A 2-ALARM HOUSE FIRE in York County, Pennsylvania, Friday afternoon destroyed a family home while the occupants were out shopping. When neighbors noticed the house afire, it was already well underway and the responding fire units from Pleasant Hill VFD could see the heavy smoke from 5 miles away.
The alarm was dispatched at 2:33 in the afternoon and the first-in units found the house "90% involved." The fire was in a non-hydrant, rural area and a 2nd was struck to establish a tanker shuttle.
Steve Roth / 911 Photography
Before the FD arrived, the neighbors reported hearing several explosions coming from the house. After the fire was extinguished, the firefighters found several scorched 5-gal. propane bottles inside.
Steve Roth / 911 Photography
The house was completely destroyed along with all the possesions and mementos of two generations of residents.
Fire units from seven York County departments along with two companies from Maryland worked the fire.
Steve Roth / 911 Photography
The Hanover Evening Sunreported: A state fire marshal investigated the fire Friday night, and ruled it accidental. Firefighters were seen removing several propane tanks from the debris, but the fire marshal said it was most likely caused due to an electrical problem. Read the full story from the SunHERE.
WPMT-TV Ch. 43 prepared this video report from the scene:
Fireboats hit the Digital Dayroom a couple of weeks ago HERE when we told you about the new craft that was just delivered to the Chicago Fire Department. ChicagoAreaFire, the site that provided that great story for us, has an interesting follow-up this weekend about two other former CFD fireboats and how they are being used today.
The boat that is being replaced, the Victor Schlaeger, is one of three sister-ships that were put in service shortly after WWII and is now the sole fireboat for Chicago, the other two decommissioned years ago. Thursday's ARTICLE shows us where the other two of the boats are being used, one of them is a sightseeing cruiser. The article has links to other websites that have the details.
Door County Fireboat Cruises photo
Our sharp-eyed reader up in Yankee Land, Mark Donovan has sent along a bid announcement from the City of Buffalo calling for bids for a 30-ft. "multi-hazard fire and ems vessel." The bids have to be in before May 10, so you still have time if you want to give it a shot. If you just want to read about it and see what all goes into spec-ing an emergency water craft, you can read the entire 38-page .pdf bid announcement HERE.
This brings to mind a visit that I and two other traveling firefighters made many years ago to a New Orleans fireboat. We were just wandering along the waterfront and came across the berth for this particular boat, one of about four that they had in service then, and saw one of the firefighters sitting on the dock shucking some oysters. We went over and chatted with him and he took us aboard for a tour. It doesn't take long to tour a fireboat. Only one piece of apparatus, you know, and very little supporting equipment.
I was impressed with the fire pump. Located by itself in a pump room, it sat on a floor that was clean enough to eat off of with nothing else around it, hardly any piping showing nor any other items. The nozzles and such were above board. Just this surprisingly-small sized centrifugal pump capable of sending along 10, 000 gpm at a moment's notice.
This particular boat was a daytime-only unit, so it was in operation from 7 am to 7 pm each day. But what was unusual was the shift schedule of the firefighters. It was covered with two shifts working the 12-hour days and they worked 7 days on, and 7 days off. Some of the guys lived a hundred miles away and stayed over for the six nights between their workdays and then went home for a week. How could you ever manage to use up your annual leave with a rotation like that? It was a sweet deal for them.
We'd better take care of our own deal now and get this equipment checked out. I'll make sure there's plenty of coffee before we meet back in the day room.
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NHL Playoffs – Quarterfinal Round Results
Friday Scores
Western Conference
(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Vancouver leads series 3-2. Next game Sunday night.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — San Jose leads series 3 -1. Next game Saturday night.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Detroit wins series 4-0 and advances to next round.
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Preds – 4, Ducks – 3 OT. Nashville leads series 3-2. Next game Sunday evening.
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Washington leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Sabres – 4, Flyers – 3 OT. Buffalo leads series 3-2. Next game Sunday matinee.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Series tied 2-2. Next game Saturday night.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Pittsburgh leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
Nashville scores tying goal with 35 seconds remaining in regulation,
then scores the game-winner less than 2 minutes into the overtime period.
Since 2008, the department's budget has shrunk by about $100 million and the LAFD hasn't hired a single firefighter.
In 2009, the fire department went on a "modified coverage plan," which closed fire companies on a rotating basis. Each day, 122 fewer fighters were assigned to stations.
The result was a chaotic system in which firefighters were shuttled all over town to work with people they didn't know – not a good situation for people who work in life-threatening conditions.
In LAFD there has been buzz about "hard closures" – permanent closing of companies – in the next budget year.
Cavanaugh explains the overall plan:
Fire Chief Millage Peaks' redeployment plan will permanently and selectively close fire companies based on the computer modeling data (from the last three years).
He'll reduce the number of staffed fire engines in areas where demand is low, and increase medical response in areas where demand is high.
Some 10 fire companies will be reassigned as paramedic resources – a reflection of the high number of medical calls.
The service closures will mean 106 fewer firefighters assigned to stations each day.
Instead, they'll fill in for firefighters who are sick, on vacation or in training, which will reduce overtime expenses.
By permanently cutting fire resources, the department will need 318 fewer firefighters.
(No one will be laid off, but position vacancies will not be filled.)
While NOT officially posted, it appears that 12 engines and six light forces (truck companies) will close.
Some positiona will be used to restore rescue ambulances that were closed in 2009. The article points out that 4 out of every 5 calls to LAFD are medical.
There is additional reorganization at the command level.
A 5-STAR HOTEL IN THE WALLED, MEDIEVAL CITY of Carcassonne, France, suffered heavy damage in one wing from a fire Thursday afternoon. The Hôtel de la Cité is one of the architectural gems of all World Heritage designated by UNESCO.
Le Independent
Dispatched at 16: 45 pm, around thirty firefighters and six engines responded, not without difficulty, making their way through the narrow streets of the city already overrun with tourists .
When the fire alarm was first sounded, almost all staff – with the exception of one who was stuck in an elevator and later released by firefighters – and the few customers who were then in their rooms were safely evacuated. At first a small team of employees tried to put the fire out using portable extinguishers, but they had no chance with it.
Le Independent
According to preliminary investigation, a cigarette butt landed on a wooden deck on 2nd floor of the hotel wing, and the flames were quickly fanned by strong winds. The fire spread into four bedrooms on the 2nd floor, and two others located one level above. Five to six of the luxurious rooms were burned out, but the firefighters had the blaze extinguished in an hour.
This home video captured the fire while interior extinguishment efforts were taking place:
After it was out, there was a detailed reconnaissance of the premises, using a thermal imaging camera, plus the removal of the remains of the furniture of the burned out rooms. As the debris was thrown over the railing of the terrace, cries were heard from the staff who were pained to see items dating back to the 18th century destroyed.
At Least One Alternative Timeline is stopped … or was it real?
In The Sarah Connor Chroniclesversion of the Terminator franchise "Skynet" became self-aware on April 19, 2011 and initiated a nuclear attack on April 21st.
In considering the following real events, I wonder how close science fiction mirrors reality.
Are these non-random items pointing to a massive effort to keep Skynet from launching the missles?
iPad, iPhone and Android phones track you location automatically
Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, in a Wednesday item on O'Reilly Radar, posted this item:
What makes this issue worse is that the file is unencrypted and unprotected, and it's on any machine you've synched with your iOS device. It can also be easily accessed on the device itself if it falls into the wrong hands. Anybody with access to this file knows where you've been over the last year, since iOS 4 was released.
This has caused a flurry of angst. If the Arnold Schwarzenegger's version (Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800) Terminator arrived in this version of 2011, he could easily track any prey that carries a smart phone or iPad.
Amazon's Cloud Crashes
At post time we are 34 hours into an outage of the Amazon.com "cloud" outage that has hobbled Web 2.0 sites like Reddit, Foursquare and Quora.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, writing for ZDNet, tracked some of the customer support questions. The canned responses to this major disruption make some believe Skynet is aware. Amazon: Skynet NOT to blame for cloud outage
PlayStation Network (PSN) Down since Thursday with no restoration time predicted
PlayStation Network (PSN) is how users download movies, TV shows, and games over the Web to a PlayStation.
Access to the network is free, though users have to pay for some of the content.
Wikipedia post: "As of January 25, 2011, there are over 69 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide and over 1.4 billion downloads."
Since yesterday, users trying to access the service via the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, or the official Web site have received a message saying only that "an error" had occurred. Though Sony acknowledged the outage yesterday, the company hasn't offered an explanation for what's knocked the service offline.
PSN users logging in eventually click to this message:
Note: When you log into the PlayStation Network, a message may appear which states, "the PlayStation Network has been suspended". This does not mean that your account has been suspended; it simply means the PlayStation Network has been taken offline. Please wait until the maintenance window has passed before attempting to connect to the PlayStation Network again. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
HERE WE GO AGAIN….. another news photo that strayed from its caption, leaving open all manner of explanations as to what is going on. My first response was "task force," but I don't think that's what we are looking at, do you?
Help me out here and come up with what you think is the proper caption for this photo. As always, post your suggestion in the Comments section where we can all benefit from your choice.
Two Foggy Council Members Make Outrageous Compensation Claims
Two City of San Diego, California, Council members are publicly claiming that the city's firefighters' wages are 325% higher than their "counterparts" in private industry. The two council members have introduced a novel viewpoint into "comperable" job comparisons. They are claiming that since 80% of the fire engine responses are for medical emergencies, then that makes their work comparable to that of EMT's employed by private ambulance firms.
Councilman Carl DeMaio and Councilwoman Lorie Zapf requested a budget analysis of firefighters' compensations and made this amazing illogical connection in a desperate attempt to find ways to cut spending. Ironically, DeMaio represents a district that was heavily impacted by the 2003 and 2007 wildfires.
The Fire Chief and the Local President both jumped in with strong repsonses to this convoluted reasoning. KUSI-TV reports:
(Fire Chief Javier) Mainar called the conclusions of the council members "blatantly misleading."
"To accept this comparison as valid, one would have to believe that all firefighters could simply be replaced with single-function EMTs or paramedics and that these lower-cost employees could then be called upon to handle the wide range of emergency types firefighters respond to each day," Mainar said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
"I struggle to understand why council member DeMaio continually attempts to distort the record and the public's perception when it comes to firefighters and am distressed that council member Zapf has now apparently chosen to join in his efforts to mislead the public," Mainar said.
Chief Mainar
The president of the firefighters' Local, Frank De Clercq called statements from DeMaio and Zapf "outright lies and distortions."
Apparently not expecting anyone to question their dubious reasoning powers, the two council members have begun to backtrack a bit, explaining that they were merely trying to "analyze potential savings in labor costs and examine alternative ways to deliver services." They are also asking for an additional compensation analysis from the budget office which is obviously unaware that private ambulance drivers cannot put out fires or mitigate hazardous materials incidents.
THE HERNANDO COUNTY, FLORIDA, Commissioners decided last year that they would stop collecting taxes on behalf of the Spring Hill Fire District effective this October 1. The county has a unique arrangement for fire protection with a county-operated fire and rescue department that provides service to 85% of the county. The remaining areas are protected by five volunteer fire departments. One of them, the Spring Hill Fire Rescue District relied on the County to collect a millage from the FD's residents to fund the 4-station fire department.
Last summer the County Board of Commissioners voted to stop collecting taxes on behalf of the fire district and notified them that it would cease at the end of this fiscal year, September 30. In a special election held in August, Spring Hill residents voted overwhelmingly to not grant taxing authority directly to the fire district which has been having problems with some outrageous behavior of its members and a lack of professional leadership in the department.
The fire district is now stymied because the county will not collect their due millage and their citizens don't trust them enough to allow the district to collect its own funds. They have hopes to conduct one more special election via mail-in ballots to ask the residents once again for taxing authority, but there is a question of how the election will be paid for.
WTVT Ch. 13 filed this video report on the looming problem:
Read more about this unusual situation:
A St. Petersburg Times editorial HERE explains the voter reluctance.
The Times describes the current tax situation HERE.
A citizen's letter to the editor encapsulates their disgust with the FD members' behavior HERE.
Spring Hill Fire Rescue District WEBSITE.
Hernando County Fire Department WEBSITE.
The annual Code 3 For a Cure mission that we were following for the past 3 weeks or so finished up its tour Monday at Los Angeles City fire station 27, Hollywood. The return ceremony featured a talk by the California Acting State Fire Marshal, Tony Hoover, and the traditional ringing of the fire bell while the names of firefighters who passed away from cancer that had been collected along the way were read aloud. You may recall seeing the photos of the memorial bell placed in the left-bucket seat of the donated Sutphen pumper that Lorenzo drove across the country and back.
The Code 3 For a Cure folks have posted this photo documentary of the return ceremonies on YouTube:
The Firegeezer folks joined this year's tour after it got started, so we were a little light in our coverage, but next year we plan to join the mission early enough to let everyone know where and when the 5th annual tour will be taking place. We got to meet Lorenzo when he passed through Virginia earlier this month (Firegeezer story HERE) and everybody was impressed with his message of prevention and early diagnosis of firefighter cancers. We hope you get to hook up with the tour next year, too.
If you haven't already, CLICK HERE to wander around their website and learn about this mission and how they are getting the message out to firefighters throughout Canada and the U. S.
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NHL Playoffs – Quarterfinal Round Results
Thursday Scores
Western Conference
(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Hawks – 5, Canucks -0. Vancouver leads series 3-2. Next game Sunday night.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — Sharks – 6, Kings – 3. San Jose leads series 3 -1. Next game Saturday night.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Detroit wins series 4-0 and advances to next round.
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Series tied 2-2. Next game Friday night.
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Washington leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Series tied 2-2. Next game Friday night.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Bruins – 5, Habs – 4 OT. Series tied 2-2. Next game Saturday night.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Pittsburgh leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
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Boston Stuns Montreal in Overtime and Steals Home-Ice Advantage Back
A 15-YEAR MEMBER OF THE STEELTON, Pennsylvania, Volunteer Fire Department has been charged with stealing more than $55,000 from the department while he was serving as Treasurer. Milton C. Carnes, 33, of Steelton, was arraigned Wednesday on a count of theft by unlawful taking.
The money was stolen from fundraising accounts which are the FD's sole source of revenue. The police say that he took the money over a 3-year period and spent all of it as he went.
He has been freed on $5,000 bond while awaiting a May 6 preliminary hearing.
WHTM-TV Ch. 27 prepared this video report:
WHPT-TV has more details and additional video HERE.
EMS DUTY IS TOUGH, but in some places it's tougher than most. Case in point: Syria, where a civil war is in the budding stages. It's violent in the streets and if your ambulance is responding for someone who has just been shot, then you want to think that maybe the shooter doesn't want you to save his enemy.
That was the situation on April 8 when this ambulance started to respond. Warning: Graphic violence depicted:
Frederick County, Virginia, has just hired a new Chief for the Fire and Rescue Department. They stayed within the organization when they made their selection HERE.
This Florida man thinks he has the answer to home protection from wildfires, specifically creating an exterior sprinkler system. See what you think:
Well, do you think it will work? Is there enough water on his roof to absorb all those btu's? Is a light spray over the tree trunk going to do anything?
A natural gas well drilling operation had a blowout in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Tuesday night. The rupture and resulting water leak blew "thousands and thousands" of gallons of fracking fluid into the air. It settled on farm land and into creeks for several acres, creating some environmental damage. This video report from WNEP tells about it:
A SET FIRE AT THE SOUTHWEST PLAZA shopping mall in Littleton, Colorado, Wednesday led to the discovery of two homemade bombs that were obviously meant to detonate in connection with the fire.
The first device was found at about 11:50 a.m., when a mall employee noticed a fire in a hallway near the food court, the witness told Fox 31. The worker immediately contacted security officers who began evacuating the sprawling indoor shopping center.
The employee said the device was attached to two camping propane tanks, neither of which exploded.
The Jefferson County Bomb Squad responded and later found a pipe bomb in the same hallway,
A bomb squad robot was sent into the mall to try and mitigate the pipe bomb, but when it tried to activate it, the bomb just fell apart. After the initial hazard was removed, the mall's security tapes were reviewed and they show a man entering the mall through a non-public entrance that leads to the fire stairs and the mall employees' area. The FBI has released two frames from the tape along with a description for the public in an appeal for help in identifying the man.
He is described as a white male with graying hair and a silver mustache. He was wearing a dark cap with a light logo on the front, along with a shirt with gray and white horizontal stripes, dark jacket with silver buttons, blue jeans, and dark shoes.
KDVR-TV Ch. 31 posted a good video report from the scene:
Update: Thursday morning, the FBI released a third photo of the suspect:
KMGH further describes the photos:
The man is seen carrying a white plastic shopping bag that appears to be a Target bag.
A Target store is located just to the west of the mall and has its own security camera video system. Investigators have gone to that Target and have talked to managers about purchases at that location and potential connections to this case.
A BRITISH WOMAN WHO TOOK ILL during a pleasure cruise along the coast of Norway is in critical condition in a Scottish hospital following a near-fatal accident while being transferred to a rescue boat.
Janet Richardson, 73, and her husband were on a 3-week voyage that was on the return leg when she became sick and suffered internal bleeding. The cruise ship was scheduled for a regular port call the next day, but her condition worsened to the point where the captain decided she needed immediate transfer and called on the Norwegian coastal rescue service.
They sent a rescue boat out and it came alongside to receive Mrs. Richardson who was packaged in a stretcher and fitted with a life vest. As they ship's crew was lowering her to the rescue boat, a sudden swell caused the rescue craft to swing out leaving a gap between the two ships. It also caused the stretcher to dip and drop the lady into the frigid, 27º water.
Janet Richardson fights for her life while awating
rescuers. (Daily Mail / Hill photo)
There were some anxious moments as she temporarily sank beneath the surface, but she quickly re-surfaced and the rescuers had her landed in the boat after about four minutes.
She was then sailed to the nearest port where she stopped breathing after arriving at the dock, but resuscitation by the rescuers restored her breathing and she was treated at a local hospital before being flown to a larger facility in Scotland.
A FIRE BROKE OUT IN A WATSONVILLE, California, cold-storage warehouse Wednesday afternoon and quickly became seated in the extensive cork and ground-up wood insulation throughout the facility.
KION-TV
All eight employees of the warehouse were at work when at 3:30 pm Pacific some of them notice "a little bit of smoke" coming from the room where bottled apple juice was stored. The immediately closed the doors to the room and evacuated the building.
When the FD arrived on the scene they found heavy smoke and some flames showing. They began attacking the fire from inside and called additional help, eventually striking four alarms and bringing 80 firefighters to the scene. Along with the the many cork-insulated walls and ceiling in the concrete and redwood structure, it is fully covered with ammonia piping that carries the refrigerant throughout the warehouse. The ammonia tanks themselves are outside and can be effectively cooled with hose lines.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Recognizing from experience that the fire had reached the point where it will be burning through the insulation for several days, the Watsonville fire chief withdrew the firefighters and established an attack designed for long-term operations.
KSBW-TV Ch. 8 posted this video report from the scene:
The cold-storage warehouse was built in the 1920's and has been upgraded several times over the years. It is one of many such businesses located in a productive agricultural area surrounding Monterey County.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel had a good REPORT HERE along with a description of the building's construction.
I'm off to a slow start this morning, but that gives you time to catch up with our later postings from yesterday. (I had to say something, didn't I?) I was up late last night watching the Caps v. Rangers playoff game that went well into the second overtime before the game was settled in Washington's favor. The contest ran for 3 hrs.- 45 mins. and when games run that long, the players are all so tired that the winning goal usually results from a fluke, lucky bounce, or a player's brain-lock. It was brain-lock that sealed last night's result and you can watch it on video replay that I posted farther down just below last night's scores.
That wasn't the only game that went to two sudden-death overtimes last night. Pittsburgh put away a tenacious Tampa Bay team in their marathon game. I would say that the headliner game from last night, though, is the Detroit game where they completed a 4-game sweep of the Phoenix Coyotes and became the first team to advance to the Conference Semi-Finals.
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There's an interesting article in FirefighterNation that was posted yesterday relating to fresh apparatus designs that incorporate more "ergonomics" into their functions. One item shown is an aerial pedestal that is a compact joystick table instead of the towering control panel with an array of levers. That had to come soon, didn't it? Naturally, there continues to be "advances" in designing lower hose beds for safer pulling and re-packing the hose. But I'm thinking the whole time about when I was a vollie and then for my first decade as a paid FF, all the hosebeds were low and easy to reach. It's nice to see some retrogression back to the "good old days." CLICK HERE to read this article about what's showing up at the Expo's this year.
Now if somebody will just come up with an ergonomically-designed clip board, then every morning's equipment check would be a delight, too. I'll go make some more delightful coffee. See you back in the day room.
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NHL Playoffs – Quarterfinal Round Results
Wednesday Scores
Western Conference
(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Vancouver leads series 3-1. Next game Thursday night.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — San Jose leads series 2 -1. Next game Thursday night.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Wings – 6, Coyotes – 3. Detroit wins series 4-0 and advances to next round.
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Ducks – 6, Preds – 3. Series tied 2-2. Next game Friday night.
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Caps – 4, Rangers- 3, 2OT. Washington leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Sabres – 1, Flyers – 0. Series tied 2-2. Next game Friday night.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Montreal leads series 2-1. Next game Thursday night.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Penquins – 3, Lightning – 2, 2OT. Pittsburgh leads series 3-1. Next game Saturday matinee.
Jason Chimera's Double-Overtime Game Winning Goal:
Some Recommended Stories Posted on Other Fire/EMS Blogs Today
* STATter911 has a story that I like to see today. Omaha firefighters are going very public with their emphatic explanation on how a recent rescue almost failed because the city took a ladder co. out of service 3 weeks ago to "save money." They got good tv coverage and Dave has the STORY HERE.
* SConFire has a story HERE about a house fire with a dead body in it and foul play is suspected.
* Everybody has a memorable public service call or two that sound like they were made up at first. But the Iron Fireman had one that will be hard to top for its "first time I've had one of those" qualities. Read about it HERE.
* Captain Mike at Firefighter Blog has been kinda quiet lately, but he has a good excuse. He has had to spend much of his time taking care of a genius. He tells about it HERE.
* Chicago Area Fire continues to expand their website and part of that is providing "history" pages to the departments that maintain their pasts. They have just added a page to the Western Springs FD section with 26 photos of old (and some very old) apparatus from the department's archive. Take a look at them HERE. I really like the 1952 Ward LaFrance.
* FirefighterNation has a video report on a house fire in Philadelphia Tuesday night where the FF's made a good rescue, but a subsequent flashover injured 3 FF's. One of them is in critical condition. Start HERE to follow the story, then CLICK HERE to the exclusive video report from PhillyFireNews.
A RAIL CAR LEAKING HYDROCHLORIC ACID has brought a BNSF freight train to a halt near Monument, Colorado.
Channel9News
Around 1:30 am a southbound train was passing a northbound freight that was parked on a siding and the crew noticed vapor coming from one of the tank cars. They notified their dispatch to have the train inspected and it was at that time they called the local 9-1-1 center.
The tank car which is capable of holding 25,000 gallons is leaking at the rate of a cup per minute and has caused a precautionary evacuation of the area. A total of 255 homes and an elementary school have been cleared and another 160 homes will be evacuated later today when the product is scheduled to be transferred to another tank car being brought in. A special team is being flown up from Texas to assist in the transfer which is expected to take 8 to 10 hours.
Three haz-mat teams from area fire departments are on the scene and have temporarily sealed the leak.
Evacuees are being told to take enough supplies for 48 hours in case the transfer takes longer than expected.
KKTV Ch. 11 filed this video report:
Channel 9 News has the story and more details HERE.
Powerful Motor and Variable-Speed Control
The DEWALT drill/driver's high-performance motor is capable of delivering a maximum of 380 unit watts out, providing enough power for a broad range of applications. The tool also features dual-range variable-speed control–0 to 450 rpm and 0 to 1,500 rpm–that makes material-specific performance easier to achieve.
Lightweight Design for Comfortable Handling
The drill/driver is built with an ergonomic grip for comfortable handling to help you get accurate results. Its balanced, mid-handle grip makes control easy, providing comfort and reduced fatigue when tackling extended projects. This tool weighs 4.75 pounds to minimize user fatigue. Its durable construction makes for reliable operation even on the toughest jobsites. The drill/driver also features a compact size to fit into tight spaces, making it convenient for both use and storage.
Cordless Design and Ratcheting Chuck for Efficiency
This DEWALT tool allows you to move quickly between projects without the hassle of a cord. Thanks to its one-hour battery charger and two 18-volt compact Ni-Cad batteries, you can always have a battery ready, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. Stay on point with the drill/driver's 1/2-inch, single-sleeve keyless ratcheting chuck, which effectively reduces bit slippage as you work.
A RESTAURANT IN THE ST. MICHEL DISTRICT of Montreal was firebombed Tuesday morning, bringing to an end the late-winter lull in Molotov flinging. The Montreal Gazette tells us:
According to Montreal police Constable Dany Richer, police received several calls about 1:50 a.m. reporting that three men had thrown a Molotov cocktail through the front window of the restaurant on Jean Talon St. E., near d'Iberville St.
"The rapid arrival of the fire crews allowed them to minimize the damages," said Richer. "The investigation has been transferred to the Montreal police arson squad."
Rue Frontenac photo
Unlike most of the other restaurant attacks in the last two years, the Chair de Poule is not an outwardly-Italian style eatery. However, similar to the previous firebombings there are occupied apartments over the business and several tenants were forced to flee the burning building.
A LADDER TRUCK ATTEMPTING TO REACH a crossover in an Ohio Turnpike median strip was struck by a tractor-trailer early Wednesday morning.
WEWS-TV image
The aerial truck from the North Ridgeville, Ohio, Fire Department was traveling in the westbound lanes of the Ohio Turnpike shortly after midnight this morning when they received a dispatch for an auto fire in the eastbound lanes. WEWS-TV Ch. 5 Cleveland reports:
Authorities on scene report that the fire truck attempted a U-turn from a lane other than the left-most lane. As the fire truck approached the median turnaround, it was struck by a semi truck that was traveling in the same direction.
The driver of the semi truck was not injured. The Ohio Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.
The semi collided with the ladder on the driver's-side of the cab. The driver of the ladder truck was transported with unspecified injuries.
Channel 5 has just posted some raw video from the scene:
It has not been disclosed yet whether the FD truck had its emergency lights on at the time of the collision.
A friend of ours passed along a brief article (HERE) published online by the University of Nevada, Reno Fire Science Academy that reviews an upcoming report about patterns in firefighter fatality causation. This new study conducted by the University of Georgia College of Public Health encompassed FF deaths from 2004 through 2009 and related them to cultural tendencies that lead to unsafe work practices.
The study identifies and focuses on four major causes of the deaths, under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of incident command procedures and sub-optimal personnel readiness. That last one always pops up, usually under the heading of health and physical fitness.
But there was one area pointed out that I had never considered before and I wonder how many others have overlooked this now-obvious factor? They point out that underfunding a fire/rescue department not only forces undermanned units to perform riskier actions by not being able to function safely, but those same departments are creating more dangerous working conditions by not providing the latest and most effective tools, equipment and other aids to task completion. And that makes a lot of sense.
Take radios, for example. Compare the upgraded frequencies and trunked carriers compared to the older, lower frequencies and their ability to carry a signal. Personal portables for every member compared to just the one for the officer. Extend that lack of equipment upgraing to include things like oximeters, thermal-imaging cameras, large-diameter hose. How about advances in SCBA technology?
Once you get started, the list can grow rapidly and it becomes very evident just how much danger is introduced into the fire operations from the lack of proper funding. Oftentimes this underfunding results from corrupt politicians funneling tax revenue into their own personal benefit. Recently I posted an article (HERE) on the District of Columbia City Council's willingness to provide $70,000 automobiles to some of the council members for their personal use. The State of California legislature passed a law many years ago that provides a new automobile and unlimited gasoline and mileage to every member of the state legislature, a total of 120 people, plus who knows how many other politicos, all well-paid, while they are drastically cutting back on the CalFire budget. And another 1-word says plenty: Detroit.
I believe the case could be made that whenever a municipality lets a public service agency slip behind in having reasonably adequate equipment, they are putting themselves into a situation of liability that borders on the criminal, if not a civil disregard for their obligation to the firefighters and police officers. Just how liable are they? Are they expanding their liability when they use taxpayer funds for their own personal comfort while neglecting to provide safe equipment for firefighters?
We'd best not neglect our duty here, so let's get the equipment checked out. I'm going to check the coffee supply before we meet back in the day room.
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NHL Playoffs – Quarterfinal Round Results
Tuesday Scores
Western Conference
(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks — Black Hawks – 7, Canucks – 2. Vancouver leads series 3-1. Next game Thursday night.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings — Sharks – 6, Kings – 5 (OT). San Jose leads series 2 -1. Next game Thursday night.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes — Detroit leads series 3-0. Next game Wednesday night.
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators — Nashville leads series 2-1. Next game Wednesday night.
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers — Washington leads series 2-1. Next game Wednesday night.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres — Philadelphia leads series 2-1. Next game Wednesday night.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens — Montreal leads series 2-1. Next game Thursday night.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning — Pittsburgh leads series 2-1. Next game Wednesday night.
A fire allegedly caused by a mentally disturbed man has burned completely the sacristy of the crypt in the famed Basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. The fire caused the evacuation of 1,500 people, including tourists and workers, but did not cause any damage to the structure of the church.
Reuters
The fire was discovered at 10:45 am when the alleged perpetrator, José María LS, took advantage of free access to the crypt, used as a parish for neighborhood residents, to set fire to the stored liturgical vestments in the sacristy.
Visitors at that time were in the area and the private security of the monument have retained the arsonist until the Catalan police arrived and made ​​their arrest.
Four people, three workers and a tourist, were taken to a hospital where they have been treated for mild smoke poisoning.
This video report from Telecinco (TV 5) is interspersed with scenes from inside the church before the smoke was removed:
The flames have completely charred 40 square meters of the sacristy, blackening in part the crypt, an area along the facade of the Nativity. The thick smoke has also come to the central nave of the temple, forcing the evacuation of 1,500 people who were visiting at the time. The monument was reopened shortly before 5 pm, although access to the crypt remains banned until the damages are assessed in detail. Despite early concerns, there was no permanent damage to any of the artwork inside the basilica.
Nine fire companies responded to the fire and had it under control in about an hour, but it took several hours to remove the smoke from inside the church.
THE FORMER TREASURER of the Hartford Township VFD, near Youngstown, Ohio, was arrested last August and charged with stealing $5,800 from the department. In February, Rebecca Fike-Kuhn pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor theft and agreed to paying full restitution to the FD.
Hartford Twp. firehouse (WKBN)
When she appeared before the court for sentencing yesterday (Monday) she was facing up to 6 months in jail, but the judge put her on 2 years probation, 30 days house arrest, 100 hours of community service, pay full restitution, and ordered her to never be associated with a fire department again.
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