So, Flint is Burning

This is for all of you out-of-towners that may not have heard, Flint is in chaos at the moment.  Since the mayor closed fire stations and laid off firefighters, there have been over 50 fires in the city in the past week.

Mlive is trying to cover it.  In their own inept way.

Someone is trying to keep up with them all on Google Maps.

Some fire departments are giving up.

You can keep up with the excitement by listening to live streams from fire and police dispatch.

It’s not national news.  No one would be surprised anyway. Flint’s best commodity for export is being the butt of every joke about what is wrong with this country.

People look to flint – to feel better about their stupid towns.

-ddp-

Photo credits to Tarra Sifferman

Links credits to A. Cleveland, K. Whiteaker, K. Baker,  and J. Wood

hiteaker

Comments

37 responses to “So, Flint is Burning”

  1. Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by paxtonland: New blog post: So, Flint is Burning http://paxtonland.com/archives/2010/04/153/

  2. neece

    omg: uh, don’t BREATHE!

    ‘preciate the update … gonna check
    those links
    🙁

  3. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Laszlo Toth, Dean Paxton. Dean Paxton said: New blog post: So, Flint is Burning http://paxtonland.com/archives/2010/04/153/ […]

  4. Kenneth Whiteaker
  5. Man, I missed that. I used to be a big ‘ol mefite.

  6. So, thanks so much for trying. jessamyn just deleted the post after 40+ comments. I didn’t know you posted it until I read your comment on Toe’s FB. Thanks for trying! I don’t blame them for deleting it tho, she did the right thing, rulz is rulz. Funny that we didn’t even know we were both users there until an hour ago – hahaha

  7. Oh… man. Wow. I’m the subject of a FPP! To think, I had to take a 5 yr mefi hiatus to get that!

    Okay. I really just want ppl. to know the bedlam here every single night. I realize that is giving whomever is doing this even more attention but, c’mon! Does the entire city have to burn to the ground for anyone to notice.

  8. […] 50 fires in the past week have been reported in Flint, but according to blogger Dean Paxton, news coverage is lacking. Fire map on Google Flint Fire and Police stream at RadioReference Flintmi.us scanner streams (via […]

  9. […] is burning. paxtonland – So, Flint is Burning […]

  10. colusaboy

    Hung out in Flint twice.
    It’s not worth saving. Let it burn.
    Tell the crews to pull back to Grand Rapids.

  11. @colusaboy So, you’ve got some alternatives? Ideas? What can we do to make it worth saving?

  12. Sort of a fitting end for a town named “Flint”.

  13. @tyler: so true… sad isn’t it?

  14. […] paxtonland – So, Flint is Burning Burton’s fire chief to Flint: “We’re not responding.” (tags: dystopia politics economics) […]

  15. sure is pretty though but that is crazy

  16. Coincidence

    So the mayor fires firefighters and then what happens? There are fires that wouldn’t have occurred without the layoff or there are fires that would have been put out without the layoffs? Let’s hope these fires aren’t the result of some jobless firefighters working on the justification for getting their jobs back.

  17. […] paxtonland – So, Flint is Burning […]

  18. […] paxtonland – So, Flint is Burning….. the post that started it all….. […]

  19. Poster

    had a look at the map. the ones living on flushing road seem to be fine haha.

    but seriously, why all the burning? do you people in flint have a problem with arson? or is there some magic self igniting problem?

  20. […] doldrums by messing around on the internet, I noticed that my friend ddp had posted a basic blog on his site regarding the recent rash of arson, stating that Flint was basically under seize and […]

  21. Your article was most tweeted by Women experts in the Twitterverse…

    Come see other top popular articles surfaced by Women experts!…

  22. […] 3. Town burns. (See story and more photos) […]

  23. @Poster: Well, I think the answer to your question lies in the links within the post. I think that the back story explains itself.

    I wouldn’t want to guess as to who or whom may be doing all of this but, if it’s attention they want to stop, hopefully they will soon. As I write this it’s raining outside, maybe nature will win the night.

  24. So, the unofficial count yesterday was 72 fires, there are five now… in the middle of a full-on thunderstorm.

  25. Thanks for all of the attention… moving this to http://www.saveflint.com/

  26. Tonev

    If you ask me, I think this is something that needed to happen with this city. I have watched Flint become the back water joke of Michigan, as GM and the folks who worked there and lived outside of its walls lap up rewards (Flushing, Burton,Swartz Creek, etc).

    On a note, 50 homes put on fires in Flint and only $50.00 worth of damage.

  27. Jeff

    are these homes universaly abandoned?

  28. @Jeff: No, not all of them. Of the nearly 100 fires so far, there were several that were in homes that were occupied. The vast majority were not occupied.