Cannelton, IN Volunteer Fire Chief Christopher Herzog was recently arrested for attempting to prevent a police officer from making a fire worse. However, the police version of the story makes it sound like Herzog was some crazed assailant attacking heroes. Now, the firefighter is facing a felony.
When kindergartners are taught to stop drop and roll, they are also taught that fire feeds on oxygen and that sometimes a suddenly opened door or window could cause a fire. Unfortunately, Cannelton police officer Ryen Foertsch did not get the memo.
Foertsch was at the location of the fire and in plain clothes, not dressed as an officer and was attempting to smash in one of the windows of the house, a move that could have obviously made the fire far worse. Herzog arrived on the scene to witness the blunder, and attempted to prevent the officer from literally adding fuel to the fire, and tried to get him away from the house.
Sensing that his authority was being threatened, Foertsch arrested the fire chief as the house continued to burn.
To make matters worse, as the house burned, the police ordered the remaining fire crew off of the property, preventing them from doing their jobs and putting lives and property at risk. Officer Foertsch claims that Herzog was shouting obscenities at him and shoving him. However, Herzog says that he was simply attempted to diffuse a dangerous situation, and even if he was shouting at the officer, he had every right to considering the circumstances.
Chris Zukeschwerdt, the man who owns the house that was burning, was horrified by the encounter that he witnessed.
I was in shock. When I saw the faces of those firefighters to see their leader being pulled out of here while he was fighting a fire was just unreal, Zukeschwerdt said.
Zukeschwerdt said that he heard the chief yell to the other firefighters to stay and make sure the fire was put out, as he was dragged away in handcuffs. However, he says that next the police officers took over the scene and ordered the firefighters to leave.
Were in charge of this scene now, Zukeschwerdt says he heard an officer say. Zukeschwerdt said at that point, a lot of the fire department guys started saying lets grab out gear and go.
Sadly, after the chief was arrested and the other firefighters sent away, the police officers did nothing and allowed the fire to completely destroy the house. Herzog was taken into custody and lodged in the Perry County Jail on a charge of battery against a public safety official, a level 6 felony.
Soon after the arrest, Herzog was bailed out of jail by Cannelton Mayor Mary Snyder.
It is important to note that the National Incident Management System, which sets national standards for first responders in emergencies such as this, states that the first fire unit arriving on the scene of a house fire are the ones to take command of the incident, which means that Herzog was within his rights to take charge of the situation when he arrived on the scene.
It seems that officer Foertsch was more concerned with his own ego and perceived authority than he was with saving lives, which is a dangerous consequence of giving a person unlimited power.
#37: Deckard To: Roscoe (#18)
Oh gee, the Fire Chief has the training and experience fighting fires.
The cops - not so much.
But if it is your contention that cops should be placed in charge of residential fire scenes, people will die as a result.
Do you really want that?
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:12:36 Reply Private Reply
#38: Deckard To: Gatlin (#22)
Oh, so that's your rationale now?
There is no evidence to show that the Fire Department failed to search the house. It makes sense to me that experienced and highly trained firefighters would know to do that first.
To make matters worse, as the house burned, the police ordered the remaining fire crew off of the property, preventing them from doing their jobs and putting lives and property at risk.
Apparently the cops were not really interested public safety.
It was just another example of an arrogant cop flexing his authoritah when he should have been directing traffic or fetching donuts and coffee for the real heroes.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:22:56 Reply Private Reply
#39: Deckard To: Roscoe, A K A Stone (#33)
Just a suggestion - maybe you could get an update on your 64K phone modem so you are able to watch videos and not appear to be so much of a lying assclown.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:26:11 Reply Private Reply
#40: Gatlin To: Deckard GrendIsland (#35)
Furthermore, a better question to ask: Is a patrolman allowed to take direct action when a volunteer fire chief does not follow the published procedure and lives may be endangered because of that?
The volunteer fire chief did NOT check the house for any endangered occupants. He was negligent in his duty by not following established procedure.
Follow Up Question: Since the volunteer fire chief did not perform his duty at all .then is the patrolman to stand down and not check the house for occupants after an irresponsible hothead volunteer fire chief abdicated his duties and acted irrationally by not following published procedures?
Any volunteer fire chief who lost control of himself at the scene and reacts violently by physically attacking a Public Safety Official should be arrested and relieved of his duty as the volunteer fire chief.
The Indiana State Troopers independently investigate the incident and they arrested the volunteer fire chief.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 16:26:24 Reply Private Reply
#41: Deckard To: Gatlin (#34)
Thanks for your cooperation.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:28:37 Reply Private Reply
#42: Roscoe To: Deckard (#36)
Your posted article doesn't say he broke the window. It shows that he was feloniously assaulted while he was "attempting to smash in one of the windows of the house."
You can't even keep your lies straight.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 16:30:13 Reply Private Reply
#43: Roscoe To: Deckard (#39)
noun
a piece of writing included with others in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication.
Craven bitch #2.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 16:32:07 Reply Private Reply
#44: Roscoe To: Deckard (#37)
What a coward.
I'll try again: Please state your evidence that it isn't their job at a fire scene unless requested by the Fire Chief, who has command.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 16:35:08 Reply Private Reply
#45: Roscoe To: Gatlin (#40)
He'll flee your point, gibbering in angry terror.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 16:36:29 Reply Private Reply
#46: Vinny To: Deckard (#37)
KooK, tell that to the families of the 60 cops who died while evacuating the fire engulfed Twin Towers on 9/11.
Vinny posted on 2016-12-31 16:37:14 Reply Private Reply
#47: Roscoe To: Vinny (#46)
You nuked him.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 16:39:46 Reply Private Reply
#48: Gatlin To: Deckard, Roscoe (#36)
Besides, you need to read and comprehend the yellow journalism article you posted.
That was when the volunteer fire chief got into the fray with the cop. There is NO report that the window was ever smashed. I say that if the volunteer fire chief had been an expert, then he would have followed published procedures and checked the house for occupants. He did not. The cop was doing that, the duty unfulfilled by the irresponsible volunteer fire chief.Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 16:43:22 Reply Private Reply
#49: Deckard To: Vinny (#46)
Oh - were those cops also fighting the fires?
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:44:11 Reply Private Reply
#50: Vinny To: Deckard (#49)
Vinny posted on 2016-12-31 16:50:56 Reply Private Reply
#51: Gatlin To: Deckard, Roscoe (#37)
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 16:54:56 Reply Private Reply
#52: Deckard To: Vinny (#50)
Foertsch was at the location of the fire and in plain clothes, not dressed as an officer and was attempting to smash in one of the windows of the house, a move that could have obviously made the fire far worse.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 16:58:46 Reply Private Reply
#53: Gatlin To: Deckard (#41)
Non sequitur.
Ridiculous ...
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 16:59:38 Reply Private Reply
#54: Roscoe To: Gatlin (#51)
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:02:57 Reply Private Reply
#55: Gatlin To: Deckard (#38)
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:04:49 Reply Private Reply
#56: Deckard To: Gatlin (#48)
You probably should have checked the links and watched the video.
I was in shock, says Chris Zukeschwerdt, whose house was on fire.When I saw the faces of those firefighters to see their leader being pulled out of here while he was fighting a fire was just unreal.
Zukeschwerdt has spent 40 years as an EMT and says, I've never seen anything like it in my life.
Humphery recorded the aftermath on her cell phone. She watched first responders in blue and red butt heads, while a fire burned in the background.
They pulled the fire chief out, Zukeschwerdt said, while the fire was still smoldering. Humphrey saw him arrested and put in handcuffs.
Neighbors there say police officers then told Cannelton firefighters to pack up. A firefighter can be heard on video telling his crew to pick up the hoses and leave.
We're in charge of this scene now, Zukeschwerdt says he heard a police officer say, and a lot of the fire department guys started saying let's grab out gear and go.
Zukeschwerdt says he heard the assistant fire chief tell his firefighters to stay put and make sure this fire is out.
Well, it wasn't.
The house caught fire again, and torched the rest of the house.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 17:06:13 Reply Private Reply
#57: Roscoe To: Deckard (#52)
According to fire expert Matt Agorist.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:08:27 Reply Private Reply
#58: Vinny To: Deckard (#52)
Vinny posted on 2016-12-31 17:09:36 Reply Private Reply
#59: Roscoe To: Deckard (#56)
So the fire was OUT when the police were looking for possible victims.
What a great foot shot!
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:09:38 Reply Private Reply
#60: Gatlin To: Deckard (#38)
It was reported that the fire was out when the handcuffed volunteer fire chief departed the scene and that was when the police ordered the remaining fire crew off the property.
Try to keep up
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:10:45 Reply Private Reply
#61: Roscoe To: Vinny (#58)
The Ron Rico Purple Label is 151 proof. Highly flammable.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:12:40 Reply Private Reply
#62: Gatlin To: Deckard (#38)
No, this is just another example of the many yellow journalism article you post and your failure to fact check.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:13:43 Reply Private Reply
#63: Roscoe To: Gatlin (#60)
You and your darn facts! Don't you know that mansplaining triggers the SJWs.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:14:16 Reply Private Reply
#64: Gatlin To: Roscoe (#45)
He is a weirdo....but I have yet to see a libertarian who is not.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:15:55 Reply Private Reply
#65: Gatlin To: Roscoe, Vinny (#47)
He will still be the Phoenix rising from the ashes.
He has a strong desire to receive truthful verbal abuse
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:20:05 Reply Private Reply
#66: Deckard To: Vinny (#58)
Please post a link to where the Chief was found to have ANY alcohol in his system along with any toxicology reports and arrest history.
What - you mean you are just making shit up because you have a man-crush on cops?
You certainly do have a vivid - one could almost say "delusional" imagination!
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 17:21:07 Reply Private Reply
#67: Gatlin To: Deckard, Vinny (#49)
What other cops have we been discussing were fighting fires?
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:22:39 Reply Private Reply
#68: Roscoe To: Gatlin (#67)
It may have been in one the discussions he was having with the voices in his head.
Roscoe posted on 2016-12-31 17:25:15 Reply Private Reply
#69: Gatlin To: Roscoe (#54)
At least he hasnt posted a multitude of different links for deflection .since he is getting his ass kicked so rightly with facts.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:25:47 Reply Private Reply
#70: GrandIsland To: Deckard (#35)
I don't "claim".... I am a retired 20 year LEO.
During an active fire, the fire chief has control of the scene.
GrandIsland posted on 2016-12-31 17:42:29 Reply Private Reply
#71: Gatlin To: Deckard (#56)
First, Zukeschwerdt said : their leader being pulled out of here while he was fighting a fire.
Then a couple line down, Zukeschwerdt said: They pulled the fire chief out, Zukeschwerdt said, while the fire was still smoldering.
Then a link stated as the handcuffed volunteer fire chief departed, he said to his crew: Check to make sure there are no hot spots. [meaning of course, that the fire was out].
Now, please tell me .which link should I probably have checked?
There is no quotation marks encompassing that statement.Stop making up shit and trying to slip it in .that is so typical yellow journalism and easily spotted.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:45:43 Reply Private Reply
#72: Gatlin To: Roscoe, Deckard (#59)
It did not!
I hit him on this also.
He likes to add shit in and make it look like someone reported that.
It is becaue of his actions, that I have a hard time trusting libertarians.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:51:08 Reply Private Reply
#73: Gatlin To: Deckard, Roscoe, Vinny (#66)
Deckard to Vinny:
pot, kettle....black!
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 17:54:58 Reply Private Reply
#74: Vinny To: Roscoe (#61)
Total rummy. Red faced, cop fighters usually are.
Vinny posted on 2016-12-31 18:12:23 Reply Private Reply
#75: Deckard To: GrandIsland (#70)
Thank you.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 18:22:07 Reply Private Reply
#76: Deckard To: Vinny (#74)
Still waiting for you to post documented evidence showing the Chief was intoxicated.
...cop fighters usually are.
The cop in this instance should have obeyed the person who has authority at a fire -the Chief.
He would have served a useful purpose by keeping civilians away and fetching donuts and coffee for the real public servants.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 18:31:43 Reply Private Reply
#77: Hondo68 To: Gatlin (#73)
Police firefighting skilz.
Hondo68 posted on 2016-12-31 18:45:04 Reply Private Reply
#78: GrandIsland To: Gatlin (#40)
lol.... was wondering that myself.
GrandIsland posted on 2016-12-31 19:01:15 Reply Private Reply
#79: Deckard To: GrandIsland, Gatlin (#78)
It's kinda like Gatlin "claiming" to be a major when he distances himself from and trashes the very Constitution that he supposedly took an oath to protect and defend.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 19:27:16 Reply Private Reply
#80: Deckard To: hondo68 (#77)
Now they're gonna have to jack up some other citizen to make up for their incompetence.
Deckard posted on 2016-12-31 19:30:17 Reply Private Reply
#81: Vinny To: Deckard (#76)
KooK, the officers arrested the stewball after he struck an officer at the scene of an emergency where they heroically saved citizens.
So actually they were in charge.
See how this stuff works?
Vinny posted on 2016-12-31 20:12:23 Reply Private Reply
#82: Gatlin To: Deckard, GrandIsland (#79)
Well you can .but if you do so, then you will get your dumb hotheaded ass arrested and charged with: Battery Against a Public Safety Official, Level 6 Felony.
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 21:28:22 Reply Private Reply
#83: Gatlin To: GrandIsland (#78)
He cant arrange his words and phrases properly to create well-formed sentences that make sense.
That is no doubt caused by his total inability to understand the complexity and truthfulness of the situation he is trying to discuss.
The poor lad is always so lost in the world of reality
Gatlin posted on 2016-12-31 21:36:47 Reply Private Reply
#84: Deckard To: Vinny (#81)
HUH? So you are trying to say that it was the cops who acted heroically?
Not according to the homeowner and witnesses on the scene.
Chris Zukeschwerdt, the man who owns the house that was burning, was horrified by the encounter that he witnessed.
I was in shock. When I saw the faces of those firefighters to see their leader being pulled out of here while he was fighting a fire was just unreal, Zukeschwerdt said.
Zukeschwerdt said that he heard the chief yell to the other firefighters to stay and make sure the fire was put out, as he was dragged away in handcuffs. However, he says that next the police officers took over the scene and ordered the firefighters to leave.
Were in charge of this scene now, Zukeschwerdt says he heard an officer say. Zukeschwerdt said at that point, a lot of the fire department guys started saying lets grab out gear and go.
Gee, what happened next you say?
The house caught fire again, and torched the rest of the house.
And still you ignorantly claim that the cops were "heroes" that day?
Deckard posted on 2017-01-01 00:13:32 Reply Private Reply
#85: Gatlin To: Deckard, Vinny (#84)
There you go again spouting of about what Chris Zukeschwerdt said.
Chris Zukeschwerdts account is inconsistent and in contradiction to other sources.
Now, please, you cannot possible tell which version of all this is factually correct.Gatlin posted on 2017-01-01 00:46:38 Reply Private Reply
#86: rlk To: Deckard (#84)
The weren't there for law enforcement. They were there for ego enforcement. A small minded man looking for a chance to show his authority and prowess.
rlk posted on 2017-01-01 00:50:06 Reply Private Reply