NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

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INCIDENTS

United States Park Police

Coordinated Efforts Save Victims Of Flash Flood

Early on Tuesday morning, a 66-inch water main pipe broke in Montgomery County, Maryland, flooding River Road. Millions of gallons of water per minute gushed from the ruptured pipe and the roadway quickly became flooded with deep, fast-moving water rushing down the road. Several motorists were trapped in the flash flood. Maryland State Police (MSP) and United States Park Police helicopters responded along with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department. Three motorists were rescued by being hoisted by the MSP helicopter, and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue's swiftwater rescue team saved five others. One firefighter who had rescued a motorist in the fast-moving water became stranded when his boat became disabled. The crew of the Park Police ‘Eagle' helicopter, pilots Sergeant Kevin Chittick and Jeff Hertel, responded and hoisted the firefighter to safety. The water and air temperatures were very cold and the victims and rescue crews who were exposed to the elements were coated in ice. The United States Park Police work extensively with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department in training for swiftwater rescues. For a series of photos of the rescue operation, click on the link below. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Information Officer]

HYPERLINK "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122302853.html?hpid=topnews" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122302853.html?hpid=topnews

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. The internal, NPS-only version of InsideNPS can be found at: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index . The public version, called NPS Digest, can be found at: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

Virgin Islands NP - Senior protection specialist Schuler Brown will retire on December 31st after 27 years of service with the National Park Service.

Jewel Cave NP - Robert King, Jewel Cave National Monument's facility manager, will retire on January 3rd after 38 years of federal service -- all but two of those years with the National Park Service.

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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