Skip to content

Archives for

See all posts in the network tagged with

Quick-Charge Batteries Coming Soon

4 comments

THOSE BRAINY RESEARCHERS AT M. I. T. HAVE DONE IT AGAIN.  They have developed the technology to build lithium-ion batteries, such as those used in cell phones, that can be recharged in just 10 seconds.

cellbattery

The new process uses the same materials that are already being used in phones, iPods, etc., so production can begin easily and fairly soon.  The scientists’ incentive, however, was to improve the charging-rates for batteries that can be used in electric cars and this breakthrough will eliminate one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the development and successful production of them.

Currently after driving about 200 miles a battery-operated car needs about 8 hours of recharging time using ordinary house current.  With this new process the recharge time is reduced to about five minutes, not much different than the time it takes to refuel a gasoline tank at the local filling station.

They also believe that this new technology will allow phone batteries to be made even smaller, perhaps the size of a credit card.

The UK Daily Mail has a good summary of this development HERE.
The MIT news release is HERE.

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: technology

Forgot Their Openers

Comments Off

THE WORD IS GETTING AROUND ABOUT THE HEALTH BENEFITS of imbibing in a beer or two every day (Firegeezer REPORT) and a family of deer in western Pennsylvania decided to try it out.

They found that the door to the Beer Arena store in Greensburg was propped open and decided to check out some Sam Adams and Iron City.  No word on whether they tried to get into some Hook & Ladder brown ale. They left after they realized that you need opposible thumbs to open the cans. The security cameras recorded their frolic:

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: beer

Hit & Run Driver Strikes KC Ambulance

Comments Off

A KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AMBULANCE WAS  STRUCK BY A CAR Tuesday night while on a non-emergency transfer.  The MAST Ambulance crew were transporting a woman home from the hospital when a car ran a red light and collided with them.

The 59-yr.-old man driving the car never stopped and drove off.  A witness was able to get Donald Fitzgerald’s license number though, and the police were able to make a speedy arrest.

The ambulance was equipped with a dash-cam that recorded the event and documents that the ambulance had the green light at the intersection in this video report from KCTV Ch. 5:

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

When You Hear That Whistling Sound …..

Comments Off

….. COMING FROM A BURNING PROPANE TANK, you know that conditions are about to change.  The Tampa, Florida, sports arena known as the St. Pete Times Forum is hosting a major men’s basketball tournament this weekend and one of the food vendors on the outside plaza had spot of trouble with his propane grill yesterday.  This videographer arrived before the FD did:

According to a news release from Tampa Fire Rescue, a Forum employee who was setting up the grill noticed that the lines from the grill’s two liquid propane tanks were frozen. He was attempting to fix the problem when the gas leaked and ignited.  (Experienced FF’s know what “frozen lines” and “fix the problem” means.)

Nobody was injured and the FD extinguished the fire without problem.  The people arriving for the day’s games had some flutters, however.

tampa-a-tribune

Tampa Tribune

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Major Commercial Fire In Bangladesh

2 comments

A MAJOR FIRE HAS TAKEN HOLD ON THE UPPER STORIES of a 20-story shopping center in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, and has claimed the life of at least one firefighter.

dhaka-a-reuters

The blaze broke out on the top floor of the high-rise commercial center and has been burning downward, encompassing at least six more floors, while being fanned by stiff winds in the area.  The most recent update lists at least 30 injuries in addtion to the sole death.

As is typical of many Asian countries, fire protection measures in the building seem to be lacking.  According to Xinjua News agency:

Brigadier General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense, blamed the lack of equipment for the delay of the rescue operation. He said they have only one 90-meter-high ladder while in today’s situation four such ladders are needed.

 The members of the armed forces, police, elite force Rapid Action Battalion and village guards Ansar who are on duty at the airport in Dhaka have joined the rescue operation.

dhaka-b

The huge shopping complex was built 5 years ago and houses 2,000 shops and cafes.  The upper floors where the fire has started are mostly office space.

If there are standpipes or any other fire protection devices inside the building, they are evidently not being used efficiently as you will notice the obviously ineffective fire streams in use in this video report from CNN:

Updates: Check the updates to this story HERE and HERE.

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – March 13

Comments Off

Ah, the second consecutive month with a Friday the 13th.  That’s two down and one to go,  with November giving us one more for this year.

That specially-commissioned report on the Boston Fire Dept.’s apparatus maintenance program came out on Wednesday and it is no understatement to use the word “scathing” to describe it.  Dave Statter at STATter911 has posted the .pdf file of the report HERE and I urge you to take some time today to read through it.  It’s just 22 pages, but really has some eye-openers.

The Boston Globe begins summarizing the report by saying:

The Boston Fire Department for years has taken a “loosey-goosey approach” to “virtually all areas of fleet management,” failing to perform adequate preventive maintenance on firetrucks, keeping shoddy records of repairs, and relying on poorly trained maintenance crews that lacked even basic knowledge such as the recommended frequency of oil changes, according to a consultant’s review.

The review, commissioned by the city after a fatal firetruck crash in January, also concluded that firefighters are inadequately trained to drive and inspect the trucks. Overall, the review by Mercury Associates, a fleet-management consultant based in Maryland, found the Fire Department suffers from a lack of defined policies and procedures for procurement, maintenance, and repair of firetrucks.

They note that several of the supervisory positions at the shop are unfilled and that the head Chief’s position is often filled by someone who is just marking time before retirement and has no maintenance experience prior to the appointment.  Six civilian employees are primarily used to just shuttle equipment between the stations and the repair shop and others have no defineable job descriptions and are employed as a Leather and Canvas Worker along with a Senior Sign Painter and Letterer, for example.

The department has NO defined preventive mainenance program.  Partially as a result of that dereliction they say that every piece of apparatus ends up going to the shop for repairs four or five times a year.  You’ll have to read the whole report to see just how lacking the BFD is when it comes to maintaining their millions of dollars worth of fire trucks.

The city had an opportunity to correct this problem nearly three years ago when the mayor was able to fill the top position of Fire Commissioner with a new person.  But instead of filling it with somebody who knows the fire department business, he appointed a recently-retired U. S. Navy captain, Roderick Fraser, who was in charge of sailing a warship.  When it was pointed out in January following the tragic fatal crash involving a ladder truck, that the maintenance program was seriously deficient, Fraser told a reporter, “No one brought to my attention that we were not doing routine maintenance.  I have no experience in truck maintenance.”

We summed up some the the BFD’s problems back on January 20 HERE.  Boston has a serious problem in the city and it’s called “Fire Department.”  What they are willing to do about it is another question altogether.  Will they continue following the guidance of a sailor, or will they insist on putting someone who knows which end of the firetruck comes out the door first in charge?  Keep in mind that they have no money to spend.  It’s a large, prosperous city, but several years ago they decided to spend billions and billions of dollars building a highway tunnel that leaks.

bigdig-a-ap-dwyer

AP / Dwyer

Well, we know what preventative maintenance is, so let’s get started with today’s checklist.  I’ll go make the coffee.

Posted by on March 13, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Indianapolis Update

Comments Off

THE MASSIVE FIRE IN DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS that we reported on earlier Thursday HERE was still burning in spots after sundown.  The fire started shortly after 3 AM in a large luxury apartment complex of three buildings and was so well-involved when the FD arrived that they had to go into defensive operations right away.

indy2-a

The entire complex is a total loss with about 2/3 of the structures completely burned down and the rest damaged beyond saving.  The developer says that they have $28 million invested in the property.

The project was nearly finished and the sprinkler system was scheduled to be operational in two weeks and the first tenants would have started occupying units in May.

indy2-b

WISH-TV has two video reports.  The first is a report on the fire itself with some fire footage and the second video is a comprehensive timeline of the operation.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Flaming Car Starts House Fire

Comments Off

A CAREENING CAR SLAMMED INTO A NORWICH, CONNECTICUT, HOUSE on Tuesday night, starting a fire that spread into the house.

norwich-b-bulletin-greener

Norwich Bulletin / Greener photo

The homeowner was standing in his living room and looking out the window when,  “All of a sudden I saw a car and the fence come right towards me and it looked like an orange bomb went off,” he said.

According to the Norwich Bulletin,

Taftville Deputy Fire Chief Shane Dupuis said when his firefighters arrived, the car was engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to the house.

He said the three unidentified occupants had escaped. They were taken to The William W. Backus Hospital for treatment.

Later reports say that the three only suffered minor injuries.

WFSB-TV has this video report from the scene:

The Norwich Bulletin has the full STORY.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: fire

2-Piece Ferrari

Comments Off

A NOTED SPORTS PROMOTER AND CLOTHING DESIGNER died early Wednesday morning when his Ferrari Modena collided with a Porshe while the two were apparently racing on a Newport Beach, California, street.  The impact broke the Ferrari into two pieces and injured the passenger.

ferrari-a-ocregister-koehler

Orange County Register / Koehler photo

Charles David Lewis, 45, who called himself “Mask,” was killed instantly when his car spun out of control and hit a utility pole at a very high rate of speed.  Lewis was the co-founder of a martial arts competition circuit and a related clothing line known as TapouT.  His car had brushed the Porshe which led to the crash.  A police patrol just happened to be in the other lanes of the road when it happened and saw the Porshe stop first and then speed away.

Other police began searching for the other car and found it quickly as well as the two occupants who were attempting to walk away from it.  The driver was arrested on several charges including gross vehicular homicide and DUI.  He is being held on $2 million bond.

The Orange County Register has the complete STORY HERE.
The Register has a 28-photo slide show.

KTTV has this good video report:

 

RENTING EXOTIC CARS 3

A Ferrari Modena similar to the crash vehicle

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: current events

Ambulance Collision Injures 4

Comments Off

An AMBULANCE IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, was struck by another vehicle Wednesday afternoon and rolled onto its side.

curtis-amb-a-wtmj

WTMJ image

The Curtis Ambulance was transporting a patient and responding with lights and siren on when, while passing through an intersection, it was struck in the side near the rear of the vehicle by an automobile.

The ambulance was knocked onto its side and the car had most of its front end torn off.  The amb. driver, the medic and the patient all received minor injuries as did the driver of the car.  The police investigation is continuing, but the ambulance driver insists that he had the green light at the intersection.

WISN Ch. 12 has the STORY.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances

Fire Truck Thief Pulls Jail Time

2 comments

A JEWETT CITY, CONNECTICUT, TEENAGER PLEADED guilty yesterday to stealing a fire engine from the Jewett City firehouse last July.

Matthew Stevens, 18, entered the fire station on July 23, donned some running gear and then drove the 1992 Spartan pumper out of the station.  Several people around town reported seeing the fire engine driving around with its emergency lights on and siren sounding.

After a while, Stevens ditched it behind a shopping center about 10 miles away and walked over to his girlfriend’s house.  He had been thrown out of the FD’s fire cadet program a few months previously because he had a prior arrest record.

At the time, the Connecticut State Police reported: 

The suspect admitted to Troopers that he did break into the fire station, stole the fire truck, taking it for a “joy ride”. Investigation did revealed that there were no other people involved into his theft  The fire truck did not sustain any damage as a result of this incident.

Following his plea Wednesday, he was sentenced to 9 months in prison and two years probation.

The Norwich Bulletin has the REPORT.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: crime

Laws of Physics Overturned In Virginia

14 comments

WHAT AT FIRST APPEARS ON THE SURFACE to be just another unfortunate fire loss of a mobile home might turn out to have earth-shattering consequences.

lynchburg-trailer

News & Advance photo

The fire occurred Wednesday morning in a Lynchburg, Virginia, trailer court and left the occupant in critical condition at a local hospital.  The 47-yr.-old woman who was burned was using medical oxygen and unable to get herself out of her bed.  Her son and a neighbor carried her out to safety.

The Lynchburg fire marshal explained the cause of the fire to reporter Dave Thompson of the Lynchburg News & Advance:

Lynchburg Fire Marshal Greg Wormser said the oxygen sparked when a woman living at the residence attempted to light a cigarette. That ignited the blaze that eventually caused the oxygen tanks to explode, destroying the house.

The complete article is HERE.

We have checked and as far as we can tell, this is the first time in recorded history that oxygen, a non-flammable gas, has ever “sparked.”  If that is true, then the consequences of that little event in a small city will have repercussions around the world.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Multi-Alarms Working In Indianapolis

Comments Off

A MAJOR FIRE STARTED IN DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, around 3:30 am Central time.  The blaze started in a condominium building that is still under construction and has spread to at least two other buildings that are also believed to be under construction.

indy-a-wthr

WTHR-TV

The fire department with 125 FF’s on the scene has apparently been successful in containing the fire and preventing it from spreading to nearby occupied buildings.

WTHR-TV is reporting:

Developer Flaherty and Collins owns the condo complex. It has been confirmed that the complex is the Cosmopolitan, downtown luxury apartments. The entire complex includes three buildings, apartments, a parking garage and a cafe. The developer says $28 million dollars was invested into these properties.  One building has been completely destroyed in the flames, developers have not said which of the three buildings that is. The main building that holds the apartments is also on fire and crews are trying to get the flames under control, but having a difficult time getting to it because the surrounding buildings are so close.

WTHR has two video reports from the scene:

This second raw video runs for about 6 minutes:

Update: 
For the updated report on this fire and its results with more videos see the Firegeezer posting HERE.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – March 12

4 comments

I need to make a clarification on my comments about how the German conscription relates to their volunteer fire service.  I may have left the impression that the hundreds of VFD’s are staffed with people who are doing their national service and that’s only partly true.  The local fire departments are set up just like those in North America, primarily operated by the citizens of the community.

But when a young man has to start his service, he has a few choices.  First is going into the army for 9 months and that is an occupation where he is on the payroll and works for the military.  There is also an alternative called “civilian service” that is also paid where they work in the national health system instead of the army (conscientious objectors position).  The other path open is to serve as an “exempt person” where you serve without pay for six years in a civil protection/disaster control organization.  That can be either the fire service, an EMS squad, lifeguards, etc.

As an exempt person you are not paid by the state, it is like being a volunteer with the mandatory requirement of being involved for the six years.  Naturally, many of the men who choose the fire service (feuerwehr) stay with it voluntarily for many years beyond.  But during their 6 years exempt service they are subject to being called to perform anywhere in the country at a time of need. 

I hope that clears it up.  If it doesn’t, then you’ll just have to go over there and see for yourself how they do it, because I’m getting confused myself.  But they do have very good beer over there.  Speaking of beer…..

A reporter for the New York Post recently interviewed Dr. Malcolm Lloyd, a physician and former clinical researcher who said,  “A lot of research shows that people who drink moderately flat-out live longer than those who don’t.  From the prevention of the common cold to the prevention of the onset of Alzheimer’s to preventing certain types of cancer, regular drinking can be very beneficial.”

Whereas most research has focused on wine, he says spirits can provide the same boon. Lloyd notes that “moderation” means one to two drinks a day for women and one to three drinks a day for men, and, “the positive effects start going in the other direction” once those numbers are exceeded.  I guess that means I have to start counting?

bestviewedwithabeer

We’ll have to save that for later.  It’s time to get the equipment checked out while I go make another pot of that healthy alternative.

Posted by on March 12, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Around The Fire Web

Comments Off

*  Dave Statter at STATter911 has a terrific story of a heroic rescue in Tulsa where a FF literally found and carried out a victim in a house that was fully involved.  He’s got the story, photos and video HERE.

*  Firefighter Nation has just passed the 34,000-member mark.  Terrific!  Today they are featuring an article on quick-drills for RIT training HERE.

*  Mike Legeros has another great history posting at his Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog that tells about a membership photo complete with steamer and hose stream from circa 1900 HERE.

*  Firehouse Zen has some thoughts about “persistence” when it comes to leadership during the coming economic downturn HERE.

*  VAFireNews has just posted a fresh batch of incident reports including a church fire in Vinton, Virginia, yesterday HERE.

*  Texas-Fire.com has a touching story on the shopkeepers affected when the recent wildfire in Bastrop County destroyed an entire community shopping center HERE.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Wednesday Shopping Tip

8 comments

HERE IT IS …… THE ULTIMATE WAKEUP CALL FOR ALL YOU DRAG RACING GEARHEADS OUT THERE !  IT’S THE …

Drag Racing Alarm Clock

drag-race-clock

There is no snooze alarm in this clock when the the staging (Christmas) tree lights illuminate and flash down in sequence! As the last light turns green, the sound of 8,000 hp top fuel dragsters rocketing down the strip will bring you out of the deepest sleep! They also include temperature and humidity gauges and feature a “try me” demo button for an instant preview of the heart-pounding, authentic visual and sound effects.

Now’s the time to tell Sweetums what you’ll be wanting for Father’s Day in a couple of months.  This great alarm clock is in stock and ready for delivery now.  It sells for less than claiming rights for only $29.95 and you can order one HERE.

 

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: shopping

Texas Town Cracks Down On CSST

Comments Off

SOME LOCALITIES ARE BEGINNING TO REGULATE THE usage of Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) for natural gas piping in homes.  Firegeezer reported on this hazardous construction practice back in September (HERE) when we wrote:

While it has been in use for quite a while as a connector for stoves and furnaces without any problem, lately many home builders have been using it for service lines from the main into the house.  And that’s where the problems arise.

In areas where lightning strikes are prevalent, such as the midwest, lightning bolts coming to ground are seeking out and grounding on these gas pipes, following them into the home and rupturing them, starting fires.  Sometimes a direct hit on a house will seek out the pipe looking for a ground and split it instead of following it.

The hazard arises because these flex-pipes are only 1/15th the thickness of the traditional cast iron gaspipe that has always been used.  That extra-thin wall cannot withstand the energy like the iron does and it fails, then ignites the gas.  It usually occurs in the basement (where those plywood joists are exposed) and a catastrophic fire often follows.

The main fault usually lies with the contractor’s failure to properly ground the CSST line when it is installed.

Read the entire ARTICLE for the background on this story.  Now many communities in the mid-west are taking more forceful action to stop this dangerous practice.  One of them is the city of Frisco, Texas, which has taken positive action to change their building codes with respect to this piping.  KOKI-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been following this story and they have a video report on the latest actions:

Despite their protests that the piping is safe, the manufacturers are settling millions of dollars in lawsuits out of court steadily to prevent any legal findings of fault.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: Building construction, Fire-ology

Omaha Fires Its Randy Captain

Comments Off

OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FIRE CAPTAIN DARREN BATES has been on administrative leave since February 4 following his arrest during a prostitution sting in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Bates is also a Council Bluffs city councilman.  (See earlier Firegeezer report HERE and STATter911 story HERE.)

Yesterday, Tuesday, Omaha Fire Chief Mike McDonnell advised Bates that he was beginning the process to terminate Bates’ employment with the city.  KMTV Ch. 3 reports on this latest action:

 

Bates had responded to a Craigslist ad posted by the Council Bluffs police which led to the arrests of six men who showed up at a motel expecting to receive sexual performances.  Bates has been claiming that he was “only looking to receive a massage” and had repeatedly turned down offers for sex.  All the arrests are backed up by surveillance cameras that were hidden in the motel room.  He has another court appearance scheduled for this Friday.

The Omaha World-Herald has the full STORY.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: labor

Woonsocket Goes Wacky

Comments Off

THE FISCALLY-CHALLENGED CITY OF WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND, has come in from left field with a proposal designed to keep firefighters fit and healthy so that they won’t get hurt when called back on forced overtime.

The city council is trying to implement a plan beginning in April to prohibit firefighters from working 2nd jobs during their off time.  They are anticipating a higher usage of holdover and callback overtime following this week’s layoff of 11 firefighters from the roster.  The layoffs along with an existing 7 unfilled vacancies is leaving the FD seriously shorthanded.  “From our perspective we are just trying to relieve the stress on the overworked firefighters,” said city attorney Chris Lambert. “We don’t want to add to that.”  The city had originally proposed laying off 60 of the town’s 135 firefighters, but the court enjoined them from doing it, limiting the layoffs to 11.  WPRI Ch. 12 reported on this ruling with this video:

The fiscal turmoil and labor instability led to the Fire Chief’s announcing last week that he would be retiring at the end of this month after 31 years service with the department.  Chief Finlay talked about it for tv reporters here:

These actions were coupled with the city’s forcing a 5% pay cut on the FF’s and police officers along with a decision to take 15% of the FF’s gross pay for health insurance premiums.

The Woonsocket Call reports:

Lt. Steve Reilly, president of the union, questioned whether the city has the legal authority to prohibit firefighters from moonlighting or how such restrictions could be realistically enforced.

“When we’re at the fire department we’re at the fire department,” said Reilly. “When we’re not here how can the city tell us what we can’t do? If you ask me that doesn’t even sound constitutional.”

Fire Chief Kenneth A. Finlay said the department has been getting by with the cutbacks, but the layoffs have already increased overtime “which we knew was going to happen.” He said he’s had to hold over workers on several shifts for overtime since the layoffs took effect.

While Lambert and lawyer Joseph Rodio, the city’s lead attorney on labor issues, said the city was prepared to enact the changes, they declined to discuss the legal basis for prohibiting moonlighting or how they planned to enforce it. Edward C. Roy Jr., the lawyer who represents the IAFF, suggested that the changes might  be punitive and said the union might respond with an unfair labor charge or a contractual grievance, but he said it was too soon to tell without further consultation with his clients.

Adding to the wackiness is another proposal to eliminate running engine companies on medical calls.  Currently, every firefighter is certified EMT and in the town of only two ambulances the nearest engine company is dispatched on all medical emergencies amounting to about 7,000 runs a year.  By ending the “wasteful practice” of dispatching an engine with every medical run will ease the strain on firefighters without affecting public safety, the city attorney said.  What was not addressed, however, was the increased strain this will put on the poor citizen who is having a heart attack and needs more than two medics to successfully keep him alive.

The Woonsocket Call has the complete report on this latest event HERE.

Woonsocket Fire Dept. WEBSITE.
Firefighter Nation has a discussion thread on this topic HERE.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: labor

Chicago FF's Win Reverse-Discrimination Suit

Comments Off

AFTER 20 YEARS OF LITIGATION, 75 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, FIREFIGHTERS have been awarded victory in their reverse-discrimination suit against the city.  The white firefighters were all on the lieutenant’s promotional list following an examination in 1986, but the city bumped them down the eligibility order when it implemented a scheme known as “race norming” claiming that the test was unfair to black firefighters.

Yesterday U. S. District Judge James Holderman ruled that it was the treatment of the firefighters on the eligibility list that was unfair and awarded the group a $6 million settlement for damages and lost pay from not being promoted.  Many of the firefighters have already retired.

A group of 100 other white firefighters previously received tens of millions of dollars and benefits in a separate settlement in the same suit, however they were higher up on the eligibility list because of higher test scores.

The Chicago Sun-Times has the STORY.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: labor, Law & Justice

Morning Lineup – March 11

2 comments

Jerry Sacharski died a couple of weeks ago, on Feb. 27 to be exact.  Up until he did that, I had never heard of him and I’ll bet that most of you haven’t either.  Jerry lived in Albion, Michigan, a little town of 9,100 souls a little ways east of Battle Creek, but he started life 93 years ago in Wisconsin.

The tall, lanky college basketball player went on to serve in World War II before moving to Albion to take a job teaching in the town’s public schools and coaching the high school baseball team.  It was during that time when he realized that young boys  under the age of 8 were not able to participate in organized baseball games because they were not yet able to either throw or hit a pitched ball.

So Jerry rigged up a device made up of a pipe with a piece of garden hose on the end and mounted it over the home plate where the young batters could take a swing at it.  And thus in 1956 the game of T-Ball was created.  Sacharski went on and created a set of rules that took into account the players’ abilities for their ages such as pre-designated positions on the field and a rule that the fielders only had to hold onto the ball within a tight area around first base for a player to be “out.”

T Ball Pioneer

Jerry Sacharski coaching one of his players in 1958
(photo courtesy of Frank Passic)

As a part-time director of Albion’s Recreation Department, Jerry was most interested in teaching the basic skills to the children when they were in their formative years.  In that first summer he organized a T-Ball league of five teams for the youngsters of ages 4 to 7 and thus the game of T-Ball was born.

Today there are more than 2 million youngsters playing in organized T-Ball leagues around the country and it is universally applauded that being able for children of that age to participate in an organized team sport is a remarkable boost for a child’s growth.  Sacharski never sought recognition for his achievement, rather he just kept on working with the children and coaching at the local Albion T-Ball league right on up until he was 90 years old.  The National Baseball Hall of Fame should be able to find a place for Jerry in there someplace, don’t you think?

You can read more about Jerry’s life on AP’s recent obituary HERE.  We’d better get this equipment checked for today.  I’m going to make some more coffee.

t-ball-b-batcreekenquirer

This photo of Jerry Sacharski was taken by the
Battle Creek Enquirer in 2006 during the 50th Anniversary
celebration of the nation’s first T-Ball league.

T-Ball USA Association WEBSITE.

Posted by on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup

Sunless Sunburn Starts The Spring

Comments Off

A ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA, MAN BOUNDED OUT of his tanning bed as it burst into flames Monday afternoon.  The man was a customer at the Ultratan business in a Lake Wylie shopping center when the fire started.  The Rock Hill Herald reports:

The man who escaped declined to give his name but said he was working on his tan when he heard a popping noise, then saw a flame at the corner of the tanning bed near his foot.

He threw open the lid and jumped out, he said.When firefighters arrived around 4:15 p.m. “smoke was pouring out of all sides of the building,” Bethel Assistant Fire Chief David Long said. “That’s when I started hollering for more manpower.”

 

 

tanning-bed-a-herald-stratakos

Rock Hill Herald / Stratakos photo

The fire completely burned out the Ultratan shop and caused significant smoke damage to most of the other businesses in the strip shopping center that will likely keep them closed for the rest of the week.  There were no injuries.

The Herald has the full STORY.

Posted by on March 10, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Animal Hospital Fire Brings 3 Alarms

Comments Off

AN ANIMAL HOSPITAL IN BARNSTABLE, MASSACHUSETTS, erupted in flames Monday night following some sort of explosion.  The Cape Cod Animal Hospital and Kennels was immediately filled with fire and the husband and wife veterinarians who own the practice ran from their house next door to save the animals. They ran into the kennels and opened all of the cages allowing the pets to escape. About 2 or 3 cats perished, but all of the others are believed to have survived. There are still 2 or 3 dogs missing in the neighborhood.

WFXT-TV Ch. 25 has a video report with fire footage:

The facility has a natural gas-powered emergency generator and the initial blast is believed to have occurred in that area.  The first-arriving firefighters smelled gas on arriving and then witnessed a smaller subsequent blast.  The 2-story wood framed building was already pretty well involved when they got there only a few minutes after the ka-boom.

The Boston Globe has the full STORY.

cape-cod-vet-a-globe-haines

Boston Globe / Haines photo

Posted by on March 10, 2009 • Filed under: fire

Fire, Haz-Mat, Medics and More

12 comments

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE CONTINUING SEQUENCE OF EVENTS in Old Bridge, New Jersey, Monday morning.  It ended up with the local FD on the scene for over six hours handling the remains of the incident that involved:

  • A dump truck swerves to avoid  hitting some deer in the roadway.
  • Dump truck takes down utility pole.
  • Live wires fall on truck, trapping the injured driver inside.
  • Power surge flows into nearby house, starting a fire.
  • Man in house has heart attack.
  • Dump truck spills over 100 gal. of diesel fuel.

old-bridge-a-starledger-houston

Star-Ledger / Houston photo

The New Brunswick News Tribune has the STORY.

Posted by on March 10, 2009 • Filed under: fire

5-Alarm Lumber Fire In Kentucky

4 comments

FIRE WAS FIRST REPORTED AT 8:30 TUESDAY NIGHT at the Trussway Ltd. plant in Oldham County, Kentucky.  Trussway manufactures wall panels and roof trusses for apartment buildings.  The fire was in a 32,000 sq. ft. storage building that was filled with lumber.

trussway-a-courierjournal-lutman
Courier-Journal / Lutman photo

The attack quickly grew to five alarms bringing seven nearby fire departments to the scene.  A tanker shuttle was set up to augment the hydrant system in the area.  The fire department is understandably still on the scene this morning.

WHAS-TV Ch. 11 has this video report that includes fire footage and some helicopter views:

The plant’s owner was on the scene and said that the building was a total loss, but the office building was spared.  The fire dept. did an excellent job of containment, saving a lot of stacked product and several other buildings.

Trussway is based in Houston and operates several plants.  The Oldham County plant was fined $300,000 six years ago for knowingly hiring illegal aliens.

The Louisville Courier-Journal has the STORY.

Posted by on March 10, 2009 • Filed under: fire