FossilMedic brings up the subject:

KILLED WHILE OPERATING IN A BURNING STRUCTURE

Vincent Dunn’s Collapse of Burning Buildings is one of the few fire textbooks that left me sleepless. When the book came out in 1988 Dunn was in his third decade at FDNY and working as Division 3, the mid-town Manhattan deputy chief. While on the job, Chief Dunn obtained an associate (fire administration), bachelor (sociology) and master degree (urban studies) from Queens College, City University of New York.

The opening left a lasting impression: This book is dedicated to the forty-six FDNY chiefs, company officers and firefighters who have been killed by burning buildings which collapsed during the thirty years 1956-1986. Dunn then lists the deceased, including a description on what collapsed on them.

Every chapter starts with a fireground story that describes a collapse or sets a scene. He then describes the construction elements at play for this type of structure. Each chapter concludes with lessons to be learned. I would be wide awake in the fire station bunkroom thinking about how to apply the lessons to my company.

I used the book as a resource for the building construction and strategy and tactics courses that I taught at the community college. I used my own funds to purchase the five videos developed by Dunn for Fire Engineering. With Dunn’s videos I felt I was bringing Brannigan’s building construction course alive.

FDNY LODDS IN STRUCTURE FIRES 1994 - 2008

Last month Chief Dunn made a presentation to The Fire Bell Club of New York (http://www.firebellclub.org ) describing the results of his continuing research into the deaths of FDNY firefighters operating within burning structures.

Chief Dunn

Excluding 9/11, 28 FDNY members died while operating in burning structure fires in the last fourteen years. Seventy-five percent of them were members of ladder companies. Three were from rescue companies and four were from engine companies.

By rank, there were 17 firefighters, seven lieutenants and four captains. Eight-six percent of the deaths occurred while searching the structure. Four were killed while operating a hoseline.

Multiple family dwellings counted for 15 of the fatalities, followed by eight commercial structures, three vacant and two single family homes. Thirteen were killed operating above the fire floor, ten on the fire floor and three in the basement.

There were more deaths during the fire growth stage (64%) than when the fire was fully developed.

DEVELOP AN EXIT STRATEGY

In some situations, command may initiate an evacuation order that does not result in the crews to promptly exit the fire area. Chief Dunn advocates that department’s develop and practice an exit strategy, including a unique signal, more training and a specified assembly area.

Chief Dunn’s fourth textbook, Strategy of Firefighting, was published last year by Fire Engineering.

Chief Dunn’s website: http://www.vincentdunn.com/

AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE (AMR) MEDICS HAVE BEGUN a strike action in a northern Los Angeles County  are where they operate.

The Santa Clarita Valley area around Lancaster and Irwindale is covered by the walkout.  AMR is continuing service by calling on other ambulance firms for assistance and bringing in some outside help.

The 90+ paramedics and EMT’s formally began picketing Monday morning after reaching an impasse in their bargaining with the firm.  Originally they had set a strike date for May 2 but moved it up to Monday because of “negativity on the part of management.”

It seemed that they were on their way to an agreement, especially with regards to their wage issues.  But the company’s latest offer did not include any protection for medical insurance premium costs that the union wanted.

According to Sarah Angel, an EMT who was on the picket line in Irwindale on Monday morning, the primary concern among strikers is medical benefits.

Specifically, Angel said the language in the last offer provided by AMR concerning medical coverage was vague and ambiguous, leaving employees unprotected from increased costs without additional benefits.

“It doesn’t matter how much of a wage increase they give us, it just gets offset by lack of protection in medical payments,” she said. “We just want to be protected from increases in medical payments.”

The Santa Clarita Signal has a good report and explanation of what is going on HERE.

Update, May 1:
The strike was settled on May 1.  Firegeezer report is HERE.

AT 3:50 AM THIS MORNING, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, FIREFIGHTERS WERE DISPATCHED to a 2-alarm fire on the eighth floor of a high-rise apartment building.

The fire, which was largely confined to the unit where it originated, trapped four people inside.  When the FF’s arrived they found the door blocked, but managed to force it open.  Once entry was made, they were able to knock the fire down while removing the victims.

One man suffered second and third-degree burns to about 15 per cent of his body, including his head and back, and he was also experiencing respiratory problems.  The other three suffered from smoke inhalation and all four were transported to the hospital.

Mississauga Pumper 117

The Mississauga News has this early REPORT.
Mississauga Fire Department WEBSITE.

THE COSMETIC HIP ROOF THAT COVERED THE NORWICH, MASSACHESETTS, apartment buildings that burned down Saturday was erected in violation of both code requirements and specific stop-work orders.

NECN photo

The early-morning fire raced through the cockloft area of the entire complex due to a lack of fire stops and many on the scene, including the fire chief, remarked on the rapidity of the fire spread.  More than 100 dwelling units were completely destroyed by the fire.  (Firegeezer report HERE.)

Now, while people are wondering how and why such an unsafe roof structure was permitted to be built, some interesting facts are coming out about the building permits that were issued at the time.

The New London Day is reporting:

In July 1984, the building office ordered the then-owners of the apartments at 2 Westledge Drive, Peach Tree Limited Partnership, to halt construction of the pitched roof over the existing flat roof because it was being done without permits.

A handwritten permit issued the following month specifically addressed the fire blocks: “Proper fire stops required every 3,000 square feet,” wrote Henri Lambert, then the building inspector.

But in October of the same year, Assistant Building Inspector Chris Hempsted reported that an inspection showed no firebreaks in the new roof. Hempsted issued a stop-work order, citing the state’s building codes, which required the fire stops.

”These noted fire walls must be installed prior to the completion of construction,” Hempsted wrote in the Oct. 5 violation letter.

After that, mysteriously, there are no records or papers in the city’s files that cover any further actions.  Violations were written, stop-work orders were issued, and the roof was completed anyway.

Read the full story in the Day which is a good background article covering the laws that were applicable HERE.

Everybody has heard of eBay, the online “auction” firm.  And I would venture to say that a lot of you have purchased, or at least bid on, something that was offered.

It seems like every 6 months there is a wave of negative news stories about eBay, but they just keep chugging right along…. the giant in the garden that smashes everything in its path.  They just reported that they generated $2.29 billion in revenue for the first quarter ending March 31, so that’s hard to avoid.

But if you don’t worry about the politics of the stuff, or don’t try to earn a living, as some people do, by selling regularly on eBay, then you can have some fun and get some nice items for whatever kind of collections or needs that you have.

While I’m sitting here, for instance, I’m punching in a few search terms just to see what comes up today.  I just entered “fire engine” under All Categories to see what’s being offered.

Ah….1,657 items right now.  Scrolling down, I see that most of them are toys and metal replica models.  Some nice looking replicas, too.  There’s 1:24 diecast model of a 1927 Seagrave that looks really good.  The seller has a “buy it now” offer for $50.  I don’t collect those, so I won’t be bidding.  But I like the looks of it.

Here’s some fabric with cartoon fire engines on it….just right for making pajamas for the little tyke of the house.  Lots of toys on here.  And some guy is selling advertisements that were cut out of old magazines for GoodYear tires pictured on some 1930’s-era fire engines.  Whoops!  Here’s an offer  for a fire engine belly-button ring for only $4.99.  There’s something for everyone, but that one’s not for me.

Try some other search terms and look through categories such as books, magazines, post cards and even DVD’s.  You can find some neat stuff there if you’re patient and keep checking.  I’m not plugging eBay by any means.  But I just wanted to show you a place where you can browse for fire and rescue related “stuff” while you try and decide what to do with your tax rebate check that’s in the mail.

Well, we’d better play with the big fire trucks and ambulances now and get them checked out for today.  I’m going to fix some coffee.

SHORTLY AFTER THE EAST PEORIA, ILLINOIS, FIREFIGHTERS began attacking a working garage fire, a compressed gas bottle exploded, temporarily deafening the FF’s.  The explosion shook the entire neighborhood and extended the fire into the attached house.

The FD attempted to extinguish the fire from inside, but the rapidly-escalating fire caused them to adjust to an outside, defensive attack.  The fire was brought under control in about 45 minutes.

WMBD photo

Four firefighters were treated for hearing problems, according to East Peoria Assistant Fire Chief John Knapp.

The Peoria Journal Star has the STORY.

2-MONTH-OLD TWINS AND A 3-YR.-OLD BOY were left at home alone Saturday afternoon while their mother Christina Page, 28, went shopping in Webster, Massachusetts.

When she left the children, she also left a pot of food cooking on the stove.  When the lady who lives upstairs smelled smoke, she came down to the apartment and found the kitchen wall on fire.  As she was talking to the 911 operator she said that she thought there were children inside.

Responding police officers and a fire officer arrived before the fire engines and they successfully found the children and got them out safely.  While they were there, the mother came home and she was arrested.  She is being charged with  on three counts each of wantonly permitting substantial bodily injury to a child and wanton reckless behavior causing risk to a child. She was held on $540 bail over the weekend and will be arraigned today.  The children have been placed under the care of Social Services.

Christina Page

The Wooster Telegram has the STORY.

MONTREAL MAYOR GERALD TREMBLAY HAS DEMOTED A FIRE CAPTAIN TO LIEUTENANT in the continuing labor fracas.  After being caught “red handed” - literally with red paint on his hands - Captain Marcel Vincent was demoted to lieutenant, a sanction that will cost him $20,000 a year in salary, and transferred to another station.

He was accused of permitting and participating in the decoration of Station 23 to support the success of the Canadiens hockey team.  (See Firegeezer report HERE)  The Firefighters’ labor union is demanding that Vincent be given his job back, saying that the punishment is too harsh.

Jean-Yves Hinse, the city of Montreal’s director of professional service, said it will be up to a labour arbitrator to decide if Vincent is reinstated to captain.

The Montreal Gazette reports:

Vincent was caught on April, when a division chief visited Station 23 late that night.

“The windows were covered in paint, the lights were off  and the firefighters in the station ran when they saw (the division chief),” Hinse said.

“He looked around, went in the kitchen and saw (Vincent) throwing paint brushes into a garbage can. There was red paint on his hands.”

When the division chief asked Vincent to explain himself he told his superior to play along, Hinse said adding Vincent refused to officially give his side of the story before the fire department decided to sanction him on Friday.

Hinse said it is clear to the city that the firefighters painted the stations as part of their ongoing pressure tactics while contract negotiations between the city and the union continue. He also said the cost of the firefighters actions since last autumn, for example placing stickers on trucks and painting windows, have cost more than $500,000.

 
Fire Station 23

Read the full story HERE.

FROM NORWAY, AFTENPOSTEN IS REPORTING:

On the island of Askøy, off Bergen, an ambulance was called around 11:30 p.m., to an apartment building where a rowdy party was underway on the weekend.

The ambulance personnel took care of the patient, but when they tried to leave, some of the young partygoers insisted on accompanying the patient.

“A number of the youths became hysteric,” said Georg Ordemann, area chief for the ambulance service West. They banged on the vehicle and even opened the driver’s door, he said.

The partymakers’ behavior, together with poor driving conditions, disturbed the driver, who ended up backing off the road, down a slope, hitting a wall and tilting into a garage.

Fortunately, nobody was injured, but if the garage hadn’t been there, the vehicle could have fallen several meters.

Police had to be called in to handle the chaotic situation and the patient was taken to the emergency room in another ambulance.

CRYSTAL AIRPORT, A GENERAL AVIATION FIELD IN BROOKLYN PARK, MINNESOTA, suffered  a fire in one of the hangers on Sunday.

KARE-TV

One man was injured and several hangers in the structure were destroyed in the fire that could be seen for miles.  At least two airplanes, two motorcycles and a commercial truck were lost in the blaze.

Initially, it is believed that the injured man was working on the truck when it backfired and started the fire inside the hanger.   The fire moved rapidly inside the wood and sheet metal building, presenting a challenge for the more than 50 firefighters from three departments who worked the fire.  Normally there are about a dozen planes stored inside the hanger, but many of them were out when the fire began just before noon.

Fox News

The Brooklyn Park fire chief estimates that damages could exceed $1 million.  The airfield has nine multi-unit buildings like the one that burned that contain 113 hangers.  About 1/2 of the involved building collapsed during the fire.

Minneapolis Star Tribune has the STORY.

One of the fascinating results of the “computer revolution” that has swept through in the past few years, is the new ability for like-minded people to communicate easily with each other.  Once you’re online, you are plugged in to the rest of the world, literally, and can instantly visit and exchange thoughts and information with people you had never heard of before that day.

And by leaving the World Wide Web open to all and without controls, people have exercised their imaginations and sorted out the best ways to link up with each other.  (In fact, there’s a new activity and verb right there:  link up.)  One of these methods is the widely-used device called the Forum.  There must be a million of those things out there by now.

Just in the Fire and EMS sector alone, I have come in contact with at least a couple of dozen forums through this website.  I find out about them primarily through referrence links when somebody posts a link to one of our stories in their favorite forum.  I think it’s absolutely terrific that people scattered all about can now come together in an instant and share their thoughts along with newly-learned information.  What a great invention, the forum board.

They come in two basic varieties, open and closed.  While all of them require you to register and be accepted before you can post something on their board, some of them allow anybody who logs on to read the postings.  On the other hand, there are some forums that won’t let you even peek in unless you have registered.

Many of the forums are geared toward a specific group, such as paramedics in a certain geographic area.  But they have their daily “grapevine” now and can get problems and solutions out quickly.  The Geezerguys each have their own favorite forums, too.  But we are far from being able to keep up with all of them.  In fact, we couldn’t even tell you how many fire and EMS forums are in existance.

So what we would like to do is gather a list of fire, rescue and EMS forums and make it available for you.  By doing so, we can help expand the communications within our community of like-minded people.  So I’m asking you to help out by sending along your recommendations…… any forums that you read and/or participate in.  Let’s help open up this community some more.

Please tell us your favorites by either leaving them in the Comments box or sending us an email to geezerguys(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Keep it related to emergency services, naturally.  There are other places for the dating services.

Update:  I should add that we won’t be listing forums that are restricted to closed memberships such as union locals.

Now let’s get our equipment checked out for today.  I see that the coffee pot needs refilling, so I’ll get that taken care of.

WHEN THE FORT MONTGOMERY, NEW YORK, Fire Chief got a phone call Friday morning, he was told by one of his probationary firefighters that someone had come into the station and gotten into a fight with him.

When Chief Armstrong went to the station to check, he found that not only was the firefighter banged up, but one of the fire trucks was, too.

Town of Highlands police say that the firefighter Mathew Maass, 23, drove off in the station’s Ford F-250, which was primarily used for mountain rescues, sometime after midnight and wrecked it around 1:30 a.m.

Maass is charged with felony driving while intoxicated, grand larceny and criminal mischief.

WCAX-TV report is HERE.