Firefighters contain wildfire in Williams despite drone incursion

WILLIAMS – Firefighters contained a small wildfire Thursday in Williams near Oak and 11th streets despite a drone flying over the area that temporarily delayed the arrival of a helicopter attempting to drop water on the blaze.

The Williams Fire, which was reported to the Williams Dispatch Center at about 12:45 p.m. Thursday and said to be located on the southwest side of Cemetery Hill, was less than a quarter mile away from residences in the area. Kaibab National Forest fire officials arrived on scene and immediately requested that a helicopter that was prepositioned at the Williams Airport be dispatched to drop water on the fire.

As the helicopter was preparing to launch, incident commander Mike Uebel reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle, also known as a drone, was flying over the fire. The helicopter was advised to stand down until representatives from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office could find the operator and get the drone cleared from the area.

The drone eventually departed the fire area, and Uebel was able to guide the helicopter into the location to make water drops. Other firefighting resources working to suppress the Williams Fire included four engines and a dozer. While the Williams Fire was contained at less than an acre in size, the situation could have ended very differently, according to fire officials.

“People may be flying a drone thinking it’s cool to get video footage of a wildfire, but they don’t realize the impacts they have on our ability to do our jobs,” Uebel said. “Sometimes your actions that seem harmless can have major impacts to the safety of firefighters and to the safety of our community. If we can’t respond, we can’t put out the fire.”

Members of the public should never fly an unmanned aerial vehicle over or near a wildfire. Unauthorized drone flights could cause serious injury or death to firefighters in the air or firefighters and members of the public on the ground. Firefighting aircraft, such as air attack, lead planes, airtankers and helicopters, typically fly in smoky, windy and turbulent conditions. Safety depends on knowing what other aircraft are operating in the airspace and where they are at all times. This is compromised by the presence of unauthorized drones.

“We don’t want recreational drone use to impede the response of aerial resources. On another day when conditions weren’t as favorable for us, we could have had a different outcome,” said Jeremy Human, fire management officer for the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The drone never reappeared and the operator was not found.

Representatives from Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Williams Police Department and Williams Fire Department all assisted Kaibab National Forest fire officials in the fire suppression effort.

Datascope recalls certain Intra-Aortic Balloon pumps.

Datascope Corp. is voluntarily performing a worldwide field correction of certain Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) sold by Datascope Corp. for a potential electrical test failure code.

AFFECTED PRODUCT PART NUMBER
CS100i IABP 0998-UC-0446HXX; 0998-UC-0479HXX
CS100 IABP 0998-00-3013-XX; 0998-UC-3013-XX
CS300 IABP 0998-00-3023-XX; 0998-UC-3023-XX

This field correction also applies to any System 98 or System 98XT IABP that was converted to a CS100i or CS300 IABP.

Overall Action for User
Patients receiving IABP therapy are in critical condition and sudden interruption of therapy could result in unsafe, hemodynamic instability. Maquet/Getinge indicates that the risk-benefit of using an affected CS100i, CS100 or CS300 IABP should be assessed by the medical team for each patient when no alternative IABP or alternative therapy is available. Please adhere to the following instructions when using affected devices:

  • Pursuant to the USER Instruction WARNINGS, clinicians are instructed not to leave the patient unattended during IABP therapy.
  • An additional hazard associated with a sudden shutdown is related to the static condition (no inflating or deflating) of the balloon during the interruption of therapy. It is important to note the following WARNING in the CS100i, CS100 or CS300 IABP Operating Instructions Manual:

    WARNING: The patient balloon should not remain inactive in the patient (i.e., not inflating or deflating) for more than 30 minutes due to the potential for thrombus formation.

  • Until the service is performed, we recommend powering on the IABP prior to inserting the IAB catheter to allow the IABP to successfully complete its self-test. This action will take less than 60 seconds to perform. In the event the IABP fails to successfully complete the self-test and exhibits electrical test failure code 58, please remove the IABP from service and contact your local Maquet/Getinge Sales & Service Office.

Datascope has received a complaint that has been associated with a patient death due to the failure of the device to initiate therapy. This complaint involved a CS300 IABP that did not pump due to an electrical test failure code #58 (power up vent tests fail), maintenance code #3, and an autofill failure. An electrical test failure code #58 is caused by a solenoid valve requiring more power than the solenoid driver board can deliver to open the valve.

There are approximately 12,000 affected units sold globally. The affected IABP units were distributed in the U.S. and worldwide (in over 100 countries). Affected units were distributed between March 23, 2003, and December 11, 2013. Units distributed after December 11, 2013, are not affected by the field correction.

A service representative from Datascope will be replacing the defective solenoid driver boards. Customers having affected IABP unit(s) will be contacted by a representative of the Maquet/Getinge Service Team to schedule on-site service.

For additional information regarding this field correction, please contact the Customer Service Department at 1-888-627-8383 and Press 2 (Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT).

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

  • Regular Mail or Fax: Download form www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178.