Category: In The News

Broward citizens now have a video upload through an app, but the new tool would let dispatchers send an invitation link to any cellphone call via text message

By Lisa J. Huriash South Florida Sun-Sentinel Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Angst between the County Commission and the Sheriff’s Office over the regional emergency call dispatching center continues to mount as politicians plan to question the Sheriff’s Office about why the county lags in 911 technology.

County Commissioner Michael Udine, whose term as mayor ended Tuesday, said he’s interested in pursuing video-to-911 technology, which exists now in Volusia County and in Miami-Dade as a pilot project. The technology would allow the 911 call center to turn voice calls to live video, but recently told county commissioners “the problem that we keep having is the sheriff tells us he’s not ready for this just yet.”

The 911 video option allows a call taker to send an SMS invitation link to the caller. The caller can then accept the invitation to share device location information and activate the device’s camera. The technology would show a caller’s location, and a “breadcrumb depiction of movement” is updated every three seconds, “which is extremely valuable when the caller is in a moving vehicle or a boat on the water and requires assistance,” according to the business proposal.

“It’s great stuff; it’s stuff we should be doing,” Udine said at a public meeting. “This should be so easy to do. Let’s figure out a way.”

Dan Plunkett, a sales executive with Carbyne, a public safety technology company, told county leaders at the same meeting “this is life-saving technology that takes maybe an hour to install” and is technology comparable to a ride service or food delivery service.

He said there was no technology overhaul needed with Broward’s current system “so we’re a bit perplexed as to why the Sheriff maintains they are not ready for this.”

The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a question about its concerns about 911 video capability, instead saying a citizen video upload portal has been available for months. The SaferWatch App allows people to report incidents and receive real-time safety alerts directly from law enforcement — but citizens need the app to do it.

County Commissioner Mark Bogen said this week the topic of 911 video will be added to his laundry list of grievances that he’s expected to broach at the Dec. 6 County Commission meeting, which includes recommending that the Sheriff’s Office be removed from running the 911 system.

“We’re going to talk about everything. We need to be using the best technology and why aren’t we?” he said. “Everyone is going to have to be accountable.”

“Look, the Sheriff has shown no leadership at 911,” Bogen said at a recent commission meeting discussing the 911 video option.

“We found out about the problem from the Sun Sentinel,” he said referring to a Sun Sentinel investigation in April in which the media company discovered a slew of 911 problems including unanswered calls and staffing problems at the Sheriff’s Office.

“He never came and said ‘My people are underpaid, I got a mess here, I need help,’” Bogen said. “We need to lead. Because there is no leadership in 911.”

“It was a new one to us,” officials from the Burlington FD said after a synthetic-material jacket overheated and ignited a pile of clothes on a bed

By Alison Cutler The Charlotte Observer Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — After a North Carolina fire department was called to a house fire on Nov. 29, officials said they had never seen anything like it.

“It was a new one to us,” the Burlington Fire Department told WGHP.

Homeowner Anthony Mebane said he was stunned to learn what caused the fire, too, he told WFMY.

“Nothing ever happened to me in that capacity, you know. … Initially when I first heard about it, I didn’t believe it,” Mebane told WFMY.

The source of the fire? A pile of laundry ignited while sitting on Mebane’s bed, according to the Burlington Fire Department.

Officials got the call of a fire at a Burlington home around 12:20 a.m. on Nov. 29, according to a news release from the fire department. When firefighters arrived, Mebane was at work.

Firefighters found a fire that ignited in a bedroom and extinguished it in about 15 minutes, according to the release.

Mebane had dried his laundry in the dryer, but the fire didn’t start until the clothes were already removed, according to the release. The pile of clothes became so hot in the dryer that when they were placed on the bed, the clothes “smoldered subsequently catching other clothing articles and furniture on fire,” according to the release.

The fire caused about $30,000 in damages, according to the fire department.

There was a synthetic material jacket in the laundry that overheated so much it ignited on the bed in the middle of the night, WFMY reported.

While the source was unusual, the U.S. Fire Administration offers tips for general laundry safety to avoid fire:

• Don’t use a clothes dryer without a lint filter or with a lint filter that is loose, damaged or clogged.
• Don’t overload the dryer.
• Don’t use a wire screen or cloth to cover the wall damper. They can collect lint and clog the dryer vent.
• Don’t dry anything containing foam, rubber or plastic. An example of an item not to place in a dryer is a bathroom rug with a rubber backing.
• Don’t dry any item for which manufacturers’ instructions state “dry away from heat.”
• Don’t dry glass fiber materials (unless manufacturers’ instructions allow).
• Don’t dry items that have come into contact with anything flammable like alcohol, cooking oils or gasoline. Dry them outdoors or in a well-ventilated room, away from heat.
• Don’t leave a clothes dryer running if you leave home or when you go to bed.

Burlington is about 60 miles northwest of Raleigh.

Hall County Fire Rescue says its divers will operate a drone that can reach depths of up to 305 meters and has a camera, a sonar system and a robotic arm

By Ben Anderson The Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Hall County’s Marine Rescue Team will replace its dive team with an underwater drone that will be used to try to rescue and recover drowning victims.

Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong said there will be few changes.

“The only difference is that rather than send a person down in dive gear to either do a rescue or recovery of a person underwater, we’re using an underwater drone to do that instead,” Armstrong said.

That means the fire department will no longer have divers who are trained and equipped to jump in the water and rescue people who have gone underwater or recover people who have drowned.

Divers will be replaced by a $100,000 underwater drone that can be deployed in three minutes or less and reach depths of up to 305 meters, according to the department. The drone is equipped with a camera, a sonar system and a robotic arm that can grab onto drowning victims and tow them to the surface. In effect, divers will become drone operators.

The robot is expected to arrive in January, and Armstrong said they will spend the six months after that training firefighters to operate it, in time for Memorial Day. The fire department will also be purchasing a boat with a fire hose that is expected to cost around $650,000.

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman B.J. Williams said they are not planning to make any changes to their Underwater Search and Rescue dive team.

Some people are worried about these changes, including Todd Jordan, an emergency physician at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center who says he and his wife are certified dive instructors who have been training the fire department’s dive team for the last 10 years.

In a post in the Lanier Lake Life Facebook group, he wrote, “If the Public Safety Divers respond to a boat fire and see burnt victims jump overboard, they cannot go underwater after them. If there is a drowning, they will have to stand on the shore or stay on the boat without attempting to save a life. They will only be able to operate a robot. If they respond to a jumper on a bridge and see them jump, they cannot dive to save them. If they respond to a car off a bridge in ten feet of water with children trapped in car seats, they cannot help. Robots cannot enter a car to save a human child in a car seat. Robots cannot untangle themselves when they are trapped in fishing line and trees. It IS possible to save a person in this lake.”

He added: “As a citizen of Hall County, I find this very concerning. I feel that all the residents in North Georgia, who frequent Lake Lanier, should be aware of this potentially dangerous change and that they will no longer be protected by a Public Safety Dive Team.”

Jordan reiterated those concerns in an interview with The Times.

Armstrong said their divers haven’t saved a single drowning victim in the 20 years since the county’s Marine Rescue Team was founded. In the past five years, there have been 32 drownings, and the dive team has responded to 10 of them. They have recovered four bodies but saved zero lives.

Armstrong said he isn’t sure whether the underwater drone might have more success, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

“We’re still doing rescues,” he said. “We’re just changing the way we’re rescuing people.”

Lake Lanier is one of the most visited lakes with 12 million enjoying its waters annually.

In 2022, six people drowned in the lake.

The decision is also motivated by concerns about diver safety.

“One of the most risky things we do is diving in that lake,” Armstrong said. “If I spend a lot of time, energy and money diving in that lake and I haven’t saved anybody — and all I’m doing is, unfortunately, bringing deceased victims out of the water — rather than risk my divers, why would I not use technology to do that instead?”

Commission Chairman Richard Higgins echoed Armstrong’s concerns about diver safety. “It’s really dangerous to dive in Lake Lanier,” he said.

Commissioner Shelly Echols said the decision to replace the dive team with a robot is supported by the data.

“People are expecting that this team goes out and they dive and they rescue people drowning, and the data shows that that just doesn’t happen,” she said, adding that by the time the dive team arrives, assesses the area and puts on all their gear, the operation inevitably shifts from rescue to recovery. Armstrong said a rescue becomes a recovery 30 minutes after a person goes under.

Echols said she is frustrated that none of the people raising concerns on social media have reached out to commissioners or county staff.

“The rumor mill goes running rampant and that’s really frustrating as an elected official, that people would rather just take to social media and spread rumors instead of actually calling or emailing to find out for sure what’s going on and why things are being done.”

Police reports showed the driver was drunk when he struck Firefighter Johnn Tetrick, who was working a rollover crash at the time of the incident

By Rachel Engel FireRescue1

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County judge set the bail for a driver accused of killing a Cleveland firefighter at $500,000, ABC 13 reported. 

Leander Bissell, 40, was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter, failure to stop after an accident, failure to comply and aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Firefighter Johnny Tetrick. 

One of Tetrick’s three daughters spoke at Bissell’s arraignment, requesting bail be set at $1 million.

“I would like to ask the court for a million dollar bond on Mr. Bissell’s prior record, the fact that he fled the scene, he was inebriated and he killed my father,” she said.

Police reports showed Bissell was drunk when he struck Tetrick, who was working a rollover crash at the time of the incident. He later died from his injuries.

Bissell then fled the scene, police said. He was arrested several hours later at a Cleveland home.

A court date for Bissell is set for Dec. 7.

Family, friends and colleagues gathered to honor Tetrick at a funeral ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 26. 

To participate, junior firefighters will need permission from their parent or guardian and the fire chief.

Source The Mercury, Pottstown, Pa. (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dec. 2—WEST CHESTER — Junior firefighters will now have an earlier opportunity to access the training they need to become full firefighters across Pennsylvania, state Sen. Carolyn Comitta said.

Act 155 of 2022 allows junior firefighters, age 17, to train on live-burn, interior firefighter modules. Currently, only those 18 and older are allowed to enroll in this training program.

Comitta, who serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, said the measure helps ensure that junior firefighters are immediately able to serve as full-fledged firefighters once they turn 18.

PA Cadets Put Through the Paces at Training Academy 

“I hope this law helps bolster the ranks of our volunteer firefighters by harnessing the interest and energy young people have for the fire service and empowering them to hit the ground running once they turn 18,” she said. “Our fire companies continue to face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Allowing young people to access this training earlier is one way we can help ensure they continue serving our communities.”

The bill, sponsored by Senator Pat Stefano, unanimously passed the legislature and was recently signed into law by the governor.

To participate in live burns, junior firefighters would need their parent or guardian’s permission and the local fire chief’s permission. The training would be completed under the instruction of a credentialed Pennsylvania State Fire Academy instructor.

Atlanta firefighters found two victims after conducting an aggressive fire attack.

By Rosana Hughes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Two people were found dead in a Bankhead-Bolton home in northwest Atlanta after a fire Saturday morning, according to fire officials.

Atlanta fire crews responded to the home in the 900 block of Bolton Road around 8:30 a.m. and found heavy fire coming from the one-story house, a fire department statement read. Firefighters aggressively attacked the fire until it was fully extinguished.

Once it was safe to search the home, crews found one victim in a front room on the right side of the house and another in a front room on the left side, the statement read.

A gas leak was later discovered in the front yard of the residence, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A Palestine firefighter, who was shot in the leg, is expected to be OK.

By Pennylynn Webb Source Palestine Herald-Press, Texas (TNS) Firehouse.com News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dec. 3—The Palestine Police Department is investigating the shooting of a city firefighter.

According to Chief Mark Harcrow, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, emergency services responded to a reported “accidental shooting” at Palestine’s Fire Station #2, 107 Seventh Street.

“Witnesses stated that a member of the department was outside of the station showing another firefighter a new handgun when it discharged, striking their co-worker in the leg,” Harcrow said. “The handgun was stored in the personal vehicle of the firefighter prior to the incident.”

Harcrow said the firefighter had been struck in the lower portion of his body by a single round from the handgun.

Harcrow said members of the Palestine Fire Department administered medical aid immediately following the incident and the firefighter was transported to Palestine Regional Medical Center in stable condition and he is expected to recover.

Harcrow said the Palestine Fire Department employee that shot his co-worker has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.