Radio traffic as shelters deployed; Sgt. LaCore to step down unit; GA lumberyard burns; DC hydrants update; House fire in PA; Beer emergency in CT
(This entry is updated throughout the day, so please scroll down. Latest update 3:54 p.m.)
Orange County shelter deployment and radio traffic
You may recall, during the week of the Southern California fires, we ran an LA Times photo of firefighters in Orange County having to deploy their emergency shelters. Now, the paper and its web site have put together a series of pictures from that event and combine it with the emergency radio traffic. Click the photo above to see and hear it. The pictures are by Karen Tapia Anderson and the sequence is produced by Bryan Chan. Chief Billy Goldfeder’s The Secret List gave us the heads-up on this.
New update on Sgt. Michael LaCore
DC Fire & EMS Sgt. Michael LaCore, who was upgraded from critical to serious condition after being burned in the fire on 4th Street, NE, has been moved to the step down unit at the WHC Burn Unit. Sgt. LaCore and FF Charlies Shyab, who is in fair condition, are both expected to be getting treatment at WHC for a while.
Video of the day: Very early video of UK fire
The fire above was this morning at the Palmeira Bodyworks panel shop in Hove. Apparent concerns about propane cylinders. Person across the street grabbed the video camera before firefighters arrived. Details, here.
Riviera Beach guilty plea and the latest on Kenneth Hyde
As a reporter I had never seen anything quite like it. Earlier this year, two front page stories on two separate scandals, in two different jurisdictions, and the same person was at the center of each. Of course, I am talking about Kenneth Hyde who was in charge of training when a Baltimore City fire recruit died and was a volunteer chief in Anne Arundel County. Today, The Baltimore Sun reports the former treasurer of the Riviera Beach VFC, Kelly McColl, has admitted using $50,000 of department funds for his personal use.
FireGeezer has been covering this one, too.
As for Kenneth Hyde, here is what The Sun writes:
County police spokeswoman Sarah Schriver said police continue to investigate allegations of misconduct at the firehouse. She declined to elaborate.
A fire department investigation last year uncovered allegations of sexual activity, pornography on station computers and firefighters answering calls after drinking. The investigation also accused former Chief Kenneth B. Hyde Sr. of bullying firefighters and using Riviera Beach’s credit card for purchases and cash withdrawals.
Hyde, a decorated firefighter who was removed in February as head of the Baltimore Fire Department’s training academy after a recruit’s death, has not been charged.
Hyde’s attorney, Peter S. O’Neill, said, “We’re not aware of any ongoing investigation as it relates to any impropriety on his behalf.”
Getting out of the kitchen
Also in CA, the Chula Vista chief is saying goodbye. The reasons include a no confidence vote by the union, budget cuts and criticism of the department’s handing of the recent fires. Read the story, here.
Deputy sheriff grabs hose, FireNews.net gets heat
FireNews.net covers it all in North Carolina. When they ran the above picture and started a thread on safety issues, they heard from a firefighter who was on the call in Sylva and believes the web site didn’t get the complete story. Check it out, here. (you will need to register to read the discussion).
Georgia lumber yard
Flames high in the sky as a lumberyard burned in Gwinnett County Wednesday night. See raw video and other TV coverage here. The picture above from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Gwinnett County firefighters battled a massive fire at a Norcross lumberyard Wednesday night, with flames reaching high above Buford Highway and threatening neighboring businesses.
About 60 Gwinnett firefighters rushed to Norcross Supply Co., at 5000 S. Peachtree St. between Peachtree and Buford Highway near Jimmy Carter Boulevard, shortly after 6 p.m. to find the property ablaze.
Flames shot high into the night sky, threatening a nearby power line as winds out of the west blew sparks and hot ashes toward nearby properties. No injuries were reported.
Battalion Chief Gary Moon said his crew stopped the fire from spreading and have now taken a defensive position that allows them to wet it down around the edges and burn itself out.
“Everybody is safe,” Moon said. “Our biggest concern is keeping it confined to the business itself. This place specializes in cedar wood, which is dry and burns fast.”
Earlier, firefighters extinguished small fires on the roofs of nearby buildings. They had to approach the fire from downwind, however, which meant they were bombarded with embers.
“It overwhelmed us in a hurry,” Moon said.
DC hydrants catch the eye of Bloomberg
Not the mayor himself, but bloomberg.com looks at DC’s water problem.
On this topic, one month ago, DC’s Department of Transportation told me most of the hydrants were fixed in the 3rd Street Tunnel complex under the National Mall. I was in the tunnel on Wednesday and the “out of service” rings seemed to still be in place on the same hydrants we first told you about at the end of August. Guess I will have to make some more phone calls.
2nd-alarm in PA
Click here to see a lot more pictures like the ones above by TF1 from the fire Wednesday in Mayfield, PA. News coverage reports the fire began in the basement and eventually came through roof. WithTheCommand.com and 59Fire.com passed along the pictures.
Warehouse fire in Iowa
The fire above was in the warehouse for Fawn Creek Homes in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.
For some beer is an emergency
But calling 911 for a 6 pack. This guy needs to watch those public service announcements from Tennessee that I ran on Monday. Maybe he should watch them five or six-hundred times.
