HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2015 Long Islander News
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Online at www.LongIslanderNews.com
VOL. 17, ISSUE 10
24 PAGES
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2015
DIX HILLS
Chief Sees Through Smoke Of Modern Dangers By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandergroup.com
The smoke belching forth from fires in 2015 are much different – and much more toxic – than the fires of 30 years ago. But firefighting practices remain stuck in the past, one local fire chief says. Dix Hills Fire Chief Robert Fling is a man on a mission. He is taking his message on the road in a presentation called “Poisoned,” which aims to better equip first responders to protect themselves from smoke. When modern manufactured goods and home furnishings burn, many of them are petroleum- or polyester-based “and burn like gasoline,” he said. That results in smoke laden with hydrogen cyanide, a chemical
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that attacks the heart and brain in rapid-fire fashion. Hydrogen cyanide has a half-life in the body of about an hour and is 35 times more toxic than carbon monoxide. “It’s like Mike Tyson – it goes in, kicks your ass and it’s out of your body, no trace. The damage is done,” he said. Fling’s goal is to change the attitudes that firefighters hold about what they breathe in before, during and after a fire response. He argues firefighters must take a scientific approach to their duties, as well as one of a haz-mat technician. “The modern fire behavior that we have now, what we know is in the smoke, our habits that have not changed in the 270 years of the American fire service – it’s going to (Continued on page A19)
Photo by Steve Silverman
Says firefighters must adapt to new chemicals in homes with safer practices
Dix Hills Fire Chief Robert Fling is advocating for firefighters to take another look at how they protect themselves from smoke in the line of duty.
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON
Town Analyzes Sex Offender Law By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandergroup.com
The Town of Huntington’s attorneys are researching whether a recent ruling from the highest court in the state invalidates a nearly 10year-old town law dictating where sex offenders cannot live. The town board last month considered initiating a repeal of its Child Protection Act legislation, enacted in 2005, which bans level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within a quarter-mile (1,320 feet) of a school, child daycare center, day camp, park, beach or play-
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ground. A resolution scheduling a public hearing on a repeal was pulled from the agenda at the March 10 town board meeting. Town spokesman A.J. Carter said Monday that the board “just wanted to have more research” before they take any actions. The town law, which is more restrictive than state law, has come into question because a recent ruling by the state’s highest court struck down a similar ordinance enacted by Nassau County. The New York State Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 17 that Nassau County’s 2006 law prohibiting sex of-
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fenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, daycare centers, parks, youth centers and other areas where children are likely to congregate was invalid because New York State has jurisdiction over sex-offender regulations. The state currently restricts level 3 sex offenders and those on parole and probation from willfully entering school grounds or living within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center. Simply put, the court said that state law trumps ordinances. “In recent years, dozens of mu(Continued on page A19)