MEC&F Expert Engineers : 10/09/17

Monday, October 9, 2017

Firefighter Jason Hensley, 40, was hit and killed by a reckless, licenceless and impaired driver Randall Stewart, 58, late Sunday while cleaning storm debris from a road in Morganton, NC

The NC highway patrol says this is the truck that struck and killed the volunteer firefighters. They believe the driver was under the influence

Firefighter killed in western NC while responding to Nate storm damage


Updated 8:50 a.m. today



Boone, N.C. — Officials in Burke County said a firefighter was hit and killed by a car late Sunday while cleaning storm debris from a road in Morganton.

According to officials with the Triple Community Fire Department, the 40-year-old man was working with another firefighter to clear the debris from the road leftover by tropical depression Nate when a car struck him. Officials said he died on impact.

The driver of the car has been charged with DWI.



Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday but severely impacted portions of western North Carolina in the process.


According to WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner, the passing system brought strong winds and 2 to 4 inches of rain to the mountains late Sunday into Monday. A picture posted on Twitter by Appalachian State University students shows a flooded hallway in an academic building.


Officials also reported several tornadoes across North Carolina's western counties due to Nate's remnants, including Cleveland County, Caldwell County and Burke County. At least 12,000 businesses and homes were without power.

The tropical depression will continue north on Monday.




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MORGANTON, N.C. — A North Carolina firefighter was hit and killed by a car late Sunday night in Morganton, WSOC reports.

The Triple Community Fire Department released that two firefighters were clearing debris from the roadway on Highway 70 when a car traveling eastbound struck firefighter Jason Hensley, 40.

Hensley was killed on impact.

An investigation conducted by the North Carolina Highway Patrol found that Randall Stewart, 58, was driving recklessly without a license while impaired. He also had marijuana in his possession.

Stewart is in the hospital but will be arrested when he is released.

No arrangements for Hensley have been made at this time.

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BURKE COUNTY, N.C. - A Triple Community Fire Department firefighter was hit and killed by a car while clearing storm debris late Sunday night in Morganton.

Department officials said that two firefighters were clearing debris from the roadway on Highway 70 when a car traveling eastbound struck firefighter Jason Hensley, 40.

Hensley was killed on impact.

An investigation conducted by the North Carolina Highway Patrol found that Randall Stewart, 58, was driving recklessly without a license while impaired. He also had marijuana in his possession.


Stewart was taken to the hospital but will be arrested when he is released.

No arrangements for Hensley have been made at this time. Check back with wsoctv.com as we receive more information

VALERO: Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services' employee Ezequiel Orozco Guzman, 52, of San Antonio, may have died from a heart attack and fell from scaffolding at Valero Energy Corp’s Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery

The dead worker,  Orozco Ezequiel Guzman, 52, of San Antonio
Intro









CORPUS CHRISTI (KIII NEWS) - Valero released a statement Friday regarding the death of a worker at the Valero West plant Wednesday.

The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office reported that 52-year-old Ezequiel
Orozco Guzman , a contract worker at the plant working for Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services (the Brand Scaffolding Group), fell to his death. However, Valero said early findings from their own investigation show that the worker did not fall but actually suffered a heart attack.

Federal investigators are still looking into it.



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Contractor died at Valero Corpus Christi refinery-company



Reuters Staff


HOUSTON, TX (Reuters) - A contractor died at Valero Energy Corp’s Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on Wednesday, the company said on Friday.

The man, Orozco Ezequiel Guzman, 52, of San Antonio, may have died from a heart attack, Valero said in a statement.

“It has been widely misreported this week that Mr. Guzman, a Brand employee, died to due to a fall from scaffolding,” Valero said. “The actual cause of his death is still under investigation. However, based on witnesses and preliminary findings, Mr. Guzman did not fall. Early indications are that he may have had a heart attack.”

Guzman’s employer Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services also said in a statement that his death was not work related.

“Early investigations at the site indicate that Mr. Guzman’s death was not the result of a fall from height or other work-related accident,” the company said, KRIS-TV reported.

On Wednesday, the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office told KRIS-TV that Guzman appeared to have died in a fall from scaffolding.

A representative from the medical examiner’s office was not immediately available to comment. 




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we are brand, and it shows (a.k.a. we are full of it and it shows)


Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services is a premier provider of integrated specialty services to the global energy, industrial and infrastructure markets. Its extensive portfolio of specialized industrial service offerings include scaffolding, coatings, insulation, refractory, formwork & shoring, specialty mechanical services, cathodic protection and other related crafts. In North America, Brand operates in five key market segments: Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Industrial and Infrastructure.
History

What started as a Chicago-based insulation company in 1961 has evolved into a global diversified provider of specialty services. Since its entry into the access provider market in the 1970s, Brand has flourished into a major player, aiding in the system scaffold revolution in the 1980s and helping lead the construction industry workforce development effort in the 1990s.

Since the 1990s, Brand has been growing and adapting to meet the ever-increasing needs of our clients and the global market pressure for our services. With our commitment to excellence as our driver, Brand will continue to successfully fulfill the needs of industry, creating VALUE for our clients.



Valero Refining USA

Project facts

Description Valero Refining
Challenge Provide specialty services for a major turnaround

When North America’s largest refiner Valero Refining needed a trusted partner to provide specialty services for a major 2006 turnaround, they turned to Brand. The Brand team safely and efficiently worked over 160,000 man-hours to provide fireproofing, refractory, scaffolding, insulation, abatement services to this site. Our client praised the project management team and field craft personnel for working hard to exceed all their expectations. Valero chose Brand as the trusted partner for this critical and time sensitive project because of the value in our integrated service offerings and a seamless execution.
"I would recommend your company (Brand) for future projects of any size, especially those requiring multiple services for your ability to manage all of these services under one project management team.”
Maintenance Manager
Valero Refining

Electrical is the cause of fire that killed 89-year-old Virginia Webb and burned another at the Templeton Trailer Park off of Highway 299. in Dade Couty, Georgia; 86th fire related death in Georgia in 2017.


WILDWOOD, Ga. — One person has died and another, burned in a Dade County house fire Saturday.

Dade County PIO Chad Payne says it happened around 6:30 at the Templeton Trailer Park off of Highway 299.

Payne says the woman died and another suffered non-life threatening second degree burns and was taken to the hospital.


Fire investigator with Insurance and Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens’ office later ruled the cause of the fire accidental, and identified the victim as Virginia Webb.

State fire investigators report that there was nothing suspicious about the blaze and the cause appears to be electrical.


The victim’s two children Shirley Webb, 55, and Kenneth Webb, 50, escaped the blaze with minor injuries. Neither required transportation to a hospital.

“My investigator found no signs of a working smoke alarm inside the home,” Hudgens said. This is the state’s 86th fire related death in Georgia in 2017.




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WILDWOOD, Ga. (WDEF) — The Georgia Insurance and Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens’ Office has released new information on the fatal fire in Dade County on Saturday.

Hudgens’ office identified the woman killed in the blaze as 89-year-old Virginia Webb.

The fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. off Highway 299.

State fire investigators say the cause of the fire appears to electrical and report there was nothing suspicious about the fire.

In a press release, Hudgens said, “My investigator found no signs of a working smoke alarm inside the home.”

The Georgia Department of Insurance and Safety says Webb’s death is Georgia’s 86th fire related death this year.

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WILDWOOD, Ga. (WDEF) — The Dade County coroner and dispatch confirmed that an 89-year-old woman was killed in a fire in Dade County on Saturday.

According to the Dade County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was at the Templeton Trailer Park on Highway 299 in Wildwood.

The Dade County Sheriff’s Office also says that another resident suffered second degree burns in the fire and was taken to a local hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office says the fire does not appear to be suspicious, but the investigation is still ongoing.

A fire caused accidentally by new pipes being sweated together displaced two separate units and 3 adults in Tuscon, AZ



TUSCON, AZ

OCTOBER 9, 2017

A fire caused accidentally by new pipes being sweated together displaced two separate units and 3 adults but everyone is OK. No working smoke alarms but luckily someone was awake and saw smoke. The fire stayed hidden in the walls, but firefighters contained it in 22 minutes.

Spontaneous combustion caused by oily rags started an apartment fire in Tucson, AZ



(Source: Tucson Fire Department) TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

 Spontaneous combustion cause of foothills apartment fire 

Monday, October, 2017
By Carolyn Yaussy, Digital Content Producer




 

Spontaneous combustion caused by oily rags started an apartment fire near the 5000 block of North First Avenue just before 12:30 a.m. Monday Oct. 9, according to the Tucson Fire Department.

TFD said flames were coming from a balcony and hitting a tree just outside of the unit.

Firefighters said no one was home at the time of the fire.

Thirteen units nearby had to be evacuated.

In all it took 11 fire units and 27 firefighters to contain the blaze.

No injuries were reported.



The occupant was not home to hear the beep where they sleep, but a neighbor saw the #fire and called 9-1-1. No one injured and #firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby apartments #tucson every second counts, plan 2 ways out

$500K in damages after undetermined cause of fire at the Taylor's Furniture Gallery structure in Amarillo, Texas







AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) -

The Amarillo Fire Department has ruled the cause of the Taylor's Furniture Gallery structure fire as "undetermined."

AFD officials said at 11:45 a.m. they received a call about smoke coming from Taylor's Furniture.

When they arrived on scene, they found a fire in the southeast corner of the building.




Police were able to contain the fire by 4:00 p.m.

Damages have been estimated at $500,000.



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Fire causes 500K in damage at Taylor Furniture

 

A Saturday blaze that proved challenging for Amarillo Fire Department caused $500,000 in damage to Taylor Furniture Gallery.


At 11:45 a.m., employees at the Whataburger near Southwest 45th Avenue and South Western Street reported smoke coming from the nearby business, according to an AFD news release. Fire crews arrived two minutes later and forced their way into the closed storefront at 4559 S. Western.

Firefighters extinguished all the fire they could find, but then realized more fire was burning in an inaccessible second-floor office. The only access was a staircase that had already burned.

For several hours, 30 firefighters from nine units tried to access the office, but the deterioration of the structure from fire and water hindered their efforts. Sections of the roof had caved in before the blaze was finally under control at 3:57 p.m.
 
The Amarillo Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire had started in that office, but the cause is undetermined.

Damages from the fire, including the merchandise inside, were estimated at $500,000.