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Trapped swimmer finds `angel' looking after him
Seasoned diver braves fierce San Marcos River to bring teen out alive
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, August 6, 2002
SAN MARCOS -- When rescue diver Dan Misiaszek arrived at Cummings Dam, he
was prepared to pull out another lifeless body, something he and his crew
have done dozens of times in the past 14 years.
He knew 16-year-old Dustin Kilgore had jumped off the small dam and into the
San Marcos River about a half-hour earlier, had popped out of the water for
a moment and then had been submerged once again as water cascaded over the
dam. He hadn't been seen since.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department had warned boaters to stay away from
the dam because heavy rains had washed away part of it, creating dangerous
currents.
Misiaszek, a veteran of many such recovery efforts, didn't have much hope
for this one Saturday evening: Kilgore probably had been sucked into the
churning current, which could tumble his body for hours before spitting him
out.
But then witnesses heard a voice coming from the dam, behind the curtain of
water pouring over its face. Kilgore was inside a compartment, one of five
embedded in the dam and hidden by the water still high from last month's
floods. He was standing on a ledge in neck-high water and dangerously
chilled.
The recovery operation turned into a rescue mission. Misiaszek grabbed an
extra air tank and mask for Kilgore and dived back under the water.
"As long as he was alive, we were going to find him. Failure was not an
option," Misiaszek said Monday. "I couldn't believe he had survived and made
it into that little compartment."
After adding extra weight to help him muscle through the powerful currents,
Misiaszek broke past the white-water below the dam and into a world of
darkness. It sounded like thousands of bodies doing cannonballs into the
river above his head, he said.
In his first two attempts, he entered the wrong compartment. But on the
third, he burst into Kilgore's spot, careening toward the far side.
Kilgore jumped on his back.
"The first thing he said was, 'I'm cold; I don't know if I can hold on,' "
Misiaszek said. "He looked scared but not panicked. We had to yell at each
other to hear."
Misiaszek gave Kilgore a quick lesson in scuba diving, telling him to
breathe through his mouth into the ventilator. Misiaszek had lost the extra
mask during the struggle into the compartment, so he told Kilgore to hold
his nose closed. Kilgore looped his arm through the two tanks on Misiaszek's
back, clutching a metal bar with his elbow, and the two plunged back into
the raging river.
"I knew if he didn't panic we'd get out of there," Misiaszek said.
It took four attempts to get past the turbulence, and Misiaszek gained no
purchase on the polished, gravel-sized stones on the river bottom.
Eventually they were pushed to the side of the river, where Misiaszek
grabbed onto rocks and pulled himself and Kilgore forward.
"Finally the water caught my fin and flipped me forward," Misiaszek said.
"We started to see daylight, and I knew . . ."
A battered-looking Kilgore was grabbed by other rescue workers and rushed to
a hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia and exhaustion. Misiaszek
lay inert in the river for several minutes, his own exhaustion complete.
Todd Derkacz, acting San Marcos fire chief, said he remembered another
rescue from the dam's cavities about two decades ago, when a man was pulled
out with a grappling hook.
"It is remarkable," he said. "Diving near a waterfall is always tricky."
Kilgore's friend Megan Mocksfield said Kilgore is fine -- he doesn't even
have any bumps or scratches. "He said he was just praying to God," she said.
"I guess he had an angel with him."
Kilgore, a Midland resident who has returned home, could not be reached for
comment Monday.
Misiaszek still hasn't spoken to him. But the two will remain linked:
Misiaszek as the man who saved Kilgore's life and Kilgore as the first
person that Misiaszek and the San Marcos Area Recovery Team, a group of
volunteer scuba divers, have ever rescued.
"We're never applauded when we find bodies," Misiaszek said. On Saturday
night, as Misiaszek dragged his weary body from the San Marcos River,
friends, family and onlookers stood up and clapped.
jschwartz@statesman.com;
Diverdan
Interesting link for Seaview
http://www.spanishcoins.com/SeaView.htm
Diverdan
Hello? McFly?
I posted that video three weeks ago. I guess people were not paying attention, or I am being blocked : )
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=419722
Diverdan
Air Disaster
Su-27 fighter plane crashes into a crowd of spectators at an air show in Lviv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 27, 2002. Residents in this western Ukrainian city began two days of official mourning Sunday after the fighter jet crash at the air show left at least 83 people dead and some 116 others injured in one of the world's deadliest-ever air show accidents. (AP Photo/Oleksi Shinkarenko )
Diverdan
ASP impact weapon
A police officer hits a demonstrator with a stick during clashes outside Venezuela's Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 31, 2002. Police used tear gas and fired shots into the air Wednesday to break up fights outside Venezuela's Supreme Court, which is deciding whether four military officers should be tried for rebellion. (AP Photo/Howard Yanes)
Diverdan
How do you know when you are in a lesbian library?
There is no humor section.
Diverdan
Officer struck by car may lose leg
Hospitalized Police Officer Hit By Drunk Driver Could Lose His Leg
Wed Jul 31,10:07 PM ET Smithville, Texas
A Smithville police officer, who was hit by a drunk driver while on duty over the weekend, is still in the hospital. Doctors say officer Ray Shappa could lose his injured leg. In fact, Dr. Davis Duffner says Shappa's leg will never be the same and it will never be normal. Duffner says if doctors are able to save the leg, Shappa will still be left with some sort of impairment. Shappa's wife began to cry as she told reporters that from now on, every time she hears stories of drunk drivers, it will just remind her of the terrible times she and her husband are going through. Doctors say if Shappa's leg can be saved, he'll need at least a year to recover.
Diverdan
The SKS is a piece of trash, made of stamped out parts and was made to make money, nothing else. They explode, wear out and are the cheap Saturday night specials in the assault rifle catagory.
Diverdan
Two Firefighters killed in live-fire training
This is a message from the Federal Emergency Management Agency/U.S. Fire Administration.
The U.S. Fire Administration has received notice of the following
firefighter fatalities:
Name: John Mickel
Rank: Lieutenant
Age: 32
Status: Career
Years of Service: 9
Date of Incident: 07/30/2002
Time of Incident: 1000hrs
Date of Death: 07/30/2002
Fire Department: Osceola County Fire-Rescue
Fire Department Address: 320 N Beaumont Ave, Kissimmee, FL 34741
Fire Department Phone: (407) 343-7000
IAFF 3284 Website: http://www.osceolalocal3284.org/index2.htm
Fire Department Chief: Don Adams
Cause of Death: Lt. Mickel and Firefighter Begg were killed during a
live-fire training exercise. Details of the incident are pending a full
investigation.
Funeral: 08/03/2002 @ 1000hrs, Holy Redeemer, 1603 N. Thacker Ave.
Kissimmee, FL 34741, Tele: 407-847-2500
Memorial Fund: Mickel/Begg Memorial Fund, C/O First National Bank, 920 N.
John Young Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34741-6602
Name: Dallas Begg
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 20
Status: Career
Years of Service: < 1 month
Date of Incident: 07/30/2002
Time of Incident: 1000hrs
Date of Death: 07/30/2002
Fire Department: Osceola County Fire-Rescue
Fire Department Address: 320 N Beaumont Ave, Kissimmee, FL 34741
Fire Department Phone: (407) 343-7000
IAFF 3284 Website: http://www.osceolalocal3284.org/index2.htm
Fire Department Chief: Don Adams
Cause of Death: Firefighter Begg and Lt. Mickel were killed during a
live-fire training exercise. Details of the incident are pending a full
investigation.
Funeral: 08/05/2002
Memorial Fund: Mickel/Begg Memorial Fund, C/O First National Bank, 920 N.
John Young Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34741-6602
Tribute is being paid to Lieutenant Mickel and Firefighter Begg at:
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/ffmem.cfm
Additional information on firefighter fatalities may be found on the USFA
web site at:
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/nfdc-data5.cfm
To date, 66 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2002.
Diverdan
AK-47 info:
now... which AK are we talking about?
Diverdan
That depends on what your definition is of an "AK".
The $109 style version is cheap, stamped out parts and nothing but trash. It is actually an SKS that people call an AK. The "Actual" AK is a good shooting weapon, reliable, but has limited uses.
Many people confuse the AK-47 with the much cheaper "AK style" weapon called the SKS. Here is the difference.
GOOD! AK-47
TRASH! SKS
Diverdan
Things are on the move again...
SEVU 0.20 +0.105 BID-0.18 ASK-0.21 Volume 244,900
Diverdan
Firefighters Battle Fire Amid Ammo Fears
Tue Jul 30, 2:22 PM ET San Antonio, Texas
A fire Tuesday morning caused $20,000 to a home on the city's East Side that the homeowner said had ammunition inside it.
When firefighters arrived at the 100 block of Cardiff at 10 a.m., a man told them that he heard an explosion he suspected was ammunition.
But firefighters instead found candles burning in a bedroom.
A fire official at the scene said firefighters have no choice when it comes to situations involving ammunition.
"You still have to put the fire out," said District Chief Don Faseler. "If you hear the ammunition actually going off, well, then you're going to be a lot more cautious. But the firefighters didn't hear anything."
There was no word why there was ammunition in the house or if any weapons were found.
Diverdan
Firefighters Save Austin Man's Life
Tue Jul 30,10:26 AM ET
Austin firefighters saved a man's life when his apartment caught fire Monday night. It happened in South Austin on Woodward Street near St. Edwards University. The fire was contained to one apartment, but firefighters had to use a thermal imaging system to find the man inside. The man was taken to Brackenridge Hospital after receiving CPR at the scene. The man is expected to have a full recovery.
Diverdan
N.Y. Fire Department Conducts Review
Mon Jul 22,11:15 PM ET
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Hoping to learn the lessons of Sept. 11, the Fire Department is conducting a major review of its procedures, looking at such issues as how to curb the kind of heroic impulses that led firefighters to rush into the burning World Trade Center without telling their superiors.
The study of departmental procedures, due out next month, is expected to propose roughly two dozen far-reaching changes in light of the terrorist attacks.
The findings are closely guarded, but experts interviewed for the study said they have discussed different evacuation techniques such as rooftop rescues, the need to protect senior officers by keeping them farther from the scene of a catastrophe, and the importance of tighter, more disciplined command procedures.
A total of 343 members of the Fire Department died on Sept. 11, though it is not clear how many of those deaths resulted from firefighters' headlong rush into the twin towers.
Management consultant McKinsey & Co. and New York fire officials conducted dozens of interviews and reviewed hundreds of pages of computer records and hours of radio transmissions.
"The goal is to look at what happened on Sept. 11 and to put forth recommendations for improving our response and operations in the event of any future catastrophic event," department spokesman Frank Gribbon said.
Researchers spoke with firefighters in Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and the city and county of Los Angeles. State emergency management officials in New York and California were interviewed, as were military personnel.
"These recommendations, I think, will have a profound impact on the department, if implemented," said Carlos Kirjner, the McKinsey partner overseeing the project. The consulting firm is working free of charge.
Kirjner and fire department officials declined to discuss the report's specific recommendations, and proposals could be altered or abandoned by the time the report is released. But some areas stand out in the preliminary discussions.
Although FDNY policy requires firefighters to report to a superior officer before attacking a fire, the rule was not strictly followed Sept. 11. In particular, dozens of off-duty firefighters went into the towers on their own.
As a result, fire officials say they still do not know how many firefighters were ordered into the twin towers, or where they died.
U.S. fire departments allow their firefighters far more freedom than their counterparts in many European countries, said Roger Klein, a fire engineering consultant based in Germany.
In Britain, he said, it would be unthinkable for fire personnel to enter a building before first checking in; one firefighter is assigned to keep track of how many others are inside and whether they have enough air.
Unregulated heroism is part of the U.S. firefighting culture, Klein said. In large part, it is why firefighters die at far higher rates in the United States than in Britain, he said. For every 100,000 firefighters on the job, between eight and 10 died in the line of duty in the United States each year between 1969 and 1999. In Britain, the number was about two.
"Any fire service would have lost a lot of people, but there's a general background to this — that the risk-taking is higher in the U.S. that it is in Europe," Klein said.
Beyond the sheer loss of life, the department was devastated by the death of some of its most senior commanders, including Chief of Department Peter Ganci. A number of commanders were in the lobbies of the towers on Sept. 11, and others were stationed elsewhere in the trade center complex.
Fire departments have told the FDNY and McKinsey researchers that they would have stationed more senior commanders farther from the buildings.
Evacuation procedures have also been examined.
The FDNY did not evacuate people from the roofs of the twin towers, for instance, in contrast to procedures in Los Angeles, where building codes mandate helicopter landing pads on the roofs of high-rise buildings.
Smoke obscured the top of the south tower on the morning of Sept. 11. An airborne evacuation might have been possible at the north tower, but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had long locked the doors leading to the roof for security, with the Fire Department's concurrence, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
"The idea of taking people off the top of the buildings is something we've done historically. That's a viable alternative for us, to evacuate people that are trapped above a problem," said Dean Cathey, assistant bureau commander of emergency services for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Diverdan
Steven Oustad, 51, seen in an undated drivers license photo, was one of three U.S. Forest Service firefighters killed when the fire engine they were riding in plunged down a mountain side while battling the Stanaza fire in the Klamath National Forest near Happy Camp, Calif., early Sunday morning July 28, 2002. The five-member engine crew were helping to watch over a 500-acre backfire set during the night when the engine went off the road. Also killed were Forest Service firefighters Heather DePaolo, 29, and John Self, 19. (AP Photo/California Department of Motor Vehicles)
Diverdan
2 Armored-Car Guards Shot During Holdup
Mon Jul 29, 6:38 PM ET
Two armored-car guards were shot during a holdup Monday morning in Fort Bend County.
The robbery happened shortly before 9 a.m. at the Oyster Creek Country Store, 1484 state Highway 6 in Sugar Land.
Sugar Land police investigators told News2Houston that two Triple D security guards were making a scheduled money pickup when they were shot outside the entrance of the store.
Eyewitnesses told police that as the two guards were approaching the front doors of the Texaco, a bearded man with a pistol came around the corner and began shooting, striking the security guards, authorities said.
"I heard two gunshots and (saw) a man running by really fast with a gun in his hand," witness Samantha Meyer said. "It was pretty scary. I usually only see it on TV."
Meyer said that she and her co-workers hid in their dental office nearby, hoping the gunman wouldn't enter their workplace.
Wendell Mosley, 37, was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he is listed in fair condition, suffering from gunshot wounds to his hand, thigh and both knees.
The other guard, Marty Jackson, 31, was transported by ambulance to the same hospital and is listed in stable condition, suffering from a gunshot wound to the hand.
Police said that the security guards were not able to return fire.
The suspect did not leave the scene with any money, authorities said.
Deputies described the suspect as a white male in his late 30s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds with a mustache and dark-colored hair. At the time of the shooting, he was wearing a blue-jean button-down shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and dark-colored pants, authorities said.
Investigators said that he was seen leaving in a newer model, blue Ford F-150 pickup.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Sugar Land Police Department at (281) 275-2540 or Fort Bend Crime Stoppers at (281) 342-TIPS
Diverdan
Cocaine Found in Herbal Remedy
Tue Jul 30, 9:45 AM ET
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan customs officials have discovered a large shipment of cocaine concealed in dozens of bottles of "Cat's Claw," a South American herbal concoction popular in Europe.
Drug-sniffing dogs at Maiquetia international airport near Caracas were not fooled by the scent or the fancy packaging and found the 230-pound (103-kilogram) cocaine shipment, disguised as the herbal remedy and bound for Britain.
"The novelty here is the container. It's original," Gen. Jose Antonio Paez, anti-drug chief of Venezuela's National Guard, told a news conference on Saturday.
"This was going to London. Obviously, no one was going to suspect a cargo taking this type of product to London because in Europe there is great demand."
A Venezuelan customs official was detained in the case.
Advertised as a "miracle herb from the rain forest of Peru," the mixture called "Cat's Claw" or "Uncaria Tomentosa" claims curative powers for everything from cancer to herpes and is popular with natural health aficionados.
Venezuela shares a border with Colombia, the world's biggest cocaine producer, and is often used as a staging point for drug smuggling to the United States and Europe.
Venezuelan authorities have seized 8.15 tons of cocaine, 7.74 tons of marijuana and 188 kilograms of heroin so far this year, according the National Guard..
Venezuela's government has repeatedly denied requests by the United States to use the country's airspace in a regional effort to combat international drugs trafficking.
Diverdan
The obvious question is this:
Was the man in the house accidentally shot by the police or was he shot by the robber. Hmmmm..
Man Arrested For Allegedly Shooting At Police Officer
Fri Jul 26, 7:39 PM ET
High Point police arrested 28-year-old Fabian Crowell Friday for shooting at an officer.
The shooting happened outside a home on Gordon Street.
Investigators said Crowell was involved in a robbery in the home when he fired a shot at the officer and and ran into the woods. The unidentified officer shot back at Crowell, according to authorities.
The officer was not hit, but a man inside the home was shot in the leg.
Crowell went to Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro for treatment of a gunshot wound in the shoulder, according to police. He was held there and later arrested, according to officials.
Crowell is in the Guilford County Jail under at $200,000 bond.
Diverdan
Police Shoots 14-Year-Old Boy
Mon Jul 29,11:39 PM ET
A Winston-Salem police officer shot a 14-year-old boy Saturday.
Authorities said the teen was driving a stolen Jeep when he was stopped.
Police said they asked the teen to turn the vehicle off, he refused and was shot during a struggle.
Neighbors at the scene claimed the teen was trying to give himself up.
The 14-year-old was shot in the neck, according to authorities.
The State Bureau of Investigations has been called in to investigate the shooting, according to officials.
Investigators said he is in satisfactory condition at Baptist Hospital.
Diverdan
German police officer shot dead with own weapon after investigating a broken window
Sun Jul 28, 5:12 PM ET
BERLIN - A German police officer was shot dead with his own weapon and another seriously injured Sunday by a man they had confronted in a suburb of the former capital Bonn, police said.
The officers, both 40, were on patrol when they were told to investigate a broken window at an apartment block in the western city.
The officers appeared to have pursued a man who somehow was able to wrest a gun from one officer or pick it up after it had fallen to the ground in a struggle, police spokesman Heino Friedrichsdorf said.
The man was arrested after a car chase, the fugitive having forced a driver out of her vehicle at gun point. The weapon was found in the car. Though he said he was an Italian national, police said he couldn't be identified with certainty.
Both officers suffered two gunshot wounds. The officer killed was hit in the chest. The second officer was wearing a bulletproof vest and was hit in the chest and stomach. His life was out of danger after treatment at the scene and at a city hospital, Friedrichsdorf said.
Neither of the officers were identified.
Diverdan
Here is a pic
Diverdan
The U.S. Fire Administration has received notice of the following
firefighter fatalities:
Names: Firefighter Steven Oustad (51), Firefighter Heather DePaolo (29),
Firefighter John Self (19)
Status: Career
Date of Incident: 07/28/2002
Time of Incident: 0130
Date of Death: 07/28/2002
Fire Department: USDA Forest Service, Klamath National Forest
Fire Department Address: 1312 Fairlane Road, Yreka, CA 96097-9549
Fire Department Phone: (530) 841-4485
Fire Department Website: http://166.5.1.221/klamath/
Fire Department Chief: Forest Supervisor Peg Boland
Cause of Death: A wildland fire crew of 5 was monitoring a 500-acre
backfire near Happy Camp, California, when their crew-cab pickup equipped
with a 500-gallon water tank left the roadway and rolled 800 feet down a
steep slope. Three firefighters were killed and two others injured in the
incident.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighters Oustad, DePaolo and Self at:
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/ffmem.cfm
Additional information on firefighter fatalities may be found on the USFA
web site at:
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/nfdc-data5.cfm
To date, 64 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2002.
Diverdan
Another secureview?
http://www.thomsoncommercial.com/generalinfo.asp?product_index=52
Diverdan
Interesting links not listed before:
http://www.hammacher.com/publish/65904.asp
http://www.techtv.com/products/digitalcameras/jump/0,23009,3374950,00.html
http://www.smartarch.nl/forum/wwwboard/messages/212.html
http://www.spiesrusuk.com/p79.html
http://www.shopfromyourhome.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SFYH&Category_C...
Diverdan
I this product made by Seaview?
Go to: http://www.westmarine.com and do a search for "seaview".
Look what comes up..
Diverdan
Deputy arrested for DUI in his patrol car
Sheriff's Deputy Faces DUI Charges
Fri Jul 26, 7:22 AM ET
An off-duty Orange County sheriff's deputy was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, officials said.
Deputy Ricky Simmons was traveling at high speeds when he drove his patrol car into a ditch on state Road 417, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.
A breathalyzer test showed Simmons registered a .18 blood-alcohol level, which is more than twice the legal limit.
"It's a sad situation. We got a call about 4:30 this morning. One of our deputies pulled up on an incident where one of our off-duty deputies in a marked unit had skidded off the road into a ditch," Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Angelo Nieves said.
Simmons was traveling at between 80 and 85 mph along the Greeneway, when he lost control of his vehicle, troopers said.
Another Orange County sheriff's deputy discovered the accident and noticed that alcohol may possibly be involved, and he notified a supervisor, Nieves said.
"We're tough on drunk driving, and we're going to do the same thing for our deputies or anyone else who's under the influence. It's a sad situation," Nieves said.
The sheriff's office has launched a professional standards investigation, and Simmons has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation, officials said.
Diverdan
Robbery Suspect Shot By Police In Osceola
Wed Jul 24,12:38 PM ET
Authorities shut down Osceola Parkway at Interstate 4 Wednesday morning after a robbery suspect was shot and killed by police near the road, according to Local 6 News.
Officials said that the unidentified suspect allegedly robbed Pacino's restaurant located on Highway 192.
The man then reportedly fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus until officers caught up with him near the Osceola Parkway.
Local 6 News reported that during the chase, the suspect fired at officers and refused to stop. Officials said deputies shot and killed the suspect near the Osceola Parkway.
It is not known when the road will reopen.
Watch Local 6 News for the latest on this breaking news story.
Please refresh this page for updates.
Diverdan
Police Link Magirl To Dozens Of Rapes
Thu Jul 25,10:39 PM ET
Albuquerque Police believe a man shot to death while attempting to rape an Albuquerque mother was a serial rapist.
They are now looking into more than 100 rapes in New Mexico, Arizona and California to see if Michael Magirl was responsible.
Police tell Action 7 News that Magirl was linked to several rapes but was left alone because he was simply handsome and clean cut.
Albuquerque Police are working with authorities in Hobbs who are looking into several unsolved rape cases there.
Magirl traveled to Hobbs once a month.
Police also have evidence that links Magirl to rapes dating back to the early 1970's.
Investigators hope they can match DNA evidence to Magirl's.
Diverdan
OUCH!... eom
Diverdan
WOW! I hope there are no
Copy-Cat's out there.
Diverdan
Traci Baird, wife of Alan G. Baird III, weeps after her husband was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in Oneida County Court, Utica, on Wednesday, May 22, 2002. Baird was convicted in connection with the death of 19-year-old Lairdsville Fire Department recruit Bradley Golden. Baird had set a sofa on fire at the bottom of a flight of stairs while Golden was playing a victim on the second floor during a live burn training exercise. Baird was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.
http://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/PAGES/2002pages/05may02pages/maypix/23bairdv2.jpg
Diverdan
www.divecam.net
Alan G. Baird III leaves the Oneida County Court House in Utica after he was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide on Wednesday, May 22, 2002. Baird was convicted in connection with the death of 19-year-old Lairdsville Fire Department recruit Bradley Golden. Baird had set a sofa on fire at the bottom of a flight of stairs while Golden was playing a victim on the second floor during a live burn training exercise. Baird was found not guilty of second- degree manslaughter.
http://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/PAGES/2002pages/05may02pages/maypix/23bairdv.jpg
Diverdan
www.divecam.net
Firefighter Ben Morris, right, who suffered burns and lost part of several fingers during a live burn training exercise held by the Lairdsville Fire Department in September of 2001, shows the jury his permanent scarring during testimony in Oneida County Court, in Utica, Friday, May. First Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza, is at left. Alan G. Baird III is on on trial for second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of 19-year-old firefighter Bradley Golden who died in the fire.
http://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/PAGES/2002pages/05may02pages/maypix/18baird.jpg
Diverdan
www.divecam.net
Former Lairdsville firefighter Adam Croman looks at his scarred and deformed hands while giving testimony in Oneida County Court on Wednesday, May 15, 2002 in Utica, N.Y. Croman was looking at his hands as he described seeing them for the first time after jumping out of a second floor window, and watching the skin "melting" off his hands. Alan G. Baird III, who prosecutors say was in charge of the live burn training exercise as the Lairdsville assistant fire chief, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of 19-year-old firefighter Bradley Golden who died in the fire. .
http://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/PAGES/2002pages/05may02pages/maypix/16baird.jpg
Diverdan
www.divecam.net
Two Die in Crash Fighting Colo. Fire
Fri Jul 19, 3:44 AM ET
By JENNIFER HAMILTON, Associated Press Writer
LYONS, Colo. (AP) - Bystanders and firefighters looked on in horror as an air tanker disintegrated into flames and crashed while battling a 1,200-acre wildfire near Denver, killing both crew members.
"It was just a collective gasp by everybody. 'Oh my God, it went down,'" Roy Safstrom, who was taking pictures of the wildfire, said after the crash Thursday.
Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service and the National Transportation Safety Board ( news - web sites) were en route to the scene near the rugged Rocky Mountain National Park, about 45 miles northwest of Denver.
The crew members' names were not immediately released. The crash prompted all firefighting planes nationwide to be grounded for 48 hours while it is investigated.
Ground crews were left somber and shaken. "I feel pretty sick," said Dave Sharman, 42, a volunteer with the Allenspark Fire District. "Whether you're on the ground or in the air, you're all part of a team. We just lost part of the team," he said.
The four-engine PB4Y plane had spent the day dropping fire retardant on the flames and was carrying 2,000 gallons of retardant when it crashed, Forest Service spokeswoman Terri Gates said.
Safstrom was in a group of 15 bystanders who saw the plane break up. "There was a bright flash of flame on the left wing. The wing came off and after that he spiraled down," Safstrom said.
The crash brings to 11 the number of people killed fighting wildfires nationwide this year. Five died in a traffic accident in Colorado en route to a fire and one was crushed by a fire-damaged tree in Colorado.
Three more were killed in a June crash in California, after the wings on a C-130A tanker snapped off in the air, sending the fuselage to the ground in a fireball.
After the Walker, Calif., crash, the nation's C-130A tankers were grounded. Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc., of Greybull, Wyo., owned the plane that crashed in Walker and the PB4Y that went down Thursday.
"Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family members," said Ryan Powers, operations manager of the company. "The crews are like family to all of us — it's a pretty tight-knit community here."
The wildfire erupted Wednesday and spread quickly. About 120 homes were evacuated on Thursday and 300 were threatened. Officials said the fire was manmade but could not say whether it was deliberately set.
Elsewhere across the West on Thursday, rain slowed wildfires in Nevada but officials in Oregon posted voluntary evacuation notices in the small towns of Ruch, near the California line, and Paisley, in the central highlands.
More than 161,000 acres have been charred in sections of high desert and rugged mountain forest in the eastern and southern parts of Oregon during what has been an early and active fire season.
"In my 35 years in the Forest Service, this is the most activity I've ever seen," said David Widmark of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
In southern California, a brush fire erupted Thursday near a highway in San Luis Obispo County and quickly grew to more than 1,500 acres, forcing the evacuation of 24 homes and a campground.
In Yellowstone National Park, damp weather aided the battle against a 9,000-acre fire along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park as containment rose to 20 percent.
Lightning sparked at least nine new blazes in the last two days in western Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. The largest blaze there is estimated at 3,855 acres.
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Baird released while appeal is pending
By KELLY HASSETT
Observer-Dispatch
UTICA — Former Lairdsville firefighter Alan G. Baird III will be released from jail today while his appeal of a conviction of criminally negligent homicide is pending, a judge ruled Tuesday.
State Supreme Court Judge John R. Tenney said Baird could be released from jail and his bail reinstated after Baird’s attorney, Robert P. Moran Jr., filed the motion as part of the appeal process.
Baird was convicted May 22 in Oneida County Court of criminally negligent homicide in the training fire death of 19-year-old Bradley Golden, and sentenced earlier this month to five years’ probation, the first 75 days of which he would serve in jail.
Tenney’s decision said the court found “a reasonable possibility” that Baird’s conviction may be overturned due to possible error at the trial and grand jury proceedings.”
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza opposed Moran’s order to show cause motion, stating no reversible error occurred during the trial and that there is no possibility the conviction will be reversed on appeal.
If an appeal is not issued within 120 days of the decision, Tenney said the stay will be terminated and Baird will go back to jail.
Baird was convicted by a jury for his role in the Sept. 25 “live burn” exercise in an empty farmhouse in Westmoreland. He was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault for the accident that also severely burned firefighters Benjamin Morris and Adam Croman.
Baird said he planned the fire training exercise and ignited the first-floor sofa bed that eventually spread to the rest of the house, but testified during the trial that others were in charge at the scene.
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Seaview color underwater video 6.61MB
http://www.corridor.net/smartdivers/seaview.mpg
Diverdan
I am sure the Rev X2 will be there
to stir things up. Being Jackson and Sharpton.
Diverdan
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Good one... :)
Diverdan
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