from www.firefighterclosecalls.com news
REQUIRED DECAL COULD WARN FIREFIGHTERS OF STRUCTURAL CONSTRUCTION DANGERS
A seemingly small addition to certain city buildings may make firefighting a lot safer for the city's volunteer fire department. A public hearing will be held next month on a proposed ordinance that would require a reflective sticker be affixed to buildings built with prefabricated engineered lum... [ more ]
NIOSH's WARNING STICKER
Homes come with own water supply: Marine operations in evidence from Thursday at Liberty Dock, Waldo Ponit Harbor in Sausalito, California. Fire involves two houseboats. Read more about Thursday's fire.
He said after finishing the call, the firefighters responded to a call at their own station house.
Seelig said like everyone else, firefighters need to be careful and attentive when cooking.
According to Seelig, the fire caused smoke and heat damage, primarily to kitchen areas that had been scheduled for renovation. He said the damage has been repaired.
From Associated Press
Monday June 22, June 19, 2009
The Adairville Fire Department in Kentucky lost a fire truck last Sunday morning June 14, 2009. The department responded to a barn fire along with the Adairville Rural Fire Department on Thacker Road in the Schochoh community.
The truck, which was driven by Brent Holman, had left the scene to refill its tank with water and was returning when it met another vehicle, according to fire chief Jim Trimble.
“We were just shuttling water and met another vehicle and he got over a little too much and dropped off the shoulder,” Trimble said. “Of course there wasn’t really much of a shoulder there anyway and then the water shifted in the tank and the truck rolled over.”
Trimble reported that the fire truck turned completely over and can to rest upright.
Holman was wearing his seat belt and was not seriously injured. He was taken to Logan Memorial hospital by the Logan County EMS, which was already on the scene of the fire.
“I talked to him after he got home and he said his left shoulder was a little sore and that was about it,” Trimble said.
Even with the truck out of commission, the Adairville fire departments still managed to get the barn fire put out.
“All in all, it wasn’t so bad except for losing the truck,” Trimble said.
After the truck wrecked, the Adairville Fire Department was helped by the Auburn Fire Department, which helped clean up the mess and loaned Adairville a truck to use until other arrangements could be made.
“That was very, very gracious,” Trimble said. “I personally thank the mayor and Jeff Gregory and Steve Montgomery. They were a big help.”
Adairville mayor Jim Wilkerson said the company the city purchased the fire truck from would be coming out soon to assess the damage to the truck.
“Is it totaled? I don’t know,” Wilkerson said. “It threw the water tank out and busted it up really good. I’m not sure if it will be able to be fixed or not.”
Wilkerson said that the company will loan the city a truck to use until arrangements can be made to either fix the broken one, or get a new one.
“We maybe have to buy a new one, but it will be covered by our insurance,” Wilkerson said. “We should be responsible only for the deductible.”
KY
Monday, June 22, 2009 From Firefighter Close Calls
What a father's day for one Central Kentucky family after a fiery crash almost claimed the lives of two brothers.
Sunday, Eli and John Carter of Bourbon County got the chance to go back to work and spend time with the man who inspired them to become first responders, their father Danny Carter.
"It's going to be a great father's day; it really is," said Danny Carter.
Eli and John were responding to a call early Saturday morning just inside Nicholas County when their fire engine veered off the road, slamming into a rock wall and flipping onto its top.
"When those big trucks start sliding, there's nothing you can do, but just hang on and hope for the best," said Eli Carter, who was driving the truck.
The truck burst into flames once on its top, trapping the brother's inside.
"The doors were jammed, so we had to bust out the windows and crawl out as the flames were shooting into the cab," Eli said.
"I just started walking up the hill and my back started burning and I just fell to the ground," John Carter said.
John had to be air-lifted to UK hospital with what doctors thought might be a broken back. He ended up suffering just torn ligaments and muscles, and was walking early Sunday morning.
"I'm not sure if it was luck or faith, I just thank God I made it," he went on to say.
Their dad, Danny, who is also a volunteer firefighter, says he's feeling pretty lucky too.
"It could have been much worse, I'm thankful it wasn't," he said.
He went on to say it's a father's day he will not forget for many years.
"Yes, it's going to be a great father's day, they are walking and doing well, I couldn't ask for anything more."
State fire investigators will be in Millersburg this week trying to determine what caused the accident.
In the meantime, the volunteer Millersburg Fire Department is using its back-up truck to make emergency runs.
PGFD volunteer chief tells community he "can't guarantee service": You can't blame this on Ripp's retirement. This is a complaint from Forestville VFD Chief Bobby Wilhite that the county only gave him 16-hours notice before pulling the career firefighters out of Station 823 for day work today. You can read Chief Wilhite's thoughts in our comments section below the story we wrote Wednesday about the rotating removal of career personnel. Click here and scroll down.
Timeout documented: The report is out into how the two-day April stand down in Minneola, Florida was handled. It was ordered by the city manager after a lieutenant and a medic had some run ins during a couple of EMS calls. Read the report.
Answering the critics: Spring Hill, TN Chief Jim Swindle explains a little bit more about his residential sprinkler position after being criticized for telling local politicians he didn't want them because it would conflict with the state code. Click here.
Schaitberger says cities and towns are playing Russian roulette: An article in US Today by Kevin Johnson looks at the impact of firefighter cuts across the country through the eyes of IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. Read details.
Charleston coverage: Some links to find articles on yesterday's second anniversary of the Sofa Super Store fire in Charleston, SC that took the lives of nine firefighters. Click here, here, here and here.
New Florida chief from DC: Kenneth Ellerbe, who was acting chief in DC for a few moments years back when no one would take it after the resignation of Tom Tippett, has been named chief of the Sarasota County Fire Department. Ellerbe begins the job on July 20. You can read a bit more here and here.
Fire captain convicted of rape: In Calvert County, MD DC Fire & EMS Department Captain Tony Sneed has been convicted of raping a 23-year-old woman who was his stepdaughter's friend. Click here for the story.
Woman calls 911 755 times in two-and-a-half-years: But she doesn't just rely on something as impersonal as the telephone. Linda Dunnivan also flags down police officers. Click here for the story from Albemarle County, VA.
He's almost as bad a photographer as he is a reporter: You can see my lens work in the little video I created from the 2009 Maryland State Firemen's Association Convention in Ocean City. Click here.
An Iowa teenager with extraordinarily quick thumbs has beaten 250,000 competitors to win the top prize in a texting competition in New York.
Kate Moore, 15, of Des Moines won the $50,000 grand prize at the L.G. National Texting Championship, which had its final rounds Monday and Tuesday.
The competition tested speed, accuracy, texting know-how and acronyms.
In one round, contestants had to navigate an obstacle course while texting.
Kate went thumb-to-thumb with Dynda Morgan, 14, of Savannah, Ga., in a final three-round showdown that measured speed in texting lengthy messages without errors.
The third, and tie-breaking, round had both teens rushing to text, "Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy…MY oh MY, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin' my way…Zippity Do Dah Zippity Aay! WondeRful Feeling Wonderful day!"
In a text interview, CNN asked Kate, "Do ur thumbs hurt?"
A woman is suing her tattoo artist for inscribing 56 stars on her face while she was sleeping, instead of the three she says she requested.
Full Story Here: "I look like a bloody freak."
.Tattooist Romanian Toumaniantz, 37 - who is adorned with tattoos, piercings and rings
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING LEAD FOOTS !.....
Subject: Illinois to start using Photo Radar in July !
Illinois will begin using photo radar in freeway work zones in July. One mile per hour over the speed limit and the machine will get you a nice $375.00 ticket in the mail. Beginning July 1st, the State of Illinois will begin using the speed cameras in areas designated as "Work Zones" on major freeways. Anyone caught by these devices will be mailed a $375.00 ticket for the FIRST offense. The SECOND offense will cost $1000.00 and comes with a 90-Day suspension. Drivers will also receive demerit points against their license, which allow insurance companies to raise Insurance rates.
This is the harshest penalty structure ever set for a governmental unit involving PHOTO speed enforcement. The State already has two camera vans on line issuing tickets 24/7 in work zones with speed limits lowered to 45 MPH. Photos of both the Driver's face and License plate are taken. Pass this on to everyone you know who might be affected!!!
For more info: http://www.dot.state.il.us/press/r033005.html 
CSB Releases Safety Video on Need for Chemical Emergency Preparedness, Based on Findings from a
Decade of CSB Accident Investigations
Federal Agency Offers Free Safety Video on DVD - Targets Fire Fighters and Hazmat Responders
Washington, DC, DATE OF EMAIL 2009 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released a new safety video showing the need for emergency response agencies, companies, and communities to work closely together to prepare for the kinds of tragic chemical accidents the CSB has investigated over the past decade.
The new video, entitled "Emergency Preparedness: Findings from CSB Accident Investigations," uses computer animations, interviews, and news footage to depict a series of chemical accidents that illustrate the need for effective training, communications, and community planning. In some incidents, firefighters and police were overcome by toxic chemicals and forced to retreat from neighborhoods; in others, firefighters and workers were tragically killed and others injured.
The video is available online at www.csb.gov and on YouTube. It can be ordered free of charge on a new two-DVD set of all CSB safety videos by filling out the request form in the Video Room of www.csb.gov.
http://www.RivoliRevue.com Buy the video on DVD or buy the CD. This is the newest video and song written and performed by Ron and Kay Rivoli of the Rivoli Revue. Please be sure to register with You tube so you can rate and comment on the video. If you have a website we would really appreciate you adding a link to the video. We need your help to spread the word. And folks, that's written in plain ENGLISH. Also check out our myspace at www.myspace.com/RivoliRevue
ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH, railroad enthusiasts and day-trippers travel to Bonsal, North Carolina, to ride on the New Hope Valley R.R., a tourist excursion line operated by volunteers from the N. C. Railroad Museum.
Last week’s riders got a bonus with their ticket when they found out what happens when you don’t “Stop - Look - Listen”
Brian Kielty, 50, of Apex was driving the 21-yr.-old Mercury station wagon and was uninjured. But his vintage Merc will be off the road for a while. Kielty had no comment after being ticketed for “failure to reduce speed” by the State Highway Patrol.
Raleigh News & Observer photo
None of the approx. 100 passengers were injured either, but the train car had about $1,000 damage.
The Raleigh News & Observer has the full STORY.
New Hope Valley Railway WEBSITE.
An official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com -- Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE.
Technology and it's impact are being felt more and more with each passing day. Sometimes cognitively, other times without realization. We need to stop for a moment and fully grasp and comprehend where we are and more importantly, where we're going AND how we're going to get there. A bigger question is what are we going to do when we do arrive. Are you prepared, now? How are you assimilating within your own organization with the current generation of firefighters. The future impact is even more unimaginable, But Did You Know?.....
Submit questions via Firehouse.com
On a trip to Emmitsburg last week I sat at the lunch table as Chief Glenn Gaines and some of the staff at the United State Fire Administration worked out details of an event for Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week that you will be able to to follow on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet. Here is the information:
The USFA, NFFF, IAFC and NVFC invite you to participate in a national safety Twitter and Podcast event on Monday, June 15th from 1pm to 2pm eastern time. In cooperation with www.Firehouse.com , you will be able to ask and discuss critical Firefighter Safety and Survival topics with Chief Billy Goldfeder and Chief Robert Dube of the IAFC; Rich Duffy and James Brinkley of the IAFF; Phil Stittleburg of the NVFC; Ron Siarnicki of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; Acting Administrator Gaines and other Firefighter Survival experts from the USFA. In order to ensure a successful discussion, you are invited to submit your questions ahead of this event. Please submit your Firefighter Survival related questions and comments to www.Firehouse.com to ensure these individuals have your concerns and interests when they start their presentation on Monday. The live Twitter will also allow for spontaneous interaction by all participants during the 1PM-2PM time frame.
Take Care-BE CAREFUL,Glenn Gaines - Acting US Fire Administrator
Created & Released: 2009
The Evergreen Supertanker showed impressive results during the U.S. Forest Service administered grid tests earlier this year. From high, medium and low coverage levels, the Supertanker showed it provides quality, consistent retardant line construction.
http://www.evergreenaviation.com/supertanker/pdf/summary.pdf
EVERGREEN SUPERTANKER READY TO FIGHT WILDFIRES
The B747 Supertanker is certified to fly by Interagency Air Tanker Board
McMinnville, Ore.—Evergreen International Aviation’s B747 Supertanker won certification for operation this season after receiving its interim approval letter from the Interagency Air Tanker Board. The aircraft also received its Supplemental Type Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2008. It is now available to assist world firefighting agencies during the 2009 season and beyond. The award is unique because the Supertanker has an 8:1 drop ratio compared to that of all other current firefighting aircraft, meaning the Supertanker will forever change the way wildland fires are fought. The plane is the first of a fleet designed to accommodate the needs of U.S. and International private and public agencies.
The Supertanker showed impressive results during the U.S. Forest Service administered grid tests. From high, medium and low coverage levels, the Supertanker showed it provides quality, consistent retardant line construction. The cutting-edge aircraft proved it belongs on the front line, from the onset, to fight wildfire day and night. The uniformed pattern of the Supertanker drops, and its ability, in a single flight, for split loads at multiple coverage levels, gives agencies an incredibly versatile firefighting tool.
Full story at http://www.evergreenaviation.com/p_releases/032409.html
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
An Evergreen firefighter was injured after the fire apparatus he was driving rolled down a hill today. The firefighter suffered shoulder and neck injuries. He was wearing his seatbelt.
Chief Garry DeJong said the firefighter was driving a pumper truck a on a narrow road with no shoulder. He had moved to the side of the road to make room for oncoming traffic and started to slide and the truck rolled down the hill. The driver was the only person on board. He was taken to the hospital and was due to be released Tuesday evening.
The truck suffered significant damage. It landed on top of a 1969 Firebird the owner says he had been restoring for 30 years. An ATV was also damaged.
Pulaski, Va. Firefighter Jeffrey H. Reed died three days after suffering a medical emergency, according to the Web site FirefighterCloseCalls.com.
Reed was operating a fire apparatus at the scene of a structure fire in Pulaski County on June 5 when he began to experience a medical issue and was transported to the Pulaski Community Hospital.
He was transferred to UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. where he passed away on June 8.
Reed served the Town of Pulaski as a paid firefighter since 2002 and was a volunteer firefighter prior to that.
Interviews with witnesses & update at hospital from WLKY-TV
Meade County Fire Protection District
From Emily Udell, Courier-Journal.com:
Five Meade County firefighters were injured when their firetruck overturned around 6:15 p.m. Monday near Brandenburg as they responded to a report of a car wreck, a spokesman for Kentucky State Police said.
The firefighters were flown to University Hospital in Louisville by helicopter, said Chief Larry Naser of the Meade County Fire District.
TV stations report Engine 42 is the oldest rig in the fleet.
One firefighter was examined and released by 10:30 p.m., and the other four were still being treated in the emergency room.
"They are all conscious, alert and talking," Naser said. "They appear to be stable at this time."
He had no immediate information about their names or further information on their conditions.
The accident occurred on Ky. 448, about 30 miles southwest of Louisville, said Trooper Steve Pavey of the state police, who were investigating the incident.
It took about 25 minutes for other firefighters to extricate those trapped in the overturned pumper, Naser said.
The truck will have to be replaced, he said.
The man trapped in the wreck the firefighters were responding to was also extricated.
Naser said last night's wreck was the first involving Meade County's fire department since a 1974 crash in which a firefighter was ejected from a tanker.
"Today was a lucky day -- no one was killed," he said.
Numerous fire departments offered mutual aid and resources, including chaplains to speak to the families who were gathered at the emergency room last night.
David McArthur, a hospital spokesman, said the Red Cross would provide supplies and services.
Eric Johnson, director of the group Supporting Heroes, said firefighters from numerous area departments had stopped at the hospital to pay their respects.
All of the men involved in the pumper accident were experienced firefighters, Naser said.
The driver of the truck was a 10-year fire service veteran and had been certified to operate the vehicle for six months, he said.
By Duane Stanford and Brian K. Sullivan June 9 (Bloomberg) -- A roof collapse at a ConAgra Foods Inc. plant has injured 21 workers and left two others ...
Video: Police: 20 Hurt in Plant Collapse
3 Missing After ConAgra Plant Roof Collapse - CNN CNNMoney.com
Search continues at ConAgra plant where three are still missing
MOREAU, Mo. -- Three Missouri residents were killed Saturday evening when the vehicle in which they were riding was hit by a fire truck that was returning from a call.
The 2000 Pontiac van was hit broadside in the passenger's side by the 1997 KME Engine from the Moreau Fire Protection District, according to the crash report from Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The engine was headed south when the van crossed into its path.
The three passengers of the van were pronounced dead at the scene, while four others were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to the report.
Grant Beauchamp, 23, the driver and only person in the fire truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Troopers reported everyone was wearing seat belts.
from www.firefighterclosecalls.com news
UPDATE: TRIPLE FATAL APPARATUS CRASH IN MO. STATE POLICE REPORT
Sunday, June 7, 2009 From the MO State Police Report: FATALITY ACCIDENT- NEXT OF KIN NOTIFIED - VEHICLE 2 ATTEMPTED TO TURN LEFT AND DROVE INTO THE PATH OF VEHICLE 1. MILLER COUNTY CORONER RICK CALLAHAN PRONOUNCED THE 3 SUBJECTS DEAD AT 6:20 PM.
HERE is the entire report:
more
Video from Norm "Doc" Zaffater, Signal51group.com. Click here for some of Doc's vintage videos.
Story from John Andrew Prime, Shreveport Times:
Shreveport firefighters spent almost two hours Saturday afternoon battling a stubborn blaze in a metal storage building just south of the Market Street viaduct, at the northeast corner of Market’s intersection with 6th Street.
At peak, 21 fire units and their personnel were attacking the fire, which poured dense white and black acrid smoke into the air and snarled traffic passing through the area, which is often congested with traffic splitting onto Youree Drive and Spring Street South.
Callers reported heavy smoke coming from the single-story metal structure around 3:20 p.m.
Firefighters arriving on the scene found heavy smoke pouring from the structure, the former Kairos Global Building.
After almost two hours, heavy white-and-black smoke continued to pour from the building with occasional flames leaping from a structure atop it.
The fire was declared under control at 5:55 p.m. Its cause remains under investigation.
Fire spokesman Scott Wolverton said the old building had been enlarged several times over the years and contained wood shavings and other materials that led to a prolonged, stubborn fire that got into the walls and defied efforts to extinguish.
He said a unit from Fire Station 1 will monitor the situation through the night and respond to flareups as needed.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Dear Mayor & City Manager,
Odds are at this point, as hard as we have tried, you still don't seem to understand the need for our department, YOUR fire department, to be well prepared and fully able to respond quickly when our citizens call 9-1-1 for a fire. Mr. Mayor, this has nothing to do with how many fires we have----it has everything to do with every fire we have.
Actually, at this point, Mr. Mayor and Manager, you are probably tired of hearing our reasons why THE FIRE DEPARTMENT must be the only department that does not get cut in any area related to our ability to respond and protect our citizens. We absolutely feel that way. We are absolutely the MOST IMPORTANT service along with public safety in this community.
Mayor...especially after City Council backed down to the pressures of the Home Builders Association on residential fire sprinklers, our community needs a fully funded, staffed and trained FD more than ever!
So Mr. Mayor and City Manager, the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is our next attempt to help you understand. Understand that if our community does not have an adequately trained fire department with the right number of available firefighters and an ability to arrive within minutes of a reported fire, what is worth having in the community? As one of your fellow council members recently said, if we cannot protect those who elected us, why are we here?
Sure, we may not have many fires, but when we do have one, please understand how real it can be. The below video will show you that very, very dramatically. It is very real as far as happening in our own community. And when it does, because it will, the question will be: did we have the available firefighters, the training, open firehouses and response times to assure that those citizens have a chance?
Please take a moment and watch and listen to this video. (CLICK ON VIDEO LINK) There is every reason to believe the fire in this video can and will eventually happen in any community in the USA. The difference is, you as Mayor, you as City Manager and we as the firefighters only have ONE community to be concerned about: OURS.
As we shared with you in that recent council meeting, the FD is not very different than a good insurance policy, it is critical that we know up front what we will have covered by insurance....instead of waiting and hoping we never have a problem.
Respectfully,
Your Fire Chief, Officers and Firefighters
(DISCLAIMER: The above letter is meant for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where firefighter training, staffing and response times are adequate. Years of training required. Elected officials refusing to understand the seriousness of this issue should consider future political career related options)
Orlando Apt Fire with Entrapment - Staffing Video
Friday, June 5, 2009
A Volunteer Firefighter was killed in early this morning in the Line of Duty when his car wrecked as he was on the way to a vehicle fire...he was not wearing his seat belt. 18-year-old Matthew Douglas Tramel of the Pembroke (N.C.) Fire Department was killed about 0053 hours this morning when the vehicle he was driving struck a tree. FF Tramel was driving his private vehicle, and was alone in the car, was driving about 65 mph in a 55-mph zone when the vehicle exited the road to the left and struck the tree.
FF Tramel, who, as stated, was not wearing a seat belt and was killed immediately. He joined the Pembroke FD in April of this year. Our sincere condolences to all affected-especially the members of the PFD and his friends and family.
Third of Four Key Areas: Survival - Structural Size-Up and Situational Awareness
The IAFC and the IAFF are asking you to Protect Yourself: Your Safety, Health and Survival Are Your Responsibility. We're calling on all fire/EMS departments and all IAFF affiliates to participate in the 2009 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week scheduled for June 14-20.
Fire chiefs should develop situational awareness of their own organizations and ensure firefighters and company officers are aware of what is happening around them as well. One critical issue is building construction.
It's extremely important for firefighters to become familiar with and understand the make-up of the structures with which they are dealing, as their lives can depend on it. Make it a priority to ensure you and your firefighters understand the building materials currently being used and those used in the past to construct buildings in your community.
Third of Four Key Areas: Survival - Structural Size-Up and Situational Awareness
The IAFC and the IAFF are asking you to Protect Yourself: Your Safety, Health and Survival Are Your Responsibility. We're calling on all fire/EMS departments and all IAFF affiliates to participate in the 2009 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week scheduled for June 14-20.
Fire chiefs should develop situational awareness of their own organizations and ensure firefighters and company officers are aware of what is happening around them as well. One critical issue is building construction.
It's extremely important for firefighters to become familiar with and understand the make-up of the structures with which they are dealing, as their lives can depend on it. Make it a priority to ensure you and your firefighters understand the building materials currently being used and those used in the past to construct buildings in your community.
The Rasmussen poll conducted over the weekend of May 30-31 asked a key question designed to give us perspective on Obama's current popularity. The question was whether the current problems "are due to the recession that began under the Bush administration or to the policies Obama has put in place since taking office." In other words, who's to blame, Bush or Obama?
By 62-27, voters say Bush is still the culprit.
As long as this opinion remains prevalent, Obama will continue to enjoy high popularity. But when it changes, as it inevitably must, we will see him begin a long, long fall.
And this is the key measurement to watch.
The real recession -- dating from the stock market collapse -- began four months before Bush left office. And it is now four months since Obama was inaugurated. From this vantage, it still looks to voters like Bush's recession.
But it will become increasingly obvious that the large deficit Obama has incurred while pursuing his cure for the recession is, on its own, causing more problems than it solves. As high interest rates and, most likely, inflation, begin to set in -- with no relief in unemployment -- it will be obvious that Obamanomics isn't working and is, in fact, aggravating the economic trouble.
Obama, recognizing the danger, has recently begun to speak out -- without even cracking a guilty smile -- against the huge budget deficit he created. He is trying to blame the deficit, too, on Bush. But voters will not overlook the huge spending sprees of January and February, when Obama quadrupled the 2009 deficit. They will come to see that spending as a huge mistake and will shift their blame to the new president who proposed it.
Obama now faces a choice of poisons.
He can leave taxes as they are and take the poison of high interest rates, rapid inflation and a new recession, all caused by the massive borrowing he has forced on the Treasury. If the Treasury cannot sell enough bonds at a reasonable interest rate, it will, of course "monetize the deficit" -- economics-speak for printing money so that there will be enough to buy the Treasury debt at moderate interest rates. But the process of so vastly expanding the money supply (or even just leaving the current expansion in place without trying to soak up the extra money) will cause its own runaway inflation.
Or Obama can break his pledge and raise taxes on everybody. His soak-the-rich approach will not be enough to cover the deficit. Especially when one factors in his healthcare proposals, big tax increases on the middle class become an increasing likelihood. And when we consider his cap-and-trade legislation, huge increases in utility rates also loom.
Either poison will make it clear that the economy is suffering from the medicine Obama administered, rather than the original disease that started under Bush.
And, of course, while we cannot predict precisely the start date of the Obama-generated misery, it's pretty clear that it will be a long-lasting pain. Neither inflation nor the pain of higher taxes is going to go away soon. And either approach will probably kindle a new recession.
Some economists think we will have an L-shaped recession from which we do not emerge for years and years. Others think it will be a W-shaped recession (not Bush's W) in which we emerge briefly and then go back down again. But a U-shaped recession, in which we go down and then come bouncing back, probably cannot happen with Obama's deficits now firmly in place. Then it will become clear that the cure was worse than the disease.
Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!
Hard to make out the sound in the video, yet another instance of tempers getting the best of the HP and the EMT. Who does have the right of way in this instance. Better to give way, but no call for the Trooper to make an issue out of this.
NEW INFO 5/30: Troopers now officially identified by OHP & Paramedic White provides further details in comment to TV station website
Read statements from the patient & witnesses, plus information on Oklahoma law
See how police are reacting to the video
Read reports written by Critical Care Paramedic Maurice White Jr. and EMT-B Paul Franks
Watch the latest story from KWTV-TV
Read the latest story from KWTV-TV
Read paper by Maurice White Jr. on the state of EMS in Oklahoma
Watch the original story from KWTV-TV including interview with witnesses
Read orginial story from KWTV-TV
This incident happened Sunday on Highway 62 near Paden, Oklahoma. A trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol pulled over a Creek Nation ambulance as it was heading to the hospital with a patient. TV station KWTV-TV broke this story. KWTV-TV's Dave Jordan reports there is also dash cam video that apparently includes the alleged assault by the paramedic. That video has not been released.
STATter911.com has been in contact with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Health System, the operators of the ambulance. Spokesman Thompson Gouge would only say the matter is under investigation, but on Wednesday evening Gouge passed along the statements of Critical Care Paramedic Maurice White Jr, who was treating the patient, and EMT-B Paul Franks, who was driving the unit. Click the link above to read their accounts of the incident.
Some details earlier today from our sister station WFMY-TV's website:
A scuffle between first responders in Oklahoma is caught on tape.
Highway Patrol troopers and a paramedic nearly come to blows while a patient waits to be taken to the hospital. The encounter was caught on a cell phone came by Kenyada Davis, the son of the patient in the ambulance.
The incident started when the ambulance failed to yield to state troopers en route to a call. Davis say the ambulance driver was trying to avoid hitting a car that slowed down and wasn't aware that troopers were nearby until it was too late.
After the troopers finished their official business, they pulled the ambulance over. A struggle ensued as they tried to arrest the driver.
According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the paramedics assaulted the trooper just before the fight broke out.
The Okfuskee County District Attorney's office is reviewing footage and could file criminal charges against the paramedic by the end of the week.
UPSET AT LEARNING THAT A MEMBER OF THE ROCHESTER, ILLINOIS, VFD was recently arrested on child pornography charges, a citizen of Rochester has asked the state legislature to pass a law requiring background checks on all FD applicants in the state.
Even though that in this recent case, Justin Weaver probably would have passed the screening, Kathryn Dinardo still thinks that it should be made mandatory. The Springfield State Journal-Register reports:
Speaking at a meeting last week of the Rochester Fire Protection Board, Dinardo told fire trustees she has asked state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, to introduce legislation requiring background checks.
If mandatory background checks had been in place, Dinardo believes the Rochester Fire Department might not have hired Justin Weaver, who was arrested this month on federal child pornography charges. Weaver, 24, is the son of another Rochester firefighter.
Federal authorities said some of the images they found on Weaver’s computer were of him with children while he was in his firefighter’s uniform and at the Rochester fire station.
“As a fireman, the defendant placed himself in a position where children would trust and be drawn to him,” prosecutors stated in a proffer to the court. “Many of the images recovered from his computer show the defendant with children in his uniform and around the fire station.”
However, the fire district’s attorney says that in this case any background check wouldn’t have shown any potential problem with Weaver.
The volunteer departments throughout the state have varying policies on if and what kind of background checking is carried out.
Read the entire story HERE.
Weaver was indicted on May 8 following an investigation by several local police agencies and federal authorities. After receiving tips from family members, they obtained search warrants on January 9 and raided Weaver’s home. According to the State Journal-Register:
Weaver reformatted his computer in January and deleted all the child pornography, authorities say, but he allegedly told his wife he also viewed such images on his father’s computer.
Police seized three computers and multiple CDs and DVDs from the Mechanicsburg Road residence and another computer at Weaver’s father’s home.
Authorities did a forensic examination of the computers and found one was reformatted the afternoon of Jan. 4. Even so, they found 3,908 images of child pornography on the machine, primarily of young boys who resemble the 13-month-old and the 7-year-old, according to the court documents. Authorities also allegedly found an additional 172 images of child pornography on Weaver’s father’s computer.
They also recovered “many other images of (Weaver) with other children, primarily young boys, including images of young boys in various states of undress and asleep,” the court documents say. Police have not identified all of the children.
Weaver’s trial is scheduled for July 7. The full story on the arrest earlier this month is HERE.
Wish had this videos when I was teaching Tactics & Strategy Classes. Previously I have shown you some of the Inside the Command Post videos posted by Battalion Chief Mike Alder of the San Bernardino City Fire Department. This latest clip was shot on Sunday afternoon with the camera rolling just 3 minutes after the 2:15 PM dispatch. Here is Chief Alder's description posted on the department's media information blog:
39 SBFD firefighters responded to the ACE Radiator Shop. This commercial building is approximately 2500 square feet and was well involved with fire when the initial companies arrived on scene. Firefighters encountered several access problems along with an electrical panel that was involved with fire. Due to the heavy fire involvement and the electrical problems, the SBFD was initially forced to fight the fire defensively until the electrical and access problems were resolved. One firefighter sustained a minor electrical injury and was transported to St Bernadine’s Hospital for observation.
Video & audio from a commercial fire on Sunday in San Bernardino.
