Police in the Black Forest region of southwest Germany were called by a hiker who reported seeing a black bear alongside a roadway.  A squad car was dispatched and carefully assessed the situation.  After closer inspection it was discovered that the “bear” was a life-size replica being used by a local archery club for practice.

Spiegel Online has the STORY.

A FIRE IN A COMMERCIAL GARAGE IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND this morning caused several gas cylinders to explode, sending fireballs 100 ft. into the air and terrifying the neighborhood.  The bottles started exploding just as firefighters were approaching the building, narrowly missing a tragedy.

Later this morning the fire brigade was still applying remote cooling streams and had the entire neighborhood evacuated.

The Birmingham Mail has the full STORY.

THE WILDFIRE SITUATION IN WESTERN MONTANA worsened yesterday as the dry air and fuel load fed rapidly-growing fires.  The Skyland fire blossomed from 1,000 acres to 5,000 acres in just 24 hours and is now only 2% contained.

Skyland Fire
U.S. Forestry Service photo

The Meriwether fire has charred 10 sq. miles so far and containment fell from 15% to 10%.  The Ahorn fire west of Augusta grew by 1,000 acres to 16,870 acres, crossing Ahorn Creek on the west side. More than 340 personnel were on scene, and the blaze was 13 percent contained, fire officials said.

The Missoulian has the latest news HERE.
Current map of all active wildfires HERE.

IN FRANKLIN CENTER, LONG ISLAND a lightning strike on a transformer brought lines down and started fires in two houses and a garage.  The live wires impeded the firefighters from attacking the blazes keeping them from going into the structures which were charged with the electricity.  One firefighter was shocked when he stepped into an electrified puddle and another was knocked down when he gripped a house door handle that was charged.  Altogether there were 10 minor injuries to FF’s.

Cal Ripken, Shortstop

Yesterday Cal Ripken, Jr. was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  And it is not an exaggeration to say that there are few who are more deserving of the honor.  His dedication to the game both on the field and off is literally unmatched.  After every game he selflessly would stand by the dugout and sign autographs until every request was filled….always.  And when his playing career was over, he continued to advance the sport by building a new stadium in his home town of Havre de Grace, Maryland and then stock it with a youth league designed to develop players of the future.  His philanthopy was spread out to dozens of other towns where he has put seed money into new youth leagues.

Ripken started with the Baltimore Orioles in 1981, splitting his time between shortstop and 3rd base for the first two seasons.  In 1983 he remained at shortstop and that was the year the team won the World Series.  He is probably best known for his amazing streak of consecutive games played, 2,632, shattering the old record of 2,130 held by Lou Gehrig.  “The Streak” began on May 30, 1982 and continued until Sept. 20, 1998 when he removed himself from the lineup to voluntarily end it.

But it was more than “The Streak” that made him a shoo-in at the Hall of Fame.  Here are a few of his achievements on the field of play:

• Rookie of the Year - 1982
• 2 times AL Most Valuable Player
• 8 Silver Slugger Awards (top offensive shortstop)
• 2 Golden Glove Awards
• 19 Appearances in the All-Star Game
• 8th all-time MLB in games played - 3,001
• 3,184 hits
• 4th all-time MLB in at bats - 11,551
• 8th all-time in fielding percentage - .979
• In 1990 he had an astounding fielding pct. of .996

• 3rd all-time in double plays - 1,565

And the list goes on.  A great player.  A gentleman.  A representative of the game the likes of which you may never see again.  Congratulations to Cal Ripken, Jr.

IN MILWAUKEE A TRIO OF INTELLCTUALLY CHALLENGED THIEF-WANNABE’S tried to heist an ATM machine.  It never occurred to them that it just might be bolted to the floor…..even after they tried to snatch it.  Security cameras caught the action.

Milwaukee channel 4 has the VIDEO.

IF YOU’VE EVER WONDERED (and who hasn’t?) what computer programmers do on their days off, you can find out HERE.

AFTER 20 YEARS OF UTILIZING PRIVATE AMBULANCE services, the City of Fitchburg is returning to municipal operation of the emergency medical service…..kind of.

In a uniquely designed contract, the fire dept. will staff a BLS unit while the private amb. firm will staff two ALS units that will be housed in fire stations.  The private company will bill all patients for services and then pay a fee to the city on a per-call basis.  That money will be used to pay for the 5 firefighters budgeted for the BLS unit.  It doesn’t say who actually owns the vehicles.

Fitchburg FD photo

Read the Worcester Telegram story HERE and see if you can figure it out.

IN THE CANARY ISLANDS A SPANISH forest ranger has confessed to starting a huge and fast-growing fire in the Canary Islands, saying his job contract was about to run out and he wanted to keep working.  The Civil Guard said police arrested the ranger, identified as 37-year-old Juan Antonio Navarro Armas, and he later confessed to setting the fire with matches.

The International Herald Tribune has the STORY.

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE KILLED 5 family members yesterday in the San Joaquin Valley.  The fire destroyed 9 of the 23 apartments in the complex.  Echoing comments that we’ve heard too much of lately, the Asst. Fire Chief said: 

The building had shingle roofs and plywood siding, said Ted Schlosser, assistant fire chief for the Lemoore Fire Department.

“It didn’t take it long to spread, Schlosser said. “The whole roof was fully engulfed when we got here.”

Fresno Bee photo

The Fresno Bee has the STORY.