Driver-Only Responding

THE DRIVER OF A CHARLES CITY COUNTY fire department tanker is hospitalized in serious condition following a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning.

photo by James Bates

According to Virginia State Police, Michael Buchanan, 51, of Quinton was responding with the 3,000-gal. tanker around 5 am Sunday morning when he drifted to the right drainage ditch, then crossed over the narrow 2-lane road to the left side where he rolled over and struck a tree.

WRIC-TV

The crash destroyed the truck, breaking it into several pieces.  Buchanan was trapped inside the cab and had to be extricated.  He apparently has some serious damage to his legs and was airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth Univ. Hospital in Richmond.

WTVR-TV Ch. 6 has the STORY.

WWBT-TV

Firegeezer will attempt to get more information for an update today.

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Firefighting and the Great War

Ninety-seven years ago this month Europe’s leading nations clashed in what came to be known as "The Great War." Germany, Russia, England and France tumbled into a brawling maelstrom that would decimate an entire generation and re-define the tactics of warfare.

Though World War II would be deadlier, the Great War shattered the concept of innocence as slaughter was introduced onto the battlefield with a scope and regularity previously unknown. As comparison, the US fought the Vietnam War during which 58,212 Americans were killed. At the Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, 19,240 British soldiers were killed–on the first day. A number equaling 1/3 of all the deaths in the 17-year Vietnam War was tallied in a single day on the fields of France, most of them before lunch. The scale of the carnage was astonishing.

While the politics of royalty may have started the war, the killing was fueled by technology and tactics which were famously mismatched. 20th century technology collided with stodgy 19th century battlefield tactics and the results were horrific. High explosive artillery shells, artillery with hydraulic recoil capability, Vickers and Maxim machine guns, flamethrowers and chemical weapons in tandem with stalemated, immobile troops engaged in trench warfare created a recipe for battlefield hell.

Much of this was made possible because leaders who led the Allies were steeped in the philosophy of offensive war making and tactics. Used to the moving battle complete with cavalry charges and quick marching advances they were utterly unprepared for the puzzles posed by static warfare where you could sing to, or along with, your enemies in the trenches across the way. Tens of thousands would die before commanders adjusted to the tactical reality of defensive war against a new generation of lethal weaponry.

Firefighting leadership, though on a much lesser scale, suffers a similar tactical conundrum but with a twist. The tools of "modern" firefighting allow for the placement of troops in extremely exposed positions. The combination of protective clothing, self-contained breathing apparatus, forced-air ventilation and even aerial apparatus allow firefighters to be placed rapidly into fire areas that are not under control and which represent marginal environments where any change in the equation can result in disastrous and irreversible consequences.

The professional "excuse" for placing firefighters into these exposed positions (and often the cause of their deaths) is for largely futile and mechanistic search and rescue activities. It is the Great War equivalent of the whistle blow ordering troops over the top of the trench and directly onto the barbed wire. It makes no sense but it was how the battle was (is) conducted. You can, with almost complete certainty, write the news story following the death of one or more firefighters and it will inevitably contain two sentences related to a catastrophic search effort:

"He had one thing in mind—find anyone left inside."

"Everyone made it out unharmed…"

(Those two sentences are quoted from the Asheville, NC, Citizen-Times story on the recent death of Jeff Bowen.)

At least two factors militate in favor of the ever increasing unpredictability of interior fire environments in non-sprinkled occupancies. The first is the use of composite and light weight building materials which decrease the ability for the structure to withstand fire damage making early, catastrophic or partial collapses possible. The second is the improvement in window fixtures that are vastly more robust and much less likely to fail early and which can be very difficult to open for controlled ventilation, escape or rescue. These are just two of the "poison gas" and "high explosive shells" we now face.

The tools of modern firefighting will continue to improve thus allowing troops to continue to enter unprotected forward environments for purposes often best classed as specious and absurd. It will ultimately be up to experienced firefighters and officers to change our tactics or risk being categorized in the manner of the man who led British Forces during World War 1. Field Marshal Douglas Haig was ever referred to as "the butcher."

………. Eric Lamar

Sources:
Barbara Tuchman
John Keegan
Martin Gilbert

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VFD's Treasuries Depleted by Wildfires

THE LARGE AND PROLONGED WILDFIRES that swept across Texas over the past six weeks have caused a genuine hardship to the hundreds of volunteer fire departments, most of them in remote, rural areas.  As the ceaseless and massive grass fires set records for damage and destruction, many of the VFD's ran out of money because of the demands for fuel and repairs, plus equipment replacement.  While many of them were even working fires outside their own counties, it was not unusual to find the firefighters using their own personal credit cards to fill the fuel tanks in their firetrucks.

AP

An emergency fund that relies on donations has been set up to help pay for the needed supplies that these departments need badly and yesterday (Tuesday May 24) a press conference was held to introduce the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund.  The San Angelo Standard Times reported:

At a news conference Tuesday morning at the Capitol, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples — flanked by several West Texas state lawmakers whose districts have been affected by the fires — emphasized the financial drain of what he said has been "one of the worst wildfire seasons on record" and implored Texans to donate to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund set up by the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas.

Staples applauded the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas for its $100,000 donation to the fund — the first significant contribution — but said it pales in comparison to the existing financial need.

Texas State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Assoc.

"Although it is a significant contribution, it is pennies compared to the need out there, the need that is so great to help these volunteer firefighters to carry out their mission," Staples said. "But all Texans have the opportunity to give to this relief fund."

The state has set up its own account to receive donations to help fund firefighting costs, which have grown to almost $102 million statewide, according to the most recent estimates from the Texas Forest Service.

Read the entire article HERE.

To put it simply, the VFD's are out of money, but the fires are continuing to plague the state.  In addition, the funds will be used to purchase the lightweight wildfire PPE that many of the firefighters desperately need.  Structural running gear is too heavy for grass fire use and most of them are only clad in cotton T-shirts and pants while they are in the brush.

KXAN-TV Ch. 36 Austin covered the fund's introduction in this video report:

You do not need to live in Texas in order to donate.  You or your own department can donate to this very worthy fund directly online by CLICKING HERE and fill in the blanks.

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Teague Kenny makes a great suggestion

Go to The Tailboard to get the details ….. (Gettin' Ready: HERE)

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

This is Not a Caption Contest Entry

FIREFIGHTERS IN ST. AUGUSTIN, GERMANY, were confronted with an obstacle during their recovery of a woman from an icy river last month.  The Feuerwehr Augustin has just now released this photo and the story about the water rescue attended by an ambulance crew that was reluctant to get wet.

The woman had been caught in flood waters on January 16 and was trapped in a swift current and extremely cold waters when the fire department arrived.  Earlier a police officer had plunged into the waters and kept the woman safe while the firefighters, using a life ring and safety rope, got hold of the victim and pulled her to safety.  But her place of refuge was surrounded by about one inch of water and the two ambulance medics would not wade through the puddle-depth waters to treat her, claiming that the were not equipped to walk through the water because their feet would get wet.

So the two “water averse” medics were carried piggy-back to where the woman was laying awaiting examination before they put her into an air ambulance that was standing by to transport her to the hospital.

Feuerwehr Augustin photo

After the incident was over, the fire officer would not say anything publicly about this new rescue technique other than to say that it was discussed “behind closed doors.”  The spokesman for the ambulance service put his best attempt at protecting his agency’s reputation by saying that the ambulance crews are not provided with equipment comparable to the  Feuerwehrmans and it would have been too costly for them to wade out there.  The cost being measure by the medic having to take off work for the rest of the day because of his wet feet.

The police official in charge was not too impressed with that excuse, pointing out that his officer had plunged into the river wearing his regular uniform and service revolver.

The General-Anzeiger has this story HERE. 

Firegeezer notes that the medics have no doubt picked up some new nicknames by now.  Perhaps the FF’s pressed into mule duty will have a new one as well.
Hat tip:  Christian Lewalter.

So he appeared before the Lane County Circuit Court and appealed to have his name changed to Captain Awesome.  He makes it clear that his first name is not a title, but his name.  “Hi, I’m Captain,” is his usual greeting.  Mr. Awesome said that he had a little more difficulty than is usual getting his name changed.  The first judge questioned his seriousness in making the request and told him to hire a lawyer to represent him.  But Captain didn’t want to do that.  Instead, he did some boning up on the appropriate law and file his request again. 

This time, things went a bit more smoothly.  Judge Douglas Mitchell asked him a few questions, then required him to raise his hand and swear that he wasn’t making this name change for fraudulent reasons.  Then he not only proclaimed him to be Captain Awesome, but he even allowed Awesome’s request to be able to sign his name with a graphic, an arrow pointing to the right, a smiley face, and a left-pointing arrow.

The Department of Motor Vehicles accepted his new signature when he got his driver’s license changed to reflect his new name, but his bank won’t recognize it, saying that it’s too easily forged.

Captain Awesome proudly displays his signature on
the back of his new driver’s license.

But he should have a lot better luck getting a date now.  After all, why should anybody spend time looking for Mr. Right when Captain Awesome is already there.

The Eugene Register-Guard has the STORY.

Eric Demailly

On Thursday, a national holiday for Veteran’s Day, Vincent Louchet was in town with some friends and he decided to visit his former wife Sylviaine who he was divorced from.  An argument broke out around 10 pm and a noisy fight ensued, followed by Vincent’s retreat to a garage he keeps for workshop projects.  Eric Demailly, who was also a career firefighter in Somme, went to the workshop to try and calm Vincent down and restore peace to the family.

While inside the garage alone with Louchet, Demailly was shot dead while they were alone.  It is not known what was said or done to cause the violent act.  Recuers and firefighters responded immediately to the scene, many having heard the two gunshots, but they were unable to save their chief.

Louchet immediately fled the scene, but a rapidly-assembled squad of 30 policemen tracked him down and arrested him about an hour later.  He is being held until his first court hearing.

Scene of the murder

The Courier-Piccard has the story and more details HERE.

Express-News photo

Truck 35 was responding to a fire call around 6 pm local time and was making a left turn onto an access road to I-410, the city’s beltway.  The truck slammed down onto its right side injuring all four firefighters on board and leaving the man riding the right-side rear seat trapped.  The SAFD Technical Rescue team from station 11 was called in for the extrication that took nearly two hours. 

KSAT-TV image

“This is not like cutting into an Impala. This is like 36,000 pounds of equipment. It took a lot of effort, a very challenging extrication, for us to lift and cut parts of this truck to remove the firefighter,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said.

The injuries were all “bumps and bruises” according to Chief Hood, except for the trapped FF who suffered an unspecified leg injury.

KENS-TV Ch. 5 filed this video report from the scene during the extrication:

There was no information acquired yet on how fast the truck was traveling or the circumstances of the structure fire that it was responding to.

The San Antonio Express-News has a photo gallery HERE.

Le Dauphine photo

An alarm was called at 10:30 pm for a car on fire in a parking lot at an apartment complex and the firefighters from the Saint-Martin-d’Hères station responded on the call where they found an auto well ablaze.  While they were putting the fire out, a 24-yr.-old FF suddenly  felt a sharp pain in his arm and notified his superior.  When his colleagues took a close look at the area of pain, they found what appeared to be a gunshot wound.

The victim did not see the shooter or where the shot came from.  An ambulance crew tended his wound and then transported him to the hospital in Grenoble.  Fortunately, the injury is superficial and no permanent damage appears to have been done.

The Grenoble police responded immediately to the scene and began investigating the source of the shooting.

BFM-TV  posted a video report:

Le Dauphine has the STORY.

 “It was a complete farce. All we could do was stand outside, panicking
because the fire was getting worse.”

THOSE WERE THE WORDS OF A LADY whose house burned down Saturday while a crew of replacement firefighters attempted to put out the fire during the first of two planned work stoppages by the FBU following the government’s decision to literally fire all 5,557 firefighters and break their contract effective November 11.  Following a vote by the members, they approved the two job actions comprising a walkout for eight hours from 10 am to 6 pm on October 23 and November 1.

The first walkout took place Saturday and the Fire Brigade’s promise to maintain adequate coverage for the city failed to function.  As we previously reported, the city took 27 engines and hid them away for this contingency and then pressed them into service Saturday using contract firefighters who had been given a mere 2 weeks training.  The results were exemplified by Evridiki Spanos whose was quoted above.   The Evening Standard reports:

Spanos made six 999 calls as smoke poured from their roof but had to wait about 20 minutes for privately-hired firefighters to arrive. A crew should normally arrive within six minutes.  Mrs Spanos said the stand-ins — hired by the London fire brigade to provide cover during an eight-hour strike on Saturday — took a further 20 minutes to connect hoses to a street hydrant.When they did begin to tackle the electrical fire at their terrace home in Enfield, she claimed, they were unable to direct the water jets on target.  “One stood at the front of the house and another at the back, but the two water arcs missed the fire completely,” said the department store worker, 49.  “They were going over the top of each other, over the roof, not hitting the spot. It was a complete farce.

The fire was finally put out three hours later after the regular shift of firefighters came on duty at 6 pm when the walkout ended.  The top floor and the roof were burned out.

Mrs. Spanos and the family residence after the
regular firefighters arrived.  (Evening Standard photo)

The London Fire Brigade’s fire chief claimed that during the day there were several physical impediments to the fire engines by the strikers such as barricading the engine bays and surrounding working crews  to intimidate them.  The FBU president denies any such activity being committed by his members.

This video was taken after the day’s walkout had ended.  A group of firefighters were ”welcoming” the strikebreakers as they returned to the barn where the 27 replacement engines are being kept. 

During that first 8-hour shift the makeshift brigade responded to 49 incidents.

The next work stoppage is scheduled for a weekday, Monday November 1.