Quick Takes
Refinery fire & explosion: At least one person is dead and three people are missing in Anacortes, Washington. Firegeezer has more on the story. The video comes from our player to the right, where you will also find a chicken plant fire in Maxton, North Carolina (read more), the aftermath of yesterday’s two-alarm fire in Wheaton, Maryland and much more. Look over here >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
UPDATED – In Leadville, Colorado police are responding with the fire department to provide security on all calls. But wait until you learn who they are protecting firefighters from. Trust me when I tell you to read this story: This is one of the more interesting fire service dramas I have read about in quite a while. An on-duty battalion captain in Colorado’s Leadville/Lake County Fire Rescue was handcuffed and put into a holding cell by two sheriff’s deputies during an EMS call at the jail. One of the law enforcement officers has been very public about wanting the sheriff’s department to take over the fire department’s job. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is saying Capt. Dan Dailey obstructed government operations by insisting on tending to a patient inside the county jail. Union and town officials believe this is a power grab by the sheriff’s department which has been pushing a “public safety officer” model. The town is using its police department now to “protect” the firefighters.
Update note – If you read the story last night we have added details from a new article in today’s Denver Post that has the mayor of Leadville saying the sheriff has ordered 911 to have deputies first check out all fire calls before dispatching the fire department. There is also a concise description of the current set-up and relationship between the fire department and Lake County. Click here to read our detailed coverage of this issue.
More warm and fuzzy feelings in the relationship with law enforcement: An ambulance crew in Petersburg, Virginia thought they were being helpful when they used they put the rig between a vehicle being chased by police and a group of pedestrians. The move halted the chase and resulted in an arrest by Virginia State Police. But it also brought a charge of reckless driving against the driver of the ambulance. Check out Firegeezer for this one.
Some suburbs telling Flint they are on their own: With an arsonist(s) on the loose, 30 plus fires, 23 layoffs and two closed fire stations in Flint, Michigan, all over the past eights days, at least three Genesee County fire companies are saying no. Burton Fire Chief Doug Halstead told the Flint Journal, “I can’t solve the city’s problems. I have taxpayers in Burton who are my first priority.” Read the story.
More budget cutting. More mutual aid woes: In Massachusetts, with more cuts looming, fire chiefs are concerned about their participation in MetroFire, a mutual aid pact between 34 cities and towns. Read the story.
Raw video from large pallet fire in Phoenix: Check it out here.
Funeral arrangements for Firefighter Brian Carey & update on Firefighter Karra Kopas : In Illinois,Village of Homewood Fire Department’s Karra Kopas has undergone skin grafts and is now listed in fair condition following the house fire this week that killed fellow firefighter Brian Carey. Here is the latest. Also, funeral arrangements have been announced. Click here.
Chief feels “betrayed” by firefighters accused of arson in Pennsylvania: News reports indicate two more firefighters could face charges in Schuylkill County after the initial arrest of three members of the Friedensburg Fire Company. Investigators say the motive was boredom. The chief of the department tells reporters the arrests tear his heart out. Read the story. Watch the story.
Another discipline reversal in Westbrook, Maine: The Westbrook Fire & Rescue Department has been dealing with a lot of issues surrounding sexual harassment claims. Two of the latest stories have covered related firings and demotions that didn’t stick. The story today is about a firefighter who will be returned to the rank of lieutenant with back bay following his demotion in December. A firefighter fired around the same time won an arbitration on March 15 and will now get his job back. Here’s the update.
Transporting the big boss with a severe posterior nasal hemorrhage: In Howard County, Maryland, HowardFire.net alerts us to the EMS run to take County Executive Ken Ulman to the hospital yesterday. Ulman apparently suffered a drop in blood pressure from the nose bleed.
Dave is not suggesting this – but it did give me a chuckle: Jeff Harkey at FireNews.net and Dave Williams have been telling us about the billoard on I-26 in South Carolina. It is from the Home Builders Association of South Carolina and is clearly against the idea of mandatory residential sprinklers. One email that came in to STATter911.com this morning suggested the following tactic as a rebuttal:
… the local FD needs to go out and shoot the deck gun and a couple of 2 ½-inch hand lines over the top of the billboard and make a sign of their own: “WATER DAMAGE …. Your choice…
We are not condoning vandalism or making any suggestions. But I do like the humor behind it.
