Rescuers safely extract three kayakers and canoeists from rushing Huron River

by Geoff Larcom | The Ann Arbor News

Saturday June 27, 2009, 4:18 PM

Rescuers plucked three people from the fast-moving waters of the Huron River in Washtenaw County Friday night and Saturday morning after canoe or kayak mishaps.

The first rescue occurred Friday night near Dexter-Huron Metropark northwest of Ann Arbor after a man's kayak became entangled in the branches of a tree in the river, said Keith DeZwaan, supervisor of the Marine Division of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.

The man had been paddling with a group of others in canoes and kayaks down the Huron around 9:30 p.m. Two others had been able to get out of the river, DeZwaan said, but the high water pushed the man's kayak up against the branches in the near darkness.

Rescuers launched a boat into the river and went downstream to get the man, who was treated for bumps and scrapes and released, DeZwaan said.

The second incident occurred near Island Park in Ann Arbor late this morning, when a man and woman whose canoe had capsized were rescued from a dead tree in the water by members of the Sheriff's Department and the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

Police used a boat and needed a piece of rope to stabilize the craft in the water during the rescue. It took three trips to complete the rescue but the couple suffered no injuries, a news release from the Ann Arbor Fire Department said.

The man and woman from Ann Arbor were traveling with another couple, and the group had rented canoes from the canoe livery at Argo Pond, DeZwaan said.

He urged extreme caution when the river is as high as it is now, because the rising water causes more shoreline trees to fall into the river, creating more obstacles. If you are not an experienced paddler, think twice about going on the river when the water is this high, DeZwaan said

Updated: Police release name of worker killed at Mott Hospital construction site

by Art Aisner | The Ann Arbor News

Monday June 22, 2009, 1:51 PM

Alan Warren | The Ann Arbor NewsThe exterior of the new C.S. Mott Children's Hospital under construction on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. A worker was killed this morning when when construction materials fell on him.

Authorities have identified the man killed in a construction accident this morning at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital site in Ann Arbor as Gary Winisky Jr., 48.

Winisky, of Garden City, died at the emergency room of the University of Michigan Medical Center shortly after a heavy load of roofing materials fell from a crane and struck him, U-M police spokeswoman Diane Brown said.

Construction at the site has ceased for the remainder of the day while police and U-M building officials investigate.

"We are shocked and saddened by this terrible loss," U-M Health System CEO Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, said in a written statement.

This was the third fatal construction accident on the U-M campus in the past 16 months.

In late February 2008, a masonry worker fell 38 feet from scaffolding and was killed at the site of the expansion of the U-M Museum of Art. Investigators for the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration later fined the masonry company $62,000 and cited it for four violations of state safety statutes, saying it knowingly disregarded proper safety procedures.

In August, a 31-year-old Jackson man fell five stories down an elevator shaft at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business addition.

A fourth man was injured but survived a fall at the ongoing construction at Michigan Stadium.

Downed branches likely cause of Ann Arbor house fire

by From staff reports

Saturday June 20, 2009, 8:55 PM

At least two men escaped a rental house on the 800 block of Sybil Street in Ann Arbor that sustained heavy smoke and fire damage on Saturday evening.

Around 6 p.m., Ann Arbor Fire Department firefighters responded to reports of fallen tree branches that had pulled down some electrical wires.

While in the area, they began smelling smoke and found the basement of a nearby house was on fire.

It's suspected the fire started because of wires being pulled away from the house, said Battalion Chief Robert Vogel.

There was no estimate yet of how much in damages the fire caused.

by Judy McGovern | The Ann Arbor News

Thursday June 18, 2009, 6:34 AM

Washtenaw County's largest fire department joins a regional dispatching system next month.

Ann Arbor's move to contract with Huron Valley Ambulance for fire dispatching is expected to prevent unnecessary calls for service and reduce labor, city officials say.

It will ultimately reduce the city's costs - but just how much remains to be seen, said Police Chief Barnett Jones, who oversees all safety services for the city.

"We'll know after we get in to it," he said.

Firefighters currently respond along with HVA paramedics to calls where an illness or accident is believed to be life-threatening. Dispatchers at HVA are better trained to make that judgment, said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Dziubinski.

Eliminating fire department responses to calls that don't rise to that level will save fuel, wear and tear on vehicles, and time, Dziubinski said.

The city's two-year contract with HVA bases payment on the volume of calls. The cost for fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11 is about $100,000 a year.

The nonprofit HVA serves most of Washtenaw and parts of Wayne and Oakland counties. It already dispatches for nine fire departments in Washtenaw County. Pittsfield Township and Ypsilanti are among those that still operate their own dispatch centers.

The city's police and fire departments have shared a dispatch center for about six years. The 23 dispatch positions will remain with the police department, Jones said.

City and county officials are working on a plan to consolidate police dispatch services, which county officials project could reduce costs by $6.4 million over 10 years.

The Huron Valley Ambulance Board of Trustees has agreed to build an addition for dispatch operations at its headquarters off State Circle in Pittsfield Township. The new center could open as early as the spring of 2010.

The city also expects its new contract with HVA will result in $89,000 in start-up costs for IT and telecommunications. Dziubinski said the costs can be covered in the department's existing budget and may be lower than predicted.

Judy McGovern can be reached at 734-994-6863 or jmcgovern@annarbornews.com.

Gas line break forces evacuation of homes on Ann Arbor's south side

by Art Aisner | The Ann Arbor News

Friday June 05, 2009, 8:35 AM

Residents of six homes on Ann Arbor's south side were evacuated after a construction crew struck a natural gas line Thursday afternoon, reports said.

A contractor with Carver Construction who was using a mini excavator struck and ruptured the natural gas line on Trowbridge Court at 2:30 p.m. The crews shut down their equipment and notified residents in the neighborhood.

Firefighters heard gas coming from the line when they were about 150 feet away and said the smell was noticeable, reports said.

Firefighters evacuated six people from their homes, and no one was injured. A potentially dangerous level of gas accumulated in one of the homes, which firefighters ventilated from underneath the structure, reports said.

Utility crews responded to the scene and controlled the leak by 4 p.m. Residents returned to their homes at about 4:40 p.m.

Updated: Fire destroys condominium in Ann Arbor

by Jo Mathis | The Ann Arbor News

Tuesday June 02, 2009, 8:18 AM

Editor's note: Story has been updated to reflect that the residence was a condominium. It was originally described by fire officials as an apartment.

Fire destroyed a unit at the Chapel Hill Condominiums in northeast Ann Arbor on Monday night.
 

The Ann Arbor Fire Department reported it arrived at the building on Burbank, near Green Road, at around 9 p.m. They found heavy smoke, and the tenant standing in the front yard.

Firefighters said they brought a hose into the front door and encountered heavy flames and debris.

Every fire truck in the city was called to the scene. It took about an hour to put the fire out.

The cause remains under investigation. No other details were available this morning.