Monday, January 30, 2012  Within 24 hours of responding to an incident on 01/21/2012, Captain Walter Sumner of the Cranesville VFD suffered a heart attack. Captain Sumner then passed away on 01/24/2012 from complications related to that heart attack while his company was on a relocation/fill-in/transfer detail. Our condolences to all affected.

Saturday, January 28, 2012  After knockdown and extinguishment a Hernando Fire Captain Suffered a medical emergency and was transported to Brooksville Regional Hospital after receiving treatment and CPR on the scene. Although the situation happened after the bulk of the operation was over and happened outside the hot zone, an alert BFD Captain issued an immediate MAYDAY/Firefighter Down call and brought all personnel on scene to the aid of their brother. He was in stable condition and talking and being moved to ICMU around 1900 hours.

Friday, January 27, 2012  The Virginia State Police and state fire marshal are investigating a fire that damaged the building and two emergency vehicles at Brosville Community Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday evening. Pittsylvania County Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Davis said an outside agency will examine the case to ensure an independent investigation. The department's building is county insured, he said.

The blaze, reported at about 7:40 p.m., occurred in one of the bays on the east side of the structure and caused damage to a 2008 International crash truck and a 2005 ambulance, said Fire Chief Chris Key.

No one was injured.

Carole Brown, a driver for the department who lives close to the building located at 11912 Martinsville Highway, said she saw the fire. more ]

Friday, January 27, 2012  Are you thinking Collapse as this video starts?

Friday, January 27, 2012  The metallurgy analysis points to casting flaws in Snap-tite’s manufacturing process as the cause of the failure.

On 7-27-09 the Hampton Twp Fire Dept in Sussex County, NJ, was conducting a training exercise. The drill involved 3 tankers and 2 pumpers. It was to be a water shuttle exercise. Eng 48-62 was set up as the hole pumper at the draft site to fill the water tankers. There was 100′ of 5″ LDH from 48-62 tothe portable hydrant, (The hydrant was a Snap Tite water Thief/Manifold,with 5″ LDH intake and 4 2-1/2″ discharges).

We were using two (2) of the 4 discharges with 100′ of 2 1/2″ hose from each discharge. The flow rate was 125psi. The order was given for the hydr... [ more ]

Friday, January 27, 2012  A fire truck was unable to pump water on flames in the roof of a Farmington auto repair shop last week. Crews quickly switched to back-up equipment, but the business owner says the problems have him concerned.

Ed Fischer owns Starr Automotive in Farmington. He says employees spotted the fire early.

"They smelled smoke in here, and then they saw the flames coming out of the ceiling," he said.

Someone in the shop called 9-1-1, and when crews arrived, the first truck couldn't pump water, according to Fischer.

"They went up with the truck to put it out, the first engine didn't work, and they had to get a back-up engine ready," he said.

David McKnight is City Administrator in Farmington. He says crews are trained to deal with mechanical issues.

"Our second engine was already on scene. They took a minute to transfer the hoses from the first engine to the second."

McKnight says city officials will meet in two weeks to discuss the depa... [ more ]

Friday, January 27, 2012  Four firefighters and four residents were injured in a fire at a two-story Rochester (NY) house.
At least three residents were forced to jump from the house's upper story to escape the flames, according to an Associated Press report on the Wall Street Journal Web site (http://on.wsj.com/wbLSGG).

Three of the firefighters were injured while operating inside the house and were treated at the scene. A fourth firefighter was taken to a local hospital with minor burns. The roof reportedly later collapsed. It was no clear whether anyone was trapped in the house.

Read more about the incident from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle at http://on.rocne.ws/AnAQem.

Thursday, January 26, 2012  An Orlando (FL) TV station found out exclusively that an Orange County fire chief has crashed his department vehicle six times in the last six years.

Orange County Assistant Chief Joe Sylvestri earned that he will be suspended for just 12 hours after he crashed his county-issued Crown Victoria into a 79-year-old man's car at the intersection of Kirkman and the 408. Sylvestri was on his way to a brush fire with his lights and sirens on when he made a left turn on a red light. The other driver had a green light.

The 79-year-old did not want to do an interview, but told WFTV on the phone that his car was totaled. He claimed that Sylvestri was speeding and came out of nowhere.  Sylvestri works out of Station 30, and his own crew responded to the accident and took him to the hospital.

WFTV checked Sylverstri's record, and he has been in six different accidents involving his county vehicle. In one case, he backed up into some equipmen... [ more ]

Thursday, January 26, 2012  A woman is without a home after a fire at her home in Kenova, and a firefighter is lucky to be alive.

It happened on Chestnut Street in Kenova, when a fire began in the attic of the home.

A woman was taken to the hospital because of smoke inhalation. A firefighter is recovering after falling through the roof.

"He was on the roof attempting to ventilate for us an opening, a little hole to try to make it cooler for those inside. A small spot in the roof about the size of him. He fell through and was able to get himself out. He has a small burn on his lip. That's the only injury he sustained so he's pretty lucky," said Lt. Joe Rimer with the Kenova Fire Department.

Firefighters said it was hard to get around inside the house due to the large amount of clutter.

Several of the pets were rescued.

The house was so badly damaged that fire officials said they won't be able to investigate further.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012  Boone County Ambulance Authority unexpectedly lost one of its paramedics Wednesday, January 25th.

26-year-old Sarah Nodurft passed away while she was at work. She and her partner were returning from a routine interfacilty transfer when she suddenly and unexpectedly died. The cause of her death has not yet been determined.

She was particularly proud of achieving her paramedic certification in August of 2011.

Nodurft was also member of the Spruce River Fire Department.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012  Three volunteer firefighters had minor injuries after fighting a fire that destroyed an Islip Terrace home early Wednesday, fire officials said.

A fire on Norwood Street was reported just before 3 a.m. Five fire departments -- Islip Terrace, Islip, East Islip, Central Islip and Great River -- responded.

Two firefighters had minor burns and another had smoke inhalation, said Frank Cuoco, a first assistant chief with the Islip Terrace department.

All three were treated and released from Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, he said.

Residents were out of the home safely before firefighters arrived at the scene, according to a news release from the department.

Police said arson squad detectives were investigating the cause of the fire.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012   
How many of us firefighters have children who are battling with the issue of bullying in their young lives? We were not exposed to the impact of social media as it applies to bullying as our kids are. We all had those times people with small brains tried to intimidate us but it usually was one on one. Our kids are not so lucky and sometimes that pain leads to suicidal thoughts. Please see below if it can help.
 
 
Register for the SPRC Research to Practice Webinar on Bullying and Suicide Prevention
"Bullying and Suicide Prevention"
Thursday, February 2, 2012
3:00 – 4:30 PM EST
Many schools and communities are struggling to find effective ways to prevent both bullying and suicidal behavior among youth. This webinar will provide the latest research and science on the relationship between bullying and suicide and will outline some of the shared risk and protective factors. The webinar will also discuss th... [ more ]