AFTER ELUDING THE BELEAGURED RESIDENTS of an apartment building in Vitrolles, France, for two weeks, a 7-½ ft. long python was finally caught yesterday. The long creature had escaped from it’s cage in one of the apartments and found its way into the sewer lines. It got its nickname “Python of the Toilets” after it made its appearance in the toilet bowls of two apartments. One woman lifted the lid to do you-know-what and was greeted by the snake. She screamed and immediately pulled the flush handle, sending the runaway back into the drains. Another woman had the same experience and called in her husband who tried to grab the critter, but failed to reach it in time.
So who ya’ gonna call?
Finally the residents called the pompiers who, along with a group of policemen, tracked the snake back to the outdoor sewer lines where they found it after opening three access covers. Like firefighters everywhere, their first line of attack was the CO2 extinguisher.
La Provence
After successfully “cooling” the animal, one of the policemen got his hand on the head and pulled it out of the sewer. It has been taken to a zoo near Vitrolles.
Firegeezer readers will recall a similar REPORT HERE about a poisonous cobra loose in a German apartment where the firefighters literally ripped out the walls and floors of the building getting at the viper.
THIS PHOTO OF AN UNHAPPY FIREFIGHTER came over the newswires this week without any explanation of what was going on. Did somebody give him the wrong location for the Monthly Meeting, or what?
Help us out and supply your choice of what the caption to this photo should be. As always, post it in the Comments so that we can share your ideas.
The Ambulance has been developed to provide transport to and from local health centres, providing communities with the means to take advantage of distant and widespread health-care resources. Able to safely and comfortably carry one patient and an outreach medical worker, plus emergency supplies for on-site treatment, it can greatly reduce the time taken to get essential and urgent medical assistance to remote communities.
The Ambulance has recently undergone a range of technical and equipment improvements. Every Ambulance now has a specialist leading link front suspension system fitted as standard, improving the Ambulance’s already impressive off-road and on-road capability. In addition complete patient protection has been improved with additional “roof” bars and a newly designed all weather cover. Finally patient transfer has been improved with a novel hinged section allowing easy access to the stretchers flat platform.
Standard equipment has also been improved with the addition of a large capacity motorcycle rear carrier box and a fire extinguisher. In addition to these modifications to the Ambulance sidecar the JH 200 L has been uprated and improved with Electric start and an easy to maintain pushrod engine that delivers an improvement in engine Torque over the older overhead cam engine. All these developments underline our commitment to produce the most complete, effective and versatile vehicle solution for rural healthcare delivery throughout the world.
The stretcher itself has multiple functions. When flat, a prone patient can be carried, protected by an all weather cover. It then also converts into a suspended chair. In both positions there is storage space at the rear of the sidecar. The chair position is suitable for the walking wounded, sick and expectant mothers.
More information can be gleaned from their WEBSITE.
INGENUITY BREEDS INVENTIVENESS AND A young man in Newport News, Virginia who is not even a firefighter, rapidly developed a successful fire extinguisher. Adrian Kotschevar was taking a break from his job as a cook in a crabhouse restaurant and sitting on the dock at 3:30 pm Thursday, when he heard a loud “boom.” Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a boat on fire about 500 ft. offshore.
WTKR-TV image
Immediately he had an idea. Kotschevar told NewsChannel 3 that he kicked off his flip-flops, took off his shirt and jumped on his jet ski. “Runnin’ down to the pier I was thinking ‘I can put it out,’ The only thing I could figure was take it and swamp it. So I was just kept heading back out and heading back out. The faster I got, the more water just hit it. I ended up putting it out by the time the fire department got there.”
He explains how he did it in this video interview for WTKR-TV:
Two men on board the 22-ft. cruiser suffered burns with one of them requiring transport. They jumped into the water immediately and were pulled out by another boat that came to their aid. The Newport News boat that responded mopped up the largely-extinguished fire and towed it back to shore.
A SOUTHWEST AIRLINES EMPLOYEE IN LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, noticed that a shipment of three boxes bound for a medical laboratory in Texas didn’t look right. The alert cargo supervisor took a look inside the packages and found 40 to 50 human heads in them. He immediately called the police.
AP
The parcels were sent from a firm called JLS Consulting LLC of Conway, Arkansas, which is in the business of providing body parts for medical schools, etc. JLS president Janice Hepler said this shipment was to be used in a continuing-education program for doctors. But the packages were improperly prepared and had none of the required paperwork with them. Compounding the situation is the fact that JLS Consulting had their business license revoked back in December.
The Pulaski County coroner, Garland Camper says that he is concerned because there is a black market for body parts and this shipment was undocumented. Hepler says that the paperwork is on the way to the coroner, but it has been more than a week since they were dispatched on June 9 and the coroner still has no proof that the heads were obtained legally.
This video report from NBC-Dallas has more details:
Helper is trying to lay the blame on the courier service she hired to transport the heads. Camper, however, says he’s going to keep them for now, telling reporters, “I’m not just going to release a bucket of heads to go across the country without verifying that these were indeed lawfully obtained.”
“A lot of medical supplies – blood, things that we would consider icky or scary – is just part of the transportation system,” said Sam Coats, an airlines industry expert. Coats is a former vice president of Southwest Airlines and says medical research and funerals are a big reason human cargo is safely and routinely transported. “Frankly, heads don’t pose a risk,” he said.
The head are expected to be delivered to Medtronic, a Fort Worth-based medical research center credited with developing the implantable defibrillator, heart stents, pacemakers and drug pumps. ”In Fort Worth, what we do specifically is we’re working on developing the powered surgical tools for neurosurgery and that’s why these kinds of specimens, particularly with cranial specimens ,are important,” said Brian Henry, a Medtronic spokesman.
Henry said Medtronic procures body parts from suppliers who work with families that donate their loved ones to medical research. The body parts are then transported by plane and later used to test and develop life-saving medical devices.
ONE PERSON IS DEAD AND THREE MORE INJURED in Ventura County, California, following an explosion in a commercial building Thursday afternoon. The property is in an industrial park and the blast led to the evacuation of several businesses nearby until the danger was made safe.
CBS News
The victim’s body was found trapped in the partially collapsed building in Simi Valley, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Ron Oatman said. The blast blew a hole in the roof. The Los Angeles Daily News reports:
A man in his 20s was killed Thursday in an explosion that rocked Realm Industries, an alternative fuel research company located in an industrial area of Simi Valley. Witnesses said they heard a loud boom about 1:15 p.m. and saw debris flying from the building.
“It took the roof out, The back doors were blown out,” said Rod Lavender, a truck driver from Holland, Mich., who making a delivery nearby. “It shook the whole truck.”
Three employees were in the shop at the time of the accident. By coincidence, the Simi Valley police SWAT team was just down the street on a training exercise when the explosion occurred and the officers were able to arrive on the scene within moments and remove the injured workers.
The Ventura Star filed this video report:
This is the second explosion in that facility in the past 18 months. The previous misadventure burned a man when a pressurized tank blew up.
Can you get fired from an emergency services agency for something you wrote on your personal Facebook page? Should your employer be able to take such drastic action? That’s the situation in West Allis, Wisconsin, where the city is in a dispute with one of their 9-1-1 dispatchers who is an employee of the police department. Dana Kuchler has worked in the dispatch center for 21 years, but not without blemish. She has been disciplined four times previously in her career for other infractions.
But recently she placed a posting on her Facebook page saying that she is addicted to drugs and marijuana, then followed it with a “Ha…” She is saying that it was obviously meant as a joke, plus the fact that it was her personal site and done at home in her off-time. The police department didn’t take it as a joke, however. They fired her, the police chief saying that Kuchler’s Facebook posting “destroyed the city’s trust and confidence in (her) ability and integrity” as a dispatcher and was “an embarrassment to the city.” Kuchler’s union fought the separation and managed to get the complaint before an arbitrator who decreed that the firing was improper and dealt her a 30-day suspension.
The city is not satisfied with that and is now taking the case to court where they are filing to have the discharge upheld. This video report by WTMJ-TV provides some good background on what’s going on there:
There are two things that I think we need to be thinking about here. First, keep in mind that this employee is in a sensitive position of trust more than that of a file clerk or parks maintenance worker would be. Posting such a statement for the public to see, even though it was a personal action, plants the seed of doubt over the entire police department, I believe. People could wonder just how capable the emergency employees are when they are needed? Is this true or not? Does it matter? Do you think that an agency’s reputation is tarnished by off-duty actions of its employees?
Secondly, regardless of how this turns out, who wins and who loses, this dispatcher will be out a lot of money and will suffer a whole lot of grief as a result of it. That is something that we all need to keep in mind. When you post something on the internet, it’s out there forever for anybody to see and judge for themselves. If you have a position as an emergency worker, whether you’re paid or a volunteer, you are vulnerable to being held accountable for your activities at all times by the public. It’s one of those facts of life. So keep that in mind at all times and don’t put yourself in the same position that this dispatcher is faced with.
Now let’s get this equipment checked out. No need to Tweet it, either. I’ll get the coffee started, then we’ll meet back in the day room.
It’s been tough on folks living along the tracks this week:
IN SAXONY, GERMANY, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON A FREIGHT TRAIN HAULING GONDOLAS filled with gravel derailed in Peine. Three of the gravel cars were tossed across the adjacent track right in the path of an oncoming passenger train. The locomotive and lead cars of the passenger train wrecked and landed in the back yards of a row of houses injuring 16 passengers.
Spiegel
The first video shows an aerial view of the wreck.
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EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING 10 CARS OF A 16-CAR FREIGHT TRAIN hauling new automobiles derailed in Ausserbraz, Austria. most of the rail cars went down an embankment where a cluster of homes were located , some landing just feet away from the buildings where people were sleeping. Hundreds of new autos were strewn about and piled up all through the area.
This photo shows the red locomotive laying just 3 feet
from the garage of a house. (Keystone photo)
With all those near-misses, there was only one injury…. the engine-driver hurt his elbow. There were several millions Euro’s in damages from the automobiles destroyed, however. It’s not yet known why the train jumped the rails.
Volksblatt
Volksblatt
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TUESDAY MORNING TWO FREIGHT TRAINS COLLIDED in Sinalao, Mexico killing 13 people. One of the victims was a railroad employee and the others were all migrant workers who were illegally “riding the rails” when their train hauling carloads of corn was mistakenly switched onto a track that was already occupied.
The crash left tons of corn all over the track and pile of burning freight cars all around the scene.
A MOTORCYCLIST TRAVELING ON I-93 in New Hampshire Tuesday afternoon was going around a curve when his leg flew off and bounded across the oncoming lanes and into the verge on the opposite side of the highway. He then pulled over and stopped.
The call came in as a motorcycle accident and the first unit on the scene was a State Police trooper who found the man sitting on a guard rail minus one leg. The biker explained to the trooper that he had an artificial leg and it came off while he was driving.
Manchester Fire Department firefighters were also on the scene and one of them located the missing limb across the highway. This video report from WMUR-TV tells the full story:
ON THURSDAY THE U. S. SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY upheld that a search of a police officer’s messages on his government-owned pager by his employer was legal and did not violate the officer’s rights. The decision reversed a federal appeals court ruling that sided with the Ontario, Calif., SWAT team officer. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said that the officer, Sgt. Jeff Quon, could not assume “that his messages were in all circumstances immune from scrutiny.”
The dispute came up when the Ontario PD became concerned that some officers were using excess amounts of messaging for their personal use and running up the bills from the carrier. When they audited the pagers, they found that some of them held some sexually-explicit messages among other things.
Many employers tell workers there is no guarantee of privacy in anything sent over their company- or government-provided computers, cell phones or pagers.
Ontario has a similar policy, but a police official also informally told officers that no one would audit their text messages if the officers personally paid for charges above a monthly allowance.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the informal policy was enough to give the officers a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in their text messages and establish that their constitutional rights had been violated.
Kennedy said that it is true that many employers accept or tolerate personal communications on company time and equipment. But he suggested that employees who want to avoid the potential embarrassment of having those communications revealed might “want to purchase and pay for their own” cell phones and other devices.
The decision handed down today was considered to be a “narrow” interpretation that basically pertains to the case in hand. Justice Kennedy said that the court purposely avoided a broader ruling about employees’ expectations of privacy when using equipment provided by their employers because of rapid and unpredictable changes in technology.
YouTube ANNOUNCED A NEW FEATURE THURSDAY that allows video creators to apply some basic editing to their videos after they are online.
This new tool will allow you to snip or clip your video making it longer or shorter, combine video clips, add a soundtrack, and add or change a title. It’s also very new and YouTube advises that there still may be some rough spots in the program.
YouTube has posted this introductory video demonstrating the feature:
Hidden in the small print is an advisory that if you add one of their audio tracks, then you can expect some advertising to be in there, too. While it’s really bare-bones basic editing, it could be usefull for people who shoot video clips on their cellphone, then upload them directly to YouTube from the field. When you get back to your computer, you can then edit them and combine them into one video, etc. It’s a start.
THE EVENING RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC IN SAN DIEGO, California, was complicated by a burning gasoline tanker Wednesday evening.
NBC News
The double-tank truck carrying 8,800 gallons of gasoline and, while turning a corner, the trailer flipped and ruptured. The product immediately ignited and a “river of fire” started running down the gutter into a storm drain creating a series of underground “explosions” that continued throughout the operation.
The FD arrived and set up a containment effort while allowing the gasoline to burn off. Several nearby stores and apartments were evacuated as a precaution, but there was no fire spread. Amazingly, there were no injuries either.
NBC San Diego filed this video report from the scene:
d
AN ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, DISPATCHER was put on unpaid leave Monday following an incident where she mistakenly sent rescue crews to the wrong address. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
The mistake resulted in an approximately seven-minute delay on Friday morning for emergency crews arriving at an apartment building on Crucible Street, where a mother had reported her baby had stopped breathing. The baby died later that morning at Children’s Hospital.
The unidentified woman had worked as a dispatcher, or telecommunications officer, for the city since 2001 and joined the county’s 911 staff in 2005.
The county uses a computer-aided dispatch system supplied by Tiburon Inc. The dispatcher had typed the correct street address for the call on Crucible Street, Chief Full said. When she went back to modify the address by including an apartment number, she mistakenly typed the “at” symbol rather than the adjacent number symbol, he said. That small error resulted changed the address in the system to “Crane Avenue.”
The 911 call center received the call at 6:12 a.m. Friday “from a frantic mother who said her baby was not breathing,” Chief Full said.
A full emergency crew was sent out at 6:15 a.m. When first responders arrived on Crane Avenue at 6:20, they discovered that the apartment number they had been given did not exist. They were redirected to Crucible Street, about a mile away, at 6:22 and arrived at 6:27.
“We are not standing here trying to blame a machine [for the error],” Chief Full said. “I believe [the dispatcher] had an opportunity to catch it one more time.”
The shop steward for the union local that represents the dispatch center employees called the suspension “premature and unwarranted,” while saying that the union will cooperate in an investigation into the incident.
The number killed by floods is 25 and could continue to grow in the coming days. Fourteen people are still missing and rescuers have not ruled out finding more victims under piles of debris or water withdrawal, particularly in the plains of Argens.
Another problem is the drinking water supply. Some networks have been soiled by the mud, and lack of electricity, it is sometimes possible to ensure the water treatment. To remedy this, the civil security put in place since Thursday of mobile treatment units. Drinking tap water is not recommended in twenty-one municipalities or prohibited in Draguignan.
According to ERDF, manager of the electricity system, nearly 3,000 homes remained without power Friday afternoon and 3,200 people still lack access to fixed telephones, mainly in Muy.
………Fireball
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THE WORST FLOODS IN NEARLY 200 YEARS struck the southern region of France this week. Following two straight days of torrential rainfall, the rivers and creeks went over their banks suddenly, stranding thousands in their homes. In a span of 24 hours the Var region received as much rain as they normally get in several months, described by some as “a wall of rain.”
Le Point
As of this morning (Thursday), there have been 22 people drowned and at least 12 are still missing. BBC News reports:
Many of those who died were trapped in their cars as waters surged through streets in the worst hit area, around the town of Draguignan.
Water levels, which reached over two metres (six feet) in places, were said to be falling slightly in Draguignan on Wednesday, though the rain was continuing in nearby Roquebrune and Frejus.
France24
About 1,200 firefighters and 650 police officers have taken part in the rescue effort, local authorities said. More than 1,400 people have been rescued by helicopter and 100 have been rescued by boat.
In Draguignan, where the flooding was worst, some firefighters became stranded by the flash flood.
Var Matin photo
While it continues to rain today, the flood waters have begun receding. The death toll is expected to rise somewhat as more of the missing citizens are located.
This video report from tv channel TF1 has some dramatic aerial views:
A new storm hit the region as rescuers started a new day of searching. Interior Minister Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said he feared the toll would rise after what he called an “unprecedented catastrophe”.
The worst storms since 1827 left a torrent of muddy brown water surging through the Provence town of Draguignan where 15 of the dead were found.
Helicopters were used Wednesday to rescue people trapped on roof tops and in cars. Emergency teams also moved 436 inmates to nearby jails from a flooded prison in Draguignan where the water covered the first two floors.
At the resort of Frejus, more than 1,500 people were taken to safety, many in inflatable boats or by helicopter.
Autumn seems like a long time away, what with Summer not even here yet for another five days or so. But it’s only 106 days until Sunday October 3, which is when the annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial will be held in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
This year the FFM will be honoring 105 firefighters who died while serving in the line of duty and adding their names to the Wall of Fame at the Memorial located on the campus of the National Fire Academy. Take a moment to view this brief visit to the Memorial:
This year, thanks to our colleague Dave Statter who is the media relations consultant for the Foundation, we will be posting a special presentation box over on the right sidebar that will be featuring a portrait and information on each of this year’s honoree’s, one each day under the banner We Will Honor Them. This remembrance will begin tomorrow, Friday, which is 105 days before the Sunday services. Please make sure that you check out the changing report each day and reflect on the sacrifices that these brave souls made.
Another new addition this year is the creation of the virtual version of the Remembrance Banner. The banner is normally available on he Memorial Weekend for friends and family members to sign while they are there. Now there is a way for you and anyone who cannot make the trip to Emmitsburg to be a part of the tribute. To add your name to the Remembrance Banner, CLICK HERE, read the welcome and then click on the link at the upper right corner.
Firegeezer is not the only website that will be carrying this special feature, it will be on as many websites that want to carry it. If your department maintains a website, you are invited – encouraged – to run this feature on yours as well. If your webmaster knows what a “widget” is, then you’re all set. Just go to this PAGE HERE to get the code and directions. We would like to see this program runnning on every fire and rescue website in the country. It will automatically update each day for the next honoree.
Right now it’s time to get this equipment checked, though. So let’s get that done while I start the coffee and then we’ll give the webmaster a call and tell him about the We Will Honor Them presentation to be added.
THE ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD IS SPONSORING a series of disaster drill this week from Sunday through Thursday in the Chicago area. The massive regional training exercise is being held with more than 50 state, local, and federal agencies and encompasses a variety of mass-casualty scenarios.
The first exercise was on Sunday in Oak Lawn simulating a major jet plane crash on the approach to Midway airport. Adding several large training fires around the 200 mannequins representing the casualties added to the reality and complication of the drill. Fox News reported:
“It gives you a sense of realism, It gives you a sense of chaos. The burning would give you, it’s a prop. So the smoke does come out and while we realize the fire on a plane would be much larger than that, it gives a sense of realism to the responders,” said Captain Greg Hertz with the Illinois National Guard, who helped plan the scenarios that will be part of the five days of drills known as Illinois Prairie North 2010.
WFLD-TV Ch. 32 has this very informative video report on the first day’s exercise:
Yesterday’s program was a series of biological and chemical attacks. Fire photographer Larry Shapiro attended one of yesterday’s drills and sent us these images:
Firegeezer likes these 2-wheeled gurneys…. fast moving
and highly maneuverable:
Then you just flip down that stabilizer and you instantly
have a bed for triage or treatment.
You can view his entire 399-image gallery of yesterday’s activities HERE. You will see a LOT of very interesting equipment in there. The people wearing the orange chemical suits are part of the team from Poland and Latvia that are participating.
Today (Wednesday) they are having building collapses, tactical exercises with SWAT teams confronting terrorists, and tonight there will be a terrorist bombing on the Chicago subway system.
The program wraps up Thursday with a simulated explosion at a chemical plant.
Update: Fire is out. New video added. Scroll down.
A 4-ALARM FIRE IS ONGOING AT A PORT OF TAMPA dock in Florida this morning (Wednesday). The fire started in a large conveyor belt that is used to load/unload rocks and gravel. The fire is extensive and the firefighters are working to keep the fire from spreading directly into the ship, the 742-foot Sophie Oldendorff, that was being serviced by the conveyor belt.
Tampa News & Tribune
The heat from the fire has caused the crane supporting the belt to collapse, dropping the burning materials to drop onto the deck of the ship. The rubber and plastic belt runs about 70 ft. from the dock onto the deck and extends into the cargo hold.
Tampa Fire Rescue has 24 engines and a fireboat on the scene with 80 firefighters. They are making heavy use of foam applications on the fire.
WFTS-TV Ch. 28 has this early video report posted:
As this story is being posted, Fox News is live-streaming a helicopter camera view HERE. Live coverage is concluded.
Update, 4 pm Eastern: The fire is out, except for some basic overhaul needed. This video update broadcast at noon gives a good visual explanation of what was burning and the task that remains for the FD:
ON JUNE 10 WE REPORTED TO YOU on a man who had his arm trapped for 5 days in his home furnace (Firegeezer report HERE). After failing to attract help to his calls, and getting desparate after several day, he attempted to amputate his own arm as it was dying and starting to become diseased. Yesterday Jonathan Metz appeared before the press at the hospital where he has been recovering and told of his ordeal, including a description of his self-amputation.
The Associated Press reports:
Metz said he spent six hours psyching himself up for the self-amputation. He tried to yank the arm out, he used dirty oil from a catch basin to try to grease it. Finally he looked to his tool box, which he had within reach.
His fantasy, he said, was that he could cut off the arm, run upstairs and put it in his freezer, call 911, then go to the hospital and get it reattached.
Metz said he first used a hacksaw blade, then used a larger blade, which he hoped would make the operation go smoother. He nearly succeeded but couldn’t make it through a bundle of nerves.
View part of his statement on this video from the AP:
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THE SEARCH FOR VICTIMS IN THE ARKANSAS CAMPGROUND that was struck by a flash flood last Friday morning (Firegeezer report HERE) is winding down. The death toll is 20 with the most recent victim, a young girl, found on Monday. Authorities say that it is most likely that many of the people who were at first feared to be missing were camping it other areas of the park when the river rose.
No search crews were out yesterday (Tuesday), but the State Police say that the search has not been officially suspended.
THE GEAUGA COUNTY, OHIO, SHERIFF announced Monday that a Mayfield Heights Fire Department captain has been arrested following an investigation into a surreptitious video camera that had been placed in a YMCA bathroom. On Monday morning Daniel Serge, 51, a 24-year member of the department was arraigned on morals charges and jailed. His bail was revoked because he was on probation following a DUI arrest last year and this activity was considered to be a violation of his parole.
Last week an astute janitor at the Munson Township YMCA noticed an air freshener attached to the wall inside a handicapped-equipped toilet stall in the men’s restroom. Since it was not the same type that is used in the facility, he took it down and opened it finding that it contained a small video camera. Deputies say that it was capable of recording, but does not have a transmitter, so the owner would have to come back to retrieve it. Detectives sent the device to the state crime lab where the technicians were able to play the tape. It turned out that the beginning of the tap showed the man installing it. When they provided the YMCA staff with a frame showing the man, they immediately recognized him.
After getting a search warrant, the detectives next went to Serge’s home expecting to find more tapes and similar evidence, but instead they were led to more criminal activity. Serge’s home is on a large property and he hosts camping, hunting and fishing trips for terminally-ill children and the search uncovered an elaborate collection of hidden cameras in the house’s bathroom.
This video report from WEWS-TV Ch. 5 Cleveland goes into detail of the findings:
The sheriff believes that the camera in the YMCA had been in place for less than 24 hours when it was discovered. Serge’s acquaintances say that he is divorced and has no children. The Mayfield Heights fire chief says that everyone in the department were shocked and surprised at the arrest and nature of the charges. A search of all facilities of the the FD and city hall showed no evidence of any hidden cameras.
The 24-yr.-old maintenance worker who found the device is planning to become a police officer and has been preparing for his application. WKYC-TV has an interview with him along with a statement from the fire chief in this video report:
There is an internet pay transaction service that is very similar to PayPal, but is a fairly new operation. It is called GPal and appears to function in pretty much the same way. I would like to hear from anybody who has had any experience with GPal, such as good or bad impressions from it, or your personal use with it.
I’m not having any problem at all with PayPal and there are no plans to change from it, but it’s always good to keep up with the rapid and constantly changing innovations taking place in the Web. If you have used GPal, please tell me what you think either by email or leaving a Comment. Thanks.
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In the May 21 Lineup we talked about the up-and-coming Tesla electric car and their recent collaboration with Toyota. If you missed that posting, CLICK HERE to read about Tesla and view the test-drive video of their sports roadster that acclerates from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds.
Yesterday Tesla filed the papers to begin the process to issue an IPO – Initial Public Offering of stock in the currently-closely held corporation. They hope to issue the new stocks on June 29 and they expect to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol “TSLA.” The expectation is that they will raise about $180 million by selling 11 million shares at $14 to $16 in the offering. Following the IPO they will sell an additional $50 million of their shares to Toyota which will pay for their $42 million purchase of the dormant auto assembly plant in Fremont, California.
They will use the proceeds of the IPO along with a $465 million loan from the U. S. Dept. of Energy to tool up the Fremont plant.
Tesla also disclosed that they have sold over 1,000 of their roadsters and have a backorder list for over 100 more. The roadster will be taken out of production late this year or early 2011 while production of their Model S sedan ramps up at the Fremont facility. The sedan is expected to be their practical entry into the auto market, selling for around $55,000.
The Tesla Model S
Once they get full production established, they expect to make postive advances toward profitability. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has said his company’s biggest impact would come not by selling cars, but by selling EV drivetrain components. They have an agreement with Daimler-Benz to provide batteries for D-B’s electric car development program, and they are also providing batteries to Freightliner for an electric delivery truck.
We’d better get our own energy ramped up and get this equipment checked out now. I’m going to start the coffee, so I’ll see you back in the day room.
A POPULAR STORE IN CHAUMONT, FRANCE, WAS DESTROYED in a blaze last week that also shut down two other business.
The fire was especially challenging for the 50 firefighters on the scene because the Eurodif store is located adjacent to a 3-terrace apartment complex. Fourteen units had to be evacuated, but the fire was held to the commercial building leaving only smoke damages to the apartments.
Two firefighters were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
THE EUGENE, OREGON, POLICE SAY THAT the man was drunk when he wandered into a storm drain Friday morning. The disoriented man had fallen into a drainage canal and couldn’t get out – steep, slippery, sloping sides, and all that – so he either wandered or crawled into one of the storm drain pipes to presumably seek a way out.
Three hours later and two miles away, South Eugene resident Karen Chan was tending her backyard garden at 6:30 am when she heard some screaming sounds coming from a backyard drain. The police officer who responded then called Eugene Fire Department who also responded to the scene.
KVAL-TV
They broke the concrete around the manhole and lifted the man to safety. Eugene Fire District Chief Lance Lighty said the man had hypothermia-like symptoms. He was taken to the hospital but was reportedly uninjured.
WHEN IT’S TIME TO CHECK THE EQUIPMENT at the Pequannock Township Engine Co. 1 in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, Rick Genberg knows that the best way to get the job done is with a GeezerCup filled with great firehouse coffee.
Here’s Rick with Rescue 1 and his Firegeezer Mug.
Firegeezer readers all over the world are getting it right these days with their GeezerCups. How about you? Turn your routine equipment checks into great ones with your own Firegeezer Mug and order one today….. or tomorrow after you get home. The price is reasonable and delivery is fast via Priority Mail (Air Mail to other countries). Just CLICK HERE to place your credit card order safely and securely via PayPal.
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WHEN A 71-YR.-OLD MAN IN AGRIGENTO, ITALY, DECIDED TO PARK his car Monday, his choice of pedals to push was the wrong one and he sent his car through a decorative fence and plunging ten feet to a roadway below, landing on its roof. Fortunately for a woman on the lower roadway who was driving a motor scooter by at that moment, the man’s aim was just as bad and he barely grazed her scooter as he dropped out of the sky into her lane.
All photos via Agrigento Flash
The first-arriving medics found the man still trapped in his car and
the woman scooter driver laying in the road (far right).
The Vigili del Fuoco needed almost an hour to extricate the man from his car.
Miraculously, the woman was uninjured and the man suffered only bruises and cuts.
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