DOTHAN: Today RSN met with Dothan Fire Chief Larry Williams to discuss fire and rescue services and discuss the ongoing rescue and recovery measures in Washington D.C..
Fire Services initially was putting wet stuff (water) on red stuff (fire). Today the fire service has become more complex, where they are faced with all different types of scenes. Firefighting is now only about 20% of their mission. When the 911 bells rings, firemen are faced with many different scenarios like medical calls, extrications of patients, high and low angle rope rescues, trench cave ins, burn patients, and any thing you can think of.
Larry Williams started in emergency services in 1982. He started with Dothan Fire Department in 1988 after having worked with Pilcher Ambulance Service, Eufaula Fire Department and Ozark Fire Department. Williams is the second longest serving Fire Chief of Dothan with 18 years as Chief.
In press briefings, officials have discussed Unified Command. Chief Williams explains what Unified Command consists of and how the emergency services functions.
WASHINGTON D.C. – HOUSTON COUNTY AL: This week this nation experienced a major tragedy when an airplane and helicopter collided at Reagan International Airport. There were 64 passengers and staff on the aircraft and three on the helicopter, and all lives were claimed.
In videos you can see a fiery explosion when the two collide. The aircraft fell into the Potamac. The Potomac is primarily freshwater, but it becomes brackish (a mix of fresh and saltwater) as it approaches and enters Chesapeake Bay forming an estuary. An estuary is where the ocean tides meet the river.
Temperatures were reported to be around 36 to 37 degrees.
On Thursday RSN spoke with Chris Ball, President of Houston County Alabama Rescue Unit. Today one of the primary missions of Houston County Rescue Unit, a volunteer organization, is water rescue and/or recovery of victims from water incidents.
As President Chris Ball, a professional diver and owner of a Dothan Scuba diving business, explains, a lot of factors weigh into the search. This morning (Friday January 31, 2025) Fox News reports, only 28 of the 67 bodies have been recovered. That leaves some 38 bodies unrecovered.
If visibility is low, searches are conducted by Sonar water scan and / or grid searches with someone holding a water tinder line, watching the divers bubbles and holding them to certain grids.
When a person drowns, where the person goes down is where they are going to be for a period of time. That period of time is determined on several factors, such as weight, what they are wearing, water temperature and other factors. The difficult situation in the Washington D.C. search is, based on the visual of the fireball in the sky, I personally do not believe anyone realized what happened or were alive when the debris impacted the water. Due to the fiery explosion, my belief all were burned to death when the plane was falling to the ground. With that said, the bodies were possibly thrown in multiple directions because the aircraft is reported in three sections. But also consider the aircraft was one minute from landing so all on board should have had their seatbelts on and were strapped into their seats.
An additional factor is, where was the impact of the helicopter to the airplane and the blades on top of the helicopter which were turning on impact. That constitutes extreme damage to the aircraft and potential damage to the bodies. In the search, if all were burned from the jet fuel and helicopter fuel, and an extremely hot fire, there is not much left of the body to recover. Sorry to sound brutal, just realistic. Remember, I served as Coroner and currently serve as Deputy Coroner in two counties.
Chris Ball discusses the difficulties in search and recovery of the bodies. Ball discusses issues on searches and what it is like. Houston County Rescue has traveled all across Alabama and other states in rescue and recovery. He does this for free, keeping equipment ready to respond in a moment’s notice to hopefully rescue and save lives.
Chris Ball also recently completed two years of the Alabama Police Academy traveling a weekend a month to Birmingham. All done at his own expense. In addition to Houston County Rescue, Ball donates his time with Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
The video with Chris opens with a Sonar image and you can see the body in the image. That is marked and divers normally sent down to verify.
HENRY COUNTY: Henry County Commission Chairman/Probate Judge Ray Marler, members of the Henry County Commission, Henry County Engineer Chris Champion, Henry County Sheriff Eric Blankensip, Henry County E911 Director Chad Sowell, Henry County Emergency Management Director Matt Hatcher make an exciting announcement.
Effective January 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM the raod conditions across Henry County have improved. The previous IMPASSABLE TRAVEL ADVISORY for the Henry County Roads and Bridges has been lifted.
While each can not guarentee the conditions everywhere, drivers are reminded to use caution while traveling.
The above named wish to express their sincere thanks and gratitude to each and every Henry County resident and guests for their paying attention to the advisories and the staying off the roadways. Because of your co-operation there was minimum injuries and accidents across the entire square mileage of Henry County.
The above named also wishes to thank all first responders, paid and volunteer across Henry County, all fire and EMS, all law enforcement from all agencies, county – municipal and state, all Henry County Road and Bridge, and ALDOT with State of Alabama. Together as a partnership, Henry County was safe.
The above named also wants to thank the City of Headland, City of Newville, City of Abbeville, and Town of Haleburg for all of their contributions.
A special thanks to those heard but not seen in the Henry County 911 Center for taking 911 calls, dispatching services required and their tireless efforts.
DOTHAN: This morning Dothan Leisure Services was host to many at POLAR PLUNGE.
It’s an event sponsored by Dothan Leisure Services to raise money for the Therapeutic Center within Dothan Leisure Services and Dothan Special Olympics Program.
Mr. Billy Powell, Director of Dothan Leisure Services, Mr. Clay Dempsey, Director of Dothan Performing Arts, and Mr. Clay Paramore of Dothan Leisure Services participated in the “Polar Plunge.” Also Alabama State Representative Rick Rhem’s wife did the plunge.
This was the second year of the Polar Plunge. They jumped into the ice-cold swimming pool and swam across.
Thanks to the event’s many sponsors. Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba and former Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz were on hand for this morning’s COLD event.
BREAKING: A suspect has been taken into custody, according to reports. Within around six hours an arrest was made with assistance from Dothan Police, Dale County Sheriffs, Coffee County Sheriffs, and ALEA Troopers. Special credit goes to Dale County Mason Bynum, Dothan Police Major Will Glover, Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd, and Dale County Coroner John Cawley.
Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum confirmed to RSN the suspect was taken into custody in Coffee County.
The suspect is Dustin Joe Rigsbee, 31, of Dothan.
The victim is Harleigh Michelle Dills, 31, from Jack, Alabama. She was discovered with a single gunshot wound to the upper body.
Law enforcement made contact with Rigsbee in Jack, Alabama, and the suspect fled from the back of the residence.
Crisis negotiators contacted Rigsbee by cell phone and began negotiations.
After an hours long standoff and negotiation process, Rigsbee was arrested and charged with murder. He’s been booked into the Dale County Jail with no bond.
ORIGINAL: Dothan Police are responding to a report of a firearm assault, according to reports. State troopers and an armored truck rushed on-scene. More information to come.
The assault is reported to have happened on Mance Newton Road at Summerchase mobile home park.
The suspect left the scene, according to initial reports.
Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum is also responding.
UPDATE: Reports indicate a person was murdered.
Dothan Police posted this on their Facebook:
“Dothan Police Department is on scene of a homicide in the 4000 block of Mance Newton Road. Investigators are on scene beginning the investigation. Media staging area will be in the trailer park near the 500 row. PIO will be updating the media soon. We ask the public to avoid the area.”
Dothan Police said they’re obtaining a search warrant to look inside the trailer where the murder occurred.
Anyone with information can submit tips to the Dothan Police Department by phone or online.
UPDATE: A possible suspect has been identified, and the investigation continues.
FOLEY – GULF SHORES: 08:51 AM Reports out of Baldwin County Alabama say ICE Deportation raided one local business this morning and took 12 immigrants into custody.
Reports are they made the supervisor remain inside until the workers arrived and arrested them.
They have seen all around the 2,027 square miles of Baldwin County, of which 1,590 square miles of land and 437 square miles of water. This is the largest county in the State of Alabama. The county is larger than Rhode Island, the county seat is in Bay Minette, and its largest city is Daphne. Baldwin County is known for its beaches, golf courses and recreational opportunities. The 2020 census population was 231,767.
Baldwin County was Alabama’s fastest growing county from 2010 to 2020, with 4 of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the state in recent years.
Employers who have hired immigrant workers and depend on them to work are scared of ICE units because they could face hefty fines. What does an employer do? When you can not find Americans to work and only immigrants to work, to make money, what do you do?
Some have said they want to look at Trump’s businesses and see what his employees look like. The sources say on confidential basis, YES, we agree with violent immigrants being deported, but their workforce has not been violent.
The deportations are having drastic effects on private business… how to do they make money when a lot of Americans do not want to work???
