Report issued by NIST is the first to quantify the effects of crew sizes and arrival times
By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Senior Editor
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WASHINGTON — A landmark study issued Wednesday proves the size of firefighting crews does have a substantial effect on the ability to protect lives and property.
The report, released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is the first to quantify the effects of crew sizes and arrival times on the fire service's lifesaving and firefighting operations for residential fires. Until now, little scientific data has been available.
Four-person firefighting crews were able to complete 22 essential firefighting and rescue tasks in a typical residential structure 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 25 percent faster than three-person crews, according to the study.
The results of the study will allow the fire service to prove to community officials the impacts of reduced staffing with solid, scientific data for the first time.
"The results from this rigorous scientific study on the most common and deadly fires in the country — those in single-family residences — provide quantitative data to fire chiefs and public officials responsible for determining safe staffing levels, station locations and appropriate funding for community and firefighter safety," said NIST's Jason Averill, one of the study's principal investigators.
The four-person crews were able to deliver water to a similar-sized fire 15 percent faster than the two-person crews and 6 percent faster than three-person crews.
Broad coalition
Performed by a broad coalition in the scientific, firefighting and public-safety communities, more than 60 controlled fire experiments were conducted in the study to determine the relative effects of crew size, the arrival time of the first fire crews, and the "stagger" or spacing between the arrivals of successive waves of firefighting apparatus.
The stagger time simulates the typically later arrival of crews from more distant stations as compared to crews from more nearby firehouses.
"Our experiments directly address two primary objectives of the fire service: extinguishing the fire and rescuing occupants," Lori Moore-Merrell, of the IAFF and a principal investigator on the study, said.
The study is extremely significant because academics, science and fire service providers were all brought to the table to conduct the research, she added.
In addition, the results were collated and delivered by independent statisticians to offer an unbiased perspective on the impacts different staffing levels have. The study provides the science to be able to say to local governments that reducing firefighting staffing levels does have major impacts, according to Moore-Merrell.
Researchers also performed simulations using NIST's Fire Dynamic Simulator to examine how the interior conditions change for trapped occupants and the firefighters if the fire develops more slowly or more rapidly than observed in the actual experiments. The fire modeling simulations demonstrated that two-person, late-arriving crews can face a fire that is twice the intensity of the fire faced by five-person, early arriving crews.
It also demonstrated that trapped occupants receive less exposure to toxic combustion products — such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide — if the firefighters arrive earlier and involve three or more persons per crew.
Test facility
For the study, researchers built a "low-hazard" structure as described in NFPA 1710, the standard that provides guidance on the deployment of career firefighters. The two-story, 2,000-square-foot test facility was constructed at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy in Rockville, Md. Fire crews from Montgomery County, Md., and Fairfax County, Va., responded to live fires within the facility.
Crews of two, three, four and five firefighters were timed as they performed 22 standard firefighting and rescue tasks to extinguish a live fire in the test facility. Tasks included occupant search and rescue, time to put water on fire, and laddering and ventilation. Apparatus arrival time, the stagger between apparatus, and crew sizes were varied.
With the study completed, the research team will now develop a training package for firefighters and public officials that would enable them to have both quantitative and qualitative understanding of the research.
The United States Fire Administration reported that 403,000 residential structure fires killed close to 3,000 people in 2008 — accounting for approximately 84 percent of all fire deaths — and injured about 13,500.
The study's principal investigators were Averill, Moore-Merrell and Kathy Notarianni of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Other organizations participating in this research included the IAFC, the Commission on Fire Accreditation International-RISK and the Urban Institute.
"The results of the field experiments apply only to fires in low-hazard residential structures as described in the NFPA Standard 1710, but it provides a strong starting point," said Moore-Merrell. Future research could extend the findings of the report to quantify the effects of crew size and apparatus arrival times in medium- and high-hazard structures, she added.
My opinion on this matter is that of course crew sizes are going to affect responses. That's just a matter of numbers, I'm glad that it's finally been proven with numbers for all the bean-counters out there. Maybe now they'll realize that Fire Dept's need the funding to accomplish their tasks. Firefighters aren't always paid for what they do, they're paid for what they know (kind of like what a government official pretends to do...kidding), ability to mount a quick response to almost anything, and how they are able to do their job in extreme, dangerous conditions. Although many of us have known for years that this was a fact of life that more numbers can get more done, there is another column that states that the officials don't really care how good your argument is, they want numbers. I think it's probably the fact that they can't bring your argument to the council or public on their own as they don't know much on the subject at hand. One of those "Jack-of-all-trade-master-of-none-" techniques. They know a bit about this and a bit about that. But when it comes down to it, everyone wants facts. These numbers can now prove this fact.
Brad MacMillan
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wisconsin LODD from Dumpster Fire Explosion
ST. ANNA, Wis. — An investigation has been completed into the dumpster fire at Bremer Manufacturing back in 2009 that killed St. Anna Firefighter Steven Koeser.
On December 29, 2009 A dumpster caught fire at Bremer Manufacturing Company Inc., located at W2002 Co. Highway Q in the Town of New Holstein. Calumet County Sheriff Deputies and the St. Anna Fire Department were dispatched to the scene.
While attempting to subdue the flames with water and suppressant foam, an explosion occurred from within the dumpster; killing one volunteer firefighter while eight others sustained injuries.
The incident has been thoroughly investigated by the Department of Justice Fire Marshal's Office, Calumet County Sheriff's Department and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and found to be of undetermined cause.
Based on all available information, the following determinations were made regarding the origin and cause of the fire/explosion incident:
- The fire originated within the damaged refuse container, which contained aluminum alloy shavings and 55 gallon steel barrels of aluminum dross (slag).
- The cause of the fire is classified as "undetermined", however there is no information available to indicate that the fire was as a result of an intentional act.
- The explosion occurred from within the refuse container.
- The cause of the explosion was as a result of the fire suppression efforts and the introduction of water and fire suppressant foam
The worst-case scenarioDoes your department have a SOP/SOG for dumpster fires?
By Chief Adam K. Thiel
FireRescue1 Editorial Advisor
A report was released this week on a dumpster fire that killed St. Anna, Wis., Firefighter Steven Koeser last year. The tragic outcome of this incident reinforces the need to consider the worst-case scenario on every response.
WFRV News reported an explosion occurred from within the dumpster while crews attempted to subdue the flames with water and suppressant foam.
If we're really honest with ourselves, I expect many fire departments would address this apparent dumpster fire in similar fashion.
Why? Because over time we get conditioned to doing things a certain way, even if we know it's a risky approach, and getting the same results. (The technical term for this phenomenon is normalization of deviance.)
How many dumpster or vehicle fires have you been to where nothing bad happened? How many times have you been part of an aggressive interior attack on the inside of a dumpster to save, uh, trash? Come on, be honest...
I recently visited a major northeast fire department that had several pumpers outfitted with roof-mounted turrets to enhance their foam firefighting capabilities along the roadway.
I thought it was a great idea, even more so when one of the firefighters told me they were starting to use it on dumpster fires instead of placing themselves at risk for someone else's garbage. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Does your department have a SOP/SOG for dumpster fires involving unknown or hazardous materials? (Don't all dumpsters contain unknown — and potentially hazardous — materials, regardless of their location?)
Considering the circumstances in this incident, maybe we should just protect exposures (from a distance) and let dumpster fires burn themselves out? What's the downside; public perception?
Frankly, I think the average citizen would totally understand if we said we weren't going to place firefighters in harm's way to save their trash; I'd much rather have that conversation than trying to explain why mommy or daddy was killed to save someone's garbage.
Kansas Firefighter Dies In House Fire
Six-year veteran of the Shawnee Fire Department became separated from crews while searching for possible victims
Duty Death: John Glaser - [Shawnee, Kansas]
By FireRescue1 Staff
SHAWNEE, Kan. — A Kansas firefighter died while tackling a house fire Saturday night.
Crews arrived at the scene of the fire at about 8:55 p.m. in Shawnee and neighbors said they believed two people and a dog were inside the structure, according to reports.
About 15 minutes later, Firefighter John Glaser, a father of two, issued a mayday call.
Crews found the 33-year-old firefighter unresponsive at the rear of the home, according to a press release by the Shawnee Fire Department.
He was taken to the Shawnee Mission Medical Center but was later declared dead.
"He was a nice guy, he wanted to help people," Fire Chief Jeff Hudson said at a news conference Sunday.
"He was a good friend, a good family man, he was a great dad."
It was determined that no persons were in the house at the time of the blaze, but the dog was rescued. A second firefighter was also injured in the fire, which took two hours to bring under control.
Firefighter Glaser had been with the department for six years, according to Fox4KC. He was found not breathing and in cardiac arrest in the first floor master bedroom, the report said.
The cause of death has not yet been released and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
The Shawnee Dispatch reported Monday that services are set for Thursday morning for Firefighter Glaser.
A procession will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee, 10901 Johnson Drive, and will continue past Shawnee Fire Department headquarters at 65th Street and Quivira Road, before continuing on to United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.
The funeral service will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the church.
Gas Ruled Out Of Edgerton Training Explosion
Editor's note: Although the exact circumstances are still unknown, this incident is an important reminder to always take fire and emergency services training evolutions seriously, since you never know what might happen. Live-burn training, in acquired structures or specially-constructed burn buildings, is just as real as an actual fire; the chemistry and physics of fire don't change because you're doing training. As one of my first fire instructors was quick to remind us on the drill field, the fire doesn't care. Trends and hazards in firefighter training were the subjects of a 2003 special report by the United States Fire Administration, which can be downloaded here from the USFA website.
Chief Adam K. Thiel, FireRescue1 Editorial Advisor
Chief Adam K. Thiel, FireRescue1 Editorial Advisor
The Canadian Press
EDMONTON, Canada — Alberta investigators have ruled out methane and natural gas as the cause of an explosion of a farmhouse during a firefighters' training exercise.
Wainwright Fire Chief Steve Douglas said soil samples have been taken from the blast site near Edgerton and sent to a lab for testing.
Six volunteer firefighters were doing a controlled burn on an abandoned farmhouse Monday night when the building exploded, leaving a huge crater.
The group was performing a regular training exercise, something they did every two weeks without any problems.
One of the more severely injured firefighters, Bob Heim, remains in the University of Alberta hospital recovering from several injuries, including broken bones.
Werner Heim says his 21-year-old son is in good spirits, but it will take a long time for his injuries to heal.
''Part of a wall hit his legs, that's why they're broken and he lost his helmet, he knocked his head on the ground, he broke the arm in the process and some debris opened up the shoulder,'' Werner said.
He said he could hear the explosion from 8 km away.
Werner said his son and two others were told to search the building for risks, but reported that they didn't see any.
''They did everything according to the book,'' said Werner.
Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block says when firefighters are dealing with a live fire, things can quickly go wrong.
''If you're responding to a live event, you've got your game face on and sometimes at a training exercise it can be downplayed a little bit,'' said Block.
Edmonton firefighters don't use old buildings to practice their skills — they have a facility in the west end.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Topless Woman Extinguishes Fire
A WOMAN put the safety of her neighbours over her own modesty when she saved an apartment building from going up in flames - topless.
Fitness instructor Tash Bennett was sunbaking by the pool of the Alatai Apartments in Darwin city on Thursday afternoon when a nearby palm tree caught on fire.
"I was just lying there when some ash fell on top of me," she said. "I wasn't really paying attention because I was listening to my iPod."
Ms Bennett raced to reception for help before rushing back to the pool to use the fire hose.
It was only after battling the blaze for five minutes that she looked down and realised that she was still topless from the sunbaking.
"I was pretty red faced on the day, having to hold myself while running to reception," she said. I was sunbaking. I wasn't exactly prepared. But you've got to put out the fire before you deal with that."
One witness, Johnny McCoy said the heroic hottie had a full audience of residents while she battled the blaze.
"For the record, she was smoking hot herself, but provided all the boys a pretty awesome sight for an otherwise typical Thursday," he said.
"Once she had the blaze under control, she then got her bikini situation under control and put everything back where it should be."
After the blaze, Ms Bennett resumed her sunbaking while she waiting for the fire crew to arrive.
Her husband, Daniel McNamee said he was proud of his wife's quick actions in the emergency situation.
"Apparently the flames were pretty high. It could have taken out the building," he said.
Read more about Tash:
Kitchener Firefighter Sentenced For Killing Bystander
Witnesses said the firefighter was speeding when he swerved, striking and killing a man who was trying to help a crash victim
By Brian Caldwell
The Waterloo Region Record
KITCHENER, Canada — A volunteer firefighter with glowing character references was sentenced Friday to six months of house arrest for killing a bystander while speeding to an accident scene.
Justice Colin Westman considered giving Justin Szusz only probation for dangerous driving causing death in connection with the Sept. 2, 2007, fatality on Huron Road in Wilmot Township.
But he said Szusz, 25, severely undermined his remorse by speeding again while awaiting trial for killing Thomas Walker, a respected family man who was trying to help a teenager trapped in his car.
"I would have thought with your sterling character that it would have been the last time you ever sped — but it wasn't," Westman told Szusz in a courtroom crowded with relatives and supporters on both sides.
The New Dundee man will only be allowed out of his parents' home during his conditional sentence to go to work, church, counselling and other appointments, and for four hours on Saturdays to attend to personal business.
He was also banned from driving for a year, placed on probation for three years and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service. For two years of the probation term, his driving will be restricted.
Walker, 53, was described as a trusted, caring man by relatives who gave victim impact statements in Kitchener court.
He owned a hobby farm near the crash site with his wife, Linda Barton, was the father of two grown sons, Brodie and Jordan, and had worked for Bell Canada as a manager for 32 years.
"It's as if the shell of my life is left, but everything inside was stolen," Barton said of her struggle to go on.
Szusz, a devout Christian who volunteered with young people at his church, was driving his own vehicle to the scene where a teen crashed his car into a tree.
Walker was walking down the road to help the trapped victim, 19-year-old Robert Miller of Kitchener. Szusz crested a hill and saw fire trucks parked on each side of the road just ahead, leaving only a narrow space where firefighters were walking.
Unable to stop, Szusz slammed on his brakes, swerved toward the ditch and hit Walker. Witnesses estimated his speed on the rural road at 120 km/h.
"He drove at such an excessive speed that his car became a lethal weapon that day," said Crown prosecutor Karey Katzsch.
Szusz pleaded not guilty, but was convicted after Westman found he was driving too fast as he approached the accident scene without knowing its exact location.
Westman went to great lengths during the sentencing to explain his reasoning — and the limits of the law to compensate for such tragedies — to Walker's family.
He called their statements "unbelievably moving," noting details such as the fact that Barton, who was with her husband when he was killed, couldn't even cross the road in front of her home in the months afterwards.
"I struggle to be free of the images and sounds of that morning," Barton said.
Westman said he couldn't lose sight of the fact, however, that Szusz is an otherwise "outstanding young man" who was driving to the crash trying to help save a life, not take one.
If not for his subsequent speeding ticket, which showed Szusz still hadn't learned his lesson, he said he would have imposed probation - the least severe penalty available.
Barton said outside court that she appreciated his explanation.
She also said she is satisfied with the sentence because it sends a message to firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers that they must drive safely.
"It shouldn't have happened to Tom," she said.
"It should never happen to anybody else."
Defence lawyer Tom Brock argued others were also to blame for the death because an emergency vehicle wasn't posted at the top of the hill to warn motorists of the danger ahead.
Texas Firefighter Injured In Tender Rollover
TARKINGTON, Texas — Shortly after 4 p.m. Monday evening, Tarkington firefighters were dispatched to the type of call that haunts every firefighter's nightmares: a fire truck has been involved in an accident.
Tarkington and Cleveland firefighters were already on the scene of a barn fire on CR 2291 when their pagers went off for a motor vehicle accident involving a fire truck on CR 2285 near CR 2286. Tarkington Fire Chief Paul Gregory immediately detached Cleveland E44 along with Cleveland Assistant Chief Melvin Cates to respond to the accident while additional Tarkington units responded from the station.
Units arrived on scene to find that Cypress Lakes Tanker 821 had left the roadway and rolled over, ejecting the driver.
The driver, 22-year old Clayton Evans, had sustained very serious injuries. He was transported by City of Cleveland EMS to a landing zone at Tarkington High School where he was then airlifted to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston. As of Tuesday morning, Evans had fractured vertebrae, a broken leg, and multiple facial fractures and was scheduled for surgery. However, he did have feeling and mobility in his extremities and was alert and conscious.
The preliminary investigation indicates Evans lost control after exiting a curve in the road and overcorrected before the truck left the road and rolled over.
CR 2285 was shut down for several hours as Texas Department of Public Safety troopers investigated the accident and the wreck was cleared away.
Oklahoma Firefighters Run Half Marathon In Full Gear
The marathon remembers victims in the 1995 Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing, which killed 168 people
By Matthew McNabb
Oklahoma City Fire Department
Photo Matthew McNabb
Richard Lawrence and Brian Christy embrace during the marathon.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City this year hosted the 10th annual memorial marathon.
Tragedy took place on April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m. A bomb was detonated in the street in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, destroying the Federal Building and killing 168 people, including 19 children.
Emergency services personnel were on the scene immediately and began the rescue effort. On April 25 this year, two Oklahoma firefighters ran the Oklahoma City half marathon in full bunker gear in remembrance. These two firefighters covered 13.1 miles in over 50 lbs of gear.
Both firefighters are members of the Midwest City, Oklahoma fire department. Richard Lawrence and Brian Christy trained extensively in preparation of the event. They spent hours on treadmills in full bunker gear while on duty and additional hours each day off conducting interval workouts and preparing their bodies for an extreme physical fitness spectacle. They modified their diets to intake more protein and water, while cutting fat. But most of all they proved how important mental toughness is and motivated many of their fellow firefighters to take a more active role in their physical fitness.
They both agree that their actions speak louder than words. They wanted to prove to the families, friends, and survivors of the 1995 bombing that they are not forgotten. During the process they showed to the nation that Oklahomans and especially the Oklahoma fire service are among the best in the world.
Richard Lawrence is an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran and said: "The bombing is the reason I decided to join the fire service. I was in the eighth grade when it happened. As a 14-year-old watching TV and going downtown to see it. It really had an impact on my life." After graduation from high school he joined the U.S. Air Force as a firefighter and deployed shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. Brian Christy and Richard Lawrence both work as Fire Instructors at Eastern Oklahoma County Vo-Tech in addition to being active firefighters at Midwest City.
Both Lawrence and Christy said they have plans to take part in next year's Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
By Matthew McNabb
Oklahoma City Fire Department
Photo Matthew McNabb
Richard Lawrence and Brian Christy embrace during the marathon.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City this year hosted the 10th annual memorial marathon.
Tragedy took place on April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m. A bomb was detonated in the street in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, destroying the Federal Building and killing 168 people, including 19 children.
Emergency services personnel were on the scene immediately and began the rescue effort. On April 25 this year, two Oklahoma firefighters ran the Oklahoma City half marathon in full bunker gear in remembrance. These two firefighters covered 13.1 miles in over 50 lbs of gear.
Both firefighters are members of the Midwest City, Oklahoma fire department. Richard Lawrence and Brian Christy trained extensively in preparation of the event. They spent hours on treadmills in full bunker gear while on duty and additional hours each day off conducting interval workouts and preparing their bodies for an extreme physical fitness spectacle. They modified their diets to intake more protein and water, while cutting fat. But most of all they proved how important mental toughness is and motivated many of their fellow firefighters to take a more active role in their physical fitness.
They both agree that their actions speak louder than words. They wanted to prove to the families, friends, and survivors of the 1995 bombing that they are not forgotten. During the process they showed to the nation that Oklahomans and especially the Oklahoma fire service are among the best in the world.
Richard Lawrence is an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran and said: "The bombing is the reason I decided to join the fire service. I was in the eighth grade when it happened. As a 14-year-old watching TV and going downtown to see it. It really had an impact on my life." After graduation from high school he joined the U.S. Air Force as a firefighter and deployed shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. Brian Christy and Richard Lawrence both work as Fire Instructors at Eastern Oklahoma County Vo-Tech in addition to being active firefighters at Midwest City.
Both Lawrence and Christy said they have plans to take part in next year's Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Exlposion Injures 6 Volunteer Fire Fighters In Central Alberta
Six volunteer firefighters in Edgerton, Alta., were hurt Monday night when an abandoned rural house they set on fire after a training exercise suddenly exploded.
"The house was completely engulfed in flame for approximately for 10 to 15 minutes," said Wainwright fire Chief Steve Douglas. "At that point, it exploded."
The force of the blast threw firefighters against their vehicles and left them covered in heavy debris, which scattered as far as 300 metres from the house. It also badly damaged vehicles and firefighting equipment.
One firefighter was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton while five others were taken to nearby hospitals. Their condition was unknown, but Douglas believed that all had been released from hospital, with the exception of the firefighter who was taken to Edmonton.
Firefighters stand amid the wreckage of an abandoned house that exploded after being set on fire. (Courtesy Kelly Clemmer/Star News Wainwright)Firefighters had used the vacant house before for training exercises, and it wasn't connected to any utilities or gas lines, Douglas said.
This time, the landowner asked firefighters to set the structure on fire and burn it to the ground after they completed their exercises.
"The furnace was gone, the lines were gone, the tank was gone," Douglas said. "No water, nothing to the house at all. Completely vacant of anything like that."
Douglas said he suspects a water well near the house may be to blame.
"I know of reported cases where water wells have leaked small concentrations of methane gas, natural gas … . With the fire being lit on the main floor there is a distinct possibility that there could have been an accumulation of gas in the basement after the fire had been burning for a while."
The source of the explosion was still unknown Tuesday.
Two members of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency travelled to the scene to help local officials with the investigation.
Edgerton is about 260 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Drunk Volunteer Fire Fighter Clips Cop With Car
United States (New York) - A drunk volunteer firefighter responding to a blaze on Curry Road early this morning struck a police officer who was directing traffic at the scene, police said. The incident unfolded just after midnight when, police say 42-year-old Thomas M. Fortune, a captain in the Stanford Heights Fire Department in Colonie, sped past Officer Don Jones, who was trying to control traffic in front of the fire scene at 2729 Curry Road.
Fortune's 1999 Saturn sedan clipped Jones' right arm and kept going, prompting Officers Mike Minette and Joe Mazzone to give chase and ultimately stop him, police said.
Police said Fortune was discovered to have a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent, just shy of twice the .08 percent legal limit, and was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and failure to comply with a lawful order.
Jones was treated by Guilderland EMS. The extent of his injury was not immediately clear.
Fortune, who police said also works as an investigator for the state Department of Health, is due in court May 20.
Meanwhile, investigators are also still probing the cause of the fire at the home. No one was injured in the blaze.
Written by Times Union
Volunteer Firefighter Charged With Drunk Driving While On Scene
United States (Iowa) - A volunteer Janesville firefighter has been charged with drunken driving after he allegedly rolled a fire truck while on duty. The Bremer County Sheriff's Office said David Francis Flood, 43, was driving the truck as the department was either responding to or working on a fire in rural Bremer County on March 27. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated on May 6 following an investigation.
"He was acting as a fireman when it occurred," said Sheriff Dewey Hildebrandt.
The incident occurred around 9:15 p.m., according to records. A deputy estimated the damage around $30,000. No injuries were reported in the incident, and an accident report didn't indicate if anyone was in the vehicle with Flood at the time, records say.
Written by Waterloo Courier
Volunteer Firefighter Charged With Drunk Driving While On Scene
United States (Iowa) - A volunteer Janesville firefighter has been charged with drunken driving after he allegedly rolled a fire truck while on duty. The Bremer County Sheriff's Office said David Francis Flood, 43, was driving the truck as the department was either responding to or working on a fire in rural Bremer County on March 27. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated on May 6 following an investigation.
"He was acting as a fireman when it occurred," said Sheriff Dewey Hildebrandt.
The incident occurred around 9:15 p.m., according to records. A deputy estimated the damage around $30,000. No injuries were reported in the incident, and an accident report didn't indicate if anyone was in the vehicle with Flood at the time, records say.
Written by Waterloo Courier
Forest Fire Still Raging In Burlington County
United States (Pennsylvania) - A firefighting task force is on the scene of a raging forest fire in Burlington County's Pinelands near a housing development. Firefighters are struggling to bring it under control amid strong winds. The forest fire in Pemberton was burning on the perimeter of the Country Lakes housing development near Route 70 and Lakehurst Road in Pemberton, an emergency dispatcher said. The first 911 calls came in around 12:51 p.m., and a team of fire companies and New Jersey forestry forces were immediately summoned, she said.
A three-mile stretch of Route 70 was closed beneath the border that separates Burlington and Ocean Counties. Though no evacuations had been ordered, fierce winds raised questions about the extent to which the fire would spread before being brought under control. The forest is dotted with homes throughout the area.Nearby resident Susan Scull, who lives on a dirt road off of Route 70, about a mile away from the fire on Mt. Misery Road, said her nephew could see signs of the encroaching blaze from their home, which like many houses in the area, is tucked into the thick woods.
"He says he can smell smoke and he can see smoke coming through the woods," said Scull, who was on her way home around 3:30 p.m. after her a work shift, when she was interviewed at Buy-Rite Country Lakes Liquors nearby on Lakehurst Road in Browns Mills.
"It's so windy here, you know, we're supposed to get 60-mile an hour winds," Scull said, anxious to get home and gauge the situation with her own eyes. "I don't know how fast it's going to travel."
The firefighting effort was being spearheaded by Pemberton Fire Department and New Jersey Forest Fire Service. There was no early word on the number of acres involved.
Written by The Philadelphia Inquirer
Friday, May 7, 2010
Fire Call Leads To Hidden Munitions
Nova Scotia RCMP uncovered a stockpile of more than 100 historic firearms and munitions in Kings County on Thursday afternoon.
Responding to a fire call - in which seven buildings were eventually burned - RCMP and local fire crews discovered the stash in one of the barns on the property.
"They're all long barrel. They're all very old weapons," said Sgt. Brigdit Leger of RCMP H division, noting that the majority were of First World War and Second World War vintage.
Military-grade munitions were also found inside the barn, though RCMP refused to comment on their nature.
According to Sgt. Leger, the munitions had to be detonated separately in a safe area, and were more powerful than ammunition for rifles.
"It appears as if these were old firearms that someone may have been collecting," she added. "They were not new or well taken care of."
The cause of the fire in all seven buildings and the origin of the weapons and munitions is still under investigation. No charges have been laid.
Calgary Fire Celebrates 125 Glorious Years
Bystanders hurled snow balls at a burning wooden house in Calgary, more than 125 years ago.
The crude firefighting technique didn’t save the residence which burned to the grounds within 20 minutes, but it triggered the need for an organized system and gave birth to the city’s fire department.
This incident is among the significant events chronicled in a coffee table book by the Calgary Fire Department launched Friday at the Kerby Centre.
The drama-filled book entitled, “Yours for Life: 125 Years of Courage, Compassion and Service from the Calgary Fire Department,” takes readers from the days of horse drawn fire vehicles, through many of the city’s major fires, to today’s modern firefighting methods and challenges.
Deputy Chief Ken Uzeloc reminded members of the Kerby Centre, which has long-standing ties with the department, some of the most spectacular blazes that ravaged different parts of the city.
In 1912, a massive fire destroyed buildings in Chinatown area, which in January was hit by another significant blaze.
“Things tend to come full circle,” Uzeloc told members of the senior centre on hand at the book launch.
A fire in 1913 at the then Burns Packing Plant reduced to ashes not just the building but also piles of meat.
In 1984, emergency crews took out a large fire at the airport after a plane attempted to take off but failed.
But nothing could rival the fire at the Hub Oil refinery in 1999, with plumes and explosions witnessed by Calgarians from kilometres away, said Uzeloc.
The department has changed, improved and expanded over the years and now has 36 fire stations, said Uzeloc.
The book costs $35 plus GST and can be bought from the Firefighters Museum of Calgary by calling
403-243-3322 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 403-243-3322 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or by contacting firebook@calgary.ca
All proceeds go to the Firefighters Museum. The cost of publishing the book was covered by sponsorshipsNY Mayor Annouces He Intends To Close 20 Fire Companies
United States (New York) - Mayor Bloomberg has announced that he intends to close 20 FDNY companies effective with the July 1 start of the city's new fiscal year. But the facts are clear: Closing fire companies or reducing manpower threatens the safety of civilians and firefighters alike.
The response to the weekend's terrorist attack in Times Square is a reminder how critically important it is to get firefighters to the scene of an emergency quickly.
In fact, Saturday's terrorist attack was the 11th plot or attempt to attack our city since 9/11. Nor was this, as some speculated, a random attack by a deranged individual - it was another international terrorist plot targeting New Yorkers.
Unlike some, I am certain that New York City remains the No. 1 target for terrorists. Yet the FDNY does not now have the resources to respond to two or more large-scale disasters at the same time.
According to the federal National Institute for Standards and Technology, it takes just two minutes and 40 seconds for a fire to grow from inception to 2,000 degrees, engulfing an entire room in smoke and flames.
Fighting fires in a vertical city like New York is more complex and dangerous than anywhere else. With our dense population, thousands of lives can hang in the balance - and every second counts.
Eliminating FDNY engine companies - the first responder to medical emergencies - also radically increases the time to get medical attention to heart attack, stroke or accident victims.
And firefighters have new duties in the wake of the fatal Deutche Bank fire - the greater responsibility for inspections of residential and commercial buildings and construction sites.
The truth is, firefighters are busier than ever. Over the last five years, firefighters have responded to more emergencies than any time in the 145-year history of the FDNY.
And firefighters respond to every conceivable type of emergency. We have been trained to be New York City's first responder to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.
Mayor Bloomberg has already closed seven fire companies. If he succeeds in closing more, the safety of all who live, work and vacation in New York will be seriously compromised.
Firefighters are prepared to risk their lives at a moment's notice. They can't do that from closed firehouses. Let's hope the City Council can stop the mayor.
Steve Cassidy is the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.
Originally published by STEVE CASSIDY.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
No Survivors In Polish Plane Crash
No Survivors In Kaczynski Plane Crash
Poland - An aging Russian airliner carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and members of his country's military, political and church elites crashed in thick fog Saturday as it took them to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the slaughter of thousands of Polish military officers by Soviet secret police.
Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-staff and taped black ribbons in their windows after hearing that the upper echelons of the establishment lay dead in woods a short drive from the site of the Katyn forest massacre, one of Poland's greatest national traumas.
Thousands of people, many in tears, placed candles and flowers at the presidential palace in central Warsaw. Many called the crash Poland's worst disaster since World War II.
Twenty monks rang the Zygmunt bell at Krakow's Wawel Cathedral - the burial spot of Polish kings - a tolling reserved for times of profound importance or grief.
The crash also shocked Russia. Sensing the depth of the tragedy for Poland, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally took charge of the investigation and very quickly and publicly offered condolences, along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"On this difficult day the people of Russia stand with the Polish people," Medvedev said, according to the Kremlin press service.
Chunks of the plane were scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the red and white national colors of Poland stuck up from the smoking debris. Early indications pointed to pilot error in heavy fog as a factor in the crash, officials said.
On board were the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said. Kaczynski's wife, Maria, also died.
"This is unbelievable - this tragic, cursed Katyn," Kaczynski's predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, said on TVN24 television.
It is "a cursed place, horrible symbolism," he said. "It's hard to believe. You get chills down your spine."
The Polish military suffered the deepest losses. Among the dead were the army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, who were all making the emotional trip to honor the Polish officers slain by the NKVD, the acronym for the Soviet secret police at the time of the murders in 1940.
Some on board were relatives of the officers slain in the Katyn massacre. Also among the victims was Anna Walentynowicz, whose firing in August 1980 from the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk sparked a workers' strike that spurred the eventual creation of the Solidarity freedom movement.
"This is a great tragedy, a great shock to us all," former president and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said.
Polish Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, who became acting president, addressed his country on television: "Poland is in mourning, we have suffered a dramatically painful loss."
He said he would announce early elections within 14 days of the president's death, in line with the constitution. The vote must be held within another 60 days.
Russia's Emergency Ministry said there were 97 dead, 88 in the Polish state delegation. Poland's Foreign Ministry said there were 89 people on the passenger list but one had not shown up for the roughly 1 1/2-hour flight from Warsaw's main airport.
Poland called for two minutes of silence across the country Sunday and declared a week of mourning. Medevedev declared Monday a day of mourning in Russia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk flew to Smolensk from Warsaw. The president's twin brother, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, headed to the area in a chartered plane along with relatives, according to his party.
In the village of Gorzno, in northern Poland, the streets were largely empty as people stayed home to watch television.
"It is very symbolic that they were flying to pay homage to so many murdered Poles," said resident Waleria Gess, 73.
The deaths were not expected to directly affect the functioning of Polish government: Poland's president is commander in chief of its armed forces but the position's domestic duties are chiefly symbolic. No top government ministers were aboard the plane.
Polish-Russian relations had been improving recently after being poisoned for decades over the massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers in and around Katyn forest.
Russia never has formally apologized for the murders but Putin's decision to attend a memorial ceremony earlier this week in the forest was seen as a gesture of goodwill toward reconciliation. Kaczynski wasn't invited to that event because Putin, as prime minister, had invited his Polish counterpart, Tusk.
Rossiya-24 showed hundreds of people around the Katyn monument, many holding Polish flags, some weeping.
Kaczynski, 60, was the first serving Polish leader to die since exiled World War II-era leader Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski in a mysterious plane crash off Gibraltar in 1943.
The president was a conservative and a lifelong skeptic of Russia with many detractors at home and abroad. Condolences from world leaders paid tribute to his patriotism and defense of freedom during Communist rule in Poland.
Putin and Medvedev promised Tusk they would work closely with Poland in investigating the crash. Initial signs pointed to an accident, possibly due to the fog that is very common in the area in spring and fall, as well as pilot error.
Both black boxes have been found. Preliminary data indicated that the plane hit the treetops as it was making the approach to the airport in poor visibility, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Marina Gridneva, an official with the Russian general prosecutor's office, as saying.
Andrei Yevseyenkov, spokesman for the Smolensk regional government, said Russian dispatchers had asked the Polish crew to divert from the military airport in North Smolensk and land instead in Minsk, the capital of neighboring Belarus, or in Moscow to the east because of the fog.
While traffic controllers generally have the final word in whether it is safe for a plane to land, they can and do leave it to the pilots' discretion. Air Force Gen. Alexander Alyoshin confirmed that the pilot disregarded instructions to fly to another airfield. The Smolensk airfield is not equipped with an instrument landing system to guide planes to the ground.
"But they continued landing, and it ended, unfortunately, with a tragedy," Alyoshin said. He added that the pilot makes the final decision about whether to land.
The Tu-154 was the workhorse of East Bloc civil aviation in the 1970s and 1980s. Poland has long discussed replacing the planes that carry the country's leaders but said they lacked the funds.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s in the past four decades, including six in the past five years. The Russian carrier Aeroflot recently withdrew its Tu-154 fleet from service, largely because the planes do not meet international noise restrictions and use too much fuel.
The presidential plane was fully overhauled in December, the general director of the Aviakor aviation maintenance plant in Samara, Russia told Rossiya-24. The plant repaired the plane's three engines, retrofitted electronic and navigation equipment and updated the interior, Alexei Gusev said. He said there could be no doubts that the plane was flightworthy.
Kacyznski became president in December 2005 after defeating Tusk in that year's presidential vote.
The nationalist conservative had said he would seek a second term in presidential elections this fall. He was expected to face an uphill struggle against Komorowski, the candidate of Tusk's governing Civic Platform party.
Poland has become a firm U.S. ally in the region since the fall of communism - a stance that crosses party lines.
The European Union member nation of 38 million people sent troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and recently boosted its contingent in Afghanistan to some 2,600 soldiers.
U.S. Patriot missiles are expected to be deployed in Poland this year. That was a Polish condition for a 2008 deal - backed by both Kaczynski and Tusk - to host long-range missile defense interceptors.
The deal, which was struck by the Bush administration, angered Russia and was later reconfigured under President Barack Obama's administration.
Under the Obama plan, Poland would host a different type of missile defense interceptors as part of a more mobile system and at a later date, probably not until 2018.
Written and photos by Associated Press
Poland - An aging Russian airliner carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and members of his country's military, political and church elites crashed in thick fog Saturday as it took them to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the slaughter of thousands of Polish military officers by Soviet secret police.
Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-staff and taped black ribbons in their windows after hearing that the upper echelons of the establishment lay dead in woods a short drive from the site of the Katyn forest massacre, one of Poland's greatest national traumas.
Thousands of people, many in tears, placed candles and flowers at the presidential palace in central Warsaw. Many called the crash Poland's worst disaster since World War II.
Twenty monks rang the Zygmunt bell at Krakow's Wawel Cathedral - the burial spot of Polish kings - a tolling reserved for times of profound importance or grief.
The crash also shocked Russia. Sensing the depth of the tragedy for Poland, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally took charge of the investigation and very quickly and publicly offered condolences, along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"On this difficult day the people of Russia stand with the Polish people," Medvedev said, according to the Kremlin press service.
Chunks of the plane were scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the red and white national colors of Poland stuck up from the smoking debris. Early indications pointed to pilot error in heavy fog as a factor in the crash, officials said.
On board were the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said. Kaczynski's wife, Maria, also died.
"This is unbelievable - this tragic, cursed Katyn," Kaczynski's predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, said on TVN24 television.
It is "a cursed place, horrible symbolism," he said. "It's hard to believe. You get chills down your spine."
The Polish military suffered the deepest losses. Among the dead were the army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, who were all making the emotional trip to honor the Polish officers slain by the NKVD, the acronym for the Soviet secret police at the time of the murders in 1940.
Some on board were relatives of the officers slain in the Katyn massacre. Also among the victims was Anna Walentynowicz, whose firing in August 1980 from the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk sparked a workers' strike that spurred the eventual creation of the Solidarity freedom movement.
"This is a great tragedy, a great shock to us all," former president and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said.
Polish Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, who became acting president, addressed his country on television: "Poland is in mourning, we have suffered a dramatically painful loss."
He said he would announce early elections within 14 days of the president's death, in line with the constitution. The vote must be held within another 60 days.
Russia's Emergency Ministry said there were 97 dead, 88 in the Polish state delegation. Poland's Foreign Ministry said there were 89 people on the passenger list but one had not shown up for the roughly 1 1/2-hour flight from Warsaw's main airport.
Poland called for two minutes of silence across the country Sunday and declared a week of mourning. Medevedev declared Monday a day of mourning in Russia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk flew to Smolensk from Warsaw. The president's twin brother, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, headed to the area in a chartered plane along with relatives, according to his party.
In the village of Gorzno, in northern Poland, the streets were largely empty as people stayed home to watch television.
"It is very symbolic that they were flying to pay homage to so many murdered Poles," said resident Waleria Gess, 73.
The deaths were not expected to directly affect the functioning of Polish government: Poland's president is commander in chief of its armed forces but the position's domestic duties are chiefly symbolic. No top government ministers were aboard the plane.
Polish-Russian relations had been improving recently after being poisoned for decades over the massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers in and around Katyn forest.
Russia never has formally apologized for the murders but Putin's decision to attend a memorial ceremony earlier this week in the forest was seen as a gesture of goodwill toward reconciliation. Kaczynski wasn't invited to that event because Putin, as prime minister, had invited his Polish counterpart, Tusk.
Rossiya-24 showed hundreds of people around the Katyn monument, many holding Polish flags, some weeping.
Kaczynski, 60, was the first serving Polish leader to die since exiled World War II-era leader Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski in a mysterious plane crash off Gibraltar in 1943.
The president was a conservative and a lifelong skeptic of Russia with many detractors at home and abroad. Condolences from world leaders paid tribute to his patriotism and defense of freedom during Communist rule in Poland.
Putin and Medvedev promised Tusk they would work closely with Poland in investigating the crash. Initial signs pointed to an accident, possibly due to the fog that is very common in the area in spring and fall, as well as pilot error.
Both black boxes have been found. Preliminary data indicated that the plane hit the treetops as it was making the approach to the airport in poor visibility, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Marina Gridneva, an official with the Russian general prosecutor's office, as saying.
Andrei Yevseyenkov, spokesman for the Smolensk regional government, said Russian dispatchers had asked the Polish crew to divert from the military airport in North Smolensk and land instead in Minsk, the capital of neighboring Belarus, or in Moscow to the east because of the fog.
While traffic controllers generally have the final word in whether it is safe for a plane to land, they can and do leave it to the pilots' discretion. Air Force Gen. Alexander Alyoshin confirmed that the pilot disregarded instructions to fly to another airfield. The Smolensk airfield is not equipped with an instrument landing system to guide planes to the ground.
"But they continued landing, and it ended, unfortunately, with a tragedy," Alyoshin said. He added that the pilot makes the final decision about whether to land.
The Tu-154 was the workhorse of East Bloc civil aviation in the 1970s and 1980s. Poland has long discussed replacing the planes that carry the country's leaders but said they lacked the funds.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s in the past four decades, including six in the past five years. The Russian carrier Aeroflot recently withdrew its Tu-154 fleet from service, largely because the planes do not meet international noise restrictions and use too much fuel.
The presidential plane was fully overhauled in December, the general director of the Aviakor aviation maintenance plant in Samara, Russia told Rossiya-24. The plant repaired the plane's three engines, retrofitted electronic and navigation equipment and updated the interior, Alexei Gusev said. He said there could be no doubts that the plane was flightworthy.
Kacyznski became president in December 2005 after defeating Tusk in that year's presidential vote.
The nationalist conservative had said he would seek a second term in presidential elections this fall. He was expected to face an uphill struggle against Komorowski, the candidate of Tusk's governing Civic Platform party.
Poland has become a firm U.S. ally in the region since the fall of communism - a stance that crosses party lines.
The European Union member nation of 38 million people sent troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and recently boosted its contingent in Afghanistan to some 2,600 soldiers.
U.S. Patriot missiles are expected to be deployed in Poland this year. That was a Polish condition for a 2008 deal - backed by both Kaczynski and Tusk - to host long-range missile defense interceptors.
The deal, which was struck by the Bush administration, angered Russia and was later reconfigured under President Barack Obama's administration.
Under the Obama plan, Poland would host a different type of missile defense interceptors as part of a more mobile system and at a later date, probably not until 2018.
Written and photos by Associated Press
Training Session Becomes Live Rescue In Tennessee
United States (Tennessee) - It was a final exam beyond anything the instructors could have dreamed up. Firefighters from Virginia Beach and Chesapeake were in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, teaching their last lesson in a five-week course for Memphis-area firefighters on technical rescues -- rescues from tricky spaces or tight situations.
They were wrapping up their final week -- focused on swift-water rescues, as it turns out -- when the call came: A group of firefighters was trapped. Their engine, caught in the heavy flooding that swept through Tennessee that day, had rolled into a ditch and the local fire departments had run out of people to handle calls. Could they -- and their class -- possibly lend a hand?
"It's a terrible way to have a final scenario, but it certainly was a good one," said Macky Tabor, who retired from the Virginia Beach Fire Department last month.
The storms that hit Tennessee and northern Mississippi turned roads and highways into rivers, and brought tornadoes along with flash flooding. Seven were killed in Tennessee and at least three are missing after being swept away by flood waters. Four were killed in northern Mississippi.
In the Memphis area, meteorologists said a levee had been breached along a river to the north of the city, and in some areas, 4 to 5 feet of water had flooded hundreds of homes.
Tabor was part of a group of instructors who had traveled to Tennessee with Spec.Rescue International, a Virginia Beach-based company that provides technical rescue training.
After that first call, the group was asked to assist another group of firefighters, who were trapped on a bridge. From there, they were called to help rescue residents at a nearby naval base. Tabor estimated they helped with 80 to 90 rescues that day.
Along the way, they also got to impart the real-life value of some of those in-class lessons, said Virginia Beach fire Capt. Paul Gleaton. Like, make sure to always hold on to your boat when walking through the flood waters.
"We were walking in knee deep water, next thing I know, I'm in over my head," he said. "That's why you hold onto the boat."
Tabor said it's not the first time he's been asked to help with actual rescue work while teaching a class. Technical rescues require unusual skills that aren't always in high supply. Usually they try to let the local departments handle the rescue and just provide extra assistance, he said -- but this Saturday was out of the ordinary.
"It was just refreshing that all this training was put to good use," Gleaton said.
Written by The Virginian-Pilot
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Firefighter Charged With Manslaughter After Cows Killed Farmer
United Kingdom - A firefighter whose siren started a cattle stampede which killed an elderly farmer has been arrested. The 49-year-old man was held on suspicion of the manslaughter of Harold Lee, 75, police said yesterday. Harold was trampled by his herd of dairy cows last August and died six days later.
His son, Richard, 42, who was moving the cows along a B-road with his father at the time of the tragedy, said the fire engine approached with full lights and sirens on.
The driver turned of f the sirens at his request but became impatient when the cows failed to move quickly and then blasted them back on.
The startled cows turned and stampeded back over Harold, who was at the rear of the herd and had got off his quad bike to calm them.
Harold, who had farmed in Somerset for more than 50 years, suffered horrifying head and chest injuries.
The fireman, who works for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, has been bailed to return for further questioning on Friday.
Last night, Harold's son, Andrew, 47, praised the arrest as a "step towards justice".
He said: "It is very good news and the police have been excellent to us as a family. We have been kept up to date throughout their inquiry."
His son, Richard, 42, who was moving the cows along a B-road with his father at the time of the tragedy, said the fire engine approached with full lights and sirens on.
The driver turned of f the sirens at his request but became impatient when the cows failed to move quickly and then blasted them back on.
The startled cows turned and stampeded back over Harold, who was at the rear of the herd and had got off his quad bike to calm them.
Harold, who had farmed in Somerset for more than 50 years, suffered horrifying head and chest injuries.
The fireman, who works for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, has been bailed to return for further questioning on Friday.
Last night, Harold's son, Andrew, 47, praised the arrest as a "step towards justice".
He said: "It is very good news and the police have been excellent to us as a family. We have been kept up to date throughout their inquiry."
Fire Chief In Deadly Australian Wildfires Resigns
Australia - The fire chief during deadly 2009 wildfires that killed 173 people in southeastern Australia resigned Friday in the wake of criticism that he failed to take an active role in managing the response to the disaster. Russell Rees, chief of Victoria state's Country Fire Authority, had been sharply criticized by the Bushfires Royal Commission, set up to study what went wrong during Australia's worst-ever fires on Feb. 7, 2009. The panel concluded that Rees failed to protect Victorians and was not actively involved in organizing the firefight. "Mr. Rees did not appear to become actively involved in operational issues, even when the disastrous consequences of the fires began to emerge," the commission said in an interim report last August. "There was no one person in charge."
Rees, who had more than a year left in his contract, said he was clearing the way for a new chief to implement changes to the organization.
"I am making the decision to go now so that the future of CFA is assured," Rees told reporters. His resignation is effective in June, at the end of the current fire season.
When asked about his mistakes on the day known as Black Saturday, Rees said those issues were a matter for the commission.
He said a new chief should be involved from the start in implementing any recommendations from the commission's final report, due at the end of July.
"It would be inappropriate for me to stay on and then leave halfway through what I see as being a major change period that will come out of the recommendations at the end of the commission," Rees said.
On Black Saturday, hundreds of fires raged across southeastern Australia as temperatures soared and powerful winds whipped blazes into firestorms. But the scale of the disaster deeply shocked Australia, where hundreds of wildfires scorch vast areas of forest and farmland every summer but rarely cause deaths.
The commission has also found that communications and other failures hampered efforts to fight the fires, and its findings have already prompted changes to laws and new procedures to try to cope with future events.
Written by Associated Press
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