Jan. 26, 2023 FDNY crews found 19 children, five adults and a teen in the modified house.
By Emma Seiwell, Thomas Tracy, Elizabeth Keogh Source New York Daily News (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Queens daycare where 18 children were injured after a fire broke out due to a faulty lithium-ion battery was unlicensed and running out of a basement, the Daily News has learned.
The fire started in the basement of the two-story home on 72nd Drive near 147th St. in Kew Gardens Hills around 2:05 p.m., FDNY officials said.
Both the daycare and a dentist lab were operating in the basement, which had been converted without a Department of Buildings work permit, the DOB said.
The blaze spread through the cellar of the single-family home when a charging e-bike exploded, sources said.
When firefighters arrived, five adults, one teenager and 19 children ranging from 16 months to 5-years-old were inside, the sources added.
A 16-month-old toddler was critically injured in the fire. The other kids did not require treatment, FDNY officials and sources said.
The injured buy suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit Thursday, sources said.
The childcare center is unlicensed, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services told The News.
“The agency is conducting a thorough review to determine if it was, in fact, operating illegally,” an OCFS spokesperson said in a statement.
A childcare license is required by the state if a person or program is caring for more than two children who are not related to them, away from the child’s home and on a regular basis for three or more hours per day.
Officials are still investigating whether the 18 children in the house were related to the home owner operating the daycare.
The DOB issued the owner two violations for illegal construction work to the basement and for operating businesses out of the space. City records had listed the basement as a storage area, the agency said.
A neighbor who has lived on the block for about over a decade said he spotted parents dropping their kids off at the childcare center every morning.
“I’m pretty upset that they’d be running that kind of thing,” said Benny Taubenfeld. “I mean, it could have been a lot worse than it was. I hope the one child will be okay.”
Jan. 26—EDEN — Firefighters remain at the scene of a massive fire that broke out at the former Spray Cotton Mill Wednesday night.
The fire engulfed structures at the historic mill shortly before 11 p.m., according to dispatches from Rockingham County emergency responders.
Cranes from fire engines could be seen in silhouette against raging orange flames as tankers rushed to the scene.
And firefighters, unable to access some portions of the fire with trucks, battled it on foot with hoses, according to radio dispatches.
Local firefighters called on any and every firefighter from Rockingham County to come to their aid as the blaze raged through at least one multi-story brick structure of the mill complex at 413 Church Street in Eden.
The mill, which consists of four buildings that total 200,000 square feet combined, sits along the Smith River in the historic Spray community of Eden.
It closed in 2015 after operating for 105 years due to fierce competition from cheaper yarn makers overseas.
It was unclear exactly how many of the mill’s structures were ablaze late Wednesday night and the cause of the fire was still under investigation, authorities said.
By midnight, the fire had torched nearby trees and burned its way to the riverbanks, according to eyewitnesses.
In recent years, parts of the buildings, erected in 1896, 1898, 1967 and 1994, have been renovated and converted to offices and apartments. The buildings cover seven acres.
When you have an emergency and call 9-1-1, you figure a crew aboard a fire engine will soon be at your door to help.
But, that’s not always the case in Buffalo, according to an Investigative Post probe.
Firefighters told journalists that some engines failed to pump at working fires while others have broken down while responding to a call.
IAFF Local 228 President Vincent Ventresca said incidents during the recent blizzard which included rigs with no heat pushed the dilapidated fleet front and center.
“If the public knew the real condition of our gear and our working conditions, they would be appalled — and they would be terrified,” Ventresca wrote in an open letter two weeks ago.
He told reporters that some of the city’s ladder trucks were damaged in the storm. One doesn’t have a working pump while the other has a mechanical problem caused the ladder to be stuck in the air for five days during the blizzard.
Ventresca said he’s worried something similar could happen at the scene of an emergency which would endanger both firefighters and citizens.
A couple of issues that Investigative Post jornalists found include:
Ladder Company 14’s 12-year-old truck has a cracked frame.
Ladder Company 15’s rig is a 13-year-old Spartan Crimson with a 100-foot, rear-mounted ladder. It has long been jury-rigged with a desk chair for a rear passenger seat.
A quarter the fleet — seven of 28 vehicles — is older than recommended industry standards. Another 13 are within two to three years of that mark
.Many trucks are plagued by serious issues — cracked frames, unreliable pumps, engine problems — and have trouble generating firefighting foam.Three of the department’s pumper trucks have trouble blowing heat, which means windows caked with ice in winter weather.
Over the last 12 years, the city has invested a quarter of what it would take to keep the fleet up to date, as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.
The residential high-rise in Kenwood where an extra alarm fire occurred Wednesday morning, killing one person, has a history of code violations and building inspection failures, city records show. It’s been cited for fire-related code violations at least 11 times since October 2021, according to Department of Buildings records.
The Chicago Fire Department said it took 300 firefighters and over 80 pieces of equipment to put out the blaze at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave. after they had responded to reports of smoke in the high-rise shortly after 10 a.m. Flames engulfed a unit on the 15th floor of the building and spread vertically to upper floors, officials said.
One person died, and six other people were transported to hospitals in good condition, according to officials. Another person was taken to a hospital in serious-to-critical condition and a firefighter suffered an orthopedic injury, according to fire officials and Ald. Sophia King, in whose 4th Ward the building is located. Over 30 building residents refused treatment.
“They did an outstanding job because that fire did not go horizontally,” Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “They did everything they could to put that fire out and they were here for a long time doing it.”
According to Department of Building records, the 25-story building, which was built in 1970, was informed at least four times in 2022 to “provide for an annual fire alarm/voice communication system test,” after failing building inspections. Other citations referred to missing fire tags on doors and a defective fire pump.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said that, as far as the department knows, “both of those systems,” the communications system and the fire pump, “worked well today.” Firefighters used the building’s communication system to alert residents to the fire. Most residents were able to remain in their units safely until the fire was put out, King said.
Only 267 of the building’s 298 units were occupied at the time of the fire, Nance-Holt said.
In 2022, city records show that the high-rise failed multiple inspections, including one conducted by the Fire Prevention Bureau on Dec. 1, 2022, when the building was cited for issues in its fire system.
Violations from Nov. 7, 2022 — which included violations for missing interior trash door tags, for the exterior masonry and for failing to file the required high-rise exterior wall report — were referred to the Department of Law, which filed an enforcement action in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The case is scheduled to be heard Feb. 2.
On Oct. 27, 2021, the inspection required the building to repair and maintain the automatic sprinkler system.
“The Department of Buildings (DOB) takes public safety and quality of life issues very seriously,” according to an emailed statement by a DOB spokesman. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the resident who passed away, the residents and firefighter that sustained injuries, and all those impacted by today’s tragic fire at 4850 S. Lake Park Avenue.”
At 1 p.m. Wednesday, countless emergency vehicles lined up on South Lake Park Avenue and alarms faintly blared from the building as smoke continued to billow. Approximately 10 floors were visibly affected, and debris occasionally fell. Firefighters could be seen from below working the scene.
King hugged Jauntanne Mayes as she cried after finding out the person who died in Wednesday’s high-rise fire in the Kenwood neighborhood was her close family friend, a retired schoolteacher who Mayes remembered as “sweet,” “fun-loving” and “very generous.”
Mayes said she learned of the fire from the Citizen app and went to the building to check on her family friend because she couldn’t get down the stairs by herself. But she wasn’t allowed to go in, so she left, only to learn from the news that an elderly woman had died from smoke inhalation on the 15th floor. At that point, she’d been trying to call her family friend to no avail.
”She will be missed by a lot of people, anybody that knew her,” Mayes said. “She’d tell you like it is, but it was all done in love.”
On Wednesday afternoon, displaced residents — which included residents from the east side of the building — were on the second floor with the Red Cross, which was working with them to find a temporary place, King told the Tribune. The Salvation Army provided residents with hot chicken biscuit sandwich meals, as well as emotional and spiritual support.
Nance-Holt said at the news conference that fire officials didn’t know whether smoke detectors went off. The smoke detectors in the units are battery-operated, whereas the ones in the hallways are hardwired, she said. Langford told the Tribune the person from the building who called 911 did not get alerted by a fire alarm, but by the smoke.
Nance-Holt was unable to confirm whether the sprinkler system was activated.
Fire officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire. DOB inspectors were on the scene Wednesday and will work with the Fire Department in its investigation and assessment of the damage.
Chicago Tribune’s Richard Requena and Deanese Williams-Harris contributed.
An Ohio firefighter injured in a crash last year has died.
Kevin Dailey was a member of Middleport and Richland Township fire departments.
On Sept. 18, Daily was driving a fire truck returning from a call when it veered off the road and rolled over the side of the hill. He was ejected and his leg was pinned under the rig, according to WTAP.
Firefighters used airbags to lift it and pull Dailey out.
It’s not just a blanket. It’s a special one that’s now carried on vehicles in Shelby Township fire trucks.
“These were bought specifically to help us in the event of an electric vehicle fire,” Lt. Robert Muylaert, Shelby Township Fire told reporters. .
“It can take four to five hours to extinguish a battery fire and after that, once it gets to a tow yard, they have had those fires reignite – even two to three days afterward,” Muylaert said.
Thanks to a grant obtained by Macomb County Emergency Management, the blankets were purchased, he added.
“It has Nomex in there, the same type of thing our fire gear is made of,” he said. “(It can) withstand temperatures over 2,000 degrees to help suppress the flames.”
It smothers the fire, cutting off the oxygen, and making sure the fire stays out.
A fire blanket is a one-time use deal – meaning they will cover the vehicle on fire and leave it that way even after it’s towed away to a salvage yard, to prevent it from reigniting.
Not only does the blanket save time, it saves water as well.
When Wake County firefighters respond into unincorporated areas and ones without hydrants, additional tankers and engines are automatically dispatched. On Monday night, a single fire department wasn’t dispatched to handle a house fire where a couple perished. Additional units were dispatched to help thanks to a new policy passed last summer, WRAL reported. “Multiple Raleigh stations were dispatched, along with tanker trucks from the county and an engine company from Wake New Hope,” said Darrell Alford, Wake County Director of Fire and Emergency Services. The rapid response was needed, as the closest hydrant in the neighborhood was 400 feet away, he explained. George and Diana Rizk died in the fire, which remains under investigation. County officials have approved zoning permits in areas where there are no hydrants, Alford said adding that his office reviews roads to make sure they are wide enough for engines to pass in opposite directions.
By Deanese Williams-Harris, Adriana Pérez Source Chicago Tribune (TNS) Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.
One person is dead and several victims were injured Wednesday in an extra-alarm fire at a high-rise building in the Kenwood neighborhood that burned through several floors of the building and sent debris flying to the ground.
Chicago firefighters responded to a call shortly after 10:15 a.m. Wednesday of a fire at the high-rise building at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave. At 12:38 p.m., fire officials said the fire was struck out but ambulances were still on scene.
According to city department of building records, the building has been cited for fire-related code violations at least 11 times since October 2021, including citations for missing fire tags on doors and a defective fire pump. The building failed multiple building inspections in 2022.
During the last inspection on Dec. 1, 2022, inspectors noted the building must “provide for an annual fire alarm/voice communication system test.” This note was made at least four times during inspections in 2022.
Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said at a media briefing that one person had died.
Ald. Sophia King, 4th, who told the Tribune the victim was a woman, expressed gratitude for the first responders who showed up.
”We’ve got community members who’ve come together. The owners of the multiplex around the corner have opened up their facility for anybody who’s been displaced, so I feel good about that…But it’s tragic that somebody has lost their life. Make sure to check your fire detectors, smoke alarms, double-check things,” King said.
Several other people were transported to area hospitals, a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson said.
Firefighters were told the fire was on the 18th floor, but later officials said the blaze was on the 15th, 16th and 17th floors.
Initially, more than six ambulances were deployed to the building but that was later updated to 12.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, building residents were inside, safe and contained.
”My heart goes out to the family of the victim who succumbed to the fire,” King said.
Tony Weems, who said he used to live in the building, had come over to pick up some mail when he saw the emergency vehicles lining the street. He looked over at the building, pointing to the apartments that were burnt.
“I used to live on the 21st floor on this side,” he said. His mother currently lives in the building, but she was at work when the fire started, he said.
Kids may not pay close attention to what their parents or teachers say, but that’s not the case when the one giving the life-saving lesson has four legs.
Molly, the well-known Dalmatian with painted nails, traveled 25,000 miles annually with her human partner, Dayna Hilton, to teach fire safety to children.
Although she crossed the Rainbow bridge last month, her legacy will continue through videos and other promotions. Her valuable safety messages were shared as far away as Russia.
“She just loved children,” Hilton said. “She just had a gift that started when she was about nine weeks old.”
Molly, who sported a fire helmet and scarf, showed the children how to drop low and crawl to escape smoke.
Hilton, a volunteer firefighter in Arkansas, made fire prevention her mission in 1999 when she learned that her state was ranked fourth for home fire-related deaths.
“That was unacceptable,” she said.
Not long after she hit the road with Sparkles, her first fire safety companion, Hilton got a call from a principal in Tulsa. “She shared with me that two children from separate families knew what to do in an actual fire-related situation. One of the girls was able to help with getting her dad outside. She told him he had to get down and crawl like Sparkles does.”
Hearing that so many years ago, solidified her passion for fire safety education. She knows they were getting the message across.
In addition to crawling low, Molly would start out covered up in a little bed. When the smoke alarm sounded, she’d jump out and crawl out of the room. She was taught to go to a predetermined meeting area.
Other talents included closing the door and using her nose to test a smoke detector.
But, she wasn’t limited to just hanging out with children either.
She threw out first pitches at baseball games, visited fire museums around the country and hung around with children outside a science center in Canada.
“She just loved to perform and be around people. She loved everyone.”
During their first live television show, Molly leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek, something Hilton said she wasn’t expecting.
“We’re big fans of Chicago Fire, and they let us not only hang out at the station where it’s filmed, but we Skyped from there.”
She is featured on the back cover of Anthony Rubio’s coffee table book, Canine Couture.
Molly took every opportunity to promote fire safety education and was selected to be the official ambassador for the Superpower Dogs, an IMAX film.
“She had such an impact on so many people.”
Molly died of copper storage disease just a little over a week shy of teaching a virtual class in Idaho, which would have been her swan song – teaching in all 50 states.
“Her little brother, Boden, and I joined the children in Idaho earlier this month. He will continue to carry on the message as we have some videos planned.
Hilton says she’ll continue with the work. But, her traveling days are over.
“I really miss Molly,” she said. “We went everywhere together. I just loved her…”
