Friday, May 18, 2007

California Fire News

Posted: 17 May 2007 06:37 PM CDT

2 Hurt by Falling WTC Skyscraper Debris:

2 Hurt by Falling WTC Skyscraper Debris

By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, May 17, 2007

(05-17) 10:17 PDT New York (AP) --

A 15-foot pipe fell off a skyscraper being dismantled near the World Trade Center site and plunged through the roof of a nearby firehouse Thursday, injuring two firefighters, officials said.

Demolition work was stopped on the 40-story former Deutsche Bank building after the sprinkler pipe fell from the 35th floor onto Engine 10/Ladder 10.

The firehouse was nearly destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Six of its firefighters were among the 343 killed responding to the burning World Trade Center, and a bronze memorial to all the firefighters who died is now affixed to the building.

The neighboring skyscraper, being dismantled floor by floor, was heavily damaged when one of the twin towers collapsed into it. Cleanup of toxic material in the building began in 2005, and work to dismantle it began late last year.

Workers from John Galt Corp. were cutting the pipe at around 7 a.m. when it dislodged and fell through the firehouse roof below, officials said. Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries and released, fire officials said. The firefighters weren't hit by the pipe, the department said.

The city Buildings Department issued John Galt Corp. a violation for failure to safeguard the public and property, spokeswoman Kate Lindquist said. A message left with the company wasn't immediately returned Thursday.

Work dismantling the former Deutsche Bank building has been stopped before by environmental regulators. A search is also ongoing for hundreds of human bones that have been recovered from the building over the past 18 months.

CA-Lake Napa CDF

Posted: 17 May 2007 02:11 PM CDT

CA-Lake Napa CDF - Wildlandfire.com Hotlist Forum:

"CA-Lake Napa CDF
Lake County Calif: Town of Wilbur Springs: Fully involved house. Spread to the wildland. 4 acres heavy fuels moderate spread."

Kern - Gas line ruptures, catches fire near Etchart Rd.

Posted: 17 May 2007 01:33 PM CDT

Gas line ruptures, catches fire near Etchart Rd. | KGET:

"BAKERSFIELD - Firefighters and Hazmat crews are on scene at this hour of a gas line rupture on Calloway Road between 7th Standard and Snow roads, near Etchart Road.

It happened shortly after two when a gas line ruptured and caught fire. One person was taken to Kern Medical Center with moderate burns to his upper body and face, and three workers received minor injuries.

The crew was on a housing development site in northwest Bakersfield.

Sixty homes were without gas as of 5 p.m., according to officials, and may remain that way until Wednesday night.

Calloway Road between 7th Standard and Snow roads were reopened around 5 p.m.

Capt. Doug Johnston from the Kern County Fire Department said no one in the area is in danger and gas is no longer leaking."

LODD: Maine Firefighter Killed in Tanker Rollover - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty

Posted: 17 May 2007 01:50 PM CDT

Maine Firefighter Killed in Tanker Rollover - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty:

Maine Firefighter Killed in Tanker Rollover

Editors note: Tanker out here in the west is an aircraft... this would be a sad LODD water tender story out here, Slow that water tender down the fire will be there when you get there safely!

Maine Firefighter Killed in Tanker Rollover

NICK SAMBIDES JR.
Courtesy of the Bangor Daily News

SPRINGFIELD, Maine-- A volunteer firefighter answering a call for assistance at a Prentiss sawmill was killed instantly when the firetruck he was driving overturned on Route 169 at about noon Monday.

Firefighter Peter Beebe-Lawson, 50, of Springfield was coming out of a fairly sharp curve on his way to the fire when he apparently lost control of the 3,500-gallon Freightliner tanker truck at about 11:45 a.m., Trooper Jarod Stedman said.

The tanker went off the right side of the road before veering into pine trees on the road's left side. The tanker absorbed heavy front-end and roof damage and landed on its passenger side.

The truck's sole occupant, Beebe-Lawson was pronounced dead at the scene, Stedman said. The body was taken to Clay's Funeral Home in Lincoln.

A tiny town centered between Lincoln and Topsfield along Route 169 on the eastern edge of Penobscot County, Springfield was hit hard by the loss of Beebe-Lawson, a devout Roman Catholic with several foster children who friends said was planning to open a private school with his wife, Selby.

"It's a horrible loss for our community. Our hearts go out to his family," Selectwoman Lorna Thompson said Monday as she gathered Fire Department insurance information and other data that might help Beebe-Lawson's family.

"We really don't know what happened, and until we do, there's really not much I think we're going to be willing to say," Thompson added. "Everybody knows everybody in a small town like this."

She refused further comment.

"I haven't known him for a long time," Tax Collector Kay Thompson said, "but you could tell he cared about people. He tried to help a lot of people ... he'd try to take care of them, talk with them if they wanted help."

The fire destroyed the sawmill, Cole's Shingle Mill located on Mud Pond Road, said Stephen McCausland, Maine State Police spokesman. An overheated gasoline engine that powered a saw caused the fire at the one-story business, which made cedar shingles. Springfield and Kingman volunteer firefighters fought the blaze.

Beebe-Lawson's death drew condolences from Gov. John Baldacci, who was "deeply saddened by this terrible accident."

"Peter Beebe-Lawson gave his life in the line of duty," Baldacci said in a press release. "Firefighters risk their lives every day protecting the rest of us. They deserve our deepest gratitude and respect."

Firefighters, including Springfield Fire Chief John Krapf, visited the fire scene several times during the day as Troopers Stedman, Trevor Snow, Angela Porter and Marc Poulin worked to reconstruct how the accident occurred.

Krapf and his brother Steve, who is also a Springfield fire volunteer, described Beebe-Lawson as an ardent community participant, eager to help others, despite moving to Springfield only about three years ago.

"He was a very outgoing, friendly person," said Steve Krapf, who met the Beebe-Lawsons at St. James Church, which they attended regularly. "He would talk to anybody. He was always really interested in other people."

Beebe-Lawson was a fully qualified truck driver and the truck regularly passed monthly inspections, John Krapf said. The reconditioned Irving tanker truck, which Krapf described as a 1989 model but state police pegged as a 1973, had no mechanical problems.

"We just had it repainted and we were going to have it re-lettered," Krapf said of the truck.

Beebe-Lawson's was the first accident involving a firetruck, John Krapf said, on that stretch of Route 169, which is sharply crested in the center, has worn but intact blacktop and little emergency lane space on either side.

"We've had logging trucks roll over around here, but that's usually a bit further along the road [toward Prentiss]," Krapf said.

Krapf promised that Springfield firefighters would hold a memorial, perhaps a fundraising supper, in honor of their fallen comrade and to aid his family.

Republished with permission of the Bangor Daily News."

California Police Say Arsonist Attacked with Samurai Sword

Posted: 17 May 2007 01:39 PM CDT

California Police Say Arsonist Attacked with Samurai Sword - Firehouse.com News:

"Authorities continued searching Wednesday for an arsonist with a samurai sword who sliced a man's arm and set fire to a pair of bungalows on the grounds of a church in Lake View Terrace, near Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police and firefighters went to All Nations Church at 10000 Foothill Blvd. at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after a man dressed in Army fatigues went inside and brought his samurai down on a man playing the drums, said Officer Karen Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department's media relations unit.

The sword sliced the man's arm when he tried to block the blow, Smith said, adding he was transported to a hospital for treatment. He has since been released.

The man then fled the building and police chased him for a short time before he ran into a storm pipe and got away, she said.

City fire spokesman Ron Myers said the man also apparently set fire to two one-story bungalows on the church's property. Firefighters had the flames under control within 30 minutes, he said.

The House of Worship Task Force, a federal agency formed to investigate church fires, and the Los Angeles Fire Department are investigating the crime, Smith said. There was no immediate indication of the assailant's motives.

The attacker is described as a man in his 40s with tattoos on both arms."