Quick Takes: December 11, 2011.

Early video from one Western, Maryland fire & three dead in another: Above is a fire early Sunday morning on Lower George's Creek Road in Barton, Maryland (Allegany County). The structure is an office and storage area. Less than an hour later and twenty miles to the east, in Cumberland, the county seat of Allegany, a house fire took the lives of three women. Pictures and story in the Cumberland Times-News.

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Thanks: For the past thirty days or more there has been a marked increase in the number of you out there reading STATter911.com. It is greatly appreciated. As always, it's the news that drives people to check us out. But it's clear some of you are sticking around beyond the headline of the day that brought you here. Don't forget we also come to you through Facebook and Twitter. You can be alerted to all of our news if you "like" us and "follow us". You will also find some extra material and videos on the social media platforms that I come across when there isn't time to post it on the main STATter911.com page.

Dramatic video from Wilmington, Delaware: Thanks to one of our regular readers for alerting us to the video from Friday's fire on Pleasant Street that shows firefighters rescuing two children from a burning rowhouse. No update yet on the kids. If you haven't seen it, click here.

Two thumbs up in Stockton: The "trolls", as The Fire Critic likes to call the people who comment on STATter911.com, seem damn near unanimous in their praise for a video of the Stockton (CA) Fire Department rather rapidly putting out a house fire. Check it out.

Funerals in Worcester and Mount Vernon: Click here for details for the funerals of Worcester, MA Firefighter Jon Davies and Mount Vernon, New York Firefighter Kevin Townes who both died during fires on Thursday.

T-bone crash of fire engine in Channelview, Texas: Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com has this story.

Rubin lawsuit story brings comment from Ellerbe: We showed you the Washington City Paper story last week about the lawsuit over retirement benefits by former DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin. The most interesting part of that story has now become the comments section which has people taking on a lot of issues the department faces. Current Chief Kenneth Ellerbe even posts (comment #53) responding to criticism of his 3-3-3 shift plan and the arrangement that allowed him to stay on as an employee of the department while working as a fire chief in Florida. Click here and scroll through the comments.

Where there's a will  … : there's apparently a scandal. In Memphis, Tennessee two battalion chiefs and a firefighter/paramedic have been arrested and accused of forging a will belonging to a late state representative who was also a Memphis FD battalion chief. Quite an interesting story.

An email from Obion County, Tennessee: Actually two from Union City Chief Kelly Edmison in connection with the latest "pay for spray" incident. While Edmison says the area chiefs still want to get rid of the subscription service that puts firefighters in some awful situations, the chief gives us a reality check and new details about the most recent fire. Here's the update.

My old Kentucky firehouse: May be closed if it is in Lexington. Firegeezer posts on the battle firefighters are having over efforts to inform the public about rotating closures. Read the story.

Chief of the moonshiners: The Fire Critic has become TV critic as he looks at a Virginia fire chief's connection to a show about moonshiners. Check it out.

Helmet-cam in Linda, CA: Good quality interior video from a house fire.

Wyatt takes on the idiots: Will takes a look at some bonehead decision making about who can be firefighters. Here's his FireRecue1.com column. And don't forget Will's book And a Paycheck, Too! is a good holiday gift. Click here to buy one or ten.

Unable to reach 911: In Columbus County, North Carolina a couple whose home was on fire and neighbors couldn't reach the 911 center.  New equipment had been added to the center a week earlier. The woman who lived in the now destroyed home had to call a firefighter friend to get help. Click here for the details.

Union gets department to back down on Facebook restrictions: Balancing presenting a good image for a department and protecting the First Amendment rights of firefighters isn't always easy. in Cape Coral, Florida the union was able to have a recent order lifted that restricted Facebook use. Here's the story and some insight from our friend Curt Varone at FireLawBlog.com.

NYPD has a similar Facebook problem: Read about the investigation of derogatory comments, possibly made by cops, on some Facebook postings about some officer's frustrations with an ethnic parade and a potential collision with free speech.

A volunteer fire company with lots of money but no active members: In Washington County, Maryland the South Hagerstown Fire Company says it may be able to help some of its cash strapped neighbors. The fire company has no debts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank but hasn't had a volunteer to respond on alarms since 2009. Here's the story.

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