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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.

West Coast 911 Firefighter News story and photos courtesy of:

Ron Johnson - NJMFPA

See all of the photos at photozonfire.com

A fire at a tire-recycling company Saturday evening forced the evacuation of several dozen neighbors and created a plume of thick, black smoke visible from downtown Akron, south to Fawcett Stadium in Canton and west to Norton.

Though no one was hurt, crews from eight fire departments worked to contain the blaze at Puritan Systems Inc., 1161 Holiday Drive, and keep it from getting to tanks of liquid nitrogen.

As a precaution, about 80 residents of condominiums just north of the building were evacuated, Brimfield Police Chief David Blough said.

”We just don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” he said. ”The best way to do that is to keep people away.”

The fire was reported before 7:15 p.m. at the building just north of Interstate 76 and west of state Route 43.

Two hours later, firefighters said it was contained, even as a glow from flames was still visible inside and three trucks continued to pour water into the roof.

Blough said tanker trucks had to bring the water in, as the area doesn’t have hydrants.

On its Web site, Puritan Systems describes itself is ”a cryogenic grinder of rubber and plastics,” grinding crumb rubber from scrap tires for recycled use.

The cryogenic grinding process uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the material, reducing heat generated during grinding. The nitrogen is stored in pressurized tanks that could explode if heated.

Fire crews from Brimfield, Suffield, Edinburg and Rootstown townships and Streetsboro, Ravenna, Kent and Tallmadge assisted, Blough said.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - Ohio.com

Three Buffalo firefighters were injured this morning battling a fire that started in a vacant East Side home, the latest in a long list of firefighters hurt while responding to fires in vacant or abandoned city buildings.

The blaze started just after 5 a.m. in an unoccupied, two and one half-story frame house at 21 Herman St., off Broadway, according to Buffalo Fire Department officials.

The fire caused $20,000 damage to the building, and its cause is under investigation.

The fire spread to the houses on either side, at 15 Herman and 23 Herman, before firefighters were able to bring it under control.

The house at 15 Herman sustained $42,000 total damage, while 23 Herman sustained $22,000 damage.

Three firefighters were taken to the Erie County Medical Center with injuries that didn’t appear to be serious, a fire official said.

Though the cause of this fire is not yet determined, vacant buildings are attractive targets for arsonists.

In 2007, 60 percent of Buffalo’s arsons were set at vacant and abandoned buildings, according to a recent Buffalo News analysis of city fires.

Twenty-seven firefighters were hurt while battling those fires, including Mark P. Reed, who nearly died while fighting a blaze in a vacant Wende Street house last year. Reed later lost a leg because of his injuries.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - The Buffalo News

Pittsburgh’s first female deputy fire chief has been replaced by a man who four years ago was passed over for the job.

Colleen Walz, 46, of Brookline called the move “desperately wrong.” She said Fire Chief Darryl Jones brought her into his office Downtown on Monday afternoon and told her that she had been reassigned.

Walz will retain her rank of deputy chief for salary and seniority purposes, but her duties will be those of a battalion chief in Oakland, according to Walz and an office memo issued by Jones.

“He said, ‘You are no longer deputy chief,’ and he reassigned me,” Walz said Thursday. “He said it was by court order.”

The order stemmed from a 2006 lawsuit against the city in which Battalion Chief Michael Mullen said he was unfairly passed over for a promotion to deputy chief in favor of Walz.

Mullen sued the city and won. On Monday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Timothy P. O’Reilly ordered the city to install Mullen as deputy chief immediately.

According to court records, Mullen was passed over for promotion because of “numerous issues surrounding his attitude and conduct.”

Other firefighters and paramedics accused him of physical and verbal abuse, records show, and Walz once accused him of intimidation, creating a hostile work environment and other charges, leading to a city investigation in 2002.

Mullen was cleared of the charges. Walz sued him in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, and they settled for $60,000.

Walz, who started in 1987 as a firefighter at stations in the Hill District and Brookline, described the reassignment as a de facto demotion “through no fault of my own.”

“I think it is interesting that right in the middle of a huge promotion to try to attract women and minorities to the fire department, this is how the only woman (ranked deputy chief) is being treated,” she said. “This is absolutely insulting.”

Mullen declined to comment. Reached at home, he said the case took “a long, long time, with a lot of painful memories,” adding that he wanted to focus on the future.

His attorney, James DePasquale, said Mullen and the city still are haggling over back pay. When Mullen won the case in March, the city paid him $25,000 in back pay. DePasquale said his client deserves an additional $40,000. O’Reilly will rule on the back pay at a future hearing.

Chief Jones said only that the decision had “absolutely nothing to do with the performance of Deputy Walz. I can’t stress that enough.”

Ed Mann, Pennsylvania state fire commissioner, said he was surprised by the news.

“In my dealings with Colleen and watching her teach classes at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, her demeanor and approach to things has always been professional,” Mann said. “In the things that she’s done for us, she’s been more than qualified.”

Last year Walz co-chaired the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ task force to analyze and enhance investigations into firefighter deaths.

“It certainly shocked us when we found out,” said Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder, chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ safety health and survival section. “We don’t know the circumstances, but any time someone is reduced in rank, it certainly raises eyebrows.”

Walz said she is “investigating her options.”

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - The Pittsburgh Tribune

People were back at work at the New York Wire Co. Wednesday morning, hours after a fire in the plant’s tower.

Crews were called to the two-alarm blaze at the plant, in the 400 block of East Market Street, around 12:15 a.m., York Fire/Rescue Services Deputy Chief Steven Buffington said. When they arrived, they found the fire pouring from the tower.

Once inside, they had to work through narrow corridors and some falling debris, Buffington said. Three firefighters ran low on oxygen while fighting the fire and had to escape to the roof, he said, where fresh tanks were brought to them.

No firefighters were injured, and all plant workers were safely evacuated.

The fire began in the powder coating system, Buffington said. The pressurized system that applies a coating to the screens made in the plant appeared to then back up, allowing the tower itself to catch fire, he said.

Firefighters contained the blaze before it spread through the building, which spans most of the block.

Crews were still looking for hotspots inside the plant at 2:30 a.m. A few wisps of smoke curled from the square, gray-sided tower that rose above the hulking brick plant.

Jim Bailey stood on the sidewalk and watched firefighters trudge past, carrying axes and oxygen tanks.

“They must be getting worn out,” he said.

“There were flames all the way up to the top,” said Bailey, a loom tech who has worked at the plant for 16 years. “It looked just like a candle.”

Fire crews are

usually called to the plant a few times a year for the same system in the tower, Buffington said.

“Most times, their fire suppression system knocks it down and we just wind up clearing smoke,” he said. “This time, the fire was just too aggressive, or I don’t know if the fire suppression system activated.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - York Daily Record

One Detroit firefighter needed stitches in his head and another has a broken arm after their truck flipped on Woodward Avenue on their way to a fire this morning.

Two other firefighters were not seriously hurt when the truck skidded and rolled onto its roof at 7:15 a.m. at West McNichols Detroit Fire Department Captain and acting Battalion Chief Michael Gallo said.

“I was sitting right here and I was like, ‘Damn! He ain’t gonna make it,’” said Michelle Martin, 41, of Detroit, who watched the wreck happen from the window at her desk as she dispatched for Metropolitan Cab Company. “It was on two wheels.

They tried to cut that corner too fast.”

She said she saw all four firefighters thrown from the truck, although the squads are equipped with seatbelts. One was nearly crushed, she said.

“He was this far from being landed on by the fire truck,” she said as she held her palms a couple of inches apart in front of her.

On their way to what turned out to be a fire in a vacant house about a mile north of the accident, the crew is lucky they weren’t more seriously injured, a concerned co-worker said.

“Somebody could have been killed the way it flipped, said Detroit Fire Sgt. Randy King, 47. He responded to his co-workers’ accident rather than relieving them at 8 a.m. shift change at their Dexter Boulevard station. “Everyone’s like a close family here, so we were concerned. We see those guys every morning; it’s just like a family member being in an accident.”

The truck, Rescue Squad 5, was rushing to a house fire at West Hollywood and Woodward.

Stripes of red and white paint scarred the road where the truck skidded across Woodward, coming to rest upside-down in the street. Northbound Woodward Avenue was closed through 1:15 p.m. for the investigation and clean-up.

DFD squads like the one that crashed carry firefighters and equipment to fires, and, ironically, are the rigs that respond to rollover vehicle accidents.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - The Detroit Free Press

Philadelphia Sn 28 was raising the lower boom to get the bucket closer to the ground so two costumed mascots could enter. They were going to ride the truck in the bucket to the National Nite Out festivities several blocks up the road. The knuckle of the waterway made several contacts with the high voltage lines and then got stuck to them. The result is in JD’s photo. And no one was injured except for some bruised egos.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - Nevada Power

New York firefighters Lt. Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia, who died in the Deutsche Bank building fire, were honored yesterday with two bronze plaques that will hang in the Greenwich Village” firehouse where the two were assigned.

But an ongoing criminal probe linked to the fire cast a shadow on the tribute for Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, and Beddia, 53, of Staten Island.

No one directly addressed the probe during the ceremony for the fallen firefighters, held on the anniversary of the Aug. 18, 2007, blaze. Instead, fellow firefighters remembered Beddia and Graffagnino after the bagpipes silenced. About 200 firefighters, friends and relatives packed into the firehouse for Engine Company 42/Ladder Company 5.

Beddia, a 24-year veteran who earned three citations for bravery, was enamored with Greenwich Village, where he loved to walk to various restaurants to try unique cuisine. He also tended bar part-time and was an avid golfer.

Graffagnino, a nine-year veteran, was remembered for his compassion, strength and sense of humor. He was also called a great husband to his wife, Linda, and father to their children, Mia, 5, and Joseph, 21 months. Friends admired him for his hard work and dedication to become a lieutenant, a rank he was promoted to posthumously on June 19.

When the plaques honoring the two men were unveiled, Mayor Michael Bloomberg grabbed the shoulders of a weeping Linda Graffagnino to console her.

Bloomberg said he was honored to join the families, but said “nothing would please me more if we never had to put another plaque on the wall of any one of our firehouses.”

After the ceremony, talks turned to the ongoing investigation. The criminal probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office began shortly after the fire.

One aspect of the investigation is reported to be whether the city should be held criminally liable for the deaths of the firefighters. Because the city is a corporation it can theoretically be held criminally responsible under state law which allows any corporate entities to be charged.

On Aug. 18, 2007, Beddia and Graffagnino became trapped on the 14th floor of the burning Deutsche building, which was being demolished. Both suffered severe smoke inhalation and went into cardiac arrest.

Plastic sheeting, which was used to keep toxins from spreading, created mazelike conditions in the building. Also, the building’s standpipes, which supply water, weren’t operational.

The firefighters’ families have filed notices of claim against the city, blaming various agencies assigned to inspect the building.

Since the fire, the city has worked to increase fire safety and better monitor construction and demolition work.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - Newsday

The morning of August 11 came alive shortly before 11:00 am as heavy thunderstorms; producing hail, torrential rain and frequent vivid lightning, tore through the city.
Several lightning strikes were reported within minutes of each other, prompting the response of the fire department to investigate. They were dispatched to three separate incidents within minutes of each other on the northern end of the city. Two houses were struck by lightning near Getty and Main Aves. One of them sustained some structural damage but neither suffered any fire damage. A utility pole was also aparently hit and the caller reported a fire atop the pole. Engine 6 arrived on the scene and reported no fire at that time but obvious damage to the pole, and requested PSE&G (utility company) be notified.

At about the same time, dispatch put out still another call of a possible house fire at 482 South Parkway, which is located in the southern most area of the city. With all of the city’s apparatus concentrated at the previous calls, Deputy Chief Verderosa requested a mutual aid ladder truck from Paterson to respond to the scene.
He also released most of the apparatus from the other scenes and instructed them to respond to South Parkway.

Meanwhile, police units arriving on the scene notified dispatch that “it’s going good” and to “have them (the fire dept.) step it up”.

First arriving units advanced two lines through the front door and up into the attic where the fire was running the rafters. The ladder company went to the roof with ground ladders, to ventilate. Paterson Ladder 2 arrived on the scene and went to work assisting with ventilation and overhaul. Crews knocked down the fire quickly
and effectively saved the home from extensive damage. The fire was placed under control in under an hour.

The actual cause is under investigation but weather has not been ruled out.

Photos and story by
Ron Johnson - NJMFPA
www.photozonfire.com

Heavy smoke, heavy fire, heavy loss….New York City

Smoke blanketed the streets surrounding 550 E.180th Street in the Bronx, N.Y., on the night of August 6, as firefighters battled a fifth alarm fire in a row of taxpayers.

At 10:08 pm, the FDNY is dispatched to the report of a fire, with multiple 911 calls, at 550 E.180th Street. First due Engine 88 reports he has fire in a one story brick taxpayer 150×175 and transmits a 10-75 for the working fire assignment. Battalion 19 special calls an additional engine and truck above the all hands. As
companies advance lines to the interior and initiate primary searches, fire is aggressively advancing and a second alarm is transmitted.

Conditions begin to deteriorate. With fire breaking through the roof and a partial roof collapse, the order to evacuate the building is issued. A third alarm is transmitted as companies go to a defensive exterior attack with two tower ladders and eight hand lines.

Con Edison Electric is notified to shut down utilities adjacent to and in close proximity of the fire building. A third tower ladder is put into operation.

Fourth and fifth alarms are ultimately transmitted for relief purposes, with several special calls above each. The fire is placed under control in just under three hours, with no serious injuries reported.

At least five businesses were destroyed by the blaze. An investigation is active to determine cause and origin.

Photos and story by

Ron Johnson - NJMFPA

See more photos at: www.photozonfire.com