MEC&F Expert Engineers : 04/20/18

Friday, April 20, 2018

The pilot killed in the crash at Camp Kern, Ohio had marijuana and alcohol in his system. the crash was caused by 36-year Jesse Loy, of Punta Gorda, Florida decision to fly at low altitude





NTSB: Pilot had marijuana, alcohol in system during crash

By The Associated Press


LEBANON, Ohio — Apr 20, 2018, 12:08 AM ET



A federal report says a pilot who died when his small plane struck a zip line strung across an Ohio river had alcohol and marijuana in his system.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports the National Transportation Safety Board released its findings this week.

The federal report says it's unclear whether 36-year Jesse Loy, of Punta Gorda, Florida, was impaired when his plane struck the zip line across the Little Miami River in Warren County in October 2016.

The crash also killed 43-year-old Eric Hackney, also of Punta Gorda.

The NTSB says the crash was caused by Loy's "decision to fly at low altitude." The report says the plane had no mechanical problems.

Loy and Hackney had flown to Ohio to meet friends who lived in Warren County.



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WARREN COUNTY —

(NOTE: This story has been updated with new information regarding the pilot’s identification.)

The Warren County Coroner’s Office revealed Thursday afternoon that the pilot thought initially to be at the helm of a 2016 plane crash in Warren County at Camp Kern was misidentified.


The revelation comes in the wake of a final report released this week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), indicating that the pilot killed in the crash at Camp Kern had marijuana and alcohol in his system.


Eric Hackney, 43, of Punta Gorda, Florida, was originally named as the pilot of the plane that crashed after it struck a zipline over the Little Miami River in Oregonia on Oct. 16.

But Warren County Coroner’s investigator Doyle Burke told this news outlet that Hackney’s passenger, Jesse Loy, 36, of Punta Gorda, Florida, also killed in the crash, was actually piloting the aircraft.

“The family contacted me after they said they had read a report somewhere by NTSB that had Hackney as the pilot,” Burke said. “Loy was piloting the plane, and Hackney was a passenger ... so I am not sure how that initial information got released.”


He added that a dental forensic processes helped make the positive identification of Loy and Hackney, who were both killed in the crash.

“We want to make sure in these types of situations that the correct bodies get released to the families,” Burke said. “I was able to assure the families that was the case in this instance.”

An NTSB spokesman confirmed that the organization doesn’t release the specific names of people piloting an aircraft in its accident reports. “We do not give out the names,” the spokesman said.

According to the NTSB’s final report, “the blood level was below the regulatory limit; however, pilots may be impaired below this threshold,” the report read.

Findings during the investigation also “indicated that the pilot had used marijuana sometime before the accident; however, since there is no accepted relationship between blood levels and degree of impairment, whether the impairing effects… contributed to the accident could not be determined,” the report said.

The report indicated the cause of the crash was “the pilot’s decision to fly at a low altitude, which resulted in the collision with a zipline.”

The plane did not have any other mechanical malfunctions during the crash, according to the report.

The report shows Loy had a private pilot certificate since September 2008 and had at least 750 hours of flight time. At least 200 of those hours were logged while Loy flew an RV-4 plane, which was the type involved in the fatal crash, the report read.



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TURTLECREEK TWP. — Two people killed after a small plane crashed in Warren County on Sunday evening have been identified by name:
The victims were from Punta Gorda, Fla., who were in Ohio to visit friends
The plane crashed in a wooded area near Camp Kern in Turtlecreek Twp.
NTSB investigation is continuing.
The victims were identified through the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab.

UPDATE @ 1:44 p.m. (Dec. 2):

The preliminary crash report from the plane crash that killed two people in October has been released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to the report, the small amateur-built plane collided with an aerial cable and crashed into the ground.

The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-impact fire.

Eric Hackney, 43, and Jesse Loy, 36, were killed in the crash. 

The flight had originated from a private airstrip in Wilmington 32 minutes before the crash happened, the report said.

“Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying at low altitudes at different locations prior to the accident,” the report said. “One witness estimated the airplane was at an altitude of about 30 feet above the river and the other estimated about 50 feet above the tree tops”

Witnesses said the engine sounded “strong” and at “full power”.

UPDATE @ 3:25 p.m. (Oct. 18):

One of the two Punta Gorda, Fla. men who died in a small plane crash Sunday in Warren County was a Wilmington High School graduate who attended Wright State University in the early 1990s.

Eric Hackney, 43, attended WSU from fall 1991 to spring 1993, according to a university spokesman. Online profiles list Hackney as the owner and developer of the North Winds Estate in Wilmington and as managing member of Sweepstakes Cabinet Solutions LLC.

The other man, 36-year-old Jesse Loy, was a pilot and listed as the owner of the plane that crashed in a wooded area near Camp Kern in Turtlecreek Twp.

Online profiles list Loy as a project manager at H2O911 Restoration. A blog also shows a photo documentation indicating Loy restored the plane.

A spokesperson from the National Transportation Safety Board said that, unofficially, the crashed plane was suspected by the Federal Aviation Administration to be a Van’s RV-4 registered with the aircraft number N2626C. That number matches the flightaware.com website with Loy’s information.

UPDATE @ 7:50 p.m. (Oct. 17): The fatalities are Eric Hackney, 43, and Jesse Loy, 36, both of Punta Gorda, Fla.

Hackney and Loy were flying from Florida to visit friends in Warren County when their plane went down in woods along the Little Miami River.

“They both died from the impact, blunt force trauma,” Doyle Burke, chief investigator, Warren County Coroner’s Office said .

“What brought them down, that’ll be the NTSB,” he said.

UPDATE @ 4:10 p.m. (Oct. 17)

Alan Wolfson, manager of the Warren County Airport outside Lebanon, said the crash did not involve a plane based there. Likewise, staff at the Red Stewart Airfield outside Waynesville said the plane was not based there.

The Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport north of Springboro has been closed for construction since Friday.

UPDATE @ 10:42 a.m. (Oct. 17)

Investigators suspect the victims of yesterday’s fatal plane crash in Warren County have local ties to the area.

But results of autopsies under way at the Miami Valley Crime Lab will also be used in determining the identities of the victims of the third fatal plane crash in the area in less than three months.

“If it’s who we think it is, they have local ties,” Doyle Burke, chief investigator for the Warren County Coroner’s Office, said Monday morning.

However Burke said the apparent victims did not live in the area.

Burke declined to identify the apparent victims, pending confirmation through dental records and notification of next of kin.

Today investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were expected to arrive at the crash site, on state land near Camp Kern and the Little Miami River.

Emergency crews were first dispatched around 5:45 p.m. Sunday after callers reported smoke and flames coming from a low-flying plane.

The crash scene is in a remote, wooded area, east of Lebanon in Turtlecreek Twp., on property near a Church of God camp between the YMCA camp and Moore-Saur Road.

ATVs and boats were used to get to the site and a fire was put out without it spreading beyond the crash area.

The two-seat prop plane was heavily damaged and authorities were still working on Monday to identify its tail number.

It was not known where the plane was headed, nor from where it came.

Dirk Morgan said he looked up to see the smoking plane fall out of the sky Sunday.

“It came right through the treetops and then crashed to the floor,” said Morgan, owner of Morgan Riverside Camps on the Little Miami River.

Morgan used his knowledge of the rough terrain to help firefighters and first responders reach the crash site – roughly at the bottom of a cliff near the river.

“It’s an extremely steep hill, probably 300 vertical feet just to get down to the river valley - no roads, no trails,” said Morgan, a member of the family also operating a canoe rental business on the river.

“I went up to Moore-Saur Road to my neighbors’ property — the Church of God camp. First responders were there, and I helped them go over the hill and carry equipment down the hill,” Morgan said.

“I had to make two trips down to try to help them bring fire extinguishers and pick axes. … It was so steep you had to hold onto small saplings to keep from sliding 50 feet down the hill. So coming back up it was almost all fours, and I felt bad for the firefighters because they were in full turnout gear.”

Morgan said firefighters had to stop three times before reaching the spot.

Other firefighters arriving later took boats on the river or ATVs guided by GPS to get there.

“It’s along the Little Miami River between Strout Road and Fort Ancient SR 350. Those are the two bridges that it’s between,” Morgan said.

Morgan, one of the first at the scene, said he cringed at what he saw. The plane had sawed off trees as it fell.

“There were pieces of trees and then I kind of looked up. There was an opening in the big Sycamore trees that were down there and there were parts of the plane hanging from the tree limbs,” Morgan said.

“I just know I saw the smoking remains of what appeared to be a plane and parts, and I prayed for the families who lost their loved ones.

“I don’t think anyone survived,” he said before officials confirmed the worst. “I don’t know how they could.”

Burke and Sgt. Robert Burd of the Ohio State Highway Patrol briefed reporters at the staging area near Camp Kern.

“The plane’s burnt. It is a complete loss,” said Burd, assistant commander of the Lebanon Post.

Burke said it was impossible to tell even the sex or ages of the victims at the crash site.

He said the victims can be identified through missing persons reports, dental records or DNA.

At the time of the crash, winds of 8 mph were reported at the nearest reporting station, the Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport north of Springboro. There was possibly some light rain, but no reports of severe weather, according to WHIO TV Meteorologist Brett Collar.

Rain and thunderstorms are believed to have contributed to the crash that killed a Michigan man and his wife in Clark County on July 22, according to the NTSB.

Levon King, 81, and his wife, Gloria King, 85, died when their experimental aircraft crashed in a cornfield in Harmony Twp. The plane crashed seven miles east of Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.

The couple were flying home to Michigan from Georgia, relatives said, when the RV-9A plane that Levon King built himself went down.

The NTSB continues to investigate the fatal crash involving Clayton Heins, 20, a student pilot from Arcanum, and his friend, Jacob Turner, 19, of Greenville, on Sept. 14, in Darke County. The plane was reportedly headed for the Moraine Air Park when it crashed in a cornfield.

Heins was flying a single-engine Piper PA-11 aircraft, owned by his father, when it crashed off Dull Road near Arcanum, according to reports.

On Sunday, investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the fatal crash scene in Warren County. The NTSB joined the investigation Monday.

INITIAL REPORT (Oct. 16)

Emergency crews were first dispatched around 5:45 p.m. Sunday after callers reported smoke and flames coming from a low-flying plane. The crash scene was located in a remote, wooded area near the Little Miami River, on property between Camp Kern and Moore-Saur Road, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators said they had to use ATVs and boats to access the wreck. The plane was heavily burned and authorities were still working to identify its tail number.

It was not known where the plane was headed, nor from where it came.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene Sunday night, and members from the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive Monday.

Doyle Burke, chief investigator with the Warren County Coroner’s Office, said they took two unidentified bodies to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. The victims are expected to be identified through missing persons reports, dental records or DNA.

Additional details were not available.

The Richland, WA house fire that killed 77-year-old Morris Rowlette was started after the victim was smoking in bed while on oxygen





The oxygen nasal canula on the Rowlette's face had caught fire and acted as a fuse, and fire officials said flames had already spread through much of the bedroom.

 
RICHLAND, Wash. - 


Richland fire officials say a house fire that killed a man was started after the victim was smoking in bed.

The man's caretaker and a witness said the victim, 77-year-old Morris Rowlette, had been smoking in bed while on oxygen, Monday afternoon.

Rowlette called for help while his caretaker was doing dishes. When the caretaker responded, reports said he found several small fires at his bed.

The oxygen nasal canula on the Rowlette's face had caught fire and acted as a fuse, and fire officials said flames had already spread through much of the bedroom.


As the caretaker attempted to get the victim out of the house, he had to set the victim down for a moment to open the door. During that time the caretaker heard an explosion and felt a large amount of air pressure push him out of the house.

After he was pushed out, he realized he couldn't go back inside due to the amount of smoke and flames in the house, and ran across the street to get help.

Richland Fire Department officials says when they arrived on scene, fire crews found the fire towards the front of the home. They had to knock through the door to get the victim out of the house.


An ambulance transported Rowlette and his caretaker to Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The coroner says Rowlette was pronounced deceased at the hospital.


Fire officials say the caretaker has since been released from the hospital.



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RICHLAND, Wash. - An elderly man has died following a fatal house fire in Richland, according to the Benton County Coroner.

Crews rescued the man who was inside the burning house at Dakota Street near Columbia Park Trail, Monday afternoon and attempted to revive him with CPR.

Fire crews and police responded were at the home for several minutes while crews worked to extinguish the blaze.

Richland Fire Department officials says when they arrived on scene, fire crews found the fire towards the front of the home. They had to knock through the door to get the man inside the home.

An ambulance transported the victim, identified as 77-year-old Morris Rowlette, to Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The coroner says he was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

At this time, Rowlette's cause of death is unknown.

Another person was also taken to the hospital. Fire officials say it appears that person was attempting to help the victim inside the home.

Action News has learned that firefighters were able to put out the house fire, but flames caused extensive damage to the home.


The fire did not spread to any neighboring homes, firefighters said.

Investigators are expected to revisit the scene. The cause of this fire is not currently known.
===================================




Home Oxygen Therapy and Cigarette Smoking: a Dangerous Practice.

Summary

Oxygen as a therapeutic agent is an important form of home therapy for hypoxic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and improved survival has been demonstrated in hypoxic COPD patients receiving continuous oxygen. However, some patients, despite dissuasion, continue to smoke and we describe the case of a patient on home oxygen who sustained a partial-thickness facial flash burn whilst engaged in this habit. A review is made of the literature, as also a comparison of all discovered cases of burns in home oxygen users, followed by a discussion of the implications of this potentially hazardous form of therapy.
Keywords: oxygen, therapy, cigarette, smoking, dangerous, practice

Introduction

Oxygen as a therapeutic agent was first introduced by Alvin Barach 1in 1922 and since then it has become an important form of home therapy for hypoxic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Its use has increased dramatically over the last 20 years since two pivotal studies demonstrated improved survival in hypoxic COPD patients receiving continuous oxygen. 2, 3The single most important cause of COPD is cigarette smoking, and a significant number of patients continue to smoke despite being on home oxygen therapy.
We describe the case of a patient on home oxygen who sustained a partial-thickness facial flash burn whilst smoking.
Following a review of the literature we compare all discovered cases of burns in home oxygen users and discuss the implications of this potentially hazardous form of therapy.

Case report

A 58-yr-old man presented to hospital with a facial flash burn resulting from lighting a cigarette whilst on home oxygen. He described how "the cigarette just exploded" on lighting. He had sustained a 3% superficial facial burn, with singed eyebrows and nasal hairs and soot in the nostrils ( Fig. 1 ).
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Object name is Ann-Burns-and-Fire-Disasters-19-99-g001.jpg
Facial flash burn.
The patient had a past medical history of asthma, smoking-induced COPD, a recent diagnosis of bronchial carcinoma, and chronic schizophrenia. He was receiving 2 litres per min of home oxygen via nasal cannulae and a concentrator.
On examination his airway was clear with bilateral wheeze. He had reasonable air entry on auscultation and an oxygen saturation of 94% on 2 litres of oxygen. He was haemodynamically stable with a normal cardiovascular examination. A review by an anaesthetist revealed a normal oropharnyx. He was admitted to the high dependency unit for observation and kept on humidified oxygen and nebulized salbutamol. The burn was left exposed, being managed conservatively with the application of paraffin oil. Two days later his chest had improved sufficiently to allow transfer to the ward. After careful education on the safe use of his oxygen he was allowed home.

Discussion

There are three types of home oxygen supply available: oxygen concentrators, which supply long-term continuous oxygen, cylinders, which supply intermittent oxygen, and liquid oxygen systems. Delivery occurs via nasal cannulae (most commonly), face-masks (often described as uncomfortable), or transtracheally (rarely used).
The oxygen is used according to one of three patterns: continuous for more than 15 h a day (as in COPD patients), intermittent, and nocturnal oxygen therapy.
Unfortunately, compliance with prescribed oxygen has been reported to be as low as 22%. 4 5 6Smoking is considered a contraindication to the provision of home oxygen. Patients are told not to smoke, but recent surveys show the percentage of home oxygen users still smoking to be between 14 and 51%. 7
The fire and burn injury risk of home oxygen use is increasingly being recognized but the actual incidence of burns in home oxygen users is unknown as many cases are likely to be unreported.
We conducted a literature review in order to identify and compare all reported cases of burns in home oxygen users. Patient demographics, oxygen delivery system, burn severity, associated cigarette smoking, and patient outcome were recorded.
We found four major series; Robb et al. (2003), 8Chang et al. (2001), 9Barillo et al. (2000), 10and Muehlberger et al. (1998). 11
Out of these, a total of 86 cases of home oxygen burns were thus identified, the patients having a mean age of 65 yr; the most common diagnosis was COPD. Fifty-four patients were smokers, 11 were non-smokers, and 21 were unspecified. The average burn size was 8.1% of total body surface area, with seven patients sustaining full-thickness burns and two requiring skin grafting. Twenty-one patients suffered an inhalational injury. The length of hospital stay averaged 4.6 days and nine patients died. Several authors also noted an apparent increase in the incidence of oxygen-related burns.
The combustion of most materials requires a fuel, a heat source, and an oxidizing agent. 11 12 13 14 15
Most patients on home oxygen use nasal cannulae. Nasal cannula tubing is a polyvinyl chloride product which, when ignited, emits an intense flame, possibly owing to the release of highly flammable vinyl chloride gas.
The prongs of a cannula are intended to direct oxygen into the nose. Greco et al. 15showed, however, that a significant amount of oxygen exits the nose and constantly leaks out and bathes the lower face. An oxygen-enriched environment facilitates ignition and combustion of any material.
Flash fires ignited by electrocautery and oxygen flow from nasal cannulae during facial surgery under local anaesthesia have been described, 13and Reyes et al. 14used a facial flash fire model to show how nasal cannula tubing can be ignited by an electrocautery spark at an oxygen flow rate of 2 litres per min and at a linear distance of 5 cm from the oxygen source.
The cause of the flash burn in the patient we described was probably related to the inherent flammability of human tissue with the cannula tubing as the fuel, the flame of the cigarette lighter as the heat source, and oxygen flowing through the cannula and saturating the perioral region as the oxidizer.
Patients who smoke whilst on home oxygen expose themselves to a significant and avoidable burn injury risk.

Conclusion

An increasing number of home oxygen burns have been reported in the literature over the past decade, most likely related to the more prevalent use of home oxygen and an ageing population.
The use of a less combustible material for cannula tubing and a more efficient oxygen delivery system may reduce the incidence of such burns. Another suggestion would be labelling the oxygen cylinders with large stickers emphasizing the danger of smoking in the presence of oxygen. But most important is the need for more aggressive warning and education of the patients and their families by GPs and physicians to raise awareness of this potentially explosive practice.

References

1. Barach A.L. The therapeutic use of oxygen. JAMA. 1922;79:693–8.
2. Nocturnal oxygen therapy trial group. Continuous or nocturnal oxygen therapy in hypoxaemic chronic obstructive lung disease:A clinical trial. Ann. Intern. Med. 1980;93:391–8. [PubMed]
3. Medical Research Working Party. Long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy in chronic hypoxic cor pulmonale complicating chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Lancet. 1981;1:681–6. [PubMed]
4. Maxwell D.L., McGlashan J.A., Andrews S., Gleeson M.J. Hazards of domiciliary oxygen therapy. Resp. Med. 1993;87:225–6. [PubMed]
5. Walshaw M.J., Lim R., Evans C.C., Hind C.R. Factors influencing the compliance of patients using oxygen concentrators for longterm home oxygen therapy. Resp. Med. 1990;84:331–3. [PubMed]
6. Cooper C.B., Waterhouse J., Howard P. Twelve-year clinical study of patients with hypoxic cor pulmonale given longer term domiciliary oxygen therapy. Thorax. 1987;42:105–10. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
7. Shiner R.J., Zaretsky U., Mirali M., Benzaray S., Elad D. Evaluation of domiciliary long-term oxygen therapy with oxygen concentrators. Israel J. Med. Sci. 1997;33:23–9. [PubMed]
8. Robb B.W., Hungness E.S., Hershko D.D., Warden G.D., Kagan R.J. Home oxygen therapy: Adjunct or risk factor? J. Burn Care Rehabil. 2003;24:403–6. [PubMed]
9. Chang T.T., Lipinski C.A., Sherman H.F. A hazard of home oxygen therapy. J. Burn Care Rehabil. 2001;22:71–4. [PubMed]
10. Barillo D.J., Coffey E.C., Shirani K.Z., Goodwin C.W. Burns caused by medical therapy. J. Burn Care Rehabil. 2001;21:269–73. [PubMed]
11. Muehlberger T., Smith M.A., Wong L. Domiciliary oxygen and smoking: An explosive combination. Burns. 1998;24:658–60. [PubMed]
12. Burns H.L., Ralston D., Muller M., Pegg S. Cooking and oxygen. An explosive recipe. Aust. Fam. Physician. 2001;30:138–40. [PubMed]
13. Howard B.K., Leach J.L. Prevention of flash fires during surgery performed under local anaesthesia. Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. 1997;106:248–51. [PubMed]
14. Reyes R.J., et al. Supplemental oxygen: Ensuring its safe delivery during facial surgery. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 1995;95:924–8. [PubMed]
15. Greco R.J., Gonzale R., Johnson P., Scolieri M. Potential dangers of oxygen supplementation during facial surgery. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 1995;95:978–84. [PubMed]
16. Laubscher B. Home oxygen therapy: Beware of birthday cakes. Arch. Dis. Child. 2003;88:1125. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
17. Leach R.M., Bateman N.T. Domiciliary oxygen therapy. Br. J. Hosp. Med. 1994;51:47–54. [PubMed]
18. McCauley C.S., Boller L.R. The hazards of home oxygen therapy. N. Engl. J. Med. 1987;316:107. [PubMed]
19. Morrison D., Swarski K., MacNee W. Review of the prescription of domiciliary long-term oxygen therapy in Scotland. Thorax. 1995;50:1103–5. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
20. Stobie T.D., Finucane P. Going up in smoke. Med. J. Aust. 1995;163:656. [PubMed]

Stephanie McFadden, 53 was critically burned in a fire that started at the rear common porch that destroyed two homes in a Shillington duplex in Pennsylvania









Thursday April 19, 2018 12:01 AM
Cause of fire that destroyed Shillington duplex still unknown


The Saturday morning blaze left a woman in critical condition.

Written by Steven Henshaw
Shillington, PA —


A cause has not been determined in the blaze that destroyed two homes in a Shillington duplex last weekend, leaving a 53-year-old woman in critical condition, a state police fire marshal said Thursday.

The fire was discovered about 1:15 a.m. Saturday at 311-313 Wyomissing Ave., just nine hours after a multi-alarm blaze destroyed a duplex in Cumru Township seven blocks away.

The fire started on the rear common porch, but investigators haven't been able to pinpoint a cause, Trooper John F. Burns said.

Both homes were gutted, causing losses in excess of $100,000, he said.



An occupant of 311 N. Wyomissing Ave., Stephanie McFadden, was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital, near Allentown, for smoke and heat inhalation.

McFadden remained in critical condition in the burn unit, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Her partner, Sharon Bedell, 49, was attending a conference in Chicago when the fire happened. Their cat and two dogs did not survive.

The occupants of the other home, at 313, were Renee Rocco, 64, and two grandchildren, Kaden, 16, and Ocean, 11.

Rocco told the Reading Eagle at the scene of the fire that she was out with a friend when she received a frantic call from one of the children saying the house was on fire. She raced home, arriving before firefighters.

McFadden was hanging from a bedroom window on the other side of the duplex, Rocco said. She was taken down a ladder by firefighters.

A firefighter involved in the rescue was treated in Reading Hospital for smoke inhalation, officials said.

Shillington and assisting fire companies had the fire out by 2:30 a.m. Not other injuries were reported.

Rocco said she has been taking care of her grandchildren since her daughter died in 2006. They moved to Berks County from South Dakota four years ago but had only moved into the home in January.

The American Red Cross Tri-County Chapter is assisting the families.

The other fire, which broke out late last Friday afternoon at the duplex at 492-494 S. Wyomissing Ave. in Cumru, was accidentally started by a child playing with a barbecue lighter, township Fire Chief James Beane said.

A total of five adults and eight children, all of whom attend the Gov. Mifflin School District, were displaced from the four homes.

Some Gov. Mifflin High School students have organized a fundraiser for families that lost nearly all their possessions.

They approached Hamid Chaudhry, owner of Wyomissing Restaurant and Bakery, for help. Chaudhry, who has a daughter in the high school, said he'll be hosting a buffet fundraiser on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $13 and can be purchased in advance at the main office of any Mifflin school building.



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Saturday April 14, 2018 07:00 AM
Firefighters rescue Shillington woman during early morning fire


The woman was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown for treatment. Her three pets did not survive.

Written by Stephanie Weaver


Renee Rocco was out with a friend early this morning when she received a chilling call from her grandchildren that their Shillington duplex was on fire.

“I had just left and was up there for half an hour when they called, just screaming bloody murder,” she said.

Rocco said she frantically sped home about 3 miles to the 300 block of North Wyomissing Avenue, beating the firetrucks to the scene, but could only stand and watch in disbelief as flames engulfed the back of the home.

The children, ages 16 and 11, and their two friends had escaped safely, but Rocco said her neighbor, Stephanie McFadden, was trapped and hanging out of a second-floor bedroom window on the other side of the duplex.
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Firefighters rescued McFadden and she was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown for treatment of unspecified injuries. A hospital spokeswoman said today that McFadden was in critical condition.

The fire was seven blocks from a fire just nine hours earlier in the 400 block of South Wyomissing Avenue in Cumru Township. A short stretch of Wyomissing Avenue connecting Shillington and Mohnton is in the township.

Officials said both fires were at duplexes and both fires started on the rear porches. They did not talk about any connection between the fires.

McFadden's three pets — two dogs and a cat — didn't survive. Rocco said McFadden's partner, who also lives in the home, is in Chicago and wailed when she called early today to pass along the tragic news. Rocco did not have the name and officials didn't provide it.

“Everything's gone,” Rocco said.

Shillington Fire Company Deputy Chief Tim Deamer said the call for the two-alarm fire came in at about 1:15 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found flames ripping through the back porches of the duplex.

Deamer said the firefighter who rescued McFadden was also taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The chief didn't provide the name or further details on the injuries.

The fire was under control by 2:30 a.m. and crews cleared the scene about 6:30 a.m. Deamer said the cause is still under investigation and a state police fire marshal has been called in.
‘Freaking nightmare'

Sitting in her idling vehicle later this morning, Rocco sighed as she looked across the street at the boarded-up windows of the house. She hadn't been able to sleep all night and had just finished combing through the home for possessions she could salvage.

She's been taking care of her grandchildren, Kaden, 16, and Ocean, 11, since her daughter died in 2006. They moved to Berks from South Dakota four years ago, but had only moved into the home in January.

Rocco said the Red Cross came out and is helping them have a place to stay since they can't return to the home.

“I've sat here all night,” she said.

Rocco said it was surreal to walk through the home and back yard, where her garage door and a white fence had both melted from the heat. She said the kitchen and back bedrooms were completely destroyed, but somehow the baby blanket Kaden had from her mother was untouched. Rocco found a similar miracle in Ocean's room, where his teddy bear sat undamaged.

“The only room not damaged is mine,” she said. “Everything's black. The ceilings, the walls, everything.

“It's a freaking nightmare.”
Earlier fire

The Friday afternoon fire, which went to five alarms, started under the rear porch at 492 S. Wyomissing Ave.

About 75 firefighters from 12 companies, including two from Lancaster County, responded to the fire and brought it under control in two hours. No injuries were reported to residents or firefighters.

Most of the damage was contained to 492 and 494 S. Wyomissing Ave. Both had extensive fire and smoke damage and structural damage.

Heat damaged the neighboring properties at 496 and 498 S. Wyomissing Ave., melting the siding.

No damage estimate was available, and a Cumru Township fire marshal was investigating.



4 brothers (14-year-old Tyler Otto, 8-year-old Cason, 5-year-old Max, and 4-year-old Levi) were found dead inside a house destroyed by fire near the Lake of the Ozarks, MO






LAKE OZARK, MO - Firefighters are looking into the cause of a fire that killed four children left home alone early Thursday morning.

The children were identified as 14-year-old Tyler Otto, 8-year-old Cason, 5-year-old Max, and 4-year-old Levi.

Two parents lived in the home and had left the four children alone. The parents returned to the site while firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.

The home was a single-story structure with a walk out basement and reportedly did not have smoke alarms installed.

The Lake Ozark Fire District first received a call at 12:54 a.m. for the fire.

The neighbor who called 911, Eddie Helt, said he was able to get the other neighbors out of their home. Unfortunately, he could not access the burning home because of the flames.

"I tried to go down to see if I could gain entrance, but I could not get close to the door," said Helt.

The first units on the scene tried to do a primary search, but couldn't get in because of the fire's intensity. The fire was so intense that it spread to the neighbor's stairs, but firefighters quickly extinguished it.

When they put out the fire, they found the four children and two pets dead inside.

Neighbors said they are devastated. One neighbor, whose home sustained fire damage, said the fire could have killed him and his wife if Helt had not come knocking on his door.

Helt said he and his wife are coping with the tragedy.

"We just put our trust in God, and He is going to lead us the right way. It will be sad not to see the school bus stop and pick the kids up," Helt said.

Firefighters also expressed their sorrow for the family and community.

"The school districts lost four children. Think of the teachers and all the family involved in this," said Assistant Fire Chief for the Lake Ozark Fire Department, Matt Birdsley

The house is a total loss, and the cause is still under investigation. Three of the boys went to Lake Ozark Heritage Elementary School.



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LAKE OZARK, Mo. — Authorities say four brothers were found dead inside a house destroyed by fire near the Lake of the Ozarks.

Lake Ozark Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Matt Birdsley said in a news release that firefighters rushed to the home just before 1 a.m. Thursday.

Lake Ozark Chief Mark Amsinger said when firefighters arrived at the home, three sides of it had collapsed. The fire was so intense responders couldn’t immediately get inside.

Fire crews didn’t know if anyone was home when they arrived. A neighbor told them the family’s vehicle wasn’t there and they suspected the family wasn’t home.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Officials soon found out that four children were inside the home. He said the children’s parents arrived as the fire was raging. It’s not clear where they had been.

The four children, along with two family pets, died in the fire. They were identified as 14-year-old Tyler Otto, 8-year-old Carson, 5-year-old Max and 4-year-old Levi.

State fire marshal investigator Steve Grass said it’s unlikely a cause will be determined because the damage was too extensive. But investigators do not suspect foul play.

Investigators didn’t find any smoke detectors, but Grass said they might have been destroyed in the blaze.

MISSERY IN MISSOURI: A 2,000-foot tall TV tower of the Ozarks Public Television and Missouri State University in Fordland, Missouri collapsed Thursday, killing Steve J Lemay, 56, with Seacomm Erectors and injuring several other workers














Investigators release name of worker killed in tower collapse in Fordland, Mo.


By Emily Wood
April 19, 2018

FORDLAND, Mo. -- 


A nearly 2,000-foot tall TV tower crashed to the ground in Fordland, Missouri.
 
Investigators say Seacomm Erectors employee Steve J Lemay, 56, of Washington state, died in the collapse, and several others were injured. The tower belonged to Ozarks Public Television and Missouri State University. 



Seacomm Erectors, is a tower steel erector specializing in the installation, maintenance and repair of telecommunication towers.  They are located at 32527 SR 2, Sultan WA.



"Just a lot of crumpling metal, more like a car crash magnified by a hundred," said Lee Brown, a neighbor who heard the collapse from a mile away.

It was a sudden collapse as the 1,980-foot-tall tower fell to the ground. Six workers were more than 100-feet high at the time according to authorities. One was killed. Others were injured but expected to be okay.

"It's really scary. I used to climb these towers, and it takes a lot of courage, and it's real dangerous work," Brown said.

"It's very lucky that we didn't have more fatalities out here," said Assistant Chief Rob Talburt of the Logan-Rogersville Fire Department.

"When you go through something catastrophic, call it like it is, people are going to be very shook up, and when you are working that high in the air and something goes wrong, you're going to have a lot of emotions," Talburt said.


Investigators said they will conduct interviews with the workers to find out more. They had not determined a cause for the collapse as of Thursday evening.

"Our prayers go out to their family," Brown said.

Authorities said the company working on the tower at the time of the collapse was contracted from Washington state.



===============


TV tower collapse in Missouri leaves 1 worker dead, several injured, officials say
1,980-foot TV tower collapses, killing worker


Author: Harrison Keegan and Giacomo Bologna, News-Leader
Published: 7:50 PM EDT April 19, 2018
Updated: 8:17 PM EDT April 19, 2018

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A TV tower in Missouri collapsed Thursday, killing one person and injuring several others, authorities say.

The tower near Fordland in Webster County was used to broadcast KOZK Ozarks Public Television, according to a spokeswoman for Missouri State University, which owns the tower.

Rob Talburt, assistant chief for the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District, said 50 to 60 emergency workers from multiple agencies responded to the tower collapse.

Talburt said that just before 10 a.m., six workers were performing routine maintenance on the 1,980-foot-tall tower when it went down.


The workers were about 105 feet high at the time of the collapse, Talburt said.

One worker was trapped and killed, Talburt said, and the five other workers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

"It's very lucky that we didn't have more fatalities out here," Talburt said.

Andrea Mostyn, spokeswoman for Missouri State University, said the university contracted with a company to perform work on the tower. She said she was not sure how long the crew had been working on the tower.

MSU spokeswoman Suzanne Shaw said the workers were installing structural support to accommodate new equipment associated with a channel change.

MSU issued a statement, calling the tower's collapse and the ensuing death a "tragedy."

“We are shocked and saddened by the news,” Shaw said in the statement. “Our condolences go out to the victims and their families. We are also providing support and resources to the other team members affected.”

Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole said the workers were replacing crossbeams on the tower.

John Myers, a structural engineering professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, said it's extremely rare for any type of structure like a TV tower to collapse without some type of major event, like a hurricane or tornado.