Low water complicates firefighting

Low water complicates firefighting

Virginia News

Low water complicates firefighting

By Sean Muserallo, NBC12 News

Declining water supplies are affecting how well some area firefighters are able to protect people’s homes. A dry, windy day like Friday can be the perfect combination for disaster.

If that happened Friday, Hanover fire officials aren’t so sure they would have enough water to put it out.

Some people in the area don’t rely on fire hydrants. They rely on ponds, streams and lakes, so when there is a fire, how quickly it’s put out depends on how fast firefighters can get water sources to the scene.

If there’s a fire in the rural part of Hanover, you’ll see a tanker that shuttles 3,000 gallons of water to the scene. It’s dumped into a holding tank and then pumped out of another truck to douse a blaze.

Once that truck is out of wet stuff, it has to refuel. One sad-looking stream used to be one of several water sources firefighters would tap into. That isn’t the case now.

Deputy Fire Marshal Willie Jones says that if water keeps evaporating, his crews will have to travel farther out to get enough water to knock out a decent-sized fire.

“We’ve done all we can do,” Jones said. “We can supply the water. We can extinguish fires, but we just ask for our citizens to be extra careful. If it became a large brushfire and the wind got it today, I don’t know how far it could go before we could suppress it.”

Daniel Dawkins & Leston Simpson show the value of waste

Daniel Dawkins & Leston Simpson show the value of waste - JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM

Daniel Dawkins & Leston Simpson show the value of waste

BY KERRY MCCATTY Sunday Observer staff reporter mccattyk@jamaicaobserver.com Sunday, October 14, 2007

It was murky and stinky, but they didn't care. All Daniel Dawkins and Leston Simpson knew was that water, in whatever dispensation, puts out fire. So, in March when they saw black smoke encircling the skies of Manor Park, St Andrew and people "running, crouching, waiting for the impending explosion", from a fire that had started in the Shell service station, there was only one thing to do - douse the fire. with liquid waste.

And for that quick thinking, which prevented what may have been a deadly explosion, the men will tomorrow be awarded with the Badge of Honour for Gallantry at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
Dawkins, who owns Allied Cesspool, and his employee, Simpson, were pulling effluent from a cesspool in the shopping mall next door to the gas station.

Daniel Dawkins (left) and Leston Simpson will receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry tomorrow for using effluent from a cesspool truck to help put out a fire at a service station in St Andrew. (Photo: Karl McLarty)

"Whether the water is clean, dirty, smelly or effluent, get some water [on] it," Dawkins said, explaining his and Simpson's mindset leading to their act of bravery.
Simpson said he suggested to Dawkins that in the same way the truck could draw the waste, it could let it out. Dawkins immediately understood.

"An him say if mi brave enough and if we serious enough we can go over there and get it done," Simpson said.
Simpson was indeed serious, especially since this was not the first time he was using effluent to put out a fire.
He said while he worked at another cesspool company years ago, he witnessed a van engulfed in flames and "we just get a cesspool truck and deal wid it".

Both men said they were only thinking of the danger they were averting, nothing else.
"I'm an action-oriented person, so once I'm into it, you start giving commands, doing what needs to be done," Dawkins explained.
The fire broke out as a customer filled a container with gasolene. A Toyota Hilux pickup truck was partially damaged while a gas pump was destroyed by the blaze.

"I don't know what made me do it. But I thought that Manor Park would be in serious trouble if that gas station had blown up," Dawkins said. "We had to do something."
Dawkins eventually called back a water truck that had been working with them at the shopping mall to help contain the blaze as "it was really fighting us".

Dawkins and Simpson are among six people who will receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry, the others being Lusson Bartley, for apprehending and bringing to justice two gunmen who robbed a store and, in another incident, reporting two gunmen to the police, which resulted in their capture and conviction; Joel Davidson, who prevented an 11-year-old girl from drowning, when he pulled her from a pool; Mark Wilson, who shot and killed three of four gunmen who were attempting to rob persons at an apartment complex; Annette Wong-Lee, for shooting one of two gunmen who entered her home; and eight-year-old Don Christopher Barnes, who saved a friend from drowning.

"I can't wait for that moment," Simpson said in anticipation of tomorrow's ceremony, where his family will accompany him. "Trust me, I never know it would be something so exciting."

Low water complicates firefighting

Low water complicates firefighting | NBC12 | Virginia News:

Virginia News

Low water complicates firefighting

By Sean Muserallo, NBC12 News

Declining water supplies are affecting how well some area firefighters are able to protect people’s homes. A dry, windy day like Friday can be the perfect combination for disaster.

If that happened Friday, Hanover fire officials aren’t so sure they would have enough water to put it out.

Some people in the area don’t rely on fire hydrants. They rely on ponds, streams and lakes, so when there is a fire, how quickly it’s put out depends on how fast firefighters can get water sources to the scene.

If there’s a fire in the rural part of Hanover, you’ll see a tanker that shuttles 3,000 gallons of water to the scene. It’s dumped into a holding tank and then pumped out of another truck to douse a blaze.

Once that truck is out of wet stuff, it has to refuel. One sad-looking stream used to be one of several water sources firefighters would tap into. That isn’t the case now.

Deputy Fire Marshal Willie Jones says that if water keeps evaporating, his crews will have to travel farther out to get enough water to knock out a decent-sized fire.

“We’ve done all we can do,” Jones said. “We can supply the water. We can extinguish fires, but we just ask for our citizens to be extra careful. If it became a large brushfire and the wind got it today, I don’t know how far it could go before we could suppress it.”

evelyn in india: water truck driver ran down an old man

evelyn in india: Notes from the Newspaper:

Notes from the Newspaper - At a Nepalese airport flights were delayed for 2 hours due to technical difficulties. Two goats were on the runway. A water truck driver ran down an old man in a market yesterday. A mob quickly surrounded the driver and started kicking and punching him- the cops had to pull him out. There was a picture in the paper. This mob stuff happens here every now and then. As I was driving home after dark the other day I saw a guy tied to a pole getting hit by some men in a crowd"

Woman struck truck on South Grade Road

By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Source: UNION-TRIBUNE

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN – Although the investigation has not been finalized, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said the death of a 60-year-old Escondido woman whose motorcycle crashed into a water truck on Palomar Mountain last week was primarily her fault.

Sally Mata and other motorcyclists were heading down South Grade Road on Sept. 30 when a water truck turned left into her lane while heading toward a turn-out area. Mata's Honda crashed into the truck and she died a short time later.

Lt. Paul Golonski of the CHP said it appears Mata failed to do anything to avoid the collision.

“We're in a quandary as to why she didn't apply the brakes or take evasive action,” Golonski said.

Although the truck was in Mata's lane, the CHP will likely not recommend that charges be brought against its driver, Golonski said.

“You can't just run into someone even if they're in the way,” Golonski said.

Other motorcyclists told investigators that Mata and the group of motorcyclists she was riding with had sped past them further up the mountain and speed possibly played a role in the crash, Golonski said.

An initial report that a possible cause of the accident was that Mata had crossed the double-yellow center line into the path of the truck was incorrect, Golonski said.

That initial description upset many in the motorcycling community. It is unlikely the CHP's latest findings will quell that anger.

Mata was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident on the same road almost exactly one year before her death. In that case, a 30-year-old Marine on a sports bike lost control while rounding a curve and slid into Mata's path. The Marine was killed; Mata was injured.

Reckless driving by motorcyclists and drivers of sports cars has been a problem on the mountain for many years.

Palomar Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Chief George Lucia said his department responds to an average of three serious accidents each weekend. He estimates that the actual number of accidents along South Grade and East Grade roads is closer to a dozen most weekends.

Some motorcyclists who have been traveling the roads of Palomar Mountain for years are upset with the often young and inexperienced riders who don't respect the twisting, dangerous curves of the roads, thereby making it risky for everyone.

Lucia said there was only one serious accident this past weekend, resulting in a broken shoulder for a motorcyclist.

Lucia recently asked the county to use grant money to install “rumble strip-style passive traffic and speed control” measures on the mountain's roads. He's asking that grooves be cut into the pavement in the middle of the roads so that a driver nearing the center line would feel a significant vibration. He also wants grooves cut across lanes before each sharp turn, thereby giving drivers a warning to reduce speed.

Lucia said yesterday the county has not yet responded to his request. He said phone calls and e-mails from motorcyclists have been surprisingly supportive of the ideas.

Checkout this Mad Max East Coast Water Tanker

Mad Max East Coast Water Tender well they call em' Tankers on the right coast.
Called a "Breaker" it is a 6X6 water Tanker / Tender used to plow through brush. This one is up in the Cape Cod area at the Cape Cod Fire Department - West Barnstable Headquarters Fire Station 1 - West Barnstable

(WB-1)

Cape Cod Brush Breaker

1967 International Military 6x6 / 1982 T Young Brush Breaker
300 gpm - 1000 gals
(diesel / standard)
Foam Eductor
Pump & roll - Winch

[MF-xxxx] Placed in service 1982
The last "County" built brush breaker

Terrifying blaze engulfs trailer

| thedaily.com.au:

Terrifying blaze engulfs trailer

12:00p.m. 3 October 2007

A holidaying Caloundra family is devastated after losing about $20,000 worth of motocross gear when the trailer they were towing caught fire south-west of Brisbane.

Ken Jackson was travelling with his wife and two children on the Warrego Highway on Monday when he noticed "a flash of orange" through the luggage, blankets and pillows piled in the back of the vehicle.

"As I saw the glimpse of fire through the back window, my wife saw it in the side mirror," Mr Jackson said.

"It was terrifying."

The family pulled off the highway at Tivoli, near Ipswich.

A quick-thinking Ipswich Water truck driver emptied his truck's load over the blazing trailer as Mr Jackson called Triple 0.

Karana Downs acting fire station officer Des Sardie said the Jacksons were "very lucky" the water truck was on site.

"If the truck hadn't been there, the whole car would have gone up in flames, the blaze was so severe," Mr Sardie said.

The family was carrying four motocross bikes on the trailer, all of which were destroyed in what Mr Jackson described as a "heartbreaking" loss. The gear was not insured.

"We are devastated to have lost the bike gear, but it just could have been so much worse," Mr Jackson said.

His 10-year-old son Luke said he was devastated to lose his competition bike, having just been awarded third place in a south-east Queensland motocross event. He will now struggle to compete in the A-Grade Championships in two weeks.

"That one is the big deal," Mr Jackson said.

"We will have to pull out all stops to find something for him to ride, but it will be tough."

The trailer fire caused a 1km burn along the Brisbane-bound side of the highway near Tivoli, and even after firefighters extinguished the blaze, it reignited twice in the afternoon.

Top of the world at Henry Coe State Park - Lick Fire

Cal Hydro Water Tender - Lick Fire Santa Clara County - Henry Coe State Park Filling a pumpkin at top of ridge B/C div break

SUV- Water truck crash sends 6 to Mercy

October 1, 2007

By Katie Burford | Herald Staff Writer

Six people were taken to the hospital by ambulance Sunday after the sports utility vehicle they were in crashed with a water-hauling truck west of Ignacio on County Road 318.

JACK PINCUS/Herald

Drivers in a water tanker and a black Suburban towing a U-Haul trailer collided west of Ignacio in the 2000 block of County Road 318 on Sunday. Six members of the family riding in the Suburban were sent to Mercy Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released.

The accident happened at about 10 a.m. Sunday just west of County Road 309, said Tom Aurnhammer, deputy fire chief for Los Pinos Fire Protection District.

Family members were taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center were they were treated and later released, hospital spokesman David Bruzzese said.

Mike Shorty, the driver of the water truck, said he was heading west on 318 when he came over a hill and saw the SUV, pulling a U-Haul trailer, stopped in the road to make a left-hand turn.

Shorty said he swerved left to miss the SUV, a Chevrolet Suburban, just as it started to turn. Both vehicles went off the road and ran into a thicket of trees.

Shorty said another water truck was behind him, and he swerved to avoid a piled-up.

Chris Howlett, a relative of the family's, said he came out to the scene as soon as he heard about it. He said his grandmother, along with his cousin, her three daughters and her boyfriend were in the SUV and had been turning into his aunt and uncle's driveway when the crash happened.

He said his cousin's 11-year-old daughter had been thrown out the back window, which was shattered.

Howlett said his cousin's family had just moved to the area from Arizona.

The accident investigation was being handled by the Southern Ute Tribal Police; an official on scene declined to provide details.

Shorty said he was going about 45 mph when he came over the hill and saw the stopped U-Haul.

Traffic on 318 was closed for about 10 minutes and was down to one lane for a couple hours after the accident.