Fire news

... from his rear seat on engine 31, michael rhine watched the fire, seemingly at a safe distance. but as the engineer swung the truck around to face the one way out, a big stand of sagebrush blew up into a 40-foot wall of flame. amid zero visibility and intense heat, engine 31 was engulfed, crashing through a dirt barrier and a barbed-wire fence before faltering to a stop ... related background: fast-moving wildfire destroys west valley pumper truck       (Source: Seattle Times (WA) 263468 )

... a suspicious blaze ripped through a staten island home thursday, killing a woman and her four children, fire officials said. firefighters had a brief glimmer of hope after breaking through a wall of flames and pulling out a 2-year-old boy from the second-story apartment in port richmond. one of the bravest tried to resuscitate the tot, but the boy died at a nearby hospital ... related: house fire in staten island kills 5; no smoke detectors found       (Source: New York Daily News (NY) 535059)

... neither of these statements is true [corrected in the july 20 edition of the seattle times]. at no point, have i ever said to the media or the public that the driver was at fault. he did everything he was trained to do the morning of the fire, and did so in an incredibly stressful situation. he has a reputation as one of the most conscientious drivers in the seattle fire department and in fact, the investigative report into the engine problem compliments the driver on his professionalism ...    (Source: Seattle Times (WA) 263468 )

... thompson, 52, quit his job and filed for retirement benefits rather than answer questions about his secret four-month incarceration in a new hampshire jail and whether he ever drove a city firetruck without a license ...    (Source: Boston Herald (MA) 132551 )

... less than a week after orlando police officers agreed to give up pay raises for the next two years, the firefighters in the cash-strapped city are close to doing the same thing ...    (Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel & SouthFlorida.com (FL) 180273 )

... a suspect has been arrested in connection with a fiery explosion earlier this month that rocked  oak park, sending four firefighters to the hospital. investigators said the believe a repair dispute prompted the deliberate blast, but that it wasn't intended as a trap for firefighters ... related: neighbor held in blast; police cite link to feud       (Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) 214219)

... photo: fire poked through the roof about 8:25 p.m. tuesday. soon after, flames fully engulfed the left half of the abandoned duplex. the right half simply smoldered. and smoldered. firefighters participating in the training exercise checked their watches and wondered when flames would take the right side, too ...    (Source: Roanoke Times (VA) 97300 )

... inspired by albany fire chief marc mcginn's' passion and four years of research, city council members voted unanimously monday night to require a somewhat uncommon type of smoke alarm in many homes and businesses in the city from this point forward ...    (Source: Albany.Patch.com (CA) )

... she'd sent her husband on an errand to a nearby convenience store late tuesday morning, never imagining that was the last time she'd see william parker alive. parker and four other people -- including his daughter and two firefighters -- were attacked by two pit bulls near poplar and manassas. ...    (Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN) 148763 )

... in the quest to reduce labor costs, clark county officials are looking at whether they should replace mccarran international airport's firefighting team. the new crew would be trained to handle emergencies such as plane crashes, but it would be part of the airport instead of the county fire department. aviation director randy walker would oversee the operation ...    (Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV) 174876 )

... three construction supervisors charged in the deaths of two firefighters at the former deutsche bank building blaze insist prosecutors are "scapegoating" them. ... related: workers deny fault in nyc tower fire, firefighter deaths    (Source: New York Daily News (NY) 535059)

... west virginia's volunteer firefighters may call a strike if state lawmakers don't fix a loophole in state law. the law holds fire chiefs, other fire officers and members of fire department boards of directors legally liable if a firefighter under their control gets hurt in the line of duty, said tom miller, secretary of the board of directors of the sissonville volunteer fire department. miller works with lawmakers on legislation that affects firefighters ... related: no liability insurance may cause fire departments to close       (Source: Charleston Gazette (WV) 50000 )

... city leaders should be discussing sprinklers in some family homes and looking at requiring retroactive upgrades in multi-family buildings, seattle fire chief gregory dean told a city council committee friday ...    (Source: seattlepi.com (WA) 129600 )

... photo: the family of a wharton firefighter who died battling a massive egg farm blaze is fighting to keep his widow from receiving death benefits, arguing that the 37-year-old had found out his bride of two years was born a man ...    (Source: Houston Chronicle)

... a burned fire truck sits in an empty field monday, july 19, 2010, a day after a wildfire swept through the area about 10 miles west of yakima, wash. three firefighters escaped the truck with minor injuries  ...    (Source: KVAL-TV CBS 13 (OR) N/A )

... timothy johnson, 41, a volunteer firefighter for the portage fire district, was taken to magruder hospital and then transported by lifeflight to medical university of ohio, where he remained in critical condition saturday. johnson was driving his own truck, but was headed to a fire at clay center recreation. ...    (Source: Fremont News Messenger (OH) 12600 )

... fire crews remain on scene saturday in petersburg after a fire at the former brown and williamson tobacco factory. at least sixty firefighters from seven departments were called to the blaze around 3:30 saturday morning ... related: fire won't end renovation at petersburg tobacco complex               early morning fire tears through petersburg warehouse     (Source: NBC12.com (VA))

... dean told council members that mechanical problems with an engine that delayed putting water on the fire have been addressed and that mistakes made by its operator are being dealt with through training. both the chief and an independent analyst concluded that, while operator error contributed to the incident, the firefighters responsible acted according to their training and can't be blamed ...    (Source: Seattle Times (WA) 263468)

... an emt worker who was involved in a controversial incident in which a pregnant woman died last year was shot and killed sunday, new york police said. authorities said they had no immediate link between the emt's shooting and the widely publicized case last year but that would be an aspect of their investigation ... related: police: shooting death of emt not linked to his refusal to help dying woman    (Source: CNN (NAT) N/A )

... a wildfire in central washington injured three firefighters, destroyed at least three homes and continues to threaten dozens of others.three firefighters were injured when the fire surrounded an engine, destroying it. the firefighters were taken to a local hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation. another firefighter twisted his ankle. ... related: fast-moving wildfire destroys pumper truck    (Source: KIRO-TV CBS 7 (WA) N/A )