markmets415

information posted with permission from the secretlist @ firefighterclosecalls.com Additional charge: As you will recall, the Provincetown (Cape Cod, MA) VFD's only aerial ladder was destroyed in early November when one of their members had it out for a drive with a female civilian on board. And now, local police have charged the Provincetown Firefighter with driving under the influence of alcohol, stemming from that crash on Nov. 9. FF Elias Martinez, 21, was cited today by the cops after receiving his hospital medical records from the day of the wreck. FF Martinez, a steward with the PFD's ladder company, also faces a criminal charge of operating a vehicle negligently so as to endanger and charges of speeding and failing to use caution at an intersection, based on an accident reconstruction report.

One of those close ones, note the large 8" x 8" post protruding out of the area where the back window was. Driver was alone and was a RMA, if there was a back seat passenger it clearly would have been a different result.

No injuries, he signed off, he is the young gentleman by the front of the vehicle in the second to last picture, he's a good kid we have known him for a long time, maybe this will slow him down, hopefully. As stated luckily there were no rear seat passengers. That's why I posed the pictures was because of the large post through the back of the car.

I have a better one for you, several years ago while at work one of our officers was out on a run with our Fire Engine, which was on old 68 Ford/Ward Lafrance Gas job that smoked liked crazy. He was passed by a vehicle on a double yellow line and our officer threw on the emergency lights and pulled the guy over and then issued him a UTT for passing in a no passing zone. The guy plead not guilty but in court the judge found him guilty as charged. I work at a NYS facility and we provide emergency services to the campus so we are crossed trained in police/fire and EMS and are NYS Peace Officer. Ther offender was like you can't ticket me, here's your ticket and have a nice day.

that and some rather bald front skins + alittle to fast for the road

driver was very LUCKY!!!!!

Thanks DFD, I found the article the other day looking for snorkel pictures and then of course I could not find the article again.

FF/EMT Killmer in the bucket, and FF Streans on the ground man I wish all these guys were still members.

It sure is thanks and it is clearer tonight as well

I got to see it, pretty neat, then the clouds came and it was gone, thanks for sharing the photos guys any chance I can copy one to place on our fire company website???

I had left the camera in the truck and the batteries went dead after only a few pictures of this rollover. I posted a few of your pics under your collection that you had sent me of the fire in Wassaic.

The vehicle struck a culvert to the left of the trooper car and went airborne and missed the driveway completely. Chief Boyles after surveying the vehicle, note the large divet where the car hit after going over the driveway and then rolled over again and came to the final landing location.

thanks for sharing, nice camera work.

Very nice site and very user friendly, great photos too.

http://www.woodaware.info/guideijoists.html These are I-joists not trusses, it fact from what I have seen lately they seem much more dangerous than trusses as well.

The Fire Department in the town of Shawnee in Pennsylvania, is planning to cut its fuel use by relying on the sun. The department experimented to see if solar panels placed on top of the fire trucks can power the necessary equipment within the truck so that the trucks can be turned off while on calls, rather than eating up fuel while idling. After nearly four months in use, firefighters believe the panels are proving to be effective. Shawnee Fire Chief Jeff Hudson said the panels were installed in July after the Fire Department had been considering ways to help the city's efforts to become more environmentally-friendly. Firefighter David Wolff read a trade magazine article about a fire department in San Raphael, California, that had started using solar panels on its trucks. He quickly got in contact with the San Raphael Fire Department and enquired about it. Traditionally, fire trucks are left running to keep the hoses from freezing in cold weather, but also to keep essential equipment constantly charged. That includes the firefighters' battery-powered flashlights, portable radios, thermal imaging cameras and most importantly, the Mobile Data Terminal, which gives firefighters all available information on an emergency call, allows them to look up information like hazardous materials data and maps and serves as a communication link with dispatch. In order not to kill the truck's battery, idling has been a necessity in the past. But fire department officials thought that as long as equipment could remain charged, idling wouldn't be necessary on warmer days for medical, investigation and other nonfire calls. The department spent US$900 from its equipment maintenance fund to buy the solar panels, which are made with a hard plastic face that can stand up to the elements and have a 20-year warranty.The firefighters carried out the installation themselves. "Once we got all the materials, it just took an afternoon to put it in," Wolff said. Wolff said that they chose to install the panels only on fire truck for the time being, engine 71, the most-used truck, as a trial to make sure the panels worked as expected. But the panels appear to be working well enough that the department is looking into grants and other funding source to purchase more. However, several factors, like the onset of cold weather and the always-varying number of emergency calls received each day, have made it hard to come up with exact numbers of savings just yet. Considering the 20-gallon truck is refueled several times a week, recouping the costs shouldn't take long. "If the data holds true, our investment would be paid off in six months for one truck," Wolff said. information provided by New Straits Times.

Wow what is this reporter thinking, posted with permission from the secretlist. Hey.... Below is a link to an editorial that was sent to me by a close friend-I hadn't seen or read it until now... we just had to share it with you. Maybe you already read it. Back from therapy yet? A columnist, noted for his interesting views on improving local government, shares suggestions (to save tax dollars) that if someone dials 9-1-1 to report a fire, the fire department should only send a firefighter in a car to verify that there really is a fire. If there is really a fire or emergency, that firefighter should then rapidly summon "major-scale" equipment and more firefighters ....when there's a truly a confirmed serious fire emergency. What a great idea. Their next proposal should include a heart attack verification unit. Because the.. "Arrrrggghh ...HELP ME.....girgle.....gasp....I am having a h-h-heart attack!!" ..9-1-1 phone call and the callers gasping words really don't prove anything until someone gets there and verifies it. No sir, it's NOT a heart attack until WE get there and VERIFY that it is. The blue "hue" of non-breathing Uncle Hugh's face means nothing. Or perhaps an un-armed citizen patrol volunteer should respond first when someone calls "claiming" that there is some dirt bag beating up a woman while a little kid watches. After all, it isn't true unless it is first verified. Or the FIRE idea. A fire in the basement creates a little smoke in the upstairs of a home, the occupants notice it, they call 9-1-1 as the smoke detectors sound, and the FD sends "Smokey" in a nice, red, sporty, 68 Buick. Smokey gets there and sees Mom trying to get to her children that are trapped in the basement, the basement that is now well involved. Smokey calls back and verifies that there is a "major scale" fire...and knows that if he had hose lines, tools and about 20+ more firefighters, he might be able to actually give the taxpayers their moneys worth. But who are THOSE parents to actually think THEY know when their home actually needs more than ONE Firefighter. Silly taxpayers. However, they did save money on all that apparatus fuel that otherwise "might" have been wasted. But then what about the coroners fuel? All tax dollars. ...seriously...WTF?! We aren't going to get into a psss-ing contest debating the issues of waste in local, state or Federal government. It's there and everyone knows where it is. Start at the top and work your way down. Staff, Take home cars. Perks. Ridiculous salaries at many levels. You could walk in blind-folded to many City Halls and trip over waste. The City Hall dwellers live for that stuff. Look who we have been bailing out lately and how they have been spending our money ...after being "bailed" out... by "our" Federal Gov't. How's that worked out? Yeah-exactly. But don't think for a second that some potentially un-drug tested locally elected official somewhere is reading the below commentary, thinking "Hmmm....that's not a bad idea"...." we should do that here".... So what's the solution? One might be that perhaps some cities, counties, villages, towns, whatever...develop a plan. A plan of priorities. Not one of blatant risks to public safety, but one of priorities for what is important to those who pay the taxes and what is less important, no matter what the economy. In other words, when the last tax dollars are available, what are the pre-planned priorities? Whatever level of fire rescue service was previously decided upon is it, which should mean then, until there is no money left, that's what gets funded. That means everything else is cut. Or maybe soccer fields are the priority with the city deciding they only want 1 police officer on patrol and 5 Firefighters arriving in 3-4 minutes? Then that's the plan and the FD will act accordingly. After all, we cannot handle a 25 FF fire with just 5 FF's no matter had badly we may want to. Take your own garbage to the dump-there is no more collection. Mow your soccer fields-the mower people are gone. But if your kid has a medical emergency or you MIGHT have a house fire, we will be there. Or at least Smokey in the car will, and he'll then call for "not-so-mutual" aid. Its kinda nuts that when things are great, the spending just keeps on going...but then when money is tight, like it is in almost everyplace these days, political agendas take over vs. what may be best for those who need the most critical of basic government services. And that would be those who call 9-1-1. The bad-day havers. This isn't going to be the first "out there" brainstorm of irresponsibly dangerous ideas that will eventually cost lives. No emotion: fact. 1 FF going to verify if there is a reported fire = dead citizens. Sooner or later. That's why fire companies were created by Ben Franklin...the guy on the horse checkin' to see if there was really a fire didn't work out real well...the fire predictably got worse. When everything is sprinklered (and we do support that), then maybe our world will change, but that's not reality today. But this is also an opportunity for fire service leadership, from the IAFC and the IAFF to the NFPA and other related national fire organizations to continue to further aggressively help their members locally and nationally deal with this kind of proposed lunacy...from the "municipal critics". HeII, we haven't even discussed the "response to terrorism" role that the very busy Smokey-In-The-Buick must also play. That should also work out real well. =Here is that newspaper commentary: http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/oh/story/opinions/editorial/2008/11/30/ddn113008peircexxeb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=22

I am in favor of the first engine running hot and the rest in non-emergency mode, I do not like the only one engine theory, I have seen it happen, right after I got out as Chief, the new Chief reduced our response to the one engine only and on our first A/F/A after the change, he arrived and discovered heavy smoke in the basement as a result of a dryer fire. The assignment was qucikly changed back to all equipment.

See there is photographic proof I was actually a member of JHK.

Their website http://www.cityofshawnee.org/fire/fire.html

Geez thanks Dan, FF Butts is pointing to the guilty party, FF Murphy., good stuff, wow and look how clean 69-12 was.

ok standing by, I got the one posted in the snorkel thread; thanks as always

Brings back memories, must be getting old, thanks for sharing Dan.

ok Dan scan some for me to copy will ya!!!, great shots as always

And here is their current ladder