Rescue Services

An ambulance may be a far cry from a fast-food restaurant, but county fire and rescue officials want citizens to expect the same results from both -- namely, that service be fast, friendly and considerate.Starting this week, most people who ride in a county ambulance will be given a questionnaire similar to those in food and motel franchises that ask customers their impressions of the business.The questionnaire asks: "Were you served in a timely manner?""How do you rate our overall service?"

With a background in urban search and rescue, Jenny Shilling figured she was a logical choice to take part in the county Department of Fire and Rescue Services' recent mission to aid the people of hurricane-ravaged Louisiana. Members of the unit - known as USAR - are trained in finding and extricating disaster victims. After making the 26-hour trip to rural Alexandria, Shilling and the other four members of the second relief unit sent in September by the Department of Fire and Rescue Services immediately worked an 18-hour shift.

Eleven pupils at Waverly Elementary School in Woodstock were treated at a hospital yesterday for minor headaches after they inhaled fumes spewing into their classroom from a faulty kiln.Officials said the students were taken to Howard County General Hospital, where eight were treated and released and another three were being evaluated.Ceramics mixed with newspaper in the kiln apparently caused the fumes, and a malfunctioning exhaust system allowed strong odors to drift into a neighboring computer lab where 26 pupils were working, said Capt.

Edgar G. Shilling, retired Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services chief deputy, died of pneumonia complications Friday at Howard County General Hospital. The lifelong Elkridge resident was 63. Born in Baltimore and raised in Elkridge, he began his career in July 1959 as a 15-year-old with the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department. He played football at Loyola High School, from which he graduated in 1962. He served in the Navy aboard the USS Rigel in the Mediterranean. In 1969, the Elkridge department hired him as a paid driver.

Howard County Circuit Court was evacuated for about an hour yesterday morning when an air conditioner started smoking. The machine malfunctioned shortly before 10 a.m. and people were ushered out while firefighters searched for the source of the smoke, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. People were allowed back into court about 11 a.m.

An unoccupied Ellicott City townhouse was destroyed by a fire yesterday morning, fire officials said. The house, which was under construction near Kaiser Drive and Executive Park Drive, caught fire about 9:40 a.m., said M. Sean Kelly, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. No one was at the house at the time of the fire, which was extinguished about 11:30 a.m., Kelly said. Authorities are investigating, Kelly said.

The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems recognized two Howard County residents yesterday for their work in fire and rescue services.MIEMSS recognized 27 emergency rescue personnel during the ceremony in Baltimore.Battalion Chief Dan Merson received the EMS Provider of the Year award for his work as Howard's EMS program manager.Liz Uhlman-Berg, a critical-care registered nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital, received the Quality in EMS award for her work in the state's EMS. She lives in Elkridge.

A malfunctioning oil furnace apparently touched off a trailer fire Monday at Hayes Field Airport in Clarksville, causing an estimated $7,500 worth of damage, the county Fire and Rescue Services reported.The fire began shortly before 2:26 p.m. at the private grass airstrip off of Sheppard Lane and destroyed the trailer, which served as theairport's business office. The trailer was valued at $5,000 and its contents at $2,500.About 20 firefighters from Clarksville, Banneker, West Friendshipand Rivers Park stations brought the fire under control in about 20 minutes.

14 firefighters receive Gift of Life, Stork awardsSeven volunteers and seven county firefighters assigned to the Savage Volunteer Fire Company were among the 65 recipients of Howard County Gift of Life and Stork awards presented recently.Savage volunteer firefighters honored with Gift of Life Logistical Support Certificates were Assistant Chief Kevin Larkins, Lt. Ray Vines, Michael Harrison, Larry Widikowski (twice), Charles Givens, Chris Johnson and Scott Sanders.Department of Fire and Rescue Services firefighters presented with the Gift of Life award were Lt. Kevin Aftung, Charles King, Rodney Miles (twice)

A bill designed to stop the privatization of local fire or rescue services in Maryland has effectively been killed in the House of Delegates.With no debate, the House on a voice vote sent the legislation back to a committee that had approved it last week.The measure would have required a local government that wanted to privatize fire or rescue services to submit the matter to voters first. County officials strongly opposed the legislation.Del. John F. Wood Jr., acting chairman of the House Commerce and Government Matters Committee, which approved the bill last week, said he asked for the measure to go back to the panel after hearing many complaints.

Howard County's Department of Fire and Rescue Services reminds residents that today, when clocks are to be turned back one hour to standard time, batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors should be replaced. The department has joined with Energizer, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and more than 5,900 fire departments around the country for the 20th year to educate the public about preventing injuries and saving lives. Smoke alarms should be tested and cleaned regularly.

Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services has long been an agency in limbo - with many reforms either stalled or abandoned. It's Gov. Martin O'Malley's turn now to push for meaningful progress. And whomever he picks to head the agency - as well as other top-ranked appointees within it - should be experienced and committed to implementing smart policy and operational changes that can save more troubled youths. In any given year, more than 30,000 young Marylanders come in contact with DJS, and less than 20 percent are placed in one of the agency's secure facilities.

A PERI Formwork Systems Inc. worker was killed Wednesday after a forklift ran over him at the concrete-forming company on Dorsey Run Road in Elkridge, according to the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health agency. An employee operating a forklift about 2:20 p.m. apparently did not see Steven Francis Wall, 45, of the 200 block of Thomas Manor Lane in Forest Hill, and ran over him, said Linda Sherman, an agency spokeswoman. Employees used another forklift to raise the equipment off Wall, said Bill Mould, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

The parents of a 23-year-old Gettysburg, Pa., man who died from heat exhaustion while on a training run for Frederick County fire service recruits filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the county and several members of its emergency services division yesterday. Gaithersburg attorney Kenneth M. Berman said filing a lawsuit was a last resort for James and Shirley Waybright, whose son Andrew J. Waybright collapsed and died in July 2002 after a morning of rigorous calisthenics, sprints and a four-mile run in hot and humid conditions.

A fire that began yesterday when an electrical appliance ignited clothing in an apartment in Columbia's Harper's Choice village killed a dog that was inside, said a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The department responded with 25 firefighters to an emergency call at 11:57 a.m. in the 5400 block of Harpers Farm Road for smoke in an apartment hallway, department spokesman Bill Mould said. Firefighters had the blaze - which occurred in a bedroom of a ground-floor apartment - under control by 12:26 p.m., Mould said.

Howard County Circuit Court was evacuated for about an hour yesterday morning when an air conditioner started smoking. The machine malfunctioned shortly before 10 a.m. and people were ushered out while firefighters searched for the source of the smoke, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. People were allowed back into court about 11 a.m.

Brad Dugan, 7, smiled shyly yesterday as 80 second-graders assembled at Lisbon Elementary School to see him honored as a hero."This isn't a fairy tale I'm telling you, this is a true story," Battalion Chief Donald R. Howell of the county fire and rescue services told the youngsters.On Labor Day, Brad's father accidentally cut his hand, severing three fingers, while using a power saw at the family's home in Lisbon. With his wife, Tammy, gone on an errand, Matthew Dugan called to Brad for help.

A 42-year-old man was injured yesterday when he fell through the roof of a walk-in cooler at the seafood market in the Maryland Wholesale Food Center in Jessup, said Capt. Sean Kelly, spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The injured employee, Edward Ledbetter of Severn, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was in serious condition with broken legs and several other fractures. Kelly said Ledbetter was apparently working on the cooling facility when the roof collapsed.