A 3-ALARM FIRE IN AN ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, industrial complex Monday night ended up as a crime scene after a charred body was found sitting inside a car in the machine shop where the fire started.
The AFD was dispatched on the call shortly after 7:45 pm and found the building heavily involved, bringing in the extra alarms. After the fire was knocked down, they entered the building and extinguished a burning car just inside the roll-up door. It was then that they discovered the body sitting inside the car.
Police say that the car is registered to the owner of the machine shop, but they are unable to determine if the body is that of a man or woman. Both the fire and the death are considered to be suspicious. Investigation is just getting started.
KTTV Ch. 5 issued this early video report from the scene:
The Orange County Register has the STORY.
Anaheim Fire Dept. WEBSITE.
Mexican prosecutors have arrested seven government officials and have warrants out for six more relating to the horrible fire at the daycare center in Hermosillo, Sonora, on June 5. The death toll rose to 47 small children on Sunday when a 3-yr.-old died in the hospital. Another 30 remain hospitalized with injuries and burns. Firegeezer reported on the fire HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Sonora State Attorney General Abel Murrieta told a news conference Monday that the seven officials worked for the state’s finance department, which operated the warehouse in Hermosillo where the fire broke out. It soon spread to the adjacent daycare center, and the seven are being investigated for negligent homicide.
Daniel Karam, Director General for the Mexican Social Security Agency (IMSS), said the storehouse run by the state government where the fire broke out, was operating without appropriate security measures. “The storehouse was operating without the appropriate security measures — alarms, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors — and there was no guard stationed who could have spotted the fire and warned daycare center staff on time,” he said.
The Associated Press has more in this video report:
A goodly 35 years ago my department instituted a firm policy requiring all trucks and ambulances, etc., to have a spotter behind the vehicle whenever it is backing up. We even had an official set of hand signals for the spotter to use along with mandating that he always be visible in the driver’s side-view mirror. And when I say it was a “firm” policy, it was strictly enforced and it didn’t matter if you were only going to back up three feet. Or where you were, in the engine bay, on the ramp or out on the streets somewhere. You … always … have … a … spotter. And it quickly became part of the culture, always practiced faithfully. And failure to follow it resulted in certain disciplinary action.
This policy came to mind twice recently when I read about two civilians being killed by fire/rescue vehicles backing up. Most recently, we reported on Sunday (HERE) about an ambulance in St. Paul, Minnesota, that was backing down an alleyway Saturday afternoon when an elderly lady stepped into its path and was fatally run over. While the news reports didn’t say so, it is evident that this driver was unassisted as he was backing up.
Just over one month ago, on May 22, a pickup truck / brush unit was backing into the station in Webster, Massachusetts, when it struck and killed a man who was walking across the ramp.
These are both tragic beyond description. And I would say that they were probably preventable, too. A backing accident is a preventable accident. And so easy to prevent, too.
Does your department/squad have a “spotter” policy? If not, why not? I can think of no good reason to not follow this practice. In fact, I just gave you two good reasons why you NEED a spotter policy. If you don’t have an enforceable rule mandating a spotter, at least YOU can begin doing it on your own. We’re always talking “firefighter safety.” Why aren’t we doing everything we can to practice it? Can you hear me?
By the way, am I correct in thinking that there’s some sort of OSHA requirement for trucks to have backup alarms on them? If that’s so, and if that ambulance didn’t have one sounding, somebody’s going to be in deep doo-doo soon. Update: The backup alarm has been tested and it was working. See the update REPORT.
Before we get any further, let’s get this equipment checked out. I’ll go make some more coffee. And don’t forget to check the backup alarm. When we get back to the day room, we’ll talk about why you think it’s ok to back up without a spotter.
Update:
KMSP-TV Minneapolis has just posted this video report on what we’re talking about. We’ll use this for our 15-minute drill this morning:
Update: Death toll revised still again. Scroll down for details.
TWO D. C. METRO TRAINS CRASHED DURING MONDAY’S RUSH-HOUR leaving the lead cars of one train torn up and sitting atop the other train. Metro says that one train was stopped on the inbound tracks of the Red Line near the Fort Totten station waiting for the track to clear ahead, when a second train came upon it without having slowed for the congestion.
AP / Monsivals
The second train plowed into the rear of the stopped cars and led to the destruction and carnage. It is not known yet how many people were on the trains other than more than 100. The fact that they were inbound explains the relatively low passenger count.
As of early this morning, the death toll has risen to 9 including the operator of the train that drove into the stopped train. More than 70 people were transported to area hospitals with a variety of injuries ranging from minor to critical.
The D. C. Fire and EMS Department had a major extrication and rescue task with about six rail cars heavily damaged and the crash scene located several hundred feet away from any streets. The saving grace was that it didn’t happen in an underground segment.
AFP
Dave Statter’s blog STATter911 is an official publication of D. C. television channel WUSA Ch. 9 and is your best source to keep checking for the latest updates and information HERE.
Channel 9′s front page with constant updates is HERE.
The AP has some early video:
Update, 9 am:
Dave Statter has posted the following update:
Despite city sources telling news agencies before midnight that 9 bodies had been discovered, Mayor Adrian Fenty reports this morning that the official death toll stands at 7.
Update, 2 pm: Mayor Fenty has found someone with a calculator and restored the body count to 9.
Sources indicate the original information was based on views from a camera put into areas of the wreckage not accessible to firefighters. Portions of bodies were seen from the camera. Mayor Fenty expects a final update on the death toll at 5:00 PM today.
A SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, MAN DECIDED TO DO something about the swarms of cockroaches in his apartment Sunday night. He went to the store and bought some “bug bombs” and placed them around his apartment. The instructions on the box say that one bomb, two at the very most, is all that should be used.
However, the numerically-challenged resident lit off 18 of them and took his family out for the evening. While they were out, the gas built up and it is presumed that it was the refrigerator motor kicking on that ignited it. The resulting blast destroyed the kitchen, shattered every window, caused a hole in the building’s foundation, and blew the roof up a full foot before it fell back onto the building.
Sacramento Metro Fire estimates there to be about $1 million in damages to the building. Three of the apartments have been condemned and now at least 12 residents are homeless. But the cockroaches are still there…..at home.
KOVR-TV Ch. 13 has the story and a good VIDEO HERE.
KODACHROME, THE COLOR FILM THAT took over the photography world in 1935 and brought new life to the motion picture industry will be retired at the end of this year, Kodak announced today.
Associated Press photo
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported today:
“It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history,” Mary Jane Hellyar, outgoing president of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group, said in a statement.
However, according to Kodak, Kodachrome now represents a fraction of 1 percent of the company’s camera film sales. And only one photofinishing lab in the world, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, still processes Kodachrome film, according to Kodak.
Kodak will donate the last rolls of Kodachrome film to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry will also shoot one of the last rolls of Kodachrome and donate the images to the Eastman House
It was the world’s first commercially successful color film. But since color film is largely made now with entirely different ingredients, it became uneconomical to continue with the Kodachrome which currently was being made only once a year. It has largely been replaced by their Ektachrome brand.
Because of the complexity, only Dwayne’s Photo, in Parsons, Kan., still processes Kodachrome film. The lab has agreed to continue through 2010, Kodak said. Hellyar estimates the retail supply of Kodachrome will run out in the fall, though it could be sooner if devotees stockpile. In the U.S., Kodachrome film is available only through photo specialty dealers.
OBERLECH, AUSTRIA, IS A SKI RESORT IN THE ALPS IN THE FAR WESTERN part of the country. The resort is home to about 30 hotels with more than 1,100 rooms that are filled with vacationers throughout the lengthy ski season.
Oberlech, as is usual for most of Austrian villages, has a volunteer fire brigade that is responsible for the fire protection of the many buildings and visitors. But the Oberlech Feuerwehr has additional problems that we are not used to seeing. For one thing, when the snow arrives, the roads are continually covered and passage is mainly accomplished with ATV’s and similar vehicles.
Compounding the accessability is that the ski runs and slopes cross directly over many of the roadways requiring them to not be plowed. The snow trails are groomed and maintained by the universal trail groomer that is made by PistenBully.
During the winter, normal vehicle access into Oberlech is through a tunnel from the main town of Lech and hotel supplies are delivered through a system of smaller tunnels that connect the hotels and other commercial buildings. This is the usual access for the Lech fire engines that are always sent to assist on any fires, but they are slow to get there and into position. The Oberlech brigade has taken an older PistenBully trail groomer and outfitted it with about 200,000 Euros worth of bodywork and equipment, making it the primary attack piece for any fires in the resort.
The PistenBully pumper carries about 500 gals. of water and over 1,000 ft. of attack line and a 200 gpm (800 lpm) pump. During the winter it rolls first with a driver and 2 FF’s, all of them are usually ski instructors at the lodges. Additional volunteers respond directly to the fire scene.
The mutual aid crews from Lech arrive in the tunnel and then hand-carry their equipment topside where they are met by the regular PistenBullys from the slopes that then transport the crews to the scene.
Firegeezer reader and contributor Christian Lewalter has assembled a 33-image photo gallery of the KLF-W, as it’s known, onto a Flickr page HERE. He also has more detailed specs of the ATV pumper on the left sidebar. Scroll down below the German description and he has inserted an English translation. Our thanks to Christian for his help.
Oberlech has a live Webcam that you can view year-round HERE. Just keep in mind that there is a 6-hour time zone difference between there and Eastern time.
AN OFF-DUTY DARTMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, FIREFIGHTER and another man were arrested Saturday after allegedly vandalizing and stealing a car in the Wampanoag Nation Indian Reservation.
WPRI-TV reports:
Police arrested 22 year old Robert E. Green of 11 Elliot Street, Dartmouth, and 22 Andrew Baptiste of 497 Slocum Road, Dartmouth after receiving a call from a Wampanoag tribe member who reported two men were breaking into and vandalizing his 2007 Ford Focus.
Police were able to trap (sic) the two suspects in the Freetown State Forest. Once in custody, Green told police he works as a Dartmouth District 3 call firefighter and a paramedic for Stat Ambulance.
Green has been charged with larceny of a motor vehicle, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, malicious defacement of property, larceny more than $250 and having an open container of alcohol. He was also charged with possession of a Class D drug, failing to stop for police, trespassing with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.
A GASOLINE TANKER CARRYING 8,000 GALLONS OF PRODUCT CRASHED on northbound I-95 in Palm Beach, Florida, early Monday morning. The wreck caused a fire that rapidly led to a bone-rattling explosion and left the truck in shambles.
The driver managed to escape the cab along with his two pet dogs just as the fire was starting, leaving him with some minor burns to his arms. He says that he came up on disabled car that had been abandoned in the middle of the highway and tried unsuccessfully to avoid hitting it.
The crash occurred at 1:20 am and the fire was not knocked down until a foam unit from the nearby Palm Beach International Airport arrived.
WPTV Ch. 5 has a video report with some fire footage:
Posted by firegeezeron June 22, 2009 •
Filed under: fire
A FOUR-STORY BUILDING SUDDENLY COLLAPSED WITHOUT WARNING SUNDAY AFTERNOON at 2 pm in Brooklyn, New York. Amazingly, there was only one injury requiring treatment even though it happened on a Sunday when many people are at home.
The Associated Press has a video report from the scene:
In response to complaints that the building was shaking, an inspector on May 1 found the facade of the east wall had a crack a half-inch to 1 inch thick running from the first to the third floor. Inspectors in early June issued violations for working without a permit and for obstructions to the fire escape, records show.
Around 1:55 p.m., Sudnik said, the front wall of the red brick tenement buckled, followed by the right-side wall, which was surrounded by scaffolding.
Witnesses said they heard a rattling noise and scrambled to safety. Nora Mercado, 61, who lives next door, said she was in her second-floor apartment with relatives. “I heard something real loud and I said, ‘This is not a mouse,’ ” Mercado said.
Her granddaughter, Caytlyn, 10, jumped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, and the two rushed downstairs. But when the canopy from a first-floor fish store fell and blocked the exit, the two were trapped inside until firefighters arrived, Mercado said.
Getty Images / Newsday
On May 1, a crack was reported running along the east exterior wall of the building from the first to third floor, according to Buildings Department records.
The building’s owner said the crack had been there for at least a decade before he bought the structure in 2006. ”We had no reason to believe it wasn’t safe,” said owner William Sang.
The 10-yr.-old girl who was briefly trapped gives her account on this video report and thanks the fireman for rescuing her:
If you tried to log on earlier and couldn’t get through, thanks for coming back. One of those “Demons of the Ether” knocked the website offline for about 40 minutes, but it looks like we’re back in business now.
The Morning Lineup will be very brief today because I have some outside obligations that will take me away for a little while. If you hadn’t checked in during the weekend, we’ve got lots of good stuff for you to catch up on before I get back.
So let’s get the equipment checked out and I’ll make sure there’s a fresh pot of coffee on hand before I leave. See you a little later in the Digital Day Room.
Be sure to visit us in the exhibit hall at booth #2200
IT IS TIME FOR FOSSILMEDIC TO GET NEW WHEELS. The “deer-killer” SUV is approaching 140,000 miles and is making more expensive noises. When I had two incomes and one mortgage it would be a no-brainer … a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, like one I rented in Las Vegas. But I have one income and two mortgages.
MIDDLE AGE CHARACTERCHURES
As kids, my brother and I would make fun of the old guys at the beach driving their Corvette convertibles and staring at the 18 year olds in bikinis. Now I could be the fossil in the Vette.
While walking through a car lot, pondering if I should get a truck, SUV or sedan, my heart skipped a beat. I was looking at a candy-apple RED Mustang with a beige interior!
FAMILY ADVICE
When I called my brother, he told me about seeing a bright yellow 2010 Camaro. It was the first day on the street and the owner already went through one tank of gas. We spent a half-hour discussing muscle car choices, including a detailed analysis of the Mustang, Challenger and Camaro. It was like we were adolescants back at the beach.
My brother asserts that I would HAVE to buy a V-8 and it would HAVE to be RED. If he was buying new wheels, it would be a crew cab Silverado … red of course.
While fixing my dad’s computer, a high-tech Father’s Day present, the discussion continued. He suggested a BMW, Cadillac or, his favorite, Gran Marquis. He has owned three in the past 15 years.
The last suggestion was a jab. I complain every time I get a rental Marquis when travelling … four so far this year.
Speculating about “the best” car is a summer past-time in my family. It was great playing the game this weekend. After all of this talk I may end up with this:
Sturdy, Flimsy, economical air-cooled and light enough to push off the road. Wonder if it comes with satellite radio? The name of this car was inspired by Sputnick, this LINK includes a picture of one used in firefighting(!!) [link fixed]
A 79-YR.-OLD WOMAN WAS KILLED SATURDAY EVENING when a St. Paul, Minnesota, Fire Department ambulance struck her while backing down an alleyway. The ambulance had responded to a call involving a car that had gone through a fence in the area and it was positioning closer to the accident scene.
The woman apparently was unaware of the ambulance’s presence and stepped out into its path. The ambulance knocked her down and pinned her underneath, killing her immediately. An investigation is continuing into the incident.
AN UPSCALE TOURIST HAVEN IN MALINDA, KENYA, was completely destroyed within 3 hours on Sunday afternoon. A fire began around 1 pm in a complex of posh villas that are owned by Italian investors and rented out to wealthy Europeans. By 4 pm over 250 villas and 60 luxury cars were destroyed by the blaze.
The Nairobi Daily Nation reports:
The Italian owners of the villas, who had arrived a few days ago to prepare for the opening of the tourist high season next week, desperately tried to have the fire extinguished.
Palm Tree Club hotel and the prestigious Kibokoni Riding Centre, a popular horse riding place for foreigners, were among the property razed by the fire. Fighting back tears, the general manager of Palm Tree Club, Ms Lidia Filini said: “I just came from Italy two days ago to prepare for the opening of the high season next week. This is now all shattered. We are back to square one.” She said the hotel had been fully booked from July and the season looked “wonderful”.
Area police Chief Peter Kattam said police had to break into the villa to save the Italian owners and their employees.
“We have also arrested four people who were looting property in one of the villas and locked them in the police cells,” said Mr Kattam.
According to a guard at the Palm Tree Club, Mr Francis Makazi, the fire was started by an electric fault at Rajo Villas, near where he works. “We just saw blue tongues of fire along the electricity cables and in a flash of a second, everything was engulfed in a ball of fire,” said Mr Makazi. The fire was fanned by strong ocean winds and took only minutes to jump from villa to villa.
Within a few minutes the fire had spread along a distance equal to a half-mile and the flames began encroaching on nearby communities, causing many locals to grab their belongings and flee.
The Malinda fire brigade has only two vehicles, an aging fire engine that breaks down frequently and a Land Rover. The fire engine ran out of water quickly and fire continued unchecked until it had burned itself out three hours later.
The Daily Nation has the full STORY.
The Nairobi Standard has MORE.
Posted by firegeezeron June 21, 2009 •
Filed under: fire
* Do you recall our STORY on the destructive fire at Discount Dave’s furniture store in Lansing, Michigan, last month? It was exactly 7 weeks ago today, and the Lansing fire marshal announced that the fire was an arson. No, no says Discount Dave. He wouldn’t accept that explanation and went out and hired his own investigator. Dave Statter at STATter911 has been following Discount Dave’s efforts to discount the fire marshal and has the up-to-date report on that investigation HERE. (Hint: DD’s insurance co. agrees with the private investigator.)
* FireNews.net is having a busy weekend too, including a second fatal plant accident involving ammonia and still another stolen ambulance. Start on the front page HERE and work your way through all the latest news from North Carolina.
* Nationally-known fire instructor Christopher Naum has “energized” his blog this month. “Taking it to the Streets” has some good, in-depth articles and currently he’s got some topics tied in with this week’s safety stand-down HERE.
* Wrapping up the Safety Week presentations, FireRescue1 has published an open letter from a famous fire chief at a metropolitan department that lays out his firm and effective ways of reducing accidents and injuries at his department. There’s something for everybody in HERE.
* Wildfire season is definitely here and you can tell by all the reports coming from all quadrants of the country. To keep up with it, you should be reading Wildfire Today every day. If you have been, you’ve seen the ARTICLE about the crop-duster/fire tanker aircraft that’s been reconfigured into a military assault plane.
AN EXPLOSION BLEW APART AN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING in Wenatchee, Washington, Saturday morning and the resulting fire completely destroyed a 100,000-sq.-ft. warehouse.
Wenatchee World / Bonnicksen photo
The Wenatchee World reported:
The warehouse is adjacent to the Go USA building, which should be able to be salvaged, according to officials. Both buildings are on the city’s historic register. Other tenants in the complex include Firefly — a company that provides Internet service locally — Tacoma-based architectural firm BCRA and other businesses.
“Three out of the four walls on the warehouse have almost collapsed, but the Go USA building is salvageable. People were allowed to go in and recover items,” said Sgt. Cherie Smith of the Wenatchee Police Department.
The general alarm fire brought 80 firefighters to the scene whose primary task was to contain the fire. As yet, there is no indication of what the cause of the fire was. The former fruit warehouse was undergoing a renovation.
DAYTON, OHIO, FIREFIGHTERS HAD THEIR HANDS FULL Saturday evening following a collision in a residential neighborhood. An SUV blew through a stop sign and smashed into a van being driven by a woman who was transporting five children in her vehicle. The collision sent the van careening into a yard where it demolished a front porch and ended up against a house injuring all six passengers.
The SUV was being driven by a 23-yr.-old man who has a suspended driver’s license and it rolled over coming to rest against a tree in the yard. The driver, who had a passenger with him, managed to crawl out of the wreckage and attempted to flee. But some neighbors followed after him and pointed out his location to the police when they arrived.
Dennis Cochran already had 10 outstanding warrants, all for driving on a suspended license, and police found cocaine in his car. He is being held and charged further with felony possession of drugs, resisting arrest, and still another driving while suspended charge.
Happy Father’s Day for all you Papa’s out there on this first day of summer. That’s right, today is the summer solstice, too. That means that starting somewhere around Tuesday the days will begin getting shorter. I don’t know if that’s important or not, but it’s inescapable.
There was an interesting news item yesterday for you computer techies. Late Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs, the Apple Computer head honcho, has recently had a liver transplant and appears to be recovering successfully. These sorts of disclosures are always kept secret until the corporation decides to “leak” the story out because negative news like that can greatly affect the price of the company’s stock and they want to preserve their equity as best they can.
You may recall that back in August of 2004 Jobs announced that he was suffering from a form of pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment for it. And the procedure was as successful as that type of cure goes. But pancreatic cancer is persistent and usually shows up again somewhere else. And that’s what sprung to mind to the “Apple-watchers” when he made a public appearance back in January and appeared to have lost a tremendous amount of weight. At the time, Jobs said that he was suffering from “a hormone imbalance” and would be on medical leave.
The WSJ has now reported that Jobs made application for his liver transplant in Tennessee and got on the waiting list down there. His number came up two months ago and he appears to have received a few more years of life as a result. Why Tennessee? Probably because that state’s transplant policies and procedures result in them having the shortest wait-time of any other state for vital organ transplants. Keep that in mind. The San Jose Mercury News goes into it in more detail HERE.
Now let us carefully get our equipment checked out for today. And I’ll go make up some more safe coffee. See you back in the day room.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, HAS EARNED FOR ITSELF the reputation of being one of the most ineptly-run city governments in the country. One of their dubious methods of providing for the citizens’ health and well-being is to play “firehouse roulette.”
That’s the practice of shutting down firehouses on a rotating schedule and hoping that the day goes by without something serious happening nearby. That didn’t work so well the other day for an Atlanta police officer who was having a heart attack in his cruiser. Here he tells WAGA-TV what happened:
A SUMMARY OF FIRES IN DOLLAR STORES for the two-week period ending June 19:
* June 5 – A Dollar General store in Memphis, Tennessee, was damaged by fire when a garbage truck backed into a gas meter outside and sparked a fire that burned several stores in a stip shopping center.
* June 8 – A Dollar General store in Laurel, Mississippi, was forced to close due to smoke damage related to a fire in the Piggly Wiggly grocery store that adjoins is. (Piggly Wiggly is undergoing a severe financial situation currently.)
* June 9 – A major fire started in a Broadview, Illinois, Dollar Store that burned down an entire shopping center.
* June 11 – A Cleveland Heights (Ohio) girl, 13, was arrested June 11 for arson at Dollar General, 1955 Lee. Video surveillance showed her using a lighter to set a washcloth on fire inside the store. There were about 10 people inside the store, and the manager put the fire out in a restroom.
TWO AMBULANCE MEDICS ARE CREDITED WITH QUICK AND EFFICIENT actions Thursday afternoon when their ambulance caught fire in a remote area of western Newfoundland. They were transporting a cardiac patient to a hospital and passing through a national park when a cooling-system line on their ambulance broke and started a fire in the engine comparment.
They pulled over and immediately removed their patient on his cot and rolled him about 100 yards away before running back to the ambulance and quickly removed the oxygen cylinders just as the vehicle was becoming fully engulfed with the flames.
RCMP photo
By the time the FD arrived 30 minutes later, the fire had burned the ambulance down to the chassis resulting in a total loss. A backup amb. soon arrived and completed the emergency transport.
A CANADIAN NATIONAL RR FREIGHT TRAIN derailed near Rockford, Illinois, Friday night sparking a fire that involved 12 tank cars filled with ethanol fuel.
Rockford Register Star photo
The accident occurred at a highway grade crossing and immediately killed a driver of a car that was waiting at the crossing for the train to pass. Several other people have been seriously injured as well. The incident is still ongoing early Saturday morning.
Firefighter Nation has the early report and some good 1st-responder video of the fire HERE.
Posted by firegeezeron June 20, 2009 •
Filed under: fire
Is that right? Two-thirds of the way through June already? Wow, that went by fast. How do I slow this thing down? I’ve still got some preparations to make for next month’s Firehouse Expo, so I’d better work on those this week. I hope you’re planning on cruising over to Baltimore July 21 to 26 and taking advantage of some of the great offerings they’re serving this year. And of course, stopping by our booth to say “hello” and let us meet you.
Off on another tack now, I’ve noticed for a while that whenever a building that is more than 40 years old burns, the newspaper or tv station always calls it the “historic xxxxx building.” 98% of the time there’s nothing historic about it. It just happens to be older than the reporter’s Daddy, so they label it. Usually nothing of importance happened there other than it survived that last fire that hit downtown.
Things like that concern me because it promotes a cheapening of the language whenever you dilute the meaning of a word like that. An extreme example of that is the grossly-overused word “awesome.” A perfectly good word that has a very specific and narrow definition having to do with being struck by dread inspired by a deity. A word that should only be used 3 or 4 times in your lifetime. But now it is a universal adjective that’s dropped on to anything that happens such as the sun rising in the East.
It looks like “historic” could be losing its meaning also. Part of it is greed, such as being able to apply for cash grants to refurbish “historic” sites. By expanding the definition of the word, you can expand your opportunity to take other people’s money for your own pet project. There are several definitions of the word that are legally in use to meet certain criteria, but they all basically agree that “historic” applies to one or more of the four following criteria:
A location where a significant event took place that had a profound effect on the populace. The site of the World Trade Center became a historic site on Sept. 12.
A location that is associated with the life of a person who played a significant role in our past. A simple bungalow that was the birthplace of a former President of the U. S. is such an example.
A site that may contain important evidence relating to past events or pre-history, such as an archeological site.
A structure that has such a defining example of a unique architectural style or feature that makes it representative of a defined time or location. Well-preserved neighborhoods of Colonial-era towns are often given the title because of their ability to portray an urban landscape that cannot be duplicated.
So why do the reporters and scribes toss the word onto almost anything that has a few years on it? I think it’s partly because they want to sensationalize the event just enough that their story will get noticed. And it’s also a result of the degrading level of education that has been taking place over the past three decades and people are not being given the vocabulary skills that are necessary to be good communicators.
I’m probably not a great communicator either, but that stuff still bothers me. Speaking of communicating and definitions, let’s review these two terms: “Equipment check” and “More coffee!”
A SEVERE AND VICIOUS SERIES OF LIGHTNING STORMS swept through southern Michigan Friday morning leaving a famous Detroit-area landmark in ashes. Around 6:20 am a lightning strike tore into the Lathrup Mansion, sometimes known as the “house in the woods” in Lathrup Village.
Detroit News
The resulting fire destroyed practically all of the 10,600 sq. ft. house that was occupied by the daughter of the original owner and two of her adult children. They were all able to escape without injury, but have lost all of their possessions.
Louise Lathrop Kelley was a real estate entrepreneur in the 1920′s and bought a 1,000-acre tract of forest land just outside of Detroit for the purpose of developing it. She named the new town Lathrup Village and built the house for herself in 1923. The building was also used as the town hall and post office until the permanent municipal buildings were eventually constructed.
Pre-1940 photo courtesy of Lathrup Village Historical Society
The house was completely surrounded by natural woodland and the fire department was hampered greatly by the jungle-like growth that had to be partly cut down to gain access. The nearest hydrant was several thousand feet away also. Firefighting efforts were futile under the conditions and the 7-bedroom house with five fireplaces was lost.
WXYZ-TV has this video report:
The density of the surrounding vegetation is evident in this aerial photograph supplied by WWJ Radio:
Hat tip: Matthew S.
Posted by firegeezeron June 19, 2009 •
Filed under: fire
JOHN JOSEPH HOUGHTALING, THE INVENTOR of the Magic Fingers box that was bolted to tens of thousands of motel and hotel beds across the country, died at his home in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Wednesday.
John Houghtaling
(Paul Houghtaling photo)
The Associated Press reports in his obituary today:
In a 1963 New York Times profile, Houghtaling said he was selling beds with a built-in vibrating mechanism when he realized during a repair job it would be much cheaper to create something that would attach to the outside of an existing bed.
“After ripping away the frills, I found that it was the vibrator that counted, not the bed,” he recalled. “Magic Fingers was born then and there.”
He moved the company to Miami in 1968 and remained its president until he retired in the 1980s, when the rights to the device were sold. The current owners still sell the machines for home use. After he retired, Houghtaling continued to invent and sell coin-operated machines, such as scales and pulse-checking devices.
Working in his basement he created the machine in 1958 and then hit the road selling and installing it to motels where the vibrating box brought weary travelers 15 minutes of “tingling relaxation and ease” for a quarter inserted into a slot.
At its peak, Magic Fingers had 175 dealers across the country, but demand started waning after about 20 years.
The Fort Pierce Tribune has a good review of the box’s history HERE.
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