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Four Firefighters Shot, Two Killed In Webster New York

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Police in Rochester and Webster New York are stating the fire fighters were ambushed in a planned attack. Lt. Mike Chiapperini and Firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka of the Webster Fire Department are confirmed deceased. Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofsetter were injured by the shooter. Two firefighters arrived on scene in an engine, two were volunteers who arrived in private vehicles. The killer is dead. Four homes were burned as well as numerous vehicles. Early reports are the shooter is a parolee who spent 17 years in prison.

Webster, New York’s motto is “Where life is worth living” is a town of 37,000 on the shore of Lake Ontario in Western New York.

Webster Fire Department

ABC 13 Rochester New York.

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Posted by on December 24, 2012 • Filed under: Line of Duty, LODD

LODD, Two Pilots Killed In Tanker Crash In Utah

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AP via Yahoo! News RENO, Nev. (AP) — A firefighting aircraft crashed into rugged terrain near the Utah-Nevada border as it dropped retardant on a 5,000-acre wildfire, killing the two people aboard. The air tanker went down Sunday afternoon in the Hamblin Valley area of western Utah, Bureau of Land Management officials said.
The two pilots were fighting the White Rock Fire, which began burning Friday night after a lightning strike in eastern Nevada. The fire spread across the Utah line Saturday night, but most of the blaze remained in Nevada, about 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

KCSG.com reports  the aircraft pilots were Captain Todd Neal Tompkins, 48 and First Officer Ronnie Edwin Chambless, 40 both of Boise, Idaho, according to the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

The tanker was a P2V-7 contracted by Neptune Aviation in Missoula Montana.

Tanker 11

The downed tanker is believed to be Tanker 11, one of over a half dozen P2V’s in the Neptune fleet. Neptune’s Tanker 10 was retired earlier this Spring when a crack was found on one of the wings.

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Image attribution Ned Harris, Flickr.

Posted by on June 4, 2012 • Filed under: Line of Duty, LODD, Wildland • Tagged:

California Inmate Firefighter Death Determined As Line Of Duty

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Inmate Firefighter Crisanto Leo Lionell’s death Wednesday has been determined to be a Line of Duty Death by the U.S. Fire Administration. USFA’s narrative reads as follows;

Inmate Firefighter Lionell was participating in a training exercise at Camp San Luis when he lost consciousness from a cause still to be determined. Emergency crews treated and then transported Lionell to a local hospital where he  passed away. Incident Location: California National Guard’s Camp San Luis.

This designation was entirely appropriate. Firefighter Lionell made a commitment to train and be a part of the State of California’s wildland firefighting force. As such he understood the dangers and accepted the potential consequences of his decision. He geared up with good intentions and paid the ultimate price. Condolences to the Lionell family.

Posted by on January 6, 2012 • Filed under: Line of Duty

Inmate Firefighter Collapses/Dies On Training Hike in Central California

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Update: Firefighter inmate identified. According to SanLuisObispo.com his name is Crisanto Leo Lionell, age 54.

San Luis Obispo.com An inmate firefighter assigned to Cuesta Fire Camp, located at the California Men’s Colony, died while taking part in a County/Cal Fire training program at Camp San Luis Obispo.Cal Fire Capt. Jane Schmitz said the inmate collapsed while hiking on the military base shortly after 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.
According to Schmitz, the inmate was transported to a local hospital, were he was pronounced dead at 4:42p.m.The California Department of Corrections is reviewing the incident.

Condolences to the family of the inmate. Cal Fire maintains 44 adult inmate fire camps and two juvenile justice camps utilizing the the skills of trained Department of Corrections inmates and California Juvenile Justice System wards of the state.  The program is comprised of over 3,500 inmate firefighters fielding nearly 200 fire crews manning fire lines throughout the state putting life and limb in danger fighting wildland fires. Some go on to become professional firefighters after they serve their time.

Posted by on January 4, 2012 • Filed under: Line of Duty, LODD, Training, Wildland

NFFF Memorial Weekend Video

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Highlight video of NFFF Memorial weekend.

More videos and links at STATer911.

I am sorry I live so far away from the Memorial.

Posted by on October 17, 2011 • Filed under: Line of Duty, LODD

Tragedy In Chicago, Two Firefighters Dead In Building Collapse

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Two Chicago Fire Department firefighters, Edward Stringer and Cory Ankum died in the line of duty today in a building collapse in a warehouse blaze.

ABC News reports;

Two Chicago firefighters were killed and more than a dozen injured Wednesday after they became trapped in a building while battling a warehouse blaze. Rescuers dug frantically to free the two, who were among at least four firefighters trapped inside the building. At least 15 other firefighters were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the deaths just before 11 a.m. Eastern time.

“Without warning the roof collapsed trapping four firefighters,” Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Huff said at a press conference. “Despite our best efforts at the scene and in the hospitals, two firefighters succumbed to their injuries.”

Hoff identified the dead firemen as Edward Stringer and Cory Ankum. Stringer was a 12-year veteran firefighter.
Ankum, a 38-year-old father of three, was a three-year veteran of the Chicago police force when he switched careers and joined the fire department 16 months ago. His youngest child is just one year old.

More coverage at Fire Daily and FireEMSblogs.com.

Condolences to the families of Firefighters Edward Stringer and Cory Ankum. Too close to Christmas and children must be told their fathers are gone. This is the extreme definition of tragedy. R.I.P. Brothers.

 

Posted by on December 22, 2010 • Filed under: Line of Duty, LODD, Uncategorized • Tagged:

Wildland Firefighter Fatalities 2007-2009 (Report)

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Wildfire Today’s Bill Gabbert points us to this report from Dick Mangan of Blackbull Wildfire Services that details wildland fire fatalities between 2007 and 2009.

Mangan’s insights are drawn from data from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Safety and Health Working Team.

Mangan breaks down the dry data from NWCG  and gives us a well detailed narrative with the insights you expect from a 30 year wildland fire veteran.

I was surprised to find that only one (1) firefighter died from a burnover in the past three years.  Aviation related accidents claimed the most lives (16) and heart attacks killed ten wildland firefighters between 2007 and 2009.  Mangan observations and conclusions are notable and very much worth the read.

The 2009 wildland fatalities data from the NWCG”s SHWT can be found here.

Posted by on February 24, 2010 • Filed under: Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Wildland • Tagged: , ,