Current Activity
_____3/18/2008
3496 66 Street North
Apartment Fire Sunrise Apartments
Media Release: Fire Incident # 8034342
SPPD # 08-15497
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
Who: St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
St. Petersburg Police Department
State Fire Marshal’s Office
Tenants: Mr. Alan E. Altemos DOB 4/10/47
Mr. Brian A. Altemos DOB 2/7/72
What: Structure Fire
Where: Sunrise Apartments
3498 66 Street North Apartment # 104
Owner of Apartments: Joseph Jackmiac
When: Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 15:37 hours
Why/How: At 15:37 hours this date, St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue received several calls
through the Pinellas County 911 Center of a working structure fire at the
above listed apartment complex. On the arrival of Engine 9’s crew, they encounter heavy smoke conditions from a second story apartment. The crew of Engine 9 entered the apartment and contained the fire to the one unit involved.
Shortly after the arrival of our first arriving units, additional units were sent to Gentle Dental located at 2800 66 Street North for an injured person. This victim Brian Altemos ran into a Dr’s Office and requested assistance. Mr. Brian Altemos sustained what appeared to be flash burns to his facial hair only. It was determined that Mr. Altemos lives in the unit that was on fire up the street. St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue personnel treated and transported Mr. Brian Altemos to Bayfront Medical Center for further care and evaluation.
Witnesses at the fire scene indicated just before the fire broke out they heard a verbal altercation take place in apartment 104 between Mr. Brian Altemos and his father Mr. Alan E. Altemos.
The father Mr. Alan Altemos had left the building just before the fire broke out and went across the street to a bank. Upon his return Mr. Alan Altemos thought his son was still inside the apartment. He was standing in the doorway of his apartment calling for his son to come out not knowing his son fled the scene moments after the fire. Mr. Alan Altemos was assisted by American Red Cross. Estimated dollar loss to the structure is $50,000.
Fire Investigators have completed their fire scene investigation. Based on the physical evidence at the fire scene, and the witness statements, the son Mr. Brian Altemos has been charged with First Degree Arson of an occupied dwelling. He has been released from Bayfront Medical Center and taken into custody and transported to Pinellas County Jail.
If you should need further information, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Lt. Rick Feinberg
727-420-8960
_____12/17/2007
3036 18 Ave So
House Fire
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue is currently working a house fire at 3036 18 Ave So. Heavy smoke and fire showing on Engine 5 arrival. I just arrived on scene and will provide more information shortly.
Update to House Fire:
_____12/13/2007
City Hall
Firefighter/Paramedic of the Year
Media Release:
Date: December 13th, 2007
From: St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
31st Annual Bert Smith Paramedic of the Year Award
St. Petersburg, Florida - St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue, Chief James D. Large and Mayor Rick Baker will introduce to City Council this year's recipients of the 2007 Bert Smith Paramedic of the Year Award. The recipients are Firefighter/Paramedic David Kadau and Firefighter/Paramedic David Nasworthy. They will be recognized before City Council today at 3:00 p.m. at City Hall. These two individuals are outstanding examples of the professionalism and dedication displayed by all St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue personnel.
Here are a few comments from the nomination letters for David Kadau and David Nasworthy:
David Kadau breaches the wall of standard care and provides exceptional care. He not only understands the aspects of exceptional emergency medical treatment, but also understands the importance of customer service.
David Nasworthy is without a doubt one of the most compassionate and caring paramedics I have worked with. He treats his patients like family. David continues to assist the department with new employees by training our new paramedics.
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue would like to invite all of our media friends to cover this wonderful and prestigious event for these two selected individuals. The awards presentation starts at the beginning of the Council meeting.
I would like to thank you in advance for your assistance and coverage. If you should need further information, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Rick Feinberg
420-8960
_____12/13/2007
1616 21 Street So. # 327
Mobile Home Fire
Media Release:
Date: December 13th, 2007
From : St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
St. Petersburg, Florida-- This morning at 10:32 a.m St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue handled a Mobile Home fire at the Tangerine MHP located at 1616 21 Street South Lot # 327. On fire crews arrival, they encountered heavy fire condition at lot # 327 with the fire extending to lot #329. The crews were able to knock down the fire very quickly, but unfortunately, the occupant of 327, Rosemarie Gresham 54 y/o lost everything she owned. She was able to escape without injury. American Red Cross was called to the scene to assist Ms. Gresham. The occupant in lot #329 will also be displaced because of the damage to his unit as well. The management of the MHP was trying to locate the owner of # 329. Our fire investigator determined the cause to be accidental in nature by an overloaded extension cord.
If you should need further information, please feel free to call anytime.
Lt. Rick Feinberg
420-8960
_____12/13/2007
89 Ave & 10 Street No.
Garbage Fire
Media Release:
Date: December 13, 2007
From: St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
This morning just before lunch, Engine 13 handled an incident where a garbage truck from the City of St. Petersburg Sanitation department had the contents in a garbage truck that was on fire. The driver responded quickly and dumped his load in the middle of 89th Ave just west of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. No. Engine 13 called for assistance from sanitation to break up the trash pile so they could completely extinguish the smoldering fire. Once the fire was completely extinguished, the sanitation department clean up the street and traffic was allow to pass though as usual. No damage noted to the Sanitation vehicle. Photo attached.
If you should need further information, please feel free to contact me anytime.
_____12/3/2007
Gulf of Mexico 1 1/2 mile Southwest of Buncess Pass
Vessel Fire
Who: St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and US Coast Guard handled a Boat Fire today in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 1 1/2 miles Southwest of Bunce's Pass.
What: 34' Tempo Fouri is the name on the vessel. 2003 Rinker, Fiesta Vee 312 is the Vessel model. The owner is John P. Bryant lives in Lakeland, Florida. The boat was being stored at the Tierra Verde Resort High & Dry.
When: This incident occurred at 11:42 this morning.
Where: This morning around 10:30 Mr. Bryant had his boat placed in the water from the Tierra Verde Resort High & Dry Marina. According to Mr. Bryant, he was checking his boat out before he makes a long trip to Destin, Florida to store his boat in the Pan Handle area before his family moves on the 21st of this month. While he was running his boat at approximately 20-22 knots he noticed his port engine started to sputter. Mr. Bryant states when he opened the engine compartment hatch he noticed the fire from the port engine. Mr. Bryant then realized he could not reach the fire extinguisher in the engine compartment area because of the fire. He then grabbed a life jacket from under one of the seats. He then went to his marine radio and made a Mayday distress call. He remembers saying Mayday three times in succession. He also remembers saying his engine was on fire and he gave his location and said he had to go. At this point Mr. Bryant went overboard with his life jacket in his hands. Once Mr. Bryant was in the water, he put his life jacket on. Fortunately, The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Environmental Land Unit was just north of the incident by Shell Key in a 22 1/2 foot Skeeter, when he heard the distress call. Deputy David Littlejohn of the Sheriff's Office was on scene in the matter of minutes and pulled Mr. Bryant from the water. Mr. Bryant was not injured. St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue Marine 14 & 15 responded to the scene to fight the fire. Marine 15 is new, and has the ability to flow 750 gallons per minute for firefighting. This was successful and the vessel was extinguished before she burned to the water line. The vessel at this time is on the bottom in 2 foot of water and US Tow is working on a plan to extract the vessel safely.
Why: Based on Mr. Bryant's statements and the description of what Deputy Littlejohn heard and saw, this fire appears to be accidental in nature. We will still look at the vessel once it has been removed from the Gulf of Mexico to confirm Mr. Bryant's statements. Currently, Tow Boat US is working with the insurance company to determine the best way to move the vessel from the waterway to prevent any potential environmental problems. At this point, we believe most of the fuel on board has burned away. We will have more information tomorrow on when the vessel will be removed from the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Bryant indicated he purchased the vessel back in December of 2006. He estimated the value of the vessel at $85,000. The vessel is a total loss.
If you should need additional information, please feel free to contact me anytime.
_____11/28/2007
222 22 St. So.
MULTIPLE ALARM STRUCTURE FIRE
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue update to the fire which occurred last night at 19:36 hours at 222 22nd St. So. First crew arrived on scene at 19:39 hours, they encountered heavy fire for the entire length of the building. Just 3 minutes after arrival we had a roof collapse. This was a defensive fire attack (exterior fire fighting) only, due to the large volume of fire and the fact that we already had a roof collapse. The fire is out at this time, with several hot spots noted inside.
The name of the Business is Banks Supply Warehouse. The owner is Wesley Banks. The business handles PVC supplies for plumbing services.
The fire scene will be watch all night by St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue crews. Fire Investigators will be back in the morning to begin their fire scene investigation. We will have the building evaluated in the morning to determine structural stability before we make entry. Fire Investigators will more than likely be on scene throughout the day.
We have learned from the owners that there is no power to this building, obviously ruling out the electrical possibilities. Circumstances surrounding the fire are certainly suspicious at this time. We have also learned from the family that earlier in the day, the St. Petersburg Police Department was called to this business, because they had found personal property of a vagrant inside their business. This information will be confirmed in the morning.
More information will be provided as we work through processing our scene. I will be on site at day break and available throughout the day if needed.
_____11/28/2007
222 22nd St. So.
Banks Supply Company Fire
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue, St. Petersburg Police, as well as the Florida State Fire Marshal's office have just completed our on scene fire investigation of last night's fire located at 222 22nd St. So (Banks Supply). The fire cause determination was incendiary in nature. All other possibilities have been eliminated. At the time of this Media Alert, there is no suspect information available. I would also like to remind the Media, as it stands tonight, we still do not believe last night's fire is related to the 10 fire's we had a couple of weeks ago.
The fire scene has been turned back over to the owner, further follow up will be done by Detective Bill Schorn of the St. Petersburg Police Department. We are waiting on an estimated $ loss from the insurance company. If you should need further information, please feel free to contact me anytime.
_____11/8/2007
1511 1/2 19 Ave So.
Apartment Fire
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue handled a working fire tonight at 17:12 hours. The location was 1511 1/2 19th Ave So. This was a two story detached garage with 1 apartment upstairs and 1 downstairs. On Engine 5 arrival, they encountered heavy fire conditions from the second floor. The crews worked very aggressively to contain the fire to the second floor. The fire was brought under control in approximately 15 minutes. No injuries during this incident. The occupant of the second floor Rev. Woodroe Givens was not home at the time of the fire. Just after the fire, occupant Woodroe Givens states he just lefted his home to take a friend home. He stated that he was gone just for a few moments when a neighbor called his cell to let him know that his home was on fire. Mr. Givens states that he left a pot roast on the stove top in a large pot on medium heat. He also states that he had a small electrical fire involving his toaster earlier in the week. He also stated that he replaced the end of the cord on the toaster and used it this afternoon. This fire did originate in the kitchen area. Estimate loss was $ 85,000. The owner of this property is Terry Bradley from Tampa.
American Red Cross assisted both occupants from this building. The fire cause remains under investigation.
If you should need further information, please feel free to call me anytime.
_____10/17/2007
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue
St. Petersburg Fire Chief Completes International Professional Designation Process
St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue Chief Completes International Professional Designation Process
Fire Chief James D. Large of St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue has successfully completed the process that awards him the professional designation of "Chief Fire Officer" (CFO). The Commission of Professional Credentialing met on September 19, 2007 to officially confer the re-designation upon Chief Large. Chief Large is one of only 531 CFO's worldwide.
The Chief Fire Officer Designation program is a voluntary program designed to recognize individuals who demonstrate their excellence in seven measured components including: Experience, Education, Professional Development, Professional Contributions, Association Membership, Community Involvement, and Technical Competencies. Chief Large received his original designation on February 19, 2004. To maintain the designation, individuals need to show they have continued to develop as a CFO in four areas: Professional Development, Professional Contributions, Active Association Membership and Community Involvement.
A Board of Review consisting of members of the fire and emergency services profession, academia,and municipal agencies review each application and recommends successful candidates for designation to the Commission.
Chief Large has been a member of St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue for 33 1/2 years and currently resides in St. Petersburg.
If interested in covering this story for the Fire Chief, please call me to set up a time for an interview with him.
Once again, thanks in advance for your support!
