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NY Paramedic Critical Following Head-On Crash

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Not Running Emergency

A MOBILE LIFE AMBULANCE IN ULSTER COUNTY, New York, collided head-on with a pickup truck Saturday morning. 

Daily Freeman

The crash left the ambulance driver in critical condition.  He had to be extricated by the FD before being flown to Albany.  The other medic with him was treated at Kingston Hospital then transferred to Albany also.  The two passengers in the pickup were able to get out of the truck on their own and were also transported.

The accident occurred around 7 am on Rte. 32 near Bloomington.  The two vehicles were travelling in opposite directions and the ambulance was not on an emergency call when it happened.

From early reports, the police do not yet know what caused them to end up in the same lane.

The Daily Freeman provided some raw video from the scene:

 

The Times Herald-Record has the early STORY.

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Posted by on May 18, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, Uncategorized, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Bent Treasurer Update

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Tarnished Lawyer Pleads Guilty

THE FORMER TREASURER OF the Woodstock Fire Company No. 3 in Ulster County, New York, pleaded guilty Wednesday before the court of stealing more than $221,000 from the volunteer organization.

Firegeezer first covered this story in October when Dale D. Hughes, Jr., 64, was charged with the crimes that were listed in our STORY HERE.

The Mid-Hudson News reports this morning:

Dale Hughes, 64, entered a guilty plea to grand larceny in the second degree. Hughes is an attorney and onetime Woodstock Town Board member.

After a company check bounced in May 2011, Hughes borrowed $170,000 from family and put the money back into the company’s bank account, said District Attorney Holley Carnright.

"He also has agreed to pay the additional money that he stole, which is about $50,000 and to do that before the date of his sentencing. If he does that, it will be our recommendation that he not have to serve any additional time," Carnright said.

His sentencing is scheduled for March 13.

The Kingston Daily Freeman has MORE.

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Posted by on January 17, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, EMS Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Landowner Indicted For Costly April Brush Fire

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Wanton Disregard of Burn Laws

THE MAN WHO DELIBERATELY SET a brush fire on his property in Ulster County, New York, last April 7th was indicted by a Grand Jury on Friday on felony arson charges after deciding that his actions were "risky enough to constitute a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe."

Lance Muckenhaupt, 56, of Long Island had given a $25,000 deposit to the Western Mohegan Tribe to purchase 50 acres of the former Tamarack Lodge, a once-popular Catskills resort.  In early April he went to the property with the thought in mind that it needed to be thinnned out and set a fire to burn off the brush.  It was a windy day and the fire quickly got away from him and took off through the woods eventually burning down more than 40 buildings including 18 residences and 250 acres of woods.

Several hundred firefighters from 63 fire companies in four counties worked the fire until it was knocked down about ten hours later.

For more details of his escapade, read the Firegeezer video reports HERE and HERE.

Compounding his misdeed was the fact that he did not have a burn permit and there was also a burn ban in effect until May 15.

The Times Herald-Record filed this video report back in April that includes some good fire footage:

 

The Daily Freeman has the report on this latest action HERE.

Hat tip:  Tom L.

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Posted by on October 16, 2012 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Another Treasurer Goes Dipping, Gets Dunked

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Retirement Plans Have Been Altered

AN ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK, MAN has been charged with stealing over $221,000 from the Woodstock Fire Company No. 3 where he served as treasurer for nearly five years.  The New York State Comptroller says that Dale D. Hughes, Jr., 64, (who is a lawyer himself) endorsed 83 checks totaling $200,385 that were made payable to cash. Auditors estimate the former treasurer pocketed an additional $21,000 in cash proceeds from various pancake breakfast fundraisers.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a press release Friday that says, in part:

Investigators traced much of the stolen money to Hughes's personal bank accounts. When documents were requested by DiNapoli's staff, Hughes altered bank and vendor records in an effort to conceal his theft. Hughes cashed $12,975 worth of checks in 2006; $61,565 in 2007; $32,130 in 2008; $66,500 in 2009; $16,565 in 2010; and $10.650 in 2011, according to the audit.

The fire company's executive committee – which consists of the company president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, chief officers, and three directors – was unaware of the fraud until May 2011 when a payment of $10,000 for a new fire truck bay was returned for insufficient funds.

After Hughes was questioned by fire company officials about the bounced check, they contacted the Comptroller's office about the situation. The former treasurer then attempted to cover his tracks with a series of undocumented deposits into the fire company's account. These include: 

  • A wire transfer made on May 24, 2011 into the fire company's checking account in the amount of $50,000 from the account of Hughes' sister.
  • Deposits made to the company's checking account from Hughes' personal checking account totaling $68,600 on three separate dates: June 3, 2011 ($60,000), June 20, 2011 ($5,000) and August 31, 2011 ($3,600).
  • A check for $51,159, dated August 1, 2011, from the Hughes' checking account used to open a certificate of deposit in the fire company's name.

It is estimated that Hughes, a resident of the Town of Lake Hill, replaced as much as $170,000 of the missing funds as of July 2012.

Woodstock Fire Co. No. 3  (Google Street View)

Read the entire press release that also lists the shortcomings of the FD officers that allowed this to happen HERE.

Hat tip to:  Elwin McNamara

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Posted by on October 13, 2012 • Filed under: crime, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Port Ewen Update

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THE FIRE THAT BURNED ONE WING of the Capi 400 Motel in Ulster County, New York, has been determined to be a possible arson.

Daily Freeman / Barricklo

The fire on Monday night (reported in Firegeezer HERE) destroyed five rooms in the hotel and left the entire hotel uninhabitable.  The previous report in Firegeezer told of one man being unaccounted-for at the time.  He was located Tuesday unharmed.  The Kingston Daily Freeman reported Wednesday:

Capt. Michael Freer of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said county arson investigators were at the U.S. Route 9W motel on Tuesday with a dog trained to locate accelerants. He said evidence gathered by the investigators was sent out for testing, though he did not know what specifically was found or how long the testing would take.

The fire began about 6:30 p.m. Monday in Room 226 of the motel, Freer said. He said the room was rented by Jonathan N. Bonner, 43, who initially was unaccounted for after the blaze.

Bonner was found unharmed on Tuesday, having spent the night at a friend’s house, said sheriff’s Detective Lt. Edwin Brewster. Freer said Bonner is not a suspect in the arson probe even though the fire started in his room.

“We interviewed him today, and we’re confident he was not involved,” Freer said on Tuesday.  He said the Sheriff’s Office has good leads in the case, but he would not elaborate.

The Daily Freeman provided this raw video taken at the fire:

 

Update:  Video taken as units are arriving showing fire conditions provided by ScanRadio:

 

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Posted by on December 22, 2010 • Filed under: arson, Fires, investigations, Videos • Tagged: ,

Ulster County Gets Another One

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FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO DAYS, Ulster County, New York, firefighters had a major blaze on their hands Tuesday night when they were called to a fire in a vacated school building.

Kingston Daily Freeman

The former St. Peter’s elementary school in Kingston was burning when the FD got the alarm at 9 pm.  On arrival the units started an interior attack on the top floor, but at 9:35 all personnel were pulled out and an exterior attack was started.  At 9:50 the entire roof collapsed.

The fire spread through the entire 18,000 sq. ft. building and appears to have completely destroyed it.  There were some vulnerable exposures and the firefighters were able to contain the fire to the school building, preventing any spread.

Daily Freeman

At 7:30 am Wednesday units were still on the scene mopping up and tending spot fires.  A report from the scene tells us:  Care had to be taken not to apply too much pressure on the walls with the master streams and create a collapse condition. Ideally, getting the ladders closer to allow for a direct downward hose stream would have made the operation more safe and efficient, however, due to the terrain and the surrounding exposures, this was not completely achievable.  A collapse of this building would have done severe damage to the immediate exposures.

The Kingston Daily Freeman tells: 

Built in 1911, the former Catholic school building on Adams Street had been vacant for years, but had been under renovation since March under a $2 million state grant that was to turn the building into a day care center for children of migrant farm workers, among other uses.

Thanks to Tom L. for assistance.

Posted by on December 22, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,