westcoast 911

Fire Tears through Commercial Structure in Pomona

May 29, 2008

Pomona, Calif. — Fire has ripped through a commercial building in the Los Angeles suburb of Pomona. Los Angeles County fire officials say the blaze was reported at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in the vacant 100-by-150 foot building. Fire Captain Mike Brown says flames burned through the roof, but the fire has not spread beyond the [...]

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NIOSH Issues Safety Advisory for Aerial Ladders With Locking Waterway

May 10, 2008

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a safety advisory regarding the set-up of aerial ladders with a locking waterway. NIOSH is currently investigating an April 8, 2008, fire fighter line-of-duty-death involving an aerial ladder with a locking waterway. This incident highlights the importance of following the manufacturer’s recommendations for aerial [...]

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Firefighter protection law awaits governor’s signature

May 7, 2008

A bill crafted to save firefighters’ lives when responding to a burning building was passed unanimously by the Florida Legislature during its recent session. Now local fire officials are just waiting for it to be signed into law by Gov. Charlie Christ. Once the bill becomes law, it would be effective July 1. Named in [...]

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O.C.’s Emergency Operations Center needs repairs, grand jury says

May 7, 2008

Orange County’s Emergency Operations Center, its nerve center during such disasters as October’s wildfires, needs renovation or it may find itself a victim of a disaster, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday. Backup power is inadequate, the sewer system can be overloaded, and smoke wafted in during the fires, prompting people to wear [...]

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Man Sets Apartment Ablaze, Shoots Self – Las Vegas

May 6, 2008

HENDERSON, Nev. — A man is dead after police said he set his apartment on fire and then killed himself. They said it happened Wednesday afternoon at the Remington Canyon Apartments at 1000 American Pacific Drive in Henderson. Henderson police said when they showed up, the man’s apartment was already on fire and he was [...]

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Fate of Victorville’s fire department uncertain

May 3, 2008

Victorville is still one of only two fire departments in all of San Bernardino County that does not have paramedics on its fire engines. There’s been a push for months to change this, so that trained paramedics can be on scene to immediately start advanced life-saving techniques. But the city has reached an impasse with [...]

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Man stuck in machinery uses big toe to call 911

May 3, 2008

Even with his arms stuck in a piece of machinery, one northwest Florida man was able to call 911 using his big toe. Police said the unidentified man was at the DRS Technologies building early Thursday morning when he became trapped in a press-like machine that resembles an elevator. The employee was alone. He shook [...]

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Acetylene Fire Causes Closure in Henderson

May 2, 2008

HENDERSON, Nev. — Roadways have been reopened in the area where Henderson police were helping the Nevada Highway Patrol divert traffic away from a fire Henderson firefighters were trying to extinguish.The fire started around 12 p.m. Friday near the 215 Beltway/Interstate 95 interchange, and the roads reopened at about 2:30 p.m.A truck driving in the [...]

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Dangerous Airport Fire/Rescue Standards Jeopardize Lives, FireFighters Say

May 1, 2008

The lax safety culture of the Federal Aviation Administration extends beyond aircraft maintenance to the outdated 20-year-old FAA standards for fire and rescue operations that jeopardize ives in the event of an aircraft incident at an airport, the International Association of Fire Fighters charged today. “The FAA has resisted modernizing its safety standards since 1988, [...]

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Spiking fuel cost has Vista firefighters changing response

May 1, 2008

VISTA, Calif.—Spiking fuel costs will soon change firefighter responses in the San Diego County community of Vista, where huge fire trucks will stop rolling on every emergency call.A new “priority dispatch system” will determine if those big engines are needed on calls. Fire Chief Gary Fisher says dispatchers at the North County Dispatch Joint Powers [...]

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