IN MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, ROBERT ROLAND, AGE 63, joined the Anderson Valley Vol. Fire Department 3 months ago.

Because of his age, the retired businessman was assigned non-strenuous tasks such as maintenance, fundraising and traffic control.  But with 100 fires burning in the forests of Mendocino, he was out in the firelines serving as a lookout.  While on post, he assisted in laying some hose lines up the roadway and suffered what is believed to have been a  heart attack.

After transportation to the Ukiah hospital, he died at 4 am Thursday morning.  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued public condolences to his family.  “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Volunteer Firefighter Recruit Bob Roland, who courageously lost his life while protecting his community from the threat of fire,” the statement read.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has the full STORY.

For the Paramedics:

There is a new medical dressing coming on to the market that offers great advances in healing therapy and prevents the intrusion of microbes into the wound.

Starting off with the technical jargon:  The CMB Antimicrobial Wound Dressing with Prosit is a single-layer dressing consisting of a polyester fabric layer containing biocompatible, proprietary formulas which are held in position on the polyester with a biocompatible binder.

In other words, it is a wound dressing that is permeated with some secret stuff that is inert when it is dry.  But when it is moistened, the “secret stuff” is activated and creates a miniature electrical current that sets up a barrier and prevents microbial penetration.  It kills bacteria, viruses, fungus, mold and yeast.

Using this dressing on wounds hastens healing and drastically lowers the pain as well.  It can be left on for 3 days before needing to be changed.

Firegeezer expects that this will soon be downsized into ambulance-ready dressings for street use within 3-4 years.

The Silverleaf Medical Products website has an information page HERE.
You can read the product report in .pdf format HERE.

THINGS ARE GETTING SAFER FOR THE CITIZENS IN SOUTH CAROLINA ALREADY.

Not more than 2 or 3 hours after the state legislature passed the sprinkler law, it has started affecting fire safety in other ways, too.  The first indication took place in Seneca when they had an afternoon brush fire.

The Seneca Daily Journal reports:

According to Fire Chief Shane Phillips, the fire was under control late Wednesday evening.

Phillips said residents within a 1-mile radius of North First Street may see smoke. He said the smoke was non-toxic.

photo by Jessica Nelms 

Good job, legislators!

Update, June 27:
Chief Phillips has responded to the newspaper’s story and its supposed quote of him.  Firegeezer has published it HERE.  The newspaper has published a correction and the link to it is included in the updated posting.

 Updated, scroll down.

IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, A BUS CARRYING a forestry fire crew blew a tire Monday night and rolled over.

The accident took place about five miles north of the San Diego County boundary at 7:40 pm.  The bus was carrying an inmate firefighting crew from the Oak Glen Fire Camp which is jointly run by the Dept. of Corrections and CalFire.

The accident injured 8 men including a CalFire Captain.  Four of them were critically injured and one of them was flown out by air ambulance.

So far, there has been no further information released or the identities of the victims.  There are normally about 15 people on a fire crew bus. 

Source:  San Diego Union-Tribune.

Update, June 25, 9 am:
The bus was a Riverside County FD vehicle and was being driven by RCFD Capt. Steve Knutson.  They had just left the scene of a 20-acre grass fire and were returning to the camp.  The Riverside Press-Enterprise is reporting that:

The driver, fire Capt. Steve Knutson, was headed west on Wilson Valley Road when he began driving down a speed grade, CHP Officer Ron Thatcher said.

He was going too fast and tried unsuccessfully to shift gears, Thatcher said. The bus ran up a dirt embankment and flipped on its right side.

Read the full story HERE.

THE MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE DEPT. IN FLORIDA faces challenges that are unique to their region.  One of these local hazards is the large population of alligators found throughout Florida.

Yesterday (Friday), one of these toothy critters wandered onto the front lawn of the fire rescue department’s headquarters building.  So, who ya’ gonna’ call?  You guessed it.

All photos courtesy MDFR

The MDFR issued a press release that tells the story:

At approximately 3 p.m., Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was advised of an alligator that wondered  into a grassy area in front of the MDFR Headquarters  building. The Venom Response Team (VRT) was called to help assist in securing the alligator.One of the VRT members used a snare pole to secure the alligator’s jaw while another team member simultaneously restrained the tail. VRT members then used rope to hobble the arms and feet of the alligator.

“The strongest points of an alligator are the jaw and the tail. We had to get them secured as fast as possible to ensure the safety of employees and visitors  entering and exiting the front of the building,” said Chief Al Cruz.

Florida Fish and Game was contacted and they sent a state licensed company to pick up the alligator.

Employees of MDFR’s Technical Rescue Team and VRT are trained in large animal rescue. 

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue WEBSITE.

AN 82-YR.-OLD WOMAN IN ENGLAND DIED RECENTLY as a result of her microwavable bed warmer bag catching on fire.

Used as an improved substitute for hot water bottles, the “Hottie” bag has been available for several years and has become a multi-million (dollar) seller for the Aroma Home UK firm.  Instead of filling a rubber bag with scalding hot water to use as a warming device, the Hottie is filled and sealed with wheat and some additional herbs and oils, and is claimed to be beneficial to pain relief.  They are heated up in the microwave oven and will stay hot for two hours or more.

The user is supposed to put a cup of water in the microwave at the same time so that the wheat doesn’t dry out over time.  But failure to do this will eventually lead to overheating and this is apparently what happened to Doreen Ghiloni of Leeds one night.

After taking the bag to bed it started smouldering and caught the bedclothes on fire.  With the aid of a neighbor, Mrs. Ghiloni was led safely out of her home without suffering any burns.  But she died the next day of a heart attack that was induced by the heavy inhalation of smoke from the fire.

Doreen Ghiloni

The fire investigator for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service says that their agency alone has had at least six wheat-bag incidents in the past year.

Doreen’s family has launched a campaign to bring this hazard to the public’s attention in order to help people prevent this from happening again.

Read the full story in the Daily Mail HERE.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service WEBSITE.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS REPORTING FROM VERONA, NORTH CAROLINA:

An Onslow County deputy and a firefighter directing traffic on U.S. 17 have been killed after they were struck by a tractor-trailer.  Authorities say a second deputy also was struck and taken to the hospital.

The Highway Patrol says the wreck happened around 5:30 a.m. Saturday near a controlled burn at Camp Lejune.  Troopers say fog and smoke combined to bring visibility down to nearly zero.

U.S. 17 was shut down in both directions for several hours, but sheriff’s Capt. Rick Sutherland says it has since reopened.

FireNews.net has the latest and full story HERE.

STATter911 HAS A MOST UNUSUAL STORY POSTED.  It seems that in Colorado Springs, Colorado, there is a piece of land that is so hot, literally, on the surface that it burned holes through a boy’s shoes and left him with 2nd-degree burns on the bottoms of his feet.

Read his posting on this strange tale HERE.

GARY, INDIANA, FIRE DEPARTMENT BATTALION CHIEF Fred Gilmore was diagnosed eight months ago as being in need of a kidney transplant.  Without hesitation or being asked, several members of the department stepped forward and volunteered to be tested for compatibility.

The best match was that of Captain Kent Whitt who has known Gilmore well for the 17 years he has been on the department.  For the past five years they have been bowling teammates also.

Last week the transplant operation was successfully completed and the entire department is smiling today.

Read the full story in the Chicago Post-Tribune HERE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS 70-YEAR HISTORY, the acclaimed Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training Center suffered a firefighter death.

28-yr.-old Russell “Rusty” Topping was one of a group of 25 Dewey FD members undergoing live fire training on Saturday.  45 minutes after that last exercise, Topping was found on the floor and unresponsive by other firefighters.

FirefighterCloseCalls is following the story HERE.