Emergency Services

A 34-year-old man fell to his death from High Rock in northeastern Washington County on Monday. Michael Paul Liller of Thurmont, Md., was determined to be dead by medics who descended 100 feet to where he landed, officials on the scene said. Liller jumped from the rock formation's peak to a metal grate used by hang gliders at about 4 p.m. He then jumped to another rock, lost his balance and fell, according to Washington County (Md.) Sheriff's Office Sgt. Daryl Sanders. About 12 people were at the popular lookout spot when the fall occurred, Sanders said.

The following incidents were reported Friday by Franklin County (Pa.) Emergency Services: At 12:47 a.m., a traffic accident in the 5200 block of Philadelphia Avenue in Greene Township. At 1:28 a.m., a commercial fire alarm in the first block of Second Street in Chambersburg.

A preparedness drill for emergency services personnel will take a creative spin just days before Halloween, when volunteers in the training exercise don zombie costumes. “If you are prepared for the zombie attack, you are prepared for anything,” said Dave Donohue, director of the Franklin County (Pa.) Department of Emergency Services. Organizers of a drill planned for Saturday, Oct. 27, are seeking volunteers of all ages. The drill will simulate inoculating and medicating an infected population.

A newly hired assistant emergency services chief in the Borough of Chambersburg will be continuing his passion for firefighting, while returning to his Pennsylvania roots. Howard “Butch” Leonhard, a Middletown, Pa., native, said his interest in fire service started at a young age. “I grew up right across the street from one of the fire stations in Middletown. In fact, it was the station where my dad was a volunteer,” he said. Leonhard, 50, said moving to Chambersburg will put him closer to family.

shappell@herald-mail.com The Washington County Department of Emergency Services has taken disciplinary action against a Smithsburg Emergency Medical Service volunteer in connection with a March 5 incident. The disciplinary action was related to events that took place after a March 5 emergency call to the home of a 20-year-old Smithsburg woman who later died, along with her unborn child. It was not related to the care or treatment of the woman or the unborn child, said Joseph Kroboth, director of the Department of Emergency Services.

A consolidation of two emergency services committees will include more members of the public than fire and ambulance professionals following a vote Tuesday by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The board voted 3-1 that the makeup of a new Emergency Services Advisory Council should be three members of the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association and six members of the public. A county commissioner would also serve on the council, and the director of emergency services and president of the fire and rescue association would be ex-officio, or non-voting, members.

Local emergency services officials maintained this week that a combined public safety training center is needed in Washington County despite comments made Tuesday by state legislators questioning whether a training center is necessary. Kevin L. Lewis, the county's director of emergency services, said he thought gaining the delegation's support would be a matter of informing them about the advantages it would provide and the limitations of training resources currently available. "We talk about this being a combined public safety training center for the purposes of educating all of our personnel ... (but)

The state has suspended the emergency services license of a Blue Ridge Mountain fire company, an action that a local fire official said will delay ambulance service for residents in eastern Jefferson County near the Virginia border. Effective Wednesday, the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services suspended the Blue Ridge Mountain Volunteer Fire Department's license to provide emergency medical services, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency.

With the Fairplay fire company out of service, a plan spearheaded by Sharpsburg Area EMS has been approved by the Washington County Vol. Fire & Rescue Association to provide interim emergency medical services to that coverage area, association President Dale Hill said Friday. Hill said the proposal, unanimously passed by WCVFRA membership during a meeting Thursday night, would call for a Sharpsburg EMS ambulance and a corresponding chase vehicle to respond to calls for service in the Fairplay area.

Franklin County is expected to shift to its new emergency services radio system in the next several weeks, county commissioners said Tuesday. David Donahue, Franklin County's director of emergency services, told commissioners that recent testing of the radio system has shown it exceeds the requirements of the contract. More than 99 percent of accessible areas tested had radio coverage with the new digital system, according to a news release from the commissioners. Currently, about 82 percent of Franklin County has acceptable radio transmission and reception capabilities with the old analog system.

The Franklin County (Pa.) Department of Emergency Services is seeking local businesses affected by a tractor-trailer fire Thursday that closed Interstate 81 in Dauphin County, Pa., for several days. Due to the crash and fire last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett declared a state of disaster. He is consulting with the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine if there is a need for a federal declaration, according to a news release. If a federal declaration is made, there might be federal funds available to offset uninsured business losses due to the incident.

Firefighters contained a mobile home fire to the property's kitchen Sunday afternoon. The Franklin Fire Department and a half-dozen other departments responded to 649 N. Franklin St., Lot 112, at 3:15 p.m., according to fire officials and the Franklin County (Pa.) Department of Emergency Services. The first crews to arrive saw fire coming out of one window in the single-wide trailer, Franklin Fire Chief Mark Trace said. Everyone was out of the home, although one of the residents tried to go back in, Trace said.

The following incidents were reported on Sunday by Franklin County (Pa.) Emergency Services: At 7:05 p.m., a traffic accident was reported in the 3000 block of Path Valley Road in Metal Township. At 9:15 p.m., a traffic accident was reported in the 700 block of Sollenberger Road in Hamilton Township.

As teenage athletes left Chambersburg Area Middle School North on Wednesday evening, firetrucks and other emergency vehicles descended on the parking lot for a drill related to an mock attack at a nuclear power plant. Emergency services officials planned to set up decontamination tents and assess potential shelter operations related to a disaster at the Three Mile Island plant south of Harrisburg, Pa. Evacuees from the Steelton area near the plant are supposed to head to Chambersburg, Pa., if the worst happens.

First-responder emergency service coverage was re-established to the Fairplay area as of Saturday afternoon through a new volunteer program known as Neighbors Helping Neighbors. James Ulrich, acting chairman of the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association's EMS Committee, said the plan will provide EMS coverage using certified volunteer EMTs in the wake of the indefinite closure of the Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. The interim plan initially includes 24 volunteers from companies and agencies throughout the county, including Sharpsburg, Hagerstown, Smithsburg, Williamsport and Boonsboro, according to Damien Teal, assistant chief and operations manager for Sharpsburg EMS. “We have a good number of people who are stepping forward, and I think once we get more people involved, I think more people will want to help out as well,” said Ulrich, chief of operations for Smithsburg EMS. Sharpsburg EMS and Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Co. were two of the lead agencies in implementing the plan, under which a vehicle will be stationed at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center on Sharpsburg Pike or at other residences in the Fairplay area to respond to fire and medical calls.

A 34-year-old man fell to his death from High Rock in northeastern Washington County on Monday. Michael Paul Liller of Thurmont, Md., was determined to be dead by medics who descended 100 feet to where he landed, officials on the scene said. Liller jumped from the rock formation's peak to a metal grate used by hang gliders at about 4 p.m. He then jumped to another rock, lost his balance and fell, according to Washington County (Md.) Sheriff's Office Sgt. Daryl Sanders. About 12 people were at the popular lookout spot when the fall occurred, Sanders said.

The director of Washington County's Division of Emergency Services went before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to present the department's annual budget request that reflects a 21-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The request for fiscal year 2013-14 totals out a little more than $13.5 million, up by 21.4 percent from the current year's expenditures of $11.2 million, according to DES Director Kevin Lewis and documents given to the five commissioners. Most of the increases stem from the need to maintain adequate staffing of volunteer fire and EMS departments, which would ultimately save the county money, Lewis said.

With the Fairplay fire company out of service, a plan spearheaded by Sharpsburg Area EMS has been approved by the Washington County Vol. Fire & Rescue Association to provide interim emergency medical services to that coverage area, association President Dale Hill said Friday. Hill said the proposal, unanimously passed by WCVFRA membership during a meeting Thursday night, would call for a Sharpsburg EMS ambulance and a corresponding chase vehicle to respond to calls for service in the Fairplay area.

Franklin County (Pa.) Emergency Services reports incidents The following incidents were reported by Franklin County (Pa.) Emergency Services: Monday • At 8:49 p.m., an inside investigation was conducted by West End Fire and Rescue in the unit block of Lenwood Park in Southampton Township. Tuesday • At 1:49 a.m., a traffic accident was reported in the 10900 block of Buchanan Trail East in Washington Township.