Rescuers

scottb@herald-mail.com During an emotional reunion Saturday morning, a Hagerstown teenager received heartfelt thanks from the family of a Rosedale, Md., child she saved from drowning. The last time Brittany Smith held Sequoia Rantin, 3, the child was unconscious after nearly downing at Greenbrier State Park. When Brittany held the child in her arms Saturday, Sequoia was not only conscious but kissing the cheeks of the teenager her family considers a guardian angel. Without Brittany's help on June 28, Sequoia would be dead today, family members said Saturday.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer, Waynesboro photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer MERCERSBURG, Pa. - A letter written by a Holocaust survivor to his children has inspired some Mercersburg-area high school students to publish a book of poems, essays and artwork as a tribute to all survivors of the genocidal effort that claimed nearly 12 million lives, half of them Jews, in the 1930s and '40s. The 64-page book, "A tribute to Survivors," was unveiled at a reception at James Buchanan High School Wednesday night.

The Washington County Commissioners faced an unusual question Tuesday: Should they amend a plan that they have not yet formally adopted? At issue is a proposed retirement program for active fire and rescue volunteers with more than 25 years experience. Under the current plan, about 82 volunteers can start drawing benefit payments when the program begins about Jan. 1, 2007. The Length of Service Award Program will cost a minimum of $225,000 a year, with the amount increasing by 5 percent annually.

By STEVEN T. DENNIS Staff Writer SHARPSBURG - The last all-volunteer ambulance squad in Washington County will have paid personnel starting today, according to Jay Grimes, president of the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. The board of directors of the troubled Sharpsburg Area Emergency Medical Services plans to hire a paramedic and an emergency medical technician who would work during daytime hours, said Robert Cumberland, a spokesman for the fire and rescue association.

shappell@herald-mail.com Emergency responders gathered Thursday to review their performance at an October Environmental Protection Agency emergency drill and came to two conclusions: It was a great learning experience, and they need more training with new gear. Hagerstown Deputy Fire Chief Ron Horn and Hagerstown Battalion Chief Kyd Dieterick said the drill was a good learning experience for all the responders involved. Horn said EPA officials sent him reaction from the Oct. 20 training session, the first over three days, at the Long Meadow Shopping Center.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com MARION, PA. - Samantha Frey of Greener Pastures No-Kill Animal Rescue is used to saving animals, but it was a swift water rescue team from Williamsport that helped save her and some of her creatures Saturday after the remnants of Hurricane Ivan flooded her Social Island Road property. "They were into the water up to their necks chasing horses and goats and potbellied pigs," Frey said Thursday of the efforts members of Williamsport Volunteer Ambulance Service and other volunteers put in to rescuing 40 to 50 animals that were in harm's way when the Conococheague Creek overran its banks.

Robert Anders of Silver Spring, Md., still has the business card from when he was someone else 32 years ago - Robert L. Baker, production manager, Studio Six Productions of Los Angeles. It was part of a ruse created by then-CIA agent Tony Mendez. Through the new movie “Argo,” the public is learning about the CIA's successful 1980 rescue of six Americans - including Anders - in Iran, three months after the U.S. embassy was overrun. Another 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

HAGERSTOWN -- Standing among a handful of observers Thursday, Morgan McCartney watched as firefighters and EMS personnel cut a mannequin from the crumpled wreckage of a sedan in a parking lot at Robinwood Medical Center. "I'm living proof that seat belts save lives," the 19-year-old Mercersburg, Pa., woman said. McCartney, an accounting clerk at the medical center, was badly injured in a crash four years ago near Fort Loudon, Pa. "I had a broken femur. I have a rod and pins in my leg. I fractured my pelvis in four places.

HAGERSTOWN - Global positioning technology soon will help rescuers more easily find Washington County residents prone to wandering away from their families. Emergency workers will use a global positioning system to zero in on transmitters attached to people at risk of getting lost. A person prone to walking off - usually because of a cognitive disorder, such as Alzheimer's disease or autism - might be eligible for a transmitter on his or her wrist, in a plastic case, similar to a watch.

Rescuers respond to two falls from buildings in city City man, 53, killed in fall from Alexander House today By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer In just over 13 hours, two men went out windows in Hagerstown - one to his death this morning near the Public Square and the other who suffered critical injuries just 1 1/2 blocks away Monday evening. This morning at 7:27, a 53-year-old man was fatally injured after coming out a 4th-floor window of the Alexander House at 7 E. Washington St. The death has been ruled a suicide, according to Detective George Knight.