Abandoned Coal Mine Exploring . Some people are getting their kicks exploring old workings and it can get you very dead

 

 Exploring old abandoned  building and workings has always been an interesting hobby  and for most part can be done so safely . But a newer fad of going into old abandoned Bituminous and Anthracite Coal Mines is a downright Dangerous Game .

But there is a group of young people who show off their exploits on Face Book and You Tube 

who-are not taking anywhere near the precautions an experienced Mine Rescue Crew would use to enter old dangerous mine openings. 

Black Damp , Gray Damp , Collapses and deadly Explosive Methane Gas is always a possible danger when entering old mine workings .

That's why Rescue crews carry a multi gas meter which warns them if their is lack of oxygen or gas building up. 

But not these explorers who wander about mines in very dangerous risk of collapse at any time with no apparent protective equipment

 Just one breath of Black Damp and your dead. Many times no one knows they have gone in and many times it is a single person doing the exploring .

The State of Pa. has been sealing off mines every chance they can but there are still hundreds out there open for exploring . Recently 3  mine entry's near a popular bike Trail in Kiski Twp Armstrong County  where sealed by the DEP .

Yes all the pictures are neat to see but at what cost? If some one gets trapped a Mine Rescue Team must risk their lives to rescue or recover a body of some one who screwed up being in an old mine they have no business being in. 

Remember Stay out Stay Safe and report to Pa. DEP mine openings you find.

Kecksburg UFO Festival is an accident waiting to happen . How can a fair run by a Fire Company get away with so many safety violations ?

 I love going to small county fairs and one of my favorite has been the UFO Festival put on by Kecksburg Fire Dept in Kecksburg Pa. I go for the Food and Great Homemade  Cold Drinks

But this fair  has been going down hill every year with the Fire depts lack of response to issues  I for one will never return or speak at it again.

As some one who does Free Lance work for Insurance company's and providers which includes 

 Forensic Electrical Inspection , Fire Investigation , Code Compliance and Risk Analysis I am appalled at the total lack of safety concerns .

Had they been running this fair in City of Pittsburgh or other areas which takes fire and electrical codes seriously it would have been shut down .

Remember this I was not even looking hard for violations these where all out and blatant  for anyone to see.

 

To Start With their are all kind of extension cords run all over the place and not properly guarded as required by Pa State Fair laws 

This presents a serious trip hazard and hard for those in wheel chairs makes it  to get over them . Plus the fair is violating ADA rules because the booths are so tight you can not maneuver on foot let alone in a wheelchair . If some one fell and got hurt medics would have a hard time getting to some one .

There are cords all thru the booths running all kind of fans  lights and extension cords and plug strips  unknown if anything is GFCI protected and not one Fire Extinguisher to be seen anywhere and some booths had burning incense absolutely prohibited . No Open Flames are allowed in vending tent areas without proper precautions taken

Then an absolute Flagrant and serious Fire Code violation a Gasoline fueled Fan is being used in booths . Check the right corner of the tent.and zoom in. No Flammable Fuels are allowed in vending areas period.

Then the parking area 

 

 Poorly cut no  temp painted stripes or signs where to park  its all hap hazard temps in high 80s and lot was not whetted  down to prevent fire or dust and if a fire did break out from a low profile car no way for fire trucks to get into fight it. 

Another issue private citizens walking around with open carry fire arms   walking in some very crowded areas . Yes it legal but common sense says no you should not and conceal your weapon.

Too many times a weapon could have been grabbed by a deranged individual 

Then to add insult to injury they passed a rule only fire dept could sell drinks so No homemade lemonade or fruit drinks and punches  just crap sold in a bottle. just being greedy bastards

So many people walk around this fair and enjoy the homemade lemonade but not this year.

This fair has become a very dangerous joke it needs corrected or shut down period. 

SHAME ON KECKSBURG FIRE COMPANY FOR LETTING IT GET THIS WAY

USAA Insurnace and Resideo / Honeywell have teamed up to offer a Connected Home Discount Program . But there are many unanswered questions and Red Flags to be examined

 I have a retired Dr friend who asked me to put in 2 Water Leak Sensors which I did  because he could get a discount on his Home Owners Policy thru USAA .

OK no issues send him a letter to give to his Carrier but no that's not what they wanted.

 

He calls me and says his Resideo Total Connect  User name has to be a certain way so USAA can pull data from the sensors in his house.

What the hell are they thinking

https://www.usaa.com/support/insurance/homeowners/connected-home/?akredirect=true

 Appears USAA and Resideo have decided to join Forces  to offer this discount and way they do it is by 

going on to USAA site then click a button go on special  Resideo site enter your Total Connect User Name and Password .

So they can pull the data.

Sorry USAA  NO  WAY  .

What exactly are you pulling and how often are you pulling it. ??? What are you using it for??

This has all the earmarks of Big Brother  and needs investigated .  there is too much data being given away in peoples hands who have no business having it.

Just one more reason I have been slowly getting away from Resideo and Total Connect because all Honeywell is lately is Honey Fail.  This is a big one.

Exit Signs One Foot off the ground it makes sense in Mt Lebanon and other towns who reccomend it.

 If your ever in the Mt Lebanon Pa area or in some other towns you will find a strange sight in Office Buildings where there are 2 exit signs at doors one above and one below  as can be seen in the below picture

Now you might think what sense does it make putting one so low? Well there is a dam good reason and I agree with Mt. Lebanon and other depts who enforce this code 

Your in a building the alarm goes off as you enter the middle of the hallway it is filled with smoke which way do you go? You cant see a thing its all smoke .

You get down on your knees like fire experts recommend and what do you see when you look down the corridor that low hanging sign  because smoke tends to stay off the floor as it starts building .

You make it to safety instead of guessing and guessing wrong . I commend the efforts of Mt Lebanon and other towns who encourage the use of these lowered  exit signs .

Although they can be a pain to install in existing buildings its well worth the effort 

Plus  now you know

Very Disapointed in these outdoor under canopy LED lights

 Was asked by a customer to replace some under canopy  lights at his Shopping center and I said sure he had already bought them and they looked like a decent brand until i went to put them up.

First the way they mount is not very secure they slide into a bracket barely and are held in place with one screw

I installed it used the safety cable to help hold one in place and it slide wright out of the mount and crashed to ground  safety cable did not hold the mount is much cheaper material than cooper fixture it replaced and was held much more secure in the bracket.

Seems cooper like everyone else keeps lowering their quality 

Visiting old Cemetery and Grave Yards need to exercise Due Caution. Due to unstable Grave Stones Falling over and Soil Slides

 

I enjoy visiting old Cemetery and Grave Yards you can learn so much history let alone the paranormal experience some claim to have .

I don't go ghost hunting I visit to learn history and make sure veterans flags are taken care of. 

But this past 2 years while visiting my uncle Buzz grave to make sure he got a flag I noticed over a dozen tombstones around his which had toppled  over since last year. Even fairly new stones

Very sad this happens but it does due to badly laid stone foundation for top heavy markers  to unstable soils under the cemetery and all the rain this past 2 springs has caused cemetery which never had problems to start sliding away  which recently happened in Wheeling WV. 

https://wvmetronews.com/2024/04/04/mudslide-damages-historic-wheeling-cemetery-where-many-veterans-are-buried/#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20A%20mudslide%20caused%20by%20recent%20heavy%20rains,and%20damaged%20about%2025%25%20of%20the%2019%20acres.

 

While this slide was extreme many cemetery have smaller ones so you must pay attention especially going at night .

Just recently a young man was injured when a local cemetery he was visiting had a tombstone topple and trap his leg  when he lost his balance and grabbed for it and an older gentle man was killed earlier this year 

https://www.wtae.com/article/400-pound-tombstone-falls-on-man-he-avoids-serious-injury/30020919

 When visiting a grave yard or cemetery consider every stone unstable till proven otherwise beware of noises around you especially pops and cracking noises  because plenty of trees have been toppling over as well .

If you come across a precarious situation where something is getting ready to topple over report it to the cemetery office. 

Visit in pairs  or if going alone let some one know where your at and check in regularly

Cemetery can be fun to explore but do so safely.

Bottled Water Sitting in the Sun outside C Stores is it safe to Drink?

 Now that its hot again you see stacked up outside Convenience Stores piles of Bottled Water  sitting and broiling under the Sun

Take one of those bottles after its been sitting in the sun all day and you can taste the plastic bottle  This can not be good for you

Scientists warn all the time about leaching plastics from bottles and containers  yet C stores and other retailers  regularly put these stacks of bottle outside 

I will not drink it and you should beware as well.

https://prostack.com/2020/07/10/leaving-bottled-water-in-the-sun-is-it-safe/

 

If you have one of these older Murray / Crouse Hinds Breaker Panels . They have a design flaw which damages the main breakers requiring replacement

 Murray / Crouse Hinds  have made breaker panels for many years however  their  MP main line series panels  made in 80s and 90s have a serious design  problem with 150 amp and  200 amp Main breakers burning up or not turning back on after being turned off after being on for a long time 

The problem starts when the main breaker which is stabbed on instead of bolted on to the panels buss bar  becomes loose after heavy amperage draw thru it 

As you can see in the above picture the stab blades on the breaker are all burned up.

This leads to arcing and smoking and buzzing noises and eventually breaker failure and out go the lights .

Normally the damage is too bad to save panel as buss bar is also damaged and requires total replacement which runs into the thousands

If you have one of these panels have an electrician who has a thermal camera check to make sure your main breaker is not failing 

Luckily Murray has come out with a new line of panels which now have bolt on mains and this problem is eliminated