WASHINGTON STATE IS ONE OF THE NATION’S LEADERS when it comes to innovative ways to extract more taxes from its citizens. Now one of the local toll bridge authorities is proposing charging tolls for fire engines, ambulances and police cars – even if they are responding on an emergency. Since when does a government agency have the authority to tax another government agency? It’s economically impossible.
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Comments OffDuno shines in Indy debut
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Indianapolis Star photo
VENEZUELAN SPORTS CAR DRIVER MILKA DUNO was all smiles yesterday after finishing her first open-wheel race without incident. Driving in the first major circuit race to have 3 women participating, she came in 14th. Now she is ready to face the Indianapolis Month of May for the Memorial Day 500, hoping to qualify.
Dan Wheldon won the 200-lap race becoming the first driver to win two races this season. Sarah Fisher finished 12th and Danica Patrick came in 7th.
Fantasy cop gets copped
Comments OffIN BROCKTON, MASS. A MAN DECKED OUT IN HIS “DAWG THE BOUNTY HUNTER” costume was nabbed shoplifting…..for the second time. Says he’s not a real bounty hunter, just trying to break into the business.
WUSA channel 9 photo
FOR THE SECOND TIME WITHIN 12 HOURS a major fire has struck a historically important building in Washington, D.C. Shortly before 1 pm this afternoon an alarm was received for the Georgetown public library and was soon elevated to a 3rd alarm. A major concern is a reference room on the second floor that contains many old documents relative to the history of Georgetown.
Channel 9 has good raw video here.
“Animal control” takes on a new meaning in Europe
Comments OffTHE UN-ELECTED LOONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION have come up with still another way to turn the continent into a clown college. With the lovely bureaucratic title of “The European Convention on the Protection of Pet Animals” they are laying out specific limitations on how DOGS can be bred. The Scottish Kennel Club says that 30 to 40 breeds would be effectively outlawed.
Historic building fire overnight in D.C.
Comments OffTHE 135 YR.-OLD EASTERN MARKET in Washington, D.C. suffered heavy fire damage last night. The market, which is still in use, is one of the landmark buildings in the SE section of the city. Early reports are suggesting that the fire started in an outside dumpster next to the building. Channel 5 has good video here.
It saves on insurance, too
Comments OffFOREGOING THE HASSLE OF CAR PAYMENTS, a Los Angeles man would just steal a car whenever he wanted to go visit his girlfriend. It was #26 that did him in.
4-alarm warehouse fire in Chicago
Comments OffA FIRE THAT STARTED IN A 3-STORY BUILDING in Chicago this morning rapidly spread to an adjoining warehouse bringing a 4th alarm assignment. Channel 2 has video here.
Viking ship burns in Stockholm
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Visulogik photo: Hans Kylberg
A WOODEN VIKING SHIP USED TO carry tourists around Stockholm was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.
Tanker explosion collapses freeway sections
Comments OffEARLY SUNDAY MORNING A BURNING TANKER EXPLODED at a freeway interchange on the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. The onborne product hasn’t been disclosed yet. Part of the freeway bridge has been collapsed. Early report here. Channel 5 has two videos here, one is raw footage during the fire and the other is a live-cam running continuous coverage of the overhaul operation.
VENEZUELAN ROOKIE MILKA DUNO QUALIFIED for the IRL race in Kansas City today. This will be the first time ever that 3 women have started a race together in a major circuit. Veteran drivers Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick will be on the grid also. The race will be shown on U.S. television this afternoon on ESPN2.
Volunteers fading in rural areas
Comments OffWITH THE CONTINUED CHANGING GROWTH AND JOB patterns, many rural volunteer fire departments are having more difficulty covering calls. Increased activity levels combined with members being out of the district during daytime is putting pressure on the departments to start hiring paid firefighters.
Actually, this is a trend that started 40 years ago. But it is now reaching into the more remote rural areas. People are much more likely to travel several miles to their jobs now, leaving their home areas unpopulated – and thus uncovered – during the daytime.
This issue is coming to a head next month in San Diego County where there has been a 4-year study and current proposals to consolidate most of their outlier volunteer departments into a county paid system.
AN AUSTRALIAN FIREFIGHTER VACATIONING IN THAILAND was aboard a ferry boat when it erupted in a fast-moving fire. Nathan Berry, Adelaide firefighter, calmed a panicky crowd and arranged for non-swimmers to be paired with swimmers as they abandoned ship.
In New Zealand they “run the wheels off of them”
Comments OffIN THE WELLINGTON AREA OF NEW ZEALAND a fire truck had two wheels fall off while it was traveling. Fortunately there were no injuries, but several cars were damaged.
Are you thinking about buying a laptop?
Comments OffHERE ARE 15 TIPS TO CONSIDER before you make your choice of which laptop to buy. Click on one of the little numbers on the exploded view to activate the info-boxes.
California fire district wallowing in overtime
Comments OffCONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA HAS HAD a hiring freeze for 18 months and the 50 vacancies are being filled with overtime staffing. One firefighter, who apparently never goes home, earned $232,000 last year.
Earthquake strikes southern Britain
Comments OffTHE STRONGEST EARTHQUAKE IN 5 YEARS struck S.E. England this morning, generating 100 quick emergency calls for the Kent Fire and Rescue Service.
NASCAR season already over for many
Comments OffIN AN ATTEMPT TO INJECT MORE “EXCITEMENT” into the final races of the year, 3 seasons back NASCAR introduced a playoff-type format where the top 10 teams (expanded to 12 this year) started from scratch for the final 10 races in a points-dash to the end.
But what that has done, in effect, is shorten the season by ten races for most of the other teams, making it almost impossible to make a run for the points title if you get off to a slow start.
As a result, many of the top drivers such as Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin are already out of contention for the shoot-out. Steve Ballard and Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star have a good article here pointing out the near-impossibility for most of the teams to have any chance at the championship this year.
Now just how exciting is the end of the season going to be when you’ve got most of the top teams just filling out the field?
Cleveland FD pipers perform on Sunday
Comments OffTHE CLEVELAND FIREFIGHTERS Memorial Pipes and Drums band will be performing Sunday at the City’s “Rally for the Troops” celebration. It will be held at the Public Square in downtown Cleveland and the band plays at 11 am.
Lightning strikes, ignites oil refinery
Comments OffLIGHTNING STRUCK AN OIL REFINERY IN WYNNEWOOD, OKLAHOMA yesterday morning, igniting a storage tank. Last night, after believing that the fire was under control, the burning tank exploded and spread the fire to several other tanks. KOTV channel 6 has video here.
Scottish charity sends 3 fire engines to Serbia
Comments OffTHREE USED FIRE ENGINES HAVE BEEN PURCHASED and are being fully refurbished to be donated to Serbia. The existing fire coverage is almost non-existant with response times as high as 4 hours.
Pop-a-top
Comments OffWHILE YOU’RE RELAXING SATURDAY AFTERNOON, read up on the history of the beer can. They’re even older than the Firegeezer.
Looking for something to do this weekend?
Comments OffWHY NOT DROP BY THE FLORA-BAMA INTERSTATE MULLET TOSS? Basically, you pay your entry fee and then fling a dead fish across the state line into Florida. They don’t say anything about somebody else throwing them back. I guess they’re all “keepers.”
America’s first paid firefighters
Comments OffTHE CINCINNATI FIRE DEPT. WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1853 and has a rich history. There is an excellent website that someone has set up with lots of photos and information on the CFD History here. Click on this one when you have plenty of time to leisurely graze through the site.
Belfast firefighter working a fire shot by a pellet gun
Comments OffIN WHAT HAS BECOME A GROWING SPORT IN THE U. K., A GROUP OF TEENS attacked a Belfast, No. Ireland fire crew while they worked an ouside fire and shot one of the FF’s in the face with a pellet gun.
Firegeezer says: The U.K. is very proud of their gun-control laws.