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Early chopper video: Fatal house fire in Anne Arundel County, MD with ammo exploding. Neighbors jump in to help.

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Raw video above from TV news chopper via WUSA-TV of a fatal fire in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Fire officials say they were hampered by stored hunting ammunition exploding. In the video, neighbors are also using garden hoses and in the image below (from about 5:30 in the raw video) it looks like one civilian picks up something a little bit bigger. Reporter Scott Broom talks to neighbors and firefighters in the video at the bottom of the page.

Scott Broom, WUSA9.com:

Rescuers trying to get to a disabled man trapped in a burning trailer home were met with flying bullets as ammunition stored inside the house exploded on Wednesday morning.

The trapped man was eventually discovered dead inside the home. Fire officials have not released his identity, but neighbors said he was a 55-year old husband, father and grandfather who was disabled.  His wife had gone to work.

The fire is being investigated as an accident. Rescuers believe the ammunition was for hunting and was stored inside the house.

After briefly taking cover, rescuers quickly determined they were not under attack and began pouring water on the house quickly, said Lt. Cliff Kooser of the Anne Arundel County Fire Dept.

Neighbors said the fire was so intense, there was little hope of rescuing the trapped man, despite the exploding ammunition.

The fire was reported just after 8 a.m. at 9 Zona St. in the Parkway Village trailer community in Maryland City.

Press release from Anne Arundel County Fire Department Division Chief Keith Swindle:

At 8:26 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, Anne Arundel County Firefighters were dispatched to a reported dwelling fire in the unit block of Zona Road in the Parkway Village Mobile Home Park located in the Maryland City area of Anne Arundel County.  The first unit to arrive on the scene reported visible fire coming from a one-story double-wide mobile home.  An aggressive fire suppression and search/rescue operation was then initiated by the first arriving crews.  In all, it took approximately 40 Firefighters from Anne Arundel, Ft.Meade, Prince Georges and Howard County Fire Departments 45 minutes to bring the “All Hands” incident under control.  After the fire was extinguished, Firefighters working on the first floor living area of the home located the body of an occupant that Fire Department personnel determined had suffered fatal injuries as a result of the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fire was reported by neighbors who were alerted to the incident when they observed smoke coming from the home.  The fire which originated on the first floor of the dwelling caused an estimated $150,000 in damages.  The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

At this time, the name of the victim and the immediate cause of death are being withheld pending positive identification and the result of an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner.  A preliminary investigation into the incident did reveal that there were smoke detectors in the dwelling however, it is unclear if they were operable at the time of the fire. 

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Homeowner on green line tasered by police. Pinellas Park, FL cops say they were trying to prevent man from getting hurt.

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In Florida, Pinellas Park Police say they were just trying to protect a homeowner when an officer tasered Daniel Jensen last Thursday. Police say Jensen was putting himself and the officers in danger by failing to follow the orders of law enforcement and instead grabbing a garden hose trying to prevent the fire at his neighbor’s house from spreading to his own.

As you will see in the videos above and below, Daniel Jensen and a number of his neighbors think the cops were wrong. Police Captain Sanfield Forseth told reporters they could have charged Jensen with obstruction but did not.

Isabel Mascarenas, WTSP-TV:

Daniel Jensen wasn’t running from the law, he was trying to protect his home from burning up. Yet, Pinellas Park Police tasered him in the process. Jensen and his attorney say it’s an excessive use of force.

Jensen was still shaken and visibly emotional as he retold what happened last Thursday evening.

He said being tasered by police has not only impacted him, but it also impacted his children- who saw it all happen.

He described the Pinellas Park Police officers actions as “brutal; he said they showed “no compassion.”

“All I remember is laying in water being electrocuted for saving my home,” said jensen.

Burns on Daniel Jensen’s body four-days later mark where police tasered him. He says they tasered him as he was doing what any father and husband would do protect his family’s home from an out of control grease fire.

Kameel Stanley, Tampa Bay Times:

Police ordered Jensen to get back, and he complied.

But after a few minutes passed without firefighters arriving, a frustrated Jensen stepped forward and leaned down to grab the skinny gray garden hose once again.

That’s when he heard the order.

“Hit ‘em! Take him down! Tase him!”

Within moments, Jensen was on the ground. He felt electric.

“It was all over me,” Jensen said. “Crawling all over me.”


Pre-arrival video: Two green lines & bucket brigade at California house fire.

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Someone sounded the second-alarm on green lines to back up the one already in use and the bucket brigade at a house fire today in Marina Del Rey, California. Firefighters arrived before the second line was charged.  The video, shot by , describes the location as “the Strand by Speedway and Catarmaran.”

Raw video: Green line in one hand. Camera in the other. Dave thinks it is an important evolutionary step.

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We are getting closer to the day that I predicted a few years back where I will be able to post videos shot by both the rescuer and rescuee from the same fire. I think this video is an important step in the evolutionary process that will eventually bring us to that momentous day.

For a number of years we have been seeing the helmet-cams in operation that give us point-of-view (POV) video of firefighters doing their jobs. The clip above is the poor man's version of the helmet-cam extended to the citizen firefighters who bravely staff the green lines. I believe this is what is known as a green line "all hands" job. Green line in the right hand. Video camera in the left. Burning Jetta in front. Garage with melting siding is screen right.

As for me, I would have put down the camera (or not picked it up in the first place) and tried to make sure the exposures were cooled down. But I guess that is just old school, pre-YouTube type of thinking. I'm such a dinosaur.

On a more positive note for future generations, I think the extended thumbs that constant texting will almost certainly bring to the evolutionary process will eventually also be of great help to green line stream presentation. 

No information on when or where this was taken.

Early video: Fire in multiple garages. LAFD takes over from man with green line.

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From Pleasant Street in Boyle Heights, a fire around 3:00 Saturday morning. The crew from Los Angeles Fire Department Engine 2 takes over from a neighbor with a garden hose. I am sure some of you will tell me if he hadn't used a fog nozzle on the green line (or more likely his thumb) he would have had this one knocked. More reason why I am still looking for grant money for my Firefighting Operations with Garden Hoses training.

Another green line fire in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. This time an assistant chief is on the pipe.

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Two days in a row someone has put out a house fire for firefighters in Whitehall, Pennsylvania before the first engine arrived. Yesterday it was a neighbor (click here). Today, newsworking.org's Bill Rohrer tells us is it's an assistant chief who arrived on the scene first and knocked down the garage fire with a green line in one hand and a radio in the other.

The never ending debate on STATter911.com (and elsewhere) seems to be where the first line should go on a fire in an attached garage. Should the garden hose have gone through the front door to the doorway to the garage or hit the fire from the outside garage door?

Clearly, these two fires show someone needs to write an SOP for green line use so the public and firefighters arriving without apparatus know what is expected of them. While you are at it, make sure that we have guidelines for using coolers (click here) and snow blowers (click here) to put out fires. In addition, someone needs to come up with standards to make sure the green lines (here's another one), coolers and snow blowers meet minimum standards for firefighting.

Amateur hour on the first line at a Pennsylvania house fire. Room & contents put out through the window in a gutless move. Plus, helmet-cam of the second line to the fire.

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What's wrong with these people? Can you believe this fire was put out with a hose line through the picture window of the living room? On top of that, their choice of a line was pitiful. Undersized to say the least and the wrong color. Real fireman don't carry a hose that is green.

I don't care if it was a couple of neighbors who dealt with this house fire before the first engine arrived. If they are going to do the job of firefighters they better do it right or not at all. I hope someone gave them a good talking to and some training.

Thanks to Bill Rohrer at newsworking.org for pointing out this travesty. Click here to read more from Bill. Personally, I'm outraged.

Below is helmet-cam of the second line to the fire. The one that goes through the front door.

UPDATED – Raw video: Garden hose & extinguisher keep Lake Forest, California house fire in check.

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A house fire Monday in Lake Forest, California is tamed by a garden hose and an extinguisher. The description with the video by Kyle Mooney credits Orange County Fire Authority Fire Explorer Jake Kalin with saving the day.

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Quick Takes

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Indiana house fire: This is from Lake Station yesterday evening. The fire was in the 2800 block of DeKalb.

Fire captain honored for bringing his own gun to the battle: Truly one of the more unusual fire service stories in some time occurred earlier this year in Palm Beach County, Florida. On Friday, Captain Edwin O’Berry and two shifts of firefighters and medics were honored for jumping into action as a police officer was being beaten near Station 31 on April 8. The man doing the beating had the cop’s gun. Captain O’Berry had one of his own that he just grabbed from his personal car. The man was shot and killed by the captain and another police officer. For his efforts Captain O’Berry received an award intended for police officers. Click here for our coverage.

It appears to me the firefighter at the back of the camper is using a leaf blow to practice his PPV techniques at this training fire. This is from a rather unusual video that you can see by clicking the image.

It appears to me the firefighter at the back of the camper is practicing his PPV techniques at this training fire. This is from a rather unusual video that you can see by clicking the image.

Trooper who fought with paramedic is again back on the street: Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s Daniel Martin was reinstated after a citizen filed an excessive force claim. The latest incident was caught on video, much like the May 24 run-in with Creek Nation paramedic Maurice White Jr. We have the story and all of the videos.

Two-hatters told to take a hike in Duluth: The IAFF local and three Duluth firefighters have parted ways because the firefighters volunteer in a suburban department. Here are the details.

Customer service debate  over crash and gas leak: There is a little back and forth in our comments section over a story by 9NEWS NOW’s Lindsey Mastis following a car crash into a house in Takoma Park, Maryland on Thursday. The family and neighbors believe the fire department could have taken a little better care of a 93-year-old woman after her home was evacuated. Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service has apologized, but also looks at it as a teachable moment for firefighters and the public. The discussion ranges from someone who believe he would rather see his crew help an old man across the street, even if it meant missing a first due house fire, to those who think way too much attention is being paid to customer service. Check it out and join in

In wake of study, Quakertown VFC has extended an invitation to Quakertown VEMS members to come on over to the other side. Details and link to the report to the right. Quakertown VFC image.

In wake of study, Quakertown VFC has extended an invitation to Quakertown VEMS members to come on over to the other side. Details and link to the report to the right. Quakertown VFC image.

EMS study completed in town where passing incident occurred: You may recall the September controversy over a unit from New Jersey’s Quakertown Fire Company passing an ambulance on the way to a car crash  (here and here). From the articles covering that incident it was clear there are long standing problems over EMS service in the area. A study was promised and it has now been delivered. Dr. Harold Cohen at Tri-Data is recommending that Quakertown Volunteer EMS no longer be dispatched on calls in Franklin Township and first responder duties should be handled by Quakertown VFS. Read the entire report. Read the fire department’s response. Read the latest news article.

The thin green line: A neighbor who models his firefighting gear after the star of Probie Days keeps battling away with the garden hose even after the firefighters arrive. Watch the video and see the pictures. 

Brothel worker from HBO series confirmed among the dead in Oklahoma City arson: That's Brooke Phillips, AKA Hayden Brooks. She was a member of the staff at Moonlite Bunny Ranch featured on the HBO show "Cathouse". Police have now officially confirmed that Phillips was shot to death inside a burning home where three other people were found dead. She was pregnant. Click the image to read more about the case.

Brothel worker from HBO series confirmed among the dead in Oklahoma City arson: That's Brooke Phillips, AKA Hayden Brooks. She was a member of the staff at Moonlite Bunny Ranch featured on the HBO show "Cathouse". Police have now officially confirmed that Phillips was shot to death inside a burning home where three other people were found dead. She was pregnant. Click the image to read more about the case.

Jury says Fresno fire discriminates and wants it to pay big bucks: A former recruit is awarded almost $2.5 million dollars after a jury determined she was discriminated against while in the training academy at the Fresno Fire Department. Click here.

A lonely EMT or was credit card number swiped?: That’s the issue in one South Carolina town where the rescue squad is trying to explain dating service charges on the company credit card. Click here for our Friday coverage and here for the latest and an important meeting scheduled today.

Medical flight crash kills threeAn  early morning crash on Saturday in California, north of Reno, Nevada kills the crew of three.

Mass casualty at high school football game: The moment of a wall collapse at a South Carolina stadium was caught on video. At least 27 students were hurt. Click here.

Save at Maryland house fire is fire marshal’s father: Firefighters in Frederick County were able to find a man in a wheel chair inside his burning home Sunday afternoon. Family members say Joseph McNeal is expected to recover from smoke inhalation. The relative giving that information to The Frederick News-Post is the chief fire marshal for Frederick County, Marc McNeal, son of the victim.

A fight over benefits: Johnston, Rhode Island officials say they can save $635,000 by cutting pension and health benefits for firefighters. As you might imagine the union isn’t sitting still for this one. Click here for the story.

You just can’t beat the thumb on the end of the hose. Neighbor keeps battling even after firefighters arrive. Video from Missouri.

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Click the image for an extensive photo gallery from the fire by Missourian.com

Click the image for an extensive photo gallery from the fire by Missourian.com

 

This is from Washington, Missouri at around 3:30 this morning in the 1200 block of West Seventh Street.

Watch what happens at 13 seconds into the video. A shirtless neighbor steps in with a garden hose to help out despite the firefighters already moving in.  

Read more about the fire and the narrow escape of the children and adults who lived there.