Members of Dive Team 52, along with numerous other emergency units responded to the Gunpowder State Park Hammerman area for a reported lost windsurfer. Information was that he was last seen between Battery Point and Cunninghill Cove. Also, this was an experienced windsurfer who was legally blind. Divers were on standby at the command post while marine and air units conducted a search. The subject was later located on the Aberdeen Proving Grounds side of the river. He was later reunited with his family, unharmed.

Baltimore County police are investigating the death of a 53-year-old Middle River man who fell off a pier at an Essex marina Friday night as an accidental drowning, according to a department spokesman. Police Sgt. Bruce Aris said Wayne Joseph Hava of the 5700 block of Hilltop Road fell into Hopkins Creek about 10:30 p.m. after stepping off a 27-foot Bayliner as the boat pulled into River Watch Marina, near a restaurant of the same name in the 200 block of Nanticoke Road. "A number of other people" were with Hava, according to Aris, but no one else was injured. Emergency crews from the county Fire Department and marine units, the Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department and the Middle River Volunteer Ambulance Rescue Company searched for about an hour before divers found Hava. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Aris said. An autopsy was planned.
 

Dive Team 52 responded along with numerous other units for a reported boating accident off of the beach area at Gunpowder State Park. Marine units from Bowleys Quarters VFD had designated a search area, utilized MSP TROOPER 1 and BCoPD AIR 1 for aerial searches. Marine Unit 268 from North Point Edgemere VFD arrived and began searching using side scan sonar. Markers were deployed at each possible sonar hit. Divers were then deployed to search the area of the markers. Both victims were shortly later recovered. Divers for the incident were Past Chief Wilkinson, Chief Ertwine, Captain Dembeck, Neal Miller, Jordan Woutila. Recoveries made by Wilikinson and Woutila. Units on location were Engine 7, Engine 211, Medic 54 (On Marine Unit 219), Medic 107, EMS 4, Marine Unit 217, 219, 268, Abingdon VFD 450, DNR Police, County Police, APG Police, Vessel Assist, Coast Guard Activities Baltimore. Excellent Job By All!!!

Squad 523 responded along with other units this morning for a reported motor vehicle collision with rescue. Upon arrival, crew of 523 deployed both hydraulic cutters, hand tools, and cribbing to successfully extricate the driver of the vehicle. Total time for extrication was approximately 10 minutes. JOB WELL DONE!!!

A pioneer for females in the Baltimore County volunteer and career fire service, retired Division Chief Danelle England-Dansicker passed away April 21 at age 52 from complications of an auto-immune disease. England-Dansicker was the first female member of the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company and first female member of the career Baltimore County Fire Department.

Colleagues are remembering England-Dansicker as a “firefighter’s firefighter” who was fearless on a fire scene and an equal to any of her male colleagues.
 
“Danelle was a hard-charger who could wear many of the guys out,” said John “J.B.” Berryman, Jr., a retired BCoFD captain  who was assigned to the Baltimore County Fire Academy when England-Dansicker was a recruit and also served as PVFC captain when she joined the company in 1976. Danelle’s mother was a longtime member of Box 234 Association (rehab unit), and Berryman recalls her “continually pounding on me” to change the PVFC constitution and allow female members.
 
Dave Bush, a life member of PVFC, helped train England-Dansicker.  “I was an engine lieutenant at the time and I have clear memories of lying up in the attic of an old house which we were burning to train Danelle and several others,” he said. “I was next to Chris Gauss as Danelle came thru the exercise and we both noted how brave and capable she was. Her family members were all there and they were so proud. Looks like we were right. She will be missed.”
 
England-Dansicker was an apparatus driver, a cardiac rescue technician when it was the highest training level for EMS providers, and a member of the Highrise Evacuation Aerial Team that repelled out of helicopters and was trained to rescue occupants trapped on upper floors of high rise buildings – the precursor to today’s Advanced Tactical Rescue team. She promoted through the career service to lieutenant (1985), captain (1989), the first BCoFD female battalion chief (1995) and the department’s first female division chief (2001). She retired in 2005 following a distinguished 27-year career.
 
“Danelle was to women in the fire service what Jackie Robinson was to athletes of color,” said BCoFD lieutenant and PVFC member Allen Roody. “She had to endure a true mindset that she was a female in a male's job and simply, believed by most, didn't belong there.  She squelched much of the prejudice the best way possible." England-Dansicker served as a lieutenant at Station 18 when Roody was assigned to the Randallstown station. “She not only did her job, but she did her job well and was a very capable firefighter,” he added. “We always felt safe and that her instincts would send us home after that shift.  There wasn't much more that we could ask than that.”
 
England-Dansicker, whose family is deeply entrenched in the fire service, is survived by her husband Sam, past captain and life member of PVFC;  daughters Gabrielle and Alex; mother Anida England of Box 234 Association; brother Bill, retired BCoFD lieutenant and Pikesville VFC member; uncle Rick Holden, BCoFD fire specialist and life member of PVFC; and grandmother Wilso Holden of Box 234 Association.  Her fire service family also includes her late father, Bill England, Sr., an associate member of PVFC; late grandfather Captain Dan Holden, III, a BCoFD captain and life member of PVFC; late Uncle Gerald Holden, BCoFD  lieutenant, past captain and life member of PVFC.  Her cousin Dan Holden also was a longtime PVFC member.
 
Funeral services for Chief England-Dansicker will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Charles Boromeo Catholic Church in Pikesville on Saturday, April 25 with interment to follow at Druid Ridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Saint Charles Boromeo Catholic Church, 101 Church Lane in Pikesville.

The National EMS Memorial Service today released the names of the 90 individuals from 26 states to be honored at the 2009 National EMS Memorial Service to be held Saturday, May 23 in Roanoke Virginia.

The National EMS Memorial Service has, since 1992, been honoring America's EMS providers who have given their lives in the line of duty. The 90 individuals being honored this year join 423 others previously honored by the National EMS Memorial Service.
 
Each year, at a service held in Roanoke, members of the honoree's families are presented with a medallion, symbolizing eternal memory; a U.S. Flag which has flown over the Nation's Capital, symbolizing service to the country; and a White Rose, symbolizing their undying love.
 
The 2009 National EMS Memorial Service will be conducted at the First Baptist Church of Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia.
 
In addition to the presentations made during the Service, each honoree's name is engraved on a bronze oak leaf which is added to the "Tree of Life," the National EMS Memorial.
 
Additional information on the National EMS Memorial Service is available from its web site at http://nemsms.org
 
Connie C. Bornman, 57, of Middle River Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Company, Middle River, MD, who died in the line of duty of a duty related cardiac event on May 17, 2004.

Stephen H. Bunker, 59, of Maryland State Police, Baltimore, MD, who died in the line of duty of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident on September 28, 2008

Mickey Charles Lippy, 34, of Maryland State Police, Baltimore, MD, who died in the line of duty of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident on September 28, 2008. 

Tonya Michelle Mallard, 39, of Waldorf Volunteer Fire Dept., Waldorf, MD, who died in the line of duty of injuries sustained in a medical aviation accident on September 28, 2008.

Brian Neville, 32, of Baltimore County Fire Department, Towson, MD, who died in the line of duty of an on-duty cardiac event on October 16, 2008.

Jeanette Roseberry, 27, of Mid Maryland Transports, Hagerstown, MD, who died in the line of duty of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision on October 24, 2004

 

 

EMS crews from MRVAR volunteered to help cover the area of Rosedale VFD during the funeral of Randy Meyers. Lt. Devin Meyers and Lt. Chris Johnson staffed one unit at Rosedale VFD, while another crew staffed our second unit at out station. MRVAR, one of only two stations in Baltimore County with TWO ambulances, often assigns our second unit to help other companies during any time of need. Just another way community money helps support our community, and others in their time of need.

SUDLERSVILLE, Md. -- The call came in a little after 7 p.m.: a small appliance fire in a home on Main Street in the Eastern Shore town of Sudlersville.

Charles "Buck" Clough Jr., chief of the volunteer fire company, jumped into his pickup truck and headed toward town in a driving rain.

Moments later, dispatchers called Clough to say that the fire had been extinguished. But the chief didn't answer. And when a caller reported that a pickup had slid off the road and slammed into a grove of trees on Sudlersville Cemetery Road, the staff at the volunteer fire company feared the worst, officials said.

The 41-year-old chief, who had been a member of the fire department for 26 years, died instantly in the crash Wednesday night, said Kevin Aftung, a spokesman for the Queen Anne's County emergency management office.

All through the small town -- with its one traffic light -- phones rang as residents spread the news that the chief, a lifelong resident and member of a large extended family, had died.

"Everyone just thought the world of him," said Judy Leonard, who owns the Parkside Deli with her husband. "He was a great father and really involved in the community. We're a small town, and everybody knows everybody. We're just all pretty tore up about it."

The chief lived with his wife, Sandy, and sons, Shane and Chase, on his family's farm. His parents and his sister and her husband live a few doors away. Clough worked in the traffic engineering department in the State Highway Administration for more than 20 years, but his heart belonged to the Fire Department, residents said.

The fire station is the heart of the small town, residents say, and almost everyone has a relative who volunteers there. On Thursday, a crowd of paramedics and firefighters stood around smoking cigarettes or sitting on ambulance bumpers talking quietly. A steady stream of women brought food and potted plants.

Two ambulances bearing the station's insignia, "Sudlersville 6" were draped with garlands of black cloth. The sign in front read: "You are in our thoughts and prayers. We miss you brother."

Members of the volunteer fire company said they were too emotional to speak with reporters Thursday. Late in the morning, several firetrucks and ambulances drove in a caravan to the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore to claim the chief's body.

Funeral plans have not been completed.

At the convenience store at Phillip's Garage, at the tiny library and homes perched on the edge of wide green fields, residents of Sudlersville spoke of the chief in hushed tones throughout the day.

Rose Hutson, the postal worker who delivers mail to the 400 homes in the rural areas just outside town, said many residents waited by their mailboxes for her, wanting to hear news of Clough.

"There have been a lot of tears in here today," said Leonard at the Parkside Deli. "It's going to take everybody a long time to get back on their feet."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company regrets to announce the passing of retired Baltimore County Firefighter and life member of Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company, Randy Meyer.

 The viewings will be held at Ruck-Towson Funeral Home 1050 York Rd, Towson, MD  21204 on Tuesday 4/14/09 from 7-9 pm and Wednesday 4/15/09 from 3-5 pm & 7-9 pm.  Services will be held Thursday 4/16/09 at Ruck-Towson Funeral Home at 11 am.  Internment to follow at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens  200 East Padonia Rd, Timonium, MD  21093.
 
Per the family's request, in lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be made to the Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company  8037 Philadelphia Rd, Rosedale, MD  21237. 
 
Any member companies wishing to bring apparatus, overflow & equipment parking will be available at the Ruhl Armory 1035 York Rd, Towson, MD  21204.
 
Following services at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, we invite friends and family of Randy Meyer's to join us in remembering his life at Lantern Gardens 7830 Philadelphia Rd, Rosedale, MD  21237.

Plungers at the third annual Popsicle Plunge caught a break this year as the temperature on Saturday, March 7 reached into the high 60s, but the water temperature was still 39?F. The rise in temperatures led to more plungers and ultimately more money that went to Marshy Point Nature Center. Over $20,000 was raised as 177 people jumped into the cold waters of the Gunpowder River. This was up from the 142 plungers in 2008 that raised around $14,000. Some people went in the water individually, while others went in as a team.

One of those teams was the Katie and Wil Brady Foundation. Katie and Wil Brady were the mother and son from Perry Hall that lost their lives in a tragic car accident last fall. As a tribute, more than 30 friends and family of the Bradys formed a team and took the plunge. The Foundation raised over $1,600.

UNITS WERE ALERTED FOR A REPORT OF A DWELLING FIRE IN THE 1500 BLOCK OF CHILWORTH AVE. THE  CREW OF ENGINE 12 ARRIVED TO FIND SMOKING COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE DWELLING. CREWS MADE A  QUICK ATTACK OF THE FIRE ON THE SECOND FLOOR, SQUAD 523 ASSISTED WITH LIGHTS AND OVERHAUL.

Crews were alerted for an accident involving a car and a dump truck on Broening Hwy around noon today. Crews arrived to fine on person trapped at location inside the car. Crews made quick work to free the one patient. The status of the patient is not know at this time.

Units were dispatched for a reported building fire @ The White Square Building around 9pm. Crews arrived to fine a haze inside and determined that they had a haz-mat call and the county HazMAt team was alerted. A cleaning crew inside had mixed two cleaning products together causing a cloud to form. Command asked for 3 additional medics for the workers who were claiming problems from the cloud. The HazMat team arrived and removed the hazard and units went in service in about hour. There were no updates on the patients conditions.

The Officers & Members are proud to announce the purchase of another AED Device, to be used on Utility 529. Striving to provide the best service possible to the community, now all First Responder units are equipped with either an AED Device or Cardiac Monitor, to provide the quickest cardiac intervention if needed. Purchases like this are made possible by community donations, mail fund drive, and business donations.

Units alerted for a dwelling fire arrived to find fire showing with report of rescue. Crews on scene upgraded the fire to rescue followed by a working fire request. The working fire request brought S-523 to the scene as the RIT Team. Upon arrival command placed fire under control and started to place units in service.