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AN EARTHQUAKE HAS JUST STRICKEN ALASKA. The quake was measured at a magnitude of 6.1 and was centered 162 miles SW of Anchorage. The event happened at 1:09 pm Eastern time, 9:09 am Alaska time.
Update, 5 pm Eastern:
The magnitude force of the earthquake has been revised downward to 5.7. Anything over 5.0 can cause “considerable damage” but no reports have come in describing any. The area involved is sparsely settled.
Source and maps: US Coast and Geodetic Survey
WATERLOO, ILLINOIS, FIREFIGHTERS KNOW THE DRILL by now. Once again, a car has driven through the front wall of a store along Main Street.
In the past couple of years, cars have inexplicably plowed into a tavern, a print shop, a bank, a jewelry store and others. Thursday afternoon around 3:00 an elderly woman placed the marker in the drug store when she made a surprise appearance about 20 feet into the shop, stopping just short of the pharmacy counter.
Monroe County Independent
When the police arrived a few minutes later, the car was wedged against the wall with her foot on the gas and the wheels still spinning. Aside from two patrons being hit with flying glass, nobody was hurt in the crash.
“They seem to be progressing up the street, heading south,” Waterloo Fire Chief Mark Yeager commented about the string of store attacks.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the STORY.
Hat tip: Jason H.
A MARION COUNTY (FLORIDA) FIRE RESCUE ambulance was returning to quarters from a hospital early this morning (Saturday) when it collided with a car, killing the two passengers in the private auto.
The highway, US 41, was heavily shrouded in fog at the time and the driver of the 1991 Civic apparently did not see the stop sign as he entered the highway from a side road. As he pulled into the path of the ambulance, the FF driver swerved in an attempt to avoid the crash, but it was not in time.
Marion County firefighters work to extricate the two
passengers of the demolished 1991 Civic.
(Star Banner / Miller photo)
The ambulance had a FF/EMT driver and two FF/Paramedics on board. None of them were injured. Both passengers in the car died immediately on the impact.
The Ocala Star Banner has the STORY.
THE CAB OF A SEMI-TRACTOR TRAILER caught on fire while traveling along Interstate 71 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Friday afternoon around 2 pm. The driver heard a loud “bang” and pulled over onto the shoulder right away. Witnesses said that they saw the right front tire blow out as it was traveling.
While the event itself wasn’t particularly newsworthy beyond that area, WKRC-TV Channel 12 happened to have a video reporter on the scene when it first started. They ran the video cam non-stop as the fire grew and then the FD arrived and did their thing. It makes for some good viewing for firefighters.
Firegeezer made note of the dimwitdrivers who continued steering their cars right on by the blazing truck, oblivious to the hazard, until the FD got there. I was also impressed with their apparent policy of running an aerial truck on these types of fires. It made for a very effective road block to protect the working fire area. Check that out. Did you notice anyting else that could help you?
A FIRE EARLY FRIDAY MORNING destroyed a horse barn and 12 animals in Placer County, California.
The barn was part of a working stable on a 20-acre ranch near Lincoln that specializes in training quarter horses for cutting and roping perfomance. All of the animals lost were each valued in the “tens of thousands” of dollars. They were primarily show horses that go on the competition circuit and the stable owners, Doug and Debbie Ingersoll, are well-known in the industry.
The barn which was valued at $250,000 was already well-alight when the Lincoln FD arrived on the scene. The call brought several other nearby departments to assist and provide water shuttles.
KCRA-TV Ch. 3 has this video report:
The Sacramento Bee has the full STORY.
It looks like the driving dimwits have come up with a new method to screw things up for the rest of us. It’s called, Yielding-to-only-one-emergency-vehicle. Twice this month we have learned about incompetent drivers who have pulled out into traffic after an ambulance has gone by, only to collide with a second ambulance that was following. (See the Firegeezer stories HERE and HERE.)
Now don’t get distracted by the argument of whether the 2nd ambulance should be trailing the first when they are not involved in the emergency. It’s a valid point, but that’s not what the problem is here. We have a large portion of drivers out there who just are not paying attention and we all know this. But this phenomenon of assuming there is only one emergency vehicle at a time is extremely dangerous.
There are many more instances of tandem responders that do not involve ambulances chasing to the hospital so they can wait a half-hour for their medic to finish up with the first crew. There’s the obvious and frequent response of engine and truck from one station. And it is not at all rare for an ambulance that is responding to an auto wreck to be followed by a few seconds by an engine. You can quickly and easily add more examples of this type of response pattern.
But the point is, we now have to be especially aware of this growing trend of Bluetooth drivers who have found a new way to demolish their cars and imperil FF’s and medics. I think the list of emergency driving hazards is up to what, 437 now?
Well, we’d better make sure everything’s all set for today. So let’s get the equipment checked out. I’ll go start more coffee and then get working on my backlog of emails. See you in the day room.
THE NEWPORT, NORTH CAROLINA, fire chief has been suspended from duty without pay following an investigation by the Carteret County Emergency Management Services. His EMT certificate was also suspended. Town officials are not saying what the problem was that led to the investigation.
TV Channel 14 has a video report HERE.
* * * * *
MANSFIELD, OHIO, FIRE CHIEF MIKE BAILEY, a 32-yr. member of the department, submitted his resignation suddenly, effective Saturday. The city has been in negotiations with the FF’s Local since September and the scuttlebutt is that the mayor insisted that Chief Bailey cut the on-duty minimum staffing below the current 21 (for five fire stations) or face demotion. Instead the chief filed his retirement papers.
The citizens have been paying a “safety levy” that was earmarked for firefighter positions to maintain the current minimum. Apparently the mayor wants to renege on the agreement and use the money for something else.
The Mansfield News Journal has the full STORY.
WMFD-TV has a video interview with the mayor HERE.
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THE FORMER CHIEF OF THE JOHNSBURG, NEW YORK, FIRE DEPARTMENT has been convicted for stealing money from the department and sentenced to 4 years in prison. This follows last week’s sentencing of 20 years imprisonment for forcing a woman at knifepoint to have “sexual contact” with him shortly after his first trial.
The Glens Falls Post-Star has all the nitty-gritty on this one HERE.
* * * * *
THE CHELAN COUNTY, WASHINGTON, FIRE COMMISSIONERS have refused to reinstate former fire chief Dennis Ashmore who was forced to resign earlier this month.
There is a serious conflict between the volunteer firefighters and the commissioners and apparently Ashmore had sided with the FF’s who were threatening to quit. Now Ashmore is gone and the conflict is still there.
The Wenatchee World has the story on this one HERE.
* * * * *
KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, FIRE CHIEF Dennis Thompson has announced his retirement after 36 years on the department, the last five as fire chief. Bakersfield Now has the STORY.
BY NOW, MOST OF YOU HAVE SEEN the television commercial for a towel-like product called Shamwow. The play on words implicates that the product has a moisture-removing quality similar to a chamois cloth.
The video plug shows some irritating personality demonstrating all the wonderful uses for the Shamwow and it leaves you wondering if it really does all these marvelous tasks.
Despite what the commercial says, they are available in stores for the same price (without the ridiculous “shipping and handling” charges).
So what’s the scoop? Does the Shamwow really soak up the liquids like they claim? KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, took the Shamwow out to the public and tested it out. See how their un-scientific test turned out in this video report:
This posting has been presented as a public service by Firegeezer. We are not related in any way (thank goodness) to Vince or any officers of the Shamwow company.
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, has been overly-generous with its dispensation of “take home” cars for high-ranking officials, Council staff, police and fire department officers. So says an audit that has just been released from the city controller’s office.
The city is currently facing a budget deficit of $488 million, yet it provides 1,100 take-home cars and has practically no oversight of the city-issued gasoline credit cards.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
The city spends $3 million a year on take-home vehicles for elected officials and their staff, and $7 million on so-called home-garaged cars for police and fire employees. But auditors found there was no evidence of consistent evaluations “to ensure each home-garaged vehicle is justified, warranted and based on the city’s business needs.”
Auditors found more than 120 members of the police command staff are automatically assigned cars to take home. Some 650 additional vehicles, most unmarked sedans, are assigned to lieutenants and lower-ranking police officials who, in theory, get at least 10 emergency calls a year.
Although the city’s police and fire departments have said the cars are assigned to help officers respond more quickly to emergency calls, auditors found “many employees rarely get call-outs and that they primarily use their vehicles to commute to and from work,” one audit states.
More than a third of the lower-ranking police officials surveyed by auditors who take cars home (generally detectives or officers who must respond to emergencies) also live outside Los Angeles County, leading the controller’s office to note that it was “questionable whether employees residing 50 to 90 miles away from the city can respond to an emergency call within the city limits in a timely manner.”
To no one’s surprise, the worst abusers are the City Council members themselves. They have provided eight vehicles to each council seat to be handed out to their staffs. Where previously they had a self-imposed price limit of $25,000 per car, they have abolished that and accelerated the replacement dates to three years. As a result, the cost of the “executive fleet” has increased by 50% in the past five years.
Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times HERE.
A DRIVERLESS DELIVERY VAN IN NEW YORK CITY drove itself into a group of pre-schoolers walking down the sidewalk Thursday, killing 2 of them and injuring 11 others, one critically.
Associated Press
The accident happened in the Chinatown district on East Broadway when the van driver stopped and double-parked while he hopped out and went into a shop. Across the street a group of pre-school children were walking back to their day care center after visiting a city library on the same block. The children were in a line, holding hands and chaperoned by the teachers.
Updated reports say that the van driver had mistakenly thought he left the truck in Park when actually it was left in Reverse. After he got out, the truck started driving backwards down the street, then the wheels turned and guided the van across the street where it jumped the curb and ran right over the line of children.
The Associated Press has this video report from the scene:
The van driver, who was in shock, was hustled away by the police who later interviewed him. They determined that it was an accident and did not charge the driver. The children who died were ages 3 and 4.
The New York Times has an earlier, complete story HERE.
A HOUSTON, TEXAS, MEDICAL RESPONSE UNIT was involved in an accident at 4:30 Thursday afternoon that knocked the truck onto its top.
KHOU-TV
The paramedic unit was following an ambulance to the hospital that was transporting a patient that the FD unit’s paramedic was working on. Both vehicles had their lights and sirens on, but when the ambulance passed through an intersection, an anxious driver pulled out and into the path of the second truck, striking it and knocking it over.
The driver of the private car was charged with failing to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle.
The Houston Chronicle has the STORY.
Firegeezer notes: This is almost identical to an ambulance crash on January 4 that took place in Rochester, New Hampshire. See the Firegeezer report HERE.
THE LATEST IN A LONG SERIES OF BEACH RESORT hotel fires in England happened last night in Bournemouth. The Gresham Court Hotel has been undergoing a remodeling, so there were no occupants when the fire broke out in the top floor and attic area.
Bournemouth Echo
50 firefighters working 8 engines and 2 aerials arrived around 10:30 pm Thursday night and the building was already well involved. Nearby hotels that had guests were evacuated as a precaution, but the fire was contained to the original building. The roof started to collapse within minutes after the fire brigade’s arrival.
There is no reason to consider the fire to be suspicious yet, but an investigation will begin today to try and determine the cause.
The Bournemouth Echo has a brief, but good video HERE.
Dorset Fire & Rescue Service WEBSITE.
Not many people will argue with you if you mention that the television shows of today are nothing but horrendous when you compare them to the programs of 10, 15 or 20 years ago. This is why there is a multi-billion-dollar business selling DVD’s of old television series, such as Magnum PI and Frasier.
While a large number of old tv shows are available now, with dozens more being added weekly, there are quite a few that have, for one reason or another, never been released as a matter of policy. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get them. There is a thriving “gray-market” that quietly offers these hidden gems for the fans who are looking for their favorites to enjoy again. There are both large businesses who maintain stocks of scores of vintage programs as well as individuals who faithfully produce just one or two titles as a matter of public service.
I have purchased shows (and a movie) from these gray-market dealers and I have always been pleased with the product and the price. They have always been high quality videos, not some home movie taken in front of a tv screen. The other day I received in the mail my latest such purchase and I’m anxious to start on it. It’s the complete 56-episodes of Remember WENN.
This terrific series ran for four seasons starting in 1996 and was noteworthy to begin with because it was an original production that was made by and run on a cable movie channel, American Movie Classics (AMC). Not only was it a non-movie, but it was rare for a cable channel to run original programming in a series format.
The story line was local radio station in Pittsburgh – WENN – set in the early 1940′s when radio stations were still rather primitive and you had a small group of employees doing all of the work, writing, acting, sound effects, etc. Remember WENN was both serious drama and a comedy, extremely well writted and acted and developed a large (for cable) and loyal following leading it to be renewed after its first season. It even won an EMMY award, the first time that an original cable series had done so.
After four years it was renewed for a fifth season, but that was never made. AMC was bought by another media company and the new owners immediately canceled the series. That was just the first blunder by the new group apparently, because the channel’s fortunes went into a fast decline and now AMC has but a fraction of its previous viewership. But all those loyal WENN followers, and many more who missed it the first time around, can sit back and enjoy some truly quality programming at their leisure. For a mere $60 I have enough enjoyment lined up to last me more than a year.
But we can’t wait for a year to get this equipment checked out. So get started on that while I go make some fresh coffee.
IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY, January 22, 1959, that the Adolph Coors brewery introduced the seamless aluminum can to the beverage industry.
Bill Coors, the head of the family-owned comany at the time, had always been dissatisfied with the steel can that was in use at the time. Not only were they heavy, but the seams had solder along them and the tin-plated steel exuded an unnatural taste that you didn’t get with bottles. Another consideration was the possibility of recycling the aluminum cans. And Coors was also adamant about finding a container that would allow him to package the beer without having to pasteurize it, something that couldn’t be done with steel.
So in 1957 he brought an inventor over from Germany who had been working on the methodology of making an extruded aluminum can and he set him up with a laboratory and the means to develop it.
They finally got it worked out and less than two years later they introduced the 2-piece aluminum extruded can (the can and the lid). The first one to hit the marketplace was a 7-ounce container that was sold in 8-packs. And the rest is beer history.
The Rocky Mountain News has the complete story of this fermentation icon HERE.
The IAFF has just announced their upcoming 10th Biennial EMS Conference that will be held in Miami Beach on June 7-12. Not only does this one look like it will be a good one, but it is very timely, too.
Leading During a Crisis: EMS and the Current Economy
The economic downturn and subsequent changes are altering the way professional firefighters and paramedics do their jobs. But it will also offer opportunities to diversify and to raise professional standards and skills. Perhaps the most valuable asset fire fighters and paramedics have is the ability to deliver a timely innovative response to societal change — where research, new technology, changes in resource deployment, public education, management of non-emergency care and leading-edge medical direction grow from a desire to save lives.
IAFF members can click on THIS LINK to get more information and registration forms.
A VACANT LUXURY HOME IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA, burned for a second time early this morning. The 4,000 sq. ft. home is believed to be for sale, but its prospects have gone down with the house itself as it burned to the ground this time.
KTVK-TV
A neighbor noticed the fire just before midnight after it was well undeway. The FD contained the fire and kept it from spreading to nearby homes. FF’s on the scene said that this was the 2nd time they had responded to this property, the first time it burned they kept the fire contained to the attic. Investigators are labeling the fire “suspicious.”
KTVK Ch. 3 had a video reporter on the scene:
* With everything that was going on involving the US Airways plane crash followed by the presidential inauguration, a lot of people missed the fact that the air crash was just two days after the 27th anniversary of the infamous Air Florida plane crash in Washington, D. C. Dave Statter didn’t forget, though. He ran a good article reprising that day complete with a lot of photos and recordings on STATter911 HERE.
* FireRescue1 has a teeth-grinding report about a screwball fire chief in Tennessee who ordered his FF’s to refuse to help an ambulance crew extricate and care for a car crash victim HERE.
* FirefighterSpot has a couple of fresh postings that you should see. The first is a series of still photos documenting a FF bailing out of a 2nd floor window yesterday and the next entry down is a training video showing the effects of applying water to a magnesium fire HERE.
* Texas-Fire has the STORY about a Dallas FF who was injured when a car drove into his parked fire engine.
* West Coast 911 has the story on a house collapse in Los Angeles HERE.
THE TULSA, OKLAHOMA, FIRE DEPARTMENT’s EMS training records were recently inspected by the state Department of Health and found to be incomplete and in some cases falsified.
The audit was triggered by complaints filed by five firefighters who claimed that many courses were not completed and some records were improperly showing that students had finished a course when they hadn’t. Part of the problem was caused by too much reliance on video and online instruction and not accurately recording the training that actually took place.
The Dept. of Health conducted their inspection in October and immediately made some changes to the methods of conducting and recording classwork. An investigator says the Tulsa firefighters are well-trained and this is only a procedural issue. He says the public can have confidence in their training and the care firefighters provide.
While publicly this is being glossed over by the department, the investigation also found out that there were several instances of classes and recertification courses being given when they really weren’t. An example given by the complainents showed that they were given credit for completing a 12-hour hazardous materials course, yet they never took it. This portion of the investigation brought out several instances of falsified documents giving non-existent dates and class activities.
The firefighters are alleging that the department knew of this activity and allowed it to continue for at least one year.
KOKI-TV Ch. 23 has this video report:
A FIRE IN A MANHATTAN HOSPITAL Wednesday night caused the evacuation of 600 patients from their rooms. The well-known Mount Sinai Hospital had a fire break out in a 2nd-floor mechanical room that was spreading into a first-floor emergency room when the FDNY arrived.
Associated Press
They found flames showing from the outside and while the initial attack was started the hospital staff began the orderly transfer of nearly 600 patients over to the hospital’s other wing. The third through ninth floors of the 12-story hospital rapidly filled with smoke. The FD went into an immediate third alarm and the FF’s concentrated on searching the entire wing to make sure that everybody had been successfully removed.
The fire was handled easily and extinguished before it spread any further. There were no reported injuries of either hospital staff or patients. Six firefighters had minor injuries. The cause of the blaze, sparked in the storage area of a second floor mechanical equipment room full of paint and cardboard, is under investigation.
The Associated Press has this video report:
Speaking of hiring standards (we were yesterday), I would be remiss if I didn’t remind the volunteer departments that they are just as vulnerable, if not more, to having members getting into illegal activities. Even though their members “join” rather than get “hired,” the risks are just the same.
In fact, the risks are really greater. Due to the law of supply and demand, paid departments will be getting more selective on who they appoint. People of dubious character will be less likely to get hired and they will then seek out the vol. or P.O.C. departments to satisfy their desire to ride fire engines or ambulances.
This is compounded by the steadily-declining numbers of people who are joining volunteer departments these days. Some FD’s and rescue squads are so short-handed that they will accept almost anybody who shows up. But relaxing your “hiring” standards is a short-term solution that will always lead to long-term problems. Sooner or later, untrustworthy people will always break your trust, too.
There are not many places left where you already know everybody in town and can screen your potential members based on years of personal interaction with them. You’re getting strangers coming up to the door now and you don’t have any idea who they are. They might be somebody who is willing to go through all the training and put in the hours just so that they can get onto the department’s computer late at night and engage in an activity that they don’t want to do at home.
More than ever, you have to be careful, even suspicious, with every applicant that you’re able to pull in. Keep your standards up at all costs. And stay vigilant, even after people have been around for a while. Just look at the surprise that the citizens of Racine, Wisconsin, got this month (HERE).
It’s time to get this equipment checked out. So let’s get started and I’ll go make some more coffee.
CAR SALES HAVE PLUNGED WORLDWIDE. We all know that. But as sales stopped, the assembly lines didn’t and unsold stocks started backing up. Have you ever wondered where all those tens of thousands of unsold cars are sitting while waiting for the next rebate offers to start up?
Well, the folks at Jalopnik blog did, too. So they sent their car fans around the world out on a photo assignment to log in all the storage spaces that are being turned into car lots for the auto manufacturers.
Some of them are in huge fields around the factories. Others are in leased spaces under city bridges or on dockside storage lots. One of the most innovative places is on Nissan’s UK test track where they’re lined up along the high-speed lanes and symmetrically placed around the skid pad.
At first glance, it looks like the parade lap for a NASCAR race, doesn’t it? If you want to see some more reports from the field and fields, click on over to Jalopnik HERE and HERE and check it out.
A 32-YR.-OLD WOMAN HAS BEEN arrested and charged with arson on her family home that took place on January 7 in York County, Pennsylvania.
York Daily Record
It all started when her father offered her a brownie to eat and that somehow upset her. Instead of taking the treat, she picked up his cane and smashed him in the mouth with it, splitting his lip. Then she ran out to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, threatening poor Dad with it.
While he was away getting stitched up, she set a fire in the master bedroom of the 150-yr.-old stone house that went to four alarms and did $400,000 damage to the homestead.
Stephanie Rydeski is now in the York County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. The York Daily Record has the rest of the STORY.
IN GREAT BRITAIN THE OFF-SHORE, COASTLINE and swift water rescue calls are handled by a national team of rescue squads called Coastguards. They operate under the auspices of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
Following the current trend of the UK government to become the world’s premier nanny-state, some dimwit has just issued an order for all squads to pause and fill out a “vehicle pre-journey risk assessment” form before they respond on an emergency call (we’re not making this up, folks).
When they are dispatched on a life-saving emergency, the senior officer is required to first fill out the form that asks him to write down the “reason for journey” and list any risks they may face including the current and forecast weather conditions. It also demands an explanation of any “actions taken to mitigate risk” before the team leader can answer whether the risk is “acceptable” or not. A spokesman for the MCA insisted filling in the questionnaire would not cause any delay as it “can be done at the same time as the rest of the team prepare equipment”.
Supposedly this academic exercise will “protect the coastguards’ safety.”
All this before they can take their equipment out on an emergency rescue. This comes on the heels of an order to stop using flares at night because they can cause injuries. Just what is wrong with those people over there?
The Western Morning News has the full STORY.
HOW TO FIX A FLAT with fire. Would this be called “tire fire”?
THE WALDOBORO, MAINE, TOWN MANAGER called the town’s fire chief into his office on January 14 and greeted him with a demand that he resign effective immediately.
According to the now-former chief, Ernest Vannah, the town manager who has less than a year on the job himself, was not satisfied that Vannah was instituting changes in the FD fast enough. Vannah was appointed Fire Chief this past September 1.
The Waldoboro Herald Gazette reports:
Vannah said the town manager told him that he had not seen the positive changes in the department that he wanted and that he didn’t think Vannah could make them happen. Post was not happy with the way Vannah handled a disciplinary matter in the fire department, according to Vannah. Neither Post nor Vannah would comment on what the disciplinary matter was about.
“He felt that I didn’t give him proper respect and support regarding his handling of picking the department officers,” Vannah said.
Vannah has been a member of the department for 35 years and decided to go public with his forced-resignation after the town manager started telling people that Vannah wanted to pursue a full-time job with the railroad, which is not the case.
Read the full STORY.
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