I don’t know what made me start thinking about it, but it was probably a mention that I read in the paper about the old television series Gunsmoke. It brought to mind a medical call that we ran to a garden apartment complex and we were there several minutes ahead of the ambulance. It wasn’t a fancy apt. and it wasn’t a dump, either. Just one of those lower-middle class projects that is clean and affordable.

We were met at the door by one of the largest men I have ever seen in person. He was at least 6-ft. 6-in. and BIG, not basketball-player-skinny. He was middle-aged and walked with a lumbering limp like a rodeo rider. The call was for his wife who was in some sort of distress and he led us back to the kitchen area where she was, and my FF’s began evaluating the situation. I wasn’t needed, so I hung back and engaged the man in conversation to keep him away from the center of activity. I noticed a lot of cowboy and western memorabilia on the walls and tables, so I used that as a topic to talk about.

It turned out that he was a movie stunt man by trade with horse-riding skills that kept him in work in Westerns. Then he told me that he was James Arness’ body double and stunt man for the Gunsmoke series and he showed me the photo taken on the set after wrapping up the final episode of the series. It was a cast shot with everybody posing in front of the Long Branch Saloon for a farewell. And there he was, standing right behind Marshal Dillon, along with Doc and Festus and whoever. This was getting fascinating.

Dennis Weaver (as Chester) is 6-ft. 2-in., yet he
is still dwarfed by Arness who is 6′-7″.

As he showed me more of his mementos, I particularly remember a pair of leather chaps hanging on the wall and he told me that they were given to him by John Wayne as a “thank you” at the conclusion of a movie they had made. And he had a personal letter from the Duke to go with it. I think that was his most prized souvenir. But they were all obviously very precious to him.

Naturally, I asked him why he was living in the D. C. area because there are very few western movies made along the mid-Atlantic coast. He told me that they were living here for (6 months? A year? Can’t remember.) while his wife was undergoing some specialized treatment for a rare ailment that is only offered at one of the local hospitals. Her medical problem is what triggered the ambulance call. Anyway, we soon finished up and left the tidy apartment and had some interesting things to talk about back at the day room for a while.

Later, it occurred to me that it must have been very difficult for these people to live under these circumstances. I’m sure that a stunt man doesn’t bring in huge paychecks, and certainly not enought to build up a trust fund to live off of. Yet here they are, camped out in a strange place clear across the country with no chance to earn a sustainable wage. This guy could never work as a store cashier, for example. First of all, he’d scare off half the customers and besides, his fingers wouldn’t fit in the little change trays. No, he had surrendered his God-given occupation to bring his wife way over here to take care of her and try for a chance to make a better life for her. It was a matter of priorities, and his priority was the love and concern for her. There’s a lesson there.

Now let’s get this equipment checked out. I’ll get a fresh pot of coffee going.

Let’s call this the “story behind the story.”  Firegeezer reader Jon M. sent along an ARTICLE from Tuesday’s newspaper reporting on a fire call in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, Monday afternoon.  The alarm came from an old-age home where one of the residents had forgotten to remove her portable radio from inside the oven, where she stored it, before turning the oven on.

It really wasn’t much of a fire, but it generated a lot of thick, black smoke as you might expect from a plastic object.  The local headlines were concentrated on the outcome of the operation when it was discovered that the burning plastic was emitting high amounts of hydrogen cyanide in the smoke, causing a lot of the residents some dizziness and distress.  Eventually there were at least 40 ambulances on the scene (whew!) treating more than 70 people and transporting 31 of them to hospitals.  Take a moment and watch this video report from WPRI Ch. 12: 

Now the other story:  The majority of the victims were firefighters.  That’s right, of the 31 people transported, 8 were residents, 3 were EMT’s and 20 were firefighters.  It appears that this particular fire department routinely responds to fire alarms without donning the SCBA’s until after they arrive on the scene, if at all.  Now watch this follow-up report from Channel 12 and listen to the fire chief:

The money quote from the chief (according to the tv report):  “… not all those firefighters had on the proper breathing gear because their first concern was to get in and save those residents.”

There’s not much more that I can say that you can’t figure out yourself.  If the tv reporter had taken the time to call Chief Billy Goldfeder at Firefighter Close Calls, she would no doubt have gotten his trademark statement:  “WTF ???”

Let’s get the equipment checked out.  I need to start some more coffee.

One of the things that goes along with operating a widely-read website is the steady stream of requests from people wanting you to  plug their website, or in some cases go so far as to provide free advertising for their commercial ventures.  When we get a request from a bona fide site that is relevant to what we talk about here and I believe is interesting, then we pass along the info in the spirit of letting you know about online resources that you can benefit from.

One thing that we never do, though, is respond or cooperate with anonymous requests or websites that do not reveal their ownership.  And believe me, we get plenty of those.  One day last week we got a request for linkage to a website that is purportedly devoted to informing firefighters about “mesothelioma.”  Now that’s a word that has suddenly dropped into the public discourse in recent months.  It is the term for a form of cancer caused by inhalation of asbestos fibres (I think) and has been heard every now and then on television programs.  But I have never heard of asbestos being a major cause of firefighter deaths.  Sure, there no doubt has been an exposure case somewhere, but not a top concern.

Anyway, I clicked on the link provided and I was taken to this slick webpage filled with information and links to all kinds of sub-topics that are no doubt accurate.  But nowhere on the page is an identifier of the publisher or even a link to an “about us” page where you can find out who put it there.  Only a handy 1-800 number that you can call.  Curiosity drives me, so I start  searching for the source of this website and eventually come to a legal disclaimer that admits that the website is maintained by a law firm.  We are assured that even though the website is administered by employees of this law firm, calling the 1-800 number will only bring you info on mesothelioma and no legal advice at all.

Next stop is a simple Google seach for this law firm where I get a link to their website and surprise, surprise, the very first line of text at the top of the page reads:  The ******* Law Firm represents people with mesothelioma. Our goal is to assist people with mesothelioma and their families in obtaining compensation as quickly as possible.   You can see where this is going.  These guys are fishing for business and attempting to use me as an unwitting dupe to send them clients.  And they didn’t even offer to pay me a commission!

But wait, there’s more….  Not more than 3 days later we get another email from someone who at least uses a name and address to kindly offer to write some articles for Firegeezer.  She represents #####.com, “an internet resource for information focused on asbestos exposure and the related health concerns, including the development of mesothelioma cancer.”   She would gladly provide a “guest post” that would touch on the dangers of asbestos as it relates to all first-responders, most especially firefighters.

Can you guess what I found when I clicked on ####.com’s website?  Yep.  Another disclaimer for still another law firm in a different state than the other one.  And yes, they represent people who are suffering from (you know the word by now) mesothelioma.

What I’m really leading up to, and need to wrap up now, is to point out that there is a legion of  “personal injury” lawyers who are apparently mounting a determined effort to drum up business by trying to reel you in.  Do whatever you want, but just be alert to what’s going on.  We’ll no doubt be seeing more of this stuff showing up here and there for a couple of years.

Now let’s get the equipment checked out.  (We took the asbestos blankets off the trucks 30 yrs. ago.)  I’ll go start the coffee.

A Vermont state senator has introduced a bill that amends the state code to “provide that an accident involving an on-duty law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical personnel not appear on an accident report, nor on the driving record of the on-duty worker unless there is a conviction for negligent or gross negligent operation.”

It’s a good idea and one that is already in place in several other states.  But since it’s an amendment to an existing code, it doesn’t specify whether volunteers are covered.  It might be spelled out elsewhere, but it certainly should be clarified early on. 

And if volunteers are included, then there needs to be a clear and inarguable definition of what “on duty” means.  When does a volunteer go on duty?  When the house siren begins blowing?  The moment the volunteer leaves the house, or when he arrives at the fire or ambulance station?

I vaguely recall an incident a couple of years ago when a volunteer FF was responding in his private vehicle and crashed into another car killing the driver.  During the trial to determine who was liable for the death, the FF or the fire department, there was no clear law to govern the decision and it had to be fought out in the courtroom.  And it was all based on whether the FF was “on duty” or not.

How about a career firefighter?  Is he on duty as he’s driving to work?  No timeclock involved, remember.  Just when does “duty” begin?  You can argue both ways on these things, but it all comes down to what the law says about it. 

A good project for this week would be for someone on the shift to check into it and find out what applies in your state/county/city in this regard.  You might find out that maybe you’re not as well covered by the immunity as you thought.

Not until after we get this equipment checked out, though.  I need to get the coffee going.