Oct
13
La Fire Department Sends Five Strike Teams to Wildfire Sites
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Matthew Paolini asked:
California wildfires again riveted the nation’s attention during a roughly two-week period beginning in mid-October 2007. Overall responsibility for California’s efforts to prevent and fight wildfires is in the hands of CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. However, a number of local counties, ranging from Marin, Kern and Santa Barbara to Ventura, Orange and Los Angeles County, are paid by CAL FIRE to provide wildfire services nominally considered the State’s responsibility.
While most of the damage caused by the October 2007 wildfires was in San Diego County, firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) nevertheless responded to several wildfires in Los Angeles County. According to the LAFD website, firefighters from the city’s fire department rolled out to both the so-called Buckweed Fire near Agua Dulce, about twelve miles north of Los Angeles, and the so-called Canyon Fire, a brush fire about eight miles west of Los Angeles near Malibu, California. Overall, the LAFD deployed five Strike Teams comprising some 150 firefighters during the October wildfire crisis.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is considered well-equipped to serve the fire-prevention and fire-fighting needs of America’s second biggest city. Launched formally in 1886 as a paid firefighting service amalgamated from several volunteer services first formed in the 1870s, the LAFD has grown from its initial complement of four fire stations serving 50,000 residents to rank among the nation’s biggest fire departments. Today, more than 3,600 uniformed firefighters man over 100 fire stations throughout metropolitan Los Angeles, where more than four million residents rely on the LAFD for a wide range of fire prevention and firefighting services. The Department also provides EMC services, hazmat mitigation and disaster response services.
An important but often overlooked part of the the force comprises the five fire boats that protect the Port of Los Angeles. Perched on the shores of San Pedro Bay, about thirty kilometers due south of downtown Los Angeles, the Port of Los Angeles is the busiest container port in the United States with a container volume of 7.4 million TEUs in 2004, the last year for which figures of this kind are available. More than one million cruise ship passengers annually also pass through the Port, which is by far the West Coast’s largest cruise ship facility.
Five fire boats guard the Port of Los Angeles from fires that have the potential to be just as devastating as the California wildfires of 2007. The newest of these, the Warner Lawrence, is a 105-foot powerhouse capable of pumping 38,000 gallons of water per minute at heights of up to 400 feet. The Warner Lawrence replaced the LAFD’s oldest fire boat, the 78-year-old Ralph J. Scott, in April 2003.
Franklin
California wildfires again riveted the nation’s attention during a roughly two-week period beginning in mid-October 2007. Overall responsibility for California’s efforts to prevent and fight wildfires is in the hands of CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. However, a number of local counties, ranging from Marin, Kern and Santa Barbara to Ventura, Orange and Los Angeles County, are paid by CAL FIRE to provide wildfire services nominally considered the State’s responsibility.
While most of the damage caused by the October 2007 wildfires was in San Diego County, firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) nevertheless responded to several wildfires in Los Angeles County. According to the LAFD website, firefighters from the city’s fire department rolled out to both the so-called Buckweed Fire near Agua Dulce, about twelve miles north of Los Angeles, and the so-called Canyon Fire, a brush fire about eight miles west of Los Angeles near Malibu, California. Overall, the LAFD deployed five Strike Teams comprising some 150 firefighters during the October wildfire crisis.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is considered well-equipped to serve the fire-prevention and fire-fighting needs of America’s second biggest city. Launched formally in 1886 as a paid firefighting service amalgamated from several volunteer services first formed in the 1870s, the LAFD has grown from its initial complement of four fire stations serving 50,000 residents to rank among the nation’s biggest fire departments. Today, more than 3,600 uniformed firefighters man over 100 fire stations throughout metropolitan Los Angeles, where more than four million residents rely on the LAFD for a wide range of fire prevention and firefighting services. The Department also provides EMC services, hazmat mitigation and disaster response services.
An important but often overlooked part of the the force comprises the five fire boats that protect the Port of Los Angeles. Perched on the shores of San Pedro Bay, about thirty kilometers due south of downtown Los Angeles, the Port of Los Angeles is the busiest container port in the United States with a container volume of 7.4 million TEUs in 2004, the last year for which figures of this kind are available. More than one million cruise ship passengers annually also pass through the Port, which is by far the West Coast’s largest cruise ship facility.
Five fire boats guard the Port of Los Angeles from fires that have the potential to be just as devastating as the California wildfires of 2007. The newest of these, the Warner Lawrence, is a 105-foot powerhouse capable of pumping 38,000 gallons of water per minute at heights of up to 400 feet. The Warner Lawrence replaced the LAFD’s oldest fire boat, the 78-year-old Ralph J. Scott, in April 2003.
Franklin
Oct
11
6 Tips From Home Disaster Survivors
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Jill Russo Foster asked:
Looking back at 2007, it sure seems like nature had it in for the suburbs. The whole country was beset by weather related disasters. We had wildfires in Southern California, ice storms in the Midwest, and flooding in the Northeast. It was devastating for those affected, and chilling for everyone else. The damaged homes on the news were ordinary suburban homes. It was so easy to imagine it happening to us or someone we loved. The truth is that our homes are susceptible to fire and water damage. They are lovely straw houses, waiting for an accident, a little negligence, or the perfect storm.
So what should we do to prepare?
If you want to recover financially from a home disaster, there are two things you need to protect: your digital information and your physical possessions. Vanessa Wood of Design to Spec, LLC http://www.DesignToSpec.com/ was one of those unlucky people whose home was flooded on four separate occasions in 2007. She gives us three tips for protecting our digital files and connections:
1. Don’t touch that computer! Whether your computer has been under water, smoke damaged, or hit by debris, it might not be safe to touch immediately after a disaster. Unplug your computer so it will not experience a power surge when downed power is turned back on. Allow a professional PC consultant to examine the hard drive. A good consultant can recommend a sterile lab that is expert at the recovery of valuable data and files.
2. Store hard to replace records and files on a server. This could even be the same server that hosts your website. Taking this extra step may entail scanning documents and choosing to accept bank records in a digital format. Not only will you have your records in a safe location, but you will free up space in your filing cabinets and shelves. Check with your tax advisor to verify which records can be held as digital records, rather than paper.
3. Stay mobile. Stay flexible. You may not be home for awhile. You might have to handle your finances or an insurance claim from a friend’s house, library or hotel. Be sure your laptop has the programs you use everyday. Know how to forward your phone numbers to your cell phone. If you use an email address that’s derived from your internet cable service (for example, janedoe@optonline.net) know your service password so you can read emails as web mail because a storm, fire or other disaster may knock out your local cable service connection. Remember, too, that online banking services can be invaluable when trying to manage bill payments in a crisis.
What about your physical possessions? You should ask yourself how much it would cost if you had to replace all your belongings yourself. Even if you have home insurance, your initial estimate might be closer to reality than you thought. A client of mine, Julie, lost all the contents of her home when her condo complex burnt to the ground. She offers three tips for protecting and recovering your physical belongings:
1. Do not be underinsured. If you purchase big ticket items, or remodel, make sure you update your insurance policy to cover all your new additions.
2. Keep detailed records of all estimates, transactions and conversations. Julie had to go over her agent’s head to a supervisor to get the rest of the money that she was owed for her insurance claim. She was able to do this because she kept notes and copies of everything she mailed and faxed.
3. Don’t keep your important documents in your home. Keep your passport and other important documents in a safe location. Julie’s home safe didn’t withstand the heat of the fire and all was lost. If you must keep the originals at home, keep copies in a separate safe location, like a safety deposit box at your bank.
My hope is that everyone affected in the disasters of 2007 were well prepared, but I know some are probably still struggling to recover what they lost. Make sure you’re prepared for disaster by following the tips above.
Mitchell
Looking back at 2007, it sure seems like nature had it in for the suburbs. The whole country was beset by weather related disasters. We had wildfires in Southern California, ice storms in the Midwest, and flooding in the Northeast. It was devastating for those affected, and chilling for everyone else. The damaged homes on the news were ordinary suburban homes. It was so easy to imagine it happening to us or someone we loved. The truth is that our homes are susceptible to fire and water damage. They are lovely straw houses, waiting for an accident, a little negligence, or the perfect storm.
So what should we do to prepare?
If you want to recover financially from a home disaster, there are two things you need to protect: your digital information and your physical possessions. Vanessa Wood of Design to Spec, LLC http://www.DesignToSpec.com/ was one of those unlucky people whose home was flooded on four separate occasions in 2007. She gives us three tips for protecting our digital files and connections:
1. Don’t touch that computer! Whether your computer has been under water, smoke damaged, or hit by debris, it might not be safe to touch immediately after a disaster. Unplug your computer so it will not experience a power surge when downed power is turned back on. Allow a professional PC consultant to examine the hard drive. A good consultant can recommend a sterile lab that is expert at the recovery of valuable data and files.
2. Store hard to replace records and files on a server. This could even be the same server that hosts your website. Taking this extra step may entail scanning documents and choosing to accept bank records in a digital format. Not only will you have your records in a safe location, but you will free up space in your filing cabinets and shelves. Check with your tax advisor to verify which records can be held as digital records, rather than paper.
3. Stay mobile. Stay flexible. You may not be home for awhile. You might have to handle your finances or an insurance claim from a friend’s house, library or hotel. Be sure your laptop has the programs you use everyday. Know how to forward your phone numbers to your cell phone. If you use an email address that’s derived from your internet cable service (for example, janedoe@optonline.net) know your service password so you can read emails as web mail because a storm, fire or other disaster may knock out your local cable service connection. Remember, too, that online banking services can be invaluable when trying to manage bill payments in a crisis.
What about your physical possessions? You should ask yourself how much it would cost if you had to replace all your belongings yourself. Even if you have home insurance, your initial estimate might be closer to reality than you thought. A client of mine, Julie, lost all the contents of her home when her condo complex burnt to the ground. She offers three tips for protecting and recovering your physical belongings:
1. Do not be underinsured. If you purchase big ticket items, or remodel, make sure you update your insurance policy to cover all your new additions.
2. Keep detailed records of all estimates, transactions and conversations. Julie had to go over her agent’s head to a supervisor to get the rest of the money that she was owed for her insurance claim. She was able to do this because she kept notes and copies of everything she mailed and faxed.
3. Don’t keep your important documents in your home. Keep your passport and other important documents in a safe location. Julie’s home safe didn’t withstand the heat of the fire and all was lost. If you must keep the originals at home, keep copies in a separate safe location, like a safety deposit box at your bank.
My hope is that everyone affected in the disasters of 2007 were well prepared, but I know some are probably still struggling to recover what they lost. Make sure you’re prepared for disaster by following the tips above.
Mitchell
Oct
8
Why Should you Invest in a Dating Coach?
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Wildfire Marketing Group asked:
Why should you invest in a dating coach? Because attracting the type of women you want to date isn’t that easy, and attracting the ones you don’t is. Let’s face it, women are hard to figure out. And if we were to figure them out, this could lead to having the type of healthy, romantic relationship that few have. Stop settling, and put and end to loneliness with valuable advice from one of the nation’s premier dating coaches, Brad Finsilver, The Date Mentor.
Brad Finsilver, who headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, ran two successful businesses in the mortgage and lending industries when he met an amazing woman. However, after months of courtship, she became the one who got away when she broke his heart and left him for another man – one who did not treat her right and eventually left her! Confused and alone, Brad vowed to figure out what went wrong. Without a business in mind, Brad went on a two-year personal journey that included a lot of reading, interviews with men and women alike, and dates with many women from all walks of life. During that time, he learned a lot about what women really want, and even more importantly, what they respond to. When his education was complete, the impact on his life was so great that Brad felt compelled to share his happiness with others by becoming a professional dating and relationship coach.
What types of things can you learn from The Date Mentor? For one thing, confidence. Confidence comes from skill, and skill comes from practicing doing the “right” things. Brad will coach you through many dating situations, both simulated and real, to help you overcome any insecurities you may feel about approaching and interacting with women. Your journey will continue until you are prepared to enter into any dating situation and evoke attraction. One you are confident in your ability to attract women in general, you and The Date Mentor will zone in on attracting the types of women you are most interested in meeting.
Don’t dwell on the dating disasters of your past. Take control of your romantic future by learning from Brad Finsilver, a professional relationship and dating coach.
Bruce
Why should you invest in a dating coach? Because attracting the type of women you want to date isn’t that easy, and attracting the ones you don’t is. Let’s face it, women are hard to figure out. And if we were to figure them out, this could lead to having the type of healthy, romantic relationship that few have. Stop settling, and put and end to loneliness with valuable advice from one of the nation’s premier dating coaches, Brad Finsilver, The Date Mentor.
Brad Finsilver, who headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, ran two successful businesses in the mortgage and lending industries when he met an amazing woman. However, after months of courtship, she became the one who got away when she broke his heart and left him for another man – one who did not treat her right and eventually left her! Confused and alone, Brad vowed to figure out what went wrong. Without a business in mind, Brad went on a two-year personal journey that included a lot of reading, interviews with men and women alike, and dates with many women from all walks of life. During that time, he learned a lot about what women really want, and even more importantly, what they respond to. When his education was complete, the impact on his life was so great that Brad felt compelled to share his happiness with others by becoming a professional dating and relationship coach.
What types of things can you learn from The Date Mentor? For one thing, confidence. Confidence comes from skill, and skill comes from practicing doing the “right” things. Brad will coach you through many dating situations, both simulated and real, to help you overcome any insecurities you may feel about approaching and interacting with women. Your journey will continue until you are prepared to enter into any dating situation and evoke attraction. One you are confident in your ability to attract women in general, you and The Date Mentor will zone in on attracting the types of women you are most interested in meeting.
Don’t dwell on the dating disasters of your past. Take control of your romantic future by learning from Brad Finsilver, a professional relationship and dating coach.
Bruce