Interesting video from Brian Bastinelli showing the view from near the command post and radio traffic during a fire Monday in York Township, Pennsylvania.
Here is some of what Brian wrote about the fire:
Shortly before 5:30 on 8APR13 units from Yoe Fire, Dallastown Fire and York Township Fire were alerted for a house fire on Camp Betty Washington Road in York Township.
The call was quickly upgraded to a second alarm due to multiple reports of a well involved fire.
Truck 19 arrived and held the fire on the interior in check with multiple water cans until the lines were in place. Engine 35-2 arrived, established water supply and stretched two lines. Rescue 36 arrived and stretched an additional line.
Yoe Fire Co. Lt. Tim Stem said the blaze – at 1745 Camp Betty Washington Road – had “a pretty good start” when crews arrived at the scene just before 5:30 p.m.
Stem said the fire began at the back of the house and spread upward, leaving approximately $90,000 in damage, and a home uninhabitable for its residents, a couple and their two children. There was nothing suspicious, he said, but the family would be displaced by the blaze.
Four York, Maine volunteer firefighters have taken a very public stand on the state’s marriage equality initiative. The firefighters appear in a 30-second TV spot supporting the initiative and a fellow firefighter who is gay.
Firefighters taking part in political ads is nothing new. We’ve seen it at all levels, from a small volunteer department supporting a local sheriff to the IAFF involved in ads for candidates for president. Firefighters have also starred in ads on controversial ballot initiatives like the recent fights over collective bargaining and pension issues. Is there any difference between those examples and this ad?
Also, look at this in the light of recent crack downs by some fire departments over what a firefighter can or can’t say via social media. Is it okay for a firefighter to take a political stand that some may not like in a TV ad but not on Facebook? Just some questions to think about as you read and watch this story.
“It was just a no-brainer,” said Dave Lorandeau, a 22-year-old volunteer at the York Village Fire Department. “It’s just we’re a family, and if someone needs you, you’re there for them.”
Lorandeau was joined in the ad by York volunteer firefighters Andrew Shea, Eric Humphrey and Ryan Michel, who is gay and an emergency medical technician. He is also a volunteer firefighter in York.
In the 30-second spot, Michel said he “wondered how a brotherhood so tight like that would be accepting of someone who is gay.”
The ad came about due to a fifth York volunteer firefighter, Matt McTighe, who is gay and is the campaign director of Mainers United for Marriage, which worked to get the gay marriage measure on the ballot.
“When these guys heard I was doing this campaign, they said, ‘Is there anything we can do to be more supportive?’” McTighe said. “They wanted to have my back, the same way I would if they called me any time of the day or night.”
Printing company fire in Chatsworth, California: Fire consumed a printing company yesterday evening. The fire was reported at 5:59 PM in the 100 X 80 building. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey has a very detailed account, pictures & more video at the LAFD blog. Here’s an excerpt- “Forcing their way through rolling steel and entry doors, firefighters discovered extreme fire conditions throughout a graphics design and direct mail marketing firm heavily loaded with combustible printing and printed materials. The offensive interior attack on the fire proved short lived as flames roared through the roof, compromising the structure within ten minutes of the 9-1-1 call that brought scores of Los Angeles Firefighters to the scene.” Click here for more video.
Election woes: In Stockton, California firefighters are quite worried over the passage of Measure H which gives the city new ways to control staffing and cut costs. Read and watch the story.
Crane rescue: Continuing with our California theme, click here for pictures and details of the rescue of two people injured on top of a 200-foot tall construction crane in Long Beach.
Neil Sedaka was wrong! Not everyone loves the calendar girl. Controversy has stalled the release of a calendar in Australia that features pictures of female firefighters from ACT Rural Fire Service. If it is delayed too long the calendar's only use may be those pictures. Click the image for more.
Virginia department adds positions because of volunteer shortage: Four part time firefighters will be hired in Warren County due to concerns over the dwindling number of volunteers. Here’s the story.
One dead in overnight two-alarm fire in Baltimore: Early details from a 2:30 AM fire that damaged three townhomes in the 7000 block of McClean Boulevard in Northeast Baltimore. One man was found dead inside. Click here for more.
Union head fights suspension over talking to the press: In Ottawa a disciplinary hearing is underway as Stéphane Noël, president of the union in Gatineau tries to overturn a six-month suspension for telling reporters about water pressure issues following a church fire. Here’s more.
6:30 AM “home inspection” leads to arrest of man claiming to be firefighter: In Adams County, Pennsylvania a strange story of a man claiming to be a firefighter walking into the bedroom of a man’s home. Read more.
911 not that important: The mayor of Alsip, Illinois, a former firefighter, is stunned voters failed to approve a fifty-cent per month surcharge on their phone bills to help fund 911. The mayor points out you can’t buy a Coke for that price. Check it out.
Strike update from the Firegeezer crew: Mike Ward and Bill Schumm continue to keep us up to date on the labor dispute involving the London Fire Brigade. Click here and scroll down for multiple stories.
Woman says she wasn’t about to jump but was sure was glad to see firefighters: In the video above, WUSA9.com talked to a young woman who was on the phone with here sister doubtful that DC firefighters would be able to get to her as smoke filled her 10th floor apartment on Tuesday. Along with the previous raw video and fireground audio, we have added interviews with some of the firefighters who helped in the rescues during Tuesday’s fire at 1444 Rhode Island Avenue, NW. The firefighters tell the story of a commercial vehicle that was jammed into a dumpster in an effort to get rear position for a ladder truck. Click here. Also, click here for a slideshow.
Apartment fire in Spokane, Washington: This is from a fire yesterday at the Houston House Apartments in North Spokane. News reports confirm what the video shows that it started on the second floor and had spread to the roof by the time firefighters had knocked the fire in the original apartment and the one above. The fire went to three-alarms with no injuries reported. Click here for four more video clips.
Must see video: It’s a week late, but you should see this video of arcing & sparking lines on top of a beer truck with the driver still inside. More lines came down trapping an ambulance crew. Click here for the story from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
The battle over ambulance fees in Montgomery County, Maryland: Hours away from Tuesday’s election, The Washington Post’s Michael Laris tries to sort out all of the charges and counter-charges in the divisive fight over whether Montgomery County can bill insurance companies for ambulance service. Here’s the story.
Pikesville, Maryland house fire: Michael Schwartzberg was on the scene at a fire in Baltimore County early Sunday morning that left one occupant burned. Watch the video.
Child & adult dead in collision with fire vehicle in Delaware: DelawareOnline.com reports the two deaths in Felton Sunday evening after a crash on Dupont Highway with a utility vehicle from the Harrington Fire Department. A Delaware State Police report says a 29-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy were killed when their vehicle used the median to pass an SUV driven by a Harrington FD member and then struck the SUV before hitting another vehicle heading in the opposite direction on the highway.
Fire building with a checkered past: In Kalamazoo, Michigan Saturday evening a fire destroyed part of the 88-year-old former Checker Motors complex. The fire has been called suspicious. Checker was famous for its distinctive taxis. Read more.
Mississippi house fire: Video from a fire Saturday in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Click here.
Professional wrestling and amateurish handling of the emergency: Dave recalls his youth watching wrestling matches at the Baltimore Civic Center as he looks at a four-year-old video of a fire during a televised wrestling event. Check it out.
Detroit sees increase in fires over Halloween weekend: Certainly far from the 800 fires on Devil’s Night in 1984, but the three day total was at 129, 10 more than last year. Read more.
EMS chief accused of being drunk at scene: An interesting story from Gloucester Township, NJ where the head of the EMS Alliance was arrested at a barricade scene. Here’s the story.
Update on close call with Boston’s Ladder 26 and power lines: Firefighter Close Calls has an updated and detailed account of the recent incident that caused an electrical shock to a Boston firefighter. You will want to read it.
The parrot in the house fire becomes the canary in the coal mine: No smoke alarms in a York, Pennsylvania home that caught fire early Thursday morning. But two people made it out thanks to their squawking pet parrot. Here’s more.
Behind the scenes during Backdraft filming: A look back 20-years to Ron Howard and company shooting in Chicago for Backdraft. Click here.
Turmoil at Texas fire company: The chief quit in disgust, an assistant chief stepped down and at least one other firefighter has left the Noonday VFD. The problem started when a repo man tried to snatch a firefighter’s vehicle. The claim is firefighters tried to prevent the repo man from doing his job. Read and watch the details.
Blockage in vent requires extrication: Martin Grube at Fire Rescue TV had an up close and personal view of an unusual extrication in the exhaust system of a Virginia Beach, Virginia restaurant. Click here for the video.
Garages on fire in Millville, Massachusetts: Matt Gregoire at Providence Fire Videos caught this one on Saturday afternoon.
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