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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up …"

THE FIRE CHIEF OF KATY (Texas) FIRE DEPARTMENT Marc Jordan, 58, was indicted yesterday (Tuesday) by a Harris County Grand Jury on felony charges of diversion of a controlled substance and tampering with a government record.

KTRK-TV

This results from an investigation triggered by anonymous tips and conducted by several law enforcement agencis.  Specifically, Jordan is accused of stealing several vials of valium from a department ambulance and injecting them in his cousin's ex-wife to alleviate a severe back pain before her surgery.  In an attempt to cover up the crime, he fabricated a memo describing an accidental destruction of the vials.

KUHF-FM radio reports:

Sara Marie Kinney with the Harris County DA's office says the incident reportedly happened in January.

"We received at the DA's office, and some other law enforcement agencies received anonymous tips from several sources. And the tampering charge comes from his cover-up into how those were taken. It's a very well-documented process for any type of controlled substance to be taken out of an ambulance."

Jordan became the director of Katy's emergency medical services in 2002. He became fire chief in 2005.

When the DEA began looking into the missing drugs, Jordan prepared a bogus memo that read:  "On January 11, 2013, I inadvertently dropped a box of Diazapam(sic). In an effort to catch the box I jammed [it] between my leg and the refrigerator stand breaking the…cartridges. I disposed of the broken cartridges in the sharps container on the lead medic unit."

KTRK-TV filed this video report:

 

Jordan has been suspended and Assistant Chief Warner Preston has been named acting fire chief to fulfill the functions of the office during the interim.

KTRK-TV has the full STORY.
Katy Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on May 22, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – May 22

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Wednesday Morning – What's That In Your Pocket?

The Land of Technological Advances is still working full speed ahead, and I'm having fun watching them.  Today's topic is pocket devices that used to need a shelf.

Six months ago I went to the cellphone store to get a new "smartphone" and while there I checked into the latest devices for internet access for my laptop, etc.  A few years back I added the plan that gives me access to the web through the wireless phone network to have as a backup in case my regular internet server goes down (or electricity goes off).  I need that service to maintain this website so that I don't disappear from the scene.

Also, it allows me to live-blog from remote places like the Firehouse Expo which is coming up this July.  Since I have had the service, it has been a device that plugs into a USB port of the laptop (or any computer) and connects me with the web.  It was these devices that made it possible for Dave Statter and I to be the first people to live-blog from the Expo back in 2008.

Back to my vist to the store 6 months ago, I learn that the latest and greatest device that handles this task is a miniature version of a wi-fi hotspot.  It sits there on its own without any hardwire connection to the computer or phone network.  Just like when you are at a hotel or web-friendly restaurant, any computer can log onto the network with the proper password and plink away. 

And since the gadget is smaller than a credit card wallet, you can just drop it in your pocket where it's secure.  And there's a bonus feature:  It allows up to five computers to log on and use it simultaneously.  Verizon sells one that will accept 10 users, but I will never have use for that, so I opted for the cheaper version.

All this is just to lead us up to what brought this subject up in the first place.  I recently saw a listing for a "pocket projector" that can be connected to a smartphone, video cam, or any computer device that has an HDMI connection.  (It comes with an adaptor for the smartphone.) 

It projects the image at 85 lumens and will easily show a 60" diagonal image on the wall or screen (sheet?), whatever you use.  These newer smartphones now can store hundreds of photos on their memory cards, so you can just drop one of these into your bag and are prepared to bore anybody anywhere with your pics on the wall.

It's called a "pocket" projector, but you really need baggy pockets to qualify.  But it's a descriptive term that gets the point across that this is a tiny device.  I read through some of the customer reviews for this particular brand and model, and they were all thorough and highly praised the gadget.  Right now it's selling for $300, but I expect that price to creep down as the competitors start upgrading their products to match the quality and features of this one.

CLICK HERE to read more about this nifty gadget.  If you already have use for a display device for sales or training presentations, this is probably just what you need.  What a great training aid, eh?  The BC, or training officer, can snap some pics with his phone at the emergency scene.  And then as soon as you get the equipment back in service, you can immediately have a slide show to accompany your post-incident critique.

What we all need now is to get this equipment checked out, so let's get started.  The Bunn-O-Matic ain't wireless, but it's still the best, so I'll get another pot started.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on May 22, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology

Trash Can Ka-Boom Leads To Neighborhood Evacuation

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"Special Pickup" Takes On New Meaning

A NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE, NEIGHBORHOOD was getting ready for a special trash pickup Tuesday with folks setting out those larger items that don't fit, etc. for the trash man.  One lady carried out an old ammunition box that had belonged to her late husband and set it in the pile, too.

Delaware Online is reporting:

A neighbor from across the street asked if he could have the box. After getting her permission he took it across the street and placed it on a pickup truck tailgate. As he opened the box a mortar shell went off, covering him in shrapnel.

The ammo box still rests on the tailgate
following the explosion.  (News Journal photo)

The man is in critical but stable condition at Christiana Hospital.

Explosive experts from Dover Air Force Base have been called to help after officials believe they found more explosives. Nearby homes were being evacuated shortly after noon.

"Because they think it has to do with military ordnance they are bringing up Dover Air Force Base," said Michael G. Chionchio, assistant state fire marshal. "So we are at a stand down now waiting for Dover Air Force Base to assist [New Castle] County EOD."

Chionchio said a robot found two more items. "One definitely looks like a mortar round and one they’re not sure at the moment," Chionchio said.

Initially a 2-block area was evacuated as a precaution while the explosives team conducted its search.

News Journal

DelawareOnline posted a video report:

 

WPVI-TV has more details HERE.

Thanks to Ron Y.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics, Haz-mat, HazMat, Videos • Tagged: ,

2 Dead in UK House Ka-Boom

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4 Others Injured

A MASSIVE EXPLOSION demolished an occupied row home in Nottingham, England, Sunday evening.  The destruction left two residents dead and a third gravely injured, along with three others injured in an adjoining house.

SWNS

Killed were Leslie Rourke, 71, and his daughter-in-law Jeanette, 40, who were killed immediately.  Leslie's son, and Jeanette's husband, Nicholas Rourke was seriously injured and was quickly pulled from the rubble by neighbors before the fire brigade arrived.

Next door, other neighbors got to a woman and her two children ages 4 mos. and 7 years, and took them out of the endangered home.

The blast has all the earmarks of a gas explosion, but it wasn't immediately known if that was the cause or not.

The Daily Record adds:

Simon Hunter, who lives nearby, told ITV's Daybreak: "It was just a massive crash, like a big explosion. We had just come in from the garden and there was a massive explosion.

"The house shook, I looked at my wife and it was just sheer terror, we didn't know what was going on. My initial reaction was that a train had derailed. Then I saw the house with plumes of smoke everywhere. It was just carnage, it was unbelievable."

Group manager Bryn Coleman, of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the man's body was found between the basement and ground floor of the premises in the early hours.

Rescuers conducted a brick-by-brick search until
both buried victims were located.  (SWNS)

The search-and-rescue operation then continued until the woman was located and pronounced dead at about 3am.

The Telegraph has more plus a video HERE.
The Express has extensive coverage HERE.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics

New Jersey Sinkhole Swallows Occupied Forklift – Indoors

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Sinkholes Rare in Bergen County

A FORKLIFT OPERATOR ESCAPED WITH minor injuries Monday when the forklift he was riding suddenly dropped into a sinkhole in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Record

Danny Rodriguez was working inside a warehouse that stores non-perishable food products when,around 12:30 pm, the 40-ft. diameter hole opened up, dropping him about 8 feet to the initial bottom of the hole.  He was able to get himself out of the hole before the fire department arrived, and was transported to the hospital with back pains.

The Record reports in more detail:

Witnesses described the hole as being 30 to 40 feet wide and six to 10 feet deep. It was filled with a dark, oily liquid that authorities later said was cooking oil and soy sauce that was being stored in the warehouse and fell into the hole when the floor gave way.

Rodriguez managed to get out without serious injury, authorities said.

"Fortunately for the operator, the forklift went straight down and didn’t tip to the side because then he could have really been hurt," said borough Police Chief Larry Minda.

Sarah Entena, the administrator for AM Express Freight, said Rodriguez has worked for the Carlstadt-based company for about 30 years — "He’s the best forklift driver we have," she said. "The forklift protected him" from drowning or serious physical harm, she added. "And thank God for that."

News12

The warehouse is part of a nine-building attached complex and the local code inspector sealed off the warehouse along with the occupancies on each side until the building's owner is able to make corrective action to make it safe.

Later in the afternoon the incident was revised from "sinkhole" to "floor collapse" when it was determined that the floor collapsed into a sealed-off, and unknown to current occupants, basement.

View News12's informative video report HERE.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: Building construction, current events, rescue, Rescues

Morning Lineup – May 21

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Tuesday Morning – Horrible, Simply Horrible

This young week has been a terrible one so far for the emergency crews in the Southwest.  On Saturday a young, just-married, firefighter in Phoenix lost his life in a freak accident on the fireground, just a few hours after a city police officer was also killed in the line of duty.

Then comes yesterday's tragic death of a Dallas firefighter, and experienced man with more than 20 years on the job, who was caught in the collapse of a burning apartment building.  Still more tragedy landed on the region when that monster tornado swept through Oklahoma yesterday afternoon.

AP / Ogrocki

That one was just indescribable in its size and fury with a funnel cloud that was at least a mile in diameter when it touched down.  We can see the pictures, but there is no way we can get a sense of the terror that those people felt as it roared through their communities.  No way.  Just as amazing is the relatively low death count (so far) for such a destructive force, but everybody is giving credit to and praising the modern, early warning system that is set up in Oklahoma now.  Computer models coupled with advance radar technology are projecting highly accurate predictions of when,, where, and what size the twisters will be and where they are most likely to be traveling through.  God bless their souls.

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We have another kind of technology update for you this morning.  There has been an apparent breakthrough on the cellphone recharging stage.  I'm referring to the built-in battery packs installed in the phones.  An 18-yr.-old high school senior from Saratoga, California (San Jose area), has won a major prize for inventing a device that will recharge your cellphone in 20 to 30 seconds.  PC Magazine tells us:

California native Eesha Khare won a $50,000 scholarship for inventing a supercapacitor that can charge a cell phone in about 20 seconds.

The Harvard-bound teenager last week received one of two Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards for her work with energy-efficient storage devices. Khare developed a small device that fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to charge in 20 to 30 seconds. It also has the potential to work on car batteries.

Her invention, which weighs in just over an inch long, according to CNN, pushed Khare to the top of the class, helping her beat about 1,600 young scientists who competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

KPIX

She's already reportedly being courted by Google and other Silicon Valley giants to come to work for them, but she plans to pursue her college degree at Harvard University first.  When asked what led her into researching this line of power storage, she simply said "My cellphone battery was constantly going dead."

As simple as that.

Now let's keep it simple here and get this equipment checked out.  I'll get the techno-simple Bunn-O-Matic going before we meet back in the day room shortly.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Major Incidents, morning lineup, technology