Mendel to equip Cambodians with second firetruck (Water Tender)

Douglas Mendel Cambodian Relief Fund
Doug Mendel will be selling Cambodian crafts at the Almost 2 Mile High Flea Market in Silverthorne on June 20. For more information, visit www.dougmendel.com.

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SUMMIT COUNTY — Doug Mendel hopes to provide Cambodians with a second fire truck in the next several months, but this time he'll skip the time-consuming task of shipping a multi-thousand-pound piece of equipment halfway across the world.

Mendel, a longtime local who recently relocated to Moab, Utah, is in the process of having a water tender built in Phnom Penh, Cambodia through his Douglas Mendel Cambodian Relief Fund.

Last year, he shipped a 30-year-old fire engine donated by Breckenridge's Red, White and Blue Fire District to the Sihanoukville Fire Department in Southern Cambodia. It has since responded to two fires in the port city.

Mendel's latest undertaking included wiring $11,000 to a close friend in Phnom Penh, who is working with the captain of the Phnom Penh Fire Station to have the new truck built.

They will purchase a used two-and-a-half ton Korean truck, then contract out to have it outfitted with a 2,000 liter water tank, a pump, hose, lights and sirens, and a fresh coat of red paint.

When the job is done around June, three firefighters from the rural northeastern province of Ratanakiri will take a 12-hour, 360-mile bus ride to the capital city of Phnom Penh to pick up their gift.

The shiny new truck will replace the eight-person department's aging engine.

"They have one Chinese fire truck that's maybe 25 years old that is 50 percent operational," Mendel said.

Mendel also hopes his nonprofit will raise enough money this year to build a concrete fire station so the crew, based in the province capital Ban Lung, has a place to work and sleep, similar to U.S. fire departments.

He envisions a small facility with four offices that double as shift quarters specifically for the fire department's use.

"They kind of share space with police and so when there is a fire the firefighters have to go from their home to the fire station and then to the scene, like we did 10 years ago. This will help cut down response time greatly," Mendel said.

He estimates he'll need anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 for that project.

Mendel singled out the Ratanakiri province, which borders Vietnam and Laos and has no paved roads or stop signs, for his latest round of aid because its rural location makes it less likely for the government to provide any financial assistance.

Since Mendel formed his nonprofit organization three years ago, he's collected more than $100,000 between donations, fundraisers and proceeds from his Cambodian craft sales. Of that, about 80 percent has gone back to the Cambodian people. Beyond donating the fire trucks, Mendel has provided numerous fire stations with fire-resistant jackets and pants donated by local fire departments. He regularly delivers stuffed animals, toothbrushes and toothpaste to Cambodian street children and has given one underfunded national park nearly $10,000 worth of electronic equipment, such as GPS units, compasses and digital cameras.

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De Luz Fire Department conducts training

The Village News :: De Luz Fire Department conducts training

: "De Luz Fire Department conducts training
Mike Manchor

4/26/2007 6:44:34 PM

DE LUZ — De Luz Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) conducted firefighting training on Sunday, April 15, with San Diego County Copter 12, utilizing their new piece of equipment: a 2,000-gallon firefighting water tender. The drills were conducted at Dancing Spirit Ranch on De Luz Road near the San Diego County line.

The training session simulated a wildfire scenario in which a county firefighting copter was ground- filled with water from the tender, then, after lift off, engine crews in the fields nearby directed airdrops by radio communication direct to the pilot.

Thirty firefighters from De Luz VFD plus CAL FIRE/CDF firefighters from the Red Mountain and De Luz stations filled the copter’s 375-galllon tank and directed drops through ten evolutions.

De Luz VFD will officially receive its tender next month after it is fully completed and equipped by the county, just in time for fire season.

This fire apparatus is the first of 16 newly built vehicles for the unincorporated fire agencies in the San Diego County Fire Enhancement Program, which was started in the fall of 2005. De Luz will also be given a new Ferrara Type II Urban Interface engine in six to eight weeks.

The County Fire Enhancement Program "

Fire fighters tackle Exmoor blaze with water tender

Sommerset County Gazette - Taunton,England,UK

By Chris Alder

Comment

FIRE fighters from Porlock and Dulverton are among crews tackling a large heath fire on the Somerset/Devon border at Taber Hill and North Molton Ridge, Exmoor.

A specialised Supacat all-terrain appliance is in attendance from Porlock, together with a water tender from Bridgwater and other fire engines from Lynton and South Molton.

Devon and Somerset Fire and rescue said the call came at 2.18pm today.

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Crews are fighting four separate blazes with hose reel jets and beaters.

Truck Driver Failed To Set Parking Brake

Truck Driver Failed To Set Parking Brake:

Truck Driver Failed To Set Parking Brake
September 26, 2006

Arizona - This truck was at the Pilot Truck Stop at Lake Havasu City at Exit 9 on I-40 in western Arizona on September 26, 2006. The guy got fuel, and then pulled forward to go into the truck stop to get his fuel ticket. He failed to set his parking brake, and the truck rolled forward because the entire parking lot is made on a bit of an incline.

I spoke with one of the fire/rescue guys who were cleaning up the spilled fuel mess and the guy said this is the 50th truck that has rolled forward in a similar manner since this truck stop opened a few years ago that he has helped to clean up.

Written and photos by Thomas R. Wiles

Driver of a saltwater tanker truck killed

KTBS :: View News:
Driver of saltwater truck killed in wreck

Posted on 04/09/2007

The driver of a saltwater tanker truck was killed in DeSoto Parish Sunday afternoon when his truck ran off a highway and overturned.

Speed was believed to be the primary reason for the crash -- the third fatal accident in DeSoto Parish involving a saltwater truck on that highway in the past four months.

The accident happened about 12:30 p.m. on Louisiana Highway 5 north of Mansfield. Killed was Christopher Burroughs, 30, of Carthage, Texas.

State Police said Burroughs was driving the saltwater truck westbound on Highway 5 when he lost control in a curve. The truck ran off the right side of the road and overturned.

Burroughs was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the truck, troopers said.

The truck was carrying saltwater from an energy drilling site. The tanker overturned and some of the saltwater it was carrying leaked into a ditch.

In December, a Shreveport man was killed when his car was hit by a saltwater truck. The truck driver drifted into the wrong lane when he reached down to pick up a cell phone he had dropped. The following day, the driver of another saltwater truck was killed when he lost control of his truck and ran off the road.

Water Truck rolls, Farm worker killed

Monterey County Herald | 04/10/2007 | Farm worker killed near San Lucas:

A farm worker was killed at about 1:45 p.m. today when the water truck he was operating rolled down an embankment near San Lucas, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The farm was located about two and half miles north of Highway 198 off Freeman Flat Road, said officer Scott Farrar. No further information on the identity of the victim or the location of the farm was available."

Useless hydrants not a worry

If they look useless, that's because they are.

The five fire hydrants along Bethel Island's main drag have been under wraps for weeks, covered with plastic bags and taped so that firefighters unfamiliar with the area will not waste precious time trying to use them.

But the underground pipeline on Bethel Island Road that had sprung a leak did not have anything to do with the decision to switch off the hydrants' electric pump and put them all out of order -- his crews had not been relying on them anyway, said Interim Chief Bill Weisgerber of East Contra Costa Fire District.

"The only thing new is the bag over the hydrant," he said.

In fact, his four battalion chiefs cannot recall the last time anyone used the aging system, Weisgerber said.

"It's untested, it's antiquated, so rather than rely on that and cause further delay ... we rely on our proven method of supplying our own water," he said.

Although some residents remain skeptical, district firefighters say those methods are quite sufficient until some of the hydrants eventually are replaced.

The moment dispatchers receive reports of a fire, they automatically summon reinforcements for Bethel Island's tiny, two-person station, which has just one engine and a small four-wheel drive truck used in vegetation fires.

The district initially sends a water tender, a truck designed to carry 3,000 gallons of water, said Battalion Chief of Operations Jake Gonzalez, adding that this is standard operating procedure throughout the district.

Just as in Byron and sections of Vasco Road that also do not have any fire hydrants, these vehicles can put large-diameter suction hoses straight into the Delta and pull water into their on-board pumps, said Battalion Chief Hugh Henderson.

If the blaze is big enough, the district can dispatch as many as four water tenders from among the eight stations in Far East County as well as up to four fire engines -- and each of those holds 750 gallons on average, Gonzalez said.

Also at Bethel Island's disposal is a truck that comes with either a 75-foot or 100-foot ladder; Contra Costa Fire Protection District automatically will send one of them from Antioch or Pittsburg if a commercial building or multistory home is on fire, Gonzalez said.

And if that is not enough to quell people's fears, firefighters point out that there are plenty of places on Bethel Island that are not near a fire hydrant, which means the district must use a water tender even if the downtown fire hydrants were working.

The developer building the island's Delta Coves project is expected to install a pipeline within the next year that will carry drinking water to that residential community, after which Diablo Water District will assume the responsibility for maintaining it, Gonzalez said.

He noted that the water district regularly checks its pumps and the pressure in its pipes, ensuring a dependable water supply.

The piping, which will extend down Bethel Island Road to a point near Sandy Lane, will be connected to hydrants that also will be installed along that stretch of road.

As for the new fire boat Bethel Island residents have been hoping for, the order stalled -- the goal was to have the boat delivered last month -- after members of the county Board of Supervisors questioned whether the fire district really needed the $290,000 vessel.

Weisgerber said he will make a case for the purchase in two meetings that he has scheduled with Supervisors Mary Piepho and Federal Glover within the next week.

In the meantime, the district plans to borrow a former military boat that the county sheriff's department recently bought and have it ready to report for duty by the start of Bethel Island's boating season on April 21