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.

MAN THANKS RESCUERS FOR SAVING HIM ON ST. PAT’S DAY

(He may not be Irish, but the Luck O’ The Irish was certainly with one man on a trip to the courthouse on St. Patrick’s Day.

Just before noon on March 17th, 65-year-old Richard Johnantonio collapsed as he was about to enter Broward County’s South Regional Courthouse to pay for his expired vehicle tag. A Pembroke Pines police officer happened to be in the right place at the right time. Officer Charles Herring quickly tended to the heart attack victim, starting Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Jeff Cox and Ed Bennett grabbed the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) from the security desk. As they reached the unresponsive victim, Officer Herring and another bystander, Jean J. Versailles were performing CPR. Versailles just so happens to be a respiratory therapist with Memorial Hospital West.

The deputies applied the AED and a shock was delivered. A short time later, Mr. Johnantonio amazingly started to regain consciousness. Paramedics from Hollywood Fire Rescue quickly arrived and initiated Advanced Cardiac Life Support Treatment. They transported the patient to Memorial Regional Hospital where he was treated in the Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute.

Photo caption: Richard Johnantonio, center, shows off the scar from life-saving open heart surgery at Memorial Regional Hospital to his rescuers at a reunion on March 27th. Seated (L to R), are: Jean Versailles, Ofc. Charles Herring, Mr.Johnantonio, Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeff Cox and Dr. Gary Allen (Johnantonio’s cardiac surgeon). Standing (L to R), are Hollywood firefighter/paramedics Jeff Vidal, Capt. Dennis Rudasill and James Marold. Unable to attend the reunion were BSO deputy Ed Bennett and three additional rescuers from Hollywood: George Burns, Marlene Harden and Lt. Brian White.

Photo by: Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

SMOKE ALERTS MOTHER AND SON TO FIRE

Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau Inspector Mike Rizzo, left, and State Fire Marshal Detective Bruce Hoffman (right) investigate the cause of a fire that damaged the front of a large two-story house at 14041 Mustang Trail in Southwest Ranches Wednesday morning. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and the Southwest Ranches Volunteer F.D. responded just after 7:00 a.m. when the occupants, a woman and her daughter, reported smoke filling the house and called 9-1-1. They were able to get out of the house safely with their cats. When the first arriving firefighters arrived, there was heavy fire coming from underneath the front of the house. They quickly put the fire out in less than 30 minutes and checked for hot spots for another hour. No injuries were reported and the investigation is continuing.

Photo Credit: Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

BSO, School Officials Face Gunmen at Cypress Bay High School… for Training

WESTON – Hundreds of people participated in an “Active Shooter” training exercise Friday morning at Cypress Bay High School during which law enforcement, fire rescue and school officials learned to work together minimize the threat of two “gunmen” who entered the school, firing shots and planting bombs. The Broward Sheriff’s Office SWAT

team, Fire Rescue, bomb squad, school resource deputies and dispatchers all participated.

Photo #1: firefighter/paramedic Lt Fred Hall and firefighter/paramedic Dan Snyder carry an injured student to safety through the halls of Cypress Bay High School.

Photo #2: SWAT member Deputy Carlos Gomez

Photo #3: Broward Sheriff’s Office SWAT members prepare to enter Cypress Bay High School.

(photographer: Gene Herrera, Broward Sheriff’s Office)