FF Close Calls

Check out:Forget?  NEVER! 9-11-01  Check out:  Facebook.com  Check out our site sponsor:  GordonGraham.Com

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 2015 3 2014 87 2013 101 2012 83 2011 81 2010 87 2009 93 2008 118 2007 118 2006 107 "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)  FIREFIGHTERS MAKE RESCUES, THEN FORCED TO BAIL-SUFFER BURNS AT OHIO DWELLING FIRE  Thursday, January 29, 2015    A total of eight people were hurt in an Akron (Ohio) house fire this morning. When companies arrived, they had working fire conditions. Three civilians were rescued by the members and were taken to local hospitals with one woman was badly burned, while another man and woman sustained smoke inhalation injuries. Five firefighters suffered "minor burns" and one had to jump out of a window. Three adults, a man, and two other women, were trapped inside as the blaze blocked a stairway.          ARE YOU A "FAN" OF POSITIVE PRESSURE?  Tuesday, January 27, 2015    We have always looked at PPV as another tool-used based upon conditions, in coordination with companies operating and only ordered by command.  UL is now testing positive pressure ventilation....and HERE are excerpts from an article on ABC7 Chicago.com (entire article link and VIDEO below) about fire fighting testing at Underwriters Laboratories: Researchers at Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook [monitor] the oxygen levels and temperatures [in a controlled burn] … to reduce the number of people killed in blazes.  About 150 sensors are strategically placed [two] homes, which are inside a UL warehouse. “A lot of tactics are coming in question because while the number of fires are going down the number of deaths are remaining the same we are hurting ourselves,” said Mike Halterman, a firefighter and paramedic in Wilmette. Not only are those firefighter deaths concerning, but so is... [ more ]         FIREFIGHTER CLOSE CALL UPDATE: Video from Phoenix Shows FF Thru The Roof:  FOX 10 News | fox10phoenix.com KSAZ video  Tuesday, January 27, 2015   As we posted Saturday, Phoenix had a CLOSE CALL when some members were caught in some vented fire. The video shows one of those firefighters falling off the roof to the ground as well as the fire conditions following the venting. Check it out HERE: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/clip/11066799/phoenix-firefighter-suffers-burn-falls-from-burning-home-during-early-morning-blaze         PA FF INJURED AT FIRE  Monday, January 26, 2015    An early morning fire displaced three people and injured one firefighter in South Middleton Township.Citizen's Fire Company Chief Tim Yingst said the cause of the blaze, which broke out around 3:35 a.m. Sunday at 709 W. Pine St., is still under investigation by the state police fire marshal. One firefighter was hurt when a rafter came down and struck him on the head, Yingst said. He was transported to the hospital with a neck injury and is expected to be released soon. The American Red Cross is also assisting three people who were displaced by the fire. Yingst said the fire started in an attached garage and totally destroyed the garage and the two vehicles inside. It spread into the home, causing moderate damage. Crews had the fire under control in about a half-hour.         FF DIES AFTER CANCER BATTLE  37-year-old Luke Story died this       afternoon after a five-month battle with       stage IV pancreatic cancer  Sunday, January 25, 2015   Five months after being diagnosed with a terminal illness and receiving immense support from the community, Jonesborough firefighter Luke Story died Saturday afternoon with his family and extended family by his side, a news release from the Jonesborough Department of Public Safety said. Story was 37.Story was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in August after doctors at the Johnson City Medical Center identified cancerous masses on Story’s liver and pancreas. Doctors gave Story three months to a year to live, and after that, Jonesborough community members rallied with emotional and financial support by selling merchandise and holding events in his honor. Story became a volunteer firefighter in Jonesborough at age 19, and became a full-time firefighter three years later. In 2007, he was promosted to Officer in Charge and became a platoon sergeant. “Sgt. Luke Story spent his adult life serving his community to make it a better and safer place,” Jones... [ more ]         APPARATUS OVERTURNED IN SC  Sunday, January 25, 2015   The Columbia Fire Department and law enforcement agencies responded to an overturned firetruck Sunday morning. Troopers say the firetruck was making a left off of Bluff Road onto South Cedar Creek when the vehicle overturned at approximately 10 a.m. Brick Lewis with the Columbia Fire Department says the firefighter has been transported to Richland Memorial hospital and is in stable condition, The incident is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.   MRSA KITS KITS REVEALS TROUBLE IN FIRE STATIONS  King5 Video  Sunday, January 25, 2015   More than half of the 33 fire stations taking part in a survey tested positive for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) somewhere the building.The survey also found that roughly a third of the stations had at least one employee who tested positive for the antibiotic resistant strain of staph bacteria. Professor Marilyn Roberts with the University Of Washington School Of Public Health organized the study three years ago after discovering MRSA in both fire houses she tested in Western Washington. She designed MRSA testing kits and sent them to 33 stations around the state. She called the results surprisingly high and is helping departments come up with better ways to protect themselves from the bacteria they contact from each other and while treating people during emergency calls. MRSA was found in common living areas, bedrooms, exercise rooms and other parts of the fire houses. Some departments are requiring firefig... [ more ]         APPARATUS CRASH IN NC  Saturday, January 24, 2015    nteer Fire Department fire truck late Friday afternoon on Shiloh Church Road in Cabarrus County, authorities said. A witness who lives near the scene at Kingsview Drive said the fire truck didn’t make the curve and flipped on its side. “I am tired of all the accidents,” Paul Kikta said. The curve is notorious for accidents and wants something done about fixing it, he said. “We’ve had countless accidents,” Kikta said. No serious injuries were reported. The cause of the accident is under investigation.        WSCOTV Video    FIREFIGHTER INJURED AT PHOENIX HOUSE FIRE  Video | News | Weather | Sports Sat Jan 24 06:21:40 PST 2015 Phoenix firefighter falls from roof while battling house fire Two people, including a firefighter, were injured in a house fire early Saturday morning. view full article AZFamily.com Video  Saturday, January 24, 2015  Two people, including a firefighter, were injured in a house fire early Saturday morning. The firefighter was injured as he became surrounded by flames and fell off the roof of the house. The home is near 11th Street and Polk Street. There were reports that people may have been trapped inside the home. Firefighters did rescue a woman from the home who was taken to a hospital. She thought her son was also trapped in the home, but he made it out safely. The firefighter was also taken to the hospital. The home was destroyed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Read more: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Phoenix-firefighter-falls-from-roof-while-battling-house-fire-289670621.html#ixzz3Pm6GW9WP         Richmond Firefighter Injured While Fighting Apartment Blaze  Saturday, January 24, 2015   A Richmond firefighter suffered a minor ankle injury while fighting an apartment fire in the 2700 block of Marshall Street Friday evening according to the department spokesman.Crews arrived on scene shortly before 4:30 PM Friday to find heavy smoke coming from an apartment building located near North 28th and Marshall Streets. The fire was found to have started in the attic and crews had the scene under control shortly after 5 PM. The firefighter who was injured has been taken to a medical center for addition attention according to Lt. Chris Armstrong with the Richmond Fire Department. Crews will remain on scene to clear the building of hot spots. At this point there is no cause of the fire. It is still under investigation.         TRAINING HELPS 7 FFs ESCAPE BURNING BUILDING IN NJ  Saturday, January 24, 2015   For Jeff Smith, a borough firefighter for 33 years, the blaze that destroyed the building at 81 W. Main St was “one of the biggest I’ve been involved with.”Imagine the young volunteers, those who have only been donning their gear for a few years. It’s something they’ll always remember. Seven firefighters were inside the building when colleagues outside noticed that the smoke was changing color, from gray to a very rich black. That was a sign that “there’s a lot going on, things are starting to be (quickly) consumed, Smith explained. And it meant the firemen inside were in danger. Immediately the universal alarm was sounded: three 10-second blasts of the air horns on the nearby fire trucks. That means, get out right away. Within minutes the second floor collapsed, the roof collapsed, and the firefighters turned to a “defensive” effort of protecting the nearby buildings, Smith said. Every fire can be a learning experience, and that’... [ more ]