Police Helicopter Searching for Nursing Home Resident
A POLICE HELICOPTER ON A SEARCH MISSION crashed in a Baden-Wurttemburg forest in Germany Tuesday night. The 3-member crew, two men and one woman, were doing an aerial search for a 77-yr.-old woman who had strayed away from a nursing home. While they were scanning the wooded area using a thermal-imaging camera, the pilot lost control around 9:30 pm and crashed the aircraft leaving all three officers in critical condition.
All photos via 7actuell
The Engelsbrand Fire Brigade responded to the crash site and had to use heavy-duty rescue tools to extricate the injured officers.
The missing woman was found a short while later in the same general area where the helicopter went down.
There was no immediate indication of why the plane crashed and an investigation has begun.
The Stuttgarter-Zeitung has the story and a 19-image photo gallery HERE.
The kinetic energy from the moving airplane was transferred to the brakes in the form of tremendous heat, estimated to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,400 degrees Celsius.
As expected, the brakes glowed a bright orange as smoke poured out.
Firefighters arrived and were available to act in an emergency, but certification requirements called for the airplane to sit unassisted for five minutes.
After the airplane comes to a stop, it's estimated to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius) inside the brakes.
Shamelessly lifted from Matt Hardigree at Jalopnik.com
SPRING IS HERE AND SO ARE the better firebomb builders in Montreal. After a winter of fumbles and failures by the druggies they hired who were all locked up, the real pro's have returned. Late Tuesday night a Molotov cocktail was hurled through the front window of the Cafe Baccio and started a fire that seriously damaged the restaurant in the Rivière des Prairies section of the city.
The fire at Café Baccio on Gouin Blvd. near 38th Ave. started about 11:55 p.m. and firefighters later found that an incendiary device, possibly a Molotov cocktail, had been thrown through the front window. The fire spread to an adjacent building but the damage there was minor, Montreal police Constable André Leclerc said.
There were no reported injuries. Police did not have any suspects Wednesday morning.
The Cafe Baccio was the target of another arson in September 2009.
You can review previous Mafia Madness postings HERE.
AN OVERNIGHT FIRE raced through an entire 24-unit apartment building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.
The fire started some time shortly after 9 pm Tuesday night and moved so quickly that many residents had to jump off their balconies to escape the flames. Six people were injured from their falls, mostly broken bones, and transported to the hospital.
The truck companies rescued several more residents by ladder who were trapped in their apartments. The building did have working smoke detectors which enabled many to escape before the FD arrived.
The fire is believed to have started on the top floor of the 3-story building and is considered to be suspicious, primarily because this was the 2nd fire in two days in this same building. Police detectives and fire investigators are already inside beginning their work.
Fox News Ch. 6 filed this video report a short time ago:
Would you rather the surgeon about to perform surgery on your critically injured daughter be in her:
a. 8th hour on duty?
b. 28th hour on duty?
c. 48th hour on duty?
Would you be less anxious if the flight crew of your cross-country flight had been on duty for:
a. 4 hours?
b. 14 hours?
c. 34 hours?
Would you want the long-haul bus driver about to take your son on a field trip to have been awake for:
a. 2 hours?
b. 22 hours?
c. 42 hours?
Way back when, say at the turn of the 20th century, firefighters were simply viewed as civil servants who served the community and worked long hours doing it. In fact, the early shift schedules for firefighters were effectively “continuous duty” with time off to run home for a quick meal. There was an occasional (and rare) day off. Organized labor and the effects of wars and social reform changed all that. Over decades firefighters won the right to more civilized working hours though the current standard of 56 hours a week in many areas is still too high.
An attraction for many firefighters is the opportunity to get our hands dirty in some very exciting ways. Forty years ago few would have described what we do as a “profession” nor would we have referred to ourselves as “professionals.” It was enough to say that we were firefighters. The status of firefighting among the hierarchy of work began to creep up probably with the addition of EMS and it continued to rise with other duties including haz-mat and technical rescue. The inclusion of paramedic services and the integration of those services into fire operations undoubtedly added a luster to the work that invited a comparison to more traditional medical professionals. We were seen as an extension of the emergency room and profited by it.
As the Dalmatian, red suspenders and bell receded into memory the public began to view us as a more sophisticated work force, one where a college degree was advantageous and rigorous continuing education and training was a necessity. If this was progress we are about to undo whatever good we have achieved.
The 48/96 work shift defies the spectrum of rational reasoning from rigorous science to old-fashioned commonsense. It is the triumph of greed over safety and it severely diminishes whatever professionalism we seek. Any number of studies or absent that, good old adult life experience concludes that mental and physical acuity declines as waking hours increase. The notion that specialized fire/rescue studies, often in the form of surveys or anecdotal opinion, are needed to prove this fact is laughable.
The 24-hour shift is possible only because fire/rescue personnel are (usually) allowed to sleep after a certain hour, say 9PM. Anybody who has worked a 24 and been up two, three or more times during the night or been up for one long stretch knows that the next day, even with a substantial rest period, is lived in a fog or haze of fatigue. Come to think of it, any adult who has been up most of the night for any reason knows what the next day is like. The body (and the brain) crave sleep and rest and if you try to keep going, both begin to shutdown, resulting in loss of cognitive and physical abilities.
Enter the 48-hour shift where during the first rest cycle you can either be up repeatedly or be up all night without sleep. The second day is, at minimum, filled with the flow of emergency responses and at worst, an attempt at a normal day of preparatory and training activities followed, unbelievably, by a second night of interrupted rest.
The fact that many municipalities historically allowed for 48-72-96 overtime shifts is not a defense. It simply means they are better at defying commonsense than the rest of us. Using this as reasoning for adopting a 48/96 is like promoting smoking because your uncle did it. It was stupid then and it is stupid now.
At the very moment that pilots, medical professionals and commercial drivers are facing increased scrutiny over the need for adequate rest in order to ensure safe operations, here comes the alleged fire/rescue “profession” with the notion that we can perform life-saving and extremely dangerous activities in a sleep-deprived and fatigued state. We manage to be simultaneously self delusional and our own worst enemy, surely not a winning combination. Safety aside, our reputation as professionals is seriously degraded—and it should be.
The public, of course, is not stupid. They will quickly discern that if you can stay on continuous duty for 48 hours one of two things is true: you don’t do much or you don’t much care how well you do what you do.
We will finish up yesterday's discussion (HERE) about European culture and fire sprinklers this morning. Recall that one of the points we made was the forced behavior required by the rulers of the various regions and countries designed to preserve the king's control over the country. For the ruler, all physical assets were valuable because of their revenue-generating ability. Technically, the king owned everything. That's what "rule by conquest" means and was the practice all over the world for eons. When the farmer who was required to pay rent for the land he lived on failed to raise a profitable harvest, he was punished. This could include eviction that plunged his family into severe poverty for the rest of their lives.
These centuries of micro-management and control squelched a lot of innovation and technological advancement. When the Americans overthrew their oppression by Britain and became the first nation in all history to freely govern themselves, a 200-year migration began that brought innovators and inventers to the New World where they were free to follow their own plans and industry. In the 19th century particularly, North America grew economically at a far faster rate than the European kingdoms. But throughout the course of the 20th century the kingdoms, principalities and dukedoms crumbled under the pressure of citizens forcing more freedoms on themselves and permitting them to follow their own dreams of advancement.
As recently as 1980 nearly half the continent was still oppressed under the brutal hand of the Soviet Union, but when that dictatorship finally collapsed we saw millions of people suddenly freed and advances in technology and innovation have exploded in that region. In the last 30 years we have seen fire protection measures modernizing rapidly and some great improvements in methods and equipment once peoples' minds have been allowed to think freely. Twenty years ago, who would have ever thought that one of the major fire engine builders in the U. S. would be a German an Austrian firm – Rosenbauer?
Along with this comes a different kind of reasoning that is not guided by the ruler's principles, but by the individual. Maybe, just maybe, Sunday's fire in the parking garage (HERE) that burned up 90 autos will get more people thinking that perhaps putting sprinkler systems in high hazard and high value places might not be such a bad idea after all? While the European intellect is being set free, the American innovators are being squelched by a steady growth of oppressive regulations being generated by unelected bureaucrats in Washington. "Over there" is where we will be witnessing the 21st century advances in fire safety and suppression. Just watch.
We'd better get busy with our old-fashioned check sheets now and give our equipment the daily once-over. I'm going to get some more coffee going before we meet back in the day room.
* * * * * * *
NHL Conference Semi-Finals
Standings as of Wednesday Morning
Detroit moved closer to "doing the impossible" Tuesday night when they won their game against San Jose. The Sharks had command over the series by winning the first three games, needing only one more win to advance. Last night the Red Wings continued their comeback by scoring three 3rd-period goals and winning their third straight game to knot the series 3 – 3 and forcing a final game 7 in San Jose. Tv ratings should be high.
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators. Vancouver wins series 4-2, advances to conference finals that begin on Sunday night.
San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings — Wings – 3, Sharks – 1. Series is tied 3-3. Final game Thursday night.
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Boston Bruins for Eastern Conference championship. Game 1 scheduled for Saturday night.
It was delivered nine years and 364 days after Police Officer Jason Schechterle was pulled from his crushed and burning cruiser.
An out-of-control cab slammed into Officer Schechterle's Ford Crown Victoria cruiser.
Right in front of Phoenix Engine 5.
It was 11:21 p.m.
Suddenly, there was a fireball.
Capt. Michael Ore’s crew jumped out of the engine and began unraveling the hose.
Then Ore saw the flashing lights. “We’re on the scene of a 962 …!” he shouted into the radio, giving the code for an accident with injuries. “Give me a first-alarm medical. Police car involved.”
And then: “Trapped victim!”
Flames licked at the broken frame of the patrol car, its back seat crushed by the impact.
“Hurry up!” he yelled to his crew. “There’s a man burning to death in there!”
Darren Boyce aimed the hose inside the car, while rookie Henry Narvaez fought to open the driver’s door. “I can’t get it open!”
Ore tossed an ax to Narvaez, who broke through the window. Boyce kept the flames at bay, but the front seat was smoldering beneath the smoke and steam. The stench of melted plastic filled Ore’s nostrils as he and Narvaez tugged at the officer, fighting to free him.
But he was still strapped into his seat belt, and they couldn’t get to the latch.
“Get a knife!” Ore screamed.
A policeman who’d just arrived sliced through the seat belt, while a second officer loosened the legs. Together the men pulled the officer through the window just as an ambulance drove up.
As they shoved him onto the gurney, a piece of skin peeled off the officer’s arm — revealing a small patch of white on an otherwise blackened man. Ore, a 26-year veteran, was stricken.
“I’m not sure we did this guy a favor,” he thought as the ambulance pulled away.
In addition to fuel tank rupture, a high speed rear end collision jams the front doors of the cruiser. The burning officer is trapped.
It took Engine 5 and fellow Phoenix police officers about eight minutes to get Schechterle out of his cruiser.
You are Fit For Duty (really?)
The unusual memento was a letter from the Industrial Commission of Arizona, signed by Antonio Escobar, Awards Specialist II.
Escobar informed Schechterle, who was burned beyond recognition in the crash and has undergone more than 50 surgeries in the past decade, that he is fit for duty as a cop.
"Information in your file indicates that your injury is not affecting your earning ability at this time," the state employee wrote. "If you have any questions about your award, we will be glad to explain anything that seems unclear."
…
"No permanent work restrictions noted."
Then came the bureaucratic kicker: "There are no medical contraindications which would preclude [Schechterle] from returning to the same or similar work, thereby sustaining no loss of earning capacity."
Laura McGrory, director of the Industrial Commission, told New Times "Jason doesn't have to do anything. We will re-evaluate his case, period, and go from there. Let's just call this a teaching moment."
Since the crash, Schechterle has made many teaching moments to support others.
“The one true blessing we have, the one thing we have control of, is our attitude. It’s the only thing you have control of, every single day, every situation. You get to decide what your attitude is going to be” – Jason Schechterle
Mercedes has announced plans to introduce the SLS AMG Emergency Medical concept at RETTmobil 2011.
Designed to draw attention to the company's lineup of safety vehicles, the one-off concept has traditional livery, a prominent light bar and the latest communications technology.
In the standard car, power is provided by a 6.3-liter V8 engine that develops 571 PS (420 kW / 563 hp) and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) of torque.
This enables the SLS to rocket from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 317 km/h (197 mph).
The City of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, is creating a new EMS department and has several work opportunities to offer. From the city's website:
The City seeks experienced,fit,patient-oriented individuals who have compassion and a sense of commitment,who want to make a difference in the quality of care in our community.
Requirements include:
Current Oklahoma EMT Licensure at appropriate level
A current Oklahoma drivers license
Current CPR certification
For Paramedics, current ACLS and PALS certification.PHTLS preferred
Applicants must pass a written exam and a physical agility test to demonstrate the ability to adequately serve the people of Pawhuska. Applications and job descriptions are available at Pawhuska City Hall 118 West Main Street, Pawhuska Ok.
THE MAIN LODGE BUILDING of the Greer Resort in eastern Arizona burned down this morning.
Channel 15 / Raven photo
The lodge was built in 1948 and was an all-log building. The lodge itself had 10 rooms and a restaurant, along with the offices of the mountain resort that also has other buildings containing 59 more rooms and 130 cabins on the property 220 miles northeast of Phoenix in Apache County.
The fire was discovered shortly after 4 am and the few guests that were inside were able to evacuate safely. When the fire department arrived on the scene the building was already fully involved and burning intensely because of the aged and treated timbers.
So far there is no indication of what started the fire.
Phoenix Channel 12 has the brief STORY.
The White Mountain Independent has the LATEST DETAILS.
Update:
KNXV-TV Ch. 15 has filed this video report that includes an interview with the resort's owner and more information:
THE RENO, NEVADA, CITY COUNCIL is planning on reducing the roster of city employees by another 82 positions at the end of June in a desperate attempt to balance the budget. Despite their feeble attempt to blame the employees themselves for the budget crisis ("…without concessions from the employee unions…"), the city has seen its property and sales tax collections drop off by 30% in the past three years.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports today:
In the possible layoffs, 14 more firefighters would be lost, resulting in closure of the city's fire station at Kings Row or Ralston Street in northwest Reno, Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said. That would be the sixth station where fire crews have been reduced, and he said another station could experience periodic brown-outs or temporary closures.
If the city lays off the 14 firefighters and four others whose jobs end June 30, the city will be down to 199 firefighters, below pre-1985 levels, Hernandez said. "We are at the point where we have no bench," he said.
This would be in addition to the 32 firefighters that were laid off just over two months ago on March 1.
Read the Gazette-Journal story HERE.
Reno Fire Department WEBSITE.
MS Believes They Are Providing a Vital Link in Their Telephony Growth
IN A PRESS RELEASE ISSUED THIS MORNING, Microsoft announced that they are purchasing Skype, the "leading internet communications company" from Silver Lake investors group for $8.5 billion in cash. According to the statement:
The acquisition will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities. The combination will extend Skype’s world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.
Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.
Skype has proven to be popular for internet-based long-distance telephone service, but it has never been profitable. Online auction company eBay first bought the service from the original ownership based in Luxembourg, but were unable to manage the company properly. They in turn sold Skype to the Silver Lake group who increased Skype's minutes-sold by 150%. Still, it lost $7 million last year.
GigaOm has a review and commentary on the purchase HERE.
ANOTHER TOWN HAS DECIDED to let the neighbor's house burn rather than have their tv interrupted. The Monsey (New York) Board of Fire Commissioners has voted to silence the fire horn at the VFD because some people complained about it, even though it has been sounding for decades. This is not a new issue with them because the board is elected by the voters and they have been replacing "fire" people on the board with dummies sympathetic to their pleas and now they have their majority. Read the full story in the Lower Hudson News HERE.
THE TOWN OF CHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, gave their longtime fire chief who died last week a wonderful send-off Thursday. Read the heart-warming story of how an entire town rembered the man who knew everybody HERE.
Hat tip: Mark D.
THE MONTH OF MAY is one of television's "sweeps" months when the stations try to hype their viewership. That's why your local news is suddenly running a batch of "investigative reporting" features that people like to watch. The folks in Denver, Colorado, are being treated to a report on what looks to be a stumble by the Denver Fire Department when they tried to shift their station fire inspection reporting from paper to digital. After spending $342,000 on nifty e-tablets to record the inspections, two years later they are still not being utilized and now they're outdated. Oh, my. KMGH-TV uncovered this embarrassing bit and posted this video report:
* * *
THINGS AREN'T LOOKING SO GOOD on the reservation out in Arizona. Somebody has been apparently embezzling the health insurance premiums at the White Mountain Apache Tribe and none of the doctors or clinics have been paid for providing care. Now they've stopped seeing tribal members because of the many tens of thousands of dollars in outstanding bills. The tribal police and fire departments are losing their workers and nobody can get medical treatment.
KPHO-TV Ch. 5 in Phoenix has a detailed story and related video report HERE.
Special Deals for Today:
25% Off on this Warn XT40 Extreme Terrain 4000-pound Winch
It is equipped with a 50-feet lightweight, easy-to-handle synthetic rope, a versatile wireless control system with a 50-feet range and 4000 pounds of pulling power. The XT40 showcases a sealed drive train to keep the elements out, a 3-stage planetary gear train for smooth, reliable operation and a patented disc brake to ensure reliable braking on steep trails. To add to that, it has an efficient motor for less battery drain and an easy-to-use clutch control dial making sure you are always ready for any trail.
The sale price of $641.51 reflects the savings of more than $217 off regular price. CLICK HERE to read more and order one for the brush truck.
NEW YORK CITY'S HIGH-TECH fireboat is suffering the same problems of other high-tech innovations ….. glitches and malfunctions. Ever since the 343 has been in service since last September, it has been in and out of service for technical repairs including a recent two-week stay in a Connecticut dry dock. One person tells the New York Daily News:
"The thing is more trouble than it's worth," grumbled one source. "No one is saying the thing is a lemon, but it clearly wasn't ready when they brought it out last fall."
Even at the ship's ceremonial debut, several water cannons didn't work, another source said. "The boat is complicated, and every time we turn around, something isn't working quite right," that source said.
Yesterday's story (HERE) about the fire in the underground parking garage in France that burned 90 autos was a little reminiscent of last weekend's Caption Contest photo entry. But it also brought a comment from one of our readers who mentioned that on a recent visit to Europe he was surprised at the widespread lack of fire sprinklers in buildings of high value and/or life hazard. That is something that we mandate in a lot of occupancies and come to expect in several other places voluntarily.
Waaay back, when I was still on the job, I was a member of an NFPA standards committee that was responsible for developing recommended practices and standards for fire protection in libraries, museums and historic sites. At one of our meetings a discussion led to something-or-other that brought up that very point, and I wondered out loud why the Europeans are so reluctant to use fire sprinklers when their effectiveness is unquestioned. The man who was our committee chairman at the time was an FPE who worked mainly in the academic field and had spent a year in Europe on a sabbattacal studying such things, and he explained why this is so.
It has to do with culture and historic background. Keep in mind that civilization in North America is, for all practical purposes, only about 300 years old. And over that time our greatest losses have been from towns and cities burning down. With a continent filled with an endless supply of trees, we kept building and rebuilding with our primary structural material, wood. Thus, our measures of fire protection have been focused on extinguishment along with prevention (which hasn't been all that effective).
On the other hand, the European countries have a history of civilized behavior that goes back nearly 1,000 years. In those earlier centuries they had conflagrations as well, but unlike No. America, they started running out of trees and began building more and more using masonry materials, such as stone primarily, and brick. Their primary fire protection then became the natural containment built into the structure that greatly reduced the fire spread. Couple that with the centuries of firm-handed rule by kings and emperors who brutally enforced lawful activity by severely punishing people who upset the peace – such as letting their house catch on fire – and they built in more compliant living habits that were more closely focused on preventing things from happening that would lead to their being tossed in the clink.
So over the last few centuries, their greatest losses have come not from fire, but from water, mainly floods and disastrous storms. While we worry about things burning, their culture has taught them to worry about things getting wet. And what do sprinklers do? They get things wet. While once in a rare while they get a loss like yesterday's parking garage, it's not enough to offset the expenditures of sprinklering places and besides, they're uncomfortable with it. The general population, that is, not the firefighters. But that's starting to change now and I will offer my opinion on why it is changing at tomorrow's lineup.
Right now it's time for us to get this equipment checked out for today's activities. I'll get some more coffee started and see you back in the day room in a little while.
* * * * * * *
NHL Conference Semi-Finals
Standings as of Tuesday Morning
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators — Canucks – 2, Preds – 1. Vancouver wins series 4-2, advances to conference finals.
San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings — Wings – 4, Sharks – 3. San Jose leads series 3-2. Next game Tuesday night.
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Boston Bruins for Eastern Conference championship. Dates TBA.
Motor officer critically injured, returns home after five months of recovery and rehabilitation: February 25, 2011
NBC News 11 Atlanta
From the Montgomery Advertiser:
“We are just excited and elated that he is coming back," Tommy Brown, police Cpl. David Brown's father, told the Advertiser. "By the grace of God, he's here with us."
Brown lost an arm, a leg, and suffered traumatic brain injury Sept. 11 when escorting a funeral procession on his police motorcycle.
He collided with a car that pulled into his pathway and the motorcycle caught fire. On the way to the hospital, his ambulance overturned on an interstate ramp.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama (October 28, 2010) — Mayor Todd Strange said the city can't grant workers' compensation benefits to the family of police officer who was critically injured while escorting a funeral procession last month because he was off-duty.
Strange said Cpl. David Brown was not working for the Montgomery Police Department that day and had a private contract with the funeral home.
The city received no compensation. Strange said he would like to provide Brown and his family with workers' compensation, but the city must follow the law.
The family sues the city for worker compensation, pointing out that he was using Montgomery Police equipment and was in uniform.
Michael A. DeMayo, in his Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog, provided a slightly different picture of the mayor after a March 22, 2011 ruling in favor of the family.
The mayor is appealing that ruling. Click below for the details:
2) Career firefighters and paramedics could be placed in the same situation when donating time to their community emergency services.
What happens if you get critically hurt or killed as a responder or instructor while donating you time?
Your employer will seek ways to deny coverage. A large Texas city did it when two off-duty firefighters perished at a building collapse.
The city initially denied city-funded LODD benefits and the rural hometown VFD could not afford the half-a-million annuity needed to provide the same benefit payout.
As the two young mothers started their appeal to the state supreme court, the third effort in an on-going legal fight. The Texas city mayor agreed to provide the LODD benefit.
A PARKED CAR CAUGHT FIRE SUNDAY NIGHT in an underground parking garage located in downtown Valence, France.
Welcome to the fire!
(all photos via Le Dauphine)
The fire started shortly after 10 pm and quickly spread through the entire level of the largest car park in the city. More than 40 firefighters were on the scene and had a very difficult time gaining entry into the fire area because of the extremely high heat of the cars on fire in the low-ceilinged, concrete structure.
The fire was extinguished by 1:30 am this morning and at least 90 automobiles were destroyed or damaged including 17 that were completely charred.
One firefighter suffered smoke inhalation problems and the police have opened an investigation on the cause of the fire. The parking garage is expected to remain closed for the rest of this week.
"unknown at what time change in patient occurred." READS THE AMBULANCE REPORT, thus confirming that Frank Nigro, 52, may have been dead for as long as 40 minutes in the back of a Kansas City FD ambulance on January 19 while he was being transferred from one hospital to another during a snowstorm. Because of the weather, the transfer took 41 minutes to complete.
KCTV Ch. 5 reports:
When Frank Nigro first came home complaining of neck pain, his tight-knit family in the Northland didn't think much of it. He went to the emergency room for treatment and they sent him home with pain pills for a strained neck. But two days later, after what seemed like a simple neck injury, Nigro could no longer get up so his family called 911.
The family said by the time Nigro reached St. Luke's Northland, he could no longer feel the right side of his body. An MRI revealed a lesion on his spinal cord, his family said. It was something so serious that he was loaded into an ambulance for a transfer to St. Luke's on the Plaza, where a neurosurgeon was standing by. Frank Nigro never made it out of the ambulance alive.
The family said Nigro had no color when he arrived at the hospital because he had been dead long before he got to the hospital. It was only when the crew went to unload Nigro at the emergency room that they noticed the, "patient appeared pulseless … apneic with no heart tones …." Hospital records indicate that when the crew arrived with Nigro, his body was "cyanotic" and "cool to the touch." St. Luke's on the Plaza listed him as D.O.A., or dead on arrival.
Acting as agents for Nigro's family, KCTV filed a string of public record requests with the fire department, but they were all denied. However, with the news just now coming out on the incident, the City Council is taking an interest and opening an investigation. So far, it is still a secret as to whether the paramedic was in the back tending his patient, or riding in the front cab with the driver.
A FIRE STARTED JUST BEFORE 6 AM PACIFIC TIME in a Huntington Park, California, food processing plant. The fire is through the roof and several explosive-type fireballs have been observed.
KABC-TV
An early report says that there was an explosion that triggered the blaze which is still in progress.
Update: Later information on accident cause, injured firefighters, and additional video. Scroll down.
TWO PLATTE COUNTY, MISSOURI, FIRE DEPARTMENT engines collided head on Monday morning while responding to a fire.
KCTV 5
The collision occurred at 4 am Central time as the two pumpers were approaching from opposite directions the side road where the house was burning.
The county sheriff is reporting that five firefighters were injured, some seriously but none are life threatening. One of the injured FF's was flown to the hospital.
KSHB-TV Ch. 41 Kansas City had their helicopter overhead as dawn was breaking for some aerial footage of the wreckage:
Update:
As of Monday evening, two of the injured firefighters have been released from the hospital. The other three remain under care, one of them a driver who reportedly suffered two broken legs. Another of the injured is the volunteer fire chief.
Two trucks from the Central Platte Fire Protection District, which is staffed by volunteers, were responding from Platte City about 4:10 a.m. to an electrical fire on the deck of a house.
In the darkness, the first truck missed the house’s driveway. The truck turned around and was headed back toward the house when it collided with the other truck in the 15000 block of Missouri HH, about two miles east of Platte City, Holland said.
Both trucks were severely damaged. The accident remains under investigation by the sheriff department.
Other nearby fire departments are providing coverage in Central Platte's district until they can make arrangements to replace the two damaged trucks.
KMBC-TV Ch. 9 has an updated video report that includes an interview with the homeowner whose house was on fire:
The combination of a (periodic) plunging economy clashing with the "buy now, pay later" mentality of many municipal leaders is bringing reality to a lot of state and local governments. As long as the economy was expanding, it was easy for lawmakers to introduce more new programs and expand current services along with, in some cases, funneling tax revenues to favored friends of the politicians. The latter is a favorite practice of many large-city politicos who don't care that they are leaving their citizens without the assets that they have paid for with their taxes.
But this one-two punch to the pocketbook has created a genuine fiscal crisis in a lot of places. The tax revenue just isn't there to pay for luxuries any more and it has also meant being unable to pay for the basic services in the places that have particularly inept governance (see: Allen Park, Michigan HERE). So a lot of state legislatures are now trying to climb out of their deficits by shifting the financial obligations onto the localities that are using the benefits. Following the law of "If you don't got it, you can't give it," the Wisconsin legislature has reduced the flow of funds collected from the citizens around the state that were then passed along to localities to be spent by their citizens.
I cannot argue with the point that cities should be willing to pay for their own cost of operating because the folks in other towns are working hard as it is to pay for their own municipal services. This led to the public spectacle of a Milwaukee alderman suggesting that the state's largest city should completely disband its fire department in order to keep other city agencies functioning. (Firegeezer report HERE.) Sorry folks, but no sympathy from me. I have to pay my bills and I expect you to pay yours with your money, not mine. This shifting of obligation is taking place all over the country right now and when it's all sorted out, budgets will eventually have their priorities re-aligned and then become more fiscally responsible.
But along with this dumping of fiscal duties there is another trick being pulled that is not justified when you consider the affects. Last month the Virginia legislature shifted the burden of paying LODD benefits onto the localities that employed the firefighter or police officer who perished. At first glance you might say, "Well, it was a local issue and it's only fair that they pay for the benefits." But this wasn't a local issue. In the case of Line of Duty death benefits, the law was passed by the state legislature. To put it another way, the state assumed the responsibility and obligation when it made the law establishing the benefits. It was felt that a LODD was an event that affected the entire state, not just the locality. This type of cost-shifting is unjustifiable and should be challenged by the citizens and the public safety employees themselves. Watch out for the stealth-shifting!
Now let's shift over to the apparatus and get this equipment checked out. I'm going to get the coffee that we paid for and get another pot going. See you back in the day room.
* * * * * * *
NHL Conference Semi-Finals
Standings as of Monday Morning
In Sunday's only game, Detroit scored three goals in a 10-minute span during the third period to once again stave off elimination. After facing a nearly-unsurmountable San Jose lead of 3 games to none, the Red Wings have taken two straight with identical scores. Now it's a contest again.
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators — Predators – 4, Canucks – 3. Vancouver leads series 3-2. Next game Monday night.
San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings — Wings – 4, Sharks – 3. San Jose leads series 3-2. Next game Tuesday night.
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals vs.Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa wins series 4-0. Advances to Conference Finals.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins. Boston wins series 4-0. Advances to Conference Finals.
THE GRAND VIEW TOPLESS COFFEE SHOP in Vassalboro, Maine, will be closing for good this month. Long-time Firegeezer readers first became acquainted with the refreshment center two years ago when we REPORTED HERE on a fire that burned out the newly started business in the small, rural community that was not embracing Donald Crabtree's attempt to provide entertainment for the locals.
May, 2009 (AP / Joel Page photo)
The Grand View was set up in an old, vacant motel building with the topless "coffee shop" at one end and Crabtree's extended family living in the former hotel. The fire was found to be an arson and was set while everybody was sleeping in the building. Within a short time, investigators identified a suspect, Raymond Bellavance who fled to South Carolina where he was arrested nearly a year later (see Firegeezer report on the big bust HERE).
All this time, Crabtree has been struggling to keep the business supported while the local authorities continued to pressure him by strictly enforcing the zoning codes. He finally realized that his efforts would never bear the results he was seeking and announced Friday that he is giving up and will close shortly after he sells off as much of his stock that he can. The Portland Press Herald reported Saturday:
Crabtree, 43, said the final straw for him was the recent notice from the town of violations over large signs he set up. One advertised a benefit topless car wash, while a portable sign proclaimed: "Boobies Wanted."
Crabtree said he removed the signs Thursday night, after he was given seven days by the code officer to do so or else face legal action.
Dan Feeney, Vassalboro's code officer, said he went to inspect the signs April 26 after receiving complaints. Feeney said Crabtree's signs are bigger than what's allowed under his local permit and under the adult-only business ordinance. "It's not what's on the signs; it's the signs themselves," Feeney said Friday.
Crabtree doesn't understand why he's not allowed to hold a benefit to raise money, even though he concedes a topless car wash is "probably pushing it a little bit."
Crabtree claims people have spread rumors about drug use and prostitution ever since his business opened, all of which he adamantly denies.
Read the entire article from the Press HeraldHERE.
Coincidentally, earlier this week Bellavance appeared before the court asking to have his case dismissed. He has been incarcerated since his arrest 11 months ago and his lawyer is complaining that the witness statements that form the basis for his arrest were from witnesses who are currently in custody on a variety of other charges and it is claimed that they have been given favorable treatment in exchange for their testimony. The Morning Sentinel brings us up to date in this twist to the story HERE.
For one more week only….. McAfee Internet Security 2011, 3-User
List price …. $69.99
Less this week's discount: $54.00
Sale price thru May 16 – $15.99 ….. 77% off!
McAfee Internet Security instantly detects and blocks viruses–and stops web threats before they are downloaded to your PC. Reengineered to be faster than ever before, the software's innovative design simplifies your Internet security experience while offering comprehensive protection. 2011 Features and Highlights Award-winning anti-virus, firewall, spyware, and online protection Exclusive McAfee Active Protection technology Unlike the competition, McAfee Active Protection analyzes and blocks new and emerging threats in milliseconds, so you don't have to wait for regular updates to arrive. The result: virtually no gap in your protection. Anti-virus/anti-spyware Detects, blocks, and removes viruses, spyware, adware, even rootkits, insidious programs designed to tamper with your PC.
CLICK HERE to read more and order one for yourself.
Here's What Happens When You Don't Pay Attention to Who You Vote For.
LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN's CLUELESS BOY MAYOR has gone and stepped in it again. Matt Harter, now age 26, has not yet learned after two years on the job, to check the implications of his actions before he makes them.
Mayor Harter (La Crosse Tribune photo)
Firegeezer readers first met the boy mayor in November 2009 when he blindsided the fire chief, as well as the entire city council, with a mandate to convert the fire department from a 95-member paid department to an all-volunteer FD within three years. Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland told him that “I do not believe that your concept has merit.” One of the councilmen stated, “I think it’s an insane idea. He really doesn’t know what he’s doing." When it was pointed out to Harter that state law mandates a reduction in state aid to any jurisdiction that cuts police or fire budgets, he finally relented. Read about that folly in the Firegeezer report HERE.
This past Thursday he cooked up another blunder when, after he saw that the fire department has already gone through 80% of its overtime budget for the year, he unilaterally issued an order to cease all overtime expenditures effective immediately. Within an hour the entire department was disrupted as several units were taken out of service for lack of manning as all the FF's on callback were sent home. The city's only ladder truck was out of service until Saturday morning.
The La Crosse Tribune reported:
Harter said he expects fire officials to use "common sense" when handling large-scale emergencies and to "worry about dealing with it after." The city can also rely on neighboring fire departments, Tri-State Ambulance and police, the mayor said.
Mutual aid shouldn't be used as a replacement to understaffed departments, Cleveland countered.
Local 121 president, Captain Jeff Murphy responded, "You should never have a person in public office with zero experience in EMS, fire or police service making decisions on his own in regards to public safety. He made a horrific mistake, and I think that the public recognizes that."
He added, "The uncertainty … of the future of the department is at an all time high, and morale is at an all time low."
The LFD is wading through the weekend with one, and sometimes two, units out of service. But they have put the ladder back in service. On Friday night the council's Finance and Personnel Committee met and approved the hiring of four more firefighters. (Another report says ten FF's….ed.) The entire council will vote on it next week.
The entire La Crosse Tribune article can be read HERE.
WEAU-TV Ch. 13 filed this video report:
WKBT-TV has more details on this story plus another video HERE.
An article that provides some additional background into the city council's merry adventure with the boy mayor was posted in Wikipedia:
In July 2010, a Madison law firm released a legal opinion finding that Harter violated ethics codes and may have broken criminal laws by bringing his father, the owner of a large local garbage disposal company, to a private meeting in February 2010 with the La Crosse county solid waste director, to discuss whether the county should pursue increasing its waste collection and recycling role, a decision that might reduce demand for services offered by the Harter family business.
In November 2010, the La Crosse Tribune obtained an ethics complaint which was filed with the city's Ethics Board by 45 residents in September. Included in the complaint was a sworn deposition of county waste director Hank Koch in which he detailed the strange behavior of Mayor Harter in the two meetings in question. According to testimony, the mayor broke down sobbing while pleading with Koch to prevent the study from going through. The mayor mentioned the damage such a study could do to his family business, and mentioned a newborn child now dependent upon the family business. Koch stated that at one point the meeting was paused because he became concerned for Harter's mental health as his sobbing and running nose were out of control. Koch also testified that he had to clean the mayor's tears and mucus off a table, which a co-worker witnessed.
Firegeezer believes that the citizens of La Crosse should rightly be embarrassed by what they have wrought on their city by electing an untrained, inexperienced, immature person to make decisions that grossly affect the life safety and economic stability of the city.
AFTER TEN YEARS OF PLANNNG, FUND RAISING, and making, the City of Scranton, Pennsylvania, unveiled its Firefighters Memorial statue Saturday in a touching ceremony.
The memorial is dedicated to the city's fallen firefighters but also celebrates all the members of the department. The Scranton Times- Tribune, in a report on the dedication, tells:
With more than 100 members of the public, dozens of firefighters and numerous city officials in attendance, Scranton's newest monument was unveiled Saturday – honoring firefighters past and present. The monument depicts a firefighter carrying a child. It is adjacent to City Hall and fire headquarters on Mulberry Street and is a project more than a dozen years in the making.
Times-Tribune / Farmer photo
A wreath was presented, and James Sweeney played "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. The names of the 26 Scranton firefighters who have died were read aloud. The widow and son of Capt. James Robeson, who died in 2008, sat near the podium.
The Very Rev. Nestor Kowal, pastor of St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church, blessed the monument and gave a benediction. "Today is the most glorious and meaningful day of my life," he said. "You have given me, and I'm the sure the rest of the community, a sense of pride," he told the firefighters.
IN 2004 THE NATIONAL 9/11 COMMISSION reported that major operations of the FDNY (New York City Fire Department) could be enhaced by better utilization of helicopters that are already in use by police agencies and private television stations.
Since then, the fire department has not only set up a program to share responsibilities with the police department's helicopter, but made a formal agreement with WCBS-TV Ch. 2 to utilize their live feed when the station is covering an emergency event.
WCBS-TV Ch. 2 image
The New York Daily News tells:
Ch. 2 maintains a direct line to the FDNY. There are no fees involved, nor does the FDNY have any editorial say. When Ch. 2 is doing a TV report, the footage they're also sending to the FDNY helps in different ways.
"In some fires in the past, we've called the newsroom to ask them to fly around to the other side of a building," (FDNY spokesman Joseph) Pfeifer says. "Those pictures are incredible to maintain situational awareness. We can view it here, and relay that information out to the scene," he says.
For instance, Pfeifer says the chopper pilots can show responders where there may be a hazard that hasn't been seen by firefighters, or where victims may be waiting.
Cooperation is not a one-way street. The FDNY gets the footage, but the newsrooms also get help from firefighters, who explain to them what they're seeing.
to read more and order one for the brush truck.
to read more and order one for yourself.
Shift Schedule
Comments Off48/96 (and counting)
Would you rather the surgeon about to perform surgery on your critically injured daughter be in her:
Would you be less anxious if the flight crew of your cross-country flight had been on duty for:
Would you want the long-haul bus driver about to take your son on a field trip to have been awake for:
Way back when, say at the turn of the 20th century, firefighters were simply viewed as civil servants who served the community and worked long hours doing it. In fact, the early shift schedules for firefighters were effectively “continuous duty” with time off to run home for a quick meal. There was an occasional (and rare) day off. Organized labor and the effects of wars and social reform changed all that. Over decades firefighters won the right to more civilized working hours though the current standard of 56 hours a week in many areas is still too high.
An attraction for many firefighters is the opportunity to get our hands dirty in some very exciting ways. Forty years ago few would have described what we do as a “profession” nor would we have referred to ourselves as “professionals.” It was enough to say that we were firefighters. The status of firefighting among the hierarchy of work began to creep up probably with the addition of EMS and it continued to rise with other duties including haz-mat and technical rescue. The inclusion of paramedic services and the integration of those services into fire operations undoubtedly added a luster to the work that invited a comparison to more traditional medical professionals. We were seen as an extension of the emergency room and profited by it.
As the Dalmatian, red suspenders and bell receded into memory the public began to view us as a more sophisticated work force, one where a college degree was advantageous and rigorous continuing education and training was a necessity. If this was progress we are about to undo whatever good we have achieved.
The 48/96 work shift defies the spectrum of rational reasoning from rigorous science to old-fashioned commonsense. It is the triumph of greed over safety and it severely diminishes whatever professionalism we seek. Any number of studies or absent that, good old adult life experience concludes that mental and physical acuity declines as waking hours increase. The notion that specialized fire/rescue studies, often in the form of surveys or anecdotal opinion, are needed to prove this fact is laughable.
The 24-hour shift is possible only because fire/rescue personnel are (usually) allowed to sleep after a certain hour, say 9PM. Anybody who has worked a 24 and been up two, three or more times during the night or been up for one long stretch knows that the next day, even with a substantial rest period, is lived in a fog or haze of fatigue. Come to think of it, any adult who has been up most of the night for any reason knows what the next day is like. The body (and the brain) crave sleep and rest and if you try to keep going, both begin to shutdown, resulting in loss of cognitive and physical abilities.
Enter the 48-hour shift where during the first rest cycle you can either be up repeatedly or be up all night without sleep. The second day is, at minimum, filled with the flow of emergency responses and at worst, an attempt at a normal day of preparatory and training activities followed, unbelievably, by a second night of interrupted rest.
The fact that many municipalities historically allowed for 48-72-96 overtime shifts is not a defense. It simply means they are better at defying commonsense than the rest of us. Using this as reasoning for adopting a 48/96 is like promoting smoking because your uncle did it. It was stupid then and it is stupid now.
At the very moment that pilots, medical professionals and commercial drivers are facing increased scrutiny over the need for adequate rest in order to ensure safe operations, here comes the alleged fire/rescue “profession” with the notion that we can perform life-saving and extremely dangerous activities in a sleep-deprived and fatigued state. We manage to be simultaneously self delusional and our own worst enemy, surely not a winning combination. Safety aside, our reputation as professionals is seriously degraded—and it should be.
The public, of course, is not stupid. They will quickly discern that if you can stay on continuous duty for 48 hours one of two things is true: you don’t do much or you don’t much care how well you do what you do.
Which is it?
* * * * * * *