A new version of MARPLOT is available at

http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/marplot.htm

MARPLOT® (Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks) is a

general-purpose mapping application program that allows you to create, view, and modify maps quickly and easily. It also allows you to link objects on your computer maps to data in other programs.

What is MARPLOT?

_ General-purpose mapping application program

_ Used for creating, viewing, and modifying maps

_ Links objects to data in other programs

_ Used with CAMEO or LandView™ applications

_ Contains information that can be shown on a map

MARPLOT is part of CAMEO’s suite of three separate, integrated software applications

» MARPLOT – Mapping application

» CAMEO – Chemical database and Information modules

» ALOHA – Air dispersion modeling

CAMEO is computer software for chemical emergency planners and responders

Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO)

 

EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed this web site to facilitate the use of CAMEO and to offer online technical support. Please visit periodically for the latest news, information, and resources.

http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/index.htm

ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres)

ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) is a computer program designed especially for use by people responding to chemical releases, as well as for emergency planning and training. ALOHA models key hazards—toxicity, flammability, thermal radiation (heat), and overpressure (explosion blast force)—related to chemical releases that result in toxic gas dispersions, fires, and/or explosions. (Note: In versions prior to 5.4, ALOHA only models the toxic threat: specifically, how a toxic gas cloud might disperse in the atmosphere after an accidental chemical release.)

http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/aloha.htm

LandView is an innovative “community right-to-know” software tool in the format of an electronic atlas.

LandView has its roots in the CAMEO software (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations). CAMEO was developed by the EPA and the NOAA to facilitate the implementation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. This far-reaching law requires communities to develop emergency response plans addressing chemical hazards and to make available to the public information on chemical hazards in the community.

This product contains both database management software and mapping software used in the CAMEO system to create a simple computer mapping system involving two programs - MARPLOT^® and LandView.

http://www.census.gov/geo/landview/

Couple of items of note

Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite insulation poses health hazard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning the public and electricians, plumbers and other contractors who perform work in attics about the potential risks of asbestos exposure from contaminated vermiculite insulation. Vermiculite from a Libby, Mont., mine containing asbestos was sold from 1919 to 1990 and used in the majority of vermiculite insulation in the United States. EPA's guidance document (English/Spanish) and vermiculite Web page offer ways to help reduce exposure.

Vermiculite

http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/verm.html

DHS Coordinates National Level Exercise to Prevent Terrorist Attacks with Federal, State, Local Tribal, Private Sector, and International Partners

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will launch on Monday the five-day National Level Exercise 2009 (NLE 09)—the first national level exercise to focus on terrorism prevention—in conjunction with federal, state, local, tribal, private sector and international partners.

“Coordinating with our partners across the United States and around the world is critical to protecting the nation from terrorist attacks,” said Secretary Janet Napolitano. “The National Level Exercise allows us to test our capabilities in real-time to refine and strengthen our strategies for preventing terrorist attacks.”

The Congressionally mandated exercise—directed by the White House and coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—promotes intelligence and information sharing between and among federal, state, tribal, local, private sector and international participants. The NLE 09 scenario focuses on preventing a terrorist from entering the United States to carry out additional attacks in the aftermath of a terrorist event outside of the country, prioritizing intelligence and law enforcement activities that detect, disrupt and deter preventable terrorist incidents.

“FEMA’s focus is to make sure that our entire response team, from the general public up to the highest level of government, is taking steps now to increase preparedness – regardless of what the next emergency or disaster is,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “This exercise is an important step in our ongoing preparedness efforts, and allows FEMA and its federal partners to better serve and protect our citizens.”

The Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, and State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and a broad spectrum of component agencies, offices and commands will all participate in the exercise. NLE 09 activities will take place at command posts, emergency operation centers, intelligence centers and field locations throughout the country, including federal headquarters facilities in the Washington, D.C. area as well as federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and California. International partner nations will include Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The Navajo Nation will also participate.

Following the exercise, a comprehensive evaluation process will assess counterterrorism and law enforcement prevention capabilities regionally, nationally and internationally.

To learn more about NLE 09, visit http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/nle09.shtm

Guinness World Record Fire Truck Parade

YOU ARE INVITED!

Cass County, Casselton, ND Summerfest will be celebrated during the weekend of August 13-16, 2009. The parade, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 15th, at 11:00 A.M., represents one of the many events planned for the weekend. They invite you and/or your organization to participate in this parade. This year, they will be making a Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the most fire trucks in a parade. Currently, the record for the largest parade of fire trucks is 159 and was achieved by Vogt Ltd., Fire Service Accessories and Vehicles in Oberdiessbach, Switzerland on April 28, 2006. Sponsors are hoping that they can beat this record. The main criteria are that the entry must have been in service at some time and had a capability of extinguishing a fire. So that eliminates a Fire Chief Vehicle or rescue truck. They are hoping that they can count on your department to participate with at least 1 fire truck.

 

There are over 100 entered already from Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota as of July 23, 2009.

Watch their website, www.casscountysummerfest.com/firetruckparade.htm for more details.

Firefighter injured, truck destroyed in crash

Firefighter injured, truck destroyed in crash

from FirefighterCloseCalls.Com - Home of the Secret List

An Alvaton volunteer firefighter was injured and a fire truck destroyed after the truck rolled over Monday on Boyce-Fairview Road. While responding to a report of an outbuilding fire at 1166 Greenbrier Road shortly after 3 p.m., firefighter William Tabor, 26, of Bowling Green said he veered from the road to avoid a collision with a white Impala that was driving on the wrong side of the road, according to a Warren County Sheriff’s Office release. The truck rolled over and came to rest on its wheels. Tabor was taken to The Medical Center, where he was treated and released Monday for injuries which included a fractured eye socket and jaw bone. Engine 28 was virtually destroyed and the driver of the Impala did not stop, according to...

Kentucky Firefighter Injured in Rollover

Uncle Jay Explains July 20, 2009

Sorry if this week's news seems a little late. By about 40 years! Everybody kept talking about Walter Cronkite, plus the historic landing on the moon (wink wink). Maybe they're just trying to get us ready for next month, when they won't shut up about Woodstock.

NFPA Report Finds Sprinkler Ordinances Don’t Hurt Housing Construction or Prices

New Report Finds Sprinkler Ordinances Don’t Hurt

Housing Construction or Prices

County-wide mandates for life-saving sprinklers do not result in reduced housing supplies, compared to counties without sprinkler requirements

July 15, 2009 — The results of a new study conducted for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) concluded that the presence of sprinkler ordinances has no negative impact on the number of homes being built.

Conducted by Newport Partners, Comparative Analysis of Housing Cost and Supply Impacts of Sprinkler Ordinances at the Community Level compared residential construction in four counties; Montgomery County, Maryland, was paired with Fairfax County, Virginia, and Prince George's County was paired with Anne Arundel County, both located in Maryland.  Montgomery County and Prince George's County have sprinkler requirements; Fairfax County and Anne Arundel County do not. The selected areas, all developmentally mature, cover a wide geographic area and contain a variety of housing stock and income levels, making them prime for comparing municipalities with and without sprinkler ordinances in place.

“This study clearly demonstrates that home fire sprinkler requirements do not impede housing development starts,” says Jim Shannon, NFPA president. “This report is another point to make the case for enacting life-saving sprinkler requirements in local communities. “

Sprinkler ordinances were enacted in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in several stages, beginning in the late 1980s, but never in Fairfax County. Anne Arundel County adopted a requirement for single-family detached residences this year; this study looked at Anne Arundel County housing starts prior to the ordinance. No reduction in the number of single-family homes built in either Montgomery County or Prince George’s County accompanied the enactment of ordinances, compared to the other two counties in the study that do not have sprinkler ordinances. Rather, both Montgomery and Prince George’ counties saw larger relative increases in construction in the year after the ordinances went into effect, compared to the other two counties.

Data for the analysis included annual single-family building permits, surveys of housing and households, local documents and news reports released before and after adoption of residential sprinkler requirements, as well as reviews of other housing regulations. Interviews with key builders, trade association staff and local government officials were also conducted.

In interviews, builders and staff of the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA)all indicated that the sprinkler requirements did not significantly affect the volume, character or price of the construction of new homes.  According to the report, "None of the statistical or interview information demonstrated that the requirements led to reduced housing supply."

All model safety codes now require the use of fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes. These requirements offer the highest level of safety to protect people and property. To review the complete finding from this report, please visit the Fire Sprinkler Initiative’s Web site at www.firesprinklerinitiative.org. The report can be found under “Research and Reports.”

N.J. Man Dies After Falling Into Vat of Chocolate

CAMDEN, N.J. --

Authorities say a man has died after falling into a vat of melted chocolate in a New Jersey processing plant.

The Camden County prosecutor's office identified the victim as 29-year-old Vincent Smith II of Camden. He was a temporary worker at the Cocoa Services Inc. plant.

The accident happened Wednesday morning as Smith was loading chocolate into a vat where it's melted and mixed before being shipped elsewhere to be made into candy.

Prosecutor's spokesman Jason Laughlin says a co-worker tried to shut off the machine and two others tried to pull Smith out of the 8-foot-deep vat. He was hit and fatally injured by the agitator that mixes the chocolate.

Cocoa Services hires a second company - Lyons and Sons - to do the mixing.

Woman trapped for 90-minutes, Runaway fire engine injures three people in Indiana. - Video

Watch story from WTHR-TV

Story from FireFightingNews.com

More from Firefighter Close Calls

A woman was trapped for 90-minutes under a fire engine Saturday night after the 1988 Grumman took off while firefighters tended to an injured person. It happened around Lake Santee during Fourth of July fireworks. The firefighters from the Clarksburg VFD told the sheriff's department they had put the rig in park, it started "winding up" and "just started bouncing and going".

A nurse who was already helping the person the fire crew had come to assist, was the one who was trapped. Her leg was caught between the steering rod and axle.

More from the AP:
A rolling, unmanned fire truck injured two pedestrians and a motorist inside a parked vehicle at a southeastern Indiana Fourth of July fireworks display.
The Decatur County Sheriff's Department says volunteer firefighters were responding to another emergency about 10 p.m. Saturday when the injuries occurred at Lake Santee, about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
The sheriff's department says no one was inside the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department truck when it began moving and struck the two pedestrians and the parked vehicle. It's not clear why it began moving.
The sheriff's department isn't disclosing the extent of the injuries, nor is Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, where the three were taken.

YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES"

Smokey Bear stars in new CG-animated PSAs and appears on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube in time for July 4^th

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/38913/ 

http://www.smokeybear.com/

Washington, D.C., June 30, 2009 /PRNewswire/ — The Advertising Council joined today with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters to launch a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to celebrate Smokey Bear's 65th birthday and provide critical information to Americans about wildfire prevention. The television, radio, print and online PSAs are being distributed prior to the July 4th holiday, a time when many people go camping, have outdoor BBQs and light fireworks.

Since his "birth" on August 9, 1944, Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of conservation and protection of America's forests. His message about wildfire prevention has helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually by wildfires, from about 22 million (1944) to an average of 7 million today. However, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical environmental issues affecting our country. Many Americans believe that lightning starts most wildfires. In fact, on average, 9 out of 10 wildfires nationwide are caused by people. The principle causes are campfires left unattended, trash burning on windy days, arson, careless discarding of smoking materials or BBQ coals, and operating equipment without spark arrestors.

Created pro bono by ad agency Draftfcb, the same volunteer agency that has created work for the campaign since 1944, the new PSAs specifically target young adults who live in the wildland/urban interface – people who are likely to be casual campers, hikers, or mountain bikers – to remind them that Smokey is counting on them to prevent human-caused wildfires. The new PSAs seek to continue to decrease the number of human-caused wildfires and one new TV spot is designed specifically to celebrate Smokey's birthday. The ads feature CG-animation and encourage young adults to "Get Your Smokey On" – that is, to become like Smokey and speak up when others are acting carelessly.

"Smokey Bear is the nation's symbol for wildfire prevention and his important message has been communicated to generations of Americans during the past sixty five years," said Helene Cleveland, Fire Prevention Program Manager, U.S. Forest Service. "Smokey's enduring message is as critical today as it was when he was introduced in 1944 and I am confident that our new PSAs will continue to raise awareness about wildfire prevention issues."

The PSAs direct audiences to visit the campaign's website, www.smokeybear.com, where they can take a pledge and learn more about wildfire prevention. Sections of the website, including the historical overview of the campaign, or "Smokey's Journey," and the kids section of the site "Smokey Kids" have recently been re-designed by Cannery Agency. In addition to the new PSAs and website, Smokey Bear now has profile pages on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to further the reach of his messages to young adults:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/smokeybear
• MySpace: www.myspace.com/wildfireprevention
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/smokeybear

"Smokey Bear is the center of the longest-running and one of the most successful public service campaigns in U.S. history," said Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Ad Council. "Our Wildfire Prevention campaign has helped children and adults throughout the country understand their role in preventing wildfires and these new PSAs and online components will continue to have a significant impact."

Since 1944, Smokey Bear has been communicating his well-known message, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, the term 'Wildfires' was introduced to include all unwanted, unplanned fires in natural areas such as grass fires or brush fires. Smokey has been rated one of the most recognizable figures in America, ranking alongside Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus. Smokey is recognized by 97 percent of adults and 3 out of 4 adults are able to recall "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" without prompting, according to an Ad Council tracking survey.

"Smokey is an American icon and we are honored to be part of continuing his legacy and furthering his message. Thanks to advances in technology and CG-animation, we were able to bring Smokey Bear to life in a realistic way, starting with launch of the "Get your Smokey on" campaign last year," said Hilary Hamer, SVP, Group Management Director at Draftfcb Orange County. "We're always looking to ensure that Smokey's message is not only still current, but relevant to our target audience."

The Ad Council will be distributing the new PSAs to media outlets nationwide this week. Per the organization's model, the PSAs are airing and running in advertising time that is donated by the media. Over the last 65 years, media outlets have donated more than $1 billion in time and space for the Wildfire Prevention campaign.

LODD

Pennsylvania Firefighter Collapses at Scene

Firehouse.com News

A Pennsylvania firefighter collapsed and died early Monday at a trash fire.

The 37-year-old victim was a member of Strattanville Volunteer Fire Department, according to published reports.

The firefighter complained of a severe head ache before collapsing. Crews immediately started treatment. He was transported to Clarion Hospital where he was pronounced dead, preliminary reports indicate.

Read More....

Happy 4th of July.

Proud to be an American!
Have a very happy and safe July 4th,