Lt. killed on lunch break; $1.6 million more in dog food case; Ohio harassment; ELF raw video; Demoted FL chief talks; Block party report
(Updated at 12:02 PM)
Quebec LODD
From Chief Billy Goldfeder’s The Secret List:
A Quebec Firefighter is missing and presumed as a Line of Duty Death this morning after operating at a dwelling fire in Varennes, about 30 minutes drive north of Montreal.
The fire started around 2300 hours last night in the basement of the dwelling. The man and woman who lived in the home got out. As Firefighters were working, 3 members were trapped in the dwelling for a yet to be disclosed reason. Reports are that 2 were able to escape, but the 3rd was unable to get out or be rescued. There also may have been a collapse inside the house.
We just received unofficial word that the missing Firefighter remains have been located and removed. Additional info will be posted. Our condolences to all affected.
Lt. shot to death during lunch break with family
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Lt. Ray Vasquez was on lunch break from the training academy having a meal at the local Wendy’s with his wife and young child. After picking up lunch he went back inside to get a toy for his daughter that had been left out of the bag. That’s when a man opened fire killing Vasquez and wounding others. Click here to learn more.
More from ELF fire
This is raw helicopter video from the fire we told you about yesterday near Woodinville, WA that burned three multi-million dollar show homes and damaged a fourth. It is being called a case of “domestic terrorism”. Damage is estimated at $7 million. Here are excerpts from The Seattle Times:
Early reports indicated that explosive devices were found inside the homes. And nearby, a spray-painted sign bearing the initials of the Earth Liberation Front, challenged builders’ assertion that the homes featured environmentally responsible construction methods.
A KING-5 video showed the sign, which read: “Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green. ELF” The initials “RCD” refers to “rural cluster development.”
Investigators are looking at the possibility that attempts were made to start a fifth house on fire.
The Earth Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for other arsons, including one at the University of Washington in 2001 for which a woman is now on trial in Tacoma.
The fires were reported at 4 a.m. and more than five hours later flames were still rising from a natural-gas pipeline which crews from Puget Sound Energy were working to control.
The damaged homes, all unoccupied, were included among Seattle Street of Dreams homes in the Quinn’s Crossing development near Highway 522. The homes that burned were between 4,200 and 4,750 square feet in size, with prices up to nearly $2 million.
The Seattle Street of Dreams is a 30-year-old home-building home tour, intended to show luxury home-building and trends in architecture, interior design, home technology and landscaping. The destroyed homes were featured last June.
No injuries were reported in the three-alarm fire. A terrorism task force which includes police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating. Investigators stopped short of blaming the ELF for today’s fires, but acknowledged finding the sign with the group’s initials.
Another $1.6 million in the Los Angeles dog food case
Two white captains who claimed they were made scapegoats after the black firefighter they supervised had his meal laced with dog food have won their case. A jury awarded them $1.6 million. This puts the price tag for this ugly chapter of the Los Angeles City Fire Department at $4.5 million. Read the latest.
Demoted Orlando chief speaks out claiming cover-up
Demoted after being accused of cheating on a promotional exam, Rudy Johnson is speaking out. Johnson, who had been a deputy chief, is also using the word “scapegoat” in describing what happened to him. Johnson claims there is a cover-up. Read the story from the Orlando Sentinel. Watch the story from WFTV-TV. Here are excerpts from the station’s website:
The promotions test was a simulation where firefighters used two-way radios to talk. Johnson and the other firefighters are accused of eavesdropping. He said it was on a channel anyone could listen in on. He said they didn’t cheat and now alleges it is a cover-up.
Assistant Chief Rudy Johnson is one of the two Orlando fire chief’s demoted for cheating on a tactical exam. He’s speaking for the first time and alleging a cover-up. He claims Chief James Reynolds told him and the three others accused at the time to deny everything and the city would take care of it.
“If we just tell them we didn’t violate any rules or break any rules, it’s over. They were more concerned about the image of the fire department than the truth,” Johnson told Eyewitness News.
“Anyone in this dept, if accidentally came across the test, would know the second they were there that it would be wrong to continue to listen,” said firefighter union president Steve Clelland.
Clelland says Johnson was considered a good firefighter with a promising future before the cheating allegations and says no one was out to get him and there is no cover-up. Now the State Attorney’s Office is investigating possible criminal charges.
Lightweight ideas
On FireGeezer today, FossilMedic Mike Ward looks at how building construction has changed how firefighters die. He also looks at some of Chicago’s practices in dealing with lightweight truss component buildings. Click here for the column.
Class action in Ohio against chief
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_es88BnGNs]
A group of firefighters have
filed a complaint saying they have been harassed by Clearcreek Township Fire Chief Bernie Becker.
Foaming the runway
A wheels up landing in Hayward, California Sunday along with fire department operations after the plane came to a stop.
Block party fallout
You may recall the controversy involving the Oceanside Fire Department and the crashing of a block party. Here is the latest on the episode from Newsday.com:
The chief of the Oceanside Fire Department failed to supervise eight firefighters who crashed a block party in a fire truck and then attempted to cover it up, a report by a four-member disciplinary board of firefighters said.
The now-former Chief Thomas McDermott placed people in jeopardy by allowing members of the Salamander Company to use lights and sirens in a nonemergency situation and drive through a barricade “in an inappropriate area,” according to the board’s findings.
McDermott, seven firefighters and company captain Sean Costigan, were found guilty Dec. 7 on charges of conduct that brought “discredit to the volunteer fire service,” the board said. Six of the members were suspended for 60 days; three for 90 days.
One of the party guests, Doug McKee, broke his hand in a fight with firefighters and plans to sue the department.
But, a lawyer that represents the suspended members said it was the Oceanside volunteer firefighters who were assaulted. He said his four witnesses told a different story about what happened.
“A broken hand is not a defensive wound, it’s an offensive wound,” said attorney Christopher Devane of Mineola. “McKee sucker-punched a 35-year member of the department, pushed another member to the ground and a third member was pushed through a fence by other party guests.”
More movie explosions
Yesterday we showed you firefighters who handle explosions and fires on movie sets. This is said to be an explosion on Sunday of a car for a movie being made in London. One big blast.
