While Responding

A VIRGINIA BEACH VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD ambulance was involved in a single-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon that left it laying on its side in a ditch.

WAVY-TV

The ambulance was responding on a call without a patient yet, when the driver drifted onto the shoulder and then slid into the drainage ditch.

Both EMT's were uninjured and able to exit the ambulance without any difficulty.  Police did not say if any charges were being made.

WAVY-TV carried this brief video report:

Ambulance crashes responding to call

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

April – May Recalls

Lots to report on this month, so let's get started:

Bosch is recalling (NHTSA Recall #13E 011) certain Hydromax brake master cylinders with 2" bore and 84 cubic inch reservoir with a brake fluid level indicator switch and without a differential pressure switch. These were manufactured between July 1, 2011 and April 12, 2012.

The brake fluid level indicator (FLI) may not properly detect a low brake fluid situation and warn the driver. If the brake system develops an external leak, it may result in a loss of brake fluid below the detection level of the fluid indicator switch.

Bosch will notify customers and replace the switch free of charge. Owners may contact Bosch Technical Support and Warranty Hotline at 855 426 7247.

They don’t give any indication of what vehicles may have these cylinders in them.

* * * * *

However, Navistar has a recall (13V 054) out for certain 2011 – 2012 Workhorse Custom Chassis W42 and W62 manufactured between July 18, 2011 and July 12, 2012, equipped with hydraulic brakes. The same defect is described. So it appears that Workhorse is at least one user of that part.

In this one, Navistar will notify owners and dealers will replace the FLI switch free of charge. Navistar’s recall was to have begun by April 22, Owners may contact Navistar at 800 448 7825. Their recall campaign number is 13503.

* * * * *

Meritor is recalling (13E 012) certain axle assemblies that were built with disc brakes using MGM J24 series air brake chambers.

Brake chambers may leak pressure allowing the parking brake to drag when it is supposed to be released. Brake dragging could lead to overheated brake components.

Meritor will notify owners, inspect brake chambers and replace as needed, free of charge. The recall was to have begun on March 19. Owners may contact Meritor at 866 668 7221. Their campaign number is C-13AA.

* * * * *

Hercules is recalling (13T 002) certain Hercules ALL TRAC A/T Load Range E tires as follows:

LT215/85R16 115/112S, DOT Serial Numbers JEHMECL5008-4010

LT235/85R16 120/116S, DOT Serial Numbers JEKMECL4708-4710

LT245/75R16 120/116S, DOT Serial Numbers JEJKECL4608-4010

LT265/75R16 123/120S, DOT Serial Numbers JENKECL4808-4010

LT265/70R17 121/118S, DOT Serial Numbers JENJFCL5108-4010

LT245/75R17 121/118S, DOT Serial Numbers JELKFCL5008-4010

LT225/75R16 115/112S, DOT Serial Numbers JEJKECL5108-4010

These tires can experience in-service belt and tread separations.

Hercules will notify owners and replace the affected tires free of charge, including mounting and balancing. The recall began February 27. Owners may contact Hercules at 888 965 5795 or 419 425 6400. Hercules Tire’s recall campaign number is 01-2013.

I want to repeat my caution about aftermarket parts, where the retail dealer may not know where the parts end up. In the case of tires though, sales of individual tires are recorded for cases such as this. But even so, some could slip through the cracks.

* * * * *

Chrysler is recalling (13V 038) certain 2009 – 2012 Ram 1500 trucks; 2009 – 2011 Dodge Dakota trucks; 2009 Chrysler Aspen trucks and 2009 Dodge Durango trucks.

2009 Durango

The rear axle pinion nut may loosen due to an undersized pinion spline that can allow relative motion between the nut and companion flange.

Chrysler will notify owners and dealers will install a pinion nut retainer free of charge. The recall was to have begun during March. Owners may contact Chrysler at 800 247 9753. This campaign is an expansion of recall campaign NHTSA number 12V 474) Chrysler’ recall campaign number is N08.

* * * * *

Spartan Motors Chassis is recalling (13V 066) certain 2012 – 2013 MetroStar and Gladiator fire truck chassis equipped with a Spartan Advanced Protection System (APS) supplied by Takata Protection Systems.

The circuits on the control module of the APS may short and cause an inadvertent air bag deployment.

Spartan Motors will notify owners,, and dealers will install a new sub-wire harness on the control module of the APS free of charge. The campaign was to have begun in March. Owners may contact Spartan at 800 543 5008, Option 4. Spartan’s recall campaign number is 13-004.

Spartan is also recalling (13V 046) certain 2005 – 2011 RMP 100 and 2008 – 2010 MMP 100 aerial vehicle apparatus.

These vehicles are equipped with a single platform inclinometer that may provide an intermittent signal allowing the platform to be tilted more than below the horizontal plane which could allow the platform to strike nearby objects or people.

Spartan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the single inclinometer with a dual inclinometer installed in a sealed enclosure, free of charge. The recall began on February 25. Owners may contact Spartan at 800 867 6478, Option 2. Spartan’s recall campaign number is ERV13-002.

Spartan ERV is recalling (13V-049) certain 2008 – 2009 RMA 75, RMA 103 and TDA aerial fire apparatus equipped with hydraulic extension and retraction cylinders produced by RamRod Industries.

The cylinders on the affected vehicles may have welded rod eyes that were not properly heat treated during the manufacturing process. An improperly manufactured rod eye end attachment may fracture or separate. In the event that two affected cylinders are installed on the same aerial device, the aerial may retract without warning.

Spartan ERV will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected cylinders free of charge. The recall began on February 25. Owners may contact Spartan at 800 867 6478, Option 2. Spartan’s recall campaign number is ERV13-003

* * * * *

PACCAR is recalling (13V 048) certain 2013 – 2014 Kenworth T680 and T880 trucks; and 2013 – 2014 Peterbilt 579 and 567 vehicles. The exterior lights self test switch is intended to be used when the vehicle is parked. If the switch is pressed while the vehicle is in motion, the exterior lights self test switch will cause all exterior lights to be extinguished.

PACCAR will notify owners and dealers will disable the exterior lights self test software parameter and remove the exterior lights self test switch and install a switch plug in its place. The recall began on February 28. Owners may contact Kenworth at 425 828 5000, or Peterbilt at 940 591 4000. Kenworth’s campaign number is 13KWB. Peterbilt’s is 0213-B.

* * * * *

UD Trucks is recalling (13V 053) certain 2011 – 2013 UD2600 and UD3300 trucks equipped with Allison 3000RDS automatic transmissions. The oil cooler hose clamp retaining rings may fail. If the retaining ring fails, the oil cooler hose may leak, leaving a large deposit on the roadway. If any of the oil sprays onto the engine, there could be an increased risk of a fire.

UD Trucks will notify owners and dealers will replace the affected hoses free of charge. The manufacturer had not provided a notification schedule as of April. Owners may contact UD at 800 832 5929.

* * * * *

Pierce is recalling (13V 062) certain 2007 – 2010 Velocity and Impel fire trucks.

The springs inside the inner door handles may allow the door to open inadvertently.

Pierce will notify owners and dealers will replace the inner door handles free of charge. The recall is to begin in May. Owners may contact Pierce at 920 832 3000. Pierce’s campaign number is 74B327.

That's it for this month, but that's plenty to keep you busy for a while.

The temperature is finally warming up…. Play ball! …. Sam Yardumian

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Six Tanks Involved

A FIRE THAT STARTED IN A STORAGE TANK at a lubricant and fuel distributor site on Thursday in Brazil, then spread to five more tanks and a few nearby homes before it was contained by the overwhelmed local fire department.

BBC News

Global Post reported:

One person died and seven others were injured when a huge fire destroyed at least six large fuel storage tanks outside Rio de Janeiro, local government sources said.

The fire broke out in the storage area of fuel and lubricant distributor Petrogold in Duque de Caxias, a municipality in the Rio metropolitan area, and it took firefighters four hours to bring it under control.

The Duque de Caxias city hall confirmed the death of one of the storage center's workers and the fact that seven others had been admitted to Adao Pereira Nunes Hospital.

The intense heat generated by the multiple tanks ablaze forced the firefighters to retreat several hundred feet back, so they concentrated their efforts on containment by spraying exposed buildings and rooftops to prevent spread.

Canale 25 has some good early video of the spreading fire:

News 24 adds this:

The victim was a 43 year-old man who worked at the site, owned by Petrogold fuel distributors. He was rushed to the hospital with 90% of his body burned but died soon after, local media reported.

The fire broke out just after 11:00, and about an hour later spread to the nearby homes.

Fire-fighters cleared out a four-block radius around the fuel depot, located in Duque de Caxias on the northern edge of metropolitan Rio. There were homes and a school within the evacuated area, said deputy Civil Defense secretary Jerry Pires.

Duque de Caxias Mayor Alexandre Cardoso ordered an investigation. "It is unacceptable to locate a time bomb in places were people live and study," Cardoso said.

Japan Times

According to officials with the state of Rio de Janeiro, Petrogold had no environmental license to operate, and had already been raided by federal police. The site was operating only because its case was being appealed in court.

ExtraWorldNews posted some good, raw aerial footage of the fire:

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Friday Morning – Watch Your Step

One of our longtime readers, Nate Arnold sent along an interesting article from the Springfield, Massachusetts, newspaper The Republican.  It's a feature story on a Springfield FD captain's invention that is coming on the market now which is a portable safety step to me used while working on roofs, especially ventilation work.

Capt. Robert Duffy, who has 19 years on the job, spent three years designing, refining and creating the prototype of what he calls the Quick Step Anchor. 

The Republican describes it:

Made of aircraft-grade aluminum, the Quick Step Anchor weighs only 11 pounds and provides a secure and stable working platform for firefighters as they use chainsaws and other tools to cut into the roofs of burning buildings. It includes a safety lanyard, which doubles as a carrying strap, that secures firefighters to the roof in the event of a fall.

Note the safety line (Springfield FD photo)

The device installs quickly and easily with the swipe of chainsaw which allow it to anchor firmly onto the roof. It also can be used as a platform for rappelling operations.

It represents, Duffy said, a vast improvement over firefighters’ traditional use of pick head axes and another kind of tool known as a Halligan to set anchor points onto a roof.

Read the entire informative article HERE.

The new firm has posted this video that illustrates how the device is used:

You can get more information about the Quick Step Anchor on their website:  http://www.quickstepanchor.com/index.cfm

Click on the Image Gallery link for more photos of the device.

You need to start with a horizontal cut which is where the anchors are set

This is coming on the market now…orders are already arriving and being filled …. and has the potential of becoming a standard tool found on every truck company.

And don't forget the 100-ft. cord reel to power the Bunn-O-Matic up there.  Which is what I'm going to do now while we get started on the equipment check.  Be careful today, lots of congestion and early traffic buildups as we head into the 3-day weekend.  See you back in the day room.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Overwhelming Evidence Leads to Quick Deliberations

REBECCA "BECKY" BRYAN WAS CONVICTED ON MURDER charges Tuesday, for the killing of her husband Fire Chief Keith Bryan on September 20, 2011. The Nichols Hills, Oklahoma (Canadian County), fire chief was shot in his own home and Rebecca reported to the police that a man intruded into the house and said something about not being hired before killing him.

Her story quickly fell apart when detectives found the gun, ammunition and gloves inside the clothes dryer.  Several witness statements also refuted her story and she was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder.  Firegeezer reported on the crime and following activities at the time and you can read the story and following events HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. 

Rebecca Bryan before and after the murder.

The jury took just four hours to deliberate the evidence that had been presented for over a week before they returned the verdict.  They also recommended life imprisonment without parole.

The Oklahoman has a good summary of the evidence that was presented during the trial HERE.  Follow the Firegeezer links posted above for the background on the murder scene and the initial phases of the investigation leading to her arrest.

Thanks to Todd Hayes for the update.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

*  *  *  *  *

Fire Engineering – April 1957

*  *  *

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Worth the headlines alone

Tough Monday morning commute on the 210 Freeway in Los Angeles

At 6:35, Joseph Serna posted this article:

Big rig carrying fruit crashes on 210 Freeway, creates jam

Monday’s morning commute started off horribly for drivers in the San Gabriel Valley when a big rig carrying fruit overturned on the 210, blocking lanes in both directions in Monrovia for most of the morning.

The big rig crashed through the center divider just before 5 a.m. near Myrtle Avenue. Three westbound lanes and two eastbound lanes will be blocked until about 9:15 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Westbound traffic appeared to be backed up to the 605 freeway.

Then the follow-up at 9:25:

Grapes of wrath: 210 Freeway woes to continue until 10 a.m.

A Sig Alert on the 210 Freeway was extended until 10 a.m. Monday after a big rig carrying 35,000 pounds of grapes crashed across the center divider in Monrovia.

Talk about a sticky situation.

The wreck, which blocked two eastbound lanes and three westbound lanes near Myrtle Avenue, proved anything but fruitful for commuters looking for an easy drive to begin the work week.

The traffic jam spread for miles in both directions, with westbound traffic virtually at a standstill as far back as the 605 Freeway, giving drivers plenty to "whine" about.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

 

Let's Hope This Trick Doesn't Catch On

THE SMALL CITY OF JEROME, IDAHO (pop. 11,000), has refined a novel idea on how to balance the budget.  Whenever they have what is deemed an "extraordinary" fire, then they'll just require the hapless victim to pay for all the expense of responding to it.

KMVT-TV

Last month an accidental fire that started in an upstairs apartment spread through a  large building downtown and got into two others.  The fire, which as been claimed to be the largest in the town's history, caused about $2 million in damage and displaced a dozen families and a few businesses.  Hardest hit was the owner of the property, Sylvia Moore who told KTVB-TV that she's had the property for 15 years, buying it as an investment property. She had an antique and second-hand store in the building.

"It was perfect for what I wanted. I could live there, have my store, have an income, and have my retirement all in one package," Moore said.

And then it got exponentially worse earlier this week when she received a bill from the City of Jerome for nearly $100,000 for all the city services that were expended during the fire.  KTVB continues:

"I have to say this shocks me as much as the fire," Moore said. "Everything's gone… And now? And now a $100,000 bill for a fire I had nothing to do with. I don't think I need to be penalized for that. I didn't start a fire."

Moore gave KTVB a copy of her bill that includes three pages of Itemized costs including paying firefighters, police, equipment costs, and food during the several-day response.

"If that's happening to me, is it going to happen to other people in Jerome? You think you've got a fire department that's paid with your tax money… I don't know what to think. Really I don't," Moore said.

KTVB-TV

The itemized bill includes everything they could think of including street cleaning, police traffic control, food for workers, salaries for everybody including more than $3,000 for the fire chief.  Even erosion from the water runoff was calculated and billed.

Fire Chief Jack Krill tries to explain:

"We billed at what the employee rates were for city employees as what the true cost of their hourly costs were plus the standard bills for these types of equipment, either the Idaho Department of Lands rate schedule, or FEMA rates schedule," Krill said. "The city of Jerome taxpayers put forth a lot of the efforts to extinguish this fire, and we want to try and recover that taxpayer money the best we can."

In addition to Jerome Fire Department expenses, Krill explains other agencies helped and need to recover costs and the public works department was also involved, adding even more to the fire's total bill.

"We did damage to the equipment, there was some damage to the city sidewalk and city street. That light pole that was out there plus the water runoff, the erosion, all cost the city money to repair and replace," Krill said.

Be sure to view KTVB-TV's eye-opening video report:

Krill says this is the practice only for extraordiary fires and gave as an example their billing for a tractor-trailer fire on the highway last year.

Read the full story HERE.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Fire Chief Calls In False Alarm

GARY CHAPMAN IS NOW THE FORMER Fire Chief of the Blackhawk Fire Protection District in Milan, Illinois.  He stepped down from office after admitting to the police that he had deliberately called in a false alarm in order to muster a troop to help clean out a building that the FD was going to use for a haunted house.

WQAD image

WQAD-TV Ch. 8 reported:

It happened at 5:30 p.m. on May 6th. An audio tape reveals that before the brush fire call went out for all volunteer firefighters to report for duty, Chief Chapman alerted a Milan dispatcher that the call would not be for a real fire, but an attempt to get some manpower out to the site at 1220 W. 2nd Avenue.

The tape shows that shortly after the call went out, the frustrated dispatcher received two calls from an ambulance driver and a fireman, wondering about the fire and where they should go.

Police launched an investigation into the false fire alarm, under the disorderly conduct statute.

The full story is told in WQAD's video report:

Blackhawk FPD station  (Google Street View)

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Thursday Morning – The Value of Good Training

For a good many years now (maybe 30?) the U. S. Navy has been actively training dolphins to search for underwater mines and related items.  They are used to patrol around the harbors of naval installations and now, presumably, all ports in the country.

They are trained to sweep the floor of the harbor and if they detect something that is not supposed to be on an ocean floor, they surface and give a signal to the handler.  Next step is to send the dophin back with a marker to place on the site so that divers can find it to investigate the "find."

That's what was happening back in March in San Diego when Navy divers followed up on a hit and started brushing away the sand to see what lay below.  What they found was astounding, a 19th century torpedo that turned out to be a Howell torpedo which was the first ever that was self propelled and could follow a track to its target.  Even more remarkable is that this is only the 2nd one known to have survived.  The San Diego Union-Tribune tells us:

Only 50 Howell torpedoes were produced, and just two of them have ever been recovered. The Howell torpedo, an 11-foot-long brass torpedo, was developed between 1870 and 1889.

It was driven by a 132-pound flywheel spun to 10,000 rpm before launch. It had a range of 400 yards, a speed of 25 knots and a warhead filled with 100 pounds of gun cotton.

U. S. Navy photo

The Howell torpedo, named for its inventor, Lt. Cmdr. John A. Howell, was used by Navy battleships and torpedo boats until 1898. The first torpedo that could be released into the ocean and follow a track, it eventually was replaced by the Whitehead, the Navy said.

It is unclear how the torpedo reached its location. Two of three sections, the tail and midsection, were found. The warhead part of the torpedo could not be located.

The only other surviving Howell is on display at the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington.  This torpedo is being kept in a tank of water to prevent corrosion and is likely to be shipped to the Naval History and Heritage Command at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D. C.

KGTV Ch. 10 San Diego prepared a very informative video report HERE.  It includes some historical photos of the Howell being launched.

If you're interested in a more detailed report on this find, read Grind TV HERE,

So how good is your training program?  Are your students as good as a dolphin?  Don't bother answering that one.  Instead, let's get going with the mornng equipment check.  I've been trained to work the Bunn-O-Matic, so I'll go and do my thing.  See you back in the day room.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *