Tornado lands in Northern Palm Beach County

On 8/7/03 Palm Beach County Fire Rescue units assisted Palm Beach Gardens by running a Hazardous Materials incident at the Pepsi Bottling Plant, just north of Blue Heron Blvd. Crews from stations 16, 23, 31 as well as DC1, SF6 responded from as far away as Lake Worth Road after a tornado swept through the north eastern part of Palm Beach County, and heavily damaged the Pepsi plant as well as hundreds of homes and businesses. The Pepsi plant sustained severe structural damage, including several 1000 gallon liquid nitrogen tanks that were torn from the side of the building. The result was a visible vapor cloud, and hazardous environment. Pepsi employees were consulted, and the decision was made to let Pepsi's on site hazardous materials trained personnel deal with the incident. No injuries were reported at the Pepsi plant.

Photos and story by FF / PM Jeff Newsome

Good Samaritans and Firefighters Dive to Rescue Victims of Crash

Good Samaritans and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue crews jumped into action Sunday afternoon, July 20th, "A" shift, as a tractor-trailer left the roadway and plunged into a canal along the Florida Turnpike.  The accident, in the northbound lanes north of the Lantana toll plaza, claimed the life of the driver and critically injured his wife.

Firefighters from Engine 34 arrived first to find civilians in the water, some in dive gear, rescuing the first victim.  Engine 23 arrived soon after and deployed divers in snorkel gear.  Rescue 32 came in and began reviving the victim who was later transported to a local hospital via Palm Beach County Health-Care District's Trauma Hawk helicopter.  Special Operations 31's team arrived shortly after the first victim was removed and deployed FF/PM Tony Acosta and backup diver FF/EMT Jeff Strom while other team members assisted on shore.  The firefighter and lieutenant of Engine 23 assisted the diver in the water as he entered the crushed and submerged cab to rescue the driver.  He was brought to shore where he was pronounced dead.

Both the civilian rescuers and firefighters who entered the water were hosed down by Engine 34 after they emerged from the murky canal.  Special Operations team-members placed containment booms north of the accident in order to stop the flow of diesel fuel leaking from the truck.  After rescue of the victims, entrance was made to the trailer to assure that there were no damaged hazardous products spilled inside.  It was found to contain only live flowers.

Numerous units worked together including Engines 34, 23, Rescue-Engines 31, 32, Rescue 32, Rescue 34, Rescue 31, Special Operations 31, Trauma Hawk, an EMS Supervisor, District Chiefs 3 and 9, and Battalion Chief 3 as the safety officer.   Traffic was slowed for several hours as the accident was investigated and cleared.

Story and pictures by Mark Carr

Late Night Car Accident In "The Corridor"

In the early hours of June 8th 2003, the District Chief and Captain of Special Operations were outside just talking when they heard a loud crashing noise just outside the gates of Station 31.  The crews of the Engine, Rescue and Special Operations went to investigate and found that a red car had lost control while driving down Lake Worth Road.  The car  jumped the sidewalk, hit a light pole which the light pole was thrown on top of a unoccupied delivery truck and.  The red car also pushed a unoccupied parked pick up truck approx 10-15 feet, and then finally came to a stop against the delivery truck.  The three occupants were all taken to Delray Beach Trauma Hospital in serious condition.  Two were flown by Trauma Hawk and the third was transported by R43.

Units on scene : E31, R31, SO31, DC9, RP36, R43, EMS9 and RE35

Photos by  D/O Randy Mosher

Afternoon Memorial Day Fire

The Guardians of the Corridor were enjoying a nice afternoon on Memorial Day, when the tones went off for a Commercial Structure fire at Lake Worth Rd. and Military Trail.  Fire Rescue dispatch reported receiving several calls of "heavy black smoke coming out of the Auto Mechanic Garage".  Units went arrival to find black smoke coming out of the auto mechanic garage with all bay doors closed and locked.  Engine 31 "Guardians of the Corridor" with the help of Rescue Pumper 36 "The House of Pain"  forced entry and advanced into the garage with a hose line to extinguish the fire.  Luckily the owner and co-workers had just left the building prior to the fire, so there were no injuries.

Units on scene : E31, R31, SO31, RP36, RE32, R32, E33, LA33, DC9, EMS9, T43, E43 and Safety 5

Pillsbury Doughboy Saved by Guardian of the Corridor

Palm Beach County Firefighter Adam Eaton rose to celebrity status on May 8th as he and others fought a small kitchen fire and subsequently saved the life of well-known baker, Pillsbury Doughboy.  It seems as though Doughboy left cooking oil unattended as he watched a cooking show on TV.  The fire, on Melaleuca Lane in the Lake Worth Corridor, caused smoke damage to the entire apartment but fire damage was contained to the kitchen.   Firefighter Eaton was aided in his efforts to control the fire and save the Doughboy by other firefighters from Engine 31, Rescue-Engine 35, and Rescue 43.  Although Doughboy's was rescued after receiving only minor burns to the right side of his face and hand, dinner was unsalvageable.  Unfortunately, smoke detectors were not present allowing the fire to grow to the extent that it did. 

Story and Photos by Mark V. Carr

Fire-Rescue Celebrates With Lake Clarke Shores

Story and Photos by Mark V. Carr