Quick Takes
Third alarm in Allentown, PA: This is from NewsWorking.org. Here’s some of what they wrote about the Wednesday morning blaze at 903 N. Penn Street- Engines 6, 4 (reserve E5), 9, 11 (acting Ladder 2), 10 (RIT) and Battalion 4 (Grim) respond on the box. Engine 6 arrives and reports heavy fire in a 3-story M/O/R. Crews stretch a handline and find fire on all floors of the house. BC 4 strikes the second alarm. Engines 14, 13, air 1 and Cars 40, 46, 47, 48 respond. The fire spread to the ‘Delta’ exposure on the third floor of 901 Penn Street, which is the End of Row (E/O/R). Chief 40 struck the third alarm, bringing in Engine 11 (reserve E8) and Truck 1. A may-day was called for a downed firefighter on the second floor of the original fire building around 0954 hrs activating the R.I.T. The firefighter was taken to the hospital (at 7:48 on the video) with minor injuries. the fire was declared under control at 1100 hrs by BC 4.
Station fire report questions aggressiveness of U.S. Forest Service. Forest Service fights back. Read entire report: Click here to read the complete report from Los Angeles County into the Station fire that took the lives of Captain Ted Hall and Firefighter Arnie Quinones. It has sparked a battle between the county and the U.S. Forest Service. The report says the federal agency should change its policy to allow night water drops and make better use of local resources during fires in the Angeles National Forest. The Forest Service points out when it did its own report into the fire Los Angeles County officials did not voice those concerns. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Charles Scott Doyle: A firefighter from Montgomery County Maryland who was injured while BASE jumping died yesterday. We told you about Scott Doyle shortly after his accident in May as firefighters worked to bring him home from Idaho. Click here for details on arrangements.
Lt. Kevin M. Kelley Avenue: Boston’s City Council unanimously passed a resolution to name a section of Huntington Avenue after Lt. Kelley who was killed when the ladder truck he was in wrecked in January. Read the story.
An idea that is spreading: A while ago we told you that the idea of replacing career firefighters with volunteers was being floated in Cumberland, Maryland. Yesterday it was the surprise suggestion from the mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin. And now there is Johnson City, New York where the mayor wants to save money by recruiting volunteers to replace full time staff.
Guilty plea for Pennsylvania firefighter who used firetruck to steal fuel while drunk: Forty-six-year-old Michael Gorr admits he was drinking when caught driving a firetruck up to the Upper Macungie Township municipal pumps and filling up some fuel containers for his own use. Apparently he had done this at least 10 other times. Gorr also had been charge with breaking into a south Allentown home. He is the second firefighter caught stealing fuel. Read more.
Probe into hidden account may force Baltimore to return cash to Washington: Do you recall the Baltimore Sun investigation in 2007 about breathing apparatus, some hidden accounts and unauthorized purchases by the training academy? It came under the administration of former chief William Goodwin. Now it appears Baltimore may have to return $164,000 in DHS grant money because of the mess. Click here for the details.
You light up my life … and the 911 lines: Video of a meteor streaking through the sky and getting attention in Utah and beyond.
Union opposes new chief: That’s the story from Robbinsville, New Jersey where the chief’s position will now have the title of director. Union officials says the person picked has never run a career department and doesn’t even have EMT. Here’s the story.
Three-alarm fire last month in Lynn, MA: This is from October 9 at 144 South Street.
