By Susan Hunt
Baltimore County Office of Public Safety Media & Communications
Yes, firefighters do occasionally rescue cats stuck in trees, horses stuck in mud, dogs trapped in burning buildings … and, recently, a great blue heron tangled in a kite string.
Sometimes, even the most experienced rescue workers face situations not covered at the Fire-Rescue Academy. That’s what happened on Sunday, April 29, when Halethorpe’s Truck 5, under the command of Lt. Stephen Sindler, was dispatched to assist the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department with a rescue involving a great blue heron dangling by its wing from a kite string suspended between two 60-foot trees. The string had wrapped itself several times around the bird’s wing.
Now, the long-legged blue heron—almost as much a state bird as the Baltimore oriole – weighs about seven pounds and stands 4 1/2 feet tall with a wingspan of nearly 6 1/2 feet. One of the tricky things about trying to save them is that they are carnivores who kill their prey by impaling them with their blade-like beaks. This was no standard fluffy kitten rescue.
Carefully, Truck 5’s crew extended the aerial ladder between the trees. Probationary Firefighter David Hepner climbed the ladder, and—assisted by the DNR officer on the ground—pulled the string and the bird towards him. Following the DNR officer’s instructions, PFF Hepner grabbed hold of the bird, cut the string, disentangled the bird and carried the patient to the ground. Crews turned the heron over to Baltimore County Animal Control officers.
The story has a happy ending. Animal Control personnel transferred the bird to the Phoenix Wildlife Center, which treated its injuries and a few days later released it back into the wild.
What is the part of the word leadership you cannot comprehend? How can you be intelligent when you can't be objective. Go back and read what I wrote. If you do and can justify why the fire chief cannot find the time to acknowledge the great work of his employees and you see that as a positive, you too must place a different set of standards on the degrees of life. Since you claim to be an angel you would have first hand knowledge about serpents, wouldn't you? I prefer the nonsecular word snake.
Hohman on the other hand is too busy for just one paragraph, much less two.
If you had a job, you might understand that. If I'm a nobody what is a B-h-B? Is that your life's work - DUDE?
"Your voice goes unheard Buzz!" Not according to the editors. You weren't educated then and you're not now. It tough to change the stripes on a Zebra.
How long does it take to give a person an order to reply and acknowledge a good job. That is the sad part. I'm coming out with a blog called "Lifes Perilous Journey." You been through it and I am watching it take place. I wrote it hopefully so people will be prepared for anything that impacts their loved ones. You are a good caring person. Glad to have the opportunity to share some thoughts with you.
As you will notice if you read his ramblings on this site, he loves to make himself the center of attention. This was a positive article and he Buzzed it (put a negative spin on it). Buzz could ruin a wet dream!
BHB wants you to listen to his wisdom by forgetting he is talking to an adult. That gives you an indication of his attention span and upbringing. He has no opinion other than what he is told.
Al least he could have let me know the two paramedics received my thank you letter. I promised them I would send one. I wouldn't want them to think I renege on a promise.
Again Chief Hohman is a very busy man. If you want direct recognition for these paramedics and fire crews then take a few minutes and stop by the station and meet and greet with them in person. A face to face "Thank You" is always better then written words. I know personally he is proud of the job we all do.
I just wanted to say thank you in a formal way so it became part of their personnel record. There is no way for me to know that if someone fails to acknowledge my words. The chief can delegate this to subordinates which is the normal situation and how much effort can that be. Recognition for ones work means a lot. It did for me. After teaching a first grade class on how to cross and play around traffic, I received 2x3 ft. thank you signed by all the kids. I still have it.
I owe the Chief a sincere apology. With the amount of spam I receive I am careful to search all locations. I take full responsibility for my mistake. I have had my filters adjusted several times and will have to again, hopefully to avoid an issue such as this the future. I will forward my comments directly to the Chief with my apologies. In fact I will do a blog on this. I will always take responsibility for my actions including the stupid ones.
but yeah, I always manually check my spam before I trash it. gmail's filters are pretty effective, sometimes legitimate things get through.
This is the blog I just did and I'm going to do one of the FD. I owe the chief that much. http://dundalk.patch.com/blog_posts/life-is-a-perilous-journey-you-must-be-prepared
When you reach adulthood then you can criticize me.