STATter 911

(Updated at 11:16 AM, Sunday. Scroll down for new videos)

From the STATter 911 Archives: This side shows you the benefits you received when you became a Baltimore City firefighter 37-years-ago. Next week we will show you the other side of the flier listing the requirements and qualifications for the job.

Programming note

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Beltway baby: The interview

You may recall the must hear 911 call we posted from about two weeks ago of a baby being on the Capitol Beltway in Montgomery County, MD. It's the one where the father yells, "The baby is out" 25 times in about 35 seconds.

I thought it was among the best I have ever heard of a call taker taking control of an out of control situation. 9NEWS NOW has been trying to connect with Firefighter Matt Markett since it occurred and that has finally happened. The video above has the interview anchor Todd McDermott did with Markett.

Click here to see the interview

To hear the entire call, click here

Alberta makes building code changes in wake of fires

Following the fire storm last July in Edmonton there was an outcry over code issues that Fire Chief Randy Wolsey believes helped the fire spread to 100 new homes under construction. Well it appears someone was listening. One of the changes, putting drywall into exterior wall assemblies, was shown to be very effective in testing by NIST almost four years ago. (Click here for video of NIST testing. Click here for NIST fact sheet. There is also video of testing done in Canada, but I haven't been able to make it play.)

Here are excerpts from a Canwest News Service article on Canada.com:

The most talked-about change was the requirement that fire-resistant drywall be placed under vinyl sidings on homes within 1.2 metres of a property line, since the commonly used tar paper and wood-and-glue boards are potent fuel for flames.

But the homes in last July's blaze were actually spread farther apart.

Edmonton Fire Chief Randy Wolsey, who for years has pushed for quick reforms to building codes to better protect structures from fire, said other measures in Municipal Affairs Minister Ray Danyluk's wide-ranging reforms would have made a difference in last July's inferno.

"Could we have reduced that tragedy at MacEwan Green (in south Edmonton)? The answer is absolutely we could have, with better construction-site safety," the chief said.

Developers and builders will have to assure fire officials of safety measures such as security fences around large construction sites, and that fire blankets or other measures have been taken to cover highly flammable house frames when they're being built.

Guards or surveillance cameras will have to monitor sites at off-hours, something former MacEwan Green resident Michael Hogan said might have saved his family's home from Edmonton's worst-ever residential arson, which began at an unfinished condo site.

"Nobody was there to raise (an) alarm until it was too late," Hogan said Friday, as he surveyed the construction of his replacement home at MacEwan Green.

Danyluk had suggested in July that Alberta would continue following the process of national building-code changes, which might not have been announced until 2010 and been in place until two or five years later.

The province, by doing it on its own, should be under the new codes early next year.

The rules will not affect existing homes, nor ones under construction.

Houses built near the property line will also be barred from having fully vented eaves, and will have tighter limits on the spacing.

A firehouse drill for rookies sparks an internal probe in Arlington, VA

The way some people tell the story, setting a firehouse dumpster or other items on fire for training was something that was done back in the day by station captains. But doing just that has two station captains and a fire investigator in hot water in Arlington County. Add to the mix a pair of handcuffs and a mock arrest and you have the ingredients for an internal investigation.

Click here to read the story

Steve Redick's videos from IL & MI

As many of you know, Steve Redick is a senior fire alarm operator for the Chicago Fire Department. He is also pretty handy with a camera. You can click here to see his gallery of stills and video. Here are three recent videos Steve alerted me to.

The top two are from a recent trip into Michigan. The first is from last Sunday. A vacant home in Highland Park, north of Detroit. The second is in Detroit at Bagley and Vinewood last Saturday.

Below is a 2-11 at a Chicago restaurant on May 3. Thanks Steve. As always, if you double click, the videos will double in size.

Fargo 911: Director jumps after being pushed

From RRRDC.com

Kathy Colvin was the only director the Red River Regional Dispatch Center has known. Now Colvin has resigned less than an hour after the center's board gave her a no-confidence vote and had her put on paid leave.

When it was built in 2002, the center was believed to be the only joint 911 center to cross state lines, covering the cities of Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN, along with Cass County, ND and Clay County, MN. Now there are issues of slow dispatch times, low morale and a third of the positions going unfilled.

Click here for the details.

High School prom date is motive behind fire

Police in Trenton, NJ say a family of 10 is homeless because the ex-girlfriend on one of the children was jealous. From Newsday.com:

Shanta Dargbeh of Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, faces 10 felony charges including aggravated arson.

Trenton police spokesman Detective Captain Joseph Juniak say the 19-year-old became upset when she learned that one of Stanley and Teresa Johnson-Davis' eight children may have taken another date to last weekend's Trenton High School prom.

Nine people who were home when the early morning fire consumed the house fled through back windows and down a fire escape. Two were treated for smoke inhalation.

Ambulance officials want meeting after EMT is shot. Watch video of East St. Louis shooting.

Click here to watch latest story

Click here to watch raw video of shooting

From KSDK-TV:

Days after an emergency medical technician was shot on the job, his boss at Medstar Ambulance has called for stricter rules on safety.

On Friday, community leaders in the Metro East will gather at Medstar to discuss improvements. A barbecue had already been planned to commemorate national EMS week, but now they're turning that event into an emergency meeting on safety.

It all stems from a shooting Monday night as a Medstar crew was leaving a different shooting scene in Washington Park.

The victim of the Washington Park shooting was in the back. Lydia Cravens' partner was in the front. Police believe the gunmen had followed them.

"I knew that I wasn't shot, but all I could think about was Pat," said Cravens. "I kept yelling out to Pat, 'Pat are you ok? Are you ok? Talk to me, Pat are you ok?'"

EMT Patrick Bierman had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest. He remains listed in fair condition at the hospital, but his boss at Medstar Ambulance said this incident has him concerned about his crews.

"We need to get with the police officers and the mayors and the fire chiefs. And we need to talk about safety issues," said Charles Kelley, President of Medstar.

"Who would have thought ten years ago that we'd be talking about someone shooting at an ambulance going down the street?" said Kelley.

He said rules about safety need to change, too. Medstar officials would like to see police escorts for ambulances when possible.

Getting the word out

Police and fire officials in Virginia came together Thursday to remind motorists to give some room to emergency vehicles stopped along the road. The best spokesman for the campaign is Virginia State Trooper Justin Mahalik. He is still recovering form injuries received when a suspected drunk driver hit his cruiser on May 1. The police car burst into flames. Despite serious neck injuries, Mahalik pulled himself out of the wreckage and then saved a passenger in the front seat.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 11:16 AM