Chief emailed pictures of victim whose breasts were exposed; Latest on Scranton LODD; Many dead in South Korea; 100 car pile-up; Fire in Hoboken
(Updated at 2:00 PM)
Movement on the issue of forced retirement for DC FFs injured on the job?
We have been covering this problem ever since Joe Morgan was critically burned and then forced to retire following the May, 1999 fire that killed two DC firefighters. As we first told you on December 15, this is also an issue for Sgt. Michael LaCore and possibly Firefighter Charlie Shyab burned in the October 29 fire on 4th Street, NE.
This afternoon at 3:30 PM, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Chief Dennis Rubin and Sgt. LaCore are scheduled to discuss the “strategy to ensure that injured firefighters are able to return to work after recovery”.
I will have more, later, from the press conference at Engine 3.
Another picture problem in Florida
The fire chief in the City of Umatilla has some explaining to do. Pictures he snapped of a woman being treated at an accident scene in November are the focus of an investigation. The allegations are that Chief Richard Shirk shared the photos with area departments and that they show the woman with her chest uncovered. She later died. Watch the story. Below are excerpts from the Orlando Sentinel’s article:
In a Dec. 12 report, Umatilla police Chief Doug Foster said that Shirk showed a lack of concern for the victim and embarrassed the Umatilla Fire Department when he e-mailed a picture of the 26-year-old woman to fire departments in Mount Dora, Eustis and Leesburg. The woman died after the early November crash.
Shirk, hired as Umatilla fire chief in October, did not immediately return phone calls.
According to Foster’s report, Shirk said he intended to use the photographs for training.
Irby directed Foster to conduct the investigation after Jim Judge, executive director of Lake-Sumter Emergency Medical Services, filed a complaint Nov. 29 regarding Shirk’s actions.
Judge wrote that Shirk told him he did not review the pictures before sending them and apologized after realizing the potential legal and emotional consequences of his actions. He filed the complaint after learning Shirk did not fully disclose to Irby details of the images and how he distributed them.
“To be quite frank, I haven’t talked to anyone who hasn’t been appalled by this entire situation,” Irby said. “Absolutely appalled.”
As many as 40 feared dead in warehouse fire in South Korea
27 are confirmed dead 12 or 13 others are reported missing in Icheon, South Korea this morning. The victims are workers at a refrigerated warehouse. One report claims 500 firefighters are working the blaze (another says 250). Here are excerpts from The Korea Times:
The fire in the city of Icheon, located 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, started around 10:45 a.m. in the basement of a two-story warehouse owned by the logistics company Korea 2000.
At the time of the blaze, a total of 57 workers were engaged in injecting refrigerants into the warehouse and doing other work in preparation for the business’s inauguration, scheduled for Saturday.
Seventeen of the 57 workers were either rescued or able to escape, the firefighters said. The bodies of the victims were so damaged by the heat of the blaze that it was extremely hard to identify them, according to the firefighters.
The exact cause of the fire was not known, but an official from the Icheon firestation said that inflammable vapor from the basement’s engine room was believed to have caught fire, setting off three consecutive explosions at 10-second intervals.
Burning toxic chemicals, coupled with the fear of more explosions, made it difficult for firefighters to enter the building and extinguish the blaze, which gutted the entire warehouse.
Rescue operations hit difficulties as the 20,000-square-meter basement was filled with toxic gases. Choi Jin-jong, head of the province’s firefighting operations, said, “We are having hard time putting down the blaze due to a series of explosions at the time of the fire, which demolished all firefighting facilities in the basement.”
More on Sunday’s tragedy in Scranton
Captain James Robeson died Sunday morning while fighting a house fire. Robeson was in the bucket of the tower-ladder above when he was electrocuted. Investigators say electricity arced between the bucket and the wires. The picture from WNEP-TV. An elderly couple died in the blaze.
There is also video from WYOU-TV.
IAFF Local 60 has the funeral arrangements:
The funeral will be Thursday at 10 a.m. from the Thomas J. Hughes Funeral Home Inc., 1240 St. Ann’s St., with Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:30 in St. Patrick’s Church, Jackson Street. Interment, Cathedral Cemetery. Friends attending the funeral are asked to go directly to the church. Friends may call Tuesday, 6 to 9 p.m., and Wednesday, 3 to 8 p.m.
If you are from outside the department and have any questions or concerns please contact Lt. Dave Gervasi at untouchabledave@msn.com or 570- 466-5137.
More on Montgomery County budget cuts
Here is a link to our TV story on the efforts to keep the Glen Echo, MD ambulance from becoming a part time unit. It is part of budget cuts in Montgomery County, MD to close a record shortfall. Here is the link from the weekend posting of Chief Tom Carr’s memo outlining this and other money saving measures between now and June. The plan needs County Council approval.
More weekend coverage
A lot of other news from the weekend. You can see it by clicking here. Included are a liquor store fire in Frederick County, MD and the burial of Loudoun Count
y, VA’s Lt. Alex Keepers.
2 killed, more than 40 injured in 100 car pile up
Sunday in Wisconsin, a fog covered highway set up this chain-reaction pile-up.
2-alarm apartment fire in Fairfax County
Fire on the top floor and through the roof of a 4-story apartment building overnight in Centreville, VA. A second-alarm was called for the fire on Newton-Patent Court. Some details from a press release:
Firefighters encountered heavy fire and smoke coming from the rear and side of the four-story apartment building upon arrival. Firefighters attacked the fire near a top floor balcony, attic, and roof area. A second alarm was struck and approximately 60 firefighters fought the fire. Smoke alarms provided early warning for residents of the 14-unit apartment building. The fire was brought under control in approximately 40 minutes.
Multi-alarm fire in Hoboken
Fire in a bar, with apartments above it, broke out around 1:30 this morning on 1st Street in Hoboken, NJ. Click here to see a report from the scene.
Man who first painted UK fire trucks yellow has died
Albert Leese died at age 93 on December 28. The chief of the Old City of Coventry Fire Brigade for 14 years, he was a recognized fire prevention authority. But he may best remembered for painting his fire trucks yellow in the late 1960s. FirefightingNews.com has the article from the Coventry Evening Telegraph:
The decorated fire officer was a firm believer that bright yellow should be the preferred colour for fire appliances, being more reflective in the dark than red.
And from the late 1960s Coventry became the first city in the UK to paint its fleet yellow.
The move was frowned upon by the Home Office and the vehicles reverted to red when the West Midlands Fire Service took over in 1974.
Infrared view of a flashover
This was posted today to LiveLeak.com, but not a lot of information with it.
A moving target
To put this fire out, you first have to get it to stand still.
CA water rescue
Man clinging to tree. Woman swept away in this video of a rescue on Saturday in Chino.
Toronto house fires
A four-alarm fire on Saturday in Toronto. Read more.
High winds
A fire Saturday in Colorado Springs destroyed a plumbing company. Wind gusts of up to 60 mph hindered firefighters. Read more and watch a report.
NJ fire
A very large house and a very large volume of fire. Thursday morning in Hopewell Township, NJ. More details.
IL house fire
House under renovation burns in Bensenville on Saturday.
Fairfax County video
Still pictures and video from Station 15.
