Latest news with #Sekula
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane Erin Palm Beach impact: Near-drowning prompts rip current warning
Palm Beach officials warned of a high risk of rip currents caused by Hurricane Erin a day after a near-drowning. The incident happened Aug. 18 on the beach near Sunrise Avenue, said Palm Beach Fire Rescue spokesman Assistant Chief Joseph Sekula. The person was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, he said. The town sent an alert on Aug. 19 warning of the high risk of rip currents caused by Hurricane Erin, which is not expected to make landfall in Florida but is causing dangerous ocean conditions, forecasters said. There is a high risk of rip currents along Palm Beach County beaches through the evening of Aug. 21, and a high surf advisory in effect through noon Aug. 23, according to the National Weather Service in Miami. "Beach conditions along the East Coast will become increasingly dangerous this week due to long-period ocean swell from distant Major Hurricane Erin," Palm Beach Fire Rescue officials said in the alert. That risk will continue through the week and conditions will improve into early next week, Fire Rescue said. Still, beachgoers should be aware that surf conditions could still be rough with a higher risk of rip currents for about a week, Fire Rescue said. A rip current is a strong, narrow flow of water that extends from the shore with a strong pull past the surf zone, according to the National Weather Service. Rip currents can pull even strong swimmers away from shore very quickly, Palm Beach Fire Rescue said in its alert. To escape a rip current, swimmers can try to swim parallel to the shore instead of toward it, Fire Rescue said. "The most important thing to remember if you are ever caught in a rip current is not to panic," Palm Beach Fire Rescue said in its alert. "Continue to breathe, try to keep your head above water, and don't exhaust yourself fighting against the force of the current." Swimmers who are unable to escape a rip current should face toward the shoreline and call or wave to get help, the National Weather Service said. People visiting beaches in Palm Beach should swim close to a lifeguard tower, check the conditions board and look for hazard flags, Fire Rescue said. A red flag means there is a high rip current and strong surf. While Phipps Ocean Park is closed for a $31 million renovation, that area of the coastline as well as Midtown Beach are staffed by the town's lifeguards, Sekula said. The heavy surf will also cause some localized erosion on beaches, National Weather Service forecasters said. To check daily beach conditions in Palm Beach, call 561-835-4693. Where is Hurricane Erin? As of the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. advisory on Aug. 19, Hurricane Erin was forecast to remain away from the U.S. in the Atlantic Ocean. While the eye of the storm is expected to remain offshore, areas of coastal North Carolina north into New England could experience tropical storm conditions and storm surge through Aug. 22, the National Hurricane Center said. Mayor Danielle Moore at the Town Council's Aug. 12 meeting encouraged residents to sign up for Palm Beach's emergency alert system by going to and click the "Sign Up" button. This story was updated to add new information. Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@ Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Hurricane Erin: Near-drowning prompts rip current alert in Palm Beach
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What's new with Palm Beach Fire-Rescue this season? Fire station, alerts and more
New facilities, vehicles and technology have been in the spotlight this season for Palm Beach Fire-Rescue. A major renovation and rehabilitation of Palm Beach's North Fire Station at 300 N. County Road was completed, paving the way for crews to fully move in and begin using the facility this spring. The $17 million renovation took nearly three years, and crews operated out of a temporary station throughout the work. "So for the very short term, we've been able to have everybody under one roof again here at North Fire," said Assistant Fire Chief Joe Sekula, Fire-Rescue spokesman. Having the crews and vehicles in permanent quarters has been a relief, he said, noting that there were space constraints for both people and equipment, and the vehicles were more vulnerable to the effects of the outdoors and salty sea air, leading to more maintenance. The fire station, built in 1927, required significant repairs, and upgrades were included in that process, Sekula said. The new firehouse has a Plymovent air-handling system that removes vehicle exhaust from the bays, he said. The bay doors also were improved to open horizontally instead of rising up, like residential garage doors — a process that made it take much longer for trucks to leave the station, because the solid wood doors were so heavy, Sekula said. "The great thing about the station has been that while we have reinforced and redone the station to bring it up to modern standards, we also pride ourselves in that we've been able to preserve the history of the station as well," he said. "We didn't want to totally bring it back and not harness some of that history." Palm Beach's North Fire Station is officially open and in use at 300 N. County Road on April 2, following a nearly three-year, $17 million renovation. Some of those modern improvements can be seen in the living space, where crews spend a significant amount of time. The changes range from the functional — a state-of-the-art kitchen and dining room — to the more aesthetic: there are places where the original brick walls are exposed. "Our firefighters are here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days out of the year," Sekula said. "It's a constant use over and over and over." A new alert system in the station provides more detail and a more visual, as well as audible, cue that there is an emergency call, he said. Inside the bay, new timer boards tell crews how long it takes them to get out the door. "We measure everything in seconds," Sekula said. Speaking of seconds — Sekula said the department has launched several systems using new-to-the-island technology to help keep response times low amid the issues with traffic in Palm Beach. A Palm Beach Fire Rescue truck is parked at the North Fire Station on April 23. Fire-Rescue crews are able to control traffic signals so that they change in favor of emergency vehicles, he said. The department at the beginning of the season began using a new system called HAAS Alert, which notifies compatible vehicle infotainment systems and navigation apps — vehicles made by Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Volkswagen, and people who use Apple Maps or Waze — that an emergency vehicle is approaching. "We deployed that as a trial on one unit of our engines, and it's worked so well that we've decided that we're going to add this to all of our units," Sekula said. Both tools allow Fire-Rescue crews to respond quickly, even when traffic might be gridlocked, he said. Also new this season: A quick response vehicle that can be used to quickly navigate to medical calls when traffic is backed up. Because it is narrower and smaller, Sekula said it can take a small crew to a call, make contact with a patient and even carry a person on a stretcher back to a waiting emergency vehicle for more treatment or to go to a hospital. That's in addition to a state-of-the-art emergency response vehicle worth $75,000 donated to the town by the Trump Organization this spring. The gift of the EMS Paramedic Responder vehicle was made through the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation. The Trump Organization gifted a new EMS Paramedic Responder to the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation for the town's Fire-Rescue Department. The vehicle, valued at more than $75,000, accommodates five passengers and includes a stretcher. Capping off a busy season of training and recertifications, Palm Beach's Fire-Rescue formed its first competition RIT, or Rapid Intervention Team, Sekula said. After their first competition earlier this year, the team is set to compete again in a statewide event at Palm Beach State College, he added. "They did very well for their first outing, and they were very well-respected for what they did, in being in their first competition," he said. The department made great progress this season on its automated external defibrillator, or AED, initiative, with 293 registered devices on the island, Sekula said. "For the size of our island, to be able to have that many registered AEDs, it's just amazing," he said. It's part of a larger initiative with Fire-Rescue working with the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation's Safeguard Palm Beach division to place 500 defibrillators throughout town. Safeguard Palm Beach delivers the defibrillators, and Fire-Rescue staff then train the residents or business owners how to use the devices to treat people who experience sudden cardiac arrest. The town started with places defibrillators in homes, then moved to condominiums, then public spaces and outdoor areas, Sekula said. "The goal is to be the safest community around," he said. "Anyone that would need an AED, wherever that emergency happens, we want there to be an AED close by that can be used." Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@ Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: What's new with Palm Beach Fire-Rescue this season?
