Oak Ridge Today

With new ISO rating, ORFD among top in nation

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Darryl Kerley

ORFD Chief Darryl Kerley

Improvement could lower commercial rates in particular, help recruitment

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has been notified by the Insurance Service Office that the fire protection rating for the department will be improving to a Class 2, a press release said.

ISO has been evaluating and assigning fire protection ratings to fire departments since 1971. Insurance companies use the fire protection ratings to determine home owners and business insurance premiums. ISO evaluates fire department equipment, station locations, training, fire prevention efforts, and many other factors to assign a protection rating.

The ORFD has held a Class 3 rating for nearly 15 years but will now be a Class 2 department effective June 1, 2014. According to information from ISO, of the 47,250 fire departments across the country, less than 650 obtain a rating of Class 2 rating or better. [Read more…]

Dry cleaner with hole in roof has 10 days to vacate; other shops have 60 days

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Classic Cleaners

Located in a small shopping center on Tyler and Tyrone roads, Classic Cleaners was given 10 days to vacate after the city staff said it found very serious code violations and structural issues in the building, which also houses a handful of other businesses.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:40 p.m.

City officials have deemed a building housing five businesses in central Oak Ridge to be deteriorated and hazardous, and a municipal board has given a longtime dry cleaner located in the small shopping center on Tyrone Road 10 days to vacate.

Meanwhile, a few other businesses also located there—a thrift store, wig shop, and Mexican grocery—have been given 60 days to come up with a plan of action outlining what can be done to stabilize the building.

The order from the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals does not affect the Magic Wok, but it does apply to the restaurant’s food preparation and overflow dining areas.

The partially occupied 50,000-square-feet building is at 123 and 135 E. Tyrone Road, just north of Oak Ridge Turnpike near Jackson Square. It includes Classic Cleaners, Mia’s Gift Shop and Accessories, the New 2 U Thrift Store, and Tienda Nony International Marketplace. The Magic Wok diner is detached from the building and is not affected by the order, which was unanimously approved last Thursday. [Read more…]

No damage to house in Monday afternoon chimney fire

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Louisiana Avenue Chimney Fire

There was no damage to a Louisiana Avenue home that had a Monday afternoon chimney fire. (Photo by Tom Scott)

There was no damage to a Louisiana Avenue home during a chimney fire on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The chimney fire occurred at about 4:55 p.m. Monday at 330 Louisiana Ave., Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. The fire was contained in the chimney with no damage to the house, Kerley said.

A Hero’s Welcome: Community thanks soldier returning from Afghanistan

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Welcome Home Sgt. Neal Martin

An estimated 150 people welcome home U.S. Army Sgt. Neal Martin, who served 10 months in Afghanistan.

It might have been the first organized welcome-home ceremony for a veteran returning home from overseas in more than two decades. Organizers hope it won’t be the last.

An impromptu, grassroots ceremony on Monday morning welcomed home U.S. Army Sgt. Neal Martin, who returned to Oak Ridge after serving for 10 months in Afghanistan.

Val Emery, a friend of Martin’s wife Julie Martin, was the chief organizer.

“Every soldier deserves a hero’s welcome,” said Emery, who described herself as a “military brat” whose grandfather was killed in Laos in 1966 and has his name inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. [Read more…]

Firehouse Subs Foundation donates equipment to ORFD, Roane County

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Firehouse Subs and Oak Ridge Fire Department Thermal Imaging Camera

Above, representatives of Firehouse Subs present a $10,000 thermal imaging camera to the Oak Ridge Fire Department in January. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Fire Department)

Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation recently donated a thermal imaging camera worth more than $10,000 to Oak Ridge Fire Department.

The foundation also donated first-aid kits and six automated external defibrillators, worth a total of more than $10,200, to Roane County Sheriff’s Office.

The equipment was presented in ceremonies at Firehouse Subs in Oak Ridge and Lenoir City.

The thermal imaging camera donated to ORFD will detect body heat and hot spots in burning buildings, allowing firefighters to reach victims quickly and put out deadly fires. [Read more…]

No injuries, but residents briefly evacuated for small fire at assisted living center

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Patriot Park Assisted Living Fire

Firefighters remove water from Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road after putting out a small bed fire Friday evening.

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

There were no injuries, but residents were briefly evacuated after a bed caught fire at an assisted living center in west Oak Ridge on Friday.

The fire at Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road was reported at about 6 p.m. Friday. The building’s sprinkler system kept it in check, and crews were able to put out the fire, which was confined to one room, in about three minutes with a 1.75-inch water line, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

There were 13 patients and two staff members in the building. Patients were put into ambulances and checked out, and everyone was okay, Kerley said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. [Read more…]

Driver dies after vehicle crashes into tree on Lafayette Drive

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Lafayette Drive Fatal Crash into Tree

A southbound Toyota 4Runner crashed into a tree in the median of Lafayette Drive Thursday morning, and the driver died on the way to a Knoxville hospital. Above, workers remove the tree from the road after the driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

The driver of a Toyota 4Runner died on the way to a Knoxville hospital Thursday morning after crashing into a tree on Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash occurred at about 9:22 a.m. Thursday on Lafayette Drive between Hendrix Drive and South Illinois Avenue, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. The red sports utility vehicle was driving south when it left the roadway and struck a tree in the median between the southbound and northbound lanes.

“The driver was removed from the vehicle and was unresponsive when police and rescue arrived,” the ORPD said. “The driver of the vehicle expired while being transported to University of Tennessee Hospital. No further information will be released pending notification of family members, and the investigation remains ongoing.” [Read more…]

Firehouse Subs donates equipment to Oak Ridge Fire Department, Roane County sheriff

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Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation is donating  $20,000 worth of much-needed equipment to the Oak Ridge Fire Department and Roane County Sheriff’s Office, a press release said.

Events are planned in Oak Ridge on Wednesday and Lenoir City on Thursday to celebrate the donations of the life-saving tools, the release said.

The ORFD is receiving a thermal imaging camera, worth more than $10,000.

“The donated camera will detect body heat and hot spots in burning buildings, allowing firefighters to reach victims quickly and put out deadly fires,” the release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department recognized for exceptional fire prevention programs

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Darryl Kerley

Darryl Kerley

Josh Waldo

Josh Waldo

The Oak Ridge Fire Prevention Office has been named Tennessee Fire Educators of the Year for 2013, officials said Wednesday.

The department was nominated by Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley in “recognition of the outstanding efforts put forth by the Fire Prevention staff this year,” a press release said.

Oak Ridge officials was notified of the honor by the State Fire Marshal’s office.

“The nomination was selected above all others from across the state, recognizing the tremendous education and outreach efforts accomplished by the Oak Ridge Fire Department,” said Assistant Commissioner Gary West of the Fire Prevention Division in the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. [Read more…]

Frozen sprinkler pipes burst, flood buildings across Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Fire Department at Heritage Fellowship

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responds to a report of a frozen sprinkler system that burst at Heritage Fellowship on Tuesday afternoon.

Frozen sprinkler pipes burst and flooded buildings across Oak Ridge on Tuesday as a frigid arctic air mass lingered over parts of the central and eastern United States.

Oak Ridge firefighters said it’s likely there will be more calls on Wednesday as temperatures rise and frozen pipes thaw.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley provided a list of buildings where frozen sprinkler systems had burst. They included St. Mary’s School, the back side of the Staples building, a building at the Pine Ridge office complex, Centennial Village Apartments, a U.S. Department of Energy building on Laboratory Road, UBS Financial on East Tennessee Avenue, Weatherford Mortuary, Courtyards at Briarcliff, and Heritage Fellowship on North Illinois Avenue. [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…]