18
May 2010

Arson has crews working at the car wash

Officials first thought the cause was electrical

Updated: Tuesday, 18 May 2010, 8:16 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 18 May 2010, 8:15 AM EDT

    WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDTN) - A fire at a car wash early Tuesday morning is being called arson by investigators.

    Crews battled back flames at the Four Season's Car Wash on Yankee Street. The damage was contained to mostly one bay.

    Officials first thought the fire was electrical in nature, but a look at surveillance video showed two people using a lighter to catch the brushes in the bay on fire.

    The two men are described as white males in their 20's with slender builds. One had blond hair and another brown hair. The two were wearing hooded sweatshirts.

    The fire was spotted by Miami Township fire crews who were coming back from a medic call. They went to check it out and were able to get the fire under control before Washington Township crews, who handle that terriotry, arrived.

    Officials say the good fortunate of having firefighters first see the flames likely saved the building from further damage.

    Sheriff's deputies are now investigating the arson. If you have any information call Crime Stoppers at 222-7867.

    WHIO TV http://whiotv.com and WKEF/WRGT http://daytonsnewssource.com both covered this fire, as well. WHIO does not provide video embed codes for their coverage. WKEF had very little coverage on their web site at the time of this post.

    Filed under  //   Miami Township   Washington Township   arson   car wash   fire   fire department   news coverage  
    18
    Dec 2009

    Idiotic Radio Stunt Injures Firefighter

    To most firefighters and police officers, this would be considered an arson fire. Charges need to be brought against this radio crew for their negligence and deliberate actions. If stupidity were a crime, many more people would be charged for these type of actions.

    There is embed code available at the TV station web site, but it does not work with this post. See the link to follow the news report:

    View the ABC Action News Report

     

    From Tampa Area ABC Action News

    abcactionnews.com

    TAMPA, FL -- A radio stunt did not go as planned Friday morning, leaving a firefighter injured.

    The MJ Morning Show on 93.3 WFLZ planned to demonstrate a turkey fryer fire in a plumbing van in the Clear Channel Radio parking lot and broadcast the event live online.

    On-air talent Uncle Fester lit the fire, which became too large to put out with a fire extinguisher. (Watch the video below.)

    The fire department was called to put out the blaze, and 26 year veteran firefighter Ken Licata injured his back trying to get the fire under control. Licata is expected to be okay.

    According to Bill Wade with Tampa Fire Rescue, the radio station did not have a permit to set the van on fire and did not have an emergency crew standing by.

    The MJ Morning Show website says that management has removed Uncle Fester from the morning show after the incident.

    The Florida State Fire Marshal is assisting in the investigation. After the investigation is finished, the information will be passed on to the State Attorneys Office. The office will determine what should happen next. Intentionally setting a vehicle on fire is a second degree felony.

    Watch the video below. The action starts at about the 12 minute mark.

    In my opinion, these guys are acting completely foolish for the sake of listenership. This is one of the reasons I quit working in the radio business. It is one of the reasons I never listen to commercial radio anymore.

    A friend recommends that everyone (including firefighters!) should call the station to voice their opinion: 210-832-3348.

    And, by the way... is it possible that they could over-compress the mics any more than they did? The audio on that U-Stream video is simply ridiculous. The guy probably sounds like Minnie Mouse without the compression.

    Filed under  //   radio stunt   Clear Channel   Tampa   WFLZ   arson   irresponsible