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Fatal NatGas Pipeline Explosion

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A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR TRYING TO ERECT A POWER POLE Monday afternoon near Cleburne, Texas, inadvertantly struck a natural gas pipeline while drilling a hole.  The pipline is a 36-inch high pressure line and as soon as it was breached a heavy explosion occurred triggering a fire. 

AP

 One worker was killed on the spot and initially it was thought that there might have been more victims.  Everyone else has since been accounted for.  Seven of the other 13 workers were injured and transported to hospitals.

CBS News sent out this live video from the fire scene before the true casualty count was learned:

The fire was too hot for emergency crews to approach so they had to wait until the line was shut down before checking for the victims.  The company that operates the cross-country pipeline has sensors installed that detect any drop in pressure and the nearest valves are automatically closed.  However the process takes about two hours to complete and when they were completely shut, the fire burned itself out quickly.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said that while there was a fatality and up to two people were missing, “The good news is that this was out on a big ranch in the middle of nothing.  There were no houses or anything, just trees and grass.”
The Associated Press has the latest summary REPORT.
Posted by on June 8, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Dozens Taken Sick in “Wellness” Spa

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A 4-STAR HOTEL/SPA IN SALZSCHIRF, GERMANY, that bills itself as a “wellness” center suffered a blow to its reputation Saturday when at least 30 guests were hospitalized.  The guests at the Aqualux spa began falling ill early Saturday morning when eleven of them started showing symptoms of a stomach-intestinal infection experiencing vomitting and diarrhea.  The sudden appearance of the illness affecting so many people at once triggered a disaster-level response by the fire and ambulance squads.

Not knowing the cause for the massive outbreak, the
fire and ambulance crews donned contamination
protective gear.

As the day wore on, more people began coming down with the ailment and by Saturday evening at least 30 people had been hospitalized.  The Local reports: 

The regional health ministry set up a crisis team to deal with the sick, and tests were started to try to determine whether a virus or a bacterial infection was to blame – or whether the guests were victims of food poisoning.

The state prosecutor in Fulda has also begun an investigation on the suspicion of negligent bodily harm having been committed by the hotel.

The hotel has been sealed off by police to prevent further cases of illness, while most of the remaining guests have gone home.

The hotel was fully booked over the weekend with 200 guests.

OstHessenNews has the STORY and photo gallery.
They also have a good VIDEO HERE.

Posted by on June 8, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, News • Tagged: ,

Gasoline Fumes Are Still Flammable

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A SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, MAN FAILED TO connect the dots Monday morning before he lit a cigarette.  Adrian Rendon, 37, was driving his car at 8:30 am with a gasoline can sitting next to him on the passenger’s seat.  When he decided to light up, you know what happened next.  When the magic dragon puffed, he lost control of his car and crashed into another vehicle.

Surprised, burned, and suffocating in the smoke, he was trapped inside the car unable to help himself.  When the firefighters arrived they broke into the car to rescue him and they say that he was fortunate that his windows were all rolled up tightly.  With the interior sealed off, the fire only smoldered and failed to erupt into open flames, burning itself out before the FD got there.

San Antonio Express

Rendon, however, still received critical burns along with the smoke inhilation and was flown to the nearest burn center.

WOAI-TV has this video report:

The San Antonio Express has the STORY.

Posted by on June 8, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Morning Lineup – June 8

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From the world-wide web of progress comes this interesting announcement.  Yesterday (Monday) H-P introduced a new kind of device that they will be installing on all of their printers that sell for more than $99.  They call it ePrint and it will be arriving in retailers soon in both inkjet and laserjet printers.  To try and state it simply, these new printers will take commands from any of your devices that are connected to the internet and print or scan whatever documents you wish.  Your printer will have a form of unique email address stored in H-P’s data center and if you want something that you just wrote on your laptop someplace away from home, for example, you just enter the print command via your printer’s email address and it is printed out.  You may have noticed that just about every printer on the market these days is WiFi enabled, but this will apparently work with hardwired printers too, as long as your connection to the internet is active.

The possibilities for this application are unlimited.  For example, you could order concert tickets from a computer at work and the ticketing agency will have them printed out on your home printer.  It won’t have to go through your computer at all.  Another task made possible with this is utilizing your smartphone.  If you are browsing the web with your cellphone and you see something that you’d like to save, you send the command and your chosen document is printed out at home.

Bloomburg BusinessWeek adds:

Google Inc. said it is working with HP so that users can access Google Docs, Photos and Calendar directly from their printers. New partners including Facebook Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment Inc. will have applications that users can download to their printers, allowing them to access content directly from those websites without going through a personal computer or other computing device.

You won’t need to download or install any printer drivers on your computer because it’s all part of the central data-center’s workings.  You can read more about this breakthrough innovation HERE and HERE.

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How about a little more baseball broadcast history this morning?  A week ago in the June 1 Morning Lineup (HERE) while telling you about noted radio announcer Arch McDonald, I had a paragraph or two about how the baseball announcers would “re-create” the out-of-town games.  Dave Statter jogged my memory about another broadcast legend who was based in Washington, Nat Albright.  He was considered by most of his peers to be the best baseball recreator in the business.  It is a talent that is largely extinct now, dying out as the old broadcasting pro’s fade away.

But I found this recent video interview with Nat Albright where he goes into detail about the method and the history of it.  He also gives a sample of how it was done along with how the sound effects were added to the colorful broadcasts.  The video runs for 28 minutes, so it’s a bit lengthy.  But if you’re interested in either baseball or broadcast history, you’ll find this to be a treasure:

Nat Albright – Out of the Past – 2008 from Chuck Langdon on Vimeo.

Before we get started on that, we had better get this equipment checked out.  I’m going to get the Bunn-O-Matic running a fresh pot.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on June 8, 2010 • Filed under: history, morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Burning Train Dangles Over Cliff in Scotland

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A 2-CAR PASSENGER TRAIN TRAVELING BETWEEN GLASGOW AND OBAN in Scotland crashed into a landslide of “large boulders” Sunday night and derailed.  One of the cars was left hanging over a 50-ft. cliff and both of them caught fire.

Press Association photo

The entire train crew valiantly evacuated all 60 passengers while the cars were burning.  Eight of them were injured and later transported, but none of them are believed to be life-threatening injuries.

The crash brought out a heavy fire and rescue response to the remote area where the train wrecked.  BBC News reports:

Driver Willie Dickson, a railwayman for 30 years, said: “It was a real team effort after the train came to a halt.”

The 60-year-old said he had applied emergency brakes on seeing “two huge rocks on the track.”

He added: “I stayed at the controls until the train came to rest. I then entered the front carriage and tried to calm passengers down before taking people by the hand and leading them off the train.”

An air ambulance was also sent to the scene and was the primary transport unit.  Strathclyde Police said the passengers on board were taken from the train to Cruachan Power Station. No-one was seriously hurt, although many of those injured were described as “walking wounded”.

The Press Association posted this aerial view of the train taken this morning:

Railway engineers spent today evaluating the wreckage and trying to decide how to retrieve the railcars.  They fear that they are capable of dropping down the cliff at any moment and are unsafe to enter.

Check back for any updates later this evening.

 

Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Rescues, Videos • Tagged:

Dollar Store Fires – Cont’d.

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A DOLLAR GENERAL STORE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO, had a complete burnout Saturday morning while it was open for business.  The fire is considered to be suspicious.

WBNS-TV

The fire was first noticed at 10 am.  “I saw a flash of light at the top of the ceiling in the back,” employee Miranda Harris told WBNS-TV.  “It was orange, so I just asked my boss, ‘Is there a fire back there?’”  There was indeed a fire “back there” and all the employees and customers evacuated promptly and safely.

The Columbus FD arrived and successfully contained the fire to the store itself.  The extent of the flames endangered the roof trusses early on and the FF’s had to pull back outside.  The loss is expected to be from a half- to one-million dollars.  A surveillance camera shows a man entering the store just minutes before the fire started and the fire marshal is interested in locating him.

 

This video report from WCMH-TV shows the surveillance tape along with a good report on the fire:

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Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: Dollar stores, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Downtown Fire in Iowa – No Water

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“THE WATER SITUATION IS ABSOLUTELY DISMAL.” Those were the words of Waukee FD Fire Chief Clint Robinson in the small community of Booneville, Iowa, Sunday evening.  The town has no municipal water supply and therefore no hydrants, the only water serving the residents comes from wells.  When the alarm sounded at 7:30 pm, he knew about the  lack of resources and immediately called for additional help to establish a tanker relay.

WHO-TV

The fire was located in an “antique” shop that fortunately was a free-standing building without any close exposures.  By the time water supply was begun, the fire had engulfed the entire building and all efforts went to containing it.  The 80-yr.-old building burned completely down and collapsed.  However, no other structures including several homes were affected.

Des Moines Register

The Des Moines Register filed this video report that gives good coverage to the tanker relay:

The Des Moines Register has the STORY.

Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, hydrants, Videos • Tagged: , ,

How Did You Meet Your Wife?

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Mark “Medic 999” Glencourse participated in a formspring.me question-and-answer forum.

One of Saturday’s answers was memorable

How did you meet your wife?

This is a good one!

Send on a job for a man hit by train. It’s late at night and I am heading down the tracks looking for the poor guys head.

Sandra is coming from the other side looking for body parts too. We found the head and our eyes met by torch light and in that moment….we knew we would be together!!!

It could only happen in EMS!

So, how did you meet your spouse or significant other?

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: culture, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , , ,

Ambo Busts Red … Batters Bicyclist

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IN NEW YORK CITY A HATZOLAH MEDIC RESPONSE VEHICLE was responding to a call with its lights and siren on when it blew through a red light at speed and caused a collision.  The Gothamist reported on Friday:

(The ambulance)  was driving at high speeds uptown against a red light. Apparently swerving to avoid a car crossing against him (a small sports car which suffered a fender scrape, and which left the scene before police arrived), the driver of the (ambulance) crashed into two parked cars on the east side of Broadway at 100th Street.

The Gothamist

A bicyclist was hit and thrown halfway across the sidewalk, bleeding out.  There was a small smash (presumably the fender scrape), followed by a very loud bang as the black SUV ambulance hit the other two cars.

The Gothamist

Despite the crumpled bike and pool of blood, they are reporting that there were no serious injuries, however the bicyclist was transported to the hospital.

As posted in Wikipedia, the original Hatzolah EMS was founded in Brooklyn by Rabbi Hershel Weber in the late 1960s to improve rapid emergency medical response in the community, and to mitigate cultural concerns of a Yiddish-speaking, religious Hasidic community. The idea spread to other Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in the New York City area and eventually to other regions, countries, and continents. Hatzolah, as an organization, is the largest volunteer ambulance service in the world. Chevra Hatzalah in New York has more than a thousand volunteer EMTs and Paramedics who answer more than 250,000 calls each year with private vehicles and a fleet of more than 70 ambulances.

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Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – June 7

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You may well know by now that our fellow fire-blogger and good friend Dave Statter (STATter911) officially retired from his rewarding career at Channel 9, WUSA-TV in Washington this past Friday.  During the past week he has been posting some of his older  fire/EMS stories that he pulled out of the station archives and they have been fun to watch.  In his 25 years at the station he did a lot more than cover fire and police stories, even though he was the station’s resident go-to guy for that.  Along with the hard news stories and the shenannigans of the politicians of which D. C. is filled with, he also pulled a lot of assignments interviewing celebrities from the world of music and entertainment when they were in town for performances and appearances.  I’d be willing to bet you that those assignments are what he’s going to miss the most.

I’m glad to know that the STATter911 website will remain “in business,” though.  During its first three years of life it was a part of Channel 9′s official archives and as such it was confined to following the station’s policies and legal restrictions that are placed on all broadcasters.  But now Dave will have free reign to follow his nose and talk about anything he wants to, and it will be fun to see where he goes with it.  The address will remain the same.  Sometime today make sure that you read his posting from last night where he tells about how he got started in all this and passes along the recognition to some of the people who played major roles in his career.  It’s a good ARTICLE HERE.

Please join with me in congratulating Dave on his retirement from a successful career.  And the best of luck and good wishes for his next endeavor along with the welcomed continuation of STATter911.

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I want to pass along a reminder about our new Fan Page on Facebook.  We are closing in on 400 fans already and we’re just getting started.  If you are signed into the Facebook universe, enter Firegeezer Fans in the search box and join up.  It’s on that page that we post some things that don’t make it onto the Firegeezer.com website and, most importantly, it is where you can post some related things and your favorite photos for the rest of us to enjoy. 

Old firetruck pics seem to be popular, so dig out your digital pics and share them with us.

Now it’s time for us to share that morning activity called “equipment check.”  We need to get that going and I’ll go start some more coffee.  See you back in the day  room in a little while.

Posted by on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Consequences for Non Compliance?

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Last week I piled onto Bill “Backstep Firefighter” Carey’s article “But They’ll Die as ‘Valiant Heros’ ” and repeated a suggestion that PSOB line-of-duty death benefits be reduced when there are clear examples of non compliance.

The examples I provided in last years article: Safety Blind Spots included this summary:

… change in the federal LODD procedures?

* No federal payout if a seat belt was not used
* Reduced payout if firefighter had a pre-existing cardiac condition or documented “sentinel” event
* Determining the percentage of responsibility that the member contributed to his/her death and reduce the benefits accordingly

I am NOT advocating these changes, but wonder if they would it result in a reduction from the following LODD subsets:

* 10-15 firefighers who die each year in vehicle collisions
* 40 some who die of cardiac-related conditions

Troy and Michael Legeros posted responses to last week’s blog item that continues this discussion.

TROY   -  KNOWLEDGE GAP?

Are we sure that those efforts have not made a difference? The numbers have not gone down as we would like, but they have not gone up either, even while fires are becoming more dangerous. Many departments have stepped-up and made some positive changes. Some never will – until they experience a LODD. Even then, it may be chalked up to ‘firefighting is dangerous’.

Is it lack of common sense, or the desire to do something coupled with a lack of knowledge? I think it is mostly the latter, and that is something we can try to fix. I do not believe it will be fixed by denying PSOB’s any more than denying workman’s comp claims would reduce firefighting injuries.

Our firefighting training focuses only on teaching the basics. Firefighter I and II are basic firefighting. Fire Officer I and II are basic management. Fire Officer II is basic chief officer management.

Where is the curriculum for fire behavior, reading smoke, flashover and backdraft? Where is the national curriculum on risk management? It is barely mentioned in IFSTA Fire Officer I, II or III or in the 16-hour NFA Incident Safety Officer class.

We are not training our firefighters to succeed by only teaching the basics. I guess that used to work because there were 20-year veterans in the department that could fill in these gaps with the new firefighters on-the-job. Most volunteer departments and many of the newer career departments do not have this person, so the knowledge gaps remain.

MIKE LEGEROS -  WHAT ABOUT RESOURCE LIMITATIONS?

A report on a North Carolina duty death, and the medical fitness component, gets me thinking about Mike’s posting here. How should rural and really rural departments treat medical fitness, safety initiatives, and such?

Obviously with equal emphasis and importance. But what about resource limitations. When the pool of people is smaller or grossly smaller, what’s the role of, say, medical fitness?

Do you developer lower-impact operational tactics? Do you try your hardest to safely “use what you have?” etc.

(link to Mike’s Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog)

Troy and Mike post excellent questions.

What are the remaining knowledge gaps?

.

Do we develop lower-impact operational tactics for the really rural departments?

What do you think?

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on June 6, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, In the Line of Duty, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , ,

Italy’s National Day Brings Out the Firefighters

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JUNE 2nd IS CELEBRATED AS ITALY’S MAIN NATIONAL HOLIDAY.  It was on this date in 1946 that the people, finally freed from the shackles of Fascism, freely approved a referendum on what form of government they wanted.  Given the choice of a return to monarchy or establishing a republic, they chose the latter and today’s Italian Republic was born.  This day, the Festa della Repubblica, has the same importance to the Italians that Independence Day (July 4) has to Americans and Bastille Day (July 14) has to the French.

Traditionally, the events that follow one another throughout Italy and, especially in the capital city of Rome, on that day are many. In Rome, the center of celebrations, they begin with the testimony of a laurel wreath near the Altar of the Fatherland and a military parade in the presence of the top political leader.  A tradition is the unfurling of the Tri-Color on the walls of the famed Colliseum by the fire department’s equivalent of a high-angle rescue squad as shown in this video of their operation:

Much as here in the U. S., a mainstay of the  parade is the participation of the Fire  Department (Vigili del Fuoco).  This video taken at this year’s parade has some excellent views of the Italian apparatus and equipment:

The accompanying photos in this article are from this year’s parade and posted in the Vigili del Fuoco’s WEBSITE.

To view the entire 34-image photo gallery, CLICK HERE and keep clicking on the “Successive” button.

Posted by on June 6, 2010 • Filed under: apparatus, culture, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: ,

A Sunday Emergency !

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Season Three, Episode 12

Body Language

A teen-age girl trips out after eating daffodil bulbs.

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*  *  *  *  *


Posted by on June 6, 2010 • Filed under: Sunday Emergency, Uncategorized, Videos • Tagged:

Death By Porn Prop

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A BIZARRE PAIR OF DEATHS IN CALIFORNIA began and ended with a stage-prop samurai sword used during filming of a porno movie.  The real-life drama started on Tuesday evening in Van Nuys, Los Angeles County, when Steven Hill, an actor for the low-budget porn studio Ultima DVD was fired and ordered to move out of his company-provided living quarters. 

Hill became infuriated and went on a rampage wielding the prop that was effective enough to kill one of his co-workers and seriously injured two others.   He then fled the scene before police arrived. 

Hill successfully dodged capture for the next three days with an all-out manhunt looking for him.  The police finally caught up with him at 8:30 am Saturday morning at a hillside in the West Hills area.  Hill was still wielding the sword and there was a stand-off for the next eight hours as police attempted to negotiate a surrender with the man whose stage name was Steve Driver.

After negotiations remained at a standstill, the police SWAT team slowly moved in and threatened Hill with a non-lethal weapon.  At that point Hill, still clutching his sword, turned around and plunged to his death.  The entire sequence was captured on this videotape:

The three victims were all employees of the production company, but the murdered victim also performed under the name Tom Dong.

The Associated Press has MORE.

Posted by on June 6, 2010 • Filed under: current events, News, Videos

Morning Lineup – June 6

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Today is remembered and commemorated as D-Day, that time when the largest invasion force in history stormed the shores of Normandy, France, to begin the ultimately successful campaign to defeat Nazi and Fascist forces that had darkened all of Europe.  After months of planning and assembling the force, 5,000 ships and landing craft, 11,000 airplanes, and more than 130,000 ground troops launched the assault.  When it was over a few days later, the Allied forces had suffered 10,000 casualties with more than 4,000 men killed.

You already know how it turned out, but the anniversary is kept alive to remind us and future generations that freedom has never been handed to us.  It comes with a price and over the past 130 years thousands of people have been willing to pay that price so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we have today.  Even now, we are under constant assault by evil people who wish nothing more than to take away our choices and our way of life.  So let those brave men who spilled their blood at Normandy be both a reminder and an inspiration of what the true cost of our precious freedom really is.

Nobody felt the cost of the Normandy invasion more than the citizens of tiny Bedford, Virginia.   The little town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains had a population 3,200.  But by the end of June 6, 1944, they had lost 19 of their young men and 4 more were to fall before the operation was finished.  Proportionately, Bedford suffered the greatest loss per-capita of any other community in the country, a price so heavy that they still feel it more than 60 years later.

For that reason, Bedford was chosen as the site for the National D-Day memorial that was completed and opened to the public on June 6, 2001.  To find it on the map, draw a straight line from Lynchburg to Roanoke and about midway you will find it.  Check out the Memorial’s official website HERE to learn more about it and how to get there.

Another website worth visiting today is the Men of D-Day photo album (link) that has hundreds of photos taken that day.

We will remember these brave men while we get our daily equipment check completed and count our blessings.  I’ll go start some more coffee.

A side note:  Bedford, Virginia, is also world-known as the site of the infamous Beale Treasure.

Posted by on June 6, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Ambulance Director Fired

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THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE Putnam County Ambulance District in Missouri was fired Tuesday following a report of misappropriating funds.

KTVO-TV Ch. 3 reports:

(Jason) Dean’s firing came after Certified Public Accountant Mark Higgins gave an audit report during a closed session of the Ambulance District Board meeting.  According to minutes from that meeting, the audit report revealed misappropriation of funds.

After a lot of discussion, a motion was made to dismiss Dean as an employee of the Putnam County Ambulance District.  The motion passed by a vote of four-to-one.

KTVO-TV has the story and a video report HERE.

Posted by on June 5, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, ambulances, EMS Topics

Morphine Missing From Ambulances

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THE DIRECTOR OF THE IRON COUNTY AMBULANCE SERVICE in southwestern Utah reports that morphine has been stolen from agency ambulances six times in the past month.  That is the only drug that has been taken from the supplies.

Iron County Ambulance has 15 vehicles and operates out of two stations in Parowan and Cedar City.  Two of the six thefts took place in the Parowan station and Parowan Police arrested Justin Allen Topham, 26, on May 15 and charged him with one count of unauthorized possession of a prescription of phenadoxone, a narcotic in the same class as morphine.  This arrest was made in connection with the two Parowan burglaries, but no good leads have developed yet for the other four that occurred in Cedar City.

Parowan Ambulance Station

At the time of his arrest, Topham was an employee of Iron City Ambulance working as an EMT.  He is currently on administrative leave.  Iron County Ambulance is a county government agency.

The St. George Spectrum has the STORY.

Posted by on June 5, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, EMS Topics • Tagged: , , , ,

New York VFD Faces Full Audit by State

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THE AURORA COLDEN FIRE DISTRICT #6 in West Falls, New York, was informed by the State Comptroller’s Office that following a preliminary investigation of the VFD’s records and finances, they have begun a full auditing of the entire department.

West Falls V.F.C.

So far, the Comptroller is not saying what they are looking for or why they began the investigation.  WIVB-TV is reporting HERE however that a local official became suspicious and notified the state agency.

NYS Comptroller Deputy Press Secretary Nicole Hanks said, “We’re currently doing field work, and depending on when that wraps up, we’ll be able to move forward from that point on, and then talk with the district about our findings. And then after that, we then release the audit to the public.”

Hanks says the audit began on May 7th following a risk assessment that the Comptroller’s office normally does before a case goes to a full blown audit.

Hanks explained, “The risk assessment includes a number of things, anywhere from looking at the financial info, the contacts with the local government, taxpayer complaints, and so on. And based on our risk assessment, we determined that an audit was necessary.”

WIVB-TV also filed this video report on the audit:

West Falls Volunteer Fire Company WEBSITE.

Posted by on June 5, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire-ology, Videos

Investigators Confounded by Motive

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WHEN A NORTHERN ARIZONA HOUSE BURNED DOWN Thursday night, the investigators thought they had the cause pinpointed early on.  But now they are puzzled over the evidence that they found and are looking anew at the fire which is now a crime scene.

KTVK-TV

The fire was reported around 7 pm in the Phoenix suburb of New River and when the Daisy Mountain Fire Department arrived on the scene they found the house well-involved.  While doing a primary search they noticed some suspicious-looking materials and became wary of the potential for explosive reactions.  There was equipment and supplies that are consistent with those found in a meth lab and they withdrew from the building.

On Friday the multi-agency investigation team announced that the paraphernalia might not have been a meth lab after all, but instead a home production unit to make bio-diesel fuel.  While that is plausable, they are still undecided on what was going on because bio-diesel is normally made in batches of 100 gallons or more at a time and this operation was geared up to make a gallon at a time.  That is ineffecient in both time and expense, being unsuitable for making even enough for use in a car.

Daisy Mountain Fire Marshal Phil Dyer said the homeowner’s excuse was suspicious.  “Typically when you make bio-diesel fuel you make it in large quantities; five, six, seven hundred, to a thousand gallons,” said Dyer. “To make it a gallon at a time is kind of redundant in that you’re not saving any money, you’re spending a lot more.”

KTVK-TV Ch. 3 has this good video report on both the fire and the progress of the investigation:

The investigation is proceding fully now and the homesite is still a designated crime scene while they try to determine the full story of the indoor chemical factory.

KNXV-TV has more details and video HERE.

Posted by on June 5, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, investigations, Videos

Morning Lineup – June 5

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During the past few weeks I have noticed an interesting cultural trend in the Caption Contest entries.  Apparently there is an “inside joke” going around some areas in the country about determining just where some FD’s first-due boundaries are located.  On the past few contests there have been some referencess to this underlying joke, usually something along the lines of, “….looking for the end of my first-due.”

They often fit in nicely with the week’s photo and I find them entertaining.  But the thread of the joke is new to me, and I’m wondering where and how this got started?  I don’t think it’s reached my geographical region yet, but no doubt it will.  I’m really curious about what got this catch-phrase started, and where it began.  Do we have any cultural historians out there that can give us your observations on this?  Maybe we can track this down.  Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

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I am being plunged into full-fledged Geezerdom this weekend.  One of my granddaughters, who is also my eldest grandchild, is getting married this evening, so you know what I’ll be doing later today.  It will be one of those really fancy affairs that is rapidly emptying Son-of-Geezer’s bank account, but it will be nice.  The bride and groom are both wonderful young people and I am very happy for them.  They’ve been going together for several years now, plenty of time to work out those inevitable little conflicts, and they have a promising future ahead of them.  They are both great kids.

I think I’m alloted one of the front-row seats at the ceremony, so I won’t be able to “text” the events as they happen.  The plan calls for an outdoor ceremony, so if anybody has a magic wand, you can help us out with the weather systems for a couple of hours between 5 and 7 pm Eastern.  Thanks.

It’s a weekend day, so not much will be rolling downhill out of HQ, but we still need to get this equipment checked out.  So let’s get started with that while I go fire up the Bunn-O-Matic and get a fresh pot going.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

Posted by on June 5, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

The Long Goodbye and a 2nd Career

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When I was on the job we had a senior chief officer that announced he was retiring “soon.”

Twenty months later, at a meeting with field command officers, a battalion chief who was about to retire asked the senior chief  WHEN?

Dave’s Last Day at Channel 9

While Statter always had a target retirement date, it seems that I have been hearing about his retirement for almost as long.

That is because Dave is a fellow traveler through the DC area emergency service universe.

We became ALS providers in the very early days of paramedicine – he was a Cardiac Rescue Technician in PG and I was a Cardiac Care Technician in Fairfax.

When we were learning how to start IV’s, Channel 9 TV (with Sheldon Levy’s overnight videos) and WMAL radio (AM 630 – with Larry Krebs predawn conversations with Bill Mayhugh ) were the go-to media sources for the best reporting on incidents and public safety.

Dave’s posting of vintage Channel 9 fire/rescue stories from the archives reinforces my perception that Statter, like Letterman, provided a regular nightly commentary on my world.

I will always remember Dave’s initial reports from the Pentagon attack on WTOP radio. In the cacophony that morning, he provided the first clear assessment of what was happening. (Statter HERE) (JEMS article) Clarification from Dave, he was reporting for WUSA 9 and was simulcasted on WTOP radio.

The WatchDesk Days

TheWatchDesk.com forum exploded in activity when the two-hatter issue bubbled up in PG eight years ago.

Statter was a poster on the forum, and we had on and off line discussions about what was happening.

Later, Dave attempted to mediate a conflict I created over the Kentland VFD ambulance case study.

I was “persona non grata” to a former KVFD chief.

At least, that was what he SAID he was doing.  It felt more like he was busting my chops.

Blog God

STATter911 is the digital go-to for fire/rescue information.  Exceeds old-school mass media by providing a timely, better referenced and well described source of both breaking incidents and knowledgeable analysis.

Instead of listening to the 6:20 am overnight report from Krebs on AM radio, I am accessing Statter911 on my smartphone.

A Digital Second Career

The FireEMSBlogs meet-up at EMS Today and the Fire Department Instructor’s Conference are just the beginning of an exciting evolution that started with overnight reporters and videographers working the police beat after “The Big War.”

I am excited that STATter911 is part of this evolution.  The most exciting developments are …. (embargoed)

Please come by and say hi to Dave at Booth 738 at Firehouse Expo. July 22 to July 24 in Baltimore.

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on June 4, 2010 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , ,

Friday Shopping Tip

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HERE IT IS, THE PERFECT GIFT for your Battalion Chief, or any road warrior in your family.  We’re talking about the incomperable …. 

Laptop Steering Wheel Desk

Basic, simple design makes it
easy and convenient to use …..

It brings new meaning to the term “multi-tasking.”

It makes the ideal way to remember you favorite battalion chief when his birthday rolls around.  You know how he is always burdened with more and more work, most of it requiring that he use the computer.  Plus his incurable itch to read Firegeezer.com every day.

And here’s the best part:  Now you can buy one and save 33% HERE.

Posted by on June 4, 2010 • Filed under: shopping • Tagged:

Weekend Caption Contest

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THIS ACTION PHOTO OF SOMETHING IN PROGRESS landed on the news desk this week, but the needed story behind it was missing.  We don’t know if this is a rescuer or a rescuee…. or somebody looking for a contact lens.  So help us out here and supply the correct caption for this future prize-winning pic.  As usual, post your suggested caption in the Comments section so that all of us can find out.

(If you want to try your composing skills on some of our past contests, they are always open.
Just click on the “caption contest” link in the Categories box over on the right sidebar and give it a whirl.)

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Posted by on June 4, 2010 • Filed under: caption contest • Tagged:

Paramedic Dies After Falling Out of Ambulance

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A PARAMEDIC WITH THE IRISH HEALTH SERVICE EXECUTIVE (HSE) died Thursday evening after he fell out of his ambulance while it was traveling on a highway.

Garda (police) investigate the accident.
(photo by the Independent)

Simon Sexton, 43, was tending to a patient that was being transferred from a hospital in Cavan to Dublin when the rear doors of the ambulance opened.  It is first thought that he was trying to pull them closed when he tumbled out.  He died not long after his fall.  It is understood that the ambulance was operating non-emergency.

Three separate investigations have been launched to identify the cause of the mishap.  Sexton was married and the father of six children.

RTE News has the REPORT.
The Independent has MORE.

Posted by on June 4, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Citizen Rescuers Save 2 in Fiery Crash

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A SPONTANEOUS ASSEMBLY OF NEIGHBORS AND PASSING MOTORISTS sprang into action Wednesday night to save a woman and an infant from a raging car fire.

KGET-TV

The incident began when a drunk driver ran a stop sign and crashed into an auto broadside that was carrying two women and the 1-yr.-old baby.  The cars both careened across the highway and broke out in flames.  Immediately a swarm of citizens converged on the burning auto and heroically beat back the flames while breaking into the car and pulling the victims out while it was in full blaze.

Robert Singleton, 47, was one of the rescuers who got thevictims out of the car. 
“We were strangers coming together to help strangers,” Singleton said. “It was pretty crazy.”

KGET-TV Ch. 17 has this video report on the rescues:

The Bakersfield Californian has a good description of the rescue efforts HERE.

Bakersfield Now has filed this video containing interviews with the primary rescuers:

The infant’s mother perished in the crash, but the baby and the other woman who was driving the car are expected to fully recover.  The drunk driver was uninjured, but he was arrested and jailed, charged with felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter.

Posted by on June 4, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,