Philly church fire; Mayors & FFs battle – MN, MA; Mystery blast solved; Home response cost rising; Suicide watch; I guess dinner won’t be duck soup
Get fat for a cause
I can’t believe I failed to mention earlier two things close to my heart and my stomach. As many of you know it is “31 Cent Scoop Night” at Baskin-Robbins. The ice cream people will donate $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. So eat up.
911 and supervisor given days off after sleeping incident
Click here for complete audio recording
Click here to read complete story and watch news report
WMC-TV in Memphis has the story of a 911 call taker who fell asleep while taking an emergency call for a break-in. It happened in January, but the news report appears to have prompted some action. According to the station, the supervisor was given 20 days and the call taker 7 days. (Other news outlets are reporting the two were fired. For now, I am going with the station that originated the story.) Here are excerpts:
When you call 911, you expect help immediately. Lisa, a Memphis resident, got anything but.
“Our lives were in danger,” she said. “Our lives were at stake, and our lifeline was severed.”
Severed, she said, because during a recent call to 911, the operator fell asleep while she was on the line.
Action News 5 obtained a copy of the call through an open records request. It begins as Lisa calls 911 and a Memphis operator comes on the line. Lisa tells the operator she was robbed at gunpoint earlier in the evening, and that she now hears someone trying to break into our home.
“I just heard tapping on my window,” she tells the operator. “I need somebody over here.”
The line goes silent. As Lisa continues to explain her situation, the dispatcher does not respond – not for just 15 or 30 seconds, but for one full minute.
Then, sounds of snoring can be heard on the line.
“Are you there?” Lisa asks.
“Yes ma’am,” the operator replies. “What is the, um, what’s your address?”
Lisa can then be heard hanging up the phone.
Large church fire in Philly extends to homes
Click here for live helicopter coverage from WPVI-TV (as of 9:20 AM) of multi-alarm church fire at 32nd & Berks Street in Philadelphia. By 9:38 AM they had switched to a tower camera shot from a distance.
Earlier raw helicopter coverage from KYW-TV
Earlier raw helicopter coverage from WCAU-TV
KYW-TV image
As of 9:00 AM, the roof has burned off the large building in the Strawberry Mansion section. There still seem to Multiple master streams are in operation. Looking at a live picture on CNN it appeared there were some water supply issues for two of the streams at one end of the church. The fire has gone to six-alarms.
At 9:08 AM, the helicopter on WPVI-TV pulled back to reveal a rowhouse burning at least 5 homes down from the church. Fire showing from the top floor with firefighter working on the roof.
At 9:15 AM, the exposure fire now appears to be on the third floor of one side of what may be a duplex. A line is in place trying to keep the fire from spreading to a similar building on Side D. Heavy fire on the third floor, Quadrant C. Truck crew moved to roof over the non-burning side of the duplex.
At 9:20 AM, an interior attack has knocked down the bulk of the fire on Quadrant C of the duplex. Still have a bit of fire coming through the roof.
Philadelphia firefighters are on the scene of a raging six-alarm fire in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section. Flames also damaged at least three nearby home and residents east of the church were evacuated.
Authorities said the fire broke out at about 7:45 a.m. at the Prince of Peace Baptist Church in the 3200 block of W. Berks Streets. Flames quickly consumed the entire four-story building and went to five-alarms by 8:30 a.m. At about 8:45 a.m. firefighters began going door-to-door evacuating residents in homes immediately east of the church.
At 9 a.m. firefighters struck a sixth alarm for additional manpower after three nearby homes and power lines caught fire.
At this time, no injuries have been reported and the cause remains under investigation.
The church, according to their Web site, http://rship.com, is a Missionary Baptist Church that partners with Missionary Conventions and Associations across the country, “We are a conservative, evangelism oriented, Bible-based congregation with a strong African consciousness.”
Fire burning on the West Coast, too
Not to be outdone, Los Angeles firefighters have a major blaze this morning in a building at the historic corner of Hollywood and Vine. Reported to be a a vacant restaurant. Click here for KNBC-TV live video (as of 9:35 AM EDT).
At 9:52 AM EDT there is still a good deal of fire coming through the roof of the building. Master streams are being used along with firefighters with handlines on the roof of what appears to be the taller, Side D exposure.
Earlier helicopter coverage from KCBS-TV
From KCBS-TV:
Flames broke out early Wednesday in a building being renovated at the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.
Los Angeles city fire officials say the fire broke out in an unoccupied restaurant/bar and 40-foot flames could be seen shooting through the roof at 6 a.m.
A plume of smoke could be seen for miles.
Traffic has been routed away from the area.
“These people are hypocrites and liars”
That’s the response by Oak Grove, MN Mayor Jim Iund to claims by firefighters that a fatal house fire was mishandled. Mayor Iund, a charter member of the fire department who served 18 years, said Tuesday, “You’re talking about a small group of people who want to make trouble.”
Here are a few excerpts from the Star-Tribune:
Firefighters are now charging that Fire Chief Tony Hennemann repeatedly bypassed the most qualified candidates for leadership positions. Some said Hennemann won’t promote any candidate he believes could be a threat to his authority.
The City Council on Monday discussed hiring someone independent of the fire department — possibly a retired fire chief from the south metro area — to investigate the fire that claimed the life of James Verdi Blackford, 86.
But current and former Oak Grove firefighters told the Star Tribune that the turmoil dividing the department began years ago.
The mayor’s comments are a follow-up to the claims earlier in the week of a lengthy delay in trying to rescue Mr. Blackford:
The firefighter who reached him said he believes Blackford was alive when he and two other firefighters brought him downstairs in the smoke-filled house.
Ramsey firefighter Chris Weiss, from one of the five departments on the scene, said it was too hot within the blazing house for him to remove his gloves to feel for Blackford’s pulse, but “I made the determination he wasn’t gone.”
But once Weiss and the other two firefighters got Blackford downstairs, he said, they received word that an Oak Grove fire officer had ordered that Blackford not be moved any farther until a backboard could be brought in, a claim other firefighters affirmed but that later became a subject of dispute.
“We had ample time, but there was lots of indecision when decisions had to be made,” said Matt Powers.
Powers, an Oak Grove firefighter who was at the scene, said, “We limited his chances. If we could rescue somebody, we should rescue somebody. Somebody should be held accountable.”
Among the questions are who knew, or should have known, that Blackford was in the house. Another question, according to Oak Grove firefighter Jon Faanes, was why the department did not hold its customary critique after this fire, particularly because it involved a fatality.
Rob Engler, the Oak Grove fire official who firefighters say ordered the backboard, declined to comment, saying he was told by Fire Chief Tony Hennemann not to speak to the media. When asked after a City Council meeting about the backboard, Assistant Chief Curt Hallerman, who was in charge at the fire, told the Star Tribune, “I don’t think they called for a board or anything. I would see no purpose to ask for a board.”
But Oak Grove officials did not send firefighters in immediately. Nor did they inform all the firefighters at the scene that Blackford was inside. Weiss, who has nothing critical to say of Oak Grove’s department, said, “We heard a rumor that somebody was in there.”
Oak Grove firefighter Tony Scavo said he was eventually sent into the house but said he was ordered to go to the attic to open up the ceiling. “I’ll be honest,” he said. “I didn’t even know there was a body in there.”
Faanes said he was told not to enter the house without a backup hose line, even though he said the backup line is not mandated by OSHA. He asked why firefighters were not allowed to walk around the structure “to perform a size-up” — a procedure often done by the first arriving officer, he said.
“Why did it take a firefighter from another city to perform the rescue?” Faanes asked.
Cops guard Boston fire HQ
Boston police, acting at the request of the city’s fire commissioner, have begun guarding Fire Department headquarters to make sure that no one tampers with evidence subpoenaed as part of a federal investigation into alleged pension abuse by firefighters, fire and police officials said yesterday.
A police cruiser has been stationed outside the Dorchester building since Friday to make sure no one breaks in to steal documents that the FBI has requested.
No threats have been made, according to Steve MacDonald, spokesman for the Fire Department, but he said Fire Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser Jr. wanted to be cautious.
Asked if Fraser feared that firefighters might try to tamper with the documents, MacDonald replied, “He takes the federal subpoena very seriously, and we’re doing what we can to cooperate with the subpoena.”
Ed Kelly, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, criticized the move and said he did not see the need for extra protection.
“I think, given crime in the city, those police resources could be better allocated,” Kelly he said. “I think the commissioner watches too many movies.”
Suffolk chief is positive about twister response
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8eBxihhPGk&hl=en]
Suffolk Fire Chief Mark Outlaw said the initial assessment of the response to Monday’s damaging storms in Virginia is that things went well. Local governments expect to do further study of the response to the tornadoes that left more than 200 people injured. Read the article.
Click here to see our previous coverage with a number of videos from the storm.
MD mystery blast is no longer a mystery
Flashes of light in the air and loud booms. It was happening for months at 2:00 and 3:00 AM in a Pikesville, MD neighborhood. Until now, despite intense investigations using surveillance cameras, there were no answers. A day after WJZ-TV did the story of this mystery an arrest has been made of a 59-year-old man. Watch the story.
DC 2-alarm house fire
From DC Fire & EMS Department PIO Alan Etter on a fire Tuesday in Northeast:
This wind-driven fire in the 300 block of Channing Street, Northeast climbed to two-alarms before firefighters were able to put it down. Dispatched at 1508 hours, firefighters arrived within two minutes to find a set of two-story rowhouses engulfed in flames involving the enclosed rear porches. Fire was present through the roofs of two rowhouses with extension to a third. Further, exposure ‘D’ was afflicted by wind-whipped flames leaping across a 15-foot alley and causing serious damage to the second floor, cockloft and roof. A second alarm was quickly transmitted – and as firefighters began taking their positions – the fire was reduced to smolder. It was fully extinguished within an hour – with no injuries to either civilians or firefighters. Red Cross was notified for several people who would be displaced. The cause of this blaze remains under investigation.
2 injured in MD automotive garage fire
From Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady:
Just before 3:00 PM, Tuesday, April 29, 2008, a citizen ran into Beltsville Fire/EMS Station #831 and alerted personnel of a fire at a nearby automotive garage. Fire/ EMS units responded about 1 block to 11250 Baltimore Avenue at Prestige Collision and Glass to find a 1-story, multi-bay, automotive garage with heavy smoke coming from two bays located on the rear of the structure. As additional units from surrounding communities were alerted to assist, Beltsville firefighters stretched hoselines and initiated a knock down of the fire. The Beltsville ambulance crew located an adult male employee, approximately 30 years of age, who sustained second degree burns to a small area of his lower legs. Additionally, a firefighter assigned to the College Park Fire/EMS Station #812 sustained injuries to his knee while operating on the fireground. Both patients were transported to area hospitals. Quick work by the initial arriving crews limited the fire to two bays. A total of 25 firefighters operated on the fireground. The cause of the fire is under investigation and fire loss is estimated at $40,000.
Gas prices impacting home response
That’s the story from the Hammond Fire Department in the state of New York. With volunteer ranks dwindling, gasoline nearing $4-a-gallon isn’t helping recruitment and retention. Read the story.
Telephone solicitation problems in DE
A story we have heard many times. This time it is going on in Delaware. From delawareonline.com:
The Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association is alerting residents that local fire companies are not conducting a telephone solicitation seeking donations for injured firefighters.
Ron Marvel, president of the association, said a telephone solicitation now hitting Delaware households is not sanctioned by any volunteer fire department in the state of Delaware — and none will benefit from it.
“These guys who do this are a legal 501-C3 corporation who are established outside of the state and start calling Delaware residents for donations,” Marvel said. “They tell people that they are giving the money to the Delaware Fire Service.”
Marvel said no Delaware fire company solicits over the telephone for funds. None of the money collected is being used by Delaware firefighters.
“If you receive a telephone solicitation, do not give them any personal information such as a credit card number or other financial data,” Marvel said.
He suggested asking for the caller’s name, telephone number and address, and then contact local police.
Anyone concerned about the validity of a donation request should contact the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association at 734-9390.
Rescuers intervene in suicide attempt
This is all the caption says with this interesting video: Rescuers Risk Their Lives Foiling A Suicide Attempt. This was recently broadcast on a Russian Citizen’s Journalism programme. A drunken man was threatening to kill himself and rescuers put their lives on the line to save him.The man lived, but sustained serious injuries.
FFs attempt to thwart another suicide attempt
This one is from Dubbo, Australia last week. Firefighters try to move a rig into place to save “Bruce” who is hanging from a railroad bridge. It doesn’t quite work out the way everyone hoped, but Bruce survived. Read more.
Plane crashes into home in Venezuela and burns
From Monday in the northern Venezuela city of Catia La Mar. Four dead and eight injured when a small plane crashes into a home. Click here for another view.
Who ya gonna call: Marion County, FL’s quack rescue team
Photo by David Henman, Marion County Fire Rescue
It doesn’t matter what heroic feat this highly trained professional does for the rest of his career, he will always be remembered for this moment. Firefighter/paramedic and technical rescue technician Max Riddle of Golden Ocala Station 20 climbed 18 feet down a ladder into a storm drain to save seven baby ducks. The picture above from OrlandoSentinel.com where you can read this story.
