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

Line-of-duty Death To Rookie Fire Fighter

Rookie firefighter killed by explosion in Ill. fire.Firefighter Brian Carey had been on the job for less than two months

Duty Death: Brian Carey - [Homewood, Illinois]

By Kim Janssen, Rosemary Sobol and Kara Spak
The Chicago Sun-Times

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HOMEWOOD, Ill. — A rookie Homewood firefighter died in a Tuesday night house fire trying to rescue an elderly couple in a Homewood home.

Firefighter Brian Carey had been on the job for less than two months, his father Brian Carey said.

Brian Carey said his son had always wanted to be a firefighter and "was living the dream."

He was hired by Homewood into a full-time position just seven weeks ago, his father said.

"From the time he was a little boy it was his dream to be a fireman," he said.

Carey's family had tried to dissuade him from being a firefighter, and encouraged him to go to college, he said.

But when Carey, who initially trained as an ambulance driver, returned from college, he couldn't be stopped.

"He had that old South Side Irish feeling about a firefighter being a respectable job," his dad said.

Carey trained as a part-time firefighter in Roberts Park and other fire protection districts, and paid his own way through school, his dad said.

He'd also worked part time in Homewood before he was taken on permanently.

"He just loved the job," his dad said. "If there was a fire on a day when he was not working and he missed it, he was upset."

Carey's father said his son did not know that there were oxygen tanks in the home when he was fighting the fire yesterday.

"They exploded and there was a flash, and he was gone instantly," he said.

Former Oak Park Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Duffy is a family friend of the Careys and remembers taking Carey to the fire house as a 5-year-old boy, showing him the fire engines and the pole and telling him war stories.

"He loved it even then," Duffy said. "I just wish I got to hear some of his stories, he was only getting started. He died a firefighter's death, trying to save someone's life."

Wendell Elias, 84, also died at the fire which broke out around 9 p.m. at 17622 Lincoln Ave., Homewood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and a Homewood Fire Department dispatcher. He was in a wheelchair when he was pulled from the home.

His wife escaped the blaze and was taken to a hospital, the fire officials said.

Another firefighter, a woman with the Homewood Fire Department, was listed in stable condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center this morning, a hospital spokesman said.

The elderly man, who was in a wheelchair when found by firefighters, died shortly after he was pulled out of his home, officials said.

Carey, of the 9200 block of South Richmond Street in Evergreen Park, was pronounced dead at 10:03 p.m. at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, according to the medical examiner's office.

Fire officials would not confirm whether the resident and the injured firefighters were burned when oxygen tanks inside the home exploded.

Carey attended Brother Rice High School and graduated from Loras College in Dubuque, his family said.

He's the oldest of four children. His sisters Margaret and Annie and brother Kevin, and his mother Kathleen all also survive him.

The Rescue Attempt

By FireRescue1 Staff

The department said in a press release Wednesday because of the extreme heat and the amount of fire burning inside the house, the sole occupant could not be reached and his body was located after entry could be made.

During the rescue attempt, firefighter paramedics Brian Carey and Karra Kopas were injured. Firefighter Carey succumbed to his injuries and passed away while at the hospital. Firefighter Kopas suffered first and second degree burns and is in stable condition at the University of Chicago Burn Center.

At a press conference, Homewood Fire Chief Grabowski stated that the fire is currently under investigation and no information is currently available regarding its cause or origin of the fire.

"This is the first casualty the Homewood Fire Department has ever Experienced," Chief Grabowski said. "We know that everyone is anxious to get answers about this situation, but, in the short term we may not have those answers."

2 Fire Fighters Die In UK Tackling Blaze

By Jon Reeve
The Daily Echo

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Photo The Daily Echo Firefighters attack flames at the tower.

SOUTHAMPTON, England — Two firefighters have died tackling a blaze at a Southampton block of high rise flats last night. Hampshire Fire and Rescue said that two firefighters had died while tackling the blaze on the seventh floor of Shirley Towers.

Two more firefighters were injured during the fire that broke out just after 8pm yesterday.

They were taken to hospital for treatment for burns to their hands. The cause of the fire is under investigation but not thought to be suspicious.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service did not confirm the tragic news until this morning and said their their thoughts were with the men's families.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer John Bonney said:, "This is an incredibly difficult and sad time for myself and everyone in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

"The two firefighters will be sadly missed and will leave a devastating hole in the Service. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this tragic time and we are giving them all the support we can.

"This is not only a devastating loss to our Service but is a loss to the whole fire service community. "During these incredibly difficult circumstances firefighters at the scene undertook the successful evacuation and rescue of a number of people.

"Their professionalism, under truly difficult conditions, have been admirable and a testament to our Service." A total of 20 fire appliances and supporting vehicles were mobilised to the incident from stations across the county.

"All residents living in the block of flats affected by the fire were successfully rescued or evacuated by the firefighters at the scene. A pregnant woman was among those evacuated from Shirley Towers after the blaze broke out on the seventh floor.

Firefighters took around four hours to tackle the fire, which started in a double-storey two-bedroom maisonette at around 8.10pm.

Some residents living on floors above the fire were evacuated from the 15-storey building. People whose flats are in unaffected parts of the building were told to stay where they were throughout.

Police cordoned off several roads as 20 fire appliances were called to the scene, while ambulances were standing by to treat any casualties.

Firefighters tackled the flames from both inside and outside the tower block, with 36 using breathing apparatus. An aerial ladder, four jets and positive pressure to remove smoke from the building were also used in the operation.

Although people were told to keep their windows closed, many residents could be seen hanging out watching and taking photographs.

Although the pregnant woman was taken to Southampton General Hospital it is understood no residents were hurt in the fire, which police said they were not initially treating as suspicious.

"All persons involved in this incident have been accounted for," said a Hampshire fire service spokesman.

Residents who were not allowed back to their homes were provided with emergency accommodation by Southampton City Council.

Ohio Firefighter Hospitalized

OHIO FIREFIGHTER SHOCKED/BURNED BY ELECTRICAL POWER LINE AT BRUSH FIRE
A Fairfield County Firefighter remains hospitalized today with severe burns after he stepped on a downed power line while fighting a grass fire last night.
Berne Union Township Firefighter Donnie L. Thimmes, 65, is stable and showing good vital signs at Ohio State University Medical Center. FF Thimmes was burned on his lower body, chest, arms and hands when he walked into the downed power line after a tree had knocked down the power line, causing the grass fire

Calgary Goes Without Pay

Here in Calgary we work the 2days, 2nights then 4 off schedule. So that being said last week if my platoon worked Mon, Tues days and Wed, Thurs nights, then this week it would shift over ONE DAY too Tues, Wed days and Thurs, Fri nights. With that being said, for the past MANY years we Calgary firefighters have gotten "predicted" pay at a 84 bi-weekly pay cheque no matter what platoon your on. That way it just evens out in the end, everyone's happy because it’s simple to budget and most of all its... FAIR!

Well Wendy, on April 8th, 2010 the City of Firefighters will not be receiving a pay cheque. The City of Calgary has decided in a 89% vote to make us go to "Actual" pay. As for me, dipping into savings won't be much of an issue. But its people like our rookie who is married, with a small child. I don't think I have ever seen a grown man be as upset as is.

He moved out here from another province, jumped through hoop after hoop after hoop. Gone through one of the hardest Pre-Employment training camps (CFD Boot Camp) and here he is going pay-less. Just thought I would share your storey with him. I do love CFD and my job.

Reply from a poster:

I know the province announced 15,000 lay offs this weekend. The provincial websites say that due to the 2009 budget, very limited hiring will take place. I am guessing that means trouble for the municipalities as well.

However, I don’t understand why there is simply no cheque. Are they trying to retroactively take back whatever might have been the overpayment? I would understand if they simply said that starting April 8^th they were going to pay for actual hours worked, but this is odd.

I am sorry for your friend. Calgary recruits have had a hard enough time trying to live on what they were getting in a very expensive city. I feel very badly for all those affected.

Excerpt from the "Recruit Fire Fighter Services" Newsletter

Gunman may have hostages in Edmonton building

An armed man is believed to be holding hostages in the Workers' Compensation Board building in downtown Edmonton, police say.

A board spokesman confirmed the hostage taker is a disgruntled workers' compensation claimant.

An employee who was evacuated from the third floor of the building told CBC News reporter Trish Estabrooks that as many as nine hostages were being held on the eighth floor.

"At 8:42 this morning, we received a call that a man with a rifle had walked into the Worker's Compensation [building]," said Edmonton police spokesman Jeff Wuite.

"We, of course, responded immediately. Our officers are currently speaking with the man who is inside. We do believe he may have several hostages.

"We have tactical officers on scene, as well as our negotiation team and they [will] attempt to bring this to a peaceful conclusion," Wuite said.

One employee who got out of the building told CBC News reporter David Gerow that a tall bald man entered the building with a gun, and one shot was fired, but no one was injured.

Wuite said he did not have a firm idea of the number of hostages. Nor would he confirm reports that a shot was fired.

About 700 people work in the building, and many of them streamed out to call friends and relatives to tell them they were OK.

When asked if the gunman had a grievance, Wuite said, "At this point, we're still trying to determine any motives behind this situation."

How To Spot A Fake Police Officer

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/10/16/11429371.html

Police are warning Calgarians after two incidents where a crime was committed by someone impersonating a police officer.