At approximately 2 a.m. on October 10, Clarington (Canada) Emergency and Fire Services were on scene attending a collision on Highway 401 westbound near Newtonville Road, Ontario, Canada, when a tractor-trailer struck a fire apparatus that had been positioned to protect the accident scene.

Four firefighters were inside the apparatus at the time of the collision. Two firefighters were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“It’s terrible that our brave firefighters got hurt while on the job, looking out for all of us. We’re hoping they’re back on their feet soon,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster. “Folks, when you spot those flashing lights at an accident, let’s do the right thing – ease off the gas, pay attention, and give our crews the room they need to stay safe. We can’t keep having this sort of thing happen here. It’s unacceptable.”

Over the past few years, Clarington fire trucks have been hit numerous times while responding to incidents on provincial highways, despite the prominent red and blue flashing emergency lights and other safety measures in place to protect first responders and motorists.

“This is yet another reminder of the real danger our firefighters and all emergency responders face when working along busy highways,” said Clarington Fire Chief Mariano Perini. “We’re extremely fortunate that our firefighters were not more seriously injured. I want to remind all motorists—when you see flashing lights, please slow down and move over. It’s the law, and it could save a life.”

The Municipality of Clarington extends its gratitude to all responding emergency personnel for their quick actions and professionalism at the scene, and to the community for their concern and support.

“Clarington’s Professional Fire Fighters train and respond each day with dedication and professionalism to serve our community,” said Michael Kalita, President of the Clarington Professional Fire Fighters Association. “I am truly proud of our fire fighters’ composure and conduct during this challenging event and sincerely thank the community, elected officials, and our colleagues across the fire service for their support and concern.”

The incident is under investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Labour.

The post Two FFs Injured When Tractor-Trailer Strikes Fire Apparatus at Accident Scene appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Chuck Woods, an author in North Wheeling, West Virginia, is renovating a former Wheeling fire station, built in the 1890s, into a used bookstore and coffee shop, wtov9.com reported.

Woods paid for a new roof on the building but needed assistance for the interior, the report said. Woods received a $50,000 grant through the Wheeling Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program.

“The grant funded interior work that has allowed this project to push towards the finish line,” Wheeling Heritage said in a Facebook post. “Historic properties like this one are more than just old buildings, they hold the stories of the people who inhabited them and can connect us to our past. Across the United States, National Heritage Areas are helping to revitalize neighborhoods, preserve local identity, and share the history of our incredible communities.

“Wheeling Heritage received a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant from the National Park Service, and used those funds to create the Wheeling Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program. This program seeks to fund downtown commercial redevelopment, and catalytic urban neighborhood redevelopment projects.”

The city of Wheeling also provided a grant to redo the front windows.

The building was home to the Vigilant Fire Department, which operated there until its closure in 1976.

Woods will call the bookstore Vigilant Books and Coffee. The renovation project is in its early stages but will include a children’s book area, cafe, outdoor patio, a music stage, kitchen, meeting rooms for poetry reads, and thousands of books, the report said.

The bookstore anticipates being open in three to five months.

The post Author Transforming 1890s Fire Station into Cultural Hub appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Alene Tchekmedyian, Hannah Fry and Richard Winton – Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles firefighters did not use thermal imaging technology to detect lingering embers underground after a New Year’s Day fire in Pacific Palisades that flared up days later to become one of the most destructive infernos in the city’s history.

Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva said in an interview this week that fire officials decided against employing the technology, which would have pinpointed heat underground, because of the fire’s eight-acre size.

In the 36-plus hours that crews spent mopping up the Jan. 1 fire, which federal prosecutors say was deliberately started along a popular hiking trail, firefighters “cold trailed” the perimeter, chopping a line around the fire and feeling for residual heat. They packed up and left on Jan. 2, then returned the next day, after a report of smoke in the area, for another round of cold trailing, Villanueva said Wednesday.

Villanueva downplayed the effectiveness of the thermal imaging cameras, noting that some chaparral in the city extends 15 to 25 feet underground, while the depth of the department’s cameras is only a foot.

“We did everything that we could do,” he said.

Los Angeles fire officials, already under scrutiny for their failure to pre-deploy engines in advance of the Palisades fire, are facing questions about why they didn’t fully extinguish the Jan. 1 fire before hurricane-force winds fanned an ember buried within the roots of dense vegetation on Jan. 7. The Palisades fire killed 12 people, charred 23,400 acres and leveled more than 6,800 structures, including many homes.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors released documents charging a 29-year-old Uber driver with intentionally setting the Jan. 1 fire, called the Lachman fire. The documents also revealed the results of a federal investigation into the cause of the Palisades fire, which concluded that it was a “holdover fire” — defined as a fire that remains dormant for a considerable time.

An LAFD after-action report also released Wednesday described shortcomings of the department’s response to the Palisades fire, along with recommendations for improvement, but did not address the failure to prevent the “holdover” from the Lachman fire.

Fire agencies across the country, including the LAFD, often deploy drones or aircraft with thermal imaging to detect lingering heat or hot spots in a fire.

Ed Nordskog, a former arson investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was critical of the agency’s decision not to deploy the thermal imaging, calling it “hard to justify.”

“It is not extraordinarily difficult to do,” Nordskog said of deploying the technology. “It is specifically used to prevent rekindle fires. It is normal protocol to do it and then send back a couple of firefighters to check again.”

He added: “If they have those items and failed to employ them, that would be a major error.”

Fire experts said that in some environments, a blaze can rekindle days and even months after the initial fire is thought to be extinguished. Embers can bury deep in tree roots and chaparral, become covered in heavy ash and continue to smolder until strong winds set them free. Nordskog said that thermal imaging is the safest way to spot such embers.

It’s typical for rekindling to happen when firefighters are still on the scene, allowing them to get control of the situation quickly. But some destructive fires, including the 1991 Oakland Hills fire and the 202

Alene Tchekmedyian, Hannah Fry and Richard Winton – Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles firefighters did not use thermal imaging technology to detect lingering embers underground after a New Year’s Day fire in Pacific Palisades that flared up days later to become one of the most destructive infernos in the city’s history.

Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva said in an interview this week that fire officials decided against employing the technology, which would have pinpointed heat underground, because of the fire’s eight-acre size.

In the 36-plus hours that crews spent mopping up the Jan. 1 fire, which federal prosecutors say was deliberately started along a popular hiking trail, firefighters “cold trailed” the perimeter, chopping a line around the fire and feeling for residual heat. They packed up and left on Jan. 2, then returned the next day, after a report of smoke in the area, for another round of cold trailing, Villanueva said Wednesday.

Villanueva downplayed the effectiveness of the thermal imaging cameras, noting that some chaparral in the city extends 15 to 25 feet underground, while the depth of the department’s cameras is only a foot.

“We did everything that we could do,” he said.

Los Angeles fire officials, already under scrutiny for their failure to pre-deploy engines in advance of the Palisades fire, are facing questions about why they didn’t fully extinguish the Jan. 1 fire before hurricane-force winds fanned an ember buried within the roots of dense vegetation on Jan. 7. The Palisades fire killed 12 people, charred 23,400 acres and leveled more than 6,800 structures, including many homes.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors released documents charging a 29-year-old Uber driver with intentionally setting the Jan. 1 fire, called the Lachman fire. The documents also revealed the results of a federal investigation into the cause of the Palisades fire, which concluded that it was a “holdover fire” — defined as a fire that remains dormant for a considerable time.

An LAFD after-action report also released Wednesday described shortcomings of the department’s response to the Palisades fire, along with recommendations for improvement, but did not address the failure to prevent the “holdover” from the Lachman fire.

Fire agencies across the country, including the LAFD, often deploy drones or aircraft with thermal imaging to detect lingering heat or hot spots in a fire.

Ed Nordskog, a former arson investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was critical of the agency’s decision not to deploy the thermal imaging, calling it “hard to justify.”

“It is not extraordinarily difficult to do,” Nordskog said of deploying the technology. “It is specifically used to prevent rekindle fires. It is normal protocol to do it and then send back a couple of firefighters to check again.”

He added: “If they have those items and failed to employ them, that would be a major error.”

Fire experts said that in some environments, a blaze can rekindle days and even months after the initial fire is thought to be extinguished. Embers can bury deep in tree roots and chaparral, become covered in heavy ash and continue to smolder until strong winds set them free. Nordskog said that thermal imaging is the safest way to spot such embers.

It’s typical for rekindling to happen when firefighters are still on the scene, allowing them to get control of the situation quickly. But some destructive fires, including the 1991 Oakland Hills fire and the 202