This morning, we’re starting off with patchy dense fog across the region. The reason… lots of low level moisture! We’ve picked up a little over a tenth of an inch of rain in the past 24 hours… AND the ground is extremely saturated from the snowmelt. Skies cleared out a bit overnight… and BAM! We’re left with low visibilities this morning. We have numerous school delays because of this! Here’s a look at just how low they are out there if you’re heading out soon:

Matt sent us this shot from his place in Beavercreek… says the fog is pretty bad all along the Montgomery/Greene Co. line in that area:

The fog should burn off as the sun continues to rise… warming temps. But I think we’ll be mostly cloudy for much of the day. As we head into late afternoon and early evening, we have the chance for showers and thunderstorms. It looks like anytime after 4pm it could be wet… and the rain will continue overnight. The Severe Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed us in a “Slight Risk” for severe weather this afternoon and evening:

Our biggest severe threat will be hail… and the potential for an isolated tornado. We will, of course, keep you posted on any watches or warnings on Channel 2, and on www.wdtn.com. Strong thunderstorms will be entirely dependent on how much destabilization we see during the afternoon. The best chance will be between 4 and 8pm!
We will remain rainy tonight and Saturday as the main storm approaches from the southwest. Showers and thunderstorms could produce some heavier rain in spots, so the potential is still there for some localized flooding problems. A few showers linger on Sunday, but a drying trend works in for next week!
On to the KLA update! As many of you know, I am enrolled in the 2009/2010 class of the Kettering Leadership Academy. This is a program that you are selected to be in by city representatives… and you learn all about the city and the different people and programs that make it work. This month, we focused on Public Safety! We started out at the Kettering Police Department, where we got a tour of the station… including the new dispatch room (impressive!) and the shooting range. One of the officers showed off the different guns, and did a shooting demo for us, so we could see the difference in accuracy and firepower. Being pregnant, they had me enclosed in a booth, just to be safe (with the threat being lead exposure). They did offer a chance to shoot a gun to some of my classmates… but they declined.
Next, we headed outside to meet the K9 units! We met a black lab named Bandit, and a German Shepard named Brix. It was amazing as they both came upon a staged car and found the drugs the officers hid inside. It was really like a game to them… they got a prize after they found the bad stuff, and their tails were wagging the whole time. They were also pretty excited to find some objects the officers hid in the grassy/tree area nearby. A screwdriver, and a police badge. I couldn’t believe how fast they found the items! They basically search an area for “things that don’t belong”… which could be disposed-of-evidence in a case. Bandit will sit on an item and bark until recognized/rewarded, but Brix puts the item in his mouth and puts up a fight to give it up… quite entertaining! We also watched Brix apprehend a “suspect”… man that dog is strong! You can read more about the K9 unit here: KETTERING POLICE DEPARTMENT K9 UNIT.
Police Chief Jim O’Dell then spoke with us about the challenges of police officers and the Chief of Police position. One of the things that stuck with me was the fact that these officers often have to make life-or-death decisions in a matter of seconds. How clearly would you be thinking in a moment of huge adrenaline rush? Talk about stress on the job!
After leaving the Police Department, we headed over to Fire Station #33. Kettering has seven fire stations… numbered 31 through 37. The reason for the high numbers is because they are actually a part of a COUNTY numbering system, to make it easier when multiple cities respond to any given fire. Anyway, the guys there cooked us some lunch and we briefly spoke with Chief Bob Miles about the department and its operations. Kettering has about 100 volunteer firefighters… and it always amazes me how these people donate a good chunk of their time… and put their lives on the line… all as volunteers!!
The crew had gear waiting for us out back, so we headed out to play dress up! I could not believe how HEAVY the clothing is! The jacket and pants alone are like 20 pounds, and the boots add an extra 10. It wasn’t bad at first, but once I had been wearing it for awhile, I did have to sit down! We first got to try entering a “burning” building to put out a fire. The hose was set to only half-pressure for us… but that was still unbelievably heavy/hard to maneuver! Being cautious with the pregnancy, I had some help on this drill. Thanks to Shift Commander, Nick Hosford for assisting!

We entered the structure, and got to actually spray the hose… and using two people learned how to lift/drop the hose to hit different areas.
Next, was the “Smoke House”. I did not participate in this drill, because of the pregnancy… but I got to see my classmates put on the air packs… which weighed an additional 30 pounds, by the way! The airpacks contain compressed air, and in a fire situation might last 9 to 20 minutes. They are completely sealed around your face, to let no contaminated air in… and are (as one of my classmates found) not good if you are claustrophobic!! They also demonstrated their thermal imaging cameras, which I did get to see. In a dark room full of heavy smoke, you can CLEARLY make out bodies. The firefighters told us besides the air packs, this is one of the greatest inventions in fire rescue.
Last, we got to tear apart a car! This was to demonstrate rescue for a car accident. Once again, there were heavy, heavy tools we used to remove the doors from the car… VERY powerful tools! And some more manual items that allowed us to cut/smash out the windows. We also discussed the paramedic-side to being a firefighter, as most of the calls are for EMTs.
Overall, we gained new admiration for our firefighters, and really those around the country. We were only doing minimal training… THEY do much more than that weekly, and in actual emergencies… they put their lives on the line to save others. It is truly amazing, and definitely not for everyone! Kudos to the people in our community that help keep us safe!!
We will be running a story on the Kettering Leadership Academy tonight during the 5-6:30 newscasts… so I hope you can catch it!
Have a great weekend,
Jamie