Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "health and safety"

Cat Lady Problem

2010-08-21T05:16:15Z

We have a problem in our neighborhood, and I suspect in other neighborhoods as well. We have a well meaning, but misguided women, traveling the streets and alleys of the neighborhood putting out dishes of cat food and water at night. I know her heart’s in the right place, but what she does not realize is that the animals that roam our alleys, and even our streets at night are not so much cats, as possums, rats, raccoons, and skunks. These wild animals are probably most numerous in the peripheral areas of the city, like Southside Park, where they can retreat during the day to the protected areas around freeway structures and levees. Yes, these creatures have a right to live too, but we do not need to encourage and feed them, and that is what our Cat Lady is doing.

These animals bring fleas and ticks with them into our back yards, and with the fleas and ticks--the diseases that each can carry with them! There is also a new pest. Bed bugs are staging a comeback on the East Coast, after being eradicated for so long that we only think of them as a joke. But they aren’t a joke and they too are spread by wild and domestic animals. Although they are not known to carry diseases, once established they are very hard to eradicate from mattresses and bedding, and it was only accomplished during WWII because they used massive amounts of DDT.

We have to stop thinking that this economic situation is

Elk Grove man dies at Discovery Park

2009-07-20T08:34:07Z

18 year old George Ho went under the water and never surfaced at Tiscornia Beach in Discovery Park Sunday afternoon at the confluence.

Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department,stated "at 2:54 PM, we responded to the beach at Discovery Park for an 18 year old male that went under and never surfaced."

"Ho and his friends were swimming about 25 yards off shore. Some boats came by, created a wake, he went under and never came up" said Doucette.

This occurred right where the Sacramento River and American River meet, the area known as The Confluence. Doucette stated that it is very deep there with a lot of logs and rocks. He further stated that in the past an abandon car had been found there.

After about an hour of surface searching, the fire department pulled their swimmers out of the water and went into a recovery mode, per Doucette.

Doucette noted that even as the recovery of Ho was taking place, there were many children in the water without life vests. "It's kind of ironic; you see what just happened here and people are still in the water. The big deal is, they just don't think it could happen to them."

The young man was identified as George Ho of Elk Grove. Per Doucette, Ho had just graduated from Monterey Trails High School in Elk Grove.

Doucette spoke with Ho's friends who were at Discovery with him. They stated that Ho did know how to swim and Doucette believed that alcohol was not a factor in this incident.

With Ho's father, family and friends looking on, a few hours later, the dive team was still unable to locate him and called off the recovery efforts.

Capt Doucette states, "This is a sad reminder of just how dangerous our rivers and waterways are. The victim’s friends reported that he knew how to swim. These waters do not discriminate against anyone, whether they are good swimmers or not. These waters will 'kill' you."

The Sacramento Fire Department also received assistance from the Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento County Park Rangers, the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, and the Yolo County Sheriffs Department.

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.

Deer lands through family truck windshield near downtown

2009-07-07T23:11:06Z

Tony Pineea and his four sons got a big shock when a deer landed in their windshield.

Tony Pineea was traveling North on Highway 160 out of downtown Sacramento Tuesday morning with his four sons when a deer emerged from the light rail area adjacent to the highway and jumped in front of their pickup truck at the Del Paso exit.

The deer hit so hard in the windshield area that the windshield broke through and collapsed in. The driver only sustained very minor injuries and refused transport to the hospital. Per Pineea, his sons were seatbelted and uninjured.

The deer did attempt to run off, however it was too severely injured. An on scene CHP officer had to euthanize the deer on site to end its suffering from unrecoverable injuries. The Del Paso off ramp was closed for a short time.

Per Captain Doucette of the Sacramento City Fire Department, deer do commonly roam that area this time of year and an occasional mountain lion can be seen.

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.

Firefighters rescue injured transient from water channel

2009-06-30T02:52:23Z

Sacramento, CA- Firefighters called to rescue an injured transient on the steep slope of a water channel

William Lockwood and his girlfriend, Angel Love have been residing under the overpass, that spans the water channel, on 88th Street off of Fruitridge Blvd. Monday morning Lockwood lost his footing at the top of the channel and tumbled down the steep cement side coming to a stop just before the water. Injured and unable to climb back up the steep cement slope, Angel summoned for help.

Sacramento Fire Truck 10 and Paramedics received the call near 11:30 a.m. The truck crew had to commence a rope rescue with the stokes litter to safely bring Lockwood to the top.

Lockwood was transported to the hospital by paramedics with minor injuries.