MEC&F Expert Engineers : 01/11/15

Sunday, January 11, 2015

WATER PIPES BURST AT VACANT BUSINESSES IN TROTWOOD, OHIO. THE THAWED PIPES DISCHARGE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WATER.



WATER PIPES BURST AT VACANT BUSINESSES IN TROTWOOD, OHIO.  THE THAWED PIPES DISCHARGE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WATER.





TROTWOOD —OHIO

UPDATE @ 3 p.m.
Crews left the Super Subby’s scene and responded a few blocks away to a water flow alarm at the former Elder Beerman building.

A burst pipe occurred there and water was flowing into the building.
Firefighters were able to shut the water supply off and open valves on the side of the building to drain the flooded structure.

We caught up with a Trotwood fire official there. He said they often see burst pipes when there’s a significant change in temperature.  The pipes froze and broke but no water appears at that time because it is FROZEN.  When the temperatures rise, this is when we typically see the water gushing through the pipe.

Temps have been warming into the upper 20 and 30s through the day today, up from near zero wind chills and temps in the teens on Saturday.

FIRST REPORT
A burst pipe in a vacant storefront in Trotwood has forced the closure of at least one neighboring business.
Super Subby’s, 5527 Salem Ave., was damaged from water that flowed from a broken water pipe in the adjacent vacant store space.
CheckSmart on the other side also sustained some water damage, but was able to remain open.
A Subby’s representative was not available for comment.

IT IS A WAR ZONE OUT THERE: DOZENS OF TOW TRUCKS CIRCLE BELTWAY IN MEMORY OF DRIVER KILLED IN DECEMBER



IT IS A WAR ZONE OUT THERE:  DOZENS OF TOW TRUCKS CIRCLE BELTWAY IN MEMORY OF DRIVER KILLED IN DECEMBER


These were the sounds of the mourning song for Hicham “AJ” Najdi: The sharp blasts of pickup trucks’ horns. The long bellows of flatbeds. The sputtering and rumbling of dozens and dozens of engines.
Najdi, a Fairfax County tow truck operator, was killed by a motorist who veered onto the shoulder of the Capital Beltway on Dec. 29, striking him. On Sunday, more than 140 tow truck operators drove around a large portion of the Beltway to honor his memory and attempt to prevent similar crashes.
“The red-and-blue lights are more respected than the amber lights out there,” said Richard Webster Jr., the Northern Virginia regional trainer for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Webster, a former tow truck driver, said that many drivers know state law requires them to move to the left if possible when a police car is stopped on the shoulder. But Virginia expanded the law to include tow trucks in 2010, and many drivers are not aware of that.
To inform them, tow truck drivers from around the region formed a caravan Sunday. More than 140 vehicles — wheel lifts, massive boom trucks and more — drove a route longer than 60 miles.

Hicham “AJ” Najdi's son, Josh Sylvia-Najdi, 18, and Najdi's sister, Zakia, comfort each other at the rally. AJ Najdi “was the definition of hardworking,” Sylvia-Najdi said. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
The first truck in the parade was a long flatbed carrying a smaller white Fairfax Towing and Recovery truck — the vehicle Najdi, 45, of Centreville, was using the day he was killed. He was on foot on the side of the road, picking up a car with a flat tire near the Route 7 exit in Fairfax County.
Truck driver Anthony B. Custis of Baltimore was charged with reckless driving for allegedly veering onto the shoulder and hitting Najdi. Virginia State Police said that Custis was holding a cellphone — which is illegal for commercial vehicle operators in Virginia — at the time of the crash and that his truck had faulty brakes.
Fairfax Towing has 18 vehicles and 20 employees. Owner Kris Gilbert said he was hoping an additional 20 to 30 trucks might come to the memorial. As more and more trucks — many from southern Virginia — poured into the parking lot of Fairfax High School, where the ride began, Gilbert was overwhelmed.
“We’re all competitors,” he said to the assembled drivers before the ride began. “But at the end of the day, we’re one big family.”
Grace Najdi, AJ Najdi’s sister, said that Sunday’s event was just the sort of demonstration he would have called to tell her about. “He picked up accidents,” she said. “So he would always tell us, ‘I don’t ever want to see you texting and driving. I don’t ever want to see you be reckless.’ 
Josh Sylvia-Najdi, the oldest of Najdi’s three children, said his father immigrated from Morocco when he was about 18, Josh’s age now. AJ was determined to send money back to Morocco for family there.
“He was the definition of hardworking,” Sylvia-Najdi said.

About 150 tow truck drivers loop the Beltway in Tyson’s Corner near where Hicham “AJ” Najdi was struck and killed Dec. 29. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
Sylvia-Najdi climbed on the back of a truck to address the crowd of drivers before they set off on their drive, which took them onto Interstate 66 West to the Beltway, north to Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, then all the way back on the Beltway to Interstate 95, which they took south to Woodbridge.
“Any of you who are dads, or family members, or friends — no one should have to suffer any tragedy like this,” Sylvia-Najdi said, encouraging them to raise awareness of the move-over law.
Gilbert asked those at the event to contact their legislators to ask for a sustained public awareness campaign and stiffer penalties for offenders. “That is 100 percent what I’m dedicated to after this,” he said.
The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn., maintains a memorial wall for tow truck drivers killed on the road. In 2014, it added 28 names.
The drivers at the event Sunday said they already knew that their job hazardous. Even many who did not know Najdi personally contributed to an online fundraiser for his children, which has raised nearly $11,000. At a lunch after the memorial drive, they put cash contributions in a bottle.
Gilbert announced a fundraising raffle of items contributed by the American Towing and Recovery Institute, and J.J. Redman immediately pulled a $100 bill out of his wallet to buy tickets.
Redman, whose family owns a towing company in Lorton, said he was shaken by Najdi’s death. “It’s 100 percent on your mind. You always have to watch your back,” he said. “If you get complacent out there, it’ll be the end of you. People just don’t care about you on the side of the road.”
Doug Johnson, 49, of D.J.’s Towing in Woodbridge, said he was hit by a church bus in 2005 while working at an accident site. His hip and an arm and a leg were broken.
After recovering, he went back to work. “We’re out there every day, and nobody respects us, and nobody cares about us until they need us,” he said.
Craig Clem, 44, came to the memorial from Stephens City, south of Winchester, where he said his family has run a towing company for 70 years. He started working for the business when he was 16. Now he has two children working for the company — and a younger son, 12, who is becoming aware of just how dangerous the family business is.
His son heard about the crash that killed Najdi. News of a tow truck driver’s death filled him with fear.
“He called me the second it happened, to see if it was me,” Clem said. “He wants his dad to come home.”
Clem came home that day. And he brought his young son with him Sunday to ride around the Beltway to pay tribute to a father who didn’t.

1 DEAD, 3 HURT WHEN TRUCK ROLLS INTO YARD IN AN OTAY MESA HOME EARLY SUNDAY, SAN DIEGO POLICE SAYS



1 DEAD, 3 HURT WHEN TRUCK ROLLS INTO YARD IN AN OTAY MESA HOME EARLY SUNDAY, SAN DIEGO POLICE SAYS

— A suspected drunken driver was killed and three of his passengers were injured when his truck overturned, rolled down a hill and crashed into the backyard of an Otay Mesa home early Sunday, San Diego police said. 

The motorist in his 20s was driving west on Del Sol Boulevard when he lost control of his Nissan Titan truck about 12:15 a.m., police Officer Robert Heims said. 

The truck overturned into eastbound lanes near Beyer Way and rolled down a hill, Heims said. It then smashed through a fence and into the backyard of a house on Soldau Drive.
The driver was thrown from the truck and died, Heims said. A front-seat passenger was also ejected, but he survived. Two women in the backseat were also hurt.

The three passengers, all in their 20s, were taken to hospitals. None of them was wearing a seatbelt, Heims said. 

Police said alcohol is suspected in the crash.

COLORADO STATE PATROL: PUEBLO WEST MAN DIES IN TANKER ROLLOVER ACCIDENT. DIESEL WAS SPILLED ONTO THE HIGHWAY.



COLORADO STATE PATROL: PUEBLO WEST MAN DIES IN TANKER ROLLOVER ACCIDENT




LA JUNTA - COLORADO


Highway 50 - west of Las Animas to La Junta - was closed for several hours after a deadly tanker rollover crash and diesel spill that occurred early Sunday morning. 


Pueblo West man, 52-year-old Donald Chambers, was heading eastbound on Highway 50 at around 5 a.m. While entering a curve, the tanker began to roll. The trailer started to roll first and then the truck. It rolled 1 3/4 times before coming to a stop, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Chambers was pronounced dead at the scene. CSP says speed was the main factor in the crash. 


Following the crash, there was a diesel fuel spill. The CSP Hazmat team handled the situation.  


Once the tanker was in the upright position, Highway 50 reopened, according to CSP. 

ONE DEAD IN GRANDE PRAIRIE HEAD-ON 2-TRUCK CRASH IN ALBERTA, CANADA



ONE DEAD IN GRANDE PRAIRIE HEAD-ON 2-TRUCK CRASH IN ALBERTA, CANADA



Highway 40 south of Grande Prairie remains closed



One man is dead after a head-on collision between two trucks on the highway south of Grande Prairie Sunday morning.


RCMP say emergency crews were called to the scene of a head-on collision between two trucks, that happened at about 7:45 a.m. on Highway 40 near the Cutbank River. The area is about 80 kilometres south of Grande Prairie.


Emergency responders pronounced the male driver of one of the trucks dead at the scene. RCMP say the other driver was not seriously injured.


Highway 40 was closed in both directions after the crash while RCMP continued to investigate.


The cause of the collision is still under investigation. RCMP are not yet releasing any other information about the victim, as next of kin are still being contacted.

//_________________________________________________//

A man is dead after an early morning head-on crash Sunday between two trucks south of Grande Prairie.


Emergency workers were called to the collision on Highway 40, about 80 kilometres south of town, just before 8 a.m..


One driver was killed in the crash, while the person in the other truck was not seriously injured.


RCMP Cpl. Roy Kennedy said the cause of the crash isn't known, but road conditions have been a concern in the area. 


“That road between Grande Prairie and Grande Cache does have a reputation for being a treacherous road, he said.


"Especially during the winter months, the weather can be unpredictable.”

Kennedy urged drivers to keep road conditions in mind when travelling in the area. 

“We all need to be extra cautious on the roadways. There have been many, many injuries and fatalities across the province.”


RCMP have closed off a section of the highway as they investigate the crash.