CAMEO Community Members,
A dramatically updated version of MARPLOT is now available for
downloading, along with a maintenance upgrade to ALOHA.
MARPLOT 4.0, available as of today, is compatible with Windows XP and
Windows Vista. Working in its easy-to-use GIS interface, you can switch
quickly between three basemaps: standard map files, high-resolution
aerial photos, and topographical maps. You can draw overlay objects on
the basemaps, customize your map view by specifying which objects and
map layers are shown, and get LandView-like population estimates inside
selected areas. You can click on a location of interest to get its
elevation and an instant weather forecast, and you can easily display
ALOHA threat zones on the map. Included web mapping services enable the
latest U.S. Census county maps, and state and national map layers to
automatically download as you work in MARPLOT. Download MARPLOT 4.0 from
the CAMEO website
<http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/marplot.htm>.
If you're a Macintosh user, note that MARPLOT version 4.0 is currently
available only for Windows. A Macintosh version is planned for the
future. In the meantime, if you have an Intel-based Mac, you can run
MARPLOT 4.0 in Windows using Boot Camp or virtualization software that
allows you to run Windows on your Macintosh. Otherwise, you can download
the previous version of MARPLOT for the Mac
<http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/marplot_mac.htm> (version
3.3.3).
Also available as of today is ALOHA 5.4.1.1, which includes an updated
chemical library, now with updated DIPPR data and updated toxic levels
of concern (AEGLs, ERPGs, and TEELs), and a fix to a bug that prevented
users from entering heat of vaporization when adding a new chemical to
the library. ALOHA 5.4.1.1 is compatible with Microsoft Windows and with
Macintosh OS X. We recommend that all ALOHA users download ALOHA 5.4.1.1
from the CAMEO Website
<http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/aloha.htm>.
Everyone Goes Home
Omnes domum cedite
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
New Version of MARPLOT Avaliable
New Device Locates People In Imminent Danger
Pennsylvania - The best answer firefighters typically get when they ask if everyone has evacuated a burning building is: We think so. Dan Grant, a partner in the development of what he called the Holy Grail of tracking systems, hopes to provide a definitive answer and save lives. "We lose about 200 first responders a year in these situations," said Grant, CEO of The Parallel Group and marketing chief at Intelligence Safety Solutions LLC in the South Side. "They'll mount a search-and-rescue operation without knowing who's in there."
Research by University of Pittsburgh engineer Marlin Mickle could enable first responders to pinpoint within a few feet the locations of people inside burning buildings or other structures where there is an emergency.
The system would use a combination of wireless sensors and radio frequency identification tags, or RFIDs. Some stores use RFIDs to collect sales data.
Civilians inside a building might be tracked using their employee or school identification cards, for example, Grant said. or, those people might have RFIDs that lie dormant until activated by first responders in an emergency, Mickle said.
Mickle is developing computer programs that would be able to "read" how many workers had used their keys to enter a building before a fire started, for example.
John Twigg, CEO of OnSite Information Systems in Murrysville and another partner, said emergency workers could scatter sensors like "bread crumbs" in a building or the sensors could be installed in walls beforehand. The sensors would pick up the RFID signals and transmit information to a police or fire department computer in an emergency.
The number of breadcrumbs or wall devices used would depend on the level of precision desired, Mickle said. Each device would cost "well under $100," he said, and measure about 1 inch thick, 2 inches wide and 4 or 5 inches long.
The sensors also would help emergency responders if they become disoriented, said Peter Hawrylak, a research associate at Pitt's RFID Center of Excellence. For example, a firefighter's RFID tag would send electronic signals to a commander's laptop computer outside a burning building. The commander could monitor the firefighter's location and provide directions if needed.
Police officers could use the system as well.
"A commander can direct officers in a building so they don't mistake each other for the gunman," Hawrylak said.
The Pittsburgh team's approach would be much more precise than current tracking technologies, Mickle said.
Tests so far have been successful, Grant said. A major system test is scheduled for August at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. That could lead to federal grants and other partnerships, Grant said.
"If we can run it up the flagpole, we should be able to start selling it by the end of the year," he said. "If we get this right and make it cost effective and easy to use, we hope that every first responder worldwide views this as the industry standard."
Written by The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Monday, March 30, 2009
Fire Apparatus collide in Houston TX, Firefighter Injured
Story by click2houston.com
HOUSTON --
Eight firefighters and two others were injured when two fire trucks collided in southwest Houston on Monday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
A Houston fire department pumper truck traveling northbound on Dunlavy Street broadsided a ladder truck traveling west on Westheimer Road, causing the ladder truck to overturn and land on a car at about 10:50 a.m.
« Houston Firefighter Ejected In Apparatus Crash | Main
March 30, 2009
Houston Firefighter Ejected In Apparatus Crash
A Houston truck enroute to a fire struck another rig ejecting an officer from the rig.
Reports are that several firefighters are suffering from injuries. No word yet on the status of civilians.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
2-11 in Chicago Caught on Tape – Video and Audio
Update: Raw video from the ground and air of Chicago 2-11. Fire through the roof of a Northwest Side Pizzeria. Radio traffic added.
Love this video feed along with the radio traffic
Our man in Chicago, Steve Redick, reports he got to 2625 North Harlem Avenue before the transmission of the 2-11 on Friday afternoon. The call for the Cafe Italia came in at 4:52 PM. Before long there was fire through the roof of the one-story building.
No cause of the fire has been given. One firefighter was taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. The firefighter was reported by WMAQ-TV to be in good condition. Click here for more information.
See more of Steve Redick's work.
Two LODD this past week – Makes 24 for the year
ALABAMA FIRE CHIEF STRUCK AND KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Friday, March 27, 2009
We regret to advise you that we have been advised that Double Springs Fire Chief Mike Gilbreath has been killed in the line of Duty. Around 0630 this morning Chief Gilbreath was removing a tree from County Road 25. His FD had been dispatched for trees down...and while operating, a car struck him and killed him. His full time job was with the county road department. Ours sincere condolences to all affected. Alabama Fire Chief Struck, Killed
Robert Strang
City, State: Melbourne, FL March 26th 2009
It is with deepest regret and sorrow to report the line-of-duty death of Lieutenant Robert Strang of IAFF Local 1951 – Melbourne, FL. Brother Strang passed away on Thursday, March 26, 2009 after returning from a structure fire. The cause has yet to be determined. Fla. Firefighter Discovered Dead at Station
More News
CHIEF CAR CRASHES INTO CIVILIAN CAR-FIRE AND EXPLOSION
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Chief of the Brewerton fire department crashed his SUV into the back of a car, causing the gas tank to rupture. Moments later, the car caught fire, and exploded.
The fire and explosion was reported just before 2pm, along Bartel Road in Brewerton yesterday. Yet another reason for collision avoidance systems on emergency vehicles! The technology is here, they have it on the Cadillac.
Supertanker Cleared for Wildland Firefighting
It is capable of flying two times as fast and carries eight times as much water as its largest predecessor – Note: What would be the odds that something like this crashed in the first year that it’s used? I’ll be watching the news for this one!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The ultimate model train set
As I watched this video of the Miniatur Wunderland my mind went from mild amusement to surprising awe to absolute astonishment. At 11,840 square feet and fully computerized, the world's largest model defies belief:
The Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany is the world’s largest model set.
It took 500,000 working hours to build, going from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to North America, through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—complete with the Grand Canyon, 20-foot tall Swiss mountains, and:
• 800 trains.
• Over 10,000 train cars in total, running several hundred kilometers every day.
• One train is 47.5 feet long.
• Over 170 computer controlled cars.
• More than 200,000 people (there’s all kinds of things here, even a crime scene).
• Controlled by 40 computers.
• 200 cameras control the premises.
• Day and night lighting simulator.
• 300,000 computer-controlled LEDs.
Monday, March 23, 2009
LODD in Oklahoma
Report of Oklahoma firefighter being killed while battling blaze
A firefighter was killed and five others hurt in a grain elevator fire in Hydro, Caddo County Sheriff Gene Cain confirmed Monday.
Cain said soybeans caught fire at the facility, located in downtown Hydro off state Highway 58, and something went wrong during the firefight.
HYDRO, Okla. -- A firefighter was killed and at least two others hurt in a grain elevator fire in Hydro, Caddo County Sheriff Gene Cain confirmed Monday.
koco has a video http://www.koco.com/video/18995200/
Full Story Updates:
http://daily.firehouse.com/rmgo.asp?tid=937611&eid=744346&sb_id=319386,319386