Clifton firefighters responded to the report of smoke coming from the building at 29 Sade St. shortly before 1:30 am, Labor Day morning.
As a crew of three firefighters conducted a primary search of the building’s second floor, their means of egress was cut off by the rapidly spreading flames. They issued an urgent call for assistance and a FAST assignment from Passaic’s Ladder 1 sprung into action with a ground ladder to the second floor and affected a rescue of the trapped Clifton crew. There were no injuries.
Deputy Chief Lyons ordered the evacuation of all remaining personnel as conditions rapidly deteriorated, posing a safety threat. Companies went into a defensive mode fighting the blaze from the exterior with hand lines and a stream from Clifton Truck 2’s tower. After a partial collapse of the roof, Engine 3 set up an additional aerial stream and together with Truck 2, was able to knock down the flames which were running the cockloft. The fire was placed under control in approximately three hours. Several surrounding municipalities supplied mutual aid into the city, including Paterson, Passaic and Montclair.
The house was vacant at the time of the fire and according to police on the scene; the occupants were forced to leave when the house recently entered into foreclosure.
A complete investigation is underway to try to determine the cause and origin of the
blaze.
A Call was received from North Las Vegas airport that an aircraft was in trouble and trying to reach the airport. At least two people called and reported that they could see fire from the aircraft. The
aircraft crashed in between two houses at 2832 and 2828 N. Jones Blvd and caught fire. Ten people live in the 2-story house at 2832 N. Jones, 3 adults and 2 children where home when the crash occurred. They ran out the front door and left the area. The mother suffered minor smoke inhalation and was taken to UMC in a private ambulance where she is expected to be treated and released.
In the 1-story house at 2828 N. Jones, a Dad and his teenage daughter were home. They said the lights went out in the house and then they heard a loud thump outside their kitchen. When they went outside to investigate, they found intense flames and ran from the area. Neither family was aware a plane had crashed.
The aircraft flew across Jones Blvd, over a construction crew working on the road. The plane snagged three 7200 volt Nevada Power lines and then hit the ground, striking a car parked in the driveway of the house at 2832 (completely destroying it, a propeller is sitting inside the car) and then coming to rest on a concrete block wall between the two house bursting into flames. A water tanker used by the construction company was parked in front of 2832 N. Jones, one of the workers turned on the water and started shooting water onto the plane immediately. Severe damage occurred to wiring. Nevada Power will be worked all night on Jones Boulevard repairing the wires. Embarq, Southwest Gas, and Cox Cable also had numerous utility vehicles in the area to repair damage to their utilities, they were there most of the night.
Here is footage of another plane crash in Las Vegas on Aug. 22, 2008
The twin engine Piper Navajo aircraft was completely destroyed by the fire. The pilot was found inside the wreckage shortly after 6:00 PM by investigators from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, Metro Police, FAA and the Coroner’s Office. The FAA is now the lead agency on the investigation until the NTSB arrives. Continue reading →
The city of Turlock will pay more than $146,000 to settle a dispute over health care contributions with Firefighters Local 2434.
The agreement, announced Monday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, includes $131,500 in back payments to a health care fund for retired firefighters and $15,000 in attorney fees and court costs.
Union attorney Timothy Talbot and City Attorney Phaedra Norton said the resolution they agreed on was fair. Talbot said the union’s lawsuit against the city will be dismissed once the paperwork is signed.
“Everybody just wants to move on from here and put this behind us,” Talbot said.
City Hall pays 4 percent of base payroll into the health fund, according to the contract. The union claimed that the 4 percent is based on members’ base sal-ary and benefits. City officials argued that payments are calculated on base salary alone.
In June, a judge sided with the union’s interpretation.
The health care shortages reach back to 2003, Talbot said. Future payments to the firefighters’ retiree health fund will be based on the definition of “payroll” as including base salary and benefits.
“The firefighters are relieved,” union negotiator Jim Watson said. “The question has been resolved … and hopefully, things like this won’t happen in the future.”
An elderly man died of apparent burns and smoke inhalation after a small kitchen fire in his West Las Vegas apartment late Tuesday night. The cause of death is a potential fire victim depending on the findings of
an autopsy that will be performed by the Clark County Coroner’s Office which will determine the exact cause of death.
Firefighters were called to the Ruby Duncan Manor at 500 W. Owens Ave. at 10:27 p.m. Tuesday on a reported cooking fire. When firefighters arrived, they found the fire, which was very small, was out and an elderly man on the floor, unconscious, with serious burns over the lower half of his body. He was immediately taken to University Medical Center by a fire rescue unit. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The cause of the fire, which caused approximately $5,000 damage, remains under investigation. It appears it was a grease fire that extended to the man’s clothing causing the burns on his body.
If ruled a fire fatality, it will be the sixth fatal fire in the city this year. Cooking fires are the leading cause of fires in the city and in the United States. They are also the leading cause of fire-related injuries. Careless smoking remains the leading cause of fatal fires.
Of the five fatal fires in the city this year, three are believed to be the result of careless smoking.
On Monday, August 25, 2008 at 11:12 PM, 18 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 6 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, Emergency Air 1, DOT, DWP and LAPD, under the direction of Assistant Chief Mark Stormes, responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 201 E. 58th St. in the South Los Angeles area.
Firefighters responded to the south central address finding a 1 story commercial building with heavy smoke and fire showing through the roof. Additional companies were requested immediately. Firefighters initiated an aggressive fire attack deploying 2-1/2 inch and 1-3/4 inch handlines to try and gain control of the intense fire. The roof team put forth a gallant ventilation effort for approximately 7 minutes when the roof showed significant signs of weakness. The roof failed within 2 minutes after the ventilation team was ordered off the roof.
Firefighters engaged in the interior attack were ordered out of the building and a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) was initiated. After all personnel were accounted for, companies were directed to switch to a defensive attack with master stream appliances at approximately 2332 hours. DOT was called to assist with the heavy traffic in the immediate area hindering firefighting operations.
It took 127 Firefighters 1 hour and 19 minutes to call a knockdown on the fire. There were no reports of injuries. The cause of the late night blaze will be determined with the completion of the fire investigation. The dollar loss was estimated at $1,250,000 [ $750,000 (s), $ $500,000 (c)]. The business was known as Jubullee Inc., a clothing manufacturer.
West Coast 911 Firefighting News source: Written by d’Lisa Davies, Los Angeles Fire Department
On Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 2:08 PM, 39 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 3 Helicopters,a Dozer Company, Water Tender 88, 5 Brush Patrols, L.A. Co. Fire Camp Crews w/ Helicopter and Battalion Chief, Fire Departments from Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Culver City and Beverly Hills, responded to a Major Emergency Brush Fire at 184 Griffith Park x Travel Town in the Hollywood area.
Park Rangers spotted a 3 to 5 acre brush fire, burning uphill and requested Firefighting companies to be dispatched. Firefighters arriving on scene found medium to heavy brush burning and requested water dropping helicopters and hand crews to assist. An intense fire fight ensued by ground and air resources. At 1440, aerial recon indicated a 2nd fire was burning on the opposite side, just over the ridge from the initial fire. The fire was promptly divided into Branch’s 1 & 2. At 1445, aerial recon indicated a 3rd fire was burning 1-1/2 miles east of Travel Town. By 1547, 2 additional fires were sighted bringing the total number of fires to 5. Companies from Area A were requested to assist in the major emergency brush fire.
Approximately 300 Firefighters from several agencies fought the intense blaze which consumed approximately 30 to 50 acres with 60 to 75% containment at 1755. Travel Town was the only area of the park evacuated. A structure protection group was staged at the Zoo for precautionary measures. The cause of the fire is undetermined until the completion of the fire investigation. 1 Firefighter sustained injuries and was transported to an area hospital.
Fire officials at Travis Air Force Base are trying to determine what ignited a nearby grass fire that spread to the military installation, burning 230 unoccupied housing units Saturday.
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries in the 3 p.m., eight-alarm blaze that was controlled early Sunday and prompted a base commander to call it “the biggest fire the base has ever seen.”
A Travis spokesman, Senior Airman Shawn Emery, said the destroyed homes were among 500 housing units scheduled for demolition to make way for modern residences on the base.
“The homes have been unoccupied for about two and a half years,” Emery said. “A private owner was going to take control of the properties, demolish the old buildings and build new housing.”
He said the fire did not threaten occupied homes at another portion of the base, which houses about 1,100 personnel, he said.
“We dodged a bullet,” he said.
Fire from the adjacent field hopped a fence, burning the first vacant home on the other side, Emery said.
Winds estimated at 30 to 40 mph played a major role in whipping the blaze from one house to another, he said. The fire covered about 12 acres, he said.
The senior airman said nearly 220 firefighters from 11 departments finally controlled the blaze at 3 a.m. Sunday.
The two injured firefighters were treated by medical personnel and released, according to a news release from the military base.
Destroyed were 190 single-unit homes and 40 duplexes, Travis officials said.
In addition, 167 undamaged, vacant homes were left without gas, and 78 had electrical power knocked out.
Emery said Travis firefighters were assisted by firefighters from the fire departments or fire protection districts of Fairfield, Vacaville, Suisun City, Dixon, Cordelia, Benicia, Montezuma, Napa, Yolo and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
He credited the constant training by the agencies in interdepartmental cooperation in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks for keeping the fire from doing more damage.
“We exercise continuously to prepare for things like this,” Emery said. “It’s vital that we work with our partners.”
Developer J. Brian O’Neill dreamed of bringing people back to the banks of the Schuylkill in Conshohocken. And yesterday, they came by the thousands - to watch in horror as his vision went up in flames.
This morning, fire trucks were still on the scene as embers from the buildings smoldered. Firefighters napped on the sidwalks littered with debris and water bottles.
Six riverfront buildings that O’Neill developed, including the Riverwalk at Millennium, were ravaged by an eight-alarm blaze: Three were destroyed, three damaged.
More than 300 firefighters from all corners of Montgomery County battled the spectacular fire, which raged for about six hours before crews got the upper hand about 10:30 p.m. Even so, firefighters were to remain overnight to douse hot spots.
From emergency workers to newly homeless residents, few could grasp how swiftly the flames turned a redevelopment showpiece with a clubhouse and courtyard into a smoldering disaster zone. At least 125 apartment units, housing 375 people, were destroyed.
The blaze began in a five-story building under construction at 203 Washington St. called the Stables at Millennium and spread quickly across what one official called a “lumberyard.”
The description was apt. The building was in the framing stage, which involves putting together the bones of the structure out of kiln-dried two-by-fours, plywood and lumber, materials that can burn very quickly.
Montgomery County Sheriff John Durante, who is also a longtime volunteer firefighter, said he had arrived on the scene soon after the fire was reported. “I’ve never seen a fire this intense burn so fast,” he said last night.
He figured that the blaze began in the end of the building closest to the river and spread to the front - about 100 yards - in 15 minutes.
At the height of the fire, flames encompassed the entire structure and were as tall as the building itself. They radiated so much heat that the roofs of adjacent buildings caught.
The cause of the fire - which began about 4:30 p.m. - was unknown.
“Jobs like this just beat everyone up,” said Leo Costello, an assistant fire chief in Conshohocken who was catching his breath late last night. He had been on the scene since about 5.
Riverfront fires are among the most challenging because of the difficulty in routing enough water into the area, fire officials said.
Embers and flames jumped from the Stables to adjacent apartment buildings in the Riverwalk complex, said Tom Sullivan, Montgomery County public safety director. The attics of those buildings caught fire, which “enabled the fire to get around the fire walls,” he said.
One firefighter who suffered from smoke inhalation and a young woman who collapsed were taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital.
Because the buildings border the river and railroad track, “access is challenged,” Sullivan said. “They’re working through it, and have been cutting down fencing.”
Sullivan said the borough had a limited water supply, which it was trying to overcome with supplies from other fire companies and lots of hose. “They’re making very good progress,” he said.
He noted that the fire was in what used to be an industrial area with limited firefighting infrastructure.
Ten fire companies responded.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, who could see the smoke from his home in Roxborough, said this type of riverfront fire was particularly difficult to tackle.
In Philadelphia, water mains dead-end at the river, and hydrants at waterfront locations tend to have lower water pressure, he said.
“It’s a very challenging firefighting moment,” Ayers said. “They’re up against the size of the fire . . . and getting water resources together to get in front of the fire.” The Philadelphia Fire Department was not called to the scene.
A firefighter who had climbed into a north Stockton commercial building’s attic to quell a growing electrical fire Friday afternoon was injured when he stepped on an access panel and crashed through the ceiling, falling 14 feet to the floor below.
The firefighter, Ken Suzuki, 34, was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center, where he remained in stable condition Friday evening.
Fire Chief Ron Hittle was with Suzuki at the hospital on Friday afternoon.
“My firefighter’s going to be OK,” he said.
Suzuki suffered facial injuries; he hit a wall and some furniture as he fell, and landed face-down.
Hittle said Suzuki, who has been with the Fire Department nearly two years, might have sustained a broken arm, though an X-ray to determine that had yet to come back.
“He’s very lucky,” Hittle said. “Again, part of our gear - our helmet and everything that we wear - saved him.”
Suzuki, with Engine No. 13, was part of the Fire Department’s two-alarm response to a 2:30 p.m. fire at Mancini’s Sleepworld, at 702 W. Hammer Lane.
Mike Hughes, an employee of Mancini’s, said a passerby warned him the outside of the building was on fire.
There was no evidence of fire inside Mancini’s, Hughes said, but outside, smoke could be seen rising from the northwest corner of the building, shared with the adjacent Toys “R” Us store.
“We came outside, noticed it, and called the Fire Department,” Hughes said.
When firefighters arrived, they headed to the building’s roof and attic, where several small fires had started after an electrical overload.
On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 12:43 PM, 14 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 Rehab Air Tender, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 6 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 101 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, as well as 2 CERT Coordinators, all under the direction of Assistant Chief Daryl Arbuthnott, responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 5076 West Pico Boulevard in Mid-City Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Firefighters arrived swiftly to discover thick smoke banked to street level and all but obliterating a block-long row of one story commercial structures, as well as the adjacent roadway.
Firefighters quickly took to the roof of the 40′ x 50′ burning structure to perform vertical ventilation with chainsaws, as their colleagues extended handlines to battle intense flames within the pair of conjoined home furnishing businesses.
With horizontal fire spread curtailed, firefighters confined the fire to the firms, extinguishing the flames in just 35 minutes.
There were no injuries.
Described by the landlord as separate businesses, loss to the establishments operating under the common banners of “Creative Designs Furniture” and “Artistic Carpentry“, is estimated at $170,000 ($75,000 & $30,000 structures and $50,000 & $15,000 contents).
Though fire origin has been localized to a spray booth being used in lacquer application, the specific cause of the fire remains undetermined.
West Coast 911 Firefighting News Source - Press Release Written by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman Los Angeles Fire Department
