A 23-year-old homeless man swept away by fast-moving storm runoff in the concrete-lined Pacoima Wash was rescued from the flood control channel Tuesday morning, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The man, who was described as “hypothermic and not terribly communicative” after being rescued from 3-foot-deep water moving 8 to 10 mph, had been carried 2.5 miles from San Fernando to Pacoima, said Brian Humphreys, a spokesman for the LAFD. He fell into the water near Foothill Boulevard and was rescued near Laurel Canyon Boulevard.
More than 100 firefighters were deployed in the rescue effort, Humphreys said.
The man was hospitalized in “fair condition for treatment of hypothermia and abrasions to his hands,” according to the LAFD.
Bystanders did the right thing by alerting authorities and staying out of the dangerous water, Humphreys said, adding that “often times people attempt to rescue and they become victims.”
After historic winter storms dumped several feet of snow on California’s mountains in recent weeks, another atmospheric river forecast to hit the state this week has raised significant concern about flooding and structural damage.
Warm rain is expected to fall on top of the state’s near-record snowpack, which can melt the snow too quickly and cause major runoff issues at lower elevations.
On Monday, Jones denied a post-sentence motion filed by defense Attorney Sudhir Raman Patel, of Pottsville, on behalf of former Strong Fire Company Chief Kevin Mains Jr., 45, of Shamokin. Mains pleaded guilty to a felony count of sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit and was sentenced by Jones in January.
Patel argued that Jones considered dismissed charges from this case as well as a second case where the charges were withdrawn. Patel asked for the sentence to be vacated and for Jones to resentence Mains.
Mains, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a retired employee of state corrections, is accused of engaging in intercourse on four different occasions with a 14-year-old female junior firefighter from July through August 2018. Mains was originally charged with five felony counts of statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault by volunteer or employee of a nonprofit and corruption of minors and an indecent assault misdemeanor. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Charges related to a second case were withdrawn. Mains was charged in the second case with misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and open lewdness and a summary count of harassment. He was accused of assaulting a 15-year-old girl in July 2021 while he was free on bail since July 2019.
Citing a state Superior Court decision in the Commonwealth versus Charles Stewart, Patel argued that a sentence cannot be enhanced by anything other than what the defendant pleaded guilty to. During the sentencing hearing in January, Jones said he wondered if Mains had a problem with minors since the original case wasn’t an isolated incident.
Jones said Patel introduced the second case in question as a plea for leniency since the charges were dismissed. Jones said he sentenced Mains within the standard range, which was recommended in the post-sentence investigation.
Patel also said the commonwealth, which was represented by Assistant District Attorney Leslie Bryden, did not oppose a county sentence. Jones said he had the final say.
“The ultimate authority on who gets what is right here,” said Jones, referring to himself.
Jones then denied the motion.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mains was also ordered to pay a $100 fine plus court costs and fees and follow any sex offender requirements from state supervision upon release.
March 7, 2023 After Kansas City Firefighter Dominic Biscari pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter last month, officials said they were seeking termination.
Three people were killed in 2021 when the engine ran a red light.
A Kansas City firefighter who pleaded guilty to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in a 2021 crash in Westport that killed three people wants his job back.
Union officials alleged that the city violated various provisions in its collective bargaining agreement as well as KCFD rules, policies and practices. They said the city did not conduct a disciplinary investigation before it sought to have Biscari terminated.
Kevin Regan, an attorney who represented Biscari in his criminal case, said his client should be reinstated and allowed to return to his job as a firefighter.
“Dominic worked hard to become a community servant and to serve our community as a firefighter,” Regan told The Star. “He earned the right to serve our community. The city is now wrongfully trying to take that right away from him.
“Every night Dominic has been asked to answer the bell for folks in need. He answered the bell. And the city has failed to answer the bell for Dominic and his fellow firefighters and they know it.”
Biscari was driving a Kansas City Fire Department truck on Dec. 15, 2021, when it struck a Honda CRV at the intersection of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard. The force of the crash propelled the vehicles northwest, causing them to hit a pedestrian before slamming into a building.
Jackson County prosecutors said the truck driven by Biscari was going 51 mph in a 35 mph zone and had a red light at the time of the crash.
Michael Elwood and Jennifer San Nicolas, who were in the Honda, and Tami Knight, the pedestrian, were killed. San Nicolas and Elwood worked at the restaurant Ragazza and Knight was a Kansas City Public Schools employee.
Tim Dollar, who represented Elwood’s family, declined to comment.
In their grievance, the union said that on the day of the plea hearing, KCFD released a statement to the news media that it was seeking to terminate Biscari. They said Biscari did not receive a formal letter from fire officials that he had been suspended and faced termination.
Several days after the Feb. 21 hearing, Local 42 president Dan Heizman received an email from Jean Young, an assistant to the fire chief. The email informed the union that Biscari had been suspended without pay as a result of being charged with three felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to the grievance.
By the following Sunday, Feb. 26, Biscari still had not received his suspension and showed up to work for his regular shift. He was told by a fire company officer that he had been suspended without pay and the fire department was moving to have him terminated. Biscari went home.
The union said it would seek to have an arbitrator determine whether Biscari should return to work. They have asked that Biscari be awarded back pay.
After the crash, Regan had said the city can install receivers at intersections to receive signals from fire trucks that prompt the traffic lights to change. He said receivers had not been installed at that intersection.
The city has known for years that the Westport intersection is dangerous, Regan said. The department also failed to provide adequate training to Biscari on driving a pumper truck.
Additionally, Biscari’s attorneys said he was not made aware of a prior complaint about his driving. In September 2021, a medic told supervisors that she feared for her life after being in an ambulance with Biscari as he was speeding.
Several lawsuits were filed in the aftermath of the Westport crash and last month Kansas City agreed to pay more than $1.3 million to family members of the victims.
As a former police officer, Inter City Fire Chief Jeff Jewell has has seen a lot. But nothing could prepare him for what he encountered when he opened the door of his fire station one cold day. hands.
“Not in a million years would you think you’re going to work on your own child,” he told Fox4 reporters.
On that fateful February winter day, that’s exactly what happened.
“The door, the Ring doorbell went off again, and that’s when we heard the suspect tell us she had just shot my son,” Jewell said.
“We went out there and started the process of trying to get him out of the truck and give him CPR,” Jewell explained
Sarah Devera was arrested the next day. She pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“It didn’t help at all. I mean everyone loses on this, her family loses. Nothing is going to bring my son back, and now I’m raising a 5-year-old. So yeah, nobody wins.”
The chief says he misses his smiling son, a veteran and first responder, every day.
President Joe Biden praised firefighters for their dedication and commitment Monday as addressed the IAFF’s 2023 Alfred K. Whitehead Legislative Conference.
“People don’t really appreciate what you do until they need you. They don’t really understand it. And you’re there every single day for families all across the country,” Biden told firefighters.
He was the first sitting president in 25 years to speak with firefighters at their annual legislative conference, IAFF officials noted.
“You’ve had my back, and I’ll have yours,” Biden said as the group applauded.
The president said he understands the challenges they are facing due to climate change.
“…We’re calling on you more and more and more. Extreme heat and drought have turned wildfire season into wildfire years. Cities and towns that never had to confront this before and are now facing it head on. As President, I saw firsthand the devastating wildfires that burned homes and businesses, from New Mexico, Colorado, California, Idaho.I met with firefighters, many of whom are — never trained to fight wildfires, saving lives and risking their own.”
He offered condolences to the family and colleagues of Buffalo Firefighter Jason Arno, killed in a four-alarm fire last week.
“To Jason’s family and to firefighters and families here today and around the country who have lost someone — loved ones and colleagues: We can never thank you enough. We can never repay you…”
He promised that one of his highest priorities is doing what he can to keep them safe.
“Today, emergency response and preparedness standards, including rules on fire brigades, are outdated and incomplete. They don’t address the full range of hazards we face, and they lag behind the latest innovations in protective equipment, industrial standards, and so much more.
That’s why — that’s why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration convened a multiple-agency panel to draft better standards to protect folks like you, to protect all the rest of it — who protect the rest of us. They’re on track to propose an updated rules this fall.”
He also was adamant that he doesn’t accept the the use of cancer-causing items.
“We’re going after toxic exposure to PFAS — so-called “forever chemicals” — that for years have been in your gear, your equipment, your fire supervision [suppression] agents…I signed legislation to fund research aimed at understanding the risk you face from PFAS and how to mitigate it. We banned the Department of Defense from buying gear that contains PFAS as soon as it is — alternative is available. I’m determined — determined — to make sure you have the gear that protects you without making you or your families sick. You deserve it.”
The president updated the firefighters on what’s been happening in Washington.
“And since I spoke at the Summit on Fire Prevention and Control last October, FEMA has funded 400 more firefighting positions, bringing the total to 1,600. Because I know — I know you know that the things that protects firefighters, again — I’ll say it again and again — is more firefighters.”
The first president since Harry Truman to address the fall conference, Biden lauded fire officials for their work to prevent fires which save the lives of citizens and firefighters.
IAFF General President Ed Kelly thanked Biden for his unwavering support.
“You are only person I ever hear saying, ‘The only thing that saves fire fighters is more fire fighters.’ You get us. You have clearly established yourself as the greatest president fire fighters have ever had. You’re making our very dangerous profession as safe as it possibly can be, one decision at a time.”
One person was killed and two others were injured after a small plane crashed into a neighborhood on Long Island.
According to ABC7 New York, the plane crashed near 5th Street and North Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst around 3 p.m. Sunday while on approach to Republic Airport in Farmingdale.
Initial transmissions stated the plane and several boats were on fire and there were multiple patients.
Engines 1-5-1 and 1-5-6 assisted in extinguishing the fire while First Responder 1-5-80 and Ambulance 1-5-8 assisted in treating the two patients who would eventually be transported by Suffolk County Police Department helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center center with severe injuries.
The FAA says the plane took off from Republic Airport around 2:18 p.m. for sightseeing.
A short time later, the pilot issued a mayday signal and said there was smoke in the cockpit.
The aircraft then turned back toward the airport to make an emergency landing, but instead it crashed in the street — approximately 300 feet south of the LIRR tracks.
The East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company Inc. shared images on their Facebook page.
A fired Memphis firefighter will not get his EMT license back, the Tennessee Department of Health ruled Friday.
Robert Long, who lost his license after he failed to aid Tyre Nichols spent four hours outlining to medical officials what happened that January night, ABC 24 reported.
During the virtual hearing, Long blamed police for impeding his efforts to treat Nichols, who later died of his injuries.
Nichols died three days after he was beaten by officers, five of whom have been charged with murder. A third firefighter, a lieutenant, also was terminated. She remained in the apparatus during the incident.
The two EMTs didn’t do an assessment, take vital signs, administer oxygen or place him on a monitor.
Medical authorities have noted that the victim showed “clear signs of distress, such as the inability to remain in a seated posture and laying prone on the ground multiple times.”
Long said he repeatedly tried to place a monitor on Nichols to check his vital signs, including blood pressure, but Nichols would roll away. He interpreted the action as refusing care.
However, he admitted to the board that Nichols never verbally refused treatment.
He continued telling the board officers made it nearly impossible to treat Nichols including an instance where they were “in his face, saying loudly that the patient is not going anywhere and that they are not going to uncuff him, impeding patient care.”
Eventually, Nichols stopped moving and became unresponsive, Long said.
The board voted unanimously to uphold the suspension.
Four children and their father are dead following a Phoenix condo fire.
Firefighters pulled the five victims out the of the burning condo and EMS personnel initiated ALS measures, Fox 10 reported.
Two of the children died not long after arriving at the hospital while the other two died several days later.
The victims were identified as Dov Boyer, 7; Nachman Boyer, 8; Tamar Boyer, 11; and Shevach Boyer, 9. Shimone Boyer, 52, died at the scene.
“It was consistent with mostly, likely some…smoke inhalation and potential burn injuries,” said Capt. Scott Douglas after the fire last week.
Capt. Rob McDade added: “There is no indication, right now, that would point us in the direction that this was purposely set. Fire investigators can tell us at this time they have no yet located any working smoke detectors in the home. This is preliminary, but that is where it seems to be pointing at they were not present or not functioning if they were present.”
