The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fire protection" ...
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Investigating the Fire
After three people were killed in a fire set by the Colorado State Forest Service, KMGH-TV uncovered governmental mistakes and communication failures that killed people and destroyed homes. Our coverage spurred legislative change that will ultimately help the victims of the Lower North Fork Fire (LNFF) rebuild their lives and protect future fire victims. The LNFF was started in March 2012 by a state forest service prescribed burn that went out of control, killing three people and destroying more than 20 homes. KMGH-TV's six-week investigation uncovered multiple government failures that turned a supposedly controlled burn into an uncontrolled wildfire. Despite heading into a busy ratings period, KMGH-TV dedicated two reporters -- Amanda Kost and Marshall Zelinger -- full-time to investigate the fire. The station produced more than two dozen investigative reports over 40 days. On top of the daily reports, KMGH-TV produced a 30-minute special of original content in six days. Our investigations sparked a legislative inquiry into the fire and prompted Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to sign a law lifting liability limits that protected the state agency responsible for the blaze. Lawmakers, fire victims and community residents all agreed that without KMGH-TV's extensive investigation of government failures and mistakes, the families of people who died and people who lost homes would never be adequately compensated for their losses. Our investigation forced the state to reevaluate how it sets future prescribed burns to make sure the fires are safer for the community.
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A Chief Under Fire
The story looks at "corruption and malfeasance at the federally-funded, volunteer fire department, the Boone County Fire Protection District." Specifically, the author reveals a misuse of "federal grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and public, taxpayer money for the purchase of an 8-foot bronze statue in front of the department's Columbia, Mo. headquarters.
Tags: fire department; misuse of funds; taxpayer money; corruption, Boone County Fire
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Private Security in a Post-9/11 World
As the focal point of a study of the private guard industry in New York state, WNYC looks at Tristar Patrol Services, "which had seen a dramatic expansion after the September 11 attack in NYC, getting more than $80 million in contract work with the City of New York." The company had more than a thousand employees, mostly young minority males, and they had the task of protecting all of the city's office space, infrastructure and Fire Department facilities. The investigation found that Tristar's owner, Gary Zimmer, had been convicted of assault and had to resign as a police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, yet attained the right to hold a security guard company license when a judge, believing the owner's misrepresentation of his criminal case, granted him an exemption from state law. In addition, there were other issues as Tristar "had been disqualified from doing state work for misrepresenting it had properly credentialed guards, but went on to win a multi-million dollar, multi-year City contract." The company failed to properly compensate guards, including not paying for vacation or advanced state security credentials, and Tristar also did not pay "hundreds of thousands of dollars it was required to pay the union representing the guards to cover union dues and health and welfare benefits required by the contract." But because of the New York Secretary of State's lack of investigators, regulations were not enforced. Also, there is no uniform requirement across the country for the training and qualifications for security guards and companies.
Tags: Private security; Sept. 11, 2001; Tristar Patrol Services; Gary Zimmer; New York City security
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State of Denial
Arizona Child Protection Services is the state agency charged with protecting abused and neglected children. Until a new law took affect in 2005, CPS workers were not required to have background checks. A number of CPS caseworkers had criminal backgrounds and couldn't pass the checks. Unsure what to do, CPS didn't fire those workers and the situation remains.
Tags: Child Protection Services; criminal backgrounds; government workers; background checks; child abuse; neglect; Arizona Open Records Law
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Revolving door for fired workers
This series investigates private contractors in Florida who hire counselors fired from similar jobs for inappropriate behavior. The reporters found that the these counselors had a history of abusing juveniles they were hired to protect. Using public records laws, the reporters collected information on the staff members working with each of the 40 private contractors. The juvenile justice agency is presently investigating the problems that were exposed.
Tags: FOIA; private contractors in Florida; private contractors for juvenile homes; juvenile justice; public records laws in Florida; juvenile justice in Florida
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Firefighters Arriving Late
"Firefighters arriving late," is an investigation into the Tucson Fire Department and their lack of consistency in acceptable emergency response times. Though the national standard is five minutes or less, the TFD only meets that standard about half the time. The slowest response time usually occur in the fastest-growing area of Tucson, and the fire department is too underfunded to keep up with the growing population. Using a number of different databases from the local fire department, as well as the National Fire Protection Association, Branan was able to analyze the problem and discover that Tucson isn't the only fire department unable to meet national standards.
Tags: Tucson Fire Department; National Fire Protection Association; response times; US Fire Administration
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Burning Through Tax Dollars
This investigative series looks at the financial operations of several fire protection districts in the St. Louis area. According to the article, there were multiple conflicts of interest, including board members who accepted cash gifts from fellow firefighters. From the questionnaire: "Weich and Holland found conflicts of interest involving fire board members and union firefighters, fiscal irresponsibility in the way tax money was spent and a lack of accountability for spending to taxpayers."
Tags: salaries; union; St. Louis Fire Department
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Forgotten Heroes: America's Volunteer Firefighters
Pardue recognized that nearly every story he read about rural fires included the phrase "By the time the firefighters arrived, the house was fully engaged." His curiosity about the effectiveness of rural volunteer fire departments led to this story, which found that they really aren't effective at all. People protected by volunteer fire departments are nearly three times as likely to die in a fire than those protected by full-time departments. Lots of interviews and database analysis exposed a lot of problems within volunteer fire departments.
Tags: fire department; arson; firefighters; National Fire Protection Administration
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Fire Hazard: Bush Leaves Nuclear Plants at Risk
Cusac's investigation looks into fire safety protections at several U.S. nuclear plants, as well as the Bush administration's decision to make fire safety a lax issue. The article points out the fact that this decrease in fire protection comes at the point when Al Qaeda's interests are in targeting unidentified nuclear power plants. From the IRE questionnaire: "This article discovered that the reason the Bush Administration was making such a move was because many plants were already in violation of the law and because the nuclear industry threatened widespread rebellion if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tried to enforce the law."
Tags: fire safety protections; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Shearon Harris; Progress Energy
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Coaches who prey: The abuse of girls and the system that allows it
Following a year of investigation that included interviews with more than 260 people, 110 public-records requests and legal battles in four counties, the Seattle Times revealed how coaches who have been reprimanded or fired for sexual misconduct continued to coach or teach. Among the findings: School officials and the teachers union team up to keep misconduct records concealed; schools risk student safety while they, unknowingly or not, protect coaches; reprimanded coaches resurface in other school districts; victims say club teams are a haven for sexual abuse.
Tags: schools; education; coaches; sexual abuse; sexual assault; rape