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2010-04-15T01:43:00.001-05:00

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Indy at Barber Emergency Services

2010-04-15T00:47:00.002-05:00

Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park

Below are a few of the many dedicated professionals who protected the race teams and spectators at the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham...

Irondale House Fire

2010-04-11T00:18:00.003-05:00

Irondale Fire & Rescue
Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Tuesday, Irondale and Birmingham Fire Departments responded to a house fire on Del Rio Drive in Irondale. Crews on the scene worked well together and put a quick stop on the fire. Great work!

A special thank you to Chuck for sharing these pictures...

3-Alarm Sunrise Pointe Apartments

2010-04-05T16:17:00.002-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to a large fire at the Sunrise Pointe Apartments off Oporto Madrid. Upon arrival, heavy fire was reported and a 2nd and 3rd alarm were struck. Complicating matters was the fact there were unusually high winds and rain that night.

Great work by Birmingham Fire & Rescue prevented a larger catastrophe than there already was.

2-Alarm Hunter Ridge Apartment Fire

2010-04-02T12:31:00.004-05:00

Irondale Fire & Rescue
Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Irondale firefighters responded to an apartment fire at Hunter Ridge Apartments off Gadsden HWY Thursday afternoon. Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles.

Upon arrival, Engine 3 reported heavy smoke and fire showing from the three story building.

Irondale made a quick jump on the fire and requested Birmingham respond to assist with firefighting efforts.

Firefighters on the scene put a good stop on the fire, which had already had a big start prior to their arrival.

Great work!

Companies on the scene included:

Irondale:
Engine 1
Engine 2
Engine 3
Engine 4
Truck 1
Truck 2
F1
F2
NorthStar Ambulance

Birmingham:
Engine 31
Engine 29
Quint 27
Rescue 32
Rescue 8
Battalion 4

A special thank you to Chuck for sharing these pictures from the scene...

McDonald Chapel House Fire

2010-04-01T15:45:00.002-05:00

Minor Fire & Rescue
Mulga Fire & Rescue
Maytown Fire & Rescue
RPS
JCSO

Tuesday night, firefighters responded to a house fire in the 5800 blk of Java Avenue in McDonald Chapel.

Thank you, Bryan, for sharing these great pictures!

Big Rig Rollover

2010-03-31T12:57:00.003-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to Tallapoosa Street, at the bottom of the I-59 exit ramp, on an 18 wheeler that had rolled over. The wreck tied up traffic on Tallapoosa Street and the Interstate for hours. Below are a few pictures from the incident...

Irondale hydrant detail

2010-03-25T13:10:00.003-05:00

Irondale Fire & Rescue

It's that time of year again. Irondale firefighters are out testing hydrants around the city. Below are a few pictures of A-Shift flowing hydrants on 25th Street...

Jefferson County EMA Exercise

2010-03-22T16:07:00.003-05:00

Jefferson County EMA

The Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency held an incident command exercise Thursday. The exercise involved establishing a mobile incident command center with full incident command and control capabilities; including but not limited to: satellite communications, high speed internet, mobile communications - both digital and analog, video conferencing, tracking and mapping.

The Jefferson County EMA's system is the most advanced system in the entire state.

Below are a few pictures from the exercise...

2-Alarm Cliff Road House Fire

2010-03-19T13:00:00.003-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

March 5, Birmingham Firefighters responded to a fire at 4136 Cliff Road. Upon arrival, the first-in company reported fire showing. The fire, which first appeared to have started in the basement, eventually went to a 2nd alarm.

All this was going on while, at the same time, firefighters were fighting a huge 2-alarm warehouse fire on Birmingham's Northside.

With two 2-alarm fires going at the same time, Birmingham still provided excellent protection for the rest of the city. Great work!

A special thank you to Capt. Thomas for sharing these great shots from the scene!

Center Point Apartment Fire

2010-03-17T11:12:00.001-05:00

Center Point Fire & Rescue

Center Point Fire & Rescue responded to an apartment fire at Spring Villa Apartments on January 28^th. Upon arrival, firefighters reported flames showing. Center Point made a fast jump on the fire and made a quick stop.

"Those type fires are really hard to stop. I'm really proud of our guys. They got in and did an excellent job. This is one of the better stops I've seen," said Chief Howard Summerford, Center Point Fire Department.

Great work!

A special thank you to David for sharing these pictures...

Beacon View Apartment Fire

2010-03-16T16:31:00.002-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to an apartment fire at Beacon View Apartments this morning. Below are a few pictures from the scene.

A special thank you to the person who shared these pictures!

Center Street House Fire

2010-03-16T11:40:00.001-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to a house fire in the 1700 block of Center St. South. Battalion Chief Mardis said they were notified of the fire at 1:40 p.m. and had the fire under control within 12 minutes.

The fire, which appeared to have started in a front room, is under investigation, but was likely started from by a heating source. There was about 30 percent fire damage to the residence.

A special thank you to Chief Mardis for sharing these photos!

North Birmingham House Fire

2010-03-15T19:46:00.002-05:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Below are a few pictures of a B-Shift fire on March 1, 2010. The two firefighters in the last photo are AO Kenny Essig and FF Steven Maddox.

A special thank you to the person who sent them in!

Birmingham 2-Alarm Warehouse Fire - Part 3

2010-03-08T13:47:00.004-06:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to a report of smoke near 1029 1st Avenue, North, Friday at 2:30pm. Upon arrival, Engine 6 reported smoke coming from the building and requested a full response. That lead to a 2nd alarm. Crews fought the fire well into the night.

Truck 1 setup on 1st Avenue, North. The Interstate, which runs next to the building, was closed. Truck 2 setup on the Interstate and Engine 2 laid from 3rd Avenue and 11th Street all the way up the off ramp and down the Interstate to Truck 2's location.

While this fire was gong on, Birmingham had a 2-Alarm fire on the Southside, as well.

An awesome job was done by all the firefighters on the scene to bring the large fire under control.

DAVE911.COM HD Video of the 2-Alarm fire

Birmingham 2-Alarm Warehouse Fire - Part 2

2010-03-08T13:47:00.002-06:00

Birmingham 2-Alarm Warehouse Fire - Part 1

2010-03-08T13:33:00.003-06:00

D&T West Live Fire

2010-03-01T14:12:00.002-06:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

The live fire for the current rookie school class was held at Drills & Training West. Below are a few pictures from the exercise.

A special thank you to Chief Mardis for sharing these shots...

Lipscomb Triple House Fire

2010-02-25T15:35:00.003-06:00

Lipscomb Fire & Rescue
Birmingham Fire & Rescue
Brighton Fire Department
Fairfield Fire Department

Lipscomb responded to three houses on fire in the 5500 block of Avenue L on February 4. Birmingham, Brighton and Fairfield assisted Lipscomb.

A special thank you to James for sending in these great shots!

Birmingham Eastside House Fire

2010-02-19T15:43:00.003-06:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Below are a few pictures of a house fire Birmingham Fire & Rescue responded to in the 8200 blk of 5th Avenue N. last Saturday.

A special thank you to Chuck for sharing these great shots!

Birmingham sells retired pumper to Brighton for $1

2010-02-16T14:53:00.002-06:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

Wednesday, Mayor William Bell and Birmingham Fire Chief Ivor Brooks presided over a ceremony to sell the City of Brighton one of Birmingham's retired pumpers for $1. The City of Birmingham, which has assisted Brighton with fighting fires over the years, decided to sell the engine to Brighton because of the great need for a front line piece of equipment.

Congratulations to the City of Brighton in the acquisition of such a nice piece of equipment.

A special thank you to Chief Mardis for sharing the following images from the ceremony at Drills and Training West...

Hoover Explosives Detection Canine Helps Miami Prepare for Super Bowl XLIV

2010-02-05T23:31:00.003-06:00

Local K-9 team works with security team in Miami for Super Bowl

Photo courtesy of ATF

MIAMI, Fla. — Not everyone participating in this year’s Super Bowl is a football player. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have fielded their best players to help prepare for a safe and secure Super Bowl XLIV. These pros include ATF K-9 explosives detection teams that have been deployed to Miami from around the country. The K-9 teams are working side-by-side with other federal, state and local law-enforcement officers to keep the football teams and fans safe throughout this event.

"The K-9 teams that are here in Miami for the Super Bowl are the best of the best," said Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Miami Field Division. "Like the football teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl, these handlers and their K-9 partners have been training and preparing all year for this event," Barrera further stated. "We are proud to say that the only thing the fans have to worry about is whether their team wins or loses."

One of the K-9 teams working in Miami is Hoover Police Officer / Canine Handler Lee Love and his black Labrador retriever, “Hans.” Officer Love and ATF K-9 Hans have been partners for three years and are detailed to Miami from the Hoover Police Department, Hoover Ala. They routinely work together in criminal investigations and at high profile security events where their expertise is needed detecting the presence of explosives, firearms and ammunition. They were called to assist at this year’s Super Bowl to help locate any type of explosive, which may be in close proximity to the Sun Life Stadium or any other venues relating to the big game.

Photo courtesy of ATF

ATF has used its explosives detecting canines at other special events including the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the Presidential Inauguration, the G-8, the World Series, NASCAR, the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and of course, the Super Bowls.

ATF’s program, which began in 1986, uses only Labrador retrievers. The dogs are supplied by the Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the Guide Dog Foundation, and Canine Companions for Independence. These specialty canines attend a 10-week training program with their handlers that are conducted at the ATF Canine Training Center in Front Royal, Va. Upon completion of this course, the canines are trained to detect a variety of explosive compounds and materials that could be used in an explosive device. The canines can also detect firearms and ammunition and are used in the more traditional protective search and sweep operations. Once the canine and the handler complete the ATF basic training course, they begin their field work and continue to train on a daily basis.

Firefighter Night 2010 - Speakeasy

2010-01-31T23:56:00.002-06:00

Speakeasy - 1920 3rd Avenue, North

Pleasant View Baptist Church Fire

2010-01-27T12:15:00.002-06:00

Birmingham Fire & Rescue

A fire started around 6:20 a.m. on December 31, 2009 at the Pleasant View Baptist Church in Airport Hills. Upon arrival, firefighters found flames shooting through the roof. Even with all the hard work by Birmingham Fire & Rescue, there was nothing that could be done to save the nearly 40 year old church.

A special thank you to Chief Mardis for sharing these amazing pictures!

Helmet cam video will be posted soon.

Update : Hoover Days Inn Hotel Fire

2010-01-16T23:00:00.004-06:00

Hoover Fire Department

UPDATE : Thursday, January 21, 2010 -

Hoover motel fire apparently started with incense burning in maintenance man's room, federal official says

By Val Walton--The Birmingham News
January 21, 2010, 5:31PM

The fire that killed four Mississippi college students at a Hoover Days Inn Saturday apparently started with a maintenance man burning incense in the room where he lived at the motel, a federal official said today.

The maintenance man, identified as 55-year-old Dhirajlal Bhagat, left his room with the incense burning and discovered the fire when he came back, said Jim Cavanaugh, the special agent in charge for the Alabama and Mississippi division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Bhagat tried to use a fire extinguisher to put the fire out, but it didn't work, Cavanaugh said. He then tried to use a phone at the hotel but could not get it to work either. He went upstairs and used another fire extinguisher, but his efforts were futile, Cavanaugh said.

The fire was so involved that there was no way he could have put it out with a fire extinguisher, Cavanaugh said.

Bhagat is in custody at the Hoover Jail. He has not been charged in relation to the fire but is being held on a charge of being in the country illegally. Bhagat is from India and had proper paperwork when he first came to work at the hotel, but he was denied a work authorization card in December 2007 after he reapplied, Cavanaugh said.

View entire Birmingham News story

Saturday, January 16, 2010 -

A fire swept through a two-story motel in central Alabama, killing four Mississippi college students who were trapped in their room, officials said Sunday.

The victims were students at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss., which is about 90 miles west of Hoover, Ala, the site of the Days Inn fire. Officials didn't immediately know what started the blaze Saturday night, or where it began.

The victims were among those who made 911 calls to report the fire, Hoover Fire Department spokesman Rusty Lowe said. Firefighters knew the women were trapped in their second-floor room, but couldn't get to them because of the flames.

"Half of the hotel was on fire. The fire was very hot and it was just difficult to reach all the rooms to get to the victims," Lowe said.

Two of the victims were 18-year-old cousins. They were identified by officials and a relative as Alondan Turner and Catherine Muse, both of Cordova, Ala., which is about 30 miles north of Hoover.

The local fire department has requested help with the probe from state and federal agencies.

"The investigation will reveal a lot more," Low said, adding that determining the cause "will not be a quick process, due to the amount of precision which will be required."

The Mississippi University for Women was established in 1884 as the first public college for women in the U.S., according to the school's Web site.

A special thank you to Kevin Underwood for sharing these pictures from the fire...