FLORISSANT
INVESTIGATORS: FLORISSANT FIRE THAT KILLED TWO CONSIDERED SUSPICIOUS June 30, 2009 - (KMOV) Two women were killed overnight in a fire at town house in the 1900 block of Woodridge Lane in Florissant, Mo.
Firefighters got a 911 call around 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday.
The victims were a 64-year-old mother and her 43-year-old daughter.
The two were reportedly trapped on the second floor of the home.
A man, the victims' 30-year-old son and brother, was sleeping in the basement of the home and was able to escape.
Witnesses say that he and some neighbors tried to get the women out of the home, but the smoke was too thick.
Investigators say that the fire is considered suspicious because they have not been able to determine the cause.
VIDEO AND PHOTOS
SPANISH LAKE
Photo courtesy of Jason Isrigg HOT FIRE - HOT DAY, GARAGE BURNS ON FATHERS DAY June 21, 2009 - Firefighters extinguished a fully involved garage fire on a hot Father's Day afternoon with temps in the mid 90s in the 1900 block of Ashboro in north St. Louis County Missouri. The attached garage was fully involved with fire showing through the roof when the fire department arrived. The firefighters made a quick knock down with a deck gun, which kept the fire from entering the living space of the residence.
Cause of the fire is undetermined. One firefighter was treated on the scene for heat exhaustion.
VIDEO
SPANISH LAKE
APARTMENT FIRE INJURES THREE June 5, 2009 - A one alarm fire in an apartment building the Oak Park Village Apartments, 11202 Ruesta Drive, injured two civilians and one firefighter. The fire originated in the buildings stairwell and trapped several people on the second and third floors. The fire was quickly extinguished by several north county fire departments that were dispatched to the scene.
The St. Louis County Police Bomb and Arson Unit is investigating the cause of the fire.
DASH CAM VIDEO
NORMANDY
NORTHEAST FIRE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS HIT JACKPOT June 15, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) A north St. Louis County fire district that spent at least $227,925 last year in legal fees has approved a new contract to pay its lawyers a minimum of $180,000 a year for the next two years.
The board of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District last month agreed to pay lawyer Elbert Walton Jr. a $120,000-a-year retainer and a $60,000 annual retainer to his associate, Bernard Edwards Jr., for two years.
Walton's previous fee agreement included an $18,000 annual retainer, an additional $25,000 as the district's lobbyist and his billings for hourly work.
On June 1, a subpoena issued by the Missouri auditor showed that in 2008, Walton's firm, Metro Law Firm, was paid $143,365 and Edwards $84,560. It could not be determined whether the total, $227,925, comprised all of that year's legal fees. The Northeast district has disclosed some legal fees to the Post-Dispatch, but the records provided to the newspaper have been incomplete.
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RICHMOND HEIGHTS
RETIRED CHIEF IS LAUDED AS MENTOR, FRIEND June 16, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) There were enough firefighters at The Heights one night last week to put out a four-alarm blaze. Instead they were there to roast one of their own.
Or at least try. One speaker Thursday night admitted the most dirt he could dig up on former Richmond Heights Fire Chief Larry Drexler was a poor showing at basketball in his youth.
So more praise than abuse was heaped on Drexler as he celebrated more than four decades with the fire department. Drexler, who joined the department in 1966, retired at the end of May.
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BRENTWOOD
FIRE AT KV PHARMACEUTICAL DAMAGES FIVE BUILDINGS June 2, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) A fire at KV Pharmaceutical, which houses several flammable items, caused massive damage to about five businesses Monday, said Brentwood Fire Chief Bob Niemeyer.
Two employees reported the fire about 6:15 p.m. In the building just north of the intersection of Hanley and Manchester roads.
One firefighter was taken to an area hospital after being overcome by heat, and others required treatment at the scene. No one else was hurt.
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ST. GEORGE
MOTHER MOURNS TODDLER KILLED IN ST. GEORGE FIRE June 1, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Angel Evans sat in the grass Sunday staring in disbelief at the blackened patch of pavement where her daughter died in a car fire the day before.
"I'm going through hell," said Evans, 26, of St. George, wiping tears from her cheeks. "She was a precious girl. A good girl. A beautiful girl."
Evans' daughter, Faith Miller, 2, died shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday when the car she was riding in struck a sign or metal pole that apparently ruptured the gas tank and caught fire.
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O'FALLON
O'FALLON FIREFIGHTERS TO BREATH FRESH AIR WITH NEW TANKS May 12, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Firefighters with the O’Fallon Fire Protection District say they are better equipped to do their jobs, thanks to a federal grant that helped pay for 41 new high-pressure air tanks.
The district’s firetrucks will be outfitted with the 41 new tanks starting Wednesday morning, said district spokesman Scott Avery. The new high-pressure tanks contain more air, allowing firefighters to breathe for up to about 45 minutes at a time. They replace the district’s fleet of low-pressure tanks provided just 30 minutes of breathable air.
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ST. CHARLES COUNTY
METH EXPLODES IN ST. CHARLES COUNTY GARAGE; MAN, 29, IN CRITICAL CONDITION May 20, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Two neighbors check out the damage Wednesday at a St. Charles County home where authorities say a meth lab explosion critically injured a 29-year-old man. The neighbors did not want to provide their names.
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MOLINE
FORMER FIRE CHIEF GETS PROBATION FOR THEFT May 20, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) The former chief of the Metro North Fire Protection District was sentenced to probation and six months house arrest Tuesday for stealing more than $30,000 of district funds.
David P. Jetton, 54, of Dellwood, charged personal expenses on district credit cards, received payroll checks he was not due, used district checks for personal auto repairs and added family members' cell phones to his district account, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Schelp said that the "criminal loss" was between $30,000 and $70,000, although a district civil suit claimed that he had taken more than $200,000. Jetton lawyer Chet Pleban said that district records could not back up the district's claims, and the suit settled for $100,000.
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MEHLVILLE
MEHLVILLE FIRE CAPTAIN NAMED TO SUCCEED SILVERNAIL April 28, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) A lifelong Oakville resident who grew up among firefighters and fire equipment will take the reins next year in the Mehlville Fire Protection District.
Tim White, 49, was named recently to succeed Fire Chief Jim Silvernail when Silvernail's contract expires in April 2010.
The fire district's board of directors created the new post of administrative chief fire officer to accommodate White's promotion.
Silvernail will continue to be in command at fire scenes. White will be in charge of all administrative duties as well as fire scenes and other operations when Silvernail is not on duty.
Silvernail. 64, was hired as Mehlville's chief in 2005 and his contract expires April 25, 2010.
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ARNOLD
TRAILER FIRE CLAIMS WOMAN April 15, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) An April 15 mobile home fire claimed the life of an Arnold woman, despite heroic measures from firefighters.
Sandra Mattox-Mikulait, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene of a fast-burning house fire that engulfed her trailer.
Ron Harder, spokesman for the Rock Community Fire Protection District, said the victim's body was so badly burned that fire officials and the coroner's office could not immediately establish the victim's gender.
Firefighters from the Rock Community and Mehlville fire protection districts were called to the scene about 7:30 p.m.
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BLACK JACK
NEW FIREHOUSE COMING SOON April 15, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Micheal Gantner Fire Chief, Black Jack Fire Protection District , Ken Schmallenbeick, Director, Black Jack Fire Protection District and Sylvester Taylor ll, Director-Secretary of the Black Jack Fire Protection District posses with a redering of the New Fire House Saturday.
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ST. LOUIS
HOUSE EXPLODES IN SOUTH ST. LOUIS; NO BODIES FOUND April 5, 2009 - (KSDK) St. Louis firefighters had to bring in digging equipment to look for bodies at the scene of a house explosion Sunday morning, but no bodies were found.
According to Bob Keuss, a spokesman with the St. Louis Fire Department, the explosion took place around 10:50 p.m. Saturday in the 3900 block of Ohio Avenue, near Keokuk Street.
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY
FIREFIGHTER INJURED IN 2006 BLAZE SUES DEPARTMENTS, OTHER FIREFIGHTERS Friday, April 3, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Cindy Schuenke, the firefighter-paramedic who was severely burned in a fire three years ago in north St. Louis County, has filed suit against three fire agencies and numerous firefighters who responded to the blaze with her.
Schuenke, 44, suffered severe burns March 29, 2006, while searching for the mother of a fellow firefighter in a burning house in Vinita Terrace. Her suit, filed last week in St. Louis County Circuit Court, alleges that firefighters at the scene, and their commander there, made mistake after mistake. The suit also alleged that two fire chiefs had failed to train their fire personnel to properly handle such situations.
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AFFTON
GRAVEDIGGER WHO FELL INTO PIT IS RESCUE TUESDAY, March 31, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) First responders from Mehville and Affton remove an injured man from a gravesite at Our Redeemer Cemetery on Mackenzie Road Tuesday morning.
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BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS
2 PEOPLE KILLED IN FIRE IN BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS March 5, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) An elderly couple was killed this morning in a house fire in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
The couple -- Casey and Marie Waller -- died in the house fire at 1170 Ashford in the north St. Louis County town.
Riverview Fire District Chief Joe Bommarito said that firefighters got a call at 9:11 a.m. today. By the time the firefighters got near the area "they could see heavy, dark smoke a half mile away," he said. "When we got here, heavy fire could be seen in the front glass, picture window."
Firefighters tried to rescue the couple but, when they pulled them out, they were already dead, Bommarito said.
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SPANISH LAKE
FIREFIGHTERS STABILIZE VEHICLE TO REMOVE DRIVER March 14, 2009 - Firefighters used air bags and stabilizing struts to keep an automobile from tipping over while the driver was removed from the vehicle. The driver lost control and went up the embankment on Coal Bank Road near Liliac Avenue. The driver, who was not injured, attempted to climb out of the vehicle through the drivers window and was grabbed by two firefighers to keep him from falling.
OVERLAND
Luck o' the Irish: Fire chief to march in St. Pat's parade as Firefighter of the Year March 10, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Anyone looking for Community Fire District Chief Chuck Coyne on March 17 will find him in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dogtown.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is honoring Coyne as the St. Louis County 2009 Firefighter of the Year. Other honorees include two St. Louis city and county police officers, and a St. Louis firefighter.
For Coyne, an Irish-American, it's a special honor.
"It kind of caught me by surprise," said Coyne, 50. "I didn't know they were voting on it. They just came up to me and said I was chosen. It's going to be fun."
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PINE LAWN
WIDOW KILLED IN PINE LAWN HOUSE FIRE March 11, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) A widow died in a house fire early today despite efforts by her son and a boarder to rescue her.
The victim was identified by relatives as Mattie "Dorothy" Brown, 64. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but officials say it likely started in the kitchen.
About 2 a.m. today, heavy smoke and flames were pouring from the single-story home at 4120 Cedarwood Avenue in Pine Lawn. It was a two-alarm fire fought by the Northeast Fire Protection District.
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SAINT LOUIS
FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE MAN FROM ST. LOUIS MANHOLE March 5, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) THURSDAY 5 MARCH 2009 - St. Louis firefighters tend to a man after he was rescued from falling in a manhole by members of the collapse rescue unit Thursday afternoon near the intersection of W. Florissant and Alcott Avenues.
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LEMAY
FAMILY ESCAPES HOUSE FIRE IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY March 2, 2009 - (KMOV TV) (KMOV) -- Investigators are trying to figure out what sparked a fire in a house in south St. Louis County.
It started around 5:30 a.m. on Monday in the 100 block of West Cartwright in Lemay.
There were people in the house at the time.
News 4 is told that everyone inside was able to make it out unharmed.
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MOLINE ACRES
FORMER METRO-NORTH FIRE CHIEF PLEADS GUILTY OF MISUSING CREDIT CARDS February 25, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) The former chief of the Metro North Fire Protection District admitted Tuesday that, unhappy about a pay cut, he struck back by charging tens of thousands of dollars of personal expenses on three district credit cards.
David P. Jetton, 53, of Dellwood, said that after the firefighters' union went to the district board and said that he was paid too much, and the board agreed, he began trying to get back what he felt was an "unjust" cut.
As part of a plea deal in federal court in St. Louis, Jetton admitted misusing the cards, receiving unauthorized payroll checks, using district checks for personal auto repairs and adding family members' cell phones to his district account.
In all, he admitted defrauding the district of $30,000 to $70,000 from 2000-06 and pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of fraudulent use of a credit card. He faces 10 to 16 months in prison but may argue for less at his sentencing hearing, set for May 19.
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ST. PETERS
DRIVER, MONITOR GET KIDS SAFELY OFF BURNING BUS February 21, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) The quick thinking of two women saved the lives of three children when their bus caught fire Feb. 11.
"Thank God we had people that did the right thing," said Mike Clemens, assistant superintendent of administrative services for the Fort Zumwalt School District.
Driver Tonya Bauer and bus monitor Judy Lew were picking up children in the 300 block of Bristol Place for special education at United Services in St. Peters.
Bauer and Lew smelled smoke coming from under the hood of the bus, No. 313.
Lew said initially it smelled like burning leaves. Bauer parked at the nearest stop, a student's home, got out and checked under the hood, she said. Bauer saw smoke rising from the wheel well, said Scott Avery, a spokesman for the O'Fallon Fire Protection District.
Bauer and Lew evacuated the children from the bus as flames became visible. It took three minutes to get the children out, they said.
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WEST OVERLAND
FIREFIGHTERS TRAIN DOG FOR DISABLED February 17, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Firefighter Michelle Hookland leaned down with a smile and gave Indy, a 13-month-old black Labrador retriever, a pat on the head.
"We're going to miss him a lot," she said. "It's been good having him around here."
For the past six months, Indy has been staying with West Overland Fire Protection District firefighters at their firehouse in Overland. The firefighters, under the supervision of Support Dogs Inc., are training Indy to be a service dog for a person with disabilities.
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PONTOON BEACH
LEGAL BATTLE SURROUNDS EXPLODING HOME February 13, 2009 - (KSDK) The house that exploded early Friday morning was at the center of a long running legal battle involving the woman who lives there and one of her neighbors.
Legal records at the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville explain the details.
Laura Williams owns the house, but it's been in danger of being seized ever since a couple living nearby won a lawsuit against Williams and her now deceased husband, Thomas E. Williams Jr.
The Williams' lost a suit alleging breach of trust for a house sale that went awry. A jury heard the case and awarded the plaintiff $215,000.
But court records indicate the Williams' never paid that amount and the winner of the suit went after the house on Emerald Way to satisfy the debt.
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UPDATE: CHIEF: PONTOON BEACH HOUSE EXPLOSION SUSPICIOUS
There are new developments in the case of a house that exploded in a Pontoon Beach, Illinois subdivision Friday.
"Suspicious" - that's the way the Long Lake Fire Chief says investigators are now looking at the explosion that leveled one home and damaged at least 15 others early Friday.
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ST. PETERS
HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE IN ST. PETERS February 17, 2009 - (KSDK) A St. Peters home is a total loss after an overnight house fire.
The fire started just after midnight at the home on Shadowridge drive in St. Peters.
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ARNOLD
8-YEAR OLD HONORED FOR ALERTING PARENTS TO HOUSE FIRE February 10, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNALS) Cade Thomas is the most famous 8-year-old in town.
The pint-sized hero from Fox Elementary in Arnold has garnered national acclaim for his life-saving heroics Jan. 23.
While upstairs watching television, Cade noticed smoke and embers drifting by the window of his Arnold home on River Bluff Drive.
Thanks to fire safety training he received at school, he knew to immediately alert his parents.
"He yelled for everyone to get out of the house," said Rock Community Fire Protection District spokesman Ron Harder. "His parents opened the front door and saw a wall of fire."
Because the family had practiced a home safety drill Cade learned at school, they located a second means of escape at the rear of the home.
Within minutes, the entire house was engulfed in flames.
"Without a doubt he saved our lives," said Cade's father, Jerry Thomas.
The blaze was so intense the home was a total loss and threatened homes on adjacent land.
The family intends to rebuild on the same plot of land as soon as possible.
As for Cade, he's been the subject of much attention. Rock Community awarded him a "lifesaving" plaque and will honor him again Feb. 10 at school.
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RIVERVIEW
DRIVER OF PICK-UP TRUCK KILLED ON I-270 RAMP February 5, 2009 - Firefighters extricate the driver of a pick-up truck that struck the rear of a construction vehicle on the west bound Interstate 270 ramp to Liliac Avenue in North St. Louis County, Missouri. The driver later died from injuries at a nearby hospital.
UNIVERSITY CITY
ST. LOUIS COUNTY COMMUNITIES STUDYING FIRE SERVICES February 4, 2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Five St. Louis County communities whose fire departments are already working closely together will pay $80,000 for a study on streamlining emergency services and consolidating some operations.
The departments — in Clayton, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights and University City — frequently respond together to emergencies under a mutual aid agreement. And all but University City already share a dispatching office, the East Central Dispatch Center in Richmond Heights.
The sputtering economy led University City officials to contact the other municipalities about enhancing their partnerships.
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SAINT CHARLES
FAMILY LOSES HOME IN FIRE January 27, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) A family of three lost everything when their home caught fire Tuesday in unincorporated St. Charles County.
At 8 a.m., Jackie Richardson said she awoke to a popping noise coming from the home’s attached garage.
"I got up and went to the garage to check to see what it was," Richardson said. "It was on fire. I thought it was my son in the driveway."
Richardson said she then alerted her 27-year-old son Rashad Richardson, who was in the basement. The two were able to get out of the house without injury.
Richardson’s husband Robert Richardson was not home at the time of the fire, she said.
Firefighters from the Cottleville Fire Protection District, Central County Fire and Rescue, the St. Charles and O’Fallon fire departments responded to the two-alarm fire, in the 4100 block of Hobnail Drive near St. Peters.
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ALTON
FIRE DAMAGES BOATS AT ALTON MARINA January 23,2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Firefighters battled a major fire at the marina in Alton this morning, but were able to get it under control within 30 minutes, a fire official said.
It broke out about 11 a.m.
A fire truck carrying foam from Wood River helped extinguish the blaze. Two or three boats appeared to have been damaged by fire. Godfrey firefighters came to Alton to serve as backup at the stations in case another fire broke out while crews were at the marina.
Assistant Alton Fire Chief Brad Sweetman said that there were no injuries to firefighters or anyone else.
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SAINT CHARLES
NEIGHBORS RESCUE TWO NEW TOWN GIRLS January 19, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Two children fell through the ice in a New Town lake Sunday and were rescued by bystanders, said Capt. Dan Casey of the St. Charles Fire Department.
The two girls were walking across the frozen lake around 4:30 p.m. Sunday when they fell through the ice about 100 feet from the shore.
Tom Green, who lives in a house facing the lake, saw the girls from his window struggling to get out of the water. Green ran outside after yelling to his wife, who called 911.
In the meantime, another bystander walked out onto the ice with a branch and tried to reach the girls. Green tied an electrical cord around the waist of another person who went out to help, he said.
The three people were able to bring the girls to the shore just as the fire department arrived, said Green’s wife, Alicia Green.
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CHESTERFIELD
FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC AND DOG HONORED FOR RESCUE January 12, 2009 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) The Monarch Fire Protection District Board of Directors recently recognized firefighter/paramedic Brian Towsley and his dog, Rebel, for their actions in rescuing a lost child in Lincoln County. Pictured from left are Monarch director Kim Evans; Towsley and Rebel; director Dr. David Terschluse; and director Richard Gans.
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MARYLAND HEIGHTS
MARYLAND HEIGHTS: NO INJURIES REPORTED IN FIRE AT OFFICE BUILDING December 29,2009 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Firefighters wrap up the scene of a fire in Maryland Heights on Sunday evening. Witnesses said flames could be seen from Dorsett Road from a computer business that caught fire earlier in the evening.
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ST. PETERS
FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE YOUNG BOY FROM CREEK BANK December 24, 2008 - (KSDK) A seven-year-old boy is safe and sound, albeit muddy, after firefighters pulled him out of a steep creek bank.
Around 12:45 p.m., Central County Fire and Rescue was called to rescue the boy from a tree in the 300 block of Parkwest Drive in St. Peters, exactly why the call came in that way they were not sure. When firefighters arrived, Captain Dave Horton saw the boy, Brendan Sandell, at the bottom of a 15-foot tall vertical bank along Dardenne Creek.
The only thing keeping Brendan from the freezing water of the creek was a small tree limb and a piece of rope.
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MEHLVILLE
MEHLVILLE FIREFIGHTER TWICE QUESTIONED IN COLEMAN MURDER December 22, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) A Mehlville Fire Protection District firefighter was taken into custody and questioned twice about the 1992 slaying of Danny H. Coleman.
James K. Kornhardt was questioned in 2000 and 2003 by federal agents about the killing, but he was released each time.
Kornhardt, 49, of Dittmer, was arrested Dec. 12 in connection with the slaying of Coleman, then 38.
Karen K. Coleman, 55, of Arnold, the wife of Danny Coleman, also was arrested.
Both were indicted Dec. 11 by a federal grand jury on murder-for-hire and conspiracy charges.
The indictment alleges Kornhardt received $2,000 to commit the murder and Karen Coleman received more than $159,000 in insurance payouts in connection with her husband’s death.
Kornhardt was arrested by agents of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at MFPD Engine House No. 5 in Green Park as he arrived for duty. Coleman was arrested Dec. 12 at a house in Arnold.
Kornhardt remains in the Lincoln County jail.
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LEMAY
Steve Krull, a paramedic for the Lemay Fire Protection District, inspects the chicken Parmesan because the original chef of the recipe, Stephen Christeson, was dispatched on a fire call.
FIREFIGHTERS TAKE ON COOKING BETWEEN CALLS December 8, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Stephen Christeson, a firefighter and paramedic with the Lemay Fire Protection District, is in the process of making health choices and eating a low-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.
"Up until four months ago I was the primary cook on my crew," said Christeson, a 49-year-old Affton resident. "What happened to me was a catalyst for change."
In August he had quadruple bypass surgery, was out of work for three months and just returned back to the station on Telegraph Road on Nov. 20.
"My dietary habits have changed significantly," he said. "I try to focus on smaller portions and healthier choices. When I returned the guys still told me they wanted me to cook."
Christeson is in the process of altering his old recipes and incorporating new ones for new diet. The crew is supporting the new fair.
Their former favorite dish of fried tacos may become a once-a-year special. So far, a new favorite has yet to be established. But for now and into the future the regular menu will include leaner meats, steamed vegetables and salads.
On Dec. 3, Christeson made chicken Parmesan, steamed vegetables, green beans and salad for his crew of eight.
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SAINT CHARLES
FIRE CHIEF APPOINTED TO STATE COMMITTEE November 25, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Chief Russ Mason, of Central County Fire and Rescue, has sacrificed a lot to serve the residents of the fire district, and now residents throughout the state will benefit from his benevolence.
Mason, 51, of St. Peters, recently was appointed to the Advisory Committee for 911 Service Oversight by Gov. Matt Blunt.
Mason said he was recommended to the governor's office by the Missouri Fire Service Alliance because he is vice president of the Missouri Association of Fire Chiefs. He also is president of the Professional Fire and Fraud Investigation Association.
"A representative of each major group in the state get together and talk about joint issues related to fire safety," Mason said. "An opening for a fire service representative became vacant and I was chosen to fill the seat."
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CHESTERFIELD
FIRE DAMAGES HOME IN CHESTERFIELD November 20, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) A fire Tuesday morning (Nov. 18) destroyed a garage and damaged part of a home on Bridgeway Circle Drive in Chesterfield.
Dave Nichols, fire marshal with the Monarch Fire Protection District, said Monarch received the 911 call reporting the fire at about 8:45 a.m.
The home, at 17607 Bridgeway Circle Drive, in the Wild Horse subdivision, is owned by Stephen and Cynthia Whitman.
In addition to Monarch, firefighters from the Cottleville Fire Protection District responded to the two-alarm blaze, Nichols said.
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BLACK JACK
LEARNING WHEN TO CALL FOR HELP November 11, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Floyd Renner stood just three feet in front of me, but all I could see was a faint silhouette in the white smoke. Suddenly, I heard a voice to my right, making me jump - I didn't even know someone else was standing there.
What I had experienced was what firefighters see - or can't see - when they enter a burning house filled with smoke. In such an environment, eyesight becomes almost worthless.
"This is what it's like," said Renner, fire chief for the Metro North Fire District. "You have to crawl on your hands and knees and feel your way through the house."
Although there was no fire, it was as close as possible to the real thing, he said.
Renner's crew joined other St. Louis County firefighters Friday at the Black Jack Fire Protection District training facility for "Mayday" training, designed to teach firefighters the proper procedures for calling for help when they're trapped inside a building.
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ST. LOUIS
COPS, FIREMEN LOOKING TO PUNCH THEIR TICKET FOR ANNUAL BOXING EVENT November 12, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) The smell of sweat permeates the air.
Grunts and groans are interrupted by the rhythmic returns of speed bags dotting the red brick walls. Chains supporting heavy bags clang with every punch.
Pictures of boxers — past and present — decorate the warped wood paneling near the center of the room. An American flag hangs over one of the two rings. A poster to its right reads, “No Guts, No Glory.”
It’s everything you would expect in a neighborhood gym housed in a 150-year-old building.
It’s the South Broadway Athletic Club Gymnasium, and it’s one of the places where everyday heroes train for an extraordinary cause.
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ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS FIREFIGHTER LEONARD RIGGINS REMEMBERED AS "GOOD SAMARITAN" November 14, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Had things turned out differently the night of Nov. 5 — had St. Louis firefighter Leonard Riggins been given the chance, friends said, he would have turned his selfless attention toward the man who killed him.
"He would have been up at the jail talking to him, or up at the hospital consoling the family," said firefighter Raynard Jones.
But Riggins didn't get that chance.
On his way home from work that night, Riggins thought he was stopping to help an accident victim. The driver was 19-year-old Christopher L. Brandon of St. Louis, who had just carjacked a young couple at gunpoint and wrecked their car. As Riggins approached, Brandon fatally shot him. St. Louis County police later shot and killed Brandon.
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SLIDE SHOW
ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS FIREFIGHTER LEONARD RIGGINS REMEMBERED AS "GOOD SAMARITAN" November 13, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral Thursday for murdered St. Louis firefighter Leonard Riggins.
Most of the city’s 700 firefighters and 15 ambulance crews attended Thursday’s services. The city’s fire trucks and pumpers also were on display. To make that possible, hundreds of firefighters and their equipment from around the region volunteered to cover the city’s 30 fire stations.
About 500 firefighters, family members, friends and city officials, including Mayor Francis Slay, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson, and former Fire Chief Sherman George, filled the auditorium at Harris-Stowe State University to say goodbye to Riggins, a 15-year veteran of the department.
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NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY
FIREFIGHTER KILLED BY CARJACKER November 6, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - A St. Louis firefighter who thought he was helping a motorist after a wreck Wednesday evening instead found himself confronted by an armed carjacker who shot the firefighter and left him dying in the street.
Minutes later and a few blocks away at the northern tip of St. Louis on Riverview Drive, the carjacker fired at St. Louis County officers, who shot back and killed the man, ending a carjacking spree that authorities called "chaotic" and pieced together based on witness accounts.
The firefighter, Leonard Riggins, died later at a hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest. Riggins, 52, was a 15-year veteran of the St. Louis Fire Department and left behind a wife and two sons.
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FUNERAL DETAILS
EUREKA
HEAVY GEAR, DUMMY TESTS FIREFIGHTERS' STAMINA AT COMPETITION October 17, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) Eureka firefighters pulled on their protective gear and ran an obstacle course Saturday, Oct 11, at Six Flags at an event that tested their fitness level.
The Combat Challenge in Eureka was one of 22 such regional competitions nationwide. As many as 180 firefighters from the Midwest competed in individual, team and tandem events that included climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound dummy "victim." At the same time, they carried an extra 75 to 100 pounds of weight by simply wearing their protective gear and air tanks.
The tasks simulated the physical demands of real-life firefighting.
In the individual event, two firefighters raced at the same time. The challenge was to beat the other competitor and get the best possible time.
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MEHLVILLE
FIREFIGHTER, PARAMEDIC SUE OVER FIRING BY MEHLVILLE FIRE DISTRICT October 24, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) A firefighter and a paramedic allege in a lawsuit filed against the Mehlville Fire Protection District's board and chief that they were fired because of their roles with the district's firefighters union.
Bob Strinni, a firefighter engineer who lives in the south St. Louis County fire district, and Jeri Fleschert, a lieutenant paramedic who lives in Lonedell, filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with the backing of the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington. Strinni, who began working for the district in 1994, is president of IAFF Local 1889. Fleschert, hired in 1985, is the local's secretary.
The board — Aaron Hilmer, Bonnie Stegman and Ed Ryan — fired the two in June after an internal investigation.
The IAFF, in a news release, called the terminations "illegal retaliation."
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ST. LOUIS
RED LIGHT CAMERA CAPTURES FIRE TRUCK CRASH October 20, 2008 - (KSDK-TV) - It happened a little more than a week ago. Two St. Louis fire trucks collided on the way to a fire in North St. Louis. As it turns out, the whole thing was captured by the red light camera in the intersection and someone has just posted that video on the website You Tube.
City officials have been reviewing every aspect of this video, trying to understand how the accident happened. However, they were hoping the public wouldn't see it, at least until after their investigation was complete.
Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says, "If this doesn't make you stop and think before you start driving some of these trucks, you shouldn't be driving."
The video shows one fire truck on Martin Luther King, the other on Taylor and then the two colliding in the intersection. It was a massive accident with only minor injuries to the eight firefighters involved.
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VIDEO OF FIRE THAT TRUCKS WERE RESPONDING TO
NORMANDY
LOOSE WHEEL PROMPTS LIE-DETECTOR TESTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS October 16, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Firefighters with the Northeast Ambulance & Fire District have been asked by their employer, under threat of termination, to take lie-detector tests to determine if any of them loosened lug nuts on a fellow firefighter's truck last month.
Firefighter Capt. Joseph McNeal was driving from the Metro East to the firehouse in Normandy on Sept. 28 when a wheel came off his pickup. McNeal, 30, told the Post-Dispatch he thinks someone loosened his lug nuts Sept. 26 or 27 while his Ford was parked at the firehouse. He says he thinks he was targeted because he is African-American. The department has had a history of racial dissension.
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RIVERVIEW
ELDERLY WOMAN, RIVERVIEW POLICE OFFICER SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER FIRE October 15, 2008 - (KSDK-TV) - An elderly woman and an officer with the Riverview Police Department were taken to a hospital after suffering injuries during a house fire Tuesday night.
The fire took place shortly before 10 p.m. in the 9700 block of Lilac Drive.
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OLIVETTE
OLIVETTE NAMES NEW FIRE CHIEF October 10, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) The Olivette Fire Department today announced that it has named a new fire chief -- a seven year deputy chief for the Kirkwood Fire Department.
The new Olivette Fire Chief is John Bailot, who has more than 20 years of experience in the fire safety field, and holds a master's degree in public administration, officials said.
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ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS FIRETRUCKS COLLIDE RUSHING TO BLAZE October 11, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) Several times every day, St. Louis Fire Department dispatchers broadcast a radio reminder that, "All persons riding on Fire Department apparatus shall wear seat belts at all times."
The reason was made dramatically clear about noon Friday when two firetrucks converging on the scene of a house blaze collided at Martin Luther King Drive and Taylor Avenue, tipping one of the big rigs onto its left side.
Seven of the eight firefighters aboard were expected to be released from the hospital Friday night after treatment for cuts, scrapes and bruises. The eighth was to be held overnight at Barnes-Jewish Hospital for observation after suffering a concussion.
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FLORISSANT
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE RESTAURANT BLAZE IN FLORISSANT October 10, 2008 - (KTVI - myFOXstl.com) - Firefighters are battling a blaze in Florissant.
The Long John Silvers restaurant on Graham just north of I-270 was engulfed in flames with crews arrived on the scene.
The business appears to be a total loss. There are no reports of injuries at this point. Graham at Dunn is shut down.
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