Quick Takes: May 31, 2011.
Oley Township, Pennsylvania house fire: Three-alarms were sounded yesterday afternoon on Fisher Mill Road. A man and woman were injured in the fire. Read details. Click here for a series of pictures.
Honoring a career of service to the Nation's Capital: How did a Pennsylvania boy who desperately wanted to join the FDNY get the IAFF Local 36 union hall in Northeast Washington named after him? We have the story behind the Kenneth M. Cox Building. Also, make sure your read the original reporting detailing a 1971 rescue involving Kenny and the crew from DCFD Truck 8. Click here.
In addition, prior the building dedication there was the Local 36 Firefighter Memorial Day gathering. Click here for Stanley J. Jaworski's photos.
Fairfax County harassment suits: This is a story we didn't get to last week and it upset some of our readers (no conspiracy, mostly because of a lack of time and forgetfulness on the editor's part). Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department has had lawsuits from two female firefighters who claimed they were sexually harassed by Lt. Timothy Young. In one case there has been a $250,000 judgment after the judge ruled Fairfax County tolerated the harassment. The Washington Post's Tom Jackman has the original story. And Curt Varone has a nice summary in his Fire Law blog. I will try to do better in the future.
A fire chief shows us how to handle the bad news: Check out my analysis of how Osceola County, Florida Chief Richard Collins dealt with the press after one of his firefighters was accused of staking out a place to burglarize while on an emergency call. Here it is.
New to FDNY: Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com is on the FDNY beat with videos of some new rigs. Click here.
Chicago mayday audio: Click here to listen to CFD dealing with a firefighter briefly trapped in a house fire.
Burning river of fuel at truck fire: Interesting video from above a truck fire in Monaco. It shows a blast rupturing the fuel tank. Watch the video.
Embarrassment power: Mike Legeros always asks some interesting questions on his Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog. As for answers, he usually doesn't have them. But he gets you thinking. Last week he looked at that training video where liquid fuel was apparently added to the fire and wants to know about the impact of shame and embarrassment. Click here for Mike's musings. Along the way you will see some other nice stuff.
Sex and the "horny firefighter": Bill Schumm's description after the latest chapter in a West Coast firehouse sex scandal. Of course we would never use that term here at STATter911.com. Check out Firegeezer.com.
Union president demoted from captain to firefighter: Johnson City, New York's Marty Meaney is fighting his demotion that came out of an investigation looking into tampering with breathing apparatus. Here are the details.
Quick knock in Baltimore: Arrival video by a citizen and the view from a TV chopper above show some fast work at a two-alarm fire in Mt. Vernon last week. Check it out.
Volunteer recruitment in PA: There is a lot of interest in trying to reverse the trend of a shortage of volunteer firefighters in many jurisdiction across the country. Dave Schwartz at Cheltenham Township Fire Department in Pennsylvania tells us about the department's efforts that include videos (here) and updates on the CTFD website (here) and Facebook page (here).
