1 woman injured in boat accident in Stanton Township, Michigan

 

 

by Nick Brennan

Posted: 07.19.2015 at 9:53 PM

 

STANTON TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN

Deputies from the Houghton County Sheriff's Department investigated a boating accident early Sunday evening that occurred at a dock belonging to a residence on Rocky Shores Road in Stanton Township.

55-year-old Kevin Geshel from Painesdale was trying to manuever his 16 foot boat into a friend's dock on the Portage Canal and struck the end of the dock.

The front of the boat became lodged under the end of the dock where his wife, 53-year-old Lori Geshel was sitting. 

She was transported by Mercy Ambulance to Portage Health and later flown to U.P. Health System Marquette for medical treatment.

The Sheriff's Department was assisted at the scene by Mercy Ambulance and the Stanton Township First Responders.

The accident is still under investigation.

Boeing Warns Carriers About Flying Bulk Shipments of Lithium Batteries

It's lithium ion batteries that power the iPhones, iPads and other iStuff that have come to be regarded as the essentials of life. Only problem is, they tend to catch fire, leading Boeing Co. to warn airlines that loading up their planes' cargo compartments with bulk battery shipments pose unacceptable fire hazards.
There've been plenty of cases of individual phones and other devices catching fire, both on the grund and in the air. Just one blazing phone is a problem; think what a blazing pallet of burning batteries could do.

That, says the Wall Street Journal, is what led Boeing to issue a formal warning to its customers, urging them to stop accepting large shipments of lithium batteries until safer packaging and fire protection efforts can be worked out.
Let them take a slow boat from China, Boeing advised, though not in so many words.

Nothing new

It's hardly a new problem. There have been many case over the years of cell phones igniting in people's pockets, on airplanes and in other inconvenient locations.

Thomas Forqueran's vintage Ford truck post-fire (Submitted photo)

Last August, an airplane was evacuated in Tel Aviv after an iPhone 5 caught fire and filled the cabin with smoke. Last July, a smartphone caught fire under a 13-year-old girl's pillow in Dallas. And way back in 2008, a laptop computer caught fire in a vintage pickup truck in Nevada, destroying the truck, a Remington rifle and setting off two boxes of ammunition.

Boeing has reportedly been giving the no-big-battery-cartons advice to airlines who asked but has now issued a formal warning to all of the world's carriers, who are expected to comply. Airlines that disregard the warning would be on shaky legal ground in the event of a disaster attributed to flaming batteries.

Feds pondering

Boeing at least beat the U.S. government, which has been considering rules limited lithium batteries in carry-on luggage since 2007. In March 2007, the Department of Transportation said there had been five fires in airplane passenger cabins or cargo holds since 2005, a period of only two years.

This smartphone caught fire in a Dallas girl's bed (Fox 4 photo)

Lithium metal batteries were banned from the cargo holds of U.S. airliners in 2004 but lithium ion batteries -- which are much more common -- are still good to go.

Lithium metal batteries are nonrechargeable while the lithium ion type is the one we're all familiar with -- requiring frequent plug-ins to keep the juices flowing.

The problem is that other things can get the juices flowing as well. Both types of batteries contain chemical-infused metals that get very hot very quickly if they come into contact with each other due to a short circuit or leaking seal. The result is a fast-spreading, very hot fire that is very difficult to extinguish.

While a single battery catching fire in a phone or laptop may start a small fire, a battery catching fire in a shipment of thousands of batteries could start a blaze that would quickly become catastrophic. 

Many airlines have already stopped accepting battery shipments and Boening's warning may push the recalcitrants to act as well. While Boeing's warning doesn't have the force of law, airlines nearly always comply with formal warnings from manufacturers, so Boeing may have accomplished what governments so far have not gotten around to.
Source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com

Historic Houston, Texas church fire deemed suspicious in Fifth Ward

Investigators say the fire may be a case of arson but it is still under investigation

Sunday, July 19, 2015 11:03PM

HOUSTON, TEXAS (KTRK) -- 

 

A local church congregation and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee discussed a suspicious fire at a historic Fifth Ward Church today.

The fire happened Wednesday morning and damaged the Missionary Baptist Church along Noble near Waco.

The building that burned sits next to the sanctuary. Church members are very concerned about the fire. Investigators say the fire may be a case of arson.

In the wake of the Charleston church massacre, church members worry if this was a hate crime.

"The backdoor of the building was pried open about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, and it appears whoever did that threw in some kind of accelerant in and just left," said Claude Cummings, Chairman of the deacon board at Missionary Baptist Church

"The question comes whether it is a hate crime, which then gets referred to the FBI, we're not at that point yet," said US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.

Worshippers told Eyewitness News that they will allow investigators time to do their job.

Barge carrying 1million gallons of petroleum naphtha catches fire following Houston Ship Channel collision

The US Coast Guard says two barges have collided in the Houston Ship Channel. One of those barges is now on fire and spilling petroleum naphtha into the waterway.

 

Updated 16 mins ago

 

JULY 20, 2015

 

HOUSTON, TEXAS (KTRK) -- 

 

The US Coast Guard says two barges have collided in the Houston Ship Channel. One of those barges caught on fire, but those flames are now out.


The collision happened around 1:20am this morning. The Coast Guard says both barges were being hauled by tug boats when one of the tugs lost power. The barge it was carrying then struck the other barge.

The collision caused a rupture on one of the barges which was carrying one million gallons of petroleum naphtha. That barge caught on fire. An HFD fire boat worked to put out the flames.

The US Coast Guard says its too early to know how much of the product spilled, if any, and what impact it may have on wildlife. The Ship Chanel on the Bolivar side to mile 348 is currently closed.

Petroleum naphtha is a colorless liquid with a gasoline or kerosene-like odor. It can cause irritation to your eyes, nose and throat, plus dizziness, drowsiness, headache and nausea. There are no injuries reported at this time.

The last major barge collision in the ship channel was in March of 2014. The barge was being towed from Texas City to Bolivar when the 585-foot ship Summer Wind collided with the barge. The crash caused nearly 168,000 gallons of thick, tarry fuel oil to spill into the water.

SPEEDING AND NO HELMET RIDING A DUNE BUGGY LEADS TO DEATH: 54-year-old man killed in dune buggy crash in Washington State. He was not wearing a helmet and hit his head onto a tree.

A typical Dune Buggy

Area around the site of the crash near Lyman, WA

CAUTION, DO NOT RIDE DUNE BUGGIES OR ATV WITHOUT WEARING A HELMET

By KOMO Staff 
   

Published: July 19, 2015

LYMAN, WASHINGTON
 

 

A 54-year-old man was not wearing a helmet and was killed in a dune buggy crash on a logging road about 10 miles east of Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, the Washington State Patrol reports.

State troopers and medics responded to the scene, on Forest Service Road 18 just south of Lyman in Skagit County, at about 3:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a dune buggy rollover and crash. A witness to the crash guided troopers to the location down the remote forest road.

A man was found dead at the scene. He was later identified as Neil A. Petkow, 54, of Oak Harbor.

A preliminary investigation found that Petkow was heading down the logging road when he cornered too fast, rolled down an embankment and slammed into a tree.

Troopers said Petkow was wearing a safety device (a 6-point body harness) but he was not wearing a helmet, another essential safety device.  He then was speeding, rolled over and crushed his head onto a tree, dying on the scene.  Alcohol or drugs were not a factor in the crash, the WSP reported.
 
Please do not ride ATV or dune buggies without wearing a helmet.  This is an essential safety device that could have saved this man's life.