Sprinkler Head- Activates in Slow Motion

China earthquake: Blogs claim 'swarming toads' warned of Sichuan disaster

China earthquake: Blogs claim 'swarming toads' warned of Sichuan disaster - Telegraph
Chinese internet blogs and media are awash with claims that “swarming” toads, falling water levels and the erratic behaviour of zoo animals were portents to the country’s worst earthquake in 30 years.

The first sign came about three weeks ago, when a large volume of water suddenly disappeared from a pond in Enshi, Hubei province, around 350 miles east of the epicentre of the May 12 quake in Sichuan, according to media reports.

Three days before the earthquake, thousands of toads roamed the streets of Mianzhu, a hard-hit city where at least 2,000 people have been reported killed.

Mianzhu residents feared the toads were a sign of an approaching natural disaster, but a local forestry bureau official said it was normal, the Huaxi Metropolitan newspaper reported on May 10, two days before the earthquake.

“It’s obviously an omen. Officials say that there were environmental factors behind it, but that just goes to show how ignorant they are,” said one blog posting. Another posting said: “These experts are rubbish.”

The day of the earthquake, zebras banged their heads against their enclosure door at the zoo in Wuhan, 600 miles east of the epicentre, according to a newspaper in the city. Five minutes before the quake hit, dozens of peacocks started screeching.

Zoo officials told the Wuhan newspaper that the behaviour was probably a sign that an earthquake would happen.

“If the seismological bureau were professional enough they could have predicted the earthquake 10 days earlier, when several thousand cubic meters of water disappeared within an hour in Hubei, but the bureau there dismissed it,” one commentator wrote on a Chinese internet chat site.

Jobs Jobs Jobs!!!

FIREHIRE® INC. IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS FOR OUR
CONSORTIUM FIREFIGHTER EXAMINATION PROCESS

Minimum requirements: 1) 18 years of age. 2) High school diploma or equivalent. 3) Eligibility to work in the United States. 4)Valid Class “C” California Drivers License by date of appointment.

The basic agency requirements are listed below. If there is a “Y” present, the requirement is mandatory. If there is an “N”, there is no requirement or they are not hiring for that position.


AGENCY FF/PM FF/EMT CSFM FF-1 or FF-1 ACADEMY GRADUATE OPENINGS STARTING SALARY TOP STEPSALARY
Albany FD Y N N 1 $5,687.00 6,912.00
Big Bear Lake FPD Y N Y 2 $4,938.00 6,094.00
Central County FD Y Y Y 0 $5,807.00 $7,500.00
Cosumnes CSD FD Y Y N 0 $5,325.00 $6,474.00
El Cerrito FD Y Y Y 2 $5,489.00 $6,673.00
Kentfield FPD Y Y Y 0 $5,495.00 $6,320.00
Larkspur FD Y Y Y 0 $5,156.00 $6,863.00
Mill Valley FD Y Y Y 0 $5,327.00 $7,287.00
Millbrae FD Y Y N 1 $5,178.00 $6,294.00
Mountain View FD Y Y See Website 2-3 $6,555.27 $8,840.91
North County FA-Brisbane Y Y Y 1 $5,624.00 $6,836.00
North County FA-Daly City Y Y N 4 $5,705.00 $6,937.00
North County FA-Pacifica Y N Y 0 $5,688.00 $7,368.00
Novato FPD Y N N 3 $6,991.00 $7,919.00
Palo Alto FD Y Y Y 0 $5,989.00 $7,353.00
Petaluma FD Y Y Y 5 $5,241.04 $7,007.52
Piedmont FD Y Y Y 2 $5,249.00 $6,752.00
Redwood City FD Y Y See Website TBA $5,689.00 $6,916.00
Rio Vista FD Y N Y 1-3 $3,144.00 $3,821.00
Ross Valley FA Y Y Y 0 $4,890.00 $6,593.00
San Bruno FD Y Y N 1 $6,154.00 $7,552.00
San Mateo FD Y Y See Website TBA $3,601.73 $7,853.81
San Ramon Valley FPD Y N Y 0 $6,676.00 $7,787.00
South Lake Tahoe FD Y N See Website 2-4 $3,186.00 $4,027.00
Vallejo FD Y N N 12 $6,809.71 $8,277.27
Woodside FPD Y Y See Website 1-3 $6,341.00 $8,130.00

There are job announcements with all of the agency specific requirements and information on our website at http://www.firehire.com/. Completed applications, copies of required agency specific requirements, and fees (made payable to FIREHIRE® Inc. by cashiers’ check, money order, or credit card) MUST be received by the application review dates posted at www.firehire.com. Please do not contact these agencies directly. They will direct you to FIREHIRE® Inc. If you would like to download an application packet, please visit http://www.firehire.com/.

Rescue medics discover good use for notorious drug

Rescue medics discover good use for notorious drug - 02 May 2008 - Topic

A notorious drug linked to date rape is being used by paramedics because it is a better painkiller than morphine in some emergencies.

The decision to use ketamine, which is also known as a party drug, follows a study by Auckland's Westpac rescue helicopter paramedics on 44 patients between January 2005 and October last year. Advanced paramedics from St John Ambulance are also now using the drug, and have trained about 160 staff nationwide to administer it.

Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust medical director Dr John Orton told the Herald that ketamine superseded morphine in many situations.

"Certain pains are fairly easily manageable with morphine-type drugs, but the excruciating acute pain of acute injury is extremely hard to get on top of with morphine," Dr Orton said.

"We're talking about 10 tonne tractors rolled on top of people ... or typical quad bike idiots on Muriwai Beach. They flip it and they've got two broken legs below the knee pointing at right angles but otherwise they're uninjured."You've got to straighten these limbs out and splint them. If you try to do that without this sort of agent, it's horrible - you cause excruciating discomfort. So to be able to do this in the field is a major bonus."

KETAMINE

• Can be snorted, injected, smoked or put in liquid and drunk.
• Used as a party drug.
• Used by vets and doctors as an anaesthetic.
• Has been associated with date rape cases.

HOW IT HELPS

• Emergency services say it is ideal for rescues where patients:
• Are trapped in or under a vehicle, or in machinery.
• Where "angulated fractures" have occurred and broken bones must be straightened while a patient is conscious.
  

Click the title above for the link to the full story.

We are with the Government, and we're here to help! Really. Seriously, we are....

10 Ways We Get the Odds Wrong

Our brains are terrible at assessing modern risks. Here's how to think straight about dangers in your midst.

Is your gym locker room crawling with drug-resistant bacteria? Is the guy with the bulging backpack a suicide bomber? And what about that innocent-looking arugula: Will pesticide residue cause cancer, or do the leaves themselves harbor E. coli? But wait! Not eating enough vegetables is also potentially deadly.

These days, it seems like everything is risky, and worry itself is bad for your health. The more we learn, the less we seem to know—and if anything makes us anxious, it's uncertainty. At the same time, we're living longer, healthier lives. So why does it feel like even the lettuce is out to get us? Click the title above to read the entire article or the links below for the specific section you are interested in.

I. We Fear Snakes, Not Cars. Risk and emotion are inseparable.

II. We Fear Spectacular, Unlikely Events. Fear skews risk analysis in predictable ways.

III. We Fear Cancer But Not Heart Disease. We underestimate threats that creep up on us.

IV. No Pesticide in My Backyard—Unless I Put it There. We prefer that which (we think) we can control. Hmmm ...perhaps this explains why we fear dying of fire in a high rise building more than our own homes....

V. We Speed Up When We Put Our Seat belts On. We substitute one risk for another.

VI. Teens May Think Too Much About Risk—And Not Feel Enough. Why using your cortex isn't always smart.

VII. Why Young Men Will Never Get Good Rates on Car Insurance. The "risk thermostat" varies widely.

VIII. We Worry About Teen Marijuana Use, But Not About Teen Sports. Risk arguments cannot be divorced from values.

IX. We Love Sunlight But Fear Nuclear Power. Why "natural" risks are easier to accept.

X. We Should Fear Fear Itself. Why worrying about risk is itself risky.

Hayden Panettiere in Sexual Harrassment PSA

Remember: "Sexual harassment is wrong, even if it makes you feel good!"
from www.funnyordie.com

Tidy Up! Banned Ikea Commercial

Seriously...housekeeping is a big fire prevention issue!

5th Fire Inspector fired for running personal errands, filing false reports.

News: Man charged with impersonating firefighter at Katrina, 9/11 disasters

News: Man charged with impersonating firefighter at Katrina, 9/11 disasters | campbell, firefighter, paramedic, people, police - OCRegister.com: "a credit card that wasn't mine to try to impress a girl that was out of my league,' Campbell said."

SANTA ANA - A Huntington Beach man was arraigned this morning on charges that he impersonated a firefighter at the scene of disasters such as the World Trade Center collapse and hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Jim Campbell, 45, pleaded not guilty in Central Justice Center to one misdemeanor count of impersonating a firefighter and to two felony counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Officials say that Campbell posed as a paramedic captain and helicopter pilot to gain access to disaster scenes.

Campbell said he didn't obstruct official efforts at the disaster scenes.

"I was crawling under collapsed buildings, pulling people out from under collapsed structures," Campbell said.

Campbell was arrested Sept. 7, 2007, after a search of his home that capped a two-month investigation.

"This is a guy who lived out his life as a firefighter; he was completely obsessed with the idea," Deputy District Attorney Andre Manssourian said at the time. "He had turned his home literally into a shrine to the fantasy of him as a fireman, including fake letters of commendation he had made."

Campbell's lawyer pointed to a shooting by a retired Anaheim police officer Monday for a comparison.

"Here's a man that's been retired from the Anaheim police force for 31 years who identifies himself as a police officer and shoots someone and it's OK because he's a member of the club," Scott Well said. "But my client is out saving lives and rescuing people and he's being prosecuted."

Campbell owns a company called Frontline Safety Products, which sells firefighting equipment and offers CPR courses. The news of his arrest "has all but destroyed his business," Well said.

"He led people to believe in his sales pitches by fraudulently representing himself as a firefighter," Manssourian said at the time of Campbell's arrest. Manssourian left the arraignment Wednesday without commenting.

Campbell didn't lie when he called himself a firefighter, Wells said, pointing to his training in various aspects of firefighting and his volunteer work.

"He can say, 'I'm a firefighter,'" Well said. "That doesn't mean he works for the Orange County Fire Authority or LAFD. There's a tradition of volunteer firefighters that's being lost."

Campbell used to be a paramedic in Arizona, but lost his license after a 1987 conviction for stealing a credit card.

He moved to California in 1995 to work as a paramedic again, but was fired in 1997 for not disclosing his felony arrest record, officials said.

"We're all put on earth to do one thing and this is what I was put here to do," Campbell said.

Campbell said he's always wanted to be a firefighter. He started out in that direction with a job as a lifeguard when he was 14, he said, but the felony conviction kept him from going further.

"I spent money on a credit card that wasn't mine to try to impress a girl that was out of my league," Campbell said.

WWE Wrestling Fireworks Mishap. 45 people injured!

Orlando, FL -- In Florida, a pyrotechnic show goes wrong during Sunday night's Wrestlemania event.

The fireworks begin to blast and then you see a big ball of fire. Chaos erupts in the stands and people start to run.

The Orlando Fire Department said a cable carrying fireworks malfunctioned, dropped onto the crowd, leaving 45 fans with minor burns.

WWE apologized for what happened.

The fire department says WWE followed the proper procedures.

For more info on this story click here.

For home video of the accident click here.

Fire Safety Deadline Looms For Older Cruise Ships

2010 SOLAS Deadline Looms For Older Ships - Cruises - Cruise Critic
For some of cruising's older ships, 2010 is a watershed that could see them sent off to the breakers' yard. That's because on October 1, 2010, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) will require all ships of 167 signatory states making international voyages -- including virtually every country where cruise ships are registered -- to comply with the latest fire safety requirements. This means that for the first time, the latest regulations will apply even to the oldest ships as the grandfather clauses protecting them will not longer apply. If your favorite ship was built before 1980, its future beyond that date could be in question.

The New Rules

Among the major points in the latest rules are requirements that there be two means of egress from all atrium levels; low-level lighting systems; installation of smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire detectors and fire alarm systems in all accommodations and service areas; and fireproof enclosures around all stairways. Most of these rules went into effect by October 1, 2005, which means all ships in service today already comply. But full compliance with the latest SOLAS regulations won't be required until 2010, when all ships regardless of age will be required to be free of almost all combustible materials in their construction. Many ships built before 1980, and especially those built before the 1970's, were constructed under older rules that allowed combustible materials. Replacing all the combustible materials in these ships may be prohibitively expensive, and owners may choose to scrap them instead and take the opportunity to replace them with more modern ships that more easily comply with today's stringent safety standards.

The complete set of regulations is highly complex and has produced a high level of safety on today's cruise ships. Even so, there have been occasional unforeseen accidents such as combustible mooring lines aboard the Carnival Ecstasy catching fire in 1998, and the far more serious outdoor balcony fire onboard the Star Princess in 2006. Both Carnival and Princess responded immediately by substituting fire retardant and fireproof materials fleetwide, actions that went beyond the existing SOLAS convention. Eventually, further SOLAS amendments will probably require that similar steps be taken by all operators, but in the meantime most major cruise lines have adopted the changes without waiting for the regulators to catch up.

Click the link above for the rest of the story!

Firefighter Killed, One Injured In Explosion Near LAX - KNBC-TV- msnbc.com

Firefighter Killed, One Injured In Explosion Near LAX - KNBC-TV- msnbc.com:

LOS ANGELES - Authorities said one firefighter was killed and another remained hospitalized Wednesday evening in critical condition after an explosion at a building near LAX.

Fire officials said the firefighters were transported to the hospital in critical condition. Fire officials announced at an afternoon news conference that one firefighter died. The firefighter, a 10-year veteran of the department, was not identified.

Officials said the second firefighter was in critical but stable condition. A bystander was treated and released, according to fire officials.

The explosion happened at the southwest corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and La Tijera Boulevard, at 8800 Sepulveda Boulevard.

Authorities said the blast appeared to be "electrical in nature." Deputy Chief Mario Rueda of the city fire department said the explosion was in an electrical vault.

Firefighters were called to the location to investigate dislodged manhole covers. During the investigation, firefighters said they noticed smoke coming from a room near the back of a building and several explosions occurred in the room, according to fire officials.

Video from news helicopters showed damage to a credit union for Department of Water and Power employees. At the Wednesday afternoon news conference, fire officials said a room at the back of the building where the blast occurred housed an electrical panel.

Fire officials said there was no indication on the outside of the door to indicate it contained electrical equipment.

Sepulveda Boulevard was closed during the investigation.

Click here to read the SOG Response to Power Lines/Energized Electrical Equipment for the Johnston City Fire Dept.

Click here for information about electrical vaults.

Jobs Jobs Jobs!!!

Click the links provided for the details!

Ambulance Operators City of Long Beach. Apps avail until 3/28.
Firefighter/EMT & Firefighter/Paramedic. Grand Junction CO. Deadline to submit application packet: May 9, 2009. (18 & breathing! + EMT-B or PM cert)
Entry-level Firefighter and Firefighter/Paramedic Salt Lake City UT. Deadline to register for the process is March 28, 2008 5 PM Mountain Standard Time. Requirements for entry level ff = 18 yrs by 5/10/08 and HS Diploma or GED by 6/14/08.
Firefighter Recruit. City of Burbank CA. Requirments: Age 18; CA Drivers Licence; HS or GED; EMT1 Deadline 4/25/08
Firefighter/Paramedic. City of Berkely. Deadline 3/31/08
Fire Recruit. City of Sacramento FD. Requirements: 18, GED or HS Dip, EMT-1. Deadlines: June 13 & Sept 12, 2008
Firefighter. City of New Orleans LA. 18, GED or HS Dip. Test dates in June/July/Aug 2008.
Assistant Fire Marshal. Benicia, CA Lots of requirments here. Deadline 3/27/08

Probie Joke: The Blue Flare

Fun in the firehouse. Sucks to be the probie!
Rookie Joke, send a rookie to another fire house to pick up "blue flares", have the other fire house paint road flares blue... while he'd driving back, mention that they are hazardous... then have fun during decon...
This video runs 6:22.

When firefighters get bored....

If only they used their powers for good...

A new way to fight forest fires....who knew???

Fire Engine Art Project

Materials list (Fire Truck):
- 1 Graham Cracker per child
- Red Frosting
- One Cheese cracker
- Three pretzel sticks (2 whole, and one broken in thirds)
- Two Hot Tamales per child
- Two Oreo® cookies per child (or one split in half)
- Two chocolate candies (like M&Ms)per child
- Two Corn Pops per child

Directions (Fire Truck):
1. Spread some red frosting on the graham cracker
2. Press the cheese cracker to the front of the truck
3. Build the ladder from the pretzel sticks
4. Put two hot tamales on the top for lights
5. Place the split Oreo's as wheels
6. Add two chocolate candies for hub caps
7. Add a Corn Pop for the head/tail lights

Click here for directions: Handout, website.

Boy Not Competent for Fatal Fire Charges

The Associated Press: Boy Not Competent for Fatal Fire Charges
GREENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A 10-year-old boy accused of deliberately starting a fire that killed his mother, younger sister and three other children was ruled not competent Tuesday to face juvenile counts of murder and arson.

Judge Michael McClurg dismissed the charges against Timothy Douglas Byers in Darke County Juvenile Court.

Police say the boy admitted setting the Sept. 16 fire in this western Ohio city but did not intend for anyone to die.

However, Byers' attorney, David Rohrer, has said his client denies the charges and was pressured into giving the purported confession.

Two psychologists, one hired by the court and the other by the prosecution, found that Byers did not have the developmental maturity to understand the proceedings or to aid his lawyers in his own defense.

"The evidence clearly shows he doesn't understand," McClurg said.

McClurg ordered the boy to perform 40 hours of community service, return to school and attend a fire safety class. The judge said he would review the case in six months. He declared Byers a ward of the state but left him in temporary custody of a grandmother.

The victims were the boy's mother, Chanan Palmer, 30, and his sister, Kaysha Minnich. Also killed were the children of housemate Christy Winans: Kayla Winans, 6, Je'Shawn Davis, 5, and Jasmine Davis, 3.

Dezirae Jones, an aunt of some of the victims, told the judge that she forgives Byers.

"But there are four children and an adult lady ... I will never be able to see them again," Jones said as tears ran down her face. "I wish we could figure out what happened."

Fire investigators warn of the dangers of improperly installed wood-burning stoves

Fire investigators warn of the dangers of improperly installed wood-burning stoves - Michigan News, Updates, Photos & Video | Detroit, Lansing - MLive.com

VANDALIA -- A Michigan State Police investigator who has probed three fatal house fires this year sparked by wood-burning stoves said residents should always have the devices installed and regularly maintained by a professional to ensure safety.

Two young brothers in Cass County who perished Monday in a fire Monday morning were the fourth and fifth person this year in southwestern Michigan to die in a fire that Sgt. Scott LeRoy has determined was caused by a wood stove. LeRoy said improper installation or maintenance is often a factor when wood stoves are to blame for a blaze.

I think one of the contributing factors with these (recent fires) is ... homeowners or friends are installing or reinstalling wood stoves and chimneys and, quite frankly, making errors," LeRoy said.

For example, the sergeant said a recently installed wood stove that sparked a Feb. 16 fire in Delton and killed 35-year-old Jason Hoffman had been improperly placed on a wood floor instead of a non-combustible surface such as bricks. A new stove was also blamed for a Feb. 10 fire that killed 84-year-old Grace Bower and her son, Donald Bower, 60, at their Burr Oak home.

In the fire Monday that killed 6-year-old Dale Baldwin and 13-year-old Scott Baldwin, LeRoy said a wood stove that was used as a primary heat source "most likely" was the cause.

He said the boys' father, Leonard Baldwin had recently performed some maintenance on the stove's chimney, but Tuesday police did not know if those improvements were a contributing factor in the wood stove igniting the blaze.

Brad Friedt, owner of Friedt Enterprises in Kalamazoo, which specializes in wood stove sales and maintenance, said homeowners should have the pipes of their wood stove and chimney checked monthly and cleaned yearly. Friedt said the most common issue his company finds during wood stove inspections is improper clearance around stove and chimney pipes.

In some instances, he said company officials have inspected stoves where chimney pipes traveling through a ceiling of a home butt up against wood in the attic area and present a potential fire hazard.

Friedt said pipe traveling from a stove up to a ceiling should have an 18-inch clearance all around and a two-inch clearance is needed from where pipe travels from the ceiling through a home's rooftop.

The fire Monday gutted most of the house at 60969 Storey Road. Penn Township firefighters responded to the blaze at about 12:25 a.m. and found Dale and Scott dead inside after extinguishing the flames.

Leonard Baldwin, his girlfriend Billie Jo Allen and six other children made it out of the house safely. Alyia Baldwin, 7, was flown to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, where she was listed in good condition Tuesday morning.

LeRoy said the family slept in the single-story portion of the house where the wood stove was located. Dale and Scott were found by firefighters in the dining room of the house, which adjoined to the living room where they slept, he said.

By the time one of the Baldwin children spotted the fire early Monday, LeRoy said "the fire was already well involved" and family members who made their way to safety "barely got out."

LeRoy said police found one to two smoke detectors in the house, but none had batteries. He said police continue to investigate the blaze, but have no indications of anything suspicious and plan to close the investigation, pending the results of autopsies of Dale and Scott.