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Home Fire Dangers Rise as Temperatures Fall
It may be cold now but it's going to get a lot colder later this week. With single digit temperatures in the forecast, the Tulsa Fire Department wants to remind people about the dangers of using alternative heat sources to supplement their furnaces. The department's Bill French says if you use fireplaces, wood stoves or space heaters, beware. He calls space heaters the most dangerous of all. French says the department recommends such heating sources be no closer than three feet to anything that could possibly burn. He also says they need to be where you can keep an eye on them and must be out by the time you go to bed. French also wants to remind people that large, industrial type space heaters that use diesel or kerosene for fuel put out large amounts of carbon monoxide so the heating units themselves must stay outside.
Budget Crisis Could “Gut” Police and Fire
Both the Tulsa Police and Fire Chiefs told worried city councilors today that layoffs might be inevitable, because of a pronounced and prolonged budget deficit. "I mean we've already laid off numerous civilians. We've take a pay cut. We've shut the helicopter unit. We've shut down the horse patrol," Tusla Police Chief Ron Palmer said. He said there are very few remaining places to cut. City councilors grilled Palmer about the amount of upper management within the police department, but the Chief disputes the notion that Tulsa Police are "top-heavy". He said that even if 25-percent of the top brass were removed, there would still have to be 111 rank-and-file officers laid off to make the necessary budget cuts. The police department has been told by the Mayor's Office it might have to cut as much as $3.4 million from its budget. The figure for the fire department is $1.2 million.
Police: Dispute over Bulldogs led to Man’s Death
They are mourning the death of a hometown soldier in Shattuck, OK. 19 year old Private John Dion was one of three U.S. soldiers killed during a battle on Sunday in Ashoque, Afghanistan. Coby Nelson, Dion's high school principal says the 2009 graduate was his starting center fielder on the baseball team for two years and played on a couple of state championship football teams. Nelson says Dion was a good leader and brought a work ethic they were trying to instill. He says Dion came to Shattuck from California but was able fit in within a couple of weeks. Nelson says at the school they are remaining positive and remembering the good times.
Cold Problem Headache for Water Crews
These cold temperatures bring problems for city crews-- water line breaks. "It is normal when we see these temperatures that dip down close to the single digits for us to see a big spike in water line breaks," says Bob Bledsoe with the city of Tulsa. A water line break at Harvard and Admiral was streaming water into the street after it happened about 11pm Monday and was still not fixed Tuesday morning. Bledsoe says, "It is because we have 20-something breaks reported yesterday and we have only had 6 crews available and they are moving from one to the next as they can. So, there may be some breaks that go unattended for awhile." Bledsoe says with this week's forecast, the city expects to see more problems with water lines.
Cardiac Patients to Get a Cool Down
This time of year you would think EMSA would want to keep patients warm. However starting this week cardiac arrest patients will be getting a cool down. It could save their lives. It's called induced hypothermia, and it involves applying ice packs and pumping chilled saline solution through the bodies of cardiac arrest patients. This lowers the patient's metabolism and helps preserve neurological function. EMSA Paramedic/Clinical Educator Micheal Kisler points out it is not a new technique but it is not common for the cooling down process to be used in the pre-hospital setting. EMSA's goal is to make sure patients that survive cardiac arrest are able to return to work and their family life without debilitating brain damage.
More City Budget Cuts Coming January 15th
The Tulsa City Council will discuss the budget today and then take public comment at their regular weekly meeting on Thursday. The mayor says the city needs to cut $10-million and put layoffs into effect on January 15th. The changes could thin out police investigations and specialty units to keep officers on the street. The fire department restructuring could eliminate hazmat and shift more responsibility for medical calls to EMSA. The council plans to vote on the changes next week.
Water Main Breaks Could Cause Problems for Rush Hour Drivers
Drivers should expect delay this morning during rush hour due to a water main break at Admiral and Harvard. The News On 6's Gary Kruse says it's going to be pretty slick from all the water frozen overnight. Kruse says, "An overnight water break in the northbound lanes of Harvard has produced water that started freezing on both the north and southbound lanes and also into the intersection." He says another water main break is between Yale and Sheridan in the 5900 block of East 27th Place. He says expect that neighborhood street to be slick and ice-covered.
Panel OKs Overlay for New Eastern Okla. Area Code
Residents of eastern Oklahoma will have to get used to a new telephone area code but won't have to change their phone numbers. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 2-1 on Monday in favor of an ``overlay'' plan for the new 539 area code. New customers and phone lines will be assigned the new 539 area code no earlier than April 1, 2011, while existing customers will keep their current 918 area code numbers. Commissioners Bob Anthony and Jeff Cloud voted for the plan, while Dana Murphy opposed it. The area now served by the 918 area code includes metropolitan Tulsa and is expected to run out of telephone numbers sometime in the second quarter of 2012.
Tulsa Transit is Collecting Coats for Homeless Teens
Tulsa Transit is teaming up with Youth Services of Tulsa to provide coats for homeless teens. Tulsa Transit's Cynthia Staab says you can drop off coats all month long at their stations at 4th and Denver and 33rd and Memorial. She says they're also collecting coats at their administrative offices at 5th and Rockford. Staab says if you drop of a coat in good condition you get two free bus rides. She says they've already delivered four bags of coats.
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