20 people displaced after a three-alarm fire burned through a condo complex in Green Brook, NJ early Friday morning.

GREEN BROOK, NJ – 

A three-alarm fire raged during the early morning hours at the Mountainview at Green Brook Condo/Apartment Complex. 

Fire units were dispatched a little after 3 a.m. Friday morning. The call was raised to three alarms by 3:40 a.m. 

A number of units are reported to have suffered heavy damage. There was a partial roof collapse in certain areas of the complex due to the extensive fire damage. 

The Red Cross has been called in to assist nearly 20 individuals that have been displaced by the fire. 



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GREEN BROOK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A three-alarm fire burned through a condo complex in Green Brook early Friday morning.

The fire broke out inside the building on King Court just after 2:45 a.m.

At least two units in the two story condo were damaged.

More than a dozen residents were left homeless

No injuries were reported.

As the Arctic wind pattern migrates toward Europe it could allow frigid air to descend upon the U.S.

Dreaded Polar Vortex May Be Shifting

As the Arctic wind pattern migrates toward Europe it could allow frigid air to descend upon the U.S.

By Scott Waldman, ClimateWire on October 25, 2016


 
Credit: BENJAMIN LIPSMAN Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The polar vortex in recent years has brought the kind of miserable cold to northern states that made it hard to breathe outside. We’re probably in for more of the same.

That’s the finding of a new study published yesterday in the journal Nature that finds that as the Arctic warms, it is shifting the polar vortex to Europe. That in turn will bring more bursts of frigid cold to North America.

Those temperature drops could lead to miserable days in February and March, the research finds. Conversely, those drops in temperature could offset some of global warming’s effect in those regions, said Martyn Chipperfield, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Leeds and a co-author of the paper.

“Climate change can lead to extremes; it’s not like a regular change, everyone to the same extent at all times and places,” he said. “Despite the overall warming, you can get in places like the Northeastern U.S. extreme cold events. That’s consistent with climate change and global warming.”

The polar vortex is a fast-moving band of air that encircles the frigid Arctic in winter months and traps it there. Its movement is part of a decadeslong change.

The polar vortex has actually “shifted persistently” away from North America and into Europe and Asia over the last 30 years, researchers found. That results in cooling over North America but warmer winters in Europe.

As global warming decreases sea ice, the sun’s warmth absorbed by the ocean is instead released from the ocean for a longer period of time, which disrupts the vortex.

When the vortex weakens, a growing number of climate scientists argue, the cold Arctic air migrates to lower latitudes, as happened in early 2014 and 2015. The sudden and somewhat prolonged burst of cold broke pipes and water mains and more than doubled energy bills in places like New York and New England as it wreaked havoc across a wide swath of the country.

The movement of the vortex has come as the Arctic steadily loses sea ice, a process that some scientists are worried could accelerate in the future as the Earth continues to warm at record levels.

The loss of sea ice in the Arctic amid rapid warming has also weakened the vortex, said Judah Cohen, a climatologist with the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research. Cohen has said that weakening will lead to increasingly frigid periods of winter in North America, though other scientists dispute his claims. Though he has not studied a shift in the vortex itself, he said it could be consistent with his findings that the vortex is weakening.

“In general, a vortex that has shifted is a vortex that is weaker,” he said. “They’re consistent.”

Monthly global temperatures continue to set warmth records, but North America and Europe have seen extreme cold during some winter days as a result of the polar vortex. However, researchers found, the cold air brought into lower latitudes by the vortex has also offset global warming temperatures.

Still, don’t expect prolonged periods of cold every winter, Chipperfield said. Climate change increases periods of extreme weather, but that doesn’t mean every winter will bring the effects of the polar vortex, he said.

“You can get regional occurrences of cold temperatures despite what we think is an overall move to a warmer climate,” he said, adding, “Climate change can lead to more extreme events, not just a shift in the average.” Reprinted from ClimateWire with permission from Environment &

Benjamin Fox, the Wyckoff, New Jersey police chief who wrote racial profiling email, agrees to resign

Updated 2 hrs 36 mins ago
WYCKOFF, New Jersey -- A New Jersey police chief who was suspended without pay this summer for sending an email advocating racial profiling has resigned and will retire next week.

The Record reports former Wyckoff chief Benjamin Fox agreed to resign on Nov. 15 as part of deal reached with the Bergen County town. His 180-day suspension, which began Aug. 5, was also deemed "fully satisfied."

Fox will submit a retirement application dated Dec. 1 to the state Division of Pensions.

The agreement released Wednesday by Wyckoff officials contained no details about any conditions of Fox's retirement, the pension he will receive or what other benefits he will keep or sacrifice.

Fox was disciplined after the county prosecutor's office determined his 2014 email that said profiling has its place in law enforcement if done correctly "explicitly" violated a state directive prohibiting racial profiling.

Fox's email said profiling has its place in law enforcement if done correctly. It also said that "black gang members from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That's why we check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods.

Wyckoff is a mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York. In his email, he also noted that New York police stop white kids in black neighborhoods there because "they know they are there to buy drugs."

County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said an investigation didn't uncover "any substantiated instances" of racial profiling by Wyckoff officers. Town officials said Fox's actions were an "isolated incident" and that there were no "systemic problems" in the police department.

Wyckoff police officers underwent mandatory training in cultural awareness, use of force, internal affairs, discrimination and liability compliance.

Racial profiling is widespread in New Jersey.  This idiot was caught because he was stupid enough to put his thoughts into an email.   Most of the racial profiling is conducted by the traffic officers.  Their most common excuse to illegally stop a driver is that "he was swerving to the right or to the left".  This way they target Asians, blacks, Hispanics and others who fit several other characteristics, including:  out of state plates (Texas, LA, etc), tattoos, long hair (mainly  Asian drivers), etc.  There are thousands of illegally stopped drivers in the court system, most of them in county jails.

Here is a case that illustrates the corrupt and illegal behavior of the New Jersey officers:

A young Asian driver (Vietnamese-American and US citizen) drives at night from Upstate New York (where he had visited his mother) to Louisiana.  Inside the car is his girlfriend, sleeping on the passenger side.  

He unfortunately has to drive through New Jersey Route 17 and then I-95.  Around 2 am on the 6th of July, he is illegally stopped by Ramsey police based on the excuse that he was swerving to the right.  Video from the police car shows that the Asian driver had Texas plates and had his window down.  The video does not show that he was swerving to the left or the right.

There is almost no traffic on the Route 17 at that time.

The Ramsey cops stop him, but they never tell him that he was swerving to the right.  They instead tell ask him if he was smoking marijuana.  The driver replies that "I am just smoking a cigarette".  However, the Ramsey cops claim that they smelled marijuana and that he was smoking the cigarette to mask the smell of marijuana.

These corrupt Ramsey cops order the Asian driver (who has chest-long hair, facial hair and tattoos) to get out of the car.

They immediately put him under detention and hand-cuff him.  All that without probable cause, as no marijuana is visible by visual inspection of the car.  These corrupt cops then demand that the driver allows them to search the car.  The poor Asian driver is scarred shitless at this time and allows them to search the car.  They search the car for at least half an hour and they do not find any drugs (as this poor driver did not have any drugs with him).

Eventually these corrupt cops always find an excuse to bring charges against the driver they have illegally stopped, including planting evidence, illegally jailing the driver, blackmailing the driver, etc.  This is happening at an alarming rate in New Jersey.
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Wyckoff, New Jersey police chief on voluntary leave during racial profiling investigation




Toni Yates reports investigators are looking into whether a New Jersey police chief defended racial profiling in an e-mail.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
WYCKOFF, New Jersey -- A police chief is taking a temporary leave while prosecutors investigate whether he told his officers that racial profiling, including checking out "suspicious black people in white neighborhoods," has a place in policing.

Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and acting Bergen County prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said in a statement Tuesday that their offices are investigating an email from Wyckoff police Chief Benjamin Fox.

"On its face, the email appears to be a clear violation of the Attorney General's policy strictly prohibiting racial profiling by police officers," they said in the statement. "We are conducting a full investigation and will take all appropriate measures."

At an emergency township committee meeting Tuesday night, Fox asked to go on administrative leave while the investigation is pending. A statement from the town said that Fox will explain the email to investigators and "demonstrate that neither he nor our police department has ever condoned or engaged in profiling."

The December 2014 email was released by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Tuesday. The group says it obtained it anonymously last week.

"Encouraging police officers to act with racial bias is unacceptable," said Alexander Shalom, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU in New Jersey. "Sowing mistrust at this level damages civil rights, and it threatens public safety by diminishing the faith people have in the police."

The email says that profiling has its place in law enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. It says that officers should "check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods" because "black gang members" from a nearby town commit burglaries in Wyckoff, a mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York.

The email says that New York police stop white kids in black neighborhoods there because "they know they are there to buy drugs."

"It's insane to think that the police should just 'dumb down just to be politically correct,'" the email says. "The public wants us to keep them safe and I'm confident that they want us to use our skills and knowledge to attain that goal."

The email says officers should continue to be fair to people and treat them with respect but should use "counter reaction as the law allows" if someone resists an authorized demand.



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Investigation into NJ police chief's email defending racial profiling





Toni Yates reports investigators are looking into whether a New Jersey police chief defended racial profiling in an e-mail.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
WYCKOFF, New Jersey -- New Jersey prosecutors are investigating whether a police chief told his officers that racial profiling has a place in policing, including checking out "suspicious black people in white neighborhoods."

Tuesday night, there was news that the police chief would take temporary leave while prosecutors complete their investigation.

Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said in a statement Tuesday that the offices are investigating an email from Wyckoff police Chief Benjamin Fox.

"On its face, the email appears to be a clear violation of the Attorney General's policy strictly prohibiting racial profiling by police officers," they said in the statement. "We are conducting a full investigation and will take all appropriate measures."

Someone answering the phone at Fox's office said he wasn't available to comment. A message left with the mayor of Wyckoff wasn't immediately returned.

The December 2014 email was released by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Tuesday. The group says it obtained it anonymously last week.

"Encouraging police officers to act with racial bias is unacceptable," said Alexander Shalom, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU in New Jersey. "Sowing mistrust at this level damages civil rights, and it threatens public safety by diminishing the faith people have in the police."

The email says that profiling has its place in law enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. It says that officers should "check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods" because "black gang members" from a nearby town commit burglaries in Wyckoff, a mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York. The email says that New York police stop white kids in black neighborhoods there because "they know they are there to buy drugs."

"It's insane to think that the police should just 'dumb down just to be politically correct,'" the email says. "The public wants us to keep them safe and I'm confident that they want us to use our skills and knowledge to attain that goal."

The email says that officers should continue to be fair to people and treat them with respect, but they should use "counter reaction as the law allows" if someone resists an authorized demand.

"Above all, do what you have to do and that which the law allows you to do to remain safe," the email says.

Crystal Window & Door Systems PA LLC cited for 8 violations at its Dalton, Pennsylvania, facility and fined $75K for not correcting safety hazards following worker's finger amputation

Nov. 22, 2016

OSHA fines window manufacturer nearly $75K for not correcting
safety hazards following worker's finger amputation
Crystal Window & Doors cited for 8 violations at its Dalton, Pennsylvania, facility

Employer name:

Crystal Window & Door Systems PA LLC

Inspection site:

204 Franklin Valley Road

Dalton, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On Nov. 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for eight serious and one other-than-serious safety violations. 

Inspection findings: An inspection began on May 16, 2016, after a complaint alleging an amputation injury in January 2016 at the window manufacturer's Dalton facility was not reported to OSHA. It was also conducted as part of OSHA's national emphasis program focused on amputations.
Inspectors cited the company for serious violations involving:

• No established energy control program.
• Powered industrial trucks operated by employees without proper training.
• Unguarded machinery.
• A mechanical power press operated without a single-stroke mechanism, which prevents worker exposure to amputation hazards and other injuries.
• Mechanical power presses not periodically and regularly inspected and tested.
• Damaged electrical equipment.

The other-than-serious violation was due to the lack of a written hazard communication program.

Quote: "In January 2016, an employee of this company suffered a finger amputation on his first day of work. Since then, Crystal Window & Door Systems has not taken the necessary actions to correct the safety hazards that caused the amputation," said Mark Stelmack, director of OSHA's Wilkes-Barre Area Office. "When employers fail to provide a safe workplace, we will hold them legally accountable."
Proposed penalties: $74,826
The citations can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/CrystalWindowsandDoors_1147868.pdf

Since 1990, Crystal Window & Doors has grown to be one of the nation's leading window manufacturers. Headquartered in Flushing, New York, the company and its subsidiaries have manufacturing space at four plants in New York, Chicago, St. Louis and Riverside, California. Crystal employs over 400 people at its main factory, regional branches, subsidiaries and affiliate firms. Crystal branch offices are located in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and Missouri. Its products are distributed in more than 35 states.

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Wilkes-Barre Office at 570- 826-6538.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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More than 4,000 fires occur annually on Thanksgiving as celebrants deep-fry turkeys, boil potatoes, bake pies and more.

Cooking Injuries Peak During Thanksgiving Holiday
November 26, 2014


Thanksgiving Day has more than double the number of home cooking fires than an average day, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. More than 4,000 fires occur annually on Thanksgiving as celebrants deep-fry turkeys, boil potatoes, bake pies and more.

“Splashes, spills, slips, burns and cuts are just a few of the many cooking hazards that occur during the Thanksgiving meal preparation,” said Arthur Sanford, MD, burn surgeon at Loyola University Health System. “Adults doing the cooking are often injured but sadly children often also get into harm’s way.”


Deep-frying turkeys causes an estimated $15 million in U.S. property damages, says Arthur Sanford, MD, burn surgeon at Loyola University Medical Center.

The trend of deep-frying the turkey has spiked a rise in cooking injuries. In the United States, more than 141 serious fires and hot-oil burns have been reported from turkey fryers over the last decade, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“I have actually cared for a patient who tried to deep fry the turkey indoors, which absolutely should not be done in any circumstances,” says Sanford. “And I cannot stress enough that the turkey must be moisture –free. A frozen turkey in hot oil is a recipe for tragedy.”

Serafino Alfe of suburban Chicago knows how dangerous it can be. He was deep-frying turkeys for an annual fundraiser dinner a few years ago and ended up at the Loyola Burn Center with third-degree burns—the worst—on his leg.

“I tripped and fell right into the deep fryer,” he said. “Thirty quarts of hot oil poured over my leg and I basically fried myself.”

Alfe said he has used a deep fryer for many years and is always careful. “We put the deep fryers on cardboard and I caught my shoe on the edge and just lost my balance,” said Alfe, who underwent surgery at Loyola on his injured leg the day before Thanksgiving in 2011. “We were using the older fryers that do not have a secure lid and the gallons of hot oil just splattered out everywhere.”

In addition to the pain of these types of injuries, an estimated $15 million in U.S. property damage is caused by deep-fryer fires.

“Thanksgiving for many means extra people in the kitchen, close proximity to fire and hot surfaces, added stress to cook many dishes on a tight schedule, the manipulation of a large, heavy turkey and the use of sharp knives,” said Sanford, who also is an associate professor at Stritch School of Medicine. “It is easy to get distracted and injuries can occur in a flash.” Sanford also warns against drinking alcohol while cooking. “Intoxication and cooking injuries to adults are terrible but too often children become the victims and that is truly tragic,” he said.

“Too many people spend Thanksgiving in the burn center or the emergency department when they should be home with their loved ones,” Sanford said.

Loyola’s Burn Center is one of the busiest in the Midwest, treating nearly more than 600 patients annually in the hospital and another 3,500 patients each year in its clinic.



Source: Loyola University Health System
========= Miami-Dade Fire Rescue demonstrates dangers of frying turkey this Thanksgiving





DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - Fire crews in South Florida are urging those planning to deep fry their turkey this Thanksgiving to be cautious.

With Thanksgiving this Thursday, many have deep fried turkey on their holiday menu, and fire rescue officials warned if the turkey is not properly prepared, dipping it into the deep fryer can cause an explosion.

Firefighters see almost double the normal number of cooking fires on Thanksgiving. “We always see examples of what you should do,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter Maggie Castro. “We’re here to show you what you shouldn’t do.”

During the cooking process, having mats around the kitchen could be a tripping hazard, as well. “You have a lot of friends and family over,” said Castro. “A lot of people who aren’t familiar with your household. Kids running around, they get excited. It just takes one split second for somebody to get hurt.”

Castro said keeping children away from hot stoves with a taped off area is one way to prevent accidents as well as keeping sharp objects from the edge of the counter. “The best way to keep pots and pans is with the handles pointed in,” said Castro.

Turkey fryers reportedly cause 1,000 injuries per year. Those injuries can amount to almost $15 million in property damages and medical bills. Experts suggest to test equipment and make certain it is working properly.

“He is wearing safety glasses,” said Castro as another fire rescue official demonstrated the proper use for turkey fryers. “He is wearing oven mits. Nice and easy, you wanna make sure you don’t drop it into the oil. Put it in slowly.”

Make sure pets are out of the area, as well, as they can cause someone to trip and fall.