Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "fire"

Firewood supplier roundup

2011-12-10T01:14:38Z

As temperatures dip with the approach of winter, Sacramentans are turning to their fireplaces for added warmth. The Sacramento Press checked out a number of vendors who sell and deliver firewood as well as the regulations and safety of burning in your home.

Firewood is usually sold in cords or fractions of cords, and a single cord of wood is stacked 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet and can typically be held in two pickup truck beds.

Firewood vendors and fire officials stressed the need to burn only seasoned wood in fireplaces so it burns at the correct temperature and doesn’t cause damage to chimneys or stoves.

“Only burn approved products – no cardboard or paper products,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Bill Mendonca.

He also recommended getting a chimney inspection or cleaning at least once a year to ensure there are no obstructions or layers of creosote buildup – a byproduct of burning wood in fireplaces – that can be a fire hazard.

When it comes to Christmas trees, Mendonca recommended keeping the tree a safe distance from a fireplace so sparks can’t reach it and set it alight. He also emphasized that Christmas trees should not be burned at the end of the Christmas season because they aren’t seasoned, and the high temperatures from quickly burning needles can damage fireplaces and chimneys.

According to Cal Fire, people can cut their own wood with permits obtained through the federal government or in certain Cal Fire forest areas, but the wood needs to be seasoned a year before it is burned.

Once wood is seasoned – let sit in a dry space – it can be stored outside or inside, and it does not need to be covered, but should be dried for 20 minutes before burning.

In the Sacramento Metropolitan area, it is illegal to burn on certain days, so check the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District’s notices before burning.

M&M Firewood & Quality Cookingwood
6217 32nd St., North Highlands
614-9000

Secretary Leticia Mejia said the business has been around for more than 10 years and sells many different types of firewood.

“We have oak, almond and an almond mix, as well as lots of odds and ends,” she said. “A lot of people buy the oak or the almond for smoking meats, and we sell a lot of firewood to downtown restaurants and the public for heating purposes.”

M&M delivers in the Sacramento area, and prices vary depending on location, with delivery fees starting at $44. All firewood sold is seasoned for at least one year.

“We do offer kindling, and we’re open to the public so they can come in and pick up firewood,” Mejia said.

Tony’s Firewood
6000 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights
969-9663

Started in 1970 by husband and wife Tony and Connie Dorado, Tony’s Firewood sells oak, walnut, cherry, eucalyptus, cedar, pine and mixed woods, according to Linda Noe, daughter of the Dorados.

“We sell a lot of wood to restaurants as smoking wood and also to homeowners not only with wood-burning fireplaces but with inserts and stoves also,” she said. “We’ve been keeping Sacramento warm since 1970.”

Deliveries of wood are $35, and free delivery is offered in May and June. All wood carried this time of year is seasoned for at least a year. The wood is split and sold in 16-inch lengths with diameters of 5 to 7 inches.

NPC Firewood
8320 Hazel Ave in Orangevale and 11257 S. Ridge St. in Rancho Cordova.
853-9541

Owner Jeff Hadden said NPC Firewood carries a wide range of firewood including the common oaks, cedar and pine.

“We turn some of it into lumber, but most of the firewood we sell is seasoned about a year,” he said. Unseasoned wood is available as well.

NPC Firewood delivers throughout the Sacramento area for a $60 delivery fee for up to a cord.

Pak & Save Firewood
8385 Jackson Road, Sacramento
381-3143

Manager Javier Hernandez said popular types of firewood offered at the business include pine, walnut, almond, white oak and black oak.

All firewood sold is seasoned at least one year.

“We keep our wood covered, so it is always dry and ready to go into the fireplace,” he said. “A lot of our almond wood is used for people who smoke meats, and the rest is usually used for heating.”

Pak & Save delivers in the Sacramento area. Delivery fees start at $50 and vary depending on location.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Sacramento State arson attack.

2011-10-14T04:34:08Z

Photo essay by Dan ward

Today on the Sacramento State campus two buildings were caught on fire. The first building was Mendocino hall. The building recorded the fire to start around 2:58pm.

The fire took place on the 4th floor. Reports show that it started in a chair and the faculty and students were to be evacuated quickly. A professor and floor Marshall Matthew Mills helped a good majority of the students and faculty evacuate the premises while the fire engines arrived at the scene. There were no injuries however was student was caught in the fire but was quickly rescued.

Shortly followed by the first fire another fire was broke out in Mariposa hall. The fire started from the interior design classroom. From the damage, two windows were broken in order to release the smoke. The fire in Mariposa happen roughly 10-15 mins after the first fire.

Officials are examining the sights overnight. For the moment, there is no evidence to display of who might have started this. The arsonist also might have started a garbage can fire over by the tennis courts. No stories are shown yet about how big that fire was.

Also stated classes held in these buildings have strong chances of not being held due to the fire. Sac State officials said there are no intentions of relocating any classes at this moment. The buildings are suppose to reopen at 8am on Friday morning, but further news with be disclosed on whether classes will be held.

The photo taken was off my cell phone. Check back for more photos through out this weekend and updates on this current story.

Check out the statehornet.com for more details about today’s fire.

Disclosure: This a very brief summary of what I saw and read. check out statehornet.com or CBS 13 for further details

Law enforcement, firefighters box for charity

2011-08-22T05:31:59Z

Law enforcement and correctional officers, military personnel and a firefighter went toe to toe in the boxing ring Saturday night, raising money for charity in the Battle of the Badges Fight Series: Road to the Championship.

Held in the intimate courtyard setting of Liquid Nightclub in Citrus Heights, the well-attended event benefitted charities including the Armed Forces Foundation, Firefighters Burn Institute and Sacramento Sheriff's Toy Project.

Battle of the Badges Fight Series events are a lead-up to the title fight at Battle of the Badges VIII. Last year's Battle of the Badges VII was held in August at Memorial Auditorium.

All bouts had a three-round limit, and on the card Saturday were 10 preliminary matches and one main event, featuring heavyweights Bryan Williams (Fresno PD) vs. Mike Gomez (CDC-CSP Sac).

Highlights of the evening for the crowd included a lights-out KO of David Richardson (CDC Solano) by Chris McElroy (CDC CSP Sac) and a brutal pummeling of Mike Hernandez (El Cerrito PD) by Noel Montes (CDC-CCPOA) that went the full three rounds and left Hernandez's face covered in blood.

All boxers were ranked by the United Combat Association and the matches were officiated by the California State Athletic Commission. Visit the Battle of the Badges website for information on upcoming bouts.

Fight results:

1. Brent Burkhart (CDC-DVI) defeated Gary Mungia (Army)

2. Jed McNamara (Dept of ABC) defeated Jose Hermosillo (Williams PD)

3. Dru McDonald (Sac Fire) defeated Craig Hamblin (CDC Solano)

4. Fracnsico Flores (Stanislaus County Sheriff) defeated Neil Tremethick (Army)

5. Brenden Reavis (CPS) defeated Javier Banuelos (CDC CSP-Sac)

6. Ruben Jones (CHP) defeated Eduardo Barajas (Williams PD)

7. James Davis (CDC-Folsom) defeated Craig Colosimo (CDC - Mule Creek)

8. Chris McElroy (CDC CSP Sac) defeated David Richardson (CDC Solano)

9. Chris Martinez (Avenal PD) defeated Orlando Rivera (Border Patrol)

10. Noel Montes (CDC CCPOA) defeated Mike Hernandez (El Cerrito PD)

11. Bryan Williams (Fresno PD) defeated Mike Gomez (CDC CSP Sac)

All images copyright: Steven Chea

Photos of Wednesday afternoon's fire north of downtown

2011-08-10T21:41:54Z

Firefighters responded to a fire near the intersection of N Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard at about 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Sacramento participates in National Night Out

2011-07-29T00:54:21Z

More than 50 neighborhood parties will be held Tuesday as Sacramento participates in the 28th annual National Night Out.

It’s about crime prevention, said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. “The idea is you get out, get to know your neighbors and show you’re visible to prevent crime.”

Leong said the block parties allow neighbors to get to know each other in a fun way, and that helps with building a stronger community.

There is no specific criteria that needs to be followed for a National Night Out event, since it is about getting neighbors together and having a good time.

“It can be as simple as an ice cream social or a bunch of neighbors hanging out together,” he said.

Police, Fire Department and elected officials make the rounds of events registered with the city, and Leong said it’s a good way to build relationships with local officials as well as help connect with officers in a relaxed manner.

To register an event, click here. Events registered by Friday will have the best chance of getting an official visit, Leong said.

LaTisha Lawson, a board member for the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said National Night Out is a great way for residents to meet each other and start working toward bettering their communities.

“It’s an opportunity for residents to get out of their houses and take back the streets in a positive way,” she said. “They can meet each other, and then they can get together and take it to the next level and make a positive change.”

She added that many National Night Out events are formed by neighborhood watch groups, and having police and public officials come by is helpful.

“Residents and public officials can really talk about the issues in their neighborhood and really get that kind of face time with elected officials,” she said.

She added that she has written grants through the California Endowment to bring more activities – such as face-painting and music – to make the events even more fun.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said this will be his eighth year participating in National Night Out as an elected official, and it’s one of the highlights of the year for him.

“We get out in a casual setting, and we get to talk about the neighborhood,” he said. “That certainly gives you a leg up as far as being able to address any challenges you might be facing.”

He said the events are usually small in size, with between 20 and 25 people attending, and it allows for more-intimate conversations.

“(On National Night Out), it’s not about them coming up to the council dais and talking in a formal setting,” he said. “It’s nice to just have a conversation about their street and their neighborhood.”

McCarty said he usually makes it to abut five parties in his district per year, spending about 45 minutes at each one.

Mayor Kevin Johnson mentioned National Night Out at the City Council meeting Tuesday, saying he is looking forward to having a good time visiting the different events, as he did last year.

Leong said the events are easy to start and don’t require any complex organization.

“If you haven’t heard of anything in your neighborhood, really that’s your chance to knock on a couple of doors and say, ‘Hey, it’s National Night Out and we’re getting together to barbecue some hot dogs out front. Come on over,’ ” he said.

In his North Natomas neighborhood, where a neighborhood watch group is forming, Leong said he sent an email out to the list he had for neighborhood watch.

“We’re just going to have it out where a lot of people pass by so the ones who aren’t involved can stop by and say hi,” he said.

Since National Night Out events are not organized by the city or any official group, the times vary according to whatever each event organizer thinks is best, Leong said, though most tend to start around 5 - 6 p.m.

To read about two Sacramento Neighborhoods that participated in National Night Out last year, click here and here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Budget cuts impact resources for major hazmat incident in South Sacramento

2011-07-07T01:43:59Z

Sacramento, CA | A level 3 Hazmat situation shuts down a large industrial area in South Sacramento. Budget weakend hazmat team has to reach out with unusual mutual aid requests.

Wednesday morning, the Sacramento City Fire Department was called to Mike and Sons Inc, in the 8500 block of Elder Creek Road, for a commercial trailer fire. When firefighters arrived “they realized the doors were shut and there was a very pungent odor; so they turned this into a level three hazmat which is the highest level of hazmat response that we have”, Niko King, Assistant Chief for Sacramento City Fire Department stated.

As things progressed, they contacted the shipper and the property owner discovering that there were over forty household products in the trailer, King stated. “For some unknown reason, something happened in there and there was a chemical reaction taking place.”

Evacuations began immediately. King stated that as a result of the off-gassing of the product and wind direction, over fifty-five business were evacuated which equated to 520 people. Reverse 911 was utilized to assist with the evacuations. Traffic was backed up all the way down Young Creek Drive as area workers vacated the industrial park. King stated that the evacuation was in place for about four hours. King also stated that a seven digit hotline was put in place to update evacuees and let them know when they could return to their businesses.

One person, who reportedly inhaled a good amount of the vapors, was transported to the hospital via paramedics.

Large fire suppression lines were put in place in the event they had to fight fire, and measures were taken to protect storm drains from potential contaminated water runoff as a result of firefighting efforts.

“What’s unique about this, Sacramento Fire department just experienced some budget cuts; it cut our hazmat team right in half,” King stated sternly. “…so, we had mutual aid resources from Metro Fire, Hazmat 109 come in. And what was really unique, we had to reach out and get Roseville’s hazmat team to come into the City of Sacramento to assist in mitigating this incident.”

It was finally determined that the substance was some sort of refrigerant oil. The assumption is that due to the warm rising temperature in the trailer, the container of product exploded then mixing with other materials in the trailer.

Many agencies responded to this incident to assist Sacramento City Fire, such as: Sacramento Metro Fire, Roseville Fire, and CERT to name a few. The Red Cross also responded with their Disaster Relief unit.

King stated that all the hazards had been mitigated and the incident would be turned back over to the shipping company.

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Retention of jobs and public safety are priority for Mayor Kevin Johnson

2011-06-08T02:41:36Z

Despite reports of the city’s proposals to lay off more than 350 jobs, including 80 sworn police officers, during Tuesday’s press conference, Mayor Kevin Johnson said that avoiding such layoffs will be a priority.

Throughout the conference, Johnson said he wanted Sacramento to remain a full-service city and that he hopes to alleviate any distrust between police officers and the city by playing a more active role in addressing the interests of both parties.

“We’re trying to preserve as many jobs as we can and keep public safety at the top of our priorities,” he added.

“We’re about to pass and adopt a budget in about three weeks or so, and we do not want to be in a position where our community, our constituents and the greater Sacramento area are impacted because we can’t create an environment where our streets are safe.”

The weekly press conference was supposed to address city business and the future of an entertainment and sports complex in Sacramento via the “Here We Build” arena campaign, but when the floor opened to questions, the discussion quickly became centered on the current budget situation and, consequently, what Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting might entail.

Tuesday’s council meeting agenda was set at the end of May to address all the controversial potential budget cuts to the Parks and Recreation, Police and Fire departments.

When asked about concerns and potential alternatives to the current budget proposals, the Mayor said that it depended on the discussion that would occur during the council meeting.

He provided three possible outcomes of the upcoming meeting: 1: Tentative decisions will be made on whether the current proposals for each department will occur, 2: Time will run out and the vote will carry on to Thursday or 3: Possibly vote on two of the three departments and keep one floating for discussion again later.

During the conference, Johnson also mentioned the city and state of California’s interest in a high-speed rail due to its long-term cost-effectiveness, decreased carbon footprint and its potential to be an “unbelievable job creator.”

Accommodations set for City budget meeting

2011-06-03T06:48:51Z

The City of Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation presented an oral report regarding their progress on community centers to the Parks and Recreation Commission.

During the report, Parks and Recreation Director Jim Combs provided an overview of the proceedings for next Tuesday’s Council Meeting. The highlight of the meeting will be the report back on the budgets of the city’s parks, police, and fire departments.

“We hear maybe 1000 to 1500 folks there attending this meeting just from the police department,” said Combs. “Then the fire department’s going to have a big crew. We know that the centers and all those communities; we’re going to have more people down there than we had last time. There were maybe 70 speakers.”

The city is taking steps to accommodate what is expected to be an enormous crowd. They are urging people to arrive between 5pm and 6pm; the meeting begins promptly at 6pm.

Each of the groups - parks, police, fire, golf (they are not part of parks), and general topics - will be given a number of passes allowing fair access to seating in the Council Chamber in accordance with required capacity limits.

According to Combs, the Council Chamber will be divided into three sections with police, fire, and parks receiving different color tickets. Each group will receive at total of 100 tickets; the first 100 people for each group gets a ticket.

Speaker slips will be available at all locations and will be submitted to the Mayor for Council’s consideration in managing public comment. Speakers called that are not present in Chambers will be notified and ushered to the podium.

Each group - parks, police, and fire - receives a block of 30 minutes for public comment.

Overflow areas will be provided with meeting audio/video in Historic City Hall, New City Hall Mezzanine, and Outside Plaza Area (Audio Only).

According to Combs, City Council may take stock in the time the public speaking session has concluded and determine whether they wish to go into deliberations on Tuesday night, or adjourn and reconvene on Thursday night for discussion by Council only without discussion from the public.

Combs also outlined actions taken over the past three weeks regarding the Oak Park, George Sim, and Hagginwood Community Centers. All three were slated for closure under the budget proposed to City Council in mid-May, which received backlash from the public.

“We’ve had meetings with organizers,” said Combs. “We’re looking to work with groups that have some capacity to offer staffing or dollars or can bring something to the table to help us organize and run community centers.”

Parks and Recreation held meetings at each of the three community centers.

“We’ve had really great turnouts,” said Combs. “We had twenty-some organizations that showed up for Oak Park. We had a second meeting and had even more organizations show up. So for the Oak Park community, there’s really a lot of outpouring.”

Combs indicated three to four have stepped forward to be the lead group for the Oak Park Community Center.

“We also had successful meetings at Sim Center,” said Combs. “There we have two partners we had obtained through the RFP process that had already committed to being over there. We’re finalizing our agreements with them, and then we have the two neighborhood associations and a couple of other groups that have come in and want to add to the mix.”

The largest meeting was at the Hagginwood Community Center, though Combs expressed disappointment.

“It was disappointing in the sense that most of the folks were seniors and folks that come there for the feeding program and the grandparents program,” said Combs. “They were residents there that didn’t want to see the center closed for their own personal use.”

“It wasn’t really attended by the organizations with capacity that we were hoping to see that were saying ‘we can step in and help you run this’. We did have several organizations there, but most of them were just passionate about ‘keep my center open.’”

Second meetings will be done with both the Sim Center and Hagginwood Community Center prior to the next City Council meeting.

Welcome back, Papa Roach

2011-02-28T06:01:35Z

Vacaville natives Papa Roach certainly know how to make an entrance.

Friday night at Ace of Spades opening bands Track Fighter and Will Haven had just finished their sets. As Queens of the Stone Age's "No One Knows" played on the PA during the set change before Papa Roach came out, something on stage (a light?) blew with a loud pop, giving off small plumes of smoke and triggering the fire alarm. Cue the firefighters walking through the sold-out crowd a few minutes later, but there was no indication that it was anything more than a precaution.

Thankfully it turned out to be a non-issue. The show went on as planned, and guy-linered frontman Jacoby Shaddix and company came out to much love from the international crowd (Shaddix said he recognized people from New York, London and Texas) and kicked things off with "Kick in the Teeth" from their latest album, "Time for Annihilation: On the Record & On the Road."

Years of touring and performing have not slowed down Shaddix. Whether he was revitalized by Sacramento or not, he made his presence felt — fingers pointing, wild eyes, jumping on speakers — as the band tore through energetic versions of "Lifeline," "Blood Brothers" and "Burn."

"Is Sacramento in this motherfucker?" he shouted, egging on the crowd. "Is Vacaville in this motherfucker?”

They were, and they were loving it.

Up next was radio-friendly "Hollywood Whore," and then banger "Broken Home," with its nasty, catchy guitar riffs. Shaddix's voice sounded a little hoarse, but the guys were still setting them up and knocking them down.

"It's great to be here in Sac! NorCal!" Shaddix said. "I've been tripping around the world for the last 10 years, and it's been a long time — a few years — since we've played a club show in Sac. I want to say thanks to Bret Bair and Eric Rushing for buying this venue so there's a proper place to see rock ‘n’ roll here. It's up to you to keep this place open by coming to see shows here!"

The alt-rock onslaught continued with "The Enemy," "Scars," "Getting Away with Murder," "Forever" and "Between Angels and Insects," a well-rounded set with radio singles balanced evenly with those cuts lesser known to the casual fan (who were probably few and far between at this show).

It's always interesting to see a successful band play a homecoming show. There was definitely a heavy sense of electric connection between band and audience in the air, and based on conversation I overheard, the VIP section was filled with family and friends. (I understand Shaddix lives in El Dorado Hills with his family, and guitarist Jerry Horton and family live in the Sacramento area as well.)

The cash-cow of the Papa Roach catalog, "Last Resort," was saved for the last song of the encore, ending a fun night and bringing it all back full circle, as Shaddix announced:

"We're gonna take it back to the fucker that started it all!"

OPINION: Sac to Charge for "Scene Stabilization"

2011-01-26T18:12:01Z

I felt compelled to write this after reading Brandon Darnell’s report on the Sacramento’s City Council’s 5-4 decision in favor of requiring non-resident drivers to foot emergency bills. You can view his article here

I find this to be complete nonsense (not the article, the decision). Especially when reading some of the responses from the City Council and others.

The Fire Chief states that it’s not to bring in revenue, but to recover costs? He’s joking right? What else is this but a new revenue stream? Top that off with the old school mentality of budgeting, especially in a government environment. Towards the end of each fiscal year budgets are reviewed to ensure all monies in the budget are spent. If it appears there will be money left over, it’s spent with no regard to fiscal responsibility. Why? Because then they can claim last years budget was just barely enough and next year they will need a bigger budget to fight increased costs, inflation, etc..

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said by declining to discuss a confidential memo, authored by the City’s Attorney’s Office, is a way to safeguard the city against potential litigation. I believe not discussing the memo and the comments made by the city council is a perfect recipe for a lawsuit. However, I’m certain by the time this goes to trial they will have figured out a way to charge the public for the City Councils ignorance.

Councilwoman Ashby goes on to say “ . . . There is no free lunch.”. Did she really just say that? Does she not realize how much in taxes people pay to support our government infrastructure? Rather than cut costs cities and states continue to spend money. Why? It goes back to the budget and the “I gotta spend it” mentality along with police and fire unions.

The worst part about this is we will now have yet another contract with another vendor, Fire Recovery USA. Who are these people and why are we going to pay them 17% to handle billing? I’m thinking their friends with someone on the city council. They have to be with people on their team such as:

Greg Schmidt – Developer in and around Sacramento
Rick Benner – Former president of the Sacramento Kings
Kevin Trost - Retired captain for Sacramento Fire
Thorne Auchter – Former director of OSHA under Ronald Reagan

Auchter is the most controversial due to his colorful past. Including his role as CEO for Grace News Network, which landed a U.S. government contract to launch an Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq. You can read more about Auchter here.

Based on Fire Recovery USA’s website it looks like they will be using strong arm tactics. According to their site:

“. . . While there is nothing really different about the way we bill, we do have several interesting recovery techniques in our system. We also have exclusive methods that we've developed during our years of collection experience in other industries that convinces those responsible of their fiscal responsibilities.”

That's so Soprano's. Will those techniques include new ways for individuals to sue the city?

Based on the cast of characters working for Fire Recovery USA, I have to believe they have been the driving force behind this being presented to and approved by the City Council.

Having ranted on about this I just wanted to add that the majority of firemen and policemen go above and beyond in providing services to the community. This is a rant about the Saramento City Council and government in general and should not reflect poorly on those that serve our cities.

Best selling author Kim Edwards speaks as part of CA Lectures circuit

2011-01-23T00:48:03Z

Widely acclaimed author of “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” and more recently ”The Lake of Dreams” Kim Edwards spoke at the Crest Theatre on Thursday as the fourth author of the California Lectures’ 2010-2011 season. Her work has been praised for its wit, humanism and realistic settings as well her innate ability to transport her reader to exotic locales and accept them implicitly in the story.
Her second and most recent novel, “The Lake of Dreams,” came fast on the heels of the breakout success she achieved with her freshman effort, “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” which spent an awesome 122 weeks on the New York Times Best-seller List, 20 of which were spent at number one.
The lecture, which was more of an interview, comprised of the guest, Edwards, her interviewer, noted author Susan Kelly-Dewitt, two chairs, a sparse table and two goblets filled with water. Both had soft, lilting voices that floated over the audience with their talk.
While the discussion covered a large part of her sudden success with her first novel, Kelly-Dewitt also brought the discussion around to her first collection of short stories, the highly acclaimed “The Secrets of a Fire King,” and, in more detail, her recent January release “The Lake of Dreams.”
The story centers on Lucy Jarrett, who returns to her childhood home in the fictional Lake of Dreams, N.Y. to find that her brother is attempting to erect high-end real estate, and she reignites a relationship with her first boyfriend. The twist comes when, haunted by her father’s untimely death during her youth, that she discovers a hidden note and, with it, family secrets.
The story is made more timely, also, by the use of one of the characters seeing the 1910 occurrence of Haley’s Comet, something that Edwards says made her think about it as a “a really interesting way to tie an intergenerational novel together.”
“Haley’s Comet comes every 76 years,” she said, discussing how she was able to link it to the passing of the comet in 1986. “It’s about the span of a human life, roughly speaking. I felt it could really work.”
The latter was the main focus of the evening, with Edwards displaying her intricate and detailed knowledge of everything from stained glass to blown glass, from concentric circles in a historical sense to the importance of personal letters throughout time.
As a writer that plays with thematic imagery, her work can be seen as prosaic in its descriptive flare and ability to conjure a vivid scene in the reader’s head with only words. Not only this, but she lets the story work for itself, and through it adds layers without creating kinks.
“As a writer, I think that the imagery of a piece, of a story, or a novel has to be organic to that story,” Edwards said, “I never really set up thinking, ‘I’m going to use water imagery,’ because if I do that, I found for myself that it just really takes the life out of the story. With this book, once I understand the imagery is coming from the story, I try to work with it.”
Throughout the evening Kelly-Dewitt had passages picked out for Edwards to read. Her tone of voice was soft and lyrical and matched the feeling and density of her prose. While the book is not difficult to pick up, a shortsighted reader might miss the simple calligraphy of words Edwards knits her stories with.
The California Lectures series will continue with Amy Bloom on Feb. 23 and Terry McMillan on March 24. For more information, visit here.

Single apartment destroyed by fire

2011-01-22T23:03:22Z

This morning just before 10 a.m. Sacramento Regional Dispatch center received multiple calls reporting an apartment fire with explosions. Fire crews from both Sacramento and Sacramento Metro Fire Departments responded and arrived within minutes to find fire blowing out of an upstairs window. The apartment was occupied at the time of the fire and officials were informed that citizens assisted one adult male occupant from the apartment that was on fire.

Quick actions of the fire crews kept the fire from spreading to adjacent apartments; however during the fire operations Sacramento Police were requested to respond to restrain the resident from attempting to re-enter the apartment while it was on fire. Fortunately no one was injured and the initial reports of explosions were determined to be from the fire burning materials inside the apartment.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and has not yet been determined. The upstairs apartment was completely destroyed and adjacent upstairs units suffered minor smoke damage. At this time the Sacramento Fire Department would like to remind everyone not to attempt to re-enter a building once it is on fire. Fire doubles in size every sixty seconds, and one inhalation of smoke can be fatal.

Sprinkler Activation Causes Major Flooding in Downtown Apartment

2011-01-10T02:52:16Z

Firefighters responded to Globe Mills Apartment complex for a water flow alarm. Crews arrived to find a flowing sprinkler and no signs of fire. The sprinkler activation was isolated to unit 438, which was a single apartment on the fourth floor. Before firefighters were able to shut off the water, substantial flooding occurred to the affected unit, the 4th floor hallway and units on the third and second floor that were located directly below apartment 438. There was also several hundred gallons of water in the basement, as a direct result of the activated sprinkler. Fire crews spent several hours on scene pumping water out of the basement and restoring the sprinkler system. Portions of the complex, mainly on the fourth floor and affected units, will be without electrical power until residual water can be addressed.

The cause of the sprinkler head malfunction was undetermined by fire crews, and there were no fire department mandated evacuations. It is unknown if the occupant was home at the time of the activation; however fire crews were notified by the alarm company. Building management advised they were in the process of working with a restoration company to address the residual water and maintenance issues associated with flooding.

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DUI driver injures several in Midtown wreck

2010-12-31T02:35:12Z

Sacramento, CA | A drunk driver with passengers collides head-on with a Taxi minivan leaving several injured in Midtown early Thursday morning.

At approximately 1:47 am Thursday morning, a black compact car collided head on with a taxi cab minivan at 20th and N Streets in Midtown. Occupants in both vehicles were injured and transported to area hospitals with non threatening injuries, per Sacramento Police department. more from this incident and about Midtown DUI checkpoint >>

Roseville Police Don't Sing Hallelujah

2010-12-21T05:59:18Z

Police ejected a flash mob of hundreds of choral singers tonight from the Roseville Galleria mall. The choral singers, many clad in their Christmas clothes, had been anticipating singing an “impromptu” rendition of the “Hallelujah Chorus” in the food court.

The performance was conceived of by the Sacramento Choral Society and over the last few weeks, word quickly spread via email, Twitter and good old-fashioned word of mouth. As the 7:30 performance time neared, dense traffic in the food court came to a near standstill while singers clutched their sheet music for the 4-minute song.

When mall security was unable to redirect the crowd, the Fire Department closed the mall and ushered everyone outside. Denied their chance to sing inside, the crowd collected in the outdoor courtyard and began singing Christmas carols.

Despite repeated Police orders to leave the vicinity, the determined carolers of all ages stayed and at the appointed time, the “Hallelujah Chorus began”. With such a large group, the song was somewhat disjointed but the soprano voices soared above it all and the crowd got what it came for.

As the song finished, a Police helicopter arrived with bright searchlights and bullhorns ordering the crowd to disperse. But, by this time the chorus had been sung and people were leaving on their own, singing “Jingle Bells” and waving merrily at the helicopter overhead.

On a serious note, the impact of closing the mall must have been particularly hard for store-owners who were just recently able to re-open after the Galleria fire.

In memory of Captain Terrence Gee

2010-12-21T01:40:33Z

On behalf of Fire Chief Ray Jones, Deputy Chiefs Troy Malaspino and Lloyd Ogan, it is with great sadness we deliver this message.

Early this morning our brother, Fire Captain Terrence (Terry) Gee, age fifty-four, passed away. He was surrounded by his immediate family in his home. In February of this year, Terrence was diagnosed with cancer, as a result of job related exposures. He leaves behind is wife Nancy of twenty-four years, son Samuel age twenty-two, and daughter Amanda age twenty, as well as, a great number of other family and friends.

Terry began his career in the fire service with Sacramento Fire Department in February 1985. He spent a great time of his career as a firefighter and was assigned to Engine 57 where he worked with his dear friend and Captain Bob Kiehne. In December 2005, Terry promoted to the rank of Fire Captain and worked at a number of stations; however his most recent assignment prior to illness was Station 60.

In addition to his work with the Sacramento Fire Department, Captain Gee was an elected Member of the Board of Directors for the Florin Fire District. In that role he guided the District through the merger with the American River Fire District in 1997. "Terry Gee was a tireless advocate for both the District and the residents it served. Without his leadership and perseverance the merger between American River and Florin Fire Districts would not have occurred" said Rick Martinez, retired Fire Chief for both Districts. Following that merger Captain Gee continued to support the regionalization of the fire service which led to the creation of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

The Sacramento Fire Department and Local 522 will be planning a fire fighter funeral service. More information and details on the services will follow in the coming days.

Please keep the Gee Family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

River City Food Bank opens door to new location

2010-12-02T04:53:01Z

Community leaders and supporters congregated at the corner of N and 27th streets to see the beginning stages of the new River City Food Bank. After a four-alarm fire destroyed the RCFB’s original location Oct. 21, the community immediately responded, and the Sutter Medical Center donated this space for the Food Bank to rebuild.

The blaze, determined as arson by the fire department, heavily damaged the building and destroyed about 10,000 pounds of food.

Though still a large empty room, save for a few hanging lights and fold-up tables, the new location promises to give clients a more comfortable space and volunteers a better ability to help the community, RCFB Executive Director Eileen Thomas said. Compared to the previous food bank location, the new spacious area will allow for additional privacy for clients and more room for donation storage.

The event “celebrate(s) moving out of a truck and into a real space,” Thomas said, pointing to the Goodwill truck parked across the street from which the RCFB has been operating for the past few weeks.

She told the crowd that building projects rarely go according to plan. “Whatever you do,” she said, “you double the cost and triple the time.” She apologized for the building not being ready, but said they expect to have the space filled and operable by the middle of next week.

A burnt and warped laptop was on display as a remnant of the October fire, which Thomas considered a powerful symbol of the RCFB’s rebuilding process, since every program and document on the hard-drive was able to be restored.

The crowd huddled around a podium while Thomas introduced key supporters of the Food Bank’s recovery, including Councilman Steve Cohn, RCFB Board President Susan Timmer and Sutter Health Sierra Region Director of Community and Government Relations Keri Thomas.

“It’s a day to recognize those who responded on the day of the fire and to thank the community,” 3fold Communications Director of Media Lesley Miller said. 3fold has helped the RCFB with marketing and outreach, and helped organize the morning’s debut of the new space.

Timmer began the presentation by thanking everyone for their support and saying she never expected to be board president of a food bank rebuilding from a fire. “It was hard to imagine how we’d ever get started again, but here we are,” she said.

Cohn thanked the Trinity Episcopal Church for its continued support of the RCFB.

“We have a commitment to make sure this fire is turned into something that really rises like a phoenix,” Cohn said, “and the city will do all it can to help.”

Helping the homeless and those in need has always been one of the main priorities of the mayor and the council, right up there with job creation, he said.

Keri Thomas spoke on behalf of Sutter Health.

“I’m really proud to be part of a business community that steps up in a time of crisis and need,” she said. “We understand that if people don’t have access to basic needs – food, shelter – they can’t live a healthy life.”

Other supporters included Ruland’s Used Office Furnishings, which was at the event bringing tables and furniture into the empty building; Borges Architectural Group helped coordinate permits; Western Health Advantage donated computers; CalTronics donated a fax machine and Downey Brand offered IT technical assistance.

Grant donations were given by Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, Golden One Credit Union, Delta Dental and The Sacramento Bee.

The event was also a memorial for Mac, a well-loved cat who was lost in the fire. The food bank’s other cat, Cheese, was found safe and later given up for adoption.

The rebuilt River City Food Bank is located at the corner of N and 27th streets.

Two Firefighters Injured In South Sacramento House Fire

2010-11-22T21:14:05Z

Yesterday at approximately 4:21 P.M. firefighters responded to a reported house fire at 4309 39th Avenue. Fire crews arrived four minutes later to find heavy brown smoke coming from the roof and front door of the residence.

During extinguishment of the fire two firefighters from Engine 56 received first and second degree burns to their face and ears. One of the two firefighters, Doug Calvert a four-year veteran, was transported to U C Davis Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Fire investigators determined the cause of the fire was from an unattended cooking pan. No civilians were injured; however Red Cross did respond to assist with providing shelter and clothing for both occupants of the home.

Sacramento Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to remind citizens to turn off cooking appliances before leaving their homes and replace old batteries in smoke detectors.

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Thanksgiving weekend safety tips

2010-11-22T21:09:21Z

As we approach Thanksgiving Day the Sacramento Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday; in addition to providing you with several safety tips to ensure your holiday is also a safe one. Each year many fires and other emergencies occur from un-attended cooking or burning fires. Therefore we are asking that you consider these tips as you enjoy your holiday.

·Turkey roasters’, remember to use a pan large enough to contain the grease that is produced from a roasting turkey.
·If you are going to sleep or leaving your home, make sure all cooking appliances are off.
·Outdoor cooking should occur outdoors and NOT in a garage or under a low covered patio.
·Make sure candles are not left unattended while burning and are placed in holders that will catch the melting wax.
·Don’t go to sleep with fires left in the fireplace. Make sure the fire is out before leaving or going to bed.
·Ashes from fireplaces should be placed in a metal container and placed outdoors, free of paper or combustible products, and allowed to cool 24-48 hours before placing in an outdoor garbage can.
·Make sure you have replaced the batteries in all your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.

By using these safety tips we all can make it a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend for everyone!!

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Replace Your Smoke Detector Batteries This Weekend!

2010-11-04T20:51:03Z

The Sacramento Fire Department wishes to remind everyone that when you move your clock back an hour this weekend be sure to replace the batteries in all of your smoke detectors.

Smoke detectors save lives. It is estimated that 65% of home fire deaths occur in homes that don't have a working smoke detector. Smoke detectors alert people to fire in its early stages, giving people the time needed to escape safely. It’s important for every home to have them in all required locations, including bedrooms.

The Sacramento Fire Department offers the following tips for making sure the smoke detectors in your home are maintained and working properly:

· Install smoke detectors in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.

· Test smoke detectors at least once a month using the test button, and make sure everyone in your home knows their sound.

· Replace batteries in all smoke detectors at least once a year.

· If the detector “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.

· Replace all smoke detectors, including detectors that use 10-year batteries or that are hard-wired, when they are ten years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested.

To help promote this important effort, Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs have donated a limited number of batteries to the Sacramento Fire Department for distribution to senior and low-income citizens. However all citizens are encouraged to participate and can pick up a 9 volt battery, while supplies last, now thru November 10th at the Sacramento Fire Department headquarters, located at 5770 Freeport Blvd, from 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday thru Thursday. Batteries will also be available for seniors, while supplies last, at the Ethel MacLeod Hart Senior Center located at 915 27th Street.

In addition, if you live in the Sacramento city limits and do not have a working smoke detector in your home and cannot afford to purchase one, you may call the Sacramento City Operator at 311 to request one. Arrangements will be made for a fire company to come to your home to install the device.

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Mountain Lions Back Local Food Bank

2010-10-26T21:55:52Z

Game day discount for fans who bring in food for River City Food Bank

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SACRAMENTO, CA – Tuesday, October 26, 2010 – The Sacramento Mountain Lions and Goodwill Industries are partnering to offer a $5 ticket discount to fans that make a donation to the River City Food Bank. Donations will be accepted at all Goodwill locations as well as the Goodwill truck in FanFest at Saturday’s game.

The food bank, which burned down early last Thursday morning, is in need of supplies and food to continue to serve the community members who seek aid every day. As the Mountain Lions’ charity partner, the Goodwill has been offering a $5 ticket discount to people who make a donation to one of their stores. The new offer extends the $5 discount to food bank donations of at least three canned food items as well as clothing and household item donation.

“The fire was a devastating loss, especially with winter around the corner. But now more than ever, people have the power to make a difference. We’re hoping the known generosity of Sacramento area residents can help the River City Food Bank to make a quick recovery and continue its vital services to people in need,” said Joseph Mendez, CEO of Goodwill Industries Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada.

All donations collected at the game will be delivered to the River City Food Bank by the Mountain Lions players on Monday following the game. The ticket discount effort is only one of the ways the Mountain Lions have made themselves a part of the local community. Players and coaches regularly volunteer with area organizations including Shriner’s Children’s Hospital and the Boys & Girls Club.

“We saw this as one, small way we can help generate some donations”, explains Joe Wagoner, Director of Business Management for the Mountain Lions. “We hope our fans will take this opportunity to do something good for the community while having a little fun as well”. Discount vouchers will be honored at this Saturday’s game against the Hartford Colonials, or the season finale on November 13th against former 49er quarterback Jeff Garcia and the Omaha Nighthawks.

Saturday’s festivities begin at 5:00pm in the parking lot for tailgating and FanFest featuring performances by Lincoln Brewster. Game kickoff is at 8:00pm. Tickets for the game start at just $10, with the donation discount. Parking in the Sac State lots is an additional $5, FanFest activities are free to those attending. Vouchers are redeemable at the tickets windows located at the stadium and in FanFest.

For ticket information, fans may visit www.SacMountainLions.com. Fans can also visit www.buyufl.com for merchandise.

###

About The United Football League: The UFL provides high-quality professional football during a traditional fall season while embracing innovation and fan interaction with an exciting and memorable game experience. The inaugural 2009 champion Las Vegas Locos will battle the Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, Omaha Nighthawks and Sacramento Mountain Lions for the Williams Hambrecht Trophy in 2010. The UFL is led by Commissioner Michael Huyghue and is funded by a consortium of private investors. For more information on the league and to interact with passionate football fans, please visit www.UFL-Football.com.

Please contact Kat Haro at 916-494-8694 or kharo@rs-e.com with any questions

Disclosure: Nick Cronenwett is the assistant to Public Relations Director Russ Edmondson

500 Needed for Galleria cleanup

2010-10-24T00:41:58Z

A local company will take resumes on Sunday and Monday to find cleanup workers.

Details here.

Help Sacramento arson investigators

2010-10-23T00:01:11Z

Sacramento arson investigators need your help locating two people of interest regarding a commercial structure fire located at Bisla's Sports Bar, addressed 7042 Folsom Blvd. Citizens can report any information as to the identity of these two individuals and any information regarding the fire to the Sacramento Fire Department Arson Tip Line at (916) 808-8732 or Crime Alert at 1-800-AA-CRIME or wanted@crimealert.org.

The incident occurred on 10/13/10 and was reported at 0445 hours. The incident number is 10-309696.

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Local Organizations Step-In to Help River City Food Bank Recover From Massive Fire

2010-10-22T00:37:56Z

Local organizations are coming forward to help River City Food Bank after a massive fire destroyed their building early on Thursday morning.

Sutter Health is donating $30,000 and holding an employee food drive to help raise the 8,000 lbs of food lost in the fire. The food bank has also received a $5,000 donation from the Golden 1 Credit Union, seven PC computers from Western Health Advantage, and office furniture from Ruland’s Used Office Furnishings. The community has also responded with generous monetary donations.

“This morning’s fire is a devastating loss for thousands of people in Sacramento who rely on River City Food Bank for nutritionally based emergency food,” said Eileen Thomas, Executive Director at River City Food Bank. “We are very thankful for the community’s generous support, as its imperative we are up and running again before the busy holiday season hits.”

Ways the public can help:
• River City Food Bank is accepting donations of all kinds. Online monetary donations are preferred at www.rivercityfoodbank.org
• A list of immediate needs can also be found on at www.rivercityfoodbank.org
• Goodwill Industries is accepting donations of canned and non-perishable food items. Donations can be made at any of 47 Goodwill Donation Xpress locations, all of which are listed at www.goodwillsacto.org.

Information for people who are hungry and need food:
• The food bank has temporarily suspended services but hopes to be operating from a temporary location by sometime next week.
• People in need of food should go to Central Downtown Food Basket or Sacramento Food Bank. Both food banks are prepared to receive an influx of people.

Facts about the fire:
• A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
• The building has been heavily damaged by flames, smoke and water and will need to be re-built.
• Many people have asked about the food bank’s resident cats. One of cats, Mac, did not survive the fire. The other cat, Cheese, is still missing.
• Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of food were lost.

Facts about River City Food Bank:
• The food bank has been operating for 40 years, and provides three-day packages of nutritionally based emergency food.
• Clients represent every age and income group living in urban and suburban neighborhoods throughout Sacramento.
• The food bank serves around 3,000 individuals every month, or approximately 100-150 people every day.

As soon as any new information becomes available it will be posted on www.rivercityfoodbank.org or www.facebook.com/RiverCityFoodBank.

Firefighters climb in 9/11 memorial

2010-09-13T18:01:38Z

Three hundred and forty three Sacramento area firefighters climbed 110 flights of stairs early Saturday morning in honor of the 343 firefighters who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.

The second annual Sacramento 9/11 Memorial Climb was held at the 28-story Renaissance Tower on 8th and K. Fire departments representing cities including Sacramento, Davis, El Cerrito, Placerville and Vacaville participated.

Climbers made four ascents: three from the basement to the 26th floor, and a final ascent from the basement to the roof, bringing the total number of floors climbed to 110, the same number of floors in each of the towers of the World Trade Center.

Lloyd Ogden, operations deputy chief for the Sacramento Fire Department, gave opening remarks to the gathered climbers before the climb started.

An emotional Samuel Giamo, Jr., who joined the Fire Department of New York in 1979 and retired in 2002, took the podium next and shared some thoughts on his personal experiences with 9/11.

Firefighters then proceeded to start the climb, led by a firefighter carrying an American flag.

At minimum, all firefighters making the climb wore their department-issued turnout coats, the type of jacket typically worn by firefighters, and their helmets while climbing the stairs. Some elected to wear full gear, including turnout pants and boots, while others wore shorts and athletic shoes.

Each of the 343 climbers had a small, black banner with the name of one of the firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks pinned on the back of their coats, over their own name. This allowed each climber to symbolically carry each fallen firefighter 110 flights to the roof of the building.

As each climber reached the roof, each name banner was unpinned and hung inside two metal reproduction models of the World Trade Center towers. The names were saluted, and each firefighter then rang a red bell, which was embossed with each name of the FDNY firefighters.

Immediately following the climb, a tribute in the park event was held on Capitol Mall between Sixth and Seventh. The event gave families an opportunity to come together in a social environment and honor the families affected by the 9/11 tragedy by sharing the day with their loved ones. Those attending enjoyed food, drink, live music and children’s activities. All proceeds raised from the $5 entrance fee, food and beer sales, and donations went to the Sacramento Area Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund.

Two-year-old Tyler, son of Vacaville firefighter Jeremy Sirois, joins his father during the climb preparation.

Firefighters prepare to climb 110 stories from the basement of Renaissance Tower.

Heading to the first flight of stairs.

A firefighter touches a piece of glass from the World Trade Center before starting his climb.

Climbing 110 stories in turnout gear.

Leading with the American flag, the first of 343 climbers makes it to the roof.

Hanging the name of a FDNY brother in the memorial.

Waiting to approach the memorial.

A firefighter pays his respects to his fire service brothers who died on 9/11.

Firefighters wait their turn to approach the memorial.

Each climber rang a bell which displayed the names of the 343 firefighters who died at the World Trade Center.

Bagpipes being played as climbers make it to the roof.

Honor Guard on Capitol Mall during Tribute in the Park.

The 9/11 Memorial on the roof of Renaissance Tower.

Photos: Steven Chea

Apartment Complex burns in Carmichael

2010-08-27T16:39:47Z

Many residents were displaced from their homes after a four-alarm fire heavily damaged 12 units in a 36-unit Carmichael complex and left everyone without power Wednesday night. The Twin Gardens complex is located near the intersection of Fair Oaks Blvd and El Camino Avenue.

The fire started around 6:30pm Wednesday evening along Fair Oaks Blvd and El Camino Avenue.

Some residents reported hearing a "pop pop pop" sound and discovered the fire blazing at one end of the complex, catching trees on fire. The electrical box was on that end.

Wind fueled the fire and it spread quickly through a common attic above the upper units.

Apartments on the first floor below the heavily damaged top floor units sustained minor damage. Firefighters knocked the fire down within an hour.

There were reports of an explosion felt up to a quarter-mile away. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District believes the outside propane tanks at the Twin Garden Apartments created the explosion.

This is where the fire began. The electrical panel to the units was housed at this end of the building. Trees and vegetation are charred and an umbrella by the pool was fire damaged.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross Capitol Region Chapter arrived on the scene around 7:30pm after being called by Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

Thursday morning, Red Cross volunteers returned to the damaged units to do Damage Assessment, which guides in establishing what relief help is needed for their clients. Photo above shows light coming through the roof beams in a top floor apartment.

Units below the destroyed ones above them suffered mainly smoke and water damage, as well holes in the ceilings. Firefighters did a good job protecting belongings with plastic tarp.

An American Red Cross shelter was open for a day at La Sierra Community Center for residents displaced by the fire. Once power was restored to the units not damaged by the fire, the shelter closed.

Residents from the front upper units escaped with only what they were wearing. One resident lost a cat in the fire.

The cause is under investigation.

A Sac Metro firefighter takes a liquid break.

SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

Two homes tragically burn in South Sacramento

2010-08-25T18:59:24Z

Sacramento, CA | Early Tuesday morning, two South Sacramento families were awakened to find their homes ablaze.

Sac Metro Fire and Cosumnes Fire Departments were called to Liscarney Way in the area of Vintage Park Dr. and Calvine Rd., for two homes burning. When firefighters arrived, they found two, two story homes with the second floor of both homes well involved with fire. All familiy members made it safely out of the homes after neighbors awakened them. Per Sac Metro Assistance Fire Chief Rice, both homes were severely damaged and the families would not be able to inhabit them. Red cross was called to assist the families. SacPress Contributing Writer and Photographer, Kati Garner, was one ot the Red Cross members who responded to aid the families. The blaze is currently under investigation.

View action footage from this incident>>

SacMav.com launches their new web site Friday morning. Be sure to check it out.

Fire ends store's saga

2010-08-17T03:51:30Z

One of Sacramento's oldest markets — a store that stood in the heart of Alkali Flat since 1868 — was ravaged by fire Sunday.

The little brick store had first been damaged by fire last December after a blaze at an adjacent apartment building spread. The market was shut down, then fenced and boarded up. A man had been squatting in the building recently.

Nearly 40 firefighters from nine companies responded Sunday after neighbors heard a boom and saw fire break out on the second floor of the building, 427 10th St., at about 7:30 a.m. A search dog found no one was inside.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading but weren’t able to save the building. A city crew later tore the rest of the unreinforced masonry building down, said Sacramento Fire Department spokesman John Burgess.

"It was already at the point of being a collapse hazard because the construction was in the 1860s," he said. "The concern was it would actually fall down with very little effort. So it was taken down."

A fire investigator is trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Neighbors were sorry to see the building demolished. But the market had become a run-down eyesore before the first fire, said Jennifer Caldwell, a neighborhood resident and member of the Alkali Flat Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

“We've been agonizing over that place,” she said. “It has been a blemish on this community.”

The structure had been built as a grocery or other type of mercantile store to serve the monied Alkali Flat neighborhood that sprang up in 1852. Living quarters were built on the second floor, and stables operated in back.

"There were a few (markets) in that neighborhood, even in 1868," said James Scott, who wrote "Sacramento's Alkali Flat" with Tom Tolley. Both are also reference librarians at the Sacramento Public Library's Sacramento Room.

"There was industry. Central Pacific was burgeoning at that time. You had schools being built. And you know you had the upper crust of Sacramento occupying that area as well,” he said. “It was one of those charming spots within a very dynamic neighborhood.”

The store changed ownership and names throughout the decades.

The growth of the nearby railyards led to changes in Alkali Flat as well. The ritzy neighborhood once defined by stately houses, large lawns and wrought iron fences began to change. Smaller, cheaper homes for railworkers began to be built in between the grand homes starting in the 1880s and 1890s.

The market was owned by the Dunphy family from the 1880s until owner Jim Dunphy sold it five years ago. The store had been operated by his grandfather and then his parents. Now 87, Dunphy remembers riding with his father in a horse-drawn wagon to deliver milk to customers, said Kathy Martin, office manager at the Distillery, which Dunphy owns.

Alkali Flat became a blue-collar, family neighborhood. But the area turned into "Sacramento's form of tenement living" when large homes such as the J. Neely Johnson House, a former governor's house, were divided up into multiple apartment units in the 1960s and '70s, Scott said. The buildings and neighborhood became magnets for crime and gangs.

Redevelopment pioneers withstood danger and threats to begin rehabbing homes in the 1970s and 1980s. At some point, the store began selling liquor — the only store to do so in the neighborhood. The building wasn't kept up well, and it got a bad reputation. That really struck at the heart of the neighborhood and the people trying to turn it around, Scott said.

"For a neighborhood that is inhabited by people who care a lot about where they live...the market was always kind of a thorn," he said. "I am amazed that it lasted this long."

Photos by Jennifer Caldwell. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Fire Spectacular

2010-08-12T07:41:23Z

This year’s Fire Spectacular, on Sunday August 8, was slated to begin around seven in the evening. The Fire Spectacular is a festival event where fire, dance, art, and music are celebrated. The event had a small festival type of atmosphere. Several vendor booths were set up to sell goods related to the event. Drumsum, a local world music style band, was on hand to provide musical entertainment. The event started slow but gained momentum as people started to set up their sitting area in front of the Southside Park Amphitheatre. Once the entertainment began on the amphitheatre stage it indeed became a spectacular event.

Earlier in the day, as I approached the entrance to the event, three people were preparing a lunch meal for themselves while selling tickets. One of the three, Allen Denault, was preparing sandwiches for himself, his sister and her boyfriend. We chatted for a little while and he was telling me about a similar fire event that had taken place in Reno the weekend before. The Reno event drew several thousand spectatorst. As we talked I asked Allen if he lived in Sacramento. “I used to live in Sacramento and had an art studio in the area” he said. He now lives in Placerville and was telling me about an art project that he will be working on. He’s looking to create a sculpture and has enlisted kids from the area, who have signed up, to collaboratie on the project. It’s always good to hear from artists who want to pass on their craft and hopefully one or more of these young students can acquire the same type of passion for the arts as Allen exhibits.

Scheduled demonstrations and workshops took place as the performers got ready for the evening event. A Hoop Dance Workshop was in progress when I first arrived and a musical group, Drumsum, was setting up on another side of the amphitheatre. Several audience members took up some hoops and practiced their dance skills. Looking around the event area it was interesting to observe the way people interacted with each other it seemed like many spectators and performers knew each other. It had a “communal” type of atmosphere, very relaxing and soothing.

Artists scheduled to appear included Rosa del Fuego (performing dances to celebrate fertility and earth power) . Also on hand was the Kundalin Bellydance Troupe, Sonya Castoe, Vikram Tawler, and the lovely Pika doing a fire dance. Controlled Burn performed a longer fire show and Obsidian Butterfly was the final act of the night.

I sat with Sequoia for a few minutes, earlier in the day, to talk about the show. She’s a founder of Obsidian Butterfly who had 11 people in the group for the night. She indicated this was the first year the event was held at Southside Park but it was the 3rd year of the event. Next year’s event will take place on August 13, 2011 which will coincide with a whole moon day. Obsidian Butterfly has shows throughout the year and is available for special appearances such as birthdays, weddings, and other small gatherings. If you’re planning a special event this is the best time of the year to book the group for special personal events. I asked her what she thought of the evening’s event and she went on to say “It’s something unique because it’s like a large collaboration art piece, with all colors coming together and making something interesting each year.” Her passion for these events and how she sees art came across as she described the event. She ended by saying “It just keeps getting better and better”. I did not ask if Sequoia was her real name, I think it is, I based that observation on the fact that I know people whose real names are Autumn Sky and Sunrise. Also noticeable was the front of the Obsidian Butterfly booth where some paintings created by Sequoia were exhibited.

While at the event I was glad to meet and listen to the sage photographic advice of Andy"Playarazzi" Pischalnikoff. I have admired his work and it was a pleasure to meet him. His fire performance photos, including Burning Man are fantastic. As we sat and photographed the event I was able to learn from his photographic techniques and welcomed his advice. To see more of his work log on to his website.

All the performances lived up to the “Spectacular” name. One act after the other was exquisitely performed and at the end the audience could have savored more fire in constant movement entertainment. Sequoia has worked hard over the years as an artist, as an instructor and fire entertainer and the closing Obsedian Butterfly act put all of this together for a true Fire Spectacular. This type of event is for all ages and although fire conjures thoughts of danger it is all controlled and safety is top priority. Log on to Obsidian Butterfly to see upcoming events and learn more about Sequoia and her art. By combining fire, dance, and music Obsidian Butterfly and the other acts were able to create magnificent art on stage.

Photos:

1 - Me, playing with fire (photo by Andy Playarazzi Pischalnikoff

2 to 14 - Fire Spectacular

Neighborhood Barber Shop Burns

2010-08-11T14:22:32Z

Sacramento- Neighbors were awoken by an explosion this morning and looked out their windows to discover smoke and flames coming from the barber shop next door to them. Just before 1:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, Sacramento Fire responded to a structure fire at the 3B's Barber Shop and Beauty College on Grand Ave and Dry Creek Rd. Marcellous York, an employee at the barber shop (living next door), said he woke up to a loud explosion and noticed there was smoke coming from the shop and called 911.

The part of the shop that caught on fire was the beauty college section, which is a add-on to the barber shop that came from McClellan AFB. The college had four students currently enrolled, and it was frustrating for the owner to see that part of his business in flames.

Click here to see video coverage of this incident>>

Playground Arson Sucks!

2010-08-09T20:29:08Z

Last night the Auburn Community's main park had it's playground torched. As an member of the rec district's board of directors I am obviuosly upset. As a father and resident of the community I am furious. Vandalism & delinquency costs a community on so many levels, from lost dollars and time, to lost opportunities and as was the case with a rock toss over an overpass recently, serious injuries and possibly worse.

Whether in the heart of a city, or in an outlying suburb it is getting worse, and nobody is immune. I so encourage anybody that witnesses any questionable activity to please notify the proper authorities. Only by banning together & sending a strong message we will not accept this sort of behaviour will it begin to end. Somehow appreciation & respect continues to erode from our society. Community Leaders, Teachers, Parents and kids all need to work to educate and instill a sense of worth and value that will make kids think twice before committing a sensless act such as torching a playground, or inflicting injury.

Just my 2 cents worth for today.

Transient flees when his fire burns out of control

2010-07-28T17:37:03Z

Sacramento, CA Local transient fled the scene when his fire burned out of control Tuesday evening.

Aprox 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, SacCity Fire was called to a vegetation fire between the Sacramento River and the bike path off Jiboom by the water treatment plant. On arrival, firefighters found a blaze burning upsloap from the beach area toward the bike path. The fire was brought under control quickly. Witnesses in the area saw a transient leaving the scene. He's described as a white male, mid 30's to to early 40's, aprox 5'8" and dark brown shoulder length hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a small dirty red backpack. SacPD Officer Gunville and area Park Rangers had detained a couple of potential suspects, however they proved not to be the suspect and were immediately released. The suspect was last seen fleeing the area running south on the bike trail from the water treatment plant area. If you have information or see anyone in the area matching this description, you are urged to call the Sacramento Police Department or Sac City Fire.

CLICK HERE TO SEE INCIDENT VIDEO>>

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Downtown structure fire threatens surrounding homes

2010-07-26T13:34:06Z

Sacramento, CA, Neighbors wake to flames and sparking power lines in Downtown Sacramento

Around 2:45am Monday, the Sacramento City Fire Department responded to a garage fire at 1314 26th St. Neighbors were evacuated as the fire threatened surrounding homes. A resident of one of the evacuated homes said, "At 2:45 in the morning, you're woken up to a fire, it's scary, it's a heart pounding experience". Power lines popped overhead as firefighters knocked down the fire. The fire is currently under investigation.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO>>>

Sacramento Fire PIO Retiring

2010-07-14T21:47:00Z

After over 30 years in the local Fire Service, I am hanging up my helmet! It has been a very long career, and one that I will surely miss. I am more than fortunate enough to retire and still have my health! For the last 4 years I have been the Sacramento Fire Department’s “Public Information Officer”. I left the fire house back in 2006 for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is that being a Firefighter takes its toll and I needed a change.

I considered doing other “desk jobs” in the fire department, but none of them appealed to me as much as being the PIO. People that know me know that I have a passion for talking! And I love to talk about things that are near and dear to me. That is why this was such a perfect fit for me. I love the Sacramento Fire Department. I love the people who work here and they are what I am most proud of.

I am not totally leaving the Fire Service. I have accepted a position with the Firefighters Burn Institute. This local charity is the organization that runs the Kids Summer Burn Camp in Lake Tahoe and works closely with the Shriners and UC Davis Hospitals and their burn units. I am so privileged to have been chosen to be their new Executive Director and I will work hard to make the Burn Institute a local charity that benefits everyone in our region.

You will hear from me on occasion writing stories for the Burn Institute in the Sacramento Press. The Sacramento Press has been an awesome way for me to get out the message of the Sacramento Fire Department. Everyone who I have had contact with at the Sacramento Press has always been helpful to me and I really appreciate everything. Your “on line paper” has become a success and I believe your future looks very bright.

Thanks again,

Captain Jim Doucette
Sacramento Fire Department

Fairytale Town Launches Adults Only Costume Ball

2010-07-10T09:10:16Z

Fairytale Town opened its gates on Thursday for a special After Hours event, the Once Upon a Night: Moonlight Costume Ball, just for adults. The event was open to adults 18 years of age and older and featured live music, a DJ, dancing, two themed bars, food and beverage, a henna artist, and more.

Fairytale Town continues to promote the imagination, creativity and education of children as their core mission. However, its After Hours programming will help develop an avenue to reach new audiences, and raise funds to support the park's programs for children and families. "So many Sacramentans remember coming to Fairytale Town as children, and hold fond memories of the park. We want to give those who don't have children the opportunity to return to Fairytale Town and continue having magical experiences, even without the kids," said Kathy Fleming the Executive Director. -Fairytale Town Media Release

Welcome to Fairytale Town.

The event kicked off with a performance by Fairytale Town's favorite belly dancers, UNMATA.

Live music was provided by The Enlows.

A fire performer with UNMATA.

President Obama gets down on the dancefloor.

A taco tries to drum up support in the Fairest of the All costume contest.

A partygoer enjoys one of the slides.

A Good Fairy gets some help with her wings.

One of the many excellent costumes at the Ball.

Tweedledee gets some henna work.

Owl's House, one of many attractions in Fairytale Town.

DJ Matt Brys (not pictured) from Extreme Productions Entertainment kept things moving on the dancefloor.

Evil Fairy, the winner of the female Most Wicked costume contest. All costume contest winners received a gift bag filled with goodies.

The runner-up of the female Most Wicked costume contest.

Poison Ivy?

Victory for The Steampunks in the Best Group costume contest.

Firefighters Hurt in House Explosion

2010-07-08T17:46:42Z

Around 10:00 A.M. Monday July the 5th, four Sacramento Firefighters were injured while on the scene of a natural gas leak on 25th Avenue in Oak Park. Three of the Firefighters are still in the hospital. They all suffered burns when the home exploded.

The cause of this fire and explosion is still under investigation. All of the Firefighters will make a full recovery, but their injuries were severe and they will have to go through months of treatment. We were very lucky that no one lost their life in this explosion.

The Sacramento Fire Department has received many calls from the public expressing their well wishes to these Firefighters.

Get Well cards and letters can be mailed to:

Sacramento Area Fire Fighters
3720 Folsom Blvd. Suite #A
Sacramento CA 95816

Sac State's Undeveloped Hive

2010-06-30T03:28:25Z

Faculty and families living a mile from the university was the vision. Now, that vision may be a dream of the past.

The structure fire at a former California Youth Authority facility, now owned by Sacramento State, occurred just days before the demolition of 21 buildings on the property is slated to begin.

The fire at the 25-acre site the university calls Ramona Village was reported shortly after midnight Tuesday, June 29 in a building that formerly served as the CYA center’s commissary.

Demolition work is tentatively scheduled to begin mid-July and be completed by the end of September. University Enterprises Inc., an auxiliary of Sacramento State, oversees the property and contracts for a security firm for nightly patrols.

Sacramento State and UEI took possession of the 25-acre property in July 2005 following two years of negotiations with CYA and the state’s Department of General Services. University Enterprises paid $2.3 million for the land before transferring it to the University. The goal was to build housing to help recruit top faculty and staff to an area with fast-rising housing costs.

Ramona Village looked to meet this goal. Its initial concept looked to construct 500 mixed-use housing units, a community center, shops and restaurants. The housing units would be a combination of rental apartments, for-sale condominiums or townhouses, and single family homes specifically for Sacramento State faculty and staff. A child care center, a swimming and fitness center, parks and green space were also slated for construction. Public transit was also slated to go to the property.

Ramona Village’s final development plan, building designs, and environmental impact analysis was scheduled for completion in late 2008, with the first houses to be occupied by the end of 2009. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $150 million.

All plans for Ramona Village have remained on hold because of the economy, and the future use of the property has not been determined.

Ramona Village rendering from Sacramento State Facilities Services.

Rebuilding Iceland, rebuilding memories

2010-06-07T03:35:15Z

Stories flowed Sunday as people got down and dirty to help restore the Iceland ice skating rink. People shared memories of old times as they carried debris from the ice floor and helped to remove the wooden flooring around the rink.

Sunday was the fourth day the owners of the rink have asked volunteers to help them clean. Terrie Kerth, granddaughter of the late Bill Kerth, who built the ice rink in 1940, said the response has been unbelievable. When the project began, she said, the debris on the rink was more than a foot tall. Now, it's almost cleared, and the old rink will survive with some leveling. The wooden floors are being torn out and replaced with concrete.

More than 100 volunteers have worked on the project, with about 40 coming Sunday to help finish the job. “When we had our first day, we just had a steady stream of people going with their wheelbarrows,” Kerth said. “It was just phenomenal, and we just kept doing it and it’s amazing the people who come time after time.”

The family plans to reopen Iceland on Nov. 4 for its 70th anniversary. The rink will be open air for a while, but there are plans to install a roof in the coming years. “We’re starting a nonprofit called Sacramento Iceland and we’ll be raising money to put the roof on and rebuild the inside and we hope that by November 2011 to have it back pretty much like it was before,” Kerth said.

Former City Council member Rob Kerth was there when the fire broke out. “I was stuck out back and there was a six-alarm fire,” he said. “I couldn’t get around to the front, flames were shooting 100 feet out of the roof.” Kerth said he thought it was the end of the road for the rink, until he finally made it to the front and saw the bystanders. “It had been burning for about two hours and the sun was just coming up,” he recalled. “There were mothers there in their bathrobes and little kids crying and, this doesn’t happen very often, but there were hockey players hugging each other. People came from nowhere to see the rink and they were very upset.”

“I knew right then that there were enough people who cared about the old gal that we could somehow get it going again. So here we are.”

He also recalled when the U.S. Olympic team and its coaches died in a plane crash in 1973. A benefit show was put on for the families of the team, with former Olympic champion David Jenkins doing triple axles on the small rink. “It was really one of the first nationally televised sports events,” Kerth said.

And there are more stories. The rink is rumored to be haunted by Bill Kerth. Kerth said that his grandfather used to give keys to the place to the early-morning figure skaters. They’d let themselves in and skate for a while before he’d come in and talk to them. In the morning, there would be a fog bank that had built up over the ice, making it hard to see. “Every morning, he would come in the back door and he’d walk along the side of the rink and you could see this swirl in the fog behind him because he’d come in and lean over the rail to talk to the skaters and ask them how they were doing,” Kerth said. Now, every once in a while, early-morning skaters say they see that swirl in the fog and see someone leaning over the railing out of the corner of their eyes.

Bill Kerth and his son were innovators and came up with the idea for the first ice resurfacer a year and a half before Frank Zamboni, who visited the rink and claimed that the family had violated the patent on his machine. “So they got to talking and Zamboni realized that my dad beat him to it,” Kerth said. “Later in life, they became really good friends.”

Bob Hubbard, a competitive skating coach, said he has been skating at Iceland since 1952. “I skated here for many years as a competitor and went on to skate for Ice Capades for six years and started coaching and been doing it ever since,” he said. “I have a lot of memories in this place.” Hubbard said he was at a competition in Santa Rosa when he got the call that the place had been burned. “It’s just taking away from the community, the children, and all the memories and all the stuff with the place because it’s a landmark, it’s been here forever.”

When the new Iceland rink opens in November, there will be a sculpture that includes the blades and skates that were caught in the fire. Gina Rossi, a metal artist working in the area, is excited about her new project. She plans to have the children’s skates bronzed and make metal sculptures of children, each with a bronze skate. In the middle of the sculpture will be a fire bird made out of the blades of old skates. Rossi said the idea of the fire bird is fitting for rink that was burned down and is being rebuilt. “The philosophy of the fire bird is that it eventually just kind of burns up in flames, but with the flames of all that, it leaves a little egg behind,” she said. “And all of a sudden it becomes rebirth.”

Rossi plans to have some of the volunteers who helped to restore Iceland help build her sculpture. “I’m going to have the kids and various people just be a part and I want them to have a little bit of their name on it, so they can always be a part and know that they were involved in the rebuilding of this.”

The artist sees value in the rink's past. “Just being able to walk into something and look around and know that things happened here, as opposed to something that’s brand new,” she said, “It’s got a story. Some children, their parents see them skate here for the first time, and people propose to each other on the ice. Wonderful things happen in life and it just needs to be kept alive.”

Sacramento Fire Department Open House Schedule

2010-05-20T19:27:34Z

The Sacramento Fire Department recently started our “Open House” program. The public is invited to attend any of these events, and meet your Firefighters and see the equipment and tour the stations. The times are 2:00 – 5:00 P.M. The dates and locations are below and you can also visit our website at www.sacfire.org for more information.....

• May 22 Station #13 1100 43rd Avenue
• May 29 Station #15 1591 Newborough Dr
• June 5 Station #11 785 Florin Road
• June 12 Station #57 7927 East Parkway
• June 19 Station #5 731 Broadway
• June 26 Station #10 5642 66th Street
• July 10 Station #6 3301 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• July 17 Station #16 7363 24th Street
• July 24 Station #17 1311 Bell Ave.
• July 31 Station #18 747 N. Market Blvd.
• August 7 Station #60 3301 Julliard Dr
• August 14 Station #20 2512 Rio Linda Blvd.
• August 21 Station #4 3145 Granada Way
• August 28 Station #19 1700 Challenge Way
• September 18 Station #8 5990 H Street
• September 25 Station #56 3720 47th Avenue

Most Stressful Jobs "#1 Firefighter"

2010-04-27T21:08:10Z

Recently careercast.com, a job search web site, did a study and listed what they found to be the most stressful jobs of 2010. Firefighter came out as the most stressful job in their study. Although some of you may or may not agree with this report, I thought that I would give you a little insiders view on some of the things that I believe make our profession stressful.

Some may think the obvious; “Firefighting” is what makes our job the stressful one it is. While it is true, the actual act of fighting a fire can be and is many times very stressful. It is obviously very dangerous, and it is very difficult, if not impossible to control everything that goes on around you. The fire ground is where many of us are seriously injured and unfortunately sometimes killed.

As Firefighters, we constantly train and prepare for the different types of emergencies we will encounter during our tour of duty. We try to be physically fit, mentally fit, and as prepared as possible for what ever may come our way. But here are some of the things that I and many others believe are the real stress creators of being a Firefighter.

It is the wear and tear of getting up in the middle of the night to answer an alarm. It is the dealing with and comforting of those who have lost family members to some kind of tragedy, especially when it involves children. It is, not knowing what kind of possible disease or sickness we may be bringing home to our families. It is not being there for our families for birthdays, holidays, etc... It is the constant worry of making the right decision, during a very hectic situation.

Imagine being sound asleep, and immediately waking up to a bell, getting your gear on and in a matter of a few minutes, fighting a large fire! Do you know what it is like to search for victims in a burning home? How about dodging cars on the freeway while working at the scene of a bad accident? It’s not fun to tell a spouse of someone whom they may have been married to for many years that their loved one just died. Or, worse yet, letting a parent know that their child has died. Or how about sitting in the back of an ambulance with a person who is throwing up all over the place or maybe coughing all over you and you know that they have Tuberculosis, or some other contagious disease.

These situations and many more are what I consider to be the true stress creators of our job. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and have loved it for the thirty plus years I have been in the Fire Service. There is no doubt in my mind that there are many other stressful jobs and probably some that may even be more stressful than that of a Firefighter. But I feel it is safe to say that Firefighters do have a very stressful job, and it is a job that I am proud to say I have made my career!

Here is the link to the study:

http://www.careercast.com/jobs/content/ten-most-stressful-jobs-2010-jobs-rated-0

Please Put Your Kids in a Lifejacket!

2010-04-26T16:29:59Z

This past Sunday morning I went down to Tiscornia Beach at Discovery Park to do an interview with Univision about Water Safety. There was a recent drowning on the American River near Auburn and the local media was interested in doing a story and hopefully preventing future drownings.

Typically this time of the year I will try and do some outreach to the public regarding the dangers of our waterways and what we can all do to prevent this unnecessary loss of life. While being interviewed by the Univision crew I noticed three very young girls, playing in the water. None of them had life jackets on. The new County and City Ordinance require that all children under the age of 12 to wear a life jacket, if they are in our waterways. (It’s a good idea for kids to wear them in swimming pools too!)

I know this is controversial and a lot of you think there is too much government in our lives. I agree with this point on many levels. But I think this ordinance was written to educate people about just how dangerous these local rivers and lakes really are! The ordinance was not meant to raise more money for the City or the County. In fact I doubt that there has ever been any citations written since the ordinance was enacted.

But with that said, I can honestly say that I use this ordinance to educate people. This Sunday morning I was able to educate these girls father! Unfortunately for him, they filmed me talking to him, explaining to him just how bad these waters really are, how cold the water is right now, and that how I have been part of body recoveries of young girls his daughters age, at this exact same place, more than I care to remember. He wasn’t happy that he was being filmed and he got mad at the news crew.

It is not my intent to ever humiliate anyone. But the sad fact is his girls were out in the water, water that is very cold that you cannot survive in for very long, and they were near the dangerous drop off where this beach is notorious for drownings. The good news is that his girls did put on life jackets and all of the other kids I saw that morning wore them too.

I obviously never want to see anybody drown. But if you are an adult and you make a stupid decision, it is a little easier for me to live with that. It is the kids that I really am concerned about! In almost every drowning incident, involving a child, there always seems to be lack of an adult supervising them. It only takes a minute for a child to drown. Besides wearing life jackets, there is nothing more important than having a responsible adult supervise children that are swimming. And this is just as important in swimming pools and spas.

History tells me that we will continue to see more drownings. And the sad fact is that some of these will be innocent kids, who should not have drowned. Please do not let your children or anybodies kids out in our waterways without wearing a life jacket. Many of our local swimming areas have loaner life jackets available and so do many of our fire stations. You can also purchase them at most sporting goods stores. The new styles of life jackets are easier to wear and even more fashionable!

I have never responded to a drowning where the victim was wearing a life jacket. I am not saying it never happens because it can! However the odds are greatly in your favor that you won't drown if you wear one! Be safe!

Randy Brink "Fire Chief For the Day!"

2010-04-21T14:32:54Z

This morning the Sacramento Fire Department welcomed the “Fire Chief for a Day”, Randy Brink. Randy, who is known to us as the “Honorary Fire Marshal of Old Sacramento” turned 50 last week. A huge birthday party was thrown for Randy at Cal Expo. About 300 people showed up to wish randy a “Happy Birthday”. Randy received many gifts at the party and one of those gifts was to be “Fire Chief for a Day” of the Sacramento Fire Department.

This morning his first duty as Fire Chief was to do an interview with Mark S. Allen of Good Day Sacramento. Mark S. Allen interviewed Randy sitting behind the Fire Chief’s desk. He answered many questions and gave input into what he would do for the Sacramento Fire Department! He proudly wore his new uniform.

Randy can be seen at almost every major event in Sacramento. He has many volunteer jobs, including Volunteer Health and Safety Officer at Cal Expo, Honorary Fire Marshal of Old Sacramento, Chief Sound Engineer and Production Stage Manger for the Sacramento Kings, Facilities Manager for Lucy Co., Division Chief for Medic Ambulance Company, and a Bounty Hunter for Leonard Padilla, and much more!

Randy has his own website. You can read all about Randy at www.lucyco.com/randy and you will be able to see this morning’s interview with Mark S. Allen at www.gooddaysacramento.com

A New Life for ICELAND

2010-04-14T20:40:33Z

If the goal of the alleged arsonist(s) was to destroy the historic ICELAND ice-skating rink, it appears that it failed because the fire did not destroy the necessary mechanical ice-making device.

As many know by know, the Kerth family property owners plan to have skaters on the ice again by late November 2010. While the building itself will probably not be rebuilt by then, plans are to provide in the meantime an open-air venue to skaters.

Instead of an exterior protecting skaters from the elements, the new temporary facility will replicate an outdoor rink in snow country. All that will be needed to authenticate the scene is an overhead wind- blowing machine scattering a few white flakes intermittently onto skaters and spectators. The white flakes, of course, being left over from a Hollywood movie set depicting a winter scene here in the non-snowing city of Sacramento!

So much for fantasy. A far more serious reality is that the original 1940’s building with its magnificent ICELAND sign did not have fire insurance and the cost to rebuild to its original design will be extremely challenging if not impossible in these economic times.

Immediately subsequent to the fire there was much criticism, if not condemnation, heaped on Rob Kerth, a family member but non co-owner, for failing to carry fire insurance. One of the unkindest and silliest, in my opinion, alluded to the fact he had been a city councilman and “what could you expect” from a government official like that. While disbelief of lack of fire insurance was my first reaction, it did not sound like the man whom I’ve known for many years. I was sure that there was more to the story, and there is.

In subsequent conversations with him, I found out that the family did not carry fire insurance for the lack of wanting or trying to. In fact, it was a dilemma in which many owners of mortgage-free historic commercial property find themselves. The hidden “culprits,” if the blame game is to be carried to its conclusion, are the insurance companies and their prohibitive policy rates and exclusions when there is no existing sprinkler system.

Hearing the facts reminded me of the current controversial situation in which many people find themselves with their health insurance and why such individuals are forced to make the decision to take the risk of going without when insurance companies determine that there is a preexisting risk condition. That is the ultimate decision this family made.

Apparently, there are sources out there for insurance assistance for historic houses, but historic commercial property owners are not so fortunate.

Rob informed me that, “There was no way to get insurance on an old building like that which didn't have fire sprinklers. We asked brokers several times and were always turned down--at any price, including The California Fair insurance plan which is a last resort for both home and commercial property.”

He is asking the City to let him keep the four walls and the marquee, and he vowed he would “fix the neon myself if I have to.” He told me that all he could see now was to get the money to do it right by re-opening the rink—open air without replacing the roof or windows.

He also said that, “The brass ring here--the one we have to grab--is rebuilding ICELAND as she was and also building a second sheet of ice along Del Paso. The facility needs two complete rinks, and now is the time. Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency already owns the land next to the original rink. Too much of Sacramento’s uniqueness has just slipped away little by little and this must not follow.”

Apparently, the Mayor, City Council members Steve Cohn and Ray Tretheway, County Supervisor, Roger Dickinson and Senator Darrell Steinberg all called Rob to relate their regrets and offer whatever help they could, but the council member for the district in which ICELAND is located was noticeably silent about the loss of this treasure.

While I’ve never skated in ICELAND, it has long been a defining structure for North Sacramento. All around the country most of the prewar WWII ice and roller rinks as well as the majestic ballrooms (Tromar, Cemar, Aragon. Latin Quarter, Hollywood Palladium) and many Fox and Paramount movie palaces met the fate of fires or wrecking balls.

Therefore, I was very relieved to hear from Rob, that the family’s preference is to bring the rink back to its original architecture. BUT even that depends on getting lots of volunteer help and several indulgences from the City on not-very-important things, BUT things that are in the rulebooks.

It would be a spectacular accomplishment if the rebuilding could occur using an old fashioned “barn raising” concept. This cooperative effort originated in pioneer days before insurance when farmers’ barns, so important to their success, burned or were destroyed by tornados. At such times the entire community rallied around rebuilding the barn, with residents and businesses lending skills and materials and the wives bringing home baked “dinners” (noon meals as they were called in those days). The entire project often took anywhere from one to two weekends.

Former city manager Bill Edgar successfully employed a modified version of this concept to rally businesses and residents to work with the city to solve a city budget crisis during the 1990’s.

ICELAND’s obvious leaders would be the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, Del Paso Boulevard Business Association and Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. They could form a task force to solicit contributions, materials, volunteers consisting of business and residential neighbors, contractor skills/services, preservationists, skaters and former skaters and provide lunches for daylong workers.

Rob reports that so far “200 volunteers moved 500 cubic yards of debris this last weekend with strictly human power—arms, shovels and wheelbarrows.” His “mother baked beans for everyone” and his “brother-in-law organized the bbq. It had the feeling of an old-fashioned American tradition.”

Upon completion, owners could designate a wall to inscribe the names of all involved and/or issue a complimentary month’s skating pass.

This is the challenge I propose to the community to rebuild this historical treasure.

Sacramento Fire's Walk n Rock Team

2010-04-01T19:51:31Z

Members of the Sacramento Fire Department as well as community members are invited to join the Sacramento Fire Department’s “Walk n Rock for Kids” team. This event is scheduled for Sunday May 30th. Our Team is raising money for the City of Sacramento’s “Access Leisure” program. Below is information about Access Leisure and the link to our team page....

Access Leisure Youth Programs, through their River Cats Independence Field Leagues and Paralympics Sport Sacramento Club programs provide sports for youth with disabilities. They also offer outdoor education and residential camping, social and fitness programs. All are designed to "Optimize the experience of living" for youth with special needs. Access Leisure programs foster independence, promote healthy lifestyles through physical activity, and create positive social environments for children with disabilities to build peer groups and develop lifelong friendships.

http://www.walknrock.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=335979&team=3627605

5 Alarm Fire Destroys North Sacramento Landmark

2010-03-30T17:11:18Z

A 5 Alarm Fire destroyed a Sacramento Landmark early Sunday morning. At 3:30 A.M. in the morning, the Sacramento Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire endangering a building on Del Paso Blvd. Sacramento Firefighters arrived in about 3 ½ minutes and found heavy fire to the rear of the Iceland Ice Rink at 1430 Del Paso Blvd.

Firefighters initially went inside the building and attempted an Offensive Attack, but quickly backed out when they determined the large volume of fire already burning overhead and the truss roof overhead which is a danger for collapse. The fire attack went to a Defensive one.

The two adjacent buildings were spared due to the quick thinking and hard work of Firefighters who were able to deploy fire hoses between the buildings. Four Aerial Ladders were put up and water was sprayed onto the building from above.

Sacramento Fire Investigators are and have been on scene. The ATF has been requested to assist with the investigation due to the size and dollar loss of the fire. The investigation may take a few days to complete.

There has been much speculation as to the cause of the fire, but right now it’s all just speculation. Our Fire Investigators have a big job ahead of them, and hopefully they will be able to pinpoint a cause.

The Iceland Ice Rink was built in 1940 and was still in business. Spending the last two days at the fire scene, I was amazed to see so many people stopping by to see the remains of this Sacramento Landmark.

Having grown up in Sacramento and working here my entire life, I was familiar with the building, driving by it my entire life. I am sorry to say I have never been in the building or ever even have ice skated! But I do know a lot of people that have consider this Ice Rink a huge part of their life. It is sad to see it burned to the ground.

I apologize for not publishing any pictures of this fire. However there are many photos on line if you have the time to search for them!

Historic North Sacramento skating rink burns down

2010-03-28T22:22:01Z

You could smell the smoke as you approached the 70-year old structure on Del Paso Boulevard on Sunday morning. Dozens of firefighters looked to put out the five-alarm fire, but it was too late.

ICELAND, the historic North Sacramento ice skating rink located on Del Paso Boulevard, burned down this morning leaving only its four main structural walls and iconic marquee standing.

"This is probably the biggest icon that remained in terms of an entertainment venue in North Sac," said Robert (Bob) Slobe. "It's a shame."

According to early reports, ICELAND was open Saturday night until 12am for a private party. The fire started at 3:30am around a car parked behind the ICELAND facility. Fire crews worked to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjoing structues.

ICELAND was built by the Kerth family in the late 1930s in conjunction with their other business, American Ice Company. The rink played host to iceskating, ice hockey, and ice shows. Former President and California Governor Ronald Regan skated at the facility, as did former boxer Max Baer.

The facility just installed a $68,000 roof last year.

Slobe hopes ICELAND is not torn down like the Del Paso Theater, which burned down 20 years ago in August of 1990.

"There were efforts to rebuild the Del Paso Theater," said Slobe. "The problem there was the market is not there for single screen theaters anymore."

Slobe hopes the facility can be rebuilt.

"I don't know anybody from this part of town, probably any part of town that's my age, who hadn't been there, skated there, learned to skate there, and had their kids skate there," said Slobe.

Explosion Destroys Oak Park Home

2010-02-08T19:25:45Z

An explosion ripped through a vacant Oak Park home early Sunday morning, completely destroying the house. Fortunately there were no injuries and no lives lost. The fire, with explosion was reported shortly after 2:00 A.M. Sacramento Firefighters were on scene in about three minutes.

The fire was contained to a small portion of the house and surrounding trees, but the house was destroyed. Firefighters were able to search the home and they did not find any victims inside. Crews from Pacific Gas and Electric were on scene and they were unable to find any signs of a natural gas leak. The cause of the fire and explosion is currently under investigation by Sacramento Fire Department Investigators.

In the past couple of weeks we have experienced a few vacant home fires. There has been speculation that they have all been connected, possibly started by the same person(s). Although this is certainly possible, so far, our Fire Investigators have not determined that a serial arsonist is responsible.

It is common for the Sacramento Fire Department and surrounding fire agencies to have fires in vacant homes. With the current foreclosure issue, we are bound to have more. Some homeowners believe that burning their home will get them out of their mortgage. The truth is it will not get them out of their mortgage, but it will get them in jail! When a home burns, the homeowners insurance company also have an interest in what caused the fire, and believe me, if it is determined the homeowners has intentionally set the fire, the insurance company will not pay.

Also vacant homes tend to attract the wrong kind of people. Illegal drug users, transients, kids playing, and vandals all contribute to this growing problem. These groups of people will participate in various activities which are conducive to starting fires.

The Sacramento Fire Department once again wants to remind everyone to keep an eye out in your neighborhood for any suspicious activity especially in and around abandoned homes. You are encouraged to contact local law enforcement if you witness anything unusual around these properties.

South Oak Park home explodes

2010-02-07T13:19:47Z

An unoccupied South Oak Park home explodes Sunday morning and the cause is under investigation.

An unoccupied home in the South Oak Park area exploded early Sunday morning. Debris from the home blew all the way out to the street. The home was a total loss and while the cause is under investigation, natural gas has not been ruled out. Per Sac City Fire, the home was a total loss and no one was injured.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SCENE VIDEO

Visit us at Maverick Photography and SacMav for the action news the News misses

Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident

2010-02-04T21:38:08Z

A Sacramento County garbage truck and a work van were involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident this morning along the 8500 block of Folsom Blvd. The accident seriously injured the driver of the garbage truck and killed the driver of the work van.

According to the Sacramento Police, preliminary witness reports indicate that the garbage truck was traveling west bound on Folsom Blvd. The van, traveling east bound on Folsom Blvd. traveled into the path of the garbage truck, hitting the garbage truck head on. The garbage truck then hit the overhang of a Pre-School coming to rest near the playground of the school. Fortunately the children were inside the school and were not harmed.

The van’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the garbage truck was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. Sacramento Firefighters had to extricate both victims. It took Firefighters over 20 minutes to extricate the driver of the garbage truck.

Hydraulic oil and diesel from the garbage truck was leaking into the gutter and a Level 2 Haz Mat was requested. Firefighters from Sacramento Metro Fire also responded and the investigation into the exact cause of the accident is being conducted by the Sacramento Police Department.

Haz Mat Incident at UC Davis Medical Center

2010-02-01T20:59:23Z

A Level 2 Haz Mat incident occurred this morning at UC Davis Medical Center’s “Glassrock Building” on Stockton Blvd. Sacramento Firefighters responded to the reported chemical spill with possibly two persons complaining of inhalation symptoms at 9:47 A.M. Firefighters arrived on scene in about three and a half minutes.

A small amount of 10 percent formalin, which is a mixture of 90 percent water, formaldehyde and methyl alcohol, was spilled in one of the rooms on the fourth floor. Firefighters evacuated the building and called for additional resources. The two persons were transported to a local hospital with minor symptoms. A very small amount of the solution was spilled and Firefighters were able to isolate the room.

Personnel with UC Davis were on scene and were going to clean up the spill. The employees and patients of the clinic were allowed back in after a short time.

Sacramento Urban Search & Rescue Team Deployed to Haiti

2010-01-14T18:24:19Z

The Regions Urban Search and Rescue Team, California Task Force 7, was activated late last night and they are now on their way to help out with the rescue efforts in Haiti. Firefighters from Fire Agencies in the Sacramento region and some civilians make up the 72 person team. These individuals are highly trained in search and rescue, specifically in building collapses. The team has rescue dogs, Doctors, Nurses, Rescue Specialists and many other highly trained individuals. This team, like every other USAR Team across the nation are able to be fully self sufficient for a minimum of 3 days.

They left their storage facility at McClellan Air Park very early this morning and headed off to Travis AFB to await their flight to Haiti. It is not known at this time how long their deployment will be. They train for these missions constantly and always look forward to being called so that they can serve what ever community needs their help.

This activation was a little bit different than most. Most USAR activations are initiated by FEMA, but this is an International disaster and the orders come from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. There are many USAR Teams across the Nation, but only two teams are designated as International Teams, They are Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles County. All other teams can be deployed to respond to international incidents, but the orders have to come from O.F.D.A. Sacramento’s team received these orders along with 5 other USAR Teams.

California Task Force 7 was one of the first on the ground at the World Trade Center on September the 11th, and at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. They have also responded to numerous Hurricane incidents and other natural disasters.

We at the Sacramento Fire Department are proud of our Firefighters that are on their way to Haiti and we wish them well and hope they are able to save lives and make a difference.

Sacramento Fire Captain Burned at House Fire

2010-01-06T22:18:58Z

A garage fire in a Fruitridge neighborhood home burned a Sacramento Firefighter this morning. The fire was reported at 4416 Mello Court at 10:54 A.M. Sacramento Firefighters arrived within 5 minutes and found a garage from the one story home heavily involved in fire.

While preparing to attack the fire, Captain Rick Hudson of Truck 6 suffered serious burns to his hand. He also had minor burns to his facial area. He was transported to the local Burn Unit and is reported to be in good condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The home had major damage to it. The occupants, a family of four, were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross for housing needs.

4 Alarm Downtown Apartment Fire

2009-12-28T21:13:46Z

A 4 Alarm Fire ripped through an apartment building in Downtown Sacramento early Sunday morning. The fire was reported at 2:20 A.M. at 10th and E Streets. Sacramento Firefighters arrived within a few minutes and found heavy fire from the two story apartment building. As they prepared to attack the fire, the entire second floor of the building collapsed.

A total of 4 Alarms were requested and because of the extent of the fire involvement, Firefighters went to a Defensive Mode and protected exposures. A second building had significant fire damage.

There were no reported injuries and the fire is currently under investigation. A young girl had awaken to the smell of smoke and she was able to alert her family and an elderly neighbor. They all escaped the fire safely. The American Red Cross was called in to help find shelter for one elderly man.

The attached photos were taken by Sacramento Firefighter Jason Meyer.....

Lucky the Fire Dog Not stolen at All!

2009-11-23T17:58:43Z

Let me start off by apologizing. Our supposedly stolen dog was not stolen at all! Lucky the Ceramic Dalmatian was taken by the Firefighters of the A Shift over the weekend to a car race that the crew was in. The word never got passed on to the B or the C Shift Firefighters, and as you can guess, some of us (me included!) overreacted!

So thanks for the calls and the comments, but Lucky is fine! In case any of you want to know about the race, the crew from Station 2 on the A Shift were involved in their first ever car race at the 24 Hours of Lemons car race in Willows California. Lucky is their teams mascot, and he attended the race with the crew.

For more about this race please visit www.24hoursoflemons.com Thanks again and sorry about the mistake!

Sacramento Fire Stations #2 Ceramic Dalmatian Dog Stolen!

2009-11-23T05:08:33Z

The Sacramento Fire Department is requesting the public’s assistance in helping us find the Ceramic Dalmatian Dog that was stolen in front of Sacramento Fire Station #2. The dog has been missing for about three days. It is not possible that the dog left on its own! It had to have been stolen.

Anyone that knows the whereabouts of our Beloved Mascot are asked to bring the dog back to Fire Station #2. There will be no questions asked, and you will not be in trouble! The dog was a welcome site to the people who worked in the Downtown area and has been photographed by people from all over the world!

Sacramento Fire Department Helps Rescue Goose!

2009-11-20T19:08:06Z

Well, last night was another not so typical night for Sacramento Firefighters! It was typical in the fact that we were very busy with a few structure fires that we had to fight and the numerous medical aid calls that we respond to daily. The not so typical aspect was the call we received from Sacramento City Animal Control requesting our assistance to help them rescue a Goose that had become trapped on an island in one of the Duck Ponds at William Land Park.

Firefighters from Engine 12 responded and were met by one of the Animal Control Officers. Across the pond, there he (or she) was! A large white Goose was stuck on the island, with one its foot entangled in some type of wire. The crew from Engine 12 requested the Sacramento Fire Reserves respond with one of their inflatable boats.

The Fire Reserves brought out one of their boats and were able to successfully paddle over to the island and free the bird! The bird did have a minor laceration to the foot and the Animal Control Officer took the bird to a Wild Life Rescue Agency in West Sacramento where they would care for it. Not a typical emergency for us, but one none the less that we enjoy responding to!

Firefighters Toy Brigade

2009-11-13T21:15:27Z

This years "Firefighters Toy Brigade" is under way. Members of the public are encouraged to donate new, unwrapped toys to any Sacramento City, Sacramento Metro, West Sacramento or Roseville Fire Station or to locations at the Sacramento County Courts. These toys will be given to the children who are patients of the Shriners Hospital for Children here in Sacramento.

This is the second year that local Firefighters have taken up this cause. Thousands of children are seen at Shriners every year, and for obvious reasons; toys are a big part of their rehabilitation. Local Firefighters have a natural relationship with these children, especially those who are being treated for burn injuries.

Last year Firefighters from our region visited the hospital and delivered the toys to many of the Shriners Kids. It was a great day, and we are all looking forward to doing it again this year!

There is much more information available at the following website; www.firereserves.org

Dogs Gone Wild

2009-11-10T07:41:02Z

Pit bulls go on the attack terrorizing a Carmichael community in the area of Libby Court. Several neighbors bitten. Whitney Elementry School locked down. Dogs so aggressive the order is given "take the shot if you get it" to on scene officers.

Carmichael, Sacamento, CA
Ed Fogle, MaverickPhotography.us
SacMav Rapid Media
November 9, 2009

Friday, November 6, 2009, multiple agencies were dispatched to a neighborhood in Carmichael. At least two pit bulls were on the loose attacking people. More and more reports poured into 9-1-1 as Police, Sheriff, CHP, Fire and Animal Control all converged on the area.

As victims were located and treated by EMS, law enforcement with shotguns in hand and Animal Control officers went on the hunt. The dogs took them on a chase that led to a densely vegetated creek area that ran along the backs of the homes. The thick foliage gave the dogs good cover and made it difficult for officers to track. Lack of fencing gave the dogs freedom to roam and evade their trackers.

A law enforcement supervisor came over the radio and announced to officers that "Animal Control absolutely needs these dogs". The order was given that if an officer gets a shot, "take it", and to avoid a head shot so the animal can be tested for rabbis. The dogs were "extremely aggressive and agitated" per police radio traffic.

Shortly after that, two shots rang out from the creek area and one dog was down. The other dog was still on the loose. Officers continued to search the creek area while Metro Fire stood by to treat any more victims. Authorities had the foresight to lockdown Whitney Elementary School, and that is exactly where the pit bull headed next. As the dog ran across the playground where children moments earlier played, patrol units raced across to corner the dog. At one point the dog jumped up and tried to attack a CHP Officer through his open window. The officer put his cruiser into reverse to get away from the dog and get him off the door.

Finally, the dog was cornered and shot. With all clear and the situation safe and under control, neighbors began to emerge from their houses where they had taken refuge and shared their stories of how they saw the dogs terrorize their neighborhood. Two of the victims stopped to tell us their stories. One man was gardening in his front yard when he found himself under attack by the dogs. "The smaller dog ran right at me and bit me on the ankle" he said. He grabbed a shovel and hit the dog then they fled. Another elderly victim was standing in front of the care home where he is a resident. He said the dogs saw him across the street and came right at him. There was nothing he could do and no one to help, he stated; with his sock filling with blood as he stood there with us waiting to be treated.

Coincidently, while this was happening, a Placer County Superior Court Judge was ordering four pit bulls be destroyed who mauled a 17 year old boy in the parking lot of Big O Tires on Lincoln Way on September 16th. CLICK HERE TO READ THAT ARTICLE

Just in the past few days, other cities have outlawed pit bulls and just today, another pit bull attack was reported in the greater Sacramento area.

Should pit bulls be outlawed? Are pit bulls just a bad bread or is it bad and irresponsible owners? This same story seems to surface time and again. Be it a bad bread, bad owners or just a strange phenomenon, it is clear that there is a major issue around pit bulls. What is the problem and what is the solution?

See our action video from this incident at SacMav Rapid Media. Go to "On Demand" in our channel viewer, select "Weekend Action News Capsule, November 6-8, 2009" and click on the "Dogs Gone Wild" video.

Join SacMav Rapid Media from your office as we take you live on scene via web. Follow us on Twitter@SacMav to be alerted when we broadcast live on scene.

Photo Quality Disclaimer: The quality of the photos found here are not to our high Maverick standard. On this incident we concentrated on bringing the action to the web live via video. The photos found here are screen clips from the low res digital video.

Arson Vigil in Oak Park

2009-10-02T21:07:49Z

Dear Friends-

As you may know, a arson fire was set at my home in the early morning on September 21st. My family and I are safe, and all necessary repairs and clean up, and replacements are being handled by our insurance company. We have had a great response from our neighbors and community leaders, who have organized a vigil tonight in front of our home to signify community strength and unity. If you are in the Northern CA area, we hope you can join us.

Vigil Information - 2614 36th Street, Sacramento CA (between 1st and 2nd Avenue). 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

http://www.inmycommunity.com/imc_joomla/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=1243&Itemid=0&year=2009&month=10&day=02&uid=b95d207209c10d465088f7c3f1d33d9a

http://www.SacFire.org/indexSub.cfm?page=1003

We are working closely working with the fire and police departments to find the individual(s) that committed the crime. I have attached the copies of the press release sent out by the Oak Park Neighborhood Association and by my organization, Ubuntu Green.

Also, there was a fire bombing that occurred early this morning in another section of Oak Park. The home was vacant, and no one was hurt. A link to this incident is below.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/crime/archives/2009/10/arsonist-sought.html

Thank you in advance for all your kind works and support! We are all doing fine and plan to continue to be strong members of our community through our individual work and through our non-profit Ubuntu Green.

Charles

Action news capsule: for the night of Wednesday, September 16, 2009

2009-09-17T20:48:11Z

#1. WEST SAC- West Sacramento police and Davis SWAT served warrants on several locations in West Sacramento related to recent
gang activity occurring in the city including the fatal shooting at the Ortega's Night Club. Two people were arrested and a medium sized
marijuana grow was located during the operation.

#2. SOUTH SAC- A shooting occurred in an apartment on 44th Ave near 39th St in south Sacramento. The victim was shot once in the
leg and transported to Kaiser South Trauma Center. Further details were unavailable at the time.

#3. SAC COUNTY- A shooting occurred at an apartment complex on Tuolumne Dr near La Riviera Dr in Sacramento County. One victim was shot in the arm while standing outside the apartment and another victim holding a small child was shot in the arm when a stray bullet
came through the wall of the building. The first victim was self transported to UCDMC before officials arrived and the second victim
holding the child was transported by ambulance to UCDMC, the child was not injured.

#4. RIO LINDA: A shooting occurred in the area of Rio Linda Blvd and Rivera Dr in the Del Paso Heights area. The victim was shot
five times in the upper body and transported to UCDMC. (No Photos)

#5. SOUTH SAC- A hit and run crash involved a vehicle and a sheered off fire hydrant that caused a geyser of water to shoot high
into the air on 65th St and 53rd Ave in south Sacramento. The driver of the vehicle ran on foot from the scene and was found at his home by
CHP and arrested.

#6. FAB 40's- A large play structure was burned in the backyard of a home on 44th St in Sacramento. The structure was a total loss and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

MEDIA SOURCES: Full photos, video and write-ups available by emailing media@maverickphotography.us or calling 916.340.1926
Photography by MaverickPhotography.us, Available Video by Andrus Media
Incident briefs by Calvin Andrus

Sacramento Firefighters Rescue Kitten

2009-09-17T18:10:44Z

Firefighters from Sacramento Fire Station #30 in North Natomas made an unusual rescue yesterday. A man called and said that he had just driven away from his home, when about three blocks later he heard “a meowing” noise coming from inside the engine area of his car. He immediately pulled over and lifted his hood. He heard what sounded like a cat somewhere inside the engine compartment.

Engine #30 responded and to everyone’s surprise, they found this little kitten tucked up under the car’s radiator. Fortunately he was safely removed and uninjured! The Firefighters from Engine #30 took the kitten back to their fire house where they bathed him and gave him some food and water.

Our Fire Dispatchers have affectionately named the young kitten, “Dip Stick!” Dip Stick is now awaiting adoption at the City of Sacramento’s Animal Shelter. You can adopt Dip Stick or other deserving animals by contacting the Animal Shelter at (916) 808-7387 between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Tuesday through Friday and 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. on Saturdays...

Arden apartment fire claims a life

2009-09-16T14:08:33Z

Sacramento, CA- At 11:27 pm, Tuesday night, Metro Fire received multiple calls for an apartment fire at 2420 Arden Way, #52.

After speaking with Christian Peebles (Metro Fire PIO) this morning , we learned that when fire units arrived, they found the bottom floor of the unit fully involved. The fire was contained to that unit, however 3 other units were smoke damaged, per Peebles.

Metro Fire arrived in 5 min and quickly knocked the fire down in 10 minutes with 18 firefighters, saving the rest of the apartment complex.

Per Peebles, there was one fatality. The badly burned body was found on the initial search of the unit and was burned burned bad enough that they were not able to identify the body on scene. The fire was of suspicious origin, per on scene firefighters and an arson investigator was summonsed to the scene.

"Metro Fire would like to remind our citizens that several working smoke alarms are still the best defense against surviving a working fire."

Remembering 9/11

2009-09-10T22:13:42Z

Every year when September 11 comes around, we in the Fire Service pay our respects to those killed that horrible day in many ways. This year, Engineer Matt Cole with the Sacramento Metro Fire District organized an event that we hope to continue for many years.

Tomorrow morning, September the 11th at 8:00 A.M., 343 Firefighters from throughout the Sacramento Region will participate in a “9/11 Memorial Climb” at the Renaissance Tower at 8th & K Streets in Downtown Sacramento.

This event is to pay tribute to the 343 New York City Firefighters who were killed on September 11, 2001. Firefighters will climb the inside stairs, to the top of the building four times, for a total of 110 flights. The 110 flights represent how tall the World Trade Center Towers were.

Each Firefighter has paid a registration fee and all proceeds from this event will go to the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, Widows and Orphans Fund. This event is not open to the public, however anyone can contribute to the charity by visiting this site; www.ufanyc.org/funds/widows_and_children.php

This event is sponsored by the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and could not be possible without the help of the Renaissance Tower, USAA Real Estate Company, and SITQ.

No matter what you do tomorrow, please keep in your heart the memory of the Firefighters and all of the victims that were killed that tragic day. It has been 8 years since these terrorists committed this horrible crime, but we must never forget.

Below is a portion of an email that Sacramento Fire Department, Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja, sent out today to our Fire Department. He was one of many from Sacramento that responded to the World Trade Center on that day;

“As an agency, eight years ago this week the Sacramento Fire Department responded to WTC. The events were incomprehensible and many that responded took home indelible life altering images and memories. To a person, those that responded will state that it was an honor to have been able to represent our agency and City at this tragic incident. As we come to another anniversary of 9/11 we will all be swamped with media accounts and public comment by those that have the luxury of only remembering the events of that day once a year. I commend those of you that have chosen/volunteered in formal ways to memorialize those that gave their lives in efforts to save others. Events such as the 110 flight stair climb are great ways to raise the public consciousness in remembrance of the 343 from WTC. But if we want to truly honor their memory, we need to honor it daily. We're all personally responsible for our own Knowledge Skills and Abilities relative to our job. The Department has a responsibility to provide us with a level of training, a foundation if you will. But we as individuals, officers, etc. have much more control over our level of performance. Average is not good enough, mediocrity kills. We've all been apart of, or a witness to, an on the job "Close call". Did we survive these "Close calls" because of good training/preparation, or did we create the "Close call" because of a lack of training/preparation?

Our profession has come a long way over the years. Some changes have been for the good, some not so good. Technology has made available training aids and information never before seen. My opinion is that "Lap top" Computers in recliners don't train us for the next time our abilities will be tested by a high risk, low frequency situation. We'd better be ready! Captains, are your personnel going home everyday because you've prepared and trained them, or because of the "luck of the draw" they just weren't tested that tour?

So, as 9/11 approaches hug your kids a little tighter, appreciate life a little more. But honor those that "gave" their lives by preparing for the event that we pray never happens. I don't want to deal with another 9/11. I do want to sleep at night knowing those I work for, with and supervise, are better trained because we've done everything in our power to prepare them for even the unimaginable!”

What's a Rainbow Strike Team?

2009-08-28T19:13:35Z

Early this morning about 22 Firefighters from the Sacramento, Folsom, and Cosumnes Fire Departments responded to the Big Meadow Fire in Yosemite. They were sent out as Rainbow Strike Team #4158C.

So what is a “Rainbow Strike Team?” Heck, what is a Strike Team? I know many people do not understand much about what we do and much less about what it takes to battle a large fire, like the one in Yosemite, or what it takes to respond to a large disaster, such as a hurricane, earthquake, terrorist act, or flooding.

A Strike Team is typically a five piece team of Fire Engines or other types of fire apparatus. They respond and work together as a team. A Rainbow Strike Team is made up of different fire agencies. A regular Strike Team comes from one Fire Agency.

The Strike Team will respond and report to the incident. There they will be given an assignment, which could be anything from protecting structures to mopping up hot spots. They are usually assigned to a shift of 24 hours on, and 24 hours off. While they are working their 24 hour shift they will try their best to take an occasional nap, but sleep usually happens on their day off. And their 24 hours off, is most often not 24 hours! There is the drive time from their assignment to camp, there may be meetings and de-briefings to attend, equipment and supplies to replenish. It is a very hard and tiring job! In the Sacramento Fire Department, it is our policy to rotate fresh crews in after two weeks.

Another aspect of these large incidents is the “Overhead and Incident Management Teams”. These are the Firefighters and support staff that work behind the scene managing the incident. Logistics, Medical, Information, Liaison, Finance, Geographic’s (maps), Communications, Operations, Command, these are some of the positions that make up the Overhead and Incident Management Teams! In the Sacramento Fire Department we not only send Strike Team members but many Overhead people. We have Firefighters that are members of Incident Management Teams for the U.S. Forest Service as well as Cal Fire.

The incidents that I have responded to, as part of an Overhead Team have opened my eyes to how hard of a job it is to manage one of these large incidents. Literally, the Incident Management Team will move in and set up a small city! You can imagine how hard it would be to manage thousands of Firefighters and support staff! These Incident Management Teams do this, and they do it well! Sure there is always something that doesn’t go as planned, but they fix it and get on with the business of managing the incident. I always joke with my Cal Fire friends that they should be “wedding planners” on their days off. They are so organized!

So why do we send our Firefighters out to these fires? And how can the City of Sacramento afford to do this during these tight budget times? These are legitimate questions. The Fire Agencies in California are members of CALEMA (California Emergency Management Agency). We are part of this large agency that responds to large incidents, when the incident becomes too big for the local agency to handle on their own. In California, this happens a lot.

But here in Sacramento we do not have these types of large wildland fires, so why participate? Well the simple answer is; we have the distinct possibility to have large incidents in our region that would totally overwhelm our local resources. Floods and earthquakes are two very real scenarios. Last year there was a large wildland fire in Eastern Sacramento County that required the response of out of County resources. I believe this was the first time this ever occurred in our County. When something big happens here in Sacramento, and unfortunately it probably will, we will get the help we need from CALEMA.

What about the costs associated with sending our Firefighters out on these teams? Who pays the bills? The costs become the responsibility of the jurisdiction where the incident is. Typically the Sacramento Fire Department gets reimbursed by the State of California or the Federal Government; it just depends on whose emergency it is. Last year we sent resources to Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi during the Hurricane Ike. We were reimbursed by those States.

I have only scratched the surface of what happens at these large agencies. I haven’t even mentioned that there are many other different agencies, both public and private, that respond to these large scale incidents. There are a lot of people who are real busy during Fire Season. They are always ready and willing to respond anywhere, whenever they are needed!

A day in the boots of Sacramento's heroes: Oak Park's Station 6

2009-08-24T02:17:53Z

To call them simply “firefighters” is an understatement. The men of Station 6 of the Sacramento Fire Department in Oak Park do more than put out fires.

Out of more than 20 stations within the Sacramento Fire Department, the station is the busiest. Year after year, the station has also been ranked as one of the busiest in the nation.

During their time at the house, firefighters are on-call to respond to a wide range of calls. Many are legitimate life-threatening emergencies, but a number of them don’t necessarily warrant a 9-1-1 response. A faked seizure, a man unconscious in the bushes covered with ants and foaming at the mouth, a woman who claimed she had been assaulted by six men and a man in cardiac arrest while his young children looked on: These are the types of calls that I saw as I rode along for 24 hours with the firefighters from Station 6.

A typical day at the firehouse begins around 8 a.m. The firefighters must arrive ready to work, since the first call can come in at any time. The men (there are no women currently at Station 6) prepare for their shifts by checking out the rigs, making sure tools are running properly and discussing the types of calls that came in during the previous shift. Also, because of recent budget cuts and the resulting “brownouts,” the firefighters must know which engines might be out of service at nearby stations, which can result in additional calls for them to pick up.

The station works in three different groups (A, B and C) with each shift lasting 48 hours, with four days off in between. They work with the same crew each rotation, which creates a strong camaraderie among them.

The firehouse serves as a sort of home away from home for the firefighters. A dormitory room has mattresses and storage cabinets lining the walls and is generally only used when sleeping. The day room houses recliners and a TV and is located directly near the kitchen, where the firefighters take turns cooking each shift - and they certainly know their way around the kitchen. They are given set a budget for grocery shopping at the beginning of each shift and also contribute out of their own pockets.

"When we go to the store, people will joke and ask what they are buying us today, but people don't realize that we will actually put in money from our own pockets as well...," said firefighter Jeff Switkowski.

On the day of our visit, the firefighters dined on homemade bacon cheeseburgers and fruit for lunch, and carnitas, rice and beans for dinner. At any given moment, a call can come into the station and the firefighters have to leave their meals half-eaten.

In between calls, the members of the crew stay busy watching movies, reading, exercising or fine-tuning their job skills with drills. Typically, they will practice one drill a day to stay efficient for situations they might not regularly encounter. On my visit, the crew demonstrated their rescue skills with an elaborate ropes and pulley system while Switkowski, the youngest of the firefighters, played the “victim” and was “rescued” from the roof of the station and lowered to the ground in a metal gurney.

Station 6 is home to Truck 6, Engine 6 and Medic 6, as well as Battalion Chief Niko King‘s red SUV. Depending on the type of emergency, either one or a combination of the vehicles will respond to the call. There are six different panels located around the house with four differently colored lights that give information as to the type of call and who needs to respond. White signals King, blue signals the medic, green signals the engine and red signals the truck.

Both the truck and engine hold rescue equipment and tools, but the main difference between the two rigs is that the engine holds 500 gallons of water and the truck has a ladder.

When someone calls 9-1-1, the dispatcher will determine which station should answer the call, and an alarm is sounded at that particular house. A printer automatically feeds out information about the call and location and more information about the call is provided on the computer screen in each rig.

Two engineers, Eric Munson and Robert Knaggs on this particular shift, are responsible for navigating the truck and engine through the narrow streets of Oak Park. Unfortunately, many drivers give little regard to the blaring sirens and fail to pull aside as required by law. The engineers often have to drive down the center of the road or weave in and out of traffic because of uncooperative drivers.

Of around 20 calls (not including canceled calls) that came in throughout the 24 hours, only two were actual fires. The first, at around 9:30 a.m., was a grass fire on 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard that had to spread to several storage units. The second fire, also a grass fire, came at around 10 p.m. and was behind Cal Expo near the levee.

The response to fires is organized chaos. To the untrained eye, it might seem like a lot of men running around spraying hoses, but there is actually a precise chain of command and specific protocol during each call. Upon arrival, the battalion chief surveys the situation and the best way to go about putting out the fire. Each firefighter has someone to report to. The battalion chiefs are responsible for two captains, who are each responsible for several firefighters.

Rather than fire, most calls are from people who require medical attention because of either accidents or illnesses. Upon arriving to a call for a medical emergency, each firefighter is responsible for a specific duty. Vital signs are checked and medical history and health insurance information is gathered while the firefighters wait for the medics to arrive. If the patient or victim can't communicate, medical history is taken from family members or anyone else present. Information is then transferred to a computer and then input to yet another computer system at the hospital.

The computers, which were installed in medic vehicles around a year ago, are supposed to streamline the emergency room process, but seems to instead slow things down as medics have to wait in line to check their patient in.

On some calls, the firefighters provide more medical attention than the medics might. This was the case Saturday morning, when a woman was unresponsive due to low blood sugar. After administering IV dextrose, the firefighters transported her to the hospital for further treatment. The firefighters saved her life, as she could have slipped into unconsciousness were it not for their quick actions.

Many people often wonder why so many firefighters are required to respond to certain calls. The importance of manpower was clearly demonstrated by a call that came Friday evening for a man in cardiac arrest. There were six different medics and firefighters attempting to revive him, and it was necessary for multiple people to administer CPR, monitor his heart and lift him onto the stretcher for transport.

While many of the calls that come into the department are from people who actually need emergency medical attention, many others abuse the 9-1-1 system and use the ambulances as a sort of Golden Ticket into the emergency room in hopes of being seen sooner.

"Many people are trained to think that if they see blood, they should call 9-1-1," said one firefighter.

Calls such as the woman who was dehydrated at a Church’s Chicken, the man who had back pain from his sciatic nerve or the woman who was intoxicated and fell from her front porch can seem like a waste of the firefighters’ valuable time when there are actual emergencies to be attended to. Still, the firefighters treat all of their patients with the utmost decency and respect. They talk to victims and patients as if they are friends, genuinely concerned with their well-being.

A call early Saturday morning brought them to an unconscious man laying in bushes, covered in ants, and paramedics tried to coax him awake. "Hey buddy, can you open your eyes for me? There are ants all over you, you don't want to lay out here," a paramedic said. He had most likely overdosed on drugs and was incoherent, yet they spoke to him politely, as if he could hear and understand.

Stories are often exchanged, whether around the firehouse dinner table or riding to or from a call, and it’s clear that the firefighters have seen more than their fair share of disturbing and gruesome scenes. Over dessert, Capt. Michael Wolfe recalled a gunshot wound that went in through a man’s groin and came out the other side. Firefighter Jeff Klein recalled a time he entered a car after the driver shot his passenger, who was also his brother. Upon pulling his hooded sweatshirt down from his head, the man’s brain fell from his skull.

Calls like these are shocking to hear discussed at the dining room table casually as if they are discussing weekend plans. However, such disturbing calls are a daily occurrence for the crew. To be able to continue with the job, they have to be able to downplay the shock and use coping mechanisms like humor after witnessing horrific accidents.

"We are exposed to some pretty awful things at times. There are definitely some triggers that will require a supervisor to put together a critical incident stress debriefing, such as an infant death or traumatic injuries," King said. "Most firefighters will joke about the things that stress us out as a way to not just keep it bottled up inside...We deal with the stresses of the job along with our successes as ups and downs within the team."

Another challenge the firefighters face is sleep. Getting quality sleep in a firehouse is almost impossible, and a night's sleep becomes a series a short naps. When a call comes in, the lights in the dorm immediately turn on, and the firefighters must load into the rigs just as if they had been awake. On Friday night, there were a total of 10 calls after midnight, which is more than the average of six for the weekend.

False alarms are common, and two came during our stay. The firefighters got out of bed, dressed and loaded into the rigs only to make a U-turn minutes after pulling out of the station driveway. Even more frustrating was when, on returning from a call, the battalion truck was flagged down by a man claiming to have been held up at knife point. After determining that they could return to the firehouse and return to sleep, a call came in around an hour later, only for the firefighters to arrive and realize the same man had called again and did not actually need any sort of medical attention.

While the crew is used to the constant waking and sleeping routine, it is a huge adjustment for someone used to uninterrupted sleep. As King explained it, to cope with the constant interruptions, it is common to only fall into shallow sleep patterns. Subconsciously they know that on a minute’s notice they could be fighting a fire or saving a life, which requires their alertness, so it is perhaps imperative that they don't sleep deeply.

At the end of an exhausting 24 hours, the firefighters are revving up for the next 24, never knowing what the day will bring. Their lives could be threatened in a massive structure fire, they could save numerous lives or they could be roused from their sleep to answer a call for someone with a simple earache.

But they are ready to go wherever needed and so they wait, with smiles on their faces, for the alarm to sound.

To see the rest of the photos from our 24-hour ride along, click here

For more information about Station 6, visit the station's website.

All photos taken by Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography

Editor's Note: The Sacramento Press editorial department made corrections to this story after it was published .

Metro Fire saves apartment complex while manager gets uppity with media

2009-08-03T08:54:13Z

This photographer/writer has been accused of being "snarky" in the past, but I'll put it right out there and warn you on this one…I'm going to be Snarky!

Sacramento, CA- Metro fire executes a rapid "knockdown" on apartment fire, containing the blaze to one unit and saving the complex.

Early Sunday afternoon, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department, assisted by Sacramento City Fire Department, was called to the apartments at 7326 Stockton Boulevard, for a report of smoke. When crews arrived they found heavy smoke coming from the windows and front door of a top floor apartment. A second alarm was immediately struck out for additional resources due to the "high density residential housing," per Battalion Chief Walter White.

The fire was a "well involved contents fire" that started in a bedroom", said White, "and extended into other portions of the residence".

Two fire investigators were called to the scene for a "routine investigation" per White. Approximately 15 firefighters helped to control blaze and no injuries were reported.

(Here's the snarky part) Part way through the incident, the complex manager became very insistent that all media, including TV networks, leave the premises. When asked why, she refused to answer and became quite animated and demanding. Myself and other on scene media asked her what she was afraid we would discover. We then asked her if she was sure she wanted us to leave and let her know that now we were curious as to what was being hidden. So now instead of leaving this story at just the awesome job the firefighters did in saving this apartment complex, everyone's belongings and keeping from more than one family being displaced; we now start asking the questions: were the required smoke detectors working? …were there proper fire extinguishers available? …were there unattended electrical issues, etc.? So, property managers and owners, know that media personnel are there to cover the story at hand; when you adamantly demand that we leave, it makes us start asking questions that you may not want asked. (Please note that I am an independent photographer/writer and not on staff with SacPress)

Sac fire fighters douse grass fire on Stoner Drive

2009-07-30T04:32:43Z

It took seven minutes for Sacramento fire fighters to extinguish a grass fire on Stoner Drive in South Sacramento Wednesday. No injuries and no reports that everyone went for pizza afterwards.

Arsonist Strikes In Downtown

2009-07-22T22:08:00Z

The Sacramento Fire Department responded to 9 separate fires in the Downtown area since 12:40 A.M. Most of these fires have been set inside dumpsters. At least two have caused damage to buildings with the most serious damage to an apartment building at 1312 18th Street. This incident was moments away from creating a major fire. Fortunately Sacramento Firefighters were able to arrive on scene in two minutes and were able to prevent major fire damage.

We are asking for the publics help in identifying who may be responsible for setting these fires. Anyone with information or anyone who may have seen someone or something suspicious we are asking them to call the Sacramento Fire Department Arson Tip Line at (916) 808-8732. You can remain anonymous. You may also stop by any Fire Station and let the Firefighters there know if you have any information pertaining to these fires.

Kids Don't Float! Loaner Life Jackets Available

2009-07-15T16:54:59Z

The City of West Sacramento Fire Department wants everyone to know to use life jackets during water recreation!

Keep your kids safe. Free, loaner life jackets are available at the following West Sacramento Fire Stations:
• Station 41, 132 15th St.
• Station 42, 3585 Jefferson Blvd.
• Station 43, 1561 Harbor Blvd.
• Station 44, 905 Fremont Blvd.
• Station 45, 2040 Lake Washington Blvd.

Also, the Bridgeway Lakes Boathouse office, 3650 Southport Parkway!

For more information, contact the West Sacramento Fire Department at (916) 617-4600 . The free life jacket rental program is sponsored by both the City’s Fire and Parks & Recreation Departments.

Firefighters rescue sleeping man from burning house fire

2009-07-14T01:15:26Z

At 3:16P.M. Monday, Sacramento Firefighters were called to the 7600 block of Tattershall Way. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the home and a well involved fire in the kitchen area.

On a primary search of the home, firefighters found a sleeping man in the back bedroom and quickly removed him from the burning home. He was transported to the hospital with smoke inhalation.

Engine 57 arrived within three and half minutes of the call. Captain Jim Doucette stated "If not for the quick response of Sacramento Firefighters, and the next door neighbor quickly reporting this fire, there is a very good chance this man would not have survived."

Doucette also noted that the home had no working smoke detectors.

*WHY DO THEY DO THAT?
Onlookers at incidents often ask, "Why are they doing that?", when they see firefighters tearing into the walls and ceilings and cutting holes in the roof. "Are they just destructive boogers and into tearing up things or is there actually a reason they are doing that?"

In the posted photo of the interior of this fire, you will notice there is no fire damage in the front room, but the ceiling is all torn out. During a structure fire, fire will get into the attics and walls and travel. To be sure the fire has no "extensions", firefighters use tools called "closet hooks" and "pike poles" to pull the ceiling apart to ensure that the fire has not traveled and has been completely extinguished.

Small But Stubborn Wildland Fire Along Sacramento River

2009-07-13T20:44:35Z

A small, but stubborn wildland fire is keeping Sacramento Firefighters busy along the Sacramento River near 35th Avenue. This fire is the second fire since yesterday at the same location. The fire is on the river side of the levee.

It is not threatening any homes, but crews are having to shuttle water from the nearby neighborhood and from SFD Boat #5 which is pumping river water onto the fire. A Sacramento City Utilities Bull Dozer is also on scene helping to clear some of the thick brush and removing some dead trees.

Firefighters are expected be on scene a few more hours.

Second playground fire under investigation

2009-07-13T01:22:10Z

SACRAMENTO, CA- At 4:07 P.M. today, Sacramento Firefighters were called to Freeport Elementary School for a playground fire. This takes place in the wake of a similar fire at a Roseville park playground just a few nights ago.

Captain Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department stated, "The fire does not appear to be an accident".

Anyone with any information about this fire is encouraged to contact the Sacramento Fire Department Arson Tip Line at (916) 808-8732.

Action News Capsule for Saturday P.M., July 11/12, 2009

2009-07-12T18:19:24Z

ELK GROVE SHOOTING: A man was shot multiple times just after 10pm on Rightwood Way in the City of Sacramento. He was transported code 3 to UCDMC and his condition was not known at the time of the incident.

MARRIOTT SMOKE BOMB: A person set off a smoke bomb just before 11:30pm in a hallway of the Spring Hill Suites on Venture Oaks Way in the City of Sacramento. The smoke filled the hallways of two floors of the hotel and caused a brief evacuation while fire fighters use fans to blow out the smoke.

FATAL FIRE: The latest in a string of fatal fires to hit the Sacramento area occurred just after 1:30am on Prairie Ct in the Penryn area of Placer
County. The female occupant of the large two story home was able to escape without injury but her husband was killed in the fire that
quickly consumed the building and spread to the wild land around the property.

Loomis fire claims the life of elderly disabled man

2009-07-12T13:05:55Z

Loomis, CA- Early Sunday morning structure fire claims the life of an elderly disabled man. Wife and dog escape the blaze.

The beautiful mansion type home in the 6900 Prarie Ct., Loomis, CA, caught fire early Sunday morning. Penryn Battalion Chief stated that the home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. He stated that the wife and dog escaped but her elderly disabled husband did not escape.

The home was located deep in the hills of Loomis and difficult to access. Fire crews also had to shuttle water via "water tender" trucks to finally extinguish the fire.

In some of the photos you will see some blue light showering in the upper right corner. The power was live during the entire firefighting efforts with arching lines and exploding transformer.

Several agencies were involved in the firefighting efforts: Penryn, Loomis, CalFire, CDF to name

Action News Capsule for Friday P.M., July 10, 2009

2009-07-12T02:50:52Z

VEHICLE vs UTILITY POLE: Around 6:30pm a vehicle slammed into a utility pole on 47th Ave. near Wire. The older model vehicle sustained major front end damage, the utility pole split and collapsed and the driver sustained only minor cuts on the forehead. Power in the area was out for several hours.

PARTY STABBING: Around 12:30am a female victim way stabbed at a party in the area of 4th Ave and 65th St. The victim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with what appeared to be a minor stab wound to the
upper body.

PALLADAY FIRE: Around 4:00am a large grass fire occurred off Palladay Rd and Base Line Rd in Placer County. Units were called from CDF, Placer County Fire, Sutter County Fire and Sac Metro Fire to extinguish the fire.

Sacramento Fire Department Sirens

2009-07-10T21:08:38Z

From time to time I receive phone calls from the public complaining about something we may have done. This doesn’t happen that often, but when it does we take complaints seriously and do our best to sort out the potential problem. Recently I received a complaint from a citizen about the noise our sirens make, especially at night.

This is not the first call I have taken regarding our sirens. We understand how loud and annoying they can be! But obviously there is an important reason we use them. Our sirens are meant to alert other drivers and pedestrians that we are coming and that we are asking you to make room for us, pull over to the right, stop, and let us through.

Another important reason is that, the law requires us to use them! The California Vehicle Code requires us to use our red lights and sirens when we are responding “Code 3”. That means we are responding to an emergency. “Code 3” responses are true emergencies where it could be a matter of life or death. Driving “Code 3” gives us the ability to get to the scene quicker, and in our profession, time is everything. Time can mean the difference between someone living or dying, or it could mean saving someone’s property or not!

Our Firefighters know that our sirens our loud, and they are also annoying to us, but we have no choice but to obey the law and get to the scene as quick as possible, and in the safest manner! So please bear with us, if you see the red lights and hear the siren while driving, please pull over to the right and stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Remember the emergency that we are responding to could be for you!

Hero saves sleeping Asian family from fiery demise

2009-07-10T10:01:38Z

Sacramento, CA- A sleeping family lives today because of the heroism of Santino Deanda

Lyndsay Deanda stated she and her husband Santino were on their way to the hospital with their daughter traveling down H Street, when in the 3700 block Santino spotted the back of a house on fire.

Santino stopped the vehicle, instructed Lyndsay to call 911 and headed to the front door to wake the family. Santino actually went into the burning, smoke filled house several times to be sure every one was out.

The blaze started in a couch on the back patio up against the house. The fire quickly spread catching the back side of the house on fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Santino was transported to UC Davis Medical Center by paramedics to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Battalion Chief King indicated that if not for the heroic act of Deanda, this could have been a very bad situation. While Deanda is credited with saving many lives, King noted that firefighters go into fires and smoke filled homes prepared with a vast array of safety equipment and tools. "Inhaling one breath of the superheated toxic smoke of a structure fire will drop you to floor".

Metro firefighters give rescued dog every chance to live

2009-07-08T03:48:11Z

Sacramento, CA
by Ed Fogle

It was a bittersweet day for homeowners in the 6900 block Silverthorne Circle today. While their home was saved, they lost their furry friend.

Kirk Davies, photographer for MaverickPhotography.us and neighbor to the family, stated "it smelled like something barbequing when I walked outside, then I saw smoke pouring from my neighbors house and called 911"

Tuesday afternoon, about 4:30 P.M., it is believed (but still under investigation) that a fire started in the dishwasher. Battalion Chief, Richard Anderson stated that the fire was contained to the kitchen area of the home. "A repair man from Sears was supposed to be at the home working on the dishwasher earlier in the day, but was a no-show" Davies stated.

No one was home when the fire started but during a search of the home, the family dog was found unconscious. Per Anderson, two of the firefighters who happened to be on duty were trained in basic dog medicine. The Metro Fire USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team uses rescue dogs, and the firefighters who work with them have this training in the event their dogs are injured during a disaster or rescue operation.

The two firefighters, assisted by colleagues, went to work right away on the dog, administering mouth to snout respirations, started an IV, inserted an advanced airway and transported the dog to the nearest veterinarian in a truck. With all the heroic efforts of the firefighters, the furry friend did not survive. "If that dog had any chance to live, it was with this crew", stated Anderson.

Metro Fire Department responded with three engines, two trucks and one medic rig and had nearly twenty-five firefighters involved.

Photos by MaverickPhotography.us/KirkDavies

Downtown Victorian home fire strikes out two alarms

2009-07-04T05:57:07Z

Sacramento, CA- At 7:24 P.M. Friday evening, Sacramento firefighters were called to a downtown structure, just a few houses down from Old Ironsides off of 10th and S streets.

When firefighters arrived at 1913 10th Street, they found the second floor and attic of the old Victorian well involved.

Per Captain Jim Doucette, Engine 1 was on scene in about three minutes. Firefighters made a very aggressive attack on the fire. With the fire well seated in the attic, firefighters had to tear in and gain access to the space to bring the blaze under control. The roof on the north side became unstable and all the firefighters were ordered out.

They were able to control the rest of the blaze from outside, then were able to reenter for overhaul to be sure the fire was completely extinguished.

"Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the fire and saved the downstairs units and they also prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings. Fortunately no one was injured and there was only one resident in the entire building. All of the other units were vacant," said Doucette

A total of 16 fire units responded, four paramedic squads, 75 firefighters and 10 command/support staff.

Presently, the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Brush fire delays south area Light Rail

2009-07-02T23:52:45Z

Sacramento, CA- Early Thursday after noon, a small blaze broke out off of Hing Avenue, near Franklin and 47th. The fire was contained to the dry field area between the homes and railroad tracks.

Light Rail service was minimally impacted. Trains were briefly delayed during the high part of the blaze then permitted to move through at a reduced speed due to limited visibility resulting from heavy smoke, per on scene RT rail worker.

Several structure firefighting engines were in place to protect the homes along the field, while brush rigs and crews moved through the field to attack the fire and bring it under control. Per Captain Doucette, the cause of the fire is unknown.

Elderly Woman Dies in Oak Park House Fire

2009-06-22T08:05:24Z

An elderly woman was killed, and an elderly man is in critical condition after a house fire tonight in Oak Park. The Sacramento Fire Department responded to multiple reports of a house fire at 4500 12th Avenue at 10:48 P.M. Fire Dispatchers also received reports of two elderly, disabled persons, trapped in the home.

Firefighters arrived in four minutes and found the house well involved in fire. A citizen and Police Officers from the Sacramento Police Department were removing the elderly man from the front of the home. Firefighters from Sacramento Truck 6 entered the home and found the elderly female in a back bedroom. She was removed from the home and both victims were transported by Sacramento Firefighter/Paramedics to a local hospital. The female victim was pronounced dead at the hospital and the man is in critical condition.

The fire went to two alarms and the residents in a next door home needed assistance for temporary housing from the American Red Cross, due to fire damage of their home. A Sacramento Fire Department Investigator is on scene trying to determine the cause of this tragic blaze. There were reports of fireworks in the area, but the exact cause is not known at this time.

It is not known at this time if the victims home had a working smoke detector. But this is a sad reminder of the importance of having a working smoke detector in the sleeping area of your home. Smoke detectors are a very inexpensive tool that do save lives each and every day. It is very rare for Firefighters to respond to a fatal house fire where the victims had a working smoke detector.

Smoke detectors can be purchased at almost any hardware store for as little as $5. If you cannot afford one, the Sacramento Fire Department can provide you with one. Please call the Sacramento City Operator at 311 to request one. Many other local Fire Agencies will also provide you with a smoke detector if you live outside the City of Sacramento.

Fire crews responding to federal courthouse

2009-06-17T21:29:10Z

Sacramento firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the federal courthouse just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Fire crews made their way into the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, at 501 I St., after a fifth-floor fire alarm was reported at 1:58 p.m., said Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja.

Three engines and one truck are at the scene. Bentovoja and 12 other firefighters are investigating the cause of the alarm.

Four alarm apartment blaze takes out at least one unit, damages several others

2009-06-17T07:10:55Z

Early Tuesday evening, Roseville fire department was called the apartments on Woodcreek Oaks Blvd., south of Junction Blvd., in Roseville for a fire. When fire crews arrived, high flames and smoke were coming from backside of one of the back buildings in the complex.

Several apartment units in the building were involved by the time the fire was brought under control. This was a four alarm fire which even brought units from Placerville Fire Department.

While it was initially believed that this was a barbeque fire that ignited the patio, the actual cause of the blaze is under investigation and fire investigators were searching the area for a youth to question.

There were no injuries, however a cat from the unit where the fire started is unaccounted for.

Midtown dumpster fire escalates to garage fire and threatens apartments

2009-06-13T15:38:12Z

Sacramento Midtown apartments were threatened earlier this morning when a dumpster fire spread to the large all wood garage surrounded by the apartments.

Firefighters were called to the rear of 1015 26th in the alley for a "dumpster fire" Engine four arrived on scene quickly, just five minutes from the time the call came in to 911. When they arrived the garage was well involved with fire. The two dumpsters on fire were pulled away from the garage and after gaining access the firefighters made an aggressive attack, knocking down the blaze.

While the major part of the fire was immediately taken care of, some fire remained in the eves and roofing. Due to remodels and several layers of siding, firefighters had a challenge getting the fire completely extinguished immediately, but kept it under control and from spreading to the adjacent apartments.

The early morning fire hailed a compliment of five engines, three truck companies, one HazMat Company, two Medic Units, five Command/Support staff and 50 firefighters.

In a press release, Capt. Doucette stated, "A Sacramento Fire Department Haz Mat Team was called out to monitor the water run off."

There were no injuries in this incident however the cause is under investigation. Short after the fire, "the person of interest" was sighted down the street going through dumpsters.

Pocket Fire Blaze impacts two homes, one destroyed the other damaged

2009-06-12T03:57:20Z

Two homes caught fire Thursday around 2:51 p.m. As firefighters arrived, the fence between the two homes was completely on fire and the side of the two story home on the left was well involved. The second home (one story), caught fire and burned into the attic.

There was an initial report that victims may have been in the home. The first in engine crew executed a search of the home and no one was found.

In the end, the two story home experienced a partial roof collapse while firefighters were inside. Firefighters pulled out and went into defensive mode to save the one story home and protect other surrounding exposures. The two story was a total loss and the one story home had fire damage in the attic and back bedroom as well as contents.

SacCity Firefighters were on scene in less than five minutes from the time of the call. Deputy Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan stated that weather definantly played a factor with the Delta Breeze picking up.

In a press release, Acting Battalion Chief, Jim Doucette stated, "There were no reported injuries and Sacramento Fire Department Investigators are on scene trying to determine the cause of the blaze. Additional Firefighters from Sacramento Metro and Cosumnes Fire also responded." A total of 75 firefighters and 4 command staff were engaged on this incident.

Sacramento City Firefighters quickly knock down blaze allegedly sparked by homeless.

2009-05-29T07:00:06Z

Just months after Mayor Kevin Johnson clears out "tent city", Sacramento's homeless are back in the area setting up camp.

Just south of what was formerly known as "tent city", Sac Firefighters were called to a grass fire behind Downtown Ford, and off of 18th Street and Brier Rd. at approximately 9:20 p.m.

Down an embankment between the bike path and Downtown Ford, some homeless had set up camp. Sources say that there was an altercation and the area was purposely set on fire.

Sac City Firefighters contained the fire to the immediate area with approximately two to three acres involved. Per Capt. Jim Doucette, SacFire, Paramedics transported one victim of the altercation to the hospital with facial injuries. At this time, it is unknown if there have been any arrests.

Grass fire incident Chief's final call

2009-05-28T10:53:58Z

Sacramento Metro Firefighters extinguished an early morning blaze before it reached several threatened homes.

Shortly after 12:00 a.m. Thursday morning, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department was called to a grass fire to rear of 3600 Glencrest Lane. When firefighters arrived, and were able to access the fire ground, it appeared that there were actually three fires. Several additional grass and structure engines were dispatched to protect the homes. When asked if this was indeed three separate fires and was this possibly arson, on scene arson investigators stated that it was under investigation.

Battalion Chief, Frank Moreno (Bat 15), stressed that it is very important that residents clear brush and grass 30 feet from their homes. Trees and other large fuels should be 100 feet away.

Arson investigators noted that had there been a breeze, the outcome of this fire could have been much different and structures could have been lost.

This incident would mark Chief Moreno's last as he retired at the end of this shift. Chief Moreno proudly served 24 years with the department. When asked what he planed to do in his retirement, Chief Moreno stated that he was going to be ranching and working on his projects. He further stated that he would always leave options open for consulting and other opportunities.

Congratulations Chief Moreno on your retirement. You will certainly be missed by the firefighters you led and the community you served faithfully for so many years.

Roseville brush fire quickly contained in spite of access issues

2009-05-23T07:57:25Z

Rosville firefighters had a difficult time gaining access to a brush fire burning upslope toward homes.

At approximately 6:45 p.m., a fire call was dispatched for a brush fire at the rear of 6921 Roseville Rd. When fire crews arrived at that address, smoke was billowing in the air behind the commercial structure, however, fire crews quickly found that the fire was inaccessible from that side. They had to work their way around to find the fire access road that runs along the railroad tracks.

With the fire burning upslope and a possible limited water supply, the incident commander called for an additional type 3 grass fire engine to protect the homes above the fire.

Several acres burned along the slope below the homes, but firefighters moved swiftly and the fire did not reach the homes.

One firefighter was treated on scene for skin irritation after being exposed to cactus oil while overhauling some burning cactus.

Roadside fire brought under control quickly

2009-05-20T07:11:29Z

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sacramento, CA

Firefighters put a damp end to a brush fire that burned nearly an acre behind Hungry Hunter restaurant. Sacramento Firefighters’ quick response may have saved a historical restaurant building as well. The slow moving fire that burned nearly an acre this afternoon, burned up slope toward the freeway. One engine company went through the fence, at the bottom of the fire, to make a quick attack, while two more engines helped bring it under control on the top from the freeway side. While this fire was slow moving at the time, with the Delta Breeze picking up, it could have caused a different outcome resulting in a real fight for firefighters to protect surrounding structures. There were several thick trees in the burn area that could have torched had the conditions been different. When torching occurs, the breeze can blow embers that start spot fires in surrounding areas. Just adjacent to the Hungry Hunter sits a Sacramento icon, the former Rusty Duck Restaurant. The Rusty Duck is an all wood structure with shake shingles as siding all around. Thanks to the quick response of the Sacramento Fire Department, this fire was contained and controlled very quickly leaving only charred ground and no damage to structures or people.

Downtown Building Collapse

2009-05-19T23:58:15Z

The Sacramento Fire Department responded this afternoon to a reported auto accident at 16th and U Streets in Downtown Sacramento. When Firefighters arrived they found two vehicles that had crashed into each other and into a vacant building. The entire front of the one story brick building had collapsed.

Both drivers had minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital by Sacramento Firefighters. A woman sitting outside at a nearby café was slightly injured by the crash. She was not transported to the hospital.

After SMUD and PG&E responded and shut off the electricity and gas to the building, Remy, one of our Urban Search & Rescue Search Dogs, searched the wreckage for any possible victims. No victims have been found at this time.

The Sacramento Dangerous Buildings Department also responded to determine the integrity of the structure. The Sacramento Police Department is investigating the cause of the accident.

Incendiary device found at the Federal Court House in Downtown Sacramento

2009-05-17T22:34:34Z

Sacramento, CA
May 17, 2009

Things are quiet now around the Federal Courthouse at 501 I St., in Downtown Sacramento, but around 5 am Sunday morning, there was a hubbub of activity as word spread that an unknown incendiary devise had been located on the west side of the courthouse.

Per Sacramento Police Department, “at 4:47 a.m., Federal Protection Service personnel located a suspicious item on the west side of the Sacramento Federal Courthouse and contacted the Police Department.”

A myriad of agencies are assisting with the investigation to ensure every angle is covered. The agencies involved are: Sacramento City Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Protection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, General Service Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Presently authorities are not releasing a description of the incendiary device. From the outside of the Federal Building, it appears that there is no elevated alert level. The parking garage barriers are not up and there appears to be no additional law enforcement coverage posted around the exterior. We will continue to follow this story and bring you more information as it becomes available.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000

5 Year Old Boy Drowns in Backyard Swimming Pool

2009-05-08T17:47:02Z

Last night a 5 year old boy drowned in his back yard swimming pool in South Sacramento. This was a very sad reminder to all of us, just how fragile life is but more importantly, we need to all realize that these types of tragedies are very much preventable. There is no call more devastating for a Firefighter than to have to respond for a child that dies. And obviously there is nothing more devastating for a parent to go through than a loss of their child.

Drownings in Sacramento have become a problem. They occur way too much and it is very frustrating for us, because it seems like there is not much more we can do to help prevent them. Since I have become the Fire Departments Spokesperson, I have made drowning prevention a high priority. Captain Christian Pebbles, the Spokesperson for Sacramento Metro Fire and me continuously try our best to outreach to the public about the dangers of our waterways and the importance of having a responsible adult always keep an eye on children whenever they are in or near any body of water.

We have filmed and recorded many Public Service Announcements with various local media outlets, and we have written press release after press release and have spoken to many community organizations and anyone who will listen to us about this problem. But whatever we do, it never seems to be enough. We still have kids drown, and I guess I am starting to realize, that we always will. But we will not stop trying.

Sacramento Fire Battalion Chief Niko King is working on a project with the National Fire Academy that will help identify, exactly who it is that is drowning in our waters. We have a general idea of who drowns, but not enough specifics to help us better target our audience. Language, gender, age, were drugs or alcohol involved? These are some of the things that may help us do better outreach.

Statistics for drownings in Sacramento have never been very accurate. Some drownings get reported to us as “unresponsive persons, difficulty breathing, etc.” So they never get put into our system as drownings. Chief King is working on a documentation program that will have first responders in our County fill out a form that will help identify some of these important bits of information. And these forms will not only be filled out for confirmed drownings, but for near misses, where a person may have come close to drowning but actually survived.

In Sacramento City and County there is a new ordinance that mandates the wearing of a life jacket for anyone under the age of 13 when they are in any natural waterway, I.E. rivers, lakes, or streams. This has been somewhat controversial, because some believe that government has become to controlling. I agree in a lot of cases, but this ordinance was meant to help prevent needless deaths of children. It wasn’t written to create additional cash flow to local government; it was written to be used as a tool to help save lives.

If common sense were used by more people, these types of laws would not be required. But sadly, the lack of common sense seems more and more common now. I feel that educating people will help us achieve the results we are looking for. Many people do not realize just how dangerous our waters are. Hopefully the more we keep trying to get this message out, we will see more success.

For anyone that is interested in statistics, the Sacramento Region had about 80 drownings last year. It is unknown how many close calls there were, but we can assume there many.
Please respect our waters and always where a life jacket when you and your kids are in the water. And have a responsible adult keep an eye on the children when they are in the water. Nothing takes the place of a responsible adult.

Sacramento Fire Department Award Ceremony

2009-05-06T18:36:00Z

Yesterday the Sacramento Fire Department held its Annual Awards Ceremony. Every year the Fire Department honors Sacramento Firefighters and citizens from the community for acts of heroism and bravery and for community service. The ceremony is usually held at the California Firefighters Memorial site at the State Capitol, but due to the weather, we moved it indoors to the Atrium at the Fire & Police Headquarters Building.

The event was well attended and Natalie Bomke from FOX 40 was our Mistress of Ceremonies. Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at the opening of the ceremony and credited Sacramento’s Firefighters for doing much more than just fighting fires. He spoke on how we are a part of the community and that as a young man growing up in Oak Park, he knew of the Firefighters at Station 6 and how busy they are and what they did for his community.

Many were honored yesterday, but I am going to highlight four of the awards. Two Kaiser Permanente Physicians were on duty at Kaiser South Hospital on December 9, 2008 when three family members were admitted for flu like symptoms. The Doctors and their staff quickly realized that these patients were showing signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

They quickly contacted us, because they knew there were more family members at home. We responded and found two more family members that had the same symptoms. Both of these patients were transported to the hospital and it was confirmed that all of the family had Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

The levels of Carbon Monoxide were so high in the home, that we believe if we would not have responded and taken these two young family members out of the home, they would have most likely not survived the night. Because of their actions, the two Doctors were awarded our Outstanding Service Award.

On May 1, 2008 a fire broke out in the home of Jessica Lazaro. The family was outside, having a barbeque for Jessica’s younger sisters’ birthday when a fire broke out in the kitchen. Jessica quickly realized that her young sister was missing and probably still inside the home.

Jessica ran through the heat and thick smoke of the kitchen to find her sister in a back bedroom, scared and frightened, refusing to leave the safety of her bedroom. After a brief struggle with her sister, Jessica soon realized that their exit route was now cut of by the rapidly advancing heat and smoke. They were both trapped, but remaining calm; Jessica broke out the bedroom window and passed her sister out the window to the family members outside.

Because of her actions, Jessica was awarded the Sacramento Fire Department’s highest civilian award, the Commendation of Valor.

On January 5, 2008 Firefighter Tilden Billiter was working his shift at Truck 10 when they received a call for a structure fire. Truck 10 arrived and found heavy fire from one side of the home. Neighbors reported that the occupant, an elderly female was trapped inside.

Firefighter Billiter reacted and went through the garage door without the protection of a fire hose. He tried to enter the door from the garage into the house, when he realized there was something on the inside, up against the door, preventing him from opening it. He quickly removed the doors hinges and opened the door where he found the elderly victim, slumped over. She had collapsed against the door.
With the fire and smoke now spreading into the kitchen, Firefighter Billiter removed the unconscious victim to safety where she was transported to a local hospital. Because of his actions, Firefighter Billiter received the Sacramento Fire Department’s third highest award, the Medal of Superior Effort.

On November 11, 2008, Firefighter Debbie Mart was working her shift at Engine 19. A call came in for an auto accident on the Capital City Freeway near Cal Expo. When Engine 19 arrived, they found one car on its side, with heavy fire coming from the rear of the car and its gas tank. The driver, a young female, was trapped inside and the fire was moving dangerously close to her.

Firefighter Mart, acting under the direction of her Captain, entered the car and got between the fire and the driver. She protected the driver and stabilized her until other Firefighters were able to control the fire and extricate the victim from the car.

Because of her actions, Firefighter Mart was awarded the Sacramento Fire Departments second highest award, the Medal of Merit.

With the exception of moving the location of the ceremony at the last minute because of the weather, the ceremony went well. Fire Chief Ray Jones presented all of the recipients with their awards and all recipients received a Resolution from the California State Senate.

This ceremony demonstrates that it takes everyone in a community to come together during times of crisis. There were many acts of selflessness and community service demonstrated by both civilians and Firefighters. The members of the Sacramento Fire Department appreciate the help and support we receive by the Citizens of Sacramento, especially at the scenes of emergencies.

South Sacramento Mobile Home Fire

2009-05-03T06:25:39Z

Sacramento, CA
May 2, 2009

At approximately 8:45 this evening, Sacramento Firefighters were called to unit 213 of the South Sacramento Travel Lodge Mobile Home Park at 6025 Dias Ave. While a full report is not yet available, occupants and their cat were able to safely exit their home and damage was kept to a minimum do to the rapid response of the firefighters. We can only speculate that had this occurred in a fire department brown out area, this situation could have had a dramatically different ending.

As soon as we receive more details from Sacramento Fire Department, we will bring you an update.

Rainy Road Havoc for EMS

2009-05-02T02:40:42Z

Sacramento, CA
Friday, May 1, 2009

Sacramento EMS crews were kept quite busy all day Friday. Mild temperatures and start of a new weekend had many people out on the road, but add in rain with heavy traffic throughout the region and you’ve created a recipe for havoc on the roads. We caught up with Sacramento Fire engines, truck crews, medic rigs, and Sac Police on a couple of incidents today out of the many we heard being dispatched over the squawk box. As the rain poured down, fire crews made sure the scenes were safe and assisted as paramedics tended to the victims; and officers took statements and reports on wet notepads.

The first incident we encountered with EMS crews was a head-on collision on Elder Creek Rd, just east of Power Inn before the railroad tracks. The second incident was a vehicle vs bicycle and a secondary collision when another vehicle ran into the first. We were unable to get information on injuries; however, airbags deployed on both of the vehicles in the first accident, and the juvenile bicyclist was being treated in the back of the ambulance upon our arrival at the second incident.

These weather conditions are expected to continue throughout the weekend. With the decent temperatures expect lots of people out and about and heavy traffic conditions. With the sporadic cloud burst and periods of heavy rain, expect traffic delays. Consider leaving early so you can take your time getting to your destination safely. When we are in a hurry and potentially distracted, it greatly increases our chances to be involved in an accident. Not only do we put ourselves, our families and those around us at risk, we also put our local firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement at risk as they put themselves in harms way on the wet roads to tend to our injuries and take reports. Yes, it is their job, but wouldn’t it be nice if they didn’t have to do their job. Be safe as you travel around town this weekend.

Another Negative Story

2009-04-24T18:27:20Z

I really hate this type of article. I do not want this to be my forum for airing grievances, but last night; CBS 13 ran another story about the Sacramento Fire Department. The story was about four of our Firefighters who were involved in an incident last summer while at a Wild Land fire in Butte County.

Before I get into the story let me say a few things. I have been a Firefighter in Sacramento for over 29 years. Although I am the Public Information Officer for the Fire Department, my background is definitely not in the media. I knew little about the media prior to taking this assignment. These past three years as the P.I.O. have given me a lot of experience and I have had a lot of media training. I now know a little more about the media, particularly I know how the media and public safety agencies interact with each other. Or at least how they are supposed to!

While going through a week long training program three years ago I remember clearly one instructor who had been employed by the media and was a long time public safety information officer. He said, “The media as you know it, is dead!” What he meant was that newspapers, local television, and radio are going to have to change or they will not survive. The emergence of the Sacramento Press is a great example of the new media!

As the P.I.O. for the Sacramento Fire Department, my main job is to get out useful and factual information to the public. There are obviously a lot of ways to do this, and the media is one of those ways. Working with the media is all about building relationships and trust. You help them and they help you! All I have ever asked is that we are treated fair, nothing more, and nothing less.

Public Safety Departments of times past use to be “secretive.” We never liked interacting with the media. Today the more progressive organizations, (and I like to think that the Sacramento Fire Department is one), have changed. We realize the importance of getting our message out in a timely fashion, and being honest and transparent. You won’t get anything less from me.

So with all of that said, let me get to the point of my story. After a story on CBS 13 called the “Scoop” ran a couple of weeks ago about our department, (I wrote a story for Sac Press about that story on April 3rd) I along with Captain Christian Pebbles of Sacramento Metro Fire District asked to have a meeting with the News Director and the General Manager of CBS 13. The reason for this meeting was to let the management of CBS 13 know that we have some concerns on how they report the news, particularly about the local fire service. We gave them examples of the recent R.E. Graswich story, (the Scoop) and a recent story about Sacramento Metro Fire, and how they received a helicopter form the California National Guard at no cost to the taxpayer. That story made some wonder how Metro could afford the helicopter, even though they received it free! There were many more examples given but I do not need to list them all here.

I also expressed my concern that it was only two days after my complaint to one of their Producers and to Mr. Graswich about his story that I received a call from one of the anchors at CBS 13 wanting to know more about the incident last summer in Butte County. I let them know that this seemed to me to be more than a simple coincidence, since they have had the information about the Butte County incident since last December. The management assured me that it was all a coincidence!

Last June during the Northern California Wildfires, we sent many of our Firefighters to a lot of these emergencies throughout Northern California. (I was sent to one myself!). Typically Firefighters assigned to the fire lines work 24 straight hours, than they are given 24 hours off of down time. They are either sent to a hotel or to a camp. These four Firefighters were sent to a hotel. Even though they were off the fire line, they were still being compensated.

Sacramento FD Policy, Sacramento City Policy, and policy of the Office of Emergency Services, prohibit you from purchasing, consuming, or possessing any alcoholic beverages while on a deployment. Our four Firefighters did in fact violate these policies, two different times. What they did was wrong and as soon as this activity was reported, the department took action. All were downgraded pay steps. There is more discipline involved, and because this is a personnel matter, I cannot get into much more. But what I can say is that the City and the Fire Chief felt that the discipline was appropriate for the violations.

I am not making excuses for their behavior, what they did was wrong. But like any violation of policy, there are always facts to consider. The four Firefighters were off duty, they were not going to be sent to the fire line until the next day. They did not drive their Fire Department vehicle under the influence. At no time was the public in any danger. But again, they violated a set of policies and they were disciplined.

This incident happened last June. I received my first request from the media about this incident in November. One of our local TV stations called me about it, and once they found out the facts, they told me that there was no story. CBS 13 asked for, and received the disciplinary letters in December. They knew about this incident then. They never called or asked to do the story until two days after I complained about the Graswich story. The management of CBS told me and Captain Pebbles that they were going to run this story because of their “sweeps” month coming up!

Last Saturday morning I saw the first “promo” of the story on UPN 31. The promo, if you have not seen it, portrayed us really bad. I spoke with the General Manager and he assured me that the story would portray us in a positive light. (I guess some could see it that way, but I couldn’t.) I told him that although the actual story may be a good one, his promo was very negative and actually doing harm to our Fire Department. I have had calls from some of our Firefighters who have told me that members of the public were asking about the promo and wondering why were drinking on the job. The General Manager didn’t seem to care about my concerns.

The story ran last night and I guess it could have been worse, but none the less, it was not a good one for the Sacramento Fire Department. The men and women of the Sacramento Fire Department take their job seriously. We are dedicated professionals who do an amazing job each and every day. Most of us have clean personnel files and have never been in any trouble. But we are human. A few of us have made mistakes in the past and like everybody else, we will probably make more. We have also learned from our mistakes. These four Firefighters were swiftly disciplined. They acknowledged their mistakes and have taken responsibility for them.

Most of the media in Sacramento were aware of this incident and chose not to do the story. They told me that it was an old story, the Fire Department handled it well, and there was no real scandal. But CBS 13 did the story. They also gave the names of the Firefighters. I understand that this is public record, but what is the purpose of naming them? What is the purpose of showing “Facebook” pictures of two of them? Was this story, as old as it is, really that important to air, or was it a matter of improving their ratings? Should the public know about all of the discipline that happens in the Fire Department? Is this just a sign of the times and the public has this desire to see those in an authority figure being shot down?

Four of our Firefighters made a mistake. They knew better, but they have paid a price. You may or may not agree with their punishment and I understand this. But they were punished. No one tried to hide this information, and there was no cover up. But this negative story aired and brought discredit to the entire Sacramento Fire Department. We also understand, very clearly, that this story would not have aired if our Firefighters would have not done something wrong. And now we have to live with it.

News Story about Sacramento Fire Department

2009-04-03T23:45:04Z

This past Wednesday, CBS 13 ran a story on their evening news called the Scoop. I have never responded to this type of journalism, but I owe it to the citizens that we protect to give you the response from the Sacramento Fire Department. First I would encourage everyone who reads this article to visit CBS 13’s website, find the story and read it. It is in their “Special Investigations” section.

I will now give you the Fire Departments version. But first let me say this,” If the Sacramento Fire Department or any of its employees ever do anything that is not in the best interest of the citizens that we are sworn to protect, we will always do everything in our power to correct, or make right, anything that we do that is not in the publics best interest”. We always welcome the public’s criticism and input.

The lead to the story stated that the Firefighters are racking up overtime and soaking the taxpayers. This is not true. Yes we do have overtime, and some of our Firefighters work a lot of it. But it has been proven on many occasions that to staff extra Firefighters to fill any vacancy, it is more cost effective to do it with overtime than to do it with extra Firefighters.

The reporter states that if you spend anytime around any of our Fire Houses you will hear tales of Sick Leave abuse! I have worked in Sacramento’s Fire Houses for almost 29 years and I have never heard anyone speak about calling in sick to benefit another Firefighter so that he or she could work the overtime.

The reporter states that some of our Fire Houses could operate with 3 person staffing versus 4 person staffing. He did not say which fire stations could do this. Cutting our staffing to a very busy Fire Department is only going to reduce response times and potentially cost lives and property.

He speaks about a 10 or 12 hour shift and how we may have to change from a 24 hour shift. Our Firefighters work 48 consecutive hours than they are off for 96 hours. Going to a 10 or 12 hour shift would result in hiring more Firefighters, thus costing more.

He also states that the Firefighters might have to change their lifestyle and that many of us live far away from the City and have second jobs. Some live in the City and some do not. As far as his comment about second jobs, back when I was hired in 1980, many Firefighters did have second jobs. But today it is not that common.

I did mention to the reporter that I do know of a few Firefighters who have second jobs. A few teach Fire Technology and Emergency Medical Classes part time. A couple of our Firefighters are Flight Medics on Air Ambulances on their days off. And I also mentioned that we have three young men serving their country in Afghanistan in the California National Guard. The comment about our Lifestyle, I do not understand.

In all honesty, the only factual part of the story was the statement from Chief Ray Jones. He said,” The Sacramento Fire Department does not have a sick leave abuse problem.” “Our Firefighters, on average call in sick four times each year.”

Thank you for your time and feel free to contact me anytime with comments or questions….

Captain Jim Doucette jdoucette@sfd.cityofsacramento.org

Sacramento Fire Department Paramedics

2009-03-23T20:42:14Z

I became an EMT in 1979, one year before becoming a Firefighter. Back in those days the Sacramento Region had EMT’s and EMT 2’s. Today we have EMT’s and Paramedics. EMT’s are what we call in laymen’s terms, “Basic Life Support Providers”. We can take vital signs, perform CPR, insert basic airways, and perform many other basic life support functions. Paramedics however can do so much more.

In our Fire Department, well over one half of our Firefighters are trained as Paramedics. The citizens of Sacramento are much better off because of this! What a Paramedic can do for victims of medical emergencies truly amazes me and I think that most people really don’t know what these amazing folks can do.

They are trained in advanced airway management and can treat persons suffering from Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, and many other life threatening airway problems. They have many different tools at their disposal to treat heart attack victims, and they can administer many different drugs for a variety of illnesses and injuries. They even have the ability to use a tool to infuse the patient with life saving fluids and drugs when a patient’s vein is not accessible for an I.V. They treat seizures, asthma attacks, drug overdoses, and all kinds of trauma including gun shot and stabbing victims, auto accidents, etc. I have not scratched the surface of what these men and women can do. I like to tell people that we bring the emergency room to your home!

Paramedic training consists of well over a thousand hours of classroom study along with hospital and field training. There is also a large amount of continuing education that is required throughout a Paramedics career. Many people who start a paramedic training program do not finish. The training is difficult and lengthy. It takes a lot of commitment to become a Paramedic. It is very stressful and it is not for everybody!

The Sacramento Fire Department is definitely not the first Fire Department to use Paramedics. If you are as old as me, you will remember the TV show from the 70’s, “Emergency”. It showcased two Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedics. I’d be lying if I said this show didn’t influence my career choice!

Most of the Nations Fire Departments now utilize Paramedics and are the First Responders to their communities Medical Emergencies. It was a very natural progression for the Fire Service to respond to these types of calls. Fire Stations are strategically located through out a community and for a very long time Firefighters have been trained in basic first aid. Throughout the years we have definitely stepped up this level of service.

The Sacramento Fire Department currently has 23 Fire Engines, 9 Fire Trucks, and 12 Medics. All of our Medics (Ambulances) have Paramedics assigned to them and our Fire Engines and Trucks also have Paramedics on board. It would be very rare to find an Engine or Truck Company without a Paramedic on board. This is why we send a Fire Engine or Truck to every medical aid call. We can get a Paramedic to you in a short amount of time.

Our Firefighter/Paramedics not only serve the citizens of Sacramento, but they utilize their medical training all over the world. Our Firefighter/Paramedics responded to some of our largest disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 911 attacks. We also have three of our Firefighters currently serving our Country in the National Guard in Afghanistan as Flight Medics. A few other members of the Sacramento Fire Department have also served in Iraq and other parts of the world!

Sacramento Fire Reserves

2009-03-19T17:51:10Z

I have often written about the Sacramento Fire Department. But there is a segment of our department that is often overlooked and not many people know about. What I am talking about is the Sacramento Fire Department Reserves.

The Sacramento City Fire Volunteer Reserves can trace their history back to 1953 when they began as the Sacramento Fire Auxiliary for Civil Defense. Headquartered today at Fire Station 99, in a South Sacramento Fire Station that was closed a few years ago, the 50-member volunteer responds to many of the City’s emergencies including Haz Mat incidents, multiple alarm fires, DART calls, USAR activations, and other emergencies whenever additional resources are required.

The Sacramento City Fire Volunteers provide supplemental staffing, food, drinks, and EMS standby at the scene of emergencies. They also do a lot of Community Service projects and outreach. Many of these young men and women spend countless hours training and at the scenes of emergencies. Most are working hard to make the fire service a career and the training and experience they receive is invaluable.

The next time you see them at the scene of an emergency or out in the community, give them a “shout out” and let them know that their hard work is appreciated. They enjoy what they do and helping those in times of need.

You can find out more about their organization at www.firereserves.org

Crocker and the Art of Preparedness

2009-02-22T23:12:47Z

On Sunday's the, Crocker art Museum is free to patrons between 10am-1pm, but today's crowd was more about business. From what i was able to gather from another bystander, someone in the gallery smelled smoke and that brought out the local fire department. From what I was able to see and tell is that it must have been just a precautionary effort to make sure the smoke they were smelling was nothing more than smoke. It would be a sad day to lose any of the pieces of art in such a magnificent setting.

So called false alarms are blessings in disguise. I see this as a great opportunity for the fire department to keep their equipment ready.

Good job to all the men and women who made sure everything was okay.