STATter 911

(Updated at 4:14 PM)

Chicago fire: A house fire early this morning at 2800 W. Lexington.

FL firefighter remembered

As we told you on Monday, John Curry, a Volusia County firefighter died during a training exercise. A pine tree fell on the 30-year-old firefighter. He leaves behind a wife and child. Here's how the Orlando Sentinel explains the accident:

Curry, a member of the Firewalker Wildland Team, was working with power and chain saws when the tree fell about 11 a.m. and struck Curry in the head. County officials did not know Tuesday whether it was Curry or another firefighter who cut down the tree as part of ongoing training at the Volusia County Fire Training Center near Daytona Beach.

The pictures of Firefighter Curry are from Volusia County. The county's press release about his death is here.

More coverage from WFTV-TV.

Routley responds to WASA report

Ever since two, conflicting reports came out about the state of DC's water system, STATter 911 has been trying to get a better understanding of what it all means. The only one to respond to our requests is one of the consultants on the DC Fire & EMS report, J. Gordon Routley. You can read what he has to say, here.

Must read series of articles

Bill Schumm who masquerades as FireGeezer has just started a series of articles about someone else with multiple identities that you don't want to miss. It may rank as one of the most bizarre fire stories of the year. Schumm, a retired captain from Fairfax County Fire & Rescue, has been doing an amazing job playing journalist, going in depth on a number of compelling stories. Bill has latched on to what can easily be described as a soap opera and he has begun laying it out in serial form.

It is a story from Seligman, Arizona about an ex-con, female impersonator with his own fire engine and claiming to have his own fire department. It was clear by the responses Bill got when he first ran a blurb from a Phoenix TV station, that there was more to the story. He's been tracking it ever since. Today is the first article. Make sure you read it and then tune back tomorrow for the next installment of Donna and the Magic Fire Truck (maybe he can get Procter & Gamble to sponsor it).

Firefighter slapped over HIPAA

A nosy neighbor who didn't like the answers he got at 2:30 AM slapped a firefighter in Palm Springs, CA. The firefighter told the man, due to privacy laws, he couldn't answer any of his specific questions about the medical condition of a neighbor. 68-year-old Walter Padgett is charged with Battery Upon Emergency Personnel. More from mydesert.com.

There have been days as a reporter that I have wanted to scream over the differing interpretations you get from hospitals, fire and EMS over HIPAA, but my frustration has never led to physical violence. Though I'm sure a few PIOs have wanted to strangle me.

Corporate manslaughter is one possibility in UK LODDs

At a news conference this morning, "police said it was possible Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service could face charges and they were 'ruling nothing out' " as they continue to look into the deaths of four firefighters. Still no cause determined for the November 2, fire. More, here.

EMS response in Sean Taylor shooting

The Washington Post has some details on how Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue handled the shooting of Sean Taylor. Read details.

Minority hiring in NY

Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls the increase in black and Hispanic candidates for the FDNY "a promising new sign". The story from the New York Times. Here are excerpts:

The Fire Department’s pool of black and Hispanic job candidates has more than doubled since 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday, raising hopes that efforts to hire more minority firefighters might be yielding results.

The announcement came six months after the United States Justice Department sued the city, charging that the written firefighter entrance exam screened out a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics.

Slightly more than 30 percent of the 4,000 applicants scoring highest on this year’s exam were black or Hispanic, compared with just under 14 percent in 2002, the last time the test was given. There were also three times as many women in this year’s top 4,000.

The results are significant, city officials said, because the top 4,000 applicants are the most likely to be hired. The cutoff score to make that list this year was 96.77 percent.

Mayor Bloomberg called the results “a promising new sign” for the Fire Department, which has faced intense scrutiny over its lack of diversity.

The answer: just follow the glow

The question: Do you know the way to San Jose? The video above shows a lot of fire as firefighters in San Jose's Japantown fight a blaze in a group home on Tuesday night. The efforts of the fire department saved a nearby historic church.

FF falls on top of a another FF

During this fire in San Diego Monday night, a firefighter fell through a balcony floor. He landed on a firefighter below who broke his fall. The picture above from neighbor Peter Brueggeman via San Diego.com. Click here for details.

Different

I don't know what to make of this video

Jacksonville

House fire on Jacksonville, Florida's west side. Ladder 10 and Safety 2 on the call. No other details. But more parts can be found here.

Indiana

A video of a June 7th house fire in Black Township,Posey County, Indiana.

Springfield, MA house fire

Raw video of a vacant house fire in Springfield, MA early Tuesday morning. Details, here.

UK industrial fire

This is from a fire in Martock. Part 2 is here. Here's how it was written up in the Yeovil Express (they make it sound all so civilized ... I think I will start writing them like this):

FIREFIGHTERS are still in attendance at the Parrett Works industrial estate in Martock after the outbreak of a blaze in the early hours of this morning.

It was around 1am this morning when the alarm was raised and ten fire engines and supporting vehicles attended the scene.

Crews got to work with 17 breathing apparatus, five main jets and four hose reel jets.

Involved in the fire was one single storey building, and a two-storey building used as businesses for storage and car repairs.

CA fire

he installation of a hot water heater is apparently behind this fire MOnday afternoon in Roseville, CA, northeast of Sacamento More information,here.

And nearby

This is a truck fire not far from the house fire above. It is along I-80 near Citrus Heights, CA. No date with the video.

Warehouse in Atlanta

Language alert if you click directly to YouTube to see this raw video of a vacant warehouse fire in Atlanta Sunday night. More info and video from WXIA-TV.

And finally a trip down smoke alarm memory lane

1978 and Canadian General Electric advertises its Sentry smoke alarm.

West New York 2nd-alarm

A second alarm in West New York, NJ from Sunday night. Click the image to see Part 1. Parts 2 through 5 can be found here. Good fireground audio.