Quick takes
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Three Forty Three: The FDNY’s newest fireboat scheduled to be launched at 10:00 AM in Panama City, Florida. The ship is named in honor of the FDNY members who were killed on September 11, 2001. Read more about Three Forty Three at Firefighter Nation.
September 11, 2009: Firehouse.com has a list of events to honor the fallen from eight years ago. Click here.
FireRescue1.com has an article on how the toll is still climbing in the aftermath of the fall of the Twin Towers. Click here.
Billy Goldfeder has a special column at The Secret List looking at that very same topic of those who worked in the recovery operations and are continuing to suffer. Click here.
In the aftermath of the attacks the number of funerals of FDNY members was overwhelming. Firefighters from around the country helped honor those who were lost. The Orange County Fire Rescue Department in Florida was one of the departments to send a contingent to attend some of the funerals. The Orlando Magic helped make that trip possible. Bill Hoke sent us a link to the video that was made of the trip.
NEW- Battle of Jericho continues: Firegeezer has latched on that interesting story from Jericho Arkansas. This is the one where the unarmed fire chief was shot in the court house over a parking ticket dispute. The chief is now the only one charged in the case. Town officials still refuse to answer questions about the shooting and lots of other interesting things. Here’s Bill’s update.
Firefighters want apology from consultants and city: Sounds like a rather heated meeting Wednesday night in Elyria, Ohio. Among other things, the union says the consulting group that reported the use of sick leave was out of control used erroneous figures. The firefighters and consultants came face to face at the meeting. Read the details.
Chief’s conversation taped and now audio from sick calls released to news media: The controversy in Haverhill, Massachusetts where firefighters were videotaped while on sick leave, seems to be growing. As we told you yesterday, the union has posted an audio recording of a conversation the chief had with a lawyer. Click here for that . Now, to make it more interesting, the recordings of sick calls made by three firefighters have been released. Click here to listen to the audio and read the story.
NEW- Only you (and your taxes) can prevent forest fires … in the Nation’s Capital: I am reasonably certain in my almost four decades of living in Washington, DC area that the city hasn’t had a major wildland fire. The Washington Times tells us that hasn’t stopped the federal government from spending almost $3 million in forest fire fighting money in the District of Columbia. Read the story.
Sleep tight and don’t let the … : Never mind. It’s too late for firefighters at Station 2 in Wilmington, Delaware. The good news is they have all new furniture. The bad news is that experts are worried they returned to the firehouse too soon. Read the story about some tiny bloodsuckers.
Primary and secondary searches negative. Well, not exactly. You forgot Smoka: The one-year-old cat was presumed dead after an August 10 fire in a flower shop and apartment in Franklin, Ohio. A demolition company working on the structure found Smoka under 16-feet of debris 26-days after the fire. Here’s the story.
More charges against VFD president: Back in August it was child pornography that sent police to arrest the president/treasurer of the Sam Bass Fire Department in Williamson County, Texas. Now Gerry Cheney is accused of stealing $220,000 from the department. His wife is speaking out and it isn’t in her husband’s defense. Click here to watch the interview. Read more.
Website targets fire chief: Andover, Massachusetts Chief Michael Mansfield is taking on the website http://www.datingpsychos.com/. According to BostonHerald.com Mansfield’s picture and some very unflattering comments were posted about the chief, who is single. Read the story.
Fire department allowed to reopen after 6 month shutdown: Insurance problems prompted the closing of West Virginia’s Big Wheeling Creek VFD. Here’s the story.
The family that fights fire together … : Different shifts and different companies have kept a father and son team on the Seattle fire department apart for five years. That changed on Wednesday. Click here.
Neighbor’s dogs act as smoke alarm in Paradise: Ten people are alive thanks to a man who was awakened by his dogs and discovered his neighbor’s house on fire. There were no smoke alarms in the burning home. All ten escaped unharmed thanks to the man’s pounding on a window. Click here for the story from California.
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NEW- Baltimore County house fire this morning: Michael “FirePix1075” Schwartzberg took this video of a house fire at 2361 Research Drive in Landsowne at 1:38 AM. Here’s his description – First arriving units from BCoFD Station 5 (Halethorpe) reported a fully involved two-story dwelling and began stretching line
s for fire attack. Firefighters confirmed all occupants had escaped the house, and due to heavy fire conditions command ordered a defensive operation. Firefighters used multiple hand lines and the deck gun from Engine 5 to bring the blaze under control. Crews found a pet cat outside the home and a paramedic resuscitated the animal with oxygen before turning it over to a family member who took it to an emergency animal hospital. The BCoFD Fire Investigation Division was requested to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
