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Make plans now to attend the VHC Golf Tournament Friday May 16. There is an 8:30 am start and the price is $240 per team.

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Fire crews worked to extinguish a brush fire that threatened two structures along Mountaindale Road in the City of Frederick Municipal Forest. The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m.

Nearly three dozen units and 125 personnel responded to the fire, which came within 25 feet of both structures, a cabin and an unoccupied home.

Frederick County Battalion Chief Thomas E. Coe said at several points, fire crews had to retreat from the fire. Cole said he believes the fire was caused by a controlled burn.

Firefighters were drawing water from Fishing Creek.

“We’re handling this as a homicide until we find out differently,” said Captain Tim Clarke with the sheriff’s office.

On Feb. 29, realtor Jack Klingler, who declined to comment on the on-going investigation, discovered the bones while conducting a property survey and called 911 at 3:42 p.m. When deputies arrived on the scene, they determined the remains were possibly human and secured the area.

“We also had deputies securing the scene overnight,” Clarke said. “We knew about the body Friday, but because we were expecting bad weather, we waited until Saturday to investigate.”

From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, about 10 crime scene technicians, detectives and deputies, worked the scene, sifting through soil and sweeping the area for potential clues or scattered bone fragments.

“Anytime you have a body that’s decomposed, there’s the possibility that small animals may have moved bones from the original site. You have to look beyond that location,” Clarke said.

Vigilant Hose Company firefighters assisted with the search, including Jim Click. Click said about 12 members of the company slowly walked in a straight line through brush, trees and thorn bushes looking for evidence.

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Officials with the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg expect this week to complete renovations to their station which have been in the works for about two years.

Tim Clarke, public information officer, and Frank Davis, president, gave me a tour of the station last week -- just as workers were putting the finishing touches on the renovations.

Five offices, storage areas and bunk rooms for up to 11 people are among the highlights in the more than 2,000 square feet added to the building.

In the late 1990s, the company bought an apartment building next door to its 25 W. Main St. location for about $130,000, Clarke said. The building, which is about 100 years old, was to be renovated to expand the station, which then was about 9,000 square feet.

After getting the station and vehicles paid off, the company decided to start the expansion.

"We felt it was a good time to start the project," Clarke said.

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High winds encourage barn fire

By James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg Dispatch News Editor

jrada@thedispatch.us

EMMITSBURG, Md. – When Gary Cox of Emmitsburg woke up on Dec. 4, he thought it was daylight outside until he realized his barn was on fire.

The barns at 11237 Simmons Road came up very close to the back of the 1873 farmhouse and threatened to catch it on fire around 3:06 a.m. on Dec. 4. About 60 firefighters from Frederick, Carroll and Adams counties responded to the blaze.

“Our biggest challenge was the wind,” said Wayne Powell with Vigilant Hose Company. “It really gave us a fit and it only got worse when we got there.”

When Vigilant Hose arrived on the scene, the first hose crew moved to protect the rear of the house from igniting. The second hose crew went to protect two fuel tanks from exploding.

“The tanks were steaming when we got there, so we were lucky,” Powell said.

Gary and Sally Cox, their six children and Sally’s mother were taken to a neighbors home while the fire crews set up a tanker task force. This was a group of five tanker engines that began shuttling water from a nearby pond to the fire scene to put out the fire.

The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes, though firefighters remained on the scene for hours going through the debris to make sure nothing was smoldering that could re-ignite. The family suffered no injuries; however, three goats, two dogs and as many as 15 cats were lost in the fire.

“If the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction, the outcome could have been a lot worse,” Powell said.

The damage is estimated at $100,000.

Bill would take away local control of charity game
Originally published by The Frederick News Post November 03, 2007
By Meg Bernhardtardt
News-Post Staff

ANNAPOLIS -- Frederick County volunteer fire companies are protesting a bill that would take away their ability to raise money through tip jar gaming.

Delegate Shane Pendergrass, a Democrat who represents Howard County, proposed the bill this week as the General Assembly convened in a special session to address the state's anticipated $1.5 billion deficit.

It would prevent Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties from regulating the games, instead allowing tip jars only through the state lottery. In tip jar gaming, contestants pay for a chance to win cash prizes.

The House Ways and Means committee will hold a hearing on the bill today.

Pendergrass said she proposed the measure because every potential source of revenue should be examined as the state struggles for a solution to its fiscal woes. She believes state lottery sales suffer from people betting on tip jars instead of buying lottery tickets.

"Right now, my priority is making sure that we don't have to cut what we subsidize the counties," Pendergrass said.

Local firefighters say the games raise hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to buy needed emergency equipment. If they aren't allowed to include tip jar gaming, they'd likely turn to the county.

"If we don't have a funding sources to pay for buildings, to pay for apparatus, it would have to come out of the county coffers," said Chip Jewell, the Frederick County representative to the Maryland State Firemen's Association.

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EMMITSBURG - Two emergency services groups are looking for volunteers.

Not a trained firefighter or EMS technician?

Not a problem, said John Hoyle, training specialist at the Emergency Management Institute on South Seton Avenue.

The Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company want citizens to help with everything from administrative duties to manning booths at fundraisers as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Fire Corps program, Hoyle said.

The Corps encourages citizens to volunteer in any capacity with their local fire and EMS companies. The organization formed after Sept. 11, 2001, when demand for emergency services increased while funding decreased, Hoyle said.

The Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company will kick off their campaigns for volunteers at the town's 25th annual Community Day June 30.

The Corps is looking for people with administrative and computer skills, mechanics, plumbers and carpenters, people who can serve food at fundraising events, and even those who can make quilts or birdhouses to be used in company raffles, Hoyle said.

"It's a very open-ended program, where people can contribute what they feel they can do to help," he said. "The important thing for people to realize is there are no regular meetings. This is a nonoperational corps; we're not recruiting them to be firefighters or EMS people."

People with backgrounds in preserving history and preparing marketing programs and written materials are needed as well, he said.

The Corps would also like to form a group to give fire prevention presentations at area schools, if citizens show interest. The Corps would provide training for such a group, he said, but there is no training required for other volunteers.

"It's open to what they think they can give us; there's no hour requirement," he said. "A lot can be done in people's homes."

Both the Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company are all-volunteer organizations, Hoyle said, making the need for Fire Corps volunteers even greater.

The two companies serve all of northern Frederick County, and also assist Washington and Carroll counties and areas in southern Pennsylvania.

For more information or to become a Fire/EMS Corps volunteer contact:

John Hoyle, Vigilant Hose Company, 301-447-2728, or  Mary Lou Little, Emmitsburg Ambulance Company, 301-447-6626

Emmitsburg - After some harsh weather and preliminary delays, the building project adjacent the present firehouse is beginning to take shape. The project will house bunkrooms, administration offices, storage areas, a lounge and a fitness room. Completion of the project is hoped to be early fall 2007.

If We Can't Find You, We Can't Help You!

House numbers should be:

• In plain, block numerals on a contrasting background.
• Unobstructed and large enough to be seen from the road.
• Facing the street named in your address.
• Displayed at your driveway entrance if your house is not visible from the road or on a flag lot.

In an Emergency, Seconds Count! Clearly visible house numbers are vitally important in saving precious time when firefighters, police, or paramedics must respond to your home.

Thanks to Howard County Fire & Rescue for this content!

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