Hillsborough County firefighters conducted water rescue drills this week in preparation for the busy July Fourth holiday weekend. The training, which was conducted off Little Harbor Pier in Ruskin, included plucking would-be victims from the rough waters of the Bay. There were also drills related to navigational techniques and search patterns. ...more

July 3, 2009

While most of the nation watched in awe as all 155 passengers and crew were plucked safely from a floating jetliner in the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, officials with Tampa Fire Rescue observed with a critical eye. ...more

January 16, 2009

One of the perks of being a reporter is access to new experiences. When Palm Harbor Fire Rescue spokeswoman Elizabeth Montforti invited local journalists to join North Pinellas firefighters while they practice their water rescue techniques, it was like getting an unexpected bonus. ...more

August 30, 2008

Water is typically a firefighter's best friend. But drop a 180-pound man wearing 60 pounds of bunker gear into a swimming pool and you've got problems. Add the fact that the firefighter is probably stumbling blind through black smoke when his solid footing gives way and the problems multiply. ...more

August 20, 2008

Water is typically a firefighter's best friend. ...more

August 20, 2008

Jumping into a body of water in full uniform isn't typically part of a law enforcement officer's repertoire. ...more

February 23, 2008

PINELLAS PARK - Jumping into a body of water in full uniform isn't typically part of a law enforcement officer's repertoire. ...more

February 22, 2008

Chaos reigned on Halloween night after a car drove through a dead end and crashed into a Bradenton retention pond. ...more

December 31, 2007

BRADENTON - Johnnie Schoolfield Jr. and Theodore Thomas were longtime friends, growing up in the same neighborhood in east Bradenton. On Halloween night, the men were together, naturally, cruising the streets. The paramedics, who pulled up to the crash first, did not go in the water. Within about four minutes of the 911 call, two firefighters arrived, threw on life jackets and dived into the pond. They had seen a man go under but were unable to find him. ...more

November 2, 2007