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.
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.