Elmira New York House Fire - Four Killed In Blaze

ELMIRA, N.Y. (AP) — A fire tore through a home, spewing flames from the windows and killing four children, neighbors said.
The four victims had been pulled from the burning upstate New York home by firefighters and medics but died later.

The blaze swept through the two-story home, on a tidy block in the riverside city of Elmira, south of New York's Finger Lakes near the Pennsylvania border, on Friday night. Fire officials said the building was engulfed in flames when they arrived.

Police didn't immediately release the names and ages of the victims but confirmed on Saturday that children were among them.

Neighbor Glen Bolt told the Elmira Star-Gazette (http://stargaz.tt/1e0Etyc ) that he ran across the street when he saw flames pouring out of the home's windows and front door. He said the children in the home ranged in age from around 5 to 15.

"Me and the neighbor there busted the windows out, hoping the kids would come through that window," said Bolt, 72. "But by that time the smoke had already got them."

Firefighters had the blaze under control fairly quickly, officials said. The victims were found on the second floor in the home, said Mark Cicora, the deputy director of operations for the Chemung County Office of Fire and Emergency Management.

The cause and circumstances of the fire were under investigation.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

USFA: Oregon Firefighter LODD: On-Duty Death 08.25.2013

Contract Firefighter Oscar Montano-Garcia, 50, on August 25, 2013 at 1800hrs., during operations on the Nabob fire in Northern California, succumbed to a medical condition the nature of which is still to be reported. The cause of death remains unknown at this time.

Our condolences to the Montano-Garcia Family & Friends, U.S. Forest Service, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, and to all affected Firefighter Oscar Montano-Garcia's passing. 

     

To date,  77  firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

Four-alarm Fire Destroys Newark NJ Homes 08.26.2013

A four-alarm blaze spread quickly through a series of row houses in Newark's North Ward on Monday afternoon, causing severe damage to two buildings and drawing more than 100 firefighters to the scene, fire officials said.

The fire broke out around 12:30 pm at 215 ½ Garside St. and quickly spread to adjoining multi-family homes. The four-alarm blaze damaged or destroyed four other Garside residences -- 219, 217, 215 and 213 -- before it was brought under control shortly before 3 pm.





Up to 100 firefighters battled a ferocious blaze Monday that gutted three buildings and left more than two dozen people homeless.

A few firefighters were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but there were no other reports of injuries in the four-alarm fire., said Newark Fire Director Fateen Ziyad.

Fire officials estimated 30 to 35 people were displaced as a result of the blaze. The American Red Cross was assisting the victims.

There was no word on the cause of the fire.



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

4-Alarm Fire Rips Through Historic Philadelphia Church

Firefighters fight a four-alarm fire that broke out Sunday afternoon at St. Mary's Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church in East Oak Lane, Philadelphia. No one was injured in the fire.



A four-alarm fire Sunday caused extensive damage to a historic 99-year-old church in Philadelphia. The fire broke out at the Saint Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church on 6629 N 12th Street around 1 p.m. A large portion of the church’s roof collapsed in the blaze. The head of the church says that the fire destroyed millions of dollars in furniture, religious art and icons.





Philadelphia firefighters arrived to heavy smoke showing from the church. Fire officials say they started fighting the fire from inside the building, but when flames became too intense and spread too quickly, they had to get outside.

Fire officials say about 120 firefighters and 133 pieces of apparatus responded to the blaze.

“When we went in our firefighters made the attack. When they saw the fire, the fire was high,” said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Ayers says he called his crews out of the church just moments before the roof collapsed.

The fire was placed under control at 3:19 p.m.

No injuries were reported, Executive Fire Chief Richard Davison said. The fire started after the congregation's morning service. "It was hard for the Fire Department personnel to locate the extent of the fire," Davison said. "It was hiding, but it was traveling as well." By 7 p.m., fire personnel were still on the scene wetting down the hot spots. Chief Davison said that because of the size of the blaze, firefighters remained at the scene overnight to make sure the flames do not reignite.

No injuries were reported, and no word on a cause, the cause of the fire is under investigation.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Northern Michigan Firefighter LODD: On-Duty Death 08.20.2013

Clearwater Twp. Firefighter Dies Of Sudden Illness - Northern Michigan's News Leader

Lieutenant James Fellows, a northern Michigan fire department is remembered after he died Tuesday night, August 20, 2013 at after a routine day at work. Lieutenant Fellows passed away at home from a sudden illness within 24 hours of having responded to a rescue call.It is believed he died from a heart attack.

   

Survived by his wife, Teresa; and three children, Alison, Katelin, and Hunter; two sisters, Debra (Jordan) Bonnell of Shepherd, and Janette (Randy) Nelson of Johannesburg.

    

Our condolences to the Fellows Family & Friends, the Clearwater Township Fire Department, and to all affected Lieutenant James Fellows' passing. 
     

To date, 76 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA: Texas Fire Pump Operator/Engineer LODD: On-Duty Death 08.10.2013

Pump Operator/Engineer Juan Pablo Casanova, 53, on July 16, 2013 at 0800hrs, suffered a heart attack while on duty. Juan Casanova experienced three more heart attacks while in the hospital where he passed away on August 10, 2013.

Our condolences to the Casanova Family & Friends, the Brownsville Fire Department, and to all affected Pump/Engineer Juan Pablo Casanova's passing. 

   
To date, 75 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA: California Fire Captain/Paramedic LODD: On-Duty Death 08.12.2013

Fire Captain/Paramedic Matthew G. McKnight, 51, on August 12, 2013 at 0055hrs, was found unresponsive while on duty at the LAFD Metropolitan Fire Communications Center. Although immediately treated by colleagues who performed CPR, applied a defibrillator and instituted advanced life support measures, Captain McKnight was pronounced deceased at a nearby medical center a short time later. The nature of the fatal injury is yet to be determined.

Our condolences to the McKnight Family & Friends, the Los Angeles Fire Department, and to all affected by Fire Captain/Paramedic Matthew G. McKnight's passing. 

   
To date, 74 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page.



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA: Oregon Wildland Contractor/Firefighter LODD: On-Duty Death 08.10.2013

Firefighter Hall was found unresponsive while supporting a bulldozer crew as it worked to repair an existing fire line on the Grassy Mountain fire. BLM and other firefighters administered CPR until an air ambulance arrived but Hall reportedly died at the scene.
    

Our condolences to the Hall Family & Friends, the BML - Vale District, and to all affected by Wildland Contractor/Firefighter Kevin Hall's passing. 
    
To date, 73 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 



(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA: Oregon Firefighter LODD: On-Duty Death 08.06.2013

Firefighter Jesse Trader, 19, of the Southwest Oregon District - Oregon Department of Forestry on August 6, 2013 at 0720hrs. was returning from the evening shift when the water tender (tanker) he was driving hit an embankment and rolled over on the Bear Camp Road near Soldier Camp.  Firefighters in vehicles driving behind Trader immediately stopped to assist.  An advanced life support ambulance arrived on scene within minutes and life flight was quickly launched; however, all efforts to save Firefighter Trader were unsuccessful.
  
The water tender, owned Ace Earthmoving, was being utilized by County Fire, a private fire suppression company serving the Merlin area and contracted to assist with the Big Windy Complex fire at the time.  
    
An accident investigation team from Josephine County and cooperating law enforcement agencies arrived on scene shortly after the accident and their investigation continues.
    

Our condolences to the Trader Family & Friends, the Southwest Oregon District - Oregon Department of Forestry, and to all affected by Firefighter Jesse Trader's passing. 

To date, 72 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 




(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA: Oregon Wildland Contractor/Firefighter LODD: On-Duty Death 08.01.2013

Wildland Contractor/Firefighter John Hammack, 58, on August 1, 2013 at 0913hrs, was killed by the top portion of a snag that fell and struck him and another firefighter who was injured in the incident. The firefighters were clearing away hazardous trees on a wildfire  in the Mt. Washington Wilderness Area of Oregon. John Hammack was taken to the Redmond Memorial Chapel the following afternoon after a recovery effort by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office who is also conducting an investigation into the death.

Our condolences to the Hammack Family & Friends, the U.S. Forest Service - Deschutes Forest, and to all affected by Wildland Contractor/Firefighter John Hammack's passing. 
  
To date, 71 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2013. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 




(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)