Thursday, February 28, 2008
NAHB thinks sprinkler laws not necessary; Mayor who posed on fire truck is out; Old video - Crescent City; Clack in Baltimore
Old video of the day: Like many others, I first saw this in my University of MD FSE "Special Fires" class. This one was special all right. June 21, 1970 in Crescent City, Illinois. Fifteen cars of a 108 car train derailed, sparking fires and propane explosions over the next 56 hours. Multiple BLEVEs sent tank cars rocketing through buildings. Sixty firefighters and civilians were hurt. Read more about it here.
NAHB: Sprinklers not cost effective and laws are unnecessary
Since a conversation with Montgomery County, MD's Pete Piringer at a townhouse fire on Monday, we have been gathering various TV stories, videos, papers and columns about modern home construction methods and how they relate to the safety of firefighters and the public. Not wanting just the fire service view on some of these issues that center around lightweight construction, STATter 911 contacted the National Association of Homebuilders.
NAHB spokesperson Calli Schmidt provided us with information relating to these topics. Much of it can be found on the NAHB website "Smoke Alarms Work". It backs up the NAHB position that sprinklers are not cost effective and mandatory sprinkler laws are unnecessary. Click here for our coverage.
Mayor who posed on fire truck is out
Do you recall our coverage of Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist of Arlington, Oregon and the uproar over her provocative pose on the town's fire truck? Others recall it too. Actually they've recalled the mayor. From the AP:
The tally was 142-139. City officials said the recall is effective Tuesday.
Kontur-Gronquist said the pictures of her in black bra and panties were taken for use in a contest about fitness, but a relative posted them on MySpace in hopes it would improve the social life of the single mother.
They predated her election, but she said she saw no reason to take them off the popular Web site once elected three years ago. Later, she closed access to them.
Opponents said it wasn't fitting for the mayor to be so depicted. They said they also disagreed with her on issues about water and the local golf course.
Chief Clack comes to Baltimore
They welcomed Chief Jim Clack to Baltimore on Wednesday. The Minneapolis chief takes over a department that has faced many problems in recent years. Click here to see WJZ-TV reporter Adam May's coverage an interview with Chief Clack.
Baltimore Sun reporter Annie Linskey has broken many of the recent significant stories about the department. Click here to read her coverage.
You can watch The Sun's raw video of the announcement here.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Lightweight construction and solutions: Fire service pushes sprinklers. NAHB says they aren't necessary.
(Click here for today's news from STATter 911)
Watch 9NEWS Now report on lightweight construction
Watch raw video of Gaithersburg fire from Chief Larry Gaddis, Bethesda Fire Department
Montgomery County, Maryland fire officials used Monday's fire in Gaithersburg as a reminder of some of the problems firefighters and the public face with modern home construction techniques. While issues with lightweight construction are not news to those in the fire service, the people who live in the homes are often surprised to hear the concerns of firefighters.
Most of the people who live near the townhouse fire on Owens Glen Terrace that we contacted said they never heard of the term "lightweight construction". They were all shocked to see the relatively rapid collapse of the roof and third floors of the burning home. Fire walls and firefighters kept the fire to the townhouse where it began.
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer pointed out that the home construction techniques used in recent decades meet code and are generally sturdy. But under fire conditions, Piringer said the structural components tend to fail much more rapidly than post World War II homes. Piringer believes this is a safety issue for firefighters and the public.
While Pete Piringer and many others in the fire service believe a combination of working smoke alarms and automatic sprinkler systems will mitigate many of the problems associated with lightweight construction, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says that is only partially correct.
In an email, NAHB spokesperson Calli Schmidt tells STATter 911:
Homes are, in fact, significantly safer today than 20 years ago because of advances in technology and changes in building codes. And the kind of construction you are talking about using engineered wood is actually here to stay – it’s significantly greener in terms of resource efficiency and energy efficiency. We can’t continue to rely on old-growth forests to build our homes.
Calli Schmidt also pointed us to the report from the CDC on truss system failures familiar to firefighters.
On the issue of sprinklers, Schmidt directed me to the NAHB's campaign Smoke Alarms Work (above). The home page carries the message sprinklers aren't necessary:
The National Association of Home Builders encourages all home owners to check their own alarms regularly and to support community initiatives to install and maintain smoke alarms in all homes.
Is your city thinking about requiring fire sprinklers in all new homes?
Follow the links above to see why that's not necessary.
Get the facts – smoke alarms do work...and save lives!
Click the link to read "Facts About Fire Sprinklers" and NAHB cites cost and maintenance as being behind its position on sprinklers:
While they should remain an option for home owners who choose them, fire sprinklers in single-family homes are expensive to install, can be difficult to maintain and do not represent a cost-effective safety improvement over smoke alarm systems. For that reason, NAHB does not support measures to mandate their use.
We have sent NAHB a number of columns, papers and reports on these topics written by fire service leaders (see links below). Included was the recent report by Prince William County, Virginia citing lightweight construction as a "major factor" in the April, 2007 death of Firefighter Kyle Wilson.
Spokesperson Schmidt said they would like more time for a detailed response to some of the issues raised in this material and by Pete Piringer. Schmidt says the NAHB code experts are currently in Palm Springs, CA testifying at hearings during the Codes Forum and she will try to make them available for questions on their return.
Related videos:
Too Close For Comfort Pt. 1 (A February, 2004 look at home separation and lightweight construction.)
Manassas VFC's raw video from 3-31-2006 fire at 8671 Trenton Chapel Way in Gainesville, VA (This is the second, multiple, single-family-dwelling fire on this street. The first, at 8659 Trenton Chapel Way on 1-6-2004, was featured in Too Close for Comfort, above.)
NIST home separation testing in July, 2004
A Tale of Two Fires or A Roof and Contents (A July, 2007 look at two house fires in Leesburg, VA)
Related Links (all forwarded to NAHB for comment)
Prince William County report into Kyle Wilson's LODD
NIST fact sheet on house to house fire spread
School bus wreck tests medical bus; Chief Jim Clack comes east; DC medics to be tested; Foam for green fuels; FF trapped in Queens
(Updated at 1:58 PM)
Old video of the day: From July 14, 1971 the aftermath of a 7-alarm fire in Philadelphia. It was at 2021 Naudain Street, a 4-story vacant building that had been a lamp company. The film is by Norm "Doc" Zaffater whose films from Shreveport and New Orleans we've run before. More at Signal51group.com.
MD school bus wreck is first test for another bus
Watch reports from 9NEWS NOW at noon
Photos from Firehouse Guy on thewatchdesk.com. Click here to see more.On Riverdale Road near 61st Place in Prince George's County, a school bus overturned around 9:00 this morning. Police believe the bus hit a curb before coming to rest on its side. The most seriously injured is the bus driver who was taken to the trauma unit at Prince George Hospital Center in Cheverly. More than 40 students on the bus were transported to two area hospitals. All have relatively minor injuries. They were headed to William Wirt Middle School in the Riverdale area.
Prince George's County Police said the bus driver was going to fast to make the turn at the intersection.
Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady said this was the first use of MAB 855 (seen below), the mobile ambulance bus housed at the Bunker Hill Station. The unit had been dispatched before, but this was its first transport since being acquired by Federal Homeland Security money early last summer.
Twenty-two students, many who had been boarded and collared, were taken by the emergency bus to Prince George's Hospital Center. Four students and the bus driver went by ALS and BLS units. Another school bus took the rest of the students to Doctors Hospital in Lanham for check-ups.
Brady tells STATter 911 he was quite impressed by a large number of police officers and sheriff's deputies he observed helping to tend to the students.
Read more about mass casualty buses in an August, 2007 column by Jim Featherstone on FireGeezer.com
New chief for Baltimore
From Firehouse.com
Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack has been picked as Baltimore's new fire chief. Chief Clack was highly praised for his handling of the I-35 W bridge collapse. Here are excerpts from the Baltimore Sun report:
"He comes to Baltimore with an outstanding reputation in the business of firefighting and the business of running a fire department," said Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the mayor.
Clack will start in April. His compensation package has not yet been finalized, Clifford said. Clack will take over for acting fire chief Gregory B. Ward, who has held the position since November when William J. Goodwin Jr. resigned. Forty people applied for the job.
"I will always consider Minneapolis my home, but this is a tremendous professional opportunity and something that I could not pass up," Clack said in a statement released by Minneapolis officials Tuesday. "I take great pride in the Minneapolis fire department and in the professionalism, courage and commitment to public service that each member of the department shows on the job every day."
Richard "Rick" G. Schluderberg, the president of Baltimore Fire Fighters Local 734, said Tuesday that he knows little about the new chief.
"I don't think I want to burn down a bridge before I build one," he said in withholding an opinion.
Schluderberg said he was not surprised that the mayor picked an external candidate for the job.
"I can certainly understand going outside in light of what happened to our department over the past year and a half, so let's give the man a chance," he said.
DC to test medics
The District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department plans to test the competency of all its medics. The Washington Times has the story:
The D.C. fire department next month will test all of its 250 paramedics for competency in administering advanced life support, the agency's medical director said.
The testing, which will be performed independently by the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, is expected to lead to retraining of some paramedics while some others could be reassigned to positions with fewer responsibilities, said Dr. Michael D. Williams, chief medical officer for the fire department.
"I expect there will be people that fail this process," Dr. Williams said yesterday. "And I think I will be saying, 'You're really not functioning as a paramedic, so we're going to pull you out.' "
Dr. Williams said the policy could create difficulties for the department official who assigns crews to ambulances, but "my obligation sort of trumps his on this one."
"I've really got to make sure that we don't let somebody out there that isn't functioning at that level."
Houston firefighter handles fire at his own home
A dryer fire apparently caused the fire at a home of a Houston firefighter. The firefighter and his two sons got out safely. Watch the story here.
Nebraska bill would mandate career chief
This is an Associated Press article from Nebraska (note: this is AP's language about the bill):
All cities with more than 20,000 people would have to hire professional fire chiefs under a bill (LB1096) scheduled to be debated by the state Legislature.
Some cities have all-volunteer forces without full-time chiefs. Professional firefighters have said that puts residents at risk because volunteers often don't have the time or know-how to competently manage departments.
The bill from Senator Mike Friend of Omaha also would authorize the governments of cities and villages to audit the trust funds of their local volunteer fire departments.
FF saves FF in Queens
One firefighter is being treated in the hospital for burns on his neck, ears and hands after being trapped in a burning home Tuesday. The firefighter who saved him was treated at the scene. The New York Daily News has the story:
A Queens firefighter rescued his fellow Bravest from a burning house early Tuesday - and then jumped to safety from a second-floor window just seconds before the bedroom was engulfed in flames.
"As soon as they bailed out, the room lit up," FDNY Battalion Chief Patrick Ginty said of the 3:30 a.m. heroics at the two-alarm fire in Richmond Hill.
Firefighter Robert Grover of Engine 143 became trapped on the second floor of the cluttered 114th St. house as he searched for residents he believed were still inside.
When Grover couldn't escape the flames, Firefighter Anthony Romano of Engine 142 (Note: sources in the know say it is actually Ladder 142) climbed a ladder to the rear bedroom to save him, officials said.
Romano ducked in through a window, found Grover in the bedroom and helped him back to the window. The pair then jumped to the ground about 20 feet below, Ginty said.
"They tumbled off of the roof and [then] fell about 10 feet," said Ginty, his face smeared with soot. "They did a great job."
Firefighters also rescued the 74-year-old homeowner, Robert Fuchs, who was sleeping in the burning house.
See story from WCBS-TV
Foam issues
The fire service has know for some time about the need for alcohol-resistant foam when fighting ethanol fires. But does everyone have that capability. We first talked about it last summer, now the AP takes a closer look:
The nation's drive to use more alternative fuel carries a danger many communities have been slow to recognize: Ethanol fires are harder to put out than gasoline ones and require a special type of firefighting foam.
Many fire departments around the country don't have the foam, don't have enough of it, or are not well-trained in how to apply it, firefighting experts say. It is also more expensive than conventional foam.
"It is not unusual to find a fire department that is still just prepared to deal with traditional flammable liquids," said Ed Plaugher, director of national programs for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
See Montgomery County, MD's training bulletin from last May
Another angle from Peabody
This is a third camera angle of the firefighter in distress in Peabody, MA.
Where they still ride the back step
A fire Monday at a market in Mandalay, Myanmar. Read more.
NJ house fire
From Bound Brook on Monday evening.
OK high-rise plan
Oklahoma City TV station looks at a new high-rise plan.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Chiefs make grab; Raw video of MD 3-alarmer; Vintage slide; Epileptic FF ordered to get job back; Whistle blower retaliation?; Looking for CO videos
(Updated at 12:24 PM)
Old video of the day: A scary slide down hill on an icy road for a fire engine. A regular STATter 911 reader sent this one my way. It is from 1990. Someone out there is going to have to tell me where it was shot. I somehow missed this when it happened.
Chiefs to the rescue
Photo by Heather Mancini of The Salem News
We have two videos, pictures and details of a firefighter in distress during a fire Monday in Peabody, MA. Five chiefs get credit for the save. Click here to see the coverage.
Raw video from MD townhouse fire
Not much left of the townhouse where the fire started in Gaithersburg on Monday. But despite being forced to abandon an interior attack, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer said firefighters were able to keep the fire out of the exposures. Click here for more and to see the raw video from Chief Larry Gaddis of the Bethesda Fire Department.
Epileptic firefighter ordered reinstated
From AP through Pennlive.com:
An arbitrator says Pittsburgh must reinstate a firefighter forced to take involuntary leave when he was diagnosed with epilepsy last year.
Monday's decision is unrelated to a federal lawsuit filed last week by 51-year-old David Cerminara, a 27-year veteran.
Cerminara had a seizure in March, but says a doctor cleared his return to work with medication. But the city has required Cerminara to be seizure free and off medicine for a year before he can return to work.
The arbitrator agreed with Cerminara who says that standard is used for new hires but isn't supposed to apply to those already on the job.
The city has 30 days to appeal the arbitrator's decision.
Volunteer claims retaliation over safety complaints
In Catskill, NY volunteer firefighter Joel Shanks says more lawsuits will occur if his March 2006 suspension over complaints about safety issues isn't lifted. Shanks appeared before the Village Board meeting Monday. Excerpts from the DailyFreeman.com:
"At this point I'm going to give you guys about two weeks to get back to me," he said.
Following the session, Shanks said the suspension arose because he complained about the use of outdated safety equipment, an outdated safety inspection on a ladder truck, missing radios, firefighters with facial hair wearing air masks, and safety harnesses that need to be replaced.
"I made safety complaints to (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and the state of New York about the fire department," he said. "We since have a civil lawsuit in New York state Supreme Court pending more or less because they are retaliating against me for making the complaints."
Shanks said the suspension against him was not instituted until trustees could narrow the source of complaints.
"They got contacted by the state of New York that they were under investigation for safety violations and they started retaliating against people who they thought did it," he said. "At that, I made a second complaint saying that I was being retaliated against under the whistle blower law, at which time my name was given to them. When that happened they place me on administrative leave pending investigation."
Today on Fire Geezer: FossilMedic looks at frequent flyer solutions, plus a concrete idea
For many who provide EMS to the citizens there must be times you feel like Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day because of some of your regular customers. FossilMedic calls them "frequent flyers" and on FireGeezer.com he takes a look at ways some departments are handling the issue.
While you are there check out the Geezer's follow-up story on the use of concrete pumpers as a firefighting tool. Good eye for an old fire dog.
Looking for videos in Durango to determine if it was a backdraft, a gas explosion or something else.
This is the video we first showed you over the weekend of firefighters being caught in some sort of explosion during a commercial building fire in Durango, CO. Nine firefighters were hurt. The original thought is that this was a natural gas explosion. Some knowledgeable fire service folks, after looking at the video, brought up the possibility of a backdraft. Investigators at the moment are lacking evidence to support either possibility. That's why they are asking for the public to come forward with other videos of the fire that may have been recorded. From the Durango Herald:
"We do not believe it was backdraft. If it was, and we didn't see it coming, we want to know that," Abercrombie said.
He said firefighters didn't observe the usual signs of an impeding backdraft.
"If so many of us missed that, we need to know that because backdraft is a killer situation, it kills firefighters," he said.
"We're just trying to get as much information as we can so we can assess our performance on the fire," he said.
Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman said a backdraft is usually associated with a building that has been burning for a while, becoming very hot. But when a crew entered Le Rendezvous with an infrared sensor they did not observe high temperatures.
"Our temperature inside was less than 100 degrees," he said.
At the same time, though, the gas lines in the burned buildings appeared to be intact, raising the question of where the gas would have come from to cause the explosion.
"Right now, I can tell you it looks like the gas lines are all holding," Kaufman said.
The origin of the initial fire is clearer.
"Our fire investigation is still centering around the hood system here at Seasons restaurant. All of the burn patterns that I've looked at both on Saturday and again today tell me that the fire originated behind the hood system on the wall," he said.
He said investigators, including those from the insurance companies, were trying to narrow down what could have sparked the fire.
"Was the hood system installed per code? We're looking to see how close it was to the combustible wall behind it," he said.
Firefighter Spot is making us all jealous
Someone pointed out that I should get one of these for my son Sam. I said, forget that. I want it for me! This is one of many new videos on Firefighter Spot worth looking at.
Raw video from Montgomery County, MD 3rd alarm. Heavy fire and collapse of a 3-story townhouse. Exposures saved. Two minor injuries.
Watch raw video shot by Chief Larry Gaddis, Bethesda Fire Department
In the image above the chimney begins to fall on side C of a 3-story townhouse in Gaithersburg, MD. Most of the roof and the third floor ended up on the second floor of the home on Owens Glen Terrace.
The fire was reported around 11:00 AM on Monday. Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer says the lightweight construction of the home, along with the heavy volume of fire forced firefighters to abandon an interior attack.
On a video shot by Chief Larry Gaddis of the Bethesda Fire Department you can see firefighters getting water on the fire on the second floor. Within moments command gives the order to sound the evacuation tones. The air horns blow and work is concentrated on setting up a defensive operation.
Piringer said the interior crews had already reported concerns about floor conditions. According to Piringer within minutes of the removal of crews the collapse begins.
One firefighter suffered first-degree burns and another had an ankle injury. No residents were injured. A dog in exposure D ran out as firefighters came in.
Second and third alarms were called.
Piringer said work by firefighters, with help from the firewalls, kept the fire from the adjacent townhomes. There was significant damage in exposures B and D from smoke and water and due to firefighters breaching the walls to contain the fire.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Question: How many chiefs does it take to raise a ladder? Answer: 5. But they got the job done. A FF is safe after MA close call.
The video (by Mark Lorenz) and pictures above are from The Salem News of a fire at the Essex Place apartments in Peabody, Massachusetts. In it you will see Firefighter Steve Franzosa come to a window in the room above the fire. At first it was thought he was just catching some air. Chief officers nearby quickly realized Franzosa was in distress after apparently having mask difficulties. The chiefs moved a nearby ladder that was at roof level to the window. Firefighter Franzosa came out head first for a slow slide down the ladder. He has been treated and released.
See a slide show with more pictures from Heather Mancini of The Salem News.
The video by Stan Forman and the article below come from WCVB-TV on TheBostonChannel.com.
NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported that the fire broke out at the Cross Keys Apartment complex on Monday afternoon.
At first, other firefighters thought the 20-year veteran was getting some fresh air near a second-floor window. But they said they soon realized that he needed help.
"At first he appeared like he was just going to get some air, but then it became pretty evident to us that he was in distress," Wakefield Fire Chief Dave Parr said.
Fire chiefs from five departments that responded to the blaze dragged a ladder around the apartment building and hoisted it up to the firefighter at a second-floor window. After tossing his oxygen mask and tank to the ground, the firefighter slid face-first down the ladder away from the thick, black smoke that billowed from the window.
"Basically, we just want to make sure he didn't roll off the ladder as he came out head-first. It looked like he took in quite a bit of smoke, so we quickly ushered him over to the EMS unit," Parr said.
All the 20 residents of the apartment building escaped the blaze safely.
Investigators said they are looking at whether a seal on the firefighter's oxygen mask failed.
"We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It was a team effort. We saw that he was in distress and we took action. We didn't want him to jump out the window," Parr said.
The name of the firefighter was not released. He was taken to an area hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Delayed response to deadly motorcade crash; High-rise blowtorch testing; Are you UFO ready?
Old video of the day: The video isn't really old, but the fire engine is. Take a tour of Manassas, Virginia in a 1967 Seagrave.
Delay in getting help to motorcycle officer who died in Clinton motorcade
Any of us who listen to scanners regularly have often been struck by what can often be a long turn-around time when police radio for fire and ems or when firefighters and medics urgently need the cops. Through the years I have heard the problem in a number of jurisdictions. The Dallas Morning News reports an investigation is underway after just such a delay when a motorcycle officer went down during Senator Hillary Clinton's motorcade in Dallas on Friday:
Officials are investigating a five-minute delay between when Dallas Fire-Rescue dispatchers learned a motorcycle officer had crashed and when paramedics were first told to go to the scene.
Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada They are also trying to understand why police dispatchers had trouble generating a written order for help immediately.
Authorities say a faster response probably would not have saved Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada, who lost control of his motorcycle Friday while escorting presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton to an Oak Cliff rally. But the delay does raise questions about whether the city's new automated dispatch system works as well as it should.
"It does look like it took awhile, and we're looking into it to see if anything went wrong," First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who oversees the police and fire departments, said Saturday.
Fire Deputy Chief Tommy Tine, commander of fire dispatch, declined to comment when reached by telephone. Fire Chief Eddie Burns did not return e-mails requesting comment.
Lt. Joel Lavender, a fire spokesman, sent an e-mail Sunday stating that the department was "gathering factual information related to this incident."
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said "that officers who were at the scene of the accident were concerned about how long it took for an ambulance to respond." He said he could not comment further until he knew all the facts.
Read the article and the timeline.
Weekend coverage
Click here to see some of our weekend stories. Included are the must see video of the explosion in Durango, CO that injured 7 firefighters, police and firefighters and a water battle that went bad in Wisconsin and the latest on the continuing battle in Boston.
High-rise lab
The New York Times looks at testing going on to determine the impact of wind on high-rise firefighting and tactics to counteract the blowtorch effect:
... the instant combination of fire and wind can blast fireballs across rooms and down corridors without warning, within seconds, and at temperatures that render hoses and protective clothing of little use.
In New York City, at least 11 people, including four firefighters, have died as a direct result of those kinds of fires since 1980, and dozens of others have been badly burned. For firefighters, “it is like walking into the barrel of a loaded shotgun,” Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said.
Now, amid an expanding search across the nation for better ways to prevent or contain high-rise infernos, the Fire Department, federal fire experts and engineers from Polytechnic University in Brooklyn have taken over part of Governors Island, the 172-acre former Coast Guard installation off Lower Manhattan, for a week of pyrotechnics intended to test “alternative strategies and tactics for wind-driven events.”
Firefighters from departments in Los Angeles; Chicago; Austin, Tex.; and several other cities across the country will be observing.
Read the entire article
FireGeezer has pictures of the testing
Raw video from house fire in Utica
Some early video from WKTV-TV of a house fire at Riverside Drive and Ashland Avenue in Utica, NY. Click here to see it.
Edmonton fire
This is from a $4 million fire sparked by roofers that left many seniors homeless. Read details.
Calgary fire
A short video from a fire Sunday that destroyed two businesses in Calgary's Connaught neighborhood. Pictures and more details are here.
Do you have a UFO SOP?
A fire service publication adds fuel to the fire for UFO believers.
Pressure tactics
I note some glee from those observing this hose rasslin' exercise.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Must see Durango blast video; CO LODD; FFs vs cops in WI; Boston FFs to boycott parade; DE fire where FF collapsed; Fire in author's hotel
(Updated at 1:59 PM, Sunday) New video of the day and Close Call alert: Check out this video at :56 in. It shows the explosion in Durango, Colorado and firefighters being thrown from the blast. Read more below and on FireGeezer.com. While you are there check out this half-century old ad for M.A. Halligan.
Video from Colorado fire & explosion that injured 7 FFs
Seven firefighters are very lucky after an explosion occurred while working a fire in a row of commercial buildings on Durango, Colorado's Main Avenue. The blast occurred about 50 minutes into the operation Friday afternoon. Three firefighters were thrown off of the roof. All seven, including a deputy chief, have non-life threatening injuries. Deputy Chief Allan Clay and firefighters Nathan McGrath and John Brennan were admitted to Mercy Regional Medical Center for observation. The rest were treated and released. The leading theory is that it was a natural gas explosion. The Durango Herald has a number of articles on the fire and explosion and more pictures. Click here to see the coverage.
Also in CO, a LODD from a fire truck rollover
A volunteer firefighter with the Ault/Pierce VFD in Weld County, CO was killed Saturday morning enroute to a medical emergency. Captain Shane Stewart was along on the rig when it overturned. The Colorado State Patrol says Captain Stewart was not wearing a seat belt. See more pictures, video and read more details from KUSA-TV.
2nd alarm at one of STATter 911's favorite haunts
It has been a rough 7-months for the owners of El Pollo Rico in Wheaton, MD. Last August they made headlines after an immigration raid that led to the arrest of its owners. Saturday, a fire in the restaurant threatened the strip mall. Montgomery County firefighters needed a second alarm to handle the blaze. Watch the story.
Separate from the restaurant's stance on immigration or fire prevention, I am very fond of their chicken. Before last November's retirement of my Sunday night partner, photographer Frank McDermott, the Wheaton branch was one of our regular dinner stops.
Fire vs Police, Wisconsin style
It seems the firefighters in Brookfield, WI doing some training got a little carried away and wet down some vehicles. Maybe not a big deal. But the vehicles belonged to town police officers. And a truck belonging to one of the cops had the window open. It apparently got a little ugly after that. In the end, the firefighters were charged with falsifying training records and the police officers received verbal warnings for how they handled the mess. From reading the outcome, including comments from the police chief, it appears everything is not back to peace and love. I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually saw another one of those dashcam videos of a firefighter with bracelets on. Read the story.
Found Fairfax FFs have tips for hikers
Alex Obert and Steve McCay are getting a lot of good natured ribbing after having to be rescued from the White Mountain range in New Hampshire. They met the Washington press on Friday, including 9NEWS NOW reporter Audrey Barnes. Click here to watch the story.
Multi-alarm fire in Boonsboro, MD destroys hotel owned by author Nora Roberts. Her son's restaurant on Main Street burned last year. Roberts tells us she will rebuild.
See early pictures of the fire
Watch Scott Broom's report from 9NEWS NOW at 5:00 PM
One can imagine an old and historic hotel in a small town as a nice backdrop for a romance novel. Well, a woman who is known for writing those type books owns such a hotel in Boonsboro, MD (Washington Co.). Unfortunately for Nora Roberts, a fire this morning that apparently started in that hotel has gone to 4 alarms.
Mutual aid from Frederick County and Jefferson County, WV has been brought in. The Boone Hotel is in the heart of the town at Alternate Route 40 and Route 34 at 1 S. Main Street.
This is the second fire on Boonsboro's Main Street for the family of Nora Roberts in the last 13 months. On January 19, 2007 her son's restaurant down the street at 4 N. Main Street was destroyed by fire. The picture above of that 2-alarm fire is from BoonsboroFire.com. The fire caused $150,000 in damage and was blamed on an electrical problem.
Contacted by phone, Nora Roberts told 9NEWS NOW'S Bill Starks that the family will rebuild. The family also owns a bookstore in town and her son's latest restaurant is in the U.S. Hotel building across the street from today's fire. According to the author, the previous fire was caused by malfunctioning equipment. Roberts says this latest fire is not just devastating for her family, but for the whole town.
The photo above from Mike Hoffman on Your4State.com. Click here to see more.
Other pictures from the Herald-Mail.com.
Washington County Fire and Rescue are on the scene of a 4alarm fire in Boonsboro, just west of Frederick.
Fire officials tell 9NEWS NOW they responded to the unit block of North Main Street in downtown Boonsboro shortly after 7:30am to the Historic Boone Hotel.
The building was under renovation and in the process of being turned into a bed and breakfast. Witnesses say they believe a propane heater fell over igniting the fire, causing an explosion.
The fire has spread to four possibly five adjacent structures.
The were reports of people initially trapped, but were removed safely by firefighters.
Firefighters from Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia helped to battle this blaze.
No reports of injuries at this time.
St. Patrick's Day parade boycott is part of fallout from ongoing battle in Boston. Impairment not an issue in LODD report
Saturday the Boston Globe reports the firefighters' union is calling for a boycott of this year's St. Patrick's Day parade. Friday, the paper reported on the findings of a report into the August LODD of two firefighters. That resulted in a series of press conferences on Friday that showed everyone is still far apart. Excerpts from Friday's story:
One of the two firefighters who died in an August restaurant blaze in West Roxbury entered the burning kitchen with neither his face mask, which was found on a table, nor his radio, which was left behind at the fire station. When a grease-fueled fireball exploded from the ceiling, the firefighter tried to feel his way out along a hose, but the line led him deeper into the building.
This revelation about Firefighter Paul J. Cahill's death is contained in a controversial report written by a Boston Fire Department panel, composed entirely of union firefighters, which the city plans to release today.
The report has triggered an extraordinary exchange between the fire commissioner and the union over whether drug- and alcohol-impairment played a role in the death of the two firefighters on Aug. 29 inside the Tai Ho Mandarin and Cantonese Restaurant.
The panel's report does not address whether Cahill or Warren J. Payne was impaired by drugs or alcohol, saying panel members didn't have access to autopsies on the two men. News reports on the autopsies said they showed that Cahill was legally drunk and that Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.
The panel did, however, determine that drugs and alcohol played no role in the deaths.
"The board of inquiry could find no factual indications supporting that alcohol/drug impairment contributed to or caused these two firefighters" to perish, the report says.
That finding prompted Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser to dispatch a letter to the board yesterday that said, "I do not believe that there is evidence to dismiss possible impairment."
Fraser's letter said that two other firefighters with Cahill escaped from the kitchen, but that Cahill did not. "Was FF [Firefighter] Cahill impaired, which resulted in him not being able to egress from the building?" Fraser wrote. "Why was he not wearing his facepiece at this point? Could being under the influence of alcohol have contributed to FF Cahill's disorientation and decision not to wear his facepiece?"
The board of inquiry report was obtained by the Globe yesterday. A copy of Fraser's letter was also obtained by the Globe.
The 134-page report contains 60 recommendations, foremost among them a call for companies that install and clean kitchen exhaust systems in Massachusetts restaurants to be licensed and regulated. The panel urged passage of a state law assigning oversight of the kitchen-exhaust installation and cleaning industries to a government agency that would hold them accountable.
The board's investigation found that the fire was caused by a buildup of grease that had escaped from a hole in the kitchen's ventilation system.
The board of inquiry explained that it could not address whether the firefighters were impaired, because the results of autopsies on the two men were "not available to the board of inquiry." In October, two government officials with direct knowledge of the findings told the Globe that the autopsies found that Payne had traces of cocaine in his system and that Cahill's blood-alcohol content was 0.27, three times the legal limit to drive in Massachusetts.
State law requires that the district attorney approve the disclosure of autopsy reports. A spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, Jake Wark, said last night that the office had never received a "formal request" from the board of inquiry for the autopsy results.
Hard feelings and fines over the November burning of a home in the Syracuse, NY area. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation Captain Woody Erickson said the Ira Fire Department and a homeowner will each have to pay $3000. Here are excerpts from the article in Newsday:
"The Ira Fire Department said this burn was set up as a training exercise," Erickson said. "In fact, it wasn't. It was a burning for demolition."
Regardless, the fire occurred on lakefront property well inside the Plainville Fire District borders, and without their knowledge or permission. The homeowner had arranged for the Ira fire department to demolish the house in exchange for a $2,000 tax-deductible donation, Erickson said.
Plainville Fire Commissioner Dan Power noted that local lawmakers had banned controlled burns in the district, located 15 miles west of Syracuse.
Ira Fire Chief Gene Lalone Sr. said his department never intended to offend the Plainville department. He thought he had notified a Plainville assistant fire chief.
"Apparently, he didn't let everybody know," Lalone said of the assistant chief. "There's no way we would go in there without notifying them."
Nice shot
I was alerted to this one by 9NEWS NOW photographer and STATter 911 world headquarters' neighbor Greg Guise. Greg liked the lighting on this shot of a fire Wednesday in Altoona, PA. The picture was taken by Altoona Mirror photographer J.D. Cavrich. The fire in a vacant house spread to two other homes. Read more. While Greg and I agree on this one, I have been a little concerned that his eyesight is becoming an issue. Greg used to shoot beautiful pictures. Yesterday he shot one of my standups that looked awful. It was so messed up it made me look old, fat and bald.
2nd alarm on arrival
No date on this house fire from Troy, New Hampshire.
Fire on Kenmore
That is the only information about this fire.
House fire in Delaware
From a week ago, February 16, a daytime house fire with crews from Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach. This is the fire you may have read about on Firehouse.com and elsewhere. Crews were able to revive the driver of 86-9 who had gone into cardiac arrest. Read the details.
Must not have read the warning labels attached to the fire bomb
Well, they have warning labels on everything else. From the UK, an arsonist attempting to set a nightclub on fire doesn't do a very good job. But he sure sets himself on fire. The video of the January 19 incident in Atherton was released by police in an effort to make an arrest. Read more.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Early pictures from Boonsboro, MD 4-alarm fire
These pictures were sent to wusa9.com by Steve Myers
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lawsuit in DC dropped; More troubles between volunteers & PGFD; Baltimore cuts safety officer; Medic in trouble; New videos
Old video of the day: Actually not that old. June 21, 2005. This is the 5-alarm Piquette fire in Detroit. This building first housed a number of automobile companies, including Studebaker. Read more about the fire.
Rosenbaum lawsuit dropped
Marcus Rosenbaum announced this morning that the family of former New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum is officially dropping the lawsuit against the District of Columbia. The family believes the city has lived up to its promise to move toward solving long standing issues with the city's ambulance service. But both the mayor and the Rosenbaums say there is a lot more to do.
Social halls are latest battleground between PGFD and volunteers
Tensions seem to be running high these days between volunteers and the administration of the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department. It isn't just the issue of the convicted arsonist who was running calls at the Ritchie VFD. The document above is leading to a press conference planned for tonight by volunteer fire departments in Prince George's County.
This piece of paper, signed by a PGFD fire inspector, is a correction order to shut down a birthday party held at the social hall/meeting room at Station 855 on Saturday. It is the latest in a series of correction orders issued at stations across the county preventing certain functions from being held.
It is a bit of a complicated issue that also involves the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources. But what it boils down to is this. The volunteers believe the county is stopping its ability to raise money. The PGFD has expressed concern about safety at the fire stations. There have been some violent incidents at some of the functions held inside the social halls.
The issue at Station 855 is more complicated because it has operated for years under a temporary Use and Occupancy Permit. This revolves around a years long dispute between Prince George's County and the contractor who built the station. The U and O was cited in the above correction order as one reason for shutting down the birthday party.
We have contacted PGFD for comments on this issue. Chief Spokesman Mark Brady says they will consider responding when they know details of specific allegations from the press conference.
Baltimore cuts safety officer at training academy
An independent safety officer put in place after the death of a recruit during a training exercise in Baltimore City last year has been axed due to budget restraints. Annie Linskey, who has covered this issue since Racheal Wilson's death last February, has the story in today's Baltimore Sun. Here are excerpts:
Department officials said there are five instructors at the academy who are certified to act as safety officers to monitor training exercises.
But all are within the training academy's chain of command; the reassigned safety officer had answered to an outside commander, giving him an independent voice that state workplace regulators had agreed was important for ensuring that rules are enforced.
Acting Fire Chief Gregory B. Ward said yesterday that the personnel shift is an expression of confidence in the training academy staff -- which was overhauled after the exercise that killed Racheal M. Wilson on Feb. 9, 2007. Increased training and oversight have "led me to be comfortable enough that the academy can handle safety on their own," he said. "I'm real comfortable with where safety is now."
Leaders of the two fire unions, which are beginning contract negotiations this week with the city, reacted with outrage and cynicism. Some members said the move proves that the city is not willing to pay for adequate safety; others suggested that the changes were done for show in the first place and not really needed.
"They flooded the academy with staff to get all of the regulators off their back," said Bob Sledgeski, the secretary and treasurer of the firefighters union. "Now that things have quieted down there, they are slowly eroding the staffing out there and putting people at risk all over again."
Medic charged
2-11 in Chicago
No pot of gold. Just a lot of hard work Tuesday at this 3-story apartment building on Chicago's South Side. The photo above from the Tribune's Scott Strazzante. Read the story. Watch the video.
Car fire with explosions
As car fires go this one from Lausanne, Switzerland early Wednesday seems somewhat interesting. A couple of small blasts and a bit of a stubborn fire for such a small vehicle.
Train fire
Don't know where or when
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
OC reverses course; Chief & prez out over arsonist/FF; Blast kills chief; Chief leaves burning home to get fire engine; A horse is a horse
Old video of the day: Really a collection of still pictures of some older, mostly East Coast fire equipment. It is mixed with mid-1980s New Castle County, DE fire radio. There are some Ocean City, MD parade pictures included.
OC council offers top job to volunteer chief
Tuesday night the Ocean City, MD council reversed course a bit. On an interim basis they have offered OCVFC Chief Chris Larmore the top position on the condition he step down from the volunteer organization. Read the details. Also, scroll down for a related item.
Next step in arsonist/FF battle leaves chief and president suspended
STATter 911 has learned that the president and chief of the Ritchie VFD have been operationally suspended by the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department. This is the latest development after STATter 911 discovered a convicted arsonist had been responding to emergency calls from the Ritchie station.
President Dave Crigger confirms that a PGFD major hand-delivered the letter from Lt. Col. Tyrone Wells. According to Crigger, the letter claims the county's investigation into the Napoleon Queen situation has been completed. For allowing Queen, who was arrested as part of a 1990 arson ring, to ride calls, Crigger and Chief William Cunningham have been operationally suspended.
Crigger noted that this letter was personally delivered, but says PGFD did not follow that procedure when investigators discovered Queen's past. Part of this dispute centers on PGFD's claim they notified Ritchie's leadership in a September 10, 2007 letter that Queen was not to be part of emergency operations. Ritchie officials still maintain they received no such correspondence.
Crigger points out that despite the September letter, PGFD still has Queen on its rolls. Crigger cites Monday's call from the department's infectious control office saying that Queen needed to get his hepatitis B shot or face suspension. Ritchie's leadership has accused PGFD of "falsely representing the volunteers".
Queen rode with the Ritchie VFD from July 2007 until STATter 911 contacted officials on February 5. Prior to that he was a member of the Bryans Road VFD. At the time of his 1990 arrest Queen was a member of the Boulevard Heights VFD in Prince George's County.
Prince George's County Fire & EMS Chief Spokesman Mark Brady provided this comment to STATter 911: "A request for a copy of the internal review document concerning Napoleon Queen has been denied. The personnel involved in the outcome of the review have a right appeal the Fire/EMS Department’s decision and it would be unfair to provide this document until all parties involved have had due process".
All Michael Hays did was stop by to pick up the mail from the Brazos Canyon VFD (New Mexico). When he opened the door to the fire house on Tuesday an explosion killed the recently retired chief and destroyed the building. Propane is suspected as the fuel for the blast. Read more from KRQE-TV. Watch the story.
IAFF Local 4269 has posted Emergency Services Director Joseph Theobald's plan for the future of the fire/EMS service in Ocean City, MD. You can read it for yourself here.
New home
Down the road from Ocean City, Delmarvanow.com has a sneak preview of the Salisbury Fire Department's (MD) new home. Take a look.
Bill Carey at Charge The Line! is getting a bit nostalgic about the Salisbury FD. Read more.
Missing FFs heading home
In case you missed our updates, Fairfax County technicians Alex Obert and Steve McCay are due home today after being rescued from a mountain in New Hampshire. Watch the reunion and hear their story.
Fire chief hurt trying to save own home
60-year-old Tommy Collins was home Tuesday afternoon with his family in Berry, Alabama. When fire broke out in the house, Collins made sure everyone was out and then drove to the Wiley VFD. There, Chief Tommy Collins, a retired career firefighter, drove the fire engine back to his house. At that point, it was too late. All that is left is the foundation. Collins suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation. Read more.
The bridge wasn't washed out, but it might as well have been. Icy roads in Ontario wiped out much of the first-alarm heading to a garage fire. FireGeezer has the story.
Suspicious minds had this Elvis singing "Jailhouse Rock"
Elvis impersonator Frederick Denmark is probably all shook up over his stint in jail. Now out on bail he may be lonesome tonight. It seems many of his friends are not happy about Denmark's claims that his house was destroyed by fire. There was no house fire, but that apparently didn't stop Denmark from taking the money and goods collected at a Tampa fundraiser in his honor. Read more.
Helmet-cam video on CT church fire
NJ building fire
Must have been one of them Hollywood horses like Mr. Ed or Trigger to get service like this
April 9, 1995 and the Los Angeles City Fire Department has dedicated a fair amount of resources from the air and the ground to for a horse rescue.
Ocean City reverses course and offers top spot to volunteer. Larmore must step down at OCVFC to take job.
OCEAN CITY -- Council members voted 4-3 in favor Monday night for Mayor Rick Meehan to send a letter to Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Larmore requesting he serve as interim fire chief for the entire town with the condition that he step down from his position in the volunteer fire company, as proposed by Council President Joe Mitrecic.
"I was up until 11 o'clock last night working on this," he said. "Everything in here was basically discussed at the last council meeting."
During last week's work session Larmore made a presentation to the council on the previous memorandum of understanding between the town and the volunteer fire company when it was expressed that one fire chief was desired.
Larmore volunteered for this position until a nationwide search could be done to find someone with the experience for the position. The council's vote was split at the time, three in favor, three against and one abstention.
Meehan and council members Mary Knight and Lloyd Martin agreed with Mitrecic's proposal.
"This has been an extremely trying week for all of us," Knight said. "He really does represent and is responsible for the wishes of his members and this would take him out of that responsibility and his only responsibility would be to the people serving as our paid and volunteer firefighters."
But some members of the council felt the recommendation came out of the blue.
"I would have liked to read and understand this proposition beforehand," said Councilwoman Margaret Pillas.
And Councilman Jim Hall said he just could not agree with the condition Mitrecic listed.
"I agree with you 95 percent," he said. "I think this serves both the volunteer firefighters, the paid staff and the mayor and council, but why would you ask this man to step down as fire chief from the volunteer fire company, which he was unanimously voted as. He works for free, I might add."
Meehan said being promoted to an administrative position that would oversee both paid and volunteer firefighters would require Larmore to be impartial.
"I really think it is in Chris's best interest to resign if he takes the job as chief of the entire fire service," Meehan said. "What I do not want to see is him put in an awkward position."
Bruce Leiner, one of the many community members who spoke during the meeting, presented a solution.
"This is an interim position, there is no reason for him to step down," he said. "The proposal could require that if his position were to last, say, more than a year, then he would have to step down. But do not let everyone walk out of here divided tonight."
Regardless of the requirement to step down from his position as chief of the volunteer fire company, Larmore said what he really wanted was support from elected officials that would not allow the discussion to end in a divide.
"I would like the council to continue with this but I would like to take a 7-0 vote back to my membership to discuss this issue with them," he said.
But the council could not provide that.
"We can't play to a room full of people, we have to play to the 7,000 people who live here," said Councilwoman Nancy Howard. "We did have an agreement and it was working, and I say we go back to that and work as quickly as we can to getting a paid chief in here."
Larmore will discuss the written letter from Meehan with his membership and return to the council to rehash the situation in the future.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
PGFD suspends Ritchie chief & president; VA FFs missing in NH are safe; Close call at 3-alarm fire; Stafford profile; Capt. has stroke while driving
Video of the day and CLOSE CALL ALERT: I was asleep at the switch and missed the above moment from Tom Yeatman's video of Sunday's 3-alarm fire in Laurel, MD. One of our reader's, Matt, spotted it and wrote this warning - "Watch the Firefighter taking down the fence in front of the masterstream, get's his helmet and almost his head blown off by the masterstream. GOTA PAY ATTENTION! Those things will hurt ya. Again glad everyones OK". Click the image above to see the video. We've slowed and isolated it. One chief pointed out that if the firefighter had been wearing his chin strap, he might have suffered a broken neck. Amid all the controversy of a few hot topics we've been covering lately, it's nice to pass along an educational moment. File it under situational awareness.
New developments in Ritchie VFD vs PGFD: Chief and president suspended
Dave Crigger, president of Ritchie VFD, tells STATter 911 a letter from Prince George's County Fire/EMS Lt. Col. Tyrone Wells was hand-delivered to him this evening ordering Crigger's suspension. Crigger said that Chief 837, William Cunningham has also been operationally suspended. According to Crigger, the letter states the suspensions are a result of PGFD's investigation into a convicted arsonist responding on calls at Ritchie. Crigger points out that there was no personally delivered letter when PGFD's background check determined on September 10, 2007 that Napoleon Queen was not to be part of emergency operations. Crigger has said, despite PGFD's claims, Ritchie never received any notification about Queen with the exception of the county's recent request that Queen come in for his hepatitis B shot or face suspension.
We have contacted PGFD for comment. If want to read more or provide your own comment on this issue, click here.
Two Fairfax County FFs missing in White Mountains of New Hampshire are safe
In an image from WMUR-TV, Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department technicians Steve McCay and Alex Obert meet the press after being found this morning in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Click here for the latest and coverage that began yesterday evening. New way of doing business
This is an update on a story we brought you in December. A TV station's investigation into the response to an ice rescue in Adams County, Colorado has now prompted changes. The station showed how ADCOM, the Adams County Communications Center, failed to send the closest dive team. Click here for details of the new procedures.
Captain suffers stroke while driving rig
On Saturday San Bernadino County, CA Captain Vance Tomaselli was driving a fire engine to a call when he suffered a stroke. He remains unconscious in critical condition. From the Press-Enterprise:
"I have a feeling he knew what was going on," said Thom Wellman, San Bernardino County Fire Department division chief.
"He was trying to tell (radio dispatchers) that he knew something was going wrong with him, and he was trying to get off the road when he sideswiped a tree."
If Tomaselli had lost control of the engine, the rig likely would have plunged down a mountainside, Wellman said. That could have killed both occupants.
"We're talking 600 feet -- a long ways," Wellman said.
Instead, Tomaselli negotiated the turn from Jenks Lake Road onto Camp Edwards Road, where other firefighters came to his aid and summoned a medical helicopter.
By many accounts, Tomaselli is an independent soul.
"Ornery, strong-willed, stubborn," Wellman said. "But a man with probably as big a heart as any man I've ever met in my life -- a man who has always put the community before himself.