Quick Takes: March 7, 2011.
More video from Chicago motel fire: We showed you news video Saturday of this fire at the Saville Motel in Stony Island. The fire left seven citizens and a firefighter injured. Our friend Steve Redick has daylight video of this fire. Click here.
A story that is more than just a drunk guy behind the steering wheel of an out-of-service fire engine: The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says the driver of the fire engine was a volunteer firefighter with the Hamilton VFD who forced a deputy to head for a ditch early Saturday morning to avoid the speeding rig. But it is the passengers that make this story even more interesting. They are all volunteers in Loudoun County (or were, since the driver and two of them have since resigned). They include a 19-year-old woman, an off-duty Leesburg cop and two men who are in positions of authority in the county fire service. According to news reports all had been drinking. Loudoun County Fire-Rescue Chief W. Keith Brower, Jr. and Fire-Rescue Commission Chair Douglas G. Rambo briefed reporters on the unpleasant details yesterday afternoon. Here is our coverage from Sunday.
Born from RIT: I asked a new STATter911.com advertiser to write a guest column on his interesting product. Greg Turnell, a lieutenant in DC, invented TURK, a cart that has a number of applications, but was built to help firefighters transport all the required RIT gear to the fireground without killing yourself. Clck here to learn more.
Antique of the Week, rig hit in Massachusetts, Ohio rollover & a lot of news: Glenn Usdin goes back almost 75 years for the rig featured in the video for the latest Antique of the Week. Click here. Of course there is lots more apparatus news from FireTruckBlog.com.
Three Cleveland firefighters struck, man arrested: It happened Sunday morning on I-480 and two of the firefighters remain hospitalized. According to WKYC-TV, “one firefighter suffered a lacerated kidney and rib injuries. The other fireman has significant lower body injuries and underwent surgery Sunday afternoon.” Here’s more.
A bad bill or just bad reporting?: I don’t know the answer for sure, but my hunch is a politician’s exaggeration of the problem and the failure to read the bill by reporters has people believing they are going to ban all photography within 500 feet of a crash scene in Illinois. I could be totally wrong, but my read from far away shows it is nothing of the sort. Check it out and tell me what you think.
A trip to EMS Today is already saving lives: Mike Ward over at Firegeezer has a wonderful story about two people we spent part of Thursday night with (no, not Rhett and Willie, yet). Take a look at how these paramedics got a free breakfast on their way home from Baltimore.
Now it’s Rhett and Willie time: Both IronFirmen.com and FireCritic.com have rundowns from the JEMS & FireEMSBlogs.com Meet-up sponsored by Physio Control Thursday night. The good news is I was able to get to some quality time in with the Roanoke crew during dinner. I even took some video of Rhett and Willie screening the movie that debuted on STATter911.com while they were driving to Baltimore. In case you missed it, the movie was a dramatization of the dinner before it even happened. Click here to watch it. Rhett seemed so pleased by it all he paid for the meal. And I thought he hated me. Here’s Rhett’s report from Baltimore and here’s Willie’s.
Firefighter spots burglary in progress: A firefighter watched as a man broke into a store across the street from a firehouse in Hooksett, New Hampshire. The firefighter’s call to police brought a quick arrest of a burglar. Here’s the story.
Chicago firefighter in classic photo retires: It is a photo of more than 30-years-ago that many of you will recognize. It shows Firefighter John Steinmetz, just two years on the job in Chicago, holding the body of a girl in the fourth floor window of a burning apartment building trying to get help. Yesterday Captain John Steinmetz was honored as he arrived for his final shift before retiring. Read the story.
