By William Sala for La Prensa - The office of the Auxiliary prosecutor has opened an investigation into the death of Venezuelan Vanesa Mercedes de Silva, 31 years old, who was found dead yesterday morning in apartment 22D of the Mystic Point building in Punta Pacifica. Police sources said the body was discovered at approximately 8:30 am after neighbors on the 22nd floor called the building manager to complain of a strong odor of gas. The manager called the national police and the brother of the victim, who opened the door of the apartment. The woman was found dressed and in the bed in the master bedroom. The gas on the stove was found open.

By Rafael Luna Noguera and Urania Cecilia Molina for La Prensa - Authorities of the National Civil Defense System (SINAPROC) and the Fire Department agree that Panama is making efforts to equip and train their rescue personnel, but they also notice that those efforts would be insufficient if a significant natural disaster were to occur. It is that, according to the firemen, in talking about disasters it is understood that the capabilities of the rescue organizations have been exceeded. “No country is preparation for a disaster”, recognized the director of the Sinaproc, Luis Sucre, who clarified that Panama has had a National Emergency Plan since 2003 to mitigate damages. “They lack equipment, men and training," said Fire Captain Gilberto Thomas. The same condition exists in the hospitals around the country, where there are plans regarding what they would do if faced with a significant emergency, but they have not had to apply them in a large scale event.

Chesapeake, VA., -- Xscape Safe announces successful testing of the Xscape Safe universally sized fire escape SUIT from North Carolina State University. The Revolutionary Personal Protection™ universal size fire escape SUIT was successfully tested at North Carolina State University in their Thermal Protective Laboratory to the NFPA 2112 Standard (burn) using their “Pyro-Man” System. The “Pyro-Man” consists of a number of components/sensors designed to work together to measure the performance of protective clothing under full scale flash fire exposure conditions. The “ensemble” was tested for three (3) seconds at 3000°F, which resulted in no body burns. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - An electrical fire in a high-voltage electrical panel knocked out power to the MultiPlaza Mall in Punta Pacifica at just before 11:00 am this morning. I was heading into the mall with my family when I heard an excited private mall security guard reporting he had discovered smoke near an elevator in the parking garage behind the hotel. My family went ahead and I stayed behind to see what was going on. Mall employees quickly arrived and opened the door to a mechanical access stairway leading down behind an elevator. They brought up several fire extinguishers and were trying to decide if they should go down into the smokey stairwell and make an effort to put out the fire themselves or call the fire department when all hell broke loose. With the door to the stairway now open the fire was fed with a fresh supply of oxygen and it surged. The high-voltage lines going into the boxes failed and started to short and explode. The mall workers dropped the fire extinguishers and ran for the hills at the sound of dozens of very loud explosions, and the smoke got much heavier and thicker. I took cover behind a column and dialed 103 to call it in. (more)

Compared to many parts of the United States it's relatively easy to obtain a permit to legally carry a handgun in Panama. From personal experience I know that carrying a handgun for self defense is usually a bad idea, especially in a foreign country and I strongly suggest you think twice before you go that route. If you produce the weapon and draw a bead your next decision might include taking another human life. There are, however, viable alternatives. I've been carrying a stun gun in my car for about six years and it's come in handy on several occasions, usually against people who are very excited, drunks, in some kind of a road-rage, or doing drugs. Stun guns "deliver a powerful non-lethal electrical current that shocks and stuns any would be assailant, allowing the user to escape." My personal favorite is the Panther which delivers 400,000 volts of lovin' on demand and catches the attention of even the most gassed-up crackhead. As I recently learned, when used correctly and in self-defense, stun guns (including my trusty Panther) are perfectly legal in the Republic of Panama. A nice combination for your car is pepper spray, a stun gun, a hefty stick, and a pair of handcuffs. I threw the hancuffs in just for kinks (err, I mean kicks...)

By Santiago Fascetto and Mario A. Muñoz for La Prensa - Since the release of The Towering Inferno in 1974 people have thought about what might happen if their high-rise building catches fire. Although for some the situation is inconceivable, for others it is a real danger that deserves much attention. "I never think that a (high-rise) building might catch fire", said Colonel Mario Ramirez, the Chief of the Fire Department in Panama City. But if it does, the colonel would have a very serious problem on his hands. The first obstacle the fire department will have to overcome are the guard shacks and entry control points designed to keep the public at bay. Most of them are less than three meters wide, too narrow to allow access to Mobil Unit 72, the city's ladder truck designed to fight high-rise fires. "If I had to go over the guard shack, then I would do it," said Ramirez. The other problem is the lack of vehicles. At the moment, firemen only have one truck designed to fight high-rise fires (see graphic). "We approved the construction plans for the buildings, but we did not approve the plan calling for the guard shacks," clarifies Ramirez. According to him that responsibility falls to the Direction of Works and Municipal Construction. (more)

Panama City fire and emergency personnel responded to a house fire near Via Israel this morning. There was no one home at the time of the fire as the residents were in the interior of the country to celebrate carnival. They were using the house to make piñata's for children's parties and apparently had an accumulation of paper, cardboard and other flammable materials in the back of the house. All of Panama's emergency response forces were represented at this incident, and besides the firemen officers from the National Police "Grupo de Apoyo de Servicos (GAS)" responded as well as the Red Cross, SINAPROC, and medical personnel. Everyone was on standby for carnival. Firemen arrived and knocked down the fire quickly, and then had to pull through piles of paper and cardboard materials to completely extinguish the fire. The structure suffered minor damages but the contents were almost a total loss to either fire, smoke, or water damage. The fire occurred in a house just off of Via Israel, right in front of the entrance to the Richard Nueman school.

(Source)Panama's National Police Friday took delivery of 40 specially equipped vehicles from Taiwan intended to target increasing crime and security problems on the country's borders and within the country. Rolando Mirones, director of the uniformed police, confirmed the gift at a ceremony with Taiwanese officials. The vehicles have special lights to increase the impact of patrols. Olga Golcher, minister of government and justice, and Ubaldino Real, minister of the presidency, acknowledged the invaluable aid given by the Taiwanese government to help fight organized crime. The vehicles will fit into President Martin Torrijo's new plan to fortify and integrate Panama's security systems. Police said they had increased the number of arrests in 2006 by 80 per cent after first steps were taken to streamline operations. Police seized 10,034 kilogrammes of drugs, 8.1 million dollars in cash, numerous goods, as well as 1,506 civilian firearms and 221 military weapons in the same time period. Mirones said Panama maintains a "calm border" with Colombia, but intends to increase its training and disbursement of special units to combat traffic in illegal drugs. The agreement with Taiwan calls for another 30 cars, 30 motorcycles and radio communication equipment to be given to Panama in March.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- One person is dead following an electrical explosion and fire at a 17-story office building in Cambridge. N-Star says the victim is Kevin Fidalgo, 28, who had worked for the company since 2000. Another N-Star worker was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after the explosion, which occurred shortly before 11 a.m. while the men were doing maintenance work in the basement. Christopher Carey is being treated for smoke inhalation. Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon says the fire sent "thick, acrid smoke" into stairwells of the MIT-owned building. Reardon says nearly 100 people were evaluated at the scene with at least 30 taken to area hospitals. Many inhaled smoke in the stairwells while trying to evacuate. MGH reported 14 people in fair condition. Occupants of the building reported a harrowing and chaotic scene after the first fire alarms went off. Some workers had to be rescued over ladders by firefighters. Others reportedly broke windows to get ventilation. A hotel across the street from the building became a temporary treatment site for the injured.

Every year Panama's fire department (or, the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Panama CBP) come together to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the first organized fire department in Panama City. Yesterday all of the permanent party and volunteer firemen in Panama assembled near the intersection of Ave. Cuba and Calle 28 in front of Fire Station #1, the Cuartel Ricardo Arango, to hold a skills competition and capabilities display for family, friends, and the general public. Members of the different units competed between themselves for honors and bragging rights. According to the Chief of the Panamanian Fire Department Coronel Mario Ramírez Puerta, "we really enjoy this day because it gives a chance for the firemen to show their families what they do...we like to get the families involved." Panama's Fire Department was organized on 18 November 1887.

This video shows the High Rise Escape System in action. Just slip on your "Recover-All," clip-in and down you go. If you're interested, give us a call and we will come to your apartment and take some measurements. Specifically, we will measure the exact distance from the point of installation to the landing site. We will inspect to ensure there is a suitable site to either install the Guardian or deploy the Responder in your office or apartment. Every part of our system is grossly over-spec for the weights we are carrying as a built-in safety factor. I will be conducting a capabiltities demonstration and training session this week for friends (still soft launching). Please let me know if you are interested. Contact Don Winner at don@panama-guide.com or call 214-3197 or 6614-0451.

What is a high-rise building? A high-rise building is any structure beyond the reach of available fire fighting equipment. Tall buildings remove two important fire fighting strategies from firemen; victims cannot be rescued by ladder and the fire cannot be extinguished by an outside stream. The only strategy for a high-rise fire beyond the reach of an aerial ladder is an interior attack. Firefighters must extinguish the fire using handheld hose streams advanced through heat and smoke from an inside stairway. If several floors are fully involved in fire then the only way to stop the fire is to hold in place (keep the fire from spreading up) and let the lower floors burn out. By definition firefighters must use interior stairways to attack the fire, but by this time occupants are probably trying to use the stairway to evacuate the fire. And experience shows that people will try to leave the building in a fire, no matter what the local fire chief is trying to tell them to do. If you ever find yourself trapped above a highrise fire, and if your building does not have a pressurized stairway, stay put. Your best defense are the doors to your apartment which will delay the fire from spreading to your floor. If you are below the fire level then use the stairs and evacuate.

We've all heard stories about the skydiver who landed in the muddy field and survived, or others who have lived after falling from great heights. We talk about those things as amazing feats because any fall from a considerable height is usually fatal. There are a whole lot of mathematical variables such as mass, drag, density, acceleration time, etc. But in order to keep it simple, the speed of a falling skydiver in a free-fall position is about 120 mph. If you jump from a tall structure you reach half that speed or 60 mph in only 3 seconds. You reach 90% of terminal velocity (108 mph) in 8 seconds. In short, there is no practical difference between jumping from the 4th floor or the 44th floor - you're toast either way. Unless, of course, you happen to have a "Guardian" or one of our other fire escape systems installed on your balcony, in which case your descent will be a leisurely 3 feet per second. Contact: Don Winner, don@panama-guide.com, telephone 214-3197 or cell 6614-0451. "We'll let you down."

This morning I conducted a capabilities demonstration and training session with ten firemen of Panama's Rescue Team, the guys who are responsible for getting people out of a high rise fire. The fire department is divided into operational sections each headed by a Captain, such as Safety, Inspections and Investigation, Operations, and Rescue. Today the primary members of the Rescue team had their first experience with the High Rise Escape System. We used the deployable Responder system and did about 25 descents from the 5th floor of a building that is across the street from the fire station. They asked all of the standard questions about the strength of the steel cable, capabilities, specifications, limitations, applications, restrictions, and certifications. In the end they came away with a better understanding and appreciation for the system and hardware and were pretty excited about the potential. In short, the general feeling was "it works as advertised..."

From Ken Chen: "I was leaving Caracas the night one of the towers at "El Silencio" got burnt, those are massive towers the tallest in Caracas, supposedly with sprinklers systems but they didn't work, the firefighters just lacked the resources to deliver water to that altitude and the tower burnt all the way to the top. Thankfully it was used by government offices and it happened at night so no lives were lost." Thanks for the heads up, Ken. This fire demonstrates the ability of a contents fire to rip through a cement and steel structure, destroy everything in its path and leave the structure standing. Thank God there was no one in the building at the time of the fire. Once the central core of the building is compromised then there's not much you can do to stop it. Firefighters simply backed off and let it burn. If, for example, this fire had happened during the day, then firefighters could have deployed a High Rise Escape System to the upper floors and used it to evacuate large numbers of victims in short order. Let's see (doing the math) the ride down from 56 floors takes about 3 minutes. Faster than taking the stairs.

I just posted some pictures of some of our High Rise Escape System equipment in action. The Responder is the first system being used. It is a deployable system, meaning that it is not permanently installed or bolted in. It can be assembeled and installed in just a couple of minutes by a trained user. This is the system that looks like a pole with an arm that swings out to give you clearance from the building. The second system being used is the Guardian system which is based on a permanently mounted bracket. This system is best for fixed point applications and places like apartments or offices. We can design or build a system that will fit your particular situation, whatever the details. In short, the answer is "yes, we can do that." Please click on this link to see the slideshow.

HRES Panama - Don Winner 214-3197 or 6614-0451. About $3,499 installed. Price varies depending on the amount of hardware and length of cable required.

By: Adam Groves - On October 17, 2003, a fire started in a supply room on the 12th floor of the 35-story Cook County Administration Building in Chicago’s Downtown Loop. The fire was relatively small, but the supply room was adjacent to one of the two stairwells in the building that employees could use to evacuate during emergencies. Responding to the fire with 135 firefighters and paramedics and 45 pieces of equipment, the Chicago Fire Department successfully contained and extinguished the fire, but six civilians died from smoke inhalation. To attack the fire, firefighters opened a door that connected the supply room to the building’s southwest stairwell, giving them access to the flames, but also letting smoke escape into the enclosed stairway. Simultaneously, workers were attempting to evacuate the building down the same stairwell, where smoke was now rising as if in a chimney. When the evacuees turned back to exit the smoke-filled stairwell, they found that the doors back into their offices were locked. Luckily an employee on the 27th floor had placed a doorstop in the stairwell door, allowing many of the trapped people to escape the smoke. After the fire was contained, however, firefighters found the bodies of thirteen workers who did not make it up to the 27th floor. Fire department personnel revived seven of the victims, but the remaining six suffocated in the stairwell. (more)

Well, it's official. I am now the exclusive distributor for High Rise Escape Systems in the Republic of Panama. Details will be coming soon, but in the meantime check out this video. This system is basically a solidly built anchoring system which uses a "Controlled Descent Device (CDD)" to gently lower people to the ground, while protecting them in a coverall suit that reflects radiant heat on a steel cable. The system is easy to operate, requires no electricity and very little training, safe, tested and proven - it gives you a way to get out of a fire in a high rise building should you ever become trapped by fire. I've been looking into this since Terry Grinham got caught in an apartment contents fire back in May of 2006. The fire and safety codes in high rise buildings in Panama are not the same as they are in the United States, and I've known this for a lot time. Then I saw a speech on television. (more)

The last time I debunked the "Pinkerton" thing was almost a year ago and it's been awhile since I've had the time to toss a few stones at the businesses and website owners that are still using this reference. So, I am now launching a "Panama Pinkerton Most Wanted List" of the top-ten websites that are still making reference to this bogus report that never existed:

Yesterday I received an email from Matt, the webmaster of The Panama Report asking about a couple of apartment fires in the area around Via Veneto and Via Argentina. In Panama most of the structures are made from reinforced concrete but content fires are common. Matt took a couple of pictures on the fly and sent them to me. This fire was on the first floor and was apparently going pretty good at one point. Remember this article about the guys who were trapped on the 19th floor? This fire was apparently caused by an electrical short, all of the damage in this fire was caused by the contents of the apartment and nothing of the structure burned. It's a good idea to have smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and fire insurance for the contents of your home or apartment. And thanks for the photo, Matt.

(Source: La Prensa) In Panama a very peculiar thing is happening: its rate of growth is outpacing legislation. This, according to Federico Cvetreznick, a specialist in fire safety, in discussing the shortage of laws to force building owners to adopt fire safety standards that are in effect around the world. "Here buildings are being built on a par with what's going up in Europe where there are very rigid safety and security laws in place and Panama does not have them, which is very worrisome ", said Cvetreznick. The specialist participated in a technical seminar discussing fire safety organized by the Panamanian Society of Engineers and Architects (SPIA). Roberto Chanis, president of the SPIA, is less drastic in that sense. He affirms that in Panama there are laws that regulate fire security in buildings but they need to be updated; and that the Technical Board of Engineering and Architecture, the governmental agency charged to develop these standards, is working to adjust local laws to international standards. Firemen in Panama City have repeatedly complained that they have insufficient personnel and equipment to face the threat of fires.

Last night at about 7:30 pm three tourists (one each from Spain, Italy, and Venezuela) were robbed at gunpoint after having arrived in Panama. They rented a car at the airport and were driving towards their hotel in the center of town when they were hit by another small sedan in a side-to-side collision under the overpass just after the entrance to Via Lucre near the old Roosevelt monument. Thinking they had been in a simple accident the tourists stopped the car and four theives exited the other vehicle and took control of the victims at gunpoint. They stole their luggage, cash, and personal belongings and left the area in two other vehicles that came in and picked them up. The tourists were unharmed in the incident. Police are investigating. (Editor's Comment: This kind of thing happens periodically. The airport is a public area and it's easy for theives to have a spotter at the airport to identifiy easy pickings and to relay information to accompliances who are waiting outside of the airport security perimiter. In any case if you are involved in a traffic accident in Panama anywhere and you don't feel completely safe, take off and find a cop. If it turns out you were just being paranoid, just explain yourself. Better safe than sorry.)

Lightning killed four people in different areas of the country on Friday during the heavy rain storm that afternoon. Three people were killed when they were hit by lightning near Malena beach in Veraguas. Gil Alberto Barcia Collado, 47 years-old, Ariel Suira, 30, and 13 year-old Secundino Castro were killed while fishing. Two other people, Other two people, Angel Garrido and Jhonny Sánchez survived the impact. In Chagres, about 80 kilometers north of Panama City and on the Caribbean coast Leon Cerrud Abrego, of 58 years, was killed by a bolt of lightning as he walked in town. Heavy rains damaged ten houses in Chiriquí and and Coclé according to SINAPROC affecting 50 people. red of people. SINAPROC also issued alerts for high tides and rough seas over the weekend.