Firefighter Close Calls

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Submit Your Close Call / Near Miss Navigation Home Secret List Gallery EMS CloseCalls Drills Firefighter Staffing Personal Survival Safety and survival SOGs Links Modern Fire Behavior About Us Never Forget Fire Communications Pass it On LODD STATS Yearly Totals Year Totals 2014 61 2013 101 2012 83 2011 81 2010 87 2009 93 2008 118 2007 118 2006 107 2005 115 "In Memory Of" Click this patch   Custom Search Contact Info Email BillyG info@ firefighterclosecalls.com Email Weekly Drill Suggestions to Drills@firefighter closecalls.com Click Here for The 9/11 Widows' and Victims' Families Association Click Here: Skyscraper Safety Campaign       Also check the most current issue of THE SECRET LIST for related News and Updates-(Click Here) Tweets by @alertpage 2 FFs INJURED AT PHILLY 4 ALARM VACANT WAREHOUSE FIRE CBSPHL Video Friday, September 19, 2014  Crews battled a four-alarm fire in the Kensington section of Philadelphia that broke out in a warehouse early this morning, injuring three people. The fire began about 2:30am at a vacant warehouse at American and York Streets. The blaze then spread to a neighboring paper storage company. SEE: Photos From The Scene The fire was placed under control just after 4 a.m., but heavy smoke lingered in the area long beyond then. “We went to 4-alarms, which is about 33 pieces of apparatus, 120 firefighters,” Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said. Local 4-Alarm Fire Engulfs Warehouse In Kensington; 3 Injured September 19, 2014 3:00 PM ... [ more ]     Tweet   FF SHOCKED AT PA FIRE Friday, September 19, 2014  A Pittsburgh firefighter was shocked by an electrical wire that fell during a fire Friday afternoon in Wilkinsburg. A Pittsburgh firefighter is shocked by a falling electrical wire while battling a house fire in Wilkinsburg. Pittsburgh public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said the firefighter was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital and is in stable condition. The one-alarm fire was reported just before 1 p.m. at a home in the 1600 block of Maplewood Avenue. The Red Cross was assisting one adult and three children who were displaced as a result. No other injuries were reported. Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/firefighter-shocked-by-electrical-wire-at-wilkinsbu... [ more ]     Tweet   RIT Rescues Firefighter in West Hollywood (CA) Fire Friday, September 19, 2014  Firefighters knocked down a dramatic blaze that burned two floors of a luxury condominium building in West Hollywood just north of the Sunset Strip on Thursday afternoon. The fire was reported at Horn Plaza (map), which is near Sunset Boulevard, shortly before 4 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervisor Art Marrujo said. The blaze burned the second and third floors of the building and prompted a third-alarm response, according to tweets from the Fire Department. “This building is … at the top of a steep hill. Very difficult getting here,” said fire Capt. Brian Jordan. “Some of the fire engines are parking down on Sunset Boulevard, and they had to hike up this hill with 100 pounds of gear.” The blaze was declared knocked down at approximately 4:45 p.m., Marrujo said. The fire also charred a portion of the outside of the building. One firefighter received an injury of an unknown nature, Marrujo said.... [ more ]     Tweet   RESPONDING FIRE CHIEF CRASH IN NEW YORK Friday, September 19, 2014  Various people were injured when an upstate NY fire chief responding to a fire alarm at the Terrific Northern Mall rear-ended a vehicle, Moyers Corners Fire Chief Michael Brown, 39, of Liverpool, was driving a Ford Explorer north in the left lane of Morgan Road with his emergency lights and sirens on, the sheriff's office said. He was responding to a fire alarm at Macy's in the Fantastic Northern Mall.Tyler Hallock, 17, of Liverpool, was stopped in a Toyota in the left lane of Morgan Road. He was waiting to make a left turn onto Forestbrook Drive, the sheriff's office mentioned.The Explorer rear-ended the Toyota and each autos ended up in the ditch on the east side of the road, the sheriff's office said.Hallock and his front passenger, Halie Rawlins, 17, of Liverpool, complained of back discomfort just after the crash. Hallock's backseat passenger, Anthony Austin, 17, of North Syracuse, suffered head and back injuries. Brown suffered a lot of scrapes and bruises.The sher... [ more ]     Tweet   YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO BE IN COMMAND? SERIOUSLY?! Thursday, September 18, 2014  I remember years ago watching young firefighters in volunteer companies race to ride the front seat-after all, the radio, the sirens and the horns were the priority. In career departments, firefighters would want to "ride up" when the Lieutenant or captain had the day off, sometimes for the same reasons. I did both as many of you did-and do. Be it the front seat or arriving in a car, the SUV or whatever, having command means you literally own that scene and you are responsible for everyone, everything and anything that can happen. It's no BS and serious, serious stuff. I'm not sure I can emphasize that any more than so many fire service writers have over so many years. The first interesting transformation happens (hopefully) when firefighters go from firefighter to company officer-and you have to deal with (as Chase Sargent says) the "Buddy to Boss" stuff. It's a big deal. The next real interesting transformatio... [ more ]     Tweet   IF YOU ARE A COMMAND OFFICERS-OR PLAN TO BE ONE. READ THIS: "INVESTIGATION SHOWS DALLAS FIREFIGHTER DIED DUE TO COMMANDERS DECISIONS, COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEMS" Thursday, September 18, 2014  State and local investigative reports obtained today show that commanders’ decisions were largely to blame for the death of a Dallas firefighter last year. Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright III handed over two reports Wednesday to Wilson’s widow Jenny and her attorney Barry Hasten. A State Fire Marshal report found that the department’s commanders failed to conduct proper risk assessment, supervise personnel adequately and make the right decisions about how to battle the blaze and whether to search the buildings. The Dallas Fire-Rescue line-of-duty-death report makes similar conclusions and details confusion that night between commanders as the building burned. It also gives conflicting accounts on what the commander on scene,  Deputy Chief Bobby Ross, told Wilson’s crew to do. The account of many firefighters on the scene, excluding Ross, matches what Wilson’s longtime friend Jim Crump, a retired Dallas firefighter, had s... [ more ]     Tweet   FF SUFFERS MEDICAL EMERGENCY AT KY FIRE SCENE Thursday, September 18, 2014  A Scott County firefighter is in stable condition after being taken from the scene of a fire for medical assistance. The identity of the firefighter was not released, but Brandon Remley, assistant director of the Georgetown-Scott County Emergency Medical Services, said the firefighter was hospitalized due to a medical emergency. Scott County Fire Department Battalion Chief Justin Baker said the firefighter was treated for heat-related symptoms. The firefighter is in stable condition, Remley said. Crews were at the scene of the blaze at 105 Seahawk Trial for several hours battling the house fire. The fire was reported around noon Wednesday and it took crews 45 minutes to get the blaze under control. One side of the house was fully involved from the basement to the attic, Baker said.     Tweet   FIREFIGHTER MAKES RESCUE-NOW FIGHTING FLESH EATING DISEASE Thursday, September 18, 2014  A Firefighter was left battling to save his leg after an off-duty rescue saw him contract a vicious flesh-eating bacterial infection. Ian Buckley, from Augusta, Georgia, was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis following a dramatic rescue in which he leapt into the Savannah River to save a woman and her four-year-old-son. While hiking with friends at Sa­vannah Bluff Heritage Pre­serve Mr Buckley saw the mother and young boy stranded in a sunken kayak about 400 yards from the shore. He waded out the free the kayak and bring the woman and her son back to safety, but as he battled the rapids Mr Buckley cut his leg on rocks below the water. +3Ian Buckley from Augusta needed six operations to save his life and prevent him from losing leg 'She was just stuck. She needed help,' he told WRDW. 'Going across the rapids like that, it's slippery. You take a beating. I got knocked over a few times. 'All it did was scrape my shin, but I could feel the bruise. I... [ more ]       Tweet