Oak Ridge Today

Police: Trailer came loose from truck before crashing into car on Friday

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Car-Trailer-Crash-Emory-Valley-Road-Sept-2-2016-1-Web

The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said. It took the Oak Ridge Fire Department and rescuers about 55 minutes to free the female driver pinned inside the car, and they used a tow truck to help lift the trailer and loader to take weight off the driver, Mindy Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The crash between a car and trailer with a small loader on it on Emory Valley Road on Friday happened after the trailer came loose from a truck hitch and crossed into an oncoming lane, where it hit the car, authorities said.

The 1994 GMC truck was being driven east on Emory Valley Road at about 5:29 p.m. Friday by Gerald D. Cureton, 71, of Knoxville, when the two-vehicle crash occurred at Carnegie Drive, according to an Oak Ridge Police Department crash report.

The truck was towing a trailer with a small Case four-wheeled skid steer loader.

Headed west, in the opposite direction, was Arminda “Mindy” Carter, 32, of Oak Ridge. She was driving a 2010 Toyota Camry four-door sedan, the report said.

As the two vehicles approached the intersection, the trailer came free of the hitch used to secure it to the truck, according to the ORPD crash report. [Read more…]

ORFD, AC EMS, UT Lifestar honored for helping to save cyclist

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Oak Ridge Fire Department at Star of Life 2015

Members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department at the 2015 Star of Life Awards in Nashville in May. Among those honored from Region 2 were Oak Ridge firefighters (starting at second from left) Marty Griffith, Eric Mocsari, Steven London, Duane Chase, and Thomas Giles. (Submitted photo)

 

NASHVILLE—The Oak Ridge Fire Department, Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, and University of Tennessee Lifestar have been honored for helping to save a cyclist after a medical emergency on Bethel Valley Road in March 2014.

Thomas Berg experienced a sudden medical emergency while on a bicycle ride on March 30, 2014, causing him to crash in the middle of Bethel Valley Road, a press release said.

David Smallwood was riding with Berg, and Smallwood called 911 and began CPR as soon as he saw the crash. Emergency crews from the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Anderson County EMS responded, and they found Berg in cardiac arrest, the release said.

Berg was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by UT Lifestar.

“Today, Mr. Berg has made a full recovery and is once again enjoying cycling,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Four workers evaluated, released after electrical fire at Toxco

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Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Engine at Toxco

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to a small, intense electrical fire on Thursday morning at Toxco, a company that processes low-level radioactive waste. The fire was in a one-story metal building at the back of the company’s site on Flint Road.

 

Four workers were evaluated for minor respiratory issues and released after a small, intense electrical fire was reported at a company that repackages low-level radioactive waste in central Oak Ridge on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The fire at Toxco Materials Management Center on Flint Road was reported at about 11:03 a.m. Thursday. It was in a large one-story metal building at the back of the site, said Marty Griffith, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief.

Electrical equipment inside the building was on fire, and the only way to put it out was to disconnect power, which the Oak Ridge Electric Department did, Griffith said. He said the area where the fire occurred is used to repackage waste, and it is fed by 440 volts of electricity.

Once the power was disconnected, firefighters were able to put out the fire with fire extinguishers. [Read more…]

Updated: Driver injured, pulled from van crash that sparks gas line fire

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Car Crash and Gas Line Fire Oak Ridge Turnpike

The male driver of this Honda Odyssey minivan was taken to the hospital after he crashed into a wooded area alongside Oak Ridge Turnpike and sparked a gas line fire. The area of the gas line fire is in the left foreground.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:05 p.m.

A male driver was taken to the hospital after a westbound minivan went down a small embankment on the north side of Oak Ridge Turnpike, crashed into a wooded area, and sparked a gas line fire on the east end of town.

Driver Thomas Debusk, 43, of Knoxville, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, the Oak Ridge Police Department said.

The cause of the crash, reported at about 1:43 p.m., was not immediately known. The gold 2003 Honda Odyssey van driven by Debusk struck an aboveground natural gas pipeline in a small basin below Oak Ridge Turnpike and next to the parking lot at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is across from Tractor Supply. [Read more…]

IHOP briefly closed after cooking equipment sets off sprinkler system

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IHOP restaurant in Oak Ridge was briefly closed Thursday afternoon after heat from cooking equipment set off the sprinkler system, authorities said.

On Thursday afternoon, employees said they expected the restaurant to reopen at about 5 p.m.

Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Griffith said heat from a cooker (a deep fryer) that had been moved out from under a hood Thursday afternoon melted what’s known as a fusible link in a sprinkler head, setting off the sprinkler. There was no active fire, but there was minimal water damage, Griffith said.

He said the water would have to be cleaned up, and the health department would have to inspect the restaurant.

Driver cut from vehicle, taken to UT after crashing into power pole

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Old Edgemoor Road Power Pole

The Oak Ridge Electric Department installs a new utility pole after a driver crashed into the old one and broke it on Old Edgemoor Road on Thursday morning.

A driver had to be cut from his upside-down SUV and taken to the hospital on Thursday morning after he crashed into a guide wire on a utility pole on Old Edgemoor Road, traveled up the wire, and then hit the pole and broke it, authorities said.

The Mercury Mountaineer likely went about 10 feet in the air and then fell on its top, crushing the roof, said Marty Griffith, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief. Electrical lines landed on top of the vehicle, and the Oak Ridge Electric Department was called to turn off the power.

Griffith said the driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville with a head laceration. He did not have any other obvious injuries. Griffith said the man might have had a medical emergency before the crash. [Read more…]

Small electrical fire displaces two dozen Applewood residents

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Applewood Apartments Building Residents

A small electrical fire at the Applewood Apartments on Hillside Road around noon Thursday displaced about two dozen residents. Above, Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Griffith talks to residents. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A small electrical fire at the Applewood Apartments on Hillside Road around noon Thursday displaced about two dozen residents, authorities said.

The fire was caused by an electrical short in the main power supply leading into the distribution system in the basement of a building at 184 Hillside Road, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

The fire at the basement fuse box was quickly extinguished with an extinguisher, ORFD Battalion Chief Marty Griffith said. He said a circuit breaker did its job, turning off power and minimizing damage. [Read more…]

Four Oak Ridge fire officers receive national accreditation

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Darryl Kerley

Darryl Kerley

Josh Waldo

Josh Waldo

The Center for Public Safety Excellence has notified four officers of the Oak Ridge Fire Department that they have received national accreditation, a press release said.

ORFD Fire Chief Darryl Kerley and Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo have been notified that they have been approved for the designation of chief fire officer, the release said. Battalion chiefs Marty Griffith and Joseph Durham have been approved for the designation of fire officer. [Read more…]

Man uses water bottle, clothing to put out stovetop fire

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An Oak Ridge man used a water bottle and clothing to put out a fire that started after he fell asleep while cooking chicken fat on his stove early Monday morning, authorities said.

Walter H. Starnes said there was smoke in the home on North Alabama Road when he woke up, and he used a water bottle to extinguish a cabinet fire and clothing to smother a fire in a pot on a stove, according to a report by Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Griffith. [Read more…]

Small fire at EMS station goes out when power cut

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Anderson County EMS Fire

The Oak Ridge fire and electric departments respond to a small fire in a meter box at the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services Station 2 on Raleigh Road. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A small fire at a meter box at the Anderson County Emergency Medical Services station on Raleigh Road went out when the power to the building was cut, authorities said.

The electrical fire occurred at ACEMS Station 2 at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.

Weather had caused a service line to spark, said Josh Waldo, Oak Ridge Fire Department assistant fire chief. There was no damage to the building, which once housed the Oak Ridge Fire Department Alarm Office.

[Read more…]

Griffith promoted to ORFD battalion chief

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Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley has promoted Marty Griffith to battalion chief.

A city press release said Griffith has more 14 years of experience in fire, rescue, and emergency medical services. He was one of five Oak Ridge Fire Department employees who sought the job, which was open due to a recent retirement.

[Read more…]