ERRI Fire Operations
Archive Page -- Summary and Chronology of Events:
24 Jan 2000 to 28 Jan 2001
28 Jan 2001 - From: http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
MISSOURI:
Early Morning Four-Alarm Fire Kills One In Midtown Kansas City High-Rise
Frantic residents dangled from windows and screamed for help as a four-alarm fire ripped through the top three floors of a midtown Kansas City high-rise early Sunday, killing one resident and injuring six others. Four Kansas City firefighters received minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
The fire at the Georgian Courts Apartments, a nine-story, building at 400 East Armour Blvd, was one of several in the Kansas City area on Sunday that kept overburdened firefighters busy. In a separate blaze, a 61-year-old man was killed in a house fire that began near a furnace in his basement.
The Georgian Courts fire was reported at 04:57CST. A 40-year-old man who lived on the eighth floor, died of smoke inhalation. Another resident, a man in his 70s, is in serious condition at Truman Medical Center. He suffered smoke inhalation, burns and injuries from broken glass.
A 41-year-old woman who lived on the eighth floor is also in serious condition at Truman, being treated for smoke inhalation. Four others were treated for minor injuries and released. Fire officials said the blaze probably started on the eighth floor, then spread to the seventh and ninth floors.
A fire department spokesman said: "The weather was one of the main barriers in getting the thing knocked down. Just getting to the scene was a chore in itself, because the roads were ice-covered."
The fire was reported under control by 07:30CST. The cause remains under investigation. Firefighters used six aerial trucks, eight pumper trucks and five rescue vehicles to fight the blaze. They also used new thermal-imaging cameras in their search-and-rescue efforts.
19 Jan 2001 - From: http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
NEW YORK CITY:
Brooklyn Fire Kills Two
Authorities said an arson fire killed two men and left a woman critically burned Friday in a Brooklyn building that may have been illegally converted to single rooms. The fire started at 0555 EST when someone poured a flammable liquid on the stairway inside the door of 130 India Street and flames tore up the stairs and spread throughout the three-story brick building.
The building, which has a vacant store on the first floor, was carved up into single rooms rented by transients. There was only one exit out of the building. Sources said police and fire marshals were investigating whether there was a connection between the fire and an incident last week when a resident was forcibly evicted from the building.
Two men living in rooms on the top floor of the burned building were rescued by firefighters, but later died at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn. They were said to be 32-and 24-years-old. A 30-year-old woman, who was living in the vacant store, for which there was no street entrance, was rescued by firefighters who got her out a door leading to the fire-filled hallway. She was in critical but stable condition in the burn unit at New York Weill-Cornell Center in Manhattan. One man reportedly jumped out a third floor window to escape the fire.
06 Jan 2001
CANADA:
Firefighter Killed In Blaze At Seniors' Residence
The Canadian Press is reporting that a firefighter and an elderly person were killed on Friday when an early-morning fire ripped through a seniors' apartment complex in the southwestern Ontario city of St Thomas. The dead firefighter has been identified as Captain Dennis Redman, a 20-year veteran of the fire department. His son, a student with the fire department, was at the blaze when his father was killed.
Fire officials would not confirm media reports that Redman fell from a window on the third floor of the four-story building. Nine other people were also treated for their injuries as a result of the blaze which started at about 01:40EST. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
03 Jan 2001
CALIFORNIA:
Firefighters Grab Better Handle On Wildfire
Authorities said that the arrival of calmer winds has helped firefighters grab a handle on a San Diego County wildfire that was apparently started by a cigarette thrown from a vehicle. The effort to stop the 11,000-acre blaze has shifted from a defensive battle to an offensive strike. As a result, several firefighters have been sent home.
The blaze, which had started Wednesday morning, was 30 percent contained Thursday. Full containment is expected by late Saturday. The fire's movement across dry brush slowed as winds diminished on Thursday to 10 mph, with gusts of about 25 mph. Winds were expected to diminish even more over the next few days.
About 500 firefighters were battling the blaze early Friday. A total of 2,000 firefighters from around California had been called in to help. Two people, including a firefighter, have suffered minor injuries in the fire. At least five homes were destroyed. About 500 people were evacuated from their homes, but many were allowed to return on Thursday.
01 Jan 2001 (New Years Eve)
NETHERLANDS:
Mass Casualty Incident: Five Dead, 130 Injured In Cafe Fire
Police said on Monday that at least five people were killed and about 130 others were injured when a fire swept through a cafe packed with teenagers celebrating the New Year in the Dutch town of Volendam. Many of the injured were hurt as they smashed windows and leapt in the dark from the third floor premises of the Small Heaven (Het Hemeltje) cafe to escape the flames. Officials said that the death toll may rise as rescuers continue to sift through the debris of the fire scene.
Authorities said 100 ambulances were sent to the scene. A spokesman for Amsterdam AMC hospital said that 53 injured victims had been admitted there, half of whom were in a serious condition with burns while the others were only slightly injured. Those admitted were aged 17 to 30.
Around ten pieces of fire equipment raced to the scene in the town located some ten miles north of Amsterdam. The fire started at 00:30 hours local time Monday (23:30 GMT Sunday) and the last of the injured was taken to area hospitals around an hour later.
It was not clear what caused the blaze. Officials said it was possibly caused by Christmas decorations catching fire. The cafe, popular with young people is the largest in town. [Editor's note: Later reports said that at least eight (8) people have died and more than 200 were injured in this incident.]
30 Dec 2000
PHOENIX, AZ:
Serial Arsonist May Be Tied To Latest Fire
Fire investigators are still looking for clues that could tie a serial arsonist to Saturday morning's fire at a house at Central and Dunlap. The fire occurred at about 02:30MST. The home sits high on a hill and was built in 1959. The house was being remodeled and no one was living there. There were some problems getting water on the fire. Four fire engines were used and thousands of feet of hose was used to get the water up to the home. Officers and an arson dog searched the hillside below the home. The home was also searched to see if something was used to start the blaze. Investigators are trying to determine if the Saturday morning fire in North Phoenix could be number nine in a string of blazes linked to the so called "Mountain Preserve Arsonist."
23:30CST - 25 Dec 2000
Fire Disaster in China Reportedly Kills More than 300 People
Louyang, China (EmergencyNet News) -- The official Xinhua News agency is reporting that more than 300 people have been killed in a fire in an multiple-occupancy building in Louyang, Henan province. According to fire officials, the fire broke out at about 21:35 (local time) and was not extinguished for more than three hours. In the mean time, more than 200 people were believed trapped in a Christmas party in a dance hall on the fourth floor of the building -- all of them are thought to have perished. Dozens of others were trapped on other floors, which contained stores and offices. Another group of deceased people were thought to be construction workers, who were working in the building. Scores of others were also injured, according to medical authorities at the nearby 4th Peoples Hospital. No cause for the fire was immediately evident and an investigation into the blaze continues at the time of this report...
L. O. D. DEATH/FIRE:
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Firefighter And Teen Killed In Fire
In a fire that heavily damaged a three-family home, a teen-age boy and a firefighter with 16 years on the job were killed in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday morning. The boy's younger brother was hospitalized in critical condition. Their mother said that the 17-year-old teen could have escaped but he ran back inside to try to save his 12-year-old brother. Firefighters found the older boy dead inside.
The others living in the home, including the boys' mother and another sibling, were able to escape without serious injury. Firefighter David Anderson, age 43, had gone inside the house to try to rescue the boys, but after Anderson came back out, he sat down on the back of a fire truck, then collapsed and died. The cause of his death wasn't immediately known, but officials said Anderson was in good health. It was the first death of a firefighter on duty in Manchester in at least 25 years...
20:00CST - 23 Dec 2000
Chicago Fire Lieutenant Killed By Out-of-Control Car
Chicago, IL (EmergencyNet News) -- A tragic accident took the life of Chicago Fire Dept. Lieutenant Scott Gillen early today. According to police reports an so-far unidentified driver remains in custody tonight, charged with reckless homicide, after his car swerved out of control and struck and killed Gillen. Lt. Gillen, a member of Truck Co. #27, was working at a traffic accident on the Bishop Ford Expressway near 115th street when the incident occurred. Gillen was later pronounced dead at the Trauma Center of Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL. A state police spokesman later said that alcohol and excessive speed were apparent factors in the crash. Gillen, who's father and four brothers are all firefighters, leaves a wife and four children behind. The entirety of the Chicago Fire Department mourns tonight...
AUSTRALIA
INSTANT
09:30CST - 21 Dec 2000
Bushfires Sweep Across Eastern States
Authorities said on Thursday that bushfires are threatening the fringes of two major cities, with residents of some suburbs being warned to evacuate immediately or prepare to fight the blazes. Tens of thousands of firefighters, many of them volunteers, are now bracing themselves as a series of major fires burn their way through vast swathes of Australia's east and south.
Residents living on the fringes of Australia's second biggest city, Melbourne, have been told they must either leave or stay and fight the fires.
In South Australia, firefighters are battling a blaze just south of the state capital, Adelaide. People living on the city's southern outskirts remain on alert if evacuations are ordered. Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, is also subject to a bushfire alert, particularly in the west and northwest.
20 Dec 2000
Authorities Issue Fire Warnings In The South
By Jeremy Zakis, ERRI Analyst in Australia
As the southern part of the continent braces for another day of extreme heat, fire bans have been issued throughout the states of South Australia and Victoria in an attempt to prevent a major fire breaking out. The Country Fire Service (CFS) in Adelaide is expecting another day of high winds and temperatures above 40 degree's Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). This raises special concerns with fire authorities because dry vegetation and near perfect conditions exist for a major bushfire similar to that which scorched the two states in 1983 killing 74 people.
On Wednesday the South Australian CFS and Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) issued state-wide bans preventing the unauthorized lighting of fires in national parks and all pastoral area's. Fire authorities warned the general public that undergrowth in many areas is extremely combustible because of a 'wet' winter followed by forty days of no rain and high temperatures. The warnings follow several minor fires that have flared in both states...
20 Dec 2000
PHOENIX, AZ:
FBI Joins Hunt For Phoenix Arsonist
Another new house in Phoenix went up in flames on Wednesday. Although Phoenix Fire Department officials hadn't yet determined the cause of the blaze, it fits the profile they've seen in seven other fires since January 1998. On Thursday, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force joined in the investigation conducted by Phoenix fire and police departments. The task force's assistance could include intelligence resources, laboratory work and/or perpetrator profiling services.
Investigators spent all day Thursday searching the area surrounding the 7,000-square-foot, burned-out home by Lookout Mountain near 11th Street and Coral Gables Drive. Wednesday's blaze was the third to destroy a luxury home in the same area in the past 11 days. In order for the FBI to have full jurisdiction, the case would have to be classified as domestic terrorism and would likely be tried in federal court. At least some investigators and analysts are currently suggesting that the series of fires may be associated with radical environmental groups or individuals....
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE: December 18, 2000
Contact: ICHIEFS Government Relations Department (703) 273-0911
Congress Funds FIRE Act!
(Fairfax, VA) -- Congress has passed, and the president is expected to sign into law, an appropriations bill for FY 2001 that contains a provision for $100 million to fund the Firefighter Assistance section of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. This is the program, generally referred to as the FIRE Act, that was authorized this October as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The details of the authorization bill can be found in the November 15th, 2000, issue of On Scene.
Now that the program is funded at the full authorization of $100 million, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will establish an office to administer and develop the program.
Fire departments will be advised by notice in the Federal Register and through ICHIEFS On Scene, as well as other fire service organizations, when applications can be submitted to FEMA. Several months will be required in order for FEMA to prepare the program.
Bill Hershman
Director of Communications
International Association of Fire Chiefs
4025 Fair Ridge Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033
Tel: (703) 273-9815 ext. 305|
Fax: (703) 273-9363
E-mail: dircomm@ichiefs.org
Internet: www.ichiefs.org
15 Dec 2000
SAN ANTONIO:,
TX: An Arson team and San Antonio Police are investigating a fire in the
1200 block of Hillcrest on the city's Northside. A fire department spokesman
said that shortly after 02:00CST Friday, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at
the house setting it on fire. Similar tactics have previously been used by
"gang members" as an intimidation or revenge tactic (11/22/95), ERRI analysts
said. EMS personnel treated one person for burns. No other injuries were
reported.
Worcester, MA Fire Reference:
The
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued
its report on a tragic Dec 3, 1999 warehouse fire that killed six members
of the Worcester F.D.
It is available for review on-line
at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face9947.html
10:00CST - 06 Dec 2000
PHILADELPHIA, PA:
Paramedic Stages Sit-In Outside Mayor's Office; Hepatitis-C Victim
(EmergencyNet News) Lt. Mary Kohler, an 11-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department, remained in a hallway outside Mayor John F. Street's office early Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Lt. Kohler is reportedly protesting the city's refusal to recognize Hepatitis-C as a work-related injury. Kohler, who was diagnosed with hepatitis C in January, believes she contracted the virus on the job in 1991 or 1992. On Nov. 1, an arbitrator ordered the city to contribute $4.8 million over two years to the health plan for fire and rescue workers and begin testing employees for hepatitis C, but the city of Philadelphia is appealing that ruling.
27 Nov 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
CHICAGO:
Two Women Die In "Clearly Intentional" Fire
Chicago police said that a masked man walked into a busy Near West Side grocery midday Saturday, poured a bucket of flammable liquid on the floor and ignited it. The small windowless store burst into flames, killing two women who worked there.
A police spokeswoman called the incident "clearly intentional," but authorities declined to classify it officially, citing an ongoing investigation. The motive for the crime was unknown. Two women, aged 39 and 25, were killed. A store manager and several customers managed to flee the concrete-block building unharmed.
Both victims were found upstairs from the one-story shop, but it was unclear if they had fled to the second floor to escape the flames. The fire was brought under control by 12:15CST. The 30-by-80- foot store at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Loomis Street suffered a fire four years ago and had been almost entirely rebuilt. The owner of the business declined to discuss the nature or origin of the previous fire.
22 Nov 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
OHIO:
Akron Firefighters Rescue Two Elderly Women
Akron firefighters pulled an elderly mother and daughter from a burning house on Tuesday morning as flames raged on the second floor of the family's 2 1/2-story West Akron home. The 92-year-old mother was in satisfactory condition at Akron City Hospital. The 65-year-old daughter was in serious condition at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron.
At 05:36EST Tuesday, a neighbor phoned a 911 dispatcher about the blaze at 286 Wildwood Avenue. The caller had seen one of the victims in her nightgown through a downstairs window as flames engulfed an upstairs bedroom. The neighbor tried to kick in a door but failed.
Firefighters forcibly entered the home and found the mother sitting in the living room and her daughter lying in a second-floor hallway at the top of the stairs. After helping the mother walk out of the home and carrying the daughter from the building, firefighters confined the flames to a second-story bedroom where the fire appears to have started.
Bradley McKitrick, an arson investigator, said he is trying to determine whether careless smoking started the fire. A caseworker who visits the family had once found the daughter sleeping while a cigarette was burning. The fire appears to have started in her bedroom.
A Children's Hospital nursing supervisor said the daughter was being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. McKitrick said doctors had placed her in a hyperbaric chamber, a high-pressure, airtight compartment that helps reduce carbon monoxide in the bloodstream and increases oxygenation.
20 Nov 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
MIAMI,
FL:
Authorities Say Crewmember Sucked Out of Plane After Emergency Landing
Authorities said that an American Airlines crew member who opened the door of a jetliner too soon after an emergency landing was sucked out of the plane and killed Monday at Miami International Airport. The pilot of American Airlines Flight 1291, from Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, turned the A-300 Airbus around when he spotted an engine fire warning light in the cockpit and successfully landed back at the airport.
A Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman said: "Before he had a chance to depressurize the cabin, one of the crew members tried to open the door and the crew member was literally sucked out of the plane." As many as 12 other people among the 138 passengers and crew on the jet were treated for minor injuries after sliding down emergency chutes on the tarmac at Miami International. Airport officials said it was not known if there was a fire in the engine or why a warning light malfunctioned. Rescue officials say they want to know the circumstances and sequence of events that led to the crewmember being "sucked out of the cabin." An inquiry of the incident is underway...
18 Nov 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
COLORADO:
Major Fire Breaks Out At Vail Hotel
Fire officials said that a major blaze broke out at one of the largest hotels in the Colorado ski resort of Vail late on Saturday night, forcing the evacuation of 86 guests. Dozens of firefighters battled for several hours to bring the blaze under control. The fire started at about 21:00MST.
Apart from two firefighters who were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, there were no injuries. A Vail Fire Department spokeswoman said the fire at the 350-room Marriott Mountain Resort at the base of Vail Mountain broke out on the fifth and sixth floors of a section known as the phase three tower.
Between 50 and 60 firefighters from five area departments battled the blaze and calls went out for more assistance when, after two hours, they had failed to contain it. The fire mostly burned on the building's exterior balcony area. One preliminary damage estimate runs into the millions of dollars.
16 Nov 2000
CALIFORNIA:
Fire Truck Collides With Pickup; Six Injured
A fire truck on the way to a reported structure fire collided with a pickup in the town of San Juan Capistrano, California, on Thursday. Two people were critically hurt in the crash. Four others, including three firefighters, were also hurt.
The Orange County Fire Authority pumper and a Ford F-150 pickup truck collided at around 1400 PST at La Novia Avenue and San Juan Creek Road. A man in his 40s and a 14-year-old boy, both in the pickup, were critically injured. Another man in the pickup and an Orange County Fire Association captain suffered moderate injuries, and a firefighter and an engineer had minor injuries.
The fire turned out to be smoke coming from a chimney.
The cause of the crash is still unknown, but investigators are looking
closely at a vodka bottle found next to the pickup truck. The fire truck
was going through the intersection with lights and sirens blaring when the
crash occurred.
NATIONAL MILITARY FIRE/RESCUE:
Resource Notification:
"2000 WILDLAND FIRE SUPPORT After Action Review (AAR)," -- After-action report by 20th Engineer Battalion (Mech), 1st Cavalry Division
, following their assistance to local authorities in Wildfire Operations during Aug/Sep of 2000.Source: http://call.army.mil/call/trngqtr/tq1-01/firesptaar.htm
06 Nov 2000
SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES
Fire Burns In Southern Appalachians
Firefighters battled wildfires all weekend that have burned more than 50,000 acres across the very dry southern Appalachians. No significant rain has fallen in the area for more than a month, transforming the fall foliage into tinder. Nearly all the blazes have been blamed on careless campers or arsonists.
At least four homes have been destroyed by fires in Kentucky. Kentucky, with nearly 18,000 acres burned this week, and Tennessee, with about 15,000 acres, were the hardest hit, followed by North Carolina and Virginia. Smaller fires also burned in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
Outdoor burning was banned throughout North Carolina on Friday where about 7,000 acres were burning. The biggest blaze was in the Pisgah National Forest, where about 4,000 acres burned inside a gorge near Linville Falls.
Fire officials said at least 80 percent of the fires burning along Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau were intentionally set. In some cases, firefighters even witnessed arsonists setting more blazes.
A state of emergency was declared in two western Virginia counties after brush fires consumed nearly 8,000 acres of the Shenandoah National Park. Another fire burning along the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains had burned about 4,000 acres.
Thousands of firefighters, many of them from the now fire-free West, helped battle the blazes. Helicopters and air tankers were being used in to fight the flames, and firefighting crews used bulldozers, leaf rakes and blowers to clear away the dry leaves feeding the flames.
Series of EmergencyNet News "Real-Time" Reports Concerning A Heavy Wildfire Season in the Western United States -- 08 May to 21 Sep 2000 (Includes Basic Los Alamos Lab Fire Reports)
27 Aug 2000
CONNECTICUT
Gunman Kills Three, Including Firefighter; Then Himself
Police in Waterbury, Connecticut, said that three people, including a firefighter collecting for a charity, were murdered by a gunman on Saturday before the man killed himself. The gunman knew all three victims, but authorities hadn't determined why he targeted them. One victim was a neighbor, and another was the mother of an ex-girlfriend.
The shooting spree began when the 29-year-old suspect got into an argument with a 30-year-old man who lived in the same multifamily home. Police said the gunman shot man while his neighbor was sitting in his car, dragged him out and shot him again before fleeing in the car. The suspect was armed with two guns, a 9mm Glock and a 9mm Tec.
After the first shooting, police said the gunman drove a few miles to an intersection where four firefighters were collecting money from drivers for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The suspect shot and killed firefighter Jamie Quinones, age 38, then fled.
About 15 minutes later, a 23-year-old woman told an emergency dispatcher that the gunman had shot and killed her mother. Police arrived at the house and heard a gunshot. On the second floor, they found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted wound. The body of a 40-year-old woman was found on the first floor.
03 Aug 2000
PHILADELPHIA, PA:
Firefighters/Paramedics Rally to Protest CDC Report on Hepatitis-C Report
More than 1,800 firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, upset by a recent CDC report (see URL below) that alleges that emergency responder's exposure rates to the debilitating and potentially deadly hepatitis-C virus are no greater than the general population, rallied and peacefully marched to the Liberty Bell in protest in Philadelphia on Thursday.
"We stand behind our science," said Deblina Datta, MD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Hepatitis Branch. "We have a scientific agenda, which is to present the best available science," she said. "I think our study was based on scientific findings and I think we presented our findings." (Photo: Courtesy of Kevin Turner/ Firehouse.Com)
Resource Notification - 01 Aug 2000:
Hepatitis C Virus Infection
CDC's MMWR on "Hepatitis C Virus Infection among firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics" ERRI's infectious disease specialists have not had time to review it or comment on it yet, but due to intense interest in this topic, we wanted to pass it along for your immediate review... The URL is:
08 July 2000
FRANCE: Fire officials
said that a firefighter was killed and 13 people were injured, one
seriously, when an underground pipeline exploded Friday in Paris.
Firefighters had been called to the scene to investigate the source of
smoke rising from a sidewalk in southern Paris near the Place d'Italie
when the explosion happened. The fire engine was caught in the blast. Fire
dispatchers sent 39 pieces of fire equipment and 150 firefighters to the
scene of the blast. Officials said that a violent storm in Paris led to
the blast of the pipe, which carried high-pressure water vapor. Five
firefighters, four passersby and four police officers were injured in the
explosion. One firefighter sustained severe burns.
06 June 2000
NEVADA:
Arson Problem Reported In Reno
Investigators studying a fire pattern say that arsonists in Reno may be challenging them. For the 17th time in two months, arsonists struck in the city on Monday. Bill Burney, a fire inspector for the Reno Fire Department, said that investigators feel the fires are linked and that they are getting closer and closer to the main fire station in downtown Reno.
Monday's blaze destroyed an empty office at the front of a recycling business within four blocks of the main fire station. Authorities said that someone poured gasoline or another flammable liquid on an exterior wall and ignited it some time between 0400 and 0500 PDT Monday. Fire investigators think the same people -- possibly a gang of youths -- are responsible for the series of fires at unoccupied buildings since 30 March.
Burney said that investigators fear that sooner or later the arsonists will cause injury. He added that whoever is setting the fires is probably doing so as a civil disturbance. Burney said: "Possibly a white group, possibly a gang. Possibly `Goths' who dress (in all black clothing) -- against the establishment, consistent with a photograph sent out last week..."
03 June 2000
WASHINGTON, DC: As
previously reported here, it was announced on Friday that current Augusta,
Georgia, Fire Chief Ronnie Few has been hired to become the new fire chief
of the District of Columbia. The 47-year-old Few became Augusta-Richmond
County's first black fire chief in 1997. As chief of the DC Fire and EMS
Department, Few will direct the efforts of over 2,000 employees, including
about 1,400 firefighters and paramedics...
02 June 2000
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
Report Finds D.C. Fire Department Plagued with Problems
The District of Columbia Fire Department’s Reconstruction Committee issued its report into a blaze that happened exactly one year ago on May 30th in a townhouse on Cherry Road Northeast and killed two firefighters. The committee found more than three-dozen problems with how DC firefighters respond to emergencies, and it issued several recommendations on what is needed to be done to fix the problems. The 200-plus page report comes out in favor of two staffing issues that prompted Interim Fire Chief Tom Tippett to quit in early May (see below). It calls for adding a fifth firefighter to ladder trucks and restoring the position of battalion chief aide.
Despite the damaging news of the District's fire department. The DC city government is in the process of hiring a new fire chief. The Washington Post has reported that Ronnie Few has been offered the job. Few has been chief of the Augusta, Georgia Fire Department since 1997. The Post reports that DC officials have offered Few $130,000 to head the department. DC officials say that the top candidate for the fire chief position will have to work too improve the city's ambulance service and fire protection...
23 May 2000
CHICAGO, IL:
Ten Injured In Collision Involving Fire Truck
A Chicago Fire Department ladder truck collided with a taxi and then swerved into a South Side tavern on Monday night. Ten people, including five firefighters, were injured in the wreck.
The ladder truck was southbound on King Drive with its lights flashing and siren blaring shortly after 2100 CDT when it collided with an eastbound taxi at 69th Street. A mini-van also was in the intersection and was struck, although it was not clear by which vehicle. The taxi slid across the street, and the fire apparatus and van came to a rest in the tavern's wall. A large portion of the brick wall collapsed.
Firefighters had to cut open the roof of the mini-van to remove its two occupants. There were no passengers in the taxi. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Two bar patrons were hurt, though apparently not seriously. Four of the firefighters were treated at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in suburban Oak Lawn. The fifth injured firefighter was in fair condition at Cook County Hospital. A woman taken to Cook County Hospital from the accident was also in fair condition. Two people, including the taxi driver, were taken to Mt Sinai Hospital Medical Center, where they were reported to be in fair and good condition. Witnesses said that the taxi may have run a red light before the accident...
19 May 2000
CHICAGO,
IL:
Fire Department Seen As Progressing Into A New Era
On Friday, the first-ever Chicago Fire Department
recruit class that has been fully cross-trained both as firefighters and
emergency medical technicians graduated from the CFD Fire Academy. The 119
graduates will be assigned to 12 new Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances
that will hit city streets on 1 June.
Critics contend the new BLS ambulances are inferior to Advanced Life Support (ALS) units already in service. But Fire Commissioner James Joyce is confident that the mix of BLS and ALS ambulances will work efficiently. The move is seen to help break down the long-standing division between paramedics and firefighters that was cited in a 1999 consultant's report as a source of friction within the department. Many old-time firefighters have always felt that they were hired only to put out fires and not do EMS work which accounts for about 75 percent of the fire department's work load.
In January, Joyce merged the fire suppression and the emergency medical service arms of the department into a single "bureau of operations" to end the institutional division of the two functions. Chicago also has a number of Paramedic-Engine companies on the street...
09 May 2000
WASHINGTON,
DC:
Stand-Up Guy Has to Stand Down...
Thomas N. Tippett, the District of Columbia's interim fire chief, announced his resignation on Friday in a dispute over staffing cuts. In a letter to Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Tippett stated that the deputy mayor told him he had to start staffing ladder trucks with less than five firefighters and eliminate aides to the battalion fire chiefs. Tippett had added the fifth ladder company position after reports were issued saying their absence may have contributed to firefighter fatalities in two fires in 1997 and 1999.
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GOVERNMENT
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DC FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
TO: Mayor Anthony Williams
FROM: Thomas N. Tippett
DATE: April 27, 2000
I have been advised by Deputy Mayor Norman Dong that, due to budget
pressures, I am to immediately discontinue the policies of staffing ladder
trucks with five firefighters and staffing the positions of Aides to the
Battalion Fire Chiefs in the Firefighting Division. As you know, these two
staffing positions have been cited in reports following both the Kennedy
Street fire and the Cherry Road fire as major factors that may have
contributed to firefighter fatalities. I have made a solemn promise to the
firefighters of this city and to their families that I would do everything
in my power to improve safety and not unnecessarily place my employees in
harms way. Therefore, I cannot in good faith carry out the directive of
the Deputy Mayor.
Reluctantly, I will retire from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department effective
April 30, 2000 with 32 years 4 months service.
It has been an honor to serve with and command the true heroes of this
great city - those we call Firefighters...
Source: DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Dept.
[Ed. Note: EmergencyNet News will be addressing this issue editorially in the next few days...watch this space for additional coverage of this important issue...]
08 May 2000
UNITED STATES:
Experts Warn Of Active Wildfire Season
Experts on Friday warned of the dangers of wild-fires in parched wilderness and grasslands in the central U.S. According to the National Fire Information Center in Boise, Idaho, there already have been nearly 1,200 square miles that have been burned by fires across the country, an area about one-third larger than usual at this time of year.
Early May is normally just the beginning of the fire season. While blazes in Michigan, Florida and Arizona have been contained for the moment, new wildfires erupted this week in Minnesota and Indiana. As EmergencyNet News reported earlier in the week, four homes were destroyed and eight were damaged in a fire in Princeton, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, this week -- the first residences lost to wildfires in the state since 1992.
Minnesota forest service officials are weighing proposals to intentionally set fires in susceptible areas to curtail the risk of an uncontrollable blaze. Doug Anderson, Minnesota's fire management coordinator, said of the fire risk across the state was "the worst we've had since 1988," where nearly 53 square miles have already burned...
06 May 2000
A MESSAGE FROM FEMA'S US FIRE ADMINISTRATION:
National Memorial Service to Honor Fallen Firefighters
The 19th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service will honor 101 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 1999. The annual public tribute, held at the site of the official national memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, will take place on October 8, 2000.
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation announced that 101 firefighters from 30 states and the District of Columbia will be honored. In 1999, Massachusetts lost the most firefighters with 13 deaths, followed by Texas with 11. The list includes multiple fatality incidents in Keokuk, Iowa; Morehead, Kentucky; Worcester, Massachusetts; Lake Worth, Texas; and the District of Columbia.
For more information on the Weekend, contact the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation at 301-447-1365 or visit their website at www.firehero.org
30 Apr 2000
CHICAGO:
Firefighter Killed And 13 Others Injured In Crash
A Chicago Fire Department ladder truck and another vehicle collided on the city's Southwest Side on Saturday. An 18-year veteran of the department was killed and 13 people were injured in the crash. Killed was 43-year-old CFD Lt. L.C. Merrell, who was assigned to Ladder Co 24. Merrell was ejected from the cab of the truck after the collision with a landscaper's pickup.
Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce said Truck 24 was responding to a call and its lights and sirens were activated. Four firefighters and nine civilians riding in two other vehicles were taken to area hospitals. The accident happened shortly before noon. Firefighters in Truck 24 had just assisted at a minor fire when they received the run to respond to another call that eventually turned out to be false.
While going northbound on Throop Street at 107th Street, at a four-way stop, Truck 24 was T-boned on the passenger side by a westbound pickup truck. Six people were in the pickup. A midsize sedan near the intersection, with three people inside, was struck by the two trucks.
A battalion chief, who was driving behind the truck, witnessed the accident. A 37-year-old firefighter was listed in serious condition and another whose age was not available was listed in fair condition at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Two others were treated and released. A 45-year-old man was listed in fair condition at Cook County Hospital with a broken arm and other injuries.
A 36-year-old man was treated at Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Center in Evergreen Park and released. Four men were treated at St. Francis Hospital and Health Center in Blue Island and released. A 38-year-old woman and two girls, ages 4 and 11, were treated at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago and released.
15 Apr 2000
CHICAGO, IL:
Twelve Injured In Fire
Seven children were among at least 12 people seriously or critically injured late Saturday in a South Side Chicago fire that gutted a three-story apartment building. A Fire Department spokesman said: "When we arrived on the scene, we had fire coming from two sides of the building and the roof. People were hanging from the windows. It seemed as if as soon as firefighters pulled one victim out, they had two more waiting to be pulled out."
Firefighters, police, and neighborhood residents participated in what were described as "dramatic and outstanding" rescues at the building at 71st Place and Kimbark Avenue. At one point, an infant was thrown from the building into the arms of a civilian.
Residents of the building said "the place went up like a matchbox." Many people were trapped on the upper floors of the building. The Chicago Fire Department responded with an Emergency Medical Services Plan Three in which 15 ambulances were sent to the scene.
13 Apr 2000
LOS ANGELES, CA:
Explosion Destroys Three Restaurants
An explosion and fire early Wednesday gutted a mini-mall building shared by three restaurants. The incident occurred at about 02:00PDT, shortly after workers at the Tacos Mexico restaurant on the 8200 block of Sepulveda smelled a strong odor. The blast was so strong that it collapsed the roof of the building. The three workers and one security guard inside Tacos Mexico escaped unharmed.
Investigators say the explosion actually occurred three doors down at the Rotisserie Chicken restaurant, which was vacant. The explosion sent glass shards flying through the intersection of Roscoe and Sepulveda and quickly spread flames to the Subway sandwich shop, which was closed, and then to the Mexican restaurant.
Arson investigators are looking into the cause of the fire, but say two five-gallon drums of gasoline were found at the scene. It's unclear if the containers of fuel were being stored there or if they were used to set the explosion. An LAFD captain said: "A two-gallon can of gasoline is equivalent to 20 sticks of dynamite. With ten gallons of gasoline, you have the potential of a major explosion."
02 Apr 2000
CLEARFIELD, UTAH: Firefighter
Kendall O. Bryant, 36, of Clearfield, Utah died in a house fire in Layton
late Friday night, March 31. Bryant was found dead in an upstairs bedroom
just three feet from a window of the home located at 2365 N. 725 West.
Bryant was found by other firefighters with his SCBA tank empty and his
mask removed from his face. Two other firefighters were also injured.
"It's a sad day," Layton Fire Chief Allan Peek said Saturday. "It's a black day for our department. All of his firefighting friends are mourning this loss." Bryant's death is the first line-of-duty death in the Layton Fire Department's history.
01 April 2000 - Additional Information added to ERRI Infectious Disease Page concerning Hepatitus-C (HCV): Click here to visit the Infectious Disease Page
25 Mar 2000 - From: http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
ILLINOIS:
Hero Firefighter Critically Injured In Blaze
Chicago, IL -- Authorities said a Chicago firefighter who in the past has been hailed as a hero for pulling victims from the rubble of a February explosion and for catching a child jumping from a high-rise fire in 1996 was critically injured on Thursday while fighting a fire on Chicago's South Side fire. Firefighter Bill Heenan, age 37, suffered smoke inhalation and was in critical but stable condition at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
Heenan was one of two firefighters injured while battling the 09:00CST blaze that gutted a home on the 400 block of West 57th Place. Heenan, a 13-year member of the CFD, also suffered minor burns to his face and ears. The other injured firefighter was treated at Little Company of Mary Hospital in suburban Evergreen Park. No one was in the home at the time of the fire, which was apparently caused by a space heater in the basement.
In incident that was reported by EmergencyNet News in January 1996, while teetering on a ladder, Heenan made an incredible one-arm catch of a screaming 8-year-old girl who had hurled herself out of a sixth-floor window. ERRI sends "get well soon" wishes to this courageous firefighter.
MEMPHIS, TN:
Lead Focus
Shooting Leaves Four Dead And Two Wounded In Memphis
Police reported that four people were fatally shot and two others were wounded when a Memphis firefighter ambushed fellow firefighters and police responding to a blaze at his house on Wednesday. The suspect, identified by authorities as 41-year-old Fred Williams, was allegedly angered by his estrangement from his newlywed wife.
The shooting began when firefighters responded to a call and arrived to find the home on fire, but they came under fire. One firefighter was killed instantly at the scene and another was critically wounded and died later at a hospital. When the firefighters radioed for help, a Shelby County deputy sheriff arrived and was fatally shot while still in his patrol car. The vehicle careened through a fence into an adjacent yard. A female bystander who had been talking to the officer was wounded in the head, though not critically.
Confronted by additional officers who ordered him to drop his weapon, Williams raised the gun and was critically wounded by officers. Authorities later discovered the body of a woman, believed to be Williams' estranged wife, in the burned home. The partially burned ranch-style, brick home is located in a residential neighborhood on the southeast edge of Memphis.
The other victims were identified as deputy sheriff Rupert
Peete, age 45, and firefighters William Blakemore and Javier Lerman.(CORRECTION: -- EmergencyNet News incorrectly identified a Deputy Sheriff who was killed in a shootout in Memphis with a suspect as Peete Rupert. The correct name of the the deputy should had been Rupert Peete. We sincerely apologize for any transposition that may have occurred. Nothing would be further from our intent than dishonoring, in any way, a police officer who died in the performance of his duty.)
04 Mar 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
FRASER, MI:
Firefighter/Civilian Killed in Possible Arson Fire
Authorities said that a fire-fighter and a civilian were killed in a possible arson fire at an apartment complex early on Saturday. Fraser volunteer firefighter David Sutton, 27, was killed during the blaze at the O'Brien Co-Op Apartments in suburban Detroit. A resident of the building also died. A second firefighter, 32-year-old Robert Kokko, was listed in serious condition in the University of Michigan Medical Center's burn unit.
The FD responded to a garage fire at 0246 EST, about 45 minutes before being told another fire had broken out at the Woodside Manor Apartments. A few minutes later, there was another report that smoke had been spotted at the nearby Co-Op Apartments. It was not immediately clear if the fires were related.
Arson was suspected at the Co-Op complex, but authorities had not yet specifically pinpointed how the blaze started. Another fire, also believed to be arson, ripped through Woodside Manor on Friday morning. Two other residents suffered smoke inhalation in that blaze...
25 Feb 2000
UNITED STATES:
Focus Article
Senate Bill Proposes More Money For Firefighters
In proposing a huge increase in funding, two U.S. senators said on Thursday that the nation's firefighters deserve the same kind of federal support to battle blazes as police get for busting criminals. Senators Christopher Dodd and Mike DeWine are pushing a bill that would authorize $5 billion in grants over five years for volunteer and paid fire departments. That's a fraction of the $11 billion the federal government spent in 1999 on law enforcement initiatives, but a big increase from the $32 million spent on fire prevention and training. So far, 16 senators have signed on to the bill.
According to DeWine, the bill stipulates that $500 million be earmarked for grants to local programs dedicated to fire prevention and public education. Grants from the remaining money could go for salaries, training and equipment ranging from fire trucks and protective gear for firefighters to high-tech thermal-imaging cameras.
While generally supportive of additional funding for hard-strapped fire departments, ERRI emergency service analysts have expressed their concerns that "The Fire Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act" (Senate Bill S-1899 & S-1941) doesn't include money for EMS-related training and ambulances within fire departments.
24 Jan 2000 - From: http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm
AIRPORT SAFETY & SECURITY
"Danger at Ground Zero; Airports Not Prepared"
By Paul Anderson, Metro Correspondent
Little Rock, AR: The USAToday Newspaper, in a front page article on Monday, alleges that it took Little Rock Arkansas firefighters 19 minutes to respond to a crash and fire involving American Airlines Flight 1420. The incident in question occurred on June 11, 1999, and resulted in the deaths of 11 people.
Further, the authors of the article, Alan Levin and Blake Morrison of USAToday, makes charges that the problems in Little Rock are common at smaller or regional airports across the United States. Levin and Blake allege that it is "inaction on the part of FAA officials" that has prevented the implementation of congressionally mandated upgrades of standards requiring trained firefighters and equipment at 175 smaller airports. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is scheduled to begin hearings on Wednesday in Little Rock, with regard to the adequacy of response to the June crash.
ERRI's Executive Director C. L. Staten this morning said, however, that the USAToday article does leave an erroneous impression about firefighters and airport crash rescue operations that may be contributing to the overall problem. "While we are very concerned about the implications of this investigation, and are sure that the NTSB will thoroughly review and report on the actions of everyone involved in this rescue...we must take umbrage with a specific quote attributed to a Mr. Ron Mercer in USAToday article."
In their article, Levin and Morrison listed one of their concerns: "At some regional airports, groundskeepers, mechanics and custodians spearhead rescue efforts instead of professional firefighters. The airport director in Helena, Mont., where at least three Boeing 737s take off and land daily, says the dual role for airport employees makes good business sense." "Hell, I can train a monkey to go out there and fight a fire," Ron Mercer says.
"We completely disagree with Mr. Mercer," Staten said, "it would appear that his mentality is part of the problem, rather than the solution....and think his comments demean firefighters everywhere." "Airport firefighting and air crash rescue today is a complex and demanding vocation that requires special skills and knowledge that are not commonly taught to groundskeepers and mechanics,' Staten continued. "This sort of mindset, that 'anyone can do it,' is part of what contributes to these tragedies and is an attitude that must end...today," Staten concluded.