Obviously, if the outcome of this incident had been different, the resultant video footage could be a great deal more sensitive.

In this case, it documented three rescues by skilled and dedicated firefighters — and that's undoubtedly a good thing.

Balancing the potential down- and up-side of onscene video (both official and unofficial) will likely continue to be a challenge faced by all our departments.

Like so many things we do: when it's good, it's really good; but when it's bad, it can be really bad.

Stay safe and remember to smile for the camera(s)!

Over the next two months, there are several standards under development or revision; these include each of the standards listed below.

NFPA 1851 - Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting

Work is toward a third edition. The most significantly considered topics are the qualifications for service providers on cleaning and repair and how these organizations are qualified, difficulties in implementing the complete liner inspection and the rigor of the hydrostatic test applied to liners after three years, and the mandatory 10-year retirement requirement for all ensemble elements.

The industry is debating how manufacturers can specify companies to provide inspection, cleaning, and repair of their clothing versus the verification of independent service providers that can offer care for any type of clothing.

The adequacy of current procedures for qualifying organizations is being reviewed and being extended from simply addressing repair to cleaning and inspection processes. The committee is considering whether cleaning procedures need to be validated.

There are also concerns for high levels of liner failure during hydrostatic testing noted by some departments that occurs as part of complete liner inspections. Proposals for changing the frequency of this testing or how the testing is conducted are open for consideration.

Lastly, some departments are advocating exceptions to the rule that all clothing and equipment covered by NFPA 1971 be retired 10 years from its manufacturing date.

NFPA 1852 - Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)

The standard is considered relatively mature and only a few changes have been proposed. These include events and procedures for reporting failures of SCBA, specifying the number of spare cylinders on hand for a given organization, and providing editorial changes to make some requirements more consistent with NIOSH regulations. (Note – Pat, does this line seem OK to you? I'm also checking with the Stulls - Jamie.)

NFPA 1855 - Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents

This is a new standard that is intended to establish the companion selection, care, and maintenance requirements for products certified to NFPA 1951, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents.

The standard has a number of similarities to NFPA 1851, but has some adaptations to address specific issues related to two principle ensembles covered in the standard – utility technical rescue (without barrier) and rescue & recovery operations (with barrier). NFPA 1951 also addresses requirements for a CBRN ensemble.

As proposed, the standard provides detailed procedures for conducting a risk assessment to support the selection of the appropriate ensemble. It also establishes specific requirement for how ensemble elements (garments, helmets, gloves, and footwear) are inspected, cleaned, decontaminated, repaired, and stored as well as the responsibilities for ensemble care and maintenance for the department and individual responder.

NFPA 1975 – Standard on Work/Station Uniforms for the Emergency Services

The standard address clothing that is worn underneath protective clothing and includes an option for the clothing to be flame resistant. The committee is considering the scope of the standard to address some of items of clothing currently worn underneath protective clothing for moisture management and comfort purposes.

The committee is also examining the potential for including other performance properties in the evaluation of this clothing.

The public input period has passed, but any input for the revision of this standard can still be submitted for the committee's consideration. In addition, the same committee is working on a new contaminated water diving standard and a rope and harness selection, care, and maintenance standard.

NFPA 1981 - Standard on Open-Circuit, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services

The committee is addressing a number of changes for improving the performance of fire service SCBA. Among these are proposed tests for evaluating the integrity of the facepiece to high heat in response to some reported industry failures.

A new radiant heat resistance test has been put forward for consideration. The committee is also increasing the conditions of the high heat oven exposure prior to the fire exposure in the overall heat and flame test.

A number of other proposed changes have been considered that include new methodology for evaluating SCBA voice communications and changing the alarm level (amount of remaining air) for the end-of-service time indicator.

The standard is also being revised to provide for a range of certifications to address other applications, such as law enforcement, hazardous materials, and other non-fire fighting operations.

NFPA 1982 - Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS)

Since its last overhaul in 2007 to address issues related to PASS problems in high heat and moisture conditions, the current revision is focusing on changes that encompass the performance of wireless or radio frequency PASS and their ability to communicate to base stations outside the operating location.

Consequently, a number of new design and performance criteria have been proposed to address various aspects of evolving electronics and their continued functionality for PASS devices. For example, wireless PASS devices are now evaluated for their ability to alarm at a distance that is considered out of range from the base station.

NFPA 1989 - Standard on Breathing Air Quality for Emergency Services Respiratory Protection

This standard covers the quality of breathing air for SCBA and how it is tested. The standard, which has been in existence for two prior editions, is undergoing only relatively minor changes for clarification of the existing procedures.

NFPA 1999 - Standard on Protective Clothing Emergency Medical Operations

The standard was significantly expanded in 2008 to include other categories of clothing and equipment. The majority of current revisions are aimed at improving current test methods or addressing the need for clarification for existing requirements.

A number of items covered by the standards are typically not certified by manufacturers, such as disposal garments, work gloves, and eye and face protection.

We would like to also point out that you can submit input on any standard at any time, whether in revision or not. The submission of specific suggestions or criticisms is always welcome and seen as a valuable part of providing feedback that enable enhancement of the current standards, which in turn help allow the development of better performing clothing and equipment.

We hope that if any of the standards are of interest to you that you take the time to communicate your concerns or needs to the respective committee. The NFPA process is only improved when the actual users of personal protective equipment provide their input.

One child had to be dropped over a second-story railing into the arms of a waiting firefighter in Alameda County, Calif., according to KGO-TV.

The video shows a thick black plume of smoke. Fire Capt. Tom Pappas calls out to the children and pulls a boy to safety. Moments later, Firefighter Anthony McAdams pulls another child out. Then the mother lowers a third child to Firefighter McAdams from the second-floor window.

"She didn't know what to do so she basically handed her child down to me," Firefighter McAdams said.

"A lot of the family members weren't able to get out and we had neighbors and parents saying that there younger children were still trapped on the second floor," Capt. Pappas said.

"They were in the back bedroom, tucked into the closet under a blanket scared for their lives," Capt. Pappas, who wore the helmet cam, told CBS San Francisco.

Firefighters used thermal imagers to search the rooms, and a fourth child made it out by himself.

DENVER — A veteran Denver television anchor was injured Wednesday after she was bitten in the face by a dog while doing a live broadcast about a dog rescued by a firefighter.

Kyle Dyer was doing a follow-up interview on the rescue of Max, an 85-pound Argentine mastiff that fell into a lake on Tuesday while chasing a coyote in Lakewood. Firefighter Tyler Sugaski, who put on a wetsuit and rescued the dog, was also being interviewed when the attack occurred.

The station posted a statement on its Facebook page that Dyer was "getting medical attention due to the injury" and the station was waiting to find out the extent of her injuries before issuing further information.

A station spokeswoman was not available for comment.

According to the station (http://on9news.tv/yGZ4GQ), Max's owner, Michael Robinson, was taking the dog for a walk without a leash on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. when the dog spotted a coyote running out of a bush.

The dog chased the coyote onto the ice and fell into the water, where the animal spent 20 minutes in the freezing water before firefighters with the West Metro Fire Department arrived.

Sugaski broke the ice with his arms to get closer to the dog.

"The dog recognized right off that I was there to help, so he came towards me," Sugaski said.

Max suffered a few scrapes from the ice, but was recovering from his ordeal. Firefighters were never able to locate the coyote.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane city officials and the firefighters union are expected to go back to the bargaining table after the City Council voted 4-3 to reject a new three-year labor contract on Monday.

Mayor David Condon has indicated that he wants to reopen talks to reach a new agreement that would be acceptable to at least four council members, according to city spokeswoman Marlene Feist.

"We will go back to the drawing board and see what we can come up with," Feist said Tuesday. "We hope that Local 29 will be willing to do that with us."

The contract rejected Monday was approved by former Mayor Mary Verner in December during the waning days of her term.

Lt. Mark Vietzke, president of Local 29, said his membership is willing to renew talks. But Vietzke told council members Monday night that the union is not willing to settle for less than called for in the previous contract.

Vietzke said he was "frustrated" by Monday's outcome and fears that the council's decision could sour future talks.

Council members who voted against the contract said they were uncomfortable with the proposed deal, which calls for improvements in health benefits and a 1.9 percent salary increase in 2014, the third year of the contract.

Councilman Steve Salvatori, who joined the council at the start of the year and was part of the majority voting against the contract, said he wants to be involved in the discussions leading up to any agreement.

He also said he is concerned that the city might not be able to afford what amounts to a projected 35 percent increase in the city's health insurance premium payments for firefighters and their families in 2013.

Currently, the city pays about 83 percent of health premiums for firefighters and their families. That would increase to 100 percent in 2013, but it would be capped in 2014 by a maximum increase of 4 percent to be paid by the city.

"There is no secret what our budget situation is," Salvatori said.

He was joined by council members Nancy McLaughlin, Mike Fagan and Mike Allen in voting no.

The contract calls for no salary increase in 2013, but firefighters received a 3 percent wage boost at the start of this year under the expiring contract, Salvatori pointed out. That payment was delayed for budgetary relief in 2011.

Council President Ben Stuckart said on Tuesday that he is concerned that the council passed up a good deal.

He said the cost of the contract was less than the projected increase in city revenue, so it would put at least a three-year halt to a problem of labor costs outstripping tax collections.

The annualized cost of the contract was 2.38 percent a year for wages and benefits, he said, which was less than half of the cost of the expiring contract.

Firefighters currently make up to $87,200 a year in base pay at their lowest rank and up to $91,900 a year as fire equipment operators. Those figures do not include overtime pay. The Fire Department and its emergency medical services fund are operating on a $42million budget this year.

Stuckart said he is concerned that the rejection could harm future negotiations not only with firefighters but with other unions.

He said he was hoping to wrap up the fire contract so that the City Council and mayor's office could concentrate on a new Spokane Police Guild contract. Bargaining with the guild is expected to include talks over police department reforms, which are outlined in a resolution adopted Monday by the council.

In addition, the city could be forced into binding arbitration with firefighters.

In that event, Stuckart said, the city might be required under state law to spend more money than under the proposal rejected Monday.

Arbitration considers average compensation in comparable departments, and currently, compensation in Spokane is lower than several of the comparable departments in Washington, he said.

"That's where the risk is," he said.

The city has avoided binding arbitration over the years out of fear that the city would lose. The last time the city and Local 29 went to arbitration was in 1988.

In addition to wages and benefits, the contract also would have shifted deputy fire marshal jobs to civilian positions, which was intended to better meet the needs of property owners undergoing fire inspections.

Stuckart called it an "economic development issue" in a news release Tuesday.

The release was sent out jointly by Stuckart and council members Jon Snyder and Amber Waldref, who voted in favor of the contract.

"Rejecting this contract puts Spokane at risk for higher costs for years to come," the release said.

Binding arbitration

Although the mayor's office hopes Local 29 of the firefighters' union will go back to the bargaining table, a failure to come to a new agreement could result in both sides going to binding arbitration. The last time the city of Spokane and Local 29 went to arbitration was 1988.

Copyright 2012 Spokane Spokesman-Review

Comments made by a senior fire department spokesman on his personal social media accounts that characterized protests against the D.C. fire chief as racist disappeared shortly after the spokesman confirmed he was the author.

Posts by D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Lon Walls on Twitter and Facebook were taken down Monday night after Mr. Walls spoke to The Washington Times about the nature of the comments.

Mr. Walls, who said Monday that the posts reflected his personal opinions, did not return messages left Tuesday inquiring why the messages were removed.

The comments were posted after more than 100 firefighters walked out on a Jan. 24 address by Chief Kenneth Ellerbe at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.

"Just witnessed a blatant display of racism and disrespect shown to an African American leader," Mr. Walls wrote on Twitter.

Firefighters who participated in the walkout said they were protesting leadership issues and numerous departmental changes made by Chief Ellerbe. Perhaps most notably, the changes have included a plan to switch from the 24-hour shifts firefighters have worked for more than two decades to 12-hour shifts and revisions in uniform policy. Chief Ellerbe has said he expects the shift change to reduce the number of firefighters in the District by about 26 percent.

Reached by phone Tuesday and asked whether he shared his spokesman's view that the walkout was racist in nature, Chief Ellerbe said he could not talk because he was heading into a meeting. He would be available later but did not respond to subsequent calls.

A spokesman for Mayor Vincent C. Gray also did not respond to messages left Tuesday asking how the mayor regarded the protests and Mr. Walls' comments.

Firefighters were a visible presence at Mr. Gray's State of the District address Tuesday night. While dozens sat together in the balcony of the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, they made no overt political statements in advance of the speech.

Firefighters and fire officials sparred in days leading up to the address over whether Chief Ellerbe issued orders in an attempt to stave off any protests by firefighters at the mayor's speech.

Mr. Walls said Monday the chief never issued any directive to firefighters in reference to the address. But firefighters circulated photographs of what they said were orders handwritten into fire-station logbooks that outlined to varying degrees whether firefighters could attend the mayoral address, how they could behave and what they would be expected to wear.

Edward Smith, president of the D.C. firefighters union, said he was told by Chief Ellerbe the initial order was misconstrued but that the chief declined to issue a written clarification of the order.

Copyright 2012 The Washington Times LLC All Rights Reserved

TYE, Texas — The city of Tye is collecting donations for one of its own volunteer firefighters after his north Abilene home was heavily damaged by fire last weekend.

At about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to a possible structure fire in the 1800 block of North Seventh Street, where the Jeremy Linn family resided. There, they found heavy smoke and residents of the home standing in the front yard. Damages totaled to $40,000, and family pets — a dog and two hamsters — were lost in the blaze.

Donations of clothing, furniture, money and appliances, as well as toys can be taken to Tye City Hall, located at 205 North St.

Jeremy Linn has been a volunteer firefighter in Tye for the past eight months, said the city's Fire Chief Shawn Hicks. "He's been one of our top hands," Hicks said about Linn's service to the volunteer department. Linn, he said, travels back and forth from Abilene to Tye on fire calls, especially wildfires.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. On Monday, Lt. Greg Goettsch of the Abilene Fire Department said investigators have been able to conclude only that the fire began on a living room sofa. AFD has not been able to determine the source of ignition, he said.

Copyright 2012 The E.W. Scripps Company All Rights Reserved

PUYALLUP, Wash. — A 911 recording reveals a social worker's attempts in a more than six-minute phone call to get a dispatcher to send authorities quickly to the home of Josh Powell after he locked himself and his two sons in the home he then set ablaze.

The social worker seemed to try repeatedly to relay the gravity of what was going on to dispatchers. Josh Powell was scheduled for a supervised visit with his sons Sunday. Authorities said he locked the door, used a hatchet on his kids, and lit the house on fire, killing all inside.

In the first minutes of the 911 call, the woman laid out the situation.

"Something really weird has happened. The kids went into the house and the parent — the biological parent — whose name is Josh Powell will not let me in the door. What should I do? ... I could hear one of the kids crying, and he still wouldn't let me in."

The social worker told the dispatcher she "was one step in back of them (the boys). He shut the door right in my face."

At one point the dispatcher asked the social worker what address she was at. The social worker didn't know and needed to look for it. It took her about 1 1/2 minutes to find it in her car. At one point she asks, "You can't find me by GPS?" While she's still looking for the address she says, "But I think I need help right away."

The woman also explained that she smelled gasoline, saying four minutes into the call that the boys have been locked in the home for 10 minutes. Authorities later said Josh Powell spread a 5-gallon drum of gasoline around the home to ensure the fire he set burned faster.

After six minutes on the call, a dispatcher says: "We'll have somebody look for you there."

"OK, how long will it be?" the woman asks.

"I don't know, ma'am. We have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first. The first available deputy ..."

The woman responded: "This could be life-threatening ... I'm afraid for their lives."

After the home erupted in flames, the woman screamed in a separate call: "He exploded the house!"

CLEVELAND — A federal judge in Ohio has granted a new trial for a man convicted in a 2005 house fire that killed nine people, including eight children at a birthday sleepover.

Judge Solomon Oliver ruled Wednesday that the conviction of 28-year-old Antun Lewis in the Cleveland fire was based on unreliable witnesses.

At the same time, the judge said he did not find that Lewis didn't commit the crime. He says a new trial will provide an incentive to answer unresolved questions.

A spokesman says local U.S. attorney's office had no immediate comment. A defense attorney didn't immediately return a message Wednesday.

Lewis has said he knew the victims and wouldn't harm a child.

The fire killed 33-year-old Medeia Carter, four of her children and four other youngsters.

It gets more and more difficult to find principle-based leaders in today's society. Passing the buck is commonplace as everyone points the finger at someone else. Society is starving for quality leadership, and it’s no different in fire departments all over the world.

Firefighters want leaders who will actively engage in the leadership process as they work to develop exceptional leaders for the future of the fire service. I have a leadership acronym for what I consider some of the more important traits of an exceptional leader:

Love what you do
Excel in competency
Act with integrity
Demonstrate accountability
Empower others
Respond humbly

Love what you do

People want to follow leaders who love what they do and show some passion for it. You don't have to love every aspect of your job or everything that transpires in the department, but you should at least love being a firefighter, a company officer or a chief officer. I have yet to meet a firefighter who didn't have a passion for being a firefighter when he or she started out. But as the years go by, apathy sets in for some people for a variety of reasons: Department politics, the promotion process, boredom, burnout, personality conflicts and disillusionment.

Too many firefighters let their external circumstances dictate their love for the job, which is reflected in low-quality performance. I read a great quote once that said, "Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it."

Exceptional leaders are defined by the level of excellence for which they strive regardless of their external circumstances. Average people need to be in a great job to excel. Average people need to work with great people to excel. Average people need to have a great boss to excel. Average people need things to go right to excel.

But exceptional leaders don't settle for less than the very best from themselves regardless of their circumstances. You won't hear an exceptional leader say, "Why should I give everything I have to this job? My boss doesn't appreciate me!" You won't hear an exceptional leader say, "I am going to come to work, give the absolute minimum and go home. Why should I give any more than that to this department?" You won't hear an exceptional leader say, "I hate my job. I work with imbeciles. How can I possibly excel in these conditions?" You won't hear an exceptional leader say, "No one will let me reach my full potential."

When you adopt that attitude and perspective, you render yourself powerless and ineffective. You give others the authority to dictate your level of excellence. You take the easy way out when you use your boss, your coworkers or your environment as an excuse not to do your best.

Exceptional leaders give everything 100 percent. They draw from their internal drive and excellence, not their external circumstances. That's what separates average leaders from exceptional leaders. Exceptional leaders love what they do because they choose to.

Excel in competency

Competency ranks high on the list of desirable traits followers want to see in their leaders. Competency instills confidence in followers, and it transcends the fireground. Of course firefighters want their leaders to be absolutely competent when taking incident command, but it doesn't stop there. Firefighters also want their leaders to be competent in communication skills, conflict resolution skills, interpersonal skills, administrative skills, negotiation skills and a variety of others.

On average, across the United States, firefighters spend 4 percent of their time on emergency calls, and 1 percent of that is fire suppression. The remaining 96 percent is spent back at the station dealing with a host of other issues that require competency in many areas.

Exceptional leaders in the fire service recognize that their first call to competency is in leadership. There is a great proverb that says, "He who thinks he leads but has no followers is only taking a walk."

Leaders need to focus on their ability to truly lead and improve this critical competency. When this area of competency is the focus, many other areas tend to take care of themselves.

Exceptional leaders never stop improving. They continue to take classes, read books, learn from others and look for ways to make themselves and their departments better in every way possible. They take input from followers, other leaders, other departments and anyone who can teach them something new. They are not too arrogant to think they can't learn from everyone.

Exceptional leaders excel in competency through continued education, training and experience.

Act with integrity

Integrity has been defined as doing the right thing when no one is looking. Exceptional leaders will make the choice to do what is right, even if no one else is doing it. They will make the unpopular decision if they know it's the right decision.

Having integrity as a leader is a challenge in what I call our current "morally negotiable society." It seems as if anything goes and anything can be justified or blamed on someone else.

Thomas Jefferson once said, "In matters of style you can swim with the current, but in matters of principle you stand like a rock." Great leaders may change in style, but they don't compromise principles. That kind of leadership is hard to find.

A man attended a leadership conference and listened to a powerful message on integrity. He went home and tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. He began to take inventory of all the areas of his life that lacked integrity. One in particular stood out: He had been cheating on his taxes. So he sat down and wrote a letter to the IRS. It said, "Dear IRS, I am trying to become a man of integrity. I have not been claiming all of my income and have therefore not been paying all of the taxes I owe. As a result, I have not been able to sleep at night. Enclosed is a check for $2,000. If I still can't sleep at night, I will send you the rest."

You cannot practice behaviors that demonstrate integrity halfway. Exceptional leaders will do the right thing for their followers, their leaders, their departments and most importantly, for the public they serve.

Demonstrate accountability

Are you willing to make yourself accountable to people above you, below you and beside you? Most people are willing to make themselves accountable to the individuals above them because they know they are responsible for their performance evaluations. Some will even make themselves accountable to their peers, but few will actually make themselves accountable to their subordinates.

I met an exceptional leader, a chief officer, who understood this concept. He allowed his subordinates to give him feedback when he was curt with a member of the public, inconsistent with policy enforcement, or not setting a role-model example when it came to his attitude and work ethic.

Many leaders become indignant at the idea of a subordinate calling them to carpet on an issue. Exceptional leaders recognize that this builds trust, respect and a culture of mutual accountability.

Unfortunately, I have met far too many leaders in the fire service who look down their nose at people down the chain of command. They act as if they have all the answers and that's why they are in their position. The truth is we all need to be accountable up, down and across the chain of command if we hope to develop outstanding leadership throughout the organization.

Exceptional leaders demonstrate high levels of accountability because, as Stephen Covey so aptly put it, "Accountability breeds response-ability."

Empower others

Empowering others means establishing, defining and educating people on the expected results and boundaries in which to operate and then setting them free to make things happen. Or, as Theodore Roosevelt put it, "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

Many leaders feel threatened by empowering others with authority, decision making or process determination. They are afraid the employee may fail and it will make them look bad. Or they are afraid the employee will succeed and it will make them look bad. A lack of empowerment is usually rooted in insecurity.

When you empower people, you communicate that you trust them to use their own best judgment. If you can't trust them to do that, you probably haven't provided adequate training. If you have provided adequate training and coaching and a firefighter still isn't using good judgment, discipline needs to follow. If the discipline does not change the behavior, the firefighter may need to consider a different line of work.

Unfortunately, because most fire departments have a few dense firefighters who refuse to use good judgment, every other firefighter is punished by being denied the opportunity to be empowered in any way they can be. Company officers and chief officers need to step up and discipline firefighters who need it, and the union needs to back that discipline so the other firefighters can have confidence that management and labor share the desire to have the highest levels of excellence in the department at every level.

Empowerment increases morale and allows firefighters to take ownership of their departments. People find it very difficult to buy into missions, visions and goals that they didn't help create. Empower your firefighters to become part of the process, and you will be amazed at the increase in participation and buy-in. Exceptional leaders empower others.

Respond humbly

Humility is a highly desirable trait in a leader. Many leaders in the fire service mistakenly think that if they are to exhibit confidence, they can't exhibit humility. You can be both highly confident as a leader and still humble. In fact, those are the easiest leaders to follow. No one wants to follow a humble leader who is insecure or unsure. No one wants to follow a confident leader who is arrogant, either.

Humility is best exhibited in your ability to listen and take input from others. If you invalidate them, people will view you as arrogant. If people come to you and point out an area you could improve, respond humbly. If people come to you and praise your abilities, respond humbly. If you have offended someone or acted like a jerk and you know it, swallow that pride and respond humbly.

When you maximize your mistakes, people want to minimize them. When you minimize your mistakes, people want to maximize them. When you exalt yourself, people want to humble you. When you humble yourself, people want to exalt you.

Humility covers a wide variety of areas as a leader, and exceptional leaders will respond humbly. Just remember the words of Ezra Taft Benso: "Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right."

If you want to become an exceptional leader, start with these key areas. Love what you do, excel in competency, act with integrity, demonstrate accountability, empower others and respond humbly. Society is absolutely starving for exceptional leaders. and you have an opportunity to step up in your department and be the leader your fellow firefighters need.

Dr. Kimberly Alyn is a best-selling author and an international fire service speaker. She is the owner of Fire Presentations (FirePresentations.com), a company dedicated to keynote presentations and training workshops for the fire service. Dr. Alyn has conducted the largest known fire service study on the topic of leadership and works with fire departments across the country on firefighter and officer development. She is the author of 11 books and a variety of CD/DVD productions. Dr. Alyn holds a bachelor's degree in management, a master's degree in organizational management and a doctorate in management with a specialty in leadership. Dr. Alyn can be reached at 800-821-8116 or email Kim@FirePresentations.com.

Chrysler's "Halftime in America" commercial — narrated by Clint Eastwood — has since generated fierce debate over whether it carried a political message.

But for the two Petaluma firefighters who briefly appeared in the clip, the most pressing concern after its showing was sticking to the department tradition for appearing in the media — by buying ice cream for crew mates.

Batallion Chief Jack Schach said he and fellow officer Phil Sutsos were the only ones in Fire Station 1 when the film company knocked on the door in early January.

"They asked to take pictures of some fire equipment and if we wanted to be in a Dodge commercial that had the potential to be in the Super Bowl," Chief Schach told KTVU.

Each of them earned $100 for the commercial, and they say the money will be put in a general fund for fire equipment or donations.

"We're very proud to represent Petaluma and the fire services as a whole," Chief Schach told KTVU. "It's cool they wanted to have fire representation and we're honored to be a part that."

Firefighters were called when an elevator stalled between the 21st and 22nd floors, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A firefighter took a second elevator to that level and helped the man, who had been stuck for three hours, out of the first elevator and into the second through the ceiling hatch.

When that elevator stalled, other firefighters considered breaking through a brick wall to enter the elevator shaft and using ropes to bring both men to safety.

But an elevator engineer reset the switch from the roof so that the cars could be operated manually, and both made it to the ground floor safely after about two hours in the car.

"We were working late at night in a dark elevator shaft — it was dangerous work," fire spokesman Kevin McGregor told the Chicago Tribune.

He added that the elevators appeared to suffer an electrical problem.

NEW CITY, N.Y. — A guilty plea has averted a trial in an attempted murder case that brought unusual attention to a religious dispute in a Jewish enclave in New York.

Defense attorney Deborah Lowenberg says Shaul Spitzer pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree assault. The 18-year-old is a member of a Hasidic sect in New Square.

Spitzer had been accused of severely burning neighbor Aron Rottenberg with a firebomb.

Rottenberg claimed that Spitzer was acting at the direction of the village's chief rabbi because Rottenberg had stopped praying at the main synagogue.

The rabbi denied involvement.

Lowenberg says Spitzer could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

New Square is about 30 miles north of Manhattan. The insular village has 7,000 residents, nearly all of them members of the Skver (skvehr) Hasidic sect.

MANTUA TWP., N.J. — Two volunteer firefighters and a resident were injured in a house fire Tuesday in Mantua Township, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

Mantua Township Fire Commissioner Jay Hauss said the injured firemen were his son, Chief Brian Hauss, and Lt. Michael Craft. The firefighters suffered burns and were taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, the elder Hauss said.

The younger Hauss later was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland to be treated for second-degree burns to his ears and first-degree burns to a leg, his father said.

He said Craft had burns to his ears and right hand. The prosecutor's office said the injuries to both firefighters were non-life-threatening.

The resident, Michele Ledrich, 40, who suffered serious burns when her trailer house on the first block of West Monroe Avenue caught fire sometime before 10 a.m., was also taken to Crozer-Chester.

She remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Ledrich, who lived with her husband, was home alone at the time of the fire.

The younger Hauss, who is also a Mantua Township police officer, and Craft went into the home to rescue Ledrich, the elder Hauss said.

"They were trying to get her out through the window," said Jay Hauss, who was at Cooper as he spoke. "The room flashed over on both of them."

The elder Hauss said the two firefighters managed to flee through a window. A crew then cut through a wall to pull Ledrich out, he said.

The elder Hauss said the firefighters were "brave" and went beyond the call of duty. "That's what they train for."

The county prosecutor's office, county fire marshal, and the township police department are investigating the fire. Preliminary findings indicated that the blaze was not suspicious, authorities said.

Copyright 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC
All Rights Reserved

TOKYO — A telephone service in which people call #7119 to speak to medical staff about whether they need emergency treatment has failed to gain traction nationally.

The around-the-clock service was introduced to reduce requests for emergency care for people with illnesses or injuries that do not require immediate treatment. Ambulance response times have been slowing in part because of the growing number of unnecessary emergency requests.

But due to staff shortages and budget problems, only Tokyo, Osaka and Nara prefectures introduced the system.

Medical experts say for the system to proliferate, frameworks covering wider regions are necessary.

The counseling service is free, although callers are charged for the phone call. It is jointly operated by local governments, doctors associations and firefighting authorities.

Callers describe symptoms or conditions to doctors and nurses. If they are judged to require urgent treatment, medical staff will ask firefighting stations that operate ambulances to provide immediate care.

When the situation is less serious, the medical staff will recommend a range of nearby facilities such as hospitals that can be visited for treatment.

The Tokyo Fire Department in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has a counseling center for the #7119 service, which is called frequently.

"My child has fever and he looks painful," a recent caller said. Another caller said, "My baby fell off the bed and hit her head."

Replies from the medical staff included, "Has the child been knocked unconscious?" and "Did the child vomit?"

In a recent case, a phone counselor said, "If conditions do not worsen, it'll be OK to go to a hospital tomorrow," causing the panicked caller to become calmer.

A nurse working on the phone service said, "In many cases we can help relieve the callers by discussing the symptoms."

The number of ambulance dispatches throughout the nation reached a record high of about 5.46 million in 2010, according to Fire and Disaster Management Agency statistics.

During the first half of last year, the number of calls rose 6 percent from the same period a year earlier, an increase due to the nation's aging population. The national average length of time for ambulances to reach a hospital after collecting a patient has grown by nine minutes during the last 10 years.

Firefighters say patients with light injuries and mild illnesses account for about half of the call-outs.

To counter this problem, the agency implemented the #7119 service as a trial for six months from October 2009.

The Tokyo metropolitan government had already created a similar system that resulted in the number of ambulance dispatches falling from about 690,000 in 2007 to about 650,000 in 2008 when the service was fully implemented.

The percentage of ambulance call-outs to people with light injuries or mild illnesses fell from 2008 to 2010.

Tokyo's system proved that the service can be effective in reducing the number of unnecessary emergency requests. Osaka and Nara prefectures implemented the system in fiscal 2010. But the agency said the only other area thinking of introducing the phone service is the city of Sapporo.

An agency official said the service has not become popular nationwide because "local governments do not have sufficient number of doctors and nurses to create the system."

At least 10 doctors and nurses are always on hand at the center in Tokyo, with the metropolitan government allocating 440 million yen annually for the service.

A Saitama prefectural government official who visited the center said: "Our firefighting stations have a different system to that used by the Tokyo Fire Department, which covers most of Tokyo. Our budget is smaller so it's currently difficult for us to start this service."

Another issue is how this system can effectively coexist with another phone service that was introduced nationwide by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in 2004. This nationwide program allows people to call #8000 and speak about their sick or injured child to medical staff who evaluate whether emergency treatment is needed.

The Aichi prefectural government implemented the #7119 service in a six-month trial from October 2009 but it was discontinued.

A government official said: "We have the #8000 service and the prefecture's own system to tell patients about suitable hospitals. So administering these systems [in conjunction with the #7119 service] is difficult."

Prof. Futoshi Iwata, a medical safety expert from Sophia University, said: "The number of medical practitioners who can work as counselors in this system is limited. So it's difficult for small local governments to introduce the service.

"It would be better to develop a system where centers in urban areas can receive phone calls from rural areas," he said.

WASHINGTON — D.C. firefighters and department officials are disputing whether orders were issued to rein in the possibility of protests at Mayor Vincent C. Gray's State of the District address, scheduled for Tuesday.

The dispute came the same day a senior spokesman for the department acknowledged posting comments on social-media sites that described a prior protest by firefighters against the fire chief's leadership as "racist" in nature.

Firefighters over the weekend began circulating photographs of what they say were orders handwritten into fire-station logbooks that outlined to varying degrees whether firefighters could attend the mayoral address, how they could behave and what they would be expected to wear.

The first directive stated that "any form of disrespect or insubordination, will be dealt with swift punitive action," union President Edward Smith wrote to members Monday.

After receiving an onslaught of questions about the orders, Mr. Smith said, he reached out to Chief Kenneth Ellerbe via email for clarification. Mr. Smith said he was told the initial order was misconstrued and what was meant was that at the mayor's address, "any member wearing a uniform shall wear an appropriate uniform."

But fire department spokesman Lon Walls later in the day denied that the chief had ever issued any order on firefighters' behavior at the address.

"He's not issued anything like that," Mr. Walls said, adding that he was unsure where the photographed logbook entries were coming from.

"We're not sending anything out there on what to wear. We're encouraging people to come."

Firefighters, upset over a plan to switch from the 24-hour shifts they have been working for more than two decades to 12-hour shifts, plan to rally outside the mayor's address on Tuesday. Chief Ellerbe has said he expects the change to reduce the number of firefighters in the District by about 26 percent.

The rally comes after a protest by about 100 firefighters who walked out of Chief Ellerbe's State of the Department address, delivered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest on Jan. 24.

The firefighters also were objecting to a new uniform policy that they say disrespects their traditions and requires employees to pay out of pocket for gear with a different fire-department logo.

Mr. Walls, in one of at least three separate comments on the subject posted on his personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, described the walkout as a "racist act."

"Just witnessed a blatant display of racism and disrespect shown to an African American leader," Mr. Walls wrote in a Twitter post on Jan. 24, shortly after Chief Ellerbe's address concluded.

In a subsequent post, Mr. Walls referred Twitter followers to his Facebook page, where he linked to a news story about the walkout and wrote that "the response depicted in the news story was the most blatant, ignorant and racist public display of disrespect I have ever seen."

The walkout consisted mostly but not exclusively of white firefighters.

Asked Monday to verify the authenticity of the accounts, Mr. Walls noted that the comments were made on his personal, rather than government-related, accounts.

"I have a opinion, which I am entitled to," Mr. Walls said. "I get a little irritated when I see people showing disrespect. I respect folks' right to say and speak in protest. ... What I've seen is a total disrespect."

Mr. Walls famously told reporters last year, "Social media is for parties. We ain't givin' parties," after a department Twitter stream that provided real-time information about emergencies was silenced abruptly.

Union officials declined to comment on Mr. Walls' characterizations.

"I have a diverse membership. It's not worthy of a response," Mr. Smith said.

One of the firefighters who participated in the walkout and plans to attend the mayor's address said the walkout was about a lack in confidence in Chief Ellerbe's leadership — not his race.

"To say that is small-minded and a desperation ploy," said Lt. Robert Alvarado, a 12-year department veteran.

Copyright 2012 The Washington Times LLC
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WICHITA FALLS, Texas — By Monday, 11 people were left homeless following a fire late Sunday at the French Quarter Apartments.

Residents were forced from their apartments Sunday night following a three alarm blaze that began in a fireplace flue.

Those sent into the night were quickly assisted by the local American Red Cross with temporary housing, clothing and food. Red Cross volunteers distributed food to all residents of the complex while power was being restored to the habitable units.

"Most of those who were affected by the fire were Midwestern (State University) students. There also were a couple of families," said Katrina Farmer, ARC North Central Texas executive director.

"Seven apartments were completely destroyed and five others had minor damage, the kind of water and smoke damage where items can be cleaned and recovered."

The Red Cross quickly arranged motel rooms for the evacuees, and Farmer said most felt they would be able to find other accommodations in the next few days.

"The apartment complex has some openings which will help some," she said. "We have provided referrals to different agencies like the Food Bank and Disaster Helping Hands, which can help them replace furnishing they may need to get started up again."

The fire broke out about 9:15 p.m., according to Assistant Fire Marshal Antoinette Hastings.

Hastings said the fire spread into the attic of the building. In theaftermath, seven apartment units were left uninhabitable because of water damage. On Monday, firefighters returned to extinguish some smoldering spots. Nobody was hurt in the fire.

Farmer said this type of assistance is standard.

Copyright 2012 Wichita Falls Times Record News
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LAWRENCE, Mass. — More than two years after budget cuts forced it to close, the Historic Fire Station No. 6 in Lawrence is going back into service.

Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua and fire department leaders are due to reopen the station Tuesday morning in the Prospect Hill neighborhood.

A $6.6 million federal Homeland Security grant last year provided funding to rehire or hire 38 firefighters and begin reopening three stations that were closed in the crunch.

Critics said the cuts left the fire department without enough manpower to protect the city, and strained smaller departments from nearby towns who were called on for mutual aid.

The mayor is also set to officially swear in Jack Bergeron as the city's fire chief on Tuesday, and hold promotion ceremonies for other officers.

Copyright 2012 MediaNews Group, Inc.
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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Students at Stoddard Elementary School are fired up and ready to read.

High-pitched cheering and hand clapping filled the gymnasium as Blackfoot firefighter Tony Catt went over the ground rules for the Blackfoot Firefighters' Reading Challenge.

Four prize categories will be awarded in the competition between the Blackfoot and Snake River school districts — top district, as well as the top individual school, classroom and student reading the most minutes in February.

Last year, Stoddard won the top-school category.

With an enthusiastic show of hands, prompted by Catt, Stoddard students indicated they believe they have what it takes to win again.

Catt is the community relations committee chairman for the Blackfoot Firefighters Union.

"Everyone loves competition — we live in America," Principal Ryan Wilson said. "(The program) helps students with reading by getting the kids excited to compete with other schools and districts, and having local firefighters — local heroes — come in and promote reading with the opportunity to win prizes."

Students can read any literature, including in-class reading material.

"We wanted to do minutes instead of pages because minutes are the same for everybody," Catt told the students. "Some people read faster, and some people read slower."

Students laughed as Catt confessed that he was a slower reader himself.

Last year's top reading student read more than 8,800 minutes.

Most students raised their hands and cheered, pledging to read more than 9,000 minutes this month.

After the lively assembly, two students from Kimberly Buck's fifth-grade class set reading goals.

Lizzie Gerstlauer-King read 1,000 minutes in last year's competition. She wants to double that figure this time.

"I usually read before I go to bed — about an hour or two," Lizzie said. "(I'm) going to have to read in the mornings now, too."

Noelia Gonzalez said she worked hard last year but didn't do as well as she had hoped. This year, she will read from books she enjoys so she can do better, Noelia said.

Her goal is 200 minutes.

"I like to read animal books," she said. "I just love animals. I have a dog, and at my grandma's I kind of have a little kitten."

Competing Snake River schools are Snake River Middle, Riverside Elementary and Rockford Elementary.

Blackfoot schools are Ridge Crest, Wapello, Fort Hall, I.T. Stoddard and Donald D. Stalker.

Copyright 2012 The Post Register
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NEW YORK — EMS Assistant Chief John McFarland, who served the EMS Command for more than 28 years and led many innovations that changed nationwide emergency medical services, died on Feb. 6 after battling a brain tumor.

"The things that stand out to me were his leadership qualities as a visionary and patient advocate," said former Chief of EMS Robert McCracken. "He always looked into technology to improve performance and patient care."

Chief McFarland joined EMS as an EMT in 1983. He studied to become a paramedic in 1985 and was assigned to cover Manhattan. Four years later, he was promoted to lieutenant. He worked in Operations and Training before being promoted again, to captain, in 1997.

He held different positions both at FDNY Headquarters and the EMS Academy before being promoted to Deputy Chief in 2001. He then served as Chief of the Academy and Chief of Division 4. He then became Queens Borough Commander in 2003, followed by Deputy Assistant Chief of Field Operations in 2004. He retired in 2011.

In his time with EMS, he responded to many notable incidents, including the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of 1993 and 2001, US Airways Flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson, two plane crashes at LaGuardia Airport and the steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan.

"He was a pioneer, striving for top-quality medical care that anyone could provide on the street, as well as the most up-to-date medical care," said FDNY Chief Medical Officer David Prezant. "He wanted to make sure that the FDNY EMS Command was the best in the world."

He added that Chief McFarland was always pushing for the FDNY to make use of the latest innovations and technologies, including STEMI and hypothermia therapy. He also never forgot what it was like to work as a paramedic or EMT on the streets, and always strived to find ways to make their lives easier.

"He really viewed EMS as a lifeline for the people of NYC," Dr. Prezant said.

While Assistant Chief John Peruggia lauded Chief McFarland's emphasis on patient care, he also remembered how much he loved his family. including his wife, EMS Captain Jo Ann, and children Katherine, 28, Megan, 24, Rebecca, 7, John, 5, and Joseph, 4.

Chief McCracken said he was deeply saddened by the passing of his longtime colleague and friend, but said he was happy he had the chance to know such an innovative thinker and kindhearted man: "It was an honor and pleasure to know John, and I can't say enough about him. I'm just happy that the last time I saw him that he still had that great smile and positive outlook on life, his family and job he loved."