When firefighters arrived, they reported heavy black smoke coming out the front door. Firefighters learned there were still two pet dogs left in the home. A quick and coordinated fire attack brought the fire under control shortly after 5 PM.
A search was mounted for the two dogs after conditions made entry possible. Firefighters quickly located the family pets and removed them from the home. A valiant effort was made to attempt to resuscitate the dogs, but ultimately they succumb to the effects of the exposure to the smoke and heat of the fire.
Brooklyn, Wisconsin volunteer firefighter Dan Dean has filed a $50,000 lawsuit against the Village of Oregon claiming excessive force after a police officer held a gun to Dean’s head during a traffic stop as Dean responded to the firehouse for a call.
Brooklyn volunteer firefighter Dan Dean, 37, alleges Oregon police officer Ted Gilbertson overreacted when Gilbertson drew his gun and held it near Dean’s head during a June traffic stop in the Brooklyn Fire Station parking lot.
Dean had just sped to the station in his private vehicle after being paged. Gilbertson had begun pursuing him several miles out, apparently in response to an earlier call elsewhere in the county of a motorist possibly impersonating a police officer. Both Dean and Gilbertson were using lights and sirens.
The department’s internal investigation cleared officer Gilbertson of any wrongdoing and accused Dean of recklessly responding to a non-emergency.
Dean was cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. He is contesting the ticket.
I am not big on ghost stories and I am not a believer. But I guess if there is a place that has a right to be haunted it’s a firehouse built on the site of a former mausoleum. That’s the case of the quarters of Engine 35 and Ladder Truck 16 at 100 N. 64th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The City of Milwaukee took over the site in 1994 after the Fairview Mausoleum, built in 1912, fell into disrepair. The remains of 999 people were removed to a cemetery in town and eventually a fire station was built.
The firehouse is nicknamed the Crypt Keeper. The name sits on a tombstone in front of the station. So is the place haunted?
In anticipation of Halloween, the Journal Sentinel’s Jim Stingl asked that question of the firefighters who work there. It turns out quite a few believe in ghosts. Maybe they should contact those guys who work out of a New York firehouse and drive an old Cadillac ambulance for some help with their problem (see video below).
“It’s always the cold water, and it’s always full blast. This has happened at least a dozen times,” said firefighter Ron Reagan, who is not the ghost of a former president.
I don’t want to take the cold water imagery too far, but three people interred at the mausoleum were on the Titanic. The man died that night, and his wife and daughter survived in a lifeboat.
Josh Larson tells of a night when he was on watch duty at the firehouse. His laptop computer, which he had turned off and tucked into its case, suddenly switched on and began playing music on YouTube. To be exact, it was Zac Brown Band’s version of “Feel Like Making Love.” Um, no thanks, Jacob Marley.
Elsa Gomez has been spooked more than once. There was the time she heard two large pans and a popcorn pot fall off the stove in the kitchen, and was shocked to find them on the floor but nowhere near the stove. “They just flew off the stove basically, is what I’m saying. It was weird,” she said.
Then there was the night when she and a fellow firefighter were relaxing in chairs on either side of a floor lamp. Suddenly the lamp plug popped out of the wall, and the room went dark. They couldn’t think of any logical explanation.
Lightning-sparked fire severely damaged a mobile home on Whitefish Lake Saturday evening, May 26. At 7:26 p.m.
Fire department secretary Wayne Kupsch said Mrs. Klatt was in the kitchen when lightning struck the rear roof area and started a fire between the roof and siding. The fire was “very hard to put out. We had to pull the ceiling down in the back bedroom” he said.
FOX6 News is told one firefighter is in serious condition, one in fair condition and one in good condition. Two were treated and released.
The civilian is reportedly in critical condition.
“I was at the hospital. All those people, I am their boss and they work for me and it is hard to take,” Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Romas said at the scene Sunday night.
UPDATE 5-31-12: The elderly man seen in the video after the explosion has died. From the AP -
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office says 88-year-old Marvin Engler died Wednesday night. He and a female caretaker were injured when the house exploded and caught fire Saturday in Glendale.
The state fire marshal as well as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms inspected the rubble. Authorities say they’ve been unable to determine a cause of the explosion. But the North Shore Fire Department says there is no indication that it was intentional or criminal.
EARLIER:
I am sure we will hear from Jimmy O again that THE Fire Critic beat me to this video, posted to YouTube today, from Saturday’s house explosion that left two people injured in Glendale, Wisconsin (I wonder if Jimmy’s real first name is Rhett … but wouldn’t that make Rhett a toll?). Anyway, truth be told, Firegeezer beat us all to this story, posting it on Sunday.
An elderly couple was injured in the fire. Read about the investigation and more details on the fire here.
I am sure many of you will note the parking job by the police officer (see image below). I believe those little red things sprouting out of the ground designate official police parking. But the good news is he realized it as the fire sirens came closer and moved forward and out of the street a bit. Still not sure why his car needed to be so close to the fire. But I admit I know very little about policing.
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) saythey 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.
A 2-year-old boy was thrown from a window and a woman jumped from the same second-story apartment to escape a fire Tuesday on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
Also, a 13-year-old might have jumped from a separate apartment in the building in the 5800 block of N. 87th St., according to Milwaukee Fire Department records. Firefighters said none of the injuries appears life threatening.
“We had a 25-year-old female that, in order to escape the fire, jumped from a second floor porch, a two-year-old that was thrown down to a bystander as well, and then I was told also a 13-year-old that suffered minor injuries while escaping the fire,” Milwaukee Fire Deputy Chief Randall Zingler told Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Dan O’Donnell.
“We found three of the four units fully involved in the fire.”
The thorny constitutional principle of separation of church and state is rearing its head over a 1921 World War I monument featuring a prominent Christian cross on city property. Unlike the recent prayer banner controversy in Cranston, which was sued by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the threat of legal action in this case is coming from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit organization halfway across the country.
On April 13, the Madison, Wisc.-based foundation sent Mayor Leo T. Fontaine a letter calling the display of the “Latin cross” on public property “unlawful” and demanding that the situation be rectified.
The monument, a cross, at the Woonsocket Fire Department Station 2 on Cumberland Hill Road, was originally erected in 1921 to honor William Jolicoeur, a member of the American Expeditionary Forces killed in France during World War I, according to The Woonsocket Call. Later, it was rededicated in honor of three brothers killed in World War II, Alexandre, Henri and Louis Gagne.
“No secular purpose, no matter how sincere, will detract from the overall message that the Latin cross stands for Christianity,” the FFRF’s staff attorney Rebecca Markert said in the letter.
Tom Poole, a disabled veteran, is one of many in Woonsocket trying to protect a cross that stands on top of a monument located in the parking lot of the city’s fire station on Cumberland Hill Road.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation wants the cross removed on the grounds that the monument violates the separation of church. The group also wants the Woonsocket Fire Department to remove “The Firefighter’s Prayer” and a picture of an angel from its website because it is a direct violation of the First Amendment and the Constitution.
The YouTube videos on this page from Nemmy25 show the progression of a fire on Saturday in the 2200 block of S. Muskego Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to fire officials at the scene, the fire started in the third floor attic area of the building. When the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived on scene, the first three hydrants they tried to use were frozen.
Firefighters managed to get the fourth hydrant, two blocks away, to work, but that allowed the fire to spread to the second and first floors of the building.
No details on when or where in Milwaukee this fire was. I do like the firefighter who provides prevention material to the neighbors while the house is still belching smoke. You certainly have them thinking about that topic. Talk about striking when the iron's hot.
Above is the raw video from the camera of WITI-TV photojournalist Clint Fillinger just prior to his arrest Sunday nigh accused of resisting a Milwaukee police officer and obstructing the officer in his duties at the scene of a house fire. On the video, the police sergeant can be heard saying that Fillinger was being moved back for "his safety". At the same time the safety of the members of the public, who like Fillinger, were standing outside the secure area, behind the police yellow tape, is apparently not so important.
The officer was so concerned about the safety of this one man with the camera that he knocked the 68-year-old cameraman to the ground as Fillinger was being shepherded to the end of the block. Fillinger told a reporter for his station that he touched the officer while putting up his hands in a defensive move as the officer came at him while the photographer was walking backwards. I will let you be the judge if the officer's reaction was appropriate. I say this knowing there will be plenty out there who will focus on the fact Fillinger touched the sergeant and that's all anyone needs to know.
The other police officer on the video, also identified as a sergeant, told Fillinger we need you to move back "for their privacy".
Now, let's bring in Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn who was asked by a reporter from WITI-TV to comment on this confrontation. The chief pointed out, since this was the same as a citizen complaint he was limited in what he could say to those facts that everyone has seen on TV. From apparently watching that video the chief made the point, "If the cameraman had simply complied with the instructions to back off from a working fire none of this hullabaloo would be taking place".
But Chief Flynn, couldn't it also be said at this point from just watching the video, if the police officer hadn't targeted an individual for removal from a non-secure area because the person was carrying a camera none of this hullabaloo would be taking place?
The chief did what many will think is an admirable thing by defending his people, taking the side of the sergeant over the cameraman based on the video that's in the public. But isn't Chief Flynn also sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States?
In the defense of the Constitution shouldn't the chief be bringing up some other points and questions that seem reasonable to bring up from just looking at and listening to this video? Things like was that a lawful order of the police officer based on the recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals? Why was it so important to aggressively remove this one person from the scene and not anyone else? Just what privacy expectation is there on a public street in Milwaukee? What safety concern was there that only the photographer needed to be sent to the end of the block?
Yes, it's great to support your people chief and to reserve judgment until the investigation is complete. But wouldn't it be nice if you or some other police chief got up there during one of these situations and said something like this?
"I want to make it clear that the job of the police department is to defend the Constitution of the United States. This includes the First Amendment. In reviewing this incident I want to make sure that the rights of this individual carrying a camera were not violated and at the same time try to determine if this order from my officer is consistent with our rules, regulations and procedures and the laws of this state and country. When this investigation is complete I hope to know these answers. In the meantime I can assure you that my officers are aware that it is their duty not to interfere with anyone who is lawfully shooting pictures."
So, tell me Chief Flynn, would it make you or your department look bad if you answered the questions about this incident in that manner? Is that not a more even handed way to reply to something as important as this? Is it considered a sign of weakness for the police to make a clear statement about supporting the First Amendment? Would you be considered any less of a police chief in front of the public or your officers if you answered this way?
The clip above provides additional video and details from the story we brought you a month ago of two Milwaukee firefighters who were forced to bail out of a burning home. At least two cameras were rolling when Lt. Chris Schutte and Firefighter John Kokalj dropped from the attic onto a porch roof. The fire occurred on June 3 at 16th Street and Lincoln Avenue. The video was put together by Dale G. Pakel.
Here's some of what Pakel wrote about the incident:
MFD Engine 31 experienced a collapse in the attic while searching for two children who were reported trapped. The hose line they were on lost pressure and the collapse cut off their primary egress to the stairwell. As a result of rapidly deteriorating fire conditions, the Officer and Nozzleman were forced to bail out the front attic windows.
By now you have likely seen the video from Friday's house fire from 16th Street and Lincoln Avenue in Milwaukee that forced a lieutenant and firefighter to bail out of the attic as conditions rapidly changed. Firefighter John Kokalj left first after suffering second-degree burns. Lt. Chris Schutte was right behind him. Schutte injured his pelvis. A third member of the crew, Jason Rodriguez, found another escape route and was unharmed.
Above is the interview with the firefighters. It includes cell phone video of the firefighters' escape taken by an off duty firefighter from another jurisdiction. There is another video of the bailout that can be found here. Below are two clips from later in the fire. Here's an excerpt from WTMJ-TV's story:
"I just dove head first as if i was jumping into the lake," said Schutte. "I didn't look to see where I was going. I didn't look to see if there was a porch. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting away from the heat."
The temperature inside reached a few hundred degrees, they couldn't see and the ceiling was falling all around them. They knew they were in danger and they needed to get out fast.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday engine 31, mayday" yelled Lt. Schutte into communication radio.
They could no longer find the stairs but they found their way to a window. Both fell about 10 feet onto a porch.
The Sun-Times also has the story of a firefighter who has minor injuries after being slugged by a man whose vehicle was in the roadway:
The 52-year-old firefighter was attacked about at 5:25 p.m. in the 7200 block of South Lafayette. The firefighter claimed the man’s vehicle was blocking the road, police said.
The man fled after the incident.
To give you another view of what the firefighters are up against, someone put together the story above of a Chicago Fire Department engine and crew getting stuck in the Albany Park neighborhood. But the videographer didn’t wait around for the rescue.
The clip above, from a different neighbor with a camera, has the snowplow coming in to save the stuck CFD crew on the streets of Albany Park.
Obviously it isn’t just Chicago. Neighbors with shovels rush in to help Milwaukee Fire Department’s Engine 23 dig out.
There was a time we would regularly bring you videos from Gary, Indiana that were shot by Edward Malik (AKA mabas21 on YouTube). Malik stopped his coverage of the Gary Fire Department and concentrated on the suburbs. But he made a return visit early Saturday morning with this fire at 24th and Wisconsin. He titled the clip, “I Am Sorry, Your House Is On Fire? We Will Be There Later Not Sooner”. In his description of the fire Malik talked about the layoff early this month of 34 Gary firefighters following a record number of fire runs last year. According to Malik, there were at least five working fires in three hours on Saturday morning. Here is an excerpt:
On arrival a fully involved frame house was found with a fireball blowing out the side of the house from the gas meter. It took an engine company over 15 minutes to get on scene to fight the fire because the entire fire department along with several mutual aid companies were working their asses off at 4 other fires burning at the same time.
Three-alarm house fire in Uxbridge, Massachusetts: A three-alarm fire in a duplex on Hazel Street Saturday night left four firefighters and two civilians injured. As you can see in the video above, shot by Matt Gregoire for ProvidenceFireVideos.com, firefighters had issues with power lines and natural gas.
Manassas, Virginia fire chief quits over frustration with combined system: Chief Mike Wood says for 25 months he was has worked to successfully combine the Manassas Fire and Rescue Department, the Greater Manassas Volunteer Rescue Squad and the Manassas Volunteer Fire Company. On Friday, Chief Wood sent in his letter of resignation, effective January, and makes it clear there is a “philosophical divide concerning fire and rescue services which continues to undermine improvements in configuration, accountability, revenue, and safety. Until this division is remedied or proactively managed, I fear that the combined fire and rescue system will continue to possess significant operational deficiencies and administrative inefficiencies that, in my professional view, pose detriment to our public and first responder safety.” InsideNOVA.com’s Aileen Streng has the story.
Guest columnist on the trooper versus photographer video: Dave Levy is a lawyer and former firefighter who spent many an overnight shift with his father Sheldon in DC and New York shooting news. In addition, he is a friend of mine. Despite all of these strikes against him, Dave is still able to function well enough to write an interesting column giving us his insight into the confrontation eight days ago between a Connecticut State trooper and a news photographer. Click here to read it. Maybe you have an opposing view? STATter911.com is interested in running that, too. Just contact me at STATter911@gmail.com.
One house fire and 129 dogs: All but four of those dogs lived following the fire early yesterday morning in Huntingtown, Maryland. We have a WUSA9.com video and some pictures and videos from the Huntingtown VFD. Check it out.
Firefighters and medics question role award-winning state park ranger played in saving shocked teen: It isn’t often you see this type of story. Last week a state park ranger in Aptos, California received a Medal of Valor Gold Award from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for rescuing a teenager who came in contact with a power line on a state beach. Now, firefighters and medics who were also on the scene are speaking up saying it didn’t go down the way the ranger said it did. You will want to read this one.
Cops claim chief had meltdown: In Clark County, Indiana a fire chief on the scene of a fatal ambulance accident is accused of using foul language on the radio. An investigation is underway into how the chief interacted with law enforcement and others following last week’s crash. Here’s more.
Steroid probe implicates cops and firefighters: The Star-Ledger in New Jersey has been following the trail of a dead doctor from Hudson County. His practice of liberally prescribing anabolic steroids and HGH was apparently too much for more than 200 firefighters and cops to pass up. Click here for Part 1 of this three part series.
Unlike Adams County, Santa can’t ride here: An interesting controversy from Pompano Beach, Florida where firefighters just said no to Santa during the annual holiday parade. Read why.
Union citing safety in staffing issue: In High Point, North Carolina there is a battle going on over staffing. Click here to watch the story.
Two dead, others rescued, fire trucks delayed in snow covered Minneapolis: From KARE-TV – “Two people are dead and three others were hospitalized after fire crews struggled to respond to a Minneapolis house fire in blizzard-like conditions early Sunday. Just after 1:30 a.m., firefighters responded to 3616 Elliot Ave South on a report of a house fire. The first fire truck to respond was delayed after getting stuck in the snow on the same block, according to Fire Chief Alex Jackson. When crews arrived on scene, several people were found on the roof and porch on the second floor. Crews began an interior attack on the fire but were evacuated after conditions became too dangerous to continue. No firefighters were injured.” Click here to watch video from the fire.
A fascinating video: A delivery man spotted a small apartment fire yesterday in Racine, Wisconsin. Being a good citizen he went inside and started alerting neighbors by banging on doors. Good for him. But as we know, it isn’t just good enough to do that in the modern times we live in. The incident would not have officially occurred if there wasn’t video of the man’s actions. Thankfully that video exists. It is courtesy of the same delivery man. He provides narration, and a couple shots of himself in action. He who is soon joined by a police officer who beats the fire department to the scene. Long ago I predicted, that with all of the cameras and the need to shoot everything, we would soon have a rescue where both the rescuer and rescuee were taking video. We are not there yet. But I think we have officially taken a step closer to reaching my goal.
Strut alert: If you missed it, with the help of Firefighter Close Calls, we have posted raw dashcam video of a vehicle fire this summer in Austin, Texas. It shows a number of small explosions, including struts becoming flying missiles. Click here for the video.
I don’t like Dave Slater: Who can blame him? But that’s one of the many comments sent in about my position on the video of the trooper from Connecticut’s confrontation with a news photographer. I am clearly in a losing battle, but I am going down fighting as I almost single-handedly try to be the protector of our Constitution and way of life. And when I say losing, I’m losing big time. The vast majority of the people writing in think whether a citizen or the press can roll video at an emergency scene is not (or should not be) protected under our First Amendment, but instead is a decision we have handed over to the government in the form of first responders. That scares me for so many reasons. But I answer each one who writes in with a variety of arguments about why that’s not a good idea. I also point out that even though you may believe that’s how it works, the law of the land as determined by the people who formed our government, says otherwise. Maybe what amazes me more is that a news photographer, who is standing with the public and not up close to the working first responders at a fatal crash, is made out to the devil. All you see on his raw, unedited video is a burning car, with the body already gone. Many of the writers indicate the press should not roll video at any scene where someone has died. I know I am an insensitive, biased, former reporter jerk for thinking that our freedoms in this country overrides what offends people. There’s a lot more to what many think are really stupid arguments by me. Read it for youself.
But here’s why I really like this First Amendment thing: It allows us all to openly have our say on forums like these blogs. Glenn Usdin is doing just that with his new site, FireTruckBlog.com. He looks at a controversy going on right now in and around Lancaster, Pennsylvania that has cropped up big time because the city’s only two ladder trucks are down and out. It’s pitting career firefighters and against volunteers and has the mayor threatening to sue the union claiming the IAFF is messing up mutul aid agreements. Check out Glenn’s thoughts that include having a Plan B for apparatus replacement. Also, if you are new to FireTruckBlog.com here is a run down of some of the interesting stuff posted so far.
Firefighter in two states and suspected arsonist in both: Both Pennsylvania and West Virginia authorities have neen investigating a volunteer firefighter for possibly setting fires. Charges have already been brought in Pennsylvania. Read the details.
Montgomery County, Maryland firefighter breaks leg while hitting hydrant: The Washington Post reports the lay-out man during an electrical fire in Silver Spring found his leg wrapped in the hose. Here’s a few details.
More fire videos for you: Dayton, Kentucky found five frozen hydrants as firefighter tried to handle two homes burning. Click here. Helmet-cam video from West Plains, Missouri. Click here. Hackensack, New Jersey two-alarm house fire. Click here.
Republican filibuster blocks 9-11 health bill: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls it “a devastating indictment of Washington politics, a tragic example of partisan politics trumping patriotism.” Senate republicans blocked the 9-11 health bill in its first key senate vote by “sticking to a party pledge to block anything until the tax deal extending the Bush-era cuts for the wealthy passes”. Here are the details from the New York Daily news.
Tombstone volunteer jumps into action as his own home burns: An interesting story from Arizona about a disabled volunteer firefighter and a fire that destroyed his apartment & his pickup truck. But he went to work trying to keep the fire from spreading. Here it is.
I just received word this evening that CBS Sunday Morning has scheduled the airing of a long planned feature on volunteer firefighters during the broadcast tomorrow morning (Sunday, November 28, 9:00 AM ET).
Part of the segment is expected to feature Kelly Walesh and her daughter Lexus (seen in the photo by Glenn Udsin, below). They are survivors of Wisconsin Firefighter Stephen ‘Peanut’ Koeser who died in the line-of-duty on December 29, 2009. The CBS crew, with producer Kay Lim, followed Kelly Walesh and Lexus as they attended the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 2010 Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg.
Ambulance fee defeated in Montgomery County, Maryland: In an extremely controversial campaign that pitted career versus volunteer, voters soundly rejected the idea of billing insurance companies for EMS service in Montgomery County. The vote was 135,000 to 116,000. Without the fee, county officials have warned of significant budget cuts for fire and EMS that could include the loss of 100 career firefighter positions. Read details.
Fire based EMS to remain in Sheboygan, Wisconsin: It was a narrow victory separated by 500 votes but a move to take EMS from the Sheboygan Fire Department and farm it out to the private sector was defeated. Chief Jeff Hermann sees this as a victory for the citizens. Read more.
Child born hours after mother escapes fire that killed two other children: A pregnant woman suffering from smoke inhalation gave birth shortly after escaping a fire in Norman, Oklahoma. The fire took the lives of two young children and injured others in the Larkins family. Here’s the story.
Video of a 1989 close call in Phoenix: Video and lessons learned in an old video from Phoenix showing the crew from Ladder 27 falling though the roof of a home with a lightweight truss roof. Here’s a look back.
No love here: As expected, the man accused of stealing a helmet from Boston’s Ladder 26 isn’t getting much sympathy from STATter911.com readers. If you haven’t seen it, here are the video and the comments.
Reasons to laugh: I offered an olive branch to my friend and mutual tormentor Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz yesterday and sang his praises for giving us a reason to laugh (other than at him) with a great video posted yesterday showing the cops view of fire and EMS on the scene of a highway crash. Click here if you haven’t seen it (it’s worth the time). The good will didn’t last long because Rhett’s good friend, and our fellow blogger, Willie Wines, went and ruined it all by having us once again laugh at Rhett Fleitz, the King of the fire/EMS blogs. Long live the king. If you are really bored, but need a really good laugh, click here.
A serious blog: While I am wasting your time with the foolishness above, over at Firegeezer.com they take their fire and EMS news seriously. Geezer and FossilMedic have a bunch of good postings, including the latest from the strike in London and an update on Roseville, California shopping mall fire and sprinkler controversy. Click here and scroll down.
Another community surprised by firefighter OT: In what as been a pattern in recent years, a news organization is doing a story how firefighters are making as much money as top city managers. This time it’s Long Beach, California where some firefighters and officers have doubled their salaries by working a lot of overtime. Here are the details.
Minneapolis concerns: Firefighters talk about past and future cuts and how it impacts fireground operations and safety for citizens and firefighters. The story is illustrated by a deadly fire in April. Here’s more.
Two-alarm apartment fire in San Francisco: A suspicious fire around 8:30 Sunday morning at 550 Leavenworth in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Click here to read more.
What the public is thinking: Check out a very interesting video from DeKalb County, Georgia. Some unhappy citizens who may not have an understanding of what they are seeing. Click here.
First due truck closed for Baltimore fatal: Firegeezer takes a look at a fatal fire in Baltimore and the potential impact of rotating closures. Read the details.
While you are in Geezerland you must take a moment to look at the story FossilMedic Mike Ward has dug up. It is the video of a British helicopter pilot doing a medical evacuation mission in Afghanistan. The chopper comes under fire, the aircraft is heavily damaged and Lt. Ian Fortune, the pilot, is struck in the head. Talk about keeping cool under fire and getting the job done. Watch this.
Update your widget: The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has redesigned its widget. If you have a website or blog carrying the widget or want to carry the widget, click here to get the new code.
Remember this one? Pride parade verdict upheld: From SignOnSanDiego.com- “An appellate court panel of three justices has unanimously upheld last year’s jury verdict awarding damages to four San Diego firefighters who sued the city because they had been required to participate in the 2007 gay pride parade in Hillcrest.”
A double whammy to start the DC fire chief’s weekend: As you can imagine there is a lot of discussion about the federal discrimination lawsuit filed Friday against DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin and two of his assistant fire chiefs. That story is here. Earlier on Friday Chief Rubin’s staff contacted WTOP Radio to say the chief had it wrong about enforced leave for the firefighter/nude chef at Engine 11. Here are the details.
Burned Modesto firefighter back on the job today: This morning Engineer James Adams returns to the Modesto Fire Department on light-duty as a battalion chief’s aide ten months after being critically burned over almost half his body. Adams and Jason Clevenger fell through the roof of a burning home on New Years Day. Here’s the update.
Early video from Alberta, Canada: This was shot in Three Hills. The description indicates it is one of two suspicious fires being investigated by the RCMP.
Fire on the 27th floor with a mayday: We have fireground audio from the fire that began last night in the historic 36-story JP Morgan Chase Building in Downtown Houston. The firefighters had to deal with standpipe issues. At least five firefighters received non-life threatening injuries. Click here for our coverage.
Arresting the flames: A trio of videos showing uniformed police officers handling fire duties. Check it out.
Loudoun County, Virginia company hit with resignation of chief and four others: Leesburg Today reports the sudden departure of the chief and others from the Middleburg VFD may be connected to an investigation by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The paper says no details are being provided explaining what this is all about. Whatever the reason the actions have an impact on staffing. Here’s the story.
It depends which way you look at it: A very interesting article that shows the San Diego Fire Department spends more per firefighter ($210,600) than any of the top 15 cities in the country. But at the same time the survey indicates San Diego actually spends less per resident on fire protection than all but two of the departments. Click here for the story and the chart comparing the costs.
A picture by Werner Ennesser at Sunday's event in Arlington County, Virginia.
Lots of pictures from Iron & Steel event: Despite a somewhat controversial start, by all accounts the Iron & Steel Run to the National Capital Region was a wonderful event on Sunday. Click here for video as the group went through Prince George’s County and pictures of the ceremony as the World Trade Center steel was brought to Arlington County Fire Station 5.
Firefighters may soon be allowed to drive ambulances: It is a controversy WIS-TV brought to light in 2008. Now it looks as if Columbia, South Carolina firefighters will soon be considered first responders and be able to get behind the wheel of Richland County ambulances. Check out the update.
Firefighter accused of burglary at his own firehouse: Click here for the details of a break-in at the Pine River VFD in Lincoln County, Wisconsin. Thanks to surveillance video a now former 28-year-old volunteer and two 16-year-olds have been charged.
Know your neighbors: Firegeezer has the story of the meth lab that took out an apartment building in Des Moines over the weekend.
Dispatcher credited with save: A look at the work of a dispatcher who helped guide people to safety during a weekend apartment fire in Austin, Texas. 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.
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