STATter 911

Clearer picture emerges about teen's burns at Riverdale firehouse

We have the entire interview with Riverdale VFD Chief Vince Harrison, plus more details about the chronology of events. Still no clear answers why it took days before the teenager was taken to the hospital and investigators notified. Boys grandmother wants to know who will pay for his medical bills. Teen tells us he is on painkillers because of the second-degree burns.

Audio of firefighters trapped on roof of D.C. apartment building

On Tuesday, D.C. officials released some brief excerpts of audio from the 4-alarm fire on Adams Mill Road. It included the officer for Engine 11 reporting crews were trapped. For details on this close call, click here.

Investigators believe the fire was caused by a piece of electrical equipment in the cockloft of the 4-story apartment building. See that story, here.

I spent Tuesday with D.C. Fire & EMS Lt. Sean Egan looking at the city's water system. In particular, the older 4 and 6 inch mains that are spread throughout the city. Egan says the mains are usually much smaller in diameter because of sediment that has clogged the 100-year-old pipes. This was a major problem during Monday's fire. You can see my story, here.

Charleston captain says panel recommendations are overly cautious "Yankee stuff"

Gant Mishoe of SConFire.com alerted us to this article about Chief Rusty Thomas in Charleston's Post & Courier. Here is an excerpt:

Charleston Fire Capt. George Gardiner, a 17-year veteran and a union member, disagreed. He said he is proud to serve under Thomas, and he and many other firefighters want the chief to stay.

Gardiner said he considers the expert panel's recommendations to be overly cautious "Yankee stuff." Thomas' leadership and the department's aggressive tactics helped save hundreds of lives and properties over the years, Gardiner said.

Also, the reduction in sprinkler fees by the Charleston Water System doesn't seem to be quite the incentive the mayor had hoped for.

A lot of the Charleston media will be at Montgomery County Maryland's training academy today. Chief Thomas and some of his top aides are in town for training.

Trapped Houston fire captain finally tells his story

I'm a little slow on picking up this one, but WithTheCommand.com discovered the Houston Chronicle's exclusive interview with Captain Eric Abbt. That's the paper's picture, above. Many of you have seen the dramatic video of Captain Abbt's rescue from a burning office building where three people died. You can find that video and the internal report, here.


Five dead after being trapped in tunnel during fire

Here are excerpt's from KUSA-TV's article on the Georgetown, Colorado fire:

The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office says five contract workers died while trapped inside a pipe next to a dam on Guanella Pass.

The five workers were trapped around 2 p.m. when the fire started on Tuesday at a hydroelectric plant and there was radio communication with them shortly after that. At that time, there were no reported injuries.

See the video here and here.

Video of yesterday: Read this smoke

This is a December 13, 1992 video of a shopping center fire in Onondaga County, NY.

Impact of fire station closing in Oneida County, New York

There have been a number of stories on the closing of the Lee Center Fire Department. This one focuses on neighboring companies that will now pick up the slack.

Florida fire

This is video of a Monday night fire at a New Smyrna Beach, Florida furniture store and neighboring businesses. Details here.

What if they gave a test and nobody used it

That's what happened when 5 deputy chiefs took a competitive exam to become the next chief in Natick, Massachusetts.

Indicted chief suddenly returns as deputy chief

The latest on Chief Robert Vezina who was indicted on witness tampering charges in Concord, NH.

And finally, covering catastrophe ... a Dave Statter in training

Wondering where the nest generation of TV reporters are now. Listen to this report from a "major" train-truck wreck and you will hear who is likely to replace me. Oh, the humanity (or is it the humidity?).