September 07, 2006
Fallen Culver City Firefighter
An off-duty Culver City Firefighter suffered fatal injuries when his motorcycle crashed in Culver City on the evening of September 5. Charles "Chuck" Baird, 44, was transported by his colleagues to UCLA Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Baird was an active member of the Culver City Fire Department for 12 years; beginning his career as a Firefighter in 1994, then advancing to the position of Paramedic/Firefight
Chuck lived in Culver City and was involved in community and fire department activities. He served as a Little League Baseball coach, competed in off-road motorcycle events, trained both citizens and fire department members in CPR and emergency medical training (EMT), and was active in his local church.
Chuck is survived by his wife and three sons, aged 24, 18, and 14 years-old.
2 Die in CDF Plane Crash
CDF Battalion Chief Robert Paul Stone and DynCorp pilot George “Sandy” Willett were killed when their plane went down in the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest shortly after 10 a.m., CDF spokeswoman Becky Redwine said, holding back tears.
Fire crews were battling a blaze late Wednesday that started as a result of the downed aircraft, and multiple agencies were investigating what is believed to be the first air-related accident in CDF history.
Stone and Willett are believed to be the first Tulare County-CDF employees killed in the line of duty.
“We lost two of our family, and it hurts,” Redwine said. “Everyone is still very shocked and emotionally affected by today's events.”
The crash
The crew aboard the fixed-winged OV-10 aircraft was checking on an early morning fire, when the plane went down at about 10:45 a.m. on a ridge between the Frazier Mill campground and Hedrick Pond.
Redwine said there was no contact with the two men before the crash.
A number of post-Labor Day campers at Balch Park heard the impact and said they heard what sounded like “a huge explosion.”
“It either was a plane crash or a tree falling,” said Curtis Tritch, who was camping at a pond east of the crash site. “It sounded like a chain saw, like someone was sawing a tree, because you could hear the motor, and then you could just hear that explosion.”
Judy Price of Lindsay said she heard a loud boom, and minutes later chaos ensued.
“I heard of boom ... then I heard sirens and all types of fire trucks,” Price said. “I had never seen anything like this up here.”
The explosion sparked a blaze along the ridge. The fire, called the Mountain Fire, was the third blaze in the area over the Labor Day weekend.
CDF investigators confirmed the first two fires - the Jaguar and Camp fires - were man-made.
CDF crews from the Mountain Home Conservation Camp responded to eyewitness reports of the plane crash and the fire at about 11 a.m.
By 11:30 a.m. more than three dozen inmates and firefighters were staged on Bear Creek Road one mile north of the Balch Park campground.
In total, more than 75 firefighters responded to the fire and crash.
Willett and Stone's families were notified of the crash by a CDF liaison, Redwine said.
Crew members had to hike down to the crash site to fight the fire, Redwine said.
“They had to put out the fires at the plane itself in order to determine the bodies,” Redwine said.
CDF helicopters rigged with buckets doused the flames on numerous attack runs.
While Tulare County Sheriff's Department search-and-rescue crews were dispatched to the scene, officials braced for the worst, Redwine said.
“I was at the Tulare County Fairgrounds when chief called and told me that one of our planes went down and that the crew may have died,” Redwine said. “I told him don't tell me who, because I wanted to be able to truthfully tell people that I didn't know.”
By late Wednesday afternoon, the worst was confirmed - Stone and Willett were dead.
Battalion Chief Mike Davidson identified the two men, Redwine said.
CDF crews from neighboring counties continued to fight the five-acre fire late into the afternoon.
They replaced local crews, many of whose members were physically and emotionally drained, Redwine said.
“When this kind of thing happens, it's huge,” Redwine said.
The plane
CDF officials said they are perplexed as to the cause of the accident, as the aircraft - which is based at the Porterville Municipal Airport - showed no signs of problems prior to takeoff.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and CDF Accident Investigation will try to determine the cause in the coming days.
There are 14 OV-10 aircraft used throughout the state. The fleet has an outstanding safety record, CDF Battalion Chief Rick Moore said.
In his 32 years in CDF, he said he can't recall a plane crash involving a spotter plane.
“They have been a very reliable instrument for the department,” Moore said. “I feel very comfortable flying them, and I think others will say the same about them.”
CDF has owned the Vietnam-era, twin-engine “Bronco” fleet for more than 25 years, Moore said.
The “air tactical group supervisor,” the formal name for a “spotter” plane, coordinates area rescue efforts and air traffic control on a CDF incident, Moore said.
The plane that crashed Wednesday handled air reconnaissance for the entire county.
It was likely in the air every day this week, Moore said, as the agency has dealt with a number of fires during the Labor Day weekend.
Because of the nature of the usage, maintenance on the planes is constantly ongoing, Moore said.
“I know for a fact that when you land, a mechanic is sitting there, asking you how the flight was, if you had any problems,” Moore said. “Maintenance is happening constantly, every hour the mechanics are looking at something.”
The fleet's pilots - contracted from Texas-based DynCorp International - are also well-trained, logging hundreds of individual flight hours, Moore said.
“Most of the pilots are ex-military, so they get a lot of training before coming to us,” Moore said. “I can't say for sure how many hours this pilot had, but it's probably a bunch.”
Planes from neighboring CDF air-attack bases will cover Tulare County incidents for the time being, Moore said.
“It's the same thing when we swap out fire crews, we will use ones from neighboring counties,” Moore said. “They've already used planes from nearby counties today.”
About the men
Stone, 36, was a Visalia resident and an 18-year CDF employee.
Redwine said the battalion chief was popular among his colleagues.
“Robert was well-liked and had a lot of friends, we all knew him,” Redwine said. “He's got little kids.”
Stone is survived by his wife, Mary Marinda “Rindi” Stone, and his two children; Wil, 8, and Libbie, 4.
Willett, 52, a Hanford resident, was a DynCorp pilot for four years.
He is survived by his wife, Judy, of Hanford.
“I don't know the pilot as well, but he was with the department, he's family,” Redwine said.
The department, Moore said, will lose two dedicated workers.
“They were family-oriented individuals who had a phenomenal love for their job,” Moore said.
Contact Aaron Burgin at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or aburgin@portervillerecorder.com.
This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on Sept. 7, 2006
August 17, 2006
In Terror War, Phone Sales Raise Alarm
•In February, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security sent a bulletin to law enforcement agencies around the country warning that people who buy cellphones in bulk quantities could have links to terrorist organizations.
•British authorities said that mobile phones, or some other device using batteries, might have been part of the recently discovered suicide plot to mix liquids into an explosive chemical aboard airliners headed for the U.S.
•In Ohio and Michigan, the Arab men — all U.S. citizens — were originally charged with terrorism-related offenses and money laundering after they were stopped last week with hundreds of cheap cellphones in their vehicles.
Nearly as cheap as the mundane box cutter and potentially just as dangerous, cellphones have become a tool of choice for those wanting to stay a step ahead of government wiretappers as well as for insurgents triggering bombs. Reselling them on the black market also has become a way of funding illicit activities.
In the Michigan case, local prosecutors backed off charges that one target for possible attack may have been the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.
"There is no imminent threat to the Mackinac Bridge. There is no information to indicate that the individuals arrested have any direct nexus to terrorism," the FBI's Detroit office said Monday.
On Tuesday, charges against two 20-year-old men, children of Muslim immigrants from Lebanon, arrested in Ohio also were dropped and they were released.
This was no surprise to the young mens' families, who said buying and selling cellphones for profit had been a homegrown business venture. They also suggested that ethnic profiling may have been a factor in the arrests, as was alleged in similar cases that occurred in Texas and California earlier this year.
Still, law-enforcement officials are wary. The men had bought the cellphones at retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Radio Shack. Mobile phones with prepaid calling time can sell for as little as $20 each. Many thousands have then been resold on the black market, earning enough profit to make a business worthwhile, they say. In some cases, the phone's battery, charger, and card holding air time are sold separately.
Selling such phones can be a way for terrorists to raise money as well as provide a means of communication that is very difficult to trace, U.S. authorities say. So it's necessary to be able to use "roving wiretaps" under the USA Patriot Act to conduct counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations, federal law-enforcement officials say.
In Florida, for example, prosecutors and FBI agents investigating a cell of Colombian drug dealers had gotten 23 separate wiretaps against cell members and leaders, but failed to make a strong enough case because the suspects were constantly changing cellphones.
"Our people ultimately cracked the case when they got a roving wiretap that allowed them to continue surveillance as the cell members changed phones, and the suspects were ultimately arrested and convicted of distributing over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine," Kenneth Wainstein, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told a House judiciary subcommittee last year.
Meanwhile, a legal debate rages over "unlocking" cellphones. The technology allows cellphone users to, say, switch their cellphone to a different provider when they travel abroad by manipulating the internal software, thereby avoiding roaming and long-distance fees.
TracFone and other prepaid wireless service and phone providers claim copyright infringement and have sued companies that will unlock cellphones in some cases. Electronic privacy advocates say locking cellphones itself is illegal.
In March, a federal court in Florida issued a permanent injunction halting the unlocking of TracFone prepaid cellphones by a company that subsequently went out of business. Although similar cases are pending, courts have not ruled definitively on the issue.
The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration have been considering lifting the ban on certain electronic devices, including cellphones, aboard commercial aircraft.
This effort may have been slowed by the recent terrorist threat to airliners that was foiled by authorities in England.
On a British Airways flight from London to New York last week, a cellphone suddenly began ringing. When none of the passengers claimed the phone, the pilot turned the aircraft around and returned to Heathrow airport. Everybody was seven hours late to their destination.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
August 12, 2006
Firefighters' Families File Suit Against Motorola
The families of two firefighters who died after being trapped in a smoky fire in a Port Richmond basement where a man had been growing marijuana have sued Motorola Inc., claiming the company's faulty radio equipment led to the deaths.
Two civil lawsuits, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, each seek more than $50,000 jointly or separately from Motorola, another communications company and Daniel Brough - the man who had set up the pot farm. The suits also seek a jury trial.
Philadelphia Fire Department Capt. John Taylor, 53, of Northeast Philadelphia, and firefighter Rey Rubio, 42, of North Philadelphia, both died of asphyxiation in Brough's basement on the 3600 block of Belgrade Street while responding to an Aug. 20, 2004, fire.
The lawsuits, filed on behalf of Charlene Taylor, Taylor's wife, and Amelia Hyden, Rubio's daughter, contend that "the malfunctioning Motorola radio system prevented Capt. Taylor from communicating with other firefighters while he was in the basement" to let them know that he and Rubio needed assistance.
Taylor's repeated attempts to use his radio to signal for help were not heard by firefighters outside, the lawsuits say. Meanwhile, in the burning basement, Rubio, then Taylor, collapsed on the floor after each of their air supply packs ran out.
"Both men suffered agonizing and horrible deaths from asphyxiation, before they could be rescued," the lawsuits say.
Taylor's radio was part of the city's new $62 million emergency communications system, purchased from Motorola, for use by the police and fire departments.
Installed in 2002, the digital radios became the source of numerous complaints, many from firefighters whose calls were blocked by busy signals.
A Philadelphia Fire Department spokesman yesterday said he would not comment on the lawsuits because of the pending litigation.
Spokesmen for Illinois-based Motorola and Wireless Communications and Electronics Inc. of Philadelphia, a codefendant in the lawsuits, also said yesterday they had no comment because of the pending litigation.
At Brough's criminal trial last year, the prosecution contended that the fire was caused by the intense heat from the 1,000-watt lamps Brough used to grow marijuana plants in a small plywood basement closet.
Brough, 37, was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and other offenses and sentenced in December to 15 months to four years in prison. He is currently serving his time at the State Regional Correctional Facility in Mercer.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
August 11, 2006
MARS to Support TSA in Emergencies
"This is an extensive area and will require member support across the continental United States," Harrison said in a broadcast announcement to Army MARS participants. "We will need many volunteers to man teams assigned to specific geographical areas, starting with airports throughout the hurricane corridor." She called for "physically capable" Amateur Radio operators to volunteer for the assignment.
The first airport emergency support teams will be located at four airports in the Florida hurricane belt: Miami, Ft Myers, Jacksonville and Pensacola, Harrison said. She added that recruiting will immediately follow for nine additional potential hurricane targets from Washington, DC to Houston. In a later phase - but as soon as possible - additional teams will be recruited for other hurricane locations including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and after that, the remainder of the continental US.
The emergency support teams - each consisting of four members of MARS - are being assembled under joint sponsorship of MARS and the TSA, with deployment assignments determined by the TSA when and if the government's communication systems fail. "Volunteers should be within a reasonable traveling distance to the airport. It will be their responsibility to get to the site when activated," said Harrison.
The Memorandum of Understanding, which is already in place, calls for using MARS networks, personnel and equipment to maintain communication during the first 72 hours of incidents involving aircraft, mass transit and pipelines. Seventy-two hours is considered the maximum time needed for federal response organizations to deploy internal emergency communication systems.
The MoU spells out the most extensive MARS support mission since the development of the Essential Elements of Information (EEI), which date to the 1994 Northridge earthquake that devastated parts of California's San Fernando Valley. EEIs are alerts to the Pentagon of a natural disaster or other incident that might require a federal response.
In a memo to MARS personnel, Harrison included the following points:
. The Navy-Marine Corps and Air Force MARS organizations are included in the call for volunteers, via their separate chains of command.
. Army MARS state directors will be responsible for formation of the joint teams.
. All deployments will be by team, each with a combination of equipment and operator capabilities and members ready to work 12-hour shifts. Some locations may ultimately require more than one team.
. Required equipment for each team will include HF and VHF radios with voice and digital capability, Pactor/Airmail digital messaging, phone patching and emergency power.
. Some locations may have TSA radio gear and emergency power supply to augment the hams' personal equipment.
A particular MARS responsibility will be to provide communication interoperability with local, state and national networks, such as the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and Shared Resources (SHARES). A separate web of national and regional HF radio networks, SHARES links federal agencies under the DHS's National Communications System (NCS), of which MARS already is a primary participant.
The pact calls for a reliable back-up solution "to ensure the continuity of TSA's command and control function during the first 72 hours following any incident interfering with normal communications channels and to provide local, regional and nationwide TSA communications during that time." The existing Army MARS emergency communication network offers such a solution immediately and at no additional cost to the TSA, the MoU points out.
Under the MoU, the TSA agrees to provide MARS volunteers with access to its facilities and space for radio equipment. It further agrees to integrate MARS capabilities into its emergency planning and exercises. The Army's commitment includes providing "volunteer MARS radio operators, equipment, and use of the MARS radio networks" and developing "alert procedures and a communications support plan" that "will identify specific frequencies, call signs, and radio operator level duties." Harrison stressed that the decision to volunteer rests with the individual. "The Army has no liability over a member who reports to a disaster site; members will be responsible to TSA personnel."
Harrison told the Army MARS membership that she's "very excited" about the new agreement. "This will be a fast-moving recruitment/development action, and I request your support in filling these teams."
The chiefs of Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps MARS also are onboard with the new agreement and have messaged their respective memberships to signify their participation and cooperation with Army MARS. Air Force MARS Chief Don Poquette, AGA3C/KE9XB, has pledged his members' support. "AF MARS will assist to accomplish this mission," he said, pending working out logistical details.
Harrison says she and her headquarters staff met recently with TSA and DHS representatives to formalize the details of the cooperative arrangement. She said MARS area coordinators will provide specific requirements to state MARS directors to recruit members and equipment capabilities to support TSA.
Signing the MoU on behalf of the Army was Col Mary Beth Shively, chief of staff, Network Enterprise Technology Command/Ninth Army Signal Command. James Schear, General Manager, Operational Plans and Programs, endorsed it for the TSA. Headquartered at Ft Huachuca, Arizona, the Ninth Army Signal Command oversees the Army MARS mission.
Source: ARRL Letter 8/11/2006
July 27, 2006
FBI'S "InfraGard" Program Courts Amateur Radio as Ally
Amateur Radio's value as one component in a cooperative effort to protect
critical national infrastructure was the focus of an InfraGard
"Communications Interoperability and Ham Radios" summit this week in New
York City. An FBI program, InfraGard is dedicated to promoting dialogue
between the private sector and the federal investigative agency "concerning
critical infrastructure protection issues." ARRL Chief Development Officer
Mary Hobart, K1MMH, and Affiliated Clubs/Mentor Program Manager Norm Fusaro,
W3IZ, represented League Headquarters at the gathering, which featured a
range of speakers.
"This is the key to opening the door to a valuable model partnership,"
Hobart commented afterward. "They were very receptive. I think it was a good
beginning."
Hobart says Amateur Radio came up on InfraGard's radar earlier this year and
got the nonprofit organization thinking of Amateur Radio as a possible
partner, ally and service provider in emergencies. New York Metro InfraGard
put together the one-day session July 17 at Cisco Systems' New York office
as a way to get more familiar with Amateur Radio.
"They understand that ham radio has 'been there' in terms of emergencies and
disasters and is working to improve its ability to respond," Hobart said.
She said New York Metro InfraGard President Joe Concannon "expressed his
deep interest in Amateur Radio as a partner and a desire to learn more about
our capabilities."
Keynote speaker for the day-long session was Broadcasting & Cable Hall of
Famer and New York Public Television CEO William Baker, W1BKR. Jeff Pulver,
WA2BOT, chairman and founder of pulvermedia.com and cofounder of Vonage,
also addressed the gathering.
"This InfraGard meeting brought together a group of people who care about
post-disaster communication preparedness, and a majority of the people in
attendance were active members of the Amateur Radio community," Pulver
observed later in a blog entry. "This was my first time in the post-VoIP era
that I had a chance to talk to hams about my early experiences with VoIP and
how my ham radio background has had a positive effect on the past 12 years
of my life."
Pulver said the InfraGard meeting provided "a great audience to speak to,
since we shared a common passion for communications and common ground on a
number of topics." He said that includes the need for coordination between
the ham radio community and fellow communication enthusiasts "who want to
volunteer their time the next time disaster strikes."
In a presentation called "Radio Communications 101," New York City District
Emergency Coordinator Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, spoke about the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service (ARES) and the League's role in emergency and public
service communication and training.
Allan Manuel, an attorney in the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security
Branch, indicated the Commission is willing to be more flexible in
accommodating Amateur Radio during emergencies and disasters. The FCC wants
to hear from the public by August 7 in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed
Rule Making (NPRM) regarding recommendations of the independent panel that
reviewed Hurricane Katrina's impact on communication systems (EB Docket
06-119). Some of the wide-ranging proposals in the NPRM include possibly
amending the rules to permit automatic grants of certain types of waivers or
special temporary authority (STA) in declared disaster areas.
For their part, Hobart and Fusaro demonstrated the League's "Ham Aid" go
kits of Amateur Radio gear that can be rapidly deployed to disaster areas
where the Amateur Radio infrastructure has been lost or compromised. They
also provided attendees with copies of the ARRL's Community Education
Program brochures and materials.
Hobart says Concannon envisions a model in New York City that other
InfraGard chapters across the country could emulate. "I think it's an
opportunity for Amateur Radio to align itself with a high-profile group with
key federal connections," she said.
From ARRL Letter July 21, 2006
May 26, 2006
Santa Monica Police Chief Steps Down to Head Airport Security
Charismatic and at times controversial, Butts will be reporting for duty in late summer or early fall to help oversee security for four Los Angeles area airports, including LAX, which combined serve 68 million passengers a year, according to a statement released by the City.
As the Deputy Executive Director of Law Enforcement and Protection services, a newly created position with the City of Los Angeles, Butts will command 1,200 sworn and civilian security employees and assume a key role in coordinating 4,000 federal and local officials.
"My largest and most immediate challenge will be to strengthen the airport protection systems and infrastructure to deter terrorist attacks," Butts said in an internal email to staff.
His first act will be to select a chief to head the LAX airport police department, where he once served, Butts said.
Butts will leave behind more than his large corner office overlooking the Pacific in a $62 million Public Safety Facility built under his watch.
His legacy includes a dramatic drop in reports of serious crimes to the lowest level since 1957, mirroring State and national trends; a police approval rating that has soared to 80 percent, and a drop in liability awards against the department to an average of less than $60,000 a year.
Butts, who became the city's youngest police chief at 38, also pushed to diversify the predominantly white department, hiring Latinos, Blacks and Asians and naming Phil Sanchez to the post of deputy chief he created three years ago.
Butts -- who has two large high definition screens perched above his desk -- is credited with equipping the department with state-of the art technology. The department uses high-end computer programs to track crime trends, boasts upgraded squad cars and uses a video surveillance system to guard against terrorist threats on the pier and the Third Street Promenade.
Butts said he will take the lessons he learned in Santa Monica and apply them to protecting the millions of travelers who pass through area airports each year.
The City will launch a nationwide search for a police chief next month. An executive search firm will be hired and community input will be sought.
Source: www.surfsantamonica.com
April 13, 2006
Point Mugu Air Show Canceled
The event, used as an open house and a recruitment tool for the military, was scheduled for Oct. 7-8. But when an acrobatic flying team could not be lined up, the organizers decided to ground the show.
The air show has been held 41 times since 1963 and has drawn crowds of up to 275,000. But last year, when foul weather grounded the famed Navy Blue Angels acrobatic flying team, attendance dropped to about 80,000, said Teri Reid, spokeswoman for Naval Base Ventura County.
"We were fairly sure we were going to get the Thunderbirds or one of the other military jet teams" this year, Reid said Wednesday. "When they finally said they couldn't do it, it was too late" to schedule another stunt pilot show, she said.
The U.S. Air Force's Blue Angels and the Snowbirds of the Canadian Air Force were unavailable, Reid said. The Patriots, a civilian stunt plane squad, performed in 2004 but were not considered this year, in part because its performance fee is $25,000 plus expenses.
"We just don't have that kind of money," said Don Hems, the Point Mugu Air Show's civilian coordinator.
Organizers were "very flexible," Hems said, offering to reschedule the air show during several weekends this spring and fall, but were not able to line up another stunt group.
Instead, base officials plan to concentrate on another public event: the 20th annual Seabee Days, scheduled for June 24-25, which will feature a car show and a triathlon. Point Mugu Naval Air Station, off Pacific Coast Highway between Oxnard and Malibu, is part of Naval Base Ventura County. The base includes the Naval Construction Battalion Center, or Seabee base, in Port Hueneme.
Hems said the Point Mugu Air Show costs about $125,000 to stage. Admission and parking are free to the public, so organizers recoup their costs by selling premium seating, and leasing space for booths that sell food, drinks and souvenirs.
The booths are staffed by volunteers from local charities, and every year the show returns tens of thousands of dollars to the community along with generating money for the base's morale, welfare and recreation program that benefits service members and their families.
The popular air show has run into recurring difficulties over the last seven years. No military acrobatic jets were available in 2000, and poor weather grounded the Thunderbirds in April of the following year.
Pilot error was blamed for the crash of a Vietnam-era QF-4 Phantom in 2002 that killed a Navy and a Marine pilot. Scheduling problems led to event's first cancellation in 2003.
The Patriots performed in 2004, but uncooperative weather grounded the stunt flights again in 2005.
"We have not had a complete show with a military jet team since 1999," Reid said.
Source: Gregory W. Griggs - L.A. Times
