Several Meriden firefighters suffered burns at a house fire Saturday that involved the rescue of an unconscious boy and exploding propane tanks.
The fire could have been worse had it not been for the fast actions of two plumbers who spotted the front porch ablaze, Meriden Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Dunn told Fox61 reporters.
They used tools they had in their vehicle to force their way in, which startled the residents.
“When we first broke in they actually thought we were breaking into the home. They didn’t know the fire was happening,” said Dylan Saradeth.
As a woman and children rushed out of the house, she told them a son was on the third floor.
“At that point, the whole second floor was already encased, full of black smoke. The whole living room, which was a couple of feet away was already halfway on fire,” Saradeth said.
Meriden firefighters didn’t have far to go as the house is located a building away. They used a ground ladder to rescue the boy.
Though some of the firefighters were burned, they didn’t seek treatment immediately, Dunn said.
“There were reports of some explosions possible of some propane tanks. It took off on the first floor and got up on the second floor really quick,” Dunn said.
“They did a great job,” Dunn said of the good Samaritans. “A lot of credit to them for that. And there were reports of a person on the number three floor.”
“The firefighters who were here tonight, they gave it their all. They went above and beyond. They always but I can’t say enough about them tonight,” Dunn added.
Jan. 21—Five people — two adults and three children — were killed in a house fire early Saturday morning in rural west Thurston County, according to a report from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after 6:30 a.m. Saturday, West Thurston Fire and Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a home on fire in the 8800 block of Sherman Valley Road SW, near Capitol Peak in Capitol Forest. They found the home completely engulfed in flames, with five people inside, according to a news release posted on the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
A juvenile who was visiting the home was able to make it out alive, according to the news release, but despite a response from fire departments from throughout Thurston County, the five remaining inside had already died.
Detectives remained on the scene Saturday afternoon to assist West Thurston Fire, Southeast Thurston Fire and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in determining the cause of the fire.
“We are saddened by this loss of life and the impact that this will have on the family members and the community,” Lt. Cameron Simper wrote in the news release. “We will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 3:28 PM.
A fire that erupted inside a Tesla on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts late Thursday took nearly three hours and tens of thousands of gallons of water to put out, according to authorities.
Massachusetts State Police and Wakefield firefighters responded shortly after 10:45 p.m. Thursday to the single-car crash in the northbound lanes of the highway near Exit 59 and found the Tesla wedged into the guardrail in the right breakdown lane, according to a statement from the Wakefield Fire Department.
The 38-year-old driver of the Tesla declined medical attention at the scene of the crash, according to the department.
As the car was being prepared to be removed from the crash scene, the guardrail punctured the undercarriage, causing the lithium-ion batteries in the Tesla to increase in temperature and eventually erupt in flames, the statement said.
Firefighters from Lynnfield, Melrose, Reading and Stoneham were called to help extinguish the fire. Amid stormy weather conditions, crews used “copious amounts of water” to put out the flames, the department noted. A Middleton water tanker assisted as well.
The fire was declared under control and fully extinguished after roughly 2.5 hours. More than 20,000 gallons of water were used, according to the department.
“The crews did a great job, especially in the middle of storm conditions – on a busy highway,” Wakefield Provisional Fire Chief Tom Purcell said in the department’s statement. “All responding mutual aid companies from the surrounding communities that assisted were fantastic and greatly helped the Wakefield Fire Department in controlling the incident.”
A state Department of Fire Services hazmat team responded to the scene, and the Tesla was removed from the scene. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection was also notified, according to the statement.
“As sales of electric and hybrid vehicles increase, the fire service is continuing to modify our tactics to properly respond, protect property and firefighters as well as control these types of fires,” Purcell said.
“Fighting vehicle fires is inherently dangerous. When responding to an electric or hybrid vehicle fire there are additional challenges responding crews must consider,” he added. “Fire companies on the scene of an electrical vehicle fire should expect longer time frames to manage and control EV vehicle fires, ensure that large, continuous, sustainable water supply is established, as well as maintain heightened situational awareness and prepare for secondary fires.”
State Police redirected traffic while the fire was being extinguished, and drivers were diverted to one lane during the ongoing snow storm, the department detailed.
Portage firefighters were assessing a driver in a crashed vehicle stranded on railroad tracks when they heard the whistle of an approaching train.
As the crossing lights flashed, they quickly pulled the driver out of the Jeep just seconds before it was hit, Portage Public Safety officials wrote on its Facebook page.
The driver of the Jeep was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The other driver was not hurt.
Jan. 20, 2023 Lebanon Junction Chief Adam Heath said: “…It’s devastating, you know for us as first responders, as well as the community. It takes a toll on us and them.”
A small town in Kentucky is mourning the loss of a woman and two children who perished in a house fire Thursday.
Eryan Toogood, 27, her daughter, Haisley Heath, 6, and another 6-year-old girl were killed in the fire in Lebanon Junction, according to WLKY.
Authorities have not released the name of one victim as of Friday.
Fire Chief Adam Heath told reporters: “It is a tight-knit community, but it’s devastating, you know for us as first responders, as well as the community, it takes a toll on us and them.”
In a town of around 1700 people, Mayor Larry Dangerfield says it’s not hard to know a face.
“Fortunately enough the town is small enough that you know just about everybody, unfortunately, it hurts everybody,” Dangerfield said.
Ron Siarnicki, center, received the FDSOA Chairman’s Award at the 2023 Annual Health and Safety Conference from Rich Marinucci, left, FDSOA executive director and Eric Valliere, Chair of the FDSOA Board of Directors.
“I’ve reached the point where I’m ready to make a change.”
And, that’s just what Ron Siarnicki will do in December when he steps aside as the executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
“The foundation is solid. I’m proud of the growth,” he said. “It’s been a great journey. I’ve decided the time is right.”
The former Prince George’s County, MD fire chief took the reins of the NFFF in 2001, just months before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Siarnicki headed for New York City where he spent months assisting firefighters and their families. It was an experience he’ll never forget.
He took those valuable lessons learned and used them as he guided the foundation.
The annual National Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service has expanded over the years to include activities for children as well as support sessions specific to people associated with the firefighter, such as spouses, children, fellow firefighters, chiefs and parents.
Siarnicki called the dedication and work of the NFFF staff, survivors and fire service volunteers phenomenal. He’s especially proud of the team effort.
During his tenure, the foundation created the Hal Bruno Camp for children of fallen firefighters as well as a scholarship program.
As the numbers of firefighters who died in the line of duty increased, he was determined to do something. He was not going to sit idly by.
“Preventing the line-of-duty deaths is very important to me,” Siarnicki said.
He spearheaded a session in Tampa where fire service officials from around the country gathered to not only discuss the issue but come up with possible solutions.
During that conference, the 16 Life Safety Initiatives were created as a roadmap for firefighters to reduce the number of fatalities.
Classes promoting the safe practices are taught in fire stations across the nation.
Siarnicki knows the impact a firefighter death can have on a department. That’s why he established a local assistance state team (LAST) comprised of people from each state.
In addition to offering to help plan the funeral, LAST members assist the families in filing the necessary paperwork for benefits.
Siarnicki said it’s been an honor to help the survivors and is confident that the programs he initiated will continue and thrive.
“I loved the interactions and relationships I’ve formed through the years. I’ve met some incredible people along the way,” he said.
He noted that it was important for him to represent the foundation at various conferences and functions.
While he won’t be dashing through airports and keeping suitcases with climate-appropriate clothes at the ready on a regular basis, he won’t be grounded either.
“I’m still going to be involved,” he said, adding that he’s agreed to stay on as a consultant for two years.
As the pace slows down, Siarnicki’s looking forward to spending time on the bay, at the farm, working on his fire trucks and other projects that have been waiting.
Multiple vehicle fires and explosions were reported Thursday afternoon at a “commercial facility” in northwest Dallas, fire officials said.
Around 3:30 p.m., Dallas Fire-Rescue crews responded to multiple 911 calls related to a vehicle fire at a property at the intersection of Manana Drive and North Walton Walker Boulevard, officials said. Multiple people reported that they had seen what looked like a 18-wheeler on fire, and also said the vehicle was in a lot with multiple other buses and semi-trucks.
No one was injured in the fire, Dallas Fire-Rescue said.
Emergency crews also got reports of an explosion in the area, Dallas Fire-Rescue said in a news release.
The blaze had spread to other vehicles in the lot when firefighters arrived at the location, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The explosion is believed to have resulted from Compressed Natural Gas tanks inside the vehicles, Dallas Fire-Rescue said.
Fire crews were still at the scene extinguishing “hot spots” and monitoring the area as of Thursday evening.
“To ensure that enough equipment and personnel were available to mitigate the situation, a one-alarm fire response was immediately dispatched to the location,” said Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman. “While some teams focused their suppression efforts directly on the vehicles involved, others were tasked with spraying water onto the nearby vehicles to keep their CNG tanks cool and protected from exposure.”
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, and no information was available related to how many vehicles were burned.
Three people were killed in the Dec. 15, 2021 crash.
Kansas City will pay more than $1.3 million to family members of victims killed when a fire truck crashed into a vehicle and a building in Westport in December 2021, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
According to the settlement, each family will receive $459,893 from the city plus an additional $80,000 from Farmers Insurance, the private auto insurance provider for Dominic Biscari, the Kansas City firefighter who drove the truck on Dec. 15, 2021.
The Kansas City Fire Department and the city declined to comment on the settlement and cited a pending investigation into the incident.
With lights and sirens flashing, the Pumper 15 driven by Biscari was speeding when it ran a red light and entered the intersection of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard and struck a Honda CRV that night. The force of the crash propelled the vehicles northwest, causing them to hit a pedestrian before slamming into a building.
Jennifer San Nicolas and Michael Elwood, who were in the Honda, and Tami Knight, the pedestrian, were killed. Knight’s boyfriend Alexander Llera was also injured. San Nicolas and Elwood worked together at Ragazza Food & Wine, and Knight was a data analyst with Kansas City Public Schools.
After the crash, the victims’ families, Llera and the owners of the building filed lawsuits against the city and Biscari, which also alleged that he was driving negligently and too fast.
In November, Kansas City’s City Council approved the transfer of $1.8 million from its general fund to help pay for lawsuits.
Earlier that month, Judge Jennifer M. Phillips approved a $32 million arbitration award against Biscari. That included $9 million to Elwood’s parents, $11 million to Knight’s mother, $9 million to San Nicolas’ mother and $2 million to Llera. It also included $1.4 million to the company that owns the destroyed building.
Retired Judge Miles Sweeney, who oversaw arbitration proceedings in October, found Biscari’s driving to be “dangerous and reckless.” A medic had warned the department about Biscari’s driving months before the crash.
A lawsuit filed in November that lists as plaintiffs the victims’ families, Biscari, Llera, the building’s owner and the fire department union claimed the city owes $32.4 million to the families and building owners after withdrawing legal representation for Biscari.
He was originally provided legal representation by the city, but it was later withdrawn. The fire department’s union, International Association of Firefighters Local 42, could not find a previous case in which the city refused or withdrew legal representation for another fire department employee, the lawsuit said.
A case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 28.
All the late nights and endless meetings paid off in a big way this week when the Macon-Bibb Training Academy was dedicated.
Macon-Bibb County Lt. Garin Flanders is proud of the facility and was anxious to show it off, WMAZ reported.
“We are a Class 1 Fire Department and our facilities did not show that,” Mayor Lester Miller said. “Public safety will be our number one priority.”
With the help of firefighters, the mayor rappelled down the tallest side of the building.
The $3.2M facility was paid for with SPLOST money and the general fund..
Three burn rooms are rated up to 1,500 degrees for eight hours, Flanders explained.
There’s an attic simulator and an elevator shaft where crews will train for rescue scenarios.
“Our long-term plan is to make this a regional training facility to where the guys at the Georgia Public Training Center they can come down and train,” Flanders told reporters.
Outside agencies would only have to pay instructors and the fuel that’s used.
