Quick takes
A News Journal photo of a 2006 apartment fire in Delaware. The 13-minute response time is being used as an example of how the largest and busiest VFC in the state only met NFPA response standards 65% of the time between 2003 and 2006. The paper is taking a very close look at volunteer departments across Delaware. Click here for all of the links.
Or you could let the patient drive the ambulance while the EMT treats them: An interesting conversation at a Frederick County, Maryland Board of County Commissioners meeting last week. Fire officials had to explain why it wasn’t really a good idea to transport a patient to the hospital in an ambulance staffed by a driver only. Read the story and watch the video.
Before and after pictures of MD waterfront neighborhood that burned overnight: Anne Arundel County, MD firefighters called for lots of extra help in a fire late Sunday night that destroyed three homes on the Chesapeake Bay in the Annapolis area. Five-alarms were sounded. Two firefighters suffered hypertension. There were water supply problems, burning propane and hoses and a fire engine damaged as the fire began to spread across the street. Pictures and a detailed account.
Do as I say, not as I do?: Travel is one of the many things that has been halted in Prince George’s County, Maryland’s budget cutting process. But County Executive Jack Johnson and other top officials are on an economic trade trip to Africa. It isn’t sitting well with firefighters and others who not only have had travel cut, but are losing two weeks of pay because of furloughs. There is a bit of a news blackout on this expedition. The public hasn’t been told who is paying for the trip and exactly what countries are being visited and why. Read the story.
Triplet rescue update: Links, pictures, interviews and the latest information on last Thursday’s rescue of three young brothers from a Montgomery County, MD house fire. Click here.
By the way, the federal firefighter who did not receive credit in the rescue of the third triplet is Jody Sealey of the NNMC Fire Department. Great job. Sorry we didn’t have the information earlier.
A police chief takes control of the fire department in MI and possible rotating closures in Baltimore: A little budget cutting roundup looking at lay offs at the top of the fire department in St. Joseph, MI and how Baltimore’s Chief Clack may have to live without an overtime budget. Click here.
Don’t know much about history?: If you don’t, we have a little lesson for you. Baltimore’s idea of rotating closures is not a new one. They have tried it before. DC has done it three times. In each case it has had the same ending. Read more.
Smoke gets in their eyes: An interesting picture from Arlington County, VA showing how much smoke can be generated by one of those little nuisance fires caused by Metro’s aging infrastructure. Take a look.
Second-alarm in Falls Church, VA: 9NEWS NOW photographer and STATter 911 neighbor Greg Guise takes in the townhouse fire on Sunday. Watch Greg’s video.
A social network just for arsonists: FireGeezer shows how a MySpace account is helping fire investigators in Texas in their efforts to find who torched a restaurant. Click here.
Union dues: A newspaper columnist writes about the outgoing leadership of IAFF Local 1009. Frank Raffa and Don Courtney have worked together 25-years on behalf of firefighters in Worcester, MA. Among many other things, they successfully lobbied for an abandoned building ordinance after the 1999 fire that took the lives of six of their members. Now that they are leaving, even some of the people they regularly do battle with sing their praises. Read the column.
Further proof that Dave is a wimp: Recently I received a lovely invitation by some DC firefighters t0 be part of a very worthwhile charity event. It broke my heart to turn them down. But I had to. The reason is that I don’t even set foot out of the house on winter days in January. So I sure am not going to jump into the frigid Chesapeake Bay.
I did promise to provide emotional and promotional support for the DCFD crew taking part in the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge on January 24. Last year they raised $8000 for the Special Olympics. Click here for the details via DCFD.com.
A fatal apartment fire Sunday afternoon in Manchester, NH. Click hear to watch the story from WMUR-TV.
