated by my union in December 2008. A special thank you to Bill Shumm for his lovely column on my exit from television. STATter911.com wouldn’t have made it through three years if it wasn’t for Bill’s support and kindness. The blog will continue. Please don’t read anything into the fact that I have not been a prolific in my posting of items the last few days and haven’t gotten to some stories sent in by our regular readers. It isn’t my intention to slow down (just the opposite) but there is a lot to do in the coming days and temporarily you might not be hearing as much from me. Again, thank you all.

Much more from the foul-mouthed fire critics from Canada: We found two earlier tapes of the young couple who discovered a fire in Sylvan Lake earlier this week. The fire destroyed four homes. The new clips show when the two first discovered the fire and give a lot of insight into what they did and didn’t do about it. Check it out.

Photographer shoots a familiar face at fire scene: Photographer Steve Roth is a regular contributor to STATter911.com from Pennsylvania and his most recent story is quite interesting. Steve has a photo at the scene of a recent fire of a man who is accused of setting the blaze. The same guy, according to police, had stolen fire department radios. He also faced a prevous arson arrest. Here’s Steve’s pictures and our coverage.

Fire company suspends chief for speaking to police & IRS: Maryland State Police confirm there is a crimnal investigation underway of the Halfway VFC in Washington County. The company has suspended Chief Jeff Ringer because he spoke with investigators without a company lawyer present. Ringer’s attorney says the chief only talked about himself and not fire department business. County officials confirm the probe is focusing on the company’s bingo and tip jar fundraising. Read more from the Herald Mail’s Heather Keels.

Tampa firefighter makes her professional boxing debut: Read the store of Tampa Fire Rescue’s Christina Swanson.

Chief’s car stolen: The fire chief in Edinburg, Texas came out to discover his city issued vehicle had been stolen. Click here to read and watch the story.

Pennsylvania  firefighter charged with arson: A volunteer in Jackson Township (Mercer County) is the latest of a recent string of firefighters charged with arson in Pennsylvania. Read the story.

Paying $74 million for firefighters to agree to come to work sober: That’s the take of Boston City Council President Michael Ross on the 19-percent pay raise an arbitrator awarded firefighters who will now have to undergo random drug and alcohol screening. Of course the firefighters don’t quite see it that way. Click here and here for the latest.

Chief responds to report: St. Anna Fire Department Chief Robert Thome gives his views on a Wisconsin fire marshal’s report on the December fire in a dumpster that took the life of Firefighter Steven Koeser. Here’s the story. Click here if you haven’t seen the state report.

Firefighter resigns town post because of potential conflict: In Newmarket, New Hampshire Town Councilor Daniel Dickens has resigned because of a law that prevents him from serving in the post and receiving pay as an on-call firefighter. Click here.

Posted by on May 21, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, Customer Service, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, HazMat, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, News, Police, Quick takes, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A look back: 1996 six-alarm fire in Boston.

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The video above is from Bill Harrigan, a retired freelance TV news photographer who worked the overnight hours covering Eastern Massachusetts from 1981-2007. We heard from Bill after we ran another one of his videos. As Bill continues to post his extensive library to YouTube, we will occasionally check out the clips. This one is a six-alarm fire on Boston’s Beacon Street on April 29, 1996.

You can click here to  read more details about Harrigan and view his story log, here.

Posted by on May 15, 2010 • Filed under: Boston Fire Department, Command & Leadership, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,