MEC&F Expert Engineers : 07/14/15

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

 JULY 14, 2015

MACHIAS, Maine — 


The man who drove an all-terrain vehicle that rolled over and killed a 4-year-old boy in 2013 was indicted on a manslaughter charge Tuesday by the Washington County grand jury.

Troy R. Dennison, 39, of East Machias also was indicted on charges of operating an ATV under the influence, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of an ATV and endangering the welfare of a child.

Dennison had been operating his two-seater 2007 Yamaha Rhino 660 UTV with his 8-year-old son and 8-year-old nephew when the crash occurred on Aug. 24, 2013, off Cutler Road in East Machias, according to BDN archives.

The nephew accidentally stepped on the accelerator, and the vehicle went over an embankment, rolling over 4-year-old Wesley Keeton who had been playing nearby, the Maine Warden Service reported at the time.

Bail conditions imposed on Dennison on Tuesday require he not use or possess alcohol or drugs, according to court documents.

No further information about the case was available late Tuesday afternoon, and a call to Washington County District Attorney Matt Foster was not immediately returned.


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Boy, 4, struck and killed by utility ATV in East Machias

 Last modified Aug. 26, 2013, at 4:11 p.m

EAST MACHIAS, Maine — 

A 4-year-old boy was struck and killed by a side-by-side utility ATV on Saturday morning in an accident off Cutler Road, according to a press release from the Maine Warden Service. 

Warden service spokesman Cpl. John MacDonald reported that Troy Denison, 37, of Cutler Road was operating his two-seater 2007 Yamaha Rhino 660 UTV with his 8-year-old son at around 10 a.m. As they were driving around their home, an 8-year-old nephew who lived next door ran to Denison and asked for a ride. The nephew got in and they began riding around the Denison home once again.

While riding, the nephew accidentally stepped on the accelerator of the UTV. The machine accelerated and encountered an embankment, causing the vehicle to roll over. All three passengers in the UTV walked away, although Troy Denison suffered lacerations to his head. When they assessed the scene, they quickly realized they had rolled over 4-year-old Wesley Keeton, a younger brother of Denison’s nephew. Wesley had been playing nearby and was in the path of the UTV. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Game warden Sgt. Dave Craven, who helped investigate the scene, said, “This was a tragic incident brought about by very unfortunate circumstances. Our deepest sympathy goes out to both families involved.” 

A team of several game wardens, Downeast EMS, Machias EMS, East Machias Fire and Cutler Navy Fire Department assisted at the accident scene. Both the medical examiner’s office and Washington County district attorney’s office have been notified. The incident remains under investigation.


A 12-year old boy seriously hurt riding a four-wheeler in Houston on June 3 has died in a Memphis hospital of his injuries.


JULY 14, 2015

HOUSTON, TEXAS


A boy seriously hurt riding a four-wheeler in Houston on June 3 has died in a Memphis hospital of his injuries.

Local authorities were informed Sunday night the 12-year-old, whose name has not been released, died from head injuries he received when the ATV he was riding hit a parked car and careened into a telephone pole at 307 Thomas Street in the Beaver Creek subdivision.

Houston Police Chief Billy Voyles said at the time of the accident two boys were riding the four-wheeler. One was airlifted to Memphis in very serious condition and the other youngster was treated in Tupelo and released to his parents.

“They hit a car parked in a driveway, and it flipped them into the telephone pole,” said Voyles. “Neither one of them was wearing a helmet, and it was a tragic accident.”

Voyles reminded ATV drivers they are not allowed on city streets unless they have a street-legal vehicle.

Voyles said to be street-legal, an ATV must have a tag, be driven by a licensed driver and have proper lights, turn signals, horn and other safety equipment. He said all drivers and riders of ATVs and motorcycles must wear a helmet and obey all motor vehicle traffic laws.

ATV are dangerous: Gibson Co., Indiana teen in serious condition after ATV and 4-Wheeler crash

 
Posted: July 14, 2015


GIBSON CO., IN (WFIE) - 

A Gibson County teenager is in serious condition after an ATV accident on Sunday. 

15-year-old Casey Nurrenburn of Fort Branch is being treated at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. 

DNR officials say he was a passenger in a side by side ATV, when the 14-year-old driver hit a four-wheeler pulling out of a driveway on County Road 900 South.

Nurrenburn has serious injuries to his leg, arm, and head. 

The 15-year-old driver of the four-wheeler hurt his leg in the crash.

The side by side ATV driver was wearing a seatbelt.

The case is being turned over to the prosecutor because it's illegal to drive ATVs on public roadways without a driver's license.


//---------------///

Two teens hurt in ATV and 4-Wheeler collision accident in Gibson Co., Indiana

Posted: July 13, 2015
 
Two teens injured in ATV accident (Source: IDNR Law Enforcement District 7)
Two teens injured in ATV accident (Source: IDNR Law Enforcement District 7)
 
(Source: IDNR Law Enforcement District 7)
(Source: IDNR Law Enforcement District 7)
 
GIBSON CO., IN (WFIE) - 
 Two teenagers were hurt in an accident involving an ATV and a four-wheeler in Gibson County.

Indiana Conservation Officers say 14-year-old Grace Morgan of Francisco was driving an ATV east on CR 900 South Sunday afternoon when she hit a four-wheeler pulling out of a driveway.

Morgan's passenger, 15-year-old Casey Nurrenburn of Fort Branch, was thrown from the ATV when it rolled over.

Nurrenburn has serious injuries to his leg, arm, and head.  He was flown to St. Mary's Hospital and is now at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

The driver of the four-wheeler, 15-year-old Alex Kruse of Fort Branch, suffered non life-threatening injuries to his leg and hip.

Officers say Morgan was wearing a safety belt, but no other protective equipment was worn by three teens involved in the accident.

The case is being turned over to the Gibson County Prosecutor's Office for review.

Contract worker injured in fall at L'Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, LA



Posted: July 14, 2015
A contractor was injured in a fall at L'Auberge Casino Resort early Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports.

The man was an employee of PB Technology, a maintenance company, L'Auberge spokeswoman Kerry Anderson said.

The man fell between a boat and the hotel, according to Lake Charles firefighters.

KPLC has reached out to PB Technology for more information.

Lawmakers: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration really, really, really sucks

Lawmaker: Pipeline agency lagged on reforms that could have factored in California oil spill

The Associated Press
FILE - In this May 21, 2015 file photo, workers prepare an oil containment boom at Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, Calif. The nation's top pipeline regulator is lagging in meeting congressional requirements imposed several years ago but it is planning to increase staff for safety inspections, its interim director says. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has been facing new questions about its effectiveness after a May 19 break near Santa Barbara created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Associated Press
By KEVIN FREKING and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agency that oversees the safety of the nation's pipelines failed to follow through on congressional reforms that could have made a difference in a May break that created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years, a House committee chairman said Tuesday.

In a rare display of agreement on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats on the Energy and Power Subcommittee expressed frustration with inaction by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which has yet to complete more than a dozen requirements outlined in a 2011 federal law.

Among the unfinished work is revising regulations to establish specific time periods for notification of authorities after an accident is confirmed. The new rule would require notice as quickly as possible and always within an hour.

The owner of the California line, Plains All American Pipeline, has been criticized for taking about 90 minutes to alert federal responders after confirming the spill near Santa Barbara.

"Some of these provisions I am convinced would have made a difference in the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara had they been implemented in a timely manner," said Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Other incomplete requirements include issuing regulations on shut-off valves for new lines that can quickly stop the flow of gas or oil in an accident and regulations that would require leak detection systems on hazardous liquid pipelines and establish leak-detection standards, according to the committee.

The agency has completed 26 of 42 reforms from the 2011 law, but the California spill has given new urgency to questions about the agency's effectiveness and its progress on the remaining requirements.

The failed line in California released up to 101,000 gallons of oil after a breach along a heavily corroded section of pipe. An estimated 21,000 gallons reached the Pacific Ocean and goo washed up on beaches as far as 100 miles away.
It's not clear why the problems with the pipe were not detected by company inspections.

Democratic Rep. Lois Capps, whose district includes the coastline where the spill occurred, said she was alarmed that inspections underestimated corrosion that had occurred in the pipeline.

"There's clearly a problem here," Capps said.

Federal regulations require the company to notify the National Response Center, a clearinghouse for reports of hazardous-material releases, "at the earliest practicable moment." State law requires immediate notification of a release or a threatened release.

Plains All American's internal planning documents repeatedly stress the importance of notifying the government of a leak as quickly as possible.

Records filed by Santa Barbara County indicate that firefighters who arrived at the scene just before noon on May 19 quickly recognized that some sort of leak or spill had occurred. Crude was gushing from a bluff like a fire hose "without a nozzle," the records said.

However, company employees at the scene did not confirm a leak until about 1:30 p.m. and it would be nearly 3 p.m. before the company would contact the response center. By then, the federal response led by the Coast Guard was underway.

At the hearing, Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey told the agency's interim executive director, Stacy Cummings, that he was "deeply concerned about PMHSA's ability to carry out its mission."

He also said the Obama administration shares some of the blame for the lack of progress because the White House Office of Management and Budget takes so long in evaluating proposed regulatory changes.

Cummings said OMB insight has always led to a better product, in her experience. She added that the agency is making progress but did not give lawmakers a detailed timeline for completion.

"We share your concern and sense of urgency," she told lawmakers.

Dozens of oil-soaked ducks rescued from Mimico Creek after mineral oil spill from a truck rollover on Highway 427 in Toronto, Ontario







Ducks found covered in oil after mineral spill in Mimico Creek in Toronto
Dozens of ducks found covered in oil have been removed from a Mimico creek after a truck rollover on Highway 427 caused a spill last night.

























Chris Fox, CP24.com
Published Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Dozens of oil-soaked ducks have been rescued from Mimico Creek and officials say they fear that the total number of animals affected could be in the hundreds.

The ducks, which were unable to fly due to the oily coating on their feathers, were found at West Deane Park in the Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road area early on Tuesday morning.

According to wildlife rescue officials, the substance on the ducks is believed to be mineral oil, which does not have the same corrosive qualities as traditional petroleum but still weighs the birds down in the water and affects the waterproofing of their feathers.
The spill is more than likely the result of a truck rollover at Highways 401 and 427 on Monday night, according to Toronto Fire.

“There are probably hundreds of animals affected by this judging by the length of this river and the amount that has been contained to this point,” Andrew Wright of the Toronto Wildlife Centre told CP24 at the scene. “We are fearing the worst and hoping for the best but I think we are going to be out here for a long time collecting affected wildlife.”

According to Wright, the ducks are being captured by volunteers and transferred to an area where they can be cleaned.

The ducks will then be returned to the wild once they have been seen by a veterinarian.

“These are birds that primarily spend their time in water so when they are spending time in water and the oil has affected the waterproofing of their feathers they get heavy, they can’t fly and they become very susceptible to predators,” Wright said.

Toronto Fire has installed a boom across the mouth of Mimico Creek to prevent the further spread of the oil into Lake Ontario.

Crews dig up abandoned electric cable at Salty Brine after explosion that broke the bones of a female beach patron



narragansett beach explosion digging

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — 

The puzzlement and speculation continued, as crews dug up a thick electrical cable Tuesday at the site of this weekend’s unexplained explosion at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett.

While most of the beach remained open to people who wanted to enjoy the sand and surf Tuesday, some of the beach had been closed down.

Several agencies were working together to dig up the cable, which was buried a couple feet deep, requiring a lot of digging from an excavator. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management told WPRI.com Tuesday both the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were inspecting that cable and the jetty itself.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, the DEM director said the cables belonged to the Coast Guard and were “de-engergized” in 2007 when it switched to solar power for its navigational tools on the jetty.


Crews ended up cutting the cable into pieces Tuesday and carrying them away.
Kathleen Danise, 60, of Waterbury, Conn., is now recovering from broken bones after the explosion Saturday threw her 10 feet into the air and onto rocks of a nearby jetty.

“We’ve taken this matter very seriously,” said Larry Mouradjian, DEM Bureau of Natural Resources. “Obviously, we have an injured beach patron and that’s very concerning to us. What’s more concerning is we don’t readily understand exactly what happened.”

The state fire marshal said there is no evidence of an explosion.

“We have absolutely no evidence to lead us to believe that this was an explosive event,” said Jack Chartier, Rhode Island State Fire Marshal.
Officials continued to reassure people the beach is safe. They also say there’s no evidence of a malicious incident.

3 injured in 4-story building collapse in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, NYC



BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn, NYC — 


Firefighters and other emergency responders rushed to the pile of rubble left after a building in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon, injuring three people.

A four-story building at 1438 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant completely fell in on itself around 2:30 p.m.

EMS officials say a 3 people suffered minor injuries from debris.

No one was inside when the building pancaked.


Adjoining buildings at 1440, 1442 and 1444 Fulton Street are being evacuated as the FDNY and Department of Buildings evaluate their stability.

The building at 1438 was the subject of multiple past complaints citing falling bricks and an apparently unstable facade, according to the Department of Buildings.

The A and C subway lines experienced delays because of the collapse.

Suspicious Fire Broke Out at Former Alameda Naval Air Station


A fire broke out July 12 at a vacant barracks around the 1000 block of West Midway Ave. at the former Alameda Naval Air Station is under investigation as suspicious, a fire department official said. (Google photo)
A fire broke out July 12 at a vacant barracks around the 1000 block of West Midway Ave. at the former Alameda Naval Air Station is under investigation as suspicious, a fire department official said. (Google photo)
 
ALAMEDA, California -- 

Alameda firefighters are treating as suspicious a fire that broke out Sunday at a vacant barracks at the former Alameda Naval Air Station.

No one was injured during the fire in the 1000 block of West Midway Avenue, where a passer-by reported dark smoke coming from a window at 6:08 p.m., Alameda fire Capt. Jim Colburn said.

Firefighters declared the blaze, which was on the second floor of the two-story building, extinguished about 45 minutes later.

The damage was mostly to one room, its contents and hallway, Colburn said.
Crews found it difficult to contain the fire because of locked doors throughout the building.

"It took us a while for us to reach the source of the fire," Colburn said.

Three engines, two ladder trucks, an ambulance and a duty chief initially responded. All on-duty firefighters were later dispatched because of the large size of the building, which has not been used as a military barracks since the U.S. Navy base closed in 1997. The former base is now called Alameda Point.
There was evidence of squatters having occupied the building.

Alameda police and an Alameda fire investigator are still investigating the cause of the fire, which Colburn said is currently considered suspicious.

Along with Alameda firefighters, Alameda police, Pacific Gas & Electric and Alameda Municipal Power responded to the scene. The Oakland Fire Department also covered Alameda fire stations while crews worked to knock down the fire.

Union Pacific Admits Jumping The Gun, Misjudging Wind Before Halting Metra Trains in Chicago


 
CHICAGO (CBS) — 

 Trains on three busy Metra lines were halted for about 90 minutes Monday morning, out of fear of high winds from storms that swept through the area, but it appears to have been much ado about nothing.

Metra stopped all trains on the Union Pacific North, Northwest, and West lines around 5:30 a.m., due to the possibility of dangerously high winds. Trains didn’t continue running until 7 a.m., creating significant delays for thousands of Metra commuters.

Metra doesn’t make the call to halt service on those lines; that’s up to Union Pacific, which owns the lines.

Wind speeds of up to 60 mph were predicted, which is enough to shake a Metra car off the tracks, so Union Pacific – which runs those three lines – halted service as the storm approached.

“Those lighter weight cars are very susceptible to higher winds,” Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said. 

However, as the morning passed, extreme weather did not surface, and Union Pacific admitted it made the call to halt service too soon. It relied first on weather forecasts, and not a system of anemometers – or wind speed sensors – on the ground.

“Safety for us is always number one,” Davis said. “They want to be sure that they don’t put the commuters in any kind of danger.”

Union Pacific’s dispatch center in Omaha decided to halt trains, based on reports from its weather consultants, who aren’t necessarily in Chicago; but as dispatch later assessed data from wind speed monitors along its tracks in Illinois, and spoke with crews on the ground, managers realized trains could have been rolling all along.

“We want them to understand and know that we’re looking out for their safety,” Davis said.

Experts say wind gusts above 60 miles an hour can topple trains. 

“Lower wind gust have also toppled in the past It depends on the wind direction, how much area is exposed, how the train is loaded and some forth,” said Dr. Ganesh Raman of IIT. 

Dr. Raman says Metra’s double decker trains are especially at risk. 

Commuter Kurt Drain said he’s glad officials were erring on the side of caution, but he said it was still frustrating.

“You’d hope that there’d be a little bit more hands-on ability to determine what’s actually going on,” he said.

Ironically, it’s the system of anemometers along Union Pacific’s tracks that is supposed to help the railroad make the most educated decisions for service and safety. Data from that system was reviewed Monday morning, just not in time to avoid the halt in service, but in enough time to get things back on track.

A Metra spokesperson now says, “We have reached out to Union Pacific and received their commitment that in the future they will rely on data from the anemometers when making decisions about operating during high wind events.”

Buffett will benefit as corrupt Republican pigs bid to weaken train safety rule



Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett talks in front of a mock BNSF railroad engine at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in this May 1, 2010 file photograph.
Reuters/Rick Wilking/Files
 
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to be a chief beneficiary of a bid by Senate Republicans to weaken new regulations to improve train safety in the $2.8 billion crude-by-rail industry, a key cog in the development of the vast North American shale oil fields.
A series of oil train accidents, including the July 2013 explosion of a train carrying crude in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people, led U.S. and Canadian regulators to announce sweeping safety rules in May. Among other things, U.S. oil trains are required to install new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes.

But in late June, the Republican-controlled Senate Commerce Committee approved a measure to drop that requirement, and order years of new research to confirm the safety benefits of ECP brakes.

ADVERTISING
On Wednesday, the panel will decide whether to send the measure to the full Senate, setting the stage for a fight with Democrats who say the repeal would delay the use of feature that can help avoid catastrophic derailments and minimize the consequences of accidents that do occur.

The looming debate pits Democrats, federal regulators, safety advocates and environmentalists against the crude-by-rail industry, which claims that installing the brakes would slap an unnecessary $3 billion cost on railroads, oil refiners and other owners of rolling stock, and potentially jeopardize safety.

BNSF Railway Co, the No. 2 U.S. railroad, which Buffett owns through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) holding company, is the leading U.S. railroad for crude oil shipments, controlling three-quarters of the carload volume in 2013. Along with CSX Corp (CSX.N), it's also associated with the most oil train accidents, according to a Reuters analysis of incident reports.

Environmental groups estimate that 25 million Americans live near tracks traversed by crude oil shipments, making ECP brakes and other federal requirements essential to ensuring safety. Because the brakes act simultaneously on all cars and locomotives, they give train operators greater control and allow trains to stop more quickly than conventional air brakes, which slow rail cars in succession, advocates say.

"To walk away from what we know to be the best technology is pretty crazy," said Sean Dixon, an attorney with clean water advocacy group Riverkeeper.

Democrats will try to strike out the ECP amendment by offering a measure of their own when the committee meets on Wednesday, according to an aide.  If the attempt fails, Democrats expect to fight the amendment on the floor of the Senate.

But the rail industry says the equipment is unreliable and could jeopardize safety, while further eroding the competitiveness of transporting oil by rail, which is already $5 to $10 a barrel more expensive than pipeline transmission.

ECP brakes are made mainly by two U.S.-based manufacturers -- New York Air Brake, the U.S. unit of Germany's Knorr-Bremse AG, and Wabtec Corp. While a New York Air Brake official said ECP technology is reliable, the company has said that ECP brakes aren't a solution for oil trains because most derailments are caused by a broken track, wheel or axle, and ECP brakes can’t stop an accident once a train starts to derail.

    "It's the wrong solution for the problem," company president Mike Hawthorne told Reuters.

    Wabtec officials did not return phone calls.  
    RAIL LOBBYING IN FULL SWING
    The most forceful lobbying against ECP brakes has come via the Association of American Railroads, a trade group that represents more than 20 freight railroad companies, including BNSF and CSX, Congressional staff said.
    AAR's aim "is anything that results in delaying, diluting or ultimately overturning the regulation," one Democratic Senate aide said.
    AAR has spent $14.5 million since 2012 lobbying Congress and the administration, including topics related to the crude-by-rail business, according to Senate records reviewed by Reuters.

    Among individual railroads, BNSF was the top lobbyist, having spent $12.7 million since 2012. Buffett also has a small stake in oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N), an owner of oil tank cars that has spent $6.4 million lobbying Congress.

    BNSF's closest lobbying rival is Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N) at $7.5 million. Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO), CSX, and Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N) have each spent between $3 million and $4 million during the same period. Union Pacific is the biggest U.S. railroad, while CSX is third and Norfolk Southern is fourth.

    The records don't break down how much these companies spent specifically on oil train regulations and related issues.

BNSF lobbies the government on a range of issues, and crude-by-rail represents a small part of those efforts, spokesman Michael Trevino said. He also said the company supports the study and testing of ECP brake technology before implementation.  

Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Phillips 66 spokesman said the refiner is committed to being a "safety leader" and will comply with the new oil train standards.

    AAR has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to throw out the brake requirement and enhance other security measures involving tank cars. AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger declined to comment because the group's appeal is pending. An AAR official said the group made sure lawmakers had "pertinent information" about the issue.
   
    CRUDE BY RAIL BOOM

    The series of oil train explosions in recent years follows a boom in U.S. shale oil production, notably in the Bakken region of North Dakota. Bakken crude has helped reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil but is also considered more volatile and flammable than heavier crudes.

    Because the landlocked Bakken region is not easily accessed by oil pipelines, rail provides the main transportation route. The result has been a bonanza in the crude by rail business. Shipments surged to more than 350 million barrels in 2014 from less than 680,000 barrels in 2008, according to industry data.

    BNSF has been the biggest beneficiary. In 2013, the railroad hauled 324,206 carloads of crude oil, about three quarters of the industry's total volume of 435,560 carloads, according to data provided by the company and AAR.

    But BNSF also has been involved in six of the 18 U.S. oil train derailments since the Lac-Megantic disaster, second only to CSX, which has had seven. The latest BNSF derailment was in Heimdal, North Dakota, on May 6. Ten cars left the rails. The crude caught fire, forcing the town of 40 to evacuate.

    The Transportation Department disputes the industry's claim that the new regulations would cost $3 billion: over 20 years, officials say the cost would be $492 million, offset by $426 million to $1.7 billion in benefits.

    Without the ECP brake and other new federal safety rules including thicker tank car hulls, damages from "high consequence events" could reach $12.6 billion over the next 20 years, the department says.

    Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and authored the ECP repeal measure, was not available to comment. Frederick Hill, the committee's Republican spokesman, said the measure would still require railroads to equip oil trains with ECP brakes beginning in 2021 should new research demonstrate the technology's benefits.

It is funny that these corrupt Republicans want to weaken the train safety rules as if there is not safety risk for the public and environment.  At the same time they immediately run for cover and are hiding like scared rats in their underground bunkers if there is a hint of someone entering the White House lawn or a firecracker on the streets.

Propane fire at Santie Oil Company contained, crews remain on the scene; firefighters injured, hurt fighting the fire


Monday, July 13, 2015 ~ Updated 4:59 PM
 

(Photo)
Propane containers which help fuel the fire at Santie Oil Company Monday morning sit in disarray around the burned building. Jill Bock, Staff
SIKESTON - Sikeston Department of Public Safety personnel remained on the scene this afternoon after battling a fire in what felt like triple-digit heat. At approximately 9:45 a.m. today, fire personnel were called to Santie Oil Co. at 126 Larcel Dr., when fire broke out in a propane storage area. 


According to Sikeston DPS Director Drew Juden, personnel were working in the area when the fire broke out. All workers were able to safely leave the building.


(Photo)
Smoke continued to rise from the Santie Oil Co. building on Larcel Drive late Monday afternoon. According to Capt. Jim McMillen, the blaze began inside the building in front of where the pickup truck is seen. Jill Bock, Staff
As the fire moved through the area, it began to ignite the propane canisters, causing large explosions which continued to fuel the blaze. The fire caused parts of some containers to become projectiles, flying hundreds of feet in the air. 
 
Some even crossed Highway 60 and landed in a field near Walmart. 
  Several large propane and gasoline containers created concerns for officers, who evacuated the nearby businesses. The blaze also prompted the Missouri State Highway Patrol to shutdown parts of Highways 60 and 61. 

In bringing the blaze under control, two firemen were overcome by the heat. A third fireman was injured while setting up a generator for a cooling station, Juden said. 

According to Juden, on Tuesday, officers will conduct an investigation into what cause the blaze. He did say it did not appear to be suspicious in origin. 

Santie Oil Co. is a distributor for companies such as Chevron/Texaco.

Plains All American Pipeline reports 4,200 gallons of oil spill near St. Louis

Plains All American Pipeline reports 3,500 gallons of oil spill near St. Louis by Daniel J. Graeber

St. Louis (UPI) Jul 13, 2015


Plains All American Pipeline, the company behind one of California's largest oil spills, said it was cleaning up another  separate spill near St. Louis of 4,200 gallons of oil.

Plains reported a spill from a pump station about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis late Friday. The company said about 100 barrels of oil spilled and some of that never migrated from the incident site.  Each barrel is about 42.0 gallons

"Plains sincerely regrets that this incident has occurred and apologizes for any inconvenience to area residents and impact to the environment," the company said in a Sunday statement. "The company has mobilized a full response, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to minimize the impact of this release."

The company said that, as of Sunday, about 2,700 feet of containment boom, nine vacuum trucks and more than 120 personnel were deployed to respond to the Missouri spill. Free oil that migrated to the area's Silver Creek is kept out of the larger Highland Silver Lake by containment boom.

The Missouri spill came nearly three months after Line 901, operated by Plains, ruptured along the California coast. Plains said during the weekend a multi-party team was sampling beaches over three counties in order to establish a reference point for beaches potentially affected by the May 19 spill.

The California pipeline system leaked as much as 2,500 barrels of oil and left residual contamination spread out over more than 100 miles along the state coast.

Preliminary findings from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said there was "extensive" corrosion on the pipeline system, with walls degraded by more than 70 percent of their original thickness in some locations.

NTSB Investigation of 2014 Truck-Motorcoach Collision Results in Call for Survivability Enhancements, Event Data Recorders

​ WASHINGTON, DC

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that motorcoach interiors be designed with improved flammability requirements as well as improved emergency exits, and that event data recorders be installed on commercial trucks and motorcoaches. The recommendations resulted from the investigation of the truck-motorcoach collision that resulted in 10 fatalities in Orland, California on April 10, 2014.

In the crash, a 2007 Volvo truck-tractor, operated by FedEx Freight, Inc. crossed a 58-foot-wide median, struck a 2013 Nissan Altima four-door passenger car, and then collided head-on with a 2014 Setra motorcoach. Both the truck and the motorcoach drivers were killed, along with eight motorcoach passengers. Thirty-seven motorcoach passengers and two occupants of the passenger car were injured.

Investigators were unable to determine why the truck crossed the median, but they ruled out truck and motorcoach driver experience, licensing and training, as well as alcohol and drug use, mechanical factors, and weather as causes of the crash. Likewise, the agency found no evidence that the driver was experiencing distraction, fatigue, or that he intentionally crossed into opposing traffic.

“The investigation brought to light the difficulty of getting out of a burning motorcoach,” said NTSB Chairman Hart. “It is unacceptable for anyone who survives a crash to perish in a post-crash fire because the exits were too hard to find or too difficult to use.”

The investigation revealed inadequacies in the fire performance standards for commercial passenger vehicle interiors, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 302. The flammability testing under FMVSS 302 involves a small-scale fire source, such as those that might be caused by matches or cigarettes – which differ drastically from the actual common causes of bus fires.

The Board also found that neither the motorcoach driver who initiated the trip nor the relief driver gave a safety briefing or played the prerecorded safety briefing that the company had provided, and many passengers struggled to locate and open the emergency exit windows. At least two passengers died because they could not exit the motorcoach before succumbing to asphyxiation due to inhaling smoke from the fire.

A pre-trip safety briefing or a video about evacuation could have expedited the evacuation process and possibly saved lives and mitigated injuries. The Board has also found that the windows on the accident motorcoach, from which escaping passengers had to jump, were more than seven feet off the ground – higher than the wings of some airplanes – and did not have a mechanism to keep them open. 

The Board concluded that current standards lack adequate requirements for emergency lighting and signage and reiterated several longstanding previous recommendations for standards that that would require independently powered lighting fixtures, use of photo luminescent material to mark emergency exits, and windows that remain open after being opened for emergency evacuations. 

The Board also concluded that having a secondary door for use as an emergency exit would expedite evacuations and reduce the potential for injuries caused by jumping from window exits.

Hart said that neither the truck-tractor nor the motorcoach had event data recorders, which impeded the investigation of the accident’s cause.

“With access to event data recorders, we might have been able to determine why the truck crossed the median, which could have enabled us to make recommendations to prevent it from happening again,” Hart said. “Much of the reason that aviation is so safe today is that we have required such recorders for decades so that we can learn the lessons of accidents. But they are still not required in commercial trucks or motorcoaches despite more than a decade of recommendations by the NTSB.”

As a result of the investigation, the NTSB issued safety recommendations regarding commercial passenger vehicles to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that address the fire performance standards; pretrip safety briefings; improving vehicle design to facilitate evacuations; requiring the development of minimum performance standards for event data recorders in trucks and motorcoaches; and requiring them to be installed in these vehicles.

To view findings, the probable cause, and all recommendations, click on the following link: http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2015_orland_BMG_HWY14MH009_Abstract.pdf.
The full report will be available on the NTSB website in several weeks.


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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
Public Meeting of July 14, 2015
(Information subject to editing)
Truck-Tractor Double Trailer Median Crossover Collision With Motorcoach and Postcrash Fire on Interstate 5, Orland, California
April 10, 2014
This is a synopsis from the NTSB’s report and does not include the Board’s rationale for the conclusions, probable cause, and safety recommendations. NTSB staff is currently making final revisions to the report from which the attached conclusions and safety recommendations have been extracted. The final report and pertinent safety recommendation letters will be distributed to recommendation recipients as soon as possible. The attached information is subject to further review and editing.
Executive Summary
On April 10, 2014, about 5:40 p.m., a 2007 Volvo truck-tractor in combination with double trailers, operated by FedEx Freight, Inc., was traveling southbound in the right lane of Interstate 5 (I-5) in Orland, California. At the same time, a 2014 Setra motorcoach, operated by Silverado Stages, Inc., was traveling northbound on I-5 in the right lane. In the vicinity of milepost 26, the combination vehicle moved into the left lane, entered the 58-foot-wide center median, and traveled into the northbound traffic lanes of I-5.
The truck-tractor collided with a 2013 Nissan Altima four-door passenger car, which then rotated counterclockwise and departed the highway to the east. The truck-tractor continued moving south in the northbound lanes and collided with the front of the motorcoach, and both vehicles partially departed the highway to the east. A postcrash fire ensued. Both the truck and the motorcoach drivers died, along with eight motorcoach passengers. The remaining 37 motorcoach passengers received injuries of varying degree. The two occupants of the passenger car received minor injuries.
The crash investigation focused on the following safety issues:
• Lack of adequate fire performance standards for commercial passenger vehicle interiors: The NTSB considered several factors that might have contributed to the severity of the postcrash fire and affected the egress of motorcoach passengers. These factors included an inadequate Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 302, which specifies the burn resistance requirements for materials used in the occupant compartments of passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses. The standard is intended to reduce deaths and injuries caused by vehicle fires. However, FMVSS 302 flammability testing involves a small-scale fire source as a test method to represent fire originating in the passenger compartment from sources such as matches or
cigaretteswhich differs drastically from the common causes of bus fires, such as in-service ignition (engine fires, wheel well fires) or postcrash fuel-fed fires. Moreover, this standard is outdated and less discriminating than the flammability standards applied in other modes of transportation under US Department of Transportation safety oversight, such as aviation and rail.
• Pretrip safety briefings for commercial passenger vehicles: In evaluating the circumstances of this crash, the NTSB examined the activities of the motorcoach driver who picked up the students in Los Angeles and the driver who relieved him in Sacramento with regard to providing safety information. Our investigation revealed that neither driver played the prerecorded safety briefing that the company had provided. The passengers were not informed of the availability of seat belts on the newly manufactured motorcoach and were not wearing them at the time of the collision. Numerous passengers were injured. When the postcrash fire occurred, passengers reported being panicked and not knowing how to evacuate the bus because of the damaged and inoperable front loading door, the quickly spreading fire, the thick smoke, and the intense heat. The NTSB maintains that it is essential for motorcoach passengers to be informed of safety features and emergency evacuation procedures.
• Improvements in commercial passenger vehicle design to facilitate evacuation: Motorcoaches and buses must be designed to accommodate the rapid egress of all persons in an emergency situation. The windows on the accident motorcoach were more than 7 feet off the ground and did not have a mechanism to keep them open to facilitate safe evacuation. In addition, the lack of federal standards requiring motorcoaches to be equipped with reliable emergency lighting fixtures with a self-contained independent power source puts passengers in jeopardy. Federal safety standards lack adequate requirements for emergency lighting and interior luminescent and exterior retroreflective emergency signage in the event of a crash, fire, or other emergency. Although Federal safety standards permit a second door that can be used as an emergency exit, they do not require such.
• Event data recorder (EDR) survivability for crash reconstruction and safety improvements: The truck-tractor was equipped with an electronic control module (ECM) capable of recording certain vehicle-related data in the event of sudden deceleration or hard braking. The motorcoach was equipped with a common powertrain controller (CPC) capable of recording vehicle-related data, includingbut not limited tovehicle speed, engine speed, throttle usage, cruise control usage, brake pedal application, and clutch pedal application. However, as a result of the collision and postcrash fire, both the truck-tractor ECM and the motorcoach CPC were destroyed. Neither unit was a dedicated crash EDRwhich would likely have survived the forces and thermal conditions of the crash, and would have provided critical data on driver inputs and vehicle dynamics throughout the collision sequence. The NTSB maintains that incorporating longer pre-event recording times, learning as much as possible about a heavy vehicle driver’s precrash activities and vehicle control input, and gaining knowledge of the real-world crash dynamics of a collision
would yield crucial information for the development of safer highway vehicles. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has failed to develop standards or require the use of EDRs for heavy vehicles, which include motorcoaches, school buses, or truck-tractor units such as the one involved in the Orland collision.
As a result of this crash investigation, the NTSB makes safety recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and to NHTSA. We also supersede one recommendation to the FMCSA and reiterate seven recommendations to NHTSA.
Findings
1. None of the following were factors in the crash: (1) truck or motorcoach driver experience, licensing, or alcohol or drug use; (2) driver distraction or operational error; (3) motor carrier operations; (4) mechanical condition of either vehicle; or (5) weather.
2. The emergency response to the crash was timely and effective.
3. The truck driver did not depart the roadway to avoid another vehicle or a roadway obstruction.
4. The circumstances of the crash, such as the driver’s work and rest history and his complete lack of reaction to the roadway departure and crash event stimuli, are inconsistent with fatigue as a causal factor.
5. Based on the truck driver’s lack of braking or other appropriate reaction prior to or during the crash sequenceand witness accounts concerning the driver’s behavior and conditionhe was unresponsive due to an unknown cause, which prevented him from controlling his vehicle and led to the crash.
6. Based on the state of California’s median barrier application policies, which are more robust than national guidelines, the Orland crash location on Interstate 5 did not warrant a median barrier due to the average daily traffic and crash history.
7. The catastrophic rupture of the truck-tractor fuel tank released fuel that sprayed into the interior of the motorcoach, resulting in the fire and causing fatal and serious injuries to numerous motorcoach occupants.
8. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 does not adequately account for modern vehicle interior components or conditions experienced in real-world vehicle fires, nor does it include specific fire resistance material standards more appropriate for large commercial vehicles with increased passenger capacity.
9. The lack of a pretrip safety briefing led to confusion and panic during the motorcoach evacuation, as many passengers struggled to locate and open the emergency exit windows.
10. The quick-spreading fire and thick smoke prevented at least two passengers from extricating themselves from the motorcoach, resulting in their fatal injuries.
11. The lack of emergency lighting fixtures with self-contained independent power sources contributes to delays in the evacuation of motorcoach and bus passengers.
12. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 217 lacks adequate safety requirements for emergency lighting and interior luminescent and exterior retroreflective emergency signage in the event of a crash, fire, or other emergency.
13. The combination of the visibility issues due to smoke and a darkened interior, and concern over the risk of injury from exiting by way of the windows, negatively affected passengers trying to evacuate the motorcoach.
14. The evacuation of motorcoaches can be improved by the availability of a secondary door for emergency egress.
15. Having a secondary door for use as an emergency exit would expedite the evacuation process and reduce the need for passengers to jump from windows, thereby mitigating the potential for fatalities and injuries.
16. Due to a lack of standards and requirements for heavy vehicle event data recorders, crash data essential to better understanding collisions continue to go unrecorded, thus impeding improvements in highway safety.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determines that the probable cause of the Orland, California, crash was the inability of the FedEx Freight truck driver to maintain control of the vehicle due to his unresponsiveness for reasons that could not be established from available information. Contributing to the severity of some motorcoach occupant injuries were high impact forces; the release of combustible fluids, leading to a fast-spreading postcrash fire; difficulties in motorcoach egress; and lack of restraint use.
Recommendations
As a result of its investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board makes the following safety recommendations.
New Recommendations
To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
1. Revise Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 to adopt the more rigorous performance standards for interior flammability and smoke emissions characteristics already in use throughout the US Department of Transportation for commercial aviation and rail passenger transportation. (H-15-XX)
2. Require new motorcoach and bus designs to include a secondary door for use as an additional emergency exit. (H-15-XX)
To the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:
3. Require all passenger motor carrier operators to (1) provide passengers with pretrip safety information that includes, at a minimum, a demonstration of the location of all exits, explains how to operate the exits in an emergency, and emphasizes the importance of wearing seat belts, if available; and (2) also place printed instructions in readily accessible locations for each passenger to help reinforce exit operation and seat belt usage. (H-15-XX) (Supersedes Safety Recommendation H-99-8)
4. Update your website guidance to include information on the mandated three-point restraints effective November 2016 for all new over-the-road buses and for other than over-the-road buses with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 11,793 kilograms (26,000 pounds). (H-15-XX)
Previously Issued Recommendations Reiterated in This Report
The National Transportation Safety Board also reiterates the following safety recommendations:
To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 217, “Bus Window Retention and Release,” to require that other than floor-level emergency exits can be easily opened and remain open during an emergency evacuation when a motorcoach is upright or at unusual attitudes. (H-99-9)
Develop and implement, in cooperation with other government agencies and industry, standards for on-board recording of bus crash data that address, at a minimum, parameters to be recorded, data sampling rates, duration of recording, interface configurations, data storage format, incorporation of fleet management tools, fluid immersion survivability, impact shock survivability, crush and penetration survivability, fire survivability, independent power supply, and ability to accommodate future requirements and technological advances. (H-99-54)
Revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to require that all motorcoaches be equipped with emergency lighting fixtures that are outfitted with a self-contained independent power source. (H-00-1)
Revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to require the use of interior luminescent or exterior retroreflective material or both to mark all emergency exits in all motorcoaches. (H-00-2)
Require that all buses above 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating be equipped with on-board recording systems that: (1) record vehicle parameters, including, at minimum, lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, vertical acceleration, heading, vehicle speed, engine speed, driver’s seat belt status, braking input, steering input, gear selection, turn signal status (left/right), brake light status (on/off), head/tail light status (on/off), passenger door status (open/closed), emergency door status (open/closed), hazard light status (on/off), brake system status (normal/warning), and flashing red light status (on/off; school buses only); (2) record status of additional seat belts, airbag deployment criteria, airbag deployment time, and airbag deployment energy; (3) record data at a sampling rate sufficient to define vehicle dynamics and be capable of preserving data in the event of a vehicle crash or an electrical power loss; and (4) are mounted to the bus body, not the chassis, to ensure recording of the necessary data to define bus body motion. (H-10-7)
Develop and implement minimum performance standards for event data recorders for trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings over 10,000 pounds that address, at a minimum, the following elements: data parameters to be recorded; data sampling rates; duration of recorded event; standardized or universal data imaging interface; data storage format; and device and data survivability for crush, impact, fluid exposure and immersion, and thermal exposure. The standards should also require that the event data recorder be capable of capturing and preserving data in the case of a power interruption or loss, and of accommodating future requirements and technological advances, such as flashable and/or reprogrammable operating system software and/or firmware updates. (H-10-14)
After establishing performance standards for event data recorders for trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings over 10,000 pounds, require that all such vehicles be equipped with event data recorders meeting the standards. (H-10-15)
Previously Issued Recommendation Reclassified in This Report
The NTSB reclassifies Safety Recommendation H-99-8 from its current classification of “OpenAcceptable Alternate Response” to “ClosedSuperseded” in section 2.6.2, “Safety Recommendations,” of this report (superseded by Safety Recommendation H-15-XX).
To the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:
Require motorcoach operators to provide passengers with pre-trip safety information. (H-99-8)