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Beware the Flying Door

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SOMETIMES A DISASTER IS JUST A HAIR-BREADTH AWAY.  Such was the case on Saturday morning around 11:30 am when one of Germany’s high-speed ICE trains had a door fly off a car at speed.  Not only did the door suddenly separate and go sailing at 180 mph, but it did so as an oncoming ICE train was passing along the next track at the same moment.  The door slammed into a bank of windows in the dining car of the other train.

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Six passengers in the dining car were injured by the flying glass, four of them needing hospital treatment for the cuts and shock.

The train was on a run from Amsterdam to Basel and was near Montabaur when the accident occurred.  The train that lost the door moved its passengers from the damaged car into other cars and proceded slowly to the next station in Limburg.  The train that was struck had several cars damaged, so it was separated into two units with the passengers located in the forward undamaged cars that were then pulled to the station in Cologne.

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dpa

The search  for the door took the train crew and police, along with help from a helicopter, several hours to locate.  It was found about 3 miles away in a tunnel.  Taking into account the weight of the door and the speeds of the meeting trains, it is near miraculous that the damage was so relatively slight.

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HR Online has the STORY.  They also have a brief video clip HERE.

Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter

Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues • Tagged:

Downtown Fire in Nebraska

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THE LITTLE EASTERN NEBRASKA FARM TOWN OF WALTHILL  (pop. 900) escaped disaster this morning when the area fire departments put a good stop on a fire that threatened an entire block.

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KMEG 14

A sheriff’s patrol car spotted smoke coming from the Silver Moon Bar and Grill – one of Walthill’s last eating places – around 4 am this morning.  When the first engine arrived on the scene they found a fire well involved in the stand-alone building.  The exposures were only a few feet apart, though and the fire was beginning to spread just before the roof came down.

You will see in THIS VIDEO from KTIV-TV Ch. 4 that the fire companies set up a containment force.  The building on the right was damaged also, but the fire was held there.

KTIV has more HERE.

Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Louisville EMS Begins Patient Shifting

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LOUISVILLE (Kentucky) METRO EMS BEGAN A PROGRAM Monday morning that is planned to ease the burden on both ambulance demand and hospital emergency rooms.  It involves screening low-priority 9-1-1 calls and diverting some patients from hospitals to more appropriate care providers.

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The Louisville Courier-Journal explains:

(Beginning today) dispatchers will turn a small number of the lowest priority calls — such as an earache or stomachache — over to a nurse, who can spend more time on the phone to decide the most appropriate treatment, which may not include a trip to an emergency room in an ambulance.  The nurse may, for example, connect the caller with a doctor’s office or an urgent-care center.

The system, the second of its kind in the nation, is widely used in the United Kingdom and Australia, said Dr. Jeff Clawson, medical director for the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch. While a handful of cities have explored similar programs, only Louisville and Richmond, Va., which piloted the program, are fully implementing it, he said.

The Courier-Journal has a 2-page article that tells the story in detail HERE.
Louisville Metro EMS WEBSITE.

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Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, dispatch, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,

Coil Pack Update

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ON APRIL 2 WE CARRIED A VIDEO REPORT on a stairwell hose stretch method called the Coil Load/Pack.  The video was forwarded to us from one of our readers in Orleans, France, Ludovic V. a career firefighter there.  To review the story and watch the video again, CLICK HERE.

In response to questions sent via the Comments and emails, Ludovic has sent us a follow-up message:

Hello to all my Brothers and Sisters of the American fire service.

Thanks a lot for posting my training video on your site, Bill.  Thanks for all the comments we got.

We used this method, the coil method and trained with it.  We know that the coil method is very often used in the American fire service.  This method is pretty interesting for us in France because we have such problems with the hoses and the way they are packed in our red bag.

The problem is more important when we have to operate on different floors in a building and on the stair treads.  On the video you can see that the coil method helped us to fix our problems.  While we used the stairwell which is empty on the video, usually there is no such empty stairwell.  We learn to deploy the hoses on a different way with this method and, especially on the stair treads, we fixed our problems concerning the stair treads.

Since my English is not perfect, Fireball helped me to translate my reply.  Thanks for your replies everyone.

Stay safe, take care.

Ludovic, career firefighter in Orleans,France.

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Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: Training, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , ,

More FF Arsonists Arrested

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AND THE BEAT GOES ON…..Two volunteer firefighters in Montgomery County, New York, were arrested Friday and charged with setting a vacant house on fire the day before, then going to the firehouse to catch the dispatch and assist in putting it out.

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Deputies say that 20-year-old Justin Hughes and 21-year-old Nicholas Dostie, both of Amsterdam and members of the Florida Vol. Fire Department, constructed Molotov cocktails in Dostie’s garage, then threw them into the vacant house.  The fire completely destroyed the house and garage.

They have been charged with felony third-degree arson and misdemeanor second-degree reckless endangerment.  They are being held in county jail on $25,000 bond.

WXXA-TV Ch. 23 Albany reports that the fire chief of the Florida VFD has apologized to the citizens of the community:

The Albany Times-Union has the STORY.

Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Starkville Loses More Apartments

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THE SMALL CITY OF STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, home to the Mississippis State University, suffered still another costly apartment fire on Sunday when two complete buildings that contained 24 living units were destroyed.

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WTVA

The fire began in either a top-floor unit or the attic area around 10:20 am in Building A of the Campus Trails Apartments, a complex of 20 buildings.  The fire quickly ran the attic, destroying the 2nd- and 3rd-floors, then jumping to Building B before duplicating the damage there.  All of the residents, mostly college students, got out safely, but approx. 70 people have been displaced by the blaze.

WBLT-TV Ch. 3 filed this video report from the scene:

While the point of origin is pretty well narrowed-down, the cause is still under investigation.

The Commercial Dispatch has the STORY.
WTVA-TV has a 13-image photo gallery from The Reflector HERE.

Seven years ago, almost to the day, April 26, 2003, this same building burned to the ground after being sparked by what was described as a small explosion, although the exact cause was never identified.

Two weeks ago on April 6, Starkville firefighters battled a similar fire in another apartment complex that burned down three buildings and damaged four others.  That fire began when someone discarded a cigarette in a pine straw mulch bed.  Read that STORY HERE.

On December 28 this past year, Firegeezer filed a video REPORT HERE on an apartment fire in Starkville that was the worst life-loss fire in modern Mississippi history when nine people, six of them children, perished.

Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – April 19

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This past Wednesday we reported HERE on a tragic fire in Jackson, Michigan, that destroyed most of the workshops, tools and records of the Hand in Hand Restoration business owned and operated by Ken Soderbeck.   I have to admit that I was not familiar with the name, but I have never been deeply involved in the antique fire equipment phase of the industry.  Ken has a reputation of being the premier restorationist in our field thanks in part to his magnificent talent in recreating the extravagent artwork that was found on 19th-century apparatus.

handinhand aHe also restored and replaced upholstery with his industrial sewing machines and equipment.  In other words, a total and accurate restoration service.  Friends of his have written to us to tell that while the customer pieces that he had (two steamers and a hose cart) awaiting restoration were saved, he lost a tremendous amount of historic items from his personal collection … photos, negatives, drawings, original ALFco corporate records, a Cirkut camera along with his darkroom and most of his camera equipment, silk screens, his collection of antique fire buckets and bugles plus much more.

If you don’t know what a Cirkut camera is, it’s a rare, antique mototrized camera that takes panoramic photographs.  Soderbeck has an explanation and some sample photos displayed in one of his website pages HERE.

There has been a tremendous outpouring of support and help in assisting him to get the fire debris cleaned up and the business going again.  The stream of people arriving in Jackson over the four days, and continuing, to volunteer their labor is an indication of just how much Soderbeck is admired and respected in the fire apparatus community.

One email tells us that Ken and his wife Aggie are doing well as the shock of the event is starting to wear off, but the loss of so much irreplaceable equipment and records is difficult to grasp.  Already there has been a special fund set up in the Jackson Citizens Bank by an ad hoc committee, The Hand in Hand Restoration Fund has set up a website, http://sites.google.com/site/handinhandrestorationfund/ and they have a PayPal account established that you can click onto right in the website that will accept your donation to the restoration effort.  They’ve also posted the mailing address if you prefer to send a check.  Many volunteer departments  maintain a budget item that allows for donations to organizations such as this, so spread the word and ask your department to consider helping out in getting Hand in Hand back on its feet.

We’d better make sure that we stay on our feet and get this equipment checked out now.  I’m going to start some more coffee, then we’ll meet back in the day room in a little while.

Posted by on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

4 Alarms in New Jersey Apartments

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A RAGING FIRE IN UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY, Sunday morning destroyed three apartment buildings along with several vehicles.  The buildings were all multi-level wood-framed construction built to contain several apartments.

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Jersey Journal / Shine photo

The first-in units were only a few blocks away from address, but when they arrived one building was already fully involved.  Residents and witnesses said that it went up in just a few minutes.  Union City Mayor Brian Stack said that the fire started in a truck parked close to one of the buildings and it quickly set the structure ablaze.

WNYW-TV Ch. 5 filed this early video report:

The massive response had the fire under control by 1:30 pm, but embers were still setting brush and trash fires more than a block away.  By nightfall, investigators hadn’t yet officially determined what started the fire.  All of the residents escaped safely, but six firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The New York Post has the STORY.

Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

A Sunday Emergency !

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Season Three, Episode 5

Heavyweight

 

Dr. Brackett tries to persuade a mother to keep her deformed baby.

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Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: Sunday Emergency, Videos • Tagged:

Where There’s Smoke, There’s …… Plastic

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NOTHING DRAWS A CROWD FASTER THAN A LARGE, dark plume of smoke pouring from a blazing pile of plastic.

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That was the case Saturday afternoon in Alessandria, Italy, when a factory that uses plastics in its products caught on fire.  There were 35 firefighters from 6 stations fighting the blaze that caused the roof to collapse. 

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The firm Parkoplast di Spinetta Marengo makes plastic paddings and helmets along with other related products and tires for ATV’s.

Tuono News has the STORY.

Tuono News also produced this video report that shows the Vigili del Fuoco setting up for initial operations at the fire:

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Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Historic Newspaper’s Offices Burned

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THE TRINIDAD, COLORADO, CHRONICLE NEWS has been operating out of the same downtown building since it began publishing 133 years ago.  Early Saturday morning a passerby spotted smoke coming from the paper’s offices and called in the alarm, bringing a full call-out of the TFD, 3 engines and 1 truck.

They found a fire in the first-floor that was generating a lot of heat with little flame and was rapidly destroying the interior.  After knocking the fire down in 30 minutes, the FD discovered that the fire originated at a computer where an apparent electrical short triggered the blaze.   Captain Tim Howard reported that the fire began in an electrical junction behind a desk on the first floor before igniting stacks of newspapers. Howard said, “Due to the materials burning a small fire created a tremendous amount of heat causing major damage in the building.” The fire spread throughout the first floor damaging the entire office space and several computer servers.

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KRDO-TV

Heavy smoke and water damage along with the high heat that melted most computer components led to an almost-complete destuction of the contents.  The building itself suffered little damage, fortunately.  One piece of good news was the discovery that the paper’s archives was saved and you will see that in this video report from KRDO-TV Ch. 13 in Colorado Springs:

The Pueblo Chieftain reports:

“A computer was the only thing plugged into the outlet, and it shorted out causing a spark which made the cubicle go up in flames,” said Aileen Hood, publisher of the daily newspaper…  

“Smoke was billowing out of the building. We lost a lot of equipment and furniture, but thanks to the good work by our fire department, the building was not a total loss,” Hood said.

 The heat from the fire melted computers and telephones and blew out a front window but left simple pieces of paper unscathed.

“I still have sticky tabs on my computer screen and some notes for a story I was working on,” said reporter David Santistevan Jr. as he shoveled through a pile of debris outside the building.

The staff of the Monday-Friday paper will still be able to get the Monday morning edition out on time, they believe.  The local community college has made their computer lab available to the paper where the reporters and other staff began working Sunday morning on the next edition that will no doubt carry the fire on page A-1 above the fold.  Later today they will electronically transmit the completed edition to the Colorado Springs Gazette where the paper is always published anyway, where it will be printed and delivered overnight back to Trinidad.

Temporary office space has been secured just a block away from the Chronicle News building which is expected to be ready for re-occupancy within two months.  One sad note for the employees was the loss of their unofficial mascots, two parakeets named “Proof” and “Edit.”

The Chieftain has the STORY.
KKTV Ch. 11 has more plus additional video HERE.

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The Chieftain

Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Around the Fire Web

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Some interesting articles for a Sunday morning:

*  This was the week for “dangling trucks,” apparently.  Just a few days after our coverage of a burning truck tractor hanging off a bridge in Texas,  Dave Statter reports on a tanker hanging off a bridge in Baltimore.  Check out the story and videos at STATter911 HERE.

*  Raising Ladders had his camera with him when his company caught a basement fire in what he thinks is the smallest basement you’re likely to find.  Follow his interesting tale of the fire HERE.

*  FF’s Enemy stumbled across an amazing potential exposure hazard while driving down the road.  Obviously it’s in a county where fireworks permits are either non-existant or else just handed out on request.  Check out Jason’s photo-story HERE.

*  Command Safety has a good posting about the story behind the Fallen Firefighters Foundation.  It does a lot more than put on an annual ceremony.  After you read the article, scroll down to the next story on some background facts about the Emmitsburg fire last month.  CLICK HERE to read.

*  Our friend Darren V. passed this link along for everybody:  VentEnterSearch has a unique “find” in their posting titled “Quick Search.”  Make sure that you click on the last word in the photo caption… “this?”   Check it out HERE.

*  Firefighter Close Calls has an important reminder for you relating to monitoring the acitvities of your junior members.  Check out this photo of a tragedy just waiting to happen HERE.

Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Morning Lineup – April 18

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It turns out that the number of FireEMS Blogs members stranded by the volcano activity has just doubled.  On Friday we told you about Mark Glencorse (Medic999) being stuck in Denver, unable to fly back home to Newcastle where he usually sticks needles in strangers.  Yesterday we heard from Jeff Starkey, publisher of FireNews.net, and he tells that he is stuck in London after a week of contract work there, unable to get back to North Carolina.  At least he already had a hotel room and was able to just extend his stay, as opposed to camping out in the airport concourse.  Jeff adds:  “The really strange thing is that the sky is VERY clear, and we haven’t seen any ash fallout here (in eastern London). Oh well, maybe this week I’ll get to see the LFB Fire Museum finally!” 

Not a bad idea, Jeff.  I hope you have your camera with you.  The last I heard, flights have already been canceled through Monday.  I shudder to think of the swarming horde of antsy passengers descending on the airports once the skies are friendly again.  It’ll take a while to get enough planes in and out of all the airports around the world to get those untold thousands of passengers loaded up and transported home.

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Somebody forwarded a news item from the Manila Bulletin about one of the Philipines provinces receiving a gift of four fire engines.  Apparently they have a program similar to our “Sister City” international exchange program that they call a “sisterhood agreement.”  The news story (HERE) tells about the Benguet Province receiving from the South Korean province of Cheongbuk-do a gift of four “heavy-duty” fire engines for use in the province wherever they are needed.  A quote from the article:

The more than P2 million worth of donation of the South Koreans include fire suits, waterproof caps, and shoes which will be used by local firemen in their firefighting and rescue operations in the different parts of this vegetable-producing province.

It’s a shame they didn’t include any photographs along with the story because I sure would like to see a picture of those waterproof caps, wouldn’t you?

We’d better get our own equipment and fire suits checked out now.  I’m going to start some coffee and check on the Sunday breakfast.  See you back in the day room in a little bit.

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The Sunday photo art

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Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

Sign This Guy Up!

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A WASHINGTON STATE TROOPER’s SKILLS ARE BEING WASTED by putting him on patrol duty.  He should be giving driving classes to all emergency vehicle operators in the state.

The unnamed trooper was parked on the shoulder of a narrow, winding rural road on radar enforcement duty when a motorcycle approached him from ahead at a high rate of speed.  As the biker zoomed past the cruiser, the radar device recorded his speed at 182 mph (on a 60 mph limit road).

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The trooper took two radar readings of 152 mph from his forward-facing radar,
and a third reading of 151 mph from his rear-facing radar after the motorcyclist zoomed past him.
(Washington State Patrol photo)

The trooper then made a U-turn and caught up with the motorcycle and pulled him over.  The press release issued by the State Patrol does not go into detail on how he managed to catch up with a bike that had  close to a half-mile head start on him, and on a winding road on top of that.

The motorcyclist was identified as Matthew M. Jackson, 39, of Vancouver.  When the trooper asked Jackson if he knew how fast he was going, Jackson said, “No idea. I just opened it up.”   Jackson was issued a speeding citation for $411.

Several news sources covered the story including KOMO-TV HERE.

Posted by on April 17, 2010 • Filed under: News, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged:

Former Texas VFD President Sentenced

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cheney aGERARD CHENEY, THE FORMER PRESIDENT of the Sam Bass Vol. Fire Department in Williamson County, Texas, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison.  You may recall our earlier reports on his arrest last summer because the fire department is curiously named after a notorious outlaw, and bank and train robber from the 19th century who was hunted down and killed by a posse of Texas Rangers.

Cheney was first being investigated by the sheriff’s department for the theft of $220,000 from the VFD.  During the course of the investigation, his wife discovered a cache of child pornography on the family’s computer and reported it to the investigators.  After becoming aware of that, they charged Cheney last August with four counts of possession of child pornography, a 3rd-degree felony.  He was held in jail because nobody would bail him out.  See the first Firegeezer video REPORT HERE  on the initial arrest and some background on Cheney (and the notorious Sam Bass).

A month later, in September Cheney was further charged with the embezzlement of the fire department funds.  Read that report on Firegeezer HERE .

His wife of 17 years was completely blindsided by the investigations and she fully cooperated with the investigators.  While Cheney was still in jail she separated from him and moved her family out.  On September 10 she gave this interview to KXAN-TV Ch. 36 Austin and gave the tv crew a tour of the house showing many of the items that Gerard had purchased with the purloined money:

This past Tuesday Cheney, now 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony theft and four counts of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The Austin American-Statesman REPORTED:

Cheney joined the department in August 1994 and was president and treasurer of the five-member board for about four years, until his arrest, according to the arrest affidavit.  He was suspended after the pornography arrest and resigned in early September, officials said.

Officials said at the time of Cheney’s arrest that he was receiving the department’s bank statements and was responsible for providing a monthly report on receipts and disbursements.

After his arrest, officials with the emergency district and fire board said they would take steps to avoid giving any one person control of their $1.4 million budget.

The judge sentenced Cheney to 40 years in prison for the theft charge and 10 years in prison, the maximum, for each of the child pornography charges. The child pornography sentences will run consecutively, but concurrently with the theft charge.  He will be eligible for parole in ten years.

Sam Bass Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on April 17, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Another Treasurer Goes Behind Bars

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THE ENDLESS PARADE OF EMBEZZLING FD TREASURERS continues with a side trip to a union local.  The Norwell, Massachusetts, Firefighters Union was first alerted to something going wrong when one of their checks bounced last week.  Further review of bank records showed 24 checks being written since October 2009 made out to their treasurer and cashed by him.

Norwell Mariner photo of Nguyen taken September 2009

Norwell Mariner photo of Nguyen taken September 2009

Puzzled over an empty bank account that should have had over 40 thousand dollars in it, the union officers asked the treasurer Truong Nguyen to bring the checkbook and his receipts to the police department  last Saturday so they could check out the problem.

Instead of showing up, Nguyen disappeared, triggering an arrest warrant being issued by Norwell police.  The Norwell Mariner reports:

After unsuccessfully contacting Nguyen at his home and after he did not show up to work, Norwell Detectives obtained a warrant for Mr. Nguyen for Embezzlement, a felony, which carries a five-year sentence.

Over the weekend, detectives received information that Nguyen may be at Foxwoods [Resorts Casino] in Connecticut gambling and contacted the Connecticut State Police office at Foxwoods and advised them of the warrant.

On Monday April 12, the State Police contacted Norwell police and informed them that Nguyen had been placed under arrest at the casino.

The checking account is largely comprised of donations, funds that are used for charitable causes and scholarship programs that the union supports.

Nguyen, 35, is being held in jail awaiting extradition to Massachusetts.  He has been place on unpaid suspension by the Fire Chief.

The Norwell Mariner has the full STORY.
The Boston Globe has MORE.
Norwell Fire Department WEBPAGE.

Posted by on April 17, 2010 • Filed under: charity, crime, Fire Rescue Topics, labor, News • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – April 17

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A friend sent along a death notice that escaped me earlier this month telling of the passing of Edward Owen ”Coots” Matthews who died at age 86 on March 31.  Matthews, along with his lifelong friend Asger “Boots” Hansen made up the famed oil well-firefighting team Boots & Coots.  They and the legendary Paul “Red” Adair were the premier oil well extinguishers - hellfighters - in the world.

The New York Times relates, Mr. Matthews, like his colleagues, was an expert in the perilous art of detonating dynamite in oil well infernos to starve the fire of oxygen, thereby killing it. Real hellfighters insist on the word “kill” over wimpier alternatives like “extinguish.”

In 1968 the three of them served as technical advisers for the John Wayne movie “Hellfighters” in which Wayne portrayed Red Adair.

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From left:  Coots Matthews, Red Adair, John Wayne, Boots Hansen.
(photo courtesy Boots & Coots International Well Control)

Boots and Coots originally worked with Adair for nearly 20 years before they parted from Adair and set up their own company in 1978.  That firm, Boots & Coots was recently sold to Halliburton for $240 million.  Not a bad showing for the life’s work of a semi-educated man whose first joy was getting into wild, barroom brawls.  Along the way he was married four times to two women.  “You figure it out,” his daughter would say jokingly.

His life’s story is a fascinating one and I strongly recommend that you take a few minutes to read his obituary HERE and HERE.

Red Adair died in 2004.  Boots Hansen is still alive, but an era in America’s cultural history has passed.

We’d better get this equipment checked out now.  I’m going to start some more coffee, then we’ll meet back in the day room later.

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Posted by on April 17, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , , , ,

Erosion of Political Influence

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A provocative title and a troubling conclusion from an article written by J. Patrick Coolican and Joe Schoenmann in the Las Vegas Sun.  The summary of April 15th article

Has fire union support become a campaign curse?

Firefighters’ political capital has taken a hit, as their salaries have become a target for taxpayer rage amid the recession. Candidates are backing away from the once coveted firefighter endorsement, fearing a voter backlash, while scrutiny of the Clark County firefighters union has soared.

LasVegasSunClark County firefighters say that Schoenmann is no fan of organized public safety labor.

They say that published statements are like this:

In 2009, (Clark) county firefighters averaged $181,000 in total compensation, including benefits and overtime pay; battalion chiefs averaged $285,000.

The county is paying these salaries even as the commission must cut $57 million, or 14 percent of its budget, to close a deficit. That could cost 96 firefighters their jobs.

… creates a controversy.

Schoenmann, who covers Clark County for the Las Vegas Sun, has published 56 articles about firefighter issues in greater Las Vegas. He has covered the budget crisis, proposed reductions-in-force, cancer presumption legislation, retirement provisions, sick leave use, controversy over on-duty MDA collection by firefighters on overtime, firefighter off-duty side employment and the ambulance service contract.

After reading many of his articles that were published in the last 18 months, I am confident that Schoemann will not be nominated for an IAFF media award.

NOT JUST ONE REPORTER

The April 15th article includes quotes from political operatives that reflect a theme Firegeezer.com has been covering:logo_elected

Mike Sullivan, a lobbyist and political consultant, said: “It used to be, you’d seek the firefighter endorsement 100 percent of the time. Polls I’ve seen so far show that this endorsement won’t necessarily help you.”

Dan Hart, another Democratic operative, was measured: “Firefighters perform an exceptional and needed job in our community. But public employees have to look at how much they are paid — the new world of politics is different and I think firefighters have to change with it.” (emphasis added, link to article HERE )

NOT JUST CLARK COUNTY

Dave Statter (STATter911) posted an article from the Atlanta Journal Messenger describing Local 134 picketing the Fulton County Taxpayer Foundation in response to a FCTF lawsuit seeking to reverse 2001 and 2005 changes to the city pension plan.

Atlanta Journal Messenger article HERE, Local 134 press release HERE.

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In the “us-versus-them” mentality, career firefighters have become “them” in the perception of some citizens and local politicians. Let me restate an earlier question:

How should we respond to criticism of our practices and procedures in “the new world of (local) politics”?

Earlier articles:
December 31, 2009: Firefighter “AIG” Problem
March 22, 2010: Career Firefighters Next Tea Party Target?
February 03, 2009: Gilt-Edged Pensions
December 30, 2008: Will You Be A Diamond or Dust?

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on April 17, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , ,

Successful Operation at Naugatuck Fire

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A FIRE IN A TRIPLE-DECKER IN NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT, Wednesday night presented the fire department with fast-moving challenge.  The century-old apartment building now has a store on the ground floor and six apartments on the upper two floors.  When the fire began shortly after 9:30 pm on the first floor, there were no occupants on that level.  But at least 15 people in the apartments above got themselves out before the FD arrived, even though the building was filling up with smoke and fire.

The response was upgraded to 2 alarms before the fire was knocked down in about an hour.

The NBC-TV station in Hartford filed this video report:

NFD Deputy Chief Ken Hanks adds to the report:

 The crew on duty (5 within 1 minute of dispatch, 3 more on the 2nd due engine 2 minutes after the tones) made a great stop and a quick primary search. The first due crew was an engine (3FF) and truck (2FF) were met with a crowd screaming that there was a person trapped on the first floor.

I’m very proud of the FFs who worked last night, they did a hell of a job making a primary search under heavy fire conditions and knocking down the visible fire with manpower well below what is considered minimum for this type of incident.

We were lucky, no victims to remove. Fire started in a 1st floor bedroom and extended through a window and exterior door to the siding and windows to rooms on floors 2 and 3, and the soffit to the attic\crawlspace.

My FD does not see fires like this too often. Most of our structure fires are in single family homes. Buildings like this are much more of a challenge than the structure fires that we typically get.

One firefighter and a police officer were treated for minor injuries.

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged:

Something for Everybody to Practice On

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THE BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, FIREFIGHTERS and paramedics had a classic rescue scenario Monday evening that included:  an auto fire; entrapment; rollover; stabilization; extrication.

Around 6:25 pm a 41-yr.-old woman, according to the neighbors, blew through a stop sign at a high rate of speed, lost control of her car and rolled it into somebody’s front yard smashing into a tree.  A small fire broke out inside the car where the driver was folded into the wreckage and the homeowner dashed out with a fire extinguisher and tried to suppress the flames.

The Buffalo Grove FD arrived in short order and was able to put out the fire quickly before it advanced on the victim while the medics began primary care on her.  The car was on its side necessitating a stabilization procedure while the medics worked and the rescue crew began extricating the driver.

Fire photographer Larry Shapiro arrived on the scene and documented the entire operation with his always-top-quality photos, beginning with the extinguishment,

buffgrove a extinguishment

Followed by the primary care, then the stabilization of the car,

buffgrove b

buffgrove c

The driver was freed by cutting off the roof, even though the car was on its side,

buffgrove d

The driver was transported and has undergone surgery for severe leg injuries, according to the Daily Herald which has the full STORY HERE.

To view Larry Shapiro’s complete photo gallery of 70 images that show much more of this OJT, CLICK HERE.

Firegeezer notes:  Look through the gallery and I think you’ll agree that the Buffalo Grove FD really had their act together.

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Rescues • Tagged: , , ,

Upcoming Epic Event!

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One week from now, there will be an epic event that will overshadow the ash clouds of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Last year, a handful of international bloggers got together at FDIC to say hello.

Dave Iannone, Tiger Schmittendorf & Irakil West

Dave Iannone, Tiger Schmittendorf & Irakil West

This year, the regional Peace Officer Task Force may have to stage around the corner.

THE MEET UP IN INDY

Probably will be larger than the EMS Today meet-up.

Friday April 23, 2010 from 8pm to 11pm
Dress is “FDIC convention casual”
Add your Twitter name to conference badge!!


RB_logo

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Indianapolis
10 West Washington
Indianapolis, IN 46204
MAP

fireresc

FREE DRINK TICKETS FOR FIRST 400

To get a COMPLIMENTARY Drink ticket, you just need to stop by one of THESE booths on Friday at FDIC:

Free drink tickets ARE limited to the first 400 people who stop by the booths. And don’t worry if you miss out on a drink ticket, there will be complimentary appetizers and soft drinks on a first-come, first-served basis plus a cash bar and regular menu food available. To ensure there’s room for you, please be sure to stop by the booths mentioned at the show Friday quickly! One drink ticket per person.

meetup173aMore details. click on the MeetUp@Indy icon:

Win Stuff!

We’ll also be holding a raffle for those who attend that includes thousands of dollars in special giveaways from our sponsors and dozens of free Firefighter Monopoly games as well!

Hope to see you there!

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: beer, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Technology & Communications, Training & Development, Twitter • Tagged: , , ,

Weekend Caption Contest

38 comments

Darned if it didn’t happen again….another intriguing action photo arrived without its proper caption, leaving us to figure out what is going on.

My first thought was the revelation that just maybe the Hokey-Pokey really IS what it’s all about.  But you’ve probably got a better explanation, so post it in the Comments and we’ll all appreciate it.

caption403 a

 

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Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: caption contest • Tagged:

Spreading Fire Claims Home Owned by FF

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A DUQUESNE, PENNSYLVANIA, HOUSE OWNED by a local firefighter, but not occupied by him, was heavily damaged this morning (Friday) when a vacant house next door started burning around 2 am.  The flames extended to house that the FF was leasing to four people who all escaped ok.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

WTAE-TV Ch. 4 Pittsburgh has this brief, early report:

d

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Crash Victim Fatally Burned

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A FIERY CRASH IN DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, FRIDAY MORNING left two vehicles wrecked and burned, and one driver dead, burned beyond recognition.

dekalb a WAGA

WAGA-TV

Police say that a pickup truck crossed the center line around 4:30 am Friday and struck an SUV head-on.  Both vehicles caught fire from the collision and the driver of the SUV was trapped inside the car.  Unable to get out, the victim burned to death inside.  The body is so completely burned that the sex of the driver is not immediately known.  Two men, believed to be occupants of the pickup, were transported to the hospital, one in critical condition and the other is listed as “stable.”

WAGA-TV Ch. 5 Atlanta has this early video report:

d

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged:

Ambulance Crash Leaves One Dead

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A SULLIVAN COUNTY WOMAN WAS KILLED Thursday afternoon when she drove into the path of a Knox County ambulance and was struck.

knox b ind st police

Indiana State Police photo

The ambulance was on a non-emergency transport carrying an 86-yr.-0ld man to a hospital along with a nurse as well as the assigned paramedic.  The ambulance was traveling along the passing lane on a 4-line highway when a 66-yr.-old woman drove her car through a stop sign on a side street and directly into the path of the ambulance.

The crash apparently totalled the car and cause significant damage to the ambulance.  The patient was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries and the other three occupants of the ambulance were transported to a local hospital for minor injuries, but none were were serious.

WTWO-TV has a good video report HERE.

knox a WTHI

Indiana State Police

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: ,