Good Samaritans Save Victim from Burning Vehicle

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930

A two-vehicle crash occurred in Oxon Hill that resulted in one car erupting in flames with the occupant dazed and not getting out of her vehicle. On Thursday, November 5, 2009, just before 7:00 PM a rear-end collision occurred. The vehicle that was struck from the rear was pushed out into the intersection of Wilson Bridge Drive and Indian Head Highway with gasoline spewing from the rear of the vehicle. Witnesses stated that as the vehicle came to a rolling stop, the bottom of the vehicle erupted with fire. Several bystanders that witnessed the crash ran to assist the occupant get out of the vehicle but were unable to approach as the fire, fed by the ruptured gasoline tank, continued to grow in intensity. The adult female occupant was not responding to the shouts of bystanders and appeared to be dazed from the collision. A Fed Ex driver, David Ramadhani of Bowie, retrieved a fire extinguisher from his delivery truck and dispensed the contents in the area of the driver’s door. While he could not extinguish the fire completely, he did knock it down enough that he and another Good Samaritan, Michael Harry of Oxon Hill, were able to access the occupant. The vehicle was unlocked and they opened the drivers door and were met with heavy smoke and high heat. Due to the heavy smoke the rescuers could not locate a seat belt buckle and they wisely used a utility knife to cut the seatbelt and pull her from the burning vehicle.

Firefighters and Paramedics arrived within four minutes of dispatch and advised of a vehicle fully engulfed with fire. Paramedics tended to the patient, a 30ish year old female, and transported her to a Trauma Center with serious, non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was also transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The on scene Paramedic Supervisor, Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant Dale Giampetroni, commended the group of Good Samaritans and told them that because of their willingness to help a stranger in need is the reason she is alive today. She stated, “The immediate removal of the female from the vehicle saved her life. There is no way anyone could have survived the intense fire that firefighters encountered upon their arrival.”

When informed of the incident, Prince George’s County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones commented, “I am humbled by the brave heroic acts of our citizens that placed themselves in harms way to rescue the life of a stranger. These Good Samaritans should be extremely proud of themselves for saving a life. I commend them and look forward to making a formal presentation to them in the near future.”

The Prince George’s County Police Department was investigating the crash.

GAZETTE ARTICLES - November 5, 2009

County's first all-black fire department remembers founding member

Rural fire stations start to feel the heat

Fire destroys Upper Marlboro house

County firefighters save pregnant woman trapped underwater

SUV hits, kills woman

States Attorney Announces Indictments for Arson

Prince George's County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones addresses media at a press conference held at the County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro. States Attorney Glenn F. Ivey had called the press conference to announce the indictment of two former volunteer firefighters.

James Martinez of Damascus, Maryland

Jerome Engle of Bowie, Maryland

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930

UPPER MARLBORO…The States Attorney for Prince George’s County, Glenn F. Ivey, announced at a press conference today that indictments against two individuals have been returned from a Grand Jury. The indictments stem from an arson fire that occurred at a vacant house in 2008. Jerome “Jerry” Engle and James Martinez are charged with 2nd Degree Arson, 2nd Degree Breaking and Entering, 1st Degree Malicious Burning, Conspiracy to commit 2nd Degree Arson, and Burning with intent to defraud. Martinez faces a seventh charge of Making a False Report. States Attorney Ivey stated, “If convicted of all charges, Engle faces up to 51 years in prison and Martinez faces up to 54 years in prison.”

The individuals that are charged with these crimes have been identified as:

Jerome Engle - DOB 08/15/1963, of Bowie, Maryland
and
James Martinez - DOB 06/21/1985, of Damascus, Maryland

The accused are former members of the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. On Monday, March 17, 2008, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department’s Office of the Fire Marshal conducted an investigation of a fire that occurred at a vacant dwelling located at 5413 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, Maryland, at 6:43 AM. As a result of a lengthy investigation conducted by the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department’s Office of the Fire Marshal, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Montgomery County Fire/Explosive Investigators, The Office of the States Attorney and the Greenbelt City Police Department, these individuals were identified as suspects.

Charging documents state volunteer firefighters Engle and Martinez were at the Riverdale Station and left to set a fire in the basement of a vacant home on Riverdale Road. Once the fire had been ignited they returned to the Riverdale Fire/EMS Station and awaited the dispatch of the call. A career firefighter arriving for work passed by the vacant structure and went to the nearby Riverdale Station reporting a house was well involved with fire, at which point, Engle and Martinez and other firefighters responded on fire apparatus to the call.

Martinez and Engle were arrested today by Prince George’s County Fire Investigators and agents from the ATF. They are currently awaiting a bond hearing of which the State will request $100,000 bond.

Prince George’s County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones stated, “Arson is a heinous crime that is aggressively and thoroughly investigated. We have an extremely talented group of fire investigators that have developed a partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that provide our Department a tremendous amount of resources.” He concluded by saying, “The Fire/EMS Department is an extremely proud organization that provides vital fire and emergency medical services to the citizens and residents of Prince George’s County. The focus should remain on the acts of our nearly 2000 men and women that make up our combined volunteer and career membership. Do not let the actions of a few diminish the acts of an entire organization that strive to provide the very best in fire and emergency medical services on a daily basis. This appears to be an isolated case of members of this Department making poor decisions that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives."

"Public safety is always at the height of our concern," says Acting Special Agent in Charge Sheree Mixell. "We will continue our partnership with the Prince George's County public safety officials to investigate those individuals responsible for endangering our communities."

Even though the two suspects have been charged and arrested in this case; the investigation remains open and on-going. Additional charges and arrests have not been ruled out.

THE WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

Halloween Was Anything but Scary for Firefighters

"TRICK OR TREAT - WE WANT TO HEAR BEEP-BEEP-BEEP"

The Tavarez family of Beltsville received coupons for popcorn and a soda after their smoke alarm was found to be in working condition.

Fire Fighter/Medic Anthony Kittrell from the Calverton Fire/EMS Station tests a smoke alarm in the Tavarez home. The alarm sounded beep-beep-beep and the family received coupons for popcorn and soda at AMC movie theatre.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930

Firefighters across Prince George’s County went trick-or-treating on Saturday, October 31, 2009. They were not seeking any sweet treats as they went door-to-door, they were seeking working smoke alarms and reminding community residents that when they changed their clock – to remember to change the battery in their smoke and CO alarms as well.

Several donations made this effort possible; PEPCO provided smoke alarms to be distributed throughout the community, ENERGIZER provided fresh batteries and AMC movie theatres provided coupons for complimentary popcorn and soda. This public-private partnership enabled firefighters to pronounce, “Trick or Treat – we want to hear beep-beep-beep,” while visiting homes on Halloween evening. When the home smoke alarm was tested and worked – the homeowner got the treat – free popcorn and soda from AMC movie theatres. If an alarm was tested and not working, firefighters would provide fresh batteries or a new smoke alarm.

Dozens of homes were visited by firefighters during the 6:00 PM hour on Halloween. Homes that displayed Halloween decorations and had their welcome lights on were targeted for visits. An overwhelming high percentage, 90%, of homes visited had smoke alarms that worked. Dozens of free popcorn and soda coupons were quickly dispensed as a correlation was noted by firefighters that homes taking the time to decorate and participate in Halloween events also had taken the time to ensure they had working smoke alarms. Previous neighborhood visits normally yield about a 50% compliance with working smoke alarms compared to our “Halloween Trick or Treat – we want to hear beep-beep-beep” campaign yielded 90% compliance.

Prince George’s County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones stated, “I want to thank and acknowledge the community contribution of Yuni Melak of the Calverton AMC-Center Park 8 theatre for donating the popcorn and soda coupons, PEPCO for the smoke alarms and ENERGIZER for the fresh batteries that made this campaign a success. I encourage everyone to install, inspect and protect their homes and loved ones by installing and maintaining smoke alarms and residential fire sprinklers, practicing home escape plans and performing a home safety walk-through to remove fire hazards from the home.”

All Prince George’s County citizens and residents can receive a smoke alarm installed in their home and fresh batteries, free of charge, by contacting the Fire/EMS Departments Livable Communities Smoke Alarm Hotline at 301-864-SAFE (7233).

Upper Marlboro House Fire

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930
Photo is courtesy of Jim Davis of pgfdfire.com

Firefighters from Upper Marlboro and surrounding communities battled a house fire that burned so intensely; it damaged neighbor’s homes on both sides. Several 911 callers near the burning home reported heavy smoke and fire were visible. Firefighters and paramedics were alerted around 1:45 AM, Tuesday, November 3, 2009, and arrived in the 13200 block of Ailesbury Court to find a 2-story, non-sprinklered, single family home fully involved with fire. Firefighters immediately started to battle the fire from the safety of the exterior of the home as the fire consumed the entire structure. Firefighting was hampered by broken natural gas lines inside the burning structure which had to be secured before the fire could be completely extinguished.

Due to the large amount of fire and intense heat, homes on either side of the burning structure sustained damage before firefighters arrived and stretched hoselines to protect those exposures. The occupants of the home were soon accounted for and no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. Fire loss is estimated at $300,000 and the cause of the fire is under investigation. This incident had 30 firefighters working for nearly a 1 ½ hours before the fire was declared extinguished. The displaced family will be making their own arrangements for housing.

Citizens Commended for Assisting at Pedestrian Emergency

Prince George’s County Firefighter/Medics credit the assistance of two citizens in the rescue of a neighbor. On Friday, October 30, 2009, at about 3:15 PM, Firefighters from the Northview Fire/EMS Station #816, responded to a reported pedestrian emergency with a victim trapped underneath the rear wheels of a van. Witnesses reported that an adult male, approximately 60 years-of-age, was involved in mechanical repairs of a van and was working underneath the vehicle. The emergency parking brake gave way and the van started to roll dragging the victim with it. Firefighters responded and arrived quickly in the 16300 block of Lea Drive in Bowie. Fire Lieutenant John Lazo describes the events upon arrival, “We arrived on the scene and found a man that had his two legs underneath the rear wheels of a work truck. There were two citizens trying to use a hydraulic floor-jack to raise the vehicle. Fire Fighter/Medic John Ulmschneider went to the rear of the vehicle to assist raising the truck off of the injured man. The floor-jack was just at the limit of lift and Fire Fighter Ulmschneider managed to raise it enough for me to remove the citizen from the underside of the truck.”

The patient was assessed by personnel on the scene and transported by Bowie Ambulance 839 (Free State) to a local trauma center with injuries to both ankles. The Northview Paramedic Ambulance was handling another medical emergency requiring paramedic services at the time of this call and not available to respond, however, the injuries sustained were not life threatening and handled by the basic life support ambulance crew.

The Northview Fire/EMS Station 816 is a new facility and had just celebrated their Grand Opening a week before. The community members on the scene of this incident praised the firefighters for their fast response and quick actions to assist the victim. One citizen stated to the firefighters, “You got here very fast and I am very happy that there was a firehouse close by.”

Fire Lieutenant Lazo also commended the two neighbors that used the floor-jack and initiated the process of lifting the van off of the victim’s legs. Fire Lt. Lazo stated, “The actions of the two neighbors using the floor-jack relieved the pressure of the weight of the van from the victims legs and quite possibly prevented further injury and loss of extremities.”

PGFD Volunteer Recruitment and Retention

Prince George's County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones holds a round table discussion with Volunteer Chiefs that will share their success stories in recruiting and retaining volunteer members. Additionally, there is video produced by the Prince George's County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association promoting volunteer recruitment.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer member with one of our Fire/EMS Stations should contact 301-583-1914.