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I keep wanting a cup …

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Today's Google Doodle

… today’s Google Doodle was created in celebration of what would have been Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen’s 200th birthday.

Bunsen was a chemist who discovered the elements caesium and rubidium, and he invented the Bunsen cell battery, according to The Telegraph. He also invented — surprise, surprise — the Bunsen burner.

Head over to Google.com to check out the Doodle, which bubbles and boils like the real deal — sans noxious odors.

Google doodle post

NOT related to George Bunn. famed creator of the Bunn-O-Matic.

 

Or Doctor Bunsen Honeydew from another dimension.

Honeydew is known for the Beaker Burner.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , ,

Looking Back

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Fire Engineering – October 1959

Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: Looking Back • Tagged:

Double Barn Burner in New Hampshire

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Several Vehicles and Many Chickens Lost

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE ON WEDNESDAY destroyed two barns that were described as "hundreds of years old' along with their contents in North Hampton, New Hampshire.  The barns were only a few feet from the house and the heat from the fire was beginning to melt siding and crack window panes when the fire department arrived.

WMUR-TV

The fire station is just 7 miles away, yet when they arrived the barns were already beyond saving.  The responding departments set up a water supply and concentrated on successfully preventing the exposure from burning.  They had the fire knocked down in about an hour.  One of the barns held 5 motorcycles, a boat, and several cars including a Model A truck and an old Jeep.

The other barn was used by a tenant who raised chickens and kept them inside.  He used warming lamps to keep the chickens warm and there is a possibility that was the cause of the fire.

WMUR-TV has prepared this video report:

 

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Airport Tragedy in Florida

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Weather Cell Hits Air Show

A SEVERE WEATHER SYSTEM THAT SWEPT through central Florida along the Tampa – Orlando axis struck an airport crowded with visitors to an annual air show.  The cell that went over the Lakeland Linder Airport had tornado-like winds and destroyed a hanger as well as flipping over more than 30 light planes that were tied down.

TV Ch. 10

Early reports said that 70 people may have been trapped in the hanger, but now it appears that they were spectators who fled into the partially-collapsed building seeking shelter after it came down.  The Polk County Sheriff is now saying that nobody is trapped.  There were at least 7 spectators injured, however, but they type and extent of the injuries is not yet known.

The festival is the Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In & Expo, a six-day event that benefits the Florida Air Museum.  Several large tents are also set up on the grounds as part of the presentation.  Early reports say that the damage is extensive, with flipped planes, tents torn apart and trees that landed on recreational vehicles.

Update, Friday AM:
Channel 13 is reporting that the Sun 'n' Fun festival will reopen today after an all-night cleanup and repair project.

Officials reported seven people who were under the tent were transported to the Lakeland Regional Medical Center for treatment. Those people were treated for minor injuries. No one was seriously injured.

Police said the damage at the festival was extensive, with flipped planes, tents torn apart and trees that landed on recreational vehicles. About 40 planes were damaged in the storm, in which at least one official tornado was confirmed.

But after a night of cleaning thanks to a lot of event workers and volunteers, the Sun 'n Fun will be open today. The daily airshows and the rest of the planned weekend events through Sunday are still on.

Brady Lane photo

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: aircraft, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues • Tagged:

Chillicothe Still Coming Up Short

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Firehouse Declared a Life Hazard

SIX WEEKS AGO FIREGEEZER REPORTED on the Chillicothe, Ohio, Fire Department dropping back to just one fire station in service for the first time since 1881.  (article HERE.)  Now it turns out that their final outpost of protection has been cited by the State Fire Marshal for having an inoperable sprinkler system and fire detection / alarm system.

Chillicothe Fire Station (Google Street View)

Over the past year the city has laid off five firefighters and closed two of their three stations in order to keep a semblance of minimum staffing which can drop to two for the sole engine if both ambulances are on a call.  One of the on-duty FF's is assigned to dispatch duty.  When the department was consolidated into the main station on Water St. there were plans to bring it up to code.  But the sprinkler system, which has been out of service for at least a year, wasn't repaired.  So somebody dropped a dime on the city and complained to the fire marshal.  That triggered an inspection last week and ended with a compliance order to get it fixed and, until it's repaired, maintain a fire watch in the station.  The Columbus Dispatch reports:

The fire-detection and alarm system at the main station downtown on Water Street hasn't worked for at least a year, perhaps longer. And, the sprinkler system had not been inspected.

To avoid being ordered to vacate its only station, the department now must assign firefighters – who can perform no other duties – to a 24/7 "fire watch."

The state fire marshal's office put the fire department on notice last week that it must correct three fire-code violations or face fines of up to $1,000 per violation per day.

Until (the detection and alarm system is) installed, a firefighter will continue to stand "fire watch." When the department has 10 or more firefighters on duty, one will be assigned on his regular shift to stand guard. When only nine firefighters, the minimum staffing, are on duty, an additional firefighter will be paid overtime to repeatedly walk from the basement to the second floor and back.

On Patrol, 24 hrs. every day

Columbus TV Channel 4 takes us for a walk with the watchman in this video report:

 

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, fire stations, Firefighter Safety & Health, Videos • Tagged: ,

Calling them FEMS will not improve out-of-hospital emergency medical care

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Email copied to each DC Council member:

Councilmember Phil Mendelson
Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary

Chairman Mendelson:

I appreciate your dedication to focus the fire department on its EMS mission.

I have to share a frustration with the effort to ban "DCFD" and the eagle/badge emblem.

The majority of employees that staff the ambulance in 2011 are dual role firefighter/emt and firefighter/medics.

This is a significant change from the single-role ems employees staffing transport units before the 2007 EMS Task Force.

The other symbolic change since 2007 was in the paint scheme of the ambulances. From white with red/blue stripes to a white over red scheme designed to make them look more like fire department units.

A decision maker within the fire and ems department said the change was made to make ambulance duty "more palatible" to the dual role firefighter/medics and firefighter/emts that staff the units.

Every big city fire department is involved in EMS first response, most also operate the ambulance service.

None of those with ambulances have felt the need to change the identity of the fire department.

Not FDNY (New York City), LAFD (Los Angeles City), Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami-Dade, St. Louis, Memphis, Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas or Houston.

I get the symbolism, and that it was one of the EMS Task Force recommendations.

I also remember the excitement and efforts of the members of the fire and ems department to get the gold eagle/badge logo on the rigs and on the uniforms as soon as they could. Many of the uniform patches, t-shirts and decals were direct employee purchases.

Part of the emergency service lifestyle is that many employees buy additional shirts, t-shirts, "job-shirts" and jackets that proudly proclaim their affiliation with a storied and proud emergency service agency.  Outlawing the wearing of DCFD branded clothing creates a personal financial impact on the employee.

It is fiscally imprudent to require a massive change of decals, uniform patches and uniform shirts – it will NOT change employee attitudes or symbolize to the public a change in focus or dedication of the firefighters, ems providers and civilians who make up the fire and ems department.

A recurrent tradition is that a new fire chief "marks" his territory by changing the color of the fire trucks or the uniform patch.

I am confident that Chief Ellerbe does not need to make the same type of marking to assure fire department focus on EMS.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  sent March 29          >>>>>>>>>>>>

When Chief Rubin reinstated the golden eagle/ badge logo in 2007, it was altered to reflect the EMS component.

Noticed that many of the news reports used the older version of the logo that did not show the changes. 

Hmmm

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , ,

Houston Mayor Wants to Create Long-Term Problem in Order to Balance Budget

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And of Course It Requires Public Safety Employees to Suffer For It

THE MAYOR OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, Annise Parker has already told the fire department to whack $22 million from its budget for next year, a proposal that can only be met with a high number of layoffs.  This past Tuesday her administration offered a deal by saying that if the city cut back on its mandated contribution to the police and firefighters' pension plans, then those savings could be used to offset other budget cuts that the mayor asked for.

Mayor Parker

The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday:

City Attorney David Feldman and Finance Director Kelly Dowe already have asked firefighter pension executives to accept $14 million less than the city's obligation to the pension system for the fiscal year that begins July 1. They plan to ask police for cuts as well, they said.

"We asked them to work with us to determine whether we could reduce the amount paid in, and I pledged that concessions made would offset cuts made to the fire department," Parker said Tuesday.

Firefighter pension leaders who met with Feldman and Dowe at City Hall late last week said they were told that the city would be laying off between 200 and 300 firefighters, as well as closing some stations. They talked of the administration's desire to reduce the pension payment by $14 million during the same discussion.

"We feel like it's an ultimatum. The result is, from their perspective, to make the pension plan look bad so they can pass their budget," said Christopher Gonzales, executive director and chief investment officer of the Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund. "They're balancing the budget on the backs of the firefighters, and that's unfair."

In Houston it's the pension board and not the city council that determines the amount that needs to be provided each year based on actuarial results that show how much is required to maintain the funds' future obligations.

One public finance expert, John Diamond told the Chronicle, "If you don't pay it now, you're just going to have to pay more later. Basically, they are kicking the can down the road so politically they look good." 

Read the entire article in the Chronicle HERE.

Firegeezer notes that this same type of procrastination is what has already put so many states' finances in the tank.  And rather than eliminate non-essential functions, they blackmail the citizens by eliminating public health and safety obligations.

Hat tip:  Jack R.

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – March 31

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Thursday Morning – End of the Month Already

It's supposed to be Spring, but it's still snowing in a lot of places.  Didn't that groundhog tell us that it would be an early Spring this year?  I think it's time to retire him, bury him in his burrow and get a new critter.

One thing for certain, brush season is here on time.  Florida and Oklahoma have been battling the brush this month with their usual lead-off to the dry season that begins in mid-February down there.  Up North the late snowfalls usually prolong the start of their brush season until about now.  Unfortunately, the Kent Fire Department in Connecticut kicked off their season by sacrificing their tank truck to the fire gods yesterday.

Waterbury Republican-American

At least I think it's their tanker.  Comparing the photo with those on their website it appears to be their 2,000 gal., 1991 Mack/Boardman.  If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.  I noticed that it melted the snow off the trees on the left, but not on the right side of the photo.  It's always sad to see any fire engine caught up like that.

Speaking of embarrassing moments, loyal reader Mark Donovan sent us this ARTICLE from New Hampshire about some firefighters who were using their allotted physical fitness time to play floor hockey and one of them got whacked in the knee with a hockey stick.  It hurt for a while, but he didn't need any treatment other than "Motrin and ice" for a little while.  But no lost time or injury report.  And yet there is some knucklehead in the Manchester Fire Department who thought it would be cool to blab to the newspaper about it.  And as papers are wont to do when space needs filling, the Union Leader tried to make a story out of nothing and started calling the chiefs for comment.  The motormouth who spilled the non-story must have been on the losing team.  Well, he's a loser alright.

But we're still winning here, so let's get this equipment checked out for today.  I'm going to make some more coffee while I'm still on top.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup

Code 3 Needs To Detour

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….When the Engine Trouble Light Comes On

Arriving in St. Louis approaching the State Capital and the Gateway Arch.

We haven't received the photos from the St. Louis stop yet, so we'll catch up with those later.  Lorenzo had a great visit with the St. Louis Firefighters, but because of a warning light on the engine coming on, he decided to head straight for the Sutphen plant in Dublin, Ohio, to take care of the engine,  We know how important it is to take care of our equipment. Unfortunately, we had to skip a couple of our planned visits.  

Taking a break with the big-rigs

Lorenzo can tell that God is watching over him

Long drive headed East on the 28th and ended up spending the night in a motel in Centerville, Indiana.    

From there it was an easy drive on to Dublin and our friends at Sutphen. 

Alissa is our angel at Sutphen and she takes good care of us. 

They are putting Lorenzo up in a nice motel while they go through the engine to make sure nothing is wrong with it.  So with a layover on the 30th,  Wednesday was a down day with the layover in Dublin.  Lorenzo rode around with the duty BC to visit the stations and talk with the on duty guys there. 

Dublin B.C. 91

Springtime in Ohio

This is a great chance to rest up a bit and do some baking for the guys.  The way to get a fire fighters attention is to feed them right.  Retired Chief Gene Bostic took care of Lorenzo and set him up with his ride for the day and a place to bake the California Vanilla Bread. 

Lorenzo and Chief Bostic

Baking California Vanilla Bread

They liked it!

Lorenzo will be back on the road Thursday morning to continue the mission.

Thank goodness for Waffle House!

Lorenzo had a special self-treat when the Mission Engine passed the 12,000 mile mark

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Upcoming Schedule

March 31 – East Allen Township, Pennsylvania (two nights)

April 2 – Plainview, Long Island, New York

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Posted by on March 31, 2011 • Filed under: charity • Tagged: ,

Just As We Thought … The Stuff Really Does Burn

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When Rasheed Gets Mad, He Goes

A STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, MAN is under arrest and in jail today after settling an argument with his girlfriend with a display of unique arson skills.  Police say that Rasheed Harrison, 24, became so upset with his girlfriend, who is carrying their unborn child, that he stepped out of her apartment into the hallway, smeared his own excrement on the door of her apartment, and set it on fire.

A little bit of Rasheed was left behind after he
was hauled off to the hoosegow Sunday.
(Staten Island Advance photo)

The flaming metal door temporarily trapped the woman, two other young children of hers, and another adult inside the apartment.  He was arrested at the scene and taken to jail.  The Daily News continues with the story:

But he wasn't done yet, authorities said.

Harrison relieved himself inside a cell at the 120th Precinct stationhouse and decorated the walls there with his excrement, forcing police to take him to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric observation.

He was later charged with arson, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child, said a spokesman for Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Harrison, whose nickname is Illuminati, told police he was angry at his ex-girlfriend because she stole his cell.

The Staten Island Advance has the full story with all the poop HERE and they are expected to be getting a Pulitzer Prize for being the first newspaper to successfully manage inserting the phrase "fecal rampage" in the headline of a family newspaper.

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged:

Around the Fire Web

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Some Good Stories on Other Websites That We Like

*  The con artist that the District of Columbia hired as fire chief decided to try and change the way the citizens refer to the Fire Department.  He wants to be called "FEMS" from now on.  Good luck with that.  Dave Statter explains why that kind of nonsense doesn't get very far in his ESSAY HERE on STATter911 today.

*  Just over a month ago we referenced HERE to a unique situation in a Chicago suburb where an autonomous fire district decided to dump their mutual aid agreement and contract out their fire protection to a private company.  ChicagoAreaFire has just posted an update to that story HERE.  It looks like they'll be set to go on May 1.

*  Smitty at Boron Extrication says he was in extrication heaven at last week's FDIC.  He brought back the photos to prove it HERE.

*  The Iron Fireman is glad to be back home, but he has a lot of good things to say about the FDIC, too.  CLICK HERE to get his unique look at the happenings in Indy.

*  The Backstep Firefighter tells us today about the retirement of a legendary fire photographer HERE.

*  Wildfire Today has a different story about a film documentary that has been released that tells the story of an all-female wildfire crew HERE.

*  And…some good news for Misty 3K fans!  From now through Saturday, Amazon.com is offering 57% off on selected titles of Mystery Science Theater: 3000.  So CLICK HERE to check it out and order YOURS before Sunday.

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Blogs, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged:

Chief Goes Bonkers at Fire Scene – Gets Arrested As Sheriff Takes Over Command

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Tried To Tell Fire Units to "Let it Burn"

A VELARDE, NEW MEXICO, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF, Eddie Velarde came unglued at a brush fire Tuesday and began telling the fire units on the scene to pack up and leave it to burn.  The Associated Press is reporting that Velarde was screaming and calling in reports that people were trapped and to send more units when the fire wasn't anywhere near any structures.  Then he called for a mass evacuation of the area around the 3-acre fire.

KOB-TV image

Deputies with the Rio Arriba County Sheriffs Department say they tried to tell Velarde to calm down repeatedly as he challenged them to arrest him.  At that point they did and the ranking deputy took over the fire scene.  The fire was extinguished 15 minutes later.

Velarde was booked on a disorderly conduct charge and released later Tuesday.

KOB-TV posted this video report Tuesday evening:

 

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: ,

Doughnut Shop Goes Up In a Blaze

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Ice-Making Machine Makes Fire Instead

A PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA, DUNKIN DONUTS outlet was burned out early Wednesday morning when an ice machine changed course and began making flames instead.  Just before 3:40 am the night crew discovered a fire in or near the ice-making machine.  They unplugged the unit and tried to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but conditions rapidly deteriorated instead.  They immediately evacuated and called 9-1-1.

Sun Coast News

When the Palm Harbor FD arrived, the fire was showing and starting through the roof.  With the assistance of two mutual aid departments, they had the fire knocked down in an hour.  The Dunkin shop shares a building with a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store that was also destroyed by the fire.  WTSP-TV reports:

The store, which also includes a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop, was set to hold a fundraiser next month involving the very firefighters who responded to the scene.

Palm Harbor firefighters were planning to serve 31 cent scoops of ice cream on April 27th to raise money for the Fallen Firefighters Memorial.

WTSP-TV also prepared this early video report this morning:

 

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Fire In The Firehouse

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Blaze Classed  as "Suspicious"

A SUSPICIOUS FIRE MONDAY NIGHT completely destroyed a Houston County, Tennessee, fire station along with the two trucks that were kept there.

Houston County Fire Chief David Hardin looks over what's left
of the McKinnon fire station.  (Clarksville Leaf Chronicle photo)

The McKinnon firehouse was first seen on fire at 11 pm Monday night and was already full ablaze when the first calls to 9-1-1 started pouring in to dispatch.

Houston County Fire Chief David Hardin said that one of the firetrucks was a 2,000-gallon tanker bought by the county for $20,000 just last year, and the other was a 1972 utility vehicle that was in good working condition.

WTVF-TV Ch. 5 Nashville has filed this video report:

 

Over the past two weeks there have been several arsons in the general area.

The Clarksville Leaf Chronicle has the STORY.
WTVF-TV has MORE.

Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Netcast Tonight !

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The Boys Are Back From Indy and Ready to Chat

Tonight (Wednesday) is another episode of Stop, Drop, and Roll with the Punches with host Chief Billy Hayes.  A Conversation with the Clarks about Prevention with guests Dr. Burton Clark, EFO, CFO and his wife Carolyn Smith-Clark, MA. 

Carolyn and Burt have been in the fire service over 40 years.  Both have worked at the local, state, national and international levels in urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions.  Their experience includes volunteer, career, and combination departments.  They have backgrounds in operations, prevention, education, training, and administration.  Carolyn has taught leadership, prevention, and training in all 50 states.  Burt has lectured, published, taught and consulted on executive development, research, firefighter safety, testing, and emergency management. He has served on 10 doctoral dissertation committees. Burt and Carolyn’s academic backgrounds include administration, fire science, education, and psychology.  They have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.

The show is live at 9pm EST and the direct link to tonight's netcast is HERE.

All netcasts are archived and you can still listen to the ones you've missed at the Firefighter Netcast homepage HERE.

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: commentary, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – March 30

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Wednesday Morning – Got Your Wizard's Cap On?

There is a story making the rounds of all the fire/rescue websites along with many mainstream news sites, that seemingy has caught the imaginations of a lot of people.  I first noticed it when I saw an article in FireRescue1 that leads off with the headline:  Magic Wand Device Claims to Snuff Out Fires With Electricity.  They go on to explain that a Harvard research physicist gave a presentation to the American Chemical Society where he told of  project he is working on that involves aiming a device that "shoots" a beam of electricity (as he explained it) at an open flame which causes said flame to go out.  FireRescue1's article explains that the device connects "a 600-watt amplifier (about the same power as a high-end car stereo) to a wand that directed the electrical current into a beam, then shooting beams of electricity against an open flame about a foot high. From a distance, the wand was able to snuff out the flame entirely over and over again."

It sounds miraculous, doesn't it?  I chased down the press release from the ACS that has generated articles throughout the English-speaking world and it starts out with a very provocative paragraph:

A curtain of flame halts firefighters trying to rescue a family inside a burning home. One with a special backpack steps to the front, points a wand at the flame, and shoots a beam of electricity that opens a path through the flame for the others to pass and lead the family to safety.

That sure sounds promising, doesn't it?  That teasing lead-in was enough to spread the message into scores of newspapers and television station newsrooms.  My untrained interpretation of the report that was presented by Ludovico Cademartiri, Ph.D., senses that the invisible beam that strikes the flame (presumably the base of it) interrupts those uninhibited free radicals that make up the 4th side of the fire triangle.  I have no doubt that they have had some laboratory success with this project, sending their magical beam over a space of a few inches and attacking a perfect, laboratory flame.  But I don't know if I am ready to accept their rosy expectations of its potential.

Cademartiri envisions that futuristic electrical devices based on the phenomenon could be fixed on the ceilings of buildings or ships, similar to stationary water sprinklers now in use. Alternatively, firefighters might carry the flame-tamer in the form of a backpack and distribute the electricity to fires using a handheld wand. Such a device could be used, for instance, to make a path for firefighters to enter a fire or create an escape path for people to exit, he said.

The system shows particular promise for fighting fires in enclosed quarters, such as armored trucks, planes, and submarines. Large forest fires, which spread over much larger areas, are not as suitable for the technique, he noted.

Perhaps we will follow the lead of some paramedic agencies and send out a "fast car" with a solo firefighter who will assess the situation and wave his wand (stop snickering), and alleviate the problem in a flash.  I don't know.  This line of research can certainly provide a good income via government grants to the laboratory, but I don't think I will be investing any funds in the start-up company.  Not just yet, anyway.

You can read the full press release HERE.  It won't take long, and then we'll get this equipment checked out.  I'll get more coffee going and later we can gather in the day room and discuss the possibilities and probablilities of the "magic wand."

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Update:  Coming to a fire station near you!

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Posted by on March 30, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup

Airport Hangar Fire Destroys 5 Single-Engine Planes

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Sunday Evening Fire Moved Fast

A FIRE IN AN AIRPORT HANGAR in Forli, Italy, Sunday night quickly destroyed five single-engine airplanes and a workshop that was also in the building.  The fire started around 6:30 pm in the all-steel building and had already begun its destruction to all the planes by the time the firefighters arrived.  Their intervention was prompt and airport crash trucks were on the scene also.

Vigili del Fuoco photos

The Ridolfi Airport has three fire stations under the command of the Rome fire department and six additional departments sent units to the fire.  The fire was out by 10 pm, but the loss was complete.

  Quotidano

Romagna NOI has the STORY.
Quotidano has a photo gallery HERE.
Romana Oggi has a 22-image photo gallery HERE.

Tele Romagna has posted this video report:

 

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: aircraft, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

LODD in Austria

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Volunteer Firefighter Suffered Heart Attack

A 56-YEAR-OLD VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER IN WUNDSCHUH, Austria, collapsed and died at the scene of a house fire Sunday night.  There were nearly 70 firefighters on the scene of the extensive fire when the man suffered an apparent heart attack.  One report says that he was operating one of the pumpers at the time.

Krone.at

He leaves behind a wife and three sons who are all junior firefighters in the department.

The fire has been determined to be caused by an electrical fault and caused 200,000 euros in damage.

Krone has the STORY.
Photo gallery HERE.

Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Line of Duty • Tagged: ,

FD Embezzler Pleads Guilty, Gets Sentenced

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Seven-Year Scheme Uncovered by Audit

A FORMER EMPLOYEE of the Garner, North Carolina, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department pleaded guilty Monday to charges that she stole nearly $400,000 over a seven-year span by writing more than 300 checks to herself.

Amy McKinley Moore's arrest was reported HERE on Firegeezer back on October 28 when we noted:

Amy McKinley Moore, 43, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense and larceny by employee in excess of $100,000.  She was released after posting a $50,000 bond.  Moore was a 10-year employee of the department and handled the FD’s books.  Her husband David Moore is a detective in the Raleigh Police Department.

At yesterday's court hearing she paid $39,733 in restitution to the fire department.  The current fire chief says that the FD will be collecting an additional $100,000 from insurance and suing her for the balance.  Following her guiltiy plea, the judge sentenced her to serve 44 to 62 months in prison.

The Raleigh News and Observer has the STORY.

Hat tip:  Peter T.

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice • Tagged: ,

Buffalo Engine Collides With SUV

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Four Firefighters Transported

BUFFALO (New York) ENGINE 32 COLLIDED WITH a passenger vehicle while on the way to a vacant house fire this morning.  The alarm was dispatched at 5:38 am for what was the 2nd vacant house fire the BFD worked during the night.

WIVB-TV image

The four firefighters were all transported for observation but it has not been reported if the driver of the car was injured.

WIVB-TV filed this video report a short while ago:

 

The Buffalo News has an early report HERE.

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: apparatus, Fire Rescue Topics, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Davis E. Davis, Jr.: Automotive Evangelist

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A Life Fully Experienced

Automobile Magazine celebrated their 25th anniversary in the April 2011 issue. The magazine was created by David E. Davis Jr.

Editor-in-Chief Jean Jennings described her former boss in this reflection: It Was The Best Of Times:

"… the most interesting, most difficult, cleverest, darkest, most erudite, dandiest, most inspirational, charismatic, and all-around damnedest human being I will ever meet."

She should know, she was a taxi driver and mechanic when Davis hired her to write for Car & Driver magazine five years before the launch of Automobile. Davis was the editor-in-chief of Car & Driver and was building a magazine known for its writing and point-of-view.

This excerpt from the April 2009 issue of Automobile gives you an idea of how Davis approached life:  My Passport Has Expired

I thought about the expiring passport in the breast pocket of my jacket. It's been overseas about thirty times in the past ten years, and I now carry it on domestic flights as well, because of security requirements since September 11, 2001, so it's pretty badly beaten up.

The official seal of the United States of America is missing from its cover because I left it in the pocket of a suit that went to the dry cleaner seven years ago.

There are stamps from Argentina, Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay. Unfortunately, with the open borders that prevail in Europe today, it bears no stamps from European Union countries that I entered by car, where bored officers glanced at the offered passport and waved me through. I even asked a couple of them to give me a stamp anyway, just because I'm still awe-struck at all the places my travels have taken me, but they were reluctant to comply.

Eddie Alterman, Car & Driver: David E. Davis, Jr. 1930–2011  

He was so in love with the craft and subject matter of car magazines that he came to inhabit an archetype. He was the dashing, witty, high-spirited, and deeply knowledgeable writer/editor who brought the automobile to life, whose personal flair transferred to whatever he was writing about.

Mark Phelan (2011 March 28) David E. Davis Jr., auto writer and Automobile Magazine founder dies. Detroit Free Press

He was a director of the Knight-Wallace Fellowship, under which a dozen journalists study at the University of Michigan each year.

“This guy writes well for a good newspaper, and he wants to write better,” David E. once exclaimed when the Fellowship’s admission committee was about to turn a reporter down for the third time. “If you don’t have room for him in this program, you don’t have room for me.” They committee reconsidered, and the journalist later won a Pulitzer Prize.

Winding Road List: The Immortal Words Of David E. Davis, Jr.

I’m often asked how a young man or woman might prepare to seek a career in automotive journalism.

My own preparation included dropping out of college, working in several automobile factories, and three years of club-level sports car racing which ended with me upside down under my race car and the left side of my face smeared all over the pavement.

 

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: cars, News • Tagged: , , ,

Tanker Ship Explosion, Fire in Germany

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Quarter-Million Gallons of Gasoline Goes Up

A TANKER BARGE DOCKED ON the River Ems in northwestern Germany was being loaded with premium gasoline Monday night when it suddenly exploded and burst into fire.

dapd photo

It is estimated that it had about 238,000 gallons of product already onboard when the accident happened at the town of Lingen.  Spiegel is reporting:

A police spokesman in the town of Lingen an der Ems in Lower Saxony, confirmed a series of massive explosions rocked the ship near an oil refinery on the Dortmund-Ems canal where the ship was being loaded late on Monday evening. A significant amount of fuel leaked out, with firefighters spending hours trying to tackle the blaze. Eventually, they brought the flames under control, preventing them from spreading to fully-loaded tankers nearby. All five crew members on the ship escaped the inferno, according to police, although one of the men suffered minor injuries.

dapd photos

The ship, which had around 900,000 liters (238,000 gallons) of premium gasoline on board, eventually sank next to the dock, with one section still sticking up out of the water. The gasoline also leaked onto the dock and caught fire, a police spokesman said.

The firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading across the surface of water with the use of a special foam. But the mixture repeatedly reignited — and there remains a risk of both fire and explosion, the police said. The firefighters will try to absorb the fuel over the course of the day.

DAPD has provided this raw video from the scene:

 

There is no determination yet on the cause of the ignition.

Thanks to Christian L.

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – March 29

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Tuesday Morning – How's the View?

Have you played around with the Google Street View much?  Or at all?  Once in a while you will see me post the GSV of a site where an emergency incident occurred where you can look at the building as it was.  One of the strangest, and most fascinating challenges that Google undertook was to send specially-equipped cars driving up and down almost every street in North America and most of Europe, taking 360º photographs as they travel along.  By incorporating the pix with the Google Maps feature on the internet they can show you a location from farthest away on the map, then zoom down to the site itself and switch from map graphic to the photo of the location.

But the biggest feature from the entertainment angle is the ability to "travel" along the street just like you are doing the driving and then pause and look around in all directions.  When you reach an intersection you can make a turn and start along the cross street.  You can spend hours with this doing things like following the same route you took when you were a child walking to school.

After I got the hang of how to use GSV, I sought out all the places where I have lived since I was born and I was surprised to find out that every one of them is still there.  There are endless ways to use this feature, and of course it's free.  Looking at how commercial areas have changed over the years is interesting, too.

While we have been "driving" up and down the mapped streets lately, Google has been out and about too.  They announced earlier this month that they have designed some mountain bikes that are equipped with a trailer housing the unique camera rig and have been determinedly pedalling along hiking trails, parkland walkways and garden paths recording the same type of information.  The idea for this new twist to mapping came from one of Google's employees.  Dan Ratner, senior mechanical engineer at Google told, "My day job is working as a mechanical engineer on the Street View team, but I do a lot of mountain biking in my spare time.  One day, while exploring some roads less traveled, I realized that I could combine these two pursuits and build a bicycle-based camera system for Street View. The result? The Street View trike."

Ratner demonstrates his creation (AP)

The trikes are not easy to use, though.  As you can tell from the photo, they are a bit off-balance and very heavy.  In order to get the things around and along the unpaved trails and paths, Google has hired professional athletes to muscle the vehicles around.

Those views are starting to appear now online and we will soon be able to "take a walk" into places where we have maybe wished we could visit, such as famous parks or extensive gardens.  I have read where they are even converting some snowmobiles, too.  Just think, we can go skiing without breaking our leg!  This internet thingy is a great show, isn't it?

Let's put on our own show now and get this equipment checked out.  I'll fire up the Geezer Coffee View and get a fresh pot started.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology • Tagged:

Why “they” hate “us”

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More eye-opening retirement stories

Opening paragraph to Pensions the hot issue in city races

By saving up his vacation and other time off, a former Coral Gables police sergeant was able to double his $81,000 annual salary in his last year with the department — the year used in calculating his annual pension.

The result: taxpayers are now paying the retiree $125,000 — three quarters of his last year’s working pay — for the rest of his life.

At last count, the city’s pension fund was $197 million short of the amount it needs to pay the retirement benefits that commissioners have promised to current and future retirees. The Gables pension system covers more than 700 employees and 720 retirees

From Tania Valdemoro in today's Miami Herald

Read the entire article to get a clearer picture – this sergeant is a defined benefits outlier – but the changes made since he retired are buried in the body of the article. Not as exciting as that opening paragraph!

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

earlier

July 08, 2010: Is it “Abuse” when you follow the rules?

February 03, 2009: Gilt-Edged Pensions

Posted by on March 28, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, News, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , ,

RIP Vincent J. Bollon – IAFF, FDNY

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IAFF Loses Legendary Leader Vincent J. Bollon

March 28, 2011 – It is with deepest regret and sorrow that the IAFF reports the death of IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Vincent J. "Vinnie" Bollon. Vinnie passed away March 28 while at home.

Bollon served as General Secretary-Treasurer of the IAFF from 1988 to 2010. He was one of the IAFF's longest-serving principal officers. He joined the Fire Department of New York in 1959 and was secretary-treasurer of the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 and served as president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854. After retiring from the fire service, he was made President Emeritus of Local 854.

He leaves his wife, Linda; his children: Janice and her husband Ron Roveto, Suzanne Bollon, Chrysee Bollon, and Kathleen and her husband Walter Scott; and his grandchildren Jennifer, Steven, Matthew, Nicholas, Caitlin, and Brianne.

The IAFF will provide information about the funeral as soon as arrangements are finalized.

IAFF link HERE

From the IAFF resolution bestowing Emeritus Status for retiring General Secretary-Treasurer Vincent J. Bollon

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 28, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, labor, News, Training & Development, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,