Retired FDNY Acts Quick to Put Out Fire on Plane

Ret. FF Rocco Chierichella

Thu, March 2, 2023 at 4:39 PM EST·2 min read

A flight from Dallas to Orlando was diverted to Jacksonville International Airport because of a fire that started inside an overhead compartment.

“My wife Debbie said to me “fire”, and I just instinctually jumped over the seats because I had to get to the isle,” Chierichella said.

He told Action News Jax when he got to the item on fire, it looked like a vape pen.

The plane traveling from Dallas to Orlando made an emergency landing at JIA, and when it landed, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue responded.

According to JFRD, the fire started in an overhead compartment, because of a battery in a passenger’s personal item.

JFRD did not name what that battery was.

But Rocco, who dealt with the flames firsthand and even burned his hands, described it like this:

“What it seemed was it was a backpack that had either in it or outside of it a vapor smoking device vape, with a battery and wires wrapped to it,” Chierichella said.

Action News Jax reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration to see how you can travel safely when carrying batteries on board.

Battery-powered e-cigarettes, vaporizers, and vape pens are allowed on board but must be carried on one’s person or in a carry-on, according to the FAA.

The FAA also says passengers should take effective measures for preventing accidental activation of the device’s heating element. Some of which include removing the battery from the electronic smoking device or separating the battery from the heating coil.

“This battery charging equipment and electronic, this is dangerous stuff,” Chierichella said. “It’s not the first time we heard of these things heating up and causing fires, how could they allow this stuff to be isolated in luggage.”

TO SEE VIDEO>CLICK HERE<

"Not the First Time..."

Other devices with lithium-ion batteries have caught fire while on board planes, such as an iPhone 6 which burst into flames aboard a Boeing 787 back in 2016. After the International Civil Aviation Organization prohibited cargo shipments of lithium-ion batteries, the Federal Aviation Administration also implemented a ban on the transport of lithium ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes.

Find out more

The Life and Death of FDNY Firefighter Carmelo Puccia: A New Podcast from NFFF

FDNY Firefighter Carmelo “Carmine” Puccia was killed tragically on January 6, 1970, when he was struck by a subway train while investigating a trash fire on the tracks. His death was mourned, and then it passed into history for nearly everyone—except the family he left behind and some of his closest co-workers.

Flash forward to 2019. Captain Brendan Connolly, assigned to the FDNY’s Subway and Extrication Unit, became aware of Firefighter Puccia’s tragic death. He pledged to memorialize Firefighter Puccia’s sacrifice by dedicating the FDNY’s subway training prop

to Firefighter Puccia.

The incredible work of Captain Connolly and his staff—along with the story of who Firefighter Carmelo Puccia was—is captured in the NFFF’s latest podcast, After Action Review Series—

Red Light, Green Light, Blue Light.

The podcast is a two-part installment and tells Firefighter Puccia’s story through the recollections of the two groups most affected by his loss: his family and his department. Viewers and listeners will gain insight into Firefighter Puccia as a husband, father, and firefighter—and witness FDNY’s solid determination that we will never forget.

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CAT INSURANCE CHECK UP!

Check your pension statements for Catastrophic Insurance

Pension Deductions-

It has come to the UFOA’s attention that pension deductions for catastrophic insurance premiums to Mercer may not have taken effect after a member retired or may have stopped since a member’s pension was reclassified. All retired members are urged to review their quarterly pension statement to verify that catastrophic insurance premiums are being deducted. The pension deduction code for catastrophic insurance premiums on the pension statement is CHIP MISC. If premium payments are not being deducted from your pension, you should contact Mercer immediately at 1-800-503-9230, option 2 and make alternate payment arrangements to bring their account up to date. You may also request that Mercer resume the premium deductions through monthly pension deductions. The UFOA does not process pension deductions or catastrophic insurance premium payments to Mercer.

Find out more

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