Saturday, March 8, 2014  A 71-year-old woman and three firefighters Friday were recovering at a Riverside County hospital after they were attacked by thousands of killer bees.

The incident happened around 4:40 p.m. Thursday in a gated community on Lucerne Drive in Palm Desert, CalFire said.

The woman suffered 1,000 stings and looked like she was wearing a “suit of bees” when firefighters found her, Battalion Chief Mark Williams said.

“When you get on scene and see an adult, fully encapsulated with bees, it’s a very rare case,” said Williams.

She was quickly put into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital with major injuries. The woman went into shock, but is expected to recover.

Five firefighters suffered stings to their faces and necks during the rescue. Two were treated on scene, while three others were transported to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage with minor injuries, according to CalFire.

The bees... [ more ]

Saturday, March 8, 2014  A veteran Captain in the Anchorage (Alaska) Fire Department died in the Line of Duty at 1146 hours  Friday. 51-year-old AFD Captain Jeff Bayless collapsed during active fire training, as part of an air management training exercise. Crews on scene began treating him immediately before taking him to Alaska Regional Hospital where he passed away. We'll post more as it becomes available. Our condolences to all affected.

Friday, March 7, 2014  A Bryan Firefighter critically injured in the Knights of Columbus Hall Fire is back on the job a little more than a year after the department's deadliest day.

News 3 spoke with Mitch Moran about his recovery.

Mitch Moran is happy to be on duty with his fellow firefighters and says it's what he always wanted after nearly losing his life.

He told us it's great being back.

It's a tough job being a Bryan Firefighter and Mitch Moran has been through some trying times.

"I've got a bit of extra padding in the back right here for my lower back where it was damaged," said Mitch Moran as he showed us his fire gear.

In February 2013 Moran and fellow firefighter Ricky Mantey spent 15 weeks at a burn unit in Galveston following a deadly fire at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bryan.
<... [ more ]

Thursday, March 6, 2014  Words cannot describe the pain some Sullivan firefighters are feeling right now.

"It's pretty tough we'll be doing some debriefing later, we just gotta get through what we gotta do," Rob Robertson, Sullivan Fire Chief said shortly after his team battled its second fatal fire in less than a week. 

Five days.

Two fatal fires.

One small department, in a close-knit community handling at all.

"I knew the gentlemen from the high-rise just from going on runs before and his family. The father of the child I've met a few times," Charles Reed, a Sullivan firefighter said. 

Reed worked both the fires.

He had connections to both the victims.

Making an already tragic situation even more difficult for him to handle.

"It's hard having a connection there, knowing that they know you and you know them. It adds a little more emotion to it," Reed said. 

James Ramer is a recovery specialist at the Hami... [ more ]

Thursday, March 6, 2014  Last year I was approached to write a book of advice to future and current firefighters, fire officers etc. I figured that the best way I could offer advice is to reach out to some good folks in our business...and "pass on" all of our advice....especially theirs. The contributions were put together in a brand new 400+ page book published by Pennwell entitled "PASS IT ON...What We Know...What We Want You To Know" and that is why I am writing you.


Each one of us, the nearly one hundred contributors (see attachment), have donated time and thoughts in this major fundraiser with all royalties to be donated jointly to both the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Chief Ray Downey Scholarship Fund.  Both organizations have fully and officially supported-and contributed, to this book.


The book is jam pa... [ more ]

Thursday, March 6, 2014  A Ferndale firefighter was injured while working on a house fire that caused an estimated $30,000 in damage Wednesday afternoon, according to Ferndale fire officials.



Fire crews were called about 1:30 p.m. to the burning two-story structure at 518 E. Troy Street south of Nine Mile Road between Woodward Avenue and Hilton after neighbors noticed flames and called the fire department, said Fire Marshal Brian Batten. No one was home at the time, he said.



Investigators said the cause of the fire is not yet known. It began on the second floor, which is now “gutted.”



“The first floor (has) lots of water damage,” Batten said. “We don’t the cause yet.”



Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan said one firefighter was hurt during the initial attack as he worked in extreme conditions on the stairwell to the upstairs. The firefighter, who possibly has an injured hernia, was taken ... [ more ]

Thursday, March 6, 2014  uthorities are searching for four members of a family who have not been accounted for after a four-alarm blaze ripped through several homes on a residential street in Jersey City early Thursday, injuring one firefighter and displacing dozens of people, officials said.

The blaze broke out at a rowhouse on Grant Avenue at about 1 a.m., firefighters said, and quickly spread. Flames and heavy smoke could be seen jutting out of windows of four homes. 

more ]

Thursday, March 6, 2014  A massive fire at a greenhouse in Dunnville continues this morning.

Nineteen fire trucks and dozens of firefighters are on the scene at Rosa Flora Greenhouses fighting the fire which broke out about 1 a.m., said fire chief Rob Grimwood. Three firefighters are in stable condition in hospital with smoke inhalation.

Grimwood said his firefighters were joined by two trucks from Wainfleet overnight as they tried to contain the blaze at the greenhouse company, which is located at 717 Diltz Road in rural Dunnville.

"Unfortunately, there's still quite a lot of flames," said Grimwo... [ more ]

Wednesday, March 5, 2014  A Sunrise Beach (MO) Fire Protection District fire truck succumbed to slippery roads as crews responded to an emergency medical call on Monday.
The vehicle was en route to assist an EMS unit with a medical emergency on March 3, when it reportedly hit a patch of ice, slid off the roadway, and hit a retaining wall. The incident occurred at the residence where the EMS unit was operating.
The unit did not sustain any damage, the district reported, and it was pulled out by a tow truck. The retaining wall that the vehicle hit suffered minor damage.
The patient was transported to a local hospital, in stable condition.
“We are very thankful that no one was hurt and there wasn’t any substantial damage,” SBFPD Fire Chief Dennis Reilly said. “It could have been much worse. Given the right conditions, we could have had our people hurt, the apparatus could have rolled over, or there could have been major damage done to the citizen’s home.”
At the time of th... [ more ]

Tuesday, March 4, 2014   While the F.A. Gray building burned during a three-alarm fire last June, Dean Ellis was on the roof pretending to be a firefighter, while wearing a concealed pistol without a permit, say police. Ellis, 29, of 1145 Main St., Rochester, was arraigned Monday on a charge of disorderly conduct that alleges he refused to evacuate the roof of the burning building, after being given lawful orders by firefighters, who put a ladder up to rescue him. He was also arraigned on a second misdemeanor alleging he was carrying a loaded and concealed pistol in the back waistband of his pants without a license to do so.

According to an affidavit by Portsmouth police detective Timothy Cashman, on June 30, 2013, police and fire responders were called to the burning Daniel Street building and were met by heavy black smoke and flames escaping from second-floor windows and the roof. Four apartments on the second and third floors were declared a total loss and the source of the... [ more ]

Tuesday, March 4, 2014  At least seven members of the Jersey City Fire Department were taken to the hospital late Friday for precautionary examination after they were exposed to potentially hazardous materials while controlling a fire at a nursing home on Lembeck Avenue, officials said.

The firefighters were exposed to a coolant from a damaged air conditioning unit in an office at the Saint Ann’s nursing home at 144 Lembeck Ave. and Old Bergen Road, after they extinguished a one-alarm fire there, city public safety spokesman Bob McHugh said.

The seven firefighters returned to duty after they were examined at the Jersey City Medical Center, he said.

The fire was reported just after 10:30 p.m. and the last fire companies left the scene at 12:45 a.m. Saturday.

Twenty-five residents of the facility were relocated without injury to an adjacent wing. The fire is believed to have begun in the window air-conditioning unit, which emitted the hazardous materia... [ more ]

Tuesday, March 4, 2014  A Haldimand county firefighter is recovering at a Hamilton hospital after collapsing at the scene of an automobile collision south of Cayuga.

Emergency crews were called to a two-vehicle accident at about 8 p.m. at the intersection of Haldimand Road 20 and Kohler Road.

Two cars — an SUV and a crossover — were involved in what Haldimand OPP Constable Mark Foster called a T-bone collision.

"Haldimand County firefighters were called to the scene to provide an extrication and while on the scene one of the firefighters collapsed and was taken to Hagersville hospital befor... [ more ]

Tuesday, March 4, 2014  A couple of Albuquerque firefighters had a scary moment last week when one fell through the floor of a burning home. Related


The firefighter's lieutenant pulled him to safety, but it was a frightening, intense situation.

Police said a man ran into a home in downtown Albuquerque, refused to come and started a fire inside.

Albuquerque firefighters rushed in after the situation was secure.

"The fire wasn't backing down as we attacked it," Lt. Calvin Lang said. "We could see flames and smoke coming from the second-story window."

Lang and firefighter Wuentin Andes eventually made their way to the second floor.

"I just took one step and my foot went out from underneath me. I didn't even know what happened," Andes said.

Andes fell through the floor. Thankfully, Lang was next to him.

"I just reached down and grabbed his strap and pulled h... [ more ]

Monday, March 3, 2014  Two firefighters suffered minor injuries early Monday battling a blaze that damaged a vacant house on South Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst, officials said.

The fire was reported in a 911 call at 1:37 a.m., Suffolk County police said. Suffolk fire officials said volunteers from fire departments in Lindenhurst, North Lindenhurst, Copiague, Babylon and West Babylon responded to the scene.

Fire officials said two firefighters were taken to a hospital -- where they were treated and released.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/two-firefighters-hurt-battling-lindenhurst-blaze-1.7263595