April 19, 2005 MANCHESTER TWP., YORK COUNTY -- A close call for one man Tuesday in Manchester Township as a fire truck slams into his home. "It was very lucky for the guy standing in the door that he didn't get trapped," said witness Elmer Absher. It happened before … [Read more...]
“…THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COLLAPSE ZONE IS IMPERATIVE…!”
Since this CLOSE CALL, I have become more aware of indicators of a possible building collapse. My company was one of several from my department to respond to a working fire in a 2 1/2 story vacant commercial occupancy. My company (95ft Tower Ladder) was positioned in front of the … [Read more...]
FDNY RADIO PROBE — FORMER FIRE CAPTAIN WRITES THAT A FORMAL INVESTIGATION MUST BE CONDUCTED ON $14M MOTOROLA CONTRACT
NEWSDAY LONG ISLAND July 20, 2004 More than three years after a $14-million radio system for the city's firefighters failed in the field, no formal investigation of how the radios were purchased has been conducted.Now, a just-published book, co-authored by a city Fire Department … [Read more...]
911 DISPATCH SYSTEM CRASHES AGAIN
By Tony Plohetski AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, February 1, 2005 For the second time in less than a month, Austin's computer system for dispatching 911 calls crashed Sunday night, causing call-takers and public safety workers on the street to do business the old-fashioned … [Read more...]
FIREFIGHTER INJURED IN FIRE, HE SAYS THANKS
By Jane Prendergast Enquirer staff writer 4-20-05 Smoke was so heavy in the small Columbia Tusculum house that the veteran Cincinnati firefighter couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Dennis Wheeler wished he could find the fire so the orange glow would help him see. As he … [Read more...]
FIREFIGHTER’S WIDOW SUES OVER DEATH IN TRAINING DRILL IN FLORIDA
By Ihosvani Rodriguez Miami Bureau April 21 2005 The widow of a Miami-Dade firefighter recruit killed in 2003 during a training exercise at Port Everglades filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the facility's owner and the city of Hialeah. Wayne Mitchell, 37, a … [Read more...]
PREVENTING DEAD FIREFIGHTERS?
This issue is about the so called "new" fire radio systems. All over the USA FD's are switching to "trunked" radio systems, "800" trunked radio systems,.etc., and with few exceptions, the results have sucked! About a month ago, we saw the FDNY … [Read more...]
RADIO SYSTEM'S DEAD SPOTS BEING RESOLVED
By: BRIAN CALLAWAY (Fri, Jan/07/2005) Bucks County commissioners approved a $221,000 deal Wednesday to continue filling "dead spots" in the county's emergency radio system. The county will lease space for antennas on a communications tower in Lower Makefield to boost … [Read more...]
REPORT: FDNY RADIOS NOT SUITABLE
BY WILLIAM MURPHY NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER April 14, 2005, 8:45 PM EDT The portable radios now in use by city firefighters are better designed for police work and not suited for firefighting, according to a federal report. Firefighter Thomas Brick was apparently trying to activate … [Read more...]
FIRE & POLICE DISPATCH TECHNOLOGY FRUSTRATES FAIRFAX COUNTY
By Tom Jackman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, April 17, 2005 Less than a year after installing a multimillion-dollar computer system in Fairfax County to dispatch its emergency vehicles, county officials are talking about discarding it and buying a new one. Since May, … [Read more...]