Sunday, July 27, 2014   An Orlando Fire Engine hit a car trying to get away from police. The driver of that car ran off and is still missing.
Just before midnight last night, Orlando Police said an officer tried to pull over a car near Columbia Street and Goldwyn Avenue.

They say the driver of the car appeared as if he was slowing down, but then quickly sped up. Police said the car drove through a stop sign at Bethune Drive and Columbia Street.

At the same time Orlando Fire Department's Engine 7 was headed west on Columbia Street with their lights and horn on responding to a call.

The front of the engine hit the side of the car. Police say the driver got out of the car and ran away. His three passengers were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

If caught, the driver of the car will certainly face numerous charges. No one from inside the fire truck was transported to the hospital.

Sunday, July 27, 2014  An overnight fire in Eminence, Kentucky, had firefighters battling flames for hours.

The fire began just before 12:30 a.m. Sunday in a mixed-use residential and commercial building on South Main Street before spreading to a second building.

A passing police officer reported the fire and was able to evacuate everyone in the first structure.

Firefighters said it started in an apartment in one building and spread to another.

Officials said the age and specific construction of the building hampered efforts to extinguish the fire.

"Everybody wants to come out, but please stay back. We don't even feel safe. We've already had three firefighters injured when the building collapsed -- cuts, bruises, abrasions," said Eminence Fire Chief Gary Lucas.

Officials said at least 50 firefighters worked the fire.

Several firefighters were injured when part of the building collapsed.

None of the residents inside the... [ more ]

Sunday, July 27, 2014  No injuries were reported after a Mahwah fire truck collided with a sedan last night.

The truck carrying five firefighters from Fire Company # 2 Hazmat was responding to a gas leak from a dryer on Greene Street in the Fardale section when the crash occurred.

The truck had its lights and siren activated when it stopped on Wyckoff Avenue for a red light at Pulis Avenue and was struck by the car as its driver made a right as the rig continued on, Police Chief James Batelli told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

The collision damaged the truck’s undercarriage pullout drawer, the chief said.

Police were investigating, he said.

http://cliffviewpilot.com/car-crashes-into-mahwah-fire-truck/

Saturday, July 26, 2014  Tulsa Police are investigating a multiple-vehicle wreck that involved a fire truck Friday night. Police say alcohol may have been involved as the driver and passengers of the car that caused the crash ran away from the scene.

It happened at about 11:30 p.m. on 51st Street South, just east of Yale. A car heading westbound on 51st Street at a high rate of speed slammed into the back of a pickup that had slowed to turn into Taco Bell, according to TPD Patrol Officer Jon Grefton.

The car hit the pickup hard enough to push it forward about 150 feet into the back of a Tulsa Fire Department fire engine.

Police say four people, a woman and three men, ran from the car and were picked up by another vehicle.

Blood - and an ID - were found in the car. The vehicle was not stolen, Grefton said.

EMSA medics checked out the occupants of the truck at the scene but did not transport anyone to the hospital. 

The car and the t... [ more ]

Saturday, July 26, 2014  A group of Meridian firefighters and a police officer are facing the consequences after using a stun gun on each other - a misuse of city property and serious violation of the departments' policies. The incident happened the weekend of July 4, when one police officer loaned a stun gun to a group of firefighters.

"Why this particular officer decided to let their weapon be used, I can't begin to understand that," Meridian Police Chief Benny Dubose says.

The firefighters used their own cartridges, and willingly took turns using the weapon on one another.

"We as a fire dept. dropped the ball," Meridian Fire Chief Anthony Clayton says. "I say 'we' because even though this is bad, we are still the fire dept. We have put this behind us and we are moving forward."

After an investigation, Chief Clayton informed the mayor and handed out his punishment. Re... [ more ]

Saturday, July 26, 2014  A blaze broke out in Shanghai this morning at an industrial area where the Jinshan Sinopec Company is located, Sina News said.

It's reported that a 5,500-ton regulating tank containing sulphuric sewage suddenly caught fire. The city fire department sent 56 fire trucks to the area to control the flames.

shanghai-tank-on-fire-2.jpg

A witness said that pillars of thick black smoke could be seen stretching upward. Some netizens claimed they heard an explosion.

A fireman said that only one regulating tank was on fire and the surrounding area remained unaffected. Because of the tremendous storage of the mega-thermal tank, it took the fire fighters hours to control the flames.

At least two firemen fainted during the mission and were sent to the hospital, probably due to high temperature or poisoning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.


http://shanghaiist.com/2014/07/25/shanghai-sewage-storage-tank-fire.php
<... [ more ]

Friday, July 25, 2014  The Poquonnock Bridge Fire District laid off nine firefighters at 8 a.m. Friday, leaving it with a minimum of three firefighters per shift and one engine to cover Groton’s largest fire district.


Fire Chief Todd Paige, who has been with the department 28 years, said: “This is at the bottom.” He said he feels “sadness, difficulty, frustration.”


The layoffs, combined with four department vacancies which will remain unfilled, cut the fire department force by nearly 42 percent. The department, which previously had a minimum of five firefighters on duty per shift and two engines, will have a minimum of three firefighters on duty per shift and one engine.


The department is also changing its response to medical calls due to the layoffs. The dispatch center has not completed the change, but soon Poquonnock Bridge will not respond to medical calls unless they are life-... [ more ]

Friday, July 25, 2014  The family of a pregnant Fairhill woman who died in 2012 after a fall at her parents' home sued the city Thursday, contending her death and her child's severe brain damage resulted from paramedic malpractice and defective equipment.



The suit was filed in Common Pleas Court by Eriberto Rodriguez, widower of Joanne Rodriguez; their 21-month-old son, Xavier; and maternal grandmother Daisy Morales.

"My wife should be alive today. My son should be healthy, growing, playing, laughing. We shouldn't have to be here today," Rodriguez told reporters at a news conference at the Center City offices of the law firm Mincey & Fitzpatrick.

Chief Peter Crespo, Fire Department spokesman, said he could not comment on litigation.

Rodriguez's relatives called 911 at 10:44 a.m. Oct. 1, 2012, after the 24-... [ more ]

Thursday, July 24, 2014  Fort Shaw Fire Chief Dave Anderson remains hospitalized in critical condition at Benefis Health System two days after a collision between two of the department's fire trucks.

"We're concerned more about the fire chief's health than about the loss of any of the vehicles we have," Assistant Chief Craig Askeland said. "They can be replaced."

Anderson, driving a water tender with a 3,200-gallon capacity, was responding to a fire near Vaughn on Tuesday afternoon. That vehicle is used to move water to the site of fires. Another firefighter responding to the same fire was driving a 1-ton, four-wheel drive brush truck.

The vehicles collided on U.S. Highway 89.

The Montana Highway Patrol said the driver of the brush truck missed a turnoff en route to the fire and was making a U-turn when it was struck by the water tender.

Following the collision, the Fort Shaw department is without a water tender truck, putting it at a "disa... [ more ]

Thursday, July 24, 2014  A Jackson firefighter is recovering after he was attacked during a robbery at a store, police said.


The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Family Dollar on Medgar Evers Boulevard, police said.

Click here to watch the report.

Employees said two men came into the building and demanded cash. Authorities said that at some point during the robbery, one of the suspects punched and kicked the firefighter, who was shopping at the store.


The men were able to get away with the cash drawer, police said.


The firefighter, who works at the fire station across the street from the store, was not seriously injured, authorities said.


Read more: more ]

Thursday, July 24, 2014  A veteran firefighter was injured Wednesday when acid from a car battery sprayed on his face in Northwest Laredo, authorities said.

It happened after fire crews responded to a report of a vehicle on fire.

The firefighter was taken to a San Antonio hospital for treatment for his burns, which caused blistering on his lips, cheeks and neck. - See more at: http://m.lmtonline.com/articles/2014/07/23/front/news/doc53d0440db4178774322907.txt#sthash.BzhHPDsY.dpuf

Wednesday, July 23, 2014  No one was seriously injured in a three-vehicle crash involving an Ocala Fire Rescue vehicle on its way to a call Tuesday night.


Officer Bennie Wilson of the Ocala Police Department said Richard M. Doucett, an OFR battalion chief, was heading east on Southwest 20th Street in his vehicle using lights and sirens on his way to call.

A 2003 Nissan Altima, driven by Peter Allen Nettles, was sitting at Southwest 31st Avenue, preparing to cross SW 20th Street and continue on SW 31st Avenue.

The officer said that, in an apparent attempt to beat the emergency vehicle, Nettles entered the intersection. His Altima was hit on the driver’s side.

Both vehicles then traveled a short distance before crashing into a third vehicle, a 2012 Toyota Corolla, driven by Jaime G. Gonzalez-Urdaneta, who had three passengers.

Doucett, 45, was not seriously injured, Wilson said. Nettles, ... [ more ]

Wednesday, July 23, 2014  A firefighter was injured while battling a blaze in Bayonne Tuesday night, authorities said.

A fire erupted in a two-story home in the 100-block of West 26th Street shortly before 11 p.m., authorities said.  

When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke billowing from the basement and first floor of the building, authorities said.

While trying to extinguish the fire, a firefighter fell down a smoke-filled stairway leading to the basement and injured his wrist, hip and leg, authorities said.   

The firefighter was taken from the scene to Bayonne Medical Center and later released, authorities said.

The fire was soon extinguished, authorities said. Fire investigators believe the blaze originated in the laundry area of the home's basement, authorities said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities said.