The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON — Home-brewed coffee lovers, take note: close to a million Tassimo coffee makers are being recalled in Canada after reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto people.

Some 900,000 Tassimo coffee makers are being recalled in Canada and about 835,000 are being recalled in the U.S.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been 140 reports of problems with the Tassimo single-cup brewers dousing people, including 37 cases involving second-degree burns.

In one incident, a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota was hospitalized with second-degree burns to her face and neck.

The commission also says the coffee maker's "T-disc" -- the plastic disc that holds the coffee or tea -- can burst while brewing and spray hot liquid.

It says a 2-year-old girl in Canada suffered second-degree burns to her face.

Some four million packages of Tassimo espresso T-discs are also being recalled, and about half of those were sold in Canada.

They were manufactured by Kraft Foods Global Inc., in Illinois, and were recalled after 21 reports of problems.

    The Long Reach Fire Department held its annual open house and general meeting on November 22nd, 2011.  Chief Randy Gowlett reported on recent fire calls, and an overview of the department's activities over the last year was given by President John Long.  In addition, a number of presentations were made.  John Long was presented with his third award of the exemplary service medal.  Captains Rod Dobbelsteyn and Scott Crandall were each presented with the Governor General's medal for exemplary service.  Chief Randy Gowlett was presented with a pin from the Office of the Fire Marshall for 15 years of service, and Isaac Jones was presented with a pin for 5 years of service.

The Long Reach Fire Department will be holding its Christmas Tree Fundraiser again this year.  We'll be at the fire station on December 10th and 11th.  Stay tuned to this site or to our Facebook Page for more info as it becomes available.

Two LRFD firefighters have completed the training, testing and practical skills checks necessary for completion of "Firefighter II".   Congratulations go out to Captain Thane Jones and Firefighter Daniel Fudge on obtaining this certification.  This course requires 40 hours of classroom instruction as well as training in dealing with Hazardous Materials and the demonstration of various fireground skills.

This map provides the most current burning conditions for New Brunswick.  This information pertains to category 1 fires, which include campfires, and small piles of burning debris.  Remember that fires must be attended at all times, and that landowner's permission is required before lighting a fire on private land.

For larger fires, or for burning grass, a written permit must be obtained from Natural Resources, who will need to pre-inspect your site.  

For further information, call 1-866-458-8080, visit the DNR Website, or visit any Department of Natural Resources regional or district office.

Dave Carroll of Nova Scotia has created a website to recognize Emergency Responders, be they firefighters, police, or EMS personnel.  His new single "Everyday Heroes" (which can be seen at right) is about those emergency responders and their promise to help regardless of the unknown risks that may await them.

On December 23rd, Chief Randy Gowlett took possession of the newest vehicle in the Long Reach Fire Department Fleet, a 2010 Freightliner combination pumper tanker.  This truck, manufactured by Allain Manufacturing in Notre-Dame NB, will replace our 1986 GMC, which had been the primary pumper for the fire department for over 20 years.  The new truck is a top mount pumper, with a 1050 gallon per minute Darley pump and a 1200 gallon polypropylene tank.  It also has two 20 gallon built in foam tanks, which can be controlled from the main pump panel.  Other improvements on this vehicle, include cabinet mounted SCBA packs, so that firefighters can quickly suit up at emergency scenes, as well as suction lines mounted low on the body so that firefighters can access them without climbing onto the roof of the truck.

Several brands of LED Christmas lights that were sold this season have been recalled, If you have purchased any LED light strings 

• Home Accents and Martha Stuart Living Recall

• Westinghouse Zellers Recall