Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday, January 02, 2011
photos/EverythingWestport.com
Quick
Article Index . . .
Saving lives - all in a day's work for
Westport firefighters.
15th Moby-Dick
Marathon kicks off three-day celebration at New Bedford Whaling Museum
|
Saving lives - all in a day's work
for Westport firefighters. EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
January 1, 2011 Once
again, in less than a year, alert Westport firefighters rescued a woman
facing possible death from a burning kitchen fire. Unable
to get up from a fall, the elderly Westport woman had used her medical alert
alarm at 11:25 a.m. to summon the rescue to 217 F Tickle Road. "We
were unaware there was a kitchen fire from food burning on the stove, until
after firefighters arrived" Captain Michael Silvia said. "The fire was starting to reach the
kitchen cabinets." After
she was removed from the house, firefighters used a portable fire
extinguisher to extinguish the fire, which was producing heavy smoke and
starting to spread. The woman, who was not identified, was treated at the
scene and was not transported to the hospital. The
fire caused approximately fifteen hundred dollars in damage. In addition to the medical rescue, two
engines also responded to the fire and were on the scene for approximately
one hour. A busy holiday
weekend for firefighters. In a
busy New Year's holiday weekend, Westport firefighters were also called upon
Friday, December 31 at 9:51 p.m. to fight a fire well under way in a large,
50,000 square foot, wooden-frame storage shed at 221 American Legion Highway
(Route 177) where one firefighter was momentarily trapped in the burning
structure. First
arriving apparatus found heavy smoke and fire coming from a 500’ by 100’ one
story wood frame storage garage. In addition
to the size of the building, the fire was further complicated by the fact the
that building was subdivided into units, each the size of a two-stall garage,
that were used for auto repairs and a masonry business. During
the initial fire attack, a four-man crew entered the building but was pulled
out after approximately five minutes.
While the crew was exiting the building, one firefighter was
momentarily trapped but was helped out by his partner. After all firefighters were accounted for,
an exterior attack on the fire using hand lines and an elevated master
stream, brought the fire under control in approximately 45 minutes, resulting
in the saving of approximately seventy percent of the building. The
Westport Fire Investigation Unit along with members of the Portsmouth Fire
Department and Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office were on the scene
Saturday until mid afternoon conducting an origin and cause
investigation. While the cause remains
under investigation, the loss of the building and its’ contents are estimated
at approximately, eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000.00). One
firefighter was transported to St. Anne’s Hospital by a Portsmouth Fire
Department rescue unit for smoke inhalation, and was released Saturday
morning. The
owner of the property was reported as Jeremiah Torres of Westport. Assisting
the Westport Fire Department were fire departments from Tiverton, Portsmouth,
Dartmouth District #3 & #2, and Fall River. 15th Moby-Dick Marathon kicks off
three-day celebration at New Bedford Whaling Museum EverythingWestport.com Saturday,
January 1, 2011 photos/EverythingWestport.com Click here to see 16 high-resolution photos. The Marathon will circumnavigate the globe,
with international readers scheduled to participate via live streaming on the
Museum’s website, and everyone is invited to tweet the reading at #MDM15.
Since
1995, the Museum has marked the anniversary of Herman Melville’s 1841
departure from the Port of New Bedford and Fairhaven aboard the whale ship Acushnet,
with a 25-hour nonstop reading of Moby-Dick. The Marathon has grown to
become a midwinter tradition, which attracts hundreds of Melville
enthusiasts. Readers come from all walks of life, including students,
scholars, fishermen, schoolteachers, community leaders, journalists,
legislators, physicians, clergy, and descendants of Melville. Weekend
activities kick off on Friday, January 7th - the eve of the Marathon -
with a ticketed buffet dinner and cash bar at 5:30 p.m. in the Jacobs Family
Gallery. The dinner will be followed by a free public lecture at 7:15 p.m. in
the Cook Memorial Theater. Dr. Elizabeth A. Schultz will present, Is
Moby-Dick Still the Great American Novel? A Melville Society scholar and
professor emerita of the University of Kansas,
Dr. Schultz is the author of Unpainted to the Last: Moby-Dick and
Twentieth Century American Art. For
tickets to the dinner ($18), call (508) 997-0046 ext. 100. On
Saturday, January 8th at 10:00 a.m., a new program titled “Stump the
Scholars,” will allow the audience to quiz Melville Society members on all
matters Moby-Dick in the Cook Memorial Theater. The free public
program is patterned after National Public Radio’s popular show, “Wait, wait,
don’t tell me.” No questions will be deemed too tough and prizes will be
awarded. At
11:30 a.m. a special exhibit titled Visualizing Melville opens in the
changing gallery, located on the second level of the Museum adjacent to the Whaleship Fo’c’sle. The words
of Herman Melville conjure up a wealth of images and the Museum’s collections
are full of materials that perfectly resonate with his vivid text. Come see
“Quakers with a vengeance” juxtaposed with “a heathenish array of monstrous
clubs and spears.” Also, a relic from Melville’s ship, Acushnet, will
be exhibited in honor of the Marathon’s fifteenth anniversary.
Left: U.S. Representative Barney Frank narrates a passage. Right: Participants read aloud from Herman
Melville's literary masterpiece, Moby Dick, under the skeleton of a great
Blue Whale at the new Bedford Whaling Museum. At
12:00 o’ clock noon on Saturday, the Moby-Dick Marathon begins its non-stop
reading with the most famous opening line in American literature, “Call me
Ishmael.” The public is cordially invited to this free 25-hour event, which
runs through the night and concludes at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Sunday,
January 9th with the reading of the Epilogue. Come at any time; leave at any
time, or stay the entire 25 hours and win a prize. Throughout
the reading, images related to all 135 chapters of the book will be projected
in the Cook Memorial Theater, assembled and presented by the Museum’s teen
apprentices of the Education Department. Finally,
via live streaming on the Museum’s website, the Marathon will circumnavigate
the globe, with international readers scheduled to participate, and everyone
is invited to tweet the reading at #MDM15. Refreshments
will be served throughout the Marathon. Starting at 4-bells in the 1st dog
watch (Saturday at 6:00 p.m.), light whaleship fare
will be offered. Coffee, cider and snacks will be available throughout the
night, with breakfast to follow at 8-bells in the morning watch (Sunday at
8:00 a.m.).
The
expanded weekend of activities will offer something for everyone, but reading
aloud and celebrating Melville remain at the heart of the event. Reservations
to read are limited. Call (508) 997-0046, ext. 151. The
New Bedford Whaling Museum is the world's most comprehensive museum devoted
to the global story of whales and whaling. The cornerstone of New Bedford
Whaling National Historical Park, the Museum is located at 18 Johnny Cake
Hill in the heart of the city's historic downtown and is open daily. For a
complete calendar of events, visit the Whaling Museum online at www.whalingmuseum.org.
Join the Museum’s online community at flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/nbwm,
facebook.com http://www.facebook.com/whalingmuseum,
Twitter www.twitter.com/whalingmuseum,
and blog at www.whalingmuseumblog.org.
New Bedford Seamen's
Bethel docent pointing out Herman Melville's signature in original gust book. © 2011 Community Events of Westport. Some rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
