Category: Rescue

  • Responders Swarm NY Airport for Emergency Landing

    Responders Swarm NY Airport for Emergency Landing

    Firefighters were filmed restraining a man on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport after an emergency landing caused by a passenger’s suspicious behavior.

    October 10, 2021 – By Elizabeth Keogh – Source New York Daily News

    First responders swarmed LaGuardia Airport on Saturday when a New York-bound flight made an emergency landing over a passenger’s suspicious behavior, officials said.

    American Airlines Flight 4817 from Indianapolis — operated by Republic Airways — landed at LaGuardia just after 3 p.m. after a “security incident,” the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority Police Department said.

    People aboard the craft reported suspicious and erratic behavior from a passenger in the air, said Port Authority spokesman Tom Topousis.

    The pilot then radioed air traffic control to clear the runway for an emergency landing.

    Passengers disembarked the plane by emergency slides onto LaGuardia’s Runway 4 just short of the plane’s intended gate, Topousis and other officials said.

    As the plane was evacuated, firefighters attended to a man facedown on the runway as confused travelers mulled about the tarmac, video shot by a passenger and posted to Twitter shows.

    So the end of our flight got interesting pic.twitter.com/gdJSUUG906— Laura (@lbrgdl) October 9, 2021

    Port Authority officers responded to the airport and cleared the situation. All 78 passengers and four crew members were safely removed from the aircraft, officials said.

    There were no injuries.

    The suspicious passenger was taken into custody and was still being questioned around 6 p.m., authorities said.

    The PAPD is still investigating the incident, officials said.

    ©2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • Two Killed When Plane, Chopper Collide in AZ

    Two Killed When Plane, Chopper Collide in AZ

    Chandler Fire Department crews were on scene after two people were killed when a helicopter and a small plane collided in midair Friday.

    October 02, 2021 – By Helena Wegner – Source The Charlotte Observer

    A midair collision between a helicopter and a plane Friday morning killed two passengers in Arizona, officials said.

    The helicopter plunged to the ground and burst into flames near the Chandler Municipal Airport, KNXV-TV reported.

    “As soon as it hit the ground it almost … it was quick. It was a quick fireball,” student pilot Tyler Detwiler told KNXV-TV after witnessing the crash.

    The other plane landed safely with its two occupants on the runway despite having “damaged landing gear,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

    The collision happened around 7:42 a.m., the FAA said.

    The aircraft involved were a single-engine Piper PA-28 and a Robinson R22 helicopter, the FAA said. Tail numbers won’t be released until they are verified by investigators.

    The plane and helicopter were operated by flight schools, Chandler Fire Department said.

    The helicopter was operated by Quantum Helicopters, and the plane was operated by Flight Operations Academy, fire officials said.

    Additional updates and further investigation will come from the National Transportation Safety Board, FAA said.

    Any witnesses who saw the crash or videotaped it are asked to contact the Chandler Police Department at 480-782-4130.

    ©2021 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • AZ Crew Rescues Man Struck in Storm Drain for Days

    AZ Crew Rescues Man Struck in Storm Drain for Days

    Firefighters rescued a man who said he was stuck in a storm drain for two days after motorists saw him waving his arms from the opening on Thursday.

    October 02, 2021 – By Cliff Pinckard – Source cleveland.com

    GLENDALE, AZ — Firefighters rescued a man from a storm drain next to a road Thursday after motorists saw him waving his arm from the opening.

    post on Facebook from the Glendale Fire Department says motorists who saw the man waving stopped to see if he was OK. The man told them he was stuck in the drain, so they called 911.

    Firefighters opened a manhole near the drain and lowered a ladder. The man was able to climb out to safety.

    The man, who was in his 30s, told firefighters he had been in the drain for two days before he was rescued, according to the Associated Press. He told authorities he got into the storm drain system about two days ago at a park about a mile from where he was found.

    Authorities have been unable to confirm his account.

    The man, whose identity was not released, was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to the fire department.

    ©2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • ‘Suspicious’ Fire Burns Seven Chicago Homes

    ‘Suspicious’ Fire Burns Seven Chicago Homes

    Eight people were displaced when seven occupied homes burned in a “suspicious” fire Thursday in Fuller Park on Chicago’s South Side.

    October 01, 2021 – By Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas – Source Chicago Tribune

    Eight people were displaced and multiple dogs required oxygen when seven occupied homes burned in a “suspicious” fire early Thursday in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood, according to the Fire Department.

    More than 150 firefighters were called to the 4900 block of South Princeton Avenue on the South Side about 3:30 a.m. for an extra-alarm blaze that Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, said was thought to have originated on the rear porch of a vacant 2.5-story building at 4920 S. Princeton Ave.

    For more than two hours they used 45 pieces of equipment to attack the fire, which spread to homes on either side of the vacant building, Langford said in an email.

    “Fire is being investigated as suspicious,” he said. Investigators with the Chicago Police Department’s bombs and arson unit were “working the case along with CFD fire investigation division.”

    There were no firefighter or civilian injuries, Langford said. No working smoke detectors had been located as of Thursday morning.

    ‘The dog woke us up… He’s the hero.’ Puppies rescued after several buildings catch fire in Fuller Park https://t.co/yhVymidlLApic.twitter.com/9AdWsQQzMC— Ashlee Rezin (@Ashlee_Rezin) September 30, 2021

    Of the seven occupied structures, at least four main houses caught fire, as did two coach houses in backyards, fire officials said. The eighth building was the vacant residence where officials believe the fire may have been intentionally set.

    “The cause of this fire is still under investigation,” Langford said.

    Along with eight residents who were unable to stay in their charred homes, at least four puppies also needed oxygen after they were found experiencing difficulty breathing. Fire officials said the pups were pulled from rear coach houses, but did not specify whether they were all rescued from one home or if they lived in separate dwellings.

    Four adult dogs also were rescued, Langford said.

    “The Chicago Fire Department remains committed to keeping Chicagoans, and their canine friends, safe,” Langford said.

    ©2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • Delivery Driver Survives TX Elevator Plunge

    Delivery Driver Survives TX Elevator Plunge

    As a pizza delivery driver took a ride in an elevator, it broke and plunged seven floors down, a Texas restaurant says.

    Finally, after the elevator fell seven floors, its brakes “kicked in” and stopped just 3 feet short of “slamming into the ground floor,” Woody’s Brick Oven Pizza and Grill said on Facebook late Saturday night.

    The delivery driver was in a Raider Park elevator in Lubbock, KLBK reported.

    Following the fall, he called his wife via iPhone FaceTime, and she recorded the call in a video the pizza joint shared to social media.

    Text messages in a “work chat” included in the video show someone telling the delivery man to “stay calm” as several calls were made to 911 and help was on the way.

    “Yeah I heard them knocking but now it’s quiet,” he replied.

    The video of the rescue, which does not have sound, shows a firefighter wedging his hand between the door and the frame before he and another first responder managed to slide the door open.

    The delivery driver was “a little frazzled” following the fall, his employer said, but he was able to safely exit the elevator.

    The man was the pizza shop’s “late night” delivery driver, so Woody’s Brick Oven Pizza and Grill then called it a night.

    power outage in the area, reported 30 minutes after Texas Tech’s football game, may have led to the elevator incident, according to WAFF.

    ©2021 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

    Firefighters rescued a pizza delivery driver who plummeted seven floors in an elevator at Raider Park in Lubbock before the emergency brakes kicked in.

    September 20, 2021 – By Kaitlyn Alanis – Source The Charlotte Observer

  • Military Plane Crashes into TX Neighborhood

    Military Plane Crashes into TX Neighborhood

    Two pilots were seriously injured and multiple houses damaged when a military aircraft crashed into the back yard of a home in Lake Worth on Sunday.Sept. 20, 2021

    September 20, 2021 – By James Hartley, Emily Brindley and Haley Samsel – Source Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Two military pilots were seriously injured when they ejected from their plane before it crashed into the back yard of a home in North Texas during a training exercise Sunday morning.

    No residents in the neighborhood, off Tejas Trail in Lake Worth, were injured, authorities said at a press conference Sunday afternoon. But families were displaced from three homes that had significant damage.

    One of the pilot’s parachutes became tangled in power lines, and the other pilot landed in a nearby neighborhood, authorities said. Both pilots were taken to local hospitals, one in critical condition and the other in serious condition, according to a MedStar official. Two neighbors said they saw one pilot’s flight suit catch fire. The names of the pilots have not been released.

    The Navy jet crashed in a back yard between the 4000 blocks of Tejas Trail and Dakota Trail shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, according to Lake Worth police.

    The neighborhood is near the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, in an area that the military has identified as a potential accident zone, because of its proximity to where planes take off and land, police said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

    The cause of the crash is under investigation.

    A statement on the Chief of Naval Air Training Facebook page said it was a Navy T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft assigned to Training Air Wing 2 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, that crashed in Lake Worth, about two miles north of Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.

    “The two occupants ejected from the aircraft,” the Navy’s statement said. “The instructor pilot is in stable condition; the student naval aviator’s condition is unknown but he is alive and receiving treatment. Both were transported to medical facilities for evaluation.”

    “The pilots were conducting a routine training flight that originated from Corpus Christi International Airport,” the statement said. “The cause of the crash is unknown.”

    The Naval Safety Center will be in charge of the investigation. Officials from the Navy, Air Force and Lockheed Martin responded to the scene along with first responders from Lake Worth and Fort Worth, authorities said.

    The Red Cross is assisting residents who had to be evacuated from their homes, Lake Worth Fire Chief Ryan Arthur said.

    “This incident could have been much worse knowing this plane went down in a residential area here in Lake Worth,” Arthur said.

    Lake Worth first responders have had regular training exercises to practice for the possibility of a plane crash, which is one of their highest priorities for emergency drills because of the area’s “unique position” near the military base, Arthur said. He said this is the first such crash during his time with the department.

    The fire was contained to the plane, but the three homes were damaged by debris from the crash, officials said.

    The accident also caused electrical outages within a two- to three-block radius, and the power may be out for a few days while the wreckage is removed from the area, authorities said.

    Lt. Michelle Tucker, public affairs officer for the Chief of Naval Air Training in Corpus Christi, described the military’s process for evaluating damage and reimbursing homeowners.

    “We have personnel go out to the scene, and they reach out to those individual homeowners directly, and they take care of those things for them, so it should be pretty seamless,” Tucker said. “That process is already in place, between our legal department and then environmental cleanup as well.

    “They’re very, very thorough. They will return the property to as close as pre-crash conditions as possible, maybe even better, hopefully. That’s something that we definitely take very seriously. It’s really hard on homeowners.”

    NEIGHBORS REACT

    By mid-afternoon, authorities still had the crash site off Tejas and Dakota Trails blocked from traffic and media.

    Monica Wilson and her husband live two houses down from where the jet crashed. She had just taken her grandchildren inside from the back yard when she heard the crash.

    “I’m still hearing it now,” she said hours after. “It’s not something that I’ll be able to forget.”

    She said her mind tried to run through different possibilities of what the sound could have been: a car crash, a blown power transformer, two blasts from a short gun. None of those were loud enough to have been the sound, though, she said.

    Then she and her husband saw a pilot coming down with a parachute. His flight suit caught fire when he hit a power line down the road at Olé Donut, she said. Wilson said she saw a Careflight helicopter come into the area.

    Her grandchildren were terrified at the sound, Wilson said, but she was able to calm them down and get them back to their parents’ house.

    The emergency response was startlingly fast, she said. First responders from Lake Worth, Saginaw and Fort Worth were already arriving in the area before she fully understood what happened. They must have been alerted that the aircraft was having problems and mobilized to respond before the crash, she concluded.

    Sitting in a folding Buc-ee’s chair in front of her house next to her sister, Vanessa Morales, Wilson said she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit outside and watch as police and military personnel came and went on the other side of the yellow police tape, bordering the right side of her front yard. But she couldn’t make herself get up and go inside.

    Instead, she took video and photo of what was happening. One video she took after the crash shows plumes of smoke billowing from behind her neighbors’ houses.

    Wilson said it took a couple of hours before she started to process how serious the crash was — and how close it was to her home.

    “Now it’s unnerving to live here,” Wilson said. “Now it’s gonna make me nervous when the planes fly through.”

    Rey Martinez said he’s lived in his home on Dakota Trail for about 17 years. When he heard the loud noises, he stepped outside.

    “When I came out, I saw the smoke, so I followed the smoke and that’s when I saw the plane on fire,” Martinez said.

    He and a neighbor walked toward Olé Donut, the shop at the end of the block, and saw something hanging from the power lines, he said.

    “We saw something hanging and [said], ‘Hey, I think that looks like a parachute or something.’ We went over there, the guy was still on the ground,” Martinez said. “He was on fire.”

    The paramedics showed up quickly, Martinez said, and put out the fire with extinguishers from the donut shop.

    Martinez also saw debris scattered in the neighborhood, including the seat of the plane that the pilot ejected. And just down the street, he saw the house where the plane itself had crashed.

    “It was just a lot of fire,” he said.

    Neighbors near the edge of the boundary also heard the crash.

    Mary Joyner, whose mother lives near the crash site, said they were sitting at the kitchen table when they heard a “ba-boom.” In the same moment, the power went out.

    Joyner said she assumed it was a blown transformer, and was confused when she saw people running down the street toward the source of the noise.

    “That just wasn’t what I would’ve ever thought … an airplane crash would sound like.”

    When she stepped into the front yard, she saw a plume of black smoke and smelled what she described as a metallic smell.

    Joyner said her mother has lived in the house for more than 50 years. It’s the house where Joyner grew up, and over time they’d become accustomed to the daily sound of planes flying overhead.

    But Joyner said she can’t remember another plane crash since she was a child.

    “You live here all your life, you know it can happen, the planes are right here,” Joyner said. “You always have the thought.”

    Down the block, the Cox family said they, too, have gotten used to the air traffic. But when the plane crashed, Aaron Cox and his father Jerry Cox both heard what they described as a dull “pop pop.”

    Aaron Cox said he also felt vibrations in the ground at the same time. And then, all at once, the power cut out.

    Then there was the smell in the air.

    “When you’re starting a grill up and you’ve sprayed the lighter fluid, that’s what it smelled like to me,” Aaron Cox said.

    By about 2 p.m., both the Cox family and Joyner said their power hadn’t been restored. Joyner worried about her mother, who needs electricity for her oxygen machine. Both families said they hadn’t received any notification of when power might return.

    ©2021 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit at star-telegram.com Distributed by Tribune Content Age

  • Man Seriously Injured in OH Home Explosion

    Man Seriously Injured in OH Home Explosion

    Firefighters found a severely burned man with life-threatening injuries lying in the yard after an explosion leveled a Marion home Wednesday night.

    September 16, 2021 – By Cliff Pinckard – Source cleveland.com

    MARION, Ohio — One person was taken to the hospital with severe burns Wednesday night when a house exploded, according to the city’s fire department.

    A news release from the Marion City Fire Department says firefighters arrived at the home on the 800 block of Congress Street to find the injured male lying in the yard with life-threatening injuries. The home had collapsed because of the explosion and fire was threatening nearby homes.

    The victim was taken to OhioHealth Marion General Hospital and was in serious condition Wednesday night.

    Officials do not believe there was anyone else in the home.

    Firefighters were able to control the fire before it spread to other homes. An investigation into the cause of the explosion was underway.

    Marion is located about 120 miles southwest of Cleveland in Marion County.

    ©2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • Off-Duty MO Firefighter Rescues Woman from Fire

    Off-Duty MO Firefighter Rescues Woman from Fire

    A Central Crossing firefighter used a ladder to rescue a trapped woman after his neighbor’s home in Shell Knob went up in flames in a domestic dispute.

    September 15, 2021 = Source Firehouse.com News

    An off-duty firefighter in southwestern Missouri saved a woman’s life when he pulled her from a home that was set on fire during a domestic disturbance.

    The Central Crossing Fire Protection District outlined the details in a Facebook post after the incident in Shell Knob on Tuesday evening.

    According to the post, police had been dispatched to a residence after reports of a domestic dispute when the home was set ablaze by one of the occupants. The Central Crossing firefighter, who lives nearby, and another neighbor used a ladder to rescue a woman who was trapped in an upper bedroom.

    The home suffered extensive damage in the fire, and Central Crossing fire crews spent about 2 1/2 hours extinguishing the flames.

    One of the home’s occupants refused treatment at the scene, while another was flown to a hospital with burn injuries.

  • ID Man Dies in Crash That Topples School Bus

    ID Man Dies in Crash That Topples School Bus

    A pickup driver was killed and several students rushed to a hospital after a horrific crash that overturned a packed school bus in Idaho Falls.

    September 14, 2021 – By Maddie Capron – Source The Charlotte Observer

    A man died and several students were rushed to the hospital Monday after a crash toppled a school bus, Idaho officials said.

    David Eason Thomas Roemer, a 27-year-old from Ammon, died at the scene after his small pickup slammed into the bus, the Post Register reported. More than 40 students were reportedly on board when it overturned from the crash .


    RELATED:


    At least four students were injured and taken to the hospital in an ambulance, according to the Idaho Falls Fire Department. They were in stable condition.

    The bus driver was uninjured, according to the fire department.

    The school bus was on its way to Rocky Mountain Middle School, Bonneville High School and Bonneville Online High School when it overturned, Bonneville Joint School District Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme said in a letter to parents and staff.

    The bus flipped on its side in a field, and the pickup truck crashed near a fence, East Idaho News reported.

    Parents picked up students after they were cleared by medical personnel, Woolstenhulme said.

    Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office officials are investigating the cause of the accident.

    “We are grateful for the cooperation and support of our parents in helping to respond to this situation this morning,” Woolstenhulme said. “While our transportation department has a very safe driving record, accidents can occur. We encourage our community to always drive carefully and to be especially mindful of our school buses.”

    ©2021 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

  • Car Slams into Vacant PA Home, Sparks Fire

    Car Slams into Vacant PA Home, Sparks Fire

    The driver was taken to a hospital after crashing into the vacant Allentown home Monday, causing serious structural damage and sparking a fire.

    September 14, 2021 – By Tony Rhodin – Source The Express-Times

    A driver was taken to an area hospital after crashing a car into a vacant house about 9 p.m. Monday at South Albert Street and East Emmaus Avenue in Allentown, a city fire department official said.

    The driver’s medical condition wasn’t available early Tuesday.

    The Honda Civic with New York plates went onto the front porch and through the front door, causing a fire and serious structural damage, Capt. John Christopher said. Utilities were cut by responding firefighters and they quickly knocked down the fire in the living room area, Christopher said. Both the car and the house were burning at one point, he added.

    The speed of the effort was fortunate because the firefighters had to leave the building after the home’s structural integrity was called into question, Christopher said. City codes personnel placarded the house as not suitable to be lived in, Christopher said.

    No first responders were hurt, Christopher said. The driver was able to get out of the car and was taken to a hospital by city EMS personnel, Christopher added.

    The home was empty because renovations were underway and the residents were living elsewhere, Christopher said.

    A city fire marshal and police are investigating.

    ©2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit lehighvalleylive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.