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Same Problem Everywhere – French Firefighters Protest

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“Productive” Protesting in Lyon

FIREFIGHTERS IN LYON, FRANCE, HAVE PUT a new look on labor protests this week.  In order to bring the public’s attention to their complaint about worsening service, they lined up and donated blood at an EFS bloodmobile.

After giving blood, they talked to the citizens passing by and explained how the “government is taking their blood” while making working conditions worse, raising response times, and reducing staffing levels.

While handing out leaflets they explained that the “acceptable” response times have been increased from 6 minutes to 10 minutes, thereby “endangering the population,” cried an exasperated Chabbouh Remy, Steward.  “Four minutes, that’s huge when someone is in cardiac arrest or is losing all their blood.  Why not just directly send a hearse! “

TLM News ran this video report on the “protest”:

 

The leaflets also point out that in the past 20 years incidents have increased by 25%, but the number of firefighters  has steadily decreased.

“Michel Mercier, our boss, awarded 1550 euros in premiums per month to 33 executives in December,” Rémy Chabbouh said.  “And on the other hand, he refuses to give 36 euros more per month for young firefighters.”

According to the unions, social dialogue is currently broken.  The president of the council said, “We do not want to make promises before the (local) elections. It’s a funny double talk, “laments Gilbert Lebrun, general secretary of the South region.

Sources:
MetroReporter,
20Minutes.

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Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, labor, News, Videos • Tagged: ,

Looking Back

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Fire Engineering Magazine – January 1954

 

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Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: history, Looking Back, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged: ,

Around the Fire Web

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Some Hot Stories Covered on Other Fire/EMS Websites Today

*  There was a tragic ceiling collapse at a Los Angeles house fire this morning that injured six FF’s, one of them not expected to live.  STATter911 has the latest  HERE.  He’s updating, so check back again later.

*  One of our friends at the FireEMS Blogs family, The Happy Medic has a little daughter who is extremely sick in the hospital today.  Rhett Fleitz, the Fire Critic  tells how we can all help out on Rhett’s website HERE.

*  Firefighter Close Calls has the story about a serious ambulance crash in Austin, Texas HERE.

*  JEMS.com is reporting the story of a woman whose arm was severed during a DIY towing project HERE.

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Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Peyton’s (Fire) Place Back in the News

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The Chief is Still There – The Firefighters Are Still Gone

TINY PEYTON, COLORADO’s FIRE PROTECTION WOES continue after more than half of the volunteer firefighters quit amidst a storm of badge-tossing last week.  (Read and view the Firegeezer video report HERE on this incident.)  Now with only five firefighters and the recalcitrant chief left, things are getting tight in the VFD.

Now the citizens and former members are pressing for a recall election of the fire board.  KRDO-TV Ch. 13 has a video report on this latest twist to the saga:

 

The first working fire that was dispatched since the spat erupted required a mutual-aid request in order to get enough FF’s on the scene to combat the fire.  The Colorado Springs Gazette reported:

The first call for Peyton firefighters since Tuesday evening came early Friday morning, when the district was called to help a person with a laceration.  A handful of firefighters from the Ellicott Fire Department helped Peyton firefighters respond to the call, which ended when the person refused medical treatment, Rauer said.

On Saturday 14 firefighters from Falcon, Ellicott and Calhan helped fight Saturday’s blaze (of an animal barn).  “I think it’s working out very well,” Rauer said. “We can still support this district without any problem.”

The itemized list of members’ complaints that were not addressed by the fire commssioners can be read in our previous report HERE.  KRDO-TV goes into that a little farther, reporting:

Kim Thorpe is a former Peyton firefighter and used to work with Rauer. She said the complaints about unsafe practices sound familiar to her.   “He wanted to be in a hurry to get there,” said Thorpe. “But (he) generally would abandon a patient. Many times he would leave a patient in a car.”

“He was never good for staying with a patient until other help arrived,” said a former Peyton fire chief who did not want to reveal her name.  She was the Peyton fire chief when it was a volunteer position.  Rauer used to work for her when he was a Peyton volunteer firefighter several years ago.  “I was getting ready to fire him for reckless endangerment and patient abandonment,” said the former fire chief.

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Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire-ology, Videos • Tagged: ,

Sprinkler Testing Getting Out of Hand

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Prank Calls Flooding North Vancouver, B. C.

ONE OR SEVERAL PRANKSTERS ARE GENERATING THOUSANDS of dollars in damages in North Vancouver, British Columbia, restauarants and hotels.  The basic premise that the person uses is to call a restaurant or a hotel room and convince whoever answers that the caller is a fire marshal or a sprinkler maintenance man.  He then gets the dupes to knock the fusible link off a sprinkler head in their room to wash off a poisonous gas that is seeping through the building.  The Vancouver Sun reported on one noted case:

One by one, guests of the North Vancouver Hotel streamed into the hotel’s lobby shortly before midnight on Friday evening, some soaking wet from head to toe.  They were furious.

Moments earlier they had received an emergency phone call from a man claiming to be the hotel manager, warning them of a dangerous gas leak.  The only way to save their lives, he said, was to knock the pin out of their in-room sprinkler before it set off a devastating explosion.  Eight people complied, unleashing a torrent of water that ruined walls, beds, carpets and personal possessions in the Capilano Road hotel.

“Why did you tell me to pull the pin?” one woman screamed at the confused receptionist.  She hadn’t, nor did she know who had called so many rooms in succession with the phoney claims.

The following night, two more rooms fell victim to the cruel prank, perpetrated by two mystery callers -”Bobby” and “Michelle Green” -who bypassed the hotel switchboard and frightened the sleepy guests into action, hotel manager Steven Chen said.  The hotel sustained about $100,000 damage.

Similar scenarios were phoned to restaurants in the same area that convinced the guillible employees to activate their hood systems in the kitchen.  Altogether over the weekend there were more than 20 hotels and restaurants that fell prey to the stunt.  Police representatives have been going to every hotel and restaurant in the city to alert the managers to the stunt so that they can try to avoid falling prey to it.

One of the victimized businesses, the McDonald’s
restaurant was completely flooded.  (CTV image)

The calls are coming from the U. S. via the Skype internet phone service that conceals the origins of the calls.  However the Mounties are actively pursuing the path back to where the calls came from.  A conviction for the crime carries a 10-yr. prison sentence.

CTV News has more plus a video report HERE.

Hat tip:  Ian S.

Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged:

New Blogging Bu$iness Model?

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The Rich get richer and the Poor keep blogging

As hinted in Monday’s posting, Firegeezer and STATter911 are hoping to get the same type of AOL buyout that the Huffington Post received. Using “eyeballs” as a metric, we could live the life of ease.

Getting nervous that it may not happen. Not because I dumped the AOL headquarters building in the middle of the night 15 years ago (HERE).

“No News” Aggregation Syndrome

Pulitzer Prize winning political animator Mark Fiore struck a little too close to home with his February 9th post on “Aggregation” (HERE). You get 375 items generated from one partial tidbit of news.

Working for Free

Lauren Kirchner wrote “AOL Settled with Unpaid ‘Volunteers’ for $15 Million: Why the HuffPost bloggers won’t be so lucky, and why that matters” for the Columbia Journalism Review on February 10th.

Kirchner analyzed the effort of 2,000 AOL Community Leaders in a 1999 Hallissey, et al v. America Online, Inc class action lawsuit and compared their situation with the 15,000 unpaid Huffington Post bloggers:

Another professor who teaches employment law, Michael Selmi of George Washington University Law School, responded by e-mail to a question about whether The Huffington Post would under any circumstances be required to pay its writers: “That will depend on the duties of each writer, whether they are assigned jobs by Huffington as opposed to freelancers who submit stories, and whether there is a continuing relationship.”

The thousands of unpaid bloggers in question, of course, have signed no agreement with the site, and are under no obligation to submit their stories with any regularity. They do not receive assignments. If they have an idea for a post but then decide not to write it, they are not penalized by the site’s editors in any way. This lack of regimentation in that editor/writer relationship would weaken the bloggers’ (hypothetical) case against The Huffington Post.

That lack of regimentation, in fact, is exactly what many bloggers love about The Huffington Post: it’s a forum for them to express themselves freely, where they can potentially be read by millions, and use that platform to attract attention to their personal blogs or book projects or whatever else they’re working on.

Founding editor Roy Sekoff, interviewed by Bloomberg Businessweek for an article about the fact that The Huffington Post’s model is unlikely to change anytime soon, calls it “a symbiotic relationship.” Contributors are willing to write for free in the short term because of the community they feel they are a part of, and the many other long-term benefits they feel they can get for their efforts.

You Could be a Paid Hack

Chris Morran, writing for The Consumerist, posted this article yesterday:

Looking around the internet, there is often a thin line between editorial content and advertising. It’s not surprising to go to an entertainment blog on a Friday to not only see that the page has been skinned with an ad for a new movie but also a gallery of that movie’s star or a fluff interview with someone in the film. But some mommy bloggers say they’re not willing to cross that line by accepting a $10 gift card in exchange for writing a positive story about Toyota.

Mommy Bloggers Offered $10 To Write Nice Stories About Toyota

Toyota denies any knowledge of the Mommy Networks effort. You can read the original article at Dear Chrissy (HERE)

This blog item demonstrates Mark Fiore’s example of news aggregation, by commenting on a news aggregation article.

We need to work on a different bu$iness model

If you have an idea, tell me about it at the Thursday night MeetUp at EMS Today in Baltimore.

GWU co-sponsored the 2010 meet-up and it was great meeting so many readers. Same place as last year, the Uno Chicago Grill in Harborplace on the Platt Street side.

I will be there this year as a guest and want to meet you. This is the time for your to step away from the keyboard and say hello.

Think there may be a different response if this happens again:
Blonde, Barefoot and Knocking on my hotel door

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, News, Technology & Communications • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Lineup – February 17

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Thursday Morning Lineup

A bit of news from the Federal budget considerations that are going on in Congress right now.  The House of Representatives is working on a bill known as a “continuing resolution” that will continue fiscal activity for this current year that has never really been approved.  Last year Congress failed to pass a budget for the fiscal year that started on October 1, so they shirked their responsibilities and passed a series of these resolutions that continue the previous year’s budget until a new one can be passed.

The new Congress was seated last month and work began on still another continuance and this one had completely eliminated the SAFER grants and chopped the FIRE Act grants by 20%.  An amendment to the bill being considered was offered that calls for restoration of both programs in the current budget and it was scheduled for a vote yesterday.  The IAFF mounted an all-out lobbying effort supplemented by thousands of members phoning their congressmen’s offices to encourage a yes vote.  The vote to accept the ammendment passed handily in a broad, bi-partison approval, 318 – 113.  The final vote on the entire bill will come up next week and is expected to be approved and then sent on to the Senate for consideration.  There will still need to be some lobbying efforts by both the Union and the fire departments to make sure that the Senate retains this clause, but yesterday’s vote was the big one.  The fact that it was so overwhelmingly supported by both political parties will carry a lot of weight in the Senate’s considerations.

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It was a week ago today that we posted a story about a large fire in Verona, Italy, the burned out a large grocery distribution warehouse.  Since then, the National Vigili del Fuoco has posted an excellent 8-minute video of the fire and we added it to our posting last night.  I mention it now because I know a lot of our readers enjoy seeing the equipment and apparatus that the FD’s in other countries use, and this video gives many good views of the Italian fire apparatus.  So CLICK HERE and then scroll down to the updated video posted at the end of the article.

Italy’s national fire service does an excellent job with their video and photographic documentation of their major incidents and training operations.  We have posted articles on them several times here and I’m impressed with their productions.

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Did you know that yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the U. S.’s first 9-1-1 call?  I didn’t either, but the Gnome Handler, Steve Marshall did and he posted a nice, informative article about it last evening.  If you missed it, then CLICK HERE to read about it.  He’s got some neat photos with it, too.  One of the biggest surprises is where the first 9-1-1 dispatch center was located.

We all know where our apparatus is located, though.  So let’s get started on our morning equipment check.  I’m going to get some more coffee started.

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Posted by on February 17, 2011 • Filed under: dispatch, morning lineup, News • Tagged: , ,

A 12:30 phone call

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Real life Retail sucks

Borders plans to close about 200 of its 642 stores it "cannot afford to keep." It had already closed hundreds of locations in the past few years. In 2005, it operated 1,329 stores. Rival Barnes & Noble Inc. today operates 717 bookstores in 50 states.

Joseph Checkler andJeffrey A. Trachtenberg (February 17, 2011) "Bookseller Borders Begins a New Chapter…11." The Wall Street Journal

Shortly after Borders announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today it contacted every store for a teleconference. Some were told to call in at 12:30, others at 1:30.

The 12:30 group learned that their stores were closing. Seven stores in the Washington metro area: Winchester, Tyson's Corners, White Flint, Bowie, Capital Centre (Largo), Wisconsin Ave and K Street. (preliminary .pdf list HERE)

Losing familiar haunts

I spend a lot of time in Borders. Great places to write when on the road.

While working on the second edition of Fire Officer I would send the editor a picture of the bookstore I was posting from.

2323 S Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas.

Border's nearest the Orleans, where IAFC holds Fire-Rescue Med every spring. Not surprised that this store closed. It was worn-down and tattered.

When I visited last year the coffee shop was gone. Have spent the last couple of Vegas trips hanging out at the newer store in Red Rocks.

As well as a FedExOffice/Starbucks near the Hughes Center.

Why yes, that was my rental car in front of the Borders at Red Rocks.

11 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis

On the first and second floor of the 99 year old Merchants National Bank Building in downtown Indianapolis.

The bookstore replaced the bank but kept many architectural features.

The coffee counter used teller windows.

Dramatic staircase created many small nooks that were perfect to grind out a chapter … as long as no one disturbed the flimsy electrical cord scheme.

Technology and Business grind on …

When FDIC first went to Indianapolis, my  late night/early morning writing spot was at a 24 hour Kinkos store on Monument Circle.

As Kinko's morphed into Fed Ex Office stores, the number of workspaces shrunk.

I moved two blocks to use Borders as my workspace. Guess I need to find a new space this year.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: culture, Funding & Staffing, News, Technology & Communications, Training & Development, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , ,

February 16 – A Day in Dispatching History

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America’s First 9-1-1 Call Commemorated

WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT 43 YEARS AGO, an Alabama town would be on the cutting edge of American emergency services?

On February 16th, 1968, tiny Haleyville Alabama, population 4,100 people, would throw the switch and enter a new era of emergency communications that would spread across the world….they were activating the very first 911 system in the U. S.

The Town Added the Small Sign to Remind
Everybody of the New Emergency Number

Haleyville was selected by Alabama Telephone Company engineers for a number of reasons, mostly dealing with the hardware available.  The 999 and other centralized emergency numbers had been tried in Canada and the UK but for various reasons, including eliminating possible dialing errors when dialing 999 with a rotary phone, the engineers went with 911.

In this photograph from the Feb. 9, 1968 issue of the “Daily Northwest Alabamian,” B.W. Gallagher (left),
president of the Alabama Telephone Co., displays the bright red telephone that was installed at the
Haleyville (Ala.) police station to receive the first 911 call. In the middle is Haleyville mayor James Whitt.

ATCs President, Bob Gallagher, had read an article in the New York Times about AT&Ts plan to try 911….and he was a very competitive man.  He rushed the arrangements through and got the first system up and running just 35 days after reading AT&Ts announcement.  That first call was made by Alabama State Speaker of the House, Rankin Fite, at the Haleyville City Hall, on the other end was US Rep. Tom Bevill at Haleyville’s Police Station.

State Rep. Rankin Fite placing the first-ever 911 call from the mayor’s office.

U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill answers the first 911 call at the
Haleyville police station with a ”Hello.”

The red dial phone that was used for the very first test call is now housed in a museum in Haleyville, with its identical mate still in use in the courthouse.

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Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: dispatch, history, Technology & Communications • Tagged: ,

Worse Than Heavy Fog

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Falling Tree Halts Aussie Ambulance

A ST. JOHN’S AMBULANCE IN AUSTRALIA’S NORTHERN TERRITORY was brought to a sudden stop when a tree fell on it during a storm Tuesday night around 9:30 pm.

NT News

The ambulance was transporting a patient to the hospital when the tree came down and smashed through the windshield, injuring the driver.  He was transported, treated and released.  The patient was uninjured.

The NT News has the STORY.

Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: ,

Haz-Mat Spill in Germany – 150 Victims De-Con’d

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Forklift Punctured Drum of Poisonous Liquid

AN ACCIDENT IN A HOMBERG, GERMANY, SHIPPING TERMINAL early Wednesday morning caused a spill of a poisonous liquid that caused more than 200 people to be checked for exposure.  A total of 38 people had to be transported to hospitals for treatment.

At 1:30 am Wednesday a forklift truck working in the CTL Shipping Co. terminal punctured a drum of liquid phenylmercaptan that leaked out onto the floor.  Several people immediately became ill from the smell and fumes, and the worksite was immediately closed off.  Shortly after, the police closed all access roads into the industrial area, but they were re-opened on a limited basis shortly before noon.

All of the exposed workers had their clothing confiscated.

Next came the decontamination process.

More than 200 emergency workers including firefighters, emergency doctors and ambulance medic responded to the scene to control the spill and treat or decontaminate the approximately 150 victims that had been exposed.

Dozens of ambulances and emergency
doctors staged to begin treatment of
the 150+ victims.

Triage identified 38 victims that needed to be taken
to hospitals for further treatment.

According to the chemical firm Merck that makes the product, phenylmercaptan is a pale, smelly liquid that is very poisonous and can be acquired by inhalation, contact or ingestion.

HNA Online has the story and several videos HERE.
HNA also has a 93-image photo gallery HERE.

All photos via HNA Online

Hat tip:  Christian L.

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Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Haz-mat, HazMat, Mass Casualty Incident • Tagged: , , ,

Sheriff Deputy / Vol. FF Arrested For Arsons

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Was Assistant Fire Chief At The Time

A MORRIS COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, SHERIFF’S DEPUTY who was also a volunteer firefighter in Parsippany was arrested late Tuesday afternoon and charged with setting two fires in the Parsippany Township.

Jason Campbell

Jason Campbell, 32, was charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated arson, one count of third-degree burglary, four counts of official misconduct in the second degree, one count of second-degree attempted aggravated arson and two counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated arson.  He was arrested without incident yesterday and is being held in another county’s jail under $50,000 bond with no 10% option.

The Daily Record reports:

Campbell was working for the Morris County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the alleged incidents and was responsible for the supervision of the Explorer Program as well as other responsibilities, according to a release from the county prosecutor’s office.

An undercover investigation revealed that Campbell deliberately set fires at 12 Ute Ave. in Parsippany on June 6, 2010, and at 116 Old Bloomfield Ave. in Parsippany on Sept. 14, 2008, according to the release, which said Campbell was the acting chief of the District 5 Fire Company on the dates of both fires.

In addition, Campbell had enticed one of the Explorers to assist in setting one of the fires.

MySpace photo via Parsippany Patch

Read the full story in The Daily Record HERE.
The Parsippany Patch has MORE.

Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , , ,

Firefighter Demoted For Starting a Rumor

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Inexplicable Rumor-Mongering Costs City Thousands of Dollars

AN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, FIREFIGHTER HAS BEEN DEMOTED from Engineer back to Firefighter and prohibited from taking any more promotional examinations after she had maliciously started a rumor that a recent Lieutenant’s examination was compromised.

Orlando Fire Station 1

In January when the examination was given, FF-Engineer Renee Bishop told several of her colleagues that she had received a text message the night before the exam that had details of the test on it, but she had ignored the message.  Her comment led to a vigorous internal investigation into the integrity of the test.

WESH-TV reports today:

Officials said one of Bishop’s colleagues was so concerned about the issue, she filed a complaint alleging cheating on the lieutenant’s exam.   “I absolutely believed what she told me was in good faith and an honest statement,” said firefighter Maranda Elsis. Elsis told WESH 2 News the day after she, Bishop and 28 other engineers took the lieutenant’s promotional exam, Bishop came into the fire station and told Elsis that the test had been compromised because there was a leak.  Bishop said she received a text message the night before the exam revealing what the scenario would be on the tactical portion of the test, leading Elsis to report the alleged cheating to the administration.

 ”I felt it was the right thing to do,” said Elsis.

The bogus scandal caused a freeze on the promotional listing and caused intensive interviews with more than 20 city and fire department employees.  Eventually it was discovered that there never was any such text message sent and that Bishop had made the story up.

Read the full details on the story from Channel 2 HERE.

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Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , ,

EMS Today Reminder

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ARE YOU BALTIMORE-BOUND NEXT MONTH TO VISIT THE EMS TODAY EXPO?

Don’t forget the JEMS and FireEMS Blogs Meetup on Thursday night, March 3! 

It takes place at the Uno Chicago Grill at the Harborplace Pratt St. pavillion and runs from 8 pm until 11 pm.  Lots of free food, beverages, and door prizes including an iPad.  And it’s all free.

Meet some of your favorite FireEMS Blogs stars who will be there, too.  CLICK HERE for more details including maps showing how to get there.  The Uno Chicago Grill is just a brief 2-block walk from the Expo and the Convention Center.

Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: current events, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – February 16

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Wednesday Morning Lineup

AUTO RACE FANS KNOW WHO TOM CARNEGIE is, whether by name or by, most likely, the sound of his voice.  Tim’s was the voice you always heard over the public address system at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Beginning in 1946 he announced all the races and time trials including the more recent years when the track began hosting NASCAR and other premier racing events.  Altogether he called 61 Indianapolis 500s, 12 Brickyard 400s and six U.S. Grands Prix.

He was a full-time sportscaster for television station WRTV in Indianapolis, but when he retired from broadcasting in 1985 he continued on in his role of Indy 500 announcing until 2006.  Tom Carnegie passed away on Friday, February 11 at his home.  He was 91 years old.

Autoweek magazine online tells:

It was while Carnegie emceed at a vintage-car concourse just days before the 1946 Indy 500 that new track president Wilbur Shaw heard his voice and invited him to assist with the public-address duties on race day. Carnegie accepted and kept coming back for the next six decades.

Carnegie’s style helped build the gigantic crowds that IMS drew to the track for qualifications three and four decades ago. He developed his style through the mid-1950s and pretty much had it perfected by the early 1960s, bellowing his catchphrases in an incredible baritone: “And heeeeee’s on it!”; “Heeeeeere’s the time and speed report!” and the classic, “Aaaaaand it’s a new track record!”

Carnegie enjoyed tantalizing the crowd by telegraphing a track record or a spectacular speed with setup lines like, “You won’t believe it!” or, in the case of a run in which the speeds were increasing with each lap, “Aaaaaand, it’s still going up!”

Autoweek has an excellent obituary of Mr. Carnegie HERE.  Take a couple of minutes today to read it.  Autoweek also prepared this video tribute:

 

First, though, we have to take a few minutes to get this equipment checked out.  I’m going to get some more coffee started now.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: cars, culture, News, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Engine Driver Seriously Injured in Pumper Crash

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Auto Crossed Center Line Into Engine’s Path 

A KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ENGINE OPERATOR IS IN SERIOUS but stable condition this morning after having part of one leg amputated following a crash cause by an automobile that hit the engine head-on.  The accident occurred at 2 pm Central Tuesday afternoon just a short distance from Fire Station 42.  The 5-man engine company was responding to a medical call when the car came over the line and collided with the firetruck. 

Kansas City Star

The Kansas City Star is reporting:

Jeff Smith, a 21-year veteran of the Fire Department, was reported in serious but stable condition Tuesday night, the department said in a statement. A fire apparatus operator, he was behind the wheel when the crash occurred.

FF Jeff Smith

Police said the other driver may have been trying to go around traffic that had stopped to yield to the oncoming pumper truck.

The truck had just left its station about 1:50 p.m. and was heading east on Red Bridge Road to an emergency call, police said. When the truck approached a curve near Barrymore Drive, Smith saw a Pontiac Grand Prix heading at him.  Smith cranked the steering wheel hard to the right but still hit the car. The truck then wiped out a utility pole and smashed into a tree on the driver’s side.

None of the other firefighters were injured beyond some minor bruises and cuts.  The car was being driven by a 21-yr.-old woman who had a 3-yr.-old chid with her, reportedly her daughter.  The infant was uninjured but the driver was transported with minor injuries.

KCMO-TV filed this video report Tuesday night:

  

The police say the driver of the car was at fault and will be charged.  They are waiting for the results of her blood test and to learn of the extent of FF Smith’s injuries before they decide what charges to bring.

Read the late report from the Kansas City Star HERE.
STATter911 has more photos and video HERE.

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Posted by on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: apparatus, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, health & safety, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Big Basement Brings Extra Alarms

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Super-Sized House Enlarges Problems

A HOUSE FIRE IN LINCOLNWOOD, ILLINOIS, Monday afternoon threw up an unusual challenge for the LFD that caused an upgraded response and then a second alarm.  The call came in for smoke in the basement, but the FF’s found fire in there and spreading into the first floor of the unusually-large 2-story brick home. 

Lincolwood Fire Chief Michael Hanson told the press, “Smoke was coming from the basement when we arrived at the scene and we tried to get in, but the fire already was pretty extensive there at the time. We got halfway down the stairs and the floor felt spongy, so I had to get the crews out, because it was too dangerous to be in there.” 

Larry Shapiro photo

What made life difficult was the combination of a 9-foot-high ceiling in he basement and many partitions dividing the huge basement into several rooms.  Chicago Area Fire tells:

After companies went defensive, they initially accessed the basement with hand lines through the window wells. Later they breached the brick exterior in several places for better access to the basement with the ability to direct the lines with accuracy although the number of partitioned spaces made access that much more difficult.

Larry Shapiro photo

As the first floor gave way in several locations, this allowed additional access to the basement. As the basement filled with water, the fire continued to burn among the floor joists. This made hitting the varioius fires extremely difficult.

Shapiro Photography filed this video report:

 

While the fire was knocked down by 7 pm, several companies were still on the scene at 10 pm.  Besides the heavy fire damage in the basement and on the first floor, thick smoke filled the entire house causing complete damage to the interior furnishings.  The total damage is estimated to be a half-million dollars.

ChicagoAreaFire photographers documented the fire.  Larry Shapiro has a  100-image photo gallery HERE, and Tim Olk has a  359-image gallery HERE.

The Lincolnwood Review has the STORY.
Chicago Area Fire has MORE.

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Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged:

What A Smooch !!

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Love Is In the Air

WHAT WOULD VALENTINE’S DAY BE WITHOUT SOME Guinness-breaking romance in it?

This St. Valentine’s Day an enterprising promoter in Thailand decided to give some Thai loving couples the opportunity to break the world’s record for the longest contiuously-held kiss.

Fourteen couples registered for the tournament with the realization that they would have to maintain a lip-lock for at least 33 hours with not breaks from the embrace.  They were each given a 1-square meter space that they could not leave except for toilet breaks.  But even those required a non-separation and a monitor accompanied them into the bathroom to make sure the proper contacts were maintained.  Nourishment could only be taken through a straw and definitly no sitting or sleeping permitted.

AFP

The contestants started their super-smooch on Sunday morning at 6 am with two things in mind:  One, maintain their kiss for more than 33 hours, 7 minutes and 14 seconds, the current record set in Germany in 2009, and Two, to be the last couple standing to win the prizes, a diamond ring and a generous cash payment.

When Monday afternoon arrived and the old record’s time was reached, there were still 7 couples engaged in the ritual.  Finally, just before dawn Tuesday morning a married couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat outlasted the only other twosome remaining and were stopped at 46 hours, 24 minutes and 9 seconds after they began.

The Tiranarat’s Celebrate Their Victory  (Reuters)

The contest was held on the concourse of a shopping mall in the resort city of  Pattaya and was viewed by amused shoppers as the time ticked on.  The Associated Press has filed this video report on the event:

 

The Guinness Book of World Records has to verify the results and audit the competition before the new record is officially established.

Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: current events, fun, News • Tagged: ,

Fatal House Ka-Boom in Germany

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One Dead, Two Seriously Injured

A POWERFUL EXPLOSION TUESDAY MORNING IN MECKENHEIM, Germany, blew apart a rowhouse where a family of three were inside.  The blast, initially attributed to a natural gas leak,  blew out the front wall and destroyed the interior of the home shortly after 9 am.

dpa

A 57-yr.-old woman was blown out of the house into the back yard where she was found unresponsive and later going into cardiac arrest. She was flown by helicopter to a burn unit in Cologne.  Her 18-yr.-old son was hurled by the explosion out onto the front street where he was found seriously injured.  He was transported by ambulance.

dpa

The 57-yr.-old father was missing, but it was initially unsafe for firefighters to make entry into the ruins to search for him.  At noon they were able to go inside and they found his remains in the basement.  Following that, cadaver dogs were brought in to make a thorough search for any unexpected victims.

The immediate area was evacuated for several hours until it was determined that it was safe to return home.

Welt has a good video report HERE.

The General-Anzeiger has this STORY.

Hat tip:  Christian L.

Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics

Will His Insurance Cover This?

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It All Depends On Whether He Had a “Crime Clause”

A SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA, MAN has some explaining to do after his pot farming apparatus started a fire that burned out his apartment Monday morning.  KTVU-TV San Francisco reports:

The fire was reported at a four-unit building at 241 Farmers Lane around 7 a.m., Santa Rosa Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Basque said.  Firefighters arrived in five minutes and found thick smoke coming from the structure’s attic and roof and fire burning in an apartment in the middle of the building. The fire was controlled within 20 minutes but destroyed the apartment where it started. The three adjacent apartments sustained moderate smoke and water damage, Basque said. The fire was reported at a four-unit building at 241 Farmers Lane around 7 a.m., Basque said.

The point of origin was found in a marijuana “grow farm” that included lighting and ventilation operations.  The FD determined that an overloaded electrical circuit or connection was the cause.

Two friends of the unidentified “farmer” who refused to
give their names cover the farming implements with a
tarp following the fire.  (Press Democrat photo)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has the DETAILS HERE.

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Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: ,

Fertilizer Plant Destroyed in Overnight Fire

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Total Destruction Leaves 60 Out of Work

A FERTILIZER PLANT IN HARTSVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, has been destroyed following a fire that burned all night into Tuesday morning.  The fire in the  Agrium Rainbow plant has been knocked down, but the fire officials say that they will probably remain on the scene for at least two more days working the hot spots and hidden fire pockets.

(unattributed photo)

The fire was believed to have started in the break room around 7 pm and spread rapidly, initiating several explosions as the flames advanced through the chemical compounds used.  The fertilizer was tailored for use on tobacco plants and some other agricultural products as well.  

The chemicals used at the plant were a nitrogen based fertilizer, sulfur, and a phosphate based fertilizer.

The surrounding area was evacuated during the night, but everyone has been allowed to return home this morning. There have been no air quality hazards detected during or after the incident.

Fire units from three counties, including the home Darlington County, attended the fire.

SC Now has video, more photos, and the full STORY HERE.

Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Promotional Opportunities

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Tucson Fire Chief’s Sudden Resignation Surprises Department

TUCSON, ARIZONA, FIRE CHIEF PATRICK KELLY submitted his resignation to the City Manager Monday morning in a suprise announcement after just over two years on the job.  His resignation is effective on March 26.

Chief Kelly

Kelly was hired in November 2008 and was thrust into a situation where the city demanded extreme budget cuts from the FD, as well as all city agencies.  While his decision appears on the surface to be a suprise to the city leaders, KMSB-TV is reporting that Kelly was ordered by City Manager Mike Letcher this past Friday to either resign by Monday morning or be terminated on Tuesday.

The Arizona Daily Star is reporting today:

It comes on the heels of a spat with the police unions over a memo in which he strongly criticized Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor for not moving into the city in compliance with the city’s residency requirement for department heads. The requirement was changed in late January to allow Villaseñor to remain in his current Oro Valley home.”For a department head to accept such an important position and not work diligently to meet these requirements is equated, in my mind, to dishonesty at the very least,” Kelly’s memo said. “To accept a department head position, when you know you do not meet the residency requirement in place at the time and not be willing to fulfill this requirement leaves one to question a person’s moral character.”

Not surprisingly, this insult from another agency head was not well received by either the police department or the city manager.  The president of the police officers’ union responded:  ”Accusations of dishonesty and lack of moral character or integrity are the most serious allegations that can ever be made about a police officer, and in this case are completely baseless,” said  James B. McShea, president of the Tucson Police Command Association.

The point of contention began when the police chief was unable to sell his house, which is just outside the city limits, because of the stagnant real estate market.  The City Council passed an ordinance last month allowing the police chief to remain at his current home.

The City Manager is making no comment other than Kelly has resigned and he, Letcher, has accepted it.  Read the full report in the Arizona Daily Star HERE.

KOLD-TV filed this video report, but avoids mentioning the controversy:

 

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Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, labor, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – February 15

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Tuesday Morning Lineup

Today we enter the 2nd-half of February and we can see spring just around the corner.  Nobody will be disappointed when that arrives this year after such a brutal winter over most of the country.  Part of this year’s freeze-frolic has been the email forwarding of a now-famous snowblower that first appeared five years ago in late 2005.  A fellow named Kai Grundt in Muskoka, Ontario, built this snowblowing behemoth and publicized it in the hope that he could sell conversion kits to hobbyists.

Photos by John Carnett

The fabricated frame houses a 412-hp Chevy V-8 that powers both the huge auger and the wheels.  While the motor can reach an rpm of 6,000 it only takes 3,500 rpm to throw the snow 50 feet.  One of the novelties of the 912-lb. machine is operator comfort.  Since its use is always during the worst of wintertime, it was designed to keep the operator warm. 

You can see the radiator is mounted on the rear.  It has an electric fan that blows air through the coils onto the operator’s legs to keep you warm, plus the handlebar is hollow and the engine’s coolant is circulated through it so that your hands stay nice and toasty.  The instrument panel uses commercial boat gauges that can withstand the outdoors sub-freezing temperatures and moisture.

Of course, one of the big benefits of  following this beauty around is the throaty rumble of the V-8′s exhaust.  The pipes are designed to dispense the exhaust gasses away from the operator and they have specially-designed baffles inside to keep the noise level at about 92 decibels.  Back in December 2008, Grundt posted this brief video showing the monster in action:

 

Since then he has learned that the rubber wheels could not hold up with the combination of high weight and low temperatures.  So Grundt, who is a metal fabricator by trade, has upgraded the prototype to travel on metal tracks.

I think we all know what’s coming next:   Snowblower racing is sure to start showing up on the county fair circuit one of these days!

 

Job Security

We’d better get our waterthrowers ready for the day now and get this equipment checked out.  I’m going get some nice, hot coffee started.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on February 15, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Around the Fire Web

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Some Interesting Stories to Check on Other Fire/EMS Websites

*  Dave Statter at STATter911 has been having some fun this week with a couple of genuinely humorous video satires on firefighters.  But some people are unable to handle a jab and are whining about it.  Go to STATter911 HERE and scroll down to the topic titled Can We Laugh at Ourselves?  After reading it, click on the two video episodes and enjoy.

*  The Backstep Firefighter has some comments of his own aimed at the whingers who cry about the Hosed series HERE.

*  The Firefighter’s Worst Enemy continues the series on building construction types with this posting HERE on Type IV Construction.

*  The Rambling Chief is rightly miffed about the new Forest Service Mission Statement just issued that forbids the forestry firefighters from fighting fires, unless it’s a bunch of trees and stuff that are burning.  After reading it, I am too.  CLICK HERE to find out if you agree.

*  Firehouse Zen has a valuable essay about why saving time can be costly HERE.

Posted by on February 14, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Blogs

Mutual-Aiders Balk at Assuming Coverage For Layoffs

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Pennsylvania National Guard Base Tries to Punt

THE FORT INDIANTOWN GAP NATIONAL GUARD facility in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, is protected by a full-paid fire department.  Recently the powers-that-be decided that they could save lots of money by shutting down the fire station from midnight until 8 am and letting the surrounding mutual-aid companies assume the responsibility, both actual and financial, for the base’s fire protection.

The National Guard’s representative did extend the courtesy of notifying the area FD’s, all of them volunteer departments, of the base’s plans that will be implemented on Feburary 18, and asked them to take over the responsibility.  Not only is the base, which dates back to 1755, now the size of a small city, but the airfield is also the 2nd-busiest helicopter base in the world (outside of war zones).

Not so fast, the other FD’s are saying.  Not only are they busy enough taking care of their own territories, sometimes just barely, but the town officials are not keen to assume all the costs and liabilities that go along with the expanded mission.  Fire Chief Matt Hetrick of the Ono Fire Company wrote to the Lebanon Daily News:

As volunteers, we have enough trouble guaranteeing 100 percent protection of our own areas, and to be faced with having responsibility for basically another small town, with nothing in writing as to what the expectations or responsibilities would be … it seems poorly managed from my standpoint,” he said.

“We will continue our current mutual aid agreement, however, if the Fort Indiantown Gap Fire Department is out of service on a regular basis, we consider that mutual aid agreement to be broken and will take appropriate action to replace the Fort Indiantown Gap Fire Department with other fire departments or agencies that are willing, in the best interest of public safety, to provide 24 hour protection,” he wrote.

(never used at night)

Paul Snyder, chief of Lickdale Fire Co. in Union Township, said members of his company feel the same way.  “Our reaction is … we do not want to the primary response unit after hours and weekends,” Snyder said. “We will be mutual aid, but we do not want to be the primary, first-in after hours. That’s what we told them when we had our meetings.”

One reason Snyder said he is against the idea is because of the possibility of dealing with military equipment at the Gap.  “There’s a lot of different types of things that we don’t know what’s in buildings, buildings that we don’t have keys for and things like that,” he said.

Snyder said the Union Township supervisors have agreed with fire departments’ stance, and the township’s solicitor will soon send letter to the Gap explaining it.

Similar reactions are being expressed by the other VFD’s that are affected by this arbitrary decision made by the National Guard commander.

Read the full story in Sunday’s Lebanon Daily News HERE.

Firegeezer adds:  This is not the only fire department that has tried recently to balance their budget by shunting the costs of fire protection onto a neighbor.  They are all learning quickly that the stunt doesn’t work.

Posted by on February 14, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: , , , , ,