Fire Apparatus

Art in the Park kicks off Saturday The Carroll County Arts Council will present Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Westminster City Hall. More than 80 artists will participate in the juried art show, with some providing demonstrations of their work in wood carving, pottery wheel, screen painting and cartoon illustration. A range of art styles will be available. Entertainment will include a dozen roaming musicians performing on dulcimer, banjo, flute, harp, accordion and voice.

A retired Army major was found dead yesterday by firefighters battling a blaze that destroyed the laundry room and garage of his Abingdon home, said a spokesman for the state fire marshal's office.The body of James E. Schall Jr., 62, of the 700 block of Frans Drive was found by firefighters in the laundry room behind the garage shortly after the fire was reported by neighbors at 3: 50 p.m., said Allen Gosnell, a state fire marshal.Schall served in the Vietnam War and was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Gosnell said.

David Dean couldn't resist putting on the firefighter's gear, even though the helmet nearly touched his chin, the jacket's hem touched the floor and the boots came up to his knees."

Steve Heaver and Ed Rosen manhandled an unwieldy, 400-pound iron contraption into position -- the hose bed of a 1920 Seagrave fire engine being restored at the Fire Museum of Maryland.Elsewhere in the hangarlike building, John D. LaCosta was installing a jumper circuit on the old telephone fire alarm system, a type in use from the late 19th century until the 911 system was implemented in 1968 to cover all emergency services.Such work has been taking place on Tuesday evenings in the Lutherville museum since its founding in 1971.

FirefightersFor a weekend of family fun that includes a carnival and firefighter skill competitions, attend the Carlisle Firefighters' Jamboree and Fair Friday through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pa.The three-day event also features antique fire apparatus competitions, antique and modern fire apparatus displays, fire and personal safety seminars and live entertainment. Kids will take fire truck rides and learn about fire safety.Gates open at 8 a.m. each day. Admission is $4 for adults and free for children under 12. Call (717)

A fire last night aboard the Danish freighter Adrian Maersk, which was undergoing repairs at the Sparrows Point shipyard, is being investigated by county fire officials and shipyard police.The fire reportedly broke out about 10 p.m. while the ship was in dry-dock at the north ship yard near Warehouse Road and workmen were either removing paint or painting a section of the ship.The cause of the fire and the extent of damage was not available.Reports that two workmen were made ill by paint fumes carried by the smoke and heat could not be confirmed.

"Fighting fires, that's the easy part," says Doug Rill, a lieutenant in the Arcadia Volunteer Fire Company. "Somehow, you have to fund the equipment that you need to fight the fires."So every summer, the Arcadia fire company has a carnival. One of its biggest fund-raisers, the carnival runs this year from Aug. 1 through 6. Mr. Rill has organized the carnival for the past four years.It's easy to spot the bright lights of the Arcadia carnival grounds, about five miles south of Hampstead. When traveling south on Route 30, turn left on Arcadia Avenue and left on Carnival Avenue.

NEED A FIREFIGHTER?:The 11th annual Firehouse Expo will be going on this weekend around and near the Inner Harbor. As many as 15,000 fire chiefs, commissioners, firefighters, EMTs and fire buffs are expected to attend the national exhibition (many are in town already). The Expo is sponsored by Firehouse magazine and is the largest event of its type in the country. Some events are open to the public.The exhibition, a trade show, will be held at the Convention Center today from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a nominal admission to the exhibition floor and vendors' area.

Several families were forced to evacuate their burning apartments in Baltimore's Walbrook section last night after a man reportedly set fire to his girlfriend's living room in the Windsor Courts Apartments.None of the more than 100 occupants of the half-block-square, three-story brick building in the 2100 block of Garrison Blvd. was injured.Three firefighters, two from Engine 20 at West North Avenue near Hilton Street, were treated at Mercy Medical Center. One suffered minor burns, another injured his right shoulder when a section of ceiling fell on him and the third sustained minor injuries when he was struck by a car backing up near the fire grounds.

Odenton Volunteer Fire Co. invites the public to its annual fire prevention/open house/Christmas party from 1 to 5 p.m. today.Sparky,Santa and many others will be on hand as well as firefighters from the Odenton team.Refreshments will be served, and video displays and fire apparatus will be available. Come meet community-oriented volunteers.The station is at 1425 Annapolis Road, near Fort Meade on Route 175.

Baltimore Fire Department officials were investigating a small fire that damaged the interior of a portable classroom at Carver Vocational Technical High School yesterday afternoon. Members of the school's track team had left the building moments earlier after changing out of their uniforms, a spokesman said, and no injuries were reported. Reported at 5:45 p.m., the fire broke out in a one-story, vinyl-covered, 10-classroom portable building near the rear of the school in the 2200 block of Presstman St. It was brought under control in less than 30 minutes by firefighters with about 10 pieces of fire apparatus, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, the spokesman.

For the second time in two years, lightning struck a Perry Hall condominium complex, causing a fire last night that forced several residents from their homes, a spokesman for the county Fire Department said. One firefighter was slightly injured and was treated at an area hospital, said Director Glenn Blackwell, the spokesman. No residents were hurt. As a storm passed over the Chapel Hill Condominiums about 7 p.m., lightning struck 20 Juliet Lane, punching a large hole in the roof of the third-floor dwelling of Al Hammen, vice president of the condo association.

A 36-year-old Baltimore County firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack Saturday, a day after being released from a hospital for treatment of chest pains he experienced while exercising at his station house, fire officials said yesterday. Jarrett Dixon, a 10-year department veteran, began having chest pains Wednesday while using a treadmill at the Halethorpe station, where he was assigned as a fire apparatus driver operator, said Elise Armacost, a Fire Department spokesman. Dixon, who was also a longtime volunteer firefighter at the Liberty Road Volunteer Fire Company, was transported to St. Agnes Hospital for treatment.

Art in the Park kicks off Saturday The Carroll County Arts Council will present Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Westminster City Hall. More than 80 artists will participate in the juried art show, with some providing demonstrations of their work in wood carving, pottery wheel, screen painting and cartoon illustration. A range of art styles will be available. Entertainment will include a dozen roaming musicians performing on dulcimer, banjo, flute, harp, accordion and voice.

A fire hit home last night for the Lake Shore Volunteer Fire Company, causing at least $5,000 in damage to its station house, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department reported. The fire at the station in the 4400 block of Mountain Road was caused by toilet paper stacked in a storage closet coming in contact with an electric light bulb that had been left on after an afternoon bingo event held in the station's hall, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman. The fire was reported at 7:20 p.m. by one of four career firefighters on duty who observed smoke coming from the storage closet, Fennell said.

CENTRAL Memorial Day parade is set for tomorrow American Legion Post 31 will sponsor the 139th annual Memorial Day Parade and Observance tomorrow through Westminster. The parade will start at 10 a.m. and march down Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street to Church Street to Westminster Cemetery. A Memorial Day program will begin at 11 a.m. at the cemetery. If the parade is canceled because of inclement weather, the program will be held at the National Guard Armory on Hahn Road. Information: 410-848-6179.

CENTRAL Memorial Day parade slated for tomorrow Westminster-area veterans groups will sponsor their 138th annual Memorial Day parade at 10 a.m. tomorrow through downtown Westminster. The parade starts on Pennsylvania Avenue, turns onto Main Street, then Church Street and ends at the Westminster Cemetery, where a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. In event of inclement weather, the parade will be canceled and the memorial service moved to the National Guard Armory on Hahn Road.

CENTRAL Choir concert today benefits drug treatment Trinity Lutheran Church will present "An Evening of Music" at 7 p.m. today in the sanctuary at 833 Deer Park Road, Smallwood. Guests will include the choir from New Life for Girls in Westminster; Deer Park United Methodist Church Choir, Smallwood; Chris Botker and Glenn Springer; Audrey Glass and Kim Skellan; two choirs from Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott City; Mark Warner; and the Trinity adult and children's choirs. The offering will benefit New Life for Girls, a Christian discipleship program serving women ages 18 to 45 in need of treatment for substance abuse.

I was awakened the other night by a scary urban sensory experience: I smelled smoke, the unmistakable smell of a building burning. It was 3 o'clock in the dark morning; I bolted from bed and was soon checking out my shadowy house from furnace to roof. Then I went out on the front porch and surveyed the scene. I could see nothing - and strangely, I smelled less smoke outdoors than inside. When my neighbors appeared, too, I realized this was no imagined false alarm. We had all been awakened by the same terrifying odor.

Rescue 5 from New York City, the fire company that lost 11 firefighters in the attack Sept. 11 on the World Trade Center, will appear at the Maryland Antique Fire Apparatus Muster in Westminster next month. In partnership with the Chesapeake Fire Apparatus Association, the muster will be held Saturday, rain or shine. This marks the first time the annual event has been held at the Carroll County Farm Museum. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. Rollback admission price is $1.50 per person; children age 6 and younger will be admitted free with a paying adult.