Steven Henshaw
Reading Eagle, Pa.
(TNS)

Feb. 7—A Douglassville man led police on a high-speed chase through parts of three municipalities, and one covered bridge, after hitting an Oley Fire Company truck and the fire chief’s personal vehicle Monday evening in plain sight of a police officer, police said.

The events began when the fire company and an ambulance crew responded to Oysterdale Road and Route 73 in Oley Township shortly before 6 p.m. for a report of a person asleep or suffering from a medical issue behind the wheel of an SUV.

Responders arrived to find a man later identified as Michael V. Konchan, 27, passed out in the driver’s seat of the SUV with the motor running, investigators said.

Central Berks Regional police provided the following account:

When an emergency medical technician reached into the vehicle to turn off the ignition, Konchan woke up and grabbed the man’s forearm.

Konchan then shifted the transmission to drive.

Police Officer Joshua Steingraber pulled up to witness what happened next. With numerous emergency personnel around the SUV, it began to move with the medic partially inside the vehicle.

The SUV struck a parked firetruck occupied by firefighters, and Oley Township Fire Chief Michael Kline’s unoccupied personal vehicle.

The medic was eventually able to pull away and move clear of the SUV.

Konchan proceeded east onto Covered Bridge Road at a high speed, continuing into Earl Township and finally into Amity Township, illegally passing other vehicles and running stop signs along the way.

The chase lasted about 11 miles with Konchan driving at speeds reaching about 90 mph. It ended when Konchan pulled into the Amity Township Fire Company parking lot on Pine Forge Road and he was taken into custody without incident.

Konchan told officers that he didn’t remember when the incident started and got scared when he realized police were chasing him. He admitted using fentanyl and cocaine about a half-hour before the incident.

Police found several packets of suspected fentanyl in his wallet.

Konchan of the first block of Mimosa Circle was taken to Reading Hospital for unspecified treatment before being taken to the central processing center.

He remained free to await a hearing following arraignment before District Judge Steven M. Chieffo in Reading Central Court.

Konchan faces charges of aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding an officer, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, hit-and-run and drug possession, along with numerous summary traffic offenses.

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The city of Newcastle’s new fire station will be located off Highway 62 near Southeast 5th, just down the street from the animal hospital, news9.com reported.

This will replace the current fire station near the police department and elementary school, the report said.

The new station will feature individual sleeping quarters for up to 10 personnel, four apparatus bays for equipment, and a training classroom that will accommodate up to 25 students, the report said.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department has replaced a previously used firefighting foam with a new safer foam in an effort to improve the health of our firefighters, community and environment, the department said in a news release Monday.

In 2018, Washington State passed the Firefighting Agents and Equipment Law that prohibited the use of class B AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam), a type of firefighting foam that contains PFASs (poly or per-fluorinated alkyl substances) for training purposes by fire departments.

The previous class B firefighting foam contained harmful nonstick chemicals or “PFASs” which have been linked to contaminated water supplies across the country.

While the previous foam was still allowed by the state to be used in emergency response calls involving flammable liquids, the Spokane Valley Fire Department made the decision to replace all our class B foam with the new safer firefighting foam without PFASs.

“This was the right decision, to remove the harmful foam for the safety of our firefighters, our citizens and our environment,” Spokane Valley Fire Chief Frank Soto Jr. said.

By Mike Ciampo

Sloatsburg is a quaint little village in the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County (NY). Nestled between the Ramapo Mountains and three state parks, Harriman State Park in New York sits east of town, Sterling Forest State Park (NY) sits to the northwest, while the Ringwood State Park (NJ) sits on its western edge.

Prior to the town existing, the passageway between the mountains was used by Indians and then soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Today that pass is now the heavily traveled New York State Thruway. The busy artery has no direct exits into the village, but it has its share of accidents and vehicle fires that require the fire department to respond. Today the village is considered a suburb of New York City and is primarily a residential community protected by the Sloatsburg Fire Department. The department, since it was incorporated in 1923, has been volunteer and its first fire apparatus was purchased in 1931 from American La France. The 500-gpm pumper, which is still kept in good running condition and maintained by the firefighters, is used for parades and other special events.

Ladder 15-78 is a 2016 E-One HP-78 Typhoon aluminum cab single-axle aerial ladder. The cab of the apparatus is of a walk-thru design which has seating for eight firefighters. The cab also has a 12” raised roof for crew comfort while entering and exiting the apparatus. There is a notch in the top of the cab to allow the aerial ladder to nest lower, so the apparatus fits under low bridges and into older firehouses. Two of the cab windows have American flag signage affixed to them, which cuts out the sun but still enables firefighters to see out the windows.

The rig is painted white over red and has two white reflective stripes running along the bottom of the cab to the rig’s first compartment behind the pump panel. Here the striping goes on a vertical angle and then runs horizontally alo