Fire in Utica, New York: One person is unaccounted for following an apartment building fire Friday night on Blandina Street. What was left of the building was demolished on Saturday morning. Click here for more.
One amazing older flashover video that you must see: If you have never seen the video from Spain where light smoke at an apartment building suddenly turns to flames throughout the structure, trapping two firefighters in the process, you will want to check it out. You won’t need subtitles for this foreign film. There is a lot going on in this video, including a couple of citizens who grab a ladder to help the firefighters. It is one compelling video. Click here.
Well it’s not as if my name showed up on the Mayflower Madam’s list: But I did make the Sunday paper in Charleston, South Carolina for being on another list. The Routley diaries have been released. More than two-thousand emails from the team that investigated the Sofa Super Store fire were obtained by reporter Glenn Smith after the Post & Courier filed a FOIA request. Since one of the emails discussed in the article was from or to me, I will refrain, for the moment, on giving you my assessment of this interesting situation that has developed. Click here and you can first digest this stuff yourself without influence from a clearly biased participant like me. But I will say that Glenn’s judgment is questionable if he thinks this rag is “influential”.
Newspaper looks at the issue of race in the Boston Fire Department: A study by Boston.com contends that many firehouse are “starkly and increasingly segragated”. Check here for the story.
FDNY staffing reduction: The union says the city has the formula wrong, but New York officials are ready to reduce the staffing at 60 engine companies from five to four. They are allowed to do so when the use of medical leave goes above 7.5%. Firefighter Close Calls has that story.
Big fire & big problem in British Columbia: Toxic runoff from a large fire Friday night in Kelowna has a creek and some back yards shut down. We have details and lots of video.
Also in B.C.: Just west of Kelowna a firefighting tanker aircraft crashed while fighting a wildland fire in Fraser Canyon. The crew of two is dead and the crash sparked another fire. Firegeezer has the story.
Funerals: This weekend I talked to some friends who went north and others who went south to attend the funerals of four firefighters killed last week. Click here and here to view coverage of the funerals of Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michael Baik in Bridgeport Connecticut.
In Rocky Mount, Virginia Rhett Fleitz and his VAFireNews continues to lead the coverage of the deaths of Chief Posey Dillon and Firefighter Danny Altice. Here’s the main page. You can see the pictures Rhett and Drew Abel took here and here.
Four children rescued in the other Charleston: In West Virginia, news reports indicate one firefighter found three children and another found the fourth during a house fire early Sunday morning. Read the story.
Post lay-off proposal by union in San Jose: In an effort to get the jobs back for dozens of firefighters let go in recent days, the union in San Jose has offered new concessions to the city. This article indicates it may not be enough.
