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New Jersey Sinkhole Swallows Occupied Forklift – Indoors

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Sinkholes Rare in Bergen County

A FORKLIFT OPERATOR ESCAPED WITH minor injuries Monday when the forklift he was riding suddenly dropped into a sinkhole in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Record

Danny Rodriguez was working inside a warehouse that stores non-perishable food products when,around 12:30 pm, the 40-ft. diameter hole opened up, dropping him about 8 feet to the initial bottom of the hole.  He was able to get himself out of the hole before the fire department arrived, and was transported to the hospital with back pains.

The Record reports in more detail:

Witnesses described the hole as being 30 to 40 feet wide and six to 10 feet deep. It was filled with a dark, oily liquid that authorities later said was cooking oil and soy sauce that was being stored in the warehouse and fell into the hole when the floor gave way.

Rodriguez managed to get out without serious injury, authorities said.

"Fortunately for the operator, the forklift went straight down and didn’t tip to the side because then he could have really been hurt," said borough Police Chief Larry Minda.

Sarah Entena, the administrator for AM Express Freight, said Rodriguez has worked for the Carlstadt-based company for about 30 years — "He’s the best forklift driver we have," she said. "The forklift protected him" from drowning or serious physical harm, she added. "And thank God for that."

News12

The warehouse is part of a nine-building attached complex and the local code inspector sealed off the warehouse along with the occupancies on each side until the building's owner is able to make corrective action to make it safe.

Later in the afternoon the incident was revised from "sinkhole" to "floor collapse" when it was determined that the floor collapsed into a sealed-off, and unknown to current occupants, basement.

View News12's informative video report HERE.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: Building construction, current events, rescue, Rescues

Tennessee Man Dies In Fiery Crash Off Bridge

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Spectacular Blaze and Plunge

A MARYVILLE, TENNESSEE, MAN died early Saturday morning when his car struck a bridge, caught on fire and then fell off into a creek below.

WATE-TV

The Blount County Daily Times reports:

James Pack III, 52, was identified as the driver killed in the crash, which occurred at around 2:30 a.m. near Tuckaleechee Pike.

Pack was traveling eastbound on East Lamar Alexander Parkway when his 2010 Infiniti QX5 ran off the left side of the roadway and traveled 279 feet in the median before striking a bridge abutment head on at the intersection of Tuckaleechee Pike, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report.

Pack’s vehicle caught fire after striking the bridge and traveled 68 feet on top of the bridge rail before falling off the bridge into Crooked Creek.

Blazing gasoline covered the creekbed and surrounding foliage (WBIR-TV)

Pack, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt and was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation.

 

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Posted by on May 18, 2013 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues

Scores Injured As Car Plows Into Walking Parade

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Driver May Have Had Medical Episode

AS MANY AS 60 PEOPLE were injured Saturday afternoon in a small Virginia mountain town when a car suddenly went out of control and barreled into a walking parade.

The Associated Press is reporting:

About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in Damascus, Virginia.

The black car is the one that ran over the hikers.  TriCities.com

Washington County director of emergency management Pokey Harris said no fatalities had been reported.

The injuries ranged from critical to superficial, he said. Three of the victims were flown by helicopters to regional hospitals. Another 12 to 15 were taken by ambulance. The rest were treated at the scene.

It happened around 2:30 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days Festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line.

A spectator captured some raw video from the early moments of the accident and uploaded it to YouTube:

 

It isn't yet known why the driver, described by witnesses as "an elderly man," suddenly drove into the hikers.  Authorities report that the vehicle involved in the accident was a 1997 Cadillac that was actually participating in the parade.  The initial sizeup is that he had some sort of medical emergency that incapacitated him.

Reports were saying that the car bolted for about 100 ft.knocking hikers over and coming to rest on a few of them.  Bystanders rushed to the car and lifted it high enough to get 3 or 4 trapped victims out from beneath it.

There were several volunteer fire units and ambulances in the parade as well, so there was an immediate response of help to triage and treat the victims.

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Posted by on May 18, 2013 • Filed under: current events, EMS Topics, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: , ,

High Angle Rescue From Cathedral Tower

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Aerial Was The Best Path To The Ground

A YOUNG WOMAN WAS RESCUED AT THE TOP of the cathedral in Clermont-Ferrand, France, this Saturday, May 4 shortly after noon. The woman was visiting the cathedral of Clermont when she was stricken by a sudden illness. The fire brigade of Clermont-Ferrand responded to the call to assist in the lady's safe removal from the tower.

Auvergne 3

They were faced with a problem because she had to be removed in a stretcher, but the narrow stairwell and corridors of the building would not allow it. Rescuers took the decision to use the outside and called in the local high-angle rescue team.

They removed her to the front of the Tower Bayette and then lowered her in the Stokes stretcher utilizing ropes down the face of the building. The descent of a little over 50 meters was held perfectly in front of a crowd of onlookers and visitors.

Auvergne3 posted this video of the descent:

 
Les pompiers de Clermont-Ferrand descendent une… by France3Auvergne

The victim was conscious during the entire evolution and was safely placed in the ambulance, then taken to the nearest hospital.

Auvergne 3

Auvergne 3 tv has the story and more photos HERE.

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Posted by on May 6, 2013 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Special Operations, Videos • Tagged: , ,

FDNY Subway Simulator

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FDNY's Subway Disaster Training Tunnel

Inside the FDNY's training facility on Randall's Island, an exact copy of a subway tunnel — replicated with details right down to the tiles on the walls — fills with smoke and recorded screams as mannequins stand in for injured riders.
 
"The more realistic you can make your training, the better people are going to do when they’re at the real scene," said FDNY Chief Tom Robson.  
 
The subway tunnel was added to the training facility just months ago. Federal agencies and military units have also used it for training.
Marc Santina (2012 May 02) Exclusive Look Inside FDNY's Subway Disaster Training Tunnel. NBC4 New York

 

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 3, 2013 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, News, Rescues, Training, Urban Commander, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Downtown Ka-Boom in Prague Injures Dozens

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Most Injuries Minor – No Deaths

A DESTRUCTIVE EXPLOSION in a downtown office building in the Czech capial of Prague Monday morning has injured more than 30 people, however the Mayor's office says that there were no fatalities.

EPA

The blast occurred just before 10 am local time in a small office occupancy located on a narrow side street next to the National Theater.  The authorities believe that there were about 15 people inside the building when it blew.  Many of the injuries were minor cuts and bruises to passersby, but about 4 occupants were more seriously injured.

EPA

Police officials said search and rescue dogs have inspected the site three times over the course of the day and there are no cases of people being trapped in the rubble. There are no reports of missing persons or people unaccounted for, the police said.

It has been all but confirmed that the blast was caused by a leaking gas pipe in a building next door.  The Wall Street Journal adds:

The blast was centered in the basement and lower floors of a multiple-story masonry building, and its sheer power pushed a brick-and-mortar load-bearing wall approximately 2 inches in the building.

Additionally, some floors collapsed and part of the roof was blown away in the explosion that took place in a side street where there is little foot traffic.

Zdenek Schwarz, head of Prague Emergency Medical Services, said that most injuries were caused by cuts from shattered glass in the wake of the blast.

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Posted by on April 29, 2013 • Filed under: explosion, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

8-Story Factory Collapse Kills Scores In Bangladesh

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Death Toll Continues To Rise

UPDATE:  As of late Thursday night the death toll has risen to 149.  Scroll down.

A FACTORY BUILDING FILLED WITH an estimated 2,000 workers collapsed suddenly Wednesday morning in Savar, Bangladesh.

Reuters

The 8-story building housed several garment producers where fabrics are cut and sewn into clothing that is primarily sold to U.S. retailers.  The collapse was sudden and buried as many as 2,000 people, about 600 of whom were pulled out alive by passersby immediately after the collapse.

The Associated Press is reporting:

Workers in the Rana Plaza building said it had developed such severe cracks the day before that it had been reported on local news channels. They hesitated to enter the building Wednesday morning, said Abdur Rahim, who worked in a garment factory on the fifth floor. But a manager from the factory assured them there was no problem, so they went inside, he said.

"We started working. After about an hour or so the building collapsed suddenly," he said. He next remembered regaining consciousness outside the building.

Sumi, a 25-year-old worker who goes by one name, said she was sewing jeans on the fifth floor with at least 400 others when the building fell. "It collapsed all of a sudden," she said. "No shaking, no indication. It just collapsed on us."

Volunteer rescuers used rolls of fabric to jury-rig
rescue chutes for many survivors.  (AFP)

She survived because she managed to reach a hole in the building through which rescuers pulled her out.

According to the PR director of a major hospital nearby, at least 87 people have been confirmed dead and he knows that approx. 600 others have been rescued.

The garment factories operated at full capacity 24 hours a day, so it is presumed that this building was fully occupied when it collapsed around 8:30 am.

The Telegraph has more HERE and provided this graphic raw video:

UPDATE 11 pm Thursday:
Late Thursday night (Eastern) the rising death count had reached 149 with many victims, both alive and dead, still trapped in the pile of concrete rubble.

CBS News reports:

Searchers worked through the night to cut holes in the jumbled mess of concrete with drills or their bare hands, passing water and flashlights to those pinned inside the building.

"I gave them whistles, water, torchlights. I heard them cry. We can't leave them behind this way," said fire official Abul Khayer.

On a visit to the site, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir told reporters the building had violated construction codes and "the culprits would be punished."

Abdul Halim, an official with the engineering department in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, said the owner was originally allowed to construct a five-story building but he added another three stories illegally.

Local police chief Mohammaed Asaduzzaman said police and the government's Capital Development Authority have filed separate cases of negligence against the building owner.

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Posted by on April 24, 2013 • Filed under: Building construction, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Spectacular Fiery Crash in Chicagoland

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Four Injured – One Critical

A SPECTACULAR CRASH IN NORTHFIELD, Illinois, Sunday night kept growing more critical as emergency units were arriving.

Chicago Tribune

The accident began unfolding on the Edens Expressway around 9:10 pm Central when a tractor trailer changed from the right lane to the center lane and struck a car while merging.  The truck then veered sharply back to the right and struck a second car and, continuing out of control, sailed back across to the left shoulder and crashed into the jersey wall ending up on top of another car.

The crash ruptured one of the truck's fuel tanks starting a major fire enveloping the median vegetation and some of the vehicles including the entire truck rig.

ChicagoAreaFire / Larry Shapiro

The initial dispatch was for a brush fire, but was soon upgraded to a truck fire as more calls came in.  First-arriving units further upgraded the call when they found the multiple injuries and advanced fire conditions.  An EMS box alarm was sounded bringing more ambulances, two ladders and additional pumper.  Eventually the box was further expanded to bring in two airport crash trucks.

Police have cited the truck driver for improper lane usage, lack of insurance and failure to display a medical card and log book.

Four people were injured in the crash, one critically with 3rd-degree burns.

The tractor didn't fare well either.
ChicagoAreaFire / Larry Shapiro

ChicagoAreaFire was on the scene and has posted more details, several photos and video HERE.  (Be sure to play the video! …. ed.)  Check back to their website later today for additional videos and expanded photo galleries.

Chicago Tribune has more DETAILS.

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Posted by on April 22, 2013 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: ,

Have You Ever Run An “Elephant Stomp” Extrication?

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Every Now And Then In South Africa

THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK in South Africa is a massive wild animal preserve isolated from civilization, for the most part.  It is criss-crossed with extensive single-lane dirt roadways that are used by millions of foreign tourists to wander along and view the wildlife.

SANParks

But you have to be careful because if you need medical help, it comes later via helicopter from a long ways away.  A Polish couple learned this the hard way Monday morning when they drove their car too close to an elephant who asserted his territorial rights.

The Daily Mail is reporting:

Two tourists visiting the national park were injured after an elephant charged and overturned their car.

Kruger National Park spokesman William Mabasa said: ‘We stay here every day. We meet elephants on the road. We basically give them space but tourists sometimes don't.’

It is unclear why the elephant became aggressive, Mr Mabasa added. He is appealing to the public to be alert in Kruger park and try not to get too close if they see an elephant approaching on the road.

The male tourist was taken to Clinix Phalaborwa Private Hospital, near the park, and was said by an official at the hospital to be in critical condition with multiple rib fractures. His female companion was also being treated there for a pelvis fracture, but her injuries were not said to be serious.

The hospital employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, added that officials planned to transfer the pair to a hospital in Pretoria.

SANParks photo

IOL News in Pretoria adds:

A doctor and paramedics backed by a helicopter rushed to the scene on the H1-7 tar road between Shingwedzi and Punda Maria in the northern half of the park at about 6.30am on Monday, SANParks said.

"We were told by the woman that when they saw the elephant charging, they stopped their car and switched off the engine. Apparently they had been told that when one switches off the engine – an animal stops charging. But the elephant didn’t, it went on and trampled the car," the park’s head of communications and marketing, William Mabasa, said.

Fortunately for the couple, as the elephant was trampling the car, they were thrown out through the windows. Had they not been out of the car, the incident could most likely have been fatal, Mabasa added.

The last time an elephant flipped a car in the park was this past November.

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Posted by on April 17, 2013 • Filed under: EMS Topics, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: , , ,

Fatal Firetruck Crash in England

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Civilian Killed In Head-On Crash

A DORSET, ENGLAND, WOMAN WAS KILLED Sunday morning when her car collided head-on with a fire engine that was responding to a call.

Dorset Echo

The fire engine was responding to a fatal accident that occurred about a half-mile away where a man was killed when he slammed into a tree next to the road.  The pumper was wending its way on the 2-lane road when it met the Cooper Mini that was being driven by Ally Mullaney and carrying two children with her at 8:10 am.

The crash was severe and caused extensive damage to both vehicles, killing Mrs. Mullaney and seriously injuring the two children who were airlifted out to the hospital.

Ally Mullaney

Mullaney, believed to be in her mid-40's, was a head schoolteacher and the mother of four children.  Sky News has more personal information HERE.

Sergeant Stuart Pitman, of Dorset police, said: "The male driver of the Ford Focus (in the initial accident) was pronounced dead at the scene but fire crews were requested to attend.

"While we were dealing with that incident and a very short time later another call came in of another very serious collision on the B3075 where a head-on crash had occurred between a red Mini and a fire engine responding to the first incident.

"There were three occupants in the Mini and one of them, a woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The firemen were not injured and they tended to the woman and two passengers but sadly there was nothing that could be done to save the driver.

"The two passengers were (extricated) from the vehicle and airlifted to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Dorset police investigation is still underway and they are not commenting any further on the incident.  Apparently the only witnesses to the crash are the six firefighters and the two survivors in the car.  The Daily Mail is reporting that the two children are sons of Mullaney ages 10 and 14.

The Dorset Echo has more details HERE.
The Daily Mail has extensive coverage HERE.

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Posted by on April 15, 2013 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged: , ,

2 Dead, Dozens Injured in Texas Bus Crash

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Senior Citizens On Casino Jaunt

A  CHARTER BUS CARRYING about 45 passengers to a casino in Oklahoma was involved in a single-vehicle accident on a freeway near Irving, Texas, Thursday morning.

KTVT

The accident occurred shortly after 9 am Central when the bus went out of control for an as-yet unknown reason.  KTVT-TV is reporting:

"For an as yet undetermined reason, that motorcoach traveled off the righthand side of the roadway and struck what’s called an impact attenuator, those big rubber things that are on the side of the road," explained Sgt. Lonnie Haschel with the Texas Department of Public Safety. "After it struck the impact attenuator, it went back across the lanes of traffic into a grassy area and struck the concrete median. It rode up on top of that concrete barrier and it rolled on its righthand side, where it came to a rest."

A total of 36 41 passengers were injured and have already been transported to area hospitals, including 9 victims taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas by air ambulance. The others were tranported by ground ambulance or Dallas Area Rapid Transit buses that arrived for assistance. Two people died, according to Texas DPS officials on the scene. Most of the victims are elderly.

KRLD

One victim was trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated.  It is reported that he appeared to be in serious condition.  Sixteen patients are listet in "critical" condition.

KXAS-TV interviewed one of the passengers in this video report:

 

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

The bus is operated by the Cardinal Coach Line of Mansfield and was taking the private group to the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma.

The Irving Fire Department responded to the accident and notified the regional hospitals of the mass-casualty event for standbys.

This is still an active incident.  The story will be updated if warranted later.

Thanks to Mark D.

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Posted by on April 11, 2013 • Filed under: Mass Casualty Incident, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

2 Children Perish in Pit Collapse

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Unbraced Clay Wall Caves In

TWO LINCOLN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, children were buried alive Sunday evening while playing in a 24-ft.-deep pit that a homeowner had dug in his yard.

WSOC-TV image

The two tots, ages 6 and 7 years, were cousins and related to the property owner.  The man had recently used a backhoe to dig the pit that is now being described as the beginning construction of a "survival bunker."  He had no work permits or building plans, nor had he any shoring in place in the 20' x 20' hole that had a sloping entranceway leading to the floor that was awaiting a concrete base.

The two children were in the bottom of the pit playing with a toy pickaxe when the wall collapsed on them.  The local Denver Fire Department was on the scene within a few minutes after receiving the call from the distraught homeowner, and careful rescue operations were immediately begun.

After digging through the dirt pile by hand for 12 hours, the two lifeless bodies were recovered late Monday morning.

WSOC-TV Charlotte has been on the story and filed this video report:

 

A report from WRAL-TV tells:

Neighbor Bradley Jones said the children often played in the pit when the boy's father was working there. Jones, who said he works in construction, said there was no structure to support the pit's tall dirt walls and that he questioned the man about the hole's depth.

"I told Chelsea not to go in," Jones said, referring to advice he gave his teenage daughter, who babysat the children. "It was dangerous. There was nothing to reinforce those walls."

WSOC-TV has the latest details and several photo galleries HERE.
WCNC-TV has more details plus information on the initial 9-1-1 call HERE.

Thanks to Peter T.

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Posted by on April 9, 2013 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos

Suspension Rescue in Virginia

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Truck Accident Leaves Driver Dangling

A WOMAN WAS RESCUED MONDAY morning after her tractor-trailer crashed through a bridge-rail and was left dangling in mid-air over the water.

Virginia State Police photo

The accident took place in Newport News, Virginia, on the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel that crosses the infamous Hampton Roads water junction.  Just before 9 am, Almira Ribic, 43, was driving southbound when she lost control of her truck and crashed through the jersey wall.  The trailer rolled over and halted the truck's projection just in time to keep the cab from plunging into the James River.

The Newport News and Suffolk fire departments responded to the scene along with a Coast Guard craft.  Ribic, who was wearing her seat belt, was conscious and alert in her cab and appeared to be calm as she awaited rescuing.

VSP

Suffolk FD utilized a tower-ladder from across the opposite bridge to extend its platform just above the suspended cab and a Newport News Tactical Rescue team firefighter repelled down to the victim and got her safely out of the truck. 

U. S. Coast Guard photo

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Virginia State Police photos

 

WVEC-TV reported:

The USCGC Shearwater, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Portsmouth, along with a 25-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station Portsmouth and an incident management crew from Sector Hampton Roads responded. They established a safety zone and would have gone into action had the driver fallen into the water, LTJG David Bourbeau with USCG Sector Hampton Roads told WVEC.com.

Sgt. Michelle Anaya with Va. State Police said Ribic, who was wearing a seatbelt, was "very happy" to be rescued. She was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News for treatment of minor injuries and released.

She prayed just before her truck came to a stop, the cab dangling just above the James River.

"I prayed," she said, 'Please God, please take my kids and my husband. Keep them alive, make them be happy… happy and good. Whatever happens to me, that will be fine, but please take care of my family' and when I thought that way, my truck had stopped and when I saw the truck stopped, I said this is my way out."

She thought about jumping into the water, but she didn't know if her body weight kept the balance of the truck steady. The 43-year old truck driver said she told herself to keep calm.

As for her rescuers, she takes none of them for granted.

"Thanks to everybody who was helping me today," she said. "Thanks to all the rescue people, fire department the police officer, everybody. I dont know how many people were involved over there. Thanks to everybody who saved my life."

WAVY-TV interviewed the tactical rescue team member who retrieved Ribic from the cab in this good video report:

 

The Coast Guard contained and cleaned up a 150-gallon diesel spill and by later that afternoon all the traffic lanes in both directions were repopened.

The Virginia State Police charged Ribic with reckless driving.

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Posted by on April 9, 2013 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Fiery Traffic Pileup in Nigeria Kills 50+

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Death Count Continues To Rise As More Bodies Found

A FIERY VEHICLE ACCIDENT FRIDAY in southern Nigeria involved a truck, a gasoline tanker, and a bus loaded with passengers.

Lagos Sun

According to an early report from Federal Road Safety Commission spokesman Jonas Agwu, a punctured tire caused the truck to hit the tanker which then caught fire, and a bus crashed into the burning tanker, killing more than 30 people on the bus. Four people in the tanker also died and flaming fuel ran into a neaby mechanic's workshop and killed two children inside.

PM News, a Nigerian source, is reporting now:

Witnesses said the accident occurred at about 1.30 pm, when a trailer loaded with cement reportedly had a burst tyre and rammed into a petrol tanker carrying fuel which hit the fully loaded luxury bus with the inscription "Young Shall Grow Motors." The luxury bus reportedly burst into flame upon contact.

A spokesman for the FRSC, Jonas Agwu said 36 people were killed in the accident. "Thirty-six deaths confirmed" from the accident on the Benin-Ore highway at Igbogui village in southern Edo state, Jonas Agwu said.

He said the dead included 30 passengers from the bus. Four people from the tanker died as well as two children who were at a nearby mechanic workshop, Agwu said.

Three people were rescued, he said. Details were still emerging from the scene of the accident. Agwu said that fire which erupted from the accident quickly "spread to a nearby mechanic workshop where eight other vehicles got burnt. A nearby local market also got burnt."

The fire burned for several hours with most of the victims still in their trucks and the bus.  The late arrival of firefighters ensured the disastrous result.  It is still not yet known how many people perished in the accident.

Vanguard

The Lagos Sun adds:

It was gathered that the spillage of petrol on the road had set other vehicles on fire, including commercial and private cars. About 20 other vehicles were burnt in the process. At the accident scene, there were charred bodies of the passengers in the carcass of the burnt luxury bus and other vehicles. Some passengers in other vehicles, who had got down, were seen shedding tears over the horrible death of the victims. The accident had caused a heavy traffic jam, as personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) stopped vehicular movement on both sides of the expressway to avoid further disaster.

So far, few news photos or videos have made their way out into publication.  Firegeezer will be updating later when more information and images become available.

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Posted by on April 6, 2013 • Filed under: EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: ,

Fatal Accident Involving School Bus in Chicagoland

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Bus Driver May Have Run Red Light

Update:  Third vehicle involved.  See ChicagoAreaFire HERE for details and more photos with updated crash information.

A LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, SCHOOL BUS was involved in a 2 3-vehicle accident Friday morning that cause the bus to roll onto its side and left a passenger in one of the other vehicles dead.

The crash occured shortly after 8 am Central while the bus with 25 children on board was on its way to an elementary school about a mile away.  The wreck involved an SUV and a Jeep Wrngler as well as the bus, all of them heavily damaged.

WGN-TV

The Chicago Tribune is reporting:

The bus "may have been late on the light" as it traveled through the intersection and struck a Jeep Wrangler, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said. A Jeep Cherokee was also struck and heavily damaged.

The driver of the Wrangler was killed. Officials described the injured children as "walking wounded."

Twenty-three of the children were taken by another school bus to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with two paramedics on board and two ambulances following. Twelve other children were taken by ambulance to other hospitals, along with two people from the Jeep Cherokee.

NBC News has posted this raw video:

 

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.

 

Hat tip:  Carmine S.

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Posted by on April 5, 2013 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Dozens Dead When Illegal Building Collapses in Mumbai

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Death Toll Expected to Rise

AT LEAST 45 PEOPLE HAVE DIED and more than 50 others were injured Thursday evening in Mumbai (Bombay), India, when a partially-occupied building collapsed around them.

The Hindu

The combination apartment and commercial structure had four stories completed and mostly occupied while work continued to raise it to eight stories.  The construction crews were working on the eighth floor when it all suddenly gave way.

The building was being constructed illegally without any permits or oversight.  It is also suspected that the builder was using sub-standard materials and techniques in order to save time and money on the job.

FoxNews is reporting:

Rescue workers with sledgehammers, gasoline-powered saws and hydraulic jacks struggled Friday to break through the tower of rubble in their search for possible survivors. Six bulldozers were brought to the scene.

"There may be (a) possibility people have been trapped inside right now," local police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said Friday.

At the time of the collapse, between 100 and 150 people were in the building. Many were residents or construction workers, who were living at the site as they worked on it, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for the (local) government.

More than 20 people remained missing Friday afternoon and three floors of the building remained to be searched, said R.S. Rajesh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force who was at the scene.

Building collapses are common in India as builders try to cut corners by using poor quality materials, and multi-storied structures are built with inadequate supervision. The massive demand for housing around India's cities and pervasive corruption allow builders to add unauthorized floors or build entirely illegal buildings.

The neighborhood where the building collapsed was part of a belt of more than 2,000 illegal structures that had sprung up in the area in recent years, said Malvi, the town spokesman.

 

BBC News tells us that witnesses say the construction of the building started just six weeks ago and in that time, seven floors were built rapidly and the eighth floor was under construction.  Even though the construction was incomplete, the builder had allowed families to move in.

The Hindu is also reporting:

Alok Awasthi, Commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has been pressed into service to assist the local police and civic administration in rescue efforts, said 59 people had been pulled out alive but some more survivors could still be trapped under the debris.

Cranes were being used to remove the rubble, floor-by-floor, to trace the survivors with the help of life detector sensors which could pick up signals from possible survivors from 70 metre deep, he said.

State-of-the-art equipment fitted with thermal cameras were being inserted into the wreckage after making holes to locate survivors and extricate them with gas cutters, Awasthi said.

"The presence of large number of people and noise are hampering rescue efforts as it is difficult for the sensors to pick up signals of existing life under such a huge wreckage," said the NDRF Commandant, whose team of 90 men is working round-the-clock, at the scene of the incident.

For more details read the entire story in The Hindu HERE.

The police have registered a case of culpable homicide against the builder and the two owners. All of them have absconded and are being searched for.

This video report from NDTV does a good job of explaining the illegalities and corruptions associated with this building:

 

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Posted by on April 5, 2013 • Filed under: Building construction, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Apartment House Ka-Boom in France … 4 Dead, More Missing

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One Family Destroyed

A LARGE EXPLOSION IN AN APARTMENT shortly after 6 am Wednesday morning in Witry-lès-Reims, France, has left 4 people dead and at least 2 more missing and feared to be under the rubble.

AFP

The dawn blast, which is believed to most likely be a natural gas explosion, occurred on the 2nd floor of the small apartment building in the small town of 5,000.  TV5 Monde adds:

According to a final report confirmed by the public prosecutor of Reims, four people, a couple of 30-34 and their child of 4 years, as well as an old uncle of 50 years who lived in another apartment, were killed.

A man critically burned was transported in a coma to a hospital outside the Department, according to the prosecution. Furthermore, three other more lightly injured people have been transported to the CHU de Reims.

The entire building was gutted by the blast and is left in a pile of debris and structural pieces.  The sound of the ka-boom was heard for several kilometers around.

Firefighters, gendarmes, and search dog teams have been working the site all day in attempts to find a man and his daughter who are unaccounted for, plus any other potential vicitims that may be in the rubble.

L'Union photos

The following video is recommended viewing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

L'Union has the early STORY.
TV5 Monde has MORE.

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Posted by on April 3, 2013 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Speeding Ferrari Takes Out 26 Trees …. Ends Up In 26 Pieces

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Driver Survives To Pay For It.

A 41-YR.-OLD MAN IN THE BAVARIA REGION of Germany was breezing along a 2-lane road in his 130,000-euro Ferrari Saturday afternoon when he lost it.  The car tore through a wooded area literally chopping down 26 trees and tearing his car to pieces.

Kamera24 TV

 

 

The man was firmly entrapped in his car, but in serious condition.  The 70 responding personnel – firefighters, paramedics, police – were able to free him after a complicated extrication.

Mittelbayerische has the STORY.

Ratisbona Broadcasts prepared this video report:

 

Thanks to Christian Lewalter of Feuerwehr Weblog.

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Posted by on April 1, 2013 • Filed under: cars, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Condo Ka-Boom Kills Vengeful Bomber

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Hours Away From Being Evicted

A RECLUSIVE PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, MAN who was scheduled to be evicted from his apartment Thursday foiled the sheriff by blowing up his unit early in the morning.  Mark Williams, 60, was found dead in his 5th-floor apartment after the blast shook the entire 9-story building and started a fire that extended into other units and filled the entire building with thick smoke.

WTAE-TV

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports:

Investigators believe Williams uncapped the gas line to his stove, causing an explosion about 7:15 a.m. when the fumes reached an ignition source, such as a space heater or other appliance, fire Chief Darryl Jones said.

"I woke when I heard an explosion that shook the walls," said Tom Korpar, 24, a second-year dental student at the University of Pittsburgh. "My kitchen wall, which shared his kitchen wall, was blown in. I could see right into his kitchen. I guess I was lucky. I slept in today, otherwise I would have been right there in the kitchen, cooking eggs."

The blast cracked an exterior wall of the building, but an engineer said the damage was cosmetic, Jones said. The fire and blast damaged 126 of the complex's 191 units.

KDKA-TV

Williams, who was described by his neighbors as, "reclusive," "hard to know," and "troubled" had been involved in a 15-year legal battle with his homeowners association of his refusal to pay his condo fees.  After the dues and interest grew to an outlandish total, the HA was able to get a judge to order a sheriff's sale of the unit and Williams was scheduled to be evicted Thursday.

The Tribune-Review has the details HERE.

The nature of the call and the occupancy led to a quick elevation of the dispatch to 7 alarms as firefighters scrambled to get to the approx. 200 occupants still inside with the building filled with smoke.

KDKA-TV filed this video report:

 

Williams was the only fatality and the only injuries reported were for a few people affected by smoke inhalation.

Hat tip:  Mark Donovan.

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Posted by on March 22, 2013 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: ,

Scores Injured in 100+ Vehicle Pileup in Canada

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"Every 200 Yards Another Pileup … Endless Wreckage"

A SUDDEN, BLINDING SNOW STORM created havoc on the QE2 freeway near Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday just before noon.

CTV / Fildebrandt

According to the RCMP a multi-car pileup in the bad weather comprising about a dozen or more vehicles led to several other chain reaction crashes in the vicinity, eventually involving at least 100 cars and trailer trucks.

It still isn't known how many people were injured, but at least 22 were transported to hospitals for treatment and more than 80 others were treated on the scene.

The snow continued falling for several hours more, compounding
the rescue access and efforts, and the clean-up.
(CTV / Drew Forward)

The Edmonton Journal reports:

The number of injuries was earlier thought to be around 300, but Alberta Health Services revised that number after people were assessed at the scene.

A "multi-casualty" incident bus was sent to the pileup and RCMP and fire crews went from vehicle to vehicle checking for the injured, said Alberta Health Services spokesman Kerry Williamson.

Four buses from Edmonton Transit were also on their way at about 3 p.m. to provide shelter and warmth to motorists who were stuck in their vehicles for hours.

A pair of Edmonton police officers were sent to the scene to escort transit buses that were being used to transport injured people, police spokeswoman Leila Daoud said. The police disaster and emergency operations service branch is on standby if more assistance is requested, she added.

CBC-TV News posted this video report:

 

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Posted by on March 21, 2013 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Mass Casualty Incident, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Another Challenging Extrication in Germany

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Driver Trapped By Tons of Logs

THIS PAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON a lumber hauler carrying 14 large logs was going around a curve when it suddenly tipped over.  Unfortunately a BMW automobile driven by a 27-yr.-old soldier was coming the opposite direction and just happened to be in the tip zone when the trailer went over around 1:30 pm.  The load completely buried the car, crushing the roof and entrapping the driver.

All photos via Feuerwehr Gemeinde Laufach's website

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The crash scene as the first-in crews arrived

The first-arriving fire engine came on the scene at the same time as the ambulance and the initial assessment disclosed that the car's driver was conscious and able to talk to the rescuers.  His legs were trapped under the steering wheel shaft while his torso was being held across the center console.  The victim's main complaint was for trouble breathing.

A call was made for a heavy rescue unit and the fire department crane, which were both dispatched immediately.  The firefighters aleady on the scene began securing the logs with straps and braces to keep them from causing further hazard to the victim while awaiting the other units.  When they arrived work began by removing the logs while using spreaders and air bags to keep the roof from collapsing any further.  They were also able to get the pedal cutter inside to free the victim's feet.

The man was freed after about one hour of the rescue operation and he was successfully transported to the hospital.  His condition has not been released.  By 5:30 pm the crash scene was cleared and the road, which had been closed for 4 hours, was reopened.

Tools of the Feuerwehr

 

Feuerwehr Gemeinde Laufach has the story and more photos HERE.

Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter of Feuerwehr Weblog.

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Posted by on March 21, 2013 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues

Updated: Private Jet Crashes Into Homes in Indiana

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Injuries Reported – One Person Unaccounted For

Update, 8:30 pm:  Fatalities reported.  More information and details added.  Scroll down.

A PRIVATE JET PLANE CRASHED into a South Bend suburb neighborhoon Sunday afternoon just after 4 pm damaging at least three houses.

South Bend Tribune

Local station WNDU-TV reported early:

We have just learned a private plane, believed to be a learjet of some sort, has crashed into at least three homes just southeast of the South Bend Regional Airport.

The pilot radioed for help after experiencing technical problems. A landing attempt was made but failed. The plane was inbound to South Bend Regional Airport and had departed from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Maggie Scroope tells NewsCenter 16, the level two trauma center is treating three victims. Hospital staff has issued a "Code Yellow," which essentially puts staff on warning, but does not require that extra medical workers be called in.

Early witness statements say that the plane clipped the roof of one house, and then struck two others causing significant damage.  Neighbors say that one resident has not been seen since the crash.

There was no fire involved, but the damage apparently broke a gas line the fuel tank ruptured and the entire area has been evacuated as a precaution because of the jet fuel.

Update, 8:30 pm:
It has been reported now that the plane carried four passengers and two of them died in the crash.  Three people have been transported to the hospital, but no report on how many of them were passengers.  The South Bend Tribune reports:

At least three people have been taken to Memorial Hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening, according to a hospital spokesperson. Two are in fair condition and one is serious. The person in serious condition is undergoing surgery.

The jet was a Beechcraft Premier 1 with tail number N26DK – out of the Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport in Tulsa, OK.

This happened around 4:30 p.m. According to South Bend fire, the plane was 8 miles west of the airport headed to runway 9. It touched down one time then started to climb again and then it crashed. On approach the pilot reported a problem with electrical power, according to the FAA.

Neighborhood resident Stan Klaybor says the aircraft clipped the top of one house, heavily damaged a second, and came to rest against a third. He says one resident hasn't been seen.

During a news conference, the South Bend fire chief of training said "This is now a rescue effort," but the search is dangerous because of structural damage to the house the plane is lodged inside and the jet fuel. Crews have to stabilize the home before they can proceed with rescue efforts.

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Posted by on March 17, 2013 • Filed under: aircraft, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues

Pennsylvania Team Bus Crash Kills 2, Injures 24

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College Women's Lacrosse Team

Update:  2nd fatality identified as team's head coach.  Scroll down for details.

A CHARTER BUS CARRYING A women's lacrosse team from Seton Hill University crashed into a tree on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Saturday morning.  The wreck killed the bus driver and one of the students who died later at the hospital.  The left front corner of the bus, where the driver sits, took the force of the tree impact and was ripped partly back.

Patriot-News / Hermitt

The Associated Press reports:

The bus, which was carrying 23 Seton Hill lacrosse players and three coaches, reportedly went off the road and crashed into a tree, according to Pennsylvania Turnpike spokeswoman Renee Colborn. The crash occurred around 9 a.m.

Sentinel / Malmont

Colborn said that the bus driver and one passenger died. All other passengers were hospitalized, some with serious injuries. Three were taken to the hospital in helicopters, according to Penn State Hershey Medical Center spokeswoman Danielle Ran. One of the three died at the hospital.

Patriot – News / Hermitt

The bus was operated by Mlaker Charter & Tours, of Davidsville, Pennsylvania.

The Carlisle Sentinel filed this raw video from the crash site:

 

The Patriot-News has more information on the injured victims HERE.
The Carlisle Sentinel has more details, photos and videos HERE.

Update, 5:30 pm:
The other fatality has been identified as the team's head coach, Kristina Quigley, 30, who was also pregnant.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting:

Cumberland County officials said the driver, Anthony Guaetta of Johnstown, died at the scene,

Head coach Kristina Quigley, 30, of Greensburg, and two other injured passengers were flown by helicopter to Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Ms. Quigley died there. She was six months pregnant and her unborn son did not survive, authorities said. The condition of the other two victims was unknown, hospital spokeswoman Danielle Ran said.

Ms. Quigley, who is survived by her husband, Glenn Quigley, and young son, Gavin, had just begun her second season with the Seton Hill women's lacrosse program, according to Ms. Coleman. She led the Griffins to 11 victories in her first season.

Coach Quigley

For more details read the full article HERE.

Seton Hill University is a Catholic school of about 2,500 students, located near Pittsburgh. The team was to play at Millersville University, outside Lancaster on Saturday.

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Posted by on March 16, 2013 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Challenging Vehicle Extrication in Germany

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Multi-Truck Crash Mashes Auto – Traps Passengers

AN UNUSUAL AND EXTENSIVE CRASH involving about six trucks and a car near Niedernhausen, Germany, this morning (Wednesday) presented a complicated extrication job for the local fire brigades.

The excellent, fire service based website, Wiesbaden 112 is reporting that a tractor trailer travelling on the A3 freeway came upon some congestion at a rest area which was overcrowded and had a line of trucks parked along the highway shoulder.  The truck sideswiped about six of the parked trucks and ended up mashing an Audi automobile with 4 passengers between it and a parked truck.

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The fire brigades of Idstein, Wörsdorf, Niedernhausen and Königshofen worked to free the four people from the completely destroyed Audi with hydraulic rescue devices. For two male occupants however, any help came too late – they suffered fatal injuries in the collision. Two other passengers were seriously injured and taken to hospitals. The driver that caused the wreck and several other truck drivers were less seriously injured.

Wiesbaden 112 has the story and a 26-image photo gallery HERE.

Video report also provided by Wiesbaden 112:

 

Thanks to Christian Lewalter of Feuerwehr Weblog.

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Posted by on March 13, 2013 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Videos

Spontaneous Human Chain Saves Drowning Boy

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Heroic Response From  Passersby

A 12-YEAR-OLD NEW ZEALAND BOY is alive and grateful to a couple of dozen selfless and heroic bystanders after he was swept out into the ocean by a wave.  A younger friend who was with him wisely avoided trying to reach Josh McQuoid and instead raised the alarm.  A police officer was quick to the scene and went out into the surf and grabbed Josh, but the heavy surf battered them and kept breaking his grip.

Soon another policeman and other rescuers went to the beleagured pair, but they were captured by the surf as well and the rip current dragged them 500 feet along the shoreline.  Just at that moment,  the bystanders realized the problem and a massive, spontaneous  swarm of them ran out into the surf to form the "human chain" to anchor the rescuers and then draw them to safety.

An amateur videographer captured the rescue:

 

Firegeezer notes:  Don't tell me that watching those citizens spring into action like that didn't bring a tear to your eye.

NZ Stuff explains further:

Josh and his friends had been in town when they decided to go down to the beach. They were just putting their feet in the water when the waves bowled them over. "It was only knee-deep," Josh said, still struggling to believe what had happened. "That was what surprised me, and it swept me off my feet."

Coughing and spluttering, he focused on keeping his head above water. "It was really hard, it flipped me around heaps of times … I didn't know which way was up." A German tourist went to his aid but was unable to keep a hold of him.

Napier Constable Paul Bailey stripped off to his underwear when he arrived on the scene. "We could see [constable] Bryan Farquharson getting knocked over in the waves. When I ran down I could see Bryan was talking to the boy, who was screaming and crying. "Between waves I could see that he could touch the bottom. I thought well if he can touch the bottom I'm going out to grab him because I'll be able to touch the bottom too. But when the first wave hit it took me straight off my feet," Bailey said.

He managed to get through the waves and grab Josh, who by that stage was "a dead weight with no fight left in him. We were thrown all over the place," Bailey said. "On one occasion I got up and I couldn't see him. I thought 'oh no, that's it, he's lost'. He was totally submerged but fortunately he banged into my legs as he was getting sucked back out again. That's how I found him again," he said.

"Then we saw the human chain they'd formed and I was able to pass him over," Bailey said. Josh, who was unresponsive at that stage, was moved up the beach, where members of the public gave him first aid.

 TV ONE News adds:

Josh told ONE News: "When I was in there. I thought I was going to die. "The waves smashed me so much, there were five really big ones, they flipped me around quite a few times, I was underwater."

At times the boy was underwater for up to 20 seconds at a time and fading fast. He said it was "like being in a washing machine you know, just boom, boom, boom".

One woman who watched the drama unfold from the beach said: "It was amazing to watch and a huge relief to see the boy brought to shore. I really think if the police had not arrived at the scene so quickly he would have drowned."

The boy was unresponsive, physically spent, and could not move unaided when he made it to the beach, members of the public gave him first aid.

"I'd love to thank them so much for what they did, they saved my life, if it wasn't for them I'd be dead," he said.

Josh McQuoid (left) has special thanks for
his pal Hikairo Ratapu who got the whole rescue started.
(Fairfax NZ photo)

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Posted by on March 12, 2013 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Videos