and decided to start out the day by being an ass*ole. have a nice life.

Emergencies are strange animals. I recently had an event that probably warranted land sooner than I did. My choice was a flowing river or back to the lz 2 miles away. I chose the latter. It seemed like an eternity, but if the aircraft feels like it's flying, it's hard not to continue.

If he in fact was oei, how the hell do you just plop in down on US1 when you see a runway straight ahead.

I think a majority of pilots would have made the same choice. 

Had the pilot balled it up in an off-site precautionary landing, this guy would've been the one clamoring about the airport a mile away.

On here as far as I am concerned but flown the 135 for 12plus years.  The cockpit would have been screaming at him to land.  In a fire there is ALWAYS a place to land even at a intersection Or school yard or parking lot or road.  I'm pretty sure he was over a street  He just decided wrong And consequences for this. im curious if he even pushed the fuel shut off on the number one engine or if it was a broken fuel line and it didn't matter. The point is we all know now what can happen if you don't land right away and an engine fire.

I remember a video many years ago in Los Angeles of a news helicopter that was shooting smoke all over the sky. Being filmed by another news helicopter. I think it was an oil line but even in downtown Los Angeles he landed in some ghetto parking lot safely. 

And then Leroy Brown and gang mugged the hero pilot and his poor camera man.

But yeah he is alive right and no one dead on the ground.  I've been in a engine fire before in a 145.  Put it on the ground Period.  I landed in Walmart.  Land Immediately meana what it reads.  Now we all know what happens if you don't.  Like the above poster said, that wouldn't have been my choice To continue flying smoking a hole thru the sky.  He has to live with it now. 

Number 2 engine fire light Illuminated while 40 miles off shore in a Bell 412.  I immediately supressed and shut down #2 and flew it 20 minutes back to ICY without incident.    

All these engine fires, yet nobody has ever read about them.

happened years ago...WHY DON'T YOU USE YOUR GOOGLE SEARCH AND FIND IT SMART GUY.....because it wasn't listed on JH LOL>....STFU you boot pilot...

He is alive BUT a crew member & 1 person on the gnd died!

I think it will be found to not have been an engine fire.  At most he would have had an avionics overheat light and smell of smoke.  Engine fire should have been contained in engine compartment, that's why they are made out of titanium tail boom should not have burned thru.  Avionics area pelican rack fire would be smoke, no fire light in cockpit, tail boom attached just above. 

If you have ever had an inflight fire, and I have, you would have put it down RIGHT F@@cking now!,

  No chance in the world I would have been aware of one and not headed for an immediate LZ.  Once you have lived through one, you KNOW how fast jet a burns up aluminum.

But he made his choice, it would not have been mine.

Bad deal.

Post the NTSB report on that one.

If you look closely you can see the fire that's visable is in the compartment below the exhaust stacks. The     EC-135 guys will have to school me on what's in that space, besides the tail boom attachment stuff, but whatever it is, it needs ventilation. The fire you can see is visable through the larger aft screen.

Did he have an engine fire, delt with it, and was returning to the airport? The radar trace looks like an unhurried left turn to return to the airport. He made a call and said they had a problem and were returning to company parking, and that they would have to do ground transport for whoever they were going to pick up.

Did he even know he had new, and much worse problem cooking in the back?

You need a hearing test. He said he had an engine failure and would like priority to a runway. 
https://youtu.be/wRTI_ahhOi0?si=q4SUhSYXBL_Skhf4

RH side is the battery and engine fire extinguisher

LH side varies by completion, but could be AC condensor.