Quick Takes
Second fire does historic store in: The Putney General Store in Putney, Vermont was destroyed by fire Sunday night. It had burned 18-months ago and the local historical society had renovations almost completed in its $700,000 effort to save what was believed to be the state’s longest continually operating general store. The blaze has been called suspicious by the local fire chief. There is a bit of a collapse at 5:18 in the video. Click here for more details (and here). Click here to see the video we ran when it burned in May, 2008.
President and CEO of Singer Associates arrested: InsideNova.com reports that Dick Singer was arrested by Prince William County (VA) Police and charged with the sexual assault of two 17-year-old boys who are related to Singer. A police spokesperson indicates the assaults began when the boys were ten-years-old. The charges include molestation, sexual battery and sodomy. Singer was released from jail last Thursday. According to the Prince William County Police website Singer was arrested on October 23. Singer Associates is a Manassas firm that sells fire and other emergency apparatus in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Once again Sacramento makes it clear that brownouts delayed response: The engine company at the closest fire station was not staffed when a fire occurred in Sacramento’s Curtis Park neighborhood Sunday night. The first arriving unit was a ladder truck without water, with an engine arriving about three minutes later. We don’t know this because firefighters dropped a dime to the press (sorry for the dated reference) or a union president held a press conference. We know this because the battalion chief handling the fire and the Sacramento Fire Department PIO made it very clear to the press what impact the closed company had on the fire. It is a policy the department has followed since the rotating closures began more than a year ago. By the way, they have also made it clear when the brownouts have not impacted fireground operations. Click here for the latest. Click here, here, here and here for our previous coverage of Scaramento’s brownouts.
Cutting fire department in half or raising taxes by 40 percent: That’s the choice the city manager says they are facing in Canandaigua, New York. Read the story.
Tainted tea charge puts firefighter behind bars: A Milwaukee firefighter is arrested after his police officer wife accused him of putting an antidepressant in her tea. Tea she says she shared with her 3-year-old child. Read and watch the story.
Derailment in Illinois: Two Canadian Pacific freight trains collided in Northbrook yesterday. Firegeezer has the details and pictures.
Owner charged with setting bar on fire: Washington Post reporter Tom Jackman reports the nose helped lead to an arrest following a fire at a Fairfax City, Virginia bar Sunday night. Click here.
