Daily Freeman, Kingston, N.Y.

(MCT)

Sep. 29—KINGSTON, N.Y. — A state grant totaling more than $56,000 to help the Kingston Fire Department purchase two emergency vehicles for land and water rescues was announced Thursday by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey.

Hinchey made the announcement on the Kingston Point Rail Trail. She was joined by Mayor Steve Noble, Kingston Fire Chief Chris Rea, and Capt. Bryan Cafaldo, the president of the Kingston Professional Firefighters.

“With the opening of new rail trails and the 500-acre Sojourner Truth State Park, the Kingston Fire Department had the foresight to recognize that they needed different rescue vehicles to help get people to safety and combat outdoor disasters both efficiently and timely,” Hinchey said in a press release. “The brave members of the Kingston Fire Department protect our community at all times, in all conditions, and through some of the most severe crises. I’m proud to deliver the grant funding they need to bolster their arsenal of emergency response equipment.”

The funding is going toward a utility terrain vehicle and a fireboat to help members fight fires and conduct rescues in areas inaccessible to firetrucks, including on local trails, in wooded areas, and along the Hudson River, the release said.

The awarded grant funding was secured through the State and Municipal Facilities Capital grant program administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York to support community and economic development. Hinchey has secured more than $1 million in SAM grant funding for firefighters in the 46th Senate District in just her first year in office, according to the release.

Photos: Press conference on grant for Kingston Fire Department

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Controlling the Scene Jim Stopa

Enhancing nighttime safety is an industrywide initiative that has been increasing in importance over the past several years.

Fleet managers, first responders, and the motoring public all have a personal stake in seeing increased nighttime safety. Lighting studies and the science behind them continue to guide the direction of the newest safety enhancements that are brought to market. Today, there are four critical lighting features to consider to ensure apparatus are optimized for a calm and safe nighttime emergency scene.

LOWERING INTENSITY

LEDs have brought tremendous intensity and efficiency gains since manufacturers started using them for warning technology in the early 2000s. The lumens per watt efficacy has constantly increased year after year, which is critical when warning the public in the bright daytime sun. However, because of glare, finding a balance to this intensity at night has become an ongoing and increasing theme for apparatus. Traditional thinking says that brighter is better, but that is starting to change according to Dr. John Bullough, the program director for population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Albany, NY. “It’s beginning to sink in because 5 to 10 years ago, even just the suggestion that there may be times when you might want to reduce the intensity, people would say, ‘That’s foolish.’ But now you know, only a few would say that. So, it’s changing,” Bullough says. Bullough is a leading industry expert who directs research in transportation lighting and safety at the school’s Light and Health Research Center. He has served as primary investigator for studies sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Fire Protection Research Foundation of the National Fire Protection Association, the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, and others.

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While more research is needed to identify ideal nighttime intensity standards, if Bullough’s instincts are correct, lowering light intensity does contribute to a calmer nighttime scene. “I think when you have a situation where vehicles are stopped or parked, my sense is that’s a time when slowing the lights down, turning down the intensity, using a simpler flash pattern, and synchronizing things would be a bit more helpful,” Bullough says, when asked what would make nig

In April, at the start of the baseball season, the Angels and the city of Anaheim believed they were weeks away from finalizing a stadium deal. Now, at the end of a season in which the team and the stadium deal collapsed, Anaheim is bracing for the possibility the Angels could file two lawsuits against the city, LATimes.com reported.

On Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council is scheduled to discuss behind closed doors two “potential cases” of “anticipated litigation,” according to a meeting agenda posted Thursday night, the report said.

The agenda links to a letter dated Thursday, pointing out a new issue: Anaheim plans to build a fire station in the Angel Stadium parking lot, which the Angels say the city has no unilateral right to do, according to the report.

In August, the city council approved a contract for the fire station, in order to accommodate development in the so-called Platinum Triangle area, including the “OC Vibe” entertainment village around Honda Center, the report said.

The Angels’ stadium lease allows the city to develop a portion of the parking lot, but only for the following uses: a football stadium, a youth sports facility, hotels, shops, restaurants, offices and entertainment venues.

For more on this story, please go to LATimes.com.

Firefighters in a Pittsfield Township noticed a damp floor in one of their fire stations this spring, MLive.com reported.

After several months of searching, they determined the leak stemmed from a faulty shower pan, and specialized testing revealed black mold had taken hold, a fire official told township leaders during their meeting September 28, the report said.

The first tests at Fire Station 3 at 705 West Ellsworth Road came back with results the official described as “doomsday.” Officials sought another opinion. Further testing showed slight mold, not dangerous, according to the report.

Officials taped off the area and explored both the costs of remediating the issue and potentially finding temporary housing for firefighters, the report said.

The Pittsfield Township board OK’d paying for remediation costs up to roughly $43,700, as well as up to $25,000 for temporary rehousing of firefighters, should it be necessary, according to the report.

For now it appears they will be able to stay in the station safely, in rooms that haven’t been affected, the report said.

About 14 miles away from its longtime home on the barrier island, a Seaside Park fire truck that served residents well for decades sits seemingly abandoned, Lavallette-Seaside.Shorebeat.com reported.

Technically, it’s not abandoned – it’s for sale – and the story of how it ended up parked on the side of the road in Lakewood for years is emblematic of the many injudicious consequences of Superstorm Sandy, the report said.

The 1983 Mack bucket truck can be found in a gravel lot on Route 88 in Lakewood, just off the Garden State Parkway and down the road from a string of gigantic car dealerships, according to the report. There are just under 18,000 miles on the clock and, presumably, it remains for sale. The aforementioned gravel lot belongs to a small used car dealer who came to own the fire truck in the storm’s aftermath.

The classic fire engine wasn’t lost in a flood or consumed by the ocean’s wrath, the report said. Instead, firefighters in Seaside Park took it over the bridge before Sandy hit in order to make sure it would not be destroyed in the oncoming storm. After the system moved out, members of the volunteer department headed back to the island to rescue stragglers and make sure the town was secure.

The aging truck suffered a breakdown in the midst of the storm response, with mechanics determining an axle needed to be replaced, as well as some other work – a major project for an aging fire truck, the report said. An insurance carrier offered $28,000 for the value of the truck, however the deductible was $25,000.

For more on this story, please go to Lavallette-Seaside.Shorebeat.com.

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