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Like Father, Like Son: Gone

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Town Fires Both of Them

ON MONDAY THE LIVERMORE FALLS, MAINE, Board of Selectmen voted to uphold the town manager's decision to terminate Assistent Fire Cheif Ron Leclerc for insubordination.

Livermore Falls fire station  (Google Street View)

The Bangor Daily News reported:

The decision followed a 70-minute executive session that included a hearing before the board on Leclerc’s appeal of Flagg’s decision.

“While the board understands that you took action during an emergency situation, it was your subsequent interaction with the fire Chief [Gerry Pineau] and town manager in regard to this matter that is problematic,” Chairman William Demaray wrote to Leclerc. “After careful review of this matter, the board finds that your actions with regard to the fire chief and town manager were insubordinate.”

At the same session they also upheld the town manager's decision to terminate Leclerc's son Lt. Corey Leclerc for a separate incident that occurred in June.

The insubordinate actions have not been made public.

Leclerc had been a member of the FD for 37 years.  Members are paid-on-call and officers receive a small annual supplement.  Leclerc had been earning $3,000 a year plus $10 hr. for calls.

Full story in the Bangor Daily News HERE.

The current fire chief Gerry Pineau took on the job in July 2010 and shortly after announced several major changes to the department including upgrading the trucks and requiring officers to be hired by the town instead of being voted in by the FD membership.  He also instituted better accountability on certification and training by the firefighters.

The Sun-Journal reported on these changes last year HERE.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 3, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, labor • Tagged: , , , ,

Three Alarms Working in New Jersey

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Adjacent Houses Involved

Updated:  Fire out and more video added.  Scroll down.

A RESIDENTIAL FIRE BROKE OUT in Irvington, New Jersey, around 6:30 am this morning (Thursday) in a private dwelling.  The fire has spread to at least one adjacent home and has gone to three alarms.

WPIX

Firefighters have withdrawn from interior attack.

WNBC-TV shot this early video from their air unit:

 

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

It is still a working incident and no information as to cause, victims, etc., is available.  The fire is not yet marked under control at the time of this posting. 

Update:
The FD successfully contained the blaze to the two houses that were burning.  No injuries were reported.  The 2-unit apartment building on the corner had been recently vacated of all tenants and the house next door had just one resident and he got out ok.

 CBS News filed this video report later in the morning:

 

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 3, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Fiery Train Derailment in Illinois

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Eight Cars Off the Rails

A CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILROAD freight train derailed in Bartlett, Illinois, at 5:12 am Central this morning (Thursday) sending eight cars off the tracks with at least two of them catching afire.

WGN-TV

Fire officials are trying to find out what cargo is in the derailed cars, but as of the time of this posting they had not, saying only that they do not believe any hazardous material is in them and there are no immediate plans to evacuate the area.

WFLD-TV has posted some early video of the fire:

 

Train Derails, Catches Fire in Bartlett: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

 

Ths incident is still working and no further information is available yet.

Check for updates on WFLD-TV HERE,
Chicago Tribune HERE.

Chicago Tribune

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 3, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – November 3

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Thursday Morning – Lager, sir, is regal.

Last night I saw that yesterday was a palindrome day, and I was disappointed that I didn't know about it in time to alert everyone yesterday morning.  The word "palindrome" probably sounds familiar to most of you, so I will remind you that a palindrome is a word, phrase, or sentence that is spelled the same way both forwards and backwards.  Such as:  Madam, I'm Adam.  A longer palindrome is:  Are we not drawn onward to new era?  You've seen those things before.  Some people take delight in trying to develop new ones and even longer ones.  (A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!)  Once you get started, it's hard to stop.

There are also palindromic place names such as Ekalaka Lake which is in Montana, and the Madoko Dam which is in Africa.  But I had never heard or thought about a palindromic date such as occurred yesterday:  11-02-2011.  It was here for 24 hours and now it's gone forever.  When will be the next one?  Somebody else will have to figure that out, not me.  Meanwhile, be advised that:  Marge lets Norah see Sharon's telegram.

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Our friend Jeff Harkey is the publisher of FireNews.net, the fine news site that keeps up with the fire and rescue news and events in North Carolina.  Unlike most news sites, he has a network of reporters, photographers and dispatchers throughout the state that make it possible for him to stay on top of the happenings and get fresh, timely reports on events.  Jeff is also a computer programming whiz and web designer, and has a successful business where he gets to play with his skills.  So it's no surprise that he upgrades and spiffs up the FireNews.net site once in a while like he did this week.  The all-new FireNews.net made its appearance on Monday afternoon and Jeff promises that he will be adding some new features in the near future.

He has about twenty improved and new features in this all-inclusive website and I suggest that you CLICK HERE to view his explanatory page that leads off with an interesting "biography" of the website that went online waaay back in May 2003.  The address is the same ( http://firenews.net/ ) so you don't have to change your bookmark.  Just continue to drop by regularly and see what's going on.

But now, we have to drop by the equipment bay and get things checked out for the day.  I'll get us some more coffee, then we'll meet later back in the day room.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 3, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Ambulance Crash, Burn, Ka-Boom

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If Only They Had Stayed on the Road

A PRIVATE TRANSPORT AMBULANCE IN OSHAWA, ONTARIO, strayed off the road and crashed into a light pole Sunday morning around 9am.  The impact caused a transformer on top of the pole to blow, dropping burning debris onto the ambulance,catching it on fire, and cutting power to the neighborhood.

CityNews

The sudden loss of electricity coupled with the loud noise of the transformer blowing, brought all the neighbors outside, some with their handy video cams.  Just as they took there front row seats, the fire in the ambulance caused an oxygen bottle to fail and the sudden ka-boom moved the crowd back a notch…..except for the intrepid cameraman:

 

The Sunday Surprise was duly recorded by someone else with a better view:

 

There was no patient in the ambulance and the two attendants got out safely before the fire took over.  They were both treated for minor injuries and released the same day.  The police didn't have an explanation for what brought the sudden change in direction for the ambulance that guided it into the light pole.

CityNews

The Toronto CityNews has the STORY.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 2, 2011 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, fire, Fires, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: , ,

The News Ticker

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Updates and Other Stories From the News Ticker

THE BODIES OF THE THREE missing workers of the grain elevator that blew up in Atchison, Kansas, were retrieved Monday morning.  Four of the six victims were under the age of 25, one of them planning to be married in three weeks.  OSHA has begun their investigation into the tragedy. 

The Washington Post has this update report HERE.

A FIRE COMPANY IN BADEN-BADEN, Germany, was having a rescue drill in an unused tunnel, Michaels Tunnel, Friday evening.  Near the end of the evolutions they inspected a rescue/survival container that is place inside because of the possibility of collapse.  While checking it out, something happened with the air supply equipment that caused a small explosion and injured four firefighters.

AHA photo

All four were transported to the hospital where they were treated and released Saturday morning.  No other information has been released yet.

Ka-News has the STORY.  Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, POLICE HAVE A medical preparedness problem.  The Alameda County medical and disaster preparedness coordinator is saying that after nearly two years of asking for some cooperation, the OPD has failed to respond to his request to prepare a plan for such emergencies.  This failure to function became prominent last week when a public protester at the Occupy Oakland gathering was struck in the head when someone threw a projectile.  The Bay Citizen reports:

One week after police and medical personnel stood by as Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen lay in the street with a fractured skull, Oakland still lacks a coordinated plan to treat injuries if they occur during Wednesday's general strike, according to a senior Alameda County official in charge of medical preparedness.

Olsen, 24, was participating in protests on Oct. 25 when he was struck in the head by a projectile. Riot police stood within 20 yards of where he lay and ambulance crews waited on standby two blocks away. Yet Olsen received medical treatment only after protesters dragged him more than two blocks, put him into a car and drove him to Highland Hospital.

Read the full story HERE.
From Mark Donovan.

SIX PEOPLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, were hospitalized Sunday night for carbon monoxide poisoning.  During the prolonged electricity cut following the blizzard last week, the residents decided to brighten and warm things up by lighting two charcoal grills inside the house.  You can probably guess the rest, but go ahead and read the STORY HERE.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 2, 2011 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics

Career Change Backfires for Missouri Firefighter

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You Have to Take the Test First

TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, 36, OF KINLOCH, MISSOURI Fire Protection District (St. Louis County) where he serves as a volunteer firefighter, has been kicked off the FD after stealing a lightbar from a Bella Villa police department cruiser.  The theft occurred sometime between October 15 and 27 at about the same time he had been suspended from the VFD for undisclosed reasons.

Kinloch Fire Station  (KSDK-TV)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tells us:

(Williams) has been charged with second-degree burglary and theft after stealing a light bar worth $1,895 sometime between Oct. 15 and 27, according to court documents.

Williams has volunteered with the Kinloch Fire District on and off, but had most recently volunteered steadily for the past four years. He was suspended in early October for personnel reasons, said Richard Parks, administrative assistant to the district.

"He had been indefinitely suspended and I was to reevaluate him at the beginning of 2012," Parks said. "I think we've come to a decision now. You can't wipe this away."

He wore a hood when he entered the police lot so that he could evade recognition from the security cameras, but he was caught anyway.  When he was confronted by the detectives, he admitted to taking the lightbar.

Williams hasn't offered a motive for his theft, but he is out on $7,500 bail.

Read the full article HERE.
Kinloch Fire Protection District WEBSITE.

Related story:  Kinloch Fire Department behind on their electric bill – KSDK-TV HERE.

Hat tip:  Bill J.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 2, 2011 • Filed under: crime, News • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – November 2

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Wednesday Morning – Red is the one on top.

One thing that's consistent in the vehicle operation category is that every few days an emergency vehicle collides with a non-emergency vehicle at an intersection, usually one controlled by a traffic light.  Safety officers and training sessions have been preaching for decades on the need to slow down and be cautious when you come across a red light.  Even if it's green, you still have to look around and expect that maybe some druggie is going to drive through his red light.  It's just too much of a risk to not take care at intersections.

What brought this up was this video that the Gnome Handler found yesterday.  It occurred in Krasnodar, Russia, this past June when everything was all lined up in the ambulance's favor….. except the guy who was making the left turn:

 

Oh, my.

Long-time readers will recall this crash that we posted three years ago from St. Louis (easy to see who has the red on this one):

 

So why is this still happening?  Well we know better, so don't put yourself in this situation, ok?

Running late this morning, so let's get the equipment checked out.  I'm heading for the coffee pot… clear traffic all the way.  See you back in the day room.

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"Only you can prevent first responder"

Posted by on November 2, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup

Anonymous backs off

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Real danger when blogging about the drug war

Robert Lemos, writing in InfoWorld on November 1, updates the status of the Anonymous threat against Los Zetas:

When the Anonymous movement has a bad day, supporters get arrested. When the Zeta drug cartel has a bad day, nearly three dozen of its members are killed and dumped on a Mexican highway. 

Anonymous threatens, then cancels, attack on drug ring

Los Zetas hung two and decapitated one blogger in September. 

Blogger "La Nena de Laredo" was 39 year old María Elizabeth Macías, the editor of Primera Hora, a daily based in Nuevo Laredo. Her decapitated body was discovered September 24. A poster was left with the body:

OK Nuevo Laredo en Vivo and social media sites. I am Nena de Laredo and I'm here because of my (online) reports and yours…..

For those who don't believe this happened to me because of my actions, for trusting in the Army and Marines…

Thank you for your attention,

La Nena de Laredo

ZZZZ

Reporters Without Borders for Press Freedom reported on September 26 that Macias was the fourth female reporter killed in Mexico in 2011.

Since 2000, 74 journalists have been killed.

In the past twelve months 19 mayors and over 50 police officers have been killed.

Woman newspaper editor beheaded in Nuevo Laredo, young reporter missing in Veracruz

Two hanging from a bridge

Robert Beckhusen, writing in the Wired.com Danger Room, filed this report September 15:

It’s no secret Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous places for working journalists. However, you’d think commenters on web forums and blogs would be treated differently — exempt, perhaps, from retaliation for speaking openly about the country’s deadly drug war.

You’d be wrong.

On Tuesday morning in the sprawling northern industrial metro of Nuevo Laredo, just across the Texas border, the bodies of two residents were found strung by their arms and legs from a pedestrian overpass. The appearance of the man and woman, both in their twenties, revealed signs of torture. The woman was disemboweled.

“This will happen to all the internet snitches (Frontera al Rojo Vivo, Blog Del Narco, or Denuncia Ciudadano),” read one banner accompanying the scene. Then a message. “Be warned, we’ve got our eye on you. Signed, Z.”

Mexican Cartels Hang, Disembowel ‘Internet Snitches’

Lemos, from InfoWorld, concluded with this item:

 Worried about the impact on both misidentified people and Anonymous followers, other supporters of the Anonymous movement worked to dismantle the operation over the weekend. In effect, the group canceled the attack, according to online news site Milenio."

Milenio appears to have posted a tweet time-line documenting this development: Anonymous cancela operación contra cártel mexicano

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: crime, culture, EMS Topics, News, Technology & Communications, Twitter, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

18-Tanker Relay at Mill Fire in Rhode Island

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Able to Put a Stop On the Fire

A FIRE BROKE OUT IN A 161-YR.-OLD FACTORY/MILL BUILDING in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, late Sunday night.  The blaze destroyed most of the original portion of the building, but firefighters were able to contain it and prevent it from spreading into a newer addition.

WPRI-TV

There were some people working in their offices in one of the tenancies when they noticed some light smoke in the building.  The called the FD and when the firefighters arrived they found heavier smoke filling the old mill building.  At first they entered the building to search for the seat of the fire, but within three minutes they realized it was lost, telling WPRI-TV:

"You could actually just watch it go the length of the building. You got almost a 200-year-old building, oil soaked floors, who knows what else," said Fire Chief Michael Williams.

(They said) it took roughly 20 minutes for fire to tear through the historic 15,000 square foot building.

WPRI-TV filed this video report from the scene:

 

Fire destroys historic Hopkinton mill: wpri.com

The 150-ft x 300-ft.wooden building is in a non-hydrant area, so 18 tankers were brought in to relay water from local ponds and a 280,000-gal. holding tank at an industrial park.

WPRI-TV

The Westerly Sun has a 24-image photo gallery HERE.
The Sun also has a write-up HERE.
WPRI-TV has more plus additional video HERE.
Extensive photo gallery at Dunn's Corners Fire Department WEBSITE.

Hat tip:  Jon Marr

The community's historic landmark is a total loss.  (WPRI-TV)

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Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

2 Alarms at New Hampshire Firefighter’s Home

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Everyone Escaped Safely Thanks to Smoke Detector

FIRE BROKE OUT ON THE THIRD FLOOR of a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, home early Tuesday morning.  The 3-story Victorian is owned and occupied by a Portsmouth firefighter who was at home at the time.  The Portsmouth Herald reports:

Firefighters from ten communities battled a two-alarm fire early Tuesday morning that caused an estimated $50,000 to $70,000 to the home of a city firefighter.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Achilles said a smoke alarm woke the residents of 604 Lincoln Avenue at 2:58 a.m. and when the first firefighters arrived on scene, flames and smoke were coming from a front window on the third floor of the two and one-half story, five bedroom home. Two Portsmouth engines, a ladder truck and two ambulances were dispatched and attack lines were established from the roof of a second-floor porch to the third floor, he said. Heavy fire then began breaking through third-story windows, firefighters conducted "an aggressive attack and a hole was cut in the roof to ventilate smoke and fire," he said.

Portsmouth Herald photo

"It was a great stop keeping the fire to the third floor," said the assistant fire chief. "All occupants made it outside and we're extremely thankful that everyone got out."

Early indications are that the fire started in a wall-mounted gas heater on the third floor.

Read the entire article in the Herald HERE.
The Portsmouth Patch has MORE.
Portsmouth Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged:

The day after… turns out zombies get bored and hungry

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Scenes from the Delaware County Ohio Zombie drill

 

Delaware County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management zombie outbreak exercise.

 

Delaware Gazette video by Andrew Tobias.

 

Bored and Hungry

Dave Tobias, a Delaware Gazette reporter, was imbedded with the zombie horde and provided a first person account of the event.

They were also a lit­tle bored. Emer­gency per­son­nel, run­ning the event fea­tur­ing roughly 200 zom­bie vol­un­teers, had been stag­ing for nearly half an hour.

Besides an occa­sional reminder, deliv­ered through a bull­horn, for infected indi­vid­u­als to remain inside the Selby Field fence, the zom­bies received lit­tle com­mu­ni­ca­tion from emer­gency per­son­nel.

Fire­fight­ers and para­medics were them­selves busy strate­giz­ing over what mys­te­ri­ous chem­i­cal agent had afflicted the zom­bies, and how to best address it.

Emer­gency per­son­nel, which included 10 area fire depart­ments, Delaware County EMS, Delaware Police Depart­ment and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, began accept­ing large quan­ti­ties of zom­bies for decon­t­a­m­i­na­tion 40 min­utes after they arrived on scene.

click on headline for entire story: Zombie-themed County EMA exercise draws more than 200 volunteers

I remember when the Level A chemical suits came out, the incident went from quick to campaign.

Wonder if there is a way to reduce the waiting-around time for role players.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, HazMat, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Patient Management, Training & Development, Urban Commander, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Morning Lineup – November 1

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Tuesday Morning – Will the Zombies revolt?

The night of the living dead is over with Hallowe'en behind us now.  Hopefully all the hobgoblins and creatures that go bump in the night will leave us alone for the next year.

"10-8 and back in quarters, Cap'n."
(thanks to Billy Sullivan and Gaston Wilson)

But I'm wondering about all these Zombies that have been unleashed.  They don't seem to be cooperative at all and I can't help but think that we have started something that we cannot control.  Do you ever think that maybe they don't like being made fun of, and might be resentful over the costume parodies that are the latest rage?  Perhaps that explains the outbreak of "business terrorism" going on up in Toronto,  Ontario, this past weekend.

Toronto's largest party supply store, the Amazing Party and Costume shop on Oxford Street has been the victim of a series of attempted bombings over the past three days.  It began at 3 am Saturday morning when a police patrol spotted a "suspicious" package outside near the store.  The bomb squad was brought in and they removed the package, but later in the morning two more were found planted inside the Amazing shop.  The store was immediately closed and the return of the bomb squad was the story of the day.  After removing the other two parcels, the Toronto police disclosed that they did contain explosives, but would not say anything further about the contents.

Amazing Party and Costume Store  (Google Street View)

Amazing was given permission to re-open Monday morning, just in time to try and salvage what they could from their busiest weekend of the year.  Alas, at 7:20 pm Monday the staff found still another device inside the shop and it was bomb squad time again.  During an exhaustive second search of the store, the police found a fifth device inside early this morning.  They're not saying whether these latest two bombs were missed in the earlier search, of if they were placed inside after the store re-opened yesterday morning. 

Global News photo

There's undoubtedly more to come on this story, so we'll keep an eye on things as they develop.  Meanwhile, you'd better not mess with Zombies for a while until the real culprit is identified here.

It's late, so we'd better get started on the equipment check.  I think this is going to be a busy day, so I'll make some extra coffee before we meet back in the day room.

CTV has the most recent report on the Toronto bombs HERE.

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Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

White Collar Vagrant update: it is cold in the B

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I think the thrill of living in an old ambulance is fading.

We met Stephanie and Lance a month ago: Living in a 1996 Type 1 Ambulance.

A creative 27 year old knowledge worker, she has tweeted the challenges of attempting to keep a 1989 diesel Ford F-350 with 189,000 miles working.

Oil leaks, failing to start, unexplained dying batteries and other issues familiar to some of us.

I hold my breath when reading @cityambulanceRV.

I have never had a chemical toilet explode in the ambulance (Day 48). Or purposely slept in an ambulance during a snowstorm.

Monday she updated her blog:

Tour of the ambulance living space

.

Stephanie wants some support:

I want to keep this show on the road, but need to keep my costs down for this to make sense.

After splurging on two propane heaters and what seem like bi-weekly tows, I can’t afford a power source for an electric blanket.

If you’re enjoying my blog and you’d like to buy me a beer or help keep me surviving click the Amazon wish list HERE…even $5 goes a long way and buys me one night of toasty warmth!

For every item someone is willing to help me out on my wishlist, I pledge to keep truckin’ through an additional chilly winter month.

Austere urban enthusiasts and professional car fans may want to email Stephanie at whitecollarvagrant@gmail.com to provide suggestions and support as she starts month three in suburban Boston.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on November 1, 2011 • Filed under: ambulances, culture, EMS Topics, News, Twitter, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,