Baltimore LODD; TV station settles in RI; OH church steeples collapse; Firehouse fire; DC arson test; Old PA ballroom; FF on Dr. Phil has more issues
(Updated at 6:48 PM, Sunday)
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Old video of the day: This is 8mm film of the City of Montgomery, AL Fire Department in about 1974.
Baltimore LODD
Apparent cardiac issues have taken Captain Donald Hubbel assigned to Baltimore City’s Rescue 1. Details, inlcuding arrangements, here.
Settlement reached with Rhode Island TV station over deadly nightclub fire
It is one of the more chilling fire videos of the last decade and it has resulted in a $30 million dollar settlement with families and survivors of The Station nightclub fire. Excerpts from Boston.com:
The images recorded by cameraman Brian Butler provided haunting evidence of the fire’s ignition by a pyrotechnics display during a performance of the band Great White and the ensuing panic. His footage has also been used extensively by criminal investigators and civil litigants to build cases.
Butler was, ironically, filming a segment about nightclub safety for station WPRI-TV, whose reporter, Jeffrey Derderian, was a co-owner of The Station nightclub, when the fire broke out. In a federal lawsuit, Butler was accused of blocking an exit while filming, making it difficult for patrons to flee, an allegation that Butler’s lawyer has previously and strenuously denied.
The $30 million settlement tentatively reached in mediation last week involves plaintiffs, LIN-TV (the Providence-based owner of the TV station), WPRI-TV, and Butler. According to the two sources, the settlement was propelled as much by a wrinkle in Rhode Island law as it was by any admission of wrongdoing. In Rhode Island, an insurer who rejects a written settlement demand can be forced to pay a judgment handed down by a jury later, even if that judgment is greater than total insurance coverage.
It is the largest settlement so far in the massive civil case pending in US District Court in Providence, which has hundreds of plaintiffs and more than 50 defendants. Last year, several companies settled claims worth a combined $18.5 million. Dozens of defendants remain, including Derderian and his brother, Michael, who co-owned the club; Anheuser-Busch Inc., which sold beer at the concert; and Clear Channel Communications, which owns a Providence radio station which ran advertisements promoting the show.
Steeples collapse
The picture above is what Old St. George Church in Cincinnati used to look like. The picture below from the Enquirer’s Gary Landers shows what it looked like during Friday evening’s three-alarm fire that toppled the twin steeples.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Paul Weber the fire started in the west steeple and communicated to the east steeple via a catwalk. The firefighters set up a collapse zone and worked to defend the main structure of the church. During one of the collapses overhead wires were hit by burning embers cutting power to 2800 customers. No one was injured.
See the Enquirer’s coverage including video and an interview with Chief Weber.
The church opened in 1873 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Piscataway, NJ firehouse heavily damaged in a late Friday morning fire
Photo by Ed Pagliarini/Courier News
Neighbors of the Holmes Marshall VFC in Piscataway, NJ reported the unoccupied building was on fire just before 11:00 this morning. Arriving firefighters drove at least 3 fire trucks out of the building, but the rigs were already damaged. Look at the bay door to the far right of the picture and you will see at least one was driven through the door. The Courier News reports one firefighter is being treated for smoke inhalation and that firefighters were ordered from the building to “regroup” after an initial interior attack.
The photos below are from Ed Murray at The Star-Ledger. The paper’s Allison Steele reports two injured firefighters. She says the fire was fought during high winds and a driving rain. It was declared under control around 12:15 PM.
IG says instructor gave test questions to DC firefighters
The DC Examiner is reporting this morning that an inspector general’s report finds an instructor gave answers to some of those taking a 2006 test for the fire investigative unit. It appears to have been an effort to get more white males and women on the arson squad.
Sources tell STATter 911 that this was previously the subject of both internal and EEO investigations and no wrongdoing was found. The department was apparently notified in November that the IG was still actively investigating the charge. Some are portraying these as
general questions that were used as a study guide and not specific test questions. Obviously others feel differently about it.
Here are excerpts from the Examiner article:
“There was testimony from one fire official that [the official] wanted to have more Caucasians and females assigned to the unit,” the inspector general report said.
All seven firefighters given the questions passed the test and gained assignment to the coveted investigative squad in 2006. Most of those given advanced help were white males.
Fire department officials declined to say whether they remained on the unit.
D.C. Fire & EMS spokesman Alan Etter said the instructor was removed from his teaching duties and moved to an administrative position pending the department’s own review.
After officials learned the questions had been given to a few applicants, a different test was given, Etter said. But the inspector general found the way the test was administered “[gave] some students the advantage over others in the class.”
The instructor was black, sources within the fire department told The Examiner. It was not clear if he acted on his own or had been ordered to give selected students the questions before the test, the report said. An internal fire department probe could not substantiate a finding of racial or sexual discrimination, the report said.
D.C. fire union head Dan Dugan said the arson exam needs to be administered fairly.
“If you have a skewed process, you’re going to get whatever group you’re targeting,” he said. “There needs to be a fair shot for everybody.”
Dreamland now a nightmare
A 4-alarm fire overnight destroyed the Dreamland Ballroom at Conneaut Lake Park about 40 miles southwest of Erie, PA. The picture above from Steve Marshall , who tells us:
This structure is three stories with the first floor having the park’s maintenance shops, concession stands and concession storage. It measured about 300 feet by 100 feet. Second floor was the ballroom with all wood construction and no sprinklers. Third floor was a walkway around the top of the ballroom.
Fire was spotted by off-duty firefighter passing by who radioed the call in. It went straight to two alarms on the initial dispatch. This building, with a wood arched roof, was a known hazard and was well pre-planned. Despite that, as soon as the fire vented, the winds gusting to about 40 MPH caused it to break through the roof in a matter of minutes. Command immediately pulled everybody out and cleared the collapse zones and then resorted to master streams. 16 fire companies responded, with companies from 5 counties on various fill-in assignments. At the height of the fire, there were numerous small explosions as paint cans, gas cans and welding equipment in the maintenance shop became involved.
No injuries were reported and Steve says the effort by firefighters saved other buildings.
The building was apparently 99 years old. It replaced the previous Dreamland Ballroom that burned 100 years ago in 1908.
Garage rescue
A heavy foot or a stuck accelerator apparently led to this wreck inside a Silver Spring, MD parking garage Thursday afternoon. Click here for more pictures and video of the rescue.
911 calls from MD fire
Wednesday night neighbors sprang into action in an effort to get everyone out of a burning Wheaton, MD apartment building. Before Montgomery County firefighters from a station around the corner could get on the scene, the neighbors had already grabbed more than a half dozen. We have the 911 calls and interviews with the rescuers and those rescued.
41 percent of firefighter fail test
The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department has a problem. The Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council says only 59 percent of 123 firefighters passed tests on basic firefighting skills that were given in December. Read the details.
Vermont considers bill to mandate photoelectric smoke alarms
A multi-fatal fire is one of the reasons Vermont lawmakers are considering requiring the use of photoelectric smoke alarms. Concerns over the problems of ionization smoke alarms failing to sound promptly with smoldering fires is also fueling this legislation. Read the story.
Silencing the sirens
The mayor is tired of being awakened in the middle of the night by sirens from fire trucks. But despite action that now gives firefighters the option of turning the things off, the Vancouver Fire Department is sticking with the noisemakers. Click here for the story.
FF who chatted with Dr. Phil about lots of issues also has false report problem
I’m not sure how to describe this story other than it is a mess. Portland, Oregon Firefighter Brandon King went on Dr. Phil last fall to discuss the affair he had with his family’s nanny and to admit hosing down his stepdaughter (click here to see the appearance). When he was placed on leave it was thought it had to do with the TV appearance. Now it seems the Portland Fire Bureau had him investigated for making a false call in November to the Poison Control Center. Police say that King claimed he was on an emergency call with an overdose victim. That may not have been the case and now he is facing criminal charges. Read the story.
Big fire in Fulton County, NY
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In Broadalbin, NY a factory was destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon. Above is a short video, but it gives you a good view of how large the complex is. TimesUnion.com describes the plant this way:
Fiber Conversion processes textile by products for industrial use. The bales of fiber are used for automotive sound insulation, carpet underlayment and furniture padding.
The company also processes foam byproducts for certain types of carpet padding.
Spring Hill Lake fire
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This is a short video, with fireground audio, of the second-alarm at 9113 Springhill Lane in Greenbelt, MD on Wednesday. The video is from the Berwyn Heights VFD (PGFD Station 814).
