NAHB thinks sprinkler laws not necessary; Mayor who posed on fire truck is out; Old video – Crescent City; Clack in Baltimore
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Old video of the day: Like many others, I first saw this in my University of MD FSE “Special Fires” class. This one was special all right. June 21, 1970 in Crescent City, Illinois. Fifteen cars of a 108 car train derailed, sparking fires and propane explosions over the next 56 hours. Multiple BLEVEs sent tank cars rocketing through buildings. Sixty firefighters and civilians were hurt. Read more about it here.
NAHB: Sprinklers not cost effective and laws are unnecessary
Since a conversation with Montgomery County, MD’s Pete Piringer at a townhouse fire on Monday, we have been gathering various TV stories, videos, papers and columns about modern home construction methods and how they relate to the safety of firefighters and the public. Not wanting just the fire service view on some of these issues that center around lightweight construction, STATter 911 contacted the National Association of Homebuilders.
NAHB spokesperson Calli Schmidt provided us with information relating to these topics. Much of it can be found on the NAHB website “Smoke Alarms Work”. It backs up the NAHB position that sprinklers are not cost effective and mandatory sprinkler laws are unnecessary. Click here for our coverage.
Mayor who posed on fire truck is out
Do you recall our coverage of Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist of Arlington, Oregon and the uproar over her provocative pose on the town’s fire truck? Others recall it too. Actually they’ve recalled the mayor. From the AP:
The tally was 142-139. City officials said the recall is effective Tuesday.
Kontur-Gronquist said the pictures of her in black bra and panties were taken for use in a contest about fitness, but a relative posted them on MySpace in hopes it would improve the social life of the single mother.
They predated her election, but she said she saw no reason to take them off the popular Web site once elected three years ago. Later, she closed access to them.
Opponents said it wasn’t fitting for the mayor to be so depicted. They said they also disagreed with her on issues about water and the local golf course.
Chief Clack comes to Baltimore
They welcomed Chief Jim Clack to Baltimore on Wednesday. The Minneapolis chief takes over a department that has faced many problems in recent years. Click here to see WJZ-TV reporter Adam May’s coverage an interview with Chief Clack.
Baltimore Sun reporter Annie Linskey has broken many of the recent significant stories about the department. Click here to read her coverage.
