weatherman222's Blog

Well 2007 has come and gone and we have settled into 2008. So lets take a look back at 2007 and see some of the scenes of the Fredericktown Fire Department. These are a few of the emergency scenes worked by the department in 2007. Due to me not being the photographer for the entire year and time restraints from youtube this isn't the entire review or anywhere close to all the calls. So enjoy!  

PS: All music is copyrighted. So rights for the songs go to the respected artists and/or recording studios and companies.

Well after last nights (Wednesday night) severe weather event, I doubted today (Thursday) would hold much activity in the form of weather. Well I was wrong! Beginning mid afternoon storms began developing and rapidly intensified and quickly began to produce damaging winds. One of these cells came across Madison County, MO and caused widespread damage in Fredericktown, MO at about 4:45 PM. We had numerous large tree limbs down and even a few trees. Many were blocking streets causing a lot of problems for people trying to get home. The trees caused a larger issue with power lines. Many lines were downed causing large power outages across the city. Some lines were brought down and remained live. Some limbs also came down on homes and vehicles causing damage. The Fredericktown Fire Dept was dispatched to check on residents and secure locations were downed power lines existed. They also aided city crews in clearing the streets. One good thing was no injuries were reported even since it was a surprise storm for many. I would like to say good job to all who helped out tonight because this was a pretty large event and everyone came together to help each other out and make things go as smoothly as possible. Here are some pics and video. I would like to mention that I didn't get anywhere close to photographing all of the damage due to the loss of day light.

Well September saw several emergencies for the Fredericktown Fire Department. I have put together a short video of a few of the scenes. The first was a small brush fire caused by a jumper wire that burned out on an electric pole. This occured on 9/2/07. The next happened on 9/13/07 when a  car caught fire. This also caused damage to the near by garage. The final portion of the video is a structure fire that happened on 9/21/07. The fire caused heavy damage to the double wide trailer. I believe that the cause was determined to be electrical in nature. I just wanted to say the FFD did a great job with all of the emrgencies. Included is a picture of a non injury accident last Saturday. Also next Saturday 10/13/07 the Fredericktown Fire Dept will hold the 2nd annual Chili Cook Off in downtown Fredericktown. There will be games, face painting, Elmo, and of course Chili! Proceeds will go towords the purchase of a new jaws of life. So come down and enjoy the festivities! Things begin at around 10AM.

   Well it has been a busy day for the Fredericktown Fire Department. They responded to three calls today; two pertaining to a Saturday morning trailer fire on Newberry Street in Fredericktown and then a structure fire Saturday evening at a beauty salon near downtown Fredericktown. I don't have that much info on the morning fire at the trailer because I was not able to go. Although the evening fire I did respond. The call came in around 6:15 PM. I arrived on scene just before the fire department and observed light smoke exiting the rear of the structure and a vent in the front. Once the fire department arrived on scene the quickly went to work gaining access to the interior of the building and getting water on the fire. With in several minutes the fire was contained and extinguished and firefighters began ventilating the building. The electric department was also called to disconnect the power. I never saw any flames exiting the building just smoke. Given that I believe most of the damage smoke and water based. No word on how either of the fires started but the fire marshall from Cape Girardeau was called to the scene of the beauty salon fire. Firefighters also battled warm temperatures and humidity but as seen in the video firefighters stayed hydrated with bottled water.  Now here are pictures and a video of the scene at the beauty salon....

 

At about 10:00 A.M. this morning a motor vehicle accident occurred at in the parking lot of Sonic in Fredericktown. What happened here was quite interesting. A driver traveling south on Lincoln Drive which runs in front of Sonic experienced a medical emergency and lost control of the vehicle, traveled through an empty parking lot, and then into the Sonic parking lot striking another vehicle which was backing out to leave the restaurant. This impact sent both vehicles into a pole that supports a portion of the covering over the ordering stalls causing the covering to sag. Two persons were injured and transported to Madison Medical Center via Madison County EMS. Fredericktown Fire Department also responded to help.

Well not a huge news story here but it was an active day for emergency crews. At about 3:15 P.M. a call came in for Madison County EMS to respond to the Off Sets on HWY OO north of Fredericktown. The Off Sets is an abandoned lead mine that has been turned into a stop for open water divers and swimmers along with certified cave divers. The call was for a female that was jumping in to swim but in the process struck her shoulder. EMS crews reported that the shoulder was either fractured or dislocated. With that they dispatched Air Evac to the Fredericktown Regional Airport which is just about a mile south of the Off Sets. The Fredericktown Fire Dept also responded to the airport to set up a landing zone for Air Evac. After Air Evac received the patient and they set off for St. John's Hospital in St. Louis. Have a safe week!

Here is a short video of the landing zone...

Well I've been watching hard for some news from the Fredericktown area and I kinda found something. Normally I wouldn't blog about a not so serious accident but I was able to get some pretty good pics of this one. Well at about 2:00PM a call came across the scanner of an accident on HWY 67 about 3 miles south of Cherokee Pass which is south of Fredericktown with injuries. I arrived on scene and the accident occurred in some type of work zone ( I believe it was utility work). What looked to occur is The RV was slowing for the workers and the car behind it was not paying attention and thus rear ended the RV. The subjects in the RV escaped injury while one subject in the car suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Madison Medical Center via ambulance. It isn't a good thing to not be paying attention on the road to begin with but to not be paying attention in a marked work zone is worse. I'm just glad that there weren't any injuries to the workers. Please pay attention while your at the wheel! It's not just your life that could be endangered, it's the life of others as well... Also good job to the folks at the Cherokee Pass Volunteer Fire Dept and Madison County EMS and law enforcement!

Here is a short video and some pictures of the scene:

    Well it has been a very busy evening for the Fire, Police, EMS and utility crews in Madison, County MO. The problems all started a little after 8PM when a slow moving strong thunderstorm began it's march across Northern Madison Co. The storm packed torrential rainfall, and plenty of cloud to ground lightning. The lightning caused quite a few problems across the area. First with two reports of structure fires around 8:30PM. The first call was for the Cherokee Pass Fire Dept. to respond to a house that had been struck by lightning in rural area of Northern Madison County. Cherokee Pass units began to arrive on scene and found the home fully involved. The house was reported a total loss. It also proved difficult get fire trucks to the home due to it's rural location. The second call was for the Fredericktown Fire Dept. to respond to Warehouse Tire & Oil which had been hit by lightning and was reported to be on fire. Units began to arrive on scene but found no sign of fire. The electric dept responded as well to disconnect electric service to the business. Next in the list of problems was the electricity. At about 9:00PM as the storm continued to hound the area with numerous lightning strikes and heavy rain. A lucky lightning strike caught a 3 phase power line in front of the hospital in Fredericktown. The strike brought down 2 of the 3 phases and one of which was still live. The Fredericktown Fire Dept and police dept responded accordingly to secure the area. Shortly after the electric dept arrived on scene and went to the downtown substation in Fredericktown to shut off electric to the area. Repairs went on for about 1 1/2 hrs before power was restored. Then Fredericktown and the surrounding area dealt with the heavy rain that had fallen. Many streets in Fredericktown began to flood and became impassible. Some streets were closed by the PD to prevent vehicles from becoming stranded. Also low lying areas around creeks and streams became flooded. ( of note the NWS accordingly issued a Flash Flood Warning for Madison Co)

Now here is a short video clip of some of tonight's events:

1. The Fredericktown Fire Dept. responding to the fire report at Warehouse Tire & Oil.

2. The live wire on the ground in front of Madison Medical Center.  

Hey guys and gals wanted to make sure this info got out there. I received the following comment from  Samantha Morris's Grandfather. Samantha was the 10 year old girl that was killed in a traffic accident last Saturday in Madison County, MO. This is for the girls funeral, so I'm sure any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Weatherman222

 

pballdan
Apr 10, 2007 | 4:42 PM

There has been an account set up to help pay for the little girls funeral. It is at the Regions Bank in Granite City, Il. the name of the account is Danny H Mckeal, pecial account for Samantha Jo Morris. Samantha is the little girl that did not make it. Her mother, Heather, had an operation to fix a broken leg and she is doing well. The baby, Savanna, is also alright. If anyone has any question's they can call Dan Mckeal at 1-618-931-4046. The number for Regions Bank is 1-800-734-4667. Thank you all so much for your prayers and concern.

Dan Mckeal, Samantha's Grandfather.

At about 5:15 PM on Saturday evening a fatal accident occurred on HWY 67 about 12 miles south of Fredericktown near Zion.  The accident was first thought to be a t-bone accident but the crast report indicates a head on collision.  4 people were involved in the accident and 3 of those were air lifted to hospitals. The fatality was a 10 year old female who was in full arrest while being transported by Air Evac to a Farmington hospital. The other female and driver was entraped in the vehicle and flown to a St. Louis hospital via ARCH. The driver of the vehilce in fault was fully ejected and was flown by ARCH to a Cape Girarduea hospital. Also an infant was involved in the accident but was realesed at the scene to family with minor injuries. Please pray for the family's and friends of the victims.
A more detailed accident report is availible at: http://www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?
ACC_RPT_NUM=A019004E

Below is a picture of the scene. Also included is video of one of the ARCH helicopters departing the scene:

 

 

 

Well I recieved a comment today from the mother of the teen that was injured by a vehicle in Fredericktown and then flew via ARCH to a St. Louis hosptal here is the comment:

mommacroak
Apr 5, 2007 | 4:36 PM

Hey guys! This is the boys mother and I just want to thank everyone that prayed for our son. Prayers were answered that evening. To let you know what happened, our son was vaccuming out his grandmother's van and the extension cord got caught under a wheel. He started the van to move it and the van died and he couldn't get it in park. When he got out, the van started rolling backwards and (thinking he was superman) he got behind it to stop it. It took him across the street and pinned him against a cedar deck. He suffered a laceration on the left side of his head, but no fracture nor concussion. He suffered a compound fracture to his femur and the bone broke through the skin on the front and back of his leg. His knee turned out to be fine. I want to thank the EMS crew, ARCH, Fredericktown Fire Dept. and everyone who helped and prayed. God's hand was in this because it could have easily been a lot worse.  Thanks again and God Bless!!! By the way, he got to come home today!!!

Here is a picture of the teen being loaded into the ARCH helicopter:

 

This evening in Fredericktown, MO a 13 year old male was crushed between a vehicle and porch according to scanner traffic. The child suffered a broken Tibia ( the large bone in the upper leg) and also injuries to the knee. He was treated by Madison County EMS and then flew by ARCH helicopter from the scene to a St. Louis hospital. The patient would have been flown by AIr Evac but they were unable to fly due to windy conditions. I would like to wish him and his family the best. Also a good job to EMS, ARCH, and fire crews to responding to the scene in a timley manner.

Below are some pictures of the scene and a video of ARCH landing......

 

 

Well after seeing so many people with Ipods these days, I'm starting to look into purchasing one. So does anyone out there own a Ipod??? Do you like it??? How much and where do you use it??? What generation and type do you have??? Personally I'm leaning towards an older generation nano, or possibly a video ipod. Any other suggestions??? Comments GREATLY appreciated!!!

Well after seeing so many people with Ipods these days, I'm starting to look into purchasing one. So does anyone out there own a Ipod??? Do you like it??? How much and where do you use it??? What generation and type do you have??? Personally I'm leaning towards an older generation nano, or possibly a video ipod. Any other suggestions???

Comments GREATLY appreciated!!!

I live in Fredericktown, MO know how you  people in Hermann, MO feel. Our electric rates jumped up 50% as well a few years back. Although I wouldn't completely blame your city. If I'm understanding correctly your city maintains their own electrical distribution system, and purchases the electric through the MoPEP electric pool which several cities(including mine) do. So technically without your city making a profit on electricity, they have very little money to keep up your distribution system, which can be bad news. In the last several years energy prices have been increasing, so rate increases are becoming common. So chances are your city has had to raise rates to cover the increased cost of purchasing the power from MoPEP and have additional money to keep up the system. But does that still mean a person should have to pay hundreds of dollars to keep the lights on NO! So that brings me to Co-op power. In my opinion having power through a Co-op is a wonderful thing. I know at the Co-op I work at does a wonderful job maintaining the distribution system and has a lot better service than our city and their prices are much less. So what keeps cities that are in a MoPEP pool from going Co-op? Well in our situation down here we all want the Co-op but our city signed a seemingly non ending contract with the pool, with an extreme penalty to get out. Also you mentioned an audit, when our city was audited after the rate hike, it found that up to the rate hike our city had been losing money in the electric dept, so your city may not be getting as much money and able to keep it, from the high rates as you think.