Truly astounding medic battle over crash victim; Airport delay; 3-alarm PA hotel fire; Dave’s shady past; PA helmet-cam; More from Norwich fire

(Updated at 12:11 PM)

Video of the day & Close Call Alert: From Skagit County, WA. This is a fire Sunday afternoon at an abandoned school in the town of Concrete. Watch what happens at 1:19 into the video. No one was injured. The film served as a backdrop for a 1993 movie starring Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio called “This Boy’s Life”. More video and details, here.

Dave’s an idiot

That’s what some people think of me for answering comments that question my past. I understand that some people feel I should ignore people who make those remarks.

Hey, I often am the one asking the tough questions and uncovering the skeletons in closets. If there are people who have doubts about me, I am glad to answer the questions no matter what the motive of the questioner is. It goes with the territory.

The good news is it dredged up a few memories for people. Even heard from a retired PGFD official who was so shell-shocked after years on the job that he escaped to cave in West Virginia and had barely been from since.

This morning one person wrote in to say they have records to indicate that Dave Statter did exist. That’s a relief. I was starting to get worried this whole fireman, CRT, dispatcher thing was just a bad hallucination from the 70s.

Also, some more memories of 5012 Rhode Island Avenue.

Click here to read about Dave the fraud and associated comments.

One item discussed was our summer running Prince George’s County Fire Communications out of a bookmobile. I am thinking of writing a few things more about that unique experience from 1978. Anyone with memories, please share them. If there is a picture of the bookmobile to be had, please let me know at dstatter@wusa9.com.

An absolutely bizarre series of events: TV station reports on paramedic and wife attempting to steal a patient

KSTP-TV reported on Sunday about a February crash in Osceola, WI that left a man badly injured with a broken back. As an Osceola Area Ambulance EMT and a Lifelink III paramedic prepared the patient for medevac, the ambulance door opened. According to the TV station’s report, a medic from Lakeview Hospital walked in and demanded to take over the patient’s care because it was his area. The medic got a sheriff’s deputy to back him up. The deputy is the medic’s wife. It is a story you must see to believe. Click here.

Puck you, Part 3: The demotion

Things are tense in Montreal and little of it appears to be about firefighting. My friend Bill Schumm, AKA FireGeezer and I have been following various aspects of the escalation of the battle between firefighters, top fire officials and the mayor. The latest chapter is the demotion of a captain to a lieutenant because he showed his true colors. Click here.

Airport delay

This story is about a delay and there is a delay in getting it to you (it was also reported by KSTP-TV, but at the end of March). The TV station has been trying to figure out why there was a long response time to a St. Patrick’s Day car fire at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Depending on which version is correct, it took anywhere from 17 to 33 minutes to get water on the fire. It spread to adjacent cars. The airport fire department promised an investigation. Click here to see the story.

(We also promise an investigation into why our crack staff failed to bring this one to you earlier.)

Hotel fire in PA

These pictures are from Steve Marshall who always keeps STATter 911 informed of the latest from the greater Erie area. Steve tells us this is a 3-alarm fire around 10:45 PM on Sunday that destroyed the old Hotel Evergreen in Edinboro, PA.

The hotel had been vacant, but the 4-story wooden structure still housed a bar and pizza shop. No one is certain, without sifting through the rubble, that there were no victims. A car was parked outside the building and can be seen burning in the bottom picture.

The building was very old and many people thought it was haunted.

Helmet-cam in Bucks County

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ9hF8MAq_M&hl=en]

A house fire on Trenton Road in Falls Township, PA on Friday. There are 3 parts. Click here for the rest.

More from 6-alarm CT fire

Raw video from Saturday’s fire from WFSB-TV through CNN.