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Six Kansas City MO brothers murdered on the job 23 years ago today. Videos re-live the nightmare.
On Nov. 29, 1988, at 3:40am, the Kansas City (Mo.) Fire Department received an alarm for a vehicle fire at a highway construction project.
Pumper Company 41 arrived on scene 6 minutes later and found two separate fires, prompting them to send for a second pumper company, while they extinguished the truck fire. The second company, Pumper 30, was advised of possible explosives and arrived on the scene of two trailers on fire six minutes later. Pumper 41 finished extinguishing their vehicle fire and met up with Pumper 41 to assist. Neither company knew was that the burning trailers contained approximately 50,000 lbs. of a highly volatile ammonium nitrate/fuel oil mixture.
Sixteen minutes later, it happened.
A massive explosion occurred, instantly killing all six firefighters on scene. A battalion chief and driver who were about a quarter-mile away sustained minor injuries when the windshield in their vehicle was blown in. The explosion shattered windows within a 10-mile area and could be heard 40 miles away. A second explosion occurred about 40 minutes later, although fire crews were staged at a safe distance at this time.
Repeated radio calls to the two companies went unanswered. Due to the darkness, firefighters were forced to wait until daybreak to in order to safely venture into the area and search for their missing brothers. What they eventually found were the incinerated remains of both companies and a massive crater.
Arson was immediately suspected. The tragedy set off a far-reaching investigation into who started the fires that ultimately led to the fatal explosion. However, it was not until 1996 that a grand jury issued indictments for five people: Darlene Edwards, Richard Brown, Earl Sheppard, Bryan Sheppard and George Frank Sheppard. All five were convicted of aiding and abetting the arson that caused the deaths of the firefighters, a capital offense. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The story takes another turn.
In 2008, The Kansas City Star reported that 15 witnesses in the case were allegedly pressured to lie during the defendants’ trials, prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the case. Defense attorneys claimed they were never given a one-page police report that could have helped the defendants during their trial 12 years prior. They said the report could have been used to implicate other suspects in the case, namely two security guards who were on duty the night of the explosion.
The investigation is still underway.
A video tribute to the men and the incident:
Rest in Eternal Peace Our Brothers:
Capts. Gerald C. Halloran, 57, and James H. Kilventon Jr., 54,
and firefighters Thomas McKarnin, 42, Thomas M. Fry, 41, Michael R. Oldham, 32, and Luther E. Hurd, 31.
News Coverage as the situation developed:
Posted in In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, Videos
Timely Monday Morning Training
“One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six who jumped in the rear, we need massive EMS here.”
Most of you reading this have already probably heard the sad news on the passing of FDNY Brother Joey DiBernardo, one of six forced to jump 4 stories rather than be burnt alive back in January of 2005 in what has come to be known as “Black Sunday.”
Of the six, Lieutenant John G. Bellew and Lieutenant Curtis Meyran succumbed to their injuries that day. Firefighters Jeffrey Cool, Eugene Stolowski, and Brendan Cawley survived their jumps along with Lieutenant DiBernardo with massive physical injuries as well as haunting emotional trauma which remains to this day.
This morning an email from www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com (Home of the Secret List) is making its way to thousands of Brothers and Sisters, imploring all of us to take a few short moments to fully understand what has happened and who we have just lost. Along with Chief Goldfeder and the others at Firefighter Close Calls, I want to make sure everyone gets this important message as we prepare to lay our Brother to rest tomorrow.
Please ensure these videos are seen by all your companies, either at roll call, or shortly thereafter. If you are on a volunteer department, please forward this information to all your contacts immediately.
For further enlightenment, utilize the NIOSH report and encourage discussion among your crews. As usual, Command Safety lays out all the information you need to make the training useable, understandable, and accessible.
Here are the links:
Message from Firefighter Close Calls
Video about Brother Joey DiBernardo
Video about the Black Sunday Fire.
Command Safety’s Comprehensive Look at the Incident
God Bless you, Joey. May he keep you in His tender care.
Ohio Voters Deal Right-Wing Extremist Koch Brothers a Humiliating Blow
After watching the Koch-funded farce in Wisconsin earlier this year, Ohio voters screamed “hell no” against their statehouse Republican’s attack to limit collective bargaining abilities of 350,000 unionized workers. The vote is a solid rejection of the nationwide attempt by the infamous Koch Brothers (not of Ohio) to bust unions.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Ohio voters rejected Issue 2, an effort to turn back the Senate Bill 5, the bargaining law that would have dealt a blow to government employees including firefighters.
Republican Gov. John Kasich has made SB 5 the centerpiece of his administration, but nearly one third of Republicans polled stood up and said that this bill goes too far. This isn’t about partisan ideology. The battle here isn’t Republicans versus Democrats. This is about a large swath of our society that has been squeezed in a vice of greed.
We Are Ohio, the union-backed coalition opposing the law, had significant leads in both fundraising and polls heading into Election Day, building off anger over the bill that prompted days of Statehouse protests earlier this year.
Just more proof that the voice of the people is worth far more than the millions of dollars pumped in by outside extremists.
Congratulations, Ohio. You showed them!
Stay stoked!
-J
Posted in News
This is only a test. Right? Right.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and some other guy
Unless, by some horrific coincidence, something really bad happens at the same time. Then we're screwed,
Wednesday at 2pm ET, in partnership with the FCC and local and national broadcasters, FEMA is participating in a national test of the Emergency Alert System. This will be the first nationwide test and will involve broadcast radio and television stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services and wireline video service providers across all states and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.
The test will not involve other communication devices such as the Internet, LAN and mobile telephones. No other communications networks or devices will be impacted by the test, meaning that people will be able to continue use their cell phones, the internet and other communications channels during the test. There will be no disruption of those services.
Here’s the rub: some TV stations across the country may not have the ability to change the text seen on screens within their viewing area to read “This is only a test”. They will only have a voice saying it’s just a test. This is a limitation of the old system. Sight- and hearing-impaired citizens may be alarmed by what they may think is an actual emergency.
FEMA and the FCC are actively developing a new system which would address this and other issues, including those which may affect disabled people.
FEMA is trying to spread the word to those persons who may be alarmed by what they may think is an actual emergency. If you know anyone who may be affected by this limitation, please let them know that this is only a test.
As the nationwide test takes place, this is an excellent opportunity to take a quick look at your personal disaster plan. What actions would you take in the event of a true emergency? Are you prepared to move quickly with the items you’ll need should you be directed to do so? Alternatively, are you prepared to shelter in place (SIP) for a period of 3-6 days? What items would you really wish you had that you could lay hands on now BEFORE the event?
Check out www.Ready.gov for useful information on how to ready yourself and your family (not ‘if’ but) when the next emergency surprises you!
So don't worry when the test occurs. It should be only about 30 seconds, then Maury will be right back with the DNA findings and lie detector results…
Posted in News, Pub Ed, Technology & Communications, Videos
If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding.
I read an article by an old acquaintance the other day. I don't want to identify the author because this is not about the "who", but the "what." What a concept.
Here's an excerpt:
“There was a code that said that the coach was always right and you NEVER questioned a coach’s decision in regards to you. Like it or not, you had to respect it. It was not an option! Sound familiar? It should!”
“I came up in the fire service at a time when we did what our instructors told us to do. We learned very quickly that questioning the instructor was not the same as asking questions. The smart ones knew it. Questioning the “whys” had its consequences. We didn’t have time to break into focus groups to discuss our feelings. You were told how to do it, shown how to do it and then, you DID it!”
Sit down youngsters, and let Grandpa John tell you a story.
It’s a story about growth, maturity, change, and ego. It’s about the people we trust as fire service leaders to give us the best damn knowledge available for new kids entering the service. It’s about accepting change. It’s about recognizing that times just ain't like they used to be in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s about not who you are.
It’s not all about you.
Once upon a time long, long ago in my basic firefighter education, our instructors were often looked up to and held in reverence as they expounded their thoughts and ideas to eager young ears. I had some kick-ass instructors for which much of that tribute was earned. Of course, there were the others who were teaching for other reasons. But we always took what we were told as good information without thinking for ourselves if something didn’t make sense. We did as we were told and we never asked any questions. We ate our meat or we couldn’t have any pudding.
Here's an example of something I always found hard to swallow: Always fight a fire from the unburned side. That way you push it back in on itself and extinguish it without creating further damage.
Sound familiar? That’s what we were told, so that’s what we did.
After awhile however, there were a few who began to question this edict handed down from above. These brave souls raised their hands and asked “why?” If the circumstances involving ventilation, fire behavior and building construction dictate that it may be better to fight it FROM THE BURNED SIDE, then why are we being told the opposite?
WTF?
How dare these impetuous little rookies pose the question? How dare they pose ANY question? Don’t they know who I am?
The fact is, these “impudent pukes” who had previously and erroneously defined as disrespectful have actually become the moving force within the new leadership of the fire service. There’s good REASON for this: These are the new leaders who are no longer cultivated by their last name or years on the job, but rather by their inherent ability to lead and their ability to recognize and address EVOLVING KNOWLEDGE in the fire service.
Dinosaurs often forget that the fire service is dynamic (in constant motion). Tactics and strategies are constantly developing- many out of close calls and lessons learned after following old principles which may no longer apply.
One need only look as far as the gargantuan aircraft carrier-type shift in the fire department culture seen in Charleston, South Carolina. Following the tragedy at the Charleston Sofa Superstore Fire four years ago, they recognized and admitted that their own policies and procedures which had been unchanged and steeped in history no longer applied as they had for decades in the past. To say that they are a changed department today is a massive understatement.
If we do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. These old beasts do their dear fire service a great injustice by sticking to their guns on old tried-and-true methods when challenged with facts, and science, and actual accounts which clearly suggest otherwise.
In fact, new students entering into the fire service deserve leadership willing to accept these brave questions without feeling their fragile egos are being attacked. In other words, don’t take it personally when you are asked “why?”
The true leaders in today’s fire service do not adorn themselves with a crown of closed-minded glory. They are open to new ideas and new concepts which they feel is their DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to pass on to the new generation of firefighters, both for practical use and as an EXAMPLE of how you perpetuate a dynamic and growing fire service.
The true value of any “experienced” fire service leader can only be found in those unthwarted by the recalcitrance of a barricaded mind which can only find comfort wrapped in the chains of their unyielding personal history.
Ask questions, demand answers, adapt to change, and pass it on.
Or die off and become an oil field.
Stay stoked!
-J
Posted in Change, Leadership, Training, Training & Development, WTF?
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