SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KGO) --
PG&E is trying to figure out what caused a gas explosion in San Francisco's Bernal Heights. No one was hurt in the blast, but the explosion ripped through a Bernal Heights apartment building and caused major damage.
It happened around 10am on the 3900 block of Mission Street.
Carmen Godoy lives in the building. She wasn't home at the time of the explosion, but when she returned to the neighborhood she feared the worst. "My son was inside and I say, 'My son, maybe he's dead. I don't know,'" said Godoy.
Her son is deaf and so he didn't hear the blast, but he felt the building shake.
The explosion blew out the windows and the garage door.
The leak is believed to have come from under the street.
It took PG&E crews three hours to cap off the gas lines from both ends.
"This was a tedious task that included turning off two valves at an off site location as well as digging up these holes behind me," said Andrea Mennitti, a spokesperson for PG&E.
Nearly 500 people have been without service for much of the day and at least a hundred are expected to be without gas until Tuesday as PG&E investigates the pipe.
The company has hired a third party to help them figure out what caused the leak.
In the meantime, the Godoy family is without a home, but tonight they're thankful to God that everyone's safe.
They believe a wooden box with a picture of Jesus Christ remained hanging inside their apartment for a reason.
"It's still there. The windows exploded, but I think that's a miracle," said Elizabeth Godoy.
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By Bay City News
November 27, 2017
UPDATE 3:44 P.M.:
A gas leak that caused an explosion in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood Monday morning has been resolved and evacuated residents are being allowed to return to the area, according to fire officials.
The gas leak was reported shortly before 10 a.m. when firefighters were called to the 3900 block of Mission Street near St. Mary’s Avenue to investigate a gas odor in the area, according to fire officials.
At 10:14 a.m., an explosion occurred in the lower floors of 3987 Mission St., a three-story residential building, causing moderate damage to the home and blowing out its front windows.
No one was inside the building and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters evacuated 19 addresses on Mission Street, College Terrace and Bosworth Street. An evacuation center was opened this afternoon at the YMCA’s Mission branch for those displaced.
PG&E workers arrived on scene around 10:30 a.m. and had stopped the flow of gas as of shortly after 1 p.m.
Fire officials said the leak appears to have been outside on the street in front of the building and it is unclear how the gas got inside.
The 14-Mission and 49-Van Ness/Mission buses were rerouted around the area during the incident, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
November 28, 2017
NEW HAVEN, CT--
Adults 65 or older accounted for 40 percent of all fire-related deaths in 2015 despite only constituting 15 percent of the U.S. population, with the relative risk of dying in a fire for senior citizens being 2.7 times higher than for the general population, according to the U.S. Fire Administration Fire Risk Report.
Orange Fire Marshal Timothy Smith said the disparity is relatively consistent throughout the nation, noting that areas with higher senior populations will have higher rates for fire-related deaths.
"A lot of it's attributed to mobility issues, disabilities, reactionary skills aren't there like they are with adults or young children or they can't self-evacuate or extricate themselves from a burning building," he said.
For Connecticut it is not clear if the specific nationwide numbers apply, due to missing information. Seven out of the 20 fire-related fatalities listed in 2016 in Connecticut do not list the individual's age. However, a state report on injury and death from 2000-04 showed the rate of death from fire for people 50 and older was about 4 times higher than that for people ages 10 to 49. There were an average of 30 fire-related deaths annually in those years, the state report noted.
With advancing age, physical and mental capabilities decline, making it more difficult for older adults to clearly see, smell and hear, increasing the risk of death or injury from fire due to decreased senses, the fire administration report noted.
Older people also can have physical disabilities or limitations that hinder their mobility, making it more difficult for them to react to the threat of a fire the way younger adults can.
The October wildfires in the heart of California wine country claimed 43 victims, and didn't discriminate by age, killing young and old. But Charles and Sara Rippey, who was confined to a wheelchair, did not make it out. The couple, married for 75 years, lived in Napa for the past 35, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, a sister Hearst newspaper of the New Haven Register. They died together in their home, unable to escape the wildfires.
Their bodies were found by police inside the charred ruins of their Silverado Country Club condominium on Westgate Drive. He was 100, and she was 98, according to the Chronicle.
Rippey apparently died trying to save his wife, one of their children told KPIX TV.
Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other disorders that affect mental functions also increase the risk of injury or death from a fire due to erratic or even potentially dangerous behavior and the inability to recognize a hazard, according to the report.
"You don't want to think, 'OK, I'll climb out of the window,' if you're a person confined to a bed or have a walker or if you have difficulty walking normally. You have to make your plans reasonable," said New Haven Fire Chief John Alston.
To compound this problem, older adults are more inclined to accidentally start a fire than younger adults. Sometimes, they are close to the source of a flame, and their clothes or bedding ignites, according to Smith.
"Cooking fires tend to be very common with the senior population because they forget they leave the stove on, and they walk away. Maybe, there's an early onset of dementia or other sort of mental issues going on. Or they're cooking with a bathrobe and the bathrobe catches fire because they aren't aware of it," he said.
Heating, in particular, also represents an elevated fire danger to older adults, who frequently feel cold. When the central heating source of a home does not work properly, Alston said older adults will often rely on temporary sources of heat, such as legal or illegal portable space heaters, fireplaces or even cooking ovens.
"It's a difficult population to try to change their evacuation skills, but detection doubles your chance, doubles everyone's chances, of escaping a fire," Smith said. "So early detection of a fire is probably the best thing for the senior population. The sooner they know about, the sooner they can be made of aware it, the sooner they can start the self-evacuation to protect themselves."
Smoke alarms are present in most homes, having saved many lives since the mid-1970s when their use was widely encouraged for the first time. While the number of senior citizens living in housing without smoke alarms or with alarms that do not work is not well-documented, Smith said senior citizens may not have access to smoke detectors and other equipment in poorer populations due to their inability to afford the detectors and/or the batteries.
Cromwell Town Councilman Al Waters, 74, said he changes his smoke detector batteries religiously twice a year. "That's the big thing," he said of the simple action fire officials urge people to do during the Daylight Saving Time change.
The American Red Cross has even coined the phrase, "Time to Turn and Test."
Waters said he is also vigilant about making sure passageways in his home are clear. "I don't keep the areas of exit cluttered," Waters said.
Often during emergencies, the elderly especially can become very disorientated, he said. Any impediments will make it difficult to make it outside to safety. Many may not even realize portions of their homes could be fire hazards, he said.
"I'm out every day moving," Waters said. "I just can't sit idle. There are people that, if they're getting 60 years or older, probably their reflexes are not as fast."
Waters said because he's so active, he has always taken the normal precautions when it comes to fire safety.
West Haven Fire Department Chief Jim O'Brien said residential sprinkler systems also help to reduce the risk of deaths and injuries, homeowner insurance premiums and uninsured property losses. While many homes do not have automatic extinguishing systems, despite them being found in hotels and businesses, O'Brien said there is a major movement in the U.S. fire service to require sprinklers in all new homes.
Smith said senior citizens are considered a target population for public education and intervention, explaining that as much as fire departments visit kids at schools and teach them the basics of fire safety, they also go to senior centers to teach senior citizens about senior fire safety and home escape.
"What we're finding is when the seniors call us to come in and do a presentation, they want us there. So they're truly interested in the subject and they want to learn it, as opposed to kids where the teachers are telling them they have to be there," he said. "That's a huge gap in between there. So a lot of these people, they're upcoming seniors, they haven't really had any fire safety education as they're entering their 'golden years.'"
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/03/united-states-still-has-one-of-highest.html
UNITED
STATES STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT DEATH AND INJURY RATES IN THE
WORLD: 34,000 DIE AND 2.5 MILLION INJURED EACH YEAR.
Despite the improvements in
road safety, the United States has one of the highest death rates at about 1 person
dead per 10,000 people. Unfortunately, only undeveloped countries have higher
death rate.
Some states, such as Texas
and West Virginia (sorry, WV, despite your tremendous progress in traffic
safety, you are still at the top of the worst-death-rate list) have death rates
of nearly 1.5 percent, i.e., fifty percent more people die compared to the
national death rate.
Approximately 34,000 people
are getting killed each year. In the 1950s and 1960s, about 55,000 people
used to die on the roads – so, there has been improvement in the number of
dead.
However, the number of
injured is rising. Roughly 2.5 million are injured (yes, you read it
correctly – 2.5 million injured) per year. That is, 1 percent (1%) of the
population that is eligible to drive is injured every year.
It is worse than a war zone
out there. So, please be safe and be on the lookout for weaving-through-the-traffic
drivers, crazy drivers, reckless drivers, sick drivers, medical-condition
drivers, sleepy drivers, negligent drivers, stupid drivers, careless drivers,
drunk drivers, speeding drivers, drugged drivers, texting drivers,
talking-on-the-phone drivers, looking-at-the-GPS drivers, hurry-hurry drivers,
tailgating drivers, upset drivers, eating-while-driving drivers,
putting-the-lipstick-on-while-driving drivers, elderly drivers, and so on.
Coroner Identifies People Killed in Barclay Friends Senior Home Fire in Chester County; All 4 Died of Smoke Inhalation
The four residents identified, according to the coroner’s office, were
Mildred E. Gadde; Theresa J. Malloy; and Delores G. Parker, and Thomas
F. Parker, a married couple.
Four people who died in the burned out Barclay Friends Senior Living Community earlier this month died of smoke inhalation, according to the Chester County Coroner's Office.
The four residents identified, according to the coroner’s office, were
Mildred E. Gadde; Theresa J. Malloy; and Delores G. Parker, and Thomas
F. Parker, a married couple.
The inferno broke out at the Chester County, Pennsylvania, facility on Nov. 16. It took crews days to recover the bodies from the West Chester fire scene.
The manner of death — including what cause the fire — is pending further investigation, Coroner Gordon Eck said.
Special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Response Team, Pennsylvania State Police and Chester County Fire Marshal’s office announced last week they had recovered remains of all those believed to have perished in the fire.
Investigators continued to sift through the rubble of the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community along North Franklin Street through the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said. A large crane and other excavating equipment was brought to the fire scene as investigators continued the search for a cause of the fire.
No foul play is suspected in the fire, the ATF said.
The fire erupted shortly before 11 p.m. while most of the 137 residents were sleeping. The blaze started in the back of one of the buildings, ripped through the center and all the way to the ceiling, creating a "raging inferno," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said.
Flames tore through the senior living community's personal care wing with such speed that hundreds of first responders rushed into the building without securing their breathing equipment.
Several firefighters described their helmets melting and cracking from the intense heat.
Most of the residents were bedridden or in wheelchairs. Senior home staff and outside neighbors rushed from room to room in the facility, wrapping residents in blankets and sweeping them out in to the frigid night in wheelchairs and even in beds.
Paramedics took 27 residents to hospitals for treatment. Some of the injuries were described by authorities as "serious." Of those that were rescued without injury, 102 were placed in other facilities and 31 have been taken in by family members.
Seniors Flee Inferno at Chester Co. Senior Living Community
Parts of the complex burned for more than 24 hours and unstable walls teetered over the scene.
Last year, state health officials cited Barclay Friends and its owner Kendal with fire safety violations, including a failure to maintain corridor smoke doors. The violations were recorded in the facility's nursing home section, which was not touched by fire.
A provisional license status for the nursing home was lifted in February following a new inspection, but at least one fire safety violation remained, state records showed.
Three drivers and two passengers were killed Sunday night in a three-vehicle crash in Andrews County, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
An Odessa man, Augustin S. Lujan, 27, was driving a Ford Mustang south on State Highway 128, 22 miles southwest of Andrews. He disregarded the stop sign at the intersection with State Highway 115 and collided with a Peterbilt truck-tractor towing a semi-trailer that was northbound on SH 115, according to the release.
The vehicles’ impact resulted in the Peterbilt colliding with a Ford F-150 that was southbound on SH 115.
Lujan was transported to Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, where he died. The Peterbilt driver, Juan C. Ramirez, 51, of Yuma, Arizona, and the pickup driver, Silverio Gonzales, 51, of Pecos, died at the scene. The pickup passengers, Maria D. Cepeda-Orona, 42, and Allison A. Gonzales, 7, both of Pecos, also died at the scene, according to the release.
Lujan and Allison were not wearing seat belts but the other victims were, according to the release. The crash occurred at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday.
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5 killed in 3-vehicle collision in rural West Texas
Tuesday, November 28th 2017
ANDREWS, Texas (AP) - Five people have been killed in a three-vehicle collision in West Texas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says its troopers were sent to the crash scene Sunday night at an intersection on the desert outskirts of Andrews, Texas, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Odessa.
A DPS statement Tuesday said 27-year-old Augustin Lujan ran a stop sign in his Ford Mustang and slammed into the side of a northbound semitrailer, pushing it into a southbound F-150 pickup truck.
Lujan died at an Odessa hospital while the semitrailer driver, 51-year-old Juan Ramirez, died at the scene. All three occupants of the F-150, 51-year-old Silverio Gonzales, 42-year-old Maria Cepeda-Orona and 7-year-old Allison Gonzales, also died at the scene.
The relationship of the F-150's occupants was unclear.
====================
An Odessa man and four others were killed as a result of a three-vehicle wreck Sunday night in Andrews County.
A Texas Department of Public Safety report released Tuesday shows 27-year-old Augustin S. Lujan of Odessa was the only person transported to Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Four others involved, including a 7-year-old Pecos girl, were pronounced dead on the scene.
The wreck occurred at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday near State Highway 115 and State Highway 128, 22 miles southwest of Andrews.
Lujan was driving a 2003 Ford Mustang south on State Highway 128 when he disregarded a stop sign at the intersection of State Highway 115. Lujan’s vehicle collided with a 1996 Peterbilt truck towing a semi-trailer traveling north on State Highway 115. The impact pushed the Peterbilt into the southbound lane of State Highway 115 where it collided with a 2015 Ford F-150 that was traveling southbound on State Highway 115, the report shows.
The driver of the Peterbilt was identified as 51-year-old Juan C. Ramirez of Yuma, Ariz. The driver of the Ford F-150 was identified as 51-year-old Silverio Gonzales and his passengers were 7-year-old Allison A. Gonzales and 42-year-old Maria D. Cepeda-Orona, all of Pecos.
Allison Gonzales and Lujan were not wearing their seatbelt, the report said. The posted speed limit was listed as 75 mph.
The wreck was investigated by DPS Andrews Trooper Zachary Boerjan, who was assisted by DPS Lamesa Sgt. Jason Anzaldua, the report said.
