APPARATUS STRUCK ON PA INTERSTATE-FF’s INJURED (PHOTOS)
Yesterday afternoon, in the suburbs of Erie PA on I-90, Brookside (PA) Squad 257 was struck by a semi car carrier while they were responding to an I-90 crash. 3 Firefighters were injured-but they have NLT injuries. The weather conditions were described as "white out" at the time of the numerous crashes.
In speaking with Fire Chief Don Erbin, he said "I’ve been a Chief Officer a long time, and have had command of some large and small incidents, but when you hear "Command we were just hit by a semi!" That not only makes you tweak just a bit but escalates your incident a bit. Keeping that crew calm while getting them help – but also keeping the crews you have working toward their original goal to continue is the challenge" HERE are pictures: www.kuhlhosefire.org .
The family sued saying Pinnacle Security of Utah and its subcontractor Security Associates International of Illinois were to blame for the Firefighter’s death.
When the fire started, early on July 21, 2007, Security Associates received an automatic alarm from the home. A company employee activated a two-way intercom at the home and asked, "Is everything OK?" Gayle Moore responded, "No, we have a fire."
The employee then called the Contra Costa County FPD on a non-emergency line and said, "I’m calling to report a fire alarm," as opposed to the actual fire. That led the fire dispatcher to consider it a lower-priority call. At one point, the alarm company was put on hold for 5 minutes while the dispatcher answered emergency calls. It was nearly 10 minutes after Mrs Moore spoke to the alarm company before Firefighters were dispatched to the scene, a single engine was initially dispatched, with Desmond and Burton aboard.
Pinnacle Security will pay $2.6 million and Security Associates International will pay $2 million. The companies will pay an additional $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Moores’ children.
Burton was a 10-year veteran of the FD, and Desmond had served for 8 years. They were the first Firefighters in the Contra Costa district’s history to be killed in the Line of Duty. The fire was caused by a cigarette.
HERE is the NIOSH FIRE LODD Report: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200728.html
HERE is more on the lawsuit settlement from the local media: http://tinyurl.com/4l5q3fu
The visitation will be from 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Thursday at the Taylor and Modeen Funeral Home, 250 Center Street, Jupiter. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Peters Catholic Church, 1701 Indian Creek Parkway, Jupiter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the BRFF’s Benevolent Fund, in memory of John Wilson. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 565, Boca Raton, FL 33429. Our condolences to his family and the members of BRFR.
