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This is video from Saturday’s fire at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house near Louisiana Tech. Thanks to STATter911.com reader Kevin Wells for alerting us to the video of the collapse.

Shreveport Times:

At least three firefighters have been taken to North Louisiana Medical Center for injuries and heat exhaustion as crews continue to battle the fire that began around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Ruston Police.

Lt. Tim Parker, spokesman for the Ruston Police Department, said the fire began in the fireplace or chimney of the Pike house, and quickly reached the attic where it grew rapidly.

He said one firefighter was injured when the roof of the building collapsed, knocking down a flight of stairs the man was standing on. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

KSLA-TV:

Eric Brazzel with the Ruston Fire Department says some of the members of the fraternity were burning notes to celebrate the end of classes, but they don’t think that alone is what caused the extensive damage.

“The students did say that they had a fire in the fireplace going, and they were just commemorating the school year by getting rid of their old notes. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no problems with that. We do feel like there may be a structural component with the fireplace or chimney that might have let the fire extend into the wall space there around the fireplace,” says Brazzel.

He added that part of the metal box for the fire place may have decayed.

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News footage of a helicopter rescuing people from the roof of a building on fire.

IB Times TV:

An emergency rescue worker lowered himself onto the roof of the office building and pulled up victims one by one to safety in the upmarket central business district of Santa Fe.

According to local media, the fire started at about 11am and spread throughout the ten-story building while office workers in the top levels of the complex fled to the roof to escape suffocating smoke and flames. 

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IBTimesTV Image

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This is helmet-cam video by the Conway VFD in Conway, MO. It was taken during a fire on Monday.

Here’s some of the description with the video:

At the door way crew encountered fire and obstruction behind the door. the fire was stopped at the front door which saved the rest of the home from burning. Please be kind and wise with your comments we understand things may of not been done the correct way or how you might do it so keep that out of the comment box please and any questions or concerns should be addressed to Conwayfiredepartment@gmail.com. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Neighbor videos of a house fire in Dekalb County, GA on Monday.

WGCL:

DeKalb County firefighters worked to put out a house fire in the 900 block of Creekdale Drive on Monday.

It is unclear if anyone was in the house at the time of the fire or if anyone was injured.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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WGCL-TV image.

Video by Johnny V. Clements.

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This is video of a two-alarm fire on Sunday at the Wyndbridge apartments in New Berlin, Wisconsin. It happened around noon.

Below is the story about the fire from WITI-TV’s Jeremy Ross. It seems to be a fine story about the wind whipped fire that left about 20 people without a home. It even mentions the building had a sprinkler system but that the fire got into the attic where there are no sprinklers.

My beef with this story is about what reporter Ross brings up in the tag to his live report and at the end of the article on WITI-TV’s website.

They (firefighters) say they responded to the call for help in about six minutes. Some neighbors disputed that time – estimating it took between 15 to 20 minutes.

I am all for reporters holding fire departments and other government officials accountable for response times and other performance factors. If it did actually take as much as 20 minutes to get to the scene, I would think a reporter wouldn’t want to save that fact until the end of the story, but would have that important information right at the top. In the news business you don’t want to bury the lead.

Jeremy Ross didn’t highlight that information because all indications are he didn’t know for sure how long it took firefighters to get to the scene. He did what many reporters would do in that situation and just put on what both sides had to say. Fair and balanced, right? I don’t think so and here’s why.

It’s the reporter’s job to confirm facts. Ross was unable to do that and just repeated statements from both sides. Specific times and/or documentation from the fire department (which may be difficult on a weekend) would provide some clarity to this issue.

It is the reporter’s job to put things in perspective. Again Ross failed at that task. He should have, at the very least, explained to his audience that the point-of-view of a victim or untrained witness on the subject of response times to an emergency scene is often skewed by emotions. From my experience, both as a reporter and a firefighter, it’s a claim made much of the time by the public but fails to hold up to scrutiny in a large majority of the cases.

Response time is an extremely important element to the image of a fire department and the relationship it has with the citizens it serves. When a reporter questions it, chiefs and PIOs shouldn’t take it lightly. Be armed with specifics, including documentation. Be aggressive in getting the facts out. I know a number of PIOs who arrive on the scene routinely armed with that information, just in case. If the response time was long, be ready to deal with it, explaining why and what you are doing to correct the situation.

As for the reporter, if a citizen had told you, without any corroborating evidence, that a firefighter stole all my belongings while fighting the fire and the fire chief said that didn’t happen, would that be a part of your story? I think you would do a lot more homework on that claim before it ended up on the air. And more homework was needed on the response time information.  Don’t take your responsibility as a reporter lightly when the story has the potential to seriously impact the image of an individual or an institution.

People can say anything and make any sort of wild claims. And they often do. Just look at the crap that comes across Facebook every hour. The difference between journalism and social media, is being able to help the reader or the viewer separate fact from fiction.

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WRC-TV in Washington aired a story last night about a 911 call for trouble breathing in Montgomery County, Maryland where the call taker fell asleep. The News4 I-Team story by Tisha Thompson and Rick Yarborough says the dispatcher is a veteran uniformed firefighter who was in the 17th hour of a 24-hour shift on overtime and can be heard snoring on the recording of that 911 call (above).

From WRC-TV:

“The employee was immediately removed from the floor by his supervisor that night and placed on administrative leave with pay pending the inquiry,” Montgomery County Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham said.

The News4 I-Team found Montgomery County dispatchers work twice as long as other dispatchers in the D.C. area. In Fairfax County, dispatchers work 12.5-hour shifts.  In Prince George’s County they work a 12-hour shift.  The District has a 10-hour shift.

(IAFF Local 1664 Vice President Jeffrey) Buddle said while a 24-hour shift “may seem like a long shift to someone who’s not used to that schedule, it’s something that’s just normal for a firefighter to work.”

Both he and Graham say this is the first time someone has fallen asleep during a 24-hour shift.

 Click here to read the entire story

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Read about demotion of Battalion Chief Richard Sterne here & here

Previous coverage of Chief Ellerbe

Previous coverage of beer incident

Battalion Chief Kevin Sloan told The Washington Times’ Andrea Noble that Chief Kenneth Ellerbe’s actions are “a classic example of workplace bullying”. Chief Sloan says that he was transferred from operations to the logistics division a week ago, less than four hours after finding Lt. Henry Dent not guilty on charges related to the beer Chief Ellerbe found in a refrigerator at the quarters of Engine 9 last year.

Kevin Sloan said in an article posted this evening on the paper’s website, “It’s not ethical, it’s not moral. It’s retaliatory action.”

Chief Sloan’s case has similarities to the demotion of Battalion Chief Richard Sterne in April after Sterne reduced the penalties against two other firefighters connected to the beer incident.

According to Noble, while Chief Sterne was notified his demotion was directly related to his handling of the disciplinary, Chief Sloan was not given an explanation for his sudden transfer.

From The Washington Times:

As part of Chief Sloan’s findings, he determined that Lt. Dent was not present at the fire station when the beer was delivered, so he could not be held accountable for accepting a gift. He also ruled that when Lt. Dent was notified by another firefighter that there was still beer in the station refrigerator, he told the firefighter to get rid of it but did not have enough time to check to ensure the order was followed through before Chief Ellerbe arrived.

Chief Sloan said the investigation was unusual and that evidence in the case went missing. In one instance, when he requested copies of taped interviews with witnesses the administration simply sent him paper photocopies of CDs, rather than the CDs themselves.

“For the rank and file, this takes away a fair, equitable disciplinary trial for the members,” Chief Sloan said. 

According to the article department spokesman Lon Walls refused to comment because the case is a personnel matter, but did say Chief Ellerbe has the final authority in the disciplinary process.

Read the entire article by Andrea Noble of The Washington Times

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Pictures from BuffNetwork.com

This is video shot yesterday of a fire in an apartment above Teariffic Cafe at 51 Mott Street in Manhattan.

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

A second alarm and mass casualty task force were dispatched.

WTOP Radio:

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

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

 Image via IAFF Local 36 Twitter feed.

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

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

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

WUSA-TV:

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

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

 Image via IAFF Local 36 Twitter feed.

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

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

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Image from Brian Hopkins, WJLA-TV.

Early video of West Baltimore rowhouse fire: This is a fire in the 400 block of South Smallwood Street on April 16 that was posted to YouTube on Saturday. Click here for still pictures from Side A.

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Deutsche Bank fire litigation draws to a close: News reports indicate that at a hearing today a request will be made for the judge’s blessing over a $10 million settlement for  the widow of FDNY Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino who died in the fire in 2007 along with Firefighter Robert Beddia. Details here.

False alarm leads to FDNY firefighters rescuing three little girls: An unusual set of circumstances put firefighters in the Bronx in the right place at the right time. Read the story.

In case you missed it or want to see it again: Here’s the link to the runaway burning van on a San Jose, California freeway that almost took out a fire engine.

Virginia firefighter with life-threatening injuries after tanker rollover: Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has the story from Charles City County, Virginia.

Three single-family homes damaged in Berkeley County, West Virginia fire: Lots of video as more disposable housing is destroyed or damaged. And these didn’t appear to be built all that close together. Lots of video. Click here.

Three different angles on thrift store fire and collapse: The latest video posted from a fire last Tuesday in West Plains, Missouri was a from a firefighter’s helmet-cam. Previously we posted the firefighter’s dash-cam and citizen video showing the collapses on two sides of the building. Click here and then follow the links to the earlier videos.

Sheriff’s car hits fire-police directing traffic: This happened at an accident scene on Friday evening in Theresa, New York.

Helmet-cam from Jacksonville, Florida: Two evacuation orders during this house fire last week.

Video from Lawrence, Indiana apartment fire: A fire on Saturday in a pair of vacant buildings.

Fill the boot, sleep late and let some Fairfax County, VA white shirts answer the calls: Firegeezer Bill Schumm has the details on his former department’s contest winners for the 2011 Labor Day Weekend Fill the Boot campaign. Click here to see this interesting incentive.

The Fire Critic’s review of Kill the Flashover: Rhett Fleitz reviews some videos of burns focusing on flashover conditions.

Old school captains: That’s the topic of the latest post by Willie Wines Jr. at IronFiremen. com.

Chief’s credentials questioned: Curt Varone at FireLawBlog.com looks at a controversy at one Florida fire department over the chief’s qualifications.

Union balks at what’s behind a 29 percent raise offer: In the U.K. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Services is offering the big raise to firefighters willing to switch to a new schedule that doubles the amount of time they are at the firehouse and would save money by reducing the number of firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union says it would impact the welfare of firefighters. Read more.

And finally, police corner caped man carrying a sword while firefighters handle kitchen fire: Police in Lansing, Michigan apparently kept the man who broke into a home occupied so firefighters could put out the blaze. But it resulted in a four hour standoff. Here’s the story.

Two alarms in Alllentown, PA: Newsworking’s video by Bill Rohrer of a fire on Friday at 203 N. Jordan Street.