On a frigid early December morning, Travis Akins stood at the front of a conference room in the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courthouse and took a deep breath, preparing to tell a group of parents something they might not be ready to hear. “We’re not going to baby your sons,” said Akins, a Chesterfield native and founder of Growth Through Opportunity, a 16-week program that provides young adults who have a variety of physical and/or intellectual disabilities with hands-on learning experiences, skill- and confidence-building and socialization through training alongside local first responders.
- PUB DATE: 4/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chesterfield Observer

The city of Grand Blanc will start its own fire department later this year. Beginning July 25, the city will provide services to its residents, a departure from a decades-long partnership with Grand Blanc Township. “Our primary concern when making this decision is the City’s safety and protection with care and respect,” reads a statement issued Wednesday, April 10 after the council’s vote to approve the move.
- PUB DATE: 4/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLive.com

Although 32-year-old Katherine Smith poured charcoal lighter fluid in the middle bay of the U-Do-It Car Wash in Burien nearly three years ago, investigators did not have enough evidence to link her to the crime until now. Smith lit a match, set the bay on fire and drove off on September 2016, according to court documents.
- PUB DATE: 4/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA TV

VIDEO: A multi-car wreck that also sent a semi-truck off the freeway brought traffic to a crawl for southbound drivers on Interstate 5 in Everett Friday morning. Washington State Patrol says shortly after 6 a.m. they got a call about a semi that lost its load on the Pacific Avenue on-ramp to I-5 southbound.
- PUB DATE: 4/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: King5 News

By Alan M. Petrillo

The Wabash (IN) Fire Department covers the city of Wabash and the southern two thirds of Wabash County, servicing approximately 28,000 residents in 300 square miles. When it came time to retire a 2009 PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Type III ALS ambulance, the department chose to continue to work with PL Custom and have it build a rig to replace the one it was retiring.

The PL Custom-built ambulance for Wabash has Whelen M series warning lights, Whelen LED 90 series scene lights, and a Whelen traffic advisor at the rear.

Chad Newsome, national sales manager for PL Custom, says that Wabash first purchased a PL Custom rig in 2009, followed by purchases in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019.  "They have been a good customer for a very long time," Newsome observes. "This most recent purchase is our Medallion model Type III with a 170-inch body and 72 inches of headroom. It's on a 2019  Ford E-450 Super Duty chassis with XL trim, a 100-inch cab-to-axle length, a wheelbase of 158 inches, a GVWR of 14,500 pounds, and is powered by a Triton V-10 gasoline engine."

The interior of the Wabash ambulance is lit by Whelen high-load LED dome lights, and three TecNiq LED panel lights directly over the cot.

Kenny Kine, inspector/paramedic for the Wabash Fire Department, says, "We cover fire, rescue, and EMS for the city of Wabash, and rescue and EMS for the southern two thirds of Wabash County, and as a fire-based service, we carry some fire equipment on our ambulances, like SCBA, irons, and turnout gear, so we needed to increase the size of some outside compartments to have room for all of that."

The Wabash ambulance is built on a 2019 Ford E-450 Super Duty chassis with XL trim powered by a Triton V-10 gasoline engine, with a wheelbase of 158 inches, a 100-inch cab-to-axle length, and a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 14,500 pounds.

Inside the rig, Kine notes, Wabash had PL Custom install opaque doors on a couple of narcotic cabinets to prevent anyone from getting a look at the narcotics carried. "We also wanted more electrical outlets inside the patient area," Kine says. "We got two in the action area, two where the IV pumps are located, one in the bench seat area, three 110-volt outlets in our front compartments for monitors and a narcotics safe, and four 12-volt outlets in the front compartment. Also, there is a high-end inverter on the rig to keep everything charged when we aren't plugged into a shore line."

The bench seat on the curb side of the ambulance can seat two medics, each protected by a six-point harness.

Dean Martin, owner of Crossroads Ambulance Sales & Service, who sold the PL Custom ambulance to Wabash, says the department asked for a unique CPR seat that would allow its medics more room to work on a patient. "PL Custom widened the CPR seat at 45 degrees in both front and back, which gives the medic the ability, depending on the