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House Ka-Boom in Florida

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Suspected Gas Explosion

PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, FIREFIGHTERS were called out shortly after 3 am Wednesday for what neighbors said was an explosion at a house in Lake Worth.  When they arrived on the scene, the FD found a house fully involved but with the two residents safely outside.

WPTV-TV Ch. 5 filed this early video taken from their helicopter:

 

The Palm Beach Post adds:

John Pyke, who was in the house at the time of the fire, said he was awoken by an explosion and parts of the ceiling falling on him.

"I woke up, I pushed the debris off and pushed my way to the front door," Pyke said.

Unsure whether his sister was inside of the home or not, Pyke said he banged on the windows until he learned that she was safe next door. After that, he and his neighbor grabbed hoses and tried putting out the fire themselves until crews arrived.

The house and its contents were completely destroyed with parts of the building found as far as 200 feet away.

Palm Beach Post

Early indications point to a gas line that ran through the attic, but more investigation is needed.

Read the article in the Palm Beach Post HERE.

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Posted by on July 13, 2011 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Another Stolen Ambulance

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Unit Left Unattended

THE HILLSBORO (New Hampshire) FIRE DEPARTMENT IS temporarily down to one ambulance this morning.  Just before midnight Tuesday night the crew of one of them stopped at a McDonald's in Concord, apparently after leaving the hospital and before returning home.  The unattended ambulance was then stolen by a joy-rider.

WMUR

WMUR-TV tells the story:

Whoever took the vehicle only made it a few blocks before crashing into an apartment home at 16 West St.  The Hillsboro Fire Department ambulance grazed the porch of the apartment home, and the building only suffered minor damage.

Witnesses said they saw one person run away from the crash. Police are still looking for the ambulance thief.

It was not clear where the ambulance crew was at the time or if the keys were left inside the vehicle.

Read the entire article and view a video report HERE.

Hillsboro Fire Department WEBSITE.

Thanks to Mark D.

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Posted by on July 13, 2011 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics • Tagged: ,

Pennsylvania Fire Chief, First Commissioner Honored

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Statewide Respects Paid

Firegeezer notes:  Steve Roth, CEO of 911 Photography, and one of his assistants attended the funeral this past Saturday for Chief Charles Henry who was known and respected throughout the state.  Steve submitted this write-up on the funeral and the photos:

Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann recently announced the death of the state’s first Fire Commissioner Charles "Chet" Henry, of Lemoyne, Cumberland County.

Henry died June 25 at age 84. He was appointed State Fire Commissioner by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1977 and served in that capacity through 1989. Prior to that appointment, he served as fire chief in the City of Harrisburg.

"Chet was a dedicated public servant who spent much of his life serving others, in both the military and the fire service," Mann said. "The firefighting community in Pennsylvania is stronger today thanks to his contributions. Firefighters across the state feel his loss."

Mann said much of the organization and responsibility of today’s Office of the State Fire Commissioner, or OSFC, is the result of Henry’s leadership and vision. Governor Dick Thornburgh supported Henry’s ideas and moved operational responsibility for the State Fire Academy and oversight of the Volunteer Loan Assistance Program to OSFC.

In addition, Henry’s passion for fire prevention and safety changed the culture of homeowners and businesses across the state and gained him admiration and respect nationwide.

You can view the entire 228-image photo gallery of Saturday's procedings HERE.

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Posted by on July 13, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – July 13

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Wednesday Morning – Who's Joined Your Circle?

If you haven't heard of Google+ , the latest entry into the social networking game, then you will before next week is over.  Picking up on the popular features of Facebook and taking advantage of Facebook's horrendous reputation, the new division at Google is building what they are striving to make the ultimate online social network.  But we've heard that before.  About 8 months ago (or maybe earlier) Google tried to integrate a program into Gmail called Buzz that was supposed to grab people and get them messaging around and stay within the Google universe.  But nobody bit on it and Buzz became Fizzle.

Now they are trying again but in a more expansive project that is directly targeting Facebook.  I'm not going to get into the specifics of their platform now, it's too big a project to sum up in a paragraph or two, but I like the way they are introducing it.  Google has set the new gadget up and is only allowing a relatively few people to sign up for it while they "learn by doing" and let the test group – of 2 million users! – play with it and discover the glitches and problems.  The Google engineers are interacting with the GooglePlussers to see what they want and what direction they tend to go.  If you want to try it out, you need an "invitation" to join from a current member and only when there's an open time for joining.  So don't fret if you can't get in right away.  They're still working on it.

Maybe this will wake up the Facebook operators and make them more responsive to their shortcomings like their serious lack of privacy protection.  They've already sprung into action and announced an expansion of their chat room into one with video chat capability.  Gmail has already had this for a long time and refined it to a level that FB cannot yet come close to.  Competition is always good for the consumer and the Facebook fans just might be rewarded by this new entry.  Maybe, just maybe, Facebook will get their computer act better organized and we won't be met with so many instances of pages without images showing up and non-responsive posting commands, etc., etc.

So far, Google+ has 2 million Plussers playing with the dials and links while Facebook has 750 million users worldwide (and growing daily), so there is a large gap to be made up.  But in the digital universe with the proper guidance, that gap can be closed in just a couple of years.  But only if Google gets their own privacy issues squared away and I'm dubious about their ability to do that.

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We've been talking a lot this year about some mismanaged municipalities who are desparate for revenue so they can keep from laying off any more librarians.  Those wacky guys at thatwillbuffout.com have discovered one of the recent attempts at revenue-generation that will look familiar to anyone who has ever worked on the ambulance:

It's funny, but somehow the more ridiculous ideas are eventually tried out by the Gary City Council.  So keep your eyes open.

Now let's get this equipment checked out.  I am going to get some fresh coffee started before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on July 13, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: ,

Early Roman First-aid Kit Discovered.

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What the 2,000-Yr.-Old EMT Used

THE AID BOX OF THE SHIP'S MEDIC was recently found in the shipwreck of a Mediterranean trading vessel that sank around 130 B.C.  The inspection of the medicine box suggests that the ship carried a medically-trained crew member to administer to the injured and ill sailors.

The shipwreck was first located in 1974 and has been explored by archaeologists since then.  In 1989 the wooden chest containing the medicines was found, but it was only recently that the scientists were able to successfully open it safely and inspect the contents using DNA sequencing technology.

The UK Telegraph reports:

A wooden chest discovered on board the vessel contained pills made of ground-up vegetables, herbs and plants such as celery, onions, carrots, cabbage, alfalfa and chestnuts – all ingredients referred to in classical medical texts.

The tablets, which were so well sealed that they miraculously survived being under water for more than two millennia, also contain extracts of parsley, nasturtium, radish, yarrow and hibiscus.

They were found in 136 tin-lined wooden vials on a 50ft-long trading ship which was wrecked around 130 BC off the coast of Tuscany. Scientists believe they would have been used to treat gastrointestinal complaints suffered by sailors such as dysentery and diarrhoea.

"We still don't know whether it was Roman, Greek or Phoenician, nor do we know whether it was a long distance trading ship operating throughout the Mediterranean or a coastal vessel," said Dr Touwaide.

He said the discovery showed that medical knowledge contained in ancient Greek texts, and later in the writings of Roman scholars such as Pliny, was being put into practise in the Roman Empire.

The New American has a detailed report on this investigation HERE.

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Posted by on July 12, 2011 • Filed under: education, EMS Topics

The News Ticker

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Some More Stories From the News Ticker

BROWNWOOD, TEXAS, FIRE LIEUTENANT Shannon Stone was buried yesterday in Brownwood.  Lt. Stone came to the nation's awareness last Thursday when he fell out of the grandstands at the Texas Rangers baseball stadium while reaching for a ball that was tossed to him by an outfielder.  (see Firegeezer report HERE.)

The Brownwood News has yesterday's story plus some videos of the funeral HERE.

A NASSAU COUNTY, LONG ISLAND, POLICE AMBULANCE collided with a passenger van Sunday evening at an intersection.  The latest count was 13 injured, none of them seriously, however.

East Meadow Patch / Hogan

The accident occurred at 7 pm Sunday.  It hasn't been disclosed whether the ambulance was running emergency or not and the Nassau County Police are not say anything yet.

The East Meadow Patch has the story and an extensive photo gallery HERE.

IN CORBETT, OREGON, A FIRE DESTROYED MOST OF THE ROOF of the famed View Point Inn, a hotel built in 1924 and recently featured prominently in a popular movie, "Twilight."  Two movie fans were standing outside looking at the structure Sunday afternoon when they saw smoke coming from the roof and alerted the staff.

The hoteliers first tried to put it out with a garden hose before they called the fire department.  They have been in severe financial difficulty and had stopped making fire insurance payments in April.  The Oregonian has the full details of the story and the 3-alarm fire HERE.

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Posted by on July 12, 2011 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics

Four Alarms Hit Manhattan Synagogue

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Building Undergoing Renovation

A 4-ALARM FIRE PUT ON A SPECTACULAR display Monday night as flames ravaged the upper floor and the roof of a synagogue in Manhattan, New York City.

NY Post

The fire was discovered around 8:30 pm and is currently believed to have started on the roof.  The New York Times reports this morning:

No one was badly injured in the blaze, which obscured the sky over much of the neighborhood with smoke. Four firefighters received minor injuries battling the blaze, which fire officials said apparently began on the roof. The cause was not known.

Hundreds of people crowded around Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, a modern Orthodox synagogue on 85th Street near Lexington Avenue, after the fire began about 8:30 p.m.

About 170 firefighters fought the blaze, which took about an hour to bring under control.

The synagogue, which is 110 years old, was being renovated and no one was inside, according to Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, and the sacred Torah scrolls had been removed when construction began. The renovation was to have been completed in September.

Damage to the five-story building is described as "extensive," but nobody was in the building at the time and most of the interior furnishings and religious artifacts had been removed for the complete renovations that were taking place.

The Associated Press posted this raw video of the fire:

 

The Daily News has MORE.

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Posted by on July 12, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Fleeing Firefighter Held on Murder Charge

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Texas Firefighter Caught at Canadian Border

A TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS, FIREFIGHTER is being held in a North Dakota jail awaiting arrival of Texas law enforcement officers who want to question him about the murderous death of his live-in girl friend.

Joe Carr, 27, an engine driver at the Pedernales Fire Department, was on his break when FD divers pulled a body out of Lake Travis that had been wrapped in a tent and weighted down.  The body was badly decomposed and unidentifiable at first, but later discovered to be Carr's girlfriend Veronica Navarro.  When Carr learned of the discovery, he apparently fled north that same day.

Carr raised suspicions of the Canadian border officers at a North Dakota – Manitoba crossing on Sunday when he tried to apply for a tourist visa at the entry post.  Americans are not required to have tourist visas, so they called the Travis County sheriff office to notify them of their situation.  The sheriff's deputies were surprised because they had not yet put out an alert on Carr, so they immediately obtained a felony arrest warrant on him and had him tranferred to a Pembina County, North Dakota, jail where he is being held until Texas officers can arrive and question him about the death.

KNVA-TV Ch. 54 Austin filed this video report Monday night that summarizes the story up to this point:

 

Carr is still offically employed by the fire department, but he will automatically be terminated after he misses a few more assigned workdays.

The Austin American-Statesman has the full STORY.

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Posted by on July 12, 2011 • Filed under: crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – July 12

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Tuesday Morning – Meeting Called to Order

Now that most of the tornado damage has been scooped up and the flood waters have receded, a blistering heat wave has settled over the eastern half of the country.  The folks out west are already into their 100º+ weather and everyone is calling extra alarms just to get enough people on the scene to rotate crews.  Shorthanded departments are calling on shorthanded mutual-aid companies leaving a lot of places with scant coverage while fires in buildings made of lightweight construction are burning more fiercely than they need to be.

Out in the forestry regions, after several years of negelected preparations and pre-fire actions by the state and federal forestry services, we are seeing monstrous fires that are untamable until they die down naturally.  We are starting to see the unintended consequences of slashing fire prevention measures and closing fire stations instead of opening them.  We do the best we can with what we've got, but as long as the voters keep electing clueless and/or corrupt people to run their local governments, then we'll just have to take a rough ride until somebody wises up.  Just make sure that you don't get caught up trying to do more than you're capable of as a means of overcoming the lack of resources.  Over-exertion coupled with weather extremes leads to injuries, and you have to take care of #1 first.

You may have noticed by now that I am constantly laying the blame for these public safety problems on the city/town/county councils and I will continue to do so.   They all cry the blues and blame "the economy" for their shortcomings.  But as I mentioned before, most of the jurisdictions are not operating shorthanded or practicing the stupid "brownout" or firehouse roulette game.  These are places that have capable elected leaders who have always steered a responsible course and paid attention to economic trends and forecasts.  They have prepared for this downturn and are riding it out without the disastrous results such as that small town in Michigan that laid off their entire fire department a few months ago.

This is why it is so very important that all fire and EMS people get actively involved in local election campaigns and monitoring the actions of the councils.  I'm talking about both paid and volunteer organizations.  It is our responsibility to alert the public to the harmful results that may occur if the local governments pursue a certain course.  Inept and dishonest politicians love to work in the dark, so to speak, and it is up to us to keep their antics illuminated.  This is a year-round task, not just the two weeks before an election.  If your volunteer department doesn't have a committee dedicated solely to public awareness and political interaction activities, get one appointed at the next monthly meeting.  That's the political reality of the times we're in now, so get on top of it.

Now let's get on top of the equipment and get our stuff checked out.  I'm going to press the Bunn-O-Matic into extra duty and run some more coffee.  Lots of things to cover today, check back in the day room when your finished.

Visit us at Booth #743.  We'd love to see you.

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Posted by on July 12, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup

Amtrak vs. Truck …. Again

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Gates Were Down …. Lights Were Flashing

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 18 DAYS, AN AMTRAK passenger train collided with a tractor-trailer that had driven through the crossing gates.  Monday's  crash took place in North Berwick, Maine, where a truck hauling trash encroached on the tracks just as the Boston-to-Portland train was starting to pass.  Witnesses said that the truck driver tried to stop, locking up his brakes when he saw the gates down, but he skidded right into the path of the locomotive.

The trailer lays next to the crossing.
The truck cab was completely shattered 
into pieces.  (WMUR-TV)

The impact shattered the truck cab killing the driver instantly and bursting the truck's diesel tanks which reacted with an explosive fireball.  By the time the train came to a stop about a quarter-mile down the track, the locomotive was on fire and there was a stream of burning trash and several minor grass fires trailing behind it.  The engineer disconnected the loco from the passenger cars and advanced it down the tracks to keep the fire from spreading into the rest of the train which was carrying 112 passengers.  Six of the passengers were treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Sanford and released.

The locomotive engineer uncoupled from the cars
and drove the burning loco farther down the tracks
away from the passengers.  (WMUR)

The North Berwick Fire Department had all the fires out in 25 minutes.

The Associated Press posted this raw video of the crash site taken from NECN's helicopter:

 

MPBN has more HERE.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Mass Casualty Incident, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Condo Burning in New Jersey

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Captain Engelhardt Shows How To Do It

A MAJOR FIRE THAT GOT INTO the common attic of a Wayne, New Jersey, condominium apartment building is burning this afternoon.

WABC-TV

The fire was reported around 11 am when residents of the 24-unit building noticed smoke coming from their air conditioner vents.  When the FD arrived they found a fire well involved in the building.  Most of the residents evacuated safely, but firefighters had to carry one person out.

NorthJersey.com filed this video report shortly before 5 pm:

 

Captain William Engelhardt was working on the third floor when the floor gave way and he fell to the level below.  He was uninjured and went back upstairs to continue working.

With the heat index at 100+ degrees, extra alarms were called to beef up the manpower so that crews could be rotated frequently.  WABC-TV filed this video report at 5 pm while the FD was still on the scene working the hot spots and hidden voids:

 

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It is still a working fire scene and no further information is available yet.  There is no immediately-known cause for the blaze.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Promotional Opportunity

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It's Not Like He Hasn't Been in Trouble Before

THE HYGIENE, COLORADO FIRE DISTRICT, a volunteer department, is without their fire chief this morning following his immediate suspension for an embarrassing brush with the law that leaves him with an assortment of charges including a felony.

Chief William Nelson was driving his pickup truck Saturday night (the one with the emergency light bar clamped on the cab) when he got into some sort of altercation with another driver.  Deciding to escalate the situation a little bit, Nelson reportedly turned on his emergency lights and "pulled over" the other car.  After a heated exchange with the other driver, Nelson got back in his pickup and drove away.  The other driver then called the sheriff's department and complained.

A few minutes later a deputy located Nelson and pulled him over.  After suspecting Nelson of being under the influence of something, the deputy searched his truck and found some marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a pistol and a rifle.  Colorado does not look kindly on keeping a firearm in your car when you are under the influence of something.  Nelson was charged with eight counts, impersonating a police officer (a felony), DUI, DUI repeat offender, improper use of a firearm, along with the drug and paraphernalia possessions.

KUSA-TV reported the story in this video posting:

 

The fire district board of directors met yesterday in a special executive session and voted to suspend Nelson immediately "pending further investigation."  Nelson spent some time in jail on his previous DUI conviction.

The Denver Westword has MORE.

Hat tip:  Bob H.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire-ology, Videos • Tagged: ,

Fatal High-Rise Fire in Grenoble

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Sunday Afternoon Blaze Grows Rapidly

LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AN ALARM of fire was sent to the Grenoble, France, Fire Brigade for a "large fire in an apartment" on the third floor of a 13-story building.  The firefighters arrived to find fire on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the building and called for a total of 26 companies and 120+ firefighters to battle the blaze.

Le Dauphine

One 56-yr.-old man was trapped on the 4th floor and leaped to his death from a window.  At least 18 other people suffered injuries, most of them smoke inhalation, but one woman had what is being called "multi-trauma" injuries.  She is expected to recover.

The fire was marked under control at 7 pm and was extinguished one hour later.

This video report has some excellent fire footage and views of some ladder work:

 

Le Dauphine has the  story and more photos HERE.
Additional 14-image photo gallery HERE.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

6-Alarm Apartment Fire in West Chicago

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At Least Five Ladder Rescues From Balconies

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE DESTROYED a West Chicago, Illinois, apartment building Monday morning bringing 150 firefighters from several surrounding suburban departments to the scene.

WLS-TV

The 3-story garden apartment building had fire on every floor when the FD arrived shortly before 2:30 am Central and began the exterior rescue operations.  Once they got hose lines into the building the fire was so advanced that the FF's had to pull out and concentrate on protecting exposures.  They had the fire extinguished in about four hours.

About 130 people have been displaced and at least half of the building is a total loss.  Some of the residents claimed that the fire started on a 3rd-floor balcony where people had been using a barbecue grill earlier, but the fire investigators have made no determination yet on the cause.

WGN-TV filed this early video report:

  

The Chicago Tribune has the early report HERE.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

Florida Warehouse Still Burning 20 Hours After Discovery

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Ohh….All That Coffee!

A WAREHOUSE FIRE IN LEHIGH ACRES, FLORIDA on the west coast, has been burning for nearly 20 hours now while defying the best efforts of the 75 firefighters on the scene to get it extinguished.

WBBH-TV

The 33,000-sq. ft. property of Stan's Coffee and P & L Foods Inc. was stocked primarily with coffee and 40,000 gallons of vegetable oil when the fire was first noticed early Sunday afternoon by a passerby.

During the initial hours of the fire the roof collapsed making it difficult for hose streams to reach the large pockets of fire that are still burning in some areas of the building.

WBBH-TV Ch. 2 filed this updated video report Monday morning:

 

The fire was contained to the building of origin, but it is a total loss.  Units are still on the scene working the hot spots and one report says that one-third of the parking lot is covered with coffee beans.  There is no indication yet of what caused the fire and investigators have not been able to make entry while the fire is still active.

News-Press

The firm has been in the grocery wholesale business for 56 years.

The Fort Myers News-Press has more HERE.

Hat tip:  Kirby B.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – July 11

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Monday Morning – Get in Line

Ahh, there's good news from the grocery front this week.  It looks like some of the major grocery chains are starting to cave on the "self-checkout" scheme.  It was almost exactly four years ago – July 2, 2007, to be exact – that I ranted on the Morning Lineup (HERE):

　

A rather vile practice has swept through the grocery-store industry in my part of the country. Most of the supermarkets have installed "Self-Checkout" lines where the customer takes his groceries and does all the clerk’s work, i.e.: scanning the prices, weighing the produce, making change and bagging. In other words, the customer has become the store clerk without getting the benefits of wages.Now if the store offered a discount, say 5% or 10%, for doing their work for them, I could see – just maybe – going through all that ordeal. But they don’t. The store relies on you wanting to play with the scanner, like a new toy, and making you think that you are saving some precious time by struggling with the machines yourself.

What it really is, is a gimmick to save on labor costs by getting you to work for nothing so that the store can lay off some employees. I have estimated that for each 60 – 80 customers that go through the "free labor" lines, the store can lay off one clerk. A clerk at one of the stores I patronize told me that on the very day her store opened the free-labor lines, her store laid off 8 clerks.

Personally, I never use the self-checkout lines, primarily because of my aversion to doing somebody else's work without getting paid for it.  And I noticed that I am not alone with that principle.  I always see that I am not the only shopper waiting in the live-checker line even though we only have a few items to purchase.  As the lines build, the floor manager has to hustle another checker or two into the bank of registers to get the lines worked down.

But the concept has started to wither.  Last week Albertson's, one of the nation's largest grocery chains (primarily in Western states), announced that they will eliminate all self-checkout lanes in their stores that have them.

"We just want the opportunity to talk to customers more," Albertsons spokeswoman Christine Wilcox said. "That's the driving motivation."

Wilcox said the replacement of automated checkout lanes with human-operated lanes likely would mean more hours available for employees to work.

Wanting to talk to the customers more is just face-saving blather.  What they really want to do is eliminate those very expensive checkout machines that they have to maintain for just a relatively few customers to "play checker" with.

And Alberson's isn't the only one to fold.  Kroger, the nation's largest chain is experimenting in Texas with eliminating the space-taking monsters that keep telling people to "put your selection in a bag."  It won't be long before they all go and I won't miss a one.

Now let's make sure we don't miss any problems with our equipment and get it checked out.  This is Monday, so we use the long checklist today.  I'll make sure there's plenty of coffee ready.   See you back in the day room later.

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Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup, shopping • Tagged: ,

Is our obsession with urban “War Years” like the military’s nostalgia for their Cold War ways?

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What Does Secretary Gate's Outgoing Message to the Military Mean to the Fire Service?

Fred Kaplan, writing in Salon.com, describes the message former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates shared at the military academies during his recent goodbye tour:

The Army needs to shift from a garrison peacetime force that's preparing for a possible head-on armored clash against a foe of comparable strength to a mobile force that's fighting actual "asymmetric" wars against rogue states and insurgents.

The Air Force needs to pull back from its traditional obsession with high-tech air-to-air combat and focus more on joint operations—surveillance, precise air strikes, cargo transport, and rapid rescue—that help the troops on the ground.

The Navy needs to focus less on aircraft carriers and more on vessels that can maneuver in coastal waters.

Not Mincing Words: On his way out the door, Robert Gates gives the military some refreshingly frank advice.

Thinking the Unthinkable

As we start our NINTH fiscal year with shrinking budgets, I am wondering if the fire service is having the same mis-match of old mission facing new community needs.

ICMA Press published "Making Smart Choices about Fire and Emergency Medical Services in a Difficult Economy" (November 5, 2010) as part of their InFocus bi-monthly subscription.

Written by Fitch and Associates consultants Jay Fitch, PhD and Michael Ragone; and Best Practices in Emergency Services editor-in-chief Keith Griffiths. Your municipal leaders will consider this a valid reference book.

Labor and fire administration should get the 22 page ebook.  Go HERE for a four page executive summary that includes the 20 questions the city manager should discuss with the fire chief.

"Unthinkable" Factors:  Fire Suppression trends 1986 – 2008

  • The number of actual fire responses declined by one-third.
  • While residential fires still account for 84% of all structure fires, responses have declined 30%.
  • Deaths in residental fires declined 42%.

Drops in structural workload between 1994 (5621 fires) and 1999 (2367 fires) is what drove Baltimore to close four engines, two truck companies and a battalion chief in 2007.

I am sure there is a similar drop in structural fire workload that guided the 2011 Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) deployment. 

Over a three year period Los Angeles has eliminated 228 firefighter positions from daily field assignment.

Workload is up

While structure fires decline, the number of events has almost doubled in the 22 year retrospective, with medical calls the biggest contributer to the higher response workload.

Los Angeles shows four dials that track current workload each day. 

At 6:22 pm on July 4, 2011 LAFD handled 1022 requests for service, including 9 structural fires and 815 ALS/BLS calls since 0001 hours.  Go HERE to see entire dashboard.

We still go to fires

Andy Fredricks took a detailed look at FDNY statistics from 1950 to 2000.

In his presentation, "Don't Worry 'bout that Nozzle, Kid, 'cause We Don't Do Fires.", Fredricks observes that the number of occupied structural workers (OSW) continued to climb every year, closely linked to the city's population growth.

Most civilian rescues came from OSWs, with prompt action by first arriving units making the difference. You still need to force entry, perform primary search, operate handline, achieve horizontal ventilation and all of those other basic fire suppression tasks.

We add new technology and learn from ongoing research  by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Underwriters Lab (UL) .

For example, FDNY's latest Seagrave pumpers are equipped with 2000 gpm pumps, changing a 50 year old specification requiring 1000 gpm.  The change increases ability to supply tower ladders and use alternative water sources.Elliot Goodman

Dave Statter's recent posting of the US Park Police video dramatically shows that we still go to fires. Elliot Goodman photo of 921 Decatur Street NW on July 1,

Click on Early raw video: U.S. Park Police chopper crew captures recent two-alarm DC rowhouse fire.

Do not have the "perfect" solution

When I was a company officer assigned to a "border" station, we would run every day with an engine company from another jurisdiction. They were still operating a engine company with two rigs … and a crew of three.

The guys said they were afraid if they went to single pumper engine company, they would lose another position and become a two-person, one pumper engine company. 

Today we are challenged when sending a half-million dollar fire company with a crew of four as an ems first responder.

Up to 80% of urban engine company responses are for ems assists. 

Syracuse implemented a "Mini-Max" concept in the 1970s, using a pumper with a 50' telescoping waterway and mini-pumper.  At the start, the mini-pumper handled vehicle and rubbish fires, especially in hard to access parking garages and back allies.

As semi-automatic external defibrillators were allowed to be used by non-paramedics in the late 1980's, the Syracuse mini-pumpers became the primary ems first responders, 

(PS, would love to get a copy of an 8000 word article about Syracuse mini-pumpers written by Lieutenant David Reeves from Station 7 in the 1990s.  Update – District Chief Reeves runs the Maintenance Division )

Tom Shands provides a current perspective on Syracuse operations, they still link an ems first responder vehicle with each every engine company. (Photo credit Shapiro Photography)

Syracuse reports that 62% of alarms are EMS-related.

Click on the title to access the December 2010 Firehouse.com article: Innovative Rigs on the Street: Syracuse’s New Pumpers

Is there another configuration of suppression fire forces that provides adequate response to structural fires and covers ems first responder events?

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Job Security

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A Series of Occasional Postings That Reinforce Our Belief
That There Will Always Be a Need For Firefighters and EMT's

 

Previous illustrations of Job Security can be viewed HERE.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: Job Security • Tagged:

“Race on Sunday …”

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… sell on Monday"

Yeah, it is a phrase from NASCAR, but it plays a (small) role here:

From their YouTube posting:

Porsche returns to Le Mans with a works-run LMP1 sports prototype.

The first outing of the completely new developed race car is planned for the year 2014.

With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans.

More information on http://www.porsche.com/motorsport

Porsche 918 RSR Hybrid

LeMans Prototype 1 (LMP1) regulations changed in 2011, encouraging hybrid powertrains.

Dan Heyman, writing for CarPages.ca, reports:

Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport, is keenly aware of this.

“We’re looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder,” he said in a statement.

“Now we will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car (and) the integration of hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”

read more at: Porsche confirms development of new Le Mans Prototype

The last Porsche LMP1 win was in 1998.

Porshe's corporate brother, Audi, has achieved 10 overall LeMans LMP wins in the last decade with a diesel-powered racer.

They are creeping up to the 16 overall LeMans wins by Porshe.

This could be fun.

Diesel Audis versus Electric/gas Porsches. 

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: cars, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

The News Ticker

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Some Other Stories Waiting on the News Ticker

BANKRUPT CALIFORNIA HAS DECIDED to save $7 million by not contracting the DC-10 "Super Tanker" aircraft for this wildfire season.  The deal would have provided exclusive use of the nation's largest aerial firefighting tanker along with a second backup plane for 120 days.  NBC News has the DETAILS.

THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH PRESS COVERAGE in Philadelphia about their dubious policy of rotating station closures that some moron apparently thought they were all closed and tried to break into Engine 46's house……while the crew was in there.

Eng. 46  (WPVI)

The fire laddies held him until the police got there.  WPVI-TV tells the STORY.

A HOUSE FIRE IN A VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, suburb is suspected to be an arson.  The house was owned by a gang leader who is on the run facing a charge of murdering a rival gang's leader.  In April he sneaked into his lawyer's office and "sold" the house to his wife for one dollar.  The house burned this past Thursday.

Vancouver Sun

What's suspicious about that?  The Vancouver Sun explains HERE.

INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Deputy Chief Valerie Cunningham is in deep doo-doo today after sending an email to nearly 40 upper-ranking officers that mistakenly included a spreadsheet that listed the height, weight, and bra sizes of 13 female officers.

"We made a mistake." she said.  WTSP-TV explains HERE.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics

Fatal Ambulance Crash in New Zealand

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Errant Car Strikes Both EMS Vehicles

A DRIVER IN TAUMARUNUI, NEW ZEALAND, LOST CONTROL of his car on an icy road Sunday afternoon and crashed into a pair of EMS vehicles.  An ambulance carrying two patients from an earlier accident was responding to the hospital with the EMS supervisor traveling in convoy right behind it.

A Mazda automobile coming the opposite direction lost control and clipped the ambulance before crashing head-on into the EMS car killing the driver of the Mazda.  The driver of the EMS car was the sole passenger in it and was seriously injured as well as the passenger of the Mazda.

Nobody in the ambulance was injured.

TVNZ has the STORY.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, Videos • Tagged: ,

Ukraine Nursing Home Fire Kills 16

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Eleven Others Injured

A FAST-MOVING BLAZE RIPPED THROUGH a retirement home for the aged in Bile, Ukraine, early Sunday morning.  The fire was reported shortly after midnight in the one-story wood and concrete building that housed 25 residents and two staff members.

AP

Sixteen people were killed and the remaining eleven were all treated for smoke inhalation with three of them in serious condition.

The fire department worked five hours to extinguish the blaze.  There has not yet been a determination of the cause.  The fire took place in a small, remote village and news is slow to trickle out.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires

A Sunday Emergency !

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Season Two – Episode 18

Seance

 

The paramedics respond to a series of unusual emergencies after treating an injured woman at a seance.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: Sunday Emergency • Tagged:

Multi-Alarm Hotel Fire in Maryland

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Located Next to Baltimore Beltway

Catonsville Patch / Goldfarb

A MULTI-ALARM FIRE STRUCK A BALTIMORE COUNTY, Maryland, hotel Saturday night in Catonsville on the National Pike.  The alarm for the Days Inn was dispatched shortly before 8:15 pm but notification to the FD had been delayed.  The Catonsville Patch reports this morning:

Guests who had been staying at the hotel say that fire alarms had gone off earlier in the evening. Many did not know there was an emergency until they encountered heavy smoke filling the hallways.

"We heard the fire alarm go off, then stop, and go off again," said Omar Oliver of Landover, who is visiting Baltimore with Theresa Tolson and checked into a third-floor room.

"We called downstairs and they said it was nothing, just somebody playing with the fire alarm," Oliver said. "Then the TV went out and we started to smell smoke."

At least two guests were transported for smoke inhalation and many others commented on the thick smoke through the building.  It was also reported that the elevators had stopped working, but that might have been because in some occupancies the fire alarm automatically brings all cars to the lobby for FD control.  Also, many guests told several news reporters that the only indication they had of a problem was when the cable tv went out.

One unconfirmed report says that the fire started in a top (7th) floor electrical room and spread into the hallway.  When the FD arrived on the scene, every floor was charged with smoke.  WMAR-TV Ch. 2 filed this early video report from the fire scene:

 

There is no further information released on this incident yet.  Check back later for any updates.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos

Morning Lineup- July 10

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Sunday Morning – How Do You Get Out of Here?

If you haven't yet read our posting from yesterday about the on-stage fire at the Rihanna concert (HERE), make sure you view the first video taken by a concert-goer that shows the audience uncertain of what to do.  Looking at it again, my observation leads me to believe that Dallas Fire-Rescue was just moments away from a real disaster.  Nowhere do I see any evidence of the arena staff providing any guidance for the exiting of that huge crowd they have in there.  The people that have started toward the exit are orderly, but you can see that the bottleneck is already starting to build.  And you don't see any noticable movement toward the alternate exits which would greatly speed up the evacuation.

One of the basic rules of crowd control is that people will automatically travel to the door that they used to get into the auditorium.  And since almost everybody arrived through the main entrance, they immediately turn and try to retrace their path.  As soon as there was an indication of an unfriendly fire onstage, the arena people should have sprung into action and started directing people to the nearest exits.  You can bet that the security staff was already stationed at all the exits throughout the concert anyway.  Where are they when they are needed?  Maybe they were there doing that, but I don't see it.  If that fire had started spreading suddenly instead of being attacked by that stagehand, there would have been some major trampling going on.

By the time I was 12 years old, it had been impressed on me that whenever you enter a theater, arena, or similar large gathering place, that you always look around and see where the nearest emergency exit is when you reach your seat.  All my life I have been taking note of not only the nearest exit, but where all the others are, too.  But basic life skills like that are no longer being taught to children.  (You know, things like "walk on the left facing traffic.")  So the AA Arena ended up with several thousand people single-mindedly pressing toward the one door that was just moments away from killing them.

Now Rihanna, she knew just where to go when she turned and literally ran off the stage after seeing the shower of firebrands dropping onto the stage.  And thus proving once again that the late Frank Brannigan was right when he reminded us that, "Panic will save your life ….. as long as you're the first one to panic and you're headed in the right direction."

Now let's head in the right direction to get this equipment checked out.   I know the shortest route to the Bunn-O-Matic, so I'll head in that direction.  See you in the day room later.

Update:  Dave Statter goes into the evacuation "problem" in depth on STATter911 HERE.

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Posted by on July 10, 2011 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,