Motorcycle Rodeo comes to town

(Pompano Beach, FL) – Broward Sheriff’s Office Pompano Beach Motorcycle Deputy Gary Fischer practices maneuvers in preparation for the 21st Annual South East Police Motorcycle Rodeo. The event runs from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. this Saturday at the Pompano Citi Centre, located at 1955 North Federal Highway, at the corner of Copans Road. Over 100 police motorcycles from all over the southeast are in Broward for the week-long training and safety trials culminating with Saturday’s rodeo. Admission is free and there will be a drawing for a 2010 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 motorcycle and trailer. Raffle tickets are $1 and will be available at the event. Proceeds from the South East Police Motorcycle Rodeo benefits Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and the Muscular dystrophy Association. Last year’s event raised over $50,000 for these worthwhile causes.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff’s Office

CHEMICALS, HAZARDS FUEL 3-ALARM WAREHOUSE FIRE

(Lauderdale Lakes, FL) –  Broward Sheriff Firefighter Robert McAllister prepares to man a hose line late Thursday night after a raging fire broke out in a Lauderdale Lakes warehouse complex. Just after 9 p.m., firefighters got the call for smoke coming from the building at 3000 NW 27 Street. When they arrived, there was heavy black smoke pouring out of the warehouse. After they forced their way in, they encountered a fast moving fuel fire hotter than 1,000 degrees that spread to the adjacent business. There were chemicals, hazardous materials and a lot of combustibles inside the building. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Hazardous Materials Team, Technical Rescue Team and “Chemical-6,” a specialized chemical/foam tanker from Port Everglades, all responded. The foam tanker was able to assist in getting the fire, which had quickly progressed to three alarms, under control in about an hour. In all, about 75 firefighters from five departments battled the blaze. Several firefighters were treated on the scene for exhaustion, but none required hospitalization. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau and State Fire Marshal.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

CAR CAREENS INTO APARTMENT, TWO HURT

(Lauderdale Lakes, FL) –  Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Lt. Bob Riccardi (left) and Firefighter/Paramedic Joe Bencivenga (center) check for structural damage to an apartment Wednesday night after 62-year-old David Bisset, of Pompano Beach, drove his Subaru into the quad-plex at 3951 NW 30 Terrace. Bisset told Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies he was heading north on NW 31 Avenue around 5 p.m. when he said another driver cut him off, causing him to run up over the curb, knock down a fence and crash into Belony Cherubin’s apartment, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Cherubin, 33, said he was injured trying to help the driver get out of his car. Both men were transported to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. Northbound 31st Avenue was reduced to one lane while a wrecker was called to remove the vehicle.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

CAR SLAMS INTO MOBILE HOME, DRIVER INJURED

(Pembroke Park, FL) – A 26-year-old Miami woman is lucky to be alive after the car she was driving slammed through a fence and careened into a mobile home Monday night. Tanesha Graham was northbound on SW 52 Avenue approaching Hallandale Beach Boulevard just after 7 p.m. when, according to Broward Sheriff’s deputies, she went through the intersection and crashed through a fence at Dale Village Mobile Home Park. The car narrowly missed two large concrete poles and crashed into the mobile home. Fortunately, the seasonal residents had not yet returned from Canada. Graham was pinned inside the vehicle which was inside the collapsed mobile home. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Technical Rescue Team, which specializes in difficult rescues, responded and freed the woman in about 25 minutes. She was transported by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue to Memorial Regional Hospital for treatment of her injuries, which were believed to be non-life threatening. No other injuries were reported and westbound Hallandale Beach Boulevard remained closed until almost 9 p.m. while the car was retrieved.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Getting The Boot

(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) – That’s Broward Sheriff’s Office Detective Julie Bower (and also TLC’s Policewomen Of Broward County co-star) helping kickoff the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) fill-the-boot campaign on Thursday afternoon with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Firefighter/Paramedic Ken Desantis (at left). They were joined by Chief of Department Joseph Lello along with crews stationed at Port Everglades and were out on SE 17th Street. Firefighters will be collecting at various locations through Monday all over Broward County to coincide with the 44th Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. This is the 55th year that firefighters have partnered with and supported the MDA in finding cures for the diseases. The International Association of Fire Fighters  Local 4321 organizes this event with the local MDA and the firefighters. Last year over $18,000 was raised and they hope to surpass that amount this year. All of the money raised in Broward stays in Broward to help those afflicted with neuromuscular diseases.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Morning Stars

Police Women Of Broward County stars Detective Andrea Penoyer (center) and Detective Ana Murillo (right) from the Broward Sheriff’s Office are interviewed about the new TLC series by NBC-Miami’s Roxanne Vargas Wednesday morning during the South Florida Today broadcast. In addition to the two detectives, DeputyShelunda Cooper and Det. Julie Bower also will be featured in the one-hour, ten-week series that premieres August 6th at 9 pm Eastern on TLC. For more information about the show, visit www.TLC.com/Policewomen.

SNAKE BITE ON THE ALLEY

(Weston) – Broward Sheriff Firefighter/Paramedics arrive at Cleveland Clinic Hospital Thursday night with a 47-year-old man who was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in Collier County while returning from Immokalee with his wife. As the couple drove from Highway 29 to I-75, they saw a snake in the roadway that looked like it had been run over. They stopped and the husband got out to remove the snake when it bit him on the right hand. The couple drove east on I-75 and called 9-1-1. They stopped at a gas station at the 49 mile marker and were met by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Regional Everglades units, who began advanced life support treatment to stabilize the patient, who was conscious and talking upon arrival at the hospital. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Venom One unit responded to the hospital and assisted in treating the patient.

Photo by Mike Jachles / Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

WOMAN ESCAPES AFTERNOON FIRE

(Lauderdale Lakes) – Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Inspectors Dave Sweet (left) and Michael Korte (at right) look for the cause of a fire that damaged apartment #105 at the Canterbury Palms complex Monday afternoon. A 64-year-old woman was inside at the time and told BSO deputies she woke up and her apartment was on fire. When Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews arrived, there was heavy smoke and flames inside the first floor unit. They were able to contain the blaze and keep it from damaging any of the adjoining units. There was a melted smoke alarm in one room of the apartment but it is unknown if it was functional at the time. The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau and the State Fire Marshal are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. The occupant was transported to Florida Medical Center for observation.

BROWARD SHERIFF HAZ-MAT RESPONDS TO PORT

(Port Everglades) – A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Hazardous Materials Team technician tests for chemicals after workers at Port Everglades noticed liquid leaking from a container just before noon on Monday.  The dock workers off-loaded the container from a ship that arrived from Haiti and notified authorities when they spotted the leak. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and BSO deputies cordoned off the area surrounding 4200 McIntosh Rd. into late Monday afternoon halting operations in the affected Southport section of Port Everglades. Due to the day’s high temperature and prolonged nature of the incident, three of the county’s four Hazardous Materials Teams had to be utilized.

Photo Credit: Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Fourth of July Firework Demonstration

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, BSO Bomb Squad and the State Fire Marshal’s Office demonstrate the dangers of fireworks at Broward Fire Academy on Wednesday. A watermelon rigged with an illegal firework was placed in the lap of a mannequin and detonated by Bomb Squad Technicians. The blast blew the melon to pieces and the concussion blew the mannequin and chair over.  Photos by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

With the Fourth of July holiday weekend fast approaching, the Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Marshal’s Bureau, BSO Bomb Squad and the Florida State Fire Marshal once again demonstrated the dangers of fireworks and the destruction they can cause.

On a typical Independence Day, more fires are reported in the United States than on any other day. Over 10,000 fireworks related injuries are also reported each year, with over half of those occurring to children, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

For a safe holiday, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti has this message, “If you want to see fireworks, leave it to the professionals.” Consider attending one of the many public fireworks displays throughout the area. Sheriff Lamberti added, “The last thing we want to see is a child get burned or lose fingers from fireworks.”

There are no legal consumer fireworks in Florida. Only sparklers are legal for consumer use and can reach temperatures of 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt gold – and can cause serious burns or permanent disfigurement. Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal Charles Raiken cautioned, “When things go wrong with fireworks, they go very wrong, very fast.”  Just minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day 2009, a 41-year-old Broward County man was killed while detonating fireworks in his backyard.

As for “celebratory gunfire,” it is against the law to fire a gun in the air – falling bullets have killed people in South Florida.