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4 Alarms Working in Philly

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Passenger Rail Traffic Affected

A FOUR-ALARM FIRE BROKE OUT around 6:30 am this morning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The first-arriving units found a vacant, 3-story building fully involved and spreading to a second building plus two houses.  NBC News reports:  Investigators say that the fire started in a building at the intersection of Aramingo Avenue and Wakeling at around 6:30 a.m., and a fourth alarm was called approximately an hour later. The building where the fire started was originally believed to be vacant; however, a fire captain told NBC10 that the fire started in a business building. At least one adjacent building was thought to have suffered smoke and water damage.

CBS News

The fire building borders the Amtrak passenger rail service mainline causing rail service on Amtrak and SEPTA to be temporarily halted.

While all units are still on the job, the fire was marked under control at 8:38 am.  Investigators are on the scene, but it will be a while before any further information will be available.

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Posted by on December 16, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Nutty Mayor Nutter Slapped Down by State Oversight Board

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The Nutter Just Doesn't Have a Clue

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER iS facing still another setback in his campaign to punish the city's firefighters.  The firefighters have been working for three years without a contract nor any cost-of-living (COLA) raises and recent arbitration settlements have been ignored by the mayor's office.  The legal arbitraition awarded the FF's an annual 3% COLA's backdated to the beginning of the current non-contract period.  After Nutter filed an appeal to the measly COLA, the arbitration panel admonished him and upheld their original settlement.

Mayor Nutter

However, in order to continue to receive State funding and benefits for all agencies, the city's budget has to be approved by the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation :Authority (PICA) and they are refusing to accept the mayor's latest, and vague, plans to fund the mandated raises. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting this morning:

The Nutter administration avoided a showdown with its financial overseer Thursday by adding a postscript to its five-year budget indicating how the city would pay for any salary and benefit increases for firefighters.

The addendum says drastic cuts would fund an arbitration award the firefighters won in June. Those cuts would include hundreds of layoffs, the slashing of library hours, and the closure of a health center, according to Finance Director Rob Dubow.

Board members of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), which must approve the city's annual five-year plans to keep state funding flowing to Philadelphia, balked at not having a way to pay the firefighters.

One member, Sam Hopkins, scoffed at the addendum. "I am not impressed with this list of cuts as being responsive," he said. "I consider it a political scare technique that it would be a great disservice for PICA to accept in the five-year plan."

Board Chairman Sam Katz said he hoped such reductions would not be necessary. "It would be draconian for the city to have to implement that level of cuts," he said. "I suspect there will be other options that we discuss over the next couple weeks."

The incompetence of the city council, and especially the mayor's administration, is accelerating Philadelphia's attempt to remain solvent.

Bill Gault, president of Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, called the proposed reductions "crazy" and said they would put firefighters' lives in peril. "It seems to me this administration is very vindictive," Gault said. "What they've decided to do is keep stalling this and stalling this."

City Controller Alan Butkovitz, who this week called on PICA to vote down the five-year plan, said a list of cuts did not constitute a plan to fund the firefighters' contract. "First of all, are they saying what they'll actually do?" he asked. "And, if they do, would it add up?"

He also noted that the administration had suggested the rolling closure of libraries and deactivating fire companies, proposals that "we know create public resentment."

PICA is planning to reconvene in about two weeks to see if the city will present solid plans to fund not just the fire department, but all other city agencies that are operaing under cloudy budgetary plans.

Recommended reading: 
Full article in Philadelphia Inquirer.
Firegeezer posting on Nutter gives top aides secret pay raises HERE.
Fiscal overseer balking at Philly’s budget plan HERE.
City comptroller blasts mayor's "preposterous" inaction.  KYW report HERE.
Firegeezer October 2010 report: Philly Mayor Renews Feud With Paramedics.

IAFF Local 22 WEBSITE.

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Posted by on August 10, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, commentary, labor, News • Tagged: , , ,

3 FF’s Hurt, 1 Critical in Philly

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Sent to Burn Unit

A PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, FIREFIGHTER is in critical but stable condition Sunday after being injured during a rescue operation.  The fire in a rowhouse was reported just before 6 am and the arriving units found smoke showing and a report of people trapped inside.  CBS News continues:

Upon entering the home, firefighters rescued two people while two others escaped on their own. Three women and one child were taken to Hahnemann hospital for treatment and were in stable condition.

During the rescue, three firefighters were also injured. One firefighter is in critical but stable condition and was transferred to Temple Burn Center. The other two firefighters are in stable condition at Hahnemann.

WPVI-TV

After the rescue was complete, the B. C. evacuated all personnel and began outside operations.  The fire was marked under control at 7 am.

Fire officials noted that the house DID have working smoke detectors and credited that for helping prevent any life loss.  Investigators have not yet announced the cause of the fire.

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Posted by on February 5, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

Citizens Rescue Flaming Biker

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Caused By a Combination of Bad Moves and Poor Judgement

A PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, MOTORCYCLIST has a handful of Good Samaritans to thank for saving his life Thursday afternoon.  The careless biker was sailing down a city street at a high rate of speed when another thoughtless driver in an automobile chose that moment to make an illegal U-turn and their paths met.

The biker has already gone into a survival skid in
an attempt to avoid the impending collision  (WPVI-TV)

The collision demolished the motorcycle that ended up on the rider pinning him to the pavement as the spilled gasoline ignited and engulfed both the bike and the biker. Immediately several people on the sidewalk and in neighboring businesses rushed out with three of them dragging the victim to safety while two others had grabbed fire extinguishers and put his flaming clothing out before attacking the burning bike. 

 Bystanders rush to the man's rescue, dragging
him away from the burning wreck and
extinguishing his clothes.  (WPVI-TV)

It was a great bit of selfless lifesaving and it was all caught by a nearby surveillance camera.  That video is included in this report filed by WPVI-TV Ch. 6:

 

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Sale on Canvas Bags and Backpacks – 50% Off

CLICK HERE to view selections and order

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Posted by on June 24, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

9 Philly FF’s Injured in High-Rise Fire

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One Firefighter Reported in Critical Condition

WPVI-TV

A FIRE IN A PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, HIGH-RISE apartment building Wednesday morning caught residents sleeping and led to several injuries to firefighters.  Fire department officials have just confirmed that 9 firefighters were injured and one is in critical condition.  The nature of the injuries has not been disclosed.

WPVI-TV

The fire was discovered at 5:45 am in an 8th-floor unit of the Philadelphia Housing Authority building.  A second alarm was transmitted just before 6:20 am as the FF’s were busy evacuating many residents who needed assistance getting down the smoke-filled stairwells.  Three citizens needed medical transportation for smoke inhalation.

WPVI-TV

The 18-story building has 143 units and all 363 residents have been temporarily displaced.

KYW-TV Ch. 3 filed this video report that includes some fire footage:

 

The fire was marked under control at 7:06 am.

Posted by on March 2, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Pent-Up Gas Leak Ka-Booms in Philly

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Gas Crews and FD Were Already On the Scene

A MAJOR GAS LEAK IGNITED IN PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Tuesday night killing one gas company worker and sending four others plus one firefighter to the hospital.  There was a widespread smell of gas in the Tacony section of the city and both the gas company and fire department were on the scene at 7 pm.  With the widepsread concentration of gas odor, the fire command officer called for a 2nd alarm with a haz-mat response.

The gas workers had traced the leak to a 12-inch high pressure main on Torresdale Ave. and were beginning to dig down to it when the gas ignited and sent a large fireball up, injuring the workers and setting one house on fire that became completely destroyed.

WTXF-TV Ch. 29 had a video camera recording when the blast occurred.
(note the pre-positioned FD monitor in the foreground)

The fire generated a third alarm and spread to a second house causing significant damage to it.  The body of the gas co. employee that was killed wasn’t found until after the fire had been knocked down. 

Fortunately the early arrival of the FD generated a 2-block area evacuation and about 40 people had been removed from harm’s way, including 24 from a senior-care home prior to the explosion that detonated at approx. 8:35 pm.  WTXF-TV Ch. 29 was videotaping the operation and caught the explosion as it happened:

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting:

Jerry Emberger, 52, a resident who evacuated his home in the 6900 block of Marsden, said he spoke with a gas worker after the explosion.

“He bent down for a tool. The next thing he knew, he was across the street,” Emberger said.

A half-hour after the main explosion, there were two smaller explosions that Emberger and others heard.

Gas readings were high, so firefighters retreated to a safer distance.

“Every time you see a fire truck move back, you go with them,” Emberger said.

The fire was marked under control at 11 pm.  A gas company spokesman said just before 11 p.m. that three of the gas workers were in critical condition at Aria-Torresdale Hospital. Another worker was in stable condition, as was an injured firefighter.

Dave Statter at STATter911 has a timeline plus several more videos documenting the operation HERE.
PhillyFireNews has more plus their usual extensive photo gallery HERE.

Thanks to Carmine S. for assistance.

Posted by on January 19, 2011 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Mom, 3 Kids Perish in Philly House Fire

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No Working Smoke Detectors

A WOMAN AND HER THREE CHILDREN AGES 9 to 14 were killed early Thursday morning when a fire rapidly swept through their 2-story house in theFeltonville section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Neighbors were alerted to the fire and heard the family members screaming at 1:30 am, but were unable to approach the burning structure. 

An early investigation revealed that there were no working smoke detectors in the home which probably contributed to the delayed alarm to the FD.  WPVI-TV is reporting: 

When firefighters arrived they found thick smoke and heavy flames pouring out of both floors of the house.

Investigators say at first a miscommunication led firefighters to believe that no one was in the house.  It was not until the fire was out and crews went through the house that they realized four people were inside.

WPVI-TV

Three other homes were damaged by the fire.

WTXF-TV Ch. 29 has this early video report:

 

Investigation into the cause is just beginning.

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Posted by on January 13, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged:

5-Bagger Burning in Philly

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Updated.  Scroll down.
Update #2, Tuesday morning.

A 5-ALARM FIRE HAS ENGULFED A LARGE WAREHOUSE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Monday evening.  The fire broke out around 7 pm and grew steadily until 8:40 pm when the fire went through the roof and the 4th alarm was struck.  The 5th was tapped out at 9 pm.

WTXF-TV

The multi-story warehouse is in congested area of the Kensington section of the city and there is a severe exposure problem for the FD.  As this is being written (9:45 pm Eastern), the fire is seeminglycontained but an unconfirmed report says that some exposures are beginning to light.  By looking at the these videos from  WTXF-TV you can see the hazard plus the potential for major problems if one of the walls goes down:

 

There is no further information at this time.  We will update when there is.

Google street view of the 5-story warehouse that is burning.

Update, 10:45 pm:
The building is being reported as being vacant, but neighbors told the Philadelphia Inquirer that they thought some “artists” lived in there.  The structure was originally built to house a window frame factory  the home of a dye works for the once-thriving textile industry in the area, a longtime resident explained. It was later used for the manufacture of windows and doors. Most recently it was used mainly for storage of vinyl windows, steel doors, and wooden frames.  This photo below from the Inquirer confirms that at least one of the exposures has caught fire.

Approximately 20 homes adjacent to the fire have been evacuated.  There are 150 firefighters working the blaze.

Update, Tuesday morning:
While this fire was burning, the PFD responded at 8 pm to a house fire not far from this location that turned out to have a fatality. 

The warehouse  fire was largely knocked down by midnight, thankfully before any of the walls collapsed.  Units are still on the scene this morning pouring water into the hulk to get the remaining hot spots.  During the fire the electricity for the entire neighborhood was cut off by the power company for the safety of the firefighters at the scene.

Posted by on October 25, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,