A little after 5 pm today, the ambulance went west on Washington. Anybody know how come?
Normally it turns east, towards the highway or the nursing home.
Do we know anything more this morning?
In my weekly chat with Howard, could not come with any information on the west bound ambulance.
However, my understanding is that Margaret Gragg is in the Eureka hospital from the nursing home. Apparently been there a few days.
The scanner said it was a "fall victim" on Road 15. The Lucille Pitts residence.
Also, it has been a busy day for area firefighters. There was a machine shed on fire on Pioneer Road which then spread into a grass fire. There was so much smoke, Billy said he could see it from Moline. A few firemen left that fire and headed to Severy to assist Greenwood Co. with a few fires. One, people were burning trash and it got away from them and the other a firefighter found in route to the trash fire.
Who burns trash when the wind is blowing like this?????
I was returning from Eureka around noon and saw the smoke as soon as I turned south on 99. I passed Pioneer just as an emergency vehicle turned onto the road and headed east. The sheriff, fire truck and ambulance followed. I have to admit my eyes welled up with pride, recognizing the faces driving those trucks and knowing what good-hearted and hard-working neighbors they are. Thank you, Elk County firefighters and emergency personnel!
We just got back to Howard and while coming south on 99 we could see smoke south and west of Howard, probably west of Moline or even further. I am not a good judge of distance. Wonder what it was.
Only stupid people burn anything on a day like this.
The fire on Pioneer flared back up again. That was about 30-45 minutes ago. Then they were headed to a fire in Fall River also.
I didn't realize Margaret Gragg had gone into the nursing home...and now she's in the hospital? Sure hope she's doing OK...She's another one of those Elk County originals that is irreplacable...I truly loved talking with that lady.
This is a very dangerous time of the year. We have lots of grass from all the rain last summer, and since it's been dry any little thing can set off a grass fire. Couple that with high winds, and you've got a recipe for disaster. In my opinion, they should outlaw smoking this time of year. People throwing butts out windows and it lands in the grass and they have no idea what they just caused. Really, when it's dry like this, even someone dragging a hitch chain along the highway can set a spark off into the grass. Remember the trucker last year who had a brake on fire and drove from Andover to Augusta setting fires along the way before they got him stopped?
Ranchers should have their fire rigs filled up and ready to go by now. If anyone lives next to large areas of tall grass or bale piles, I'd consider digging out a garden hose to keep handy. And remember; this IS Kansas. Just because it's not windy now, doesn't mean it won't be by the time your trash fire gets going nice and hot.
In the have you ever wondered department:
Whatever happened to the gasoline tanker trucks going from the bulk storage areas to the service stations that had a small chain suspended from the rear dragging on the highway and sometimes emitting sparks?
Seemed like it might have been the law for that small chain at one time?
Yikes! I can't imagine that truck hauling highly flammable liquid with a sparking chain attached to it would be considered "law"?!?!
That just seems like common sense to remove that! You'd think the drivers would have been a little more concerned for their own safety?
Back to the fire discussion; we did smell smoke at our house on Saturday night. The wind was blowing, though, so it could have carried the smell a long way.
I think the chain was for "grounding." I'm sure there are other ways of doing it now, but chain sparks have no fuel to support them so a fire would be difficult. (Gasoline has to mix with air in order to burn; pure liquid gas is too rich to burn. Unfortunately, getting that mix is pretty easy to do.) Now a burning truck tire would be something else again.
Quote from: Tobina on February 02, 2009, 09:13:44 AM
This is a very dangerous time of the year. . . . . . In my opinion, they should outlaw smoking this time of year. People throwing butts out windows and it lands in the grass and they have no idea what they just caused. Really, when it's dry like this, even .
You know, smokers get blamed for all the grass fires. I'm a smoker for some 55+ years. Yes I've heard all the "it's not good for you's", so don't go there please. I DO NOT, nor HAVE I EVER thrown a cigarette butt out the car window. I have, however, put them out on the ground. Do you know how hard it is to start a fire with a cigarette butt? They go out if they are not being smoked. Probably some fires are started by careless smoking, but I'd almost bet it is a very SMALL percentage. Most of those Saturday fires were caused by trash burning that got away and I understand one was sparks from a welder. Anyone should have enough sense not to burn trash on a windy day in Kansas or anywhere else.
While driving in Wyoming, I noticed a tanker truck refueling at a service station. It suddenly dawned on me that I had not seen a chain on the rear end of one of those trucks for years, perhaps since the 1950s. (Actually, the tanker trucks of the 1950s were very, very small compared to those of today.)
The only thing I can find is the following and cannot vouch for what the guy says about the cover for bureaucrats:
Will a dragging chain actually ground a vehicle? Yes. Until perhaps 40 years ago, many states required gasoline tankers to be grounded via a dragging chain so a buildup of static electricity would not cause a gasoline explosion. Then some bureaucrat realized the dragging chain might cause some idiot to think there was a reason for the chain, and therefore an explosion was possible. So, instead of using chains to eliminate the problem, gasoline tankers were required to have a tiny diamond shaped sign on the back reading "1203." The public was not told that "1203" meant highly volatile gasoline was in the tank as that too might scare them, but the sign was all the "cover" the bureaucrats needed to say they had warned the public. Very clever. Insane, but clever.
From http://www.endtimesreport.com/EMP.html
very interesting, Waldo. I would like to elaborate a bit more on "outlawing smoking" during the dry season. I don't believe I have ever heard or read of an automobile accident where they said "tobacco was involved" so perhaps they should also outlaw drinking alcohol. But you know what? Outlawing anything doesn't mean it won't happen. There are illegal drugs, but those that want them still find them. People who want to smoke cigarettes or cigars, or those who want to drink alcohol will still find a way. That was proven during prohibition. Nuff said, I'm outta here. :angel:
Sorry, Flo. I was in a hurry and generalized my comments too much. Smoking is your own choice. And you're right; the fires were started by burning trash this weekend. I guess I was remembering that some states have those big flashing road signs that say "Fire Danger; don't throw butts" or something like that to warn drivers not to toss them out the window. Just during parts of the year where it is so dry volitile and when the grass is so long.
I did see something strange the other day; someone was mowing the ditches in the middle of January! I'm sure it was probably for 2 reasons... 1) when they needed to mow, fuel was too high 2) now that fuel costs are down, and fire danger is high, they decided to go ahead and minimize the risk of grassfires by having less grass avail.
Also, back on the smoker thing... did you know that a lot of newer cars don't have cigarette ash trays anymore? It kind of forces people to throw them out the window. And I've watched cigs bounce on the highway... they throw sparks everywhere.
my vehicle has neither an ashtray or a lighter. I bought a "self-snuffer"
Flo, you made some excellent points. My mother and sisters both smoke. They do not throw their butts out of the car either. I have seen them throw butts in the yard (while the grass was dry) and the cigarette never caught anything on fire.
As for burning trash, I understand it saves money. My home is surrounded by 400 acres of hay meadow - and that's only what our house sets on. There's pasture straight east across the road and also a hay meadow directly south of us. We decided to pay the $22 to have our trash picked up rather than ever take a chance of burning our house down. It's a personal choice I guess.
There is also a bale lot next to our driveway and many times we have worried about the feed truck or tractor sparking a fire, but...What do you do?
Margaret Gragg is supposed to be back to the nursing home from the hospital on Monday.