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Is There a Firefighting Faucet in Your Future?

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A PAIR OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN ENGLAND have just won an international  design competition award for their innovative kitchen faucet.  Dubbed the Automist Faucet, it is a sprinkler-type device that ejects water under enough pressure to mist it and supposedly extinguish kitchen fires.  According to The Guardian:

The creation can be fitted to any standard kitchen tap. If a fire breaks out, a built-in heat detector triggers a pump installed under the sink which sends out a high pressure mist of water droplets through nozzles at the base of the tap unit, suppressing the blaze.

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“We learned that fire extinguishers can sometimes actually be a hazard, because people stay and try to fight the fire rather than just getting out. We wanted to design something that would use a completely different approach,” one of the inventors said.

Not only does the misting displace the oxygen, but it has a cooling effect, too.  The two designers, Yusuf Muhammed and Paul Thomas have teamed up with a pair of design engineers to form a company to further test the device and then market it.

When asked about the dangers of applying water to a grease of cooking oil fire, they tell Business Week:  “It’s an issue we’ll have to overcome as we move to commercialize our idea. But mist is different: the water particles are really small. You’re not throwing water on oil. Instead, water turns to steam which gets rid of the heat, it displaces the oxygen around the fire, and that stops the combustion process of the fire itself. These days they even use water mist sprinklers to protect industrial deep fat fryers.”

This promotional video illustrates the operational theory of the Automist:

Folks in the Firegeezer generation will no doubt recall the John Bean high-pressure pumpers that utilized the same principle back in the 1960′s.  Ideally, it allowed you to extinguish an interior room-and-contents fire with less than 50 gals. of water.  Using a 4-stage centrifugal pump, it generated fire flows at up to 500 psi through a booster line, creating a high-pressure mist similar to the concept used in this new faucet.

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Posted by on September 10, 2009 • Filed under: Fire-ology, technology

Morning Lineup – September 10

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The annual coming-out party that Apple Computers throws every September is going on now, and as was planned, they generated some headlines in the Tech World.  Personally, I’ve never had any direct experience with Apple products.  There’s no deliberate or moral intention for that, it’s just the way things have worked out.

Yesterday’s big announcement had to do with price cuts for the iPods and a new introduction.  According to Phillip Elmer-DeWitt at CNNMoney.com, they have:  Introduced a 2 GB iPod shuffle for $49 (the 4 GB model is still $79).  Firegeezer has no idea what a “shuffle” is.  I thought it’s what I did when I go into the next room.  The entry level 8GB iPod touch now costs $199 ($30 off), the 32 GB model costs $299 ($100 off) and there’s a new 64 GB model for $399.  The 8 GB nano (now with video) goes for $149 (no change) and the 16 GB model for $179 ($20 off).  What’s a nano?

I hope that doesn’t upset GeezerDotter.  She just bought an iPod last week, but I don’t know what model it is.  I know she would be disappointed if hers was one of those that  got the markdown.  Myself, if I wanted one of those types of digital tools, I wouldn’t go with iPod because you’re limited to only using AT&T for the wireless service.  And I am dedicated to avoiding doing business with AT&T at all costs because of some past atrocious customer service problems.  Their marketing policies, in my opinion, are just a hair short of being classed as fraudulent.  On the other hand, Son of Geezer has a similar device (I can’t remember the brand) that is hooked up with T-Mobile and his gadget seems to be just as effective.

I think one of the “fun” things about the iPod is the availability of thousands of “apps” that you can download to turn your telephone into a complete entertainment center.  It’s like going on vacation whenever you want to.  Those pocket-communicators seem to be the future of personal communications and information-gathering, and I’m looking forward to the day when I can genuinely justify the expense of buying and connecting one.  But I’m the sort who watches a while to see how it sorts out, and I usually wait until buying something like that is more of a necessity rather than novelty.  I hope that day hurries up and gets here.

Now let’s hurry up and get this equipment checked out.  I need to shuffle over to the Bunn-O-Matic and get a fresh pot started.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on September 10, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Misguided Training Evolution Injures 9 Children

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A POORLY-PLANNED FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING EVOLUTION IN Wikau-Hasslau, Germany, injured eleven civilians including nine children.  The strange public training situation took place in a vacant 5-story apartment building and was supposedly designed to teach people how to react when they find their home filled with smoke.

The local volunteer fire brigade chose the wrong substance to generate the smoke however, because the smoke suddenly ignited in an “enormous explosion,” blowing out the windows sending shards over 50 yards away and causing innumerable cuts to the spectators.  The injured children were ages 4 to 14, some of them children of the firefighters’, and three of them plus one adult required hospitalization.

wilkau a andreas wohland

photo by Andreas Wohland

It hasn’t been disclosed yet what substance the FF’s were using to create the smoke, but witnesses saw them carrying gasoline-type cans and a large tub into the building.  The police criminal investigation agency has begun the investigation into the accident.

Freiepresse has the STORY.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: Training

You Don't Say!

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Dueling is still legal in Paraguay.
But the law requires both duelers to be
registered blood donors.

*  *  *  *  *


Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: You Don't Say

The New Traffic Ticket Champion Is ….

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JOSHUA BRACCI, 21, OF GREECE, NEW YORK (Rochester area), who piled up 56 violations in 13 minutes on Tuesday night.  It all started at precisely 8:24 pm when he triggered a New York State Police radar gun at 111 mph. 

The pursuit was on and he led the local Greece officers and the troopers through a number of city streets, striking a parked car along the way and then driving into a cruiser just before he was apprehended.  Part of the time he had turned off his lights in an effort to elude the police officers, but helpful neighbors kept pointing out to them Bracci’s route of travel.  It all came to an end at 8:37 when the dolt turned down a dead-end street and couldn’t go any further.

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Joshua Bracci
(not yet ready for NASCAR)

He is now in the Monroe County jail, held under a $25,000 cash bond while he awaits his first court appearance on Friday to answer the 56 chargesthat  include first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, both felonies, and driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, unlawfully fleeing police, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, leaving the scene of an accident.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has the STORY.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: crime

3-Alarms Saves the Town Hall

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THE DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS, TOWN HALL IS UNDERGOING a 1-year, $6.4 million renovation due to be finished by January.  The schedule might slip a little bit after Tuesday’s fire in the roof that did a half-million in damages and brought many nearby fire departments to help the Danvers FD.

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Salem News / Deborah Parker photo

It is believed to have begun in some roof sheathing around 1:30 pm where some tradesmen were soldering.  The Salem News reports:

The fire broke out as workers were soldering copper flashing in the area at the left corner of the triangular cornice, said Paul McGonagle, the project manager for the architectural firm Gienapp Design Associates of Danvers.

“It got so hot in this one corner, it started burning the sheathing underneath the copper,” McGonagle said. The 3/4-inch-thick wooden sheathing is original to the building. The fire then followed the sheathing right up the roof line.

The town offices have been temporarily moved to other locations during the renovation and the building was empty except for the 20 workmen.

The fire department is being given strong credit with saving the historic structure which is the town’s oldest public building still standing.  It was built in 1855.  The Danvers Herald briefly describes the FD’s actions:

Flames leapt out of the attic on the Holten Street side of the 1855 building, and firemen climbed up on two separate ladder trucks with hatchets and hoses, trying to contain the flames to one section of the roof.

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Salem News / Deborah Parker photo

The Topsfield Fire Department was soon on the scene, adding another ladder to help battle the fire. In addition, firefighters from Salem, Beverly, Middleton and Peabody joined the Danvers crew at the scene, bringing the total at the scene to about 25 to 30, said Farrell.

Meanwhile, North Reading, Hamilton and Wenham covered the Danvers fire stations, he said. Lyons Ambulance also sent two ambulances, and helped at least one person, who was visible on a stretcher.

Because of the location of the fire, it was very hard to get to, said Deputy Fire Chief Farrell. In addition, there were interior walls that inhibited the firefighters.

Marquis explained the firefighters were trying to keep the fire over to the left side of the peak, where it had begun; therefore, they were shooting water from the right side and hacking the hot wood away.

Read the full story in the Salem News HERE and the Danvers Herald HERE.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Vacant Brewery Building Burns in UK

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IN WHAT SEEMS TO BE A SEMI-ANNUAL EVENT, another vacant brewery building in the UK burned down late Tuesday night in the Midlands near Wolverhampton.

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West Midlands Fire Service photo

The 3-story brick factory complex has been vacant for three years after having been used as a brewery by a variety of owners for 130+ years.  A watchman discovered the blaze but it took hold rapidly and spread quickly through the three connected buildings.  15 engines and 3 aerials were dispatched to the fire and were concentrated mainly to contain the fire and prevent any spread or transmission of flying embers.

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Express & Star photo

Originally owned by Walter Showell as part of his Crosswells Brewery empire, the brewery was sold in 1957 to Ind Coope before being taken over by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries in 2000. It wa shut down for good in 2006.  It was more recently in the news when back in May, a man had to have his arm amputated after getting a severe electrical shock while he was trying to steal copper wiring out of the building.

BBC News has some raw video of the fire HERE.
The Wolverhampton Express & Star has the STORY.
West Midlands Fire Service WEBSITE.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: beer, fire

Do You Know This Amateur Arsonist?

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A SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, RESTAURANT RECENTLY INSTALLED a video security system following a break-in and burglary.  Just in time, it seems, to record a budding arsonist developing his skills on a row of dumpsters behind the building.  The young firesetter needs more practice though, as you will see him trying over and over again to get one of them rolling.  Fortunately he wasn’t able to get them all rocking because they were only ten feet away from an apartment building.

KING-TV brings us the story:

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: arson

Why We Block Lanes – cont'd.

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WE HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTING SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE EFFECTIVE lane blocking with fire apparatus has saved the lives of fire and EMS personnel at accident scenes.  Perhaps the emergency responders in Pinellas County, Florida, will consider joining the long list of fire/rescue departments who are doing this.

Late Monday night the Pinellas Park police and a Sunstar ambulance were at the scene of a single-car accident.  A passenger in the car who was injured had just been loaded on the ambulance stretcher to be placed in the unit for transport when a car came barreling into the crash scene at 60 mph.

The errant car smashed into the rear of a police car, driving it into the back of the ambulance while glancing off of the cot and knocking the patient off and onto the street.  Fortunately, a police officer who was in the direct path of the speeding car saw it and yelled to the paramedics as he was jumping onto the hood of his cruiser to escape being crushed between the two vehicles.  The medics  shoved the cot out of the way and then dived over the concrete road barrier.

The driver of the car was taken into custody after he failed the field sobriety tests and blew a 0.219 BAT into the breathalyzer.  He was also charged with driving on a suspended license, but as tv station WTVT Ch. 13 found out, the 21-yr.-old drunk has never had a driver’s license.  Watch this disturbing video report on why he never got his license and then wonder why he’s not in jail:

Read more about the incident at Tampa Bay Online HERE.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Hydrant at the Ready

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, IS NOT BEING CREDITED lately as having a well-functioning city government.  Their finances are a mess and the only solution they seem to be able to come up with is to lay off more and more city workers.

It looks like they’ve laid off one worker too many in the water department, though, because they can’t seem to get anybody to come out and shut off a fire hydrant that has been running for more than a month.  WTXF-TV Ch. 29 reported on it yesterday:

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: hydrants

Morning Lineup – September 9

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We’ve got some odds’n'ends to bring up this morning, so we’ll just run through those:

*  We’ve already gone thru the 09-09-09-09 stuff at yesterday’s Lineup (here), so I’ll just remind you to watch the clock.

*  Longtime reader Christian L. followed up on the LODD in Germany and relays to us that the coroner listed the  initial cause of death as “heart failure.”  Of course, every death involves a heart failure, so I guess that means he has ruled out any outside cause like being struck by something.  But it will take a few days, I’m sure, to find out why a physically fit man’s heart stopped in the first place.

*  While I was sleeping last night, Dave Statter at STATter911  (who never sleeps) chased down a couple of video’s of the “sinkhole fire engine” being pulled out of the hole.  They show the after-dive damages HERE and HERE.

*  The IAFF announced the totals raised for MDA and Jerry’s Kids over the holiday weekend HERE.  The telethon raised a grand total of more than $60 million, of which $28,509,000 was generated by IAFF activities.  The three locals that raised the most were:  Houston, TX Local 341 with nearly $572,000; Fairfax County, VA Local 2068 with $450,000; and Los Angles County, CA Local 1014 with $355,000.

*  The tragic accident the other day that involved a Brooklyn EMS deputy chief (HERE) colliding head-on with a mo-ped has been concluded with no charges being brought.  Still no word on the condition of the deliveryman on the mo-ped yet, though.

Now let’s get ourselves ready for the big 09 day by first checking out the equipment.  My feet keep trying to pace me over to the Bunn-O-Matic to get some more coffee started, so I’d better get that taken care of.  We’ll meet in the day room in a little bit.

Posted by on September 9, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Around the Fire Web

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*  Bill Gabbert at Wildfire Today has a nice photo gallery that he took while observing a prescribed fire being set in South Dakota on Thursday.  I always enjoy good photo subjects in candid activity.  Take a look at them HERE.

*  Firefighter Spot has just loaded a batch of good videos and photos both.  I liked the report on this morning’s fire in a Queens warehouse HERE.

*  STATter911 has a report on a pretty hefty fire at a used car dealership HERE.  Who knew that those places could burn like that?

*  Mike Legeros has found another fire station with slides in it.  Correction, two stations with slides.  Go to his posting HERE at the Raleigh/Wake Firefighters Blog and then click on his link to the photo gallery with another 31 pics.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Don't Try This at Home

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A PROFESSIONAL STUNT MAN ATTEMPTED TO SET a new world’s record for the longest full-body burn.  That’s movie talk for those guys who walk around in the film while they seem to be burning up.

Colin Decker and the rest of his team from Fire 4 Hire special effects set up the attempt at the M & M Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia on Sunday, intent on breaking the current record of 2:30 minutes.  But the weather didn’t want to cooperate with their stunt, sending in some untimely wind gusts that kept blowing the fire in the wrong direction.  Each time he’d turn into the wind to try and catch a breath, it would shift and blow the flames back into his face.  Alas, he had to stop after 1:30, dropping to the ground was his signal to extinguish him.

This video from AP recorded the attempt:

“It didn’t happen the way it was supposed to,” Decker said through a face-full of blisters.  “I couldn’t feel my spots or feel where it was going.  There was nothing I could do.  The heat was just way too much in my face.”  The head stunt coordinator promised that soon they will make the attempt again.  After they get Decker a new pair of jeans, they’ll be back.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: culture

Fire Engine Gets That Sinking Feeling

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Updated with fresh video.  Scroll down.

Update #2:  It’s out!  Scroll down.

A LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE ENGINE STRAYED OFF COURSE this morning and tumbled into a sinkhole created by a water main break.

KNBC-TV is reporting that the truck is still slowly sinking into the pit.

City fire units and Department of Water and Power repair crews were at the scene of a water main break that is gushing water near the intersection of Hartsook Street and  Bellingham Avenue, located east of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and south of  Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, according to city fire Capt. Rick  McClure. The break was reported about 5:20 a.m., McClure said.

The fire truck blundered into it and was left with  its back half protruding at a 45-degree angle.No injuries were immediately reported.

KTLA-TV has posted this video taken from their helicopter:
 
 

This is the third major water main break in the past four days in that same area.

Update, 4:30 pm:

It  goes in a little deeper, but that mighty battery keeps the lights flashing:

Update #2, 6 pm Eastern:
Shortly after 1 pm Pacific time, a heavy-duty wrecker successfully retrieved the sinking fire engine from the sinkhole.

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Los Angeles Times

California Sinkhole

AP / Nick Ut photo

The fire engine was in the neighborhood checking on the flooding call when the driver felt that the road was unstable.  They were in the process of backing out from the danger area when the weight of the truck caused it to fall through the undermined pavement.  Road authorities believe that a car’s weight would not have triggered the collapse.  All four firefighters escaped safely through the windows as the water and mud began pouring into the cab.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: apparatus

Fiery Crash Kills Two in Spectacular Wreck

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TWO PEOPLE DIED AND ONE MORE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED Monday morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when a tractor-trailer rear-ended an SUV.  The vehicles were crossing an overpass when the SUV had slowed for a traffic backup in a construction zone.  The semi- rig crashed into it and immediately set both of them on fire.  The tractor-trailer then crashed through the guardrail and tumbled down an embankment to the freeway below.

grandrapids a jay stob via woodtv

This photo by Jay Stob taken before the arrival of fire apparatus
shows the blazing truck on the Interstate and the SUV burning on
the overpass.  (via WOOD-TV)

WOOD-TV reports:

The passenger in the SUV, 83-year-old Edna Gorter of Grand Rapids, and the driver of the semi-truck, 70-year-old Robert Osborne of Mancelona, were trapped in their vehicles and died at the scene. Police officers and bystanders pulled the driver of the SUV, Gorter’s husband, 82-year-old Robert, out of the vehicle before it burst into flames. Robert Gorter was taken to a hospital where he is stable.

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Passerby Gaye Richards took this photo of some brave Good Samaritans
attempting to rescue the occupants of the SUV.  They were able to get the
driver out, but his wife was trapped in the wreckage and perished in
the growing fire.  (via WOOD-V)

Channel 8 also filed this video report:

Firegeezer notes:  This is the third or fourth time in the past six months that we have reported on catastrophic accidents caused by large trucks rear-ending vehicles slowed or stopped in traffic backups.  Make your own conclusion.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire

New Physical Fitness Program

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HOW ABOUT A SIMPLE PHYSICAL TRAINING EVOLUTION that exercises your muscles, heart rate, aerobics and stamina in one basic exercise?  Derek Poundstone, a Naugatuck, Connecticut, police officer has just the right idea.  He hitches a harness to a 30-ton fire engine and pulls it down the street.

In actuality, he is practicing for the upcoming World’s Strongest Man Competition that will be held in Connecticut later this month.  WTNH-TV in New Haven tells us:

“I was a national power lifter and this looked more fun, so I gave it a shot and I was a natural at it,” Poundstone said.

For the competition, Poundstone is going to have to pull an airplane that weights 90,000 pounds. He said the airplane might actually be easier because, unlike the firetruck, there won’t be a transmission to worry about it.

Poundstone is pulling the truck a lot further than necessary as well.  “In competition, you have to pull the weight about 60 feet; I’m pulling it about 110 feet right now,” said Poundstone.

WTNH also filed this video report:

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: culture

Afternoon Blaze Destroys Strip Mall

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A FAST-MOVING FIRE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN SET destroyed an entire strip mall in Daytona Beach, Florida, Monday afternoon.  The primary tenants were two souvineer shops catering to beach tourists.

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Channel 13 / Porsha Harris photo

The fire was first reported at 3 pm and went to two alarms as the Daytona Beach FD worked to contain the fire to the primary building.  The Daytona Beach News-Journal is reporting that a woman told police that she saw a man throw something through a shop window just moments before the fire erupted.  Several employees and customers were in the shops when the fire started, but they all were able to get out safely.  A resident of a high-rise apt. across the street shot some good video of the fire:

The entire 26,000-sq. ft. building was completely destroyed in less than an hour.

The News-Journal has more HERE.

WESH-TV Ch. 2 Orlando has this video report:

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire

LODD in Germany

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A 44-YR.-OLD FIREFIGHTER IN STRAACH (Wittenberg), Germany collapsed and died on the fireground early Monday morning.  The fire brigade was working a house fire that involved a rescue when the firefighter whose name has not been released, dropped suddenly in the front yard as he was donning his SCBA.

He was immediately attended to by medics who were on the scene, but they were unable to revive him.  At the time, he was not under any physical stress, only getting ready to enter the building.  “I am totally shaken. Today we bitterly see the risks that firefighters take to care for the well-being of the public” Straach Mayor Klaus Eckert announced.

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Firefighters successfully rescued a 67-yr.-old man from the blaze. 
He suffered serious burns, however.  This area is where the firefighter
suddenly perished.  (photo by Thomas Klitzsch)

The volunteer firefighters are required to have complete medical examinations every three years  and an annual physical testing where they perform under actual work conditions and monitored load tests.  This man had passed his tests with full achievement.  The coroner will be performing an autopsy today to determine the cause of this tragic death.

Germany experiences about 5 or 6 LODD’s annually.

Mitteldeutsche Zeitung has this STORY.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire, health & safety

Morning Lineup – September 8

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Well, did everybody make it through the holiday weekend ok?  I haven’t seen the final count yet on the amount collected for MDA, but I’ll try and get that posted as soon as I do.  While the Fill-the-Boot drive is the most well-known and visible activity, many Locals around the country employ other methods to generate donations as well, so it will probably be a day or so before an accurate total will be published.

*  *  *

Now the next thing to watch out for will be rolling in on us tomorrow, Sept. 9.  Yes, it’s that once-in-a-lifetime event where the clocks and calendars will be displaying “09-09-09.”  You will have a 24-hour timespan to stand in front of your calendar amidst wonder and joy to soak in this rare moment.  And if you’re really lucky and have one of those digital atomic clocks that display the entire date along with the hour, minute and seconds, then you will be given two opportunities to gather the family around and watch in awe as the display flashes up 09/09/09-09:09:09.  But you have to be alert.  It only lasts a second.  Make sure your camera batteries are charged so that you can record this moment.  You’ll never see it again.

*  *  *

I  think I’ve got it figured out now.  I’m referring to Firefighter Nation’s Facebook page.  And that’s what it is, a “ page” where people become a ”fan” and not a “friend.”  So if you go to the search box and enter FirefighterNation, it takes you to the page and up at the top next to the title is a box that says “Become a Fan” that you click.  I’ll be glad when I get all this stuff figured out.

*  *  *

We’ve got some nice “mug shots” lined up for publication and I want to specially thank all of you who have sent them in.  I’m talking about the Firegeezer coffee mugs, of course.  They’re showing up everywhere and I’d like to post your “mug shot,” too.  So don’t forget to get a picture of your GeezerCup-in-service and send it along to us here at:  geezerguys(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Take a look at what we’ve posted so far by selecting “Mug Shots” in the Category listing on the right sidebar.

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Tell you what, let’s get this equipment checked out and I’ll go start a fresh pot.  Then you can fill your GeezerCup and we’ll snap a pic.

Posted by on September 8, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

"Where Are You?"

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THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF A PICKUP TRUCK CRASH was able to make a connection to 9-1-1 Saturday morning around 3:30 am.  The truck was carrying four passengers, all of whom are believed to have been drinking, when it blew through a stop sign and then crashed through a gate leading into a rock quarry.  After crashing the gate, the speeding truck went up an incline and was temporarily airborne before landing on two large boulders that had been placed as barricades to prevent vehicles from driving into the quarry.  After teetering on the boulders for a few seconds, the truck fell off and plunged approx. 170 feet to the bottom of the pit. 

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Tulsa World photo

 Three of the four were killed immediately, but the survivor, a 19-yr.-old girl, was able to get a cellphone signal.  Unfortunately she didn’t know where she was, but the dispatcher was able to discern that she was in the north area of the city before they lost the signal.

Police, fire and EMS spent about an hour searching in vain for the wreck until 5 am when the survivor got another call through.  After 45 minutes of careful questioning, the dispatchers narrowed the location down to the rock quarry where  the rescuers eventually found her.

KOKI-TV Ch. 23 filed this video report from the crash site in the quarry:

The caller seems to be the person who was driving and she is hospitalized in critical condition.  She is expected to survive, however.

Tulsa dispatch has released four 9-1-1 tapes in which you can hear the dispatcher talking to the woman and finding out the necessary information.  She did a good job, you’ll agree.  You can listen to the tapes HERE.

The Tulsa World has more of the STORY HERE.

Channel 6 has a brief raw video of the extrication in progress:

Posted by on September 7, 2009 • Filed under: dispatch, rescue

3-Alarms Start New Haven's Labor Day

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FIRE BROKE OUT IN A NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, flower shop at 6 am Monday morning and quickly raced through the building and into the roof area.  The heavy fire spread into some nearby businesses and prompted the FD to pull out from the buildings and begin defensive operations.

This video report from WTNH-TV Ch. 8 and a reporter who was mightily impressed with the smoke, has some fire footage from the scene:

The fire was brought under control shortly after 8 am.

Posted by on September 7, 2009 • Filed under: fire

VFD Withdraws Fire Protection Service From Reluctant Township

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THE CENTRAL CITY (PENNSYLVANIA) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT entered into a contract with neighboring Shade Township to provide fire protection services for most of the township’s area.  The agreement was made back in January and calls for the township paying $17,500 to the VFD for protection in calendar 2009.

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Central City FD website photo

The FD’s attorney, James Elder told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat:

(T)he one-year deal agreed to in January also included Shade’s making a “substantial contribution toward capital equipment,” a promise he says has not been kept. A fire service contract specifying those terms was sent to Shade, but the document was not signed, the attorney said.

Because the capital equipment contribution remains in dispute, firefighters now are requesting $26,840 for their service, Elder said.

“If I don’t have a contract in my hand by (Friday, Sept. 4), fire service will be suspended,” Elder said, repeating a statement he made Aug. 28.

The township failed to reach an agreement with the fire department and the service was withdrawn effective midnight, Saturday night.  The Shade supervisors say that the capital improvement clause is something that they never would have agreed to in the first place, but they are still open to negotiate this standoff.

The township supervisors have asked the Stoystown, Hooversville and Windber volunteer fire departments to service the township in the event Central City stopped providing service.  Dave Fox, Somerset County 911 coordinator, has said that if Central City would no longer provide service, Stoystown and Hooversville will be called first, with the Windber company as initial backup.

There are two reports from the Tribune-Democrat that fill in the details of this dispute including their disagreement of past contributions HERE and HERE.

Central City Fire Department WEBSITE.

Posted by on September 7, 2009 • Filed under: Fire-ology

An Underwater Stretcher

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OR MORE CORRECTLY, AN UNDERWATER RESCUE STRETCHER.  An organization called the French Cave Rescue team posted this information and video last year.  Apparently they were looking for a device that could withdraw injured or unconscious spelunkers from caves that are normally accessible only by swimming a distance underwater first.  Their description is posted here verbatim:

For almost 3 years, the French Caving Rescue work on a new generation of diving stretcher. Our desire is to make the hyphen between caving and diving, so we are naturally parties to a stretcher.

Using this basic element, we did it evolve to intervene further and further and more and more profound.

Today, this stretcher corresponds to our needs. Its lightness enables it to be used in very siphons away from the entrance.

The diving technique has evolved rapidly in recent years-democratization recyclers, use of gas for deep diving, to go further and further. The use of these techniques in cave diving pushed us to create a concept to intervene in these new configurations.

Since 2 years, we made many years in different cavities. The last Baume des Anges (Vaucluse) has served to validate the complex dives (use of gas-based oxygen and helium). We evacuated one victim on 450 m with a low point at -54 m.
At the moment, the French Caving Rescue is the only one who can perform this type of evacuation.
An exceptional diving: 1400 m distance under water, more than 4 hours of diving for the victim and his 6 companions.

 

Cave rescue teams are relatively rare and because of the sudden need for extensive manpower at some rescues, it is not unusual for teams from other countries to travel to places of need to help other teams.

French Cave Rescue WEBSITE (Fr. language)
Wikipedia entry and references on international cave rescue organizations HERE.

Posted by on September 7, 2009 • Filed under: rescue

Morning Lineup – September 7

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While you were getting ready for today’s holiday picnic, Dave Statter was chasing down dozens of photos and preparing videos of that aerial ladder collapse in Pennsylvania yesterday morning.  Fortunately, when the ladder failed at mid-section it dropped onto the roof of the next building instead of going into the fire building, and the 50-yr.-old firefighter on the tip came away with just minor injuries.  CLICK HERE to view the updated page at STATter911 for these views.

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 It’s been ten days now since I set up my Facebook page and I have over 100 “friends” so far.  But I haven’t really gotten into the swing of things with it yet.  I’ve been watching and reading the postings of my friends to see how the site flows and to think about how I will use it.  I don’t think anybody really cares if I went to the grocery store yesterday or not, so I refrain from that kind of “Whatcha’ doin’?” posting.  But I feel some sort of obligation to post something at least once a day.  My original plan is to relay information about what’s going on with the Firegeezer website that I wouldn’t normally post here.

One of the things that has struck me is the heavy use of Facebook “games” that so many people are playing.  Two of the biggest ones are some kind of pretend-Mafia game where you can play like a hoodlum, I guess, and make deals to advance up through the organization.  The other one has me completely puzzled.  It’s some kind of digital farm where you plant vegetables and then raise them and bring them to harvest.  ?????  Ok.  If that’s fun for you, then that’s fine.  But those big graphics and continuing updates on the player’s progress are a bit distracting.  And I can’t help but think that these free amusements are really some insidious program to follow your clicks and sell your digital preferences to spammers.

Something that I learned is that there are separate groups within the Facebook family that are called Fan Clubs or Fan Pages, or something like that.  Like-minded people can check into a fan page for a more narrow-based conversation.  One of these that I can recommend is the FirefighterNation fan page.  Go to the search box on the upper right and just enter FirefighterNation and it will take you to it.  I’m sure there’s some way to set up a shortcut to make it more accessible, but I haven’t figured out how yet.  But when you go to the FirefighterNation fan page and post a message, you are writing to 9,000 friends instead of just a couple of hundred.  You have to ask for an invite, much like you ask for a new friend, but I don’t remember how I did that.  It was easy though, and I know you won’t have any difficulty doing it.

But before you sit down and join the FirefighterNation fan page, let’s get this equipment checked out.  And we’ll still be putting in our share of time in the Fill-the-Boot campaign.  Today’s the final day for the fund drive for Jerry’s Kids.  I’m going to go start the coffee.

Posted by on September 7, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Firehouse Living Doesn't Come Cheap

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IN MANY OLDER CITIES THERE ARE BUILDINGS THAT ORIGINALLY HOUSED FIRE COMPANIES.  While a lot of them have become derelict and been torn down, some of them were taken care of and remodeled when the FD moved out.  Old firehouses in commercial districts are often redesigned as restaurants or professional offices, and those in the residential areas are sometimes converted to living quarters.

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In San Francisco one of these old barns, Chemical Engine 44 was built in 1910 and then remodeled into a residence in 1959 when a couple bought it at public auction for $7,500.  In 2006 it sold for $2.2 million.  The current owners bought it as an investment and sunk a substantial sum into renovating it again.  By adding galleries, they converted it from a two-story to a four-floor layout  with over 6,100 sq. ft. and in May, 2008, they put it up for sale for $6.3 million.  But with the weak housing market, it didn’t generate any interest, so in September they dropped the asking price to $5.9 million.  Three months ago, they dropped it again to its current offered price, $5.175 million.

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Are you interested yet?  Or are you going to risk it and wait to see if it drops a little further?

You can learn more about it from the listing at Realtor.com HERE.  Be sure and click on the round button that says “See all 25 photos.”
The floor plans and a history of the building can be found on the digital sales brochure HERE.

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Back in January of 2008 we posted a similar story about another San Francisco firehouse  being offered.  The former Engine 33 house has been occupied since 1974 by Bob and Marilyn Katzman who made it over into a home and studio for their art projects that earned them their living.  They, too, bought it at a city auction, paying $79,000 for the 4,000 sq. ft. building.

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It’s different inside, though.  They have a 1955 Mack pumper in the bay that has been converted into a tour bus that they use to conduct guided tours of the city for visitors.  They have also amassed  a large collection of fire memorabilia and antiques.  Back when we posted the story they were offering to sell the building, all the fire antiques, the truck and their tour business for $3.3 million.  But that didn’t move either.  In fact, the last time I checked I think they had taken it off the market.

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Read our posting from 20 months ago HERE.  It’s got some history, more pictures and a video of the Katzmans giving a tour of the firehouse.  It’s fun, and who knows?  Maybe you’ll feel like making an offer.

Posted by on September 6, 2009 • Filed under: fire stations