DC medic struck in hit & run; Chief doesn’t know why NC crew was inside after evac order; SC sprinkler bill troubles; Videos from ME, CA, SD, UK

(Updated at 3:28 PM)

DC medic victim of hit and run

A DC Fire & EMS Department paramedic was struck by a van this afternoon in Georgetown. It happened in the 3300 block of Q Street, NW. Spokesman Alan Etter said the medic has potentially serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

According to Etter, the crew from Medic 29 was was with Engine 5 on a call for a patient with a diabetic emergency. The medic had returned to the driver’s side of the unit to get something when he was struck by a vehicle. It appears the medic was thrown against the side of the unit and may have hip and leg injuries. The incident occurred around 2:00 PM.

Etter said the woman driving the minivan that struck the medic briefly stopped and then quickly left the scene. The vehicle is described as a blue, Chrysler product with a sliding door.

The paramedic is described as a veteran of the department.

NC chief doesn’t know why crew was in warehouse after evacuation order

It appears the crew from Quint 4 was inside the Salisbury Millwork a half hour after an evacuation order was given and firefighters had gone to defensive operations. Salisbury Chief Bob Parnell says that’s a fact he can’t currently explain. Excerpts from the Charlotte Observer’s story:

Two firefighters from that team were killed by the March 7 blaze, when it spread from an office into a warehouse they were trying to protect.

“I can’t speak to why, or what transpired for that crew to be inside,” Parnell told the Observer. “We’re interviewing the captain, the operations officers.”

Parnell said he’s trying to determine whether the team was sent inside the building, or, as the fire grew quickly, whether the team’s orders were misunderstood.

The 7 a.m. fire at the millwork is believed to have started above a false ceiling in a basement. Investigators have said it wasn’t arson. The fire then spread from the basement to an office on the first floor.

At 8:33 a.m., after part of a floor collapsed in the office, an order was given: “All personnel out,” according to recordings of firefighter communications.

Three minutes later, another call was issued: “Let’s get that crew off the roof. Everybody off the roof, out of the roof, out of the building.”

Parnell said that after that evacuation order was given, the department took a personnel accountability report — a head count to see who was there.

“The command post ordered (firefighters) go into a defensive position,” Parnell said. “We’re on the outside holding the fire to the office.”

After the evacuation order, several teams announced they were OK, according to an Observer review of the audio tapes. It’s not clear whether the team in question — known as quint 4 — was OK.

Ten minutes later, at 8:43 a.m., an order was given that quint 4 was being deployed to “keep the fire out of the warehouse.”

It’s not clear whether the team was specifically sent inside the building.

Around 9 a.m., firefighters were concerned when they couldn’t reach by radio some of the team. They dispatched a safety team to find them.

At 9:06, a frantic call came in: “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”

Firefighters Victor Isler and Justin Monroe were pulled from the warehouse and manufacturing area. Isler was pronounced dead on arrival at Rowan Regional Medical Center, and Monroe died at the scene.

The team’s captain, Rick Barkley, was pulled from the warehouse with first and second-degree burns.

SC sprinkler bill stalls

From SC Politics Today:

A key Senate committee could not reach agreement Wednesday on a high-profile bill designed to give state income tax credits to cover a portion of the expenses it would cost to install or improve fire protection sprinkler systems.

The Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee sent the bill, S.860, back to subcommittee for more work after senators raised concerns about provisions for residential and commercial installation. They also wanted additional study of tie-in costs associated with sprinkler installation, and more information about how the bill affects rural residents.

Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, subcommittee chairman, said the bill could come up for consideration again in three weeks.

The bill gained momentum early in the session when firefighters and other first responders argued such a bill could prevent future tragedies like last year’s Charleston sofa store fire that claimed the lives of nine firefighters.

Another inspector out in Bridgeport

A fifth fire inspector has been fired after investigations into their used of department vehicles for private use. Read the details.

2nd fire of the morning does the job

Firefighters in Corinna, Maine were able to keep the 8:45 AM fire on Wednesday to the kitchen and small area of the attic at the farmhouse off Route 43. It apparently began in an electrical box. The fire reported at 11:00 AM is another story. That one destroyed the home and a barn. Firefighters are convinced the first fire was extinguished citing the use of a thermal imaging camera. The theory is that the second fire may have started when the electricity was turned back on. Read the story. Watch the video.

Fiery Los Angeles freeway crash

A wrong-way driver caused this crash on the Ronald Reagan Freeway late Tuesday night. The California Highway Patrol says the driver was going eastbound in the westbound lane for about four miles before crashing into a tractor-trailer head-on. The wrong-way driver was dead at the scene, the truck driver was slightly hurt and two people in a third vehicle were uninjured.

CA apartment fire

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kig20w1fr4s&hl=en][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z9ui4EZAvA&hl=en]

A five-alarm fire that began around 7:00 AM Wednesday morning in Sacramento. On the left raw helicopter video. On the right a TV news report from the fire scene.

Restaurant fire in SD

The image above from KTIV-TV of the fire that destroyed the China Buffet restaurant in Vermillion, South Dakota on Wednesday. Click here to see video.

UK furniture store fire

A fire late Tuesday night at a furniture store in Penryn, Cornwall. Read mo
re.

Elsewhere on the web

FireGeezer has the story of a Wilmington, NC fire captain killed off-duty in a helicopter crash.

Firefighter Spot has a bunch of new and old videos, including a look at some roof operations.

WithTheCommand.com has a lot of stories including a New Mexico dairy fire.

It has been 30 years since I drove a fire engine in DC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. VAFireNews.com has a look at some Virginia fire companies that had that honor just a few days ago.

SConFire.com has some fire stories from around South Carolina.