Friday, February 1, 2013
Four residents from the Plum-Oakmont died during a flash flood in August 2011.
The families of four Plum and Oakmont residents are suing several entities after losing their loved ones during a flash flood in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood a little over a year ago. Relatives of Kimberly Griffith, 45, and daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, of Plum; and Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont, are suing the City of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Allegheny County, Alcosan, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Chester Engineers Inc., and Chrysler Group LLC (the make of the Griffith vehicle). Attorneys Paul Manion and Alan Perer made the announcement Friday. After their minivan was immersed underwater during the Washington Boulevard flash flood on Aug. 19, 2011, the Griffiths drowned. …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Pittsburgh police Officer Andrew Baker almost was run over in Verona last month, and he was honored for his work during the 2011 Washington Boulevard flood.
A Pittsburgh police officer who was shot Friday morning almost was run over in Verona last month, and he assisted during the 2011 Washington Boulevard flash flood that killed four locals. According to police, Officer Andrew Baker was responding to a domestic in Stanton Heights when he was shot in the chest. Baker was not seriously injured by the gunfire because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this is Baker's fourth incident this year in which he narrowly escapes serious injury. In September, Baker almost was run over on the Verona hilltop—around Third Street. Police had cornered Melvin Taylor Solomon, 41, in a one-way alley after a chase that began in Point Breeze, when Solomon put his vehicle …
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
After the Aug. 19 flood on Washington Boulevard that killed three Plum residents and one Oakmont resident, Pittsburgh Public Safety will create a water-rescue team.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Almost four months ago, four area residents drowned during a flash flood on Washington Boulevard in Highland Park. Now, City of Pittsburgh officials are planning to train all public safety personnel in water-rescue techniques. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, about 2,000 police officers, firefighters and paramedics will be trained to respond to emergencies, such as the Aug. 19 flood that killed Kimberly Griffith of Plum and her two young daughters, Brenna and Mikaela; as well as Mary Saflin of Oakmont. About 180 employees also will make up newly-established water-rescue teams at nine fire and emergency medical services stations near waterways, and at the Zone 5 police station on Washington Boulevard, according to…
Friday, November 18, 2011
The 14th annual LEAD awards ceremony will recognize outstanding performances by Western Pennsylvania law enforcement officers.
The Law Enforcement Agency Directors (LEAD) of Western Pennsylvania will hold the 14th Annual LEAD Awards Ceremony today, Nov. 18, at the FBI - Pittsburgh Field Office on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The LEAD Investigative Team Awards will be presented to the agents and attorneys who investigated and prosecuted the Manchester Original Gangsters and the Le-Nature’s Inc. fraud scheme. Individual awards for outstanding performance in law enforcement will be presented to 34 agents, officers, troopers, deputy sheriffs and prosecutors. The men and women being recognized include: LEAD is composed of the following law enforcement agencies and their representatives: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; …
Monday, October 24, 2011
The estimated $450,000 project will install three automated gate systems and advanced warning signs in the area.
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Work to install an advanced notification flood gate system on Washington Boulevard (Route 8) in Pittsburgh will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 25 weather permitting. The estimated $450,000 project will install three automated gate systems at the following locations: Five advanced warning signs will also be installed at the following locations: The system will use pressure sensors that automatically close the gates and activate the warning signs when a pre-determined amount of water is detected on the roadway. When the system activates, it will also notify the appropriate emergency response personnel. The effort came about after an Aug. 19 flood on Washington Boulevard that killed four people—Kimberly Griffith of Plum and her two daughters, Brenna …
Thursday, August 25, 2011
This week, officials and local sewage authorities are discussing—with the public and each other—how to prevent flash flooding in Highland Park like that which took the lives of four last Friday.
Members of Pittsburgh City Council and area sewer authorities say they are taking immediate steps in the face of deadly flash flooding in Highland Park caused by a “100-year storm.” While they indicate that sewers and roadways are not to blame for the recent deaths of four—including Plum Borough mother and her two daughters, and an Oakmont woman—officials hope to work together to keep such a tragedy from happening again. Last Friday, in the Pittsburgh area, three inches of rain fell in one hour. Nine feet of water filled the area where Allegheny River Boulevard and Washington Boulevard meet. Kimberly Griffith, 45, of Plum, and her two daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, drowned when they became trapped in their minivan. Mary Saflin, a …
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friends, family and neighbors attended a funeral mass for Mary Saflin on Wednesday morning where the Oakmont woman was remembered as a loving wife, mother and community member.
About 100 mourners filled Oakmont’s St. Irenaeus Catholic Church on Wednesday morning to say goodbye to Mary Saflin, who perished last Friday in Highland Park’s severe flash flooding. The 72-year old Oakmont woman was remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and a friend who went out of her way to say “hello” to neighbors as she walked through Oakmont and who was sure when making one of her specialties, an ethnic pancake, to prepare them just the way each of her loved ones liked. The Rev. Frank Kurimsky, pastor of St. Irenaeus, thanked those in attendance for coming together to provide support at a time of such tragic loss. “As hard as it is, it’s important that we come together, that we pray together,” he said. “It is important…
Monday, August 22, 2011
Family and friends will be received at Burket-Truby Funeral Home and St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Oakmont.
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Monday, August 22, 2011
Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont died tragically during the unexpected flash flooding on Washington Boulevard on Friday, Aug. 19. Her body was found by a search crew on Aug. 20. She was one of four who died. According to her obituary, Saflin was the beloved mother of Josie (Dave) Zischkau, and Nicholas (Melanie) Saflin. She was the sister of Anna (John) Spehar and Nunni of Kelsey and Forrest. Saflin will be remembered for being a caring caretaker of many families’ homes. Friends and relatives will be received at Burket-Truby Funeral Home in Oakmont on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m., and Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Oakmont. People also can …
Sunday, August 21, 2011
How do we respond to sudden deaths that make no sense?
On Friday a 45-year-old woman and her two children died after becoming trapped inside their car during flash floods that submerged more than a dozen vehicles in Pittsburgh's East End. A day later, search crews found the body of a fourth flash-flood victim along the Allegheny River near the Highland Park Bridge, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiners office. Kimberly Griffith, of Plum, and her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, died inside their flooded vehicle along Washington Boulevard in Pittsburgh. Their car was completely submerged and pinned to a tree, according to news reports. Searchers on Saturday found the body of Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont, near Lock and Dam 2, downstream from the Highland Park Bridge, …
diane
3:31 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
I feel that these victims' families have been haunted by this totally unnecessary tragedy and should be compensated. It's really not about the money. That will NEVER bring their lost family members back. However it WILL make a statement to the city that things need to be done to fix this "way over due" problem. Why does it always take a tragedy to open peoples' eyes? I pray everyday that the … more ›