Author: Chris Ferrari

Jan. 13, 2023 Firefighters serving Plum Borough were out of service for six hours after learning there was a lapse in insurance coverage.

By Brian C. Rittmeyer Source The Tribune-Review, Greensburg (TNS)

Jan. 12—Plum’s volunteer firefighters were never without insurance protecting them if they were hurt answering a call, the borough’s manager said Wednesday.

Borough Manager Michael Thomas said the borough was late in paying a bill for the annual workers’ compensation insurance covering its four fire departments, but the coverage remained in effect.

He said the payment was missed because of the borough administration’s move to the new municipal center and such mail from the state not being forwarded.

Officials with the Holiday Park, Logans Ferry, Renton and Unity departments took themselves out of service for about six hours Tuesday on the understanding that the coverage had lapsed. During that time, departments from surrounding communities were providing fire protection to Plum through mutual aid agreements.

“If a firefighter had been out and injured, they would have workers comp coverage,” Thomas said. “This whole thing is a Shakespearean play in ‘much ado about nothing.’ It was confusion about terminology between one of my staff members and some people in the fire departments. By the time the whole thing went sideways and caught fire, they already pulled the trigger. It’s just that simple.”

However, Morgan McIlrath, the vice president of Unity Volunteer Fire Department, again on Wednesday said they got a call from the borough stating that the coverage had lapsed due to the policy not being paid.

“All we know is what the borough told us,” she said. “We never would have alarmed the public if there wasn’t a reason to.”

Thomas said Plum gets the workers’ compensation insurance for firefighters through an agent from the State Workers Insurance Fund (SWIF), which is part of the state Department of Labor & Industry. The annual cost for the four volunteer fire departments is about $40,000.

The coverage runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. The borough gets a “front-end loaded bill” in December for $9,000 to $10,000, and pays the balance monthly through the year, he said.

Thomas said SWIF sends the invoice through the mail, and the borough pays it with a check. It is not handled by email or electronically, Thomas said.

That first invoice is normally received and paid in December.

But because the borough had moved its offices and mail from the state is not forwarded, Thomas said, it was sent back to the state, and borough staff didn’t have a bill to process.

Because of the volume of invoices the borough handles, Thomas said it’s not fair to expect that employees would have noticed.

A spokesperson for the Department of Labor & Industry responded to a request for comment Wednesday, but was not able to immediately address the matter.

Thomas said Plum’s insurance agent notified the borough Jan. 4 that the payment was outstanding. A check was prepared that day, council authorized it at its meeting Monday and it was overnighted to the state on Tuesday.

“However, in the interim, because SWIF hadn’t received the payment yet, the term that I guess my staff used with firemen is ‘the policy has lapsed,’ which is technically accurate,” he said. “However, you have 30 days within which to pay the premium. Once paid, any claims back to Jan. 1 are valid and covered.”

Thomas said the borough never told any of the departments that there was no workers’ compensation coverage, and the borough never advised them to go out of service. But word that the coverage had lapsed began spreading through the community anyway.

“On our end, we were not panicked at all,” he said. “We knew this was not a problem.”

To allay fears, Thomas said the borough got a rider policy with another carrier good for 24 hours. He could not say how much it cost.

No injuries were reported between when the payment was due and when it was made, Thomas said.

However, there were at least two calls that fire and rescue crews from other municipalities covered, including the rescue of a woman who fell over a hillside in Logans Ferry.

Thomas said the borough has reached out to state officials about getting SWIF to use electronic payment methods.

“These kind of problems can easily be remedied through technology,” he said.

Jan. 12, 2023 It was a delicate operation as crews had to minimize vibrations to prevent another collapse.

By Rosemary Sobol Source Chicago Tribune (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A worker who was trapped for 45 minutes in the debris of a collapsed building on the South Side died Thursday afternoon, officials said.

The man, whose name and age were not immediately available, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was in “traumatic arrest.” He was pronounced dead at 12:08 p.m., the Cook County medial examiner’s office said.

Rescue squads took turns hauling rubble away to find the trapped man, and tried to minimize vibrations to the vacant building, in the 700 block of East Oakwood Boulevard, to prevent a “second collapse” and anyone else, including firefighters, from being injured, Deputy District Chief Shun T. Haynes said at the scene.

The victim was working with two other people, who were not hurt, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

“We asked where was the last place they saw him and they told us an area on the side of the building, and that’s where we started digging,” Langford said.

He was buried under “several feet” of debris, masonry, dirt and bricks, Langford said, adding it took squads 45 minutes from the time they got there to get the man out.

The worker was originally taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in “grave” condition, according to Haynes, who did not know why the building had fallen at about 11 a.m.

The Chicago Fire Department sent multiple ambulances and rigs to the scene of the collapse of the brick building that was being rehabbed, said spokesman Larry Merritt. No one else was injured, according to Merritt.

Only one wall collapsed, while the others — a common wall, the back wall and the front wall of the brick three-story building, which was constructed in the late 1800s — remained intact Thursday night, Langford said. The city Department of Buildings will have to decide if the rest will be torn down.

Jan. 12, 2023 It was a delicate operation as crews had to minimize vibrations to prevent another collapse.

By Rosemary Sobol Source Chicago Tribune (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A worker who was trapped in the debris of a collapsed building has been taken to a hospital in ‘grave: condition Thursday afternoon on the South Side, officials said.

Rescue squads took turns hauling rubble away to find the trapped man, and tried to minimize vibrations to the vacant building, in the 700 block of East Oakwood Boulevard, to prevent a “second collapse” and anyone else, including firefighters from being injured, said Deputy District Chief Shun T. Haynes at the scene.

The worker, a man, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in “grave” condition, according to Haynes, who did not know why the building had fallen at about 11 a.m.

“We are trying to get him out,” tweeted Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford earlier.

The Chicago fire department sent multiple ambulances and rigs to the scene of the collapse of the brick building that was being rehabbed, said spokesman Larry Merritt. No one else has been injured, according to Merritt.

Check back for details.

Jan. 12, 2023 The twin-engine plane went into the ocean Dec. 15 as the three headed for a transport.

By Christie Wilson Source The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Jan. 11—A deep-water search operation on Tuesday recovered the three-member flight crew and wreckage of a Hawaii Life Flight medical transport plane that crashed into the ocean Dec. 15 off Maui near Kaupo, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Raytheon Aircraft Company (formerly Beech) C90A, twin-engine, turbine-powered airplane’s cockpit voice recorder, cockpit image recorder and other electronic components will be transported to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., the federal agency said in a statement today to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Pilot Brian Treptow, flight nurse Courtney Parry and flight paramedic Gabriel Camacho were killed when the plane spiraled into the ocean after departing Kahului Airport to pick up a patient at the Waimea-Kohala Airport on Hawaii island.

The NTSB released a preliminary report on the crash Jan. 5 that provided a timeline and other details surrounding the ill-fated flight. The agency indicated today that its investigation into the cause of the accident is expected to be completed in 12 to 24 months.

Guardian Flight, parent company of Hawaii Life Flight, was contracted to undertake the search operation, according to the NTSB statement.

The search vessel, the MV Island Pride, operated by Ocean Infinity, arrived at Oahu Saturday. On board the vessel when the search began Sunday were the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the chief of the NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance, the Guardian Flight’s director of safety, “and a project manager that has prior experience with over-water loss recoveries,” the NTSB said.

Side-scan and multibeam sonar, unmanned underwater vehicles and a remotely operated vehicle were used to search an area of about 54 square miles at depths ranging from 4,500 to 7,500 feet, according to the statement.

After the vessel’s high-precision acoustic positioning system detected a series of pings from the acoustic beacon on the cockpit voice recorder, the wreckage was located at about 5:30 a.m. Monday at a depth of about 6,420 feet, which was about 1,200 feet south of the last data point received from the airplane, the NTSB said.

After additional surveys by the remotely operated vehicle, “the flight crew and the majority of the wreckage were recovered Tuesday.” The NTSB said the wreckage will be transported to a secure location in Hawaii for further examination.

Jan. 12, 2023 Retired Carroll County, GA FF Clay Kierbow went into a narrow opening to save the girl in 2013.

Source Firehouse.com News

When a girl fell into a well 10 years ago, a slim firefighter didn’t hesitate and went down through the 30-inch hole to get her.

Carroll County Firefighter Clay Kierbow became a national hero as video of her cradling Megan Winters went viral.

Kierbow said then, and now to a reporter: he’s no hero.  “That was the job, what I signed up to do, risk my life for others.”

To the Winters, he will always be their hero. That’s why they say it’s their turn to help him.

In 2022, the now retired firefighter was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. And, two days before Christmas his house burned down.

Melissa Winters, Megan’s mother, was already thinking of ways to help after his cancer diagnosis when she found out about the devastating fire.

“It just really gets you emotional because someone was so there for your family and so willing to help you and rescue your daughter. You’ve just got to do something for them as well.” 

Mellissa says they hope he will fight back just as Megan did so many years ago. 

“The fact that he was so willing to go in without hesitation, with no concern or himself or his feelings. To just go down quickly and get her and make sure she came back to us safely, that just means everything.”.  

An online fundraiser has been established to get the Kierbow family back on their feet.

He deeply appreciates the outpouring of support he’s received from the Winters family. 

Jan. 11, 2023 A community group created the garden at the site where Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo perished last January.

By Christine Condon Source Baltimore Sun (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

After the fire, Kintira Barbour knew something had to be done.

After the news cameras disappeared, and the three burnt rowhouses were demolished, an empty lot remained on the corner of South Stricker and West Pratt streets — the site of one of the deadliest blazes for first responders in Baltimore history.

And so, the Mount Clare Community Council, which Barbour leads as president, worked throughout the past year to transform the space into a community garden, complete with saplings, shrubs and neatly landscaped walkways.

The community group was intent on keeping the lot from becoming overgrown with grass and weeds, or becoming an illegal dumping ground, Barbour said.

But what’s more, the gaping hole where the three rowhouses once stood served as a painful reminder of that tragic late January day last year that claimed the lives of Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo.

“It’s not just a space,” Barbour said. “It’s that reminder of the hardships and the challenges we face.”

And in a low-income community like Mount Clare, those reminders already are painfully abundant, she said. In the makeshift memorials, such as teddy bears hanging from telephone poles. In the vacant homes with boards covering the windows and the doors.

The community council completed the garden with a grant from the Southwest Partnership, which acquires and then distributes funding for community projects in seven Baltimore neighborhoods, including Mount Clare, said Elizabeth Weber, the nonprofit’s acting executive director.

“This is definitely a project that our reviewers felt strongly about wanting to make sure the need to have something at that site was honored as soon as possible,” Weber said.

Over the last few years, the Mount Clare Community Council has made over several vacant lots with community gardens, Barbour said. Often the site of demolished rowhouses ruined by fire, the community gardens have become popular among neighbors, Barbour said.

“In the spring and summer when the produce starts to grow, it’s not uncommon that you would ride by and see people picking their tomatoes or their squash,” Barbour said.

Though many of the lots are privately owned, the community council has taken the initiative to maintain them.

After tragedy strikes and a rowhome is demolished, if the lot is not cared for, the community council starts by filing 311 complaints with the city. Then, council members will reach out to property owners to ask for permission to use the space as a community garden. If they hear nothing back, they’ll start maintaining the lot, and sometimes place garden beds and other items on the site, Barbour said.

That’s what happened with the Stricker Street lot, she said.

“At the end of it all were left with the mess to clean up,” she said. “When the attention is gone — the media is gone ―we have to live here.”

The Stricker Street property owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A nonprofit formed by the Baltimore fire officers union also considered placing a permanent memorial on the Stricker Street site, said Josh Fannon, president of IAFF Local 964. But reaching out to the owners of the three lots has yielded no results, he said.

In the meantime, he is glad the community is maintaining the area, he said.

“It’s very nice to see the community association treating it as the hallowed ground that it is,” Fannon said. “Some of the family visits the site very frequently, and they are happy to see that it’s not being treated as a rubble pile.”

At the front of the lot, three memorial wreaths still stand, adorned with the names of the fallen firefighters and covered in bouquets of flowers. But now, behind them stands a trellis draped in string lights, freshly planted trees, and a path lined with gravel.

Barbour said she’s exploring placing a mural on the wall of the home beside the garden. But the garden itself is nearly complete.

“It’s an expression of love,” she said.

Jan. 11, 2023 LaSalle Fire Chief Jerry Janick advised residents in the area to shelter in place.

Source Firehouse.com News

Residents in LaSalle were told to stay in their homes Wednesday as fire engulfed a chemical plant.

LaSalle Fire Chief Jerry Janick said rews found heavy fire coming from the Carus chemical plant. Additional resources from neighboring areas responded to assist.

Company officials said the fire started in the plant’s shipping area, CBS2 reported.

By about 2:30 p.m., firefighters deemed the fire under control. However, they were still on the scene Wednesday evening.

The chief said one firefighter suffered minor injuries.

Dense smoke was visible from a wide area and residents heard a blast during the fire.

Earlier, the cloud of smoke stretched through the sky, while the sound of the blast from the fire shook the city of LaSalle.

According to the company’s website, they produce potassium permanganate, an oxidant used to treat drinking water, wastewater, and industrial chemicals.