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Morning Lineup – August 15

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One of the strangest labor/management issues I’ve seen in the fire service sector is unfolding in London, England.  First brought to my attention by (this article in) Firefighter Nation, this past Wednesday the London Fire Authority issued a 90-day advance notice of termination to every one of the 5,557 uniformed employees of the London Fire Brigade.  (3,982 firefighters, 730 crew managers, 834 watch managers and 11 non-operational firefighters.)  Their plan is to fire them all, then re-employ them under new work rules and pay schedules.  In other words, throw out the current work contract and institute a new one by fiat.  As you can expect, this isn’t going down too well with the firefighters.

This drastic move is an attempt to solve an issue that the two sides have been debating for six years without any resolution, specifically the work hours of the day and night shifts.  Currently they work 9-hour days and 15-hour nights, changing shifts at 9 am and 6 pm.  The Fire Authority wants to change them to 12-hour shifts, but I don’t know what time of day they are proposing for the shift change.  Now I got to wondering just why there is so much conflict over something as mundane as this, so I started looking for the obvious – money reasons.  The hours between 5 and 7 pm are the busiest for dispatch activity for that department and the firefighters are piling up millions of pounds in overtime earnings  caused by holdovers due to emergency operations.  That’s a pretty basic explanation of what I can glean from it.  Also, I suspect that “night shift” hours have a premium pay scale, something that is fairly standard here in the U. S.  So when you reduce “night hours” by 20%, you are chopping a lot of salary expense (or take-home pay if you’re on the other side of the issue).

Naturally, the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) is not taking this lightly at all.  They immediately fired off a press release that says, in part:

“Sacking all of London’s firefighters as a way of trying to impose new contracts is the action we would expect from Victorian mill owners – not from a modern public service. I am sure Londoners will be appalled at how their firefighters are being treated. We will fight the disgraceful attack every step of the way.

“We and the principal management of the London Fire Brigade do have a real disagreement about the way forward in difficult economic times, but until yesterday we were talking about it constructively, and I hoped to reach an agreement both sides could live with. The chances of that agreement have diminished dramatically this morning.”

The London Morning Star adds:

London FBU executive council member Ian Leahair said members will be balloted for action short of strike immediately, with the possibility of a city-wide strike at the end of October if the authority does not rescind its threat.

During the last major firefighters’ dispute in 2002-3, the strikers were covered by soldiers using the ageing Green Goddess appliances, which have since been retired.

But this time, Mr Leahair said, the authority planned to call on privateer Assetco – which leases fire engines to the London Fire Brigade – to “roll out the red fire engines” crewed by a “dad’s army of retained firefighters and security contractors” given only three weeks’ training.

These are some serious negotiating tactics going on here.  I will see if I can get some more definitive information on what’s going.  Couple this with the sideshow antics of the loopy mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and we have some real spectacles going on.  The only thing we’re lacking is for the always-imaginative Montreal, Quebec, labor-management conflict to flare up again to make it a tri-fecta.

We’d better get ourselves ready for the day first.  Let’s get the equipment checked out while I go see how the Sunday breakfast is coming along.  I’ll get more coffee started while I’m out there.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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The Sunday Photo Art

Posted by on August 15, 2010 • Filed under: labor, morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

When do you take Dad’s car keys?

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In March, 80 year old auto racing legend Sir Sterling Moss fell down an elevator shaft and was unable to attend the  2010 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. (FossilMedic post HERE)

Moss was to be the guest of honor at the Amelia Island event, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of his 1960 Cuban Grand Prix win by being reunited with the car he drove in that clean sweep victory, the Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage now owned by John Feiber.

While recovering, Sir Moss was on the phone and participated in the Amelia Island auction. He purchased a rare 1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder for $1.7 million.

Gooding and Company photo

Classic Car Rallies provided vehicle and auction information:

One of only 14 ever built, the lightweight, 4-Cam 1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder was the ultimate evolution of the Porsche Spyder project that began with the legendary 550 Spyder.

Gooding & Company Amelia Island Auction sales (March 2010): 1961 Porsche RS61 Spyder at $1.705 Million (Lot 55).

Originally estimated to sell between $1.2 – $1.5 Million, Sir Stirling Moss finished the bidding race by offering a final price of $1.705 Million.

One of only 14 ever built, the lightweight, 4-Cam RS61 was the ultimate evolution of the Porsche Spyder project that began with the legendary 550 Spyder. Between 1961-1963, this car captured over a dozen victories in the hands of numerous significant racing figures. (link to post HERE)

Other reports noted that Moss had his eye on this car as he raced one in the 1960s.

Mr. Motor Tweeter has extensive details on the 1962 Watkins Glen SCCA National Winning RS61 (HERE). Including this notation: “One of the few RS 60/61’s with original bodywork.”

Knocked out of the Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Four months after his elevator shaft accident, Moss was with the RS61 Spyder at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion in Laguna Seca, California.

Cars.UK provided the details of Friday’s incident:

But the plans for a return to racing this weekend were scuppered when a fellow constestant ran in to Stirling on his out lap.

.Stirling had slipped on to the grass after getting a wheel off during the lap, but had kept control.

Unfortunately a second car, also on its out lap, left the circuit and crashed in to Stirling.

Fortunately Stirling was unhurt but the RS61 wasn’t, and will be out of action for some time for repairs.

Stirling wasn’t a happy bunny after the prang but intends to be back racing the Porsche RS61 in 2011. The year in which he’ll reach 82.

Quite a man.  (read entire article HERE)

Quite a man, indeed.
Wonder if the value of the repaired RS61 will be more than $1.705 million because of this incident?

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: News • Tagged: ,

Saturday Bowling Clinic

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THE SECRET TO BOWLING STRIKES is to have a wicked hook on the ball:

Link: The greatest bowling strike ever

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Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: fun, Videos

Fire Climbs High-Rise Balconies

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all photos via La Provence

A FIRE THURSDAY MORNING IN A HIGH RISE BURNED SEVERAL APARTMENTS in the Marseille suburb of Flamants, France.

The fire brigade responded around 7:30 am for a fire on the balcony on the second floor that was called in by a building employee.  The first arriving units found that when they got there the fire had spread vertically onto the balconies of eight floors of the building and had broken into several apartments.

The upgraded response brought 17 engine companies and 60 firefighters who had the fire out in just over two hours.  There were no serious casualties and the majority of the residents evacuated themselves quickly.  Among them, a young 20 year old woman was transported to hospital in a state of shock.  A 65 year old man and a woman, 54, were evacuated to Laveran, suffering from mild smoke inhalation.

After making a reconnaissance, the firefighters found that 14 people were safe on the on the 9th floor. Among them, a baby of six months and two others were evacuated to the HIA Laveran, also suffering from smoke inhilation. Between 10:00 and 11:30, five more people have been evacuated as a precaution to Laveran. In total, 17 people were evacuated to hospitals.

A total of at least eight units were severely damaged by the fire.

La Provence has the STORY.

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

“Crazy Flyer” Syndrome Hits Albany

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JUST DAYS AFTER A JETBLUE AIRWAYS flight attendent went bonkers and slid away from his job while grasping a free beer, another man came unwound at the Albany International Airport in New York and tried to hijack an airport crash/rescue truck Friday morning.

The Albany Times-Union explains:

It began at 8:30 a.m. when James Buccigrossi, 49, pulled up to a ticket booth attendant at the airport’s E parking lot and didn’t have enough money to pay the fee, deputies said.  At that moment, an airport firetruck pulled into the lot to refuel. The economy parking lot is located on the far side of the airport from the passenger terminal.

James Buccigrossi
Facebook page photo

Buccigrossi, a financial adviser, jumped out of his 1993 black BMW and into the firetruck, telling the driver he was an air marshal and ordered him to drive off, deputies said.  Buccigrossi then began taking off his clothes and claimed to have a bomb in his car, which was blocking an exit lane at the ticket booth, deputies said.

The sheriff’s deputy added that the last piece of clothing to come off was his underpants that had “Stand Back!” written across them.  The firefighter refused to drive off and instead called the police.  After first securing Buccigrossi, they set up a perimeter around his car while closing off the parking lot.  A bomb-sniffing dog was brought in and no explosives were found.

Buccigrossi is currently being held in a hospital for a mental evaluation before being charged.  WXXA-TV Ch. 23 Albany posted this video report that encapsulates the incident:

Read the Albany Times Union STORY HERE.
WNYT-TV has more plus another video HERE.

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: apparatus, current events, News, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Heat Fells 5 FF’s at Ohio 4-Bagger

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A MULTI-ALARM FIRE IN A CINCINNATI SUBURB led to five firefighters needing treatment for heat-related injuries Friday.

WKRC-TV

A fire on the balcony of a Union Township apartment building spread upward and had units on three floors involved when the FD arrived.  The outside temperature had a heat-index that exceeded 100º and extra alarms were struck for additional manpower.  Before the fire was knocked down, five firefighters were transported including one that passed out inside the fire building and had to be carried out by his colleagues.

Cincinnati Enquirer

WCPO-TV Ch. 9 filed this video report on the injuries:

The fire was discovered around 10 am by an off-duty firefighter who was doing some maintenance work for the apartment complex when he noticed smoke coming from under the eaves of the roof and called in the alarm.

Cincinnati Enquirer

The fire began on a 2nd-floor balcony when the tenant was using “Tiki torches” to ward off mosquitoes.  The fire leapfrogged up the balconies above it and when the fire reached the 4th-floor it heated a gas grill propane tank causing it to vent.  The fire took off then and got into the attic area.  Altogether 11 apartment units were destroyed and half of the building has been condemned by the building inspector.

WLWT-TV Ch. 5 provided this video report:

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a 16-image photo gallery HERE.

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Firefighter Revived by Colleagues

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SHORTLY AFTER  LYNNFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, FIRE UNITS started working at a brush fire Thursday afternoon, Lieutenant Keith Gauvreau, 48, said that he didn’t feel well.  Moments later he dropped, but fortunately two of his fellow firefighters were with him.  The Boston Globe reports:

He was not visibly breathing, and his fellow firefighters could not find a pulse.  The 27-year Lynnfield Fire Department veteran had suffered a major heart attack.

Lt. Keith Gauvreau
(Lynnfield FD photo)

“He was in trouble,’’ said Fire Chief Thomas Bogart. “Were it not for the fact that those trained paramedics were right there with medical equipment . . . he undoubtedly would have died.’’

Bogart credited Gauvreau’s survival to the quick thinking of Fire Captain Michael Feinberg, who was standing beside him as he fell.  Feinberg saves lives for a living, but he said reviving a man that he had known for 14 years was “more emotional.’’  His training kicked in, however. Feinberg said it took less than a minute to get help and equipment to Gauvreau as he lay on the ground in some woods near Kimball Lane.

Five more Lynnfield firefighters and one from Saugus also came to the rescue.  They defibrillated Gauvreau three times before an ambulance arrived.  After the fourth shock, Gauvreau’s heart regained a safer rhythm and Feinberg gave him an IV with medication to prevent a second attack.

In the ambulance, his breathing returned and he regained consciousness halfway to North Shore Medical Center, where he spent the night in intensive care. He was transferred to a heart unit late yesterday.

WCVB-TV Ch. 5 filed this interesting video report on the “save”:

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Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos

Auto Fire Claims Mother, 2 Children

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TRAGEDY STRUCK THURSDAY AFTERNOON ON HIGHWAY 252, the “Napoleon” near Sonia Segafreddo, Italy.  A woman was driving a Citroen C3 with her two children ages 14 and 5 years in the car with her.  At an intersection she tried to make a turn but was struck by another car.  The impact caused her to lose control and her car went over into the oncoming traffic lanes.  At that point she was struck by a third car and both autos immediately caught fire.  The driver of the third car was able to escape immediately, but the family was trapped in their Citroen and they all burned to death in the car.

The road was closed for more than three hours for the investigation into the accident and to clean up the highway.

YouReporter has a video from the accident scene:

BariMia has the  STORY.

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos

Morning Lineup – August 14

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Yesterday, August 13 marked famed sharpshooter Annie Oakley’s 150th birthday.  I had planned to tell you this yesterday, but I got busy with some major fire news events that claimed most of my time.  But it’s not too late now to tell you about this cultural milestone.

Miss Oakley was born in a rural county in western Ohio on August 13, 1860 to a family that was truly impoverished.  Her name at birth was Phoebe Ann Mosey and she was the youngest of six children born to Quaker parents who had come west from Pennsylvania.  When she was six years old her father died.  Soon after, her mother remarried, but a short time later she was widowed again.

By the time Phoebe was 8 years old she had already begun hunting with a rifle to put food on her family’s table.  She was such a good shooter that she was able to get enough game to sell to restaurants and hotels around southern Ohio.  By the time she was age 15 she was able to pay off the mortgage on her mother’s house.  When she was 21 she won a challenge offered by a traveling shooting act and caught the fancy of one of the performers, Francis Butler.  A year later they were married and their union lasted until they died.

Now a part of Butler’s shooting act, Phoebe changed her name to Annie Oakley, taking her stage name from the Cincinnati neighborhood Oakley where they were living.  Three years after that, in 1885 they joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and toured the world with the famous western circus.  Her fame was unmatched world-wide as she thrilled audiences with her shooting prowess.  She was reputed to have been able to shoot a playing card edge-on.

In 1901 she was seriously injured in a railway crash that broke her back and required five spinal operations.  She had to leave the Wild West Show to recuperate.  After a year she was able to get around pretty well, but her return to show business was on the stage where she performed in plays written to accomodate her sharpshooting skills.

Her health started to decline in 1925 and in 1926 she died at her home in Greenville, Ohio, at the age of 66.  Her husband Frank Butler was so distraught and heartbroken that he stopped eating and followed her to the grave 18 days later.

As a side note, in 1894 Annie and her husband performed in a Thomas Edison Kinetoscope filmed at his new studio in New Jersey.  It was only the 11th commercial film ever made.  It was titled “Exhibition of rifle shooting at glass balls, etc”, and is kept in the U. S. Library of Congress who provided this copy for YouTube:

If you are interested in more information about Annie Oakley, a simple internet search will bring up plenty of references and biographies on her.

But before you do that, we need to get this equipment checked out.  I’ll get the coffee started.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Where Was The Spotter?

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A MECKLENBURG COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, AMBULANCE missed its mark while backing into the station Thursday morning.  The bumper of the ambulance struck part of the front wall of the building, weakening the wall so that it couldn’t support the roof.  The wall and the roof came down, effectively collapsing most of the station.

Mecklenburg County Medic Station 50 in Cornelius.
(News Channel 14 photo)

When the roof came down, it broke the gas line feeding the building and introduced a gas leak into the rubble.  The local fire department was able to shut off the gas without difficulty.  Neither of the medics in the unit were injured and there was nobody else in the station.

Channel 14 has the story and a good video report HERE.

Hat tip:  Carmine S.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: , ,

Double-LODD in Spain

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UPDATE, 3:30 pm:  Deadly fire determined to be arson.  Criminal investigation opened.  SCROLL DOWN.

EFE

TWO MEMBERS OF THE SEAGA FIRE BRIGADE DIED THURSDAY NIGHT while working to extinguish a forest fire in the parish of San Lorezo, in the town of Pontevedra Fornelos de Montes, Spain.

The fire broke out around 10 pm Thursday night, but a half an hour after the firefighters began working the blaze, colleagues of the victims noticed that they were mssing and began searching for them.  It took over an hour to locate the bodies, a time during which the fire spread, even threatening the population center.

EFE

As reported by the Executive Galician in a press conference gathered by RNE, the dead are:  Master Rodrigo Gonzalez, 35 years old and  Priego  Da Silva Julio Martinez, 27, a resident of Tomiño. Both had considerable experience in this type of fire, for one of them it was his fifth this season and for the other, his seventh.  An early announcement laid the cause of the deaths to a sudden change in wind direction.

About 3:30 am the coroner ordered a transfer of the bodies and at  4:15 they were taken to a hospital in Vigo, where an autopsy was performed.

EFE

The fire was contained and almost fully extinguished at 8 am Friday morning.

RTVE produced this video report on the recovery of the victims plus some footage of the firefighting operation:

Los bomberos muertos en Pontevedra eran veteranos

RTVE has the STORY.

UPDATE 3:30 pm:
The fire has been determined to be an arson.  According to local authorities, there had been previous arson attempts earlier that day in the area where the fire occurred.  Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, Galicia’s President, said in a press conference that there will be a concerted effort to bring the arsonists to justice.

More information on this revelation, plus additional facts about the fire can be found  HERE.

Hat tip:  G.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Line of Duty, Videos

Massachusetts Mayor Has Mental Meltdown

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LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, MAYOR WILLIAM LANTIGUA has just returned from a vacation out of the country and finds himself in the emabarrassing position of trying to defend the city’s failure to provide adequate fire protection.  The Lawrence Fire Department has approximately half the number of firefighters they had just four years ago and are trying to protect the city of 80,000 residents and a large supply of old and decrepit buildings with just 15 on-duty firefighters.

August 8, 2010.  Five alarms, Fourteen fire departments.
Eagle Tribune photo

Last week’s string of multi-alarm fires brought more than a dozen fire departments from neighboring cities in to assist the LFD over the weekend.  Now there is a growing dissatisfaction among the other communities who feel that the constant mutual aid calls are in effect a ploy to use their finances to pay for Lawrence’s basic fire protection.

The Lawrence FD is currently being directed by an acting chief who doesn’t have to worry about his political appointment and has been very outspoken about the crises in the department.  As you listen to him tell what’s going on in this video interview with WCVB-TV in Boston, note the comments by the mayor’s aide who is speaking in the mayor’s absence.  He claims that all extra and extensive mutual aid runs really don’t cost the other cities anything “because they’ve always done it before.”  He also attempted to shift the blame onto the firefighters because they are unwilling to take pay cuts.

Now that the mayor has returned, he finds himself in a bad situation with the other cities and their FD’s demanding that Lawrence start pulling their share of the load.  Still refusing to acknowledge that the city hasn’t used its resources wisely, Mayor Lantiqua launched a counter-attack against his own firefighters by calling on the citizens to spy on the firefighters at work.  The Salem News reports,

Mayor William Lantigua has enlisted a volunteer corps of film crews to chase firefighters and record their actions at the scenes of accidents, fires and other calls they respond to.Lantigua says he has received several complaints from citizens concerned about “slow response” times by firefighters and questioning whether the jakes’ actions are driven by last month’s layoff of 23 from the department. The mayor said some of those callers have volunteered to follow firefighters, video them on the job, and turn over the tapes to City Hall.

“It’s unbelievable that a mayor of a major city in the Commonwealth would do that to his employees,” said Graeme Millar, secretary of the Lawrence firefighters union.

Now not only has the mayor embarrassed himself, but he has also embarrassed the city council as well.  The Salem News continues,

City Councilor Dan Rivera said he felt Lantigua had handled himself well in budget negotiations with firefighters, but the mayor’s call for citizen film crews was irresponsible, Rivera said. He said it will escalate tension between the firefighters and the mayor’s office. “The mayor should not have said what he said,” Rivera said. “Everybody in this situation has to come to the table and this doesn’t help.”

City Councilor Marc Laplante, said the mayor’s comments could cause Lawrence citizens to distrust the Fire Department — individuals vital to public safety.  “The last thing we need to be doing is undermining the very job that they need to do,” Laplante said.

NECN filed this excellent video report on the conflict and in it the mayor further demonstrates his dementia by inferring that some of the fires are being set by the firefighters themselves and then deliberately  responding slowly to calls.

Get your popcorn ready and pull up the chairs, folks.  This is going to be a good show.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, commentary, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor, Videos

Weekend Caption Contest

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NOBODY’S GOING TO MESS WITH THIS CHAUFFER’S FIRE ENGINE TONIGHT.  But we really don’t know why he’s there in the first place.  This photo showed up without any explanation at all of what led to this visit to Dreamland.  So help us out and tell us what you think the caption for this picture should be.  Enter it in the Comments section so that all of us can see it, as always.

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Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: caption contest • Tagged:

Burning Brothel Beds Bring Billious Smoke Over Melbourne

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WHEN THE SUN AROSE OVER MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Friday morning, the sky was filled with a column of smoke coming from the downtown’s sex district where one of the several neighborhood brothels was ablaze.

photo by Daniel Maguire

The fire brigade was first called to the scene at 6:50 am where they found smoke and fire showing.  The first-in crews were unable to conduct a primary search because of the full extent of the fire, but a later sweep confirmed that nobody was inside. 

The Age tells us, The brothel’s clearly upset owner, May Junjae, said nine women were working at the brothel over night but all got out safely.  Ms Junjae said it was a great shock to her and her husband.

Thomas Hunter photo

MFB Commander Wayne Garrard said, “There was a lot of combustible material in there. There would have been foam bedding etcetera, and quite a few other rubber items in there. So they gave off quite a bit of smoke.”

After the fire was out, Metropolitan Fire Brigade investigators determined that the cause of the fire was a small, cheap portable heater in one of the bedrooms.

The fire caused in excess of $500,000 damages and the building may have to be demolished.  The buildings on either side of it were undamaged from the fire however.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: culture, fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Six FF’s Down in Detroit Building Collapse

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Updated.  Additional information, links and more videos added.  Scroll down.

AT LEAST SIX DETROIT, MICHIGAN, FIREFIGHTERS have been taken to hospitals a few minutes ago with serious injuries after the roof collapsed onto them and caused a wall to fall onto them on the sidewalk at a strip mall.  The entire shopping complex is on fire, but is contained. 

WXYZ-TV

The fire was reported around 6 am and witnesses say that they heard two loud “explosions” before the flame broke out of the building.

WDIV-TV

Detroit News photo

The collapse occurred shortly after 8 am Eastern.  At first there were reported to be 8 FF’s injured, but it has been revised to the current number of six casualties.

WJBK-TV Ch. 2 has this early video report from the scene:

Update: The injured firefighters were on the sidewalk next to the fire building when the roof collapse caused the wall to tumble onto them.

WDIV-TV is reporting:  Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack said three were in critical condition and three were in fair condition, with one firefighter having been paralyzed from the waist down and another needing to be intubated.

Names, Condition of Injured:
Brandon Milewski — 11 years service — critical condition

Eric Jurmo — 11 years service — critical condition

Brian Baluch — 9 years service — critical condition

Jeron Whitehorn — 8 years service — treated and released

Shayne Raxter — 9 years service — fair condition

Gerald Rutowski — 23 years service — fair condition

Mack said when the building crumbled, bricks fell onto the firefighters — which resulted in broken bones for many of the firefighters.

A full report and the latest updates can be found on FirefighterNation.com HERE.

WXYZ-TV has a good comprehensive video report posted:

The Detroit News has a good background report HERE.

One of the critically-injured men is Lieutenant Gerald Rutkowski.  WJBK-TV Ch. 2 has this video report on how it was Rutkowski’s brother, a firefighter who was also on the scene, who dug him out from under the bricks and masonry:

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Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

A Netcast Interview That You Won’t Be Hearing

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WE HOPE YOU HAVE BEEN CHECKING IN with the Firefighter Netcast channel (HERE) and catching up with the back-netcasts that are archived and ready for downloading.

Last week they had an interesting interview with a couple of nice ladies who are both publishers of fire blogs relating to their experiences as wives of career firefighters, Shari Simpson (Two In, Two Out) and Jenna Hatfield (Stop Drop and Blog).  CLICK HERE to read more about them and get the link to either download or listen to the netcast.

The Firefighter Netcast hosts, Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) and John Mitchell (Fire Daily) set up shop at last month’s Firehouse Expo in Baltimore and recorded more than a dozen interviews with people who are prominent in the fire and EMS community. 

During the upcoming weeks, we’ll be hearing these interviews over the web, but there is one interview that I’m afraid we’ll never get to hear.  As you probably know, F. G. Gnome was at the Firegeezer/STATter911 booth all  three days and the Netcast Guys invited F.G. to be interviewed.  He literally jumped at the chance and leapt up onto the broadcast table and began jabbering, like he does sometimes, completely ignoring the questions that Rhett and John had for him.  Well, he IS a gnome, you know.

Despite the hosts attempts to rein F. G. in and get an intelligent report on his life as a fire gnome, the whole thing just fell apart as F. G. really got wound up and went off the deep end.  Finally, Rhett and John had to just give up and scrub the show.

That’s too bad because there are a lot of people who would love to have heard the squeaky voice of our official gnome.  When I asked F. G. what went wrong and why he failed to communicate effectively, he told me:  “Ahhhh…. it was all those guys’ fault!   They just don’t understand the Gnomenclature!”

That’s what I’ve got to work with, folks.  The sacrifices that we have to make in order to bring you the Firegeezer news and events.

You can catch up on our previous Firegeezer Gnome reports HERE.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: communications, Gnome Report, News, Technology & Communications • Tagged: , , , ,

Morning Lineup – August 13

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That’s right …. this is Friday the 13th.  So no matter how heavy the fire is, don’t walk under any ladders or step on any cracks in the pavement.  We want you to keep it safe and be careful out there.

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For you folks who live in and near Colorado, we want to let you know about the Family Fire Muster that the West Metro Fire Rescue department holds each year.  This will be the 16th annual family event held in Lakewood, Colorado, and it had to be re-scheduled this year.  Usually the fire safety and fun carnival takes place in June, but this year there were particularly severe lightning storms plaguing the area for several days, so the FD wisely decided to postpone it until Saturday August 21.

The annual festival draws about 12,000 visitors who come to enjoy the family show that teaches fire and injury prevention, water safety and much more.  The West Metro folks tell us:  This FREE family event is a premier event in Jefferson County. More than a dozen participating emergency and health agencies will be joining West Metro Fire Fighters for a day of fun. Kids get the chance to be a fire fighter for a day while learning valuable life saving lessons. Hands on activities give families the chance to practice escaping from a smoke-filled room; properly fit a bike helmet and life jacket; learn to keep children away from matches and lighters; and a whole lot more! More than 13,000 people attended last year’s event.

There will be free stuffed animals to the first 1,000 children who visit the Teddy Bear Clinic. More than a dozen other health and safety agencies will also be on hand with free giveaways and valuable information.  Activities include kids wearing life jackets; helping fire fighters spray hose; bunker gear races; escaping from smoky home; and more!

So, let’s help spread the word around the Rocky Mountain area.  You can view the West Metro Fire Rescue district’s fine WEBSITE HERE.

Now we need to view our daily check sheet and get ourselves ready for the day.  While you get started with that, I will get some more coffee going.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on August 13, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

When All The Planets Line Up Just Right…..

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A SEVERE STORM BLEW THROUGH MONTGOMERY  COUNTY, Maryland, Thursday morning bringing down many trees.  One of the most unusual windfalls that you would ever see occured in a Gaithersburg garden apartment building.  An 80-ft. tall tree came over and  sliced through the roof  directly into the center stairwell that each apartment enters into.  The 3-ft.-diameter trunk went through the third floor and stopped on the second-floor level, trapping several residents in their units. 

WTTG-TV photos

The firefighters got everyone they could out through the windows, but were unable to use the demolished common stairway.  The Montgomery County Fire & Rescue USAR team arrived and checked the building for stability before any rescuers were able to get inside for any further searches.  In the meantime, a couple of “off-lead” search dogs were able to get inside most of the units to look for any people who might be inside.  But everybody had made it out already.  About ten of the residents had minor injuries that needed treatment, but nothing serious.

The building inspector c0ndemned the apartments and a decision will be made soon on whether the building will have to be torn down.

WTTG-TV Ch. 5 filed this video report from the scene:

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Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: Building construction, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos

A Very Costly Car Fire

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WHEN THE OWNER OF A PORSCHE CAYENNE luxury auto conspired with an arsonist to torch his car for the insurance money, he did not expect a regional arson task force to descend on his little claim.  Unfortunately for the still-unnamed dupe, his car fire triggered one southern France’s largest wildfires of the year.

Firegeezer posted a video REPORT HERE on July 25 about the 2,200-acre fire that brought 450 firefighters in the town of Chateauneuf-les-Martigues west of Marseille.  It was quickly determined that the fire began at the burned-out auto and since it had been reported stolen the evening before, a criminal investigation was launched.

On Wednesday morning,  August 11, six people were taken into custody including the car’s owner and his wife.  The owner of the vehicle has confessed during his custody that he had organized the theft of his Porsche Cayenne that was worth several tens of thousands of euros, helped by an intermediary, an alleged arson ring.

The six suspects are facing the prospect of 10-year prison terms.

Le Parisien has the STORY.

Since our first report on this fire, an excellent video has been produced showing the FD response, firefighting and other action scenes taken at the fire.  It runs about 7 minutes, but you won’t notice the  time:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe785k

Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: arson, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Looking Back

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………. Fire Engineering, February 1956

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Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: Looking Back • Tagged: ,

Another Volunteer Arsonist

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A NAVAJO NATION VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER has been arrested and charged with setting fire to one of the Navajo Nation Fire & Rescue Service firehouses.  The fire was set last Thursday night, August 5, in the Tuba City fire station while the on-duty crew was out on a fire call.

The Arizona Republic reports:

According to information from the U.S. Attorney, Jamie Billy, no age listed, of Tuba City, is charged with one count of willfully and maliciously setting fire to the station.  The case began when a passerby noticed the station on fire in the early morning hours Thursday, according to a statement of probable cause submitted by an agent with the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“The firefighters on duty were not in the station because they were responding to a call,” stated the agent.  The fire happened in the truck bay of the station and caused damage to one of the trucks and to the station.

The next day, after following a set of footprints from the station to a nearby house, investigators interviewed a person at the house, who agreed to speak about his involvement with the fire, stated the agent.  The suspect stated that when he arrived at the station, the door was locked. He had worked there previously as a volunteer before he was “dismissed” and knew of a broken bay door.  He further stated that he got inside the station.

“(The suspect) said that he then went to one of the trucks and got some rubber gloves and then found what he described as ‘oil’ and poured it on the floor in between the fire trucks in the bay,” stated the agent in the probable cause statement. “(The suspect) then went and propped open the bay door. He also poured some on the drag-dummy and in the rear corner.”  He then proceeded to use three matches to get the oil to catch fire, according to the agent. Once the fire was going, he left the station and walked to his friend’s house nearby.

Tuba City Engine 40 may have been totalled in the fire.

The firetruck that was damaged in the fire might be a total loss.  Bids are being accepted now to rebuild the damaged fire station while the NNFD operates out of temporary quarters in Tuba City.  Several volunteer fire departments in northern Arizona have loaned the department tools and equipment to maintain service.

Billy is schedule to appear before the U. S. Magistrate Court at 9 am local time this morning for a bail hearing.

The Navajo Nation Indian Reservation occupies a sparsely-occupied area that is larger than New England and is served by six fire stations.  The Fire & Rescue Service has an informative WEBSITE HERE.

Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Ambulance Locked Up – Residents Angry

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THE RESIDENTS OF A REMOTE RURAL TOWN in New South Wales, Australia, are upset and angry with the NSW Ambulance Service after they locked the local ambulance up and took the key with them.  The country town of Goodooga in the far northwest corner of the state has seen its government-run health service slashed in the past year to where it is now nearly  non-existant.

The nearby functioning hospital that served the region was shut down not long ago and replaced with a walk-in clinic that has now been closed also.  The only health care close by is an on-call nurse.  Complicating the situation, the state-operated ambulance service pulled all their employees out and left the ambulance locked up in the now-abandoned medical compound.  The Herald-Sun continues:

Goodooga Health council chairman Lorina Moss, who with Karen Lane is fighting for the service, said the NSW Ambulance Service had told the town of 350 they could use the ambulance in life and death situations – but that had not proved to be the case.  “It’s no place to get sick,” Ms Moss said, adding that in the past a maintenance worker or nurse had driven the ambulance.

But under new regulations the only people allowed to drive were trained volunteers.  Ms Moss said that after NSW Ambulance told the town in May to provide volunteers, seven residents put their hand up. But three months on, she said the service had refused to send someone to train them.

The minimum wait for an ambulance for a priority 1 call is 75 minutes with 2 hours the more likely delay.

Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – August 12

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Just in case you were wondering, a fellow named Nigel Richards won the National Scrabble Championships yesterday.  The 5-day tournament was held in the Dallas suburb of Addison, Texas, and had 400 competitors that had been winnowed down from 80,000 entrants around the country and elsewhere, too.  Richards is a New Zealander who lives in Malaysia, so I don’t understand how he gets to compete in the U. S. national contest.  Shouldn’t he have to work his way up the international ladder by winning the New Zealand or Australian crown?  Anyway, I am obviously not acquainted with the competition structure because this is the 2nd time in three years that Richards has won the U. S. title.

Nigel Richards

The contestants each played 31 games over the five days and Nigel finished with the best tally at the end with a 25 – 6 record and a “spread” of +2213.  Now don’t ask me what the spread is, but without looking it up I would guess that it’s the accumulation of points that he won/lost by in the 31 games.

His first-place finish earned him $10,000 which will probably be enough to pay for an extended stay at the Hotel InterContinental Dallas where the tourney was held, so that he can compete in the World Players Championship that begins on Friday in the same location.  He has  also won that one in the past, too.  That guy has some really dangerous vowel movements.

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This is the time of day where we lead into the morning equipment check, what should be a rather routine task.  But at a Fairfax County, Virginia, fire station yesterday it became a memorable experience.  While going through an operational check of the aerial ladder, the operator of  Truck 441 decided to extend the stick while set up next to some high-voltage transmission lines.  Those ladders are heavy-duty, but still no match for 230,000 volts.  Take a look at this video report from WTTG-TV Ch. 5 Washington.  Some astounding images showing the results:

There are three very fortunate firefighters who have now made the “close call” register for this month.  But for the life of me, I can’t understand why using that location was ever considered in the first place.  It’s not like the wires were put up there over the weekend.

At least, it should make all of us aware that in this business, NOTHING is routine.  Keep your brain in gear at all times, even in the station doing “routine” things.  Now let’s get started with our equipment check.  I am going to carefully start another pot of coffee.  See you back in the day room.

Posted by on August 12, 2010 • Filed under: morning lineup

CNG bus explosion

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From yesterday’s Korean Herald:

17 people injured in explosion of gas-powered public bus

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Seventeen people were injured, one of them seriously, when a natural gas-powered public transit bus exploded on a Seoul street, police and witnesses said Monday, Yonhap News reported.

The explosion took place at around 4:57 p.m. when the bus was waiting for the light to change on a motorway in Haengdang-dong of Seoul, police said.

The catastrophic failure resulted in 17 injuries to riders and pedestrians, one of which was serious and resulted in a 28-year-old woman requiring immediate surgery to both ankles. Seoul’s bus fleet is comprises of approximately 95% CNG buses and as a result the government’s launched an immediate investigation into the safety of the fuel tanks.

If the failure mode is determined to be a defect in the tank, all buses manufactured in the same year will be recalled and possibly others if their tanks are considered suspect. One thing’s for sure though, we’re betting Seoul’s bus ridership drops just a little bit until they get things figured out.

Shamelessly borrowed from Ben at Jalopnick. Who got a tip from duurtlang.

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on August 11, 2010 • Filed under: HazMat, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Special Operations, Urban Commander, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,

The Battered Spouse Syndrome

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On August 10 the Riverside County Board of Supervisors scheduled a vote to eliminate community based volunteer fire departments and establish a county-run “reserve volunteer” program similar to how the sheriff’s department utilizes citizen volunteers.

Dave Downey, reporting in an August 09 North County Times article, provides an extensive description of the issue. From his article:

Riverside County wants to place the 525 volunteer firefighters who serve their communities through 50 volunteer fire companies scattered throughout the county into a new “reserve volunteer” program under the control of its Fire Department.

Under a reorganization plan going to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, no new volunteer fire company could be formed without board approval, after members determined whether there was a need for the service it would provide.

And within the first six months of adopting the plan, the board would review existing volunteer companies to determine whether they should continue serving their respective communities or disband.

The proposal also calls for volunteers to comply with the county’s training standards, background checks, physical fitness tests and record-keeping rules, as well as put in a minimum of 48 hours a month.     read the entire article HERE.

BACKGROUND

Riverside County is a massive (7,208 square mile) county with 2.1 million residents. Mostly desert, many Los Angeles and San Diego workers live in the rapidly growing county.

Since 1921 the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFIRE) has provided contract fire suppression services, initially covering the most rural of areas.

Today there are over 1000 CalFIRE employees deployed in Riverside County under a “Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement” with Riverside County, staffing fire suppression equipment from 9 CalFIRE stations, 80 Riverside County stations and 18 contract cities.

The 94 fire stations that make up the county fire department are divided into eight geographic districts.  They handle 325 to 350 incidents every day, 82% EMS runs.

COST OF SERVICES/UTILIZATION OF VOLUNTEERS

A continuing increase in the administrative charges from CalFIRE lead the Board of Supervisors to explore establishing their own county fire department.

California uses a grand jury method to analyze municipal operations. A 2008-2009 study looked at the cost of the CalFIRE contract and utilization of volunteers.

The report was issued last summer. You can read the 13 page report HERE.

The county fire department developed a 20 year strategic plan, issued last November.  You can read the 79 page plan HERE.

VOLUNTEER OPPOSITION TO CONSOLIDATION

The Riverside County Volunteer Firefighters Association set up a website to oppose the proposal. From their first news release:

Riverside, California (August 5, 2010) — Riverside County Volunteer Firefighters has established a new straight talk website at SAVEOURVOLUNTEERFIREFIGHTERS .ORG in support of their struggle to protect the citizens of this great County, maintain the existing volunteer firefighter program and quell the special interests that want to eliminate them.

The polished interactive campaign website; explains many reasons to keep volunteer firefighters, what will happen if they’re eliminated, asks their supporters to pick from a list of public officials and contact them, sign an online petition of support, keep updated on the latest news and follow their blog.

“We’ve added links to our MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages too, and encourage our supporters to stay connected with us there”, says Angel Sanchez, Chairman of the Riverside County Volunteer Firefighters Association. He added, “we know the value of social networking in today’s society and want to make sure we’re maximizing our message delivery”. (…)

But the biggest loser will be the public if Riverside County eliminates the Volunteer Firefighter program. We hope the public will rally around us and fight to stop this injustice from happening.”

YOU ALL MUST BE UNION FIREFIGHTERS!

RVC_FF, the Riverside Volunteer Firefighter Association representative that posted a thread on Firehouse.com, was disappointed at the responses received.

In response to posts questioning the accuracy of their assertions and wondering if the website is a one-person campaign, the RVFA representative responded:

Thought we’d get more support from a volunteer forum who understands the plight of VFFs.
You guys must have it pretty good! Or are you paid union FFs cloaked as volunteers?
Either way this is our struggle and it’s real.

ahh, that was an unfortunate choice of words. Then he “outs” one of the posters as being a, gasp, IAFF member! But RVC_FF is not done:

Most paid FFs started out as volunteers and I’ve seen them turn against VFFs later based on the union culture.
I’m an officer and been on the department 5 years with 4 years prior military FF experience and 1 year as seasonal. I know FFs, the fire service and the culture.
Maybe things are good in your departments and your relationship with the paid members/union are also good. I can tell you it’s not good in ours.

I wasn’t looking to “litigate the case” here on this forum. Just wanted to let you guys know what’s going on in Riverside County.   (You can access the thread HERE)

RVC_FF‘s responses on the firehouse.com discussion board do not seem to be from a person running a “polished interactive campaign.” He is not making friends or adding supporters.

They got my attention with this inflammatory Aug 7 press release: Fire Department Declares Volunteer Firefighters Enemy Combatants in which the headline does not match the body of the press release.

The issue is legitimate. Riverside volunteers do not want to be marginalized like their Orange County colleagues. But the “he-said-she-said” narratives and the hypersensitivity sounds more like a messy domestic abuse/divorce case.

But the county did postpone their vote to September 14th.

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on August 11, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, News • Tagged: , , , , ,