“Haunted” Suburban Chicago Fire Station to be Featured on A&E This Week

According to a news article in today’s Chicago Southtown Star, Frankfort (IL) fire station 3 on LaGrange Road will be featured on the new A&E program “Paranormal Cops” Tuesday night at 9:30 CT and again at 1:30am.

Read the full story here, including these claims by firefighters:

Shadowy things going in and out of the ambulance…a darkened figure walking in front of a firefighter watching TV one night after the rest had gone to bed…..a tall blue shadow in the hallway….several silhouettes and shadowy figures going by doors or windows and standing over their beds at night.

“I’ve heard they are friendly spirits. I just wish they would do some work around here,” Lt. Kevin Linhart said.

Fire Lt. Kevin Linhart stands in a hallway Friday near where a ghost reportedly was seen at Frankfort Fire Protection District Station 3 in Green Garden Township.
(Matt Marton/SouthtownStar)

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Posted in Chicagoland, In Da House, Just For Fun, WTF?

Tagged frankfort fire, Frankfort Fire Station 3, haunted, Kevin Linhart, paranormal cops

Posted by John Mitchell on February 8, 2010 • Comments

360 Burn Size-up of The Fire Web 2/8/10

Not a great night in Indy…

According to firefighter reports, a man was heating grease on the stove when he decided he needed to go to the store.

Flamage ensued.

Although everyone got out safely, about 20 people were left without homes in the large apartment fire on Indianapolis’ northeast side late Sunday night. More on the story here.

“I don’t know what he was going to eat from that heated grease, but he’s probably a lot safer now then he would have been had he eaten it.” said one bystander.

iPod Charges, Chevy Suburban Crisps

Firefighters are warning drivers to unplug all electrical chargers from their vehicles when they are not running, after a charging iPod reportedly caused a Chevrolet Suburban to burn up last week. Read the full story at PublicOpinionOnline.com

Agreement Disagreement Changes Personnel Exchange Agreement Changing Personnel’s Pension Payout Agreement.

Damn.

Only a couple more months and he might have had it made.

If you missed it the first time around, be sure to catch Dave Statter’s story on Sarasota FL Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbee and what could have been a monetary windfall for him on the shoulders of the taxpayers of Washington D.C.

See how a “Personnel Exchange Agreement” was worked out (before being unworked-out) for the former DC Chief, ironically in charge of Community Outreach. Then, compare that to the treatment given to critically burned DC firefighter Joe Morgan in another story over at STATter911.com.

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Posted in 360 Burn, Fires, News, WTF?

Posted by John Mitchell on February 8, 2010 • Comments

Indoor Video of a Catastrophic Fire Event

I’ve read about and heard from a few firefighters who have told me that they were in a room which flashed.

The mere fact that they are able to relate such an experience is almost always a clear indication that a flashover did not occur. Certainly some type of catastrophic fire event (CFE) took place, but in all likelihood, no one survives a flashover and lives to tell about it.

So what happened?

A trick question that always gets my students is: Does it really matter what type of CFE it truly is?

The answer is hell yes! Why?

If we want our crews to survive, we need to constantly be aware of the what’s going on inside the burning box we’re crawling through. Different CFE’s give different clues as to what will be occurring next. Recognizing these clues will make the difference between crawling out of the structure, or being carried out by your brothers.

In the spirit of training, here is a cool video (from fireman985 over at FireRescue1.com) of a catastrophic fire event taken from five feet outside the door of the room. Watch it closely as it develops, then make your guess as to what type of CFE it may be.

Above all, learn to recognize these clues and keep your brain engaged constantly next time you’re crawling through that burning box.

FlashoverTV is powered by FireRescue1.com

This is a flashover as viewed from 5 ft away from the doorway. The fire was allowed to continue on purpose to achieve the flashover. I captured the footage with my special camera. A secondary smoke explosion in the attic blew two sheets of tin off. I use the footage for training. Hope you can use it for instruction as well.- fireman985

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Posted in Firefighting Operations, Training, Videos, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged backdraft, catastrophic fire event, firerescue1.com, flashover, flashoverTV, smoke explosion

Posted by John Mitchell on February 3, 2010 • Comments

How Many Tasers Are Needed to Squelch an Assistant Chief?

Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief Arrested During Firefighting Operations

Last Sunday, the “leaders” of the Franklin Township Fire Department put on quite a show, causing Pennsylvania State Police to step in, forcing the duo to end their two-act play before their curtain call.

According to a report by James Loewenstein at TheDailyReview.com, the Assistant Chief was not satisfied with the way Monroe Hose Company,led by Fire Chief Paul Bump, was putting out the fire at his house, Assistant Fire Chief Dale Stranger was yelling and shouting at firefighters on the scene and “had to be detained by fire personnel on scene,” Pennsylvania State Trooper Ben Bigus said.

Firefighters just wanted him to calm down or leave, but eventually were forced to summon police so they could continue their suppression activities without the irate interference of this highly-trained professional.

Upon arrival, state troopers ordered Dale Stranger to cease his actions. However, he “again became disorderly and was taken into custody” after two TASERS were used on him, the state police said in their press release.

Donald Stranger, 61, of Monroeton, who is the chief of the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company, was also arrested when he “became disorderly after failing to comply with orders from the state police,” the press release said.

So, the answer is two.

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