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No date given on this video from engine27c of a house fire in the Frayser are of Memphis.
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Memphis Fire Department lieutenant shares audio recording he says proves deputy chief assaulted him. Claims cover-up.
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Memphis Fire Department Lieutenant Reginald Davis and his lawyer Brenda Oats-Williams told WPTY-TV that an audio recording of a confrontation last June between Lt. Davis and Deputy Chief Daryl Payton shows the department is covering up what really happened.
The TV station reported last year, shortly after the incident occurred, that Davis told police he was physically assaulted when he confronted Chief Payton about a lack of specialized training for firefighters assigned to the airport fire station. It was Davis who was suspended because of the incident. According to the TV station, Chief Payton was not disciplined and the department has said the investigation of the incident is over.
Attorney Oats-Williams says that the meeting quickly turned into a shouting match and that Davis tried to leave, but Chief Payton wouldn’t let him. Here’s more from WPTY-TV’s story by Mike Matthews:
The entire incident had been one man’s word versus another. That was until last week, when Brenda Oats-Williams says they got a chance to listen to tape recorded conversations made at fire headquarters that day.
“Get your hands off of me!”
“Now what you hear on this tape is Lieutenant Davis trying to call, and fight off Chief Payton at the same time. He’s trying to snatch the phone and Lt. Davis was trying to keep him from taking the phone. That’s when you hear Lt. Davis say, ‘Get off of me, get off of me,’” Oat-Williams said.
We did not hear any actual fighting, but Davis has said he was thrown to the floor where he suffered a sprained wrist and a broken finger.
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Above is the story WPTY-TV did last June shortly after the incident occurred.
Two Memphis FD battalion chiefs & a firefighter arrested for forgery. Police & court say will of late BC & state representative Ulysses Jones is a fake.
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(Firefighter/paramedic) Avis Langford-Brannon, (Battalion Chief) Beverly Prye and (Battalion Chief) Sandra Richards have been indicted on charges of forgery, tampering with evidence and aggravated perjury.
All three — employees of the Memphis Fire Department — have surrendered to authorities. All three were jailed on bond of $20,000 each; Richards remained in jail Sunday.
Forgery charges have been filed relating to the will of the late state representative Ulysses Jones, Jr.
In May, the fight over Jones' will ended with a Probate Court judge ruling that the signature on the document was not Jones' and therefore not valid.
The fake will had left the bulk of the estate to a woman he lived with for the past 18 years.
From an article by Bonny Kinney WREG:
According to the document, Jones left his estate, worth about $100,000, to his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Richards. Jones and Richards had both worked as Battalion Chiefs within the fire department.
Jones' adult children later took legal action saying that the will was a phony. A judge agreed earlier this year.
Memphis firefighter & son arrested at fire in their own home. Police say William Land complained about response time.
3 commentsWilliam Land, a ten-year veteran of the Memphis Fire Department, is currently out on bond after his arrest during a fire in his Southaven, Mississippi home (Desoto County, a suburb of Memphis) around 4:00 Saturday morning. Land is charged with interfering with firefighters and failing to listen to police officers when his kitchen caught fire. Officers say Land's 14-year-old son tried to interfere with his father's arrest and was also taken into custody.
According to police, land was upset about the fire department’s response time, and let them know it. They say he wasn't wearing any protective gear, and yet refused to wait outside.
"They kept asking him to leave and he basically told them he wasn't going to leave." (From Southaven PD's Lt. Mark Little.)
Land faces charges of disorderly conduct and failing to obey a police officer, obstructing operations on a fire scene and disobeying an officer on the scene of a fire. His son faces a juvenile summons for disorderly conduct and failure to obey officers.
Pinellas County, Florida fire: The vacant building that used to house the bar Big Ed’s Hideaway in Lealman was destroyed overnight. No injuries were reported in the two-alarm fire. Watch news coverage.
Story in Loudoun County drags on: Reporters seem to keep asking questions but there are apparently few definitive answers as to why the chief of the Middleburg VFD and four firefighters resigned at the same time the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation of the department. Click here for the latest.
Firefighters knife under bunkroom pillow may be the third strike: Jordan Jostes says he is getting ready to leave the South Bend Fire Department to join the Marines. But the department may hasten his departure. Backed by the union, Jostes is trying to explain why he would keep a Bowie knife under his pillow at the firehouse. The firefighter doesn’t consider the knife a weapon. The South Bend Tribune reports Jostes has had other troubles including calling in sick while working another job and we reported on an issue of a picture of a patient that ended up on the firefighters Facebook page. Here’s the most recent story.
- Picture of the day: Help arrives on a hayfield fire in Witmer, Pennsylvania. Click the image for more.
Chief suspended over PPE issues: This one sure is different. When a newspaper photo showed the chief of the fire department in Friday Harbor, Washington without gear as he backed up an SCBA-less firefighter on a car fire things hit the fan. The chief is now on medical leave after a two-day suspension. Five volunteers, including four officers, resigned saying they had no confidence in the chief. Check it out.
State investigators making sure Stockton, California firefighters don’t practice ALS: A long-standing dispute has forced Stockton out of the ALS business after 34-years. Read the details.
Two from Geezer you should look at: An embezzler is forcing an Indiana fire department to shut down for lack of funds on January 1. Click here for that story. Also, in Plainfield, New Jersey and ambulance crew must have been thinking that medicinal marijuana is part of their ALS protocols. It isn’t. They have been busted. Here’s that story.
Boston IAFF president back on the ladder with eyes on state post: Ed Kelly has made a lot of headlines as the president of IAFF Local 718 in his battles with Mayor Thomas Menino. Kelly is stepping down and hopping aboard Ladder 17, Boston’s busiest. But Kelly isn’t through with the union. He is considering running for president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts. Read more.
Half-million dollars in fire SUVs sit without radios: Right after making headlines about 90 cop cars that sat idle, the fleet services folks in Memphis, Tennessee are having a similar problem with 20 Chevy Tahoes ordered by the fire department. The fire SUVs arrived in May but they still don’t have radios. Check it out.
New Pierce dealer in mid-Atlantic as old one has charges dropped: Atlantic Emergency Solutions is now taking over the territory for Pierce that used to belong to Singer Associates Fire Equipment. Details are here. While we were on the road InsideNova.com had this update on molestation charges against Dick Singer- “Richard Dennis Singer was scheduled to stand trial on 13 felony charges Monday, but prosecutors declared the charges nolle prosequi, meaning they do not wish to prosecute him at this time. The charges can be brought again later.”
Firefighters from Station 39 in Memphis, Tennessee were unavailable for seven hours on Tuesday because the city didn’t have anyone to fix a flat tire. Here are the details from WPTY-TV’s Jeni DiPrizio:
The city used to contract with Around Town Tire and Trucking for tire repairs. The contract was cancelled in May, after the FBI started investigating the tire repair company and its city contract.
Joe Norman is the spokesperson for the Memphis Firefighter’s Association, “To have a piece of equipment out of service for any amount of time is unacceptable. It left the citizens unprotected. To sit there an hour, two hours, five hours is unacceptable and completely ridiculous.”
The Memphis Fire Department used to be responsible for its own truck repairs. Two years ago, the city’s General Services Division became responsible for the trucks and that’s when the contract with Around Town Tire was implemented.
A spokesperson for the city said there was a temporary agreement with a company to fix flats that ended yesterday. Now, a new “stop gap” measure is in place to fix flats after hours. However no one from city has clarified what that stop gap measure is.
Earlier this month, Mayor A C Wharton hired a consultant to look at problems in the General Services Division. It is also under FBI investigation.
Must see Tennessee flood video: Fire engine washed over. Plus, the cars are stalled, but the house is moving just fine.
5 commentsFiregeezer Bill Schumm reports that is Shelby County, Tennessee’s Engine 69 on its side after being flipped while responding to one of scores of flooding calls on Saturday. Check out Bill’s site for an earlier picture with the crew sitting on top of the pumper waiting for help to arrive.
The video above shows how a house (reader Gavin Richardson points out it is actually a portable classroom) can travel much faster than a car or truck in flooding conditions.
Here’s more on the flooding from AP:
At least five people had died and hundreds were being evacuated Saturday as flooding was reported across Tennessee and heavy rains continued to pound the state, officials said.
The forecast called for more rain through the weekend.
The five deaths reported in Stewart, Davidson, Williamson and Carroll counties were storm related, but the exact causes of the deaths were not yet known, Jeremy Heidt, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said Saturday evening.
Hundreds of homes had been evacuated in Tennessee and shelters were being opened across the state for people stranded due to flooded roads.
Memphis received up to 10 inches or more of rain during the day and officials were warning that 4 – 8 more inches could fall overnight and into Sunday.
Heidt said crews were called out for swift-water rescues from Nashville to Memphis.
Here’s the description with this video: “Footage shot on Sunday May 2nd in Hendersonville, Tn. Boat rescue at the intersection of Wessington Pl. and Keystone Ln. Firetruck running through the overflowing bridge water on Wessington Pl. near Scotch St./Southburn Ave.”
One of the Chinatown videos we missed: With all of the videos that were shot during the 7-alarm fire in Manhattan, we overlooked this one (but Firefighter Spot didn’t). It is well worth watching, as what appears to be some of the last FDNY members in the building exit 253 Grand Street under cover of some streams. Also, here is a series of videos showing another view of the rescues made early in the fire.
Two very interesting stories about dealing with fires in your own home: The first is from Cocke County, Tennessee where Matthew Whaley is the “Dispatcher of the Year” for how he dealt with a woman reporting her home on fire. That woman happened to be Whaley’s wife. Click here.
Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s Justin Davidson had a rude awakening earlier this week during a visit to his parents’ home in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. While taking a nap, his mother burst in saying the house was on fire. Firefighter Davidson sprang into action. After Davidson, the first first responders on the scene were police who almost arrested the firefighter for failing to listen to their directions and leave the home. Maybe they were the safety police, because Davidson was fighting the fire dressed only in shorts and a T-shirt. Here’s that story.
Two burned on Georgetown University campus: WUSA9.com’s Emily Cyr (who puts those videos in the player on the upper right of this page) has some details on the overnight fire. Click here.
Apparently it was not an official bring your assault rifle to work day: All indications are a Memphis firefighter had nothing sinister in mind when he brought the weapon to the firehouse last week. News reports indicate he just wanted to show off his new purchase. The firefighter received a written reprimand. Here’s the story.
Houston firefighter at center of controversy to go back to work, again: The last time Jane Draycott came back on the job following an incident of hate filled graffiti it didn’t go so well. That was when then Chief Phil Boriskie and other top officials brought the gang at Station 54 together for a meet and greet that quickly fell apart. When we linked to Wednesday’s article about Draycott filing suit against the department, we failed to point out that she is tentatively scheduled to again come back to work on Monday. Read more.
State Supreme Court gives victory to New York firefighters: The Village of Johnson City has been told by the courts to honor the contract with firefighters. According to the ruling, Johnson City officials should have gone to arbitration with IAFF Local 921 before six firefighters were cut last June. Read the details.
Firefighters in San Jose fighting proposed cuts: Claiming response times are already too high, San Jose firefighters are making the case against budget cuts that would reduce the number of fire trucks on the road. They are also pointing out how they believe the city is wasting money that could be better used. Watch the story from our video player. Read more here.
Firefighters grab suicidal woman: Sounds like a pretty dramatic scene in Santa Cruz, California as firefighter teamed up with police to save a woman hanging from a sixth floor balcony. Here’s the story.
Supersize me: A look at how EMS in the Denver area is buying equipment to deal with obese patients. Read the details.
Mill fire in Pennsylvania: PumpFire.com posted this video from the fire early yesterday morning in North Manheim Township at the warehouse for a textile manufacturer. Firegeezer has the story of how firefighters found the fire on the way back from handling a vehicle collision.
Pool company burns in Wolcott, Indiana: Officials say a furnace started the fire that destroyed the showroom of San Juan Pools. Read more about the fire here and here.
DC fire and police radio systems crash on Monday night: The fire department worked to switch over to the 800 MHZ systems used by Montgomery County and Arlington County. The police department, on a different part of the radio spectrum, apparently had a little tougher time. It appears to be a pretty significant failure of two different public safety radio systems in the Nation’s Capital. Read more.
Truth serum: The editor of this blog takes a very brave editorial stand and comes out in favor of the truth. He’s a regular Edward R. Murrow, that guy. Finding the truth is near and dear to the heart of a reporter. DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin writes in this month’s Firehouse that always telling the truth should be near and dear to the heart of a firefighter. Rube’s Rule 7 fits well with a previous posting from STATter911.com. Check it out.
Check out this video of a close call: In Chula Vista, California a camera was rolling as a firefighter took a bit of a tumble during roof operations at a house fire. Luckily the only thing he lost was the tool in his hand (and I am sure he is wishing there were no camera around). Check it out around 1:45 in the video.
Seems there is a lot of this going around: It turns out that medics in Little Rock also declared a DOA on Friday when a person was alive. Their incident happened about six hours before the one we reported on in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Click here for the Arkansas coverage.
Firefighter demoted for hanging mayor’s picture next to photos of Adolph Hitler and Osama bin Laden: In Memphis when the order came to hang Mayor AC Wharton’s picture in city fire stations it was followed at Station 16. But it was the company that the picture was keeping that has now brought the demotion of a lieutenant to the rank of driver and lesser punishment for a battalion chief and others. Here’s the update.
23 layoffs. 23 fires: Those were the totals yesterday evening in Flint, Michigan. As many firefighter layoffs as fires since Wednesday. The arson spree continues. Read and watch more. Also, the city council wants to set minimum staffing levels for fire and police. Those levels are apparently to keep down future layoffs and not restore what has been lost. Click here for that one.
UK firefighter who lost his son is among those charged with gross negligence: Paul Stephens is one of six people charged in connection with the handling of the tragic fire that killed four firefighters in Warwickshire in 2007. Stephens’ son was one of the firefighters killed. Here’s the latest.
Five-alarms in Massachusetts: Firegeezer has video and details of the fire early Monday morning in Onset. Emily Cyr posted video from the same fire in our player.
South St. Louis 2nd-alarm and mayday: This is from the night of March 8 at 2141 Russell Boulevard. Firefighters brought an elderly man and woman to safety from separate apartments. The Post-Dispatch reports the fire started in the basement and, “One firefighter needed the help of his partner when he became disoriented inside the building and his breathing unit began to run low on air”.
Suspensions lifted for 7 of 12 members of Rockville VFD: In case you haven’t checked in since our last Quick Takes, 12 members of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department were suspended last week. Three 17-year-olds firefighters were arrested for an overnight visit to the logistics and supply building for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service. Nine others, including more teenaged volunteers, are under investigation for a gathering at a closed party room at an apartment building across the street from Station 3. STATter911.com talked with Rockville VFD Chief Russell Dawson last night who explains why seven of his volunteers have been allowed to return to duty. Check out our interview.
NEW – Union says charges “trumped up”: There has been a mess brewing in Canandaigua, New York since the decision to cut back on the number of career firefighters. The latest problem is the suspension of two career firefighters over not taking command at a fire from a volunteer chief. Read the details on this issue and a few others.
Search to continue for West Virginia firefighter who went overboard: Click here to read the latest on the Kanawha County firefighter missing and presumed dead after a boat used in flood waters capsized. Watch the story here.
Hanging the mayor: Oh those funny firefighters. When the order came down to make sure Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton’s photo was on the wall inside city buildings, firefighters at Station 16 duly complied. But now an investigation is underway into who posted the picture next to photos of Osama bin Laden and Adolph Hitler. Read the details.
DC now requires supervisor involvement when a patient refuses transport: That’s the word from Chief Dennis Rubin at a hearing on Friday where he took responsibility for the errors surrounding the department’s interaction with a two-year-old child who died a day later at the hospital. The hearing brought out a woman telling a somewhat similar case involving her asthmatic son. Check it out.
Radio traffic from crash involving DC’s Rescue Squad 1: Three civilians were injured in the Friday morning collision. Click here.
Update on father & son chiefs who battled with other chief as son’s house burned: If you recall the strange story from Franklin Township, Pennsylvania where the dad, son and another firefighter were arrested, you will want to check the update.
Alabama fire engine hits utility pole: The driver was the only one on board when the rig was returning to the station in Meridianville. It ran off the road and hit a concrete utility pole. The firefighter was not seriously injured, but the fire engine is totaled. Read and watch the story here.
Weekend fire videos: Seven structures damaged or destroyed in storm fueled fire in Ocean Grove, New Jersey; Brian Duddy has audio, video and pictures from an apartment building in Spring Valley, New York; A four-alarm fire in Yonkers, New York.
Lumber yard fire: Firegeezer on top of this 4-alarm fire in Walnut Creek, California.
Errant fire hose was just one of the problems: When I first heard about a police officer being injured in Harper Woods, Michigan after firefighters lost control of a hose during training, I mentioned to a friend that my gut was telling me there was more to this story. Well, clearly there is. Check out the latest on the suspension of a fire captain.
House explodes and burns in Cleveland: A neighbor’s video as three people were hurt after an explosion at West 83rd Street and Madison Avenue. Click here for more details and videos.
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UPDATED – Close call in Fairfax County, VA at scene of now double fatal fire: (Click here for slideshow from fire.) PIO Dan Schmidt confirms the bodies of two men were found inside a burning home on Heming Avenue in North Springfield this morning. Earlier three firefighters from Station 422 ran into trouble when the kitchen floor began collapsing around them. Other firefighters assisted them in getting out safely. Schmidt says one firefighter has been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. All firefighters were accounted for. The fire was reported around 6:40 AM. We will have more later, including video.
Dead, not dead: Firefighters in Prince George’s County, Maryland thought they were doing body recovery early Sunday morning on I-95. The “body” in the burned out car started breathing and things quickly reverted to a rescue operation. We have the details, fireground audio, and a timeline. Click here for our coverage.
More PGFD news – Shake-up at the top: In November, Chief Eugene Jones said about Lt. Colonel Victor Stagnaro, “You are growing into the leader I always believed you had the capacity for” as he gave the 24-year veteran “a rare and prestigious” department award. Yesterday, Chief Jones gave Stagnaro something else: his walking papers. According to Chief Jones, Stagnaro “indicated his intent to retire”. But numerous other sources familiar with what happened at the Largo Government Center tell STATter911.com the chief’s executive officer presented Stagnaro with a letter telling him his last day is February 12. Click here for more on this story.
Close Call #1: This is the "before" picture a neighbor snapped just prior to two firefighters falling through the roof of this burning Phoenix home on Monday. The firefighters were not injured. Police say the house was set on fire by an 18-year-old who had assaulted his parents. Click the image to see more pictures and watch the story.
Two Metro workers killed on tracks in Maryland: Montgomery County firefighters were busy early this morning when two employees of Metro were struck and killed by a hi-rail vehicle on the rail system’s Red Line in the Rockville area around 1:55 this morning. Read the story here. Click here for the video. Click here for pictures.
NEW – Virginia Task Force 1 heading home Thursday: That’s the plan today for the return of the urban search and rescue team from Northern Virginia. They have been in Haiti for two weeks and are now assisting with humanitarian efforts after helping to rescue 16 people who were trapped in the rubble of the earthquake.
Other teams are already home. Click here for video from the return of the Miami-Dade team.
Firegeezer also has some return videos for teams from Virginia, New York and the UK.
More from Memphis: A TV station is into its second week of reports on the Memphis Fire Department. WLMT-TV has been looking at the department’s hiring practices, the number of firefighters who have been arrested and allegations of discrimination over who gets to keep their job and who doesn’t. The latest installment is here. Click here to see what you missed earlier.
Four fire officers on leave as fatal house fire is probed in Georgia: Firefighters in DeKalb County were sent to a 911 disconnect at 1:00 Sunday morning. A fire truck was sent to investigate. The firefighters found nothing. Five hours later the house was destroyed with a woman inside. Read and watch the story. Read DeKalb County public safety director’s statement.
New talk of major FDNY cuts: Firehouses and firefighters are again being discussed for possible cuts as mayor’s staff and the new fire commissioner meet on budget issues. Read more.
911 system in DC getting scrutiny after gun is pulled on council member: A fire truck was the first on the scene to assist Council member Yvette Alexander last week when she interupted an armed robbery. There are questions about the accurate relay of information and the timeliness of the response. Read more.
Close Call #2: Three firefighters inside as explosion lifts roof off home during fire in Wells, Minnesota. The chief says he was blown 3-feet out of a door. The firefighters weren't hurt. Click the picture by Brie Cohen for details and more pictures from the Albert Lea Tribune.
Former Columbus, Ohio firefighter who killed dogs walks out of hearing because of TV camera: The latest on David Santuomo, who left the two dead dogs in a dumpster behind a firehouse in December, 2008, is that the Civil Service Commission dismissed the appeal of his firing because the former firefighter wasn’t present. News reports indicate Santuomo got up and left when he saw the camera being set up. You may recall Santuomo executed the dogs because he didn’t want to pay kennel fees while on vacation. Read more.
LAFD defends dog rescue: The Los Angeles Fire Department stands by the decision to commit resources to last Friday’s dog rescue in the L.A. River that left a firefighter with dog bites. Read more. Earlier coverage here and here.
Mayor is shocked: Paramus, New Jersey Mayor James Tedesco is also a volunteer firefighter. Responding on a call for a downed power line, the firefighting mayor touched a fence that had come in contact with the wire. He is okay. Read more.
House fire in New Jersey: This is from yesterday in Oradell in Bergen County.
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