Wilmington DE Fire Chief now carrying a firearm

 Chief Anthony Goode

Wilmington Fire Chief Anthony Goode has been carrying a firearm for about a month, saying with increased code enforcement duties he and the mayor’s staff thought he should protect himself.

“Firefighters are always in dangerous situations. You never know what you’re going to be walking into,” Goode said, who was appointed fire chief by Mayor Dennis P. Williams in January.


Goode has been involved in several high-profile code enforcement actions over the past two months, including cracking down on three makeshift clubs run by the Thunderguards Motorcycle Club. While the city’s fire marshals also carry weapons, Goode said his decision to carry will not lead to all Wilmington firefighters arming themselves.

Read the entire story on DelawareOnline.com


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Update from Moore, Oklahoma

Moore, OK (May 21, 2013) -- Firefighters here in Moore are at a premium, so many of the rescue teams are made up of law enforcement, citizen volunteers and off duty medics from the other side of the state. FEMA has a term that it uses to describe volunteers and self responders -- SCUVs. aka Spontaneous Convergent Unaffiliated Volunteers. In rescue circles SCUV is a dirty name but here in Moore the acronym SCUV has been replaced by the term HERO.

Over 100 rescues were made during the night -- many more made this morning. The fire department here in Moore, OK is not very large, but every member is on the scene. There is no off-duty today for them or a thousand other firefighters and rescue personnel who have arrived from Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. A pair of firefighters wearing FDNY leather made their way to this "pile" in a gesture of repayment for OK's response to the events of 9/11/01.

Law enforcement officers from as far away as Tulsa and Texas are here as well, serving in twin roles today. Their usual job of keeping the peace -- and that of victim rescuer. Many of the first responders lost their own homes, and one I spoke to has a severely injured child who is being treated in Oklahoma City. But they are here doing what they have been trained to do. 

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Massive Tornado Stikes Moore, Oklahoma

Highway Patrol: "Hundreds and hundreds possibly trapped"

Moore OK (May 20, 2013) -- Moments ago, a massive tornado ripped through the town of Moore, Oklahoma, just outside Oklahoma City — laying waste in its path and killing at least two victims.

"Children trapped---children hurt" at Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, OK after tornado.  

 KFOR meteorologist Mike Morgan just called this "the worst tornado damage-wise in the history of the world." Morgan estimates the damage to be two-three times worse than that of the May 1999 tornado — the worst ever — which also hit the town of Moore.

Now: 49 of the 75 trapped hildren have now been rescued at elementary school however the Moore Regional Hospital is destroyed. Radio traffic: Firefighters are awaiting EMS units to transport injured kids to Childrens Hospital of Oklahoma in OK City.

Cecil County - Ladder-4

Northeast Fire Company's LADDER-4 captured during Newark, Delaware's 2013 Memorial Day Parade. Ladder 4 is a 2009 Seagrave Marauder II 100ft rear mount aerial and covers the central section of Cecil County, Maryland.

photo: Lou Angeli

Dallas Firefighter Killed Following MAYDAY Transmission

 

 DALLAS (AP) — A firefighter's body was recovered Monday several hours after he called for help because he was trapped in a condominium complex blaze.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans did not immediately release the name of the man, whose body was pulled from the rubble after a frantic, hours long search during the six-alarm blaze in northeast Dallas.

"From where they thought the firefighter was there was pretty much an assembly line of debris, coming where guys were just handing back debris," Evans said.

The fire was reported shortly before 3 a.m. Monday at the three-story condo complex, Evans said. A U.S. flag covered the firefighter's body when it was located and removed.

Two firefighters were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. Five residents were rescued from the fire and two were treated for minor smoke inhalation, Evans said.

Authorities are trying to determine what sparked the fire, Evans said.

He declined to release details about the firefighter's call for assistance, saying it was a very sensitive matter to victim's family and to the department.

"It's not something that you'd want to hear, you'd want to forget it," Evans said, at times choking back tears during a news conference.

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Full coverage at FirefighterNation 

Local Bank Purchases Ontario EMS Choppers

by Lou Angeli

WILMINGTON, DE (May 3, 2013) -- Delaware's Wilmington Trust Company has purchased 2 never-used AW139 Helicopters from Ontario's Medevac provider ORNGE for a cool $10 million per ship. In fact, the 2 choppers (like me) never made it across the Canadian border and were stored at the AgustaWestland's facility in North Philadelphia for over 2 years. 

 Wilmington Trust holds the note on Ornge's fleet of 12 AW helicopters, and some say the term "purchase" should read "repossessed" considering the medevac provider was given a year to sell the choppers but were unable to do so. In fact, the 2 surplus AW139's were never outfitted for EMS use and were fitted as corporate aircraft.

Read the backstory and learn how ORNGE came very close to being grounded.

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