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.

Lightening Strike in Weston

Firefighters from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue responded to a house fire in Weston on Monday afternoon. Just before 3:00 p.m., Ken Bank returned home and was sitting in his car in the driveway waiting for the storm to let up when a bolt of lightning struck the roof of the two-story house. Inside were Bank’s three children and their babysitter. Bank dashed inside the house, smelled smoke and evacuated everyone. He called 9-1-1 and when firefighters arrived, they reported smoke coming from the eaves of the roof. Firefighters used an aerial platform truck to access the roof while firefighter/paramedic Jim Owens, pictured, crawled through the attic to locate the fire. In the photo, Owens is on a ladder in the attic assessing the damage after firefighters secured a tarp over the hole in the roof to prevent water damage. Thermal imaging cameras measured the fire in the attic at 1,000 degrees. Thanks to quick work by firefighters, damage was confined to the immediate area of the lightning strike that caused a two-foot hole in the tiled roof and burned part of the roof and trusses. No injuries were reported. The Banks family was staying with relatives.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Smart Car

An airport safety officer at Ft. Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport parks a new BSO smart car along the departure level at Terminal 2 on Tuesday. BSO is using the environmentally friendly vehicles to replace full-size sedans that consume six times the fuel. Four smart cars will be used in conjunction with BSO’s other environmentally friendly patrol tools including bicycles and three-wheeled T-3 electric scooters at the airport. The smart cars, with three-cylinder, one-liter engines are much more economical to operate and maintain than their full-sized counterparts.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff’s Office

The Opening of New Location for Stonewall Library & Archives Gains Local Acceptance and Support

Pictured from left to right are Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Bruce Roberts; Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom; Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl; Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti; and Stonewall Library & Archives Executive Director Jack Rutland (at podium).

Stonewall Library & Archives (SLA), the largest independent circulating library of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender materials in the US, officially opened its new facility in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 23, with a cadre of city and county elected officials and dignitaries on hand, including Sheriff Al Lamberti. SLA received proclamations from both the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, moving away from its past designation as a “controversial” gay library.

Stonewall Library & Archives is a museum, gallery, and cultural center for locals, tourists, researchers and scholars, and has an impact far beyond South Florida. “I was proud to be part of such a significant event. The library is a symbol of South Florida’s movement towards a more open and understanding society,” said Sheriff Lamberti.

BRUSH FIRE THREATENS BROADVIEW HOME

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Lt. Tom Posey, center, directs firefighters in the backyard of a home where a brush fire erupted Monday around 3:00 p.m. A passerby saw smoke and knocked on the door at 2011 SW 44 Terrace to alert the resident, who then called 9-1-1. When firefighters arrived, a wooden fence was fully engulfed that quickly spread to the overgrown trees, brush and mulch, fueled by the afternoon’s high winds. The firefighters were able to contain the blaze and keep it from spreading to several homes that were around 10 feet from the fire. About 20 firefighters responded and no injuries were reported. The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau is looking into the cause.

Photo by: Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

BSO FIGHTS CRIME AND GRIME AT THE SAME TIME

FORT LAUDERDALE – Volunteers from the Broward Sheriff’s Office Human Resources department picked up 121 pounds of litter Thursday afternoon from a half-mile stretch of Northwest 2nd Avenue. The group will maintain the street, which is virtually in the back yard of the Public Safety Building, for the next two years with scheduled clean-ups at least four times a year. The effort was part of the county’s Adopt-a-Street program. Volunteers picked up bottles, paper and other litter. The county provided clean-up supplies and waste removal.

Photo caption: Volunteers from the Broward Sheriff’s Office pose with Sheriff Al Lamberti under a new sign on Northwest 2nd Street. Volunteers picked up 121 pounds of litter on the street Thursday

Police Rodeo in Pompano

Police motorcycle officers from all over the country practice the safety skills course at Pompano CitiCentre on Thursday in preparation for Saturday’s 20th Annual South East Police Motorcycle Rodeo competition. Admission for the event is free. Following the rodeo, a new 2009 Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster 883 will be raffled with proceeds to benefit Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Raffle tickets are $1.00 and will be available at the rodeo.

EVENT DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Pompano Citi Centre, 1955 N. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach (SW corner of Federal Hwy. and Copans Rd.)

Opening ceremony at 8:00 a.m. with Sheriff Al Lamberti, BSO honor guard and South East Police Motorcycle Rodeo Committee officials
Photo by Mike Jachles/BSO

Memorial Ceremony

Sheriff Al Lamberti and the men and women of the Broward Sheriff’s Office honored the memories of Deputy Philip Billings; Town Marshal John Clifton; Deputy Worth Edwards; Officer James Thomas; Fire Rescue Lt. Mark Freeman and Fire Rescue Lt. Rick Scorgie during a ceremony held at the Ron Cochran Public Safety Building on April 16.

BSO AIR RESCUE RESPONDS TO “THE ALLEY”

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel responded to a rollover crash on Interstate 75 (Alligator Alley) at 11:40 a.m. Tuesday.  The Chevy Malibu landed on its roof about 50 feet off the south shoulder of the highway in Sawgrass near the 27 milepost on I-75. The adult male driver, the only one in the car, was transported by BSO Air Rescue helicopter to Broward General Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale for treatment of multiple injuries which were believed to be not life-threatening. Both directions of I-75 were shut down for about 20 minutes while the helicopter landed on the roadway to transport the patient. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the single vehicle crash.

Photos by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Photo caption – Broward Sheriff firefighter/paramedics and flight medics treat the male driver from the rollover vehicle while BSO Air Rescue lands in the southbound lanes of I-75 to transport the patient.

Photo caption – Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Medina stands by as BSO Air Rescue lifts off for Broward General Medical Center with the driver of a car that rolled over along I-75 at the 27 milepost.