Timothy Louis Law
April 21, 1967 - August 7, 2022
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Age 55, a veteran of Operation Shield/Storm and longtime resident of Minerva passed away Sunday, August 7, 2022. He was born April 21, 1967 in Cleveland to the late Roberta (Brandenburg) Law and attended Hickory High School in Sharon, PA.
He then enlisted in the US Army as a Helicopter Repairman and served in Korea, Germany and deployed to the Middle East in support of Desert Storm. Sergeant Law’s notable achievements include the Air Combat Action Medal, Senior Aircraft Crew Member Wings, Army Commendation Medal, 4 Army Achievement Medals, Good Conduct Medal 3rd Award, Kuwaiti Liberation Medal and many more.
Tim was an Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor and member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in New Franklin and the Minerva VFW Post #4120. Tim loved his family, guns, bon fires, and being in charge of the music.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Connie (Mangus) Law whom he married Dec. 2, 1995, 2 daughters, Alyssa Law (Harrison Kiko) and Sarah Law, son, Erich Law (Diserae Shirley), granddaughter, Brynlee Rose Law, all of East Rochester; 3 brothers, and 2 sisters. He is preceded in death by his mother, Roberta Law.
Funeral services with full military honors will be Sunday at 4:00 pm in the Gotschall-Hutchison Funeral Home in Minerva. Calling hours will be 2 hours prior to services from 2-4 pm at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Rick Schaffer, City of Wilmington Public Works Director, reported to council members and officials the findings of an investigation regarding the foam found in some local water and methods to it up clean up.
The foam was from the August 7 accidental discharge at the Wilmington Air Park.
The report included the finding of foam in Lytle Creek, Cowan Creek, the Cowan Creek intake, and Indian Run. No foam was initially observed at the intake on August 8. The report also noted pumps weren’t on during the time of the accident. The foam was observed in the other three locations.
In regards to Lytle Creek, the report clarifies that “Lytle Creek flows through the City of Wilmington but is not used by the city as a source of drinking water.”
Schaffer added there should be no concern, considering that none of the water is used by the city or its citizens for drinking or cleaning.
For Cowan Creek, the report lists fish had been killed as a result of the spill. More foam would later be discovered at the Cowan Creek intake on August 12, along with dead fish.
LGSTX, the airpark environmental contractor, was notified, according to the report. LGSTX then contacted the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and their cleanup contractor.
“LGSTX is trying to use water to knock down the foam and possibly move the dead fish downstream,” the report states, regarding clean-up.
City officials were informed that no chemicals were used in the sprayers to “knock down” the foam, just water.
Ohio EPA staff reported finding healthy fish further downstream of Cowan Creek when it crosses Ireland Road, meaning the chemicals from the foam hadn’t reached that point.
Tim Law, 55, an employee of Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services (AMES) where he was a production supervisor in the Heavy Maintenance Department, died in the incident. He was an employee there for one and a half years.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office began investigating the incident Sunday afternoon. Clinton County Public Information Officer Pam Bauer said at a Monday morning news conference at the air park that investigators did not know what triggered the release of the foam.
“We do know it was not a fire, but we do not know what triggered that release,” said Bauer.
At 1:44 p.m. Sunday, Wilmington Fire & EMS was dispatched and was advised that people were trapped in a vehicle near the entrance of hangar #1006 and that one person was unaccounted for who was from an office located inside the hangar.
The Wilmington Fire Department arrived at 1:56 p.m. and began an initial search but had to vacate due to unsafe conditions, Bauer said. Mutual aid from surrounding agencies began to arrive which enabled search operations to continue, she said.
During response operations, two separate responder “MAYDAYS” were issued, reported Bauer.
The News Journal on Sunday reported that a firefighter (department not known) was trapped in the hangar and in the foam, but another firefighter said he was “OK” shortly before he was brought out on a stretcher — conscious and alert — and transported to the hospital by the Clinton Highland Fire District.
Eight first responders were transported to Clinton Memorial Hospital for medical care due to eye injury, electrocution and other physical injuries, with three transferred to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. All eight were released, with follow-up appointments scheduled for Monday, according to Bauer.
The eight firefighters transported for medical treatment are from the following departments or districts: four with Wilmington Fire & EMS, two with SRWW (Sabina), one with Clinton Highland Joint Fire District (New Vienna), and one with the Clinton-Warren Joint Fire District (Clarksville).
The two individuals in the vehicle near the hangar entrance were rescued, Bauer said. The person originally unaccounted for was Law, she said.
Bauer said the eye injuries that occurred to first responders were related to the foam.
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) President and CEO Rich Corrado also spoke at the news conference. ATSG is the parent company of AMES.
He started by sharing the deepest condolences of ATSG workforce colleagues to the Tim Law Family.
He also thanked all first responders, AMES employees and Logistics employees who responded Sunday, and the people of the Wilmington area and surrounding areas for their support.
ATSG has been fully cooperating with the state fire marshal’s investigation which began Sunday afternoon “and will continue as long as it is needed,” said Corrado.
“All ATSG companies are focused on safety and reliability throughout our network. Safety and training are part of our culture, and incidents such as what happened in hangar 1006 yesterday [Sunday] validate that focus,” he said.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office on Monday afternoon said it is working in conjunction with federal, state, county and local agencies to investigate the incident at the Wilmington Air Park. Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Code Enforcement and Fire & Explosion Investigation bureaus are on the scene as part of this ongoing investigation, the State Fire Marshal’s Office added.
They had no further investigation details to share at this time after noting the fatality and the number of injuries, but stated they will provide updates as more information becomes available.
Hangar 1006, where the incident occurred, has sometimes been referred to as the Joint Use Maintenance and Paint (J.U.M.P.) hangar. It opened in June 2014 following a new construction project.
Lt. Richard Birt of Wilmington Fire and EMS was the incident commander.
Dozens of first responders and many fire departments or districts responded Sunday. The firefighters were from Wilmington, SRWW, Clinton Highland, Blanchester-Marion Township Fire, Blanchester EMS, Chester Township, Clinton-Warren, Port William-Liberty Township, Washington Court House, Paint Creek, Lynchburg, and Salem Township-Morrow.
Others responding were the Wilmington Police Department, Clinton County EMA, Highland County EMA, Red Cross, Clinton County Coroner’s Office, and the Ohio EPA.
At about 5 p.m. Sunday the call was put out for all firefighters to exit the hangar so foam could be blown and sprayed outside, according to police scanner traffic.
wow this will be interesting
ReplyDeleteAlthough Material Safety Data Sheets / Safety Data Sheets / Product Safety Data Sheets for type AFFF, FP, FFFP, AR-AFFF Listed Foam Concentrates that can be used in automated hanger protection foam systems all have disposal instruction "Do not discharge into drain or water source", a massive discharge that fills the building will end up getting into the apron drains around the hangar and go out same as storm water does if no catch basin is incorporated in the facility storm water design.
ReplyDeleteEvery response commander involved would know to review the data sheet and not wash the massive release into storm drains. The fact that it would have taken multiple dump truck haul-offs of dry absorbent if properly sopped up for handling at an approved disposal facility may have been a factor in deciding what would be done.
The briefing chart in the meeting photo lists carp and suckers among the observed fish kill. Those are tough critters, waterway must have gotten a significant concentration of foam or effect from the foam's detergent/surfactant properties to take them out.
ReplyDelete