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Page 3 of 15 But what enemy had been routed? No one ever knew. All the fire fighters saw in the sky were the 15 or 20 moving "things" which seemed to change course at great speed apparently unaffected by the flak from bursting shells all around them. Rumors that one had been shot down were never verified, nor was the explanation that these zig- zagging invaders were weather balloons ever taken seriously. In any event, for Chuck, that unforgettable episode aroused a continuing interest in UFOs, rivalling his professional fields of law and fire protection. The fact that he subsequently was a member of a group whose sighting of a flight of UFOs was authenticated by airport radar helped to sustain that interest. With no intention of trying to prove or disprove the authenticity of the numerous UFO encounters often related by very credible witnesses including airline and military pilots, astronauts, police officers, fire fighters, members of Congress, and even a U.S. President, the balance of this chapter will present a brief history and nature of UFOs and their alleged occupants; their widespread sightings over the globe since ancient times; their appearance, propulsion origin, and possible motives for continuing reconnaissance. A quick look at some of the classic accounts of encounters documented in numerous foreign and U.S. publications might help us judge the magnitude of their threat, if any, to social stability, and, if deemed desirable, propose a fire service plan for coping with some of the conceivable catastrophic effects that UFOs could produce on cities and densely populated areas. For readers who already have made up their minds that there is no such thing as a UFO notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it should be pointed out that there is circumstantial evidence that disastrous effects have already been attributed to UFO activity in more than one nation, including the United States. William Shakespeare put a fitting observation in the mouth of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, that went like this: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy." Whether Hamlet was referring to those strange lights or objects that appear in the sky or near the ground and have no known cause, we will never know, but the World Book Encyclopedia defines such things as UFOs.(37) Several theories have been propounded as to what they might be. Some scientists believe that they are of extraterrestrial origin-- coming from other planets. Military officers conjecture that they might be alien aircraft. Some attribute them all to natural causes, such as meteors, comets, sun dogs, light reflections, marsh gas, ball lightning, even though they must admit that scientists cannot explain all UFO reports in that manner. Still others are inclined to believe that they may be forms from other dimensions which can materialize and dematerialize at will perhaps by making a wavelength or frequency transition so as to become invisible to humans. Some believe they are time travelers from the future. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Northern University Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and an advisor to the Air Force's Blue Book Project adopted a very simple classification system based solely upon the manner of observation: He concluded that this system tells us nothing about the nature of the UFOs, but can suggest a means for gathering data.(38) He found that while a large number of such reports were readily identifiable by trained investigators as misconceptions of known objects or events, a small residue (about 1.000) were not. These came from credible witnesses from such widely separated places as Canada. Australia. South America, and Antarctica. He concludes with: "Although | know of no hypothesis that adequately covers the mountainous evidence, this should not and must not deter us from following the advice of Schroedinger: to be curious, capable of being 4/6/2008 FIREFIGHTERS UFO MANUAL UFO Background Information UFOs What Are They? UFO Classification System 1. Nocturnal lights 2. Daylight disks 3. Close encounters (day or night) 4. Radar readings. http://www. greatdreams.com/ufos/firefighters.htm