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Metro Fire saves apartment complex while manager gets uppity with media

by Ed Fogle, published on August 3, 2009 at 1:54 AM

Storyline: Breaking and Action News Stories

Community Tags apartment fire Crime culture ed fogle fire investigation manager media People sac city fire sacramento city fire department sacramento metro fire department

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This photographer/writer has been accused of being "snarky" in the past, but I'll put it right out there and warn you on this one…I'm going to be Snarky!

Sacramento, CA- Metro fire executes a rapid "knockdown" on apartment fire, containing the blaze to one unit and saving the complex.

Early Sunday afternoon, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department, assisted by Sacramento City Fire Department, was called to the apartments at 7326 Stockton Boulevard, for a report of smoke. When crews arrived they found heavy smoke coming from the windows and front door of a top floor apartment. A second alarm was immediately struck out for additional resources due to the "high density residential housing," per Battalion Chief Walter White.

The fire was a "well involved contents fire" that started in a bedroom", said White, "and extended into other portions of the residence".

Two fire investigators were called to the scene for a "routine investigation" per White. Approximately 15 firefighters helped to control blaze and no injuries were reported.

(Here's the snarky part) Part way through the incident, the complex manager became very insistent that all media, including TV networks, leave the premises. When asked why, she refused to answer and became quite animated and demanding. Myself and other on scene media asked her what she was afraid we would discover. We then asked her if she was sure she wanted us to leave and let her know that now we were curious as to what was being hidden. So now instead of leaving this story at just the awesome job the firefighters did in saving this apartment complex, everyone's belongings and keeping from more than one family being displaced; we now start asking the questions: were the required smoke detectors working? …were there proper fire extinguishers available? …were there unattended electrical issues, etc.? So, property managers and owners, know that media personnel are there to cover the story at hand; when you adamantly demand that we leave, it makes us start asking questions that you may not want asked. (Please note that I am an independent photographer/writer and not on staff with SacPress)

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Conversation Express your views, debate, and be heard with those in your area closest to the issue.

Matthew Keys

August 3, 2009 | 11:02 AM

Any person or company who owns private property has the right to ask media to leave the premises at any time for any reason. Most media choose to cover stories from the street or the sidewalk instead -- streets and sidewalks are public property.

Also, please don't confuse "TV networks" with "TV stations." Local TV media is different from a network like ABC, CBS or FOX. Chances are, a major television network doesn't care about an apartment fire, but a local TV station would.

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Ed Fogle

edited on August 3, 2009 | 6:50 PM

Thanks for the clarification there Mat on my little rant. You are also so very correct in most of your details, and shoot from the sidewalk we did. However, "most media" DO NOT choose to cover stories from the street or sidewalk. We choose to cover from there when such managers choose to exercise their right to have us move off the property. If "most media" choose to shoot from the sidewalk, explain why on this incident (and every other incident like this I have been on) "most media" were sneaking their way back on to the property when the manager wasn't looking. There is a nice way to ask media to leave and there is way that leads us to think there is something being covered up and we need to probe for a deeper story; this manager fit the latter. Thanks for the info Mat, but I'm not new to the on scene action media game....I've been doing it since I was 12. Now, I do readily admit that I'm not the best writer and I'm very up front that I am a photographer who writes when he has to.

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TomRunge

August 3, 2009 | 1:31 PM

" we now start asking the questions: were the required smoke detectors working? …were there proper fire extinguishers available? …were there unattended electrical issues, etc.? So, property managers and owners, know that media personnel are there to cover the story at hand; when you adamantly demand that we leave, it makes us start asking questions that you may not want asked."

Did you ask her when she stopped beating her wife too?

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