East Herkimer Fire Department Sold

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by Stephen Ames Berry

8/19/19 – This post amused many of our murderous neighbors when it first appeared. (“There they go! Get the ladder!” the Sykes gang’s Carrie Ann Bass would holler as we walked by.) There was no ladder, as we later learned after  toxic clouds were wreathed our home; they were using handfoggers to dispense organophosphate pesticides into our open office window whenever we went for a walk. 

Herkimer's Douglas Barton now Chief of the East Herkimer Fire Dept
East Herkimer Fire Dept Roster April 2017. Douglas Barton is now Chief

Well, as I live and breathe. After being gassed in February and poisoned in March, we took a bit of a vacation. When we left, our neighbors, Herkimer’s Douglas Barton and Joyce Barton, appeared to be going through tough times: home rarely, woebegone looks, no more convenience foods, house dark, kids sad and angry.

Returning ten days later, we found the Bartons’ lives seemingly touched by gold. There was Joyce Barton on her 333 Pleasant Avenue command porch,

Joyce and Douglas Barton's rental residence 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer
Joyce Barton and Douglas Barton’s 333 Pleasant Avenue Herkimer NY rental residence.

passing out favors to her throng of fair weather friends, as when she was the undisputed queen of Herkimer’s bustling drug trafficking row.  And  a welcoming friend to new neighbors.

herkimer's Joyce and Douglas Barton (2014)
Joyce and Douglas Barton (2014)

Since our return, Joyce Barton’s been busy networking again with like-minded neighbors, partially in response to our unexpected return. (So many crestfallen faces when we pulled into driveway and emerged, relaxed and tanned. )

I suppose to the watching hopeful along Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue, it seemed we’d abandoned our poisoned Herkimer home, packed up our pets, a few things and fled. Had I been hired to dispose of such nosy neighbors as we, dead or alive, I’d have then demand my money, reporting mission accomplished. But would have had the brains to not spend like a sailor.

And what did Douglas Barton do with his share of the Barton’s sudden golden shower? Douglas Barton bought the East Herkimer Fire Department. (Volunteer company–one engine.) How else to explain his meteoric return from the ranks, following his…suspicious…garage fire and

Dopuglas Barton - 333 Pleasant Avenue Herkimer suspicious garage fire
Extract of forensic video analysis of Fire Chief Barton’s fire. Note wisp of vapor to left and wafting of garage to the left. Barton is about to enter the truck, seeing nothing.

subsequent demotion from Deputy Chief? And those threats of arson coming from his porch one turbulent evening, directed at us and heard by many? If these are the attributes of a good fire chief, then we’re all doomed if catastrophe strikes.

Lac Megantic train explosion
Lac Megantic Quebec burns following DOT-111 tanker car train explosion. The train was hauling 50,000 barrels of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken crude oil. About 1,000 DOT-111 tank cars daily cross Herkimer’s CSX railway bridge.

East Herkimer Fire Department’s Empty Boots

Looking at the fire company’s roster (top), all their other top ranks are suddenly empty. They weren’t when Douglas Barton was returned to the ranks. Perhaps there was vehement opposition to Barton’s election as Chief, with old hands quitting in disgust? Or maybe they just ate some bad food and passed away.

Empty firefighter boots – 9/11

Of Firemen and Ladders and Poison

When I think firemen, I think ladders.

The long-term salting of our furnace with a powdered insecticide required little finesse. The dosing of our home did with a spray-gun dispensed pesticide did. It was skillfully and stealthily carried out via a ladder, over a period of months in broad daylight. And done several times weekly with the aid of some of our depraved neighbors, who served as lookouts, calling the ladder man when we went for our morning walks and as we returned. Here’s one suspected lookout: 334 Pleasant Avenue Herkimer’s “The Blessing.”

poisoners' lookout 326 Pleasant Avenue Herkimer NY
“The Blessing” 334 Pleasant Ave. Herkimer. Street harasser and suspected poisoners’ lookout.  if you point a camera her way she calls you a pedophile. We’ve found in Herkimer that those who, like Curtis Cool, shriek “Pedophile!”, are usually trafficking drugs and/or kids.

The objective, as with the furnace salting, was to continuously poison us so we’d slowly sicken and die, never suspecting we’d been  murdered. We’d just pass away, as have probably many other Herkimer murder victims here over the years. Well, the word is now out, and jig is up. Spring is here and the ground may soon give up its dead to autopsy.

For reasons which will later sound not at all paranoid, our systematic poisoning probably began even before we moved into our house, three years ago. That cold diabolical plan was destroyed by the enraged nighttime pesticide attack of February 22nd. (See Herkimer Jewish Blogger Gassed) The attack was apparently sparked by our sharing The Herkimer Post’s annual blog statistics a two days earlier: 20,000+ worldwide view of Herkimer crime. The Barton’s and Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Dolan, rocketed our blog to success. Neither does well in sunlight. Nor does Herkimer.

Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Dolan – The Bartons’ Silent Backer?

Had I to guess who was bankrolling the Bartons, I’d say Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Dolan. Curtis has long been chums with the Bartons. He seemed a cash-heavy entity when he lived next door at 328 Pleasant Avenue, renting Herkimer Clerk of Courts’ Harriett Tangorra’s house. Curtis, who waged a lengthy campaign of harassment against us, is rumored to be the scion of Herkimer’s most respected drug manufacturing family. In Herkimer County, New York, this would grant him the status of untouchable nobility; Curtis Cool could only be tried before the Herkimer Drug Lord Himself.

the herkimer ny drug lord
The Herkimer Drug Lord – Only Known Photo (Courtesy The Boys in The Bunker.)

Certainly Herkimer Police and fire officials refused to take complaints against him, possibly fearing they or their families might be poisoned. Because of us and our widely-viewed blog, Curtis had to give up his comfy digs next door and beat an ignominious retreat. He may harbor a grudge.

A Heartfelt “Thank You” to the Herkimer Community

Lastly, we’d like to thank the Herkimer community and authorities for their outpouring of support and sympathy following two well-publicized,  heinous attempts on our lives within the last two months. Their names and organizations are below:

[THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

Oh well. As folks in Herkimer say with a shrug, “It’s Herkimer.”

herkimer ny government
The 3 Wise Monkeys of Herkimer

Herkimer’s community ethos is one which historically has left a lot empty shoes behind.

Herkimer NY Community Ethos - End Result
Holocaust Victims’ Shoes (US Holocaust Museum.)

Perhaps a viewing of Schinlder’s List might help restore Herkimer’s atrophied social conscience?

Oh. Hail to the Chief:

East Herkimer Fire Dept sold to Douglas Barton
Douglas Barton, Chief. East Herkimer Fire Department

 

Mission Accomplished! – Fire Chief Barton’s Fire Revisited

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forensic video analysis of fire 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer NY               The Fire Chief’s Fire – Clip From Forensic Video Analysis

What Did Douglas Barton Know? When Did he know it?

Douglas Barton Herkimer NY
Douglas Barton, Deputy Fire Chief, East Herkimer Volunteer Fire Dept.

With the help of forensic video analysis, we revisited the 1/10/16 garage fire at 333 Pleasant Ave., Herkimer, home to East Herkimer Fire Department Deputy Chief Douglas Barton and his wife Joyce Barton. Why? Because it just didn’t look right.

There seemed to be a tendril of smoke in the lower left of Chief Barton’s garage, just before he and his daughter left in his truck. And the same drifting across his backyard. The Bartons appear to avert their gazes from the garage as they approach it. Judge for yourself–here’s the original clip:

Was this a line of inquiry worth pursing? we asked. We’d forwarded all our videos of the fire to the Herkimer Police and Fire Departments on 1/11/16. But, it is Herkimer’s brazen Bartons. And Joyce Barton is ever in the background of Herkimer happenings. Also, the Herkimer Fire Department inspector seemed to agree with Deputy Fire Chief Barton that the cause was probably a faulty circuit breaker. (In a 1930’s garage, its  electricity coming over an ancient line strung from the house. )

The fire inspector asked for copies of our video clips after he and a Herkimer police officer viewed surveillance footage on our computer. He said he didn’t know the Herkimer Fire Department’s email address. (It’s unpublished, I later learned. As is Herkimer Mayor Anthony Brindisi’s.) I sent the clips over the next day on a flash drive via a police officer, who said he’d drop them off. So much for chain of custody. But then as folks in Herkimer say with a sigh, “It’s Herkimer.”

Herkimer NY spirit of governance

Sensing how Herkimer would be the investigating the fire chief’s fire, we sent the above key clip from The Fire Chief’s Fire series of videos to PerpPics for preliminary analysis. PerpPics is a well-regarded video forensics firm, noted for its skills in surveillance video enhancement and clarification. It often works with law enforcement agencies. Its analyses are fully admissible as evidence.

The surveillance videos you see on our blog are compressed for transmission to our cloud hosting service. The originals are in high definition format, which can be restored to their origiinal quality, further enhanced, enlarged and forensically analyzed.

Below is the crucial frame from the clip, enhanced by PerPics. The surveillance camera is about 200 feet from the Barton’s garage. Barton and his daughter are in their driveway walking toward the garage. Could they reasonably have been expected to miss from about 15 feet what our surveillance camera saw from 200 feet?

333 Plesant Ave. Herkimer Fire - Forensically Enhanced ImageUpscaled resolution to increase detail. Clarified steam and reduced compression artifacts.”  (Forensic video analyst report.)

(Steam = water. Smoke = fire. Which one was present in Barton’s garage?

farewell potential evidence

Mission accomplished!

Deputy Fire Chief Barton HatThe Fire Chief’s Fire – What Next?

The Herkimer Post lacks the resources to complete a full video forensic analysis of the video. But maybe you do? Here’s the forensic analyst’s downloadable report and Enhancement Procedure Summary:

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Written by Herkimer Post Crime Editor, author Stephen Ames Berry. Berry is a former officer of Harvard University and a veteran of the National Security Agency’s US Army Security Agency.

Republished 4.18.16 to include a photograph of now former Deputy Fire Chief Barton. The Herkimer Post regrets the omission.

Rewritten 8.29.16 to enhance narrative and include a visual motif  of Herkimer Village government, and a link to a photo of the world’s most beloved German Army sergeant.

 

 

 

 

 

video enhancement and clarification services

Fire at 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer NY Jan 10, 2016

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Garage fire at 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer

A fast moving fire today consumed the garage located at 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer NY. The fire started as a small blaze at the left side of the garage. Smoke billowed up and towards the right. This soon turned into an explosive blaze that fortunately did not spread to any nearby homes. A popping noise followed by a loud boom indicated a minor explosion. Property tax records show 333 Pleasant Ave to be owned by Alan and Clara Klock of Cherry Valley. It’s rented to East Herkimer Fire Department Deputy Chief Douglas Barton and Joyce Barton.

At their request, The Herkimer Post has provided extensive footage of the fire and events surrounding it to Herkimer police and fire investigators. We may have additional coverage in a later post.

Security camera video records fire at 333 Pleasant Ave Herkimer

A security camera located directly across the street recorded the fire.  The initially insignificant flames and smoke went unnoticed even by people walking right by them. At 13:59 the occupants of 333 Pleasant Ave evacuated. Firefighters quickly arrived and extinguished the fire. An investigation is underway.

The timeline below is a small sample of the video clips recorded by security cameras:

1313 Here’s the garage, soon be a smoldering skeleton of burnt wood.

1326 Deputy Fire Chief Barton arrives home – seems oblivious to blaze

1334 Deputy Fire Chief Barton leaves from driveway – still seems oblivious to blaze.  Note what appears to be tendril of smoke in the lower left of Barton’s’ garage picked up by standard surveillance camera at 200 feet.

1349 Smoke billows from garage

4/28/16 Update — See Mission Accomplished! – Fire Chief Barton’s Fire Revisited for forensic video analysis of a crucial part of the 333 Pleasant Ave fire videos. What did Douglas Barton know and when did he know it?