New details on MD floor collapse injuring 3 FFs; Charleston battle over report; A mini battle for PGFD; Stolen hydrant parts
(Updated at 5:55 PM)
New details on collapse that sent 3 MD FFs to burn unit. Fire victim is son of a firefighter.
Watch 9NEW NOW report from Monday, 7:00 PM
Firefighter Mark Mechlin was released from the hospital Monday afternoon. Captain Dwayne Dutrow and Firefighter James Heikka are now listed in fair condition and remain at the WHC Burn Unit.
We have added a new picture and expect more to arrive soon showing the scene on Twinbrook Parkway where the three were caught in a catastrophic floor collapse. There are also more details on the layout of the building and how the three firefighters were able to escape.
Click here to see our coverage.
Timothy Moran. Courtesy Philip Sandoe.
50-year-old Timothy Moran is the resident who was killed in the fire. According to Moran’s family, Timothy Moran’s father was Charles K. Moran, a firefighter in Silver Spring who retired in the 1970s. Michele Little, Timothy Moran’s sister, has requested any donations be sent to HEROES, Inc. in the names of the injured firefighters.
Timothy Moran was a surveyor who worked on the building of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
Trouble in Charleston
The decision to delay the release of the report looking into the Sofa Super Store fire is not sitting well. IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger has blasted Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley for halting the planned release of the report written by a team led by G. Gordon Routley. Schaitberger has called for citizens and firefighters to take action. You can read the IAFF statement here.
STATter 911 first reported late Friday and very early Saturday, according to sources familiar with the situation, Mayor Riley made the decision based on advice from an attorney. The attorney is apparently concerned about the potential liability from a report that is expected to be very clear about the problems and issues leading up to the deaths of nine firefighters.
We have asked a Charleston spokesperson for comment on this story.
A new battleground for PGFD
Mini Pumper 824 from AccokeekVFD.com
Budget issues are causing some pain in Prince George’s County, MD. A variety of plans have surfaced that call for a cut back in overtime, amount of equipment dispatched and the funding of certain apparatus.
While we are told some proposals may already be off the table, one issue that is moving forward is that the county will no longer pay for maintenance and insurance on mini-pumpers.
We have heard from a number of volunteer departments unhappy with this plan citing access issues at parking garages and other locations. Already the Accokeek Volunteer Fire Department (Station 824) has gone public with a challenge to Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick on its website. We have been in contact with PGFD and will bring you a response when it is available:
On Friday, The Accokeek Volunteer Fire Department received a letter from the county stating that they will no longer be funding mini-pumpers in the county. The county letter stated that mini-pumpers “have no operational necessity”. However, since Accokeek does have a BX in addition to the Mini-Pumper, we could choose to give up the BX but only if the Mini-Pumper was re-classified as a brush truck. Obviously the county fire department does not understand its own county. Mini-Pumper 24 not only has an operational necessity, but a requirement. Approximately one third of Accokeek’s first due is comprised of the Moyaone Reserve. This is federal land that is a scenic easement of Mount Vernon. By federal law, when the area is viewed from Mount Vernon it must look the way it did when George Washington lived there. As a result of this, trees are not permitted to be cleared, and roadways are made of dirt and are extremely narrow with low overhanging limbs. The reserve contains approximately 180 homes spread over six square miles. The majority of these houses are not accessible with engines or even ambulances. This is the primary purpose of the Mini-Pumper. This unit is first due on all structure alarms and any incident during inclement weather. Without the Mini-Pumper, these houses will not be accessible.
The county also does not understand that the Mini-Pumper is not a brush truck. It has been used on occasion on brush fires, but only doing what it is designed to do (go where larger pumpers can not go). It does not go “off roading” or breaking brush. It must stay on a road surface (paved, dirt, gravel, or hard packed ground). It is entirely too heavy to be used as a brush truck. And with the loss of the BX, a large number of brush fires that Accokeek responds on will be well advanced by the time an appropriate unit arrives on the scene.
One way or another, the PG County Fire Department is willing sacrifice operationally needed equipment without understanding their own county. We invite Chief Sedgewick to come to Accokeek for a tour of our first due. We will even provide directions since you must not know where we are located.
Citizens say no to closing firehouse
In Martin County, Florida has residents very unhappy. All part of budget cuts. Read the story.
The Geeze is into heavy metal
I am a little hampered in getting a lot of things out this morning due to an Internet issue and my focus on the Rockville fire. FireGeezer is, of course, still at the stop of his game. My favorite article is his look at how brass and copper thieves stealing hydrant and standpipe parts are making it difficult for firefighters.
The Geeze has learned something from the best local TV news producers and is teasing a “controversial” column from FossilMedic Mike Ward tomorrow. I guess I will have to tune in, because he hasn’t told me what it is either. Film at 11.
