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FDNY Ladder 111 in Brooklyn, NY was invoived in a crash with a Dodge Charger on Tuesday. Ten people including 6 fire fighters were injured. All were transported to a hopsital with non life threatening injuries. See the video above and story from firehouse.com click here. For additional info and pictures at dnainfo.com click here.
FDNY Truck and Van in Fatal Crash: MyFoxNY.com
Albert DeFilippo was seriously injured in March 2011 when the Lifestyles for the Disabled van he was riding in was struck by FDNY Ladder 81 in Staten Island. DeFilippo died from his injuries in August.
Now, SILive.com reports his family is suing Firefighter Michael D. Moyle who was driving Ladder 81, the city, Lifestyles for the Disabled, the van owner and the person who was driving the van.
From SILive.com:
The Ladder Co. 81 truck was rushing along Richmond Road toward the Staten Island Expressway, responding to a call of a vehicular fire. A witness told the Advance its lights were flashing and its siren was wailing.
At the intersection of Burgher Avenue, the ladder truck collided with a Lifestyles for the Disabled van, which was carrying developmentally disabled adults, including DeFilippo.
The van had the green light and was turning left from Burgher onto New Dorp-bound Richmond, said a witness.
The impact killed Eric Perry, 51, a Special Olympian riding in the van, and critically injured DeFilippo and another van passenger, police said. The remaining six van occupants suffered minor injuries, as did six firefighters in the ladder truck, said NYPD and FDNY officials.
While a police spokesman told SILive.com he could not confirm the status of the crash investigation, Ben B. Rubinowitz, a partner in the firm representing the family, told SILive.com the crash was still being looked into.
In April, FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano announced the “Modified Response” program which has been in effect in Queens since October would expand to Staten Island and Brooklyn.
As reported on FireTruckBlog.com:
When responding to some non-life threatening or non-emergency calls, apparatus will not activate lights and sirens, will travel at reduced speeds, and “obey all traffic regulations.” For calls which normally require 5 units, only the first rig will respond in “emergency mode.” The others will follow the “modified response.” The press release states fire officers can change the response mode either based on more information from dispatch or evaluation at the incident.
Only in service four days, FdNy8231 on YouTube, provides a look at the new Ladder 24 in quarters. It's a 2011 Ferrara Rear-Mount Aerial.
Wreckage From 9-11 Attacks Travels to Nixon Library: MyFoxLA.com
Less than a week before the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, steel beams from the World Trade Center and an FDNY fire truck which responded that day made their way to the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.
From the Orange County Register:
The World Trade Center wreckage and the NYPD fire truck (NOTE – The Register also called it a “NYFD ladder truck” in the same article) were escorted from Ontario to Yorba Linda by a procession that included an Orange County Fire Authority helicopter hovering overhead. Its arrival marks the beginning of a weeklong remembrance at the Nixon Library, culminating with a ceremony on Sunday – the actual 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks – featuring remembrances by Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and Joe Torrillo, a FDNY lieutenant who survived the collapse of both towers.
Eric Carpenter's full story and more pictures in the Orange County Register are here, KABC's coverage is here, and MyFoxLA's is here.
Click here if video does not appear
On September 11, 2001, a truck with firefighters from Ladder Company 3 responded to the World Trade Center to evacuate people during the terrorist attacks. Those firefighters died and the rig was crushed when the towers fell. Wednesday, the fire truck returned to the site and was lowered into the 9/11 Memorial.
From the Associated Press:
"It's almost like saying goodbye again," said Carolyn Brown, 47, of Westbury, N.Y., whose brother Patrick "Paddy" Brown led the firefighters of Ladder Company 3 on 9/11. "It's also more closure."
She dabbed her teary eyes with a tissue during the ceremony, and afterward said she hoped that museum visitors who see the truck will be reminded of the sacrifice that her brother and his fellow first responders made.
"They gave their lives for everybody else here," she said, adding that simply seeing the damage to the fire truck would likely elicit a physical reaction. "When they see that, it's going to mean more. They will see it and feel it."
Maureen Dewan-Gilligan, whose 35-year-old brother, Gerard Dewan, was a firefighter with Ladder 3, also hoped visitors to the museum would react viscerally.
"I would like them to remember that the fire engine was crushed in a heartbeat," she said.
Ladder Company 3's firefighters were among a total of 343 members of FDNY who were killed on September 11 and are listed on FDNYLODD.com.
FDNewYork.com has a list of apparatus lost that day here.
The eight-acre 9/11 Memorial will open to the public on September 12, 2011, and the museum is scheduled to open in September, 2012. More information is here.
Coverage of Wednesday's ceremony can be found on the links below:
NBCNewYork.com
CBSNewYork & video from CBSNewYork is here
FoxNews.com
Check out FDNY's new Ferrara above and more of FDNY8231's videos, including other new apparatus and rigs responding to calls, here.
They say you have 2 choices when it comes to media coverage. Either you go to them with the story, or they come to you.
Imagine for a second you are a volunteer fire chief who has use of a district owned late model SUV command vehicle that is marked with your department's name.
A local TV reporter ambushes you as you leave your place of work (about 50 miles from home) and asks what you are doing with the district vehicle so far out of the district.
Gotcha moment. The reporter acts like she has discovered Osama Bin Laden! You are just going about your regular daily routine.
Do you have an answer ready? Is there a good one?
On Long Island, just east of New York City, the overwhelming majority of fire districts (their political body) purchase SUV units for all of their fire chief staff. The chiefs get 100% use of the units for all personal usage, including (at most districts) bringing the vehicle to and from work. Many of the Long Island fire chiefs are also FDNY and NYPD members, and it is a common sight in New York City to see Long Island fire vehicles moving around and parked at various police and fire facilities. It's been that way since the mid 70's.
This week, Fox5, the Fox TV news station in NYC, stunned the fire chief of the Holtsville FD, Joseph Castiglione, as he was leaving work and getting into his chief unit. The chief obviously had no clue he was going to be the subject of a news story. The TV station had followed him into work and had interviewed some local residents who were not in favor of the use of the unit to go to and from work in Manhattan.
In comments posted on the Fox5 website, someone noted that many FDNY staff chiefs are allowed to bring their FDNY department issued vehicles home to Long Island, in order for them to respond during evenings and weekends to emergencies in the city. Is there any reason it is acceptable for FDNY and not for the LI volunteer chiefs?
What about your department? Do you think it is right in this day and age for fire departments to allow the command staff to use units for personal functions?
How would you handle a TV or print reporter asking you these questions? Are you prepared to justify your expenses and usage of department owned vehicles?
Check out the video for very detailed models built by Jerry Edwards and uploaded to YouTube earlier this week. While the video says this display is dedicated to FDNY, there are new and antique apparatus from departments around the country represented.
Did you see this picture in Monday's New York Times? Members of FDNY sat on Ladder 4 in Times Square and watched the news of Osama bin Laden's death on the news ticker. STATter911.com has videos of Ladder 4 in a very crowded Times Square here.
And there's the one below on CharlotteObserver.com from Lincolnton, North Carolina, where a rig displayed the U.S. flag:
A 27-year-old firefighter in East Saint Louis, Illinois, suffered a broken pelvis and internal injuries when he was pinned between a truck and a wall. BND.com reports the incident involving Bobby Cole, Jr. happened last week during a training class. His father says Cole is expected to recover. According to the fire chief, an investigation is underway. BND.com has the full story here.
Click the picture above to watch the video
A Kansas City, Missouri chief was cut from his vehicle after he was involved in crash while responding to a call. KCTV's full story is here.
FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano announced Tuesday the “Modified Response” program which has been in effect in Queens since October will now expand to Staten Island and Brooklyn.
“Firefighters who work in Brooklyn and Staten Island, along with the three million people who reside in those boroughs, will soon benefit from our expansion of this new protocol into their communities,” Commissioner Cassano said in press release. “With accidents down 32% since we began this pilot program six months ago, fewer firefighters and civilians have been injured as a result, even though we’re responding to more non-emergency calls than ever before.”
When responding to some non-life threatening or non-emergency calls, apparatus will not activate lights and sirens, will travel at reduced speeds, and “obey all traffic regulations.” For calls which normally require 5 units, only the first rig will respond in “emergency mode.” The others will follow the “modified response.” The press release states fire officers can change the response mode either based on more information from dispatch or evaluation at the incident.
Read FDNY’s full press release about the specific kind of calls impacted here.
Implementation of the program to Brooklyn and Staten Island comes a month after the deadly collision between Ladder 81 and a van of adults with developmental disabilities. One person in the van died in the crash, and a preliminary investigation the day after the accident concluded the apparatus ran the red light. Ladder 81 was responding to a vehicle fire. Tuesday, officials told SILive.com they didn’t know when the final report would be complete.
More from SILive.com is here.
FireTruckBlog.com’s coverage of the March 9 collision is here and here.
After a preliminary investigation, law enforcement officials told the Wall Street Journal FDNY Ladder 81, which collided with a van Wednesday, ran the red light. A passenger in the van died; others were transported to the hospital.
From the Wall Street Journal:
State law requires fire trucks responding to emergencies to come to a complete stop at red lights and then proceed cautiously after determining the intersection is clear, according to a New York Fire Department spokesman.
A preliminary investigation by the New York Police Department’s Highway Unit indicates that Ladder Engine 81, which had its flashing lights and sirens on, did not stop at the intersection of Richmond Road at Burgher Avenue, law-enforcement officials with knowledge of the incident said.
The rig was responding to a vehicle fire. The van was carrying men with developmental disabilities.
The Wall Street Journal’s full story is here.
One person is dead after FDNY’s Ladder 81 collided with a van around 12:30 this afternoon. It happened at Richmond Road and Burgher Avenue on Staten Island. Ladder 81 was headed to a vehicle fire with people possibly trapped at Major Avenue and Lily Pond Avenue. Eight other people on the van were injured, and, according to the New York Times, one was in critical condition. The six firefighters had minor injuries.
The truck, from Ladder 81, had its lights and sirens on as it traveled down Richmond Road en route to a reported car fire near the Staten Island Expressway, when the van — carrying a driver and eight passengers — made a left turn onto Richmond from Burgher Avenue, FDNY and NYPD officials said in a joint press conference this afternoon at the scene of the crash.
The fire truck slammed into the rear driver side door.
Hospital officials say a person has died and two others were critically injured in an accident in Dongan Hills, Staten Island between a fire truck and a van that was carrying special needs people.
The van is from an agency called Lifestyles for the Disabled that works with developmentally disabled people. Sources said nine people between the ages of 20 to 50 were aboard the van and that all the passengers had special needs.
Six people from the van were taken to Staten Island University Hospital’s north site, where one of them was pronounced dead, according to a SIUH official.
Authorities say one person was ejected from the van, and that the jaws of life were used on at least one victim.
The six firefighters in the truck suffered minor injuries but were able to get out and help the people in the van, according to authorities.
According to WABC’s N.J. Burkett, “Given the number of emergency runs the FDNY makes, these kinds of accidents are highly unusual, just two last year and two the year before.” More from WABC here.
Stuck on a snowy street, an FDNY ambulance gets a push from Ladder 55 … and one firefighter (at 36 seconds) takes a little ride of his own.
The YouTube video above shows a firetruck stuck on a New York City street, and while New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called for an investigation into snow removal response, here are some of the stories of apparatus dealing with the blizzard, its aftermath, and how other jurisdictions came to help:
One headline in the New York Times: “‘It Was Hell’: Dispatchers Tell of Flood of 911 Calls During Storm”
And this in the New York Daily News:
The man called 911 around noon. According to the New York Daily News, his situation wasn’t considered life-threatening, and no unit was sent. The man and the dispatchers kept in touch through the day. At 6 p.m., a neighbor called 911, when his conditioned worsened.
The neighbor dialed 911 again, and at 7 p.m., the 911 dispatcher sent a unit – but the streets were so clogged with snow they didn’t get there right away, sources said.
Instead, the private volunteer Hatzolah ambulance service, which was summoned by another neighbor, arrived to find Grossman unresponsive.
When an Emergency Medical Service crew finally arrived at 7:48 p.m., it pronounced Grossman dead, the sources said.
Read the full story here.
In the video below from MyFoxNY, neighbors talk about how an ambulance couldn’t make it through the snow to help a mother and her newborn. The newborn died. Read the story here.
Crews from central New York were called in to help out. Mark Wilson, a paramedic with Edwards Ambulance, described the conditions to WKTV:
“We had to park on a main drag and walk in a block to get to where the residents were – you’re talking snow up to your knees,” Wilson said. “Carrying all your equipment…to treat a patient.”
An EMT from Avalon, New Jersey, who went to the city to help tells NBC40:
“At one point in time we got jammed up to the point we were on our way to a call we had to respond to a call three blocks away backwards in reverse…there was just nowhere to go the only option drive through park and get stuck or drive in reverse,” explained Seth Schoenfeld, Avalon Rescue Squad EMT.
Click here to see NBC40′s report which includes video the EMTs shot while on calls in New York City.
On CNN’s American Morning, New York City councilman Dan Halloran discusses the question of if sanitation workers slowed down clean up response. At 4:50, he talks about how the fire department and ambulances had trouble getting to calls. Notice the photo behind him of people trying to push an ambulance out of snow.
This is just one of many apparatus stuck in New York during the weekend’s snow storm. According to Staten Island Live, Engine 159 slid into a guardrail and was rescued by a brushfire unit. Engine 167 got stuck in Annadale, as did a unit in New Springville. Members of an EMS unit in Woodrow walked through the snow to get to a 4-year-old who suffered a seizure. Read more here.
Do you have a story, pictures, or video from the storm? Email them to: glenn@sellfiretrucks.com
Fire Truck Overturns:
A Chenoa, Illinois, firefighter was injured when the truck he was in flipped on the way to a fire. Read more from FireCritic.com.
4 New Trucks For New Mexico: The Albuquerque Fire Department has ordered 4 new pumpers from Seagrave. PortCresent.com reports the new pumpers will have a Cummins ISM 500-horsepower engine, a Waterous 2000 GPM pump and 500-gallon water tank. Read more here.
Are Bike Lanes Hampering Firefighting Operations? While FDNY officials say there’s no evidence of any response time concerns, a 25 year veteran of the department tells DNAinfo.com the lanes mean apparatus has to park further from the curb and therefore may not be able to make rescues on top floors. Read more here.
FDNY officials say there are no concerns with new bike lanes on Columbus Ave., but some on the front line disagree.
Leslie Albrecht has the story on DNAinfo.com:
Dan Murphy, a 25-year firefighter with Engine Company 74 at Columbus Avenue and West 83rd Street, said he has “serious concerns” about the lanes, which run from West 96th Street to West 77th Street.
As a result of the street’s redesign, a line of parked cars, a buffer lane and a bike lane now separate fire trucks from the curb. That means firefighters’ aerial ladders might not be able to reach as far as they need to, Murphy said.
“The fire apparatus is basically triple parked,” said Murphy, the Uniformed Firefighters Association Manhattan trustee. “It’ll be harder to reach certain floors. Eventually somebody’s not going to be able to reach a floor because of the position of the rig and someone’s going to get killed. I’m not saying it’s going to happen next week, but it could happen down the line.”
Read the full story here.
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