The Associated Press: NC Fire Survivor Recounts Narrow Escape

The Associated Press: NC Fire Survivor Recounts Narrow Escape
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Fallon Sposato awoke to a blaring alarm and smoke seeping into the first-floor bedroom of the beach house where she and 12 friends had been partying just hours earlier. With her lungs and eyes burning, she ran with her boyfriend through the smoke-filled house, assuming her friends were already outside.

"And then nobody else was out yet," the 19-year-old University of South Carolina sophomore recalled during an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Seven students died in the blaze. Six others made it out of the house in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., into the arms of neighbors and rescue workers.

"We were all hysterical. They were holding us back, trying to get our friends," said Sposato, a native of Orlando, Fla.

On Tuesday, officials at the University of South Carolina and in Ocean Isle Beach officially identified those killed in the fire: Cassidy Fae Pendley, 18; Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon, 18; Justin Michael Anderson, 19; Travis Lane Cale, 19; Allison Walden, 19; William Rhea, 18; and Emily Lauren Yelton, 19.

The group partied into the early morning on the back deck. Sposato said she was the first to go to bed, turning in at 4:30 a.m. after calling her father to say she had lost her camera.

Several hours later, Sposato and her boyfriend, whom she declined to identify, awoke to the alarms, flames and smoke. Called by neighbors who saw the fire, emergency personnel were pulling up when she got out of the house, Sposato said. Several hours later, Sposato would learn her roommate was among the dead.

Another student who made it out of the burning house told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that he decided to jump into the canal behind the house to escape his smoke-filled upper-floor room.

"You knew you had to jump at some point; that was the only option," Tripp Wylie said on the show.

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National Interagency Fire Center

National Interagency Fire Center

Here are links for the latest on the fire situations!
http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm
http://www.firescope.org/fires.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fireinformation/
http://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents_404.php

Fire Prevention Week 2007

NFPA Resources avail.

Be A Home Escape Planning Star! -EDITH

:48 Home escape planning.

FPW Fire Escape

NFPA Vice President of Communications Lorraine Carli narrates as she takes part in the annual Fire Prevention Week fire drill.

Fire Saftey Day at Springfield Elementary

Because I care about you. Enjoy!

Dog Saves Family From Fire Blamed on Cat

GREENVILLE, Maine (AP) — Thumper, a black Labrador retriever, is getting credit for saving a Greenville man when a fire swept through his home.

Roland Cote said his wife and their 7-year-old grandson were away when the blaze started early Sunday in a converted two-story garage. He said Thumper grabbed him by the arm to wake him, leaving just enough time for him to dial 911 before fleeing the fast-moving fire.

While the dog is the hero, a cat is the bad guy in this story.

Cote said the fire marshal investigator believes the blaze was started when Princess, the family cat, tipped over a kerosene lantern. Cote says he and his pets escaped safely, but he says Princess did get her tail singed by the flames.

Check out the video....Not the same story...but close!

Children, 4 and 6, left alone rescued from apartment fire

Two children left home alone were rescued from a burning Joliet apartment Wednesday night by a neighbor who kicked in their door, officials said this morning.

A 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl were treated for smoke inhalation in Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet and released, police said.

Twenty five people, including eight children, living on the fourth and fifth floors were displaced by the fire, which started on a bedroom mattress.

But officials this morning could not say how the fire started. The flames were contained within the apartment.

Gee...what do you think caused this fire???

Frightened Mother Returns to Baby Left in Hot Car

Inside Edition - Frightened Mother Returns to Baby Left in Hot Car

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" A frantic mother screams. The woman had just run out of a store realizing she left her 7-month old daughter alone in a hot car. The drama was caught on tape in the parking lot of a Target in suburban Kansas City. The mother is inconsolable as she tells police she was inside the store's pharmacy when she saw police activity out front and realized what was going on. Fortunately for the Kansas City mom, her baby came out of the ordeal ok after being left alone for about thirty minutes.

A tragedy avoided...but the reason I posted this was for the GOOD ADVICE...TO AVOID IT...read on....

INSIDE EDITION talks with an expert to find out what parents can do to help keep their children safe. Our expert says something as simple as leaving a stuffed animal in the passengers seat of your car can serve as a reminder, and can make the difference between life and death. The animal serves as a visual cue. It will remind the driver that there is precious cargo in the back seat of the vehicle. It becomes a simple reminder that will hopefully prevent frightening scenes like the one outside of the Kansas City Target store.

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review-Under the influence?

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review - Yahoo! News
BOSTON - When firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne died in a fast-moving restaurant fire in August, they were hailed as heroes — the first Boston firefighters to die in the line of duty since 1999.

But leaked autopsy results that reportedly showed the two may have been impaired have led Mayor Thomas Menino to demand a review of the fire department and prompted calls for more random drug testing of firefighters.

The reports said Cahill had registered a blood alcohol level of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit in Massachusetts, and Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.

Cahill, 55, and Payne, 53, died battling a blaze in a one-story Chinese restaurant in the city's West Roxbury neighborhood.

Click the link above to read the entire story.

Inspections after WTC fire uncover 120 plus violations

Inspections after WTC fire uncover 120 plus violations -- Newsday.com
The Fire Department has found dozens of fire hazards at construction sites - including broken water pipes and elevators - in stepped-up inspections following a deadly blaze at a ground zero skyscraper that it hadn't inspected for more than a year.

After visiting hundreds of sites around the city, the department has uncovered more than 120 violations since the Aug. 18 fire at the former Deutsche Bank building. The inspections have caused the city to shut down construction sites at a rate twice as high since the fire, compared with the months before, according to city records.

Some of the sites - close to 500 - are being inspected for the first time, despite city law requiring inspections every 15 days. The lapse in visits to the former Deutsche Bank tower failed to uncover a broken standpipe that supplies water to fire hoses, complicating firefighting efforts in the blaze that killed two firefighters.

Click on the link above for the rest of the story.

Secret Apartment Discovered Inside Shopping Mall

Secret apartment found inside shopping mall
Talk about a void space....Click the picture to view the video or the link to read the story.

Ask Vampire Bear - Public Speaking!

Great tips!! 2:01

Firefighters Hurt in California Crash

Firefighters Hurt in California Crash - Firehouse.com Wildland Firefighting
Thankfully they were all wearing their seat belts!! Here is hoping for a speedy recovery for all of the members involved! Click on the map above to link to a podcast, slideshow and video of the rescue.

BIG BEAR LAKE - A U.S. Forest Service truck plunged off Highway 18 on Monday morning, tumbling nearly 300 feet down a mountainside before splitting in two. Eight firefighters were injured.

The California Highway Patrol is still trying to figure out what caused the 9:50 a.m. accident. They have ruled out speeding and mechanical failure.

The driver lost control of the white crew transport as it rounded a corner near the Arctic Circle, close to Big Bear Dam. The vehicle bounced off the guardrail, causing the driver to stomp on the brakes.

More than 50 feet of wide black skid marks darted off the asphalt where the rig plowed through the rail, rolled onto its side and careened over the hillside.

The impact ripped off the hood, which came to rest on a small ridge just below the highway. The cab split from the chassis as it came down the mountain, stopping upright against a tree.

"It's not fatal, and that's what we're thankful for," said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for San Bernardino County Fire Department. "They're extremely lucky and very blessed they didn't receive major, major injuries."

Two firefighters initially listed in serious condition were flown to Loma Linda University and Arrowhead Regional medical centers.

One, who dislocated his shoulder, was sent home late Monday. The other, who suffered a dislocated pelvis, was expected to spend the night in the hospital.

Six firefighters, including the driver, received minor injuries and were taken to Bear Valley Community Hospital. They were trying to help the CHP piece together what happened.

The Heaps Peak crew, firefighters who rappel from a helicopter, was driving east on the 18 for their morning briefing when the vehicle went off the road, said Forest Service spokesman John Miller.

Firefighters hesitating to risk lives

Firefighters hesitating to risk lives - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com Officials growing reluctant to risk lives for homes owners haven't protected

SALT LAKE CITY - Fueled by drought and development, wildfires in the West are getting bigger and more aggressive, creating conditions so dangerous that fire bosses are increasingly reluctant to risk lives saving houses — particularly if the owners have done nothing to protect their property.

From Southern California to Montana, seven firefighters have died this year battling blazes that have destroyed more than 400 houses — a dramatic increase from last year.

“There’s the frustration of knowing these people aren’t taking care of their home, and why do we have to do it?” said John Watson, a Fairfield, Mont., firefighting contractor who uses a 750-gallon fire engine to protect remote houses. “I’ve asked them, ‘Do you understand the danger?’ There isn’t a whole lot that needs to be done to mitigate the threat, but they won’t do it. They say: ‘I’d rather have my cabin burn down with the trees than have you cut some down.”’

Fire commanders say they are more likely to walk away from houses without a buffer zone, which can be as simple as raking debris from around a house and leaving a bed of gravel at the foundation, or putting metal roofs on their homes instead of flammable wood shakes.

Until recently, firefighters “saluted and went out and did it,” said Don Smurthwaite, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman and former firefighter. Now, “we will not ask a fire crew in a dangerous fire to defend a structure that has not taken precautionary steps. That’s definitely a change.”

Read the rest of the article by clicking the link above. It is very interesting!

"Supernanny" Kid Sets Fire to Home

"Supernanny" Kid Sets Fire to Home - TMZ.com#continuedcontents#continuedcontents#continuedcontents#continuedcontents#continuedcontents#continuedcontents
News flash! Reality TV shows won't solve every crisis! One family found out the hard way, when their wacky kid set fire to the family home -- after appearing on the TV show "Supernanny." Burn!

The fire appears to have been started by 3-year-old Joel while he was home with mother Susan, and his siblings were in school. Damage to the home was so severe that the family was forced to move into a hotel. Is "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" casting?!

The fire apparently started in the kitchen. As his mother attempted to put the fire out, "the little boy went through the dining room and set fire to the curtains," reports the Daily Mail.

Flag-hydrant to be reinstalled at dog park

Flag-hydrant to be reinstalled at dog park - Animal Peculiarity - MSNBC.com
Seriously....they removed it. 'Cause dogs might urinate on it. And will now reinstall it. Tax dollars at work!

HILLSBORO, Ore. - The flag-painted fire hydrant that was removed because critics thought dogs would disrespectfully urinate on it is being reinstalled, but with a fence to keep the pooches away.

Unbelievable!