State Police activity for Oct. 12-21, 2008

Police are investigating an armed robbery at a gas station and a serious motorcycle accident, made arrests for assault, DUI and issued tickets for several fender-benders.

Following is a list of some of the Mansfield incidents and accidents responded to by State Police Troop C between Oct. 12-21, 2008:

* On Sunday, Oct. 12 at 8:23 p.m., police arrested 19-year-old Robert E. Kay of Jordan, New York after he struck a car driven by Max Freyer of Middletown. Freyer, with two passengers, was westbound on Route 44 making a right turn on the green light onto Route 195. Kay was driving eastbound on Route 44 and made a left turn into Freyer’s lane. Kay failed a sobriety test and was arrested for DUI, and failure to grant right of way at an intersection.

* On Monday, Oct. 13, the car driven by 27-year-old Melissa Gulish of Manchester was sideswiped by 72-year-old Benjamin Sachs of Storrs/Mansfield. Gulish was in the left-turn lane of Route 195 at the I-84 West exit when Sachs attempted to merge into that lane and hit her car. Sachs was cited for failure to maintain proper lane.

* On Oct. 13, 22-year-old Vanessa Dunn of Worcester, Mass. was arrested and charged with 2nd- and 3rd-degree assault, breach of peace and 2nd-degree criminal attempt assault for striking her co-worker at 62 Merrow Road, Orlando Perez of Storrs/Mansfield. She was released on a cash bond and was scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Oct. 15.

* On Oct. 13, police received a 911 call reporting a crash “involving a fire.” Police at the scene found 27-year-old Joel Millard of 196 Main St., Hampton, driving a 2008 Yamaha YZFRG, had struck a telephone pole. Millard was flown via Life Star to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries. Police ask that any witnesses to the accident call Troop C at 1-800-896-3200.

* On Monday, Oct. 13, at approximately 11:33 p.m., police report that Gibbs gas station at 9 Stafford Road (Route 32) was robbed by three Hispanic males wearing hooded sweatshirts. “One of the suspects displayed a handgun during the robbery. The suspects left the store with an undetermined amount of cash and fled south on Route 32 toward Willimantic,” the report states. Anyone with information that might be helpful to the investigation of the robbery is asked to call the Eastern District Major Crime Squad at Troop C at 860-896-3235.

* On Tuesday, Oct. 14, 22-year-old Dan Nguyen of Wallingford, was cited for failure to obey a traffic signal when he failed to stop for a red light at the Route 195/North Eagleville intersection on the UConn campus and struck the car driven by 33-year-old Kimeta Straker of Vernon, who was transported to Rockville Hospital for possible neck injuries.

* On Oct. 14, 20-year-old Okechukwu Gubor of Mansfield, who was not wearing a helmet, lost control of his motorcycle while trying to negotiate a curve on Maple Road and struck the car driven by 59-year-old David McPherson of North Windham. No injuries were reported.

* On. Friday, Oct. 17, the car driven by 46-year-old Kisoo Eun of Mansfield was rear-ended by the car driven by 73-year-old Constance Faurot of Lebanon, on Route 195 near the intersection with Ledgewood Drive. Eun had stopped behind a school bus. Faurot was cited for following too closely.

* On Oct. 17, the car driven by 28-year-old Joseph Blyskal of Mansfield Center was rear-ended by the car driven by 18-year-old Brian C. Gara of Burlington. Blyskal had stopped for traffic on Route 195. Gara was cited for failure to maintain proper distance between vehicles.

On Saturday, Oct. 18 the car driven by Collin Thomas of Deep River, CT was hit from behind by 26-year-old Andrew Judd of West Hartford, as Thomas was making a left turn into a private drive on Route 195. Judd was cited for following too closely.

* On. Oct. 18, 25-year-old Michelle McArthur of Mansfield was charged with DUI, reckless driving, failure to obey an officer’s signal and risk of injury to a minor. She was released on a $500 nonsurety bond. Police state that her car was seen traveling east (no street location given in report) at a high rate of speed, and “subsequent investigation” led to her arrest.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/police_log_oct_2_thru_21_2008.html

Students escape 'smoke house'

Fifth-graders got to climb out the window of the Willimantic Smoke House during demonstrations held at Mansfield Middle School.

There was lots of laughter, and children were eager to ask questions and share stories – at the same time, some serious life-saving information made its way into the minds of 130 Mansfield Middle School fifth-graders at a fire-safety exercise held on Wednesday.

Students were introduced to the Willimantic Smoke House in the school parking lot – a tool used to teach children how to prevent some kinds of fires in the home, and how to get out of a smoke-filled room.

Inside, volunteer Mansfield EMT and firefighter-trainee James Fleckenstein talked about simple safety steps, such as making sure the handles of pots and pans don’t jut out from the stove, and keeping clothing away from burners when cooking.

A student volunteer was asked to make a 911 call (as if from a neighbor’s house) to report a fire. As his classmates listened, Marcus calmly answered the emergency dispatcher’s questions about the location of his house, whether anyone else was in the house, and other important information.

After, Marcus said it was “freaky” to talk to the dispatcher – who was actually Mansfield Firefighter-EMT Jim York in another room. “I just hope they don’t actually go to my house,” he added.

The “smoke house” exercise concluded with children – and parents who had come to enjoy the event – huddled in a bedroom where a smoke detector was set off by stage smoke that poured into the room. Children learned not to open a door that was hot, and instead climbed through a window with the help of Willimantic firefighters Alberto Torres and Mike McCrewell.

This was followed by a demonstration by Detective Roger Baxter with K-9 Officer Katie, a 9-year-old black Lab trained to help firefighters locate accelerants – such as gasoline – at the scene of a fire.

Baxter said Katie was trained using psychologist Pavlov’s famous experiments with conditioned reflex, to associate being fed with locating fire-causing chemicals.

This skill helps investigators determine whether a fire is arson or accident. “Everywhere Katie indicates she smells something, the materials are sent to a lab to find out what the accelerant is,” Baxter said.

After having Katie taken where she couldn’t see him, Baxter placed a small drop of gasoline behind one of the student’s chairs and at the base of a lamp post. Katie zeroed in on these spots in seconds and duly impressed the children, who rewarded her with petting and praise.

Firefighter Juan Sanchez then explained the value of a thermal-imaging camera.  It helps firefighters find their way in a smoke-filled home and locate people or animals that might be trapped, he said.

“Even with a flashlight, a firefighter sometimes cannot see more than a foot – and I have never been in your house, so I don’t know where your couches are or where your bedrooms are,” said Sanchez.

He explained that different materials show up as different colors or a brighter white on the camera, making it easier to locate a human being or animal

Wednesday’s event was part of four days of activities that tie together science and math with fire safety, taught by 5th-grade Science Teachers Nora Dickinson and Judy Baxter.

“On day one, we talked about what creates a fire – fuel, oxygen and something that sparks it. We talked about the difference between uncontrolled fires – like the fires at Yellowstone Park – and how firefighters set controlled fires. And we talked about fires in the movies,” Dickinson said.

On day two, firefighters talked about the importance of a fire escape plan. Students brought that information home to work with their families to create their own plans.

Classroom discussions – about heat, light, friction and related science/math concepts -also prepared the children for Wednesday’s events.

On day four, children will learn about the dangers of scalding (which is tied in with information provided about the Shriners Burn Hospitals),  and they will be invited to participate in a fire safety poster contest. Dickinson noted that for the last two years, Mansfield Middle School has gone to the regionals in this contest.

“Last year, we won for the region and one of our students went on to the state level.. she didn’t win the state [contest], but she was recognized at a banquet. So, we’re hoping for the big 3,” Dickinson said.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/fire_safety_at_mansfield_middle_school.html