Emergency Services

Darran Kelley: Fire Chief Adds to List of Indicted Kinloch Officials

Two years after its mayor was sentenced for embezzling funds, the fire chief for Kinloch now faces similar allegations. Darran Kelley, the chief of the Kinloch Fire Protection District, was arrested yesterday and charged with three felony counts of wire fraud, one felony count of federal program t ... More >>

School Bus and Metro Bus Collide, Injuring Several Students

St. Louis Fire Department officials have confirmed that a school bus carrying approximately 20 middle-school students was involved in a traffic collision with a Metro bus this morning. The accident occurred at 7 a.m. near the intersection of North Kingshighway and Page Boulevard. Several students an ... More >>

Robert H. Moore III Killed in Glen Echo Standoff

St. Louis County Police have confirmed that one man was killed in last night's incident near Glen Echo Country Club. Robert H. Moore III, 22, was pronounced dead the scene by first responders. An unidentified man is in custody on suspicion of murder in connection with the case. His name will not be ... More >>

New Madrid Fault Stretches, Rolls Back Over for Another Ten Minutes Sleep

​A 4.0 earthquake within the New Madrid Seismic Zone gently shook southeast Missouri Tuesday morning at 3:58 a.m. The quake was centered about nine miles east of Sikeston, Missouri, and no damage or injuries were reported.Just ten days ago, engineers, scientists, emergency first responders and ear ... More >>

Never Forget: 9/11 Memorials, Events in STL This Sunday

There will be 3,000 flags planted in Forest Park to honor the dead.​ On September 11, 2001, the country was shaken by terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Ten years later, St. Louis is coming together to remember -- and pay homage both to those lost in the attacks and ... More >>

Ten years have passed since 9/11, and The Guys has not improved with age

The Guys Were Men

Camel Caper: When animals get stuck, people call MERS

Who You Gonna Call When Your Camel Gets Stuck in the Mud?

All photos, Roger Vincent"A little help, please!"​When the all-volunteer Missouri Emergency Response (MERS) Large Animal Rescue pulled a camel out of the mud in De Soto, Missouri, this fall, they figured there was a first time for everything, but in this case, it was surely also the last.They were ... More >>

Russ Carnahan Honored by St. Louis Firefighters

Carnahan (with Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr.) will soon be adding an axe to his tool shed.​We can officially say it now: Representative Russ Carnahan is getting the axe. What? Don't we have to wait for the 2012 elections for the fallout from redistricting -- when Missouri's shrinking population ... More >>

Lemay Fire District Loses Grab at Casino Revenue -- Again

Moral of today's appellate court ruling: Nobody gets between St. Louis County and its casino revenue!​A south-county fire district has lost, again, in its attempt to grab a share of revenue from the River City Casino.In an opinion issued today, the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of App ... More >>

Severe Weather? Be Very, Very Aware This Week

It's a twister! Don't you want to be prepared?​It's irony that only Alanis Morissette could love: The state of Missouri had to cancel its annual Severe Weather Drill today because of -- yep -- severe weather. Apparently we won't just be practicing our response to crazy weather conditions today; we ... More >>

Robert Edwards: Ousted Chairman of Northeast Ambulance and Fire Loses Court Appeal

Robert Edwards lost job after holding meetings without a quorum.​The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District yesterday handed down a ruling confirming a St. Louis County verdict from last year that stripped Robert Edwards of his leadership position with the Northeast Ambulance and Fire ... More >>

"Say No to Proposition A" Rally This Evening in Kiener Plaza

Today's rally encourages you to just say "no" to multi-millionaire Rex Sinquefield and his campaign to eliminate income taxes.​St. Louis religious leaders and public officials are hosting a rally today at 5:30 p.m. in Kiener Plaza to oppose Proposition A -- the statewide ballot issue asking Missou ... More >>

Arson Investigated in Burning of Cahokia Church

The Illinois State Fire Marshall is looking into whether someone deliberately set fire to a church under construction in Cahokia over the weekend. The 500-seat Miracle Deliverance Temple was a month away from completion when it caught fire early Sunday. By the time firefighters got to the scene, the ... More >>

In Case of Disaster, Missouri's Kids Are Screwed

Pop quiz: What do Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana and Wyoming all have in common? According to a new report by Save the Children, kids in all these states are probably out of luck in case of an emergency.

For Fourth of July Entertainment, Alton Housing Complex Shoots Fireworks at Cops, Firefighters

Image sourceIn Alton, they shoot fireworks at the firefighters.​For their dose of Fourth of July fireworks this year, some poor suckers piled up on the riverfront at Fair St. Louis. Some braver souls shot off cherry bombs in their backyards and alleys. But the residents of the Oakwood Housing ... More >>

Kinloch Fire Protection District in Dispute With St. Louis County and NorthPark Over TIF Funding

photo by Keegan Hamilton Darran Kelly, chief of the Kinloch Fire Protection District​The Kinloch fire station is one of the nicest buildings in town, but that doesn't mean it's in good shape. The heater is broken, some of the windows are boarded-up, and until recently, a blue tarp, dubbed " ... More >>

A Video Tour of Kinloch, The Saddest City In St. Louis County

If you missed our post earlier this morning detailing the troubles of Kinloch Fire Protection District and their beef with St. Louis County and the developers at NorthPark, click here to check it out. The story touches on the astonishing level of urban decay Kinloch, the poorest of the 91 municipali ... More >>

Heavy Duty: Back-weary St. Louis EMTs struggle to transport more portly patients than ever before

State Auditor on Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District: You're "Poster Child" for Bad Government

northeastfiredistrict.orgFire District Chairman, Robert Edwards​Last night Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee held a news conference to release her findings on the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District. Unfortunately for Montee -- and taxpayers in the district -- the audit is less than ... More >>

County Police Offer "SKYWARN" Training to the Public

flickr.com/photos/apothekerLook! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No! It's a f@%#ing funnel cloud! ​Ever want to be a storm spotter, but just didn't know if you have what it takes? Well, you're in luck. The St. Louis County Police Department this fall is offering free SKYWARN training to ... More >>

When It Comes to Firefighter Discrimination Cases, St. Louis Not Alone

Ousted St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George could have a friend in Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. Not that it matters in the short term. Sotomayor's confirmation likely won't come until after the Supreme Court rules on a well-publicized suit in which white and Hispanic firefighters have sued ... More >>

Wednesday, April 7: Morning's Newz

Mayor Francis Slay easily won a third term yesterday, collecting 60 percent of the vote and defeating Independent challenger Maida Coleman who garnered just 30 percent of votes.In other election news, maverick Town & Country mayoral candidate John Hoffmann lost handily to incumbent Jon Dalton. T ... More >>

Reminder: Don't Drive and Drown this Month

Wikimedia CommonsApparently people do very stupid things in March, which is why the month is home to about a dozen different prevention weeks. My favorite thus far is the following pearl I received yesterday from the State Emergency Management Agency. The department has dubbed March 16-20 as "Turn A ... More >>

Dear Reader: Watch Out For Those Chainsaws

Good morning. Hope all is well, and as always, we here at Riverfront Times wish you the utmost health and safety while handling that chainsaw. To wit, we're proud to present the RFT "Press Release 'O the Day" from FEMA and the State of Missouri Emergency Management Act (SEMA). Yesterday the disaster ... More >>

Poll: Will Police Chief Joe Mokwa be Fired?

Alleged Copia Fire Starter Nabbed

Alleged Copia Fire Starter Nabbed

New St. Louis Public Safety Director: Race Matters

Talk Radio

In the case of a disaster, St. Louis police will need the whole region on the same wavelength.

Crash and Burn

Fire chief is killed after ex-con flees

Those Were the Days

An entertaining look back at Gaslight Square, and a dated take on 9/11

Under Fire

Chief Sherman George lights a fire, but who feels the heat?

In the Line of Fire

An Olivette firefighter becomes the target of the city manager

ON SHAKY GROUND

The earthquake hazard here may be greater than you think. And planning for it is less than you'd expect.

Seeing Red

After years of taking it on the chin, Bob Goeggel struck back at his competitor. Thanks to his accusations of fraud, the state's largest ambulance company is on the operating table and the feds are doing the cutting.