Kentucky house fire: Firefighter Spot (where you can find a riveting interview with my close, personal friend Rhett Fleitz … and to think I knew him when) discovered this recently posted video. Jason Thomas wasn’t sure about where or when, but I think it is from a January 2o09 house fire in Pleasure Ridge Park, Kentucky.
I didn’t feel a thing: No earthquake feeling for Dave. I’m in Emmitsburg for National Fallen Firefighters Foundation business and I was working on the blog when an earthquake hit Maryland around 5:00 this morning. Only 3.6, it was centered 45 miles south of here in Germantown. You can learn more about this minor shaking at wusa9.com. Listen to an interview with USGS.
“Now is the time to change. The eyes of the citizens are on us.”: The words of Spotsylvania County, Virginia County Administrator Doug Barnes as he announced new minimum training standards for firefighters. This comes following internal and external reports describing significant issues during a February 5 house fire where firefighters could not find a woman who was on the phone with 911. According to Barnes, “Our goal is to move away from on-the-job training for officers and incorporate other training mechanisms to bolster our officer development and training.” Spotsylvania is also dealing with recent allegations of sexual misconduct at two volunteer stations. Dan Telvock with the Free Lance – Star broke all of these stories. Here’s his latest report.
Florida firefighter is shocked during ladder demo in front of campers: In Osceola County a firefighter received an electrical shock in front of 30 children at a camp when a ladder touched a power line. The firefighters were demonstrating their skills. The injured firefighter was flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center and is expected to survive. Read and watch the story.
Video of Minneapolis rescue: KSTP-TV shows video and talks to firefighters who helped rescue two men from a burning home early yesterday morning. Click here to read and watch the story.
Dozens dead in hotel fire in Iraq: When you hear 29 people died in Iraq (one report has it up to 40) an electrical short is not likely to be the first thing that comes to mind as the reason. But that’s been listed as the cause of a hotel fire Thursday night in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. Read more.
Deadly drive into house: Watch the story from Shelby County, Indiana where a motorist drove through a home with the vehicle catching fire, killing the driver.
Vehicle fire with exposures: A little situation in Galveston, Texas.
