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MAPLEWOOD 
MAPLEWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE OF ITS OWN
July 21, 2008 - (KSD-TV) - The Maplewood Fire Department mourns the loss of one of its own after he was shot and killed while responding to a car fire.
Maplewood Fire Chief Terry Merrell said Ryan Hummert, 22, a paramedic and firefighter was shot and killed after he got out of his fire truck at the scene of the car fire on Zephyr, off of Big Bend, in Mapelwood at 5:40 a.m.
Hummert started working for the department in August 2007 after graduating from paramedic school.
He was a 2004 graduate of Rockwood Summit High School and was the son of former Maplewood Mayor Andy Hummert and his mother, Jackie Hummert.
Donations in honor of Hummert may be mailed to Backstoppers at 10411 Clayton Rd., Suite 5A in St. Louis 63131. People who want additional information may call 314-962-0200.
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MAPLEWOOD 
SHOTS FIRED AT POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS IN MAPLEWOOD
July 21, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Police with rifles have swarmed a neighborhood in Maplewood this morning after a gunman fired shot two police officers and a firefighter.
Police still don't know where the gunman is. The area is near the 2400 block of South Big Bend Boulevard, near Zephyr Place in Maplewood.
A Maplewood police officer is in critical condition at an area hospital. The bullet struck the officer's badge, which may have saved his life, a hospital spokeswoman said.
St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights treated one Maplewood police officer who was shot in the right shoulder. He was treated and released, said Eric L. Clark, a hospital spokesman.
A house and vehicle are on fire, but firefighters aren't going near them because of the gunfire.
It all started unfolding before 6 a.m. today, when firefighters were responding to a vehicle fire on Zephyr Place.
Dozens of police cars from a mix of area departments were still there, some three hours later. Many of the officers are crouching behind police cars with their weapons drawn. The St. Louis County police explosives unit rolled up after 9 a.m., as did an armored vehicle from the U.S. Marine Corps. FBI agents were suiting up in tactical gear.
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ST. LOUIS 
TWO FIREFIGHTERS INJURED IN MISSISSIPPI RIVER BOATING ACCIDENT
July 19, 2008 - (KMOV) - Two St. Louis firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after an accident during a training exercise on the Mississippi River early on Saturday morning.
A marine task force unit was conducting a training exercise when debris in the water caused two boats to collide into each other.
One firefighter was thrown into the water. The two injured firefighters were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
One Fire Department boat was seriously damaged.
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TOWN AND COUNTRY 
HORRIFIC CRASH ON HWY. 40 KILLS 2, INJURIES 13
July 16, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Wendy Wright was stuck in traffic Tuesday on Highway 40 when she looked in her rearview mirror.
She saw a tractor-trailer "plowing through cars." She wanted to get away, but there was nowhere to go. That's the last thing she remembers before waking and seeing the debris and shattered glass.
Wright, of St. Louis, was one of 16 people hurt in a catastrophic crash that left two people dead when the tractor-trailer barrelled into a lane of stop-and-go traffic on eastbound Highway 40 just west of Interstate 270.
The driver of the tractor-trailer "basically ran over several vehicles," Sgt. Al Nothum of the Missouri Highway Patrol said at a news conference near the crash site. The semi stopped with a car lodged in front of it and left a trail of nine wrecked vehicles behind, at least one pushed onto its side and others crushed beyond recognition.
Nothum said authorities "have a very good idea" of what took place before the crash and why it happened, but said it wouldn't be prudent to disclose the likely cause until the investigation was finished. He said authorities would meet today with prosecutors to discuss possible charges.
Nothum said he did not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident but said routine tests would be conducted on the truck's driver.
The driver, Jeffrey R. Knight, 49, of Muscle Shoals, Ala., who works for Holmes Transportation, was not injured. He was questioned at the Highway Patrol headquarters in west St. Louis County for several hours Tuesday.
Employees at the Missouri Department of Transportation's traffic command center in nearby Town and Country witnessed Tuesday's accident on traffic camera monitors but said the crash was not taped, said Bruce Pettus, an incident management coordinator for MoDOT.
Shortly after 7 p.m., tow trucks began hauling away wreckage from the scene. The eastbound lanes of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) reopened about 8:45 p.m.
A five-mile stretch of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) to the east of I-270 has been closed for reconstruction but Pettus said the roadwork was not a contributing factor. Nothum said the traffic was not out of the ordinary.
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ST. LOUIS 
FOUR FIREFIGHTERS INJURED; FIREWORKS TO BLAME FOR COLLAPSE OF HOUSE IN SOUTH ST. LOUIS
July 5, 2008 - (KMOV) - A fire caused a house to collapse in the 7300 block of Virginia at about 2:00 a.m. on Saturday while firefighters were trying to put out the fire.
Four St. Louis firefighters were injured, including one who suffered burns to the face and had to be rescued when his air tank ran out. Another firefighter hurt his back when the floor gave way. All four firefighters were treated and released from the hospital.
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY 
STILL BURSTING IN AIR: LAWS SAY NO, BUT MANY PEOPLE STILL USE THEM
July 1, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNALS) -"It's a cultural thing," St. Louis County Police Officer Tracy Panus said. "A lot of people have shot fireworks for years. I don't know if there's a level of ignorance about the laws. St. Louis County is surrounded by other counties where you can buy fireworks. It's usually small stuff, like bottle rockets or firecrackers."
Chief Robert Ritter of the Spanish Lake Fire Protection District said the weather plays a factor in how busy district firefighters will be.
"If it's been dry, we'll get a lot of weed fires and brush fires," Ritter said. "If it's been wet, like it has been lately, then we don't get a lot of calls."
One summer when it was dry, the district responded to a lot of bush fires at a nearby apartment complex. Youngsters accidentally shot fireworks into some bushes, setting them on fire. The district also deals with Dumpster blazes when used fireworks are thrown away while they're still hot.
"The worst are bottle rockets," Ritter said. "They'll keep burning after they hit the ground."
Ritter expects fireworks every year.
"They can easily be bought, so people will use them," he said.
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NORMANDY 
RECALL PETITION FALLS SHORT IN NORTHEAST FIRE DISTRICT
July 1, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Leaders of a group seeking the recall of two fire protection district directors say they will continue their fight despite a decision Wednesday keeping the issue off the Nov. 4 ballot.
A group of north St. Louis County residents had gathered several thousand signatures in an attempt to remove Joe Washington and Robert Edwards from the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District board of directors.
But the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners ruled that the petition drive lacked enough valid signatures.
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DES PERES 
Capt. Mike Teague and Joe Blackwell of the Frontenac Fire Department pull Capt. Frank Tallis of the Kirkwood Fire Department through a window of a "burning" building during simulated training.
REALISTIC SITUATION HELPS AREA FIREFIGHTERS IMPROVE SKILLS
July 1, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNALS) - "Mayday! Mayday!" the firefighter yelled on the radio from inside the smoky building.
"Do you know how much air you have?" one firefighter responded.
A lifelike situation which seemed so real required firefighters to search through a smoky building in full protective gear, oxygen tanks and all, to locate a downed firefighter."It was true to real life, very dark and smoky," said Shrewsbury Lt. Jeff McKay, who has been a firefighter for 22 years. "It just lacked the heat from a real fire. "When we have a downed firefighter, every minute counts."
Glendale Fire Chief Larry Zeitzmann said a big push throughout the nation has been the safety of firefighters and taking care of firefighters who go down in fires.
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SAINT LOUIS 
NEW MASKS FOR FIREFIGHTERS WILL REPLACE MODEL LINKED TO TWO DEATHS
July 1, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - After repeated calls to replace air masks blamed for the deaths of two firefighters in 2002, the St. Louis Fire Department is buying new gear that should be in use by summer's end.
The department got a green light last week to buy 375 new self-contained breathing apparatus, the mask-and-backpack devices firefighters use to survive in smoke and toxic gases.
The gear may come by next month, once the department decides on a vendor, said Chief Dennis Jenkerson. Each position on the firetrucks gets a new backpack, which includes an air tank, personal distress alarm and communication equipment. Each firefighter will get his or her own face mask to use with it.
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RIVERVIEW 
BLAST ROCKS RIVERVIEW HOUSE
June 19, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - The cause of a house explosion that injured the occupant remained undetermined Wednesday, and officials said a cache of weapons and ammunition found there appears to be legal.
Thomas Vierck, 57, who lived alone at 9914 Valley Drive in Riverview, was in good condition at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, police said. No one else was hurt in the 8:30 a.m. blast and fire that badly damaged the dwelling.
A Laclede Gas crew tested the system at and near the house and found everything functioning properly, spokesman George Csolak said.
But Riverview Police Chief Jeff Dominguez said later in the day that investigators had not ruled out gas. Ammunition stored there was responsible at least for some smaller, secondary explosions that followed the initial blast, he said.
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NORMANDY  
DISPUTE BETWEEN FIRE DISTRICT, POLICE MAY LAND IN FEDERAL COURT
June 10, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNALS) - While the recent arrest of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District chief is characterized by some as part of an ongoing political feud, the impounding of his vehicle amounts to jeopardizing the safety of district residents, an agency spokesman said.
But Normandy's police chief defended the action taken during the May 29 arrest of Pete O'Neal for speeding, saying the situation was handled no differently than any other traffic stop.
O'Neal's truck - the fire district's command vehicle - was impounded when he was arrested after a computer check revealed an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for him in Cape Girardeau County.Fire district officials are upset that the agency wasn't notified to pick up the truck. It was not obtained from the tow yard for several hours.
"We believe the tow was a malicious act," said Northeast attorney Elbert Walton Jr.
The fire board voted June 3 to file suit in federal court against the city of Normandy and the policeman who ordered the truck to be towed.
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NORTH COUNTY 
Emergency medical technicians Marie Kerckhoff (left) and Heather Kelley (middle) check out one of Christian Hospital's newly purchased ambulances. Wesley Boles (right), chief of the hospital's emergency medical services department, said the vehicle's larger size and center-mounted stretcher will help medical teams treat patients.
BOLES DIRECTS ONE OF MISSOURI'S BUSIEST EMS DEPARTMENTS
May 27, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) - Wesley Boles earned his stripes from the ground up, first working as an emergency medical technician, then as a registered nurse. Over the years he has administered emergency medical care to patients in helicopters, emergency rooms and intensive care units.
Twenty years of experience plus additional education helped Boles become chief of emergency medical services at Christian Hospital. It is a position similar to the one he held at DePaul Health Center.
On the job for one year, Boles said he wouldn't want to do anything else or work anywhere else, even though he took a pay cut when he accepted the position.Boles, 37, looks too young to be directing the 112 EMTs and paramedics, dispersed over 110 square miles in North County. They serve 11 municipalities, in six fire districts, with emergency medical services (EMS).
"I got into EMS to personally affect someone on a personal basis," he said. "Now I'm personally affecting more patients."
He said Christian Hospital's EMS ranks fourth in call volume in Missouri. Christian Hospital EMS teams average just over 50,000 calls a year, about 18 calls each night, he said.
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HAZELWOOD 
SCORCHING FIRE TRAPS RESIDENTS IN HAZELWOOD APARTMENT
June 7, 2008 - (KMOV) - Some North County residents are looking for a new place to live after a fire caused damage to their apartment building Saturday morning.
No injuries were reported from the fire which broke out just after 11:00 a.m. in the 7600 block of Hazelwood Crest.
Residents said firefighters assisted a few people trapped on their balconies escape after the flames started to pour out of the building.
Although the fire is still under investigation, officials on the scene told News 4 it appears a lit candle sparked the flames.
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WOODSON TERRACE 
TWO ALARM FIRE AT ST. LOUIS MOTEL
June 4, 2008 - (KSDK) - St. Louis firefighters were called to battle a two-alarm fire at a Woodson Terrace motel Wednesday afternoon.
Crews responded to the blaze at the Days Inn motel on Woodson Road, near the intersection of Natural Bridge Road.
Black smoke could be seen from Chopper 5 coming from several places throughout the building.
Investigators do not know how the fire was started. No one was injured.
KSDK RAW VIDEO
 Michael Petroff is a retired battalion chief from the Ferguson Fire Department of St. Louis County, Missouri. BC Petroff served for more than 32 years, progressing through the ranks. He served on the St. Louis County Overhead response team, and is an instructor for national, state and local fire agencies. BC Petroff is a western region director for the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, a member of the National Fire Protection Association 1021 Committee, a member of the Thomson Delmar Fire Advisory Board, and serves as the region VII regional advocate for the Everyone Goes Home Life Safety Initiatives Program.
ALTERNATIVE FUEL HAZARDS FOR FIREFIGHTERS, SAFETY OFFICERS
May 20, 2008 - (FIRE RESCUE 1.COM) - By Michael Petroff FDSOA western region director - Rising crude oil prices and environmental and political issues are leading to the greater use of alternative fuels and renewable fuels. These fuels pose tactical and strategic challenges for firefighters and the safety officers responsible for the incident. They're unique in many ways and differ from the challenges posed by hydrocarbon fires.
Hydrogen and ethanol are two of the alternative and renewable fuels being commonly used today. One of the unique hazards of these two products is that both can burn with an invisible or almost invisible flame. This clean burning makes the fuels a choice for environmental considerations, but presents danger for firefighters.
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ST. CHARLES COUNTY 
LOCAL PILOT DIES ON CRASH OF PLANE HE BUILT HIMSELF
June 1, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - The pilot of a light airplane was killed Sunday when the plane, which he had built himself, crashed in a farm field while he was making a test flight before taking a friend on a flight.
The pilot was alone in the plane. Authorities identified him as David E. Lucas, 52, of Chesterfield, an 18-year veteran of the Creve Coeur Fire Department as a firefighter, emergency medical technician and ladder truck driver.
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BLACK JACK 
Firefighters rush a "victim" out of the vacant Dillard's store Thursday during a disaster simulation at Jamestown Mall. Several North County fire districts and departments joined police and paramedics for the four-hour drill.
EMERGENCY RESPONDERS PARTICIPATE IN CRISIS SIMULATION AT JAMESTOWN MALL
 May 27, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) - About 12 people ran out the door when the fire truck arrived, sirens blaring.
"Help! The second and third floors have collapsed!" they shouted, pointing to the empty store at Jamestown Mall. "People are injured!"
And so began a training exercise to give North County's emergency personnel a chance to practice how they would respond to a mass casualty incident. Seven North County fire departments and districts, Christian Hospital and the St. Louis County Police took part in the drill Thursday in the vacant Dillard's store at Jamestown Mall.The drill was for firefighters, police officers and paramedics to test their abilities to communicate and work within the National Incident Management System. The system, mandated by President George W. Bush, was established after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We wanted to really test the firefighters," Black Jack Battalion Chief Dennis Hohl said. "Rather than have just a tornado or a fire, we're calling it an 'isolated collapse of unknown origin.' It covers everything."
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MANCHESTER 
West County EMS and Fire Protection District Chief Dave Frazier Jr. looks out of one of the pods where firefighter/paramedics can rest while manning one of their shifts at the newly rebuilt House 2, on Manchester Road in West County. The district will celebrate its 100th anniversary next month.
FIRE DISTRICT CELEBRATING 100th ANNIVERSARY
 May 21, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) - Ed Finlay, 79, of Manchester, was one of the last volunteers who fought fires in what's now the West County EMS and Fire Protection District.
"I got out when they started getting paid firemen," he said, adding he was there as a volunteer in the 1950s and 1960s.
And his dad, Norm, and uncle, Edgar Ferguson, were volunteer firefighters before him."In those days, it was one of the most important things you could do," Finlay said. "When you needed a fire put out, there was nobody else to do it.
"Back then, we volunteered all the way out to the Franklin County line, so we covered a bigger area than today," he said. "We actually had a Model A fire engine from about 1947 that we used then.
"Back then, we used a couple of fire cisterns and creeks for water," he said. "We'd park the truck on a bridge and drop the hose into a bucket, and then into the creek below. Things sure have changed since then."
They sure have.
A century of operation by what's now the West County EMS and Fire Protection District will be honored June 14 with special celebrations at the district's House 2.
But the festivities will go on even longer.
The theme for this year's Manchester Homecoming festival, set for Sept. 5 through 7 at Paul A. Schroeder Park, will be "Celebrating a Century of Service, honoring West County EMS and Fire Protection District's 100th anniversary."
"That's a great honor, we've been happy to serve this community," said Fire Chief Dave Frazier Jr., showing off the newly rebuilt, 13,000-square-foot House 2. The facility is about double the size of the old building, built in 1973. Frazier also pointed out the district's new training tower, at 13790 Manchester Road.
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ST. LOUIS 
PREPARING FOR THE WORST: FIREFIGHTERS PRACTICE TRENCH RESCUES
May 14, 2008 - (KSDK) - Members of the St. Louis Fire Department Collapse Rescue Task Force trained in case of a real disaster.
They practiced how to shore up a trench and how to rescue someone in case of a collapse at the St. Louis Fire Department headquarters Wednesday morning.
In the past few years, there have been several trench collapses in the area that ended with someone injured or killed.
KSDK RAW VIDEO
NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY 
FIRE DAMAGES BEAUTY SUPPLY BUSINESS IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
May 15, 2008 - (KSDK) - A St. Louis County business was damaged in a fire early Thursday morning.
The fire started at the Unique Beauty Supply in the 9800 block of Halls Ferry a little after midnight.
There are no reports of any injures.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
KSDK RAW VIDEO
JENNINGS 
JENNINGS: FIRE CHIEF SERVES COMMUNITY HE WAS RAISED IN
May 6, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) - Fighting fires is serious business and not for the faint of heart. Joseph Zlotopolski knows that as well as anyone because he's been fighting fires for nearly three decades in the city where he grew up.
Appointed Jennings' fire chief seven years ago, Zlotopolski, 49, directs 16 firefighters responsible for about 1,500 households in a 4-square-mile area. He said his department may be small, but it is mighty.
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY 
Florissant resident Patrick Renner, 19, listens to instructions during a recent outdoor drill at the St. Louis County Fire Academy. Like about 80 percent of the academy's recruits, Renner is
self-sponsored, paying for his own training.
THE FIRE INSIDE: EVEN WITH LIMITED PROSPECTS, RECRUITS ARE WILLING TO PAY THEIR WAY
April 23, 2008 - (SUBURBAN JOURNAL) - Aaron Cizek was married on Saturday, but his honeymoon will have to wait. He is chasing his dream of becoming a firefighter.
Cizek is training at the St. Louis County Fire Academy and won't graduate until June 25. He says his wife understands that timing is everything. He tried for two years to get into the academy and knows he may not get another chance for a long time.
He is competing with hundreds of people who apply for a few available spaces at the academy."A firefighter's license is a golden ticket to work in (St. Louis) county," said Cizek, 23, of Hazelwood. "I also don't want to work 8 to 5. You apply yourself to get a job. You keep pursuing it."
Cizek is "self-sponsored," paying for the course without any immediate job prospects. He and other self-sponsors are willing to take the gamble that the expense and work will eventually pay off, even with limited job prospects for new firefighters.
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FIREFIGHTERS FACE RETRAINING WHEN MOVING TO A NEW COUNTY
BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS 
FIERY CRASH, FLYING AXLE ON I-270 BLAMED ON TRUCKER
April 23, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - A portion of Interstate 270 was shut down for more than six hours overnight after a big rig rear-ended another vehicle, overturned and caught fire east of Highway 367, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
At one point, the truck's front axle flew off, striking an oncoming car.
No one was seriously injured in the crash.
It all started about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 270, just east of Highway 367.
The driver of an eastbound Freightliner tractor-trailer didn't slow his rig down in time and rear-ended a Chevrolet Blazer in front of him. The Blazer overturned. The tractor-trailer then hit the concrete median and overturned, catching fire.
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ST. CHARLES
MAN RESCUED AFTER JUMPING INTO THE MISSOURI RIVER
April 25, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - A man was pulled from the Missouri River by firefighters using night vision goggles after he jumped from the Discovery Bridge this morning.
Firefighters received a report of a man hanging from the bridge structure about 2 a.m. Police officer from St. Charles and the Missouri Highway Patrol were attempting to negotiate with the man when he let go at 2:17 a.m.
St. Charles city firefighters had just launched their rescue boat with paramedics on board from the Olive Street ramp less than a mile away. They were advised the man was in the water and raced to the area in an attempt to locate the victim in the water. They were able to spot the victim in the water using night vision goggles.
The man would not respond to verbal commands due to injuries and possible hypothermia so firefighter Jamie Young entered the water to rescue the man. The victim was pulled into the rescue boat just six minutes after he jumped.
The man was transported to St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles in serious condition but is expected to survive the event. Firefighters from the Pattonville and Robertson Fire Districts were called to assist in the rescue.
NORMANDY 
BLUNT WANTS NORTHEAST FIRE, AMBULANCE DISTRICT AUDITED
April 17, 2008 - (ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH) - Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday that he would ask for a state audit of S | 
