Firefighting News & Site Updates

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Special Request

I received an email looking to get in touch with someone from Roscoe VFC in Washington County.  Please email me at support@hoopieworld.com if you are a member or know the guys from Roscoe.  Thanks

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26th Annual Tri-State Antique Fire Engine Cruise & Muster

Sorry for the late notice folks, but this Sunday is the 26th Annual Tri-State Antique Fire Engine Cruise and Muster.  It is being held at the Riverfront at Heinz Field in downtown Pittsburgh from 9am to 2pm.

Here is the official flyer, click on it for more details

Be sure to check it out, its a great event.

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Hampton Twp VFD Station 164 Website Announced

Hampton Twp VFD has announced their new website at www.hamptonvfd.org.  This site is well put together with a ton of information on it.

I recommend you give them a visit and browse for a while, as there is a lot of information for their department on the site.  They have the standard member information, a lot of pictures, videos, past officers, an event calendar, and a bunch more.

If any department has a new or redesigned site that you would like Hoopie World to take a look at, send me an email at support@hoopieworld.com.

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History Timeline Entries Added

Just a quick note that we’ve received a good response from folks sending in dates related to Western PA firefighting history.   The time line has been updated, and if you haven’t seen it yet be sure to check out the page at http://hoopieworld.com/wp2/history.  I have a few more entries to update and I’ll be caught up, thanks to those who sent entries in.  For the others, please send me the important dates of your department so that we can grow this list to a nice historical picture of western PA fire history.

I also have more event announcements and I actually received some pictures that are in the queue to be posted, so stay tuned for those.  I apologize for the delays, things have been crazy at the Hoopie World headquarters.

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Hoopie World Discussed on the Fire Critic

Just a quick note that Hoopie World was mentioned on the Fire Critic website last week during his Monday Morning Shoutout.  The article here discussed state-wide and regional fire news sites, and was focused on TNFireNews.com.  Check them out for fire news and information from Tennessee.

For those who haven’t checked the Fire Critic site out before, take a look.  Thanks for the mention Fire Critic!

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Western Pennsylvania Firefighting History Timeline Project

I’m excited to announce a new project here at Hoopie World that I hope I get a lot of participation from the viewers.

I have started a western Pennsylvania firefighting timeline to give a visual look at some of the rich history from this area in relation to fire departments and firefighting incidents.

This is a work in progress, and I really hope to get a lot of submissions out there.  As you can see there are only a few incidents on there now, most of which I just found by viewing departmental websites.

Please email support@hoopieworld.com to submit more events.  Please include date, (if you don’t have a specific date, please submit the year, the county, and the event).  We want to list significant things, like department establishments, apparatus purchases, LODD deaths, and major incidents (large fires, unique calls).

Pictures are welcome as well, and I plan to create a new album in the photo gallery section of the site for old pictures.

So please take a look at the new Firefighting History timeline page, submit your information, and spread the word.

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Breaking News – Explosion at Clairton Works

July 14th, 2010 – 09:40 – Clairton units have been dispatched to Clairton Works for an explosion in the B Battery with multiple personnel entrapped.  Additional EMS units have been requested to the scene.  Glassport 161 and Jefferson Hills 180 have been placed on standby.

The mill is now reporting whole B battery is on fire.

Update @10:01 – All personnel accounted for and being treated.  Medical helicopter on the way for a 55 year old with burns to the chest, head, and back.  Fire appears to be out.

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National Firefighter Challenge Possibly Coming to Pittsburgh Fire Expo?

While browsing the web, I saw an interesting post on the Watchdesk stating that the National Firefighter Challenge is considering coming to Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Fire Expo in October.  This information is per Chris Cerci, who has competed in these events before.  This would be a great event to have come to Pittsburgh, and give the Fire Expo a great boost.

Chris is looking for potential corporate sponsors for the event.  Please contact him at paraff_pit@yahoo.com if you are interested or know any one that may be.

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Finally a New Posting on Hoopie World!

I know, I know, don’t all faint at once.  The heat wave is hot enough, we have enough fainting going on around us.  If you come to Hoopie World with any frequency, you’ve noticed that not much have changed over the last couple months.  I’ve been thinking a lot of what direction to take the site.  Fire buffing is about dead around western PA, or at least its not what it used to be.  Some of that is due to most departments having their own websites and just posting pictures/incidents there.  Some of it is just because it was a cyclical fad and people don’t have the time/money/energy to do it any longer.  So with no pictures coming into the inbox,  its tough to report on fire stories.

For a while I posted teaser pictures and links to fire incidents from other sites, but even the pictures and incident reports are becoming scarce and not very frequent at those sources as well.  As an example, as I write this two local departments near me both let their domain names expired and are currently OOS.

(more…)

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Glassport Copperweld Complex Training

Back on May 22nd, 2010, Glassport Station 161 and county officials organized a training session that involved multiple  concurrent incidents, including an accident with entrapment with haz-mat leak, a hazardous material leak from a vehicle, a missing police officer overcome by fumes and a physical rescue for a unresponsive person on a silo.

The training was a great success as multiple companies worked together to overcome different obstacles thrown at them.  The following companies had units on scene:

161 – Glassport
123 – Clairton
131 – Dravosburg
139 – Elizabeth Boro
140-2 – Elizabeth Twp Blaine Hill
140-7 – Elizabeth Twp Central
180 – Jefferson Hills 885
183 – Liberty
184 – Lincoln
294 – Duquesne Annex
295 – West Mifflin #3
299 – White Oak
440 – Allegheny County Haz-Mat
Clairton Medic Units – 551, 552, 553, 554

Additional units on scene notified – Allegheny Co DEP,  Allegheny Co. EPA, PA Fish & Boat Commission,  Red Cross, Salvation Army,  Allegheny Co. Police,  Glassport; Port Vue, Lincoln Police units,  CSX Authorities, McKeesport F.D. Deputy.

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