Quick Takes
Delayed call and fireground audio from triple fatal fire in Cheektowaga, New York: Above is Don Murtha’s video from the deadly fire early yesterday morning. Click here for the fireground audio from Erie County Fire Wire. News reports indicate police took the call from a woman screaming inside the home and originally thought it was a domestic dispute. More time was lost because the call was from a cell phone and police had a tough time pinpointing the exact location. The cops pulled one person from the home. Read more on what The Buffalo News calls a 15-minute delay partly due to an “outdated” 911 system.
Stick this in your stocking – layoff notices go out two days before Christmas: Thirty-eight firefighters are among 100 in public safety who were sent layoff notices yesterday from the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The mayor says force reductions are planned for January 11 if a four-percent pay cut isn’t agreed to by the unions. There would also be reductions in rank for supervisory personnel. Read the details.
Early video from commercial fire in Pennsylvania: Click here for the raw video of a fire yesterday evening in Ephrata Township.
Firetruck rollover in France: Firegeezer has the picture and story over a crash that killed one firefighter and injured two others. Click here.
An orange jumpsuit may be in your future: I wonder if the owners of an Oakland, California fortune cookie company left behind that message after vacating the building that used to house the business. It seems a marijuana grow operation took over the Chinatown spot. A fire in the building brought the discovery. Here are some details.
Firefighters didn’t need a fortune cookie to help make this discovery: A fire in a mobile home brought a little something extra. Just outside firefighters found what is being described as the first still discovered in Etowah County, Alabama in more than a decade. Read more.
Replacement for chief who quit over layoffs: Remember the story in Saratoga Springs, New York where both the police and fire chief announced their retirements over concerns about safety following budget cuts? Fire Chief Robert Cogan’s last day is Friday and his replacement, Bob Williams, is a third generation firefighter whose father was once chief of the department. Read the details.
