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Lucky Stuck Duck Plucked From Chimney

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YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA, FIREFIGHTERS WERE FACED WITH A FOWL CHALLENGE on Sunday.

They were called to a house after a boy saw a young duck fall into a neighbor’s chimney.  Removing the plucky ducky proved to be no easy task, though.  The chimney had two elbows in it and the FF’s had to dismantle it before they could grab the quacker and clear the passage.

Assistant Fire Chief Larry Nickles admits the operation was a bit humorous, but said it could have led to a real problem for the home’s occupants.

“If the chimney had gone straight down to the furnace, there could have been a fire,” he said. “And if no one had seen the duck fall in and it wasn’t discovered right away, it could have caused carbon monoxide to build up in the house.” 

The Yankton Press & Dakotan has the STORY.
Yankton Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

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YFD Engine 1

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: current events

America's Most Sinful Cities

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ARE YOU LIVING IN ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST SINFUL CITIES?  Or maybe you just wish that you did.

Forbes.com has listed the traditional seven deadly sins (lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, wrath, envy and pride) and listed the 10 worst (best?) cities in each category.  Rankings were determined by extrapolating appropriate statistics in each category.

For example:  ENVY was ranked by the cities with the highest property crime rate.  The article has an interactive map where you click on whatever sin you want to view and the map shows the ten top towns with their ranking.

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Check it out HERE.

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: culture

Thief Causes Fire That Kills Him

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 Updated, 4 pm

AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE IN EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, has been attributed to a thief who was trying to steal some copper wiring.

The Associated Press reports:

Los Angeles fire Inspector Frank Garrido says crews responded to a reported explosion Monday morning and found a large, one-story commercial building on fire. They put out the blaze in about 15 minutes.

Garrido says crews found the unidentified victim’s body by an electrical vault and believe he was involved in an attempt to steal copper wire.

He did not know if the victim was electrocuted, or if he died from the explosion and fire.

Update:  The Los Angeles Times has a few new details released from the police:

Firefighters discovered the man’s body after they responded to reports of smoke at 12114 East Garvey Ave. shortly after 6:15 a.m. They extinguished the fire within about 15 minutes and then found the dead man in a small room containing an electrical panel that appeared to have been tampered with, said Los Angeles fire Inspector Frank Garrido.  The man was not carrying identification, Garrido said, and had not been identified this morning.

“It appeared that he was tampering with the electrical wire and something set off a spark which created a fire,” said El Monte Police Lt. Dan Burlingham.  He also said it was possible that the man had been electrocuted before the fire started.

El Monte police have investigated several recent incidents of copper wire thefts in the area, Garrido said. But he said the Fire Department has not seen any recent fires related to copper wire thefts.

 

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: explosion

Improved Tire Safety Being Developed

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THERE IS A BREAKTHROUGH DEVELOPMENT in the automotive tire industry.  The designer is calling it the Self Inflating Tire, or SIT.

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There is a small air chamber built into the bead of the sidewall that receives atmospheric air and uses the weight of the car to compress the chamber and force the air into the tire itself.  After the tire is repressurized to its normal level, a check valve closes and leaves the air pressure at its nominal setting.

Since almost all tires will gradually lose some pressure over time, this design will maintain the correct amount with the resulting savings on lower fuel costs and especially the preservation of the designed life-span of the tire that can be shortened measurably by under-inflation.

CODA Development’s SIT website explains more fully how the system works and they also have an informative 2-minute video that shows a graphic display of the operation HERE.

Firegeezer says:  If this turns out to be as good as it looks, then I would expect all passenger cars to be equipped with this tire within the next 8 – 10 years, joining the Forever Battery in the march to the maintenance-free car.

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: safety, technology

Aalesund Update #3

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THE PROPANE-FED FIRE THAT HAS BEEN BURNING in the collapsed apartment building in Aalesund, Norway, has burned itself out after 5 days.

The event began when a landslide knocked the 6-story apartment building off its foundations, destroying the two lower floors of the building.  (See Firegeezer reports HERE, HERE, and HERE.)  Five residents are still unaccounted for and are believed to be dead inside the building rubble.

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ODD/Mehus photo

Rescuers were prevented from entering the building to look for them because of the propane fire and the instability of the structure.  Now that the fire is out, there are hopes that engineers can evaluate the integrity of the building so that rescuers can start searching.  However, the fire officials are still concerned about the possibility of pockets of propane remaining in area underneath.

Queen Sonja was in Aalesund on Saturday to attend a memorial service for the victims and meet with survivors and rescue crews.

Aftenposten has this latest REPORT.

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: fire, rescue

Ottawa Ambulances Held At Hospitals

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OTTAWA, ONTARIO, IS THE LATEST ENTRY to a long list of cities that is facing daily ambulance shortages because of hospitals’ inability to receive patients in a timely manner.

Firegeezer has been reporting periodically of the situation in many cities, not just in the U. S. and Canada, but in UK and Australia as well, where emergency ambulances are being held out of service because of delays at hospitals.

Ottawa operates a fleet of 40 ambulances, but this past Friday morning only one of them was available to answer a call anywhere in the capital city.  All the others were either already on a call or, in most cases, waiting at a hospital for a patient to be admitted.

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The Ottawa Citizen reports:

A Citizen freedom of information request generated log information that shows between December and February, there were at least 42 instances when Ottawa’s paramedic service was at Level 0, which means there weren’t any ambulances available.

The chief of the city’s paramedic service says the problem of hospital waits has been steadily worsening. Now , it often ties up paramedics for as long as two hours, when it should just take 20 minutes. On average, about a third of the city’s paramedic crews are tied up at hospitals trying to off-load patients.

He notes that Ottawa is just one of many Canadian cities that are going through this alarming overflow of patients at hospitals. “It’s backing up on to the street. We have to find solutions.”

Read the full story HERE.

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: ambulances

Hardware/Lumber Store Blaze In Sydney

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A MASSIVE FIRE THIS MORNING IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, has completely destroyed the Swadling’s Timber and Hardware shop in the city’s South Side.

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Sydney Morning Herald

When the open-up man arrived at 6:30 am Monday, he heard noises on the ceiling overhead that sounded like an intruder was running around.  When he looked up he saw a thin layer of smoke on the ceiling and immediately called the fire brigade.

When the firefighters arrived the made an initial entry to start an attack on the fire area but were almost immediately met with a flashover that drove them out of the building.  The fire then spread rapidly throughout the building and defensive tactic were deployed.

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SMH

As the fire grew, it was fed by hundreds of chemical containers, LPG tanks, pool chemicals and racks of lumber.  By 9 am the walls of the structure were starting to sag.  The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

A Fire Brigades spokesman said engineers were en route to the fire scene to determine which walls could be removed to give fire fighters better access to the blaze.

“We are going to discuss the best way to demolish part of the building to get to these pockets which are still burning,” the spokesman said.

“The whole building will have to be demolished anyway, so we hope this will give us better access to put the fire out quicker.”

The spokesman said there was no chance of other buildings catching alight but a wall at the rear of the warehouse on Jones Lane appeared to be in danger of collapsing.

“If it collapses in then there will be no problem but if it collapses out, the buildings on the other side of the lane might get some superficial damage,” he said.

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SMH

There are 20 fire companies with 100 firefighters plus a haz-mat team on the scene.

Read more from the Morning Herald HERE.
The News has MORE plus a VIDEO.

Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – March 31

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Wow…..here it is, the end of the month already.  And I haven’t even filled out my month-end checks yet.  Where did the days go?  We’ve been through a St. Patrick’s Day, an early Easter, and the advanced start of Daylight Savings Time.

Shouldn’t we be getting an extra paycheck after all that?

A different kind of “close call” event took place yesterday.  A hot fire on the Ocean City, Maryland, boardwalk broke out in the morning.  If you folks that are inland have never been to a seaside town with a boardwalk and commercial strip, then you can’t imagine the potential for disaster that awaits a flame.  Massive wood structures, confined exposures, limited access, etc.

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Photo by Chuck Snyder

If one of those babys gets away from you, it can literally devastate a community’s economy.  But the guys in O.C. put a terrific stop on yesterday’s blaze.  From looking at the pictures, I’d say it was magnicent.  Dave Statter at STATter911 was sticking with the story all day and he has a full collection of photos, videos and links.  Take a few minutes and check them out and see if you agree with me.  They’re on his website HERE.

I’ve got a bunch of things to sort out and then report back to you today.  But I need to get some more coffee first.

Let’s get the equipment checked out, then I’ll start in on the “fun stuff.”

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Posted by on March 31, 2008 • Filed under: morning lineup

Plane Crashes Into UK House

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Updated, scroll down. 

A CESSNA CITATION JET AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A HOUSE in the Southeast corner of England at 2:30 Sunday afternoon.

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BBC

The plane was carrying two the pilot and three four passengers and went into a dive after the pilot had called in a Mayday to the nearby airfield’s control tower.

Another pilot who was approaching the runway on his landing when the event happened told the BBC:

“I was about thirty seconds from touchdown and I heard a mayday call.

“(The pilot) reported severe engine vibrations. You could hear the alarms in the cockpit. The pilot came back over the radio a second or two later and said ‘We’re going down, we’re going down’.

“The radio stayed live, and as I turned off the runway I looked back and I saw the plane basically drop out of the sky.  And then the radio went dead and black smoke came up from over the hill.”

The plane crashed into a duplex house.  The people living in the one directly impacted are thought to have been away at the time and the residents of the adjoining home escaped without injury.  All of the plane’s occupants are believed to have perished.

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Reuters

Jason Morell, a nearby resident, told Sky News:”It was at such a low level I could see the people sitting on the plane panicking at the windows. I ran outside because my two young girls were out there playing … the woman next door was hysterical. Her father had collapsed. We managed to drag him away from the scene. The plane was that close you could see the panic on their faces.”

The BBC report is HERE.
The Guardian has a REPORT.

Click to play this VIDEO of aerial news footage at the crash scene

Update, Monday am:
It is now being reported that the plane had just taken off from the nearby airport and the pilot had called in his Mayday along with a request to return for the emergency landing.  It appears that he was attempting to miss the houses and put the plane into the stand of trees just beyond the impact point.

Reuters is reporting that the pilot was Mike Roberts, of Effingham, Surrey, who was said to be a director of Flight Consultancy Services, based at Biggin Hill.  Two of the four passengers were noted auto racing personalities, David Leslie, 54, and Richard Lloyd, 63, the boss of Apex Motorsport.

Leslie was a former prominent touring car racer and a commentator on the Eurosport television network.  Lloyd was a former British Saloon Car champion who was part of a three-man team that came second in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 1985.

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Reuters

Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: aircraft, fire

VFD Goes Public With Extinguisher Training

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THE BRADDOCK HEIGHTS (MARYLAND) VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY is taking their public information responsibility seriously.

After seeing an advertisement for the BullEx Intelligent Training System for fire extinguisher classes, the Company voted to purchase one of the $9,000 systems.  They raised the funds by holding gun raffles, door-to-door solicitations, and their annual food booth at the county fair.

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The BullEx system utilizes a computer-controlled propane burner that is “attacked” with a special extinguisher that has the look and feel of a regular ABC dry powder extinguisher.  The training extinguisher sprays a compressed air and water mixture on the training fire and if it’s applied properly the fire goes out.

The system easily fits into the bed of the FD’s pickup truck and they plan to take it to many organizations to train their public on proper fire extinguisher use.

Firegeezer says:  Good for them!!  What a great way to work to make your community safer.

The full story is carried by the Frederick News Post HERE.
BullEx Digital Safety website is HERE.
Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Assoc. WEBSITE.

Firegeezer reviewed the BullEx “dry” digital trainer last September HERE.

Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: Training

Beer Madness – Round 3

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THE BEER MADNESS BREW-OFF JUST CONCLUDED its 3rd round of the tasting competition.  (If you missed the original report, see Firegeezer HERE.)

We are delighted to report to you that Hook & Ladder Brewing’s entry, Backdraft Brown handily downed the Samuel Adams Honey Porter and will be moving into the Semi-finals this week.

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This round marks the winners of the four categories, so Backdraft Brown finishes this week as the champion of all the Dark Beer entrants.  Next round will pit them against the winner of the Specialty & Fruit bracket, the Ommegang Hennipen, a spicy Belgian-style ale from Cooperstown, New York.

In the other brackets, Raven Lager won the Lagers category and will be going up against the winner of the Ales bracket, Troegs Hopback Ale.

Firegeezer notes:  This should rank Hook & Ladder as the favorite for this next round.  After all, how could anything in a “Specialty & Fruit” category ever beat out a real beer?

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Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: beer

Ohio Ambulance Involved In Fatal Crash

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A WINTERSVILLE (OHIO) FIRE DEPARTMENT AMBULANCE was on an emergency call Saturday morning when it was involved in a collision in Steubenville with an automobile.

The 52-yr.-old driver of the car was stabilized at Trinity Hospital in Steubenville and then flown to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where she died 9 hours later of blunt-force trauma to her chest.

The ambulance crew were uninjured and were already working on the victim when the FD arrived.  The driver had to be extricated with the jaws-of-life tool.

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Wintersville F & R photo

No information has been released yet on the cause of the accident.

The Steubenville Herald Star has the STORY.
Wintersville Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: ambulances

Parents and Infant Critical After Newark Fire

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A HOUSE FIRE EARLY SATURDAY MORNING IN NEWARK, New Jersey, has left a family destroyed.

Fire broke out in the 2nd floor of a multi-family dwelling shortly after 4 am.  When firefighters arrived they found five residents trapped inside and a sixth on a porch roof.  The victim on the roof and two people in an upstairs bedroom were evacuated safely by the FF’s.

Also on the 2nd floor, they found a young couple and their 6-month-old infant unconscious in the kitchen.  All three were carried out and transported to the hospital where they have since been transferred to a burn center.

The two adults suffered burns over one-third of their bodies and are both still in a coma.  The infant has 3rd-degree burns to its hands and is listed in critical condition.

The residents of the first-floor apartment got themselves out safely before the arrival of the FD.  One of them told the Star-Ledger that the house did not have any smoke alarms.

The full story is in the Newark Star-Ledger HERE.

Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – March 30

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Good Morning.  Sunday mornings are often associated with a more leisurely breakfast and perhaps a special selection for the meal.  At home it’s when our favorite breakfast combo. is fixed up.  And in the firehouse it is often a group project culminating with a large brunch that makes the rest of the day more pleasurable.

But there was a dark spot in the sky over the breakfast world this week when it was announced that Herb Peterson died peacefully in his home at the age of 89.  Mr. Peterson’s name might not trigger any particular memories for you, but he had an impact on everybody when, back in 1972, he created the infamous Egg McMuffin.

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Peterson was a vice-president with the D’Arcy Advertising Agency in Chicago when they were handling McDonald’s national ad campaigns.  He was the writer who penned their first national slogan, “Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day.”  Impressed with their potential for growth and success, he left the advertising business and established his own chain of six franchise McDonald’s in Santa Barbara, California, with his son.

Wishing to expand the business hours of his restaurants, and also being a fan of Eggs Benedict, he developed a teflon ring that would hold an egg while it cooked on a hamburger grill and then combined the broken-yolk egg with a slice of cheese and a piece of Canadian bacon on an English muffin.  A cultural icon was born.

When McDonald’s president Ray Kroc visited Peterson in 1972, Herb showed him his creation and Kroc fell in love with it right away.  It was the ideal finger-food for a breakfast offering and perfect for the restaurants’ menus. 

The Egg McMuffin became the anchor of McDonald’s new breakfast menu. And when it was rolled out nationally in 1976, restaurants were able to ring up sales for several additional hours every day. Today, breakfast accounts for about a third of McDonald’s total sales.

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Herb Peterson with a tray of
his favorite breakfast food.

It’s hard to imagine, but everyone under the age of 35 has never lived a day without the availability of the Egg McMuffin.  Herb Peterson was one of those accidental folk hero’s whose simple desire to make a better product ended up permanently affecting an entire culture.  Good job, Herb!  May he rest in peace.

Now let’s get the equipment checked out.  I’ll start the coffee and then we can send the ambulance out for a bag of McMuffins.

Posted by on March 30, 2008 • Filed under: culture, morning lineup

Fire Inspector Uncovers Massive Life Hazard

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A BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, FIRE INSPECTOR discovered a disaster waiting to happen last month.

FireNews.net is carrying the story that leads off with:

A routine inspection in an industrial park last month found a chemical supply that could have killed hundreds of people and harmed thousands more.On Feb. 14, a Burlington fire inspector found 856,000 pounds of sodium hydrosulfite, a highly combustible powder that can ignite a fire if exposed to moisture in the air. The plume of sulfur dioxide gas produced in such a fire would likely kill those close by.

A recent report from Burlington Chemical Co. to state and local agencies showed the amount of sodium hydrosulfite reached at least 957,000 pounds at one point, but officials say some has since been removed.

On Friday, Alamance County officials said that the combustion of nearly 1 million pounds of sodium hydrosulfite — the “worst-case scenario” — could kill or permanently injure those within 1.5 miles, assuming wind did not carry the plume farther in one direction.

This “dead zone” would encompass Alamance Regional Medical Center, E.M. Holt Elementary School and hundreds of homes.

Read the entire article HERE to learn how the situation was mitigated.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: inspections

LODD in Louisiana

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A CADDO PARISH, LOUISIANA, FIREFIGHTER DIED FRIDAY when the tanker he was driving to a fire overturned.  Traveling an unfamiliar road on a mutual-aid response, Eric Speed lost control when he entered a severe curve in the roadway.  The 3,000 gal. tanker rolled into the ditch and wedged into a pine tree that penetrated the truck cab.

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Shreveport Times photo

A 12-year volunteer member of Caddo Fire District #2, Speed was one of the best-liked members of the department.

The Shreveport Times has the full STORY.
TV station KSLA has more and a VIDEO.
KSLA also has a background story on Eric Speed HERE.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: current events

Captain Suspended For Not Using SCBA

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THE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, FIRE DEPARTMENT announced yesterday that they have suspended a captain for 2 weeks without pay for not wearing his SCBA at a car fire Tuesday.  A second firefighter who was under his command received a written disciplinary warning for the same infraction.

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Post and Courier photo

Charleston FD was strongly condemned for allowing firefighters to operate without donning their gear properly when a furniture store fire led to the deaths of nine of them last June.  The department has just recently spent over $1 million purchasing new SCBA’s and put them in service.

The captain admits that he was wrong and will accept the punishment without appeal.  The union local president has agreed that the punishment was appropriate.  The issue came to light after the local newspaper ran the photo showing the safety lapse at the car fire in a local parking garage.

The Charleston Post and Courier has the full STORY.

IT WAS ALSO ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK that the Charleston Fire Department has hired a new chief training officer from outside the department.

The Post and Courier reports:

Battalion Chief James T. Ghi, former of the Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department has been hired to direct all training for the Department. The appointment of a new training director was one of the primary recommendations of the City of Charleston’s Fire Review Team Phase I Report issued last fall.

Ghi was selected from a pool of 57 applicants from the Charleston Fire Department and around the U.S. and Canada.

The Fire Review Team was established under the direction of Mayor Joe Riley, Jr. to provide a comprehensive independent review of the tragic June 18th fire that claimed the lives of nine Charleston firefighters.

Chief Ghi will head a newly expanded training division which will consist of Chief Ghi and three soon-to-be-named captains who will develop and lead all training for the Charleston Fire Department. He is expected to begin his duties in the Charleston Fire Department in mid April.

The full details and story are HERE.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: labor, safety

Is Rural/Metro On The Ropes?

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THE LEADING PROVIDER OF PRIVATE FIRE AND AMBULANCE EMERGENCY services is showing signs of financial disintegration.

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Rural/Metro, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been having difficulty meeting budget projections and has also been losing some of its more lucrative contracts to aggressive competitors who have been underbidding them on emergency medical contracts when they come open.

Couple that with some multi-million-dollar fraud settlements with the Federal government over billing practices along with a massive debt load, and you have a problem.  The company’s stock value has dropped more than 60% in the past year.

Ken Alltucker of the Arizona Republic (Phoenix) has just written a well-researched article on the current travails of Rural/Metro.  It exposes a company that has faltered when faced with competition and suffered from some managerial mistakes.

Firegeezer recommends that you read his article HERE.

Rural/Metro corporate WEBSITE.

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Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: ambulances, Fire-ology

Tanker Crashes, Burns in Massachusetts

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A TANKER LOADED WITH GASOLINE WAS CAUGHT UP in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 91 in Chicopee, Massachusetts, Friday morning.

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AP / Republican photo

A mal-functioning automobile attempted to enter the freeway and stalled where it was struck by another car and then the tanker collided with it.  The truck then jacknifed into the guardrail and began burning.  It was carrying 9,600 gallons of gasoline and another 1,000 gals. of diesel.

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AP / Republican

Initially the truck driver was trapped in the cab while the fire was building.  Numerous bystanders kept trying to rescue him even though the flames were repeatedly driving them back.  Finally they got him free before the tank itself started blowing.  The driver of the tractor trailer, whose name was not released pending notification of his family, was being treated for serious burns and other injuries at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. (An unconfirmed report says that the driver died this morning…..FG)

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AP / Republican

The Springfield Republican has the complete STORY.
MassLive.com has an excellent photo gallery HERE.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: fire

4-Alarms In Mt.Vernon, New York

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A MAJOR FIRE AT A CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN MT. VERNON, NEW YORK, Friday night generated a precautionary evacuation of the surrounding area.

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Journal News/Kennedy photo

The KEM Chemical Corp. headquarters was believed to contain hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, alcohol and acetone among other materials.  The 2-story building was gutted and collapsed during the operation.  The 4-alarm fire spread to two other buildings in the industrial area before it was brought under control.  One fire captain was reported to have been injured with a twisted knee.

Workers and the few residents within a three-to-four-block radius of the building were told to evacuate, and the area was cordoned off, firefighters said. Smoke from the fire blew in the direction of neighboring Pelham, and the department initially advised residents there to remain inside and shut their windows.

In neighboring Pelham, the fire forced an abrupt end to a student production of “Hello, Dolly!” Police came into Pelham Memorial High School auditorium and stopped the play, telling everyone to leave because of the fire, said Pelham schools spokeswoman Angela Cox.  “They said it was a precaution. Everybody got out safely,” she said.

Initially, the FD hesitated to apply water directly on the fire because many of the stored chemicals were reactive.  Instead they directed the flows onto exposures in an attempt to contain the fire.  Eventually however, they had to resort to a deluge attack on the fire building.  Bystanders commented on the bright blue, orange and yellow fires in the building.

 Air-quality tests and checks for any hazardous material leakage found no dangerous contamination as of early Saturday, according to authorities.

KEM Chemical was established in 1961 and specializes in servicing the microelectronics industry, according to its Web site. It is described as a chemical and laboratory supply distributor of “temperature sensitive and short-life materials.”

“KEM provides custom solutions, mixed acid etches and dilutions in instances where the volumes are too small for the primary manufacturers that KEM represents,” the site says.

The Lower Hudson Journal News has the full STORY.
There is also a 1-minute raw VIDEO.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: fire

Morning Lineup – March 29

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We left off yesterday talking about how to connect with that sub-set part of the population that only thinks of themselves and has no concern for the general welfare of the community.  This was brought up by our illustration of the town in Massachusetts that approved funds for upgrading the community swimming pool while voting down the replacement of their police/fire station (Firegeezer Morning Lineup HERE).

Basically, they are concerned with their comforts (i.e. nice pool, there when they want it) and really don’t give a hang about the firefighters’ working conditions.  Besides, they’ve never had a fire in their house, so they don’t need you.  So how do you get to these people?  And what are you going to tell them?

Finding them is not too hard, they like to gather and chat.  In most communities there are neighborhood associations (sometimes called Homeowners associations) that meet periodically and they are always looking for a topic to add to the usual business.  In fact, something as exciting as a visit with the big fire truck will even generate some advance publicity from the group leaders.

Other regular meetings are held by PTA’s in the schools, as well as service organizations like the Lions Club and the Optimists International.  All of these outfits are glad to add you to their program, but they don’t realize that you can do this.  So it’s up to us to make the contacts and offer to put on a program.  If you have a community room in your station, get ‘em in there.  Suggest that they hold this month’s meeting there for a change.  They are always looking for something different to do because it generates interest and boosts attendance.  It can either be a talk before the group, or a show-and-tell outside.  Tailor it to the situation available.

And what do we talk about?  Personally, I thinks it’s ineffective to give them still another talk on how important smoke detectors are, or that sort of thing.  They’ve heard it before and they’ll be getting it again from the Public Affairs people.  Besides, their desire for self-gratification calls for you to genuinely entertain them.  So while we entertain them, we want to show them what we are doing to earn their tax dollars.  How about bringing a junk car in ahead of time and then giving them a full-fledged demonstration of the Hurst tool?  They’ve heard of the “jaws of life” but they’ve never actually seen them being used.  They’ll love it!  And they’ll tell all their friends about it.  And when you snip that roof off, they’ll never forget that.  Now you’re connecting.  You are getting through about how you can help THEM instead of somebody else.

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danorth photo

Once you get them listening to you, then you can slip in your message about what we need to do the job better.  The Duxbury firefighters have that photo on their website showing the appalling lack of EMS de-con capability.  Ok, that’s a start.  But how many people scan those websites in the first place?  At your show-and-tell, demonstrate what the ambulance looks like inside and tell them why cleanup is necessary.  After all, THEY might get contaminated from the previous patient.  Then tell them about the web pictures.

Catching on?  We have to go out and find them, drag them in and entertain them.  Then deliver the message.  Ok, take a break and let’s get this equipment checked out.  I need to start another pot of coffee.

Posted by on March 29, 2008 • Filed under: morning lineup

Fire Claims 2 Buildings In Canadian Ghost Town

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IN THE SELKIRK MOUNTAINS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA there still remains a portion of the former mining town of Sandon.  Last week a fire destroyed two more of the original buildings, known as the Tin Cup Cafe and Dr. Gomm’s house.

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Globe and Mail photo

The isolated settlement does not have any fire protection, but the dedication and pluckiness of a distant volunteer FD prevented the fires from spreading and taking out the whole town.

Built adjacent to a thriving silver mine, by 1890 the Wild West boom town had 29 hotels, 28 saloons, three breweries, one of the largest red-light districts in Western Canada and a population exceeding 5,000.  By the 1950′s the mine had shut down and the town was drying up.  A massive flood destroyed many of the buildings. 

Today only one of the original red-light buildings remains and there are only three families living in the ghost town.

Always without a fire department, 29 years ago a burning house was bulldozed over a cliff to keep the fire from spreading.  Last week, when alarm was raised, the New Denver VFD chief got permission from the village to take their pumper and equipment to the remote town and help out.

The Arrow Lakes News REPORTS:

Because Sandon is out of their fire protection area, Casley said members of their department were essentially responding as private citizens.

The Tin Cup Cafe had burned to the ground and the Gomm house was completely engulfed by the time they arrived, and there was nothing they could do to save them, he said.

Casley said they were able to save two buildings across the street from the fire. When they arrived, the garage attached to one of the buildings had already caught on fire due to heat radiating from the fire.

They placed hoses into the river to pump water and were able to control that blaze before it spread to the house.

Casley said the buildings were engulfed quickly because of their age. Both were built in the 1890s. “Those are really old buildings and their fire separation just isn’t there compared to new construction, where it buys you some time. Both of them went up fairly quickly. They were very hot with radiant heat.

“If it was summertime we would have lost everything up there,” he said, referring to Sandon as a whole. “It would have all went. It would have been a big forest fire with the heat that came off there. … It would have been a whole different story if it was even two or three months from now. It was just lucky it happened at this time of year, as far as luck in that type of situation can go.”

Their radios were outside their reception range, too.  So they had to use a resident’s telephone for communications.

The RCMP has jurisdiction for investigating the cause, but they still have several interviews to conduct.

The Globe and Mail has MORE.
The Sandon Historical Society has a very good website with a full history and many photographs HERE.

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Sandon about 1900

Posted by on March 28, 2008 • Filed under: fire

Aalesund Update #2

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IN AALESUND, NORWAY, the propane-fed fire that has kept rescuers out of the destroyed apartment building may continue to burn for up to a week.  (Firegeezer reports HERE and HERE.)  The fire chief says that is only a rough estimate because they are not certain how much gas remains in the tank.

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Reuters

A new concern has arisen about the instability of the hillside.  They have installed some instruments that can monitor the movement of the building, but there is now worry about additional slides that would endanger not only other buildings next to the demolished apartments, but the homes that are at the top of the hill as well.

Today’s Aftenposten has the latest REPORT.

Posted by on March 28, 2008 • Filed under: fire, rescue

Around The Fire Web

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*  STATter911 is commenting about some departments STILL failing to utilize SCBA’s properly.  He wants some feedback and opinions on why this is still a problem, so click HERE and jump in.

*  FireNews.net is marking the 24th anniversary of an event that I sure didn’t remember.  On this day in 1984 there were 22 deadly tornadoes that touched down in North Carolina.  Read about it HERE.

*  VAFireNews has some fresh postings today including a new video from Fredericksburg HERE.

* And speaking of SCBA’s, Firefighter Spot has a couple of new “close call” videos showing what happens when you do and when you don’t use them properly.  Make sure that you WATCH.

*  EMS1 has a STORY on Philadelphia’s plan to (slightly) relax the residency requirement for job applicants.  It has partly to do with expanding the applicant pool for paramedics. 

*  The Housewatch has an engaging commentary on two Routely reports, one that has just come out, one that hasn’t.  Read what he has to say HERE.

Posted by on March 28, 2008 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Be Grateful That He Still Likes The Fire & Rescue Service

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IN RAVENDEN SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, A MAN WHO HOLDS A GRUDGE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT crashed his car into the local post office.  And not for the first time.

Glenn Sparling has held for years that the Federal government owes him money in a wage dispute.  This past Sunday he had his restored 1984 Chevrolet Blazer out for a spin and decided to “get even” with Uncle Sam.  He drove into the post office lot and backed the truck into the building, leaving an 8 ft. by 8 ft. hole in the wall.

Then he drove off, leaving the wreckage behind.  A little ways down the road his Blazer broke down and wouldn’t go any further.  So he got out and walked the rest of the way home where he got his 1972 Ford Mustang sports car and headed back to the post office.

Meanwhile, a policeman who was en route to the post office to investigate the crash saw Sparling driving very erratically and tried to stop him.  After a high-speed chase for a few blocks, Sparling flew into the post office lot again and plowed his Mustang into the same hole that he had made earlier.

Ravenden Springs Police Chief Kevin Montgomery said, “He drove it in the hole he made earlier. This time he really crammed it in there. We barely got him out.  The Mustang held up well, but he scratched the paint up real bad.”

This is not his only anger-management problem with the post office.  He has been charged before with breaking out windows at the facility and driving his car into mail boxes.

Sparling was taken to jail and charged with a long list of violations.

Jonesboro TV Ch. 8 has the story and a VIDEO.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has MORE.

Posted by on March 28, 2008 • Filed under: current events