Rescue Services

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 high-stakes fight is building in the General Assembly over legislation that would make it harder for local governments to put their fire and rescue services into private hands.The legislation, which narrowly cleared a House committee yesterday, would force jurisdictions to send to referendum any proposal to privatize those services -- a step local governments fear would effectively block any such effort.The measure is being pushed by firefighter unions, who are solidly against hiring companies to put out fires or provide emergency medical services.

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.

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.

Support for public safety took center stage last night at a sparsely attended hearing on County Executive Charles I. Ecker's $328.5 million proposed operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.The Police Department's $25 million budget proposal "is neither overly austere or inflated" and should be fully funded, said William Volenick, chairman of the department's Citizens' Advisory Council.Crime -- especially juvenile crime -- "is going to grow," he told the five-member County Council.

Van veers into tree, driver injuredA Gaithersburg man was injured when his van veered from the road and struck a tree in Lisbon yesterday morning, Howard fire and rescue officials said.Suresh Oza, 34, was in good condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.Mr. Oza was driving on Maryland Route 94 near the Montgomery County line at 6:35 a.m. when he lost control of his small van.The vehicle crashed into a tree and rolled down a 5-foot embankment, said Battalion Chief Donald Howell of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Dangerous ActsI always turn to the Business section first on Monday to read Les Picker's column. As a person who works with and appreciates corporate volunteerism, his Nov. 28 column was especially important.Unfortunately, one must recognize the risk involved when encouraging employees to "volunteer" in their off hours for same services. While many individuals have unique and special skills -- carpentry, electrical, dry wall, etc. -- some might interpret providing those same services as a volunteer at the encouragement of one's employer as coercion.

Twenty six emergency workers, rescue teams and Good Samaritans were honored for saving lives and serving as the "backbone" of Maryland's medical system yesterday afternoon.More than 100 people attended the 10th annual awards ceremony at the Shock Trauma Center auditorium in downtown Baltimore. The event was sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services.The youngest honoree was 10-year-old Christopher Roberts. Last July, the Eastpoint boy performed the Heimlich maneuver on his 40-year-old father, Curtis, who was chocking on pizza.

Kelly Naylor is used to teaching youngsters search and rescue techniques. But this summer's recruits are a little different."It is my first time teaching someone with no previous experience," said Ms. Naylor, a member of Columbia Explorer Search and Rescue Post 616, a 45-member volunteer organization that assists in finding downed airplanes and people lost in rural areas.Instead of working in a rural environment this summer, four Explorer members are spending six weeks teaching 34 high school students from the Washington area rescue and survival techniques from a simulated survival course.

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)

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.

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.

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.

A PERI Formwork Systems Inc. worker was killed Wednesday after a forklift ran over him at the concrete-forming company in Elkridge, according to the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Agency. An employee was operating a forklift about 2:20 p.m. at 7141 Dorsey Run Road. Apparently he 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 lift the forklift off Wall, said Bill Mould, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

A PERI Formwork Systems Inc. worker was killed Wednesday after a forklift ran over him at the concrete-forming company in Elkridge, according to the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Agency. An employee was operating a forklift about 2:20 p.m. at 7141 Dorsey Run Road and 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 lift the forklift 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.

Volunteers are being sought to assist the Harford County Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Services Association with a mass casualty drill scheduled for 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers will serve as mock victims in the disaster-preparedness exercise. The association asks that participants be at least age 18. Volunteers between ages 14 and 18 can take part but must be accompanied by a chaperon or an organized group, such as a church, sports team or civic organization. The exercise is designed to test the area's emergency response system and will involve volunteers being made up to resemble disaster victims.

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.