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Multiple homes burn in Chicago 2-11: A wind whipped blaze damaged or destroyed five homes on Chicago’s Southwest Side. It happened early Sunday morning leaving 29 people homeless. No serious injuries, but a pregnant woman and her young child were treated for smoke inhalation. Click here for more details.
FF/PM rescues woman from damaged and burning exposure after explosion: The house that exploded in South St. Louis on Saturday night shook St. Alexius Hospital directly across the street. Help came running, including Firefighter/Paramedic William Wicker. We have video of the fire, interviews and before and after pictures of the house that was leveled. Click here.
Chilling story of rescues of 4 trapped FFs in Oklahoma grain bin fire that killed chief: Steve Marshall, who sent me this story, says someone should pin a medal on Jack Eardman. Eardman, an assistant chief with the Hobart FD, was working for a local ambulance company on March 23. He took in the fire at the grain bin, but little did he know moments later he would be leading rescue efforts for four downed firefighters. Eardman himself was almost felled by the CO levels inside the bin. The fire killed Hydro Chief Nolan Schmidt . Make sure you take the time to read the details of this one.
Funeral for Trenton’s Manny Rivera: Tributes for Firefighter Manny Rivera. The 42-year-old Rivera died on Tuesday seven weeks after collapsing and going into a coma following the rescue of a man hanging from a third-floor window at a fire. A detailed look at the funeral can be found here.
Woman and young son rescued in Rochester: The woman told 911 she was in the bathroom on the second-floor of the burning home. That’s where Rochester, NY firefighters found her. We have video of the fire and a bit of the rescue of the woman’s young son, along with links to the fireground audio from Monroe County Fire Wire. Click here.
Charges announced in Houston crash: The police department has made it official and a spokesperson confirms the driver of Ladder 16 will be charged in last week’s collision with Engine 7. Click here for details.
EMS station burns in Claremore, OK: A fire Sunday burned an ambulance and command vehicle at the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services District building. Read the details.
Officer cuffs fire lieutenant at emergency scene: Click here in case you missed this story from New Haven that we posted on Friday.
AG says all A-OK, but IG is now looking into fire engine and ambulance donation: Friday’s report from the DC Office of the Attorney General indicates everything was above board and proper about the donation of a surplus fire engine and ambulance and a trip to the Dominican Republic by a deputy fire chief. Still that 3-page report seems to be in conflict with some of the testimony last week by Chief Dennis Rubin and Assistant Chief Alfred Jeffery. Two council members, in an effort to find out who else had been visiting the beach resort of Sosua, have demanded city travel records and an IG’s investigation. Click here for the latest.
The Washington Post finally got into this story, a week late, on Friday. Read what the Post’s Nikita Stewart has in today’s paper.
More videos from inside the command post: Two more recent ones added from the collection of City of San Bernardino Battalion Chief Mike Alder. Click here.
And also from San Bernardino: A 45-year-old firehouse is like new again and the firefighters only have themselves to thank for it. The remodeling was done in-house, by firefighters. Read the article (including quotes from BC Mike Alder).
NC fire museum to close: Seven years after it opened, higher rent is forcing the closing of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fire Museum. Read the story.
Good pictures from fiery Beltway crash: Readers at fire stations on Baltimore County’s west side are once again sending us pictures. Click here.
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Another one from the west side of Baltimore’s Beltway: Michael “FirePix1075” Schwartzberg’s video from a wreck on I-695 at the Windsor Mill Road overpass in Woodlawn on Friday night. A van was on top of a car, with the car wedged up against the guard rail. Michael reports it took 30-minutes to free the woman inside. You can see his still pictures here and read an account of the rescue at Pikesville VFC’s site.
