Yakima trolleys -- a century old and on a roll
By ROD ANTONE
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

LIZ MARTIN/Yakima Herald-Republic

Rich Rowland waits for the parade of the Yakima Valley Transportation Co.'s streetcars and locomotives to resume after stopping at Tieton Drive and Pine Street to turn around on Sunday. Rowland is a volunteer conductor for the trolley line, which celebrated its 100th anniversary with the parade.
One hundred years later, and the trolley wheels are still rolling along in the Yakima Valley.

Yakima Valley Trolley, formerly known as the Yakima Valley Transportation Co., celebrated a century of continuously running streetcars and locomotives through town Sunday. Families hopped on for a free ride and took a short trip down memory lane, even if it was just from the car barn on South Third Avenue and Pine Street to the end of the road on Eleventh Avenue.

"Whenever she sees the trolleys, she says 'Look nana, choo-choo!'" said Julie Harmia of her 4-year-old granddaughter, Theresa Duran, both of whom got on the first trolley ride of the day. "She's had a fascination of trains ever since she saw the Polar Express (movie)."

Yakima Valley Trolley motorman Scott Neel has had the same fascination since he was a boy. So much so that he has been a volunteer with the organization since 1984, just so he can wear a conductor's hat and keep the trolley rides going for kids of all ages.

"I grew up on the Sixth Avenue line seeing big locomotives every day -- one day they gave me a ride ... that kind of hooked me," he said. "The best part about this job is making kids and people smile."

Besides enjoying the view on a trolley -- or streetcar, as they are also called -- visitors gain a sense of history and pride because Yakima has managed to keep its streetcar system all these years. Author Kenneth Johnson, who wrote a book on the history of the Yakima Valley Transportation Co., classified it as the "last intact, early 20th century American, electric, interurban railroad."

"It's the only one still in its original condition: tracks, buildings, power system, locomotives and some of the streetcars," he said. "It's a real gem."

Those touring the facility can see for themselves the same stone and timber car barn and masonry substation that was built between 1910. The railroad itself was constructed between 1907 and 1913 and at one point ran about 44 miles of track heading out to locations like Selah, Wiley City, and Henrybro.

The trolleys still use the same overhead wires now that they did back then as well. But while the trolleys are just weekend amusement now, once it was an integral part of everyday life in Yakima.

"A lot of women didn't know how to drive back in those days, so they would just step on the street corner and caught the streetcar," said Yvonne Wilbur of the Yakima Valley Historical Society. "Some grandmothers would buy a ticket and put their grandkids on the trolley to ride all day ... it was like a baby-sitter."


Theresa Duran, 4, waves from a streetcar during a Sunday's parade of the Yakima Valley Transportation Co.'s streetcars and locomotives.
It was like that all across the country until the 1930s and '40s, when automobiles became more mainstream, Johnson said. And one by one, streetcar systems began disappearing.

"Nobody wanted streetcars anymore, automobiles were the flashy new thing now," Johnson said. "But in Yakima they were also still hauling freight until 1988, so that kept the system up and running. That's what set it apart."

Almost every piece of the Yakima Valley Trolley system is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And there are plans to expand it further, to have the streetcars running back to Selah again.

The expansion would mean longer five-mile rides that would last about an hour. Although it will eventually mean more work for volunteers, they don't seem to mind.

For those like Neel, it's the real reason why he and others have been volunteering to keep the tracks running all these years.

"It's fun to maintain this system, but what good is it if you can't share it with the community?" he said.

* Rod Antone can be reached at 577-7628 or rantone@yakimaherald.com

* The Yakima Valley Trolley will make runs every Saturday, Sunday and holiday from May 26 through Labor Day. Trolleys leave the car barn at South Third Avenue and Pine Street hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for children.

Officials investigate S.C. fire tragedy
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press Writer Wednesday, June 20, 2007, that children made for a memorial to nine firefighters who died in a furniture store fire in Charleston, S.C. The fire swept through the store Monday evening.
Charleston firefighter Richard Happ removes a necklace and places it on a cross, Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at a memorial to nine firefighters who died in a furniture warehouse fire in Charleston, S.C. A fire swept through the warehouse Monday evening, collapsing the roof and killing the firefighters inside. Firefighter James "Earl" Drayton's daughter Jackie Drayton, kneeling left, along with friends stop at the memorial, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, outside the scene of where nine Charleston firefighters, including James, lost their lives in a blaze, in Charleston, S.C, Charleston Fire Department firefighter Greg Chesher, right, is comforted by a police chaplain Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in front of the Sofa Super Store where nine firefighters died in Charleston, S.C. Fire swept through a furniture warehouse, collapsing its roof Tuesday and killing nine firefighters inside. ATF agents survey the scene at the Sofa Super Store Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in Charleston, S.C., after a fire at the store and warehouse left nine firefighters dead. This combination of photos provided Tuesday, June 19, 2007 by the City of Charleston, S.C. shows the nine firefighters killed in a fire Monday night in Charleston. Top row, left to right: Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37, Capt. Mike Benke, 49, Melvin Champaign, 46. Middle row, left to right: James "Earl" Drayton, 56, Michael French, 27, Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48. Bottom row, left to right: Mark Kelsey, 40, Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34, Brandon Thompson, 27. Fire swept through a furniture warehouse, collapsing its roof and killing the firefighters inside the nation's deadliest single disaster for firefighters since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. CHARLESTON, S.C. --
How did a trash fire in an outdoor bin manage to spread to a furniture store and explode into a raging inferno that killed nine firefighters? And why were as many as 16 firefighters inside the place when the roof came down?

City and state officials announced plans to investigate and find out as questions mounted Wednesday over the Fire Department's handling of the Sofa Super Store blaze, the nation's deadliest firefighting tragedy since 9/11.

Among other things, investigators want to know whether fire crews violated safe firefighting procedures and whether they were adequately trained and equipped.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said that he was confident the department followed proper procedure, but that the investigation is necessary.

"Part of the purpose is to look, for us or any fire department in the country, if there are lessons learned in terms of how well things were done or any aspect of it," said Riley, who added the inquiry would include asking whether too many firefighters were in the building Monday night.

The assistant fire chief who made the call that the building was safe to enter said firefighters initially thought the trash fire outside had not spread inside the store, but said Wednesday night he now suspects it was already burning in the ceiling when they arrived.

Assistant Fire Chief Larry Garvin said he made three trips in and out of the building in about five minutes, and noticed the smoke getting progressively worse. But it still seemed manageable enough for men to go inside.

"We went, with the training we have, knowing we could put the fire out and it just went awry," Garvin said. "Things did not happen like they normally happen. If there had been fire rolling out of those back doors, I wouldn't have sent them in. I don't care anything about a building."

Garvin said the fire and smoke seemed to intensify within minutes, leading him to suspect the fire was burning in the ceiling. He said he suspects the firefighters who died got lost inside the building in thick smoke. He said their bodies were found separated from their fire hoses - their lifelines to getting back outside.

Fire officials vehemently defended their actions.

"The captains did exactly what they were trained to do. They didn't do anything they wouldn't have done at any other time. They didn't make a mistake when they first went in there. They did exactly what they were supposed to do, there's no question," said Assistant Fire Chief Ronnie Classen.

The first firefighters on the scene initially reported that trash was on fire in a bin behind the building, Fire Chief Rusty Thomas said. As for why the fire could not be extinguished before it spread, he said, "I don't know."

One expert, Carl Peterson, director of public fire protection division at the National Fire Protection Association, said fire creeps into tough-to-detect places, moving through walls and other concealed spaces. Peterson said he did not have enough information to say whether fire officials made any mistakes.

Peterson said there is no standard on the number of firefighters in a structure "as long as the building is safe."

"If fire is blowing out over your head, then it's 15 people too many in the building," he said.

Another expert, Mike Parrotta, president of the South Carolina Professional Fire Fighters Association, said South Carolina is the only state that allows fire officials to sidestep a federal regulation requiring that for every employee doing hazardous work inside a building, one must be outside.

Parrotta said that he did not know whether that played a role in Monday night's tragedy, but that the issue needs to be raised.

"We in the fire profession are asking questions: How did this tragedy happen to these nine people?" said Parrotta, a retired Myrtle Beach firefighter. "After Friday, after the memorial services and stuff, hopefully they will go to task and get all the tough questions answered."

One consultant said the decision to send so many firefighters into the building may have been particularly unwise.

"There's some point that somebody's got to say, 'Maybe now's not the time,'" said Lee DeVito, president of FIREPRO, a fire protection consulting firm based in Andover, Mass. "I would have some serious thoughts about doing that."

In addition to the city, South Carolina's Labor, Licensing and Regulation Department is investigating how the fire was handled. The department will look into whether fire officials properly trained and equipped the firefighters, and "we'll ask how firefighters performed their jobs," said department spokesman Jim Knight.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by state and federal officials, but arson is not suspected.

The victims died of smoke inhalation and extensive burns, Coroner Rae Wooten said.

"They lived together, they worked together, they played together and they died together," she said.

Dozens of townspeople watched as the bodies were taken in a procession of hearses that left the coroner's office for various funeral homes. Each was escorted by police and the fire trucks on which they served.

Memorials to the nine men were set up in front of fire stations and at the gutted store. In front of the city's main fire station, flowers sent by firefighters from around the region were piled high and a note read: "We are so, so sorry for your loss. Our hearts are heavy and our admiration for all of you even stronger. ... You make our neighborhood a brighter place."

The firefighters went into the building after an employee in the store, working in a repair shop off the warehouse, called 911 on a cell phone after he couldn't find his way out past smoke and flames. The employee, Jonathan Tyrrell, was eventually rescued.

Tyrrell, 28, said Wednesday he found a hammer and worked feverishly in an attempt to smash a fan from its mounting in an outside wall to get outside. He said he kept hammering away in the hope firefighters would hear him.

"The smoke was getting thicker and thicker. I basically laid on the floor hitting cabinets and walls and anything I could reach. A few minutes later I heard the firemen yelling and I knew exactly where they were," he said.

A firefighter chopped through the metal siding and "I could feel the fresh air just coming."

"If it wasn't for God and it wasn't for the firefighters, coming to get me though the wall, I wouldn't have made it," he said.
Associated Press writers Russ Bynum and Meg Kinnard in Charleston, and Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, contributed to this report.

Pictures Found on Digital Camera Lead to Graffiti Charges

June 19, 2007 05:59 AM

Yakima, WA - Pictures found on a digital camera in Yakima have one teenager facing criminal charges. Deputies found several pictures of graffiti on the camera. According to Yakima County Sheriffs, Eleven separate people had their property damaged by this man. A tow truck driver was towing a car, when he found a camera inside that he thought might be stolen. When he turned it over to deputies, they found the pictures of the defaced property in Yakima, Wapato, and Union Gap. Sheriff's were able to get a search warrant for the home of the 18 year old Union Gap Man. Once inside they found spray cans and a video camera, with a footage of him committing the crimes. The man was already being held in a Yakima County Jail on other charges. For this crime, he faces 7 felony counts and 4 misdemeanor counts of malicious mischief.