Quick takes
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtIeGZW-vNs&hl=en&fs=1]
A firefighter close call?: I don’t know. But I can tell you they sure didn’t call them that 40 some years ago. At :57 into this vintage Pittsburgh film, from the collection of Captain Jack Marks, a firefighter who is prone on the porch roof seems to be in some kind of distress. Firefighter Spot first turned us on to this new source of old fire films. Check here for another one where we have some then and now comparisons.
Don’t try this at home (or anywhere). Sex toy and power tool make bad combination: An unusual medevac over the weekend from Southern Maryland. This is one of those calls, keeping HIPAA regulations in mind, that firefighters will be talking about for years to come. Read the details here.
The hills are alive with the sound of Billy: Apparently all it took was a home builder in Virginia to say that it’s mostly older homes that burn and new construction homes seldom catch on fire to push Chief Billy Goldfeder off the deep end. The man is now writing new lyrics to songs from old musicals. Click here to see I am not making this up and here to read the original article.
Well maybe it is Dave who has gone off the deep end: I don’t care if she if 61-years-old, Bernadette Peters looks unbelievable. But it shows how screwed up my priorities are when I spend more time interviewing Harold Schaitberger than Ms. Peters. I am not sure if it is my dedication to the blog or I am just plain stupid (please don’t answer that). Click here to watch both interviews. We will then see which one gets more hits and determine if I am all alone on this one.
Early video from vacant hospital building fire: We have two parts from Michael Schwartzberg’s raw video of Sunday’s two-alarm fire in Baltimore County. Big building. Lots of fire. It happened at the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills. Click here to watch it and read more details.
DC beard update: We have added an interview with one of the plaintiffs to our coverage of Friday’s federal appeals court ruling that upholds the religious freedom of firefighters and medics in DC. It allows them to keep beards as long as they also can keep a seal. Click here.
Moving toward medevac cutbacks in MD: From The Washington Post- A Maryland House of Delegates work group recommended yesterday that the state-run medevac program close at least one of its eight bases and reduce its fleet of helicopters to fewer than 10, in addition to increasing many of its safety and flight standards to meet or exceed those of commercial medevac companies. Click here for the article by Jenna Johnson.
Also in court, reopening a FD civil rights case that goes back 38-years: In Jacksonville, Florida there are questions whether the city is following hiring practices outlined in a court case with origins to 1971 that was settled in the 1980s. Read the story.
Looking at the layoffs in MA: A video report from hard hit Fall River.
Arson in West Virginia: There were five fires over the weekend in Berkeley County. Only one has been ruled arson at this point. Read and watch the story.
Fire in Brooklyn: In Crown Heights on Sunday people were forced to jump as fire raced through a home. Click here for pictures, video and details from the fire.
Higher and higher in Seattle: If you haven’t seen it, the video from the charity stair climb that attracted 1500 or so firefighters on Sunday is worth watching. Check it out.
PPV and you: VentEnterSearch.com is talking PPV and running a flashover video I think we ran a while back (if not, it was very similar). Either way it is well worth seeing.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiM9ANvGJyw&hl=en&fs=1]
Above, fire destroyed an animal hospital in West Barnstable, MA on Monday night. Click here for details from the Cape Cod Times. Similarly, a fire in a Kennel in Lehighton, Pennsylvania took the life of Martha Stewart’s dog. Click here to watch that story.
