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Virginia FF's Injured In Haz-Mat Incident

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FOUR FIREFIGHTERS FROM THE JAMES CITY COUNTY, Virginia, Fire and Rescue Department suffered some respiratory damage late Sunday night at a commercial fire that became a haz-mat incident.

The FD was dispatched to a precision plating and machine company in Toano, near Williamsburg, when a sprinkler system began flowing.  A space heater had ignited some nearby plastic materials in the plant, triggering the sprinkler system.

The sprinklers extinguished the fire, but before the FD could get there they overfilled two 120-gallon tanks of chromic acid.  The firefighters were met with the lethal fumes when they arrived.  The Newport News Fire Dept. hazardous material team was dispatched to assist and a state hazardous materials officer was sent to oversee the containment of the acid spill.

The four firefighters were taken to the hospital for injuries from the fumes of the “extremely hazardous” chromic acid. Their injuries included inhalation of the toxic fumes and eye irritation, according to fire officials. A fifth firefighter broke his foot when a fire hose landed on it.

WAVY Ch. 10 Norfolk has this video report:

Posted by on February 9, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Haz-mat

Morning Lineup – February 9

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There is a real catastrophe ongoing in Australia this morning.  You’ve been reading about all those out-of-control bush fires in Victoria and New South Wales that are pretty much unstoppable.  As I’m writing this, the confirmed death toll is 130, but it will no doubt climb much higher than that over the next few days as fire/rescue personnel get into the stricken areas.

All this is going on amidst record-high temperatures that have been exceeding 110º F. almost every day.  What is most sickening about this is that there is good evidence that many of these fires have been deliberately set.  The police have declared two destroyed villages as crime scenes and they are actively trying to run down the culprits who are doing this.  They will be charged with murder if they are caught.  Let’s hope they are successful in their manhunt.

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AFP

*  *  *  *  *

Everybody needs a bit of whimsey.  About a year ago Dave Statter of STATter911 discovered a spectator sport in Durham, North Carolina, where folks are watching ignorant truck drivers regularly attempting to drive under a railroad bridge that is lower than their box trucks.  Despite all the signs and flashing lights, they keep on trying.  One enterprising resident has kept a video camera constantly aimed at killer bridge which has been nicknamed the Gregson Street Guillotine and posting them on YouTube where Dave has been sharing them with us.

It was just a few days ago that I was thinking about that and wondering if there have been any recent demonstrations of driver-malfeasance, and sure enough he struck real paydirt the other day when he found someone had compiled a “best of…” tape highlighting some of the more entertaining rip-offs.  He’s posted an update for us HERE.  It has nothing to do with fire/rescue, but it sure is fun to watch.

After you’re through watching that, and reviewing the height of your own vehicle, let’s get the equipment checked out.  I need to start a fresh pot of coffee.  We’ll meet back in the day room after we finish up.

buckle-up-graphic

Posted by on February 9, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

"Don't Let Ethel Catch You"

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THOSE WERE ONE OF THE LINES FROM Henry Fonda’s last motion picture, On Golden Pond, just months before he died.

The room where he spoke his first performing words in an estate in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, burned out earlier this week.  The house where Fonda and other aspiring actors including Jimmy Stewart put on their own productions as they were honing their acting skills is part of a former estate known as Whitecrest.

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Cape Cod Times

The Cape Cod Times reports:

The house was once owned by Frances Crane, and was most famously used as a practice spot for a fledgling theater group known as the University Players in the mid-20s, said Jennifer Gaines, curator of the Woods Hole Historical Museum.

On Tuesday, fire ripped through the second floor of the house owned by Frederick and Marguerite Smith.

According to “Ring Around the Punch Bowl,” a book about the Beebe family of Falmouth, the University Players were formed in 1928. Along with Hollywood heavyweights Fonda and Stewart, they also featured Kent Smith, Joshua Logan and Margaret Sullavan, who was married to “Hank” Fonda.

In that first year, the University Players — named as such because their founders were students at Harvard, Princeton and Radcliffe — each tossed $100 into a kitty for operating capital, author George Moses writes.

Just before opening night, the players had to canvass Woods Hole and Falmouth to get enough cash to open the curtains on their first play, according to the Spritsail. They attracted 176 subscribers at $10 a head.

“The players persuaded the late I.H. “Ike” Robbins, who built the now venerable Elizabeth Theatre on Main Street in 1920 and named it for his wife, to let them present eight plays in the summer of ’28, two nights a week (the slow Monday and Tuesday evenings — for 55 percent of the gross,” Moses writes.

When the fire broke out at the $2.4 million home, Mrs. Smith was at home, but the 88-yr.-old woman was incapable of helping herself out of the house.  Fortunately for her, two cable tv technicians working next door were packing up to leave.  Just then Mr. Smith came running out of his house crying that his house was on fire and his wife was trapped.

The two men barged in through the back door and were met with heavy, black smoke.  But they pressed on and found Mrs. Smith at the top of the stairs trying to get herself  down them.  They got ahold of her and led her to safety, no doubt saving her life in the process.  The house is probably a total loss.

The Cape Cod Times has the full story and the background history of the home HERE and HERE.

Posted by on February 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Australia Wildfire Update

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THE DEATH TOLL AT THE AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES HAS RISEN TO 108.

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AuBC

As the fires continue unchecked across a 1,200 square mile area in the southwest corner of Australia,  more fatalities are being discovered as 3,000 firefighters and rescue workers make their way to villages and communities that have been consumed by the flames.

“Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours. Many good people lie dead, many injured,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters Sunday, deploying army units to help the firefighters battling the flames.

A new hazard has entered the game as some people are forced into swamplands that are populated with crocodiles.  At least one young boy has been taken by a croc.

The towns of Marysville and Kingslake have both been obliterated.

AFP has a recent report HERE.
Scroll down to view earlier report with video.

Posted by on February 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Plague-Infected Mice Missing From Lab

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THE FROZEN REMAINS OF TWO MICE that had been injected with the plague have been missing for seven weeks at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey facility in Newark.

The Associated Press reports:

UMDNJ’s Public Health Research Institute issued a four-paragraph statement about the December incident late Friday saying it believes the red hazardous waste bag containing the dead mice was sterilized and incinerated along with another bag.

“Although the mice in the missing bag were used in vaccine experiments involving the bacteria Yersinia pestis, the organism that causes plague, UMDNJ has no reason to believe that this situation poses a risk to the safety or health of UMDNJ staff or the community at large,” the university said in its prepared statement.

University spokesman Jerry Carey said he did not know why UMDNJ waited seven weeks to disclose the missing mice.

A spokesman for the FBI says that they have investigated the incident and determined there was no risk to public health or any indication of the terrorist link.

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The University is sticking with the story that they believe the bag of frozen mice was stuck to another bag when they were incinerated, but nobody noticed it.  (That should make the folks in Newark feel safe, eh? … FG)

The Newark Star-Ledger goes into more detail about their theory on the accidental disposal HERE.

This is not the first time that the UMDMJ has gotten careless with plague-infected specimens.  In September 2005, three live infected mice went missing and were never found.  Officials then said that they might have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced in a paperwork error.  (Oh, those nasty paperwork errors.  You know what happens when the In Box gets piled up…..FG).

You can read about all the “maybe’s” and “probably’s” from that fiasco HERE.

Posted by on February 8, 2009 • Filed under: health & safety

Aussie Wildfire Death Toll Passes 84

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Update 10:20 am Eastern:
The death toll has now reached 96.  Many more are expected to be found.
Currently there are 26 fires burning in Victoria state and 53 in New South Wales.

THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF AUSTRALIA BECAME A FURNACE this weekend as huge, uncontrolled wildfires raced through the country.

Australia Wildfires

Associated Press photo

A combination of record-breaking heat with temperatures topping 110º F., high winds and a prolonged drought are accelerating the devastating fire spread.  Currently there are nine major fires, several of which swept through entire settlements as well as country homes. 

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Reuters

The death toll has reached 84, but officials say that there will be many, many more that are yet to be found.  Several people have been found incinerated in their cars as they apparently tried to flee the fast-moving flames and failed.

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AFP

The UK Telegraph has a good video report from Sunday morning:

 

Wildfire Today has an excellent report from yesterday describing the conditions and the history of this group of fires HERE.

We will be updating during the day.  Check back.

Posted by on February 8, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – February 8

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Aren’t we supposed to learn from the mistakes of others?  Yesterday we reported on still another ambulance crash at an intersection (HERE) and it resulted in the death of the driver of the private auto that was T-boned by the ambulance.  The intersection was controlled by a traffic light, so somebody had the red signal.

So far, the police have not publicly released the cause, but that doesn’t matter right now.  The point is, the end result was tragedy and from this I would hope that other emergency drivers would just keep this in mind when you’re going through any intersection.  Recently we have also reported on fatal crashes where the ambulances and fire trucks have all been doing the right thing, but someone who wasn’t doing the right thing pulled out into their paths anyway.  There is so much to watch out for when you’re driving out there.  I don’t need to tell you this, you already know it.  I just want to nudge you so that you don’t forget.

*  *  *

I want to remind you that tomorrow we’ll begin our Mondays With Twitter series.  We will all be learning along together here, so if you’re a Twitter pro, we’re hoping that you’ll pitch in and help us out.  FossilMedic and I are convinced that Twitter is going to be a valuable tool for emergency communications and planning, so let’s all get ready to be on the leading edge of emergency Twittering.  We’ve even made a separate posting Category for it already.  You can see it in our Category listing on the right sidebar.

*  *  *

Something that we all appreciate is a good photograph.  Friday night an architecturally significant barn in Livonia, New York, burned.  It was noted for its Gothic design and was about 170 years old.  A local fire photographer, Jeffrey Arnold was there and took some pictures, two of which he posted on his Flickr page and I would encourage you to go take a look at them.  I don’t have permission to reproduce them here, so I’ll put up a thumbnail of one of them just to tease you.

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Now click on Firephoto25′s Flickr page HERE to see them.  Take a look around at some of his other work while you’re there.

Before you get involved in all that, though, let’s get this equipment checked out.  I need to get a fresh pot going and check on the Sunday breakfast.

Posted by on February 8, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

It is a Labor thing …

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There are over a million individuals who identify themselves as firefighters. Almost 350,000 make firefighting a career, 292,000 of them are members of a local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

WHEN IAFF MEMBERS “TWO-HAT”

Two-hatters are IAFF members who volunteer at another department that is represented by another IAFF local. The conflict is about the activity of a trade union member in another local’s jurisdiction and the compliance with the rules and regulations of the International.

Former Kentland volunteer and Local 1619 President Tom McEachin introduced Resolution 43 at the 2000 IAFF convention.  Two-hatters and their allies engaged in a campaign that gained national attention.

TriData determined that Prince George’s County Fire Department has 678 employees and 1099 volunteers. (HERE – see page 130)  Local 1619 identified about 200 PG volunteers as two-hatters.

John A. Mutchler, a former member of the PG Fire Commission, created an excellent repository of information about this issue HERE.

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Two-hatting is a polarizing and emotional issue. Phantom, a DCFD employee and PG volunteer, describes the start of TheWatchDesk (TWD):

The concept that underlies the operations of TWD had their start in late 2000 when International Association of Firefighter’s Local 1619 attacked members of surrounding locals for volunteering in Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire Stations.

… This board quickly became controversial and moved into private ownership with better software, it was then that Phantom registered the name “TheWatchDesk.com” and with the help of Zorro established the site.

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NATIONAL CRISIS OVER A LOCAL ISSUE

As the issues were spun-up the nature of the discussion changed.  Moving beyond TheWatchDesk forum, most of the posters on the fire service message boards were NOT an IAFF or PG volunteer member.

Fire service opinion leaders and pundits also weighed in. PG is a busy urban county that provides varsity-level firefighting. The editorials and articles had nothing to do with the PG issue but added to the angst, anger and static of volunteer-versus-paid debates.

After months of back-and-forth discussons on TheWatchDesk, “Brother vs. Brother” was published in the January 2003 issue of Fire Chief magazine (HERE)

This example was the driving force to write the article:

Former volunteer fire chief and Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon made a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives on Feb. 27, 2002, asking, “Does this mean that those career firefighters from other departments that went to New York City would lose their union cards if this were enforced because they were volunteering to help their brother firefighters in a time of need?”

That is not the objective of Resolution 43, … (HERE)

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I continued participating in two-hatter message board discussions.  There were other high-profile PGFD activities that kept firehouse.com forums hopping.

A 2007 issue became a public policy case study. The Battle Over Kentland Ambulance 339: I did not join the VFD to ride an ambulance!

The two-hatter issue became old.  The Resolution 43 trial boards made it clear that DC Local 36 does not care about two-hatters.

IAFF RESOLUTION 2 REIGNITES THE DEBATE

The Illinois delegation submitted Resolution at the 2008 convention.

Resolution 2 directs the IAFF to delete Article XV, Section 3 and insert a new subsection to the list of defined misconduct as “working a secondary job part-time, paid on call, volunteer or otherwise as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, whether in the public or private sector, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any affiliate or which adversely impacts the interests of any affiliate or the IAFF.

Upon a finding of guilt…it is recommended that the penalty include disqualification from holding office in any affiliate and/or expulsion from membership for the period that the misconduct persists. Charges filed for the misconduct described…shall be preferred by a member of the charged party’s local and/or member of an adversely affected affiliate.”

The expansion of the description of misconduct activity addresses a problem in Illinois with union members working as PART-TIME firefighters at another town with full-time IAFF members. The part-timers are working for an hourly rate that is 30-50% less than the hourly rate for full-time firefighters. More information in THIS blog item.

UNION BANNING MEMBERS FROM VOLUNTEERING?

Title from the January 28, 2009, entry by FirefighterNation and IACOJ blogger  Art “ChiefReason” Goodrich. Read it HERE.  This post received 55 comments on FFN and 123 comments on the International Association of Crusty Old Jakes.

The post generated passion, heat and inaccurate assertions.  Most of the posters are not IAFF members. A few remind me of “experts” who know that it was a US missle/truck bomb and not a hijacked 757 that hit the Pentagon.

Chief Goodrich provided 22 years of service to an Illinois volunteer department.  He responsed on the IACOJ message board:

I belonged to a union, but it wasn’t a firefighter union, but I don’t think any union is so different from another in terms of purpose. They all seem to operate off of a similar set of core values and missions.

I have not been in the career fire service, but have had some collateral exposure to it in my mutual aid assistance.

And if anyone who read and understood my motivation for writing the blog, it was more from a “civil liberties” focus and in no way, do I buy in to the hysteria that the IAFF is going to drive volunteers from the service, because I know that it will never happen. At least, not in my life time.

MY PERSPECTIVE

I was an engine company commander working at a busy station where seven of the nine members of the shift were African-American. Some firehouse kitchen discussions ended with … “It is a Black thing, you would not understand.”

I appreciated that their experience, background, expectations and “hot button” issues are different than mine. Not better or worse, just different.

I had transformational experience that was different from Goodrich’s collateral experience responding with career crews on mutual aid. My first assignment as a county firefighter was at the station where I started as a volunteer.

There was a dramatic change in perspective when I had to work at the place I volunteered at.  Some of the features of the volunteer station I thought were “cool” when spending a weekend at the VFD became a problem when I worked 56 hours a week at the house.

Had a similar experience when I went from adjunct to full time as a university professor. In both cases I was not expecting such a change, since I had years of experience as a volunteer firefighter and a part-time professor. I had skill sets, but I did not “know the job.”

I have been a member of other labor organizations. The IAFF is different.

The unique history of the fire service results in convoluted isues. One hundred years ago career firefighters worked continuous duty, getting just one to two days off a month.  No other municipal employee worked that schedule.

I no longer entertain the fantasy that I can change anyone’s mind, regardless of the research, examples or well-crafted message board postings.  It is tiring to see the same innaccurate “facts” spewing from non-union firefighters when discussing two-hatters.

When the next event starts another barrage of message board posts by non-unionized firefighters, I will respond:

It is a Labor thing …

… you would not understand.

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, commentary, Fire Rescue Topics, labor, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Massive Ice Rescue On Lake Erie

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Update: Video added. Scroll down.

ABOUT 150 TO 175 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN RESCUED from an ice floe in Lake Erie this afternoon.  Several hundred fishermen were all on the ice, some camping overnight, when one section broke away from the coastline in Ohio and started drifting.  The site is in Ottawa County just east of Toledo.

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WTOL-TV

The 2-ft.-thick floe is 8 miles long and about 1,000 yards off shore.  A sudden warming of outside temperatures today led to a shifting in the ice along with the current and 35 mph wind gusts which accelerated the movement.

The U. S. Coast Guard got the first distress call at 10:45 am and the evacuation has been ongoing all day since then.  Boats, hovercraft and helicopters from the U. S. and Canadian Coast Guards, Ohio State University and Monroe County emergency services are all participating.

Toledo and Washington Township fire departments, the latter equipped with two rescue hovercraft, were also reportledly assisting Jerusalem Township in the rescue efforts.

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WTVG-TV

According to local ice fishermen, the season’s thick ice has attracted more people than usual to the lake this winter.  “There was a heck of a city out there for the last week and a half, two weeks,” local resident Peter Harrison, 71, told The Associated Press.

Most of the victims are not in immediate danger, but the rescue was being handled with as much urgency as possible because of the chance for the ice to continue to deteriorate.  Rescue operations were discontinued after 3:30pm once it became clear those at risk had been recovered. One small group remained off shore on the ice “to protect their expensive equipment” according to television reports. 

Shortly after 3:40 pm it was reported that one man has died after falling through the ice.

Gathered from reports by:
CNN
WTOL Ch. 11
WTVG Ch. 13

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: rescue

Volcano Update – Feb. 07

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THE ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY has issued this statement at approx. 2:30 pm Eastern (10:30 am Alaska):

Seismic activity remains elevated and consists of tremor fluctuating in amplitude. The webcam shows a steam plume. Field crews will be attempting to make observations and measure gas emissions at the volcano today.The volcano has not erupted and AVO continues to watch the volcano 24/7

This webcam image was taken just before this posting at 3:40 pm:

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Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: current events

Beer Tastes At Champagne Prices

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IT’S OFFICIAL:  TENNESSEE HAS THE NATION’S HIGHEST taxes on beer.  Following a survey of 2008 facts, the Beer Institute has compiled the listing of taxes imposed on beer by each of the states and Tennessee has just surpassed Alaska for the dubious distinction of collecting the highest amount per barrel.  (Firegeezer notes that Tennessee and Alaska are two of the handful of states that do not collect personal income taxes.)

Tennesseans are now paying an effective tax rate of $33.25 per barrel while the new runner-up Alaska collects $33.17.  By comparison, the national average is only $9.75 (skewed upwards by the top-5 states, Tennessee, Alaska, Alabama, Georgia and Hawaii).

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The state with the least burden on its beer-drinkers is Wyoming who collects a mere 62¢ per barrel.

Tennessee’s high tax rate is continually climbing due to a nefarious scheme that their unconscionble politicians have applied that bases the tax on value, which goes up as the price of goods goes up, and another tax based on the value including the tax.  In other words, taxes are being taxed, too.  The KnoxvilleBiz explains how they do it HERE.

To see how far your state is reaching into your beer wallet, view the results of the Beer Institute’s study HERE (.pdf page).

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: beer

"My Office Is My Ambulance"

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AN ARKANSAS MAN WHO WAS claiming to be a doctor and a paramedic has had a career interruption in Bastrop, Louisiana.

Stanley Bitely was writing prescriptions, administering innoculations and dispensing medicines from the back of his pickup truck.  However, he unwisely chose to set up his mobile office in a parking lot across the street from a (real) doctor’s office.  Not only that, but he was undercutting the doctor’s prices for office visits and treatments.

Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s deputies found him two days later and according to one deputy:

Lt. Balsamo said he “claimed to be a medical doctor and a paramedic. [We] found a medical bag, [which] contained several prescribed but non-narcotic drugs. [He also] has a name tag claiming to be a medical doctor.”

The bag held around 15 types of medications. One card that had expired in 2002 for basic was recovered, but no updated verification that he can prescribe medicine was found.

During the interview, Balsamo said they found a female that had received two shots and a prescription from Bitely. This individual came forward.

He has been jailed on charges of practicing medicine without a license and distribution of a legend drug.

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Stanley Bitely (left) is escorted by narcotics agent
to Morehouse Jail Friday afternoon after being booked.
(Daily Enterprise photo by Ashley Adams)

The Bastrop Daily Enterprise has the full story HERE.

Firegeezer wonders about the mental capacity of people who pay some guy in a pickup for a prescription.

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: crime

Turnabout Legal Suit By Canadian Tribal Chief

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THE CHIEF OF THE Sandy Bay First Nation (Indian reservation)  in Manitoba is threatening to sue the Canadian federal government following a fatal fire at the reserve on Tuesday.

Chief Russell Beaulieu blames overcrowding for the fire and says 200 people in his community are on waiting lists to get out of overcrowded homes.  He thinks that it might be time to file suit against the government for the lack of funding needed to provide the safe and necessary housing for the members.

The house that caught fire Tuesday was home to 15 people. It burned to the ground in 15 minutes.  The fatality was a 9-yr.-old girl who, along with other family members, had been taken in by the homeowner because there are no available houses on the reserve for the growing numbers of residents.

The homeowner, Michael Dumas, is also the community’s fire chief and is receiving medical treatment for injuries he suffered after trying to get everyone out of the burning house.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation but Beaulieu has been told by the fire commissioner’s office that a wood stove is likely to blame.

CBC News is carrying the STORY.
The Daily Graphic has MORE.

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Ambulance Collision Leaves One Dead

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A COLLISION BETWEEN AN AMBULANCE AND A private automobile in Hartford, Connecticut, Friday morning killed the 70-yr.-old driver of the car.

The Aetna Ambulance Co. unit was responding with lights and siren to an automobile accident when the collision occured at a controlled intersection shortly after 7:30 am.  Early reports indicate that the car was traveling across the intersection and was struck by the ambulance.

None of the ambulance crew were injured.  The police investigation is continuing this morning.

WVIT-TV has this video report:

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Morning Lineup – February 7

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Mike Legeros, publisher of the Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog, has gone and done it.  Mike, as many of you know, seems to have a camera surgically attached to his wrist.  As a result, he is always taking pictures whenever he is facing in the direction of anything fire & rescue related.  He is also the official photographer historian for the Raleigh, N. C., Fire Department and the unofficial state fire historian.

Yesterday he posted a recent shot that I’m sure he is very proud of.  Mike captured the leading drops of a hose stream just as it’s leaving the nozzle.  I’m not going to reproduce it here because that would take a lot of his fun away and I would rather he get the enjoyment of sharing with you.  So click on the LINK HERE and take a look at this very rare shot.  For you camera buffs, he has listed the technics of the pic.  And while you’re there, keep on scrolling down the page and see some of the work he’s always doing on his website.  (I wonder how many times he tried before he caught that shot? … FG) Update:  Mike tells us that this was his first try.  Wow!

*  *  *  *  *

It looks like things are gradually getting back in operation in the mid-west where that ice storm swept through on January 26.  As you probably know, Kentucky was especially hard-hit by the paralyzing storm that not only shut down all transportation, but communications as well as the electric service.  My brother lives near the Arkansas/Missouri border and he has been without electricity for 12 days.  But he’s expecting it to be restored to his area today sometime.  When you have an area roughly double the size of Great Britain with downed electric lines, it’s a massive job to get everything plugged back in again.

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Reuters

*  *  *  *  *

FossilMedic and I have both been referring to the Twitter movement that’s been exponentially growing in the digital universe ( HERE, HERE and HERE).  Along with it has come many innovative uses of it by various fire, rescue, and information agencies.  We’ve decided to begin running a regular feature (for a while, anyway) on Twitter and how it can be best utilized by emergency workers.

We’ve already been in contact with some people who are doing this already and we’ll be sharing their experiences with you with the goal of exposing this new tool that can be used by all.  We’ll be starting this series on Monday, beginning with an introduction to Twitter and how it operates.  Mike and I are both new to it also, so we will be learning right along with you.  Help is gratefully accepted.  If you have been introducing Twitter into your operations, either routine or emergency, let us know.  Just send us an email to:  geezerguys (at) yahoo (dot) com and put Twitter in the subject line.

But not until after we get this equipment checked out.  I’m going to get the coffee started.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on February 7, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Guard-Gator Protects Dead Man For Two Weeks

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WHEN RICHARD BEAMON, 69, OF STUART, OKLAHOMA, died late January from a tragic accident, his pet alligator Albert watched over him until relatives found him two weeks later.

Beamon lived alone in an isolated area of southeast Oklahoma and apparently had an accident with his chainsaw that cut his neck and he bled to death.  Before anybody found him, that big ice storm moved through the central U. S. and nobody knew that Beamon was dead until a relative went looking after his welfare.

They not only found Beamon, but they also found Albert, a 43-yr.-old alligator living in his own private pond and guarding his keeper.  Albert isn’t just an alligator – he is a 12-ft.-long alligator that weighs 800 pounds.  Albert is well-known in the area because he is also a movie star, having been in many movies and television commercials and still bringing in royalty checks.

Not knowing what to do with Albert, the family called upon the  G. W. Exotic Animal Park to come pick him up.  Expecting to find the usual 6- to 8-ft. gator, they were quite surprised when they got there.  Unable to get him to surface so they could lasso him, they went to a nearby oil rig and borrowed a backhoe.  Using it to breach the dam that contained Albert’s pond, they drained it and within 10 hours they had the big boy packaged up and on his way to his new home.

KOCO-TV has this report on the park workers fixing Albert up for his trip:

Albert will be getting his own special home at the Exotic Animal Park and they are estimating that he could live for another 50 years.

The Tulsa World has more on this story HERE.

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: current events

Lap Dancer Set Ablaze

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AN EMPLOYEE OF THE BABES & BEER SPORTS CLUB in Tarzana, California, was set on fire in a grisly incident early Friday morning.

babes-and-beer
Police detective works outside the Babes & Beer Sports Club
(Daily News photo)

The 27-yr.-old woman was inside the nightclub counting her tips when she was asked to step outside to talk to two people that she presumably knew.  Once she was outside, Rianne Celine Theriault-Odom, 27, and Nathaniel Marquis Petrillo, 22, met her and suddenly doused her with a flammable liquid, then set her ablaze.

The victim ran back inside where others put her fire out and also saw the culprits leaving.  She suffered 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns over 40% of her body and is in grave condition at a burn center.

Rianne Theriault-Odom has been identified as a woman who had applied for a lap-dancing job at Babes & Beer several weeks ago and was rejected.

Exotic Dancer Burned

Police are looking for this out-of-work dancer.

“The suspects had been identified by witnesses’ accounts, by people that were at the tavern,” said Deputy Chief Michael Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department. “When we find them, they will be arrested for this terrible crime. Given the condition of this victim, they may be responsible for ultimately her murder.”

Babes & Beer is described as a sports bar ”that offers full-contact lap dances along with a wide selection of wine and beer.”

The Los Angeles Times has the STORY.

The Los Angeles Daily News has identified the victim as Roberta Abdue Dos Santos Busby, a Brazilian national who recently took up “exotic dancing” after losing her job as a bill collector.

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The Babes N’ Beer Web site advertises a “seductive night life” of bikini-clad women with a “free lapdance with every bottle of wine or alcohol” on Friday and Saturday nights. It also billed a “New Adult Store” of erotic movies, toys and more.

The Babes N’ Beer WEBSITE.

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: arson, crime

Rescue Squad Told To Shape Up Or Ship Out

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THE PRINCETON RESCUE SQUAD in Johnston County, North Carolina, has been given an ultimatum by the county EMS advisory board.  After an investigation into the operations of the squad and finding several major problems, including falsifying records and improperly treating cardiac patients, the board has given them one week to comply with any one of the following mandates:

  1. Pay for county paramedics until its own staff meets standards, OR
  2. Allow the county to provide paramedics permanently, OR
  3. Shut down entirely.

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The Raleigh News & Observer is reporting:

(The rescue squad) is politically entrenched but out of place in the changing world of emergency medical service in rapidly growing counties.

“We’re doing a lot of good things in patient care, and it gets more and more difficult for smaller organizations with volunteers to be able to keep up with that,” said Patrick Harris, director of emergency services for Smithfield and a member of the county EMS advisory board.

Rapid growth and higher emergency medical standards have forced (area) counties to play a bigger role in consolidating rescue services and weeding out squads that can no longer make the grade. As a result, the demise of the volunteer rescue units has rippled across the region.

Johnston County now has its own rescue unit, but it also pays Princeton and five other squads to care for victims at emergencies, and transport them to hospitals. But Johnston hasn’t had a contract with the Princeton squad since July, when problems turned up in a review of 911 calls.

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Princeton Rescue Squad photo by News & Observer

Several volunteer rescue squads in the Capital area counties have been either shut down or absorbed into governmental units in recent years.

Read the entire story HERE.

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Jinxed Patient Survives Two Amb. Crashes

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WHEN A WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA, WOMAN BEGAN her journey from her local hospital to another one in Harrisburg, she had no idea that transfers would be included.

Early Wednesday morning an ambulance from the Mount Alto Fire Dept. in Franklin County was called to transport the unidentified lady who was suffering from a complicated pregnancy and needed to be taken to a hospital in Harrisburg.  While en route in snowy conditions, the ambulance struck something that smashed out the windshield.  The Mount Alto unit then called for another ambulance to complete the transport.

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Mount Alto ambulance

The Silver Spring Township Volunteer Ambulance squad responded with two EMT’s and picked up the patient along with the two hospital nurses that were accompanying her.  Three miles into the journey, the driver of the 2nd ambulance suffered a fatal heart attack and the ambulance left the roadway, I-81, and traveled over 900 ft. before running into a ditch and stopping.

The Silver Spring EMT was injured, yet he managed to call for help on the radio and began CPR on the driver.  Three more ambulances were dispatched to the second wreck and one of them completed the transfer for the patient and another transported the driver, Barry Nagle, 66.

The Cumberland County Sentinal has the DETAILS.

WHP-TV Ch. 21 Harrisburg has this video report:

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Assorted Updates

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THE UNREST AND FIRE-SETTING at the Texas prison near Pecos has finally been quelled.

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On Monday Firegeezer reported HERE on the minor rioting that began on Saturday at the Reeves County Detention Center and continued through Sunday with two dormitory buildings heavily damaged by fires.  During the week there have been sporadic outbursts of unruly activity and more smaller fires set while the state prison system is transferring about 400 inmates to other facilities.

Most of Thursday saw more fires and heavy smoke coming from one of the buildings that had burned earlier.  But as the day progressed, the inmates began returning to their cells.  One deputy said he suspected the inmates were growing tired of living in recreation areas and eating cold food after having destroyed parts of their living quarters and kitchens.

Last night the Reeves County Sheriff announced that the last 30 protesting inmates have returned to their cells and all disturbances are finished.

*  *  *  *  *

THE COSTLY FIRE AT CHICAGO’S Holy Name Cathedral on Wednesday morning (Firegeezer report HERE) was contained to the roof largely due to a sprinkler system that was installed in the historically-significant church.  However, there is a substantial amount of water damage in the main sanctuary that will require several months of repair before it can be used again.  There were reports Wednesday of icicles on the pews.

Investigators are looking into a roof de-icing system as the possible cause of the fire which began and was contained to the roof.  The de-icing system was installed 6 years ago and is designed to keep water and snow from building up in the roof’s gutters and freezing, thus preventing thawing ice from dripping down inside and destroying ceiling plaster.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting HERE that within the last week, a maintenance engineer for the church noticed the system was not melting the ice. That finding led the roofing company contracted by the church to send someone to make the repairs.  An electrical engineer also will look at whether the system was working properly or may have overheated.

* * * * *

THE OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FIREFIGHTER who was arrested earlier this week in a prostitution sting (STATter911 report HERE) is now facing more problems.  Captain Darren Bates, who works at station #5, is not only the president of Omaha’s Local, but he also serves on the Council Bluffs, Iowa, City Council.

Yesterday he was served notice by IAFF President Harold Schaitberger that he (Bates) has been removed from his position in the union.  The Council Bluffs city’s legal officials are looking into his ability to remain on the council.

KMTV Ch. 3 has this video report on the ongoing investigation by the fire department into Bates’ use of the station computers:

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: crime, fire, labor

Morning Lineup – February 6

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Let’s call it The Volcano That Won’t Volcane.  It was a week ago today that the government geologists warned the folks in Alaska that one of their volcano’s, Mt. Redoubt, was set to “blow,” or rather, erupt.  If you missed the basic information on the volcano and the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), see our first posts from last Friday HERE, HERE, and HERE, especially the third one.

The good folks in western Alaska, who are surrounded by more than 40 active volcano’s, are as attuned to these things as the people in Florida are to hurricanes, and they dutifully hit the hardware stores for their air masks and eye-protection goggles…..and waited…..and waited.  And they’re still waiting and watching.  Doesn’t it really grab you when Mother Nature plays with you like that?

You know what happens next.  People start to get complacent and become less cautionary.  Some even begin thinking that it’s all a false alarm.  Then suddenly, it blows and catches half the people looking the other way.  Meanwhile, across the rest of the country, most of the other people have already forgotten about it.  This is a dangerous time because so many have let their guard down despite the very good information that is being dished out to them.  You almost wish that the thing would just go ahead and get it over with.  But so far it hasn’t.  Here’s the latest update from the AVO:

 Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues. Seismic activity remains elevated well above background levels. The volcano has not erupted. Background tremor continues to be elevated relative to the past several days.

They’re continuing to issue their updates every two hours and posting them on Twitter as well as the other standard web pages.  By all accounts from the experts in the business, it’s going to erupt any time now.  What do you think?  Is it really imminent after a week has gone by?  A sure thing?  Human nature doesn’t always listen to Mother Nature.

*  *  *  *  *

A different kind of seismic activity set the needles waving Thursday.  Firefighter Nation registered member #30,000.  That is truly amazing.  Here’s their current inventory:

30334 members
149344 photos
16176 songs
5670 videos		 7120 discussions
234 events
4509 blog posts

If you have been putting off signing up for this premier social network designed exclusively for fire and ems people, take time to do it today before the weekend gets here.  Start HERE.

But before you start “there,” let’s get started with the morning equipment check.  I need to get a fresh pot of coffee going.

buckle-up-texas

Posted by on February 6, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Serial Arsonist Arrested In Oregon

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ALBANY, OREGON, POLICE HAVE ARRESTED A 74-yr.-old transient and charged him with criminal mischief and 2nd-degree arson.  He is suspected with setting at least 8 fires in commercial buildings in the town in the past five weeks.

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Donald George Rice

Police had first arrested Donald George Rice on Monday evening after a restaurant employee saw him setting a fire outside the commercial building.  After being charged with reckless burning, he was released Tuesday morning.  A few hours later a grocery store worker caught him setting another fire and detained him until police got there.

He is now being investigated for starting the recent string of arsons in the downtown area. 

The Oregonian has the story and details HERE.

KPTV Portland has this video report:

Posted by on February 5, 2009 • Filed under: arson

San Fran. Firefighter Clinging To Life

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SIX SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, FIREFIGHTERS were injured this morning (Thursday), one of them critically, at a house fire.

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KGO-TV

The alarm was sent just after midnight and the arriving units to the unoccupied single-family house found fire in the rear of the building and spreading into the roof.  There was an initial search and attack inside the building, but just as they started, the fire grew and spread extremely fast.  The IC ordered everybody out and off of the house.  As the evacuation was underway, the rear part of the roof collapsed on three firefighters still undeneath.

One of the firefighters suffered severe respiratory tract burns and is in intensive care.  He is listed as having “life-threatening injury.”  Report from the hospital says his survival will be determined in the next 72 hours.

The San Francisco Chronicle has the story along with a 12-minute raw video report of the fire HERE.

Posted by on February 5, 2009 • Filed under: fire, health & safety

Bowling Returns To Two-Handed

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Firegeezer says:  When my grandfather was a young man and beginning his career running bowling alleys, pool rooms and saloons, he always bowled using two hands.  The balls in those days did not have finger-holes in them and that was the standard style.  Everything old becomes new again.

JASON BELMONTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, is a professional bowler who plays for his pay mostly in Europe.  But he is in the U. S. for a couple of months to see what he can do in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tournament circuit.

He’s easy to spot …. he’s the one who is bowling with two hands.  Jason uses the two finger holes, but instead of putting his thumb in one, he uses his other hand to hold the ball’s weight and guide the swing.  By releasing the guide hand and giving the two fingers the ability to immediately apply full force to the spin, he generates much more power into the ball’s rotation.  Where most professional bowlers are able to impart a spin of 450 revolutions per minute on their delivery, Belmonte’s ball spins at 600 rpm and literally rips the pins when it enters the pocket.

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Jason Belmonte  (Los Angeles Times)

Belmonte stumbled onto his unique style when he started bowling at his father’s bowling alley in Australia.  Young Jason was only four years old and couldn’t swing a ball with one hand, so the little nipper learned how to use two.  As he got older he refined his style rather than abandon it for the more traditional method.  Once he learned how to put the spin on it and control his hook, there was no looking back.  He threw his first perfect game (300) when he was 16 yrs. old and won his first international tournament a year later.

He must be looking good because the “regulars” on the PBA tour went looking through the rule book to see if they could disqualify his delivery method.  That didn’t work.

Read the Wall Street Journal’s story about this promising athlete HERE
and then watch this video demostration and interview:

Posted by on February 5, 2009 • Filed under: fun

It's Not Our Fault !

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IT REALLY WASN’T OUR FAULT. Firegeezer wasn’t the only website that suddenly became afflicted with the terrible Code 500 Internal Server Error on Thursday morning. Thousands of other websites that use the same sort of publishing software that we do, were also silenced when the huge ISP that hosts our website was stricken with an outside digital attack of some kind.

I don’t know anything about those sorts of things, so I won’t even try to explain it. We’ll just wait until the press release comes out. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

One of the cultural phenomena that is sweeping western civilization these days is for people to point their finger and place the blame for their own problems on somebody else. However, a group of enthusiastic hockey fans in Washington have come up with a novel way to put the blame back where it belongs by reminding the opposing team’s goaltender about where the fault really lies when they let one slip by.

Taunting the visting team’s goalie is a long tradition of hockey fans everywhere, best exemplified by the one begun in Montreal about “Hey, hey-yay, goo-ood bye-eye.” Picking up on the yuppies’ first explanation for things, this group of good-natured fans is starting a new movement (and it’s all their fault):

Posted by on February 5, 2009 • Filed under: culture