At 2:39pm today there was a three car train derailment in Highgrove. The derailment occurred at Center St x/Transit St. One of the railcars contained maleic acid, but no product was released. Haz Mat was called in until the cars could be righted back onto the tracks.

I know what you're thinking "Dave, where's the photos?". Unfortunately I found out about this on the news missing any opportunities. Maybe someone on scene was able to take some.

On March 13, 2006 Battalion 14 was involved in three fundraiser. Stations 16 & 19 hosted their annual pancake breakfast events. Engine & Truck 17 were involved in a fundraiser for a CHP officer suffering from cancer, the benefit was for a college fund for the officers daughter. Click this link to read a full article on the CHP officer.

Station 16's pancake breakfast was partipated by thousands of local residences. Equipment at the event included squad 18 & 34, engines 16 & 18, COM 11, several RSO units including the K9 unit with "Tor". Here with see Tor with Officer Birmingham and Miss Jurupa Valley. Another shot of Tor with a forced smile it appears.



















The big attraction was the fire steamer from CSFA.




















Here we have a great photo of Engineer Pau's daughter and Blaze with the CSFA Steamer. Another shot of Engineer Pau's daughter and son. And below Engineer Pau running the pump and Firefighter May from Engine 16 poses with Blaze, don't ask!

Truck 17 was dispatched to assist animal control with a crow stuck in the tree. Yes, a crow! It had been entangled in some fishing line and needed some assistance getting down. Thanks to the fine ladder placement of FAE Barnett the 75’ stick was just enough for the crew of T-17 to make a successful rescue. Unfortunately the bird had a broken leg and had to euthanized.

  

Alcohol related traffic collisions are a major social, health and economic problem. California reported 1233 persons killed and 30,971 injured in alcohol related vehicle collisions in the year 200 alone. Teen drivers have been found responsible for many of these "accidents". The every 15 minutes program is a two day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors, and challenges them to think about drinking and driving, ultimately giving them an option to make better decisions. The program received the name from the early 1990's statistics when Every 15 minutes, someone in the United States died in an alcohol related traffic collision,

On April 27th and 28th, 2006, Jurupa Valley High School hosted a Every 15 Minutes program. On the first day, pre-selected students were removed from class and labeled as a statistic. A mock crash scene was staged in front of the school and involved five students from the campus. This event was the center of attention for several hours. The crash scene involving students consisted of two students transported for major injuries to Parkview Community Hospital, one student was arrested and one was pronounced dead on scene.

Riverside County Fire Department station 16 and 17 assisted in a huge capacity to make this event seem very real, and a huge success. With the hesitance of personnel from station 17, the initial response was enormous and the enthusiasm brought a sense of excitement and realism that students continue to talk about this day.

Engineer Mark Williams from station 17 volunteered to speak to over 900 kids present the next day at the assembly the second day, all with only a few moments notice. The efforts of personnel like Engineer Williams as well as each Riverside County Fire participant reflect great credit upon themselves as well as the department. Without RCoFD's involvement, the program would not have been a success.

Click here to see photos from the Every 15 Minutes program.

Thank You,
Michael Shacklett
Riverside County Sheriff's Department
School Resource Officer Jurupa Valley High School

Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer

ONTARIO - Black smoke and flames burst from a crash involving three tractor-trailers on Wednesday, leaving one man dead and two others injured.
Motorists jumped out of their cars and workers in surrounding industrial buildings came running with fire extinguishers to the scene at Milliken Avenue and Mission Boulevard.
Photo Gallery: Ontario Semi Collision Watch New Video:04/27: Deadly tractor trailer crash
"Everything was on fire and there was gas all over the place," said Christopher Lee, a Monterey Park courier who saw the crash.

Witnesses told police that the crash involved a driver heading east on Mission, a driver heading south on Milliken and a driver who was stopped at a red light facing north on Milliken.
The driver heading south and the driver heading east collided. It was unclear who had the green light to enter the intersection, police said. Then the driver heading south on Milliken slid down an embankment and his tractor burst into flames, but he crawled out of the cab before suffering any serious burns. The man driving east in a blue tractor-trailer suffered grave injuries and witnesses saw paramedics performing CPR on him before he was taken away. The driver, a Calexico resident whose name was not released because his relatives hadn't been notified as of last evening, was pronounced dead at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Crittenden.

A third big-rig driver suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized, Riverside County firefighters said. His truck was struck after the initial collision.
About 25 firefighters from Riverside County and Ontario came to the scene about 12:40 p.m. and extinguished the blaze, fire spokesman Patrick Chandler said.
But before emergency personnel arrived, several witnesses tried to do what they could to help the crash victims.

Andy Cervantes, a worker at nearby Diamond Wipes, got curious when he heard the noise outside. "I hear loud bangs from trains passing by, but this one sounded different," Cervantes said. "I just stuck my head out to see what was going on and Milliken was on fire."
Lee heard the crash and ran over to the man in the blue tractor-trailer. He said the cab door was jammed, so he grabbed a rock and broke the window. He still couldn't get the man out. Rancho Cucamonga resident Jose Galarza got out of his car and also ran up to the blue rig to help. But witnesses caught in the chaos backed off after explosions came from the burning tractor.

"The trees caught on fire and the tires were exploding," Galarza said.
Witnesses were especially concerned initially because they thought a man was still inside the burning tractor-trailer.

"I ran across the street and we had fire extinguishers, there was a guy inside and then there was an explosion," said Francisco Barba, a Fontana resident. Barba was relieved when he realized the big-rig driver had actually made it outside the cab. He didn't appear to have suffered any serious injuries, he said. "His eyebrows were burned off and his hair was singed," Barba said.

Photos located in the Battalion Photo Gallery.

Melissa Pinion-Whitt can be reached by e-mail at m_pinion-whitt@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9378.