NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, January 19, 2012

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Concession Cabin Fire Suppressed

On the morning of January 11th, the Teton County and Grand Teton NP dispatch offices were notified that an employee housing unit at the Triangle X ranch was filled with smoke. Apparatus and personnel responded from both Jackson Hole Fire/EMS and Grand Teton National Park. The Triangle X ranch is an NPS-owned historic dude ranch operated by the Turner family under a concession contract. It is located halfway between the South and North District ranger stations, so units from both areas responded. The first ranger arriving on scene reported heavy smoke in the cabin but no open flames. The occupant of the building advised that he had opened the doors of the two room log cabin and gone into the crawl space where the fire originated to remove personal belongings. Grand Teton Engine Company 1 was the first apparatus on scene, followed by a water tender from Jackson Fire/EMS Station 4 out of Moran. Initial attack crews entered the structure and crawl space using a thermal imaging detector but found no active heat sources. After positive pressure ventilation was utilized to ventilate the building and crawl space, crews reentered and followed considerable damage/heat patterns in the crawl space to a corner where a partially melted household extension cord was located along with charred personal belongings. In discussions with the occupant, firefighters learned that he had run the extension cord from an outlet in the living area to the crawl space to power a portable baseboard heater. In order to fit the cord through a small hole, though, he had to cut and splice it. Since the electrical load rating of the heater was higher than the rated load for the extension cord, it was determined that the cord and splice were the cause of the fire. The incident was complicated by a foot of snow on the ground, temperatures initially at 5 degrees, a one-lane road into the housing area, and a considerable amount of hunting ammunition stored in the crawl space. The first firefighters entering the crawl space and using a gas detector found high levels of carbon monoxide with reduced oxygen. While the limited oxygen caused the fire to burn out, the occupant could have easily succumbed to carbon monoxide when he entered the space without any PPE. Incident command was fully utilized during this incident with an NPS IC, joint NPS/Jackson fire operations, and a managed staging area for incoming personnel and equipment. [Patrick Hattaway, North District Ranger]

Saint Croix NXR

Ranger Successfully Intervenes In Suicide Attempt

Ranger Steve Pederson was patrolling the Highway 70 Landing on January 14th when he came upon a mini-van with a plastic hose leading from the exhaust pipe to the rear door. When Pederson tried to contact the driver, he fled. Pederson was able to stop the van on Highway 70 and detained the driver for Burnett County sheriff's deputies. They identified the 34-year-old driver and found he was the subject of a be-on-the-lookout message from Ramsey County, Minnesota. He was taken to Burnett County Medical Center in Grantsburg, stabilized, and then taken to the Cumberland Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. [Scott Carrigan, Acting Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Olympic NP - Contractors have made considerable headway in diminishing the size of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, with both now about half their former heights.

Saguaro NP - The park joined many community partners in an event held on January 7th commemorating the shooting tragedy that occurred on January 8, 2011, killing six people and injuring thirteen, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Intermountain Region - Intermountain Regional Office has created a SharePoint site with images of flags at half staff at parks and offices around the country in honor of Ranger Margaret Anderson. A link is provided to the page.

Mather Training Center - As part of the implementation of the NPS Learning and Development strategic plan, work has begun on a Visitor and Resource Protection Career Academy.

Capitol Reef NP - Riley Ann Mitchell, 58, recently retired chief of interpretation at Capitol Reef, died on Thursday, January 5th, at Hospice House of Holland, Michigan.

NPS Alumni - Mary Coelho, who worked for the NPS for 24 years and is currently a budget analyst for the Fish and Wildlife Service, is retiring on January 31st.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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