THE BURNED OUT RESTAURANT IN PORT ORANGE, FLORIDA, that we reported on this morning HERE has yielded the charred remains of a human inside. In addition, accelerant-sniffing dogs have discovered evidence of accelerants inside the rubble.
WESH-TV has this video report on these latest revelations:
The owner of the restaurant is still missing, not having been seen since before the fire early this morning. Investigators are not able to determine if the body is that of the owner.
As I had planned (HERE), I had a day of rest in York yesterday, still in Pennsylvania. It gave me a good chance to rest up after three days of pulling my wagon down the road, and I’m glad that I did because they have a great fire museum here. It’s in an old firehouse that was built over 100 years ago and they have all kinds of neat stuff in there. They even have a working fire alarm system where you can pull the handle on the street box and watch it send the signal to the telegraph machine at the alarm center. I couldn’t reach the handle, so the nice man there held me up so that I could.
And you can’t stop in York without visiting the Harley-Davidson factory. I really liked the factory tour where I got to see them putting the fine machines together. I took one for a test drive, but it turns out that you’re not allowed to do that. Ha! I really had them wound up for a while!
Ok…I’m back on the road today, heading due south into Baltimore and should be there tomorrow. I’ll let you know when I get there.
You can catch up on F. G. Gnome’s previous reports HERE. He’s on his way to Baltimore where he will be meeting many of his friends at the Firehouse Expo this week.
IN MECHANIC FALLS, MAINE, A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER was arrested and charged with setting a fire at a restaurant yesterday (Monday). Joshua Michaud, 18, was arrested following a 7-hour investigation by the Maine State Fire Marshal’s office.
The fire was reported shortly after 3 pm Monday and the arriving units found an outside fire that was extending into the Loose Caboose Restaurant. Nine mutual aid companies assisted bringing the fire under control in 30 minutes, but not before it had caused up to $40,000 in damage to the attic area of the restaurant along with smoke damage throughout and the loss of all the foodstuffs on hand.
WMTW-TV / Herrick
Michaud, who is a member of the Minot Vol. Fire Department, posted a $500 cash bond early this morning and was released.
The Lewiston Sun Journal has the full story on the fire along with a video report HERE.
A FIRE EARLY TUESDAY MORNING SWEPT THROUGH a large farmhouse in Hesse, Germany leaving six people dead and four more injured.
DPA photo
The fire is believed to have begun on the upper floor of the multi-family residence trapping several people inside. Among the dead were a married couple, their two daughters aged 18 and 35, and a 33-year-old son. Another man, a farm hand who saved himself by jumping from the house was severely injured in the fall and died later this morning.
The family’s grandparents and two farm hands were injured. Meanwhile a 34-year-old seasonal worker from Poland was able to climb down from the top floor uninjured. The grandfather had initially escaped the blaze, but went back inside in a futile rescue attempt. He was in turn saved by the firefighters.
DPA
There were 60 firefighters from Limburg and neighboring FD’s who worked through the night to keep the fire from spreading to the nearby barns that are filled with pigs and cows. It was reported that several of the firefighters were in tears following the tragedy of their own neighbors.
Hessischer Rundfunk (HRonline) has the story and a photo gallery HERE.
BRITISH BIRD EXPERTS HAVE BEEN SHOCKED to learn that the cuckoo bird population for the nation has dropped a stunning 21% from 2008 to 2009. This is according to the Breeding Birds Survey (BBS). It has led to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to have the Cuckoos designated a ‘red-list’ species, meaning that more than half of the population has disappeared in the past 25 years.
Nature’s legendary timekeeper is
disappearing from the British Isles.
Damage to the bird’s winter habitat in West Africa and a decline in the large insect species it eats while on British soil are being blamed for the downturn, although experts still maintain there could be other reasons.
RSPB spokesman Tony Whitehead said: ‘There are two possible reasons – the first has to do with the fact that the bird is struggling in the place that it winters, because of course they’re migrants. ‘They base their winters in West Africa in an area where there’s a lot of deforestation going on, lots of change to land because of agriculture, and that brings with it all sorts of problems.
‘The second reason is that cuckoos when they come here they feast on large insects, especially caterpillars. ‘Some of those, such as the caterpillars of the Garden Tiger Moth, are species that are also declining. So it’s almost like a double whammy for the bird.’
The director of conservation for the RSPB, Dr. Mark Avery, explains it for us, along with a recorded cuckoo’s distinctive call, in this video:
Sadly, the distinctive song of the cuckoo that was once heard all over the land in the spring, is now a rarity with one portion of the UK losing 71% of its cuckoos. Read the entire STORY HERE.
Update, 5 pm: Charred body found inside burned-out building. Arson indicated also. See the Firegeezer update report along with some fresh video – CLICK HERE.
A FIRE IN A PORT ORANGE, FLORIDA, RESTAURANT EARLY Tuesday morning burned out the restaurant and caused enough damage to the rest of the small shopping plaza to declare it a total loss.
photo by Jason Wheeler
Volusia County investigators say that the fire began in the Biscuits ‘n’ Gravy restaurant sometime around 1 am. When the first units from Port Orange FD arrived at 1:27, the restaurant was already fully involved. Units from New Smyrna Beach were called to assist. The shops had firewalls between them, but they don’t extend into the common attic area and the fire damage extended through the entire structure.
Jason Wheeler photo
The fire was out by 6 am, but units are still on the scene for hot spots. The state fire marshal office is also on the scene beginning their investigation.
Central Florida News has the early story and more photos HERE.
A LARGE FIRE IN A WAREHOUSE JUST WEST OF ROME, ITALY, Monday completely destroyed the facility and threatened a nearby shopping center along with other warehouses located in the same complex.
No explanation was given for this unique ladder evolution
that is shown in the video report below.
The fire began at mid-day in the Bricofer warehouse while all the employees were outside on their lunch break. It is not yet known what caused it, but it began in the paint storage area and spread rapidly before the arrival of the Vigili del Fuoco (fire department). Bricofer is a chain of 90 do-it-yourself stores throughout Italy.
Extra FD’s were brought in to contain the fire that was immediately threatening a Toys “R” Us warehouse located next to the Bricofer facility. Initially the fire was traveling so fast that there was fear that it might spread into the L’intero shopping center and it was evacuated as a precaution.
This raw video was provided by TVReporter:
The fire was extinguished by 8 pm Monday night and the Bricofer warehouse was completely destroyed. No reports yet on damages to the neighboring buildings.
The digital explosion keeps on truckin’. Have you heard about something called “WiFi Direct”? It’s the next biggg thing coming along that will cause millions of us to throw away perfectly good laptop computers and run out to buy replacements with this latest magical gadget.
WiFi Direct is a new standard that will soon be switching computers and peripherals onto wireless systems that will communicate directly with each other and not be reliant on a base station signal generator. The first one to go into service, showing up now, is a micro-chip called the Ozmo2000. It’s a wifi transmitter that will talk to any other computer or device that also has one, effectively setting up spontaneous local networks.
The Ozmo2000 is currently only available on laptops that have Windows 7 installed. But it’s expected to be installed on keyboards, mice, and other small devices and be on store shelves early next year. It’s kinda like those Bluetooth personal networks that some people are using already, but WiFi Direct standard has a higher bandwidth, longer range, and is more secure than the Bluetooth standard.
This means, for example, that cell phones will be able to connect to one another via ad-hoc WiFi networks for data transfers or simple push notifications. Walking by a neighborhood cafe could mean you’re pushed a coupon for a free coffee, for instance, or driving by the community theater could mean that you get a flyer for upcoming shows.
Also, in theory, keyboards could start connecting to keyboards, headsets to headsets, keyboards to printers, iPods to wireless mice, etc. It’ll be like the apocalypse, with all manner of unholy couplings.
I can understand how these networked machines will be able to freely exchange data in an office or work station, for example. But with me being a digital dunce, I don’t quite grasp where the first if these networked devices will be getting the internet signal from if you want to work through that, too. Does this have something to do with “cloud” computing? Sometimes I think that’s where my head is.
Not long after we posted the update to the brush fire in Yakima County, Washington, with a photo of the fire engine that was burned up in the blaze, a local scanner site posted the radio traffic of the event and we updated the update by adding a link to the fireground radio tapes. The three firefighters escaped with just some minor burns and some smoke. You’ll find our posting HERE(or just scroll down to the next posting).
It’s time to get our own equipment checked out now. How long until our ever-lengthening check sheet will have a box for “WiFi” added to it? I’ll go get the coffee started. Can’t do that from my cellphone, either. See you back in the day room.
Update, 11 pm: Yakima Scanner Live has the archived radio traffic of the burning of Eng. 31 HERE.
THE BRUSH FIRE IN YAKIMA COUNTY, WASHINGTON, that overran and burned a fire engine last night is now 15% contained. See the Firegeezer report from this morning HERE.
The carcass of West Valley FD Engine 31 lays in the burn zone after being overrun
Sunday night. The engine is valued at $400,000. (Herald-Republic photo)
The winds have diminished enough that the fire is not spreading right now. West Valley Fire Chief Dave Leitch said “The fire is not aggressively burning. We are trying to support our control lines, refortify and start mopup around structures.”
All evacuations have been lifted and residents are being permitted back into their homes. A re-evaluation of the damaged area disclosed that only two homes were burned instead of the three reported earlier. Firefighters from several other counties were brought in today to relieve the exhausted crews that worked all night. All efforts are directed toward controlling the 15-mile perimeter of the fire.
IN KONGSVINGER, NORWAY LAST TUESDAY, A MOOSE CALF suddenly came crashing through the window of a florist shop, sending staff and shoppers running. The beast then wandered next door to a bakery leaving a trail of minor destruction behind before it visited a small grocery.
It soon became bored and dashed back out to the street where it took off for parts unknown. The CCTV cameras in the shopping plaza caught part of the unscheduled visit:
* * * * *
IN MAINE, 27-YR.-OLD CHRISTOPHER MILLER of New Brunswick, Canada, died on July 10 after the car he was riding in struck a moose on the Maine Turnpike in York. According to Maine State Police, Miller died after the vehicle hit a moose standing in the Turnpike’s southbound lane. Police say the car rolled over several times before landing against a tree.
The driver of the vehicle, Andrew McDonald, 28, suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Maine Medical Center. Another passenger in the back seat suffered only cuts and bruises. The three people were traveling from New Brunswick to Massachusetts to attend a concert.
* * * * *
THE CANADIAN PRESS IS REPORTING THAT A 66-yr.-old man is dead after the car he was driving collided with a moose near Welsford, New Brunswick, on Sunday night. Two passengers, one with serious injuries, were taken to hospital for treatment.
Police say all were wearing seatbelts and alcohol is not believed to be a factor. The road was wet at the time of the collision.
* * * * *
A 500-POUND MOOSE WANDERED into the heart of Greenfield, Massachusetts, Friday and decided to camp out in the center grass plot of a traffic circle. Considering that traffic in Massachusetts is already bad enough without the young bull charging cars in the roundabout, animal wardens tranquilized the beast and hauled him back to his patch.
WWLP-TV Ch. 22 got the video:
* * * * *
WCSH-TV Ch. 6 Portland, Maine, reported last week (here) that the Maine State Police are warning drivers to use caution in Kennebunk after two moose were spotted near I-95 in Kennebunk.
They initially responded at 7 am Tuesday, then shot and killed one of the moose. The other ran off. If the moose returns, the plan is to shoot that one, too.
* * * * *
THE TOWN OF VAIL, COLORADO, has been reporting moose sightings recently as at least one pair of cow and calf have decided to camp in the area while the calf grows to maturity. Residents have been concerned because of the erratic behavior of the cow, most likely due to her protective instinct when she feels her calf is threatened.
Officials are telling people to keep their distance from the wild beasts and the town’s thoroughly-yuppified police sergeant tells them, “Our goal is to have a peaceful interface, where people can appreciate the presence of moose, but keep their distance.”
A moose cow and her calf feed in a watering hole in the backyard of a house next to the Gore Creek Wednesday in Vail Village.
Several onlookers reported seeing the cow charge around the area, possibly to protect her young.
(Vail Daily / Taylor photo)
The complete set of instructions and the story can be found in the Vail Daily HERE.
* * * * *
From Grand Junction, Colorado, The Daily Sentinel is reporting:
One of Colorado’s most-charismatic animals will have its day July 31 when the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service celebrate Grand Mesa Moose Day.
Activities will include moose viewing information, presentations about moose biology and moose history, presentations on how biologists transplant and track moose, and a puppet show.
Family and kid-friendly events and giveaways are planned throughout the day. All activities are free.
Events will be from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center atop Grand Mesa on Colorado Highway 65.
For earlier moose reports, click on “Moose Report” in the Categories list on the right sidebar.
IN GILLETTE, WYOMING, DAVID EVERETT SMITH, 22, was sentenced to serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to blowing up an outhouse in the Weston Hills Federal Recreation Area last year.
The explosion destroyed the vaulted outhouse and led to a month-long closure of the camping facility. Smith and four other men used an oxygen tank, acetylene, fire extinguishers and several Molotov cocktails to cause the explosion, according to the prosecutor. The Gillette News-Recordreports:
Prosecutor Bill Eichelberger recommended a prison sentence of two to five years but suggested that Smith be sent to a six-month boot camp in Newcastle rather than the state penitentiary.
District Judge Michael “Nick” Deegan said Smith appears to have learned his lesson, but believes he should serve time behind bars. Deegan sentenced him to serve two to five years in prison, then suspended the prison term in favor of a six-month jail sentence.
Update, 5 pm: Updated report with photo of Eng. 31 HERE.
A WILDFIRE WEST OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON, sprang up Sunday afternoon and has grown overnight. The fire has burned down at least three homes and many outbuildings as high winds drive it and expand the burn area. One fire engine was destroyed as the fire moved over it early in the operation. By Sunday evening it had grown to 10,000 acres. There were 200 firefighters working the blaze Sunday night with another 100 expected to arrive Monday morning.
The blaze started as a small brush fire at 2401 Cowiche Mill Road in Cowiche Canyon across from the Cowiche Creek Nursery. Flames were first reported about 2:30 p.m. Heavy winds prompted the fire to travel southwest over the hillside into the West Valley area. Firefighters estimated wind speeds at 20 and 25 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
The flames engulfed West Valley fire engine 31 and sent three firefighters to an area hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Shelters were not deployed, but (West Valley FD Chief) Leitch said the engine is lost.
Engine 31 before yesterday.
Richard Andring, public information officer for the West Valley fire department, said the fire will continue through today, with containment efforts taking another couple days. The fire is approaching an area that contains a gravel pit and the fire lines are being created with the purpose of directing the fire toward that area.
Wildfire helicopter dips into a fruit orchard reservoir.
(Herald-Republic photo)
IN THE WEST BENGAL REGION OF INDIA, an express passenger train rammed into the rear of another passenger train that was stopped Monday morning. The massive pile-up of rail cars has left dozens dead with the latest death toll at 60 and rising.
Injuries are approaching 100 as rescuers are finished their search for victims. All efforts now are directed toward clearing the wreckage. It is not yet known what caused the two trains to end up on the same track or why the express did not know that the track was occupied ahead.
CNN has forwarded some raw video taken at the crash site:
The New Delhi Chronicle has the early STORY.
The Hindustan Times has MORE.
It was just a few years ago that there was a lot of activity in the aviation industry as Boeing and Airbus were going head-to-head in the race to create the next generation of commercial airliners. The Airbus A380 was already in production, but was years behind schedule as design problems combined with assembly glitches kept setting them back. If memory serves me right (and often it doesn’t), Boeing had completely scrapped its plans for a plane similar to the A380 just as it was about to go into production.
Instead, Boeing (now don’t quote me) saw the potential for the massive cost overruns that beset Airbus and switched its focus instead to a smaller, but more efficient, plane labeled 787. Boeing predicted, accurately as it turned out, that demands for new aircraft would become focused on smaller cabins (ie: fewer passengers) and a craving for more fuel-efficient performance. So it was back to the legendary drawing boards while work was accelerated on working with new, lighter metal alloys and engine design.
Airbus meanwhile decided to stick with their original plan and began filling orders for the A380. Unfortunately for the company, the losses incurred in the building of the plane have saddled them with huge amounts of debt.
Yesterday at the beginning of a major airshow in Farnborough, England, Boeing’s test pilots completed a 9-hour flight from Seattle in one of the five 787 prototypes and put it on display for the major aircraft owners and buyers of the world. And they started taking orders with expectations of deliveries beginning early next year. Here’s a video report on yesterday’s touchdown at the airshow:
Back on the ground here, we had better get our older model jumbo firetrucks and ambulances checked out. I’m going to go start the coffee. See you back in the day room.
Visit us at Booth #738 in the exhibit hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Well, I made it to Harrisburg by yesterday afternoon (as I had hoped). I paused to look at Pennsylvania’s beautiful state capital building. From what I hear, the inside is absolutely gorgeous. I hope to stop again on my way back home next week and take the tour through the capital.
I’m leaving here this morning and heading due south to York. It’s not too far from here and it will give me a chance to rest up after those two long days of pulling my wagon. I want to be in good shape when I get to the Expo. I’ll check back with you tomorrow, so keep a look out for me.
You can catch up on F. G. Gnome’s previous reports HERE. He’s on his way to Baltimore where he will be meeting many of his friends at the Firehouse Expo this week.
* The Backstep Firefighter has posted some “Cliff’s Notes” on fire forum etiquette HERE. I’m sure you know somebody who would benefit from it.
* STATter911 has a good example of why you should appreciate your SCBA HERE.
* The Fire Critic has a brief plug for regional fire sites, including a couple of new ones, that might help you understand how they function HERE.
* SConFire has the story of a truck accident that was described as “right out of a horror movie” and “the worst I’ve ever seen.” It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true and you can read it HERE.
* A lot of our readers like to keep up with aerial tanker stuff. Wildfire Today has a good story on a newly-redesigned tanker that recently was used for the first time HERE.
Jason Green. 32, was shot outside of the Greenhouse club in SoHo (Manhattan) at 5 am this morning.
Green was one of two FDNY EMTs who allegedly failed to help Eutisha Revee’ Rennix in a coffee shop near FDNY headquarters last December 9th.
DelMundo for Daily News
The six month pregnant Au Bon Pain employee died hours later, complications from an asthma attack.
Green, a FDNY employee since November 2003, was suspended without pay for 30 days.
The New York Post provides updated details
Jason Green and a friend were trying to get into Greenhouse, a popular club on Varick Street in Soho. about 5 a.m. when bouncers turned them away because Green’s friend wasn’t properly dressed, officials said.
Moments later, about a block away from the club, Green and his friend got into a dispute with an armed man who stepped out of a car at Vandam and Hudson streets and fired at least two shots, police said. Green was hit two times in the torso and later died at New York Downtown Hospital.
Until recently, stocking and serving draft brew in a pressurized cabin was problematic and not viable, causing too much foam inside the container. But ANA has worked out the problem by utilizing new keg technology that compensates for air pressure variances.
Initially, the service will be limited to flights within Japan. The airline said the draft beer will cost about $11.30 per glass and 20 cups will be available on each domestic flight, the maximum capacity of the new keg. Tokyo to Okinawa flights, however, will have two kegs (40 cups of beer) on board.
AN AMBULANCE BELONGING TO THE TERRYVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT on Long Island, New York, was stolen Friday morning from the loading dock at a Long Island hospital. The ambulance crew had just taken a patient into the emergency room.
Police say that a 30-yr.-old Brooklyn man took the ambulance from the John Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. He was located quickly and taken into custody 15 minutes later about a mile from the hospital. He is expected to be charged with grand larceny in the second degree. The police say that the ambulance driver had left the keys in the ignition while he went inside with the patient.
IN WHAT IS A SEMI-MONTHLY OCCURRENCE, another coal mine in China was the site of a fatal fire late Saturday night. At least 28 miners were killed after electrical cables caught fire late Saturday night at the Xiaonangou coal mine in Hancheng city, Xinhua News reported. The owner of the mine has been arrested and is being detained (standard practice there).
Extinguishment efforts are continuing underground.
An investigation has been started while the mine rescue team is still retrieving the victims from the colliery. Five bodies have been recovered, but the others cannot be reached until the underground fire is extinguished, hopefully sometime today.
Rescuers wait for the fire to be put out before attempting
the search for the other 23 suspected victims.
Earlier yesterday another eight coal miners were killed in a blaze in a pit in Henan province. It has been a safe month though, nearly four weeks have passed since an explosion killed 47 coal miners at a privately-owned mine in Henan’s Pingdingshan city when a store of gunpowder kept underground detonated on June 21.
The human animal sure can drive you crazy sometimes. People who are otherwise considered to be intelligent creatures able to communicate and accumulate knowledge just continue to ignore all that they’ve been told when it comes to fire prevention. Yesterday we reported on still another major fire started by careless roofers (here). In the past month we have seen several of those.
Ever since the oil-fired blowtorch was invented a hundred years or so ago, roofers and painters have been systematically burning down homes, hotels and churches all over the world. There are two basic rules involved when you use open flames in those conditions, one is to have a standby extinguishing source, such as a small water hose, on hand at all times for use if something catches on fire. The other is to have somebody stay behind on “fire watch” for several hours in case something was left smoldering unnoticed when the day’s work was finished.
Just in the last couple of years I can recall at least two extremely costly fires that resulted from the lack of a fire watch. One is the fire that destroyed a major portion of the Universal Studios’ outdoor lots and severely hurt their production capability. The other was a new condominium complex in Pennsylvania not far from Philadelphia where several large apartment buildings were destroyed just because a welder packed up and went home without leaving somebody to watch the work zone for a few hours.
The thing is, they all know better. Not only has it been drummed into their heads for years, but in most places it is also legally mandated. But they still switch the common-sense accessory to “off” and don’t bother because it’s never been a problem for them previously. It’s not much different than the seemingly futile campaign to install and maintain home smoke detectors. Everybody has heard about them, too. But for too many people, the smoke detector is primarily regarded as a convenient source for video game batteries. Some firefighters just call that “job security.”
We’d better watch our own security and get this equipment checked out now. I’m going to see how the Sunday breakfast is coming along and get some more coffee started. See you back in the day room in a little while.
An elderly man accused of shooting up a Madison Avenue store while on an oxygen tank was killed in a car crash in Maryland yesterday.
Arthur Williams, believed to be in his 70s, opened fire on the men’s suit shop Sarar on July 9th before jumping into his black Cadillac and riding off.
He robbed two hotels in Maryland last Sunday, and led police in a car chase before veering off the road and crashing into a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Perhaps a car chase was just one of the things on his bucket list?
The Record Herald details Arthur Williams last heist:
(hmm, The Record Herald attended the same headling-writing seminar that Dave “STATter911″ did!)
An Alabama man died in a crash following a high-speed chase on U.S. 40 after Maryland State Police said he robbed the Hancock Super 8 Motel at gunpoint and tried to rob the Sleep Inn and Suites in Clear Spring early Sunday morning.
Arthur Williams, 63, of Gadsden, Ala., was pronounced dead at the scene around 4 a.m. Sunday after Maryland State Police pursued him for more than two miles on U.S. 40.
The chase started around 3:55 a.m. Sunday and reached speeds of 119 miles per hour between Clear Spring and Hagerstown, according to police.
Gadsden (Ala.) Police Capt. Jeff Wright said Monday that Arthur Williams, 63, of Gadsden, was a suspect in the July 1 robbery of the Family Loan Co. in Gadsden.
Wright said Williams was in poor health and had to undergo kidney dialysis twice a week.
Alton said Williams had an extensive criminal record in New York, including weapons and armed robbery charges.
“His (criminal) history goes back to 1971,” Alton said.
Williams had been incarcerated in the New York Department of Correctional Services, Alton said, and was released most recently in July 2009.
Not sure what is on Bill’s bucket list, but robbing a Super 8 motel is not on mine!
A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY think there is. They have been successful in their initial experiments using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) as a subsitute for helicopters when doing aerial searches for missing or lost people in wildland areas. New Scientist magazine is reporting:
Michael Goodrich, Lanny Lin and colleagues at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, took a commercially available propeller-driven plane with a 1.2-metre wingspan, optimised for low-speed flight, and adapted it to both fly and search autonomously. Their idea is to provide SAR teams with a cheap alternative to helicopters, and one that can be used even in the perilous weather conditions that can ground helicopter-led rescue missions.
A similar-sized military UAV.
Without any piloting experience, an SAR operator can direct the plane to an area they want to search by clicking way-points on a computerised map, Goodrich says. The craft can also work autonomously to conduct search missions even if it is fed less specific information, such as a missing person’s last known position. To do so it uses computerised maps of the area to analyse the terrain and relies on probabilistic models to work out the missing person’s most likely routes.
Experienced SAR team leaders already read the landscape to determine in which areas to focus the search effort and in what order of priority, says Ron Zeeman, a seasoned member of Utah County Sheriff Search and Rescue. Zeeman helped Goodrich’s team develop the algorithms that allow their autonomous UAV to do the same.
In trials, operators using the craft have taken between 35 and 150 minutes to find a dummy dumped in the wilderness – fast enough to impress Zeeman. “If we could use it right now, I would,” he says.
The full report on the reseachers’ work will be presented at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Atlanta, Georgia, this week. You can read the full story from the New Scientist HERE.
TWO OIL PIPELINES EXPLODED AND ERUPTED IN FLAMES in the Chinese port city of Dalian, Liaoning Province, on Friday evening when an initial blast ruptured one pipeline and led to the explosive failure of another one. The explosions also destroyed the valves on the pipelines preventing them from being shut down and cutting off the massive flow of oil into the inferno.
More than 2,000 firefighters and 338 fire engines (* an equivalent of 100 alarms in No. American terminology) from 14 surrounding cities swarmed into the city and fought the blaze for 15 hours before they had it extinguished. The port is isolated from any residential areas and there were no reports of any life loss.
During the operation the government loaded up several air freighters with foam supplies for the effort and flew them to Dalian.
The state-run television CCTV has provided this raw video via CNN of the fire:
The ruptured pipelines also spewed out untold quantities of crude oil into the harbor and the government is working today to contain and clean up an oil spill that covers 50 sq. km. off of Xingang Harbor.
The Xinjua News Agency has extensive coverage, photos and more videos HERE.
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