Monday, July 28, 2014  The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service faces trial accused of a number of health and safety breaches following the death of a firefighter more than five years ago.
Yesterday at the High Court in Glasgow judge Lady Rae was told the the trial is expected to last 12 weeks.

No date has yet been set and the case has been continued until September in order to find a suitable court which can accommodate a three-month trial.

Prosecutors brought charges after firefighter Ewan Williamson died while tackling a basement blaze at the Balmoral Bar in Dalry Road, Edinburgh in July 2009.

About 20 people were rescued from the burning building, but the 35-year-old lost his life after he became trapped.

The service denies three charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

This includes a claim that there was a failure to prioritise Mr Williamson's rescue.

He worked for the former Lothian and Borders Fire and Re... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Bad news out of Montana-a wildland Firefighter working on a fire on the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana is now missing. The Firefighter was a member of an eight-person hand crew working out of Darby, Montana mopping up the one-acre Weasel Fire yesterday afternoon July 27 when reported missing. The other Firefighters began a search and notified Ravalli County Search and Rescue, which is continuing the effort today.The Weasel Fire is about 10 miles east of Hamilton and 40 miles south of Missoula near the border of the Bitterroot and Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forests. The fire had been contained on Saturday and was being checked and mopped up by the Darby crew on Sunday.
KTIYP's.

FOLLOW more details at www.Wildfiretoday.com as well as thru The Secret List and more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  An Italian firefighting helicopter crashed on Sunday near the city of Rieti in central Italy killing the pilot and a technician who was also traveling in the aircraft, local reports said.



The co-pilot was wounded and rushed to a hospital in nearby Rome in serious condition, according to Rome-based Il Messaggero newspaper.





The victims, aged 60 and 67, were confirmed dead soon after the crash, which occurred near a lake in the area while the firefighter helicopter was carrying out a flight training, according to a statement from the local government.





Local authorities said the accident could have been caused by a sudden damage of the aircraft's transmission system. The pilot was thought to have attempted an emergency landing before the engine collapsed definitely.





No further casualties were reported, but eyewitnesses said the crash could ... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Some more information with regards to Southwold Township Firefighter Kevin James visitation and funeral: 



Visitation

The Official Fire Service time to pay their respects, starts at 18:30 on Tuesday July 29 at Williams Funeral Home, 45 Elgin St., St. Thomas.

We ask all Fire Personnel to park offsite, such as the large parking lot at Knox Presbyterian Church (Hincks & Wellington, just behind the back entrance of the Williams Funeral Home)


Funeral

Kevin’s funeral will begin at 13:00 hours on Wednesday July 30. The Fire Service march procession will start at approximately 12:40 hours.

All fire service personnel are asked to be at the Forest City Community Church, 3725 Bostwick Rd., London, at least 1 hour prior to the march (11:40 hours).


Reception

A reception will immediately follow the service & recessional, at the church.

... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  Alex Forrest clearly remembers what happened to a fellow firefighter who was traumatized by the deaths of two captains in a house fire.

It was two months after the Winnipeg blaze in 2007 that killed Tom Nichols and Harold Lessard, and Forrest knew his colleague was having a hard time coping.

“I checked up on him and he had killed himself in a garage, and he was holding the pamphlet from the memorial,” Forrest, head of the Winnipeg firefighters union, recalled last week.

“Many of the firefighters are still suffering the effects of that fire.”

Forrest is one of many emergency responders across the country, including police officers and ambulance crews, who are fighting for better treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

He says the condition has been around a long time — he remembers early in his career 25 years ago when one firefighter committed suicide — but people are more willing to tal... [ more ]

Monday, July 28, 2014  The latest findings are more than twice the number of reported cancer cases up to September of last year, when epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said some 1,140 people suffered from WTC-related cancers.

'There are more cases out there, because we just know of the people in our government-funded medical programs, not those who have been treated by their private doctors,' has said Dr. Jim Melius, who oversees health programs for 9/11 first responders.
One thousand 9/11 first responders have been diagnosed with cancer since coming into contact with Ground Zero - and doctors expect the number to rise
Donna Summer said toxic dust from 9/11 gave her fatal lung cancer. Crazy? 60,000 others say they're blighted, too

More than 60,270 people have been at risk of deadly diseases after inhaling dust and fumes containing asbestos from the building's lower columns and benzene from jet fuel.

The toxins also include lead... [ more ]

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 ]