The Internet Edition- Vol. 1 Issue
28
|
|
|
The Internet Edition- Vol. 1 Issue
28
|
Boca Grande Fire Department Gets New Truck
By Jim Tucker
| Boca
Grande Fire Department -- The new pumper arrived Tuesday and has
enough equipment on it that firefighter Peter Kirvin thinks "it
will be at least a month before we can get everything out of boxes
and properly stored."
There is extraction equipment designed for auto crashes, the famous "jaws of life" and thermal imaging cameras to help find victims in fire situations. The pumper has a 1,250 gallon per minute capacity and a snorkel unit to project a high pressure stream of water at a burning structure. There is also a foam capability for gas fires.There are training sessions ahead for the BG firefighters to learn to maximize the truck 's capabilities. Cost of the vehicle is $310,000 funded through the Boca Grande Fire Control District. "We have budgeted for this over several years," said Chief Dave Edmonds. "We wanted equipment that will serve multiple emergency needs and last."The large bell on the front service deck just begs for a chrome tarpon to go along with the vehicle 's name, it’s the "Silver King." |
 |
Turtle Patrol Excavates First Nest of Season:
|
from the nest a tiny turtle was swarming with fire ants. It was too far away to determine if it had come from the excavated nest but that was the presumption. A small crowd gathered the watch the excavation and were lead to a new green turtle nest, a rarity on Gasparilla Island. Green turtle crawls are distinguished by the wider track of parallel flipper marks, the nests are much larger and more sand is thrown around than at a loggerhead nest. There are currently 4 green turtle nests recorded of 131 total. Nesting on Gasparilla Island ranges from 50-180 averaging 100. Grace Harvey was able to turn the routine of recording the site into a classroom when several vacationing youngsters showed up to watch. She put them to work counting eggshells and recovering the nest. Both Kathleen Rohrer and Grace Harvey remind vacationers and islanders that nesting can be disturbed by objects like beach chairs and umbrellas left on the beach overnight. Lighting visible from the beach confuses hatchlings and can result in them moving inland to die instead of out to sea to live. If you 're on the beach at night and are lucky enough to witness a turtle nesting: Do not approach. Do Not use flash photography or flashlights. Quietly observe from a distance. Noises and lights can startle a sea turtle and cause her to abandon the nest.
|
 |
| Page 5 The Boca Banner 7/22/05 |
