Fountain Hill, PA - A passerby reported smoke from the roof of a dwelling at 500 Norway Place and tried to alert the homeowners but received no answer when they knocked on the door.
Fountain Hill 34 and Eastern Salisbury 20 were dispatched at 19:25 for the dwelling fire. First arriving chief reported a working fire and had Emmaus 7 respond as the FAST company.
Shortly after, the second alarm was transmitted.
Eastern Salisbury Engine 2012 arrived first. They brought in there own water supply from a hydrant at Sioux Street and Forrest Street.
Fountain Hill Ladder 34 positioned in just north of the fire building and went in service with their aerial. They nosed into engine 2012.
Companies found a chimney fire that extended into the walls. Firefighters had the fire knocked down about 30 minutes later.
Shenandoah, PA - A fast moving fire just after 6:00AM killed 4, including 3 children. Firefighters arrived at 117 E. Coal Street to find heavy fire on the first floor of the 2-story middle-of-the-row dwelling. They had reports of people trapped.
A 29 year-old female, Tiffany Matejick-Sanchez and her 10-year old son Christian Sanchez, and two nephews, one ten and the other a seven month-old perished in the first floor. Her other son, Diego Sanchez escaped the blaze and was transported to a hospital in Pottsville with smoke related injuries and burns.
The fire quickly extended beyond the main fire building and spread to 4 other homes.
The fire is under investigation by the state fire marshalls office.
Autopsies are scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Photo courtesy of FRANK ANDRUSCAVAGE of the Republican-Herald Newspaper.
You can see the full article here. More coverage here from WNEP-TV.
Allentown, PA - An Allentown police officer swerved to avoid debris in the roadway and collided with a school bus. The mid-morning accident happened on Hanover Avenue in the area of Nelson Street in the city's east side.
Both drivers and a teacher were injured in the crash. About 12 students were on the bus and were not injured.
There was no word on the condition of the people injured. The air bag was deployed in the police car.
Allentown, PA - Box 3433 was transmitted at 22:37 for a report of a structural fire at Rayco, 560 Union Boulevard. Engines 6 (E5), 13, 9, Truck 2 and Battalion 4 (Wehr) respond on the ticket.
Engine 6 arrives and reports heavy fire showing from a 1-story auto repair shop. Engine 6 positions on the "Bravo" side of the building and stretches one hand line. Truck 2 positions in front of the building and fly the bucket to the roof.
Engine 4 is dispatched as the FAST company on the working fire signal.
The sign on top of the building is well-involved and firefighters work quick to keep the fire from extending into the cockloft. Battalion 4 arrives and transmits the second alarm. The 2nd alarm consists of Engine 14, 10, Car 40, 46 and 48. Truck 1 (E11) is special-called.
Engine 9 brings a water supply and positions behind truck 2 leading off with two hand lines. Engine 6 supplies truck 2 with water. Truck 1 arrives and positions on the "Bravo" side of the building and gets a water supply from Engine 6.
Two hand lines go to the roof and one is on the ground in front of the building. The fire is darkened down in 30 minutes. Companies remained on scene overhauling for an hour.
Allentown, PA - Firefighters were dispatched to box 5161 for the address 1025 S 7th Street around 12:22 for a report of smoke in the apartment building. Battalion 2 (Held), Engines 14, 11, 4 and Truck 2 were dispatched on the full box assignment.
Companies were advised that additional calls received reported the fire to be inside a neighboring apartment house at 1027 S 7th St and the possibility of a person still inside.
Engine 14 arrived on location and reported light smoke showing from the building. Crews stretched an attack line as additional companies went to work searching for a possible victim inside.
Battalion 2 (Held) arrives on scene and signals a working fire. Engine 9 is dispatched as the FAST engine. Engine 4’s crew goes to the roof and stretches an additional attack line and searches the upper floors. Crews made a quick knock on a first floor room and contents fire.
No occupants were found however one small dog was rescued by the Engine 14 crew and turned over to Allentown EMS.
Staff Photographer Dennis Wetherhold Jr. provided the photo and story.
This one caught our attention, especially when firehouses are closing down all around us.
Bethlehem, Scranton, Reading, Philadelphia, New York, Detroit and the list goes on. But in Charlotte, North Carolina, the city built a brand new firehouse in east Charlotte. Just one week after Scranton re-opened shuttered engine 10 after two fires in the neighborhood where the closed firehouse was located.
Charlotte celebrated the opening of engine 42 on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Over 500 people attended the ceremony. "Quicker responses into all the neighborhoods, catch fires when they're smaller, when someone has a heart attack be there to make a difference, that's what it's all about,” said Fire Chief Jon Hannan.
"There are a lot of busy parts of town, but this one is and it just happened to be a point that was distant from all the closest stations with a lot of population, we needed a house here,” said Hannan.
Engine 42 was located in the middle, between engine 15 and 23. Engine 15 responds to over 4,700 calls per year and misses about 1,200 while out on other calls. Engine 23 was running over 7, 500 between two companies.
Battalion 4 was also relocated to the new quarters. During the 30 minute ceremony, Engine 42 already responded to two calls.
"So many things are leaving East Charlotte, so it's always good to see something positive come to East Charlotte,” said Fred Ford, a neighbor.
Charlotte city takes up an area of about 300 square miles and has a population of over 750,000 residents. The fire department consists of 42 engines, 15 ladders, 2 heavy rescue companies, 1 haz-mat company and 1,160 personnel.
It's important to remember what Charlotte Fire Chief Jon Hannan said about quick response times. The faster the firefighters get to a small fire, the better the chances the firefiighters have at saving life and property. It didn't take long for Scranton Mayor Christopher Doherty to figure this out.
After two devastating fires within a week of each other, Scranton residents demanded that engine 10 be re-opened. The city hired back 12 firefighters and opened the fire house, pleasing city residents that they are once again safe.
The story isn't the same for Bethlehem. Mayor John Callahan closed engine 7 on Dewberry Avenue and re-located the engine with engine 5 on Easton Avenue. Engine 7 can remain in-service as long as their is enough staff to man the apparatus. Meaning, there could be times when the company is out-of-service.
The station on Dewberry Avenue is being refurbished to house the Emergency Medical Services ambulances. So it doesn't look like the residents in north Bethlehem will ever get back their quick fire responses anytime soon, unless the . For that matter, please don't hold your breath, because you'll probably never get it back, unless a mansion completely burns to the ground and the city faces a hefty lawsuit. I don't know about you Mayor Callahan, but keeping the Dewberry station open probably would be the least expensive route. But only time will tell.
I would just love to see a city cut back the mayors administrative, parks, public works and other staff and leave alone the firefighters and police officers.
Philadelphia, PA - Just after 6:00PM on Wednesday, this YouTuber caught a duplex on fire. He started shooting in the alley, where heavy fire could be seen at the rear of the house.
The videographer quickly ran around to the front of the house to check to see if anyone was inside. Heavy smoke can be seen pushing from the first floor.
I also noticed in the video at 1:38, a Philadelphia Police cruiser approaching the front of the house, but he slams his brakes on when an engine rounds the corner in front of him. Ladder 15 comes up behind the cruiser, practically pushing him out of the way. The patrol then car has to hurry out of the way as Battalion 10 approaches also. What the patrol car was doing in the fire block and in front of the house while fire apparatus is approaching is beyond me.
The quality of the video isn't the best as it looks like it was shot with cellphone. But it's a pretty cool video of PFD in action.
Below is a video of the fire in the rear after the bulk of the fire was darkened down. Video courtesy of Philly Fire News:
Upper Manhattan, NY - Around 8:00AM, a building collapsed on 3 construction workers demolishing a 2-story warehouse on West 131 Street near Broadway, on the property of Columbia University.
Eyewitness News ABC 7 reports:
One construction worker is dead and two others are recovering after they were trapped in a construction site collapse in Morningside Heights Thursday morning.
"The workers on site had cut a structural beam," said Robert LiMandri, from the Department of Buildings. "After they cut that structural beam, the site became unstable and there was a collapse.
Two of the men were partially pinned, while the third was completely buried. Firefighters worked frantically to free him.
"He was confirmed to be alive, and we were tunneling with tools, and we finally got him out via the tunnel," FDNY Deputy Chief James Nicholas said. "It took about 45 minutes to get the third victim out. It was very difficult and hazardous removal."
That man was one of the ones who survived. Unfortunately, his colleague was not so lucky and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
The site was reportedly slapped with building code violations on March 5, one for not safeguarding the on-site workers. It is one of the many pieces of the investigation being closely scrutinized by the buildings department.
At least a part of those citations were for workers not wearing required harnesses. Eyewitness News is told the problems were fixed and the work was allowed to continue.
A massive and fast-moving fire destroyed two buildings and badly damaged two others in the city's Weston Field area Tuesday night, leaving the neighborhood in a hazy cloud of smoke, chaos and confusion and 19 people without homes.
Scranton and Dunmore firefighters responded to the blaze on Langstaff Place, near Albright Avenue, shortly after 11 p.m. and battled the stubborn flames well after midnight as residents stood in blankets, some in their bare feet and watched as the inferno engulfed the buildings.
Firefighters sprayed surrounding homes and trees, and traversed the roofs of the buildings, scurrying back and forth from the trucks to the fire as a pajama-clad family put out by the flames wheeled a pet bird in its cage down the street. Shortly after it started, large crowds gathered near the fire, and residents were taking pictures and videos with their cellphones until first responders moved them farther from the scene. Many people were shocked and devastated to see the destruction of their neighbor's homes.
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