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Drain Cleaner Leads To Evacuation

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A CHEMICAL REACTION TRIGGERED BY DRAIN CLEANER led to the evacuation of about 30 people from a retirement home in North Providence, Rhode Island, Tuesday.

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary is an institutional home for retired nuns in North Providence.  On Tuesday morning somebody poured a drain cleaner into a clogged sink drain that reacted with whatever was inside doing the clogging.  There was a reaction and a backflow that sent a strange substance back into the sink and discharged foul-smelling fumes that caused several people to immediately become nauseous.

Quick thinking on the part of the staff led to an evacuation while every possible window and door to the large 3-story building were opened for ventilation.

Fire officials are not yet sure what caused the reaction.

WPRI Ch. 12 has this video report:

Posted by on February 18, 2009 • Filed under: Haz-mat

All Flight 3407 Remains Have Been Retrieved

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INVESTIGATORS AND OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED last evening that all of the human remains from Continental Connect flight #3407 have been removed from the crash site.

While they have been successful in identifying some of them, they are not releasing any of that information yet.

WIVB Ch. 4 has this latest report:

The medical examiner’s office has more:

Authorities also disclosed that the house nearest to the crash site will have to be demolished as well.  The Buffalo News reports:

“The structure is not able to be repaired,” Clarence emergency services coordinator David Bissonette said at a media briefing. “So that structure, and only that structure, is not part of the relocation process.”

Bissonette emphasized that the residents of that home will be able to remove their personal effects, and there’s no rush to tear down the house.

Posted by on February 18, 2009 • Filed under: aircraft

Cincinnati Ethical Woes Continue

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STILL ANOTHER CINCINNATI FIREFIGHTER HAS BEEN ARRESTED and charged with a criminal act.  Eric Bacon, 34, was arrested yesterday for stealing city-owned equipment and giving it to his girlfriend to sell on eBay.

After executing a search warrant on his house, Cincinnati police charged Bacon with the thefts and arrested Angela Smith, 27, who was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property. She was booked into the jail about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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Eric Bacon

Police also arrested another (now former) firefighter, Thomas Mason yesterday for failing to show up for a court appearance last Thursday.  Firegeezer covered Mason’s escapades HERE in an article about the failure of the Cincinnati Fire Dept. to adequately screen and monitor applicants and new hires.

Over the past four years, the CFD has been averaging one arrest per month.  The department’s foggy fire chief, Robert Wright, who refers to fire victims as “satisfied customers,” is strangely protected by the city manager and allowed to muddle along.

This latest chapter in the degradation of one of the country’s oldest fire departments is described by the Cincinnati Enquirer HERE.

Posted by on February 18, 2009 • Filed under: labor

2nd Arson Arrest In Australia. Death Toll Climbs.

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A SECOND MAN HAS BEEN ARRESTED AND CHARGED with arson connected with the massive brush fires in Australia.  Just days after the first arsonist, now identified as Brian Sokaluk was arrested, police have taken an unnamed 38-yr.-old man into custody last night (Tuesday).  The UK Telegraph reports:

The man, who was working on one of the main roadblocks set up across the state during the fires, allegedly threw cigarette butts into long grass “to see what would happen”.

The butts sparked a fire, which burned through one hectare of countryside, before it was brought under control by the Country Fire Authority. No lives or homes were threatened by the blaze, but a nearby fire had killed two people earlier in the week.

 

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The current death toll from the fires now stands at 201 including an on-duty firefighter who was killed yesterday when a tree fell on him.  Victorian authorities say that they don’t expect the count to rise very much higher as most of the missing people have been accounted for.  Victoria police said the latest confirmed deaths, 11 people, occurred in a fire that destroyed the town of Kinglake and surrounding areas.

The Guardian reports:

In some cases, all that remained of the victims was ash, said police deputy commissioner, Kieran Walshe.

“Fire does terrible damage to bodies and the identification process is going to be a lengthy process and it’s going to require scientific examination,” Walshe said. “In some cases it will be within a few weeks, in other cases it may well be we’re unable to be definitive about the identity.”

Where there was only ash, victim identification crews relied on other clues, such as jewellery found in the ruins, to help identify the remains, Walshe said.

More than 7,000 people are homeless as a result of the fires.

There are still six fires burning across the state and several other countries, including the U. S. and Canada, are sending wildfire teams there to assist.

The Associated Press has this video report on the establishment of a special panel to investigate the recent fires:

Posted by on February 18, 2009 • Filed under: arson

Morning Lineup – February 18

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Technology that is developed for either the space program or the Defense Department is always cutting-edge and fantastic.  And the best part is that it usually trickles down eventually and improves operations and functions of industry and local government.  Think of the thermal-imaging cameras, for example.  Now there is a new computer program being used by the defense intelligence agencies that I am sure could help out fire and rescue officers everywhere.

Every shift has a guy on it who is expert at hiding, being both out of sight and out of mind during crucial times, such as when work assignments are being doled out.  You know who I’m talking about.  A couple hours after the morning drill, somebody says, “Anybody seen Joe?  Where is he?”  And then it dawns on everybody that Joe has been “gone” since drill time.  And woe the poor shift leader who gets two of these guys on his shift.  They always manage to get on the ambulance together and then they really pull the disappearing act.  It used to be the only time you’d catch them was when the paychecks were handed out.  But now in this day of direct deposit, well, they’re gone so long that you need to check their name badge when they are caught in the house just to remind you who they are.

Well, Joe’s days are numbered.  The National Terror Alert Response Center, which has an excellent WEBSITE for news along that vein, posted yesterday (HERE) a story on the hunt and closing in on the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden.

A research team led by geographer Thomas Gillespie of the University of California-Los Angeles used geographic analytical tools that have been successful in locating urban criminals and endangered species.

Basing their conclusion on nighttime satellite images and other techniques, the scientists suggest bin Laden may well be in one of three compounds in Parachinar, a town 12 miles from the Pakistan border. The research incorporates public reports of bin Laden’s habits and whereabouts since his flight from the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in 2001.

(They are) combining satellite records of geographic locations, patterns of nighttime electricity use and population-detection methods to produce a technique for locating fugitives.

Do you hear that, Joe?  Once we’re able to get those UAV’s refined for inside patrol, we’re comin’ after you.

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Now let’s get this equipment checked out.  I’ll get the coffee started.

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Posted by on February 18, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Tell Us What You Think

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APPARENTLY THIS IS BEING TAUGHT IN FIRE SCHOOLS THESE DAYS

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Take a close look at the sawyer’s foot rest.  The pick head isn’t even fully embedded.  But even if it was, I just don’t like the looks of it.  Especially since he’s using a power saw.

How do you know that the quality of the underlayment hasn’t degraded?  But I don’t go up on roofs anymore, so maybe I’m out of touch.  What do you think?  Would you do this?  Would you do this but a little differently?

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: Training

We Hope They Don't Blame Firegeezer

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TEN DAYS AGO ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7, FIREGEEZER posted an article about beer taxes state-by-state.  A look at the chart we linked to shows that Oregon is one of the most lightly-taxed states when it comes to the barley brew.

Within hours of our posting, some dolt in the state legislature introduced a measure to increase the tax by 1,900%.  If the measure were to pass, the tax on beer would go up from approx. 1¢ per glass now to 20 cents.

This is the fourth time in the past six years that the legislature has attempted to raise the beer tax for the first time since 1977, and all have failed.  But Oregonians take their beer very seriously and are devoted to it, and will no doubt rise up to fight this latest attempt to tax their pints.

The Oregonian has MORE.

KGW-TV has this video report:

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: beer

Around The Fire Web

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*  STATter911 is carrying the story of a VFD in Stamford, Conn., that claims that the city is trying to force them to close down after 80 years HERE.

*  Fire Chief magazine editor Janet Wilmoth talks about bedbugs in Cincinnati and what they’re doing about it HERE.

*  Firefighter Spot has some pix from the 6-alarm fire in Queens Thursday along with some fresh videos HERE.  (Jason always has fresh videos)

*  FireRescue1 reports that members of the Corpus Christi, Texas, Fire Dept. keep finding items that were stolen recently from the trunk of a police SWAT car HERE.

*  WestCoast911 has an interesting article about a California train derailment that included five cars of sulfuric acid HERE.

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Exploding Manholes Bring 6 Apprehensions

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A BAND OF MERRY PRANKSTERS ARE BEHIND BARS this morning after triggering an underground explosion and attempting a second one late Sunday night in Draper, Utah.

They started their ka-boom games by pouring gasoline down a manhole and then igniting it.  The loud explosion blew a manhole cover into the air and brought dozens of neighbors to their windows to see what had happened.  Some of them got a description of the culprits and their car as they sped away from the scene.

An hour later, a group of neighbors in the next town over, South Jordan, called police to report suspcious activity in the street.  The PD arrived just after the funsters had poured more gasoline into that manhole, but before they were able to ignite it.  Caught with the goods, so to speak.

Six adolescents were taken into custody.  So far two of them have been charged with felony criminal mischief and the other four will probably be charged later this week.

The Deseret News has the full STORY.

KTVX Ch. 4 has this video report:

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: crime, explosion

Medic Injured In Ambulance Crash

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A LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, PARAMEDIC SUFFERED a broken leg Monday morning when her ambulance was rear-ended while it was stopped on a highway.

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The ambulance was parked with its emergency lights flashing directly behind an auto that had broken down and was blocking the lane.  The medic crew had called for a tow truck and after it arrived they were preparing to leave the scene.  As the medic was stepping into the passenger-side of the cab, they were violently rear-ended by a Camarro, causing the ambulance to move around and breaking the medic’s leg.

The unnamed paramedic is in the hospital in serious but stable condition.  The 41-yr.-old driver of the car was treated and released and then booked into the Clark County Detention Center for driving while under the influence of drugs.

KLAS-TV has the STORY.

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Turmoil Continues In Toledo

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TOLEDO, OHIO, MAYOR CARTY FINKBEINER continues to flounder without a clear set of priorities to cut the city’s budget deficit.  After trying to chop the legally mandated minimum staffing requirement for the fire department, the Firefighters Local 92 went to court last Friday and won a temporary restraining order stopping the cuts.  See Firegeezer article from Saturday HERE for the details.

Earlier the mayor and his chief of staff publicly stated that regardless of what happened in court (with the fire department), they would not be laying off any police officers.  Now they have done an about-face and are threatening to reduce the police force.  But both police and fire unions are uniting on this battle instead of battling each other as the mayor had probably hoped would happen.

WUPW-TV carried this video report:

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: labor

Holiday At Hicksville High

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NASSAU COUNTY, LONG ISLAND, FIREFIGHTERS were called out last night to the Hicksville, New York, High School where they found heavy smoke coming from the basement.

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Hicksville High School 

A fire in the boiler room has caused the fuel oil tank to rupture and about 500 gallons were spilling out onto the basement floor feeding the fire.  About 125 firefighters from five departments had the fire knocked down in about 20 minutes.

There was a group of students and teachers in another part of the school working on an extra-curricular project at the time, but they were unaware that the fire was in progress until the FD arrived and evacuated them.

Hicksville FD Fire Chief Eddie Korona reported that the fire was contained to the basement plus some damage to the roof of the building.  No damages were incurred in any of the classrooms.

Newsday has the early REPORT.
Hicksville Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – February 17

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Is this better?  One of the medics griped about yesterday’s lineup being so early.  But then, those guys are always griping.  I have to admit, though, that I do admire the way they can mentally compartmentalize information and then reassemble it.  I guess it’s just one of the genetic quirks that they’re born with.  I’ll give you an example of what I mean.

I don’t get HBO on my home tv, but when I was working (as I vaguely remember) the firehouses all had HBO on their tv’s.  And whenever HBO ran their newer movies, they would be shown about ten times a week but all at different times so that subscribers would always be able to pick out a convenient time slot to watch the flick.

Now my medic crews were on the road a lot, usually only in the station for maybe 20-30 minutes at a time, sometimes longer.  But I never could understand why, when they had a break in the action, they would turn on a first-run HBO movie when they knew they would never get to watch the whole thing.  After observing this one-of-many-strange facets of their behavior for a while, it slowly dawned on me.

Over the course of a tour of three 24-hour shifts, they would always be turning on the same movie.  And by the end of the tour they had seen the entire show.  Just not in the same order that the director had planned for them to view it.  But by the time that the 4-day break rolled around, they had sub-consciously re-organized their short-term memory bank and put the movie back in order.  Interesting bit of human nature there.  So why can’t they learn their streets?

*  *  *

If you missed it yesterday, make sure that you scroll down to the next article about Emergency Twitters.  It’s a good example of how to use imagination and ingenuity to combine new technology with emergency operations.  And if you have already seen it, go down there anyway and read the comment posted overnight by long-time reader Dal90.  He’s added some more tips along this same subject that are worth checking out.

Speaking of checking out, let’s get this equipment checked out for the day now.  I need to get some more coffee going.

p.s.  For those of you who have already opened your Twitter accounts, the Baytown FD featured in the article has just opened up a public Twitter page for their PIO:  http://twitter.com/BaytownFire 

Posted by on February 17, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Emergency Twitters

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This is the first in a series of occasional articles about how some fire and rescue departments are using Twitter to enhance their operations.

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR THE ENTIRE AREA AROUND GALVESTON BAY, TEXAS, was girding up for what was looking like a certain hit from Hurricane Ike that was heading their way.

Tracking models showed that it was likely to make landfall at Baytown, just east of Houston.  Baytown has a population of about 68,000 and is served by a fire department housed in five stations.

baytown-patch

As Ike was identified as a possible risk, the city began making preparations for the storm.  The area is prone to periodic direct hits from hurricanes and they have tested procedures already in place.  The Baytown Fire Dept. assigned Lt. Patrick Mahoney of the Training and Safety Office to be their communications liasion during the storm.

Lt. Mahoney was recently getting familiar with Twitter and put his imagination to work as he set up the departmental communications contingency plans.  Knowing that there will be a lengthy period where there will be no utilities service after the storm wall hits, he devised an alternative procedure to communicate between stations when all the phones and electricity are down.

Banking on the probability that there will be at least one (and probably several)  FF’s in each station who have an iPhone or Blackberry-type PDA with them, he set up a Twitter account for each station plus one for Administration.  The pages were set up to be blocked to everybody except the BFD personnel.*

He was also taking advantage of the fact that cellphone towers have their own emergency backup generators, and  if they weren’t blown over (unlikely since they were built with hurricane winds in mind), then they would always have access to the internet.

During the course of the storm  each station was entering vital information about what was going on in their areas.  Lt. Mahoney describes it as “situational awareness” reporting where they would post updates on which structures were gone or any problems that affected fire operations and responses.  As the eye was over them, they could get out for a quick reconnaissance and update each other through their Twitter pages.

baytown-twitter-page

This method was used continually until the electric service was restored.  His description of the performance of the Tweeting was “durable.”  As long as they could get on the internet, they were in business.

As a side note, when the FD went into storm operations, the three shifts were combined into two shifts, one on and one off, and the City turned a middle school into an employees’ shelter where all off-duty fire, police and other city services were housed during the operation.  Their families were all evacuated from the area.

We believe that this is one of the earliest uses of Twitter by an emergency service agency.  By passing this information along, we hope that others can take the germ of the idea and adapt it to your own situations.

*  Twitter pages can be blocked from public viewing by going to the Settings page and checking the “Protect my updates” box.

Baytown Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: Training, Twitter

Arson Arrests In Ontario

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NEARLY 15 MONTHS AFTER SETTING A FIRE that destroyed a major shopping plaza in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, two men have been arrested and charged with the arson.

The fire destroyed 8 buildings and severely damaged 30 more in the resort town’s seasonal shopping district (see Firegeezer report HERE.) on November 30, 2007.

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Alliston Herald

Ontario Provincial Police announced Friday that they had arrested 21-yr.-old Andrew Paulino of Barre and an unnamed 18-yr.-old who have been charged with this arson along with several other fires that occurred between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7 in Barre, Inisfil and Springwater Townships.  Paulino was out on bail from an earlier arson charge.  He is being held without bail on the Wasaga fire.

The Alliston Herald has the STORY.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: arson, Law & Justice

Firehouse Fire

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Video added, scroll down 

AN EARLY REPORT COMING IN says that the Cambria, New York,  Volunteer Fire Dept. firehouse is fully involved.  No other info. yet.

Cambria is in Niagara County near Buffalo.

Update, 6 pm:
An early report from the Buffalo News:

The fire started just after 1 p.m. in the truck bay at 4631 Cambria-Wilson Road. A rescue pumper there was unable to be removed from the bay in time, officials said.

Officials safely removed a nearby ambulance, utility ambulance and an aerial truck from the fire hall after each sustained some damage.

Niagara County fire investigators were probing the cause of the blaze, which was extinguished after several fire companies from the area responded.

No injuries were reported.

WIVB-TV has this video report:

Update #2, Tuesday 9 am:
The fire chief and another firefighter were in the firehouse at the time the fire started, but by the time they detected the smoke, it was well underway.  While they managed to get the two ambulances out of the bays along with their aerial truck, the rescue pumper was a total loss.  Full damages will be slightly over $1 million.
The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal has a good background story of the fire HERE.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: fire, fire stations

Another Weird Collision

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LAST WEDNESDAY TWO SPACE SATELLITES IMPROBABLY collided against the gazillion-to-one odds of it ever happening (see Firegeezer report HERE).

Earlier today (Monday) French and British authorities announced that nuclear-armed submarines from each country collided earlier this month.  The HMS Vanguard, the oldest of Britain’s current nuclear-armed submarine fleet, and the French Le Triomphant submarine, which was also carrying nuclear missiles, both suffered minor damage in the collision. No crew members were reported injured.

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HMS Vanguard

Britain’s top Admiral Jonathon Band issued a statement saying, “The two submarines came into contact at very low speed.  Both submarines remained safe.”

France’s defense ministry admitted this morning that, “They briefly came into contact at a very low speed while submerged. There were no injuries. Neither their nuclear deterrence missions nor their safety were affected.”

The Associated Press reports:

The Vanguard — which is capable of carrying up to 16 nuclear-armed Trident missles — was towed back to a submarine base in Scotland with visible dents and scrapes, the BBC reported.

The Le Triomphant suffered damaged to a sonar dome in the front of the submarine but returned under its own power to its base on L’Ile Longue on France’s western tip, according to the French military.

Neither France nor Britain would confirm the exact date of the collision, but said it took place earlier this month. France issued a brief statement Feb. 6 saying the Le Triomphant had struck “a submerged object” that was probably a shipping container.

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Le Triomphant

Angus Robertson, a political leader of the opposition Scottish National Party said, (the government) “needs to explain how it is possible for a submarine carrying weapons of mass destruction to collide with another submarine carrying weapons of mass destruction in the middle of the world’s second-largest ocean.”

BBC News has the complete story HERE.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: current events

Public AED's In Poland

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POLAND HAS UNDERTAKEN A CAMPAIGN TO PLACE AED’s in public places and has marked them prominently with these signs:

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All well and good for such a noble project.

But… television station TVP-Krakow launched what appears to be an undercover investigative report on how easy (or not) it is to actually find one of these devices when you need one.

This video report shows that the old Communist-style bureaucracy is still entrenched in many agencies, i.e.: uncaring and unconcerned.

 

Note:  If any readers are fluent in Polish, please update us on this report.

Source:  Ratowniczy.net
Hat tip to Greg F.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: rescue

Castle Fire In Scotland

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LORD GLASGOW, 10TH EARL OF GLASGOW, and his son were forced to flee their ancestral home early this morning when a fire in an upper-story room took hold and spread to the roof.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue responded promptly and were able to contain the fire to the billiard room and the portion of the roof directly above it.  Officials say that there was also some water damage to the dining room.

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This Glasgow Evening Times photo shows the roof damage
over the billiard room on the left-hand wing.

Fast action by the first-in company kept the fire from running away through the roof and causing extensive damage to the historic building.  A total of 40 firefighters were brought in because of the unusual salvage demands in a large house filled with treasures and historic artworks.  The 3-story wing where the fire occurred was built about 150 years ago.

The Earl praised the firefighters, telling the Glasgow Evening Times:

“My son David, rushed in to say we’re on fire and we both got out of the building.  We were just so relieved when crews got here. They did a wonderful job.

“It seems to have been an electrical fault in a hot water boiler which has caused the fire and now it looks like we’ll have to carry out some structural work.

“But we’ve been very lucky and don’t appear to have lost any paintings or valuables.”

Kelburn Castle was built in the 13th Century and is believed to be the oldest castle in Scotland to have been lived in by the same family since its construction.

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Strathclyde Fire and Rescue WEBSITE.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: fire

You sent me a 1099 (!?!)

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The use of exchange-of-shifts, where one firefighter will work in place of another firefighter, went through many changes during my career in a large urban county.  The original idea was that, if you worked 12 hours for me today, I would work 12 hours for you at a later date.

Firefighters have a well-earned reputation for creative work-around of every regulation. The exchange-of-shift policy underwent revision each time a problem made it to the fire chief’s office.

CASH INSTEAD OF WORKING THE EXCHANGE

A firefighter obtained a lucrative contract for his off-duty business. The contract required him to be at the jobsite on many days he was scheduled to work at the fire station. Instead of working for the firefighters who covered for him, he paid cash.  He paid higher than the overtime hourly rate, without making any payroll deductions.

THAT made him very popular, until January.  His accountant issued 1099 tax forms for every firefighter that worked an exchange.  A couple of guys were in a jam, obligated for making up hundreds of dollars in unpaid federal and state income taxes.

The department prohibited paying for shift exchanges and required a payback within three months.  The documentation for a shift exchange had to show both exchanges and get signatures from both supervisors.

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ANYONE KNOW WHERE THE PRE-PLAN BOOKS ARE?

A Christmas holiday response to a fire alarm activation in a residential high-rise brought two engines and an aerial where nine of the 12 members were working exchanges, details or overtime. None of the company officers were familiar with one of the first high-rises in the county.

Normally, the ancient fire alarm system is cleared and reset within 15 minutes.  When the onscene-time approached one hour, the battalion chief was notified. The regular chief was on leave and the fill-chief never worked in this battalion.  The on-duty fire marshal was on another incident. The chief called an off-duty member of the first-due company and was walked through the reset procedure.

Part of the department’s response to the complaint that the occupants had to wait 90 minutes in the cold for the bells to be reset was to establish a “50% rule” – no more than half of the regularly assigned shift could be on a shift exchange. 

A COMMAND INTERPRETATION OF THE REGULATION

It was the last year I was taking graduate classes. I had run out of folks who would work an exchange for me on Tuesday/Thursday nights.  One “brother” would work five hours for me in turn for me working 12 hours for him. 

My chief said he would approve one-way shift exchanges.  The conditions were: (a) no 1099s, (b) only use officers with experience working in the battalion and (c) no jerks.  I found two that met the chief’s requirements and were happy to get cash for five hours of work.

They also got a few good calls. From September to May the guys working for me handled five structure fires and a couple of accidents-with-entrapments.  Two events remain vivid memories. 

Getting passed by the engine minutes after leaving the fire station … and seeing smoke from a house on fire. Returning from the university, passing a greater alarm apartment fire and getting to the station in time to help set up a medevac landing zone behind the station with a reserve rig.

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Photo from Mutual Box Media

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: labor

Morning Lineup – February 16

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The degradation of decency and culture in our society continues to plunge.  You all know what I’m talking about and I don’t need to go into a long litany of examples to illustrate the point.  But if there’s anybody left who still has any doubt whatsoever that we’re plunging into the pits of courseness, I’ve found the evidence that proves conclusively that we’ve reached the state of hopelessness.

Now you know that I try my best to keep this a family-friendly publication and stay away from uncouth words and topics, so I’ll try and go easy on this one while getting the message across.

It has to do with things that people put on their iPhones called “apps.”  I’ve never seen an iPhone, so I’m not completely sure what an app is.  But I think it’s a thingy that you install in your machine that will do tricks, run games and, in some cases, make noises.  And making noises is what a couple of noise-makers are doing in a copyright-claim battle.

(Warning:  If you’re sensitive to indelicate communications, then stop here and scroll down to the next posting)

It seems that an app developer called iFart Mobile is being challenged by the Air-O-Matic app maker claiming that they (Air-O-Matic) have the exclusive  use to the phrase “Pull My Finger.”  (I’m not making this up.)  And you know what?  They are taking it to court!  Since when does this crap even get considered for a place on the docket?

Now I’m not going to get into all the smelly details of this squabble here.  I’ll just let you read the entire article HERE.  See if you agree with me that our culture has gone into the toilet.

Knowing fire/rescue people like I do, I’m willing to bet that more than one of them has set one of these sounds (there are more than 75 of them) as a ring-tone on their phone.  Right now I’m picturing an engine co. and ambulance crew all crowded into the living room working a full-code CPR on Gramps when somebody’s phone suddenly launches into Howard The Duck.  And it would be just my luck, if I was the OIC, that it belonged to the guy who was trying to start the IV and couldn’t take the time to reach into his pocket and shut it off.  Yee gads.

Well, make sure you’ve set your phone to “vibrate” and then get this equipment checked out.  I’ll go make some good, strong coffee this morning.

Posted by on February 16, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Explosive Device Blows In California Prison

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AN IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE went off inside a federal prison in California on Saturday.  CNN reports:

The incident happened in the recreation area of the Victorville Federal Penitentiary. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Traci Billingsley said the device was found by a staff member during a “routine search of inmate property”. She said it “detonated upon discovery.”

A bomb squad from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and FBI bomb technicians were called to the prison to examine the device and make sure it didn’t pose any further danger.

Billingsley said the prison was locked down at the time the device was found. She could not say what prompted the lockdown, or if there was any connection to the search. No inmates were in the area when the explosion occurred.

Posted by on February 15, 2009 • Filed under: explosion

Take Your Keys With You

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HARDLY A WEEK GOES BY THAT WE DON’T HEAR about an ambulance being stolen from a hospital because the crew left the keys in the ignition.  But what happens when thieves leave their keys in the ignition?  A couple of them found out for themselves this past Tuesday in Bellevue, Washington.

Patrick Rosario, 32, was at home working in his basement workshop that afternoon when he heard the sounds of footsteps upstairs and some strange noises.  Creeping to the top of the basement stairs, he peeped through the gap under the door and saw some strangers walking around and disconnecting his television sets.

The Seattle Times continues:

He already was dialing 911 as he hurried back down the stairs ….. and  ran out the back door toward the front of the house.

The 911 dispatcher was on the phone as Rosario peeked around the corner, hiding behind a garbage can. That’s when he noticed the exhaust sputtering out of the white Ford Windstar van parked out front.

Seeing no one, he quickly approached. The keys in the ignition, the humming engine, the unlocked driver’s door: It was all too perfect. 

He drove (the van) up a steep hill away from the house, figuring whoever was ransacking his home wouldn’t be able to keep up on foot. He stopped a few blocks away in front of a friend’s house and waited for police.

Meanwhile, back at his home, a passing driver visiting an across-the-street neighbor saw the burglars exit the house. According to the detectives’ report, “the males looked back … and appeared startled.”

They were last seen running away toward a nearby highway, leaving behind a pile of flat-screen TVs by the door, along with Rosario’s laptop, game consoles and his wife’s jewelry box.

Read the full STORY HERE.

Posted by on February 15, 2009 • Filed under: crime

Anchorage Firefighters Get BIGGGG Welcome

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Anchorage, Alaska, firefighters were met Wednesday evening by a unique welcoming committee at the local Black Angus Inn hotel where they were responding to a sprinkler flow alarm.

As they were attempting to shut down a broken pipe, a woman came out from one of the rooms and started mooning them.

It all began earlier when two men were fighting in the hallway and the manager called the police.  He didn’t yet know that one of the men had just deliberately pulled the sprinkler piping in his room apart and started flooding the entire hotel.  When the police arrived along with the fire department, they were confronted with 3-4 inches of water, two drunks and a disorderly woman who was mooning them and yelling at them to show her their penises.

Eventually the water was shut off after $30,000 in damages had occurred, one of the men and the woman were all arrested, and the firefighters were disappointed to find out that nobody remembered to wear their helmet-cam.

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The Anchorage Black Angus Inn
(nearly dry now)

There’s more.   Read the entire story in the Anchorage Daily News HERE.

Posted by on February 15, 2009 • Filed under: current events

Buffalo Plane Crash Update

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AIR CRASH INVESTIGATORS HAVE EXPLAINED how the Continental Connection aircraft was found aimed in the opposite direction from the airport.  Coupled with the fact that the plane landed flat and not nose down, they are saying that it was possibly in a “flat spin.”

Recall that the preliminary findings from the cockpit control recorders showed that the plane began pitching and rolling when the flaps started extending.  It is becoming apparent that the operation of the flaps will bring a focus in the investigation to them.

By Saturday evening 15 bodies have been recovered from the crash site.

CNN has this compilation video from WITV today:

Posted by on February 15, 2009 • Filed under: aircraft