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Rescue above freeway: Here’s the description from this one – Emergency crews in Tulsa, Oklahoma rescued a man stuck on the platform of a freeway sign this weekend. Police say the man was walking on the bridge when he fell and landed on the platform of the sign below. Officers said they believe the man may have been drunk.
Paramedic wants trooper’s badge and gun: There are a lot of different ways the aftermath of the events of May 24 in Peden, Oklahoma could have been handled by those in charge that likely would have had us long ago moving onto other topics. Clearly, the path that was chosen isn’t one of those ways. It has been in the news for exactly three weeks and there is no sign it is going away soon. Yesterday, Paramedic Maurice White Jr. responded on national television to the claims a day earlier by Trooper Daniel Martin’s attorney that White is “a danger to the community”. White believes the trooper’s badge and gun need to be taken away. STATter911.com has received more than 500 comments on this story, with more than 100 coming just yesterday. That is dwarfed by the number of people who have posted their thoughts on the various YouTube videos. Click here to watch the CBS Morning Show interview of White and his attorney, along with links to the rest of our coverage.
UPDATE – OT reduction cuts staffing for PGFD today with little notice: Lots of activity that began just before midnight in Prince George’s County, Maryland. STATter911.com is told this is just foreshadowing as the next budget shoe is about to drop and is likely to make some of these type cuts permanent. Or, at least as permanent as it gets in PGFD, where staffing has been an extremely fluid situation since the first furloughs in the Fall. Notifications have been going out in recent hours of a major shuffling of staffing to meet the reality of slowly dwindling numbers of career firefighters (hovering around the 700 mark) and overtime money (OT spending is to cut by more than 75%). According to numerous sources, with little notice, calls were made to volunteer chiefs and career staff just before midnight with the following cuts for today. Fireboat 858 (National Harbor) not staffed (this has been a regular cutback in recent days). All four career firefighters from Station 807 (Riverdale) removed (7:00 AM -3:00 PM). Two firefighters removed from Station 805 (Capitol Heights) leaving just two to run the paramedic ambulance only. Two firefighters removed from Station 819 (Bowie) with orders for the remaining two to run ambulance only during the day. There are also potential contract issues with IAFF Local 1619 that requires minimum station staffing of four Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Station 838 (Chapel Oaks) already had career staffing removed for the a portion of the day as part of a scheduled overtime reduction plan where volunteers would make up staffing. We are told these are essentially rotating closures or “brownouts” that will happen on a daily basis to meet the mandate from Chief Eugene Jones and his bosses in Upper Marlboro that the department live within its budget. We have contacted PGFD officials for comment.
Discount Dave sells furniture and handles origin and cause: Dave Sheets is on the attack against what he calls harassment and incompetence coming from the mayor’s office and the fire department in Lansing, Michigan. He made his feelings known after fire marshal’s said yesterday the May 3 fire that destroyed his furniture store was arson. Discount Dave believes otherwise and is out to prove it. Click here for a very interesting story.
Sex in the firehouse: A firefighter has been fired after admitting he had sex with a woman in the firehouse. The same woman had nude photos taken next to a fire truck while her children toured the station. And that same woman has had similar dealings with two police officers and a sheriff’s deputy, while they were on the clock. Read and watch more about the investigation in Marietta, Ohio.
Seattle scandal brings lawsuit: The demotion of Jim Woodbury from deputy chief to battalion chief after he says he tried to blow the whistle on the problems at Qwest Field has now brought a lawsuit. A city investigation of the issues brought a reprimand for Chief Gregory Dean and the resignation of a lieutenant. Read the latest.
For any number of reasons this may not be the place you want to get your next tattoo: I am sure there are a number of tattoo parlors in or around Rhea County, Tennessee. The county jail likely isn’t at the top of your list of where to get some new body art. But until about two weeks ago they had an artist in residence. Unfortunately Ricky Parker’s “pop lightning” technique of taking the cord of a television, plugging it into an outlet and then skinning the wires and touching them together to create heat and ink set off the smoke detector. Now he has a new charge. Read more.
Rotating closures in Missouri: A look at what money issues are doing in Springfield. Click here.
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