Hey,
As you know, a veteran San Francisco Firefighter died in the Line of Duty today while battling a house blaze, and a second is "fighting for his life" at a hospital in very critical condition.
Lt. Vincent Perez, 48, (with 25 years on the job) died a four-story dwelling (SEE PICTURE LINKS BELOW). and FF Anthony Valerio, 53, is in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital’s intensive care unit with severe burns. FF Valerio in an induced coma and both were reported in asystole when pulled from the fire. A third Firefighter was treated and released for minor burns and smoke inhalation.
Lt. Perez and the others were caught in the flashover and all 3 were found together in the dwelling with Lt. Perez and Valerio being unconscious and the third firefighter with NLT injuries.
The last time a San Francisco firefighter died in the Line of Duty, specifically in a fire was in 1995, in the same neighborhood. Lt. Louis Mambretti, 57, died when an automatic garage door slammed shut and trapped him inside. In January 2003, 40-year-old FF Melinda Ohler died in the Line of Duty after falling unbelted from her apparatus as it responded on a run.
Today, the first indication that something was wrong came when one of the downed Firefighters hit the emergency alarm button on the radio. The emergency button triggers an alarm at the dispatch center. The dispatcher then tried to contact that firefighter directly to confirm the button hadn’t been hit accidentally and they didn’t get a response. The dispatcher then radioed the incident commander on the scene, who launched the RIT response. From the street, the house appears to be two stories, but has two additional stories built into the slope of a hill in the back and these structures historically have caused problems for the SFFD. These houses are described as kind of upside down with a story or two at the street level and at least one or two more down the hillside. We will keep you informed on the condition of FF Valerio.
SCENE PHOTOS: http://tinyurl.com/4xwdwsy
SCENE VIDEO: http://tinyurl.com/64xh3c4
SCENE VIDEO: http://tinyurl.com/4xgm4q6
RADIO TRAFFIC & MORE COVERAGE FROM DAVE STATTER: http://tinyurl.com/3khjx9a
VIDEO ABOUT THE SFFD: http://www.thebattalion.tv/webisodes/sffd
VIDEO ABOUT THE SFFD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt83NYpENuM
SFFD HOME PAGE: http://www.sf-fire.org/
SFFD IAFF LOCAL 798 HOME PAGE: http://www.sffdlocal798.org/
PASADENA (CAL) FIREFIGHTER DIES IN THE LINE OF DUTY: WORKING OUT AFTER SHIFT
The City of Pasadena and Pasadena Firefighters Local 809 mourn the death of Pasadena Fire Engineer Kevin Moore, a 32-year department veteran, who succumbed to sudden cardiac arrest on Tuesday, May 31 after just finishing his 24-hour shift. Moore, a second generation Pasadena Fire member, recently announced his intent to retire this July. His father, Tom Moore, served as the Department’s Assistant Chief. Two of Kevin’s brothers currently work for the Vernon FD. Moore is survived by his father, his wife, Connie, two teenage children, six brothers and one sister. As always, our sincere condolences.
Take Care-BE CAREFUL.
BillyG
The Secret List 6-2-11 / 2215 Hours
