Car vs. House

At 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 29, 2005, a car was driven into a house at the corner of East Williams and North Main Street.  Elizabethtown Police Department, Elizabethtown Fire Department, and the electrical utility company responded.  No injuries were reported.  The incident is under investigation.

Firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire on Rineyville School Road at 9 p.m. November 15, 2005.  Rineyville Fire Department, with mutual aid from Kentucky 86 Fire Department, battled the blaze for three hours during a thunderstorm.  The house was destroyed.  No one was at home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.  The fire is under investigation, but lightning is the suspected cause.

Woods Fire on Battle Training Road

A series of fires broke out in wooded areas in Hardin County Saturday evening, November 12, 2005.  The most intense of the fires erupted atop a hill along the 8000 block of Battle Training Road. Central Hardin Fire Department was dispatched just after 8 p.m. and spent the next seven hours fighting to contain and extinguish a ring of fire that descended through the woods, fueled by dry conditions and fanned by a variable wind. At the height of the fire, fifty-six firefighters from six departments worked together on the scene to bring the flames under control.

Seven fire departments assisted Central with mutual aid. Radcliff, Rineyville, Fort Knox, Southeast Bullitt, and Zoneton responded to the scene with manpower, water, and equipment. Chief Coleman of the Lebanon Junction Fire Department coordinated communication between the Hardin and Bullitt County crews. Valley Creek Fire Department staged at Central Station 1 with an engine and manpower to cover other runs in Central’s district.

American Red Cross also responded from Jefferson County to set up a rehab unit and to provide food and water for the firefighters.

Central Hardin Fire Chief Chad Marsh says between ten and twenty acres burned. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Division of Forestry, which was not able to help battle this blaze because their manpower and equipment were already in use in efforts to contain at least two other forest fires that were burning in Hardin and Nelson Counties that same evening.

Woods Fire in Nelson County

A series of fires broke out on forested hilltops Saturday evening, November 12, 2005.  The fires burned at four locations in Hardin County, including a wooded area of Fort Knox.  A fifth fire torched a hilltop in Nelson County in an area called Keith Knob.  Lebanon Junction Fire Department battled the blaze.

Woods Fire on Mud Splash Road

Glendale Fire Department was dispatched to a woods fire on Mud Splash Road at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 9, 2005.  Central Hardin, Sonora, and Stephensburg fire departments provided mutual aid.

Live Fire Training in Glendale

Glendale Fire Department hosted live fire training at a donated house on Sportsman's Lake Road Road Saturday morning, October 29, 2005.  Participating fire departments included Kentucky 86 and Stephensburg.

Donkey Basketball

The National Guard Family Readiness Group hosted Celebrity Donkey Basketball at E'town High School Saturday evening, October 22.  Fire and Police faced off in the first of three games.  The hardest rule to follow?  In order to score points, a player must be astride a donkey!  The Fire team emerged as the evening’s Donkey Basketball Champions.  No humans or donkeys were harmed in the playing of this game.

Riding the donkey. Easier said than done.	At least wait til I get on!	Stubborn as a mule...	Sgt. Danny Kelly scores for the Police team.	Bored with the game, Firefighter Joe Jones' donkey charges down the court...	...and straight for the door.
Major Troy Dye gets to practice his rodeo skills when Killer decides to emulate equine heroes of the NFR.	Eight seconds! Did I last eight seconds?	Going, going…Detective Kelly Slone scores for the Police team!	WQXE's Greg Milby discusses strategy with one of the donkeys.	Another one bites the dust! Firefighter Andy Perry hits the floor.	Okay. You win.

 

Truck Fire

Central Hardin Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire Friday, September 30, 2005, on Bardstown Road. A dump truck loaded with topsoil overturned and caught fire. The truck was a total loss.

MVA at St. John Rd. / Langley Trace

 

A two-vehicle collision resulted in one fatality Friday afternoon, September 30, 2005, at the intersection of Langley Trace and St. John Road. Police report that the driver of a 1998 Mercury Sable failed to yield the right of way as he turned left off Langley Trace onto St. John Road. He pulled out in front of a 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup, which struck the left front side of the Sable. The Sable overturned after striking the guard rail of the bridge and came to rest in the grass on its roof. The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Hardin County Coroner. Elizabethtown Police Department, Elizabethtown Fire Department, and Hardin County Ambulance Service responded to the scene.

 

 

DUI Standards

Semi Fire on I-65

 

Glendale Fire Department responded to a semi fire near mile marker 85 on I-65 south on Tuesday, July 05, 2005. The semi was partially loaded with pallets of apples. It was fully involved upon their arrival and was a total loss. Sonora Fire Department provided mutual aid. Kentucky State Police also responded to the scene. No injuries were reported.

Rescue Response on I-65

 

On Tuesday, July 05, 2005, a motorist called Kentucky State Police to report a climber stranded on the rock face near the 98 mile marker along I-65 north. Central Hardin Fire Department and Elizabethtown Fire Rescue responded along with Kentucky State Police. LifeNet flew over the site to assist with the search, which continued for approximately one hour. No climber was located.

Training for High Risk Traffic Stops

 

Twenty-five students representing fourteen departments attended a professional development course at Elizabethtown Police Headquarters June 28 through July 1. Patrol/Traffic Skills Revisited was presented by Police Instructors Lewis Nugent and Stan Patton of the Department of Criminal Justice Training. The course addressed a comprehensive range of topics, including Crimes in Progress Calls, Roadblocks, and Responding to Disturbance Calls.

On Wednesday the class focused on the dangers an officer faces while performing a vehicle stop. Vehicle stops are identified as low, unknown, or high risk, which is based on the potential for an assault on the officer, with or without a weapon.

Public safety is an important aspect of high risk traffic stops. “If people encounter a situation where an officer is working, and they see a weapon drawn, that should be a red flag that they don’t need to be there and that they should seek cover,” Nugent says. “People on the street or driving need to get away from the officers as fast as they can, or away from the assailant, because if they’re behind the officers, they may become a target.”

Police officers and deputies must have forty hours of training per year in order to maintain their certification. Patrol/Traffic Skills Revisited fulfills 32 of those hours.

Barn Fire on Osborne Lane

 

Rineyville Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire on Osborne Lane at 1:48 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, 2005. A barn filled with 600 round bales of hay was fully involved upon their arrival. Rineyville responded with four apparatus and 16 firefighters. Central Hardin and Radcliff Fire Departments provided mutual aid with two apparatus and 10 firefighters. Hardin County Ambulance Service and Kentucky State Police were also at the scene.

Firefighters did not clear the scene until Wednesday at 1:40 p.m. The estimated value of the barn and its contents was $70,000.00. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

Girl Scouts Tour Elizabethtown Fire Station

 

Water Shuttle Class

 

Central Hardin, Elizabethtown, and Rineyville firefighters participated in a Water Shuttle Class at Bowen Training Center Wednesday evening, May 18, 2005.

Rineyville Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at the Auction Barn at 2:58 a.m. Thursday, May 5, 2005.  Radcliff and Central Hardin Fire Departments provided mutual aid.  A Hardin County Sheriff’s unit assisted with blocking the road so that firefighters could access the hydrant on the other side of the street.  Kentucky State Police were also notified for assistance with traffic.  The fire was brought under control and the road was reopened to traffic at 4:30 a.m.  No injuries were reported.

Water Supply Class

Central Hardin Fire Department hosted a Water Supply Class at Bowen Training Center in Elizabethtown on Wednesday, April 20, 2005. 

Field Fire on Valley Creek Road

Valley Creek Fire Department responded to a field fire on Valley Creek Road Tuesday, April 5, 2005.  Central Hardin and LaRue County Fire Departments provided mutual aid.

I-65 MVA at Mile Marker 93

An Indiana resident died in a three-vehicle accident near Elizabethtown Wednesday night, March 23, 2005. Kentucky State Police records indicate that Larry Railey of Cave City, KY, fell asleep while driving his semi truck on I-65.  At 10:20 p.m. his truck left the southbound lane near the 93 mile marker, crossed the median, and clipped the rear of a northbound semi truck driven by Kenyard Johns, Jr., of Hancebille, Alabama.  Another northbound semi, driven by 70-year-old Cecil Barber of Indianapolis, then ran into the rear of Johns’ vehicle.  Barber’s truck caught fire, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.  Larry Railey was transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.  An investigation is ongoing, and no criminal charges are expected at this time.  Elizabethtown Fire Department responded to the fire.  Central Hardin Fire Department provided mutual aid.

OC Spray Training

Five Special Deputies from the Hardin County Sheriffs Office trained in the use of OC spray Tuesday evening, March 15, 2005.  Greg Lowe, Rob Cooper, Tony Scott, Sr., Jim Gray, and Mike Wheeler attended a slide show and lecture class hosted by Deputies Don Howard and Thomas Bingham at the Bowen Training Center.  The class addressed such issues as the use of pepper spray in its three forms - fog, ballistic stream, and foam - deployment considerations and tactics, levels of contamination, decontamination procedures, and filing written reports detailing incidents in which pepper spray is used.  A written exam concluded the classroom work, after which the group assembled for practical exercises. 

Each participant was required to successfully draw, hold, and deploy the unit, and to demonstrate his ability to evaluate and react both to using the spray and to being sprayed.  Training began with the use of practice canisters, so that each trainee could practice aiming at a target and learn the extent the stream would reach.  After this, the participants took turns experiencing OC contamination.

OC has a general reaction time of one to five seconds.  Each deputy stood in a designated starting point and placed a hand over his nose and one eye.  From a distance of approximately ten feet, Bingham sprayed a burst of OC onto the deputy’s exposed eye.  The deputy blinked for two or three seconds until the effects of the OC were felt, and then advanced to the first exposure drill.  Four drill stations allowed the deputies to demonstrate their ability to function despite the painful effects of OC.  Each participant had to react to threats of physical assault, take control of a suspect, and follow through with an arrest.  The Hardin County Ambulance Service assisted with decontamination after each deputy completed the drills.

Auto vs. Freight Train

A Nissan Frontier pickup truck rests atop another vehicle beside the Whistle Stop Restaurant in Glendale Saturday night, February 26, 2005, after being struck by a freight train.  Witnesses told Kentucky State Police that despite audible and visible crossing signals and the constant whistle of the train, the driver attempted to beat it to the KY 222 crossing and was struck on the driver's side by the northbound CSX locomotive.  The driver was transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries and has been charged with DUI.  Glendale Fire Department remained on the scene for two hours to assist Hardin County Ambulance Service and to direct traffic.  Hardin County Emergency Management responded as a precautionary measure because the train was carrying hazardous materials. 

Survival and Rescue Training

Area firefighters participated in Survival & Rescue Training at Bowen Training Center in Elizabethtown on January 29 and 30, 2005.  They practiced the Ladder Bail-Out Technique Saturday afternoon.

Live Fire Training

Firefighters from Central Hardin, Elizabethtown, Glendale, Kentucky 86, Sonora, Upton, Valley Creek, and West 84 Fire Departments participated in a live fire training exercise on Saturday, January 15, at a donated house in Sonora.  When training was completed, the house was allowed to burn to the ground.

I-65 MVA at Mile Marker 86

On January 12, 2005, at 9:40 a.m., Kentucky State Police responded to an injury accident on I-65.  A 36-year-old man from Chestnut, Illinois, was driving a semi tractor trailer northbound when he entered the median and crossed the southbound lanes about one mile north of Glendale.  The vehicle overturned and struck a tree on the west side of the interstate.  The driver was transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for moderate injuries and released.  Southbound traffic was reduced to one lane for approximately five hours during the accident investigation.  Hardin County EMS, Glendale Fire Department, and the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Enforcement assisted KSP on the scene.

Stop Sticks Training 

Members of the Hardin County Sheriff's Office met at Addington Field on January 12, 2005, to practice the use of Stop Sticks.  The Sheriff's department recently purchased Stop Sticks to carry in ten vehicles.  Stop Sticks have multi-directional spikes that  safely deflate tires without causing blowout.  Hollow quills remain in the tires and act as valves that release the air at a controlled rate.  Stop Sticks are grouped three or four to a sleeve.  A single officer can deploy the Stop Stick set across the road and pull it into position using the eighty-foot cord reel.  After the fleeing vehicle has run over the Sticks, the officer pulls it out of the way of the pursuit vehicle.