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 77 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 FIREFIGHTERS: TWENTY FIVE FREE SCHOLARSHIPS TO FDIC 2015 Wednesday, November 19, 2014  While not a CLOSE CALL-this is an amazing and rare TRAINING opportunity fire Firefighters that we are passing on. Do you know someone who deserves to attend FDIC, but can’t due to budget restrictions or other impediments? What if you could make that happen? Honeywell First Responders (Morning Pride, Pro Boots etc) and UL (Underwriters Labs) have partnered together to offer TWENTY FIRE full-paid (travel, hotel etc-see below!) scholarship to TWENTY FIVE brave men and women protecting our communities to attend 2015 FDIC. * All you need to do is tell them why you’re nominating them! REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW! The registration link can be found on the FDIC website: www.fdic.com/scholarship.html Whats the fine print? Not much! TWENTY FIRE FIGHTERS WILL WIN...and that includes round trip travel, a VIP dinner reception, full stay private hotel room and full access to all FDIC classes, activities, sessions, exhibits! WHAT D... [ more ]       Tweet   IN PURSUIT OF SMART (From the NFPA Journal) Wednesday, November 19, 2014  THE ENGINE 308 FIRE HOUSE IN SOUTH QUEENS is the kind of place where visitors receive a firm handshake and a strong cup of coffee upon arrival. Upstairs, Eugene Ditaranto’s office is equally old-school. The walls are clad in 1970s-era wood paneling, and Ditaranto, chief of Battalion 51 for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), has tacked up clipboards and maps of his district. A couple dozen binders are arrayed in a bookshelf against the far wall, and the surface of the chief’s simple wooden desk is covered neatly in stacks of papers, folders and Post-it notes. Every few minutes the landline phone rings over the chattering buzz of two window AC units. Online Only - Video from author Jesse Roman about his experience with the FDNY. Even in this modest space, Chief Ditaranto is only a few keyboard clicks away from one of the most ... [ more ]     Tweet   CA FFs INJURED IN EXPLOSION Explosion Viideo Tuesday, November 18, 2014  Reports out of California are that at least 3 Firefighters were rushed to local hospitals morning after chemicals loaded into a vacuum truck exploded in Santa Paula. Approximately 1,000 gallons of an organic peroxide exploded from the truck at the Santa Clara Waste Water Company in Santa Paula, the Ventura County. The explosion scattered the chemical, which began to crystallize and spontaneously ignite. Firefighters had to leave one engine behind because its tires began to ignite as it rolled over the material. The chemical has also sickened 12 hospital employees at the VCMC emergency room. The hospital was working to contain the ER in order to prevent the chemical from affecting additional personnel. The cause of the explosion was unclear. The chemical, possibly an organic peroxide, spontaneously combusted as it was being loaded into a vacuum truck. The explosion caused the chemical to shoot ou... [ more ]     Tweet   INDIANA APPARATUS STRUCK ON THE EXPRESSWAY Tuesday, November 18, 2014  A driver is in critical condition and three firemen were injured Tuesday morning while responding to an accident on the U.S. 20 bypass near Mayflower Road. Just after 4:30 a.m. St. Joseph County police were called to a crash involving three cars . Three people were taken to the hospital for their injuries. One driver in critical condition Medical staff determined that the injuries to driver Joseph Quick, 61, of South Bend were consistent with being hit by another vehicle while standing outside of his car. Quick is listed in critical condition with head, spinal and leg injuries. At this time, investigators believe that another vehicle struck Quick and then left the scene. Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact Major Dean Chandler at 235-9611. Fire engine seriously damaged ... [ more ]     Tweet   LODD UPDATE: DRUNK WHO STRUCK AND KILLED FIRE CHIEF CLAIMS HE THOUGHT HE HAD STRUCK A DEER Tuesday, November 18, 2014  Glen Rock volunteer firefighter Zachary Immel was on the scene, slowing down traffic, while crews closed a portion of Interstate 83 southbound between exits 8 and 4 in April 2013. A call had come in about a half hour before that there was a crash – with entrapment – in the northbound lane, and Immel's job that night was to create a helicopter landing zone in the next lane over. While stopping traffic that night, though, he testified on Tuesday that he saw something strange. "About four cars back, I saw a vehicle with heavy front-end damage," the firefighter said. The crashed-in hood and shattered windshield caught his attention right away and concerned him enough that he walked back along the line of cars to check on the driver. "I asked if he was OK, and he said he was fine," Immel said, recalling the driver's calm demeanor. That driver, later identified as Matthew Diehl, 33, of Shrewsberry, told Immel that the damage came from a deer he had just hit.... [ more ]     Tweet   FIREFIGHTER COLLAPSES IN QUARTERS-LINE OF DUTY DEATH Monday, November 17, 2014  We regret to advise you that 40-year-old Alejandro Castro of the Brownsville FD died late Sunday night. The incident happened at Fire Station No. 8 off Captain Donald L Foust Road next to the Port of Brownsville around 2230 hours last night. Initial reports are that he passed out and later died in the Line of Duty. It's not clear what caused him to pass out and die but this death remains under investigation. Brownsville Fire Chief Lenny Perez said firefighters are treating the case as if Castro died in the line of duty. Our condolences to all affected.     Tweet   Baltimore Firefighter Fell Through Floor, Died from Smoke Inhalation Monday, November 17, 2014  Baltimore fire safety officer Lt. James Bethea died of smoke inhalation after falling through a floor at a vacant rowhouse, where he remained for hours before an off-duty firefighter happened to see his car outside and called for help. Fire Chief Niles Ford also announced Friday the creation of a new chief of safety position and a new rule requiring the last departing units to report to dispatchers that the scene is clear. He said an investigation, which involves department personnel and federal workplace safety officials, is continuing. Ford said the department would consider additional policy changes, including requiring that safety officers work in pairs. Anne Arundel County has such a rule, while other neighboring jurisdictions try to ensure that safety officers aren't alone in dangerous situations. "I am always concerned about the safety of our members. If anything happens to a member in our organization, not only does it affect th... [ more ]     Tweet   Trust The Truss? Not On Your Life! Monday, November 17, 2014  Please take time to print, post and pass it on. are additional quick resources related to the dangers of truss construction and firefighting. TRAINING VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo5ZtBXJiHo WORKING FIRE VIDEO-CLOSE CALL FOR LADDER 27: Ladder 27 A Survival Story: This is a video about lightweight truss systems dating back to 1990. The lessons learned back then are even more relevant in today's environment. Lightweight truss roofing is even more prevalent in today's construction. Special thanks to the Phoenix Fire Department for publishing this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKXhYvSQ9rk NEW VS OLD: more ]       Tweet   VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF GARAGE FIRE/EXPLOSION IN MD Explosion Video Monday, November 17, 2014  Thanks to www.Statter911.com for putting this story in a usable format for us!     Tweet   DRUG RAID AT LOUISANA FD LEADS TO 20 ARRESTS - CAN YOU SAY WTF! NOLA.com Video Monday, November 17, 2014  A tip about drug use at Grand Isle's fire station prompted a six-month undercover operation that netted 20 arrests early Thursday morning, including the island's fire Chief Aubrey "T-Black" Chaisson, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand announced. Firefighter Patrick Santiny was also among those arrested, the sheriff said, in addition to 16 other island residents and two residents of Lafourche Parish. Deputies booked Chaisson on a charge of possession of marijuana and an outstanding attachment for contempt of court. Santiny was booked with possession of marijuana, possession of a control dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The other 18 people arrested were also booked mostly on drug charges. One person in Lafourche Parish was also book... [ more ]     Tweet   FF INJURIES DECLINED IN 2013 - NFPA Sunday, November 16, 2014  The National Fire Protection Association released the latest edition of its U.S. Firefighter Injury Report, highlighting data on injuries sustained by firefighters on duty that was collected from fire departments responding to the 2013 National Fire Experience Survey. Related Resource: Read the full reportRelated content sponsored by: In 2013, 65,880 firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty, down nearly 4,000 from 2012. Of those injuries, 29,760 (45.2 percent) occurred during fireground operations, with the leading causes reported as strain, sprain or muscular pain (55.3 percent), followed by wound, cut, bleeding and bruise (13.8 percent). Regionally, the Northeast had the highest fireground injury rate. more ]     Tweet   FIREFIGHTER DIES IN THE LINE OF DUTY-MEDICAL-NEW YORK Sunday, November 16, 2014   We regret to pass on to you that 56 year old St. James Fire Department Ex-Captain Richard Weisse passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon after experiencing a medical emergency. He responded to a school fire alarm late that morning and went down not long after that.As the Director of the St James FD Junior Firefighter program, he worked most of yesterday with them conducting a food drive to provide for needy families within the community during the Thanksgiving holiday. He was a 39 year member of the Saint James department and was very active throughout his service. Our condolences to all affected. RIP. ST JAMES FD: http://www.stjamesfd.org/     Tweet