03:31 Still & Box 12015 S Wallace 2.5 story frame, 25×50 heavy fire fl 2 attic. Staging area with exposures to No & So. 311 Alarm with Mayday @ 04011 Ff transported Red Critical condition to Christ & 1 FF Yellow stsble condition to Christ. All companies working Mayday secured. pic.twitter.com/tFx7VUOezh — Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) April 4, 2023 A Chicago firefighter was critically injured along with two other members in a fire early Tuesday in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood, according to reports. The fire broke out near 120th and Wallace streets after 3:30 a.m. o ..read more

According to a report from ABC7, the second of two Stinnett (TX) Fire Department (SFD) firefighters who was hurt in a rollover crash Friday received slightly better news about his neck injury today. Although the SFD initially reported that the firefighter may have suffered two hairline fractures in his neck, they are now saying the injury was actually “severe whiplash.” He is expected to be released from the hospital Monday after consulting with a physical therapist. The crash occurred while the members were responding to a wildfire in the Canadian River bottom FM 2277. The two firefighters we ..read more

FDIC Conference Director Diane Rothschild recently spoke with Battalion Chief Daniel Sheridan, Fire Department of New York, who is keynoting on “The Invisible Hand on the Fireground” at the FDIC 2023 Opening Ceremony Day 1, about the whole FDIC International “experience.” Diane Rothschild: How did you get into instructing in general? Daniel Sheridan: I always was a big proponent of drilling in the firehouse. When I was a firefighter in Squad 41, we drilled daily—sometimes twice a day. That same mentality carried over into all my ranks. (I know some members used to cringe when I was workin ..read more

This month, we dedicate the Mayday Monday to Firefighter Richard Sheltra of the Pineville-Morrow Volunteer Fire Department in Pineville, North Carolina. On April 30, 2015, firefighters were dispatched for fire in a strip mall. Upon arrival, they found smoke inside of a golf store in the strip shopping center. Firefighter Sheltra was the nozzleman on the initial hoseline. As they were attacking the fire, Sheltra began to run low on air. He was instructed to follow the hoseline out. He began to exit but became disoriented in the near-zero visibility and returned to his crew ..read more

According to a report from KSAT, an Arlington, Texas, elementary school student was rescued by firefighters after she became stuck inside a storm drain for more than an hour outside Swift Elementary School at around 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. Arlington Fire Department (AFD) officials said the girl was trying to recover her grandmother’s apron after it blew away and went inside the drain. After she went down inside the drain, she became stuck. The rescue took more than an hour, but AFD firefighters eventually removed the girl from the drain. Arlington EMS then transported her to a local hospit ..read more

Carol Robinson al.com (TNS) Authorities spent Sunday afternoon and evening on the scene of a deadly helicopter crash in northeast Shelby County. Lifesaver 4 out of Sylacauga crashed just before 5:30 p.m. off U.S. 280. Two male crew members were killed. Shelby County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Clay Hammac said the medical helicopter crashed Sunday evening. The Lifesaver helicopter was requested to assist the extraction of a patient who had been hiking in the area and suffered breathing problems and chest pains. Deputies had set up a landing area for the helicopter. At ..read more

Deanese Williams-Harris, Laura Rodríguez Presa, John J. Kim and Rosemary Sobol Chicago Tribune (TNS) CHICAGO — A tornado on a 28-mile rampage with wind gusts from 90-100 miles per hour tore through Belvidere Friday night, officials confirmed Saturday evening. The EF-1 twister left a 50-year-old man dead and 40 other adults injured at the Apollo Theatre, Dan Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management, told the Tribune. Storms Strike AR, IL, IN; Seven Reported Dead Tornado Slams Little Rock, Smashes Rooftops, Flips Vehicles “The weather service did their survey and found the tornad ..read more

Christopher Braunschweig Newton Daily News, Iowa (TNS) Mar. 31—Four residents were rescued from a house fire Thursday night in Newton. The Newton Fire Department announced in a press release that a resident had called 911 saying the house in the 200 block of East Seventh Street South was full of smoke and that they were on the second floor. When the police department arrived on scene there were no occupants of the home outside. Tactical Supervision for Known Rescues Civilian Rescue: The Reason We Exist As soon as firefighters arrived, crews immediately rescued the caller ..read more

Lance Reynolds Boston Herald (TNS) Fire union leaders across Massachusetts are raising the alarm over what they say is a reluctance from municipal officials to adequately fund their departments, risking the safety of firefighters and the communities they serve. Smoke is building in Fairhaven as the fire union in the small South Coast town claims leaders there are threatening to lay off two recently hired firefighters if an upcoming proposition 2.5 override fails. Residents will be asked to vote on a budget for that includes funding for the addition ..read more

Thomas Tracy New York Daily News (TNS) NEW YORK — A New York City Fire Department chief who oversaw a fireboat involved in a fatal East River crash last year has been forced to turn in his retirement papers, court papers reveal. Chief Richard Blatus was FDNY’s acting chief of operations at the time of the June 17, 2022, incident that took the life of Johnny Beernaert, a Belgian firefighter aboard the fireboat Marine 1 Bravo on a tour in the East River. A month after the crash, Blatus was moved to another position. He eventually put in papers for his retirement, which sources said took formal e ..read more