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Submit Your Close Call / Near Miss Navigation Home Close Calls 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 18 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)  7 FFs INJURED IN PA APPARATUS CRASH  Sunday, March 22, 2015    Richlandtown Fire Co. Chief Calvin Trovinger and six other volunteer firefighters were injured Saturday in a multi-vehicle crash on their way to a training exercise. The crash occurred about 8 a.m. on Route 611 in Doylestown Township as the firefighters were riding in a 1989 E-1 special service truck. They were headed to the Bucks County Training Center for a day of sharpening firefighting and rescue skills. The truck was headed south on Route 611, when a car traveling north skidded out of control, likely due to ice, and crashed into the truck, causing extensive damage, the chief said Saturday. "After that first car hit our truck, it sent us into the northbound lanes and we wiped out several cars," the chief said. Despite all seven firefighters suffering injuries, they did what they always do on a call — take care of the other injured first. "We weren't worried about us; we we went to work to assess the other patien... [ more ]         MN FFs SUFFER CHEMICAL BURNS AT WASTE WATER PLANT FIRE  Sunday, March 22, 2015    Three St. Paul firefighters who responded to last week's blaze at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant suffered chemical burns that were serious enough to keep them away from work, and their injuries led to discussion Friday between the fire department and firefighters union about what happened. The fire occurred March 10 in one building at the large complex on the Mississippi River southeast of downtown St. Paul. Later that day, eight firefighters reported symptoms apparently associated with the fire, Fire Chief Tim Butler said Friday. They went to the emergency room to be checked out, and three were found to have more serious burns while one had a minor rash, said Jeramiah Melquist, treasurer of the St. Paul International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21. Although firefighters are exposed to hazards at any fire, the president of the firefighters union said he's concerned about the seriousness of the injuries in this case and the n... [ more ]         CLOSE CALL AT GA FIRE  Sunday, March 22, 2015   Gwinnett County firefighters had to retreat from a burning home near Lawrenceville on Friday after its floor began to collapse.Crews were called at 3:35 p.m. to respond to a fire that began in the basement of a home on the 1200 block of Silverwood Court. The homeowners had been working in their backyard and were allerted to the fire when a neighbor saw smoke coming from the house. When firefighters arrived, they found flames throughout the house and a floor system that was “spongy,” thereby preventing them from carrying hose lines into the building, according to Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services officials.         APPARATUS CRASH IN KCMO  Sunday, March 22, 2015   Four people were hurt when a car collided with a fire truck early Saturday morning in southeast Kansas City.Kansas City police said four people in the car were injured. One was in critical condition at a hospital. Accident investigators said the car went around another vehicle turning left onto Bannister Road, when it collided with the fire truck. No firefighters were hurt. The crash is under investigation.         FF RESCUED FROM OHIO FIRE  Saturday, March 21, 2015   Smoke seen billowing from a Market Street business Thursday afternoon was coming from burning asphalt company.The fire was reported at Asphalt Solutions on the 700 block of Market Street just before 1:30 p.m. A second alarm was called in by crews first arriving on the scene. One firefighter was pulled from the building by fellow firefighters. The rescued firefighter was not injured. Just before 2 p.m., firefighters were instructed to exit the building because of safety concerns. A few moments later, firefighters reported that flames had spread to an adjoining house. 21 News reporter Matt Stone is on the scene and reports that he can hear the sound of vehicles exploding inside the building. The owner of the business says he believes that the fire started in the company break room. According to the company website, Asphalt Solutions is a pavement maintenance and construction firm that services commercial prop... [ more ]         CLOSE CALL UPDATE: PA Fire Chief Surprises Responders Who Saved His Life  Saturday, March 21, 2015   Assistant Chief Jim Reed of Mount Carmel was flown to the hospital after a fire on Monday, was in critical condition, but now is just grateful to be alive. He’s spreading that message of gratitude to all who helped him this week.If you saw Reed today, you’d never know he was lying in a hospital in critical condition just three days ago. His family calls his recovery a miracle, and today he thanked some of the men and women who he says saved his life. It was a reunion the paramedics at theElysburg Fire Department say they were not expecting. Mount Carmel Assistant Fire Chief Jim Reed stopped by to surprise, and thank some of the paramedics who saved his life.”How I ended up where I ended up I still don’t know. I can’t figure that part out,” Reed said.Monday afternoon, Reed was badly hurt when fighting a fire in some row homes in Mount Carmel. He says his airway was burned and he couldn’t breathe. Amazingly, stopping breathing may have saved his life. “Doct... [ more ]        CoalRegionFire Video  WNEP Video    DEPT. STOPS FILL THE BOOT AFTER FF STRUCK  WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather WCIV Video  Thursday, March 19, 2015   Several times a year, drivers on Lowcountry roads see firefights standing in median collecting money for the Carolina Children's Charities.However, that will change for one Lowcountry fire department after a firefighter was hit by a car. Old Fort Fire Chief Edward Genthert says he met with the charity's board Tuesday night and made the ultimate decision to cut fundraising short this year after one of his men was hit at a busy intersection. It's a decision that ends a 30-year tradition and could mean a significant cut in donations. "Summerville is not the sleepy pine town we used to have. We don't have one red light anymore, we have a bunch more. We don't have two-lane roads; we have four-lane highways," said Capt. Allen Purifoy with Old Fort Fire Station 1. On Tuesday at the intersection of Jedburg Road and Highway 78, a firefighter was hit by a pickup truck, slammed to the ground, and sent to a nearby hospital. The injured firefighter wor... [ more ]         UPDATE: Mount Carmel assistant fire chief home, resting following MAYDAY  Chief Reed  Thursday, March 19, 2015    A Mount Carmel assistant fire chief critically injured while fighting a fire Monday has been released from the hospital.An official at Lehigh Valley Medical Center, Allentown, confirmed that James Reed Sr., the borough's second assistant fire chief, was discharged from the hospital Wednesday afternoon. His release was confirmed by a son, Jonathan Reed, via email Wednesday evening. "He was released from Lehigh Valley Hospital around noon today and he is at home now and resting," Jonathan Reed wrote. Reed suffered a fire-related injury Tuesday while battling a blaze in the 200 block of South Walnut Street. Members of a rapid response team performed CPR on Reed at the scene before he was flown to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, and later to Allentown for treatment. Nicknamed "Animal" by his fellow firefighters, the elder Reed was looked to as a mentor by many of the younger firefighters. Reed is a 35-year veteran firefighter, servin... [ more ]         UPDATE: Never before released details in the fire that killed Ast. Fire Chief Jamie Middlebrook  WSBT Video  Thursday, March 19, 2015    A local firefighter is receiving national recognition for his courage and valor the day New Carlisle Ast. Fire Chief Jamie Middlebrook died in the line of duty.Warren Township Captain Sean Killelea will receive the 2015 Courage and Valor Award in late April. In an interview with Firehouse, Killelea recalled his account of what happened the night Middlebrook died. Killelea told his Chief he hopes his story will inspire others in a way they need it most. "That night he risked a lot, his own life," says Warren Township Chief Chris Antonucci. "To help save another firefighter's life that night." On August 5th, 2014, several departments responded to a commercial fire at K-Fex. Ast. Chief Jamie Middlebrook and firefighter Matt O'Donnell ran hoses into the building to keep contents cool. Crews did so because there was acetylene tanks and diesel fuel within the building, according to the article from Firehouse. Chief Antonucci arrived shortly after the... [ more ]         MA FFs OK AFTER RAT POISON EXPOSURE  Wednesday, March 18, 2015    The five New Bedford firefighters hospitalized Monday for exposure to decomposing rat poison were all released from St. Luke's Hospital later that day, Fire Chief Michael Gomes said today. The chief said all five are to return to work on Wednesday. District Chief James Fortin, Lts. Kenneth Carvalho and Mark Raposa and Firefighters Jason Beaulieu and Jason Hinchliffe as well as a first-floor tenant at 184 County St. and a home health aide were all sent to the hospital for blood work and to be monitored, after Fortin and Carvalho experienced respiratory distress when they removed the rat poison from the County Street building. The poison bore a price sticker from the long-defunct Mars Bargainland, Gomes said. The chief said he spoke with Fortin and Carvalho on Monday night "and everyone said they were fine." Raposa, Beaulieu and Hinchliffe as well as the first-floor tenant and a home health aide all went to the hospital to be evaluated. Gomes said the rat pois... [ more ]         FIREHOUSE FIRE IN NY STATE  WHEC Video  Wednesday, March 18, 2015   Crews from several area fire stations were called to the scene of a fire at a fire station in Victor. Investigators say the fire started at the Fishers Fire Station on High Street just after 3 a.m. Wednesday. Officials from the department say the fire started in a vacant building attached to the back of the building. Crews from Bushnell's Basin, Victor and Farmington fire departments responded to the call. We've learned no one was injured and none of the fire gear was damaged.