Early video from fatal fire in British Columbia: Looks like two cameras were on the scene rolling as firefighters in Delta, BC pulled up Monday on what appears to be a relatively small fire inside a commercial garage. A man was found dead inside. Witnesses reported hearing a small explosion. Here’s more.
Fallout from Spalding County, Georgia cell phone video: The traffic on STATter911.com yesterday was double what a normal day is. The story I posted on Monday about the firefighter who took video of a woman’s dead body at the scene of a car crash had five to six times the readership of what a popular story usually has and it handily beat the numbers for the blog’s main page. I am not saying this to brag. It’s to point out the reputation issues facing firefighters from this incident. I guarantee you it’s not firefighters who are accounting for my sudden popularity. This traffic is coming from Google searches and is mostly the general public looking for more on a story that has grabbed their attention in the U.S. and around the world. If you don’t believe me, put the word “firefighter” in YouTube’s search engine and choose “today” under search options. Look at how many videos have popped up making reference to this, mostly from people wanting to take advantage of the interest in this story. Both the NBC Today Show and the CBS Early Show featured this story yesterday morning. I think there are lessons to learn from this incident on a number of levels. Here’s my view of it.
Some rules for the road (or the cell phone camera) from Billy G: As you will read in the link above, we have been discussing this issue of picture taking by firefighters since the earliest days of STATter911.com. Billy Goldfeder at Firefighter Close Calls/The Secret List has also thought about this topic for a while. He came up with some general guidelines that are well worth reading. Check it out.
Ambulance plunges into lake killing crew: Firegeezer has a detailed report on the tragic situation on Vancouver Island where a British Columbia Ambulance Service crew was killed. Their ambulance plunged into the frigid Kennedy Lake. Click here for the story.
New York firefighter dies during POV response: William Akin, a 52-year-old volunteer with the Ghent Fire Company, died last night after his pickup truck hit a pole during Akin’s response to a reported traffic collision. Firefighter Nation has the details.
A beer BLEVE: In Oak Ridge, Tennessee a fire at a restaurant and bar’s storage building resulted in an exploding beer keg. Firefighters say parts of it flew 50 yards. Here’s more.
Toddler killed in Winchester, Virginia fire: A four-year-old girl died in a fire that also injured her little cousin and her grandmother. Read the details.
Obion County, TN area chief to guest on Firefighter Netcast: John Mitchell and Rhett Fleitz have convinced Union City Fire Department Chief Kelly Edmison to join their gabfest Thursday night at 9:00. The topic, of course, is the latest move by commissioners to expand subscription fire service coverage to the rest of the county despite the fire chiefs pushing for a fire tax. Here’s the link.
Rescue reunion: It took 14-years but a Methuen, Massachusetts fire lieutenant and the mother and daughter he helped save from a fire were reunited. The family sought out the firefighter because of a special occasion. Read the story.
