Always, Always….

THERE WAS NATIONWIDE COVERAGE this week given to the tragic event in New Hampshire where a police chief was killed and four other officers wounded in a botched attempt to serve a search warrant.  The raid was aimed at ridding the town of what the police called "a menace," referring to the culprit Cullen Mutrie.

When the operation was wrapped up, the police found Mutrie and his girlfriend both dead from apparent suicides or murder/suicide.  While the news was rightly focused on the tragedy of the police officers, we would learn a few things if we take a look at the drug dealer, Cullen Mutrie.

For the past several years, despite his growing criminal record, Mutrie was serving as a volunteer firefighter and had hopes to become a paid firefighter on a New Hampshire department.

2006 mug shot Portsmouth NH police

His criminal history begins in 2003 when he had a violent confrontation with a former girlfriend who had get a court protective order against him.  WMUR-TV posts:

(She) claimed Mutrie, "forcefully grabbed me, choked me and pulled my hair … as well as pushed me down several times." The woman also said Mutrie was "threatening," was "prone to jealous rages" and indicated he had guns and knives in his possession.

On Dec. 12, 2003, she accused Mutrie of calling her, "intoxicated in a rage, asking where I was and verbally abusing me. I then woke up on Dec. 13 to find two of my car tires slashed," she wrote, "I am very scared of him because of our history and his explosive behavior and past history of violence."

In 2005 he applied for a gun license and was denied "due to his criminal background" according to court records.

In 2006 he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault following a fight with another man, but the next year he applied to the court to have the conviction dismissed and be permitted to have a trial on the charges.  His reasoning was that he had been given poor legal advice from his lawyer to told him that a misdemeanor conviction would not prevent him from getting a job as a firefighter.  He since found out that was not the case and wanted to get his record cleared.  At the time he told the court he has been working as a volunteer firefighter for seven years and has been going to school nights and weekends "to get certified."

Hampton Falls Fire Chief Jay Lord said Mutrie was a volunteer firefighter from 2004 to July 2010. He said Mutrie was nice and polite and dreamed of a career in the fire service.

In 2010 he was arrested again for beating up another woman.  He was ordered then to surrender any guns that he possessed, but the woman told police later that there were still several in the house.  A report by Officer Wayne Young quoted the victim as saying Mutrie had "a few" guns in his bedroom, one in his vehicle, one in his living room and that he usually carried another one on his person. So local police went to Mutrie's home on July 24, 2010 to collect them.  It was then that they found more contraband in his house and arrested him on drug charges again.

In February of this year the state drug lab sent more evidence of drug possesion and it was this week's raid that was based on this recent report.

On his Facebook page that was recently created (and is no longer posted) he claimed that he was currently working for the Hampton Falls FD and also studying "paramedicine" at a local community college.

Mutrie is at the far right in the above photo.  He was 6'-2" and weighed 260 lbs.

There are several lessons in this relating to the necessity of background checks for firefighter and EMT applicants.  Mutrie was obviously trying to construct a phony resume here, including a Linked In account.  Just "surfing the web" does not equate to a bona fide investigation.  And there is no excuse to avoid performing this function.  Firegeezer has been preaching this for years, yet there are still hundreds of departments who skip this necessity.  It's not enough that they are "nice and polite."

Thanks to Mark Donovan for research assistance.

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Missing Some Due Care and Diligence

THE NOTORIOUS PARK HAVEN NURSING HOME in Ashtabula, Ohio, has relocated all its patients and closed its doors for business on Friday.  The Park Haven came to international attention when, on Sunday March 4, an illicit meth lab blew up on the 2nd floor of the 39-patient facility.  The blast and brief fire killed one person and injured six others, one of them a resident..  See the Firegeezer video report on the initial blast and fire dispatch HERE.

WOIO-TV

Following the fatal accident, state and Federal agencies of all descriptions descended on the facility wanting to know why this illegal and highly-dangerous practice was allowed to go on undetected.  The inspection swarm uncovered a list of other violations of code pertaining to fire safety, hygiene, and nursing care regulations.

The State began immediate procedings to suspend the Medicare provider agreement with Park Haven and the onslaught was more than the business could withstand.  Instead of attempting to salvage their licenses and appeal the decisions against them, the owner decreed that the home would help find other facilities for the patients and close up business by the end of March.

The Ashtabula Star Beacon adds:

The state was in the process of revoking Park Haven’s license after a methamphetamine fire earlier this month killed one man and injured six others, Ohio Department of Health officials said last week.

Community Care Ambulance transported the facility’s 33 residents to other area nursing homes, including Carrington Park in Ashtabula and Lake Pointe Nursing Center in Conneaut, sources said.

The owner of the facility, Beatrice Knowlson of Ashtabula, could not be reached for comment. No one answered the phone or the door late Friday afternoon at Park Haven. There were no vehicles in the parking lot.

The Council on Aging reported the facility planned to be shut down before the end of the month. According to the website www.manta.com, more than 50 employees will lose their jobs with the facility’s closure.

The Ashtabula Fire Department determined that the fire was the result of the explosion of an illegal one-bottle, "shake and bake" meth lab operation evidently conducted by the fire victim, a non-resident.

Ashtabula Fire Dept. photo

Read the entire article HERE.

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Hotel Guest Critically Injured

AN EXTRA ALARM WAS STRUCK to assist evacuation of guests from the upper floors of the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, Thursday morning.  Firefighters forced their way into a locked room on the 22nd floor where the sprinkler activation triggered the alarm and they found a man who was not supposed to be there, "barely alive" inside the room.

Las Vegas Sun / Valley

The AP is reporting:

Guests were evacuated from upper floors and the man, identified only as a hotel guest, was hospitalized in critical condition after firefighters found him unconscious in the room amid heavy stored boxes of smoldering linen and bedding, fire spokesman Tim Szymanski said. "They couldn't see a thing in the room. Smoke was that thick," Szymanski said.

Sprinklers had completely doused the fire just inside the door, Szymanski said, and firefighters never used hoses. But they had to force their way past a wet mess of piled material to find the man moaning near a window.

With the man still in intensive care, it remained unclear how he got in the room, why he was there and whether he started the fire, Szymanski said.

Investigators discovered quickly that the fire had been set, but have not disclosed publicly the cause.

About 60 people were evacuated from the 21st floor below, plus a handful of guests from the penthouse rooms at the top of the building.  But the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th floors were vacant during a renovation.

KVVU-TV has a good video report on the unusual incident:

The Las Vegas Sun has the STORY.

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Flaming Fleshpots Fuel Fears of Biker Wars Flaring Up

TWO MEN HAVE BEEN ARRESTED by London, Ontario, police and charged in a brief arson splurge that was aimed at two massage parlors and a strip club.  A long-standing feud amongst biker gangs and organized street gangs has been dormant for a while, but the police think these incidents mark a flare-up of the wars.

This latest skirmish began on January 5 when the Blue Lagoon II massage parlor was set on fire around 4:30 am.  It was a minor blaze however, only doing $1,250 of damage, but perhaps sending a message.  Three nights later on January 8 the arsonists struck again, attacking three business within a 35-minute time span.

London Free Press

First hit was a repeat attack on the Blue Lagoon II club around 4:40 am that gutted the business along with a nail painter and caused severe damage to three other businesses in the shopping center to the tune of $150,000.

Just 25 minutes later at 5:04 am an incendiary device was used at Famous Flesh Gordon's strip club.  That fire was met quickly and knocked down easily after $10,000 damage was done.

London Free Press

Next up came a fire bombing at Virginia's Adult Massage and Spa at 5:15 am.  That incident did $25,000 in damage.

London Community News / Brodie

This Monday February 13, London police arrested and charged two men with crimes associated with the fires.  David Hewlett-Weiler, 28, faces three counts of arson or explosion causing property damage, and another three of throwing an explosive with intended property damage in relation to the fires at the two massage parlors, the second blaze at Blue Lagoon II and Virginia's.

Michael Morrison, 21, of London is charged with a single count of arson causing property damage and another of throwing an explosive with intended property damage in the first Blue Lagoon fire.  Neither man is known to the police as being members of any biker gang or street gang, but they are looking for a connection.

No arrests have been made yet for the arson at Famous Flesh Gordon's.  That establishment is operated by a former-president of the London Hell's Angels chapter.

For more details of this investigation, read the London Free Press HERE.
The London Community News has the later report on the arrests HERE.

The London Free Press also has a good background story on the simmering tensions between the Hell's Angels and another biker gang the Outlaws.  This article was published on January 10 and tells of other, unreported, fires that include a tattoo parlor owned by one of the Outlaws.  Read this STORY HERE.

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Facility Was Unlicensed

THE OWNER OF THE "CHRIST IS LOVE" DRUG REHAB center that burned down Saturday has been arrested.  The fire that consumed the entire 3-story building killed 27 patients and injured many more.  Firegeezer reported on the deadly blaze last Saturday HERE.  Raul Garcia, who's son perished in the blaze, and his assistant turned themselves over to the police Sunday.  The court has issued warrants for two more men who were in charge of the facility's security.

AP

The police say that the clinic was unlicensed, had no fire extinguishers and no escape routes or fire exits.  BBC News tells,

The few survivors of the fire said they were locked inside the centre when the fire broke out.

Before handing himself in to police, Mr Garcia told journalists that he was innocent and that the clinic was a "house of God". The centre used Biblical teachings to treat dozens of people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.

Officials are also investigating whether recovering addicts were held at the centre against their will or subjected to abuse.

Lima's fire chief said that the FD had to punch holes through the walls from a neighboring building to get to some of the trapped survivors and the heavy iron gates at the entrance had to be cut open with large power saws.

Nuevo Ojo

Despite the size of cities like Lima, the capital city with a metro-area population of 8-½ million, all of the fire departments in the entire country are all-volunteer and notoriously underfunded.

The Associated Press has MORE.

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Everybody Lost in This One.  Will Somebody Go To Jail?

FIRE INVESTGATORS CONTINUE TO search for and identify evidence from the devastating fire that destroyed the GG's Island Restaurant in Riverside County, California, last Tuesday morning.  (See Firegeezer video report HERE.)

Desert Sun photo

The Registered Architectural Landmark has been the center of serious contention between the current occupant and the former owner of the restaurant with both of them claiming ownership of the premises.  The public feud has led the area residents to become very suspicious about the cause of the fire along with their wrath from seeing the local landmark destroyed.

The Palm Springs Desert Sun has been digging heavily into the records of the conflict and published a very good review of the questionable activities  of the combatants and published their report HERE.  It's worth the time to read the 5-page report.

They also filed this brief video taken during a walk-through of the burned-out eco-structure:

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Suspect Questioned

THE TRAGIC FIRE IN LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND, this past weekend that killed four siblings has been determined to be an arson.  (See the Firegeezer report from Sunday HERE.)  The fire began in a closet in one of the attic bedrooms where all four victims were sleeping.  There was very little fire damage, but heavy smoke generated from the small fire.  The coroner has reported that all four victims died from smoke inhalation.

This Wednesday the police arrested Dyson Allen, 18, on suspicion of murder and held him for questioning.  He was released on bail today and is now at an undisclosed location out of the county while waiting to be recalled for further questioning.  He is believed to be a friend of Reece Smith, 19, who was one of the fire fatalities.

This earlier candid photo of Dyson Allen
was released to the press.

The house had four smoke detectors installed, but none of them were working Saturday night at the time of the fire.  Four-year-old twin girls and a 2-yr.-old boy also perished.  The Daily Mail adds:

(Detective Chief Inspector Neil) Esseen added: 'Obviously, given that we now have a man under arrest, I cannot go into details about certain aspects of the investigation.

'However, what I would say is that we are at the very early stages of a major investigation and are following a number of different lines of inquiry. At this stage it is still unclear as to what happened in the lead-up to the fire starting.

'I would renew our appeal for anyone with information that could assist our inquiry to come forward. This is a tragic incident and our thoughts remain with the family at such a difficult time.'

The officer would not be drawn on whether the suspect in custody was a guest at the party held at the house on Saturday night.

 ITN has posted DCI Esseen's press statement:

The Daily Mail has more details and an extensive photo display in their updated report HERE.

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"Every time I see incidents like AMRI I'm convinced we really are
a third world nation with delusions of greatness,"

THOSE WERE THE WORDS OF Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir where Calcutta / Kolkata is located in India, after he saw the preliminary report on the deadly fire in the elite, high-dollar hospital  last Friday.

The death toll has reached 96 so far with several people still in critical condition after a large fire in the basement filled the 5-story hospital building with thick, deadly smoke.  (See Firegeezer video report HERE.)  There are several such hospitals in the city that cater to the rich and charge major sums for private rooms and multi-room suites.

A special report to the Toronto Globe & Mail continues:

The fire took place at the AMRI Hospital, one of the elite private medical institutions that dot India’s big urban centres. These hospitals provide the latest in diagnostic and surgical procedures, offer wealthy patients multi-room in-patient suites, "platinum waiting lounges" and charge as much as $1,000 a day as a basic bed rate – not much, compared to private medical care in the West, but fees accessible only to a tiny Indian elite.

But as details released in the past few days from the investigation of the fire make clear, the "first world care" offered by the hospital was only skin deep.

The investigation has, so far, found out that:

• The hospital was not sprinklered.
• There were no functioning smoke alarms.
• The staff had no fire training.
• When the fire began, most of the on-duty staff fled the building, abandoning their patients.
• Many mobile patients who could have self-evacuated could not leave their rooms because the windows were sealed and there were no fire escapes
• When the fire broke out, many neighbors poured into the hospital grounds to begin rescuing the trapped victims, but the hospital security guards closed the gates to keep people out, thus contributing to the death toll.
• When the first fire engine arrived two hours after the fire began, they were also locked out of the grounds.

• Hospital management was storing diesel and other highly flammable materials in the basement – as fuel for generators, to cover for frequent power outages – as well as trash, much of which was also highly combustible, including boxes, gas cylinders, electric cable and old mattresses.

NY Times / Reuters

The Globe & Mail continues:

(An) investigation by the Times of India revealed that in October, when a private security guard in the hospital found a small fire and called the fire department, hospital management suspended him without pay in punishment.

When the Kolkata fire department launched an inspection of other private city hospitals in the wake of the AMRI fire, it found that most lacked working fire alarms, and many were storing waste onsite. Several had approach lanes too narrow for fire-tending vehicles to reach them, and dysfunctional hose systems.

Probhir Rose, director of Woodland, one of the city’s oldest and most prestigious hospitals, reacted angrily to suggestions his hospital was unsafe, telling the Indian Express that his facility had a fire alarm system, they just weren’t using it.

Nine hospital executives have been arrested and are being held.  There are strong codes on fire safety in hospitals, but the fire inspectors are routinely bribed by the hospitals to overlook non-compliance.

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Arsonist Also Died in Explosion, Blaze

THE DEATH OF A WOMAN RESIDENT OF A SENIOR-CITIZEN apartment building in Edmonton, Alberta, has been officially classified as a homicide.  The Edmonton Police Service released the results of their investigation of the August 2nd explosion and fire on Friday.

August 2 photo of Bethany Seniors Home fire  (CBC)

The Edmonton Journal reports:

Anna Fedorio,83, died after a fire tore through Bethany Senior Citizens Home at 99th Street and 83rd Avenue.

Police were called to the residence shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 2. Investigations revealed that Ken Kopiak, 64, set fire to his car that was parked below the residence. Kopiak then entered his apartment, where he poured gasoline throughout his third-floor suite, police say. Fedorio, who lived next door to Kopiak, died after a fire and explosion in his suite.

Kopiak died in the same fire that killed Fedorio. His death has been ruled non-criminal, a designation that includes suicide. Police say the fire was caused by Kopiak's actions, but would not give details about how or why the fire was started.

Friends of Kopiak's had said that he was despondent in the time leading up to the arson, suffering from kidney failure, stomach cancer, and losing his life's savings in the stock market.

The fire caused $1.3 million in damage and forced nearly 60 residents to move out and find other living accommodations while the building undergoes a 1-year reconstruction.

The Edmonton Journal has the latest STORY.

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Unsolved Crime Squad Strikes the Match

THE CALGARY, ALBERTA POLICE, IN WHAT they call an "investigative re-enactment," set some fires in a vacant tavern Tuesday as part of an investigation into a 5-yr.-old murder.  The Calgary Herald reports:

Cold case investigators say they have made progress in the unsolved killing of waitress Brenda Meyers, 41, who died in March 2006.

Police said Monday they have identified a "person of interest" in the homicide and could also have DNA evidence. With that progress, they will move ahead with a "investigative re-enactment" and light parts of the building on fire, under supervision of the fire department.

Meyers was found in the basement of the Brentwood location of Madisons Cafe and Bar. She had been killed and the place was set ablaze. "We're going to do an investigative re-enactment and start a fire inside to see how the fire spreads from different areas of the restaurant," said homicide unit Staff Sgt. Grant Miller.

March 2006 photo taken just after the murder in
Madisons Cafe & Bar  (Calgary Herald)

The restaurant has since changed ownership and the new owners are co-operating with the police investigation, which comes as the restaurant is undergoing renovations.

Police say that significant advancements in DNA laboratory testing have permitted the case to be re-opened.  They also emphasized that any video of Tuesday's testing will not be made available to the public.

Read the report from the Herald HERE.

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