Rescue Services

It's back to the drawing board on revamping Howard County's unusual tax system for financing fire and rescue services - but this year, the county's state legislators won't be involved. County Executive James N. Robey said he won't again ask the General Assembly delegation to consider merging the county's two fire tax districts. Instead, he will put the fire tax into the county budget's general fund or do nothing. Although doing nothing is a short-term option, Robey said he is inclined to make a change as part of his budget proposal next spring.

Amid shifting political sands, Howard County fire and rescue services director Richard W. Shaw has decided he's burned out after 43 years of firefighting.With a new county executive in office and rumors of changes on the way, Shaw, 58, will retire at the end of the month, a decision he says he made "totally on my own.""There comes a time when it's appropriate to step down. I feel that point is at hand," said Shaw, who has served as director since August 1984."It was my decision. I thought it was time for me to make the move."

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.

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.

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.

Record - 116 DIALOG(R)File 714:(Baltimore) The Sun (c) 2004 Baltimore Sun. All rts. reserv.05788201 RESCUE WORKERS MAKE ANOTHER DELIVERYCounty rescue workers delivered a baby girl en route to the hospital during a maternity call Thursday, the second time in a month that paramedics have played the midwife role.The baby, Caitlyn Neva Kauffman, was delivered in the ambulance at 6:58 p.m. along Route 32, just a short distance from her family's Mount Airy home, rescue workers said.A rescue report said the baby and her mother, Doris Kauffman, 20, "were doing fine" Friday at Howard County General Hospital.

The way Chief John Poetker sees it, his volunteer fire department in Clarksville may be the next casualty of westward development."The central area of Howard County, where Clarksville is, is rapidly being absorbed by the growth of the Columbia area," Chief Poetker said. That means more fire calls than the volunteer company's 28 active members can handle.It also means that the county, anticipating the fire and rescue needs of the fledgling Columbia village of River Hill, plans to build a new fire station in the next two to five years.

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.

In shabby buildings and trailers infested with mice and snakes, 19 men and women are training to become members of Howard County Fire and Rescue Services. The trainees shout "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am!" and jump to their feet when instructors enter the doublewide trailer used as a classroom at the Cooksville training site. Howard County has a reputation as a state leader in firefighter training, but when it comes to training facilities, the county is among the worst in the state. "We've had consistently great training for many years," said Lt. Bill Anuszewski, who has taught the fire and rescue personnel in the county for about 1 1/2 years.

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.