ANOTHER HASH OIL-RELATED EXPLOSION AND FIRE. FIREFIGHTER SUSTAINS BURNS TO HIS EARS IN ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA EXPLOSION/FIRE AT LARGE CONDO COMPLEX

 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 

ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA

Authorities continue to investigate the cause of a fire Tuesday at a large condominium complex in Rosemead.

As KCAL9’s Brittney Hopper reports, one firefighter sustained burns to his ears but was expected to be OK.

The fire at the building on N. Walnut Grove Avenue was reported just before 4 p.m. and prompted the evacuation of close to 40 nearby units, according to KNX 1070’s Claudia Peschiutta.“It’s kind of a panicky, surreal feeling. Stuff you see in the movies, not right next door,” said Kevin Foxx, a neighbor, who had a deputy knocking on his door, advising him to get out immediately.

Louise Hirabayashi, another neighbor, lives in a unit near the apartment where the fire started and told Hopper she heard glass break, several explosions, and then saw flames coming toward her.

“I felt the ‘Boom.’ I thought it was like an earthquake but then I felt it again and I said, ‘It wasn’t shaking like an earthquake,’ ” Hirabayashi said.

She added: “That’s why I ran out. I called 911 because I saw flames coming out of the windows. I saw all of the glass that was on the walkway and I knew, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve got to get out of here.’ ”

Originally, investigators thought the explosions were pipe bombs but none were found.  What they did find was butane bottles used to make hash oil from marihuana.  These bottles exploded and they originaly thought that they were pipe bombs.

An assistant chief with the Los Angeles County Fire Department told Peschiutta, when firefighters arrived at the complex, they found some items that raised concerns.

“The initial attack crews saw some, what may be, suspicious-type devices,” he said.  Most likely a hash oil lab.

No further information was available.

The family of a man who died in a south side fire in 2013 filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday against Dane County.

 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015  

MADISON, DANE COUNTY, WISCONSIN:
 
The family of a man who died in a south side fire in 2013 filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday against Dane County.Chris Williams died in his Madison apartment on Oct. 16, 2013, when it took three minutes and 48 seconds to dispatch crews to the scene.

An attorney for the Williams family sued in September for access to records related to the fire, including an official complaint by Madison Assistant Fire Chief Lance Langer on the fact that it took nearly 4 minutes to dispatch firefighters to the Riverwood Apartments, where Williams lived.

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges the dispatch of firefighters was delayed, which caused the firefighters to be delayed in responding to help Williams.

“The delay in dispatching firefighters to the fire was a substantial factor in causing Mr. Williams' wrongful death,” the lawsuit says.

Part of the delay was because the dispatcher had to manually override the computer system twice because it tried to assign Monona firefighters to the scene which is on the border between Monona and Madison. After the delay in dispatching, it took an additional ten minutes for the first Madison fire crew to arrive on scene since the closest Madison fire units were dispatched elsewhere at the time of the call. That, too, is well above the national standard for response times.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi has asked municipalities throughout the county to "drop their borders," essentially allowing for the closest units to fires to be sent to fight them.

When firefighters found Williams, he had collapsed at his front door, and it was determined that he died of smoke inhalation.

The Williams family directly names 911 Center Director John DeJung in the lawsuit.

William’s brother, Jim Williams, said the family wants DeJung fired.

“On the news and at the meetings I attended, he sat there and quivered and stuttered and didn’t finish sentences and wouldn’t look people in the eye. And I could tell he was lying. And I know when a person is lying. He was shaking in his own boots,” Jim Williams said.

The family also wants an un-redacted fire reports. Right now, they still have questions about 56 pages.

The Williams family had five months after they sued for access to records in September to decide if it planned to sue the county for negligence related to Williams' death.

News 3 has reported other instances of delayed responses by the Dane County 911 Center, including records that showed more than 5,000 callers who had to wait more than 40 seconds for a dispatcher to answer.

Requests for comment from DeJung, the County Executive’s Office and the Firefighter Chief’s Association have not been returned.

THREE FIREFIGHTERS HURT BATTLING BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS MANSION BLAZE. THE COLD WEATHER, THE SIZE OF THE MANSION AND THE CONSTRUCTION TYPE MADE IT DIFFICULT TO FIGHT THE BLAZE. THE CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF THE FIRE REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 

BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS

Three firefighters were injured yesterday afternoon while battling a three-alarm fire that raced through a sprawling mansion in Brookline, a fire official said.

“The firefighters did a great job under very difficult conditions considering the freezing temperatures, slippery conditions and the thick, heavy smoke they faced upon arrival,” Brookline Fire Department Chief of Operations Robert Ward said. “The fire was moving fast through the third floor and attic area, and the firefighters did a great job to knock it down.”

A resident of the massive 21⁄2 story, 6,300-square-foot colonial manse, built in 1900 and assessed at $3.8 million, reported the fire at 12:04 p.m., Ward said.

One nearby fire hydrant had already been cleared of ice and snow when firefighters arrived on scene, Ward said, but another had to be dug out by first responders, costing crews precious minutes.

Two Brookline firefighters and one member of the Somerville Fire Department suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze, which forced the occupants out into the cold, Ward said.

The size and makeup of the home, Ward said, gave firefighters some trouble.

“What made it difficult was that it was a very well-built home and it had a slate roof, which is not easy to work on — especially in icy conditions,” Ward said.

“Then we had the ceilings, which were lath and plaster, making it very difficult for firefighters to poke through to get to the fire.”

Firefighters from Boston, Cambridge, Newton and Somerville assisted at the scene, Ward said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

FIREFIGHTER CRASHES HIS PICKUP TRUCK INTO WATER TANKER, BOTH HEADED TO HELLAM TWP. FIRE IN PENNSYLVANIA

FEBRUARY 18, 2015

HELLAM TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA

An East Prospect firefighter was injured Tuesday when she crashed into Craley Community Fire Co. water tanker as both were on their way to a Hellam Township fire, police said.

The crash happened about 9 a.m. in the 1200 block of Nursery Road in Lower Windsor Township, near the intersection of Country Club Drive.

The woman was southbound on Nursery Road and apparently lost control of her red pickup truck, which slid sideways into the northbound lane of travel and into the northbound water tanker, according to Lower Windsor Township Police Chief Tim Caldwell.

The tanker struck the passenger side of the pickup, he said, adding the East Prospect firefighter was alone in the pickup.

"Had there been a passenger in there, it would have been really, really bad," Caldwell said.

The water tanker is heavy by itself, plus it was carrying 2,000 gallons of water, the chief said.

Will recover: The East Prospect firefighter suffered moderate injuries, according to Craley Community Fire Chief Jesse Frantz.

"She'll be OK," Frantz said.

The injured firefighter was taken to York Hospital by Canadochly Ambulance, according to Caldwell.

"She was conscious when I was (at the scene), but I wouldn't say she was alert," Caldwell said.

The driver of the water tanker escaped injury, he said.

The tanker itself sustained some damage and was taken to an auto shop for some minor body work, according to Frantz. It was driven from the scene, he said.

The fire: Hellam Township Fire Co. Chief Eric Strittmatter said crews were called to a single-family home in the 6100 block of Mount Pisgah Road about 9:15 a.m.

Someone in the home had discarded hot embers from the home's wood stove outside, but placed them too close to the home, he said.

Flames traveled up the vinyl siding, but the bulk of the fire remained outside the home, according to Strittmatter.

"There was minor extension into a room on the first floor," he said, plus smoke damage throughout the house.

Strittmatter estimated damages at $50,000 but said the residents of the home weren't displaced.

Resident burned: A man who lives there suffered a minor burn in the fire before crews arrived, the station chief said.

The crash involving the water tanker didn't hamper fire-fighting efforts, according to Strittmatter.

"There was plenty of water at the scene," he said.

Assisting Hellam Township firefighters were crews from Wrightsville, Yorkana, Columbia and York Area United, he said. The Mountville Fire Co. in Lancaster County sent an air truck so crews could refill their air tanks.

FIRE TRUCK COLLIDES WITH PICKUP TRUCK DRIVEN BY A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER. THE DRIVER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND SHE MAY BE CITED AS WELL.

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

LOWER WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA

A fire truck responding to a call in York County Tuesday morning was involved in a crash, and slippery road conditions may be to blame, in addition to driver error, going too fast for road conditions, or plain negligence and/or recklessness. 

Officials said the tanker from Craley Community Fire Company was responding to a house fire in Hellam Township when it was struck by a pick-up truck in the 1200 block of Nursery Road in Lower Windsor Township around 9:30 a.m.

Police said the pick-up driver, who is a volunteer firefighter for another department, lost control and slid into the tanker. 

She was taken to York Hospital with serious injuries, police said.

No one in the fire truck was injured. Officials said the pick-up truck driver may be get citations due to the crash.