Camden, NJ warehouse; Putting the brakes on Jake; Fairfax Co. 1983 video; 6-year-old calls 911 from car
Video of the day: Actually from April 1, but it is no joke. This is what was written on CapeMayHerald.com about the incident in Wildwood Crest, NJ – As Atlantic Electric linemen were extinguishing a fire atop a utility pole in Wildwood Crest, a series of explosions took place, which resulted in a power outage.
No one was injured in the April 1 mishap, which occurred about 8:15 p.m.
Due to a fog rolling in, it was possible that the salt air induced arcing when it was bombarded with the electrical energy emanating from the wires.
Old video of the day: I found this story while looking for 1968 DC riot footage. It is from April, 1983. Channel 9 reporter Bob Strickland looks at an exercise held by Fairfax County, VA firefighters at the tank farm on Pickett Road. Click the image to watch the story. (NOTE: This link was not operating earlier, the problem has been corrected.)
Vacant Bible binding warehouse burns in Camden, NJ
Click here to see raw video from WTXF-TV
Three-alarms were called Sunday afternoon to handle a vacant warehouse in Camden, NJ. Until the 1970s, the 100-year-old building housed the Haddon Bindery, a firm that apparently handled two-thirds of the Bibles in the U.S. Read more from WTXF-TV. Watch report from the scene.
BC fire
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwGoT8tM5ts&hl=en]
From Sunday afternoon in Penticton in British Columbia. Reported to be a new development called the Hamlets off of Duncan Road West.
On the West Coast it’s air horns. On the East Coast it’s Jake brakes.
What’s a fire chief to do. We recently told you about San Francisco’s chief trying to deal with complaints about air horns on her fire trucks (click here & scroll down to Horny FFs tick off neighbors). Now, in Dover, MA, there is a proposal to ban “noisy braking in town”. At the moment this would include fire trucks. Here are excerpts from Boston.com:
The proposal, placed on the May 5 Town Meeting warrant by a group of Dedham Street residents, seeks approval of a ban on the use of a secondary braking system found on large diesel trucks – including fire engines – on public roadways.
The idea is to reduce noise pollution, but engine braking, also called “Jake braking,” is essential because it reduces wear and overheating of truck brakes, and allows the driver more control over the vehicle, according to Dover Fire Chief John Hughes.
Hughes said that if firetrucks – or any large truck – are equipped with such a mechanism, the operator should be able to use it.
“All of our trucks are designed with Jake brakes to help stop the truck,” said Hughes. “There may be some noise, but the fire and other trucks should be allowed to use them. That is how the braking systems are designed.”
Numerous municipalities across the country have banned engine braking to reduce noise pollution. In 2006, Norwell became one of the few towns in Massachusetts to pass such a measure. The Norwell bylaw includes an exemption for emergency situations.
6-year-old calls 911 from car seat
When his grandmother pulled over to the side of the road feeling ill, Austin Zimmerman knew what to do. While still strapped in his booster seat he used the cell phone to call 911 and get help. Read the story from Vallejo, CA.
Who ya gonna call? — The Americas Most Want edition
In Bakersfield, CA they called the firefighters from Station 3 when a Pennsylvania murderer/prison escapee was discovered in a nearby park. Watch the story.
