Fire Prevention Week across the nation is being observed from Sunday, Oct. 9^th through Saturday, Oct. 15^th. The theme for this year’s event is “Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years.” The Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department kicks off the annual observance with a free-will donation breakfast Sunday morning at the fire station. Fire Captain Tom Cappel says the event runs from 7-a.m. until Noon. (Click on the left side of the audio bars below to listen)

(Cappel says they’ll be serving eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice and coffee. Then at 10-a.m. the Midwest Med-Air helicopter will land at the fire station. Everyone is welcome to check out the chopper and equipment at the fire station.)

The donation breakfast helps with Fire Prevention and Education efforts at schools and elsewhere, and ties in with this year’s theme of Fire Prevention Week, which reminds you to replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.

Firefighters will of course, be on-hand to show off their equipment and answer questions. Cappel says the department’s members are always training for safety and certification.

The big event coming-up at the end of the week is the Annual Fireman’s Picnic and Parade, on Oct. 15^th in downtown Atlantic. A picnic in the Atlantic City Park starts at 4-p.m. and includes clowns, face painters, bounce houses, a photo booth and much more. LifeNet will land at 5-p.m., as well. In addition the Sheltered Reality Drum Corps and Pleasant Green Baptist Church Marching Saints will perform.

A meal will be available for $7 in the park, and the parade starts at 6-p.m. For more information, contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce or any Atlantic Firefighter.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Union County was arrested Friday night on an OWI charge. 34-year old Ed Roger Wysocki, of Creston, was pulled over near Highway 148 and 11th Street in Corning, at around 11:15-p.m. After failing a Standardized Field Sobriety Test, Wysocki was placed under arrest for Operating While Intoxicated/1st offense. He was brought to the Adams County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

Multiple fire departments were called to the scene of a tanker truck explosion and fire at a Council Bluffs Ethanol plant, Friday afternoon. The fire occurred at 10868 189th Street, the site of Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (or, SIRE) just west of Interstate 29 at Exit 42. The exit was blocked for several hours while emergency crews remained on the scene.

KMTV Channel 3 in Omaha says according to Council Bluffs Fire Department officials, a worker was loading the tanker truck with ethanol when it exploded in flames.

Photos courtesy Kristi Engel Beebe

 Officials with Nebraska Medicine told the news station that one person suffered burns over 90-percent of their body. The victim was transported by helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The fire happened at around 3:30-p.m., with the smoke was visible from Omaha. Firefighters used a special foam to fight the blaze, which was knocked-down within about 45-minutes to an hour. Crews remained on the scene for several hours, though, putting out hot spots and conducting mop-up operations.

The SIRE plant produces 110 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol every year. It also produces distiller’s grain and corn oil.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 21-year-old Sioux City man who had worked a special needs center has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two center residents. Police say the man had worked at Opportunities Unlimited, helping patients with brain injuries. Investigators say he abused the two residents on multiple occasions.

Police and Woodbury County Jail officials have listed different surnames for the man and could not (on Friday,) account for the discrepancy. The man is being held on $25,000 bond for two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. He’s set to appear in court on Oct. 17th.