New Mexico Rockhounding Trip 2022

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Six rockhounds in my group, joined me on a trip to southwest New Mexico to go rockhounding, our second trip in two years…we couldn`t go last year because of the Covid Crap, the New Mexico Governor completely shut her state down to travelers and tourists, so this year, we decided to give it another try. we were out there for six days, cutting the trip short a day because of a massive snowstorm forecast to bear down on the Midwest and Southeast. We all had a great time tho, can see the complete story with photos at my rockhounding blog site, https://www.jwjrocks.com

It is well worth the read, I assure you. šŸ™‚

House Fire on Golf Drive, Sullivan

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The evening of February 26th, I heard Sullivan Fire dispatched to a residential structure fire on Golf Drive, so I dressed for cold temps and headed out the door, arriving right behind the first arriving units. Deputy Chief Corey Rice told me firefighters found smoke and fire in the kitchen area…when I started shooting photos, there was smoke coming out of the east and west ends of the house, and the front door on the south facing side….

…and firefighters set up positive pressure ventilation at that time, on this side of theĀ  house…

AVI 246 Positive Pressure Fan Set Up and Running

and checked the rest of the house, including the basement…

AVI 251 Ladder 852 On Scene 21 Golf Street

firefighters were advised on arrival that a family pet might be inside yet…they searched and located a cat, unconscious, in the basement, and brought it outside to try to revive it with a specialized mask to provide it with oxygen…unfortunately, the cat did not respond to lifesaving measures.

 

 

 

Van Fire WB I-44 at 227 Mile Marker February 11th, 2022

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Sullivan Fire was dispatched to a van fire on westbound I-44 at the 227 mile marker, Friday morning about 9:30 am….so I drove out to photograph it, taking the South Service Road and parking at Juergens Trailer Park, then walking over to the guard rail where several others were gathered to watch it as well. It was burning so intensely, that it was hard to make it out as I snapped this first photo of it….

…as I was shooting the first video of it, the flames separated enough to tell it was a van and I was talking to a young lady there, asking her if she had seen any fire trucks, she was telling me that they had gone by on the eastbound side a couple of minutes before…it dawned on me that they went to Stanton to turn around, and return to get closer to the fire to fight it….

Van on Fire WB 44 Shoulder 227 MM 02112022

Captain Damon Sumpter and Firefighter Tyler Goodman stretched out the hoseline from the front bumper compartment of Pumper 854, while Firefighter Jacob Dace operated the pump panel on the truck….

..and since Tyler was new to the crew, a recent hire by Sullivan Fire District, Damon handed him the nozzle to attack the fire…

Van on Fire WB 44 Shoulder 227 MM 02112022 AVI 26-001

In the video above, the young lady is asking me why people driving by don`t slow down…my answer was and is, because they are idiots…meaning they have no common sense in this situation…they should be thinking about the welfare of the firefighters…Jacob was standing at the pump panel of the truck, much closer to them than Damon and Tyler, but eventually Tyler and Damon are going to have to move closer to that van as they put the fire out, and that will position them closer to traffic…so obviously those drivers had no regard for their safety at all, driving fast through there like that…and then they wonder, why traffic gets stopped as a whole…it is all about the safety of first responders on the scene.

Within a few short minutes, they had it knocked down and had to mop up to fully extinguish it….

…they noticed the tires are still on fire on their side…so they….

…sweep out to the side with the hoseline and knock out those fires….

…and continue to the front of the van to knock down more small fires on the opposite corner….

…which kicks up a big cloud of smoke, so you know they were right on the money there….white smoke indicating that water is getting on the fire and putting it out…

…eventually, those fires around the rear tires persisted in burning, as they normally do…so Damon took the nozzle and continued working on those fires to finally extinguish them….

GREAT WORK GUYS !!

Tractor Trailer Pile Up in Snowstorm February 3rd, 2022

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The evening of the big snowstorm, Sullivan Fire was dispatched to a report of a tractor trailer pileup on eastbound I-44, two miles east of Sullivan. I drove out there, thinking it would be easier to photograph from the North Service Road, because by then law enforcement was re-routing eastbound traffic off the highway to the South Service Road and that could get dicey over there trying to avoid traffic in these conditions….

2022-0203 MVA Semis EB 44 at 227 MM

Luckily Bill Little was on the south side of the pileup and covering for the paper, had a better view of all 9 of the semi`s involved as well, many slid off 44 into the ditch all the way up and down the hill there. The scene is even with Juergens Trailer Court area, just up the hill from Winsel Creek.

Big February Snowfall 2022

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Mother Nature decided on February 3rd this year, that we had not received enough snowfall and sent in another big snowstorm, and this time we got more than we bargained for…if there is such a thing as bargaining with Mother Nature. Overnight and into the day we received about 15 to 18 inches of snow, and we did have more ice in the form of sleet, underneath, which is why I say 15 to 18 inches. I measured 3 inches of packed sleet in front of my house on the sidewalk, and then after the snow finally tapered off the next day, I measured 14 inches of snow on top of the ice. It took our street crews alot longer to remove the snow and the ice this time around, they truly had their work cut out for them…but they did a great job doing so…have to say, and have said for years, we have an EXCELLENT Street Department in Sullivan, and my good friend Larry Cunieio, who was the Street Superintendent here for many years, retired a couple of years ago and left the department in the capable hands of yet another good friend of mine, Billy Parker, who while much younger, has a good head on his shoulders and is a very likeable young man, very capable of handling what comes his way as well. They worked all night and all day the next day to clean off the emergency street routes first…I am on one of those routes and since I rise early in the morning now, I see them go by all the time. I photographed them up on Main Street later in the morning when I was driving around in the snow…yes I still do that…..:)

DSC_0020

For the most part during this storm, the traffic was very limited on 44, but there were a few truck drivers that continued to highball down the highway and then wondered what happened when they had a pileup later that evening just east of Sullivan…see the next story for that one…

2 Motor Vehicle Accidents in Front of Flying J Truckstop

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I was on my way home from work on January 24th and approaching the east overpass, when I noticed traffic slowing way down a quarter mile in front of me, over the top of the hill closer to the overpass. As I drove under the overpass, I noticed a semi stopped at the bottom of the onramp to westbound 44, and two Toyota pickups with damage, in the median between the ramp and North Service Road. I saw a lady standing outside a heavily damaged red Toyota pickup, looking like she was in pain, and a young couple standing outside a while Toyota pickup, located a little further behind the red pickup, they appeared to be shook up, so I turned my flashers on and pulled over right in front of the semi. I called Sullivan PD and told them there was a serious accident at the end of the onramp to wb I-44 from the East Overpass and advised them to respond EMS and Fire ASAP, told the dispatcher it appeared one of the pickups may have rolled over and came to rest against a MODOT sign with heavy damage. I hoofed it back to the scene to check on the folks involved in the accident…the semi driver was outside his truck and didn`t say anything to me so I walked over to check on the female driver of the red Toyota pickup….

It was a nice Tacoma, similar in style and color to mine…with heavy damage, appeared she may have rolled it and the sign prevented another roll of it, at any rate the support of the sign did stop her truck…she had pain in one arm and hand and she was holding her head with the other hand, so I let her know an ambulance was on the way and medics could check her out. I then walked back to check on the young couple, they were not hurt but a little shook up, said the semi collided with both their truck and the lady in the red truck, I let them know help was on the way as well…Sullivan PD officers pulled up about that time and came over to talk to them and me, I let them know what the young couple told me and Officer Reed went to talk to the semi driver to find out his story. EMS pulled up soon after, dropped a medic off to check on the young couple, while the driver, Stetson, relocated to the shoulder of westbound 44. I let Stetson know about the female driver of the red truck and the pain she was experiencing, and they went to check on her. She basically told them she didn`t need an ambulance at that point and they came back to talk to me…Sullivan Fire pulled up at that point in Pumper 854, Damon Sumpter and his crew, while Stetson and I were talking…when all of a sudden we heard brakes locking up on what sounded like a big truck, just east of the scene, and we looked down the interstate to the east and observed a big white grain truck leave the interstate at a rapid speed, climb the steep pitched embankment leading to the North Service Road, and go airborne…STRAIGHT UP into the air several feet high….before gravity kicked in and brought the truck back down to the ground on the drivers side, and the sudden impact with the ground partially ejected the driver from the cab of the truck as the truck came to a rest there at that point….

Stetson and his partner, along with the police officers, ran up there to check on the driver as Damon`s crew drove on up to block off the Service Road and assist…

I can safely say, we were all in total shock watching that unfold right in front of us…and amazingly, that driver must have had God watching out over him because shortly after medics transported him to the hospital, he got up and walked out of there. He and friends traveling behind him, were on their way to Golden City, Missouri, after just having purchased that grain truck a few hours before in Metro East Illinois, for their family farm business. Shortly after leaving the hospital, he picked up the truck and they continued on their journey home. I have a rockhound friend in Golden City, and talked to her that evening about it, she knows the family well, small town, and said they are a hard working family and well respected by folks down there. I was just glad it turned out well for them and the driver was ablel to walk away from it.

Shed Fire Attached to Trailer Hwy A and 185 South

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On the evening of January 15th, 2022, Sullivan Fire responded to a report of a shed fire attached to a mobile home on Highway A just east of Highway 185 South. On arrival, firefighters found the lean to shed, well involved…the lean to built by the homeowner to protect wood for his wood stove. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze and were mopping up when I got there…

Sullivan had a good response to the fire and made quick work of it.

First Snowfall of 2022

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January this year was weird again….every week we had a warm day with temps in the upper 50`s, sometimes lower 60`s…but as we all know, lower 60`s in the winter time, especially surrounded by bitter cold days before and after, never feels like temps in the 60`s, so a waste of nice warm temps in my book. Back and forth, back and forth, all winter this year like that…even continuing into February, when we had colder temps, occasionally Mother Nature threw a curveball and gifted us with another wasted ” warm ” day, and a much bigger snowstorm I might add. Our first snowfall this year tho, was January 15th….

If I remember correctly, this one started out with sleet and freezing rain, then we had snow accumulate on top, making for very slick conditions under the snow…snow is safer to drive on than ice, but once road crews remove the snow, you are stuck dealing with the ice. Luckily, not many ventured out until the roadsĀ  were completely cleared off to pavement…highway travelers on I-44 were another story…one was pulling a pretty good sized camper trailer and they overturned from westbound lanes to the median between the North Service Road just east of Domino`s Pizza….

Fires 2022-0115 MVA Rollover Pickup & Camper WB 44 at Church St.AVI

Later in the evening tho, Sullivan Fire responded to a shed attached to a trailer fire, south of town…see next story…

 

Residential Structure Fire at Leasburg on New Years Day 2022

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I was up early on New Year`s Day getting caught up on some computer work, when I heard Leaburg, Bourbon, and Cuba Fire Departments get toned out for a residential structure fire near the Post Office in Leasburg. Initially it was toned as a Garage on fire, attached to a residence.

I headed that way, figuring Sullivan would respond as well but they were never toned out for it. I kept looking for smoke but never saw any until I parked at the post office and saw that the smoke was banking down near the ground and moving to the west down the valley.

Residential Structure Fire 2022-0101 Leasburg 110 First Street AVI 33.AVI

Leasburg Fire Department was first on scene and fighting fire with their Tanker/Pumper, when Bourbon Fire arrived with their pumper they parked behind Leasburg`s truck…Bourbon also responded at least one tanker, and Cuba responded with a pumper and tanker as well. Several firefighters were inside the residence holding the line at the wall that joins the garage to the residence on the south side.

The firefighters manning the hose and nozzle in front of the garage, were doing their best to get water on the flames inside it, everywhere at the same time….

Every once in a while, the flames would materialize out of the heavy smoke and show themselves and they would hit them and knock them back down….

…believe me, between all the elements that morning, the cold, the rain, the damp, heavy smoke and fire, they had their hands full and handled the situation well…

Residential Structure Fire 2022-0101 Leasburg 110 First Street AVI 46

I talked to the resident briefly, said he had three commercial lawnmowers inside the garage, for his mowing business, and it was gone.

 

Apartment Building Complex Fire December 21st, 2021

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Late in the evening on December 21st, I heard local police officers dispatched to an apartment fire on the other side of town, so I grabbed my camera and flash and headed that way, arriving just ahead of the on duty crew of firefighters…it was a very cold night and they were short of help, with firefighters on the way from St Clair, fifteen minutes away. Damon Sumpter, one of the off duty officers, lives across the street from this complex and he came over to help them hand jack the supply line from the pumper to the hydrant, a good couple hundred feet away. There were flames coming out of the middle apartment, around an air conditioner unit that was like a window unit but in a solid wood wall instead of a window…firefighter Nick White is pulling hose in front ofĀ  Apartment 32 and headed toward the flames as Captain Dave Konys, riding extra on the truck, checks the front door to the apartment….

…it is a bit of a ghostly image above…I shot it on aperture priority, when I should have had it on program, the flash illuminated everything fine, but I had to manually turn the camera off to get the image as it is, rather than wait ten seconds or more for the shutter to close on its own. I then shot from there on in programĀ  mode, which I normally do at night. As the guys were straightening out the hoseline and preparing to attack the fire, I shot a couple of quick photos without the flash, only the strobe lights on the pumper illuminating the building as well as the flames on the other side of the apartment….

Apartment Building Fire 323 Jones Street , Apt 32 2021-1221

Firefighters were able to make a quick knockdown of the fire….

…while it took much longer to remove the smoke from the apartment…and a State Fire Marshal was contacted to respond for an investigation as things looked a bit suspicious. No one believed to be home at the time of the fire and all other occupants of that unit were evacuated prior to arrival of the firefighters. St Clair firefighters arrived and assisted with overhaul and repacking the five inch supply line.