Video from Tampa Fire Rescue (TampaFROfficial) from a house fire at 401 Janette Avenue on Friday afternoon. The second video below shows firefighters saving the family’s pet.
No people were inside, but a gerbil named Sniffles was rescued by a firefighter and given to the family.
This fire began when a teenage boy was cooking chicken and fries and the grease caught fire on the stove. The kitchen quickly filled with smoke, setting off the smoke detectors, and he could not extinguish the fire, fire officials said.
In addition, Jenkins, who was also charged with insubordination and not following rules, was also evaluated as: requiring assistance on routine matters; not reliable under unusual circumstance; having disinterest in the job; and reacting negatively to criticism.
When we reminded the chief he said he concurred with the evaluation, he first said, “No! No!”Then, he admitted, “Well, yeah.”
After Jenkins had his gun stolen for a second time in 2010, the chief said it was inexcusable.
Jenkins was acting fire marshal when the department was trying to solve the case of the Ybor city arsonist in 2010. Some say he botched that assignment. At the time, Mayor Pam Iorio pulled Jenkins and the fire department off the lead role in the investigation. When the former mayor put the police department in charge, she apologized to the neighborhood, saying the investigation was not handled with the sense of urgency and coordination that she expected.
Milton Jenkins’ promotion was not finalized until he received a $1,000 city bonus that managers are not eligible for. Meanwhile, Jenkins fought the fire department designation of incompetence and an arbitrator overruled the fire department.
Jenkins also disagreed with the negative evaluations, but those findings stand.
A neighbor captured the first engine’s arrival and initial attack on Burke Street in Hillsborough County on Monday. Besides thunder and lightning that appear quite close, there is a fair amount of airhorn action, to the point I am not clear what’s going on. On video 2, below, the airhorn sounds sounds again at about 3:41 and stays that way through the end of the clip, more than three minutes later. That’s one hell of an evacuation signal, or more likely, there is a malfunction (caused by the wet weather?) of the horn.
Hillsborough County firefighters responded to a 3-alarm fire at Electrical Engineering in the 6100 block of Hartford Street in an unincorporated part of the city between Progress Village and South Tampa.
According to the company's website, Electrical Engineering does high voltage testing and line work as well as industrial and commercial electrical work.
One fire truck was damaged as firefighters battled the blaze at Electrical Engineering Enterprises, 6115 Hartford St., authorities said. The property is near Progress Village, east of Tampa.
"There was an explosion shortly after they arrived and they didn't have time to move the truck," said David Travis, an interim assistant chief with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Travis said the company refurbishes transformers, a process that requires gallons of mineral oil, as well as propane tanks to power forklifts.
Some of the materials in the warehouse made battling the blaze a tricky endeavor for firefighting crews from Hillsborough County.
“There’s a lot of material, combustible material inside the facility including mineral oil, mineral spirits and other materials like that,” said David Travis with Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue. “They also had some propane tanks which caused several explosions. It made it quite challenging.”
The video above is from Tampa Fire Rescue as 22-year-old Dwayne Duke and his passenger, 30-year-old Zachary P. Zachariades, wait on top of the 2003 Dodge Ram they had been riding in before plunging through the Brorein Street Bridge guardrail and into the Hillsborough River.
Duke was driving too fast when he tried to switch lanes and hit the brakes, police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. Duke will be cited with careless driving.
The Dodge was westbound on Brorein when it hit the metal grating of the drawbridge and started to fishtail, said Wes Zweibel, a Tampa Tribune employee who was on his way to work just before 8:30 a.m. when he saw the crash.
The red and white truck swerved between lanes before crashing into the railing near the span’s apex. It hung on the railing for a split second before plunging into the river on the north side of the bridge, Zweibel said.
Early video from car crash and gas pump fire: This is from Tampa, Florida yesterday. A driver of a Ford Expedition lost control, hit the white Lincoln and then slammed into the pumps. Click here for Part 1 of the video. Read more from TBO.com.
Firefighter says helping out at crash scene on sick day cost him his job: An interesting story from Georgetown, South Carolina where a firefighter says he was forced to resign after helping at a crash involving his neighbor during a day the firefighter called in sick. Click here for the story and the comments.
And who says the good old days are gone?: Whether they are true or not, the allegations sound like something from a few decades ago. In Woodbridge, New Jersey town officials claim members of the Avenel-Colonia First Aid Squad had nude dancing and prostitues at parties inside the squad’s building. The allegations are the latest headline in an ongoing battle between Woodbridge and the EMS crew. The squad is going to court claiming it is being defamed by a public smear campaign. Read the story.
Firefighter laughing and taking video while pit bull is shot brings scrutiny but no discipline: In St. Lucie County, Florida firefighters responding to a dog bite call watched as a Fort Pierce cop shot a pit bull. One firefighter caught the action on his cell phone camera. It was also the reaction of the firefighters that made news. Check it out.
Funerals tomorrow in Virginia: Click here and here for funeral details and the latest on the crash Monday that killed Rocky Mount Chief Posey Dillon and Firefighter (and former chief) Danny Altice.
Clark County, Nevada officials fire back at union’s six-week ad campaign: The budget cutting and shut down of Clark County’s heavy rescue squad and hazardous materials unit has been a hot topic. Now county officials have come up with a point-by-point response to the union’s ad campaign. Read the Clark County document. Here’s the Las Vegas Review Journal article.
Outer Banks fire department under scrutiny: Having spent many days and nights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina covering hurricanes I was drawn to Firegeezer Bill Schumm’s story about the dispute in Southern Shores where citizens are dealing with a substantial tax increase to fund the volunteer fire department. The town pays the freight, including the chief’s $70,000 salary, but has little say or insight in how the money is spent. Bill is all over this story with interesting video. Click here.
The food may be fast but the response to the emergency isn’t: It looks like the employees of this McDonald’s in Tampa could use some training on what to do if smoke starts filling the place.
Firefighter saves the gas station but loses his POV: Mike Lee was the first firefighter on the scene when a vehicle caught fire at the gas pumps of a service station in Star, Mississippi. The volunteer is being credited with preventing a more serious problem when he used his own pickup truck to push the burning vehicle away from the pumps. That worked, but in the process Lee’s POV stalled and then became a victim of the fire. Here’s more.
Earlier video from Marlborough, Massachusetts collapse: Another video is now posted from Saturday’s 8-alarm fire that resulted in a sizable collapse at a restaurant on Main Street. It gives another view of the collapse but also shows the earlier stages of the firefighting operation. Check it out.
Assistant chief needed rescue from trench collapse: In Charles City, Iowa Assistant Chief David Boehmer needed his own fire department at his property. Boehmer was trapped up to his armpits after a collapse occurred while working on a new house. He was stuck for 25-minutes. Read the story
Firefighter accused of having sex with fellow firefighter’s teen daughter: An ugly situation in Milwaukee where Firefighter Robert Johnson is charged with having sex multiple times with a 14-year-old girl he met on the Internet. It turns out she is the daughter of a Milwaukee firefighter. Johnson faced similar charges in 2004. That time it was a 14-year-old girl he met on a call to her home. The DA dropped those charges when the girl changed her story. Read details.
Firefighters pay twice in EMT training scandal: In Haverhill, Massachusetts firefighter accused of paying to receive their EMT recertification without having to attend the class are now getting hit in their wallets again. They each lose the $1500 stipend for being an EMT. The mayor says he is going to use the money saved to hire a consultant to look at the fire department. Here’s the latest.
Firefighters hurt in yacht fire: Firegeezer has the video and story about Sunday’s fire that destroyed a 104-foot yacht in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two firefighters were hurt and another suffered heat exhaustion. Click here.
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.
Arson blamed for Sunday afternoon house fires: A pair of homes that burned in Tampa is being looked at for a connection to a strong of 22 arsons in the area. One vacant home burned and a second home used by an adjacent business was damaged in the 1500 block of E. 17th Avenue. Firefighters kept the fire from spreading to the main building of Tommy’s Wholesale. Click here to read more about the 3-alarm fire.
Firefighter John Glaser: A Shawnee, Kansas firefighter died in a house fire Saturday night. Thirty-three-year-old John Glaser was a six-year member of the department who leaves behind a wife and two young children. Here’s our coverage.
What did the firefighters know and when did they know it?: Free Lance – Star reporter Dan Telvock has an interesting follow-up to his story about the fire in Spotsylvania County, Virginia where firefighters couldn’t find the woman talking to 911. According to Telvock, a police report by a sheriff’s deputy who was first on the scene indicates the deputy gave some important details to firefighters about who was in the house. Telvock reports this information was not part of the official review of the incident ordered by County officials. Read more.
Remember her? I warned you this Australian trainer would get more publicity than any of you for her efforts at firefighting. Tash Bennett helped put out a fire in a palm tree while doing some topless sunbathing. Now she is posing for the men's magazine ZOO Weekly (source for picture above) and says a firefighters' organization in Illinois is bringing her in to speak. Click the image to read more.
Hazmat from 22-years-ago: From the STATter911.com Archives (actually I found it on my desk) a 1988 story on a series of hazardous materials incidents in the Washington area and a look at how firefighters were trained to handle such things. There are interviews with the late Warren Isman, then chief in Fairfax County, and Pat Walsh, a STATter911.com reader who was then a DC lieutenant. Check it out.
Firefighter charged in pipe bomb incident: Volunteer firefighter Walter Scott Jr. from Salisbury, New Hampshire told police he found the bomb and then took it back to his garage before calling for help on March 16. Scott is now charged with reckless endangerment for tampering with the bomb. Read and watch the story.
Lt. and crash victim wrestle for gun: In Florida, Port Orange Fire Department Lt. Joe Carrasquillo spent his 44th birthday facing the barrel of a gun held by a man who crashed his vehicle. Read the dramatic story of how this one ended.
Mobile sick-out: The latest news report indicates there were eight firefighters out sick Sunday compared to 31 on Saturday in what some are calling a spontaneous sick-out in the Alabama city. The department recently closed three fire stations and dropped minimum staffing to three. Firegeezer has the original story.
Lawyers not interested in case of collapsed gurney: The daughters have the video showing their father hitting the ground after the gurney he was on collapsed during unloading at a Michigan hospital, but no lawyer is interested in helping them sue. Read why.
Sheriff says no to raise for firefighters: In Broward County, Florida where the fire department is part of the sheriff’s department the top man is saying no to a raise ordered by a special magistrate. Read details.
Long Island fire: Lots of video from last week’s fire in Baldwin in a block adjacent to the firehouse. Click here.
Three-alarms for vacant electronics plant in New Jersey: Struthers Dunn electronics moved to South Carolina 16-years-ago but their old building is still around in Mantua Township. It burned early Saturday. Click here to read more about the fire.
Early video from Tampa house fire: This duplex fire at 7903 N. Brooks Street in Sulphur Springs occurred Sunday evening. Investigators believe a child playing with matches started the fire in a bedroom. There were no injuries reported.
Radio traffic from runaway fire engine with children on board: We have added FireSceneAudio.com’s radio traffic from Saturday’s birthday party in Anne Arundel County, Maryland where a Lake Shore VFC engine took off with eight children on board. The children weren’t hurt. One firefighter was injured after he jumped into the cab. The rig stopped when it hit a tree. Here’s our coverage.
Fundraiser for Baltimore’s Jeff Novack, plus an update from his family: A lot of thanks from Al Novack and his family as he provides an update on his son Jeff’s progress. The Baltimore City firefighter was seriously burned and suffered multiple fractures during an April 7 fire on Liberty Heights Avenue. There is a fundraiser on Thursday. Click here for all of the details.
Mayday radio traffic in Cincinnati: Click here for the fireground audio from the yesterday’s fire in a vacant duplex. One firefighter fell through the floor.
Click the image for details and a series of pictures by Dennis Walus of this fire yesterday in Detroit.
Fire vs. police, female vs. male: This wasn’t just a contest between fire and police recruits in the District of Columbia, this was a battle of the sexes. It was caught on video at the DC Fire & EMS Department Training Academy. I think you will want to check it out. Click here.
Settlement in U.K. sex suit: We told you last week of the lawsuit Kate Ellis filed in her battle with Hampshire Fire & Rescue. Ellis, who once was on a department recruiting poster, said she slept with her supervisor in an effort to stop harassment at the fire station. That suit has been settled, but a lot more detail is coming out. Read the update.
New definition of “deadliest catch”: We have two examples for you of fishing expeditions that brought back work for firefighters and other first responders. A fishing crew off the coast of Italy snagged a World War II mine. Firegeezer has that story. In New Bedford, Massachusetts a clamming operation dredged up about 100 hand grenades from either WWII or the Korean War. Check that one out.
Fallen Heroes Day: Nita Walden alerts us to the 25th anniversary of Fallen Heroes Day at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Baltimore County. It is being held on May 7. Click here for all of the details.
Fall River arson problem: Mill buildings and a few other things have suddenly been catching on fire in this Massachusetts town. Click here.
Watch Philippine firefighters in action: Some interesting video from a fire last week that destroyed 20 homes and businesses. Check it out.
High-rise fire in St. Louis: Video from a fire on the 15th floor of a 31-story building in downtown St. Louis.
A rescue any self-respecting firefighter can relate to: In Naperville, Illinois firefighters had to cut a dog out of a mechanized recliner. Here’s the story.
Early video from Tampa: Watch the initial attack on a house fire yesterday at 4906 Wishart Boulevard. Investigators say smoking materials caused the fire.
Close call in Baltimore: It sounds like Truck 12′s crew was by themselves for a bit last night when fire broke out across Berwyn Avenue from the firehouse. Two firefighters were hospitalized. One in serious but stable condition after bailing out of a burning apartment. We have fireground audio and more.
Two-alarm fire in Prince George's County, Maryland overnight. WUSA9.com's Ava-Joye Burnett snapped some pictures as fire damaged three townhomes on Jacobs Drive in Greenbelt. Click the image for more.
Houston has a problem that may take the wisdom of Solomon: Mayor Annise Parker made it clear she wants a “complete house cleaning” at Station 54 after lengthy investigations failed to determine who was responsible for the racial and sexual graffii that targeted two female firefighters. This was the same station where a “team building” exercise in January to welcome back Firefighter Jane Draycott went so bad the fire chief stepped down. Despite the mayor saying yesterday, “We’re going to break up the culture at that station and we’re going to move on”, the Houston Chronicle reports the city attorney and acting fire chief are indicating not so fast. City Attorney Arturo Michel points out what the mayor wants is “not going to happen” because essentially Draycott’s shift mates have already been moved to other shifts and fire stations. Draycott’s attorney doesn’t believe enough has been done to pave the way to bring the firefighter back to the airport station. Meanwhile, the union president points out nine months of investigations essentially exonerated the firefighters and officers of Station 54. And you wonder why Phil Boriskie, the former chief, was glad to take a demotion and get back to firefighting. Here’s the latest.
Lawsuit in Chicago after family finds the body firefighters failed to locate: A lawsuit has been filed by relatives of a man Chicago firefighters failed to locate after a fire a year ago. Read more.
Reporter takes on firefighters in Missouri after they failed to find woman’s body: Calling what happened to Gloria Banks in Northwoods, Missouri an “undignified way to go”, KMOV-TV reporter Mark Schnyder has some pointed comments for the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District. This was the story we first alerted you to yesterday of the woman found in the bathtub hours after firefighters initially left the scene of a house fire. In his blog Schnyder writes, “What an embarrassment for the fire department… but what bothers me more is that someone’s loved one was left inside a burned out building and no one seemed to care enough to find out she was there… in her tub… covered in debris.” Click here to read more.
Wine man whines about firefighters: In St. Helena, California wine maker Dario Sattui writes to the local paper saying firefighters have it good, too good. Check it out.
Why did the firefighter cross the road?Apparently to kill the chicken: No, the next riddle is not why did the chicken wear red suspenders, but it might as well be with this silly story. Much is being made in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania about the police officer, when confronted with a large chicken “terrorizing” a neighborhood, called in his buddy the bow and arrow toting firefighter. The firefighter ended up having a nice dinner, but the meal turned out to be someone’s pet (I don’t recall this transgression coming up in the recent report on firefighters behaving badly … clearly we overlooked something). Click here to find out if someone can turn this bad turn of events into chicken salad.
Kentland firefighter saves infant: Before they could get to the patient, the choking baby came to them. Click above for the details on a life saved in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Basement fire in St. Louis: Fire on Friday at 3337 Missouri Avenue. It is a described as a two-story, two-family flat. It had burglar bars on the basement windows that a firefighter aggressively attacks.
CapeCodOnline.com photo of Lt. Kelli Weeks. For the first time we are getting details on the charges against Weeks who has been at the center of a lot of drama in the department. Click the image for the latest.
Did FDNY EMS crew on break refuse to help dying pregnant woman?: That’s the claim in Brooklyn following an incident at a coffee shop near FDNY HQ. Read more.
We have heard from the NC firefighter seen with his helmet on fire: Will Gregory from Erwin, North Carolina sent us a comment about the dramatic pictures from a house fire a week ago. Gregory and another firefighter were briefly caught in a flashover but walked away with no injuries. Click here for the pictures by Brian Haney and scroll down for Gregory’s comments.
Chief Ellerbe speaks: Sarasota Chief Kenneth Ellerbe assures those in Florida he is not coming back to Washington despite still being on the DC payroll. We also hear from Joe Morgan, the critically burned firefighter who didn’t quite find it as easy to stay on the fire department’s rolls. Check it out.
Cheating scandal widens: Two Omaha, Nebraska firefighters are now implicated in the effort to give test answers to new applicants of the Papillion Fire Department. In October and November we first mentioned the cheating scandal that required officials to throw out the test and discipline some employees. Omaha World-Tribune has received a confidential report about the incident that quotes one of the firefighters saying it is part of the “brotherhood” to “help” family and friends get on the job. Click here for the update.
Chief in trouble again: Eunice, New Mexico Chief Ron Grogan and a bunch of his firefighters are charged with theft of a radar detector which was evidence at a crime scene. Grogan also made headlines in September after he was accused of fondling a woman. Click here.
Sorry, you are too late. STATter911.com again becomes a video killer. When we first spotted it late Sunday there was just one view on this video of firefighters from PGFD Station 807 being towed behind a pickup truck through the streets of Riverdale Park, Maryland. A few hundred views later and after a series of negative comments by STATter911.com readers, the video was pulled overnight. You can click the image for the comments.
What were they thinking?: It appears that Tampa’s MJ Morning Show crew got what they wanted. That would include a blazing fire from turkey fryer inside a van and a lot of publicity. But will this stunt end up giving them a little MORE than they wanted, once fire investigators finish up? Click here for our first posting on this stupid act. Then click here as Dave points out that one of the radio crew’s biggest crimes is that they weren’t even funny and constrasts it to a radio turkey stunt that was hilarious.
Geezer’s weekend stuff: Lots of entries by Bill Schumm at Firegeezer.com, but my favorite is a picture of the set up inside a vehicle that might make many a mobile command post jealous. Click here.
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up: That’s probably what Konrad would have yelled if he could. But Konrad is a horse. And this horse slipped on the ice and had a great fall (miserable winter though). A three hour drama in Connecticut ended happily after firefighters put Konrad back together again. Click here and here.
San Diego commercial fire: This is from a week ago after a two-alarm fire destroyed Blowout Video and the largest selection of DVDs in the area, along with the corporate office of Showgirls, a strip club business.
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