Thursday, April 17, 2014  Months after surviving the fertilizer plant explosion, which rocked the small town of West, volunteer firefighter Robert Payne has started going out on calls again. He took his first call in January.

Payne said he was one of the closest firefighters to the blast who survived. “Your heart starts racing at a different speed right now,” said Payne.

Coping with the loss of his fellow firefighters out there with him that night is still a challenge. “It’s something you go through one day at a time.”

Even though one year has passed, time hasn’t healed all of the emotional wounds. “Just the guilt of being here, someone else losing their life trying to protect you and protect others, that’s the first hurdle you got to get over,” said Payne. It’s a huge hurdle he said since he knew the five fallen heroes from West all their lives.

“These guys were the cream of the crop, some of our best. The guys you could count ... [ more ]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014  A space heater is to blame for a fire that displaced seven people early Saturday morning in Stuyvesant Falls, but the family is safe thanks to a quick-thinking girl.

A fire at a house at 920 Route 25 in Stuyvesant Falls owned by the Cowan family was reported to Columbia County 911 at 12:28 a.m. The Stuyvesant Falls Fire Department responded to the scene and was joined by fire companies from Stuyvesant, Stockport, Niverville, West Ghent, Valatie, Chatham, Ghent, Stottville and Kinderhook.



The fire was extinguished at 5:04 a.m. and the scene was cleared at 5:07 a.m. but Columbia County 911 later reported the fire had rekindled and that light smoke conditions were observed at the scene at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. The scene was cleared by Stuyvesant Falls firefighters a second time at 9 p.m.


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Wednesday, April 16, 2014  A woman charged with buying guns for a convicted felon who later used them to kill two volunteer firefighters in an ambush was convicted Tuesday of falsifying business records.

A state Supreme Court jury in Rochester found 25-year-old Dawn Nguyen, of the town of Greece, guilty because she lied when she said on a gun purchase form that she was buying the weapons for her own use. She also faces federal charges.

Prosecutors say Nguyen bought a semi-automatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun at a Gander Mountain store in 2010 for her neighbor William Spengler Jr., who was prohibited from owning weapon because of his felony record. Spengler had been released from prison in 1996 after serving 17 years for killing his grandmother with a hammer.

Spengler set fire to his Webster home early on the morning of Dec. 24, 2012, then shot at responding firefighters, killing Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka and wounding Joseph Hofstetter and Ted Sca... [ more ]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014  A Saxis firefighter was seriously injured and another was treated for smoke inhalation while fighting a fire that burned around 3,000 acres of marsh and woodland in northwest Accomack County on Sunday.

Saxis Fire Chief Coley Beasley sustained first degree burns to the face and second degree burns to the hands and arms fighting the blaze, which took crews more than 12 hours to contain.

Beasley was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center and transferred to the John Hopkins Burn Center in Baltimore, Md.

He was released Tuesday and is recovering at home, Saxis Volunteer Fire and Rescue President Aubrey Justice said.

The blaze, which was reported to the Eastern Shore of Virginia 911 Center at 11:19 a.m. April 13, began as a small brush fire along Saxis Road near Sanford. Pushed by strong winds, it spread northeast to Shad Landing Road before firefighters were able to bring it under control, C. Ray Pruitt of the Accomack Count... [ more ]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014  An Elmwood Park fire captain had a blood alcohol content 2½ times the legal limit when he crashed a firetruck while returning from a call over the weekend, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.


Russell Fenn IV, 37, was “visibly swaying” after the engine slammed into several utility poles on East 54th Street and Molnar Drive around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Bergen County Police Department Capt. James Mullin told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.

Another firefighter in the rig had to be taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with what appeared to be minor injuries, he said. The engine was taken out of service — leaving borough firefighters one short in battling a blaze at a Route 46 hotel this afternoon (SEE: Firefighters find rooms empty after hotel fire).

... [ more ]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014  Idaho officials have filed a lawsuit against a timber company and its contractor contending they're responsible for a wildfire that killed a 20-year-old Forest Service firefighter and burned more than 300 acres in northern Idaho.
The state filed the lawsuit Monday in 2nd District Court seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages for costs in fighting the fire. Firefighter Anne Veseth of Moscow died Aug. 12, 2012, after being struck and killed by a falling tree while fighting the Steep Corner Fire near Orofino.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014  A man was arrested Monday after firing at firefighters responding to a nearby blaze, Kyle police said. Kyle firefighters responded to a shed fire at 390 Buggy Whip Drive in the Sunset Ridge Trailer Park about 1 a.m. After putting out the flames, the firefighters heard at least one gunshot and then a bullet impact a wall behind them.

Police officers arrived on scene and determined the shot had come from a home in the vicinity.

During their investigation, officers found Jason Montalvo, 18, asleep in his bed with a rifle by his side. After waking Montalvo, he became combative and refused commands to surrender his f... [ more ]

Tuesday, April 15, 2014  Two fire trucks collided Monday morning while responding to a fire on the West Side and two firefighters were taken to the hospital.The crash occurred in the 2200 block of S. Zarzamora near U.S. 90 at around 11:05 a.m. and the two firefighters were not seriously injured but were taken to the hospital for cautionary reasons, said SAFD Fire Chief Charles Hood.

“We are very, very happy there weren't more serious injuries,” Hood said.

Engine 33 was coming down an exit ramp when it collided with Ladder 8 while responding to a call for a structure fire and possible electrocution, he said.

All firefighters in the vehi... [ more ]

Tuesday, April 15, 2014  A Hempstead (Long Island, NY) Volunteer FD Rescue Squad Ambulance struck a low overpass today, injuring several members. The ambulance, returning from the hospital, struck the bridge-3 members were injured but all were NLT

Monday, April 14, 2014  A huge house fire in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County on Sunday evening injured one firefighter. It broke out on the 3500 block of Elmerton Avenue just after 6 p.m.
The firefighter is being treated for minor burns.
The house is a total loss with about $100,000 in damage. According to the fire marshal, the house was being remodeled and no one was living inside, although the owner stopped by to check on the progress. When he opened the front door, flames shot out and burned him, but he refused treatment.
The fire had already ripped through the home when fire crews arrived and flames started again at the chimney.
“Progress Fire Company was the first on the scene. They had a well-involved structure to the point where the second floor had already collapsed into the first floor,” says George Drees, Susquehanna Township Fire Marshal.
There’s no word on the cause yet and the damage was too extensive for fire officials to narrow down an area of origin ... [ more ]

Monday, April 14, 2014  A barn caught fire on Oak Grove Road north of Barron Road in Howell Township after 4 p.m. today. Firefighters from the Howell Area Fire Department, Brighton Area Fire Department and Fowlerville Fire Department as well as Livingston County EMS personnel responded to the scene.

The road was blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze. Large amounts of black smoke and flames came from the roof of the building.

It is unknown if anyone was inside. Two firefighters were injured while fighting the fire, one transported by helicopter to the hospital.

Check Tuesday's Daily Press & Argus and livingstondaily.com for updates.

Monday, April 14, 2014  Attached you will find a power point presentation that was created to describe the Modular SCBA Maze that the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department constructed.


The maze is modular in design which means that the modules (obstacles) can be relocated in the maze to discourage fire fighters from attempting to memorize the maze lay out.  Many of the modules are also adjustable to accommodate fire fighters of various sizes and abilities.  The response our department has received on this maze is positive and everyone states they have never seen anything like this before.

The intent of the presentation is to enable other departments to utilize our design to improve their departments training.  The presentation shows them how to replicate the maze for their use.

Monday, April 14, 2014  Flags flew at half-staff at fire stations around the city Saturday as the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department mourned the loss of two firemen — one a newlywed, the other a father of triplets — who died within 24 hours of each other.

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin J. Cochran said Saturday the department is reeling over the deaths of Jermaine Hall and Sgt. Frank Guinn, who passed away due to separate, off-duty accidents. Coincidentally, the two men described as “up-and-coming leaders of the department” worked on the same shift, though at separate stations, and their shifts were on duty when the news came of their accidents and subsequent deaths.more ]