"Click It or Ticket" Event at North Quincy High School

Quincy, MA
Members of the Massachusetts State Police in conjunction with the Quincy Police Department, Massachusetts Highway Safety Division(MA HSD), The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), and the North Quincy High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions(S.A.D.D.) Chapter, kicked off the latest "Click It or Ticket" enforcement blitz at North Quincy High School on Thursday morning. Members of the Senior class at NQHS were invited to attend a demonstration by the State Police Department's Rollover Simulator outside the main entrance of the school. During the demonstration, guest speakers spoke  to the students about the importance of how wearing a seat belt can drastically reduce the seriousness of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The demonstration was also a way for police to emphasize extra high-visibility seat belt enforcement and warn against non-compliance during the Commonwealth's Spring 2012 "Click It or Ticket" mobilization.
"Pediatric care units in hospitals around the country have dubbed the months of June through August the '90 Days of Death'", said SADD Member Lisa Marie Flora. "This is due to the high rate of fatalities in traffic accidents during the summer months of young drivers." In 2009 there were 33,808 reported traffic fatalities across the country. Eighteen percent of those fatalities were between the ages of sixteen and twenty years old according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System's records.
SADD member Tim Liuzzo has a simple message for his classmates, "Click It, that's all. Do it, because when I come back for our reunion, I want to be able to play a pickup game a basketball with anyone of you. The year 2012 looks better on a diploma, than it does on a grave stone."
At the conclusion of the guest speakers, students were provided with a real life demonstration of what happens to the occupants of a vehicle during a rollover accident. State Police Troopers Larry Kiely and Brian Talbot used the Rollover Simulator, which consists of an actual passenger compartment of a car balanced on an axis, to give students a visual of what happens during a low speed rollover as well as a high speed rollover to occupants that are belted in and also unrestrained. The simulator used three crash dummies, one adult and two children, to demonstrate how wearing a seat belt can reduce the chance of serious injury or death during a rollover accident. Students gasped as the crash dummies were tossed around and even ejected from the car during the unrestrained demonstrations. "We have all seen the usual 'crashed car' demonstration parked outside of local schools during this time of year," said NQHS Principal Dr. Earl Metzler when asked about his decision to bring the rollover simulator to the school. "I felt that giving the students the chance to see what happens during the accident instead of what the car looks like after the accident would have more of an impact on them. Hopefully it will help them make the right decision after the demonstration."
The latest edition of the state's "Click It or Ticket" Enforcement Blitz officially kicked off on May 14, 2012 and will run through June 3, 2012. The Massachusetts State Police, along with over 125 local police departments have announced the adoption of zero tolerance policies on seat belt violations. The press conference and demonstration at North Quincy High School was put together with the help of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security(EOPSS), the Massachusetts State Police, the National Traffic Safety Administration, and the Quincy Police. The "Click It or Ticket" mobilization is part of a statewide effort funded by the EOPSS that consists of extra high-visibility traffic enforcement and public information.

Guest Speakers:
-Colonel Marian J. McGovern, Superintendent, Massachusetts State Police
-Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey
-Sheila Burgess, Director, Highway Safety Division, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
-Lt. Dan Minton, Quincy Police Department
-Gary Taylor, Acting Regional Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
-Tim Liuzzo, Jen Griffith, Lisa Marie Flora, Members of North Quincy High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Chapter

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey

MA State Police Superintendent Colonel Marian J. McGovern

Quincy Police Lt. Dan Minton

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Regional Administrator Gary Taylor

NQHS SADD Member Lisa Marie Flora

MA State Police Lt. Dan Griffin

The Rollover Simulator

MA State Police Trooper Brian Talbot operates the Rollover Simulator

North Quincy High School students gather around the Rollover Simulator

North Quincy High School students watch intently as the State Police demonstrate what happens to the occupants of a vehicle during a motor vehicle rollover

MA State Police Trooper Brian Talbot operates the Rollover Simulator

North Quincy High School students watch intently as the State Police demonstrate what happens to the occupants of a vehicle during a motor vehicle rollover

North Quincy High School students watch intently as the State Police demonstrate what happens to the occupants of a vehicle during a motor vehicle rollover

(L-R) MSP Sup. Col Marian McGovern, SADD Members Tim Liuzzo, Jen Griffith, and Lisa Marie Flora, MSP Lt. Dan Griffin, NHTSA Acting Regional Administrator Gary Taylor

Braintree MVA Injures Two

Braintree, MA - Braintree Police and Fire Departments responded to multiple calls reporting an motor vehicle accident near 1800 Washington St in the Highlands section of Braintree. The first personnel on scene found a Ford F-250 with heavy damage to the front driver's side of the truck parked awkwardly up on a sidewalk on the northbound side of the road. Approximately 200 yards away, on the southbound side of the road, police found a Ford Focus with similar damage on the driver's side of the car. It was initially thought that the vehicles were involved in separate accidents, but was quickly determined that both cars were involved in a single accident. The female occupants of the Ford Focus were transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A third vehicle, a Cadillac sedan, was damaged when debris from the Focus struck the hood and windshield of the Cadillac as it traveled behind the Focus. Nobody in the Cadillac was injured. The driver of the F-250 was checked at the scene by Fallon EMS, but refused transport. Judging by the location of impact and skid marks at the scene, initial investigation shows that the F-250 possibly crossed over the double yellow line, striking the Focus almost head-on. There was no word from police whether charges or citations would be issued to any of the drivers involved.

Stolen Truck recovered in Quincy

Quincy, MA - Quincy police responded around 10am Monday morning to a call from a local lobster fisherman who reported that he had found a truck submerged in the water behind the CVS on the Southern Artery. He reported that he had noticed tire marks in the dirt leading up to a dock and a fresh oil slick forming on the surface of the water. The Quincy Police Dive Team and Marine Unit searched the water with a camera and found the truck. It was quickly determined that nobody was in the vehicle. Schlager's Towing was able to retrieve the truck from the water. Once the truck was out of the water, it was determined that the truck had been stolen in Walpole sometime during the overnight hours. Police found that the steering column was cracked and that a rope was tied around the steering wheel to keep it from turning.

Multi-Agency Flashover Recognition Training

    Members of the Braintree Fire Department hosted a joint training session at the Sons of Italy on Wednesday April 25, 2011. Members from the Braintree, Pembroke, Randolph, and Westport Fire Departments participated in Flashover Recognition Training today under the instruction of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the use of their "Flashover Trailer" in the rear parking lot. Three teams of firefighters were brought into the specially designed trailer and were instructed by members of the DFS on how to recognize different types of flashover events when battling an interior fire.

Special thanks to the Department of Fire Services for allowing me unrestricted access during the training. 

Maybe next time, I'll get to suit up and snap pictures from inside the trailer!

Weymouth - Sacred Heart Church 7 Alarm Fire 6/9/2005

    I was browsing through some old photo albums on a back-up hard drive and came across these pictures I took back in 2005, long before I started working as a Freelance Photojournalist and before I became a member of the International Fire Photographers Association.

    This was a 7 alarm fire at the Sacred Heart church in Weymouth Landing. I was driving home from a night at Nantasket Beach with some friends when I came around a corner and saw smoking coming from the basement windows of the church. The first due companies were already on scene investigating the cause of the smoke when the flashover began. This fire quickly spread to 7 alarms as the brick structure became fully involved. It took over 100 firefighters hours to battle the blaze which gutted the 134 year old church. 2 Firefighters suffered minor injuries, and nobody was inside the church at the time of the fire. Investigators ruled that an electrical shortage in a refrigerator in the basement was what caused of the fire.

    Sacred Heart Church was originally built in the late 1800's by a group of Irish immigrants. The parish had just recently survived the reorganization of parishes by the Boston Archdiocese. The church was ruled a total loss and was torn down two days later.

Fenway Flyover w/ Bonus MedFlight Flyover

As many of you know, every year on Red Sox Opening Day, I like to venture to an undisclosed rooftop in the Fenway area and photograph the ceremonial flyover that occurs before the game. This year, I was graced with the added bonus of a Boston MedFlight flyover and landing on the BIDMC Helipad. Here are the photos as promised.....enjoy.