Hey,
It is with great sadness that we advise you that Chief Burton Phelps passed away today from cancer-related illness. As you know may know, Burt was a well known and popular Instructor at the National Fire Academy for several decades. Burt was one of the early "fire command and control" leaders, and there are literally thousands of firefighters from around the country who have him to thank for their knowledge of fire ground operations, through the classes he taught both at the NFA and around the country. 
Burt remained an active Instructor right up until his passing, and before that, he served as an Assistant Chief of Anne Arundel County, MD. HERE is his obituary and arrangement information: http://tinyurl.com/ygqkn4f
RIP Chief Burton Phelps.
Take Care,
BillyG
The Secret List 2-8-10 / 1002 Hours
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

Hey,
An off duty Leavenworth (KS) FD Driver/Operator sustained serious burns while attempting to rescue his 5 year old daughter from their own house fire last night around 1700 hours. The FF was at home and of course was not wearing any PPE. I was personally in Leavenworth last week and FF Mark Jacobson was on the shift that was on duty and present in the program. FF Jacobson's 5 year old Daughter was killed in this tragic fire.
 
Mark's son (13), along with Mark and his wife were transported to the hospital and are recovering. Another daughter (8) escaped with minor injuries and is being cared for by family members. The family was at home at the time of the fire. LFD Driver/Operator Mark Jacobson smelled smoke and investigated. He found an upstairs bedroom charged with smoke and made several attempts to search the room but was unable to find her. The fire at this point had taken off and he continued to search for his child but was unable to. Members of Leavenworth County Fire District # 1 with mutual aid from the City of Leavenworth FD were quickly able to extinguish the fire. After extinguishing the fire they did find Brother Jacobsons daughter in the bedroom.  The home did have working smoke detectors in the hallways but the child's room door was closed when the fire started. Our hearts and deepest prayers go out to the family and the members of both LCFD 1 and especially the LFD during this horrible time.

 
AND IN WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND...On Arrival: Nothing Showing-Final Result-5 Killed
 
Fire Investigators are picking through a Rhode Island house trying to figure out how a sleep over weekend for a group of former star athletes turned into the state’s deadliest fire since The Station nightclub burned in 2003. Among the 5 killed in this fire on Saturday was the Son of an area Fire Chief. While companies initially arrived with nothing showing, upon further investigation there was a fire upstairs that may have been smoldering for hours. There were no smoke detectors upstairs.

State Fire Marshal John E. Chartier said all indications are that the fire Saturday morning that killed four adults and a seven-month-old baby was an accident, but he was awaiting results from the state’s crime lab before saying it for sure. None of the dead was older than 24, a fact that made the loss of life particularly hard for firefighters to take. Investigators found one working smoke alarm in the house, but it was in the basement, where the smoke never reached.

Among those killed in the fire was Nicholas M. Jillson, 24, of North Smithfield. A fifth adult, Neil S. Leardi, 21, of Whitinsville, Mass., got out of the house and called 911. He was hospitalized after the fire. Besides his hockey fame, Jillson was the son of North Smithfield Fire Chief Joel Jillson.
 
The group had apparently been socializing at the house until about 0300 hours when they went to bed. Leardi told investigators he had slept on the first floor, the others on the second. He initially woke up at about 7 a.m. Saturday, but noticed nothing unusual and went back to sleep. He awoke again around noon to see part of the ceiling fall down. Unable to get upstairs to help the others, he called 911. When WFD Firefighters arrived at 1213 hours, there was no smoke or fire visible, no sign that anything was out of the ordinary-initially. But when they tried to go up to the second floor, they were met by a wall of smoke and flames above.

It took about 15 minutes to bring the fire under control, but by then it had been burning for so long that the second floor was severely damaged by fire and full of smoke. One of the adults was found on a floor near a door and another person was half out of bed. The fire appeared to have started in the space between the ceiling of the first floor and the floor of the second story. Our condolences, especially to Chief Jillson and his family, and all affected by this horrible fire.
 
 
SEVERAL FIRE STATION ROOF COLLAPSE INCIDENTS:
There have been several CLOSE CALLS recently, related to fire station roof collapses due to snow buildup. Last week, Pinetop (AZ) Fire Dept. Station 120 had total roof collapse over apparatus bays. This occurred during a snow storm. They had warning signs enabling them to get all personnel and apparatus out safely. We have pictures on our home page.
 
And in Virginia, there was a collapse of the roof over the equipment bay at Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department Station 410. Now, there is a roof problem at a neighboring firehouse. Firefighters report sagging in the roof at Station 408 in Annandale, about three miles south on Columbia Pike.

18 firefighters were in the bunk room of Station 410 when they heard a loud noise coming from the bay area around 0300 Hours. Firefighters discovered the flat roof over all four bay areas collapsed under the weight of this weekend’s heavy snowfall. After the collapse at Station 410,  an alert went out to firefighters to do an evaluation of flat roofs at other fire stations. That’s when sagging was noticed at Station 408 in Annandale.
Dave Statter has excellent coverage HERE: http://tinyurl.com/ygvt7yk
 
 
CT EXPLOSION FIRE RADIO TRAFFIC:
As you know, five workers are dead and two dozen injured following yesterdays explosion at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Conn. HERE is the fire radio traffic:
http://tinyurl.com/ylpsc5d (Part 1 of 2)
http://tinyurl.com/yeacven (Part 2 of 2)
Take Care-BE CAREFUL.
CHECK YOUR SMOKE DETECTORS-PLACE THEM IN AND OUTSIDE OF ROOMS.
BillyG
The Secret List 2-8-10 / 1321 Hours
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

Hey,

Late last night, Columbus Firefighters were operating at a basement fire in a dwelling on the city’s northeast side, when a CFD Lieutenant in the basement collapsed. Firefighters immediately removed the fire officer from the basement and initiated life-saving measures at the scene and was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he is in critical, but stable condition.  

The 60-year-old Lieutenant from Station 16, is a 35-year veteran of the department who suffered cardiac arrest at the fire scene. The Lieutenant’s station was first on the scene of the fire and he was supervising a crew in the basement of the dwelling. One of the members operating at the fire turned around and saw that the Lieutenant had collapsed. We'll post updates on our home page.

Take Care-Be Careful,

BillyG

The Secret List 2-7-10 / 0832 hours

www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

NEW MEXICO EMS HELICOPTER CRASH-3 REPORTED LOST INCLUDING OFF-DUTY FF
The Secret List www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com 
 
A Southwest Medevac (Las Cruces) helicopter participating in a training detail at McGregor Range-Fort Bliss (New Mexico/Texas) crashed and caught fire around 2000 hours last night (Friday).


Initial reports are that all 3 crew members were killed in the Line of Duty including a Captain of the Mesilla (New Mexico) Fire Department, who was fulltime with Southwest Medevac. More details will be posted. As always, our sincere condolences.
 
Take Care-Be Careful,
BillyG
The Secret List 2-6-10 / 0700 hours
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

Hey,
A Duncanville (Alabama) Volunteer Firefighter is in the burn unit following serious injuries he received while operating at a dwelling fire Wednesday night. Firefighter Casey Hinsey, 29, was burned on his hands, arm, neck and face and remains at the UAB Burn Center in Birmingham as of this morning. Smoke was showing when Firefighters entered the house around 1800 (Wednesday night) and it reportedly flashed over while members were operating inside. FF Hinsey became disoriented and had to be pulled out of the house by other firefighters. Updates to follow on our home page.
Take Care-Be Careful,
BillyG
The Secret List 2-5-10 / 0120 Hours
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com