Fire truck roll over, working fire, a strange rescue, some rope and a vibrator

Where else, other than Ironfiremen.com can you find a title like that? LMAO Ok, first off, let me update ya on the roll over accident involving Bedford Engine 1 yesterday. The accident happened as the Engine was responding to a brush fire on Peaks Road. There were 4 members on board and all were transported to local hospitals (at least 1 was air lifted). Initial reports were of 2 members having  serious injuries. The good news is that none of the injuries sustained were serious and all 4 members were released from the hospital by late yesterday evening. Bedford’s Engine 1 is a 2007 Seagrave Marauder II.  Rhett broke the story yesterday over on FireCritic.com  you can read his post HERE . Read some local news coverage HERE and HERE.

Find Bedford Fire Department’s Web Page HERE or on Face Book HERE

Yesterday was a busy day in “The Noke” as well.

This picture is from Ladder 7 as they are responding in with smoke showing.

The fire was located in the 2500 block of Johnson Ave.

It was actually a storage building / warehouse for CMC Supply (plumbing supplies).

Members arrived to find heavy fire and smoke conditions. Damages are estimated at $300,000.00 and was the result of arson.

This is not the first time Roanoke’s bravest have battled a fire at CMC.

Back in the mid to early 90’s it took multiple alarms and a Department call back to control a blaze at this same location.

The buildings were (and are) full of plumbing supplies… PVC’s, plastics etc.

Yesterday’s fire occurred on B-shift and took the Brothers and Sisters only a few hours to control.

Members broke shift and remained on scene for days following the fire back in the 90’s.

No injuries were reported and by all appearances, the Brothers and Sisters of B-Shift put in some solid work.

One juvenile has been charge with arson while charges are pending on two others.

Find local news coverage HERE

 (more pictures in the link above)

For some odd reason, it seems as if arson is on the rise in Roanoke lately.

Earlier in the week, Roanoke Police arrested a man for  ransacking a local Church. 21 year old Nathaniel Alan Lutz has been charged with breaking and entering as well as arson. It’s reported that several items inside had been set on fire. Church members became aware of the break in the following morning and called police. The fires had apparently burned themselves out and the Fire Department did not respond. Read some local coverage HERE .

Here’s a pretty cool video for all our animal lovers out there ( Smurf should REALLY love this one). One of my readers, Pat sent it in for us to take a look at. The video was loaded to YouTube by Jack Hillmann. His description says that while driving, he hit 2 falcons. One was killed and the other trapped under his vehicle. Apparently, Jack stopped at a local firehouse for assistance. I can see “Moline Fire Department” on the side of the rig and will assume it’s Moline IL. If you guys know who these Brothers are, please let me know so I can give them credit. I’m sure their efforts made a lasting and positive impression on Mr Hillmann … a positive public image. WELL DONE Brothers!

Speaking of positive publicity, my last post, “Pride .. Going the extra mile and making a kid smile” has received a fair amount of attention.

Apparently, you guys jumped into action and the cards etc have been rolling in to make little Nathan Norman’s Christmas wish come true.

Nathan is 6yrs old and lives in Rustburg, Va. He is battling terminal cancer and had a special request / wish for Christmas. He’s a huge fan of Firefighters, Police, EMS, and Hospital workers. He wanted (hoped) to receive some Christmas cards / pictures from those of us serving in those positions. Rhett and I sent a shirt, Challenge Coin and card …. apparently a lot of you did as well!  THANKS!  Here’s a post / update his mom recently posted to Face Book …

“We want to once again just thank everyone for your love and support!!!!! There have been so many cards/gifts/emails/visits from police, fire, ems, border patrol, secret service, etc from all over the country. The entire family is so grateful and humbled by the response of everyone. Just to update: Nathan is still on chemotherapy for hopefully up to 18 months. He is doing well on the chemo and as of last month the tumors were stable (cancer was there just not growing). He is still fighting strong while we pray for a cure!”

Follow Nathan’s Christmas: The Page on Face Book. Click HERE

Another previous post of mine has drawn a lot of attention as well. If you missed “New Firefighting technique developed in Wytheville, Va?” you need to take a minute and read it.  Be sure to also read the article from SW Va Today as well …. you’ll LOVE the quotes from Chief King and it’s also what prompted me to write the post (find that article HERE). I did a follow up on the original post and that article can be found HERE .  I did the follow up because a few comments I had been receiving. They were obviously from people within or close to the Wytheville Fire Department (or their Auxiliary) and were attempting to defend Chief King and the actions of the WFD.

What still amazes me is that in all of their comments, nobody has offered a rebuttal. They simply continue to question my training, credentials, character and more (including my mustache). They rant about how my information / facts are incorrect yet they fail to offer “their side” of the story.

They still fail to see the seriousness of the issues that were raised and the effects they could have on their Department and community … everything from liability to insurance, ISO ratings and more. Their silence  and/or lack of a rebuttal also somewhat implies my information is correct. I also trust my sources to be accurate (one of which being the SW Va Today article where Chief King was quoted). I have spoken directly to at least one of their members over the phone. I even requested a transcript (and/or audio recording) of the incident from their 911 center under the Virginia Freedom Of Information Act . I made the request through Mr Davidson who is listed as “Emergency Mangager/911 Coordinator/Haz-Mat Coordinator” on the County’s web site under the Department of Emergency Management. I believe he is also a member of the Wytheville Fire Department.

My request was made November 21st and on the 26th Mr Davidson responded saying that the incident in question was actually a “Town” call and that he had forwarded the request to the necessary people (their PIO, Chief Dispatcher and Director of Public Safety for the Town). I haven’t received a response from either of these folks as of this post. I added a link to the FOIA a few paragraphs above. To save you the hassle of reading it all, page 5 is where it talks about requesting information and the time frame a Public Body has to respond to a request. Here’s an excerpt .. “Any public body that is subject to this chapter and that is the custodian of the requested records shall promptly, but in all cases within five working days of receiving a request, provide the requested records to the requester or make one of the following responses in writing:” It also says  “Failure to respond to a request for records shall be deemed a denial of the request and shall constitute a violation of this chapter”.

I mentioned in my update post that the Wythe County Board of Supervisors has earned faith in being able to make the right vs popular decision on issues such as this. I maintain that faith and hope they work quickly to resolve some of these issues before someone gets seriously injured (or worse). Ok, so back to the comments. I’ve actually stopped replying to many of them. Trying to debate the issues with some of these folks is just a wast of time. It’s like  playing cards with my brothers kids or something. Some of them are quite interesting though … like this one posted to my Face Book page from “Jacob” (I’ll need to censor some of it …you’ll understand)

“Wow I am very sorry to say that all your info on Wytheville FD is false. I have 2 presents for you so if you could send me your address you will kindly recieve a rope and a vibrator. GO F**K YOURSELF AND HANG YOUR ASS WHEN DONE. Ron King is a great man and the 2 houses that are now a loss is not his fault. One was a fully involved structure fire when they arrived NOT “room and contents fire” like you mentioned. I do not hear the family complaining about the house being gone to the county or even the town. The fd did what they needed to do and thats it. Chief King was smart not to send them inside with hoses and yes you are correct about ONE thing. they used small diameter hoses….. DUH did you really think they were going to drag the 5″ out and carry it into the house. Your eyes must be in your mouth and that mustache is affecting your vision. You also said that you have not heard from the 911 dispatchers or the department.. HMMMMM So where are you getting your information on repsonse time and the fact that they had to call for a tanker. Maybe you should get all your facts together before you start running your damn mouth. OR in this case your fingers. If you are going to bash a fd do it to one that actually has problems like ******* Springs FD in NC or ******* cnty FDs since they dont let women in the departments and that ******* Springs has someone in the dpt just a year after he sexually assulted a female in training there. You are a disgrace. Iron firemen my ass. You panzy ass looking shit. Remind me to never live in your departments area. It would take you even longer to get to my house fire because you mustache would slow your asses down”

Rope and a vibrator?? …. WOW! This guy is going all out. He must be rich!

I wonder how he knows about my back ache? I’ve always heard that vibrators can do wonders for a sore back but I’ve never tried one.

I’m so excited in anticipation of these gifts that I researched them on the internet… who knew there were so many options? Different colors even! Decisions …decisions!

I actually though they were called massagers and I would have never guessed that you don’t have to plug them into an outlet anymore? You gotta love the power of batteries.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank Jacob for his comment (and gift offer). It was obviously very well thought out, to the point and very articulate. By simply pointing out that the family is not complaining about their house burning down, or that the WFD members didn’t stretch 5″ in for an attack, he has already educated me beyond my expectations on the issues surrounding these incidents. Maybe I should offer him a “guest post” here on Ironfiremen.com so others can share in his knowledge and experience. Of course, some of the other comments I’ve received are just as good as Jacob’s so I may have to allow for more than one.

I’ll think that one over and meanwhile, you folks stay SAFE and in house!

Captain Wines