Firefighters Train With new Bell 412

Delaware State Police Aviation crew introduce Wilmington firefighters to Bell 412.

Trooper-4 (Heavy), a Bell 412 pictured in the foreground, with Trooper-2 (Bell 407) in the background, as aviation team members work with Wilmington, Delaware firefighters during a training evolution using the rescue basket. As part of its multi-mission mandate, The Delaware State Police Aviation Unit, provides search and rescue along the busy Delaware River and Bay, from Philadelphia area to the Atlantic Ocean.

You can view my documentary on the Bell 407 by clicking here! Many thanks to Master Cpl. Robert McMahon, now retired from DSP, for his assistance in producing the video.

More photos of DSP helicopters and operations on FLICKR.

(photo by Lou Angeli)

Alleged Arsonist Applied to be a Firefighter

Roger Barlow, Jr: Arrested and Charged

COATESVILLE, PA. (February 20, 2009) -- Two young men have been arrested and charged with a string of arsons that have terrorized the citizens of Coatesville, PA in Chester County. 19 year old Roger Barlow was arrested and charged by local authorities, while 20 year old Mark Gilliam was arrested by members of an ATF Task Force.

According to officials, Gilliam of West Bradford, PA had applied for membership with the West Bradford Fire Company as recently as January, according to the fire company. In a press release issued by the fire company on Friday afternoon, fire officials say that Mark Gilliam had applied for membership with their company in January.

However, "in the course of our normal application process, including a background investigation, it was determined that Mr. Gilliam would not be offered a membership with the West Bradford Fire Company." the press release noted.

Fire officials were insistent that Gilliam had not been accepted as a member. "(The company) wishes to reiterate that Mark Gilliam was never a member of the West Bradford Fire Company," the press release said. Thursday evening, Gilliam was charged with the Jan. 25 attempted arson of the Happy Days Family Bistro on East Lincoln Highway in Caln.

Barlow faces far more serious charges including starting a blaze in Coatesville on Jan. 24 fire that ripped through 15 city rowhomes. Barlow, a resident of nearby Downingtown, was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Rita Arnold on Thursday afternoon. Based on the bail agency's recommendation, Arnold set Barlow's bail at a whopping $9 million. In lieu of bail, he was taken to Chester County Prison.

More on this story at Daily Local News.

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Coatesville's Arsonists: Please God, Not the Firefighters?

By: Lou Angeli

COATESVILLE, PA (February 7, 2009) -- Since the first of the year, firefighters in this once bustling steel town have seen more work in a few short weeks, than they might have seen during their entire career. A string of arson fires, now totalling 29, have plagued the city's 12,000 residents, and the multi-agency task force investigating the blazes have no solid leads.

It's a news story that is making world headlines, and has many in the fire-rescue services sitting on the edge of their seats. Why? In the past, similar multiple arson events have been the work of those entrusted to protect the citizens...the firefighters themselves.

Most studies investigating motives for arson note that the "torches" can sometimes be firefighters, who light the blazes for a variety of reasons. Most ofte, when a firefighter turns arsonist, it will usually be out of a desire for excitement or as a way of gaining attention and recognition.

There's not much solid research on the subject, but a 2005 study conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests that, "There are cases of firefighters who have started a fire, reported it and attended the fire with their unit in the hope of being seen as the hero who saves the community."

As firefighters, the thought of placing some one's life in jeopardy goes against our grain, but the fact is that a considerable number of arson blazes are started by people we would never suspect. In my career as a volunteer, I've experienced the phenomenon up close and personal on three separate occasions.

The three situations were not related and were separated by several years, but they were very similar in that the firesetters had a common motive. They told investigators that they had become bored sitting around the firehouse and wanted to "see some action." So, they chose to light up the night.

In the cases with which I'm familiar, I was stunned when I learned of the actions of my colleagues. Even though all were first offenders -- all received prison time. One of the firefighters, who torched his own apartment complex after removing smoke detector batteries, was convicted of several counts of attempted murder, in addition to a slew of arson convictions. It's clear that when once caught, charged, tried and convicted, judges and juries can be expected to come down hard on those who have sworn to a higher power that they serve to save lives and protect property.

For other members of the department, it's tough to tell when a resident arsonist has begun his run. At first, it's simply chalked off to a busy spell. But then a pattern emerges including types of structures, time of day and the arrival of the unusually prompt arrival of the Fire Marshal's SUV while companies are taking up.

The Coatesville Pattern

To understand the arson problem in Coatesville, you need to understand the history of the Fire Department. A few decades ago, the city's huge steel mills once employed thousands, most of whom lived in the neighborhoods surrounding the factories. It was these blue collar workers who also served to operate the city's three volunteer fire stations, some of which were the oldest in the Commonwealth.

But then came the unexpected -- cheap Japanese steel. With that the demand for Coatesville product plumetted and soon the mills shut down with workers moving elsewhere to find jobs. The historic downtown area was left to slowly rot and the housing situation went the way of nearby cities like Philadelphia and Chester. Coatesville's plight came complete with other big city problems like drugs. gangs and street crime.

Over the past 10 years, the volunteer companies have been disbanded. Today, the Coatesville Fire Department operates two fire stations staffed by 7 career firefighters, who are augmented by volunteers who served in the old companies. Like any combination system, the department sometimes experiences problems with adequate staffing, but during the current run of arson jobs, there seems to be no shortage of firefighters.

In reviewing the recent news stories and statistics, most of the arsons happen in the evening after 9pm, and of those the majority occur on weekend nights. Although the department no longer is accepting volunteer applications, nearby volunteer companies conduct move-ups during peak hours in anticipation of more work and cover-ups.

Click here to review locations of fires determined to be arson.

Kudos to the City Fathers

The city administration has been pro-active during this entire ordeal. The Mayor declared a formal state of emergency, giving him the immediate power to acquire resources it may need as it continues to try to battle this plague of fires that have hit the city. Fire Chief Kevin Johnson has referred to the blazes as the "...the work of terrorists."

"The safety of our residents is our No. 1 priority, and we will do whatever is necessary to protect them," said Police Chief William Matthews. "We are hoping that all residents will comply with our requests."

The most recent request is a actually a demand -- an 8pm curfew for those 18 years old and younger. A 10pm curfew has been imposed on other residents, as Coatesville, PA becomes a city in lock-down in order to keep the community safe.

A week ago ATF agents and a small contingent of FBI entered the city to assist the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall and local investigators in determining clues.


Special note to Photo Buffs or those who want to SCUV. Pick-up a Chester County map at any Wawa store, and dial in Chester County Fire Radio at 154.16000 and 33.86 for mutual aid. Stage outside the city along US Route 30 (east of town) or PA Route 82 (south). Another good staging area would be near The Fire Store, along US Route 30, west of town at the airport.

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A Bittersweet Commemoration and FEMA’s Bitter Mandate

by Lou Angeli

New York, NY (September 11, 2007) -- Today I joined thousands of Ground Zero responders in Lower Manhattan to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. Of that group, two hundred of us were were invited to read the names of those who perished 6 years ago, the first time that emergency personnel were offered such a privilege. Needless to say, the event was bittersweet.

For those of you who served at Ground Zero, you’ll recall that we were isolated from the rest of the World in our emergency village. There were no TV's, no newspapers at the disaster site, so we never saw the faces of the missing nor heard the pleas from their friends and families.

But today, 9/11 responders finally came face-to-face with the hundreds of families who lost loved ones during the collapse of the twin towers. When it was my turn to walk onto the stage to stand behind the podium, my reading partner and I were overwhellmed by the thousands standing before us holding out photos of their loved ones and waving so many signs of thanks.

Following the collapses, there were 20 rescues by official count -- perhaps one hundred others that were never recorded. Such rescues, especially those of Port Authority Police Sgt John McLoughlin and his partner Officer Will Jimeno, did a great deal to bolster the spirits of the thousand working at Ground Zero. Unfortunately, only one other rescue was made. Rescue turned to recovery within 48 hours.

In the years since 9/11/01, some fire-rescue personnel still feel that they had failed at their mission. One of them, Jeff Johns, a Transit Authority foreman and Ground Zero rescuer, ended his reading by apologizing to the families saying that, “We wish we could have done more. We tried” Failure is something firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers don't take to very well. Neither does Jeff Johns.

70,000 emergency and volunteer responders answered New York City's call for help during the ten day period following the disaster. They came from every state as well as Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, Italy, Israel and France. It was a nation coming together -- the world coming together in the spirit of volunteerism.

Some say that we've lost that spirit, but Americans proved again during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, that they were up to the challenge. As Americans, it is one of those things we do best -- Helping our neighbors in time of need.

Feds Attempt to Break That Spirit

However, the federal government has taken a bold step to esnure that volunteer responders, like most of us who were assembled at Ground Zero, won’t be able to respond to America’s next disaster. And that was the buzz at the World Trade Center site following this year’s commemoration ceremony.

Please take note that my definition of a volunteer responder has nothing to do with a person’s avocation. It includes professional firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, building trades, and medical professionals, who respond to offer their skills during a disaster.

There’s a second equally important tier of responders, those who I refer to as support volunteers. They are the students, housewives, retired folks and church groups who are drawn to the disaster site to help in whatever way that they can. Without them, the crews at the WTC disaster site would not have been nourished or provided supplies.

But FEMA says – NEVER again!

To coincide with the 6th commemoration of the World Trade Center attacks, FEMA announced an ambitious ID program for rescue workers to keep SCUVs from swarming to a disaster scene. SCUV is FEMA’s acronym for self responders – Self Convergent Unafilliated Volunteers.(1)

According to an AP report, The Federal Emergency Management Agency came up with the idea after the World Trade Center attack and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when countless Americans rushed to help — unasked, undirected, and sometimes unwanted.

Volunteers and front line professionals who I’ve spoken to are livid. Even professional organizations, like the Disaster Research Center disagree with FEMA’s move to eliminate volunteers from disaster response.

“The rescue effort at the World Trade Center reminded us of the important role that emergent groups and volunteers have during major emergencies and disasters.” says DRC’s Patricia Smythe. (2)

Others aren’t as polite as Dr Smythe.

Popular internet journalist, Lew Rockwell suggests that FEMA is simply trying to enhance its credibility by discrediting the volunteers. “FEMA hates volunteers,’ Rockwell says, ‘since they do the actual rescuing and rebuilding, as in Katrina.” (3)

Oddly enough, following 2003’s Hurricane Isabel, FEMA’s issued a report that was clearly very favorable to the volunteer response to that disaster. (4) The headline reads, “Volunteers Perform Vital Function in Disaster Recovery.”

In the next edition of “Rescue Us” we’ll examine FEMA’s Volunteer Embargo with more detail, review the agency's track record and discuss what all of this will mean to the unlucky American community, which will play host to the nation’s next major disaster.

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(1) Feds To Restrict Volunteers From Helping During Disasters - MSNBC

(2) Disaster Research Center (University of Delaware)

(3) “Fema-nists Hate Volunteers” Lee Rockwell

(4) FEMA Release Number:1490-60 (October 20, 2003)