We’re told that about 800 people applied for ACFD’s latest recruitment class. Of those, several hundred are being invited to participate in a physical abilities test.
A recruitment class is expected to start at the training academy in June. Another recruitment class is expected to begin immediately after the first graduates in November. All told, the fire department expects to make 40 new hires this year.
The county’s streets bureau, responding to a complaint from a trash collector, determined that a curvy, two-block stretch of North Edgewood Street is too narrow. With cars parked on either side, firefighters brought in to test the width did not have enough room to open the bins on either side of their fire engine.
Acting upon the results of the test, the streets bureau sent notice to residents that they were planning on restricting parking to one side of the street. But residents fought back and, this weekend, seemed to get some cover from the county board.
The popular new restaurant just applied for an ABC license from the state.
“We think it’s going to be a couple of months” until the license is granted, District Taco founder Osiris Hoil said. “We hope to have it by the summer.”
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Residents in some parts of Arlington woke up to the smell of sewer natural gas.
Many called the fire department to report the gas smell, which the county’s Department of Environmental Services says is an issue that Washington Gas is investigating.
Want to learn how to help your neighbors, co-workers or family in an emergency? If so, Arlington will be offering free emergency response training in March.
The training is part of the county’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
Dominion has been out in force, working furiously to restore service to the thousands of customers who lost power last night. As of 3:45 p.m., the number without power in Arlington has been cut to 6,700 — down from 16,700 last night.
Most Dominion customers in Arlington should have their power restored at some point tonight. Still, Dominion says 10 percent of affected customers will have to wait until Friday night for the lights to come back on. And the company doesn’t expect to have power restored to all Northern Virginia customers until Saturday.
The board awarded a $651,000 contract to install an emergency vehicle preemption system along the entire Arlington stretch of Lee Highway. The system will allow emergency vehicles to get an automatic green light at approaching intersections, thus reducing travel times and enhancing safety.
“Emergency vehicle preemption technology is critical to saving lives by giving responders safe, speedy passage through intersections and cutting precious minutes off the time it takes to get patients to life-saving care at a hospital,” Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz said in a statement.
Chain Bridge Road is expected to remain shut down for the next half an hour as firefighters work to rescue a man trapped in a van that knocked over a utility pole.
Initial reports suggest the driver of a delivery van knocked over a utility pole while backing out of a driveway on the 100 block of Chain Bridge Road, just north of Chain Bridge. Live power lines fell on the van, trapping the driver inside.
The system would improve the response times of emergency responders by preemptively turning traffic lights red for conflicting traffic in the path of an emergency vehicle.
The $563,902 contract, which includes an $87,384 cost overage contingency, would install the EVP system at 31 traffic signals on Lee Highway. The federal government is providing most of the funding for the project, with Arlington County chipping in about $130,000.
(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) Two workers have been injured after reportedly falling 10-15 feet at the Founders Square construction site in Ballston.
Initial reports suggested the workers were conscious and responsive, suffering from shoulder, neck and back injuries. They were transported via ambulance to a local hospital. The injuries are said to be non-life threatening.
We just wanted to take a quick moment to thank everybody who will be working over the Christmas holiday.
From emergency personnel to military service members to media workers to retail and service employees, here’s to the dedicated men and women who will be protecting, informing and serving us while much of the community is opening presents and spending time with family.
Firefighters are on the scene of a fire on the second floor of the Carlton condominium at 4600 South Four Mile Run Drive.
Firefighters are reporting that there was a kitchen fire in one of the units. The blaze is now under control, we hear.
