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The new codes, which will be enforced by Cal Fire's Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and fire and building departments throughout the state, bring California in line with the 2009 International Building, Fire, and Residential Code.
The new codes were adopted by the California Building Standards Commission.
“Providing an enhanced fire safe environment is important as we promote a sustainable living and working environment,” said Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. “The reduction of fire not only protects our residents but also enhances our environment and business community. These standards will increase fire safety and awareness in communities throughout California.”
Each year wildfires char thousands of acres and destroy hundreds, even thousands, of homes in California. A portion of the newly adopted codes focus on regulations for homes built in the wildland-urban interface in order to make them more ember resistant, increasing structure survivability.
Additional amendments relate to tire storage, dry cleaning, and automatic extinguishing systems.
A key component in the 2010 code adoption is the addition of residential fire sprinklers in all new one and two family and town-home construction.
For many years, installation of fire sprinkler systems has only been required in office buildings and multi-family dwellings like apartments. These sprinkler systems are proven to save lives and extinguish fires. More than 100 jurisdictions in California already have a local residential fire sprinkler ordinance.
For more information about fire and building codes in your community, contact your local fire department or building department.
Information concerning fire and panic safety can also be obtained by visiting the Cal Fire-OSFM Web site, http://osfm.fire.ca.gov .
To review all of the new codes to take effect in 2011, visit www.bsc.ca.gov .
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Jared Templeton, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash after being trapped underwater in a vehicle that went into Blue Lakes at about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer Steve Tanguay said Heather Thompson, 22, of Lakeport was driving her 1988 Ford Thunderbird westbound on Highway 20, just west of Blue Lakes Road, with Templeton, 23-year-old Zachary Walston of Lakeport and 21-year-old Kathleen Riley of Kelseyville riding in the car with her.
The CHP reported that there was a light rain occurring at the time of the crash.
As Thompson's vehicle was coming out of a righthand curve in the roadway, she lost control of the Thunderbird, which veered to the left and went off of the roadway and struck a tree south of the roadway, according to the report. The vehicle continued out of control to the south and went into Blue Lakes.
As the vehicle began to submerge into the lake, Thompson, Walston and Riley – all of whom were wearing seat belts – were able to get out of the vehicle and made it safely to the shore, Tanguay reported.
However, for an unknown reason, Templeton – who was sitting in the front right seat of the vehicle and also was belted into his seat – couldn't escape, officials reported.
Walston and Riley attempted to dive down to the vehicle to get Templeton out, but due to the depth and temperature of the water, they were unsuccessful, Tanguay said.
Northshore Fire Protection District, assisted by Lakeport Fire, sent a large number of resources to the scene, according to Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown.
He said the agency responded to the scene with its dive rescue team, three engines from its Upper Lake and Lucerne stations, three advanced life support ambulances from Upper Lake, Nice and Lucerne, a rope/extrication rescue from Clearlake Oaks and two battalion chiefs. Lakeport Fire also sent a medic unit, for a total of 16 rescue personnel on scene.
Brown said when the rescue teams arrived, the vehicle was submerged 15 feet below the surface of the water, just before the narrow section of Upper Blue Lakes.
Northshore Fire crews conducted a low angle rope system down the embankment, which required using chainsaws to remove trees and brush and establish lights, Brown said.
The Northshore Dive Team got into the water and reached the vehicle at 3:30 a.m., said Brown. The CHP's report on the collision stated that rescuers couldn't reach Templeton's body while the car was submerged.
Brown said dive team members attached tow cables and begun the process of removing the vehicle. A tow truck was used to pull the Thunderbird up out of the lake, Tanguay said.
Fire officials pronounced Templeton dead at the scene, according to the report.
Brown said Northshore Fire transported Thompson, Walston and Riley to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by Upper Lake Fire ambulance for minor to moderate injuries sustained in the collision.
Tanguay said alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the crash.
Northshore Fire Incident Command contacted the state Department of Fish and Game, Lake County Environmental Health, the Office of Emergency Services and worked with the Lake County Sheriff's Office for a possible hazardous materials spill into Blue Lakes, Brown said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Patrol and booms were ready if a film was present at daylight, he said.
The Department of Fish and Game, which took the lead on the hazmat operation, cleared Northshore Fire at 7:15 a.m., Brown reported.
CHP Officer Josh Dye is investigating the collision, according to the report.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Officer Steve Tanguay of the Clear Lake Office of the California Highway Patrol confirmed that a death had resulted from the crash, which was reported shortly after 2:45 a.m. Wednesday.
A vehicle was reported off the roadway, with two subjects reportedly coming out of it, according to the CHP's initial reports.
Names of those involved was not yet available shortly before 10 a.m.
Traffic was blocked in both directions and Caltrans put a highway closure in place, according to the CHP.
A blood draw was conducted on one individual who was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment, the report stated.
Tow companies were called to tow vehicles for evidence, officials said.
Tanguay said the CHP will issue a full account of the crash shortly.
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The fire was reported at 7:34 a.m. Tuesday in the 300 block of Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, according to Pete Muñoa, Cal Fire battalion chief and Napa County fire marshal.
The 2,800-square-foot home was undergoing renovation, Muñoa said. An electrician who came to work on the residence discovered the fire and called 911.
Muñoa said units and firefighters from St. Helena City Fire, Napa County Fire, Cal Fire and Calistoga Fire Departments responded to the incident.
The fire was contained at 9:40 a.m. but Muñoa said units remained at scene until 12:30 p.m.
He said the fire is believed to have originated in the subfloor beneath the hallway and bathroom area. The home was not occupied due to the construction work and no injuries were reported.
Muñoa said that damage is estimated at $250,000 with an estimated structural save of $1,000,000.
Investigators from the Napa County Fire Marshal’s Office are working on determining the cause.
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The Blood Bank of the Redwoods is running its fourth annual Bucket Brigade. The blood bank supports Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.
Lakeport Fire will host their very first blood drive this Saturday, Jan. 16, right in their truck bay at 445 N. Main St. in Lakeport from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. Middletown Fire Department’s drive was on Dec. 12.
Last year, Geyserville Fire Department won the Bucket Brigade trophy, but this year Brian Hirscher, vice president of the Lakeport Volunteer Firefighter's Association, hopes to change that.
Hirscher feels the community can come through with more than 102 donors, which is how many Geyserville Fire recruited to win last year’s contest.
“Fire departments are very competitive, in a good way,” he said. “This is something that benefits the community greatly.”
Hirscher encouraged people to register for the donation, even though walk-ins will be happily accepted. There have been times where the community has had such a positive response that the drive was overwhelmed with willing donors, he said.
To register, donors may pay a visit to the station, call Blood Bank of the Redwoods at 707-545-1222, Extension 163, or visit the blood bank’s Web site, www.bbr.org .
Donors at Lakeport Fire will receive a light barbecue lunch and a free event T-shirt.
Last year 1,155 people donated blood during the Bucket Brigade from 40 different fire departments through 34 blood drives between the months of November 2008 and January 2009, according to blood bank officials.
“The amount of donors has gone up every year,” said Andrea Casson, account coordinator for Blood Bank of the Redwoods. “The blood is priceless because each unit can help up to three patients, but that’s not where the relief ends. It also affects the lives of those patients’ friends and family.”
A person should only donate one unit, or about one pint, of whole blood each visit, according to the American Association of Bloods Banks. The average person contains 10 pints of blood in his or her body according to their Web site, www.aabb.org .
The American Association of Bloods Banks estimated that about 9.5 million people donate blood every year. The average daily national need for blood is approximately 40,000 units.
Although the Bucket Brigade does generate a lot of blood during the winter flu season, winter is not the only time blood is needed.
When high school and college students go out of town for the summer, the need increases, as they're important contributors, said Casson.
But students don’t hold out when blood is needed. High school students alone contribute 20 percent of the blood supply overall, said Kent Corley, fund development manager and Blood Bank of the Redwoods spokesman.
Corley said the blood is used for various reasons including acute blood loss and surgery, gastrointestinal bleeds and oncology.
According to Blood Bank of the Redwoods' Web site, 37 percent of the US population is eligible to donate – yet only 5 percent do on a yearly basis.
Blood Bank of the Redwoods sends people to Lakeport every two to three weeks to conduct blood drives. The most recent was Sunday and was hosted by Wal-Mart in Clearlake. The next drive after the Bucket Brigade is over will be at Grocery Outlet in Lakeport on Jan. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The American Association of Bloods Banks recommends that donors be 16 years of age and at least 110 pounds. All donors must also pass physical and health history examinations before being able to donate. Donors should expect to spend more than an hour donating blood.
Only whole blood is being collected at the different fire departments and will be broken down into its three components for storage at the laboratory. An eligible donor can give one pint of blood, which weighs almost a pound, every 56 days, according to the American Association of Bloods Banks.
The blood supplies and demands vary due to unpredictable events and emergencies. Typically blood centers store enough blood for three days and most donations are available 48 hours after being donated, the American Association of Bloods Banks reported.
“When usage is down, we decrease the number of blood drives, so all drives are important,” said Corley. “When the need increases, we add drives. It is a constant balancing act.”
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On Jan. 8, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received several complaints of a telephone scam occurring at local businesses in and around the city of Willits, according to sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.
A male caller was telephoning local businesses and advising the owner/management that he was a deputy with the "sheriff's office" and that one of their employee's had been arrested or was in the hospital, Smallcomb said.
The caller would purposely be vague when describing the employee and would wait for the owner/manager to volunteer information, Smallcomb explained.
The caller would then request that the owner/manager send between $300-$1,000, via Western Union, to assist the employee, according to the report.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office does not attempt to elicit money for or from anyone, Smallcomb said. Anytime an unknown person requests that you send money, via Western Union, then you should be suspicious of that person and contact your local law enforcement.
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