From firefighter fatalities in Phoenix and Dallas, to the devastating tornado strikes in Oklahoma, fire departments and their families have been hit hard over the past several days. This, of course, with thoughts of our fallen brothers in West, Texas and the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing still fresh in our minds.
As usual, however, the world sees firefighters once again putting their own difficulties aside to help others, both inside and outside our service.
But who takes care of us during the aftermath?
We know that the reporters and television trucks will move along (soon) to the next salacious trial, celebrity foible, or major scandal. Along with them will go much, but certainly not all, of the public attention and support.
So who's left?
Well, we know from experience that firefighters the world over "take care of our own."
From the ongoing work of our national and international organizations, to ad hoc state and local efforts, there are so many folks — active and retired, career and volunteer — working together to help their fellow firefighters recover from these tragedies.
While we can't all go to the scene to lend a hand (we all want to, but know better than to self-dispatch), the people affected by these incidents will need help for many days, weeks, months, and even years to come.
So find a way to help, and remember that they'll be there for you, and your family, when you need them most.
Stay safe.
]]>Delaware Online reported that Wilmington Fire Chief Anthony Goode has been carrying a firearm for about a month, saying he and the mayor’s staff thought he should protect himself.
“Firefighters are always in dangerous situations. You never know what you’re going to be walking into,” Chief Goode said.
While the city’s fire marshals also carry weapons, Goode said his decision to carry will not cause all Wilmington firefighters to arm themselves, according to the report.
“There’s an argument being made right now that a lot of firefighters probably should carry weapons,” Chief Goode said.
Wilmington’s policy allows only “sworn personnel authorized by state law to carry weapons in the normal performance of their duties” to carry weapons on city property, into city vehicles or on city time, according to the report.
]]>"We're excited to get our new pumper in service sometime in May," said Mount Horeb Assistant Chief Eric Brinckmann.
The first thing that strikes you is that it's all black. It's the first rig in the country to sport this color, Brinckmann said.
The Mount Horeb fire district covers just more than 145 square miles in a rural setting with many country roads and narrow driveways. "In the wintertime it gets a little tricky," Chief Brinckmann said.
This is why the department went with the four-wheel drive option. The custom diamond plate work on the sides of the cab cover both fuel tanks and visually off sets the black body.
Mount Horeb had the compartment door next to the pump panel hinged on the opposite side. This allows the engineer access to the compartment without having to walk away from the panel around the door.
One of the rear compartment doors was hinged to allow for tool mounting on three sides.
"That gives us lots of space for added equipment without having to increase the space [requirements] at all," he said.
The truck comes with a 1,000-gallon tank, a 1,500 gpm pump and a Husky 12 foam system.
The rig should definitely turn some heads in Wisconsin.
]]>The growing obesity problem is presenting situations for EMS providers where:
Let's take a look at some of the more interesting products that may have a positive influence on your department's ability to move patients from Point A to Point B.
Stretchers
Ferno touts its new 28Z PROFlexx Chair-Cot as providing maximum versatility in confining environments. One of its more desirable features is its capability of being transformed from a cot to a chair when EMS providers are faced with tight hallways, narrow staircases and small elevators.
The Stryker Power-PRO XT has a battery-powered hydraulic system that raises and lowers the patient with the touch of a button that dramatically reduces strenuous lifting and the associated risk of back injury for EMS providers.
Stretcher adjunct devices
The LBS Bariatric Board Attachment folds flat for storage and can be deployed in minutes to convert a Ferno cot to a bariatric cot. The EMS provider attaches the LBS to the cot using the supplied system of pins and mounting blocks to increase the width of a standard cot to accommodate larger patients. The LBS Bariatric Board Attachment is compatible with the Ferno's POWERFlexx, 93P PROFlexx, and 35X PROFlexX ambulance cots.
Stryker EMS also provides a stretcher adjunct to better accommodate bariatric patients with its XPS (Expanded Patient Surface) device. XPS can be retrofitted to existing Stryker Power-PRO XT, Power-PRO TL and Performance-PRO cots.
Moving a patient via stretcher, even on a level surface, can be a tricky proposition when the stretcher is in its extended (upright) position. Yet, keeping the stretcher at ground level for better stability forces the EMS providers to push or pull in a bent-over posture, putting them at risk for a lower-back injury.
The Bariatric Push-Pull Handles (BPPH), a stretcher adjunct that enables EMS providers to walk upright while they push or pull an ambulance cot in its lowest position. Using the BPPH, EMS providers can move their patients, especially their bariatric patients, more safely and effectively with the cot in its most stable position with the lowest center of gravity.
The BEAR (Bariatric Equalizing Abdominal Restraint) is another stretcher adjunct that's designed to help EMS personnel move their bariatric patients more safely and effectively using their standard ambulance stretcher. The BEAR is constructed of nylon mesh and webbing and uses a closure system that wraps around the patient's abdomen from the bottom up.
By doing so, it holds a patient's adipose tissue more in the midline to stabilize a large abdominal mass. With the abdominal mass stabilized relative to the cot, the cot is more maneuverable and less likely to tip. The BEAR also can be used when immobilizing bariatric patients with a long backboard to better control lateral movement and make for a more stable load.
Immobilization and extrication devices
The Wauk Spine Board provides EMS providers with an option when confronted with a patient who requires extrication from a tight space, such as a narrow hallway or small elevator. It has a dolly-style fold-down footrest that enables the EMS provider to raise the head of the board anywhere between 0 and 90 degrees.
When raised, the board's attached 3-inch wheels allow EMS providers to negotiate situations like removing a patient from a residential bathroom; descending or climbing narrow stair cases; or moving the patient through a crowd or other constricted area.
The Reeves EMS Company is still making the "old standby" of my youth, the 101 Flexible Stretcher, along with a whole line of litters, carries and chairs. The 101 is pretty much the same as the Reeves I used as a young EMT, but the high-visibility orange is much better looking than the battleship grey of the older model.
How has the Reeves been able to stand the test of time? What you see is what you get; it's all there:
Their current flagship product is the Reeves Sleeve Dragable Stretcher, which can be used to immobilize those with spine and neck injuries and lift patients out of tight spaces. In addition, its heavy-duty construction — along with a plastic bottom — enables rescuers to use it to drag patients across a variety of terrains. It also has one vertical lift point and four horizontal lift points making it capable of being hoisted by a helicopter or crane.
Is there any patient extrication situation more difficult than seating at a football stadium, in a movie theatre or on a commercial airliner?
The Reeves Stadium Stretchair gives EMS providers a new tool for just those situations. It is constructed of 18-ounce vinyl-coated polyester making it washable with soap and water, highly resistant to acids and alkali, and impervious to most liquids.
The Stetchair features hardwood slats positioned between two layers of fabric for strength and rigidity, four ergonomically placed carrying handles, and two adjustable polypropylene web straps with plastic buckles to secure the patient.
The Rigid Mesh Decon Litter is designed for patient transport during the decontamination process or multiple casualty incidents. Its 18-ounce vinyl-coated nylon mesh design allows contaminated run-off to pass through during decontamination procedures, thus preventing water from pooling under the patient and minimizing exposure to harmful substances.
The Wheeled Litter Carrier (litter not included) will transport a large number of injured people over almost any terrain not accessible by vehicles. Some of the unit's features include:
Looks like EMS providers are not the only ones who are constantly looking for the next big thing, does it? The equipment manufacturers have been pretty busy too.
]]>A set of turnout gear including helmet, hood, suspenders, coat, pants, boots and gloves will cost about $2,000.
So, we have several very important sources of exposure to risk at play if the gear has not been properly maintained according to the manufacturer's recommendations:
What can you do to reduce these risks? Clean your turnout gear according to the manufacturer's recommendation after every firefighting operation. Promptly removing visible contaminants, like soot, along with the invisible chemicals and compounds, like benzene, from your gear will help ensure its integrity and increase its longevity.
Washing your gear is an important first step that must be followed by drying and storing gear according to the manufacturer's recommendations and the requirements of NFPA 1851: Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Structural Fire Fighting Protective Ensembles.
All manufacturers of firefighting protective clothing recommend prompt drying of washed turnout gear to maintain the protective qualities of the aramid fibers and liners. Those recommendations and the NFPA standard also specify the appropriate storage practices to ensure the longevity of the protective clothing.
Mechanical gear dryers are a valuable asset in this process and several manufacturers have incorporated mechanical drying capabilities into their storage systems, for example, turnout gear racks. The cost of mechanical dryers can present a financial challenge to many departments, but fortunately lower-cost turnout gear drying and storage alternatives are available.
Storage options
Across the board, commercially available turnout gear storage systems provide for the free circulation of air, which helps dry turnout gear faster. These systems also provide for the proper storage of the gear once cleaned and dried, and enable personnel to quickly access their gear when responding to emergencies.
So, where to start? First, do a good assessment of your station to determine: (1) where do you need gear storage racks, and (2) how much space do you have available.
Next, determine whether you want the storage racks mounted to a wall, freestanding within the station (no wheels) or mobile within the fire station (wheeled units). Each of the three types of storage racks has some very good points, but there is no one solution that will work for every department.
Individual compartments — regardless of type or manufacturer — for the various storage racks on the market come in widths of 18, 20 and 24 inches. Both Groves and GearGrid — two of the largest manufacturers of storage rack systems for the fire service — have a very useful wall calculator on their respective websites. You plug in how much wall space you have available, select the compartment width you want, and the calculator determines how many units can be installed in the available space.
Once you've identified the size and number of units, you'll have a choice of finishes. Most manufacturers offer their product with either a chrome finish or a flexible epoxy coating, available in a variety of colors depending upon the manufacturer.
Today's design configurations, which include the use of tubular steel, make for gear storage systems that are strong, long lasting, and do not require a rear grid to provide adequate support.
This open-back design does not obstruct access to wall-mounted electric outlets or and switches. The open-back design also makes for installed storage systems that are maintenance friendly; you can clean or paint walls without removing the rack.
More than just a place to hang your hat and coat
The manufacturers of turnout gear storage systems offer a wide variety of add-on features that make their storage racks more versatile. Some of these features include:
The purchase of turnout gear represents a substantial monetary investment in the safety of your personnel. The turnout gear you've purchased will be fit for duty when needed and will have a longer lifecycle through a systematic approach to its use, care, and maintenance.
Just remember the turnout gear CDS: cleaning, drying and storing. Or Clowns Do Somersaults, if that helps you remember it better. We do love our mnemonics in the fire service, don't we?
]]>LANCASTER, Pa. — It's difficult for Andre Kelley to say what he remembers about Feb. 18, the day a ball of flame engulfed him and almost took his life.
"I've had different dreams about it," says Kelley, his voice quiet and gentle. "It's hard to remember what was real and what wasn't."
He remembers going up a flight of steps. And "oceans and waves of flames." After that, nothing, until he came to in a hospital bed, fighting to pull a tube out of his throat.
A 13-year city firefighter and lieutenant, Kelley, 34, was severely injured early on Presidents Day, trapped in a burning house on East Madison Street.
Kelley was hurt as he tried to rescue Pauline Stone, 39, and Leilani Roman, 6, who both died in the fire. Two other city firefighters were injured fighting the fire.
Recently, on a beautiful spring day, sitting on his sofa, holding hands with his wife, Lyondra, Kelley marveled at the events of the past few months as he began the slow march back toward a normal life.
Kelley was injured when a flashover rolled through the Madison Street home. That's an explosion of flames that occurs when everything in a room or area reaches its ignition point at the same time. It was so powerful one of his fellow firefighters jumped out of a second-story window to escape.
Kelley lost consciousness and was inside the home for the next seven minutes, as his fellow firefighters worked frantically to get to him and save him.
His protective gear shielded him from the flames but could not save him from the searing heat of the flashover, which gets so intense that even the smoke burns.Kelley suffered second- and third-degree burns that covered most of his body, except for his face.
The healing was painful and grueling. He underwent eight skin graft surgeries during his 10-week stay at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Delaware County. Doctors harvested healthy skin from wherever they could find it on his body, grafting it onto the burned areas.
He lost 40 pounds from his burly, 220-pound frame. In therapy sessions at Crozer-Chester and later at the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital, Kelley had to work at walking, buttoning his shirt and using a fork again.
Even the simplest tasks posed a hurdle.
"I remember being asked to roll over in bed and I couldn't do that," he says. "That was frustrating. I knew my strength, but it wasn't there for me."
By his side the entire time was his wife. Together since they were teenagers, married for five years and the parents of two children, the couple leaned on each other during Kelley's difficult recovery.
She took 12 weeks off from her job as a medical technician, staying at a hotel near Crozer-Chester to see him every day. Her grandmother, Barbara Andrews Chase, stayed with their children during that time.
Other family members, including Kelley's father, Marvin, a retired city firefighter, and stepmother, Stacy, and his mother, Carolyn Kelley, provided cheerleading and support, as did other family members, friends, firefighters and the couple's church, San Juan Bautista.
But Kelley had to fight most of the battle alone."There are no words that can describe what he's been through, and the pain," Lyondra Kelley says."A lot of pain," Kelley says, adding, "A lot of prayers."
His wife says, "He's gone through it with so much grace and humility. He's so strong. That's Andre. I didn't expect anything different."He gave me strength when I didn't think I could do it.''
The couple were absolutely bowled over by the support that seemed to come from everywhere in the community.
Kelley received bags full of cards. "People would write little notes, 'My flowers are growing. There are birds at my bird feeder.' There were Easter cards with beautiful Scriptures," his wife says, adding, "It definitely helped us get through a lot."
And then there were the fundraisers - silent auctions, benefit concerts, church collections, restaurant donations.
More than $60,000 has been donated to a fund set up by city firefighters, money that will continue to pay expenses related to Kelley's injuries as he moves forward, and to help support his children's education.
"The support, and the prayers, and the letters - all of that helped," he says. "It brought me out of where I was."
Kelley arrived home Wednesday in a motorcade that featured fire trucks and a limousine that was greeted by cheering people along the way.
He was overcome with emotion and still can't quite believe it. "It was like a huge block party, for the whole city," he says quietly. "That was amazing."
He is now cherishing watching cartoons with his son, Andre Jr. He is looking forward to going to the eighth-grade graduation of his 13-year-old daughter, Ajanae.
Little things are the simplest delights, such as sleeping in his own bed, a special bed bought for him by a fund set up by city firefighters. Or eating a sandwich his wife made, or the thought of barbecuing outside again, and enjoying all that summer brings.
Kelley will have to continue physical therapy several times a week and has a long road back. Doctors told him he has to rebuild his muscle, and it could take him up to two years to fully recover.
Down the road, he expects to return to the firehouse and his job there.
"I would love to go back," he says. "I don't see why I couldn't go back." His family is taking things day by day for now, but Kelley has high hopes. "I am," he says, "determined."
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All Rights Reserved
The International has begun damage assessments and the need for relief to IAFF members affected by the storm is critical.
The immediate need is for donations to the IAFF Disaster Relief Fund. Please consider making a $10 donation by texting DISASTER to 50555 or make an online donation at www.iafffoundation.org.
We already know of approximately 30 IAFF members who suffered total loss of their homes and personal belongings. Dozens more have severe to moderate damage. With the massive path of destruction leveled by the tornados, we expect these initial reports will be ratcheted up significantly.
The IAFF Disaster Relief program provides assistance to IAFF members in the United States and Canada who suffer financial hardship as the result of a federally declared disaster area, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires or civil disturbances and has helped thousands of members with direct financial assistance and logistics immediately following major disasters.
AUBURN, Maine — Fire Chief Frank Roma is urging councilors to take another look at establishing a city rescue and ambulance service.
"We are currently operating a hybrid system, where we provide advanced life support and first response service," Roma told councilors Tuesday at a workshop meeting. "We respond first and a back-up, third party ambulance service provides transport."
The city currently sends EMT-trained fire personnel in a rescue vehicle to most emergencies. City EMTs stabilize patients, and then hand them off to United Ambulance for transport. United Ambulance pays the city a $100,000 annual fee to provide the service. The city doesn't get any other financial gain from the situation, since insurance companies don't reimburse for emergency response — just transport.
Full story: Fire chief backs city ambulance service
]]>MOORE, Okla. — With her son holding her elbow, Colleen Arvin walked up her driveway to what was left of her house for 40 years.
It was the 83-year-old grandmother's first time back at her home since a monstrous and deadly tornado ravaged her neighborhood in suburban Oklahoma City. Part of the roof was sitting in the front yard, and the siding from the front of the house was gone. As her son, Jeff, and her grandsons picked through what was left of her belongings, Arvin found some dark humor in the situation.
"Oh thank God," she said, laughing, when a grandson brought over her keys. "We can get in the house."
Monday's tornado killed at least 24 people, destroyed countless homes and reduced one elementary school almost entirely to rubble, killing seven children inside.
As state and federal officials work to set up disaster recovery centers to provide aid and assistance, Arvin and other residents of Moore are beginning the deliberate process of assessing what's left of their homes and possessions and what comes next.
Officials are still trying to make sense of what will be needed in the coming days, weeks and months: Will homes be rebuilt or torn down? Where will the children go to school? How much will it all cost?
Helmeted rescue workers have been searching tirelessly for survivors and victims, and officials said Tuesday they planned to keep going — sometimes double and triple-checking home sites. Officials were not certain of how many homes were destroyed or how many families had been displaced. Emergency crews had trouble navigating devastated neighborhoods because there were no street signs left. Some rescuers used smartphones or GPS devices to guide them through areas with no recognizable landmarks.
Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird said Tuesday he was confident there are no more bodies or survivors in the rubble. Every damaged home had been searched at least once, Bird said, but his goal was to conduct three searches of each building just to be certain there were no more bodies or survivors.
"I'm 98 percent sure we're good," Bird said.
The Arvins and others looked for bright spots throughout an otherwise dark day. Arvin's son Jeff noticed a set of five dishes without a single crack. He and his nephews pulled out golf clubs, pictures and a decorative key and note holder.
It was an ordeal they've faced before.
Monday's tornado, which traveled 17 miles and was 1.3 miles wide at points, loosely followed the path of a twister that brought 300 mph winds in May 1999. This week's tornado was the fourth since 1998 to hit Moore, a middle-class community that has been one of the fastest-growing suburbs of Oklahoma City.
"'99 taught us a lot, especially in Moore — such as, you've got to have a plan," Jeff Arvin said.
Billy McElrath's entire home was reduced to rubble, and even its concrete foundation was split. His wife and a friend McElrath hired to do some painting managed to make it into an underground shelter moments before the tornado shredded the home.
His 1968 red convertible Corvette was smashed under heaps of bricks and wooden frames inside what was left of his garage.
"My wife got it for my 50th birthday last August," McElrath said. "I haven't driven it since my son and I took it to a car show in Springfield last September."
His plan was simple: "We'll just start over."
Survivors emerged with harrowing accounts of the storm's wrath, which many endured as they shielded loved ones in hallways, closets and bathrooms.
Larry Harjo, his twin brother and their wives headed for the hospital at the end of the street only minutes ahead of the tornado that ripped the roof off their home and blew out its walls.
"We could see the tornado coming. We could see one side of it, but we couldn't see the other so we knew it was big," Harjo, 45, said while standing in his driveway. "There was no surviving that. It was either underground or out of the way kind of thing and we got the hell out of Dodge."
The hospital was their plan. They had sheltered there before, but this time, it took a direct hit.
"We were directly center of the hospital and we could hear the cars hitting the building, so we knew it wasn't going to be nice," he said. "Thump, thump, thump. Loud thumps."
"Ceiling tiles falling everywhere. I thought it was going to cave on us there for a minute," he said.
From the air, large stretches Moore could be seen where every home had been cut to pieces. Some homes were sucked off their concrete slabs. A pond was filled with piles of wood and an overturned trailer. Also visible were large patches of red earth where the tornado scoured the land down to the soil. Some tree trunks were still standing, but the winds ripped away their leaves.
Officials had revised the death toll downward from 51 to 24 on Tuesday after the state medical examiner said some victims may have been double-counted in the confusion immediately after the storm. More than 200 people were treated at area hospitals.
The National Weather Service said the tornado, which was on the ground for 40 minutes, was a top-of-the-scale EF5 twister with winds of at least 200 mph — the first EF5 tornado of 2013.
___
Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant, Sean Murphy and Tim Talley contributed to this report.
WACO, Texas — Federal agents and the state fire marshal have effectively barred a federal safety panel from the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others, hampering its investigation, the panel's chairman said.
In a May 17 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso asked the California Democrat to help the board obtain evidence under control of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he contends is essential to the board's investigation, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Austin American-Statesman reported.
"To date, the CSB has experienced significant obstacles that potentially compromise and delay our ability to complete the `comprehensive investigation' that you have rightly demanded, and that we would very much like to produce," he wrote to Boxer. The chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has said she planned to hold hearings into the April 17 West Fertilizer explosion.
A criminal investigation "comes with certain sensitivities. You need to keep it to law enforcement only," Robert Champion, ATF special agent in charge of the investigation told the American-Statesman. He also said the decision to bar the CSB from the site was made by the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Fire Marshal's Office spokeswoman Rachel Moreno said the CSB was kept out because criminal investigators were executing search warrants.
"We have to protect evidence," she told the American-Statesman. "We need to have one report, one set of interviews; it all has to be clear cut."
Messages left by The Associated Press with ATF and the State Fire Marshal's Office were not returned Tuesday night. However, a Boxer spokeswoman said the senator had asked the agencies to respond as quickly as possible to her concerns regarding the issues raised in the letter.
In an April 30 statement, Boxer said she "cannot rest until we get to the bottom of what caused the disaster" in West and that she wants to make sure such facilities are complying with chemical safety laws.
In his letter, Moure-Eraso said the board sent 18 investigators and other experts to West within 24 hours of the blast. At the same time, ATF "assumed essential exclusive control of the incident site" with the State Fire Marshal's Office, he wrote.
"These criminal investigators have exercised exclusive control of the site for a full one-month period ... and have altered or removed almost all relevant physical evidence at the site," he wrote.
ATF and the State Fire Marshal's Office "consistently expressed the position that CSB was not permitted to conduct separate interviews, prepare expert analysis or author its own independent report," he wrote. ATF and the state fire marshal "state that because in their view this was exclusively a criminal investigation, there could be only one version of what occurred and one report."
On May 16, representatives of the State Fire Marshal's Office announced that the joint criminal investigation left the cause of a fire precipitating the blast as "undetermined."
Investigators narrowed the number of possible causes to three: a problem with one of the plant's electrical systems, a battery-powered golf cart and a criminal act. However, they could not say with certainty what caused the fire that ignited stored ammonium nitrate, said Kelly Kistner, the assistant state fire marshal.
]]>BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — The State Highway Patrol says 29 people have been injured in a crash between a commercial bus and a car on Interstate 75 in northwest Ohio.
The patrol says the crash on northbound Interstate 75 near Bowling Green happened at about 10:30 p.m. when the 2001 Bluebird bus ran into the back of a 1995 Toyota Camry that slowed down in traffic.
Nineteen of the bus passengers were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One of them, a 19-year-old man, was seriously injured.
Two adults and three children — including two infants in car safety seats — in the Camry suffered minor injuries.
The bus was transporting workers from the Consolidated Biscuit Company in McComb to Toledo.
]]>PEORIA, Ill. — A Hudson firefighter is suing a trucking company and a driver over injuries he suffered in March in an Interstate 39 accident that also killed a fellow firefighter.
Tyler Cobler’s federal lawsuit names Move It Auto Transport and Mansur Shakirov, both of Washington State, as defendants. The March 5 accident damaged three Hudson Fire Department vehicles, injured five firefighters and killed Hudson firefighter Chris Brown, who also was a full-time firefighter with the Bloomington Fire Department.
“One of the main goals of this lawsuit is to hold these people fully accountable,” said Kenneth J. Allen with the Allen Law Group, based in Valparaiso, Ind. “Our most important goal is to prevent this from happening again.”
Full story: Injured firefighter files lawsuit in crash that killed fellow firefighter
]]>PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Many from a South Philadelphia neighborhood gathered last night as a memorial bench was unveiled, honoring fallen fire Captain Michael Goodwin who died in the line of duty last month.
A bench bearing Captain Michael Goodwin’s name was unveiled here in front of Engine 53, Ladder 27 at 4th and Snyder. The bench and a check for the Goodwin family was paid for by memorial ribbons sold in an effort spearheaded by Matthew Snider.
Snider says he only met the captain once but was touched by the way Goodwin treated his son who wanted a tour.
Full story: Bench Honoring Fallen Firefighter Michael Goodwin Unveiled In South Philadelphia
]]>TACOMA, Wash. — Albert Nejmeh’s life was a series of grand adventures as he zigzagged around the world and deep into the hearts of all who met him.
The 59-year-old Tacoma firefighter was something of a legend to those who knew him, even before he died May 14 of a heart attack while rendering medical aid on-duty.
Nejmeh captained schooners, climbed mountains in Nepal, bicycled across Cuba, played at least five instruments, sang in Carnegie Hall with Pete Seeger, wrote an unpublished book, rafted the Grand Canyon, sailed 4,000 miles to the Soviet Union on a friendship tour with fellow environmentalists, built his own self-sustaining home, and stamped out an enormous peace sign in the snow near Lake Placid.
Full story: Fallen Tacoma firefighter lived life filled with discoveries, explorations
]]>SACRAMENTO — Two Sacramento firefighters were attacked in separate incidents this weekend while responding to medical calls.
The police department said 29-year-old Daniel Sevall came at a paramedic after they responded to a call for help.
The firefighter grabbed him until police came, but he suffered a slight muscle strain. Sevall was arrested for assault. Later that same day paramedics had just moved 23-year-old Jonathan Sawyer from a their gurney to a hospital bed at Sutter General Hospital when Sawyer took a swing at one of the firefighters grazing him on the chin. Sawyer was also arrested for assault.
Full story: Sacramento Firefighters Physically Attacked
]]>LOS ANGELES — Members of the union representing Los Angeles firefighters voted down a proposal to increase dues to finance aggressive political campaigns, union leaders said Tuesday.
The leadership of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City wanted members to pay $38 per paycheck in union dues, up from $19, to increase the amount of money in the group's political action committee.
The organization represents about 3,200 members from the rank of firefighter to captain. Union President Frank Lima said Tuesday that the proposal was rejected in a close vote by more than 800 members who casted ballots. The votes were counted Monday.
Full story: L.A. firefighters vote against more dues for political campaigns
]]>I am very pleased to report that I received a lot of positive reader feedback for March's column discussing the importance of using an SOG system to handle structural fire events. I handled about a dozen requests for model structural fire SOGs for folks to use as a template to develop their own structural fire SOGs.
Well-written SOGs are just the beginning aspect of having an effective and consistent structural fire response. So it seems logical to focus on the support systems necessary for SOGs to be effective in the field.
Training is key
It's likely that everyone understands that training is the key to implanting SOGs and, for that matter, just about any type of program or process. However, it is remarkable to learn of so many near-miss situations and other disastrous events that involved line firefighters who didn't know or understand the related policies.
When any member is given a role to perform at an emergency incident, a major part of their functional preparation is to be trained (initial and on-going) and to understand the other related guidelines.
The best analogy about failing to training on SOGs and protocols is like a member who is instructed to wear fire-department issued dark blue uniform pants. If the member relieves himself or herself in those same dark blue pants, it is a wonderful warm feeling, but no one notices.
So, to avoid that potential mess, I urge every department to have a comprehensive training program that addresses all policies and protocols both in initial and on-going training regimens.
On going training
Some departments train (actually only conduct a brief review) all of their SOGs at the initial recruit training level. Of course that represents only the start of the comprehensive training process, but not a best practice by any means.
It is shocking to learn how many fire departments end their training efforts at this point. If this is the case (basic training or less is provided to the membership) in your department, trouble is brewing just around the next bend.
One of the most effective ways to develop an on-going training program is to divide the policies and procedure by 12 — if there are 144 policies and protocols, the number to review each month is 12.
Once you have that number set, make sure that the minimum number of policies are properly reviewed each month and in the same order by all.
If your fire department has invested in a Learning Management System for the training process, let me say, "Congratulations!" Your LMS is designed to track required training, like SOG training, without breaking a sweat. The LMS will save time, money and be more accurate than most other department training tracking systems.
If your department does not have an LMS, do not panic. The SOG training and record keeping that the non-LMS departments use will be whatever means the department typically uses to implement, management and track all other training activities.
Implementation
Here's where the rubber finally meets the road. The structural fire response guidelines have been developed. All of the members of the department have been properly trained and all of the SOG training records have been captured.
So, it is now time to spread the word that the SOGs are now in use. Every member needs to know that the time has arrived for the new guideline to be implemented.
Consider using multiple sources to share the message that it is go time. I would even include a radio transmission of the department's primary radio frequency along with all of the other means that your department has to communicate to your members.
Be flexible as the guideline is being placed in service for the first day of each of your shifts or duty crew days. Never loose sight of the implementation goal to incorporate the guideline properly and effectively. The notion to punish the way to success is just as silly as it sounds.
Expect errors as a new operational policy is being implemented. If the companies are working towards successful implementation, do not disrupt their workflow by interjecting discipline. Patience and re-fresher training will be the key.
D.C.'s model
I had been working in the District of Columbia Fire Department for about a year or so when the assistant fire chief of operations describe this process. I must admit that I was a little taken back by his description of how we would enforce the structural fire guideline.
As it turned out, the follow-up process was amazing. The way the system worked was that after each working fire dispatch a guideline review was conducted after the benchmark of "under control" was reached.
The review asked for all company and chief officers to report to the command post after a reasonable time for rest and rehabilitation. Once the group was assembled, the incident commander took the entire group on a walking tour of the incident.
Each company officer described his or her actions as compared to the guideline requirements. If the actions taken did not meet the guideline requirements, the officer could explain why and describe the communication process that was used to make adjustments on the fly.
About 99 percent of the time, the actions taken lined up with the guidelines or that the variation was necessary, requested and communicated. That leaves a very small percentage of when the actions were not correct and not justified. In those cases the resolution was acknowledging the mistake and re-training at the needed level.
Life-threatening burns
In one near-miss case study, the officer failed to completely check the basement for fire extension. The fire to travel unabated to the second floor where the company was assigned. The engine company officer and one of his company members received life-threatening burns at this significant row-house fire.
To follow-up this near miss, a major training effort was implemented for all companies. Further, a 45-minute video training program that reviewed this incident was developed for future use by DCFD. The hope was that this fire would provide lessons that we never forget.
I can think of only one case where failing to follow the structural fire SOG ended in discipline. The focus of No One Goes Home program was always on outstanding performance and constant improvement. Firefighter safety was the underpinning and provided the energy to keep this a highly regarded program during my watch.
In Bruno's words
Fire Chief Alan Brunacini was visiting D.C. Fire Department to assist us with our command training center development. We had started the mission-critical program of certifying all command officers and acting command officers (captains) in the Blue Card Command system.
While Chief Brunacini was in town, he was able to watch the No One Goes Home program first hand after a working house fire. Chief Bruno perhaps summed up the system the best.
He said, "What an effective way to critique and review a significant response. When the officers understand that they will be evaluated immediately after each and every major incident, it becomes a significant process improvement tool. The DCFD focus is to chase excellence and not on delivering discipline. More departments should consider using this simple but highly effective process."
The Tip Of The Spear honor for this month goes to DCFD Chief Larry Schultz (Retired). He envisioned, developed and implemented No One Goes Home to make sure that we were going where we said that we would, to protect our members, our residents and visitors and their property.
Until next time, be safe out there.
]]>In some cases, these stakeholders might create a local solution for you because of their influence and access to local funds. Or, after reviewing your grant request, these stakeholders may give your agency a reality check for what they think will succeed or what seems too self-serving and unnecessary.
In any case, key communicators in your community will be able to advocate for you and/or dispel any myths about your agency and its needs.
Who is an EMS stakeholder?
In a broad sense, stakeholders can be defined as individuals with or without formal EMS training who have a strong personal interest in advancing the effort to improve access to high quality EMS personnel and equipment. They strive to offer better EMS clinical services in the field and to keep the costs to what many perceive to be peace of mind healthcare affordable.
This interest could stem from the stakeholder feeling a personal responsibility to ensure good EMS care for his/her friends and neighbors. The stakeholder may have had an intimate experience with EMS, such as a personal or family experience, or by being a caregiver at some level in healthcare.
As a result of participating in the review of an agency’s application, stakeholders may and will most likely become knowledgeable advocates for EMS’ role in their communities’ efforts to save lives.
Create an "elite" appointment for these stakeholders
The stakeholder review process should also carry some prestige in the community, be publicized and celebrated. To that end, a municipal government body (i.e. city council or county commission) might assist you in appointing influential stakeholders to review your agency’s grant application(s).
A stakeholder’s invitation might indicate that the invitee has been chosen because of his/her past willingness to embrace the need for grants to achieve optimum patient care services. These individuals might also be appointed based on their previous experience with peer review processes.
They may have demonstrated the ability to interact effectively within groups (i.e. a leadership or participatory experience in a managerial, professional, or educational capacity). And, in exchange for the prestige your agency will assign to the grant review process, your grant review stakeholders should be able to commit to a minimum period of two years of participation at the time of selection. They will also attend at least one grant review session per year with a willingness to review a list of equipment, personnel, research and training grant opportunities prior to reviewing your department’s applications.
]]>It's a call that, after nearly three decades, still haunts him.
Don Murdock, 62, a former Ontario firefighter and now instructor, has had firefighting in his blood since he was a child.
"When I was a kid, I guess I was one of the youngest junior firefighters in our area. Apparently there's a picture of me at four or five years old riding a fire truck," Murdock said.
After spending time as a volunteer, Murdock became a full-time firefighter.
Murdock battled blazes and saved lives for 15 years before he transitioned into becoming an instructor. And in those 15 years, Murdock won Canada's Medal of Bravery and was lauded as hero, but as many firefighters will tell you, he wasn't the hero — someone else was.
The hero, Murdock says, was a two-year-old girl who lost her life in a fire in March 1985.
Children still inside
It was just after midnight. Murdock and the rest of crew arrived on scene to find a home already fully involved and stacks of smoke billowing above.
A young girl, a babysitter, was standing outside, screaming and panicking. She pointed into the burning home and continued to scream.
She said there were still children inside.
Murdock and another firefighter entered the home, but quickly became disoriented.
"There was so much smoke in there at the time, we couldn't see two feet in front of us," Murdock said.
Flashover
As the pair tried to navigate the smoke-filled hallways, another team entered through a different door. Murdock then heard his partner screaming. He followed the noise, then the flashover hit.
"We got knocked down to the ground, but that was actually the only opportunity I had to see anything," Murdock said. "Then my helmet melted."
Despite that, he helped his partner up and was able to find a girl. He got her out safely and re-entered the building and brought his partner, who was carrying a baby girl, to the front door.
They rushed into an ambulance, Murdock performing CPR on the baby until they got to the hospital.
When they arrived, Murdock hesitated to give the baby up.
The physicians told Murdock it was okay.
"I turned around and looked at my reflection off some glass and all I could see was that my face was totally black and tears were coming out of my eyes," he said. "I knew she had gone."
Called a hero
On New Year's Day, Murdock saved a life. He arrived on scene to find a man yelling that his son was inside their burning home.
Murdock managed to get the boy out, and after that, he was commended as a hero. Living in a small community, word of his rescue spread fast and it stuck even quicker.
"It seemed like for the next year and a half, it just seemed like I was just being called a hero," Murdock said. "It got to the point where any call I went to the guys would say 'Don what are you doing here? There's no one here to save.'"
While he understands it was all just joking around, he admits that being called a hero brought back the haunting memories of the night the little girl died.
"It was hard, I would go by the house and say a little prayer," Murdock said. "I just promised her: 'If I ever one day could do anything to make sure that your brief existence, your life is going to mean something to somebody someday…'"
Collaborative effort
That day, Murdock would find out, would be the day he started working with Brian Dolph, a Canadian songwriter and producer and Mary-Lynn Neil, a 15-year-old rising star.
"Don had an incredible story, and he invited me and Mary-Lynn to hear this story and help him bring his thoughts to life," Dolph said. "And really, maybe on a personal level, deal with his personal issues surrounding the event."
Dolph said hearing Murdock's story was an emotional experience, one that even drove Neil to tears. After hearing about the incident, the trio worked together to make a song, in honor of the little girl who became a hero 28 years ago.
A song, arguably, is the natural choice for Murdock.
"I was always playing guitar and wanted to get into [music]," he said.
He auditioned for a country singer when he was a teen, but it didn't go anywhere. His life moved on, he started a family and became a firefighter, but music still seemed to be the right outlet.
Organic experience
When the three of them started to collaborate, Dolph said the experience was organic.
"Don decided he was going to take a little bit of a break and basically had a guitar, and for whatever reason, some kind of magic happened," he said.
It only took them less than half an hour to compose the music. When they sat down to write the lyrics, they just let the story speak for itself.
"Lyrically speaking, we just followed the storyline as it happened," Dolph said.
The important theme that they both wanted to get across, however, was that as much recognition as Murdock received, he did not want to be called a hero.
"He's not into it for recognition, not into it for money, not into it for whatever. He's into it because he wants to do it — because he wants to help," Dolph said.
The song was fittingly named "Don't Call Me a Hero."
Of course, they wanted to pay homage to the little girl, which is where the bridge of the song came in.
"On that fateful day / God called, an angel away," Murdock sang.
A way to heal
As much as the song is for the memory of the little girl, it has also been a way of healing for Murdock.
"It has been an emotional ride for me. Now that this song is going out there, it's part of the healing process for me," he said. "[The healing process] is still going on right now, but I still remember the traumatic events when you wake up seven or eight years later in the middle of the night and this girl's on your head."
Murdock says he now understands the importance of dealing with something and not keeping it bottled up. He likened it to military personnel returning from war and not dealing with their PTSD, but also the inner-struggle that all responders deal with and hopes that his song speaks to them.
"Everybody's story is the same or similar, but it's different, you know? I'm just hoping all the people that have heard it can relate to it somehow," he said. "Firefighters and paramedics deal with this stuff on a daily basis … we can all sit back as a country and have a lot of respect for these people and the work they do for us on a daily basis."
And even though Murdock says he never kept in contact with the little girl's family or even knows if they live in the area anymore, he is comforted by the fact that he is fulfilling the promise he made her.
He adds that if the song becomes successful he hopes to donate the money to some children's organizations.
Dolph said that "Don't Call Me a Hero" has been picked up for mass distribution in the U.S. and will be part of a compilation CD with other country stars.
]]>In general, we believe we are getting this message out to our readership and particularly enjoy receiving inquiries for more information and help in a particular areas of PPE, whether covered by our articles or not.
We know that the more people that we reach to provide a basic understanding of PPE, the standards that cover that PPE and issues related to selection, care, and use of PPE, the safer the fire service will be.
Every year, the Fire Department Instructors Conference is where all of the PPE manufacturers showcase their existing and emerging products. For those who can attend, it is the probably the best opportunity to see a wide range of products and get an understanding of various forms of protective clothing and equipment through seeing the different items, watching product demonstrations, and examining product literature.
Limited information
Yet, as large as the show is, most firefighters do not get the chance to attend it or any of the other shows held each year. Their outside direct exposure to PPE information is likely to come from sale persons or distributors, who of course will be advancing their own products.
This one-sided perspective can be informative and some of the better presentations may provide good details about products in general. Still, most marketing and sales are directed to the purchasing authorities within the organization. Most mainstream firefighters may not get the opportunity to be involved in direct presentations.
This leaves firefighters and other emergency responders to seek their information from either other individuals in their department or from the Internet. Certainly, a relatively wise approach is to rely on those firefighters within the organization have extensive information.
There are many PPE "sages" throughout the fire service that serve as a wealth of experience and knowledge for those around them. We recommend that you consider these people as some of the best sources of information for learning about PPE.
Internet search
With every other resource tapped, the one source that remains is the Internet. This is certainly the most ubiquitous form of information there is for society and the most likely avenue for anyone who wants more details on the specific types of PPE.
Many questions can be answered in one place or another using the Internet, and we suggest a methodical approach for searching out needed data and providing a balanced approach.
Internet sources include both end user and manufacturer sites. There are other sites that with enough searching can yield information pretty much on any PPE topic. The depth and quality of this information will vary and it is possible that for some areas, no useful information may be easily found.
Obtaining information in a form that is useful for addressing selection, use and care issues for PPE can be difficult and you can spend a lot of time. Therefore, we recommend that for any particular type of PPE that you are interested in, you go through the following steps.
One of the more sought out areas of information on PPE has to do with standards. This is a particularly difficult area because the majority of standards are not written for the end user but for the manufacturer, testing laboratories and certification organizations.
It is only infrequently that background information is provided that describes how a test is performed or what the criteria mean. There are many manufacturers that provide some of these descriptions on their websites, but there is no universal source for this type of information.
At a recent special NFPA meeting, the lack of fire and emergency services awareness or access to information on standards was considered the foremost need by the group that writes the standards. It is our hope that this gap is better covered by NFPA in its future offerings of information making it easier for firefighters and other first responder obtain details on PPE requirements.
We recognize that getting the exact answer to any specific question on any PPE topic will always take a series of steps to identify potential sources, obtain the required information, and weigh its values, but we also believe that we will expect to see the industry as a whole find ways of making this information more accessible for those that request it.
The continuing education of the fire service on its PPE will only strengthen the overall levels of safety and health provided to a better-informed population of first responders.
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