Dump Truck Fire
A dump truck belonging
to Cruse Trucking caught fire at the driver's residence on Gaither Station Road
on December 5, 2006, at 12:30 p.m. Elizabethtown Fire Department extinguished
the flames, which were contained to the cab and engine area.
Structure Fire on
McMillen Drive
Central Hardin Fire
Department and Elizabethtown Fire Department were dispatched to a house fire on
McMillen Drive on the evening of October 22, 2006. The fire originated in
a gas grill that was lit too close to the garage. Flames spread from the
grill into the garage, kitchen, and living room areas of the home.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and remained on the scene for several hours
extinguishing hot spots and conducting salvage and overhaul. No injuries
were reported. Hardin County Sheriff's Office and Hardin County EMS were
also at the scene.
Garage Fire
Central Hardin Fire
Department responded to a garage fire on Granite Drive on the evening of October
1, 2006. The structure was fully involved upon their arrival. The
garage was a total loss. There was minor exterior damage to the adjacent
home. A Hardin County Deputy Sheriff and Hardin County EMS were also at
the scene.
Apartment Fire
Central Hardin Fire
Department provided mutual assistance to Southeast Bullitt and Lebanon Junction
Fire Departments at the scene of an apartment fire just after noon on Thursday,
September 21, 2006.
Motorcycle v. Car on
Valley Creek Road
On September 14, 2006,
at 6:56 p.m., Valley Creek Fire Department assisted at the scene of an injury
vehicle accident at 5451 Valley Creek Road. Firefighters set up a landing
zone for LifeNet Air Medical. The motorcycle operator was flown to
University of Louisville Hospital with serious injuries.
Live Fire Training in
Ivy Pointe
Central Hardin Fire
Department hosted live fire training on Sunday, September 10, 2006. A
property owner donated the abandoned house in an area that is being cleared to
expand Ivy Pointe subdivision. A series of training fires were conducted
throughout the day, after which the house was taken down by a controlled burn.
Kentucky Bloodhound
Search & Rescue
article by Angela
Townsend
photos by Steven
Townsend
Wednesday, September
6, 2006
It is a bright, sunny
day, and Ruby wants to play. Sitting on the grass, wearing a clover-bloom
necklace, she lifts her face to the breeze and takes an inquisitive sniff of her
surroundings.
Toni Goodman kneels a few feet away. “Come here, baby girl!”
Ruby tries to feign indifference, but the promise of attention takes priority
over independence in this unfamiliar setting outside the Hardin County Emergency
Services Center. She leaps to her feet and frolics into her new owner’s
outstretched arms.
Ruby – officially, Kentucky Trailing Red Ruby – is a six-week-old registered
bloodhound. Her future as a Search and Rescue dog begins today.
“Bloodhounds were bred for trailing,” says Goodman, Vice President of Kentucky
Bloodhound Search & Rescue. “That’s what they love to do.”
Kentucky Bloodhound SAR was formed over two years ago by a group of bloodhound
owners in Hardin County who saw an opportunity to put their passion to work by
providing a service to the community. There are currently ten members with five
deployable dogs and three puppies in training.
Each dog’s owner is also its handler. The pair works through practice drills
once a week and attends at least one seminar each year. During this training
period, the dogs learn to use their inherent tracking ability to single out and
follow specific scents, and the handlers learn their role in supporting the
dogs.
“We fine-tune what the dogs already know about trailing,” says Goodman. “A lot
of the training is for us. We have to learn to read these dogs.”
Goodman says weekly training is a lifelong commitment to prepare the dog and the
handler for search and rescue and to continue refining their skills. Like Ruby,
most dogs chosen for SAR begin their training when they are only a few weeks
old.
“Today we will run her on what we call a puppy trail,” says Goodman. “This will
get her used to walking a trail.”
Within another week, Goodman and her husband will begin to take turns walking a
short distance and hiding, while the one who stays with Ruby introduces a scent
article to the pup and encourages her to find her missing handler.
“That is how we lay a trail – we just walk it,” says Goodman. “We train a lot at
schools and parks because there are thousands of scents out there. We can give
the dogs a scent article, and they can tune out all other scents except that
one.”
Another aspect of training is teaching the dog to ignore animal scents and focus
exclusively on the scent he is tracking. Goodman says the handler may
deliberately lay a human trail across a deer trail so the dog will encounter
that challenge, learn to ignore the potential distraction, and come to
understand that he is only to follow human scents.
Goodman says that from a bloodhound’s point of view, tracking is not work; it is
simply having fun doing what comes naturally. The dog learns that when the
harness goes on and the handler snaps a lead onto the harness, the fun is about
to begin. The handler gives a command that is unique to each individual dog, and
the dog seeks out the scent and begins following that trail.
“We also train the dogs in negatives, to cast about and then alert back to us to
indicate that they didn’t find a scent,” she says.
The name bloodhound literally means ‘blooded hound,’ a hound of pure breeding.
“Bloodhounds are the thoroughbreds of scent hounds, and the breed goes back more
than 400 years,” says Dan Senger, a national trainer invited by Kentucky
Bloodhound SAR to conduct a seminar.
Senger, a Sergeant Supervisor for the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office in
Virginia, has worked with bloodhounds for 21 years. In addition to providing
basic training for handlers, he works with the dogs to expand the capacity of
their innate skills. Senger illustrated one of these points by staging a
demonstration with Gary Meredith, President of Kentucky Bloodhound SAR, and a
bloodhound named Jake.
“This demonstration relies on the dog’s memory,” Senger explains. “People
recognize each other by eyesight. Dogs recognize people by their sense of smell,
and they can retain a smell for up to a year.”
Two men walk the field adjacent to the Hardin County Emergency Services Center,
effectively laying two trails. One of the men is a stranger to Jake; the other
worked with Jake two days ago. Jake is harnessed and given the command to go to
work. He is not, however, provided a scent article.
“If you put a well-trained dog in an area and don’t give it a scent to work
with, that dog is going to try to find someone it knows,” Senger says.
Jake proved Senger right. He followed the trail laid by the two men until that
trail diverged. At that point, Jake cast about until he sorted out the familiar
scent of the man with whom he had worked two days before, and promptly led
Meredith to him.
“Bloodhounds are not infallible, but they are the best tool we have out there
right now,” says Senger.
Too many times, he says, bloodhounds are called in as a last resort.
“Some of the searches I’ve been on, there have been twenty or thirty vehicles
that were left running in the area, and carbon monoxide helps destroy the
scent,” he says. “But we train for contamination of the area.”
Senger says that sometimes a bloodhound will conclude a search in a general
area, but not be able to pinpoint an exact location due to the multitude of
other scents. And sometimes the bloodhound that is trained for search and rescue
may stop tracking when it discovers that the live scent it has been trailing is
no longer alive.
“There are times when you may have to call in other scent dogs to pinpoint an
exact location when the bloodhounds have gone as far as they can,” he says.
“Occasionally you may have to call in a cadaver dog.”
Cadaver dogs captured the nation’s attention in the days following 9/11, when
they were used to locate human remains buried under the debris at Ground Zero.
Trained to scent, to find, and to alert, these dogs are rewarded with food or
with praise when their mission is accomplished. At Ground Zero, however, the
dogs’ missions never ended. One scent led to another, and the weary dogs would
not respond to their handlers when called away, because they are conditioned to
work until the job is done. The handlers had to literally pick up the dogs and
carry them away from the scene.
Bloodhounds exhibit the same dedication on the trail.
“These dogs will not give up. They will go until they fall over. They will
literally die on the search,” says Goodman. “We, as handlers, have to recognize
when they are getting tired or overheated.”
Stating that training is of utmost importance, Goodman says the Kentucky
Bloodhound SAR is grateful for the opportunity to train with Senger, and the
group hopes that they will be able to host a seminar in Hardin County every
year.
“We’re very strict about it,” she says. “We will not put a team out there unless
they’ve had their training.”
In general, it takes a solid year of training before a team is ready to carry
out a search and rescue mission. And search and rescue is exclusively what the
group is about.
“We search for missing people only,” says Goodman, adding that the teams do not
track escaped criminals or other fugitives who might be on the run, and they are
not trained to sniff out drugs or other contraband. They also work only when
called out by an official agency.
“We’ve been called out by law enforcement, by fire departments, and by emergency
management,” she says. “We don’t run any of the searches. If we get a call from
a family, we tell them to contact their local law enforcement and let law
enforcement contact us.”
All of the members live in Hardin County, though the group works in surrounding
counties as well. Goodman says a team’s average mobilization and response time
for a local call is about an hour. There is no charge for their services.
“We pay everything out of our own pockets,” says Goodman. “We own our own dogs
and pay for all of our own training.”
Goodman says the group was able to hold a roadblock earlier this year, and the
proceeds helped pay for this weekend’s seminar with Senger.
“We knew going into this that we would be completely non-profit,” Goodman says.
“We knew we were so dedicated to it that we would find a way to do it.”
“They do a great job,” says Hardin County Emergency Manager David Underwood.
“They’ve pulled together a great group of people, and they’ve made quite a few
searches. They provide an excellent service.”
Training continues as the evening wears on. Amidst a pile of puppies in the bed
of a pickup truck, Ruby sleeps, blissfully unaware of her importance to the
community and of the difference she might someday make in someone’s life.
Local Agencies Rescue
Horse From Cave
Ruby, a 2-year-old Belgian horse, fell 28 feet down
into a narrow fissure that was in her pasture at 2828 Battle Training Road on
Wednesday, August 30, 2006. Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene
at 2:06 p.m. Radcliff Fire Department, Central Hardin Fire Department,
Wise Contracting, Gold City Towing, Hardin County EMS, and Technical Rope & Cave
Emergency Rescue were among the agencies who worked together for four hours to
extricate Ruby. Veterinarian Chad Bailey of Elizabethtown Animal Hospital
was lowered down to Ruby in order to administer a sedative to the horse prior to
lifting her back to the surface. Ruby survived the ordeal with only minor
cuts and scrapes.
Structure Fire in
Ponderosa Mobile Home Park
Elizabethtown Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire in Ponderosa
Mobile Home Park at 7:08 a.m. August 27, 2006. The trailer on Tisha Court
was heavily involved upon their arrival. The residence was unoccupied at
the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.
EPD SRT Training
The Elizabethtown Police Department Special Response Team practiced bus assaults
at the Elizabethtown City Schools Bus Garage on the afternoon of
August 16, 2006.
Fire Fatality in Woodland
Mobile Home Park
A structure fire in a mobile home at 1242 Woodland
Dr., Lot 125, resulted in a fatality on the morning of August 9, 2006.
Fire Investigator Rusty Todd of Elizabethtown Fire
Department said city employees were reading gas meters in the 100 block of
Woodland Mobile Home Park when, at around 8:36 a.m., they heard the sound of a
smoke detector and saw smoke pouring from the front of a trailer. The men
managed to get a door open and attempted to make entry to check on the occupant,
but flames drove them back.
Elizabethtown Police Officer Virgil Willoughby said
the first officer on the scene, Officer Greg Brackett, automatically pulled a
fire extinguisher from the trunk of his car before approaching the mobile home.
“When he got to the door, it was like throwing a glass of water on a blazing
inferno,” Officer Willoughby said.
At 8:41 a.m., just five minutes after dispatch, the first unit arrived on the
scene from Elizabethtown Fire Department. Three engines and 16
firefighters worked the scene with assistance from Central Hardin Fire
Department for water supply. The last unit cleared the scene at 1:03 pm.
The trailer was known to be occupied by 46-year-old
Timothy L. Rhoads of Elizabethtown. Neighbors described Rhoads as a good
person and as a quiet and somewhat reclusive man who had suffered nerve damage
to his legs that left him partially disabled. Rhoads lived alone with his
cat.
Todd said that preliminary evidence indicates a possibility that the fire
originated with discarded or dropped smoking materials. The fire began in
the living room of the residence and was confined to that area with heat and
smoke damage throughout the mobile home. After firefighters brought the
blaze under control, they found Rhoads in the living room. Hardin County
Coroner Dr. William Lee pronounced him dead at the scene. The fire remains
under investigation by Elizabethtown Fire Department and the State Fire
Marshal’s Office.
Hay Fire on Sportsman
Lake Road
Thirteen round hay bales caught fire in a field on Sportsman Lake Road on Sunday
afternoon, July 16, 2006. Central Hardin Fire Department, with mutual assistance
from Elizabethtown and Glendale Fire Departments, extinguished the fire.
Firefighters remained on scene for three hours extinguishing hot spots. A riding
lawn mower was also lost in the fire. No injuries were reported.
Injury Accident on Hwy 313
The driver of a Ford Escort lost control of the
vehicle on Highway 313 near the Shepherdsville Road intersection Monday night,
July 10, 2006. The car spun into oncoming traffic and was struck in the
rear by a full-sized Ford pickup truck. Central Hardin firefighters and
Hardin County Sheriff's units worked the scene. The driver of the Escort
was transported by Hardin County EMS to Hardin Memorial Hospital in
Elizabethtown for treatment. The driver of the truck was not injured.
Kentucky Law Enforcement Turns on the Blue
Lights to Promote Summer Traffic Safety
by Angela Townsend
To the casual observer, it would have appeared that a massive police task force
was mobilizing at the Shelby County Rest Area and Welcome Center on the morning
of June 30. That impression would have been correct. The parking lot was lined
with cruisers and SUVs attesting to the presence of law enforcement officers
from Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, and city police
agencies including Elizabethtown, Shelbyville, Georgetown, Versailles,
Frankfort, and Louisville Metro. Members of sheriff’s departments from Harrison
County and Anderson County were also in attendance.
Representatives from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and law enforcement
officials from throughout the region met in Shelbyville Friday morning to
announce a statewide summer highway safety campaign. Blue Lights Across The
Bluegrass focuses on speeding, impaired driving, and failure to use safety belts
– three behaviors that according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program are
among the top causes of fatalities and serious injuries in traffic crashes.
“The summer months are our most dangerous months because more people are
traveling out on the highways,” said Eddie Lair, Law Enforcement Liaison for the
Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “Our goal is to try and make it safer for
people to travel.”
Lair said that by this time last year, 437 people had died on Kentucky’s
highways.
“We’re down about 30 fatalities from this time period last year,” he said. “We’d
like to bring that number down a whole lot more.”
Brigadier General Norman Arflack, currently serving as Justice Cabinet Secretary
and Acting Kentucky State Police Commissioner, stated that 10,617 vehicle
collisions occurred in Kentucky during July 2005. Drivers exceeding the speed
limit or traveling too fast for road conditions contributed to 693 of those
collisions, and 607 of them involved alcohol. As a result of those collisions,
more than 4,000 people were injured, and 85 people died.
Kentucky State Police Lt. Eric Walker, Commander of the Governor’s Highway
Safety Program, said more than 43,000 people annually lose their lives
nationwide in traffic collisions.
“Everyone is in a hurry. Crashes and fatalities are being accepted as the price
of doing business,” he said. “Last year’s record of 985 highway fatalities
across Kentucky cannot be tolerated.”
The Blue Lights Across The Bluegrass mobilization kicks off a month-long focus
on all facets of traffic safety.
“Speed is a primary factor in a high percentage of all crashes, and we want you
to be reminded to slow down before we, as law enforcement, have to remind you to
slow down,” Lt. Walker said.
Seatbelt use will receive even greater emphasis this year than it has during
previous highway safety campaigns. Lt. Walker stated that on July 12, 2006, law
enforcement agencies throughout the state will begin issuing warning notices to
drivers who are not wearing seatbelts in an effort to educate the public about
the implementation of the new primary seatbelt law and the importance of
buckling up.
“Kentucky’s fatality rate is due in part to our state’s low belt use rate,” he
said. “Kentucky’s belt use is at 67% compared to a national average of 80%.”
This warning phase will last through December 31, 2006, during which no fines
will be issued for the violation.
“It is an educational initiative to increase belt use across Kentucky,” Lt.
Walker said. “On January 1, 2007, however, Kentucky law enforcement will begin
issuing citations carrying a $25 fine for failure to comply with Kentucky’s new
primary belt law.”
Henderson Police Chief Ed Brady, a retired Kentucky State Trooper and current
president of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, supports the Blue
Lights Across the Bluegrass campaign from a different perspective. Chief Brady’s
father was a Kentucky State Trooper who was killed in the line of duty – in a
traffic collision – on November 9, 1966, when Chief Brady was only fifteen years
old.
“This is not about writing tickets,” he said. “I know when the general public
sees an officer with a car pulled over, they think, well, somebody’s getting a
ticket. This is more than tickets. This is about lives that are involved.”
Chief Brady said anyone who has suffered the tragedy of losing someone in a car
wreck knows that such a tragedy lasts a lifetime.
“Unfortunately, people in law enforcement go to homes every day and make that
dreaded announcement that someone in their family will never come home again,”
he said. “So when you think of this highway safety campaign, don’t think of
traffic citations. Think of saving lives.”
Harrison County Sheriff Bruce Hampton, current president of the Kentucky
Sheriff’s Association, also pledged his commitment to the campaign during the
kick off, and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement Commissioner Greg Howard shared some
of the unique ways that KVE is enforcing traffic laws on Kentucky’s interstate
highways.
Lt. Walker stated that a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
found that more motor vehicle deaths occur on July 4 than any other day of the
year. July 2 and 3 are also among the ten deadliest days on U.S. roadways.
“I want the public to know that police will be conducting checkpoints, and
concentrated patrols will be active on interstates, secondary corridors, and
local highways, especially high crash locations. Law enforcement officers will
not hesitate to stop motorists who are speeding, not buckled up, or suspected of
driving under the influence,” he said. “It’s a matter of protecting the public
and saving lives.”
Blue Lights Across the Bluegrass is in effect from July 1 through July 31, 2006.
Fatal Traffic Collision on I-65
One person was killed in
a vehicle accident near the 85 mile marker on Interstate 65 just before 1 p.m.
Tuesday afternoon, June 20. The driver of a van apparently misjudged his
distance from, and the speed of, a tractor trailer that was ahead of him in the
same lane. He drove into the rear of the semi, which had slowed down due
to road construction. Elizabethtown Fire Rescue used hydraulic rescue
tools to extricate the driver of the van, who was pronounced dead at the scene
by the Hardin County Coroner. Glendale and Central Hardin Fire
Departments, Elizabethtown Fire Rescue, Kentucky State Police, and Hardin County
EMS also worked the scene.
Emergency Simulation
On Tuesday morning, June
20, 2006, emergency responders from Hardin and surrounding counties worked
through a major training drill. A chemical truck had ruptured in a traffic
collision, and more than 40 victims had to be decontaminated at the scene before
being transported by ambulance to hospitals throughout Region Five.
Elizabethtown Fire Department, Hardin County EMS, and a host of other agencies
participated in the exercise. The patients were all volunteers who wore
red T-shirts and ID tags signifying the extent of their injuries.
Semi Trailer Collapses
A possible load shift
caused the trailer of a semi to collapse on Teresa Road in Hardin County Monday
evening, June 19, 2006. The road was closed for several hours into the
night. Central Hardin Fire Department and Kentucky State Police stood by
while the cargo was offloaded onto another semi.
Semi v. Utility Pole
The driver of a tractor
trailer was trapped for approximately one hour on Tuesday afternoon, June 13,
2006, after a utility pole fell in front of the truck, draping live electrical
wires across the cab. The driver was not injured and was able to exit the
vehicle after utility workers from Kentucky Utilities and Nolin Rural Electric
Coop cut power to the lines. Elizabethtown Fire Department and
Elizabethtown Police Department assisted at the scene.
Blue Knights Kentucky II Poker Run 2006
by Angela Townsend
Camp Quality, Hardin County Special Olympics, and COPS (Concerns of Police
Survivors) were among the reasons that nearly 200 motorcyclists signed up at
Adventure Sports Kawasaki and Honda on South Mulberry Street in Elizabethtown to
participate in the annual Blue Knights KY II Poker Run on Sunday afternoon, June
11.
Opportunities to win trophies and prizes – including a 2006 Honda VLX 600
motorcycle – were also certain to encourage enthusiasts to sign up.
But perhaps the main reason underlying all the others on that sunny, breezy
afternoon could be summed up in a statement made by Elizabethtown Police
Sergeant Terry Netherland.
“Any excuse to ride a motorcycle,” he said with a smile.
It was a recurring theme. Buddy and Angela Jenkins participated in last year’s
Poker Run and signed up again on Sunday even though, Buddy said, they had
traveled almost the exact same route just days ago, for pleasure. For the
Jenkins family and countless others, motorcycling is serious fun.
“We just got back from Maggie Valley, North Carolina, about two weeks ago,”
Buddy said.
While he and Angela were there, they rode the Tail of the Dragon, which is a
stretch of Highway 129 at Deal’s Gap.
“There are 318 curves in eleven miles,” he said.
“It’s beautiful down there,” Angela said. “All the rhododendrons are in bloom.
We had fun.”
In addition to road trips, the couple rides for several charity events
throughout the year, including Toys for Tots. Though they sometimes ride with a
group, Buddy and Angela signed up as an individual entry in the Blue Knights
Poker Run.
Lillie Risky and Charlie Clark were riding together with a group from Dow
Corning, where Clark works. Lillie explained how a Poker Run is conducted.
“When you sign up, you draw a card,” she said. “There are three checkpoints
along the way where you draw another card, and they write down what you drew.
When you get back here, you draw your last card. Whoever has the winning hand
gets a prize.”
Lillie said she and Charlie ride between ten and twenty runs each year.
“We try to hit every one that we can,” she said.
Sunday’s scenic 125-mile route included stops in Bardstown, Mt. Washington, and
Radcliff. The first and final cards were drawn at Adventure Sports. Upon
completing the run, participants were treated to a meal and to entertainment by
the Kentucky Sassafras Bluegrass Band.
The purpose of the Poker Run is to raise money for charities supported by the
Kentucky II Chapter of the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle
Club.
“Camp Quality is held in Leitchfield, Kentucky, at Camp Loucon,” said Netherland.
“It’s for seriously ill children. Most of them have cancer.”
Netherland said the camp relies solely on donations.
“We had a member that was pretty close to that camp, and that’s how we got
involved. It’s kind of close to home,” he said.
Funds are also contributed to an organization called COPS.
“Concerns of Police Survivors is an organization for the survivors of a fallen
officer,” said Elizabethtown Police Chief Ruben Gardner, who has served as
President of the Kentucky II Chapter for 31 years. “It’s for families of those
who have died in the line of duty. COPS is there to help them pick up the pieces
of their lives. They’re a support group made up of survivors to help survivors.”
Retired law enforcement officer Larry Woosley has been a member of the Blue
Knights for five years and currently serves as Secretary of the Kentucky II
Chapter. Woosley and Gardner worked with the team who registered motorcyclists
for the Poker Run Sunday afternoon. When the sign-in period concluded, they rode
the route themselves.
“We made sure there was nobody broken down or anything like that and cleared up
all the stops where they drew their cards,” Woosley said. “We wanted to send
everybody back to the starting point.”
Woosley said the only mishap occurred near Shepherdsville when a young couple on
a small bike left the road and swiped the guardrail.
“It was minor,” he said. “Neither of them was hospitalized.”
Woosley said 186 riders, representing more than 20 different motorcycle clubs,
registered for the event. When all participants had returned to the starting
point, Ms. T.J. Redmond of Cecilia presented the best poker hand – a royal flush
– and rode away with the $1000 first prize. The Point Radio Station, 101.5,
which sponsored the Honda motorcycle, drew a winner from those who registered
and presented that prize to Shannon Queenan of Vine Grove.
Most important of all, $3500.00 was raised for the Blue Knights’ charities.
“This is our main fundraiser for the year,” Woosley said.
“Our Poker Run is held annually,” said Netherland. “This is the tenth or
eleventh year that we’ve done it.”
Non-Injury Accident on I-65
The driver of a pickup
truck lost control of his vehicle and ran off the road near the 102 mile marker
on I-65 south early Saturday morning, June 3, 2006. The vehicle slid down
an incline and came to rest in a wooded area. The driver was not injured,
and was transported by Kentucky State Police as a possible DUI. Central
Hardin firefighters assisted at the scene.
Structure Fire on Springfield Road
Valley Creek Fire
Department extinguished a fire in a single-family residence on Springfield Road
the afternoon of Wednesday, May 31, 2006. The fire originated in an
electrical appliance and was confined to two rooms. Central Hardin Fire
Department provided mutual assistance.
Structure Fire at Mobile Home Dealership
A mobile home burned
after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on Thursday night, May 25,
2006. Central Hardin firefighters extinguished the fire.
Airport Fire Training
Elizabethtown
firefighters participated in airport fire training Tuesday evening, May 23,
2006, at Addington Field in Elizabethtown. Central Hardin Fire Department
assisted with water supply.
Garage Fire on Battle Training Road
Central Hardin Fire
Department extinguished a fully involved garage fire on Tuesday, May 23, 2006.
Lebanon Junction Fire Department provided mutual aid. No injuries were
reported, but the garage was a total loss. Hardin County EMS stood by.
Cause of the fire was investigated by the arson investigator for the Hardin
County Sheriff's Office.
Fatal MVA on US210
Two people were killed
and four injured when two vehicles collided on Hodgenville Road near Dow Corning
at around 3:46 Wednesday afternoon, May 17.
Elizabethtown police report that Lori B. Denton, 27, of New Haven, was eastbound
on Hodgenville Road in a Chevrolet Nova. Riding with her were Johnny Muncy, 22,
in the back seat, and his mother, Brenda Muncy, 45, in the front passenger seat.
Police state that the Chevrolet crossed the center line for an unknown reason,
moving into the path of a westbound Ford F-150 in such a way that the fronts of
both vehicles’ driver’s sides took the impact of the collision.
Elizabethtown Fire Rescue removed the vehicle doors to provide access to the
patients. Hardin County Coroner Dr. William Lee pronounced Denton and
Brenda Muncy dead at the scene. Johnny Muncy was transported by LifeNet to
University Hospital in Louisville in critical condition.
The driver of the pickup, 27-year-old Jennifer L. Downs, of Lebanon, and her two
passengers, 37-year-old Roger D. Seals and a juvenile female, were transported
to Hardin Memorial Hospital by Hardin County EMS with non-life-threatening
injuries.
Structure Fire on Kensington Way
Elizabethtown
Fire Department battled a structure fire on Kensington Way at 9 p.m. on Monday,
April 24, 2006. There were no injuries. The building’s attic and roof
were extensively damaged from the fire, which began outside the building.
Fatal MVA on South Dixie at Glendale
A single-vehicle
accident resulted in the death of the driver just after noon on Monday, April
17. The accident occurred along the 8800 block of South Dixie Highway
between Glendale and Sonora. Glendale Fire Department, Elizabethtown Fire
Rescue, Hardin County EMS, and the Hardin County Coroner responded to the scene.
Tractor-Trailer Wreck on Western Kentucky
Parkway
A semi overturned at the
top of the ramp exiting I-65 north onto Western Kentucky Parkway east in
Elizabethtown on Friday evening, April 14, 2006. Elizabethtown Fire
Department, Elizabethtown Police Department, Kentucky State Police, and Kentucky
Vehicle Enforcement responded to the scene.
Woods Fire on Round Top Road
Central Hardin and
Valley Creek Fire Departments extinguished a woods fire that spread to an
outbuilding on Round Top Road in Hardin County on Wednesday, April 12, 2006.
Injury Accident on Western Kentucky Parkway
A two-vehicle collision
occurred Friday evening, March 31, 2006, at the 125 mile marker on Western
Kentucky Parkway. Elizabethtown Fire Rescue used hydraulic equipment to
remove the driver's door of the red Pontiac Sunfire to extricate one patient,
who was transported by LifeNet to University Hospital in Louisville.
Others injured in the crash were transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital in
Elizabethtown by Hardin County EMS. White Mills Fire Department and
Kentucky State Police were also at the scene.
Firefighters Battle Fire and Terrain
by Angela Townsend
Between 80 and 100 acres of undergrowth on a mountainside near Colesburg burned
Thursday evening, March 29. Central Hardin Fire Department responded to
the call on Happy Hollow Road at 3:45 p.m. and remained at the scene until
almost 9:30 p.m.
Seven fire departments provided assistance during the six-hour incident.
Radcliff, Lebanon Junction, Southeast Bullitt, Shepherdsville, and Boston Fire
Departments responded to the scene to assist Central Hardin with equipment and
manpower. A total of 22 apparatus and 55 personnel worked the scene.
Elizabethtown Fire Department and Valley Creek Fire Department, which staged at
Central Station 1 with an engine and seven personnel, remained on standby to
cover other calls in Central’s district.
Near-vertical terrain prevented fire trucks from reaching the flames and
presented unique challenges to firefighters.
“There was no access to it,” says Central Hardin Fire Chief Chad Marsh.
“We tried numerous ways to find access to the top.”
Marsh says the hillside was so steep that crews ascending the area on foot were
exhausted when they reached the top.
“We had to hike to the fire and cut a fire break,” he says. “We rotated
crews out as best we could.”
Marsh says firefighters contained the flames with fire breaks, since
circumstances made extinguishing the fire virtually impossible.
American Red Cross rehab units responded from both Bullitt County and
Elizabethtown. Hardin County EMS also stood by at the scene.
“Any time we get that many departments, that many personnel, and that steep of
terrain, plus chainsaws, bulldozers, and all that equipment, I always try to
have EMS stand by just in case something goes bad,” says Marsh. “But we
had no injuries at all.”
Marsh says the cause of the fire remains unknown.
“It had apparently been burning for quite a while before we were ever called,”
he says. “It got dark on us, and we were unable to locate the origin at
that time.”
Marsh says the fire is under investigation by Central Hardin Fire Department and
the Division of Forestry.
Tractor Trailer
Wreck on I-65
The driver of a semi
lost control, causing his tractor trailer to overturn near the 102 mile marker
northbound on Interstate 65 Saturday, March 18, 2006. The accident
occurred at 4:31 p.m. The semi was loaded with 88 bales of cotton material
weighing 44,000 pounds. Central Hardin Fire Department personnel remained
at the scene for seven and a half hours monitoring for fire or fuel leakage,
until the merchandise was offloaded onto another semi and the truck was set
upright. Kentucky State Police and Hardin County Ambulance Service were also at
the scene.
Bluegrass Road
Structure Fire
Central Hardin Fire Department
responded to a structure fire on Bluegrass Road Saturday, March 18, 2006, at
4:10 p.m. The fire started in the kitchen and ascended into the attic of
the single-family home. No injuries were reported.
Mobile Home Fire
A structure fire was
reported at 5:22 a.m. Monday, March 13. Central Hardin Fire Department
arrived at 980 Mountain View Estates Road to find a double-wide mobile home
fully involved. Flames spread to trees in the area and ignited a propane
tank near the mobile home. Firefighters remained on the scene for four and a
half hours, bringing the fires under control. Boston Fire Department
provided mutual aid. No injuries were reported. The fire was attributed to
arson.
Storm Damage in Elizabethtown
Security in the Midst
of the Storm
by Angela Townsend
“It was an extremely busy night,” says EPD Officer Virgil Willoughby.
Police responded to 43 calls in less than four hours. Twenty-nine of those calls
were in regard to activated alarms and downed power lines.
Willoughby says a typical shift consists of eight units and a supervisor.
Additional personnel, including two deputy chiefs and two detectives, came out
to meet the line of storms that swept through Elizabethtown on the night of
March 9. Between ten o’clock Thursday night and two o’clock Friday morning,
winds took down trees and power lines and set off commercial alarms all along
the damage path.
“Seventeen alarm calls; twelve wires down,” says Willoughby. “And in the midst
of the storm, you still have your other calls that you’re responsible for.”
These other calls, on any given evening, can include domestic disturbances,
criminal mischief, assault, drug-related or weapons offenses, burglary, criminal
trespass, theft, driving under the influence, robbery – an endless list of
activities from felony crimes to traffic violations that police officers deal
with around the clock. Severe weather adds another dimension to their
responsibility to protect and to serve.
“The first alarm call we got that night was around 9:57 p.m.,” Willoughby says.
“Any kind of storms that we have where the wind is somewhat significant, just
the rattle of the door is enough to set off an alarm.”
The business on North Dixie was the first in a series that officers would visit
over the next four hours.
Each response is unique, but in general, officers will go to the business at
which the alarm has activated and will check all entrances as well as around the
perimeter of the building to ensure security. Either police dispatch or the
alarm company will usually notify the establishment’s key holder about the
alarm.
In cases where a structure has sustained storm damage that has compromised the
security of the business, Willoughby says an officer will usually wait at the
scene until the key holder arrives, unless that officer is dispatched to a more
critical call.
“It just depends on what else is going on at that particular time,” he says.
“Sometimes we stay in place; sometimes we do have to pull away.”
Windows were blown out in the Roses shopping center Thursday night. An officer
remained on scene until the key holder arrived.
“Once the key holders get there, they are responsible for their property, and
we’ll move on,” Willoughby says.
A downed power line is addressed according to its potential danger to the
public.
“If it becomes a traffic hazard, we’re going to have to block that area,” says
Willoughby. “If it poses a threat, we’re going to respond out there and wait for
[the utility company] to arrive.”
The high winds during Thursday night’s storms also felled trees across roadways,
inflicted damage to homes and businesses, and took the roof off a residence on
Eldorado Drive. Areas around St. John Road, Cherrywood Drive, U.S. 62, North
Dixie, and adjacent streets appear to have received the worst damage. Police
were a constant presence in all these areas throughout the night.
The last alarm call came in at 1:50 a.m., from a business on East Dixie. After
that, Willoughby says, the city fell silent for the next three hours. Winds died
down, storms moved on, and residents slept while the police continued their
watch over Elizabethtown.
Vehicle vs. Tree
A single-vehicle
collision occurred in Glendale at 7:55 a.m. on Friday, March 3. Kentucky State
Police report that an 18-year-old male from Elizabethtown was driving east on KY
222 in a 1986 Camaro. For an unknown reason he lost control of his
vehicle, drove off the left side of the road and, struck a tree head on.
Glendale Fire Department and Elizabethtown Fire Rescue extricated the driver
from the Camaro. He was transported to University Hospital in Louisville
by LifeNet with serious injuries. It is unknown whether the driver was wearing a
seatbelt at the time of the collision. Hardin County Ambulance Service was
also at the scene.
Tractor Trailer Wreck in Glendale
A tractor trailer
carrying Lignite powder overturned as it exited Interstate 65 southbound onto KY
222 in Glendale at 11:55 a.m. Monday, February 13. Glendale Fire
Department and Elizabethtown Fire Rescue extricated the driver through the
sleeper. He was treated at the scene by Hardin County Ambulance Service
and then transported by LifeNet to Louisville. Hardin County Emergency
Management, Kentucky State Police, and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement were also at
the scene. The driver stated that the truck's brakes failed on the exit
ramp, causing the semi to overturn.
Franklin Crossroads Structure
Fire
Fire Destroys 100
Year Old Home in Stephensburg
by Angela Townsend
At 12:55 a.m. Thursday, January 19, Chris Peters awoke to find heavy smoke
filling his home at 607 Franklin Crossroads. He and the other occupants escaped
the house without injury and called the fire department, but the house was
already fully involved.
Stephensburg Volunteer Fire Department arrived at 1:03 a.m. and remained until
10 p.m. Thursday evening. West 84 and White Mills Fire Departments provided
mutual aid. A total of eight apparatus were in service as nineteen
firefighters fought to control the blaze.
Stephensburg Fire Department Chief Richard Peters says the house was owned by
Chris’s father, Dale Peters. The one-story wood structure held more than a
century’s worth of stories to share, had it only possessed a voice.
“The house was built in the mid to late-1800s,” he says. “It appears to be one
of the first five homes to be built in the Stephensburg area.”
Peters says the building was first owned by Henry and Rosie Peters, and one side
of the structure housed a small country store. The building sat near the
railroad tracks.
“Passengers from the train would often shop at the little store,” he says. “The
store was later closed, and was then used as a home.”
Peters says firefighters used more than 25,000 gallons of water to extinguish
the blaze.
Hardin County EMS stood by at the scene. American Red Cross provided
assistance to the occupants of the home.
