Page 12 - Mid Valley Times 12-26-19 E-edition

FIRE
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tonight,” said Huebert. “And just he and his daughter were in the house when he heard stuff popping and cracking, he came out of his bedroom and I guess the whole house was already in flames.”
Huebert also said the occu- pant of the home had several pets but only one was accounted for.
Crews were dispatched to the area shortly after 7 p.m. after re- ceiving multiple calls of a house on fire.
“When firefighters arrived they found a single family resi- dence well involved with smoke and flames,” said Jerry Isaak, Reedley’s Fire Chief. “Upon ar- rival our engines made an ag- gressive attack to try and subdue the flames, they were all over the place.”
Isaak said during the initial attack on the fire one of his crew members was injured.
“The firefighter impaled his foot on a Christmas tree stand,” he said. “He was treated here on
side the structure, we’re not sure where but we were able to find a pitbull dog and bring the animal out.”
The dog, named “Chubbs” was brought out by firefighters and given medical aid on scene.
“The dog was suffering from smoke inhalation and we were able to provide oxygen to the dog and resuscitate it to a point where it seems to be ok now,” said Isaak. “We hadn’t seen any other animals as of yet.”
The cause of the fire is still not known, Isaak said an inves- tigator was on scene to try and determine the cause.
The occupants said they’d re- cently had electrical issues.
Damages were estimated at $320,000.
“We have an automatic and mutual aid agreement with sur- rounding agencies, so we get two engines from Fresno County and we also called for two addition- al engines just due to the size of the fire and all the smoke,” said Isaak. “So we ended up with three engines from Fresno County and one from the city of Dinuba.”
Sanger DUI detail nets two arrests, five citations
Thursday, December 26, 2019 | A12 | Mid Valley TiMes
COUNCIL Continued from page A1
which received two votes and the majority of the quorum at the previous meeting, requires at least three votes from the council to pass.
But the council did take action on other items, one of which will be seen in posted speed limits throughout town. The city council unanimously approved a new ordinance (No. 2019-09) that will rees- tablish speed limits at certain collector and arterial streets.
The ordinance was tabled a few months ago to allow council members to review information.
According to Sanger City
Engineer Josh Rogers, the city typically reviews the city speed limits every sev- en years. The last time they were reviewed, he said, was in 2012. At that time, new lim- its were approved and adopt- ed at the beginning of 2013.
The suggested speed lim- its are based on city studies that observe traffic patterns and consider the 85th percen- tile speed of travelers. The city also takes into consider- ation school zones, land use and adjacent speed limits.
Sanger’s Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez recognized the adjustments as a way of recognizing observed behav- ior by city drivers.
“When you look on these
numbers on paper, the num- bers can seem really high,” said Martinez. “But in real- ity, believe me, I’ve driven these (roads) a lot of times in the last couple of months, and you really have to be in a car to experience what 35 miles-per-hour is increasing from 25... It may seem dra- matic, but I think in reality, when you drive it, it’s a little more calm and not as dra- matic.”
With the approval, speed limits will be going up on sev- en city streets. Almond Avenue, between Bethel and Green- wood avenues, will be going up from 25 mph to 35. Annad- ale Avenue, from Indianola to Bethel avenues, will go from
30 mph to 40. Bethel Avenue, between Church and Jensen avenues will do likewise.
Two 25 mph speed zones on Church Avenue will also be going up to 35 mph, be- tween Indianola and Bethel avenues and between Acad- emy and Bethel avenues. North Avenue will see two increases in 35 mph speed zones. The area from Bethel to Academy avenues will go up to 45 mph.
And in the city’s biggest speed limit change, North Av- enue from city limits to Beth- el Avenue will go up form 35 mph to 50 mph. The study showed that most drivers drove that section of North Avenue at 53 mph.
In other council news, a local business owner offered to help the city with a $5,000 donation to go towards put- ting up a Christmas tree in downtown Sanger.
Since the 1980’s the city of Sanger, which is also known as the Nation’s Christmas Tree City, has put up a lighted Christmas tree at the inter- section of 7th and N streets. In addition, the city’s water tower at Jensen and Acad- emy avenues was tradition- ally decorated with lights to resemble a towering Christ- mas tree.
This year, both traditional trees are missing from the Sanger landscape, and many have noticed.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Firefighters provided oxygen for a white pitbull named “Chubbs” who was rescued from the fire and was suffering from smoke inhalation. Chubbs appeared to be in good condition after firefighters gave him medical aid.
scene by a medic and transport- ed to Adventist Health in Reed- ley.”
The firefighter, who has not been identified, was alert and talking but visibly in pain as he was hauled off on a gurney.
“We had a report of two dogs and three cats in the yard or in-
MVT Staff Report
A DUI and license checkpoint conducted by the Sanger Police Department on Dec. 21 resulted in the arrest of two subjects and five ci- tations.
The department’s Traffic Safety Unit con- ducted the Saturday checkpoint as part of their efforts to reduce DUI related deaths and injury during this holiday season. According to the police department, the deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes.
Officers checked drivers passing though the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment as well as
proper licensing. During the course of
the checkpoint opera- tion, officers arrested one driver for DUI, re- portedly for driving un- der the influence of mar- ijuana, and one driver who was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
The department’s Traf- fic Safety Unit also cited three drivers for being unlicensed and two for driving with a suspended license. Three vehicles were either towed away or picked up.
Drivers caught driving while impaired can expect jail time, license suspen- sion, insurance increases as well as fines.
Sanger PD reminds those who chose to drink to do so responsibly. Des- ignate a driver or make arrangements for some- one to get you home.
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