Photo-taking chief out; Scranton’s previous truck-wire issues; DC forced retirement update; Writer slams Boston; FFs turn back on out-of-bounds fire
(Updated at 1:39 PM)
Florida fire chief resigns after sending out photos of accident victim
City of Umatilla Fire Chief Richard Shirk says he didn’t know the pictures he emailed showed nudity, but he has resigned anyway. We first told you about the investigation of Chief Shirk yesterday. Shirk snapped pictures of an accident in November and sent them to neighboring fire departments. They showed pictures of the victim, who later died, with her breasts exposed. Other city officials said the woman’s privacy was violated.
Miscommunication between FD & power company cited in Scranton electrocution. Paper reports on Scranton history of contact between trucks and wires.
A deputy chief says there appears to have been a failure to communicate between the Scranton Fire Department and the power company that resulted in the death of Captain James Robeson. Read the story.
An article in The Scranton Times-Tribune reports on incidents in 1996 and 1969 where Scranton ladder trucks have had similar problems. A neighboring community had a fatal contact in 1982. Click here to read the story.
DC officials move to solve retirement issue for FFs injured on the job
As we first told you on Monday, District of Columbia officials say they are moving to correct a situation that has angered firefighters for a number of years. In the short term, the City Council is planning to submit emergency legislation today to make sure that two firefighters burned in October aren’t forced into early retirement. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chief Dennis Rubin want a long term fix that could also address the issue of firefighters injured on-the-job who may be able to perform duties other than active firefighting. Click here for the story.
Retirement issue among latest to put spotlight on Boston Fire Department
A Boston Globe columnist is taking on the fire department in today’s paper. Adrian Walker says he wants Mayor Thomas Menino to stand up and take control of the situation. The latest issue, claiming possible fraud in disability retirements, has Walker opening his column this way: “For anyone who may have wondered about the fate of good, old-fashioned corruption, we now know that it is alive and well in the Boston Fire Department”.
Here’s how Walker ends the column:
Just how much has to happen in the Fire Department before the mayor pulls rank? Isn’t it enough to be allegedly cheating on tests, short-circuiting the mayor’s reform commission, and blatantly ripping off the public? If not, what will it take?
The me-first culture in the Fire Department long predates Menino. However, the mayor has had well over a decade to take it on, and he doesn’t have much to show for it.
Ending the disability scam is about more than money, even though it’s a lot of money. It is about reforming a culture that lacks accountability.
Figuring out how to take back the Fire Department belongs at the very top of Menino’s to-do list.
Here is The Globe story that prompted the column.
Fire department turns around after finding fire outside its district
A home in Fairbanks, Alaska was destroyed last Wednesday. The Steese Area Volunteer Fire Department responded, but turned away from the burning home after determining the blaze was 180 feet outside its district. Here’s an excerpt from a January 4th article in the Daily News-Miner:
The Steese Fire Department responded to the call within two minutes of it coming in but turned back when they realized it was outside the service area. Callaway (homeowner Ace Callaway) said he saw them turn off their lights and head back to the station.
“When I saw the truck pull up and turn off its lights, it kind of hurt,” he said.
Deputy Chief Mike Holzmueller said it’s just the policy of all the volunteer departments in the borough to not respond to fires outside their range because they don’t pay taxes for the service.
“It’s unfortunate that it was outside the area,” he said.
In an editorial published today, the paper pretty much supports the policy:
Until the Fairbanks area has a more comprehensive fire protection system, if that’s what its residents want, large numbers of homes in the unprotected areas between the fire districts will, in most circumstances, be left to burn.
Knowing whether a house is in a fire service area or not is the responsibility of the home’s owner. Anyone considering buying a house outside of the city of Fairbanks or the city of North Pole, each of which have their own city fire department, needs to find out if that house is inside a fire service area. Seeing a fire station nearby doesn’t always mean the house across the street is protected.
The Fox fire tells us that in a stark way.
Update on NH department where chief forced out and FFs resigned
The latest from East Kingston, after the fire chief was told to leave on December 31 and FFs resigned in protest. Read the story.
Helmet-cam 82
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pEzDvCQ0bU&rel=1]
From Lewes, DE on Sunday.
1974 Sao Paulo fire
Not exactly sure why, but someone just posted video from the February 1, 1974 high-rise fire in Brazil that killed 179.
Dog bites boy and still makes news
From Indiana, a dog repeatedly bit a boys foot to alert him that the house was on fire. Read the story. Watch the story.
