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Murder – Suicide by Arson Kills Family of Four in Germany

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Police Still Investigating

 AN APARTMENT FIRE FRIDAY MORNING in Langenfeld, Germany, left a family of four dead and a police investigation into the suspicious fire.

When the firefighters arrived they found a fire largely contained to the small apartment on the top floor over a commercial occupancy and knocked it down quickly.  But the smoke had been thick and when the firefighters looked through the apartment they found the bodies of a 34-yr.-old man, his wife, 33, and their two children ages 1 and 5.

DPA photo

Initial investigation quickly revealed that the fire had been set and not an accident.  Suspicion fell on the father after a neighbor found a note in their letterbox left by the dead man along with his car keys.  The note said "all is explained" referring to a suicide note that he had left in the car.  The police are currently working on the theory that the father had first killed his family members, the set the fire before he took his own life.

NRW posted this video report:

 

None of the people in the other apartments in the building were injured and only smoke damage was done outside the fire unit.

Suddeutsche has the STORY.

Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter

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Posted by on January 27, 2012 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

Chicago Fire Claims 2 Children Behind Locked Door

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Self-Closing Door Prevents Rescue

A CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, WOMAN WAS PUT THROUGH an ordeal early Tuesday morning when she was prevented from saving her two children from a fire because of a locked door.

The fire started around 3:15 am Central this morning (Tuesday) and the mother of three was awakened somehow, alerted to the fire.  She grabbed her 6-year-old son who was closest and took him out the front door of their apartment.  But the self-closing and locking door slammed shut behind her, preventing her from returning to the apartment to snatch the other two youngsters ages 3 and 1 yrs.

WMAQ-TV photo

A police officer who was first on the scene and a passing tow-truck driver tried to break in the door and when they were finally successful, the fire and heat in the apartment prevented their entry.

WLS-TV Ch. 7 filed this early video report:

 

The two victims were in the same bedroom and apparently died from the smoke as there was not burning in the bedroom.  Their mother is in the hospital in serious condition from smoke inhalation, but the 6-yr.-old boy was uninjured.  The apartment had smoke detectors and it is believed that they were working, but not confirmed.

WBBM-TV has a recently updated report with more information and additional video HERE.

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Posted by on January 24, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Ladder Rescue in China

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Familiar Technique

LADDER RESCUE TECHNIQUES in the Far East are not much different than in the West.  This video taken on Wednesday in the central Chinese city of Yueyang was at a major fire in a 3-story apartment building.  The only other information that came with it is that the woman is over 70 years old and is paralyzed.

 
Ils sauvent d'une mort horrible une handicapée by Zoomin_France

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Posted by on January 21, 2012 • Filed under: rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Dramatic Citizen Fire Rescue in France

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Police on the Scene With a Ladder

A 90-YR.-OLD WOMAN WAS RESCUED from her blazing apartment by a passing soldier, a crew of policemen and two neighbors Tuesday evening.

The woman's kitchen was ablaze and she first tried to put it out herself without success.  As the fire spread into her apartment, her escape was cut off and she could only retreat to her balcony.  The smoke was visible from a nearby police station and several officers responded immediately to the scene where they commandeered a ladder from a craftsman's work van.

While the soldier started scaling the ladder, the others went inside to try an incursion into the apartment, but were unable to get inside.  They then went down one floor and came out on the balcony below the fire apartment.  The soldier and a policeman going up the ladder were accompanied by two young men from the neighborhood and they all combined to make the dramatic rescue seen on the home video:

 

The comments on the video are bystanders repeating that the fire brigade is too slow arriving.

The old woman was severely stricken with smoke inhalation and was rushed to the hospital.  The fire brigade arrived soon after and removed another six victims with their tower platform. 

All photos via L'Alsace

The fire was extinguished with one hose line, but three apartments were burned while two more on the floor below had water damage.  Eight people were treated for smoke inhalation.

The rescuer, Corporal Dmitri Higelin, 22, is recently returned from four years in the army where he served in Afghanistan.  He says he is ok with just some minor burns on his legs.

Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace has the STORY.

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Posted by on January 18, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

5-Alarms Working in San Francisco

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Still Out of Control

Update:  Fire marked under control at 3 pm Pacific.
Update 2:  Fire knocked down 4:30 pm Pacific.  Scroll down for latest info.

A LARGE, WIND-WHIPPED FIRE IN A San Francisco, California, apartment building is burning out of control at the time of this posting.

KGO-TV

The fire began just before noon Pacific time in a large Victorian home and soon spread into an apartment building next to it.  As fire units were arriving it spread rapidly to a second apartment building and was soon through the roof.  The response has been upgraded to 5 alarms.

At last update, no injuries have been reported yet.  There is no further information available while the fire is still working.  Check back for updates later.

This raw video from KGO-TV picks up just before the firefighters were ordered off the roof of the 2nd building:

 

KGO-TV also is running a live-stream video coverage HERE.

KPIX-TV Ch. 5 has filed this video report from their helicopter:

 

KGO-TV also has posted a 34-image photo gallery HERE.

Update, 4:30 pm Pacific:
The fire is under control and knocked down now.  There were 140 firefighters on the scene at one point and this was the city's first 5-alarm fire in six years.

There were two minor injuries reported, one for a firefighter with neck burns and the other for a civilian.

There is still no indication of what started the fire.  It began at the rear of a 4-story Victorian and spread to two other buildings, the large apartment block and a charter school that was closed for the Christmas break.

KGO-TV photos

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Posted by on December 22, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Major Incidents, Videos • Tagged: ,

Dual Apartment Fires in Houston

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Just a Few Blocks Apart

HOUSTON, TEXAS, FIREFIGHTERS FACED a pair of apartment building fires just minutes apart in the same area Thursday morning.

KPRC-TV image taken at the second fire.

The first fire call came in shortly after 7 am Central and had smoke showing from several units.  Interior operations appeared to be effective so far and has probably been contained.  Units are still on the scene and not information has been released yet.

Update:  It has been reported that a 2nd alarm was struck for this fire.

A half-hour later at 7:34 am, a larger fire was reported in another complex and has extended through the roof and involves three buildings.  This incident has been raised to 2 alarms so far and is still working.  KRIV-TV has some good aerial footage from this second fire:

 

Huge Apartment Fire on South Kirkwood: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

KTRK-TV has posted this raw video of the second fire

 :

 

So far, there have been no reported injuries from either incident.  Both fires are still working at the time of this posting.

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Posted by on November 10, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

6-Alarm Apartment Arson in Massachusetts

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Firefighters Rescue 15 – Suspect Already Identified

Update:  Additional video added.  Scroll down.

A SIX-ALARM FIRE STARTED IN A BOSTON, Massachusetts, apartment building early Monday morning that destroyed most of a 42-unit brick building that occupies an entire city block.

Boston FD photo

Shortly after midnight a large explosion occurred that started a large fire and trapped many sleeping residents in the building.  When the first units began arriving at the Roxbury neighborhood, the firefighters found dozens of people in distress and fifteen of them were rescued by the firefighters.  In some cases, small children were dropped out of windows of the 3-story building into the arms of neighbors below.

Lieutenant Glenn McGillivray, one of the first firefighters on the scene, told the Boston Globe "We had heavy fire blowing out the first-floor windows, heavy smoke pushing out windows on floors two and three, and there were nine people hanging out of windows and on ledges".

NECN-TV has this early video report from the scene:

 

The cause of the explosion and fire was readily determined when shortly after it started a man showed up at a local hospital with 3rd-degree burns on his arms and muttering to the hospital staff that he "blew up his house."  He has been taken into custody and charged with arson of a dwelling and multiple counts of attempted murder. Damage to the building was said to be about $3 million.  The fire officials are saying that the man deliberately damaged the natural gas line feeding his kitchen range and allowed his apartment to begin filling with gas before he ignited it.

At least 13 people including two firefighters were injured in the blaze.  The fire was marked under control at 6 am but is still burning at the time of this posting.  Check back later for updates.

The Boston Globe has more details and some first-person accounts of the rescues HERE.

WBZ-TV has filed this video report:

 

WFXT-TV posted this video:

 

Massive fire destroys Roxbury apartment building: MyFoxBOSTON.com

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Posted by on October 17, 2011 • Filed under: arson, explosion, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Updated: 3-Bagger in Boston Sends Co-eds Scrambling

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Apartment Building Shut Down Following Blaze

Update, Wednesday morning:
Fire cause identified.  Scroll down.

A THREE-ALARM FIRE IN A BOSTON APARTMENT building Monday morning led to the evacuation of 45 college students who were living in the 6-story building.

The fire in the Fenway district was on the top floor and roof of the building and caused $400,000 damage to the mixed-use building.  While the fire damage was largely confined to the upper part of the apartments, there was considerable water damage in the lower floors and the street-level businesses.

WCVB-TV Ch. 5 prepared this video report from the scene:

 

Most of the tenants are students at nearby Northeastern University and most of them lost all their belongings due to the blaze.  The 70 firefighters that responded had the fire knocked down in about an hour, but many were kept on the scene through the day as they worked hot spots and assisted the investigators.  So far they have not disclosed where they believe the fire started other than it was in the ductwork.  However some firefighters have said that it appears to have started in the basement laundry room.

NECN

The students had all moved into the building just last week ahead of today's commencement of classes for the school year.  Many of them are music students, some of them lost valuable musical instruments that cost thousands of dollars.  The Boston area universities are trying to come up with dorm space on their campuses to help out until permanent living facilities can be found.

NECN also filed this video:

 

For more details read the Boston Globe HERE.

The Boston Herald filed this interesting sideline story:

A panicked Suzi Burke, a Northeastern student from Holden, Maine, was outside by the time she realized that the fire was serious, and she had left her beloved cat up on the fifth floor.

"I left everything in my room, including my cat, because I thought the alarm was false and that I’d be back in 10 minutes," Burke said. "I went outside and saw the roof was on fire, and pieces of the roof fell on my shirt. And I told them, they had to rescue my cat."

Firefighters extended a ladder to the fifth floor, where a firefighter found the cat, put it in a pet carrier, and brought it safely down.

 Hat tip: Mark D.

Update, Wednesday morning:
The cause of the fire has been determined.  Investigators say that some HVAC equipment on the roof fell down a shaft into the basement, starting the fire which then traveled back up the shaft onto the upper floors.  WFXT-TV has the video report:

 

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Posted by on September 6, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Two Missing in San Antonio Apartment Fire

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Fast Spreading Fire Raises Suspicions

A FIRE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING swept through a San Antonio, Texas, apartment complex destroying at least 40 dwelling units.  Ten people were injured in the blaze including two people who were critically injured after jumping out of their window.  Two more residents are missing, one of whom is a 6-yr.-old child and an adult woman who are presumed dead.

KSAT-TV

The fire started shortly before midnight and spread rapidly leading to many people leaping from their windows to escape the flames.  The response was elevated to three alarms bringing more than 100 firefighters to the scene.  They had the fire extinguished shortly before dawn today and a search will be made for the two missing people as soon as the FF's can get into the suspected area.

The fire had already spread from the building where it started to two other buildings before the fire department arrived on the scene.  The rapid spread adds to the suspicion that the fire may be an arson.  Firefighting efforts were also hampered by a cache of 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a store of black powder in one of the apartment units.

KENS-TV Ch. 5 has an extensive video report:

 

WOAI-TV filed this early report that includes fire footage:

 

More than 70 residents have been displaced and the early damage estimate is $3.5 million.

It is too early to have a determination of the cause and point of origin.

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Posted by on August 17, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Louisiana Apartment Fire Takes Out 58 Units

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Jefferson Parish FF's Work All Night

A FOUR-ALARM FIRE IN METAIRIE, Louisiana, Sunday night swept through a block of apartments leaving hundreds of residents displaced.

Times-Picayune

The fire began just before 9 pm Central and spread rapidly causing several people to be trapped as firefighters were being dispatched.  Two people were injured when they jumped from their 2nd-floor balcony and two more were rescued by firefighters.  It is reported that three people total were injured.

Times-Picayune

The dispatched was quickly elevated to three alarms and later on a fourth was struck.  At least 125 firefighters worked the blaze for 8 hours before it was knocked down.

WDSU-TV Ch. 6 filed this video report from the scene:

 

The preliminary cause is being listed as a kitchen fire started when something on a stove was left unattended.

The Times-Picayune has the latest report plus a photo gallery and more video HERE.

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Posted by on August 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

LODD – Dallas, Texas

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Sunday Afternoon Apartment Fire

DALLAS, TEXAS, FIRE LIEUTENANT TODD KRODLE, 41, perished Sunday afternoon after falling through the roof of a garden apartment building that was on fire.

The 3-alarm fire began around 4:15 pm Central in a first-floor unit and spread through the 2-story building.  Lt. Krodle was working on the roof ventilating when he fell through into the fire.  He was very quickly pulled out by firefighters, injured and badly burned, and taken to the hospital where he died later Sunday evening.

All of his colleagues at his fire station were immediately taken off duty.

Allen Gardner, who lives in the neighborhood, put it this way:
"The emotional strain you could see in their faces," he said. "It's not a big scale fire,
but still, anything that they go to they take it as seriously as possible."
(Dallas Morning News photo)

Lt. Krodle was in the DFD for 17 years and leaves a wife and two daughters surviving him.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings issued the following statement:

"On behalf of the Dallas City Council and the entire City of Dallas workforce, we express our deepest sympathy to the family, friends and fellow firefighters of this courageous and dedicated firefighter. We must never lose sight that fire service is an extremely dangerous business and this brave man died doing the dangerous job he loved; protecting our citizens and our properties and making our neighborhoods safer for all of us."

The early determination of cause was a malfunctioning electrical appliance.

 

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Posted by on August 14, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty • Tagged: , , , ,

6 Dead in Illinois Apartment Fire

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12 More Injured

A FIRE BROKE OUT IN AN AURORA, Illinois, apartment building around 4 am Sunday morning and killed six occupants, three of them small children  Twelve more people had to be hospitalized.  The three-story building contained 14 apartment units, 12 of them occupied.  The fire started on the first floor and advanced rapidly down the common hallway, trapping all the residents on the upper floors.

Chicago Tribune

Aurora Public Information officer Dan Ferrelli says in a news release three people were pronounced dead at hospitals — an adult male, a boy estimated at 5 to 7 years old and an infant.

Ferrelli says three others were pronounced dead at the scene. They were a boy about 10 years old and two women, probably in their 30s. He added that a dozen others were taken to various hospitals but two of them were treated and released.

The fatalities were from two apartments that had opened their doors to the fire.  All the other units kept their doors closed and prevented further spread into the units.

WLS-TV Ch. 7 prepared this video report:

 

The Chicago Tribune has more details HERE.

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Posted by on May 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Milwaukee Apartment Fire Goes to 4 Alarms

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More Than 70 People Left Homeless

AN OVERNIGHT FIRE raced through an entire 24-unit apartment building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

The fire started some time shortly after 9 pm Tuesday night and moved so quickly that many residents had to jump off their balconies to escape the flames.  Six people were injured from their falls, mostly broken bones, and transported to the hospital.

The truck companies rescued several more residents by ladder who were trapped in their apartments.  The building did have working smoke detectors which enabled many to escape before the FD arrived.

The fire is believed to have started on the top floor of the 3-story building and is considered to be suspicious, primarily because this was the 2nd fire in two days in this same building.  Police detectives and fire investigators are already inside beginning their work.

Fox News Ch. 6 filed this video report a short time ago:

  

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Posted by on May 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Fire Takes Out 24 Massachusetts Apartments

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2 Residents Missing, 34 People Displaced.

A FIRE THAT BURNED THROUGHOUT the night in West Springfield, Massachusetts, has burned out all 24 units of an apartment building.

WWLP-TV image

The fire started just before midnight Saturday night and spread quickly through the 3-story building.  The residents were chased out in a panic as the fire raced through the building and currently there are two people unaccounted for.  WWLP-TV is reporting:

One woman told 22News she is pregnant and cannot find her husband.

Yuriy Aliyev lives in Agawam, but told 22News his nephew lives in one of the apartment and so far, he has not been found.  "My nephew called police. his wife was in the shower, came outside…and then nobody saw him after that."

Fire officials say that the fire got into a void between the roof and a second roof inside.  They have been working to get to all of the pockets and were still actively operating at 9 am this morning.  Approximately 34 people have been displaced by the fire.

WWLP-TV Ch. 22 filed this video report from the scene at 7 am:

 

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Posted by on May 1, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

4 Alarms in Charlotte

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BBQ Grill Wasn't Out After All

FOURTEEN APARTMENT UNITS WERE BURNED OUT Wednesday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, bringing a 4-alarm response to the early-morning blaze.  The fire was spotted first by a fire company that was on the streets at 4 am and when the rest of the first-alarm assignment got on the scene the fire was already through the roof. 

WCNC-TV

Three people, a woman and her two children had to be rescued by the firefighters.  Everybody else in the 13 units that were occupied escaped safely.

WCNC-TV Ch. 36 filed this video report:

 

The cause was readily determined after a tenant came forward to take responsibility.  The family had been using a barbecue grill properly, setting it outside on the sidewalk more than 10 feet away from the building in compliance with the code.  After they were finished, they left it for a couple of hours and then, thinking it had cooled down, took it back upstairs to the their 3rd-floor apartment and set it on the balcony.  Later the coals flared back up and started the outside of the building burning.

The culprit grill  (WCNC)

The fire marshal said that they had done everything properly and classed it as an accident and will not file any charges.  The early estimate of damages is approximately $1 million.

WCNC-TV has the STORY.
WSOC-TV has additional videos and a good 49-image photo gallery HERE.

Hat tip:  Bill S.

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Posted by on April 14, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

From the Evening News Ticker

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Tuesday Evening News Ticker

The AFP has a heart-gripping story about a brave Japanese firefighter who made no hesitation to sacrifice his life in order to save hundreds of his villagers.

Koshita, 57, one of 28 members of the Second Otsuchi Fire Unit, rushed to his seaside station in the afternoon of March 11 after he felt the first massive jolt of the earthquake.  There, he found an electrical blackout had put the station's siren system out of action.

Koshita grabbed an old-fashioned bell, only kept in storage as a back-up for the siren, held it tight and climbed to the roof, where he started ringing it vigorously. 

The sound echoed for several minutes across the village until the giant waves came crashing over the horizon, sweeping away the station, its watch tower, and Koshita himself.

This is a must-read story.  CLICK HERE .

Our friend Mark Donovan sent us this well-written article from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that gives a good description of the service provided by the Providence Fire Canteen Unit.

T & G photo

If your department has a canteen, this is a good example of positive PR that you can use for some tips.  A great way to explain your duty and perhaps generate some donations.  CLICK HERE.

In a turnabout from that tragic fiasco in Houston last month, the staff at a daycare center in Indianapolis was a) there, and b) knew just what to do when fire broke out with 24 toddlers under their care.  Firefighter Nation has the story, video and links.  CLICK HERE.

A lightning strike caused a 2-alarm fire in a Nashville, Tennessee, apartment building Monday afternoon.  The fire started in the attic area and the firefighters were hindered because there are two roofs over the building. 

WSMV-TV

Two firefighters were injured and taken to the hospital but are expected to be released by tomorrow.  WSMV-TV has the story, photo gallery, and a video report.  CLICK HERE.

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Posted by on April 5, 2011 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Commercial Fire Generates “Quote of the Year”

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Even with firefighters finding “fires in several different places,
it could have happened naturally.”

THOSE WERE THE WORDS OF A DEPUTY CHIEF quoted by the McKeesport (Pennsylvania) Daily News at the scene of a commercial fire that destroyed a 2-story apartment building Monday.  The lower floor of the 4-unit building was previously a pizza parlor before being converted to an apartment also.

WTAE-TV

The fire was first discovered at 10:30 am and brought the entire fire department plus units from two neighboring FD’s to fight the fire.  The Daily News continues:

“We had fire on the first and second floors, on both sides,” city Deputy fire Chief Don Sabol said. “We had brown and yellow smoke coming from every corner of the building.”

Sabol conceded that he’s “suspicious” about the cause of fire, but said a ruling would be up to the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s office.

WTAE-TV Ch. 4 had their helicopter in the area and captured this fire video:

 

The fire was knocked down in two hours, but the building was burned out and all the contents were destroyed.  The tenants that were at home at the time all escaped safely. 

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal has classified the fire as “suspicious” and is still investigating the cause.

Firegeezer adds that we doubt that the Deputy Chief used those exact words, but that’s how the newspaper reported it.  Sometimes they don’t get it right.

Posted by on March 8, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Apartment Fire in Ohio Complicated by Dry Hydrants

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Contractor Had Shut Down Fire Mains, Never Restored Service

A FIRE IN A WOODLAWN, OHIO, APARTMENT COMPLEX went unchecked Sunday night when the fire department discovered that the hydrants had all been shut off.  As the firefighters attempted to hold back the fire spread utilizing booster tanks of assisting engines, a supply line was finally established from a hydrant located a half-mile away from the fire.

Cincinnati Enquirer

The 3-alarm fire started around 9 pm Sunday and about 80 firefighters from a dozen departments were able to knock the fire down after an hour.  At least 22 units were damaged or destroyed in the brief blaze.

Cincinnati Enquirer

The fire mains that serve the hydrants and the fire sprinklers are owned and maintained by the apartment complex.  Woodlawn Fire Chief Rick Mynatt said that the mains were shut off about a month ago to repair a break, and it appears at first that the contractor failed to turn them back on properly.

The Cincinnati Community Press has the details HERE.

WLWT-TV Ch. 5 covered the fire in this video report:

 

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Posted by on February 21, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, hydrants • Tagged: , ,

Wind-Whipped Blaze Destroys Entire Apartment Building in Brooklyn

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Twenty Firefighters Injured

New York Daily News

AN UNCONTROLLABLE FIRE RIPPED THROUGH a 7-story apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, Saturday night that kept more than 200 firefighters busy for over eight hours in their efforts to knock the blaze down.

The call was dispatched at 6:40 pm and went quickly to five alarms as a severe windstorm blew through the city, fanning the flames and destroying the hose streams while the firefighters battled the blaze.

New York Daily News

One tenant of the 70-unit building, a woman was killed in the fire and at least 20 firefighters were injured during the attack, one of them suffering burns and needing to be rescued by his colleagues.

Associated Press

The building was a total loss and more than 100 residents lost everything to the fire.  The investigation into the cause of the fire is just getting started and there were no early clues as to where or how the fire began other than it was started on the 4th floor.

Complete reports on the fire can be read in:
New York Daily News HERE.
CBS News has a later report HERE.
The Daily News also has a good 14-image photo gallery HERE.

WCBS-TV Ch. 2 prepared this video report:

 

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Posted by on February 20, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Morning Fire Wipes Out Apartment Building

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21-Unit Complex Destroyed

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE DESTROYED an apartment building in Plymouth, Michigan, Thursday.  The complex is a one-story, W-shaped building with a common attic and the fire quickly extended from the point of origin into the attic.  The fire was first reported at 2:20 am.

When the fire department first arrived on the scene they deployed their resources to evacuating all the residents of the 21-unit residence.  After confirming that everyone was out, they set up a defensive attack on the fire that had spread throughout the entire attic area.

The fire is believed to have started in an electric blanket and the person using it was transported to the hospital to be treated for burns.  Two other minor injuries were reported.  WXYZ-TV has more DETAILS HERE plus this video report from the scene:

 

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Google Street View of the building

Posted by on February 10, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Deadly Apartment Fire in Germany

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Victim Trapped on Balcony

THE RESIDENTS OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING were witness to a dramatic rescue attempt in in Munich-Neuhausen, Germany, Sunday night.  Several calls to the emergency dispatch center reported that one person was trapped on the balcony of a unit on fire in the 5-story building.

LocalXXL photo

When the fire brigade arrived they found the unit fully involved and raised their tower-ladder to the balcony in an attempt to locate the victim.  Applying a hose stream right away from the tower they beat back the flames to disclose an already burned corpse.

LocalXXL

At the same time an interior crew of firefighters made their way into the apartment and conducted a search for any other possible victims.  In the bathroom they found a small Yorkshire terrier huddled in the corner.  Despite the tremendous amount of heat that had been in the fire unit, the dog was uninjured.

LocalXXL

The fire was knocked down in 15 minutes.  After the smoke had been fully evacuated from the building, the other tenants were permitted back into their apartments.  The unit that was on fire was completely burned out.  The body found on the balcony is presumed to be the 43-yr.-old resident, but it was burned beyond recognition and has to be identified yet.

LocalXXL has the STORY.

Posted by on February 8, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Multiple Rescues in French Apartment Fire

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Dozen Trapped in Old-Age Pensioners Apartment

A LATE-MORNING FIRE IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING of Saint Laurent du Var,France, seriously injured one woman and trapped 12 other residents in their apartments.

The fire started around 11 am in a 3rd-floor unit of the 5-story building and brought more than 50 firefighters from eight departments to the scene where the fire was starting to spread beyond the place of origin.   Twelve elderly and infirm people were trapped in their apartments and required the assistance of the firefighters to escape with six of them being taken out with a tower ladder. 

The tenant of the unit where the fire started was rescued by the firefighters and transported to the hospital in grave condition.  The extreme heat in the hallways presented a challenge for the firefighters to carry the victims out of the building.

This video filed by Nice Matin shows one of the tower-ladder rescues:

 

There hasn’t yet been a cause for the fire given.

The SDIS 06 (fire department) reports on its WEBSITE.
Nice-Matin has more HERE.
SDIS 06 also has a photo gallery HERE.

Job finished!

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Posted by on February 6, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

3 Alarms in Albuquerque

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Stubborn Apartment Fire Burns For Eight Hours

A FIRE IN A 47-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has destroyed the entire building and kept more than 75 firefighters busy well into Friday night.

The fire was first discovered around 2:30 pm by a tenant who went into the basement laundry room and saw a fire burning behind one of the washer or dryer machines.  A rapid hue and cry from the tenants that were in the building at the time was instrumental in getting everyone out of the building safely.

As the Albuquerque firefighters were working inside the fire, four of them fell through the 2nd-story floor onto the first-floor level below causing two of them to be injured and requiring transport.  At about the same time, 40 minutes after they arrived, the roof started collapsing and all FF’s were pulled out of the building.  Soon the southwest corner wall collapsed.

Albuquerque Journal photo catches the corner wall collapse.

The fire was extinguished about eight hours later, according to news reports from the scene, and many of the units remained on the scene throughout the night working the hot spots.

KRQE-TV Ch. 13 filed this video report:

Firefighters hurt as apartments burn: kasa.com

 The Albuquerque Journal has MORE.

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Posted by on February 5, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Frigid Firefighting – cont’d.

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More Firefighting From the Cold Front

WHEN THAT ARCTIC AIR SETTLED OVER NEW ENGLAND Sunday and Monday, there probably wasn’t any greater challenge than the apartment fire that faced the Lebanon, New Hampshire, firefighters shortly after 8:30 am on Monday morning while the outside temperature was minus-20º F.  (For you folks in Canada, that’s minus-29 C.)

An alarm was dispatched for fire in an apartment building and when the FD arrived they found a 3-story, balloon-framed building that houses 11 apartments.  They encountered heavy fire showing at the rear of the first floor.  The chief immediately called for a second alarm.

The Lebanon FD press release tells:

Units entered the second floor middle section of the building and were able to stop the spread of the fire to the rear portion of the structure. Due to ceiling and roof collapse units were ordered to fight the rear portion from the exterior. The building suffered major fire damage to the rear four apartments and moderate damage to the two middle units.

The remainder of the building sustained water and smoke damage. The fire was declared under control at 1105 hours. Units remained on scene awaiting the arrival of an excavator to assist in pulling the heavily damaged portion of the building apart so that units can extinguish “hot spots”.

There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire was found to be the building owner attempting to thaw some water pipes in the basement with a torch.

Report and photos provided by Lebanon Fire Department.
Lebanon Fire Department WEBSITE.

Posted by on January 26, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, weather • Tagged: , ,

Heavy Fire Showing in Waukesha

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Full Bloom Before FD Arrives

A FIRE BELIEVED TO HAVE STARTED IN A MATTRESS DESTROYED A 30-UNIT apartment building in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Saturday evening.  The first-due engine company is quartered just one block away and they were on the scene in two minutes, yet the fire had already advanced from the 2nd floor to the third and was into the attic area when they pulled up at the scene around 4:15 pm.

WITI-TV image taken shortly after the arrival of the FD

WTMJ-TV posted this image taken by a neighbor before the alarm
was transmitted showing the fire breaking out from the unit where
the fire started.

The tenant of the apartment where the fire began told his neighbors that he had just come out of the shower and found his mattress on fire.

The fire raced through the 3-story garden apartment and displaced all the tenants of the building.  The remarkable speed of fire growth led to a roof collapse later in the operation and required the assistance of five neighboring FD’s.  There were about 5 to 8 people trapped in their units and the firefighters had to evacuate them via ground ladders.

WISN-TV Ch. 12 posted this video report from the scene:

 

This video report from WTMJ-TV has some good fire footage in it.  About 10 to 15 seconds into the report you can see a unique view showing the fire station in the foreground with the blazing apartment building behind it.  The tv announcer doesn’t mention it, so you will have to watch for the brief glimpse:

 

The fire was marked under control after four hours, but the units were kept on the scene throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning.

WITI-TV

Investigators have not yet gotten into the building as the FD is still working the hot spots as this report is being posted.

Posted by on January 16, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,