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 2014 85 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)  2 CLEVELAND FFs INJURED AT HOUSE FIRE  Thursday, December 18, 2014    The Cleveland Fire Department responded to a house fire at 16508 Southland Avenue on the city's west side on Wednesday night.  Fire spokesman Larry Gray says that when fire crews arrived at the scene, they found a 67-year-old woman in the house. Crews were able to rescue her and revive her from respiratory arrest. She was then transported to MetroHealth Medical Center with unknown injuries. more ]         2 PA FFs INJURED IN GAS EXPLOSION  Thursday, December 18, 2014    Two city firefighters were taken to the hospital after a gas explosion at a Lancaster city home Wednesday night. Both were treated for first-degree burns to their head and face and then released. One returned to the fire scene while the other went home, according to Battalion Chief Jeffrey Oatman. A city fire marshal is investigating the incident after an apparent bullet hole was discovered in the gas meter, Oatman said. UGI officials took possession of the meter which will be examined. Fire crews were dispatched to 56 S. Franklin St. around 6:10 p.m. after a resident of the two-unit apartment building called 911 and said she "heard a bang," then detected a heavy odor of gas, Oatman said. The residents of the building were told to evacuate. Upon arrival, firefighters went to the basement of the building, where they discovered a heavy gas smell and active leak. As they attempted to turn off the gas, an... [ more ]         Six Firefighters Injured In Anderson County Fire Truck Crash  WTVQ Video  Wednesday, December 17, 2014    A fire truck crash in Anderson County injured six firefighters Tuesday night, according to the fire department.Investigators said the fire truck was headed to a car crash on Puckett Road, when it crashed. An eyewitness told ABC 36 News that he saw the fire truck run off the road, hit a tree, which caused part of the truck to cave-in. The fire department confirmed that one firefighter had to be cut out of the wreckage. He was taken to UK Hospital in Lexington. He was conscious and talking, according to firefighters. The other five firefighters who were hurt, were treated and released from UK Hospital, according to the fire department. A Battalion Chief said it was an emotional night for the department. "We're going to be here to support them. We ask the community to say a prayer for them and be there and support them through this incident. This is not just tonight. This is going to be for the next week or so, and month... [ more ]         4 FFs INJURED IN RIVERDALE IL MAYDAY  Wednesday, December 17, 2014    Fur firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries while battling an extra-alarm blaze at a condominium building Tuesday in Riverdale, officials said. About 100 firefighters from departments all over the south suburbs responded to the fire in a three-story building within the Riverwood Condominiums at 137th Street and Stewart Avenue. The Riverdale Fire Department's deputy chief, Art Schweitzer, said he doesn't know how the firefighters were hurt, but said they will be OK. The injured firefighters were taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey and MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, Schweitzer said. Two are with Riverdale Fire, one is a Calumet Park firefighter and the fourth is with Markham. One civilian also complained of difficulty breathing, apparently because of asthma, Schweitzer said. He also said Riverdale police officers knocked on the doors of other residents in the building, helping them evacuate safely. more ]         NJ FIREHOUSE FIRE  Tuesday, December 16, 2014    A fire in Elk Township on Monday night damaged the Ferrell Firehouse.The smell of smoke drifted more than a mile from the corner of Elk and Ellis Mill roads, and the night was lit up by engines from several neighboring communities. Patrick Spring, mayor of the township and captain with the Ferrell Fire Co., said the flames started in the lounge of the firehouse at about 10:30 p.m. No one was in the building when the fire began. Fire companies from neighboring towns, including Harrisonville, Clayton, Aura, Ewan and Monroeville, were on hand. By 10:50, the fire was under control, but not before the building's lounge and office were damaged. The truck bays and all vehicles inside were undamaged. "There's nothing in that building we can't replace," Spring said. "We will rebuild." Still, Spring said, the experience of having your own firehouse burn was a harrowing one. "When it's your own house, it's a little different," h... [ more ]   OKC RIG STRUCK AT SCENE  Tuesday, December 16, 2014    Police said a car crashed into a fire truck that was on the scene of a multi-vehicle collision in southwest Oklahoma City, Monday morning. According to Oklahoma City police, emergency crews responded to a three-vehicle collision at Interstate 44 and S.W. 149th Street. However, as crews worked to clear the scene of that collision, another car struck a fire truck. Police said three people were injured in the original crash. They have been transported to the hospital. Fire officials said no firefighters were injured in the second crash. But the fire truck sustained minor damage. Both collisions are still under investigation.         CA FF INJURED BY FALLING ROOF  Tuesday, December 16, 2014    A firefighter is recovering after he was injured battling an overnight fire in Southeast Fresno. The flames broke out shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday in a two-story townhouse in the area of Butler and Winery. Fresno Fire officials say a firefighter went into the house and was cutting a hole in the wall when the roof came down on top of the firefighter. Authorities say the firefighter was t... [ more ]         NY FIRE POLICE OFFICER STRUCK  Monday, December 15, 2014    A Rombout fire police officer was injured at the scene of a two-car crash in Fishkill Sunday night, while he was responding to the accident, said Kevin Barry, public information officer for Rombout Fire Company.Two vehicles collided at the intersection of Routes 82 and 52 at 5:46 p.m., Barry said. There were two passengers in each vehicle; three of the four were transported with non life-threatening injuries to MidHudson Regional Medical Center by Town of Wappinger ambulance and Mobile Life Support Services. The Rombout fire police officer was arriving on the scene when he was rear-ended by another driver, an "inattentive motorist," who wasn't "paying attention," a common cause of firefighter and police injury at the scenes of accidents, Barry said. The fire police officer was "not badly injured" and was also sent to MidHudson Regional for evaluation, Barry added. Fire police are responsible for scene safety and traffic control. more ]         UPDATE: FATAL PG CO MD AMBULANCE CRASH  Monday, December 15, 2014   An ambulance crew was assaulted, their unit stolen and minutes later involved in a multi-vehicle crash involving a fatality. At about 5:30 pm, Sunday, December 14, Ambulance 811B was returning to their station after completing a patient transport. As they were travelling southbound on the Capitol Beltway (Route 495) they witnessed a passenger car leave the roadway near the interchange of I-95. The ambulance pulled to the shoulder with the crew of two firefighter/EMT’s exiting to check on the welfare of the occupant. A series of events occurred quickly with both crew-members being assaulted by the driver of the very car they stopped to help. The suspect proceeded to drive away in their ambulance. The volunteer firefighter/EMTs were visibly shaken but not injured. The stolen ambulance proceeded south on Route 495 and exited onto Kenilworth Avenue and than west on Greenbelt Road. Two blocks down Greenbelt Road and about 15 minutes after this incident start... [ more ]   FD Ambulance Car Jacked-Fatal Results  Monday, December 15, 2014    An ambulance from the Branchville VFD (Co. 11) in Prince Georges County (MD) was car (ambu) jacked earlier tonight resulting in what appears to be the death of an innocent civilian. Around 1700, Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Ambulance 811 (of the Branchville firehouse) was carjacked by an EDP (emotionally disturbed person) who assaulted the crew. This occurred on the Capital Beltway near I-95 and Route 1. Apparently, the ambulance had stopped on the beltway to assist at a crash they saw. Initial reports are that once they stopped, the person driving the crashed vehicle made a grab for the ambulance. After assaulting crew members, the alleged psycho then car (ambu) jacked the unit. Following that, as that person drove the stolen ambulance. the unit was then involved in a very serious crash in front of Joe’s Crab Shack at Greenbelt Road & 62nd Avenue. As of now reports are that there is one fatality and other inju... [ more ]   CLOSE CALL AT PA ATTEMPTED SUICIDE SCENE INVOLVING HAZ-MAT  Monday, December 15, 2014    Emergency workers responding to a suicide attempt in Palmer Township complained of fumes burning their eyes Sunday, which prompted a hazardous materials response, according to the township fire commissioner.Fire Commissioner Stephen Gallagher said the emergency workers arrived at 2:09 p.m. after receiving a call of a suicide at 2 Orchid Court. Gallagher said a woman in her 30s drank various household cleaners in order to kill herself. Emergency workers felt burning in their eyes and called for a hazardous materials response at 2:15 p.m. Local emergency workers initially entered the home to determine a baseline level of contamination, Gallagher said. A hazmat crew from Lehigh County came to check the toxicity of the air before letting anyone in the home. Emergency workers had the cul de sac blocked off with traffic cones for about an hour. Two fire trucks and a Northampton County emergency response vehicle were on the scene Sunday afternoon. more ]         PG CO, MD - BREAKING NEWS - STOLEN MEDIC UNIT INVOLVED IN POTENTIALLY FATAL CRASH  Sunday, December 14, 2014    A Prince Georges CO MD Medic Unit from Branchville VFD was stolen this evening.  Reports are a female was in labor in the back of the medic unit and there was at least one trauma code on scene.  NO FIREFIGHTERS WERE INJURED. The wreck occurred at Greenbelt Rd and 62 Ave.  Here are some photos from the scene. More on our home page as it becomes available.