Jackman – Moose River Fire Department

2006 Emergency Calls

Call #2006-52: 12-19-2006 – Structure Fire. This photo shows the camp as it appeared upon arrival of the fire department. The origin of the fire is suspicious.

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JMRFD set a new record for emergency calls in 2006 with 53 calls. The old record, set in 2002, was 47 emergency calls.

* * 2006 EMERGENCY CALLS TO DATE * *

53. 12/26/2006 – Vehicle off the road – Long Pond Road (Route 15), Jackman. Traveling was treacherous during a snow storm, and although the driver of the vehicle was driving at less than the posted speed limit, his vehicle spun around and slid backwards in to the ditch. No one was injured in the accident.

52. 12/19/2006 – Structure Fire – Talpey Road, Moose River. A fire of suspicious origin destroyed a camp. Employees at the nearby sawmill saw the fire, reported it, then came down the road to see what was burning. They found one set of foot prints in the snow going down to the camp and back. Firefighters found that someone had broken in to the adjacent shed.

51. 12/04/2006 – SUV Rollover – Route 201, Johnson Mountain Township. It was snowing off and on and road conditions were not the best. The SUV went off the road and rolled over landing in the ditch on its wheels. The occupants suffered only minor injuries.

50. 11/29/2006 – Pickup–Truck Accident – Main Street (Rt. 201), Moose River. For unknown reasons the driver of the pickup swerved across the road and struck the rear of the trailer of the tractor-trailer truck. The pickup then rolled several times and came to rest on its roof in a driveway. A couple of hundred gallons of diesel fuel in a tank in the back of the pickup leaked out and flowed about 75 feet down the road before firefighters were able to contain the spill with spill pads, boom, and wood chips brought over from the local sawmill.

49. 11/22/2006 – Fire in waste chip silo – Talpey Road, Moose River. A maintenance worker at the local sawmill was supposed to be using a low heat fluorescent work light in the chip silo. Instead he was using a high heat halogen light, and he left the light on when he went to lunch. The light ignited the chips in the silo.

48. 11/10/2006 – Single Vehicle off a Bridge in a Stream – Sandy Stream Road (logging road) off the Holeb Road, Dennistown. The driver of the jeep was very drunk and drove his vehicle off a bridge. Hunters passing by pulled him from the partially submerged vehicle and called for help. The driver sustained a serious back injury.

47. 11/01/2006 – Single Vehicle Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. Coming down a hill in a 55mph zone, the driver lost control of the vehicle, the car went off the road, struck an embankment, and went airborne for over 100 feet. The driver suffered moderate injuries.

46. 10/30/2006 – Tree on Power Lines on Fire – Main Street (Route 201), Dennistown. High winds brought down numerous trees in the region. In this location a tree fell over on the power lines, burned, and two of the three power lines snapped.

45. 10/29/2006 – Fire alarm activation – Main Street (Route 201), Sandy Bay. High winds had caused a power outage, and when the power came back on the fire alarm system was activated. There was no fire.

44. 10/26/2006 – Low hanging power line – Pleasant Street, Moose River. A logging truck with a high load hooked the electrical and phone service lines for a home, snapping off the phone line and causing the power line to hang low over the road. Any other truck coming through would have hooked the power line and pulled it down.

43. 10/24/2006 – Accidental False Alarm – Forest Hills School, Main Street, Jackman. Two middle school girls were horsing around and one threw something that hit a smoke detector and set off the fire alarm system.

42. 10/21/2006 – Two vehicles submerged in a flooded road – Kelly Dam Road (logging road), Bald Mountain Township. Heavy rain the previous day and night created many flooding problems in the region. Early in the morning when it was still dark, two vehicles were driven in to deep water in the road. Initially the occupants from one of the vehicles could not be found and were believed to still be in the vehicle. The fire department was dispatched for a possible rescue, but just before arriving on scene a game warden found the occupants on a high, dry spot.

41. 10/10/2006 – Two truck accident – Long Pond Road (Route 15), Jackman. One truck was making a left hand turn in to a road. The driver of another truck approaching from the rear did not pay attention to the turn signals of the first truck and decided to pass the first truck in a no passing zone. The cab of the second truck struck the cab of the first truck. No one was injured.

40. 10/08/2006 – Two cars on fire – Border Riders Sportsmans Club, Main Street, Dennistown. A driver had been driving his car on the race track, and after he parked it and left it, it caught on fire. Shortly after someone noticed that the car was on fire and reported it, the car next to the burning car also caught on fire.

39. 09/29/2006 – Single vehicle accident – Moose River Bridge, Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A teenager traveling at a high rate of speed lost control of the vehicle on the wet road surface. The vehicle spun around and hit the guardrail on the bridge causing extensive damage to the vehicle. The vehicle stopped off the bridge about 250 feet from the point of impact.

38. 09/24/2006 – Tree on power line on fire – Gilbert Street, Jackman. High winds brought down a tree on to the power line, and the tree started to burn, but the power cut off at the end of the street tripped and the fire went out.

37. 09/23/2006 – Car rollover – Route 201, Parlin Pond Township. The southbound car was forced off the road by another vehicle. The car rolled over and landed on its wheels. Fortunately both the driver and passenger were wearing their seat belts so they suffered only minor injuries.

36. 09/04/2006 – Car-Moose Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Sandy Bay Township. Northbound Canadians traveling on a drizzly night struck a moose in the road. (Due to the dark, wet conditions, it appears as though they did not see the moose before they struck it.) The force of the impact destroyed the windshield and peeled the roof back. The man driving the car had serious injuries; the woman front seat passenger had moderate injuries; the three passengers in the back seat had minor injuries.

35. 09/02/2006 – ATV Accident – Trail off the Spencer Road, Johnson Mountain Township. On a very rough, home-made ATV trail (which the landowner knew nothing about and does not want on his property), a female ATVer hit a bad rock and fell off her ATV causing a serious injury to her hip. JMRFD firefighters and Jackman Ambulance EMT’s carried her about 1,000 feet out to the ambulance, then transported her less than a half mile to a location where LifeFlight helicopter landed and picked her up and flew her to a hospital in Bangor.

34. 08/22/2006 – SUV-Motorcycle Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. The driver of the SUV was pulling out from a convenience store but his view was blocked by a large truck parked on the side of the road. The SUV driver pulled out in front of the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist hit the brakes and laid his motorcycle down. The motorcycle slid under the front of the SUV, and the motorcyclist slid under the center of the SUV. Other than sustaining some road rash, mostly to his legs (he was wearing shorts); the motorcyclist had no other injuries. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet; the helmet had numerous scrapes from sliding along the road.

33. 08/11/2006 – Report of boaters in distress – Big Wood Pond, Attean Township. The boaters were ok – there were no problems.

32. 08/09/2006 – Pickup-Moose Accident – U.S. Route 201, Parlin Pond Township. Although the pickup received extensive damage and the moose was killed, the driver was not injured.

31. 08/07/2006 – Explosion – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A local man was using a grinder in his work shop when sparks ignited old blasting caps he had on his work bench causing an explosion. The man did not survive.

30. 07/29/2006 – Two Car Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A young driver pulled out of a side street and struck the rear of another vehicle. One person had minor injuries.

29. 07/15/2006 – Reported large plume of black smoke – Long Pond Road (Rt. 15), Long Pond Township. There was smoke, but there was no fire. Some young folks with too much time on their hands were spinning tires and causing the smoke.

28. 07/13/2006 – Minivan-Bicyclist Accident – Long Pond Road (Rt. 15), Long Pond Township. The driver of the minivan attempted to hit the bicyclist with a baseball bat but he missed. However, he did hit him with the minivan, and then fled the scene. The bicyclist sustained some lacerations and bruises, but fortunately was not seriously injured. The driver of the minivan, who was apprehended a short time later, faces serious charges.

27. 06/27/2006 – Tree on a Power Line on Fire – Fox Run, Jackman. A white birch tree blown by the wind leaned on to a power line and caught fire, burning the top of the tree right off.

26. 06/25/2006 – Motorcycle Accident – Route 15, Sandwich Township. The first 911 caller reported the accident as being on Route 15 in Jackman. As JMRFD firefighters were traveling down Route 15 heading towards Rockwood looking for the accident, more 911 calls were received that placed the accident in Rockwood Fire & Rescue’s coverage area. Rockwood was dispatched and the accident was in Rockwood’s area.

25. 06/22/2006 – Car-Moose Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A southbound small car with two occupants struck a moose in the road. The moose crashed down on the top of the car crushing the roof down and smashing the windshield. The driver sustained some serious head cuts; the front seat passenger sustained only some minor cuts. Both were very lucky – they could have easily been killed.

24. 06/19/2006 – Tree down on power lines – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. Thunderstorms came through the region with strong downdrafts, blowing a large tree over on to the power lines, snapping off two of the three lines. Firefighters closed the road completely for a short time, then allowed one lane of traffic for over an hour while the tree was being removed and the lines were repaired.

23. 06/16/2006 – Vehicle Fire – Grace Pond Road, Upper Enchanted Township. The fire destroyed the pickup and caused some damage to the adjacent camp.

22. 05/23/2006 – Fire Alarm Activation – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. An alarm company was checking a fire alarm system but failed to notify the alarm system dispatcher. When the company checking the system activated it, the alarm system dispatcher contacted the Somerset County Communications Center to dispatch the fire department.

21. 05/08/2006 – Vehicle accident with 4 people with minor injuries – Long Pond Road (Route 15), Jackman. A pickup went off the road, broke a utility pole in half and plowed through some small trees before coming to a stop. The pickup was totaled, but fortunately the driver and 3 occupants were not seriously injured.

20. 05/05/2006 – Utility pole fire – Attean Ridge, Jackman. A utility pole supplying electricity to an airport beacon caught on fire. The power company shut off the power and the fire went out.

19. 04/28/2005 – Rekindle of the truck fire – The trailer that burned in call #18 was hauled to a garage area, and after several hours hot embers ignited the underside of the trailer.

18. 04/28/2006 – Truck Fire – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A bearing overheated on a rear wheel of the trailer of a tractor trailer truck hauling wood chips and ignited. The fire caused heavy damage to the rear of the trailer.

17. 04/07/2006 – Chimney Fire – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. The homeowner was leaving for work early in the morning when he noticed flames coming out of the chimney. Before the fire department arrived a few minutes later, the flames were out because a lot of creosote fell off the inside walls of the chimney and plugged the chimney up completely cutting off the oxygen supply and snuffing out the fire. However, smoke from the wood stove was forced out of the chimney below the creosote plug and was filling the attic. Firefighters used a weight on a line and repeatedly dropped the weight down the chimney until the creosote plug had broken open. The house was not damaged.

16. 04/05/2006 – Structure Fire – Long Pond Road (Route 15), Long Pond Township. Due to a cause yet to be determined, a large residential garage caught on fire. Due to the distance from the fire station (over 9 miles) over a very bumpy road, there was no way for the firefighters to arrive in time to save the garage. However, firefighters were able to save the adjacent house which sustained some exterior damage only – melted vinyl siding and cracked windows.

15. 04/04/2006 – Reported log truck rollover with the road completely blocked – Route 201, Johnson Mountain Township. The actual incident involved a truck loaded with lumber. For whatever reason all of the straps on the lumber came undone and the load of lumber spilled all over the road, completely blocking the road.

14. 03/15/2006 – Vehicle rollover with 1 person with very minor injuries – Main Street (Route 201), Sandy Bay Township. Light snow started falling on the road causing a long section to ice over. The driver of the vehicle lost control on the ice, the vehicle spun around in the road several times, slid off the road, and rolled over.

13. 03/09/2006 – Snowmobile Fire – ITS 89, Jackman. The snowmobile had been backfiring all week when warming up. Once warmed up, it ran fine. Today it also backfired when warming up, but when the operator took it out on the trail, it caught on fire. The plastic and rubber of the snowmobile made for quite a spectacular fire. There was not much left.

12. 03/04/2006 – Single Vehicle Accident with 2 people injured – Route 201, Parlin Pond Township. Off and on snow had made the roads quite slick, and the vehicle involved in the accident did not have much for tread on any of the tires, so the vehicle slid off the road, struck a snow bank, flew through the air for 15 feet, and hit hard when it landed. The front of the vehicle ended up against the trees at the wood line.

11. 03/02/2006 – SUV-Truck Accident – Route 201, Johnson Mountain Township. Snow had been falling for a while and the roads were snow covered. As the south bound truck went by the north bound SUV, the SUV slid sideways and struck the trailer of the truck. The SUV was heavily damaged but the two occupants of the SUV suffered only minor injuries. The trailer of the truck was also damaged. The driver of the truck was not injured.

10. 02/26/2006 – Snowmobile Accident – ITS 89 connector trail, Moose River. A snowmobiler went off the trail on a sharp corner and dislocated his shoulder. Firefighters used the FD snowmobile and rescue sled to bring the patient out to the waiting ambulance.

9. 02/24/2006 – Snowmobile Accident – ITS 88, Long Pond Township. Two snowmobiles collided at a trail intersection injuring two teenagers and an adult. The teenagers suffered minor injuries; the adult suffered a more serious head injury. Firefighters and the ambulance were able to drive right down the trail to the injured snowmobilers.

8. 02/24/2006 – Overheated Woodstove – Partridge Drive, Jackman. A small woodstove was filled to capacity with dry wood, and it started to really get hot. The renter noticed that the temperature gauge on the top of the stove was reading its maximum of 900 degrees (the gauge did not go any higher), and the safety info with the woodstove advised not to have a temperature over 700 degrees, so she called 911. Firefighters closed the air vent to the stove and waited for the temperature to drop. Firefighters checked the stove and stove pipe to ensure that they were not damaged.

7. 02/18/2006 – Chimney fire – Main Street, Jackman. Periods of mild, wet weather throughout January provided ideal conditions for the build up of creosote. Have you checked your chimney lately?

6. 02/17/2006 – Power line in the road – Murtha Street, Jackman. High winds caused problems throughout the state, and the Jackman region was no exception. Falling trees knocked out power for several hours.

5. 02/13/2006 – Fire Alarm Activation – Forest Hills School, Main Street, Jackman. One of the smoke detectors apparently had a bad sensor and activated setting off the alarm system. There was no smoke present.

4. 02/02/2006 – Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning – Giroux Street, Moose River. A wood stove and an oil-fired furnace hooked into the same single flue chimney created a situation where CO came in to the house. A mother and her young daughter were poisoned by the CO, and thus sickened by it, and had to be put on oxygen at the local medical center to be treated.

3. 01/09/2006 – Log Truck Rollover – Long Pond Road (Route 15), Jackman. A fully loaded log truck went off the road and rolled over. There were no injuries.

2. 01/07/2006 – Pickup-Moose Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. A moose ran in to a snowmobile trailer being pulled by the pickup. No one was hurt. The trailer was damaged but usable. The moose did not survive.

1. 01/05/2006 – Truck Accident – Main Street (Route 201), Jackman. The trailer of a tractor-trailer truck carrying a full load of caustic soda separated from the truck at the intersection of Route 15. The trailer landed on its landing gear, damaging the landing gear. Although the trailer tipped slightly, it did not tip over, and none of the caustic soda leaked out of the truck. Caustic soda is a very powerful substance that will eat away human flesh.