Cool Truck
Check out this cool truck at Project Responders (via Firefighter Blog).
New CPR Devices to be Tested
Some new tools are going to be tested to assist in CPR. This report from the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Via Firehouse.com) explains the new ResQPump and ResQPod.
One is the ResQPump, which works somewhat like a household plunger and increases blood flow by manipulating the chest cavity.The other is the ResQPod, which fits atop the device that paramedics place over a patient's mouth during CPR. The pod expedites the flow of blood into the lungs by regulating how oxygen is exhaled and inhaled during resuscitation.
Informative stuff - read the whole thing.
Arsonist Lights Fire Behind Firefighters
Yikes! As if firefighters don't have enough safety issues to worry about, now there is one more. From the Northern Territory News (via Australian Fire Brigade News):
The firies were fighting a deliberately-lit grass fire on the corner of Amy Johnson Drive and the Stuart Highway in Winnellie. They were close to containing the blaze -- but the fire flared up behind them."There's no way it could have jumped," Darwin watch commander Ian Buckland said.
"Someone got behind us and deliberately lit it."
This wasn't an insignificant fire either. It burned ten hectares which is almost 25 acres, in stands of grass and scrub six feet high.
If they manage to catch the fire starter, he should be charged with something more than just arson. Perhaps reckless endangerment or assault. Sheesh!
NIFC Air Tankers
KTVB.com out of Boise, Idaho, has an interesting article on the air tanker operations at NIFC headquarters:
On the tarmac each plane's special firefighting system is loaded with retardant for fire lines.The fire retardant comes in powder form and contains fertilizer salts and a coloring agent. It’s mixed with water inside a big tank and loaded onto planes to drop on fires.
“We stretch the loading hose out to the air tanker. It takes about six minutes to load 2,700 gallons of retardant onto the airplane,” said Grantham.
Department Cited for Safety Violations
The Santa Clara County Fire Department has been cited for safety violations by the California Division of OSHA. This from CBS5.com:
The citations allege that at the scene of a four-alarm fire in Los Gatos on Feb. 13, the fire department failed to set up "enclosures, fences, partitions or other effective methods to prevent accidental contact with downed 12,000 volt energized power lines."According to Cal/OSHA, the department also failed to prevent firefighters from working around the live wire, as they should have been safeguarded from the line until it was clear.
A third citation alleges that the department failed to maintain an effective injury and illness prevention program in accordance with state standards.
Cal/OSHA claims that the department's failure to implement updated written procedures for dealing with downed power lines resulted in the electrocution of Capt. Mark McCormack.
Here are some questions to ask regarding your own fire department:
Are your safety procedures in place?
Do you have SOPs/SOGs in place?
Do the firefighters and officers follow the SOPs/SOGs?
Does your department put safety as the first priority?
NIOSH Report on 2003 Cedar Fire Fatality
Here is the NIOSH report referenced in this post regarding the 2003 Cedar Fire fatality.
Study on Cancer Inconclusive
An article from the Baltimore Sun (via US Firefighting News) notes that a study of cancer among Anne Arundel firefighters was inconclusive.
Anne Arundel County firefighters have a "somewhat greater" risk of developing cancer than the general public, but the health problems of 17 firefighters who contracted at least one form of cancer could not be directly linked to training methods at the fire academy in Millersville, the Johns Hopkins University public health officials said yesterday.A 10-month study, released yesterday, said that county firefighters who trained in Millersville between 1971 and 1979 were exposed to cancer-causing PCBs when the Fire Department burned waste oil for exercises.
But Johns Hopkins researchers said that based on the $25,000 study, which was conducted at the request of the county and state, they could not say exposure to the burned fuel led to the cancer cases. Similar studies in Chicago and Seattle have also found an elevated cancer risk among firefighters but no link to specific practices.
This study was very narrow and further information needs to be gathered.
The results "speak to the need to do a formal study. ... We have a very incomplete picture," said Dr. Jonathan Samet, the lead investigator and chairman of the epidemiology department at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health.
As firefighters, we are exposed to smoke and the chemicals within the smoke on a regular basis. Are you limiting that exposure as much as you can while still accomplishing your duties?
Chemical Plant Fire in Texas
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Firehouse.com) is reporting on a huge fire at a chemical plant.
A series of explosions rocked a chemical plant in north Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon, unleashing a five-alarm fire and an enormous pillar of black smoke that could be seen in Denton and Dallas."It sounded like and looked like a tornado," said Jeff Maxwell, who was eating lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Luckily, nobody was killed, but there were three people injured.
An interesting note is that this is the second refinery fire in two days. The first was at the Murphy Oil in Louisiana. This from a press release from Murphy Oil:
According to Neve, the fire started inside the refinery at approximately 2:00 a.m. this morning, affecting both the ROSE Unit and the Vacuum Unit. The fire in the Vacuum Unit was extinguished by 5:15 a.m. The fire in the ROSE Unit was contained to a small area and crews have worked throughout the day to extinguish it. Two employees received first aid for minor injuries.
These two fires have combined to raise oil prices sharply. Bloomberg reports:
Crude oil for September delivery rose as much as 47 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $60.41 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $60.35 at 9:10 a.m. Singapore time.
So what is with the refinery/oil platform fires the last couple of days?
12 Killed at Oil Platform Fire
A fire destroyed an oil platform near India resulting in a death toll of 12 with 16 people missing. From The Tribune:
The mishap happened when a vessel owned by the SCI, buoyed by choppy seas, crashed onto the oil rig setting off a fire. As the installation erupted into flames, most of the 384 employees on the rig jumped into the sea.Rescuers were trying to reach the six divers trapped in the debris of the crashed platform, CG officials said. So far, 367 persons have been rescued after Naval ships and Coast Guard vessels commenced rescue operations.
ONGC officials say, the casualties were kept low as its support vessels based nearby plunged into action and began picking up those who jumped into the sea. Naval helicopters were also pressed into action and several survivors and some bodies were picked up.
It’s amazing that so many people were rescued. It could have been much worse.
Do oil platforms have trained fire crews? How did the fire become so large? If I find out additional information, I’ll post it.
Assateague Ponies
If you’ve never heard of the Assateague ponies, now is your chance. Firehouse.com has an article about the ponies’ annual swim.
It took the ponies about five minutes to cross the 200-yard channel from Assateague, Md., a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean, shortly after 8:30 a.m., Shotwell said.The ponies were then herded through town to a corral on the carnival grounds, where they will be sold at auction Thursday.
Yearlings and younger are sold to thin the herd and raise money for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which cares for the ponies.
I’ve heard of some interesting fundraisers, but this is the best one in the country. Here are a couple of extra links to learn a little more:
Assateague Island National Seashore
The Ponies of Chincoteague and Pony Penning
Carbon Monoxide Culprit in Wildland Death
The LA Times is reporting that according to a NIOSH report, the death of a wildland firefighter in 2003 was due to hypoxia caused by carbon monoxide.
An autopsy showed that the firefighter's blood contained a 27% concentration of carbon monoxide.
I wasn’t able to find the NIOSH report online, but I didn’t put much effort into it. I’ll follow up later with the location of the official report.
This shows that carbon monoxide is a serious issue even on wildland fires.
SC Firefighter Loses Job
Well, Matt Cooper, the South Carolina firefighter that became the son-in-law of fire captain by marrying his daughter has officially been fired.
Here is the report from the Charlotte Observer (via Firehouse.com):
Cooper was given a 30-day grace period after his wedding. As that time came to a close, he filed a lawsuit asking for a restraining order that would allow him to keep his job as litigation continued. A federal judge granted a 10-day extension July 15, and the issue was sent to state court.Circuit Court Judge John Hayes III dissolved the temporary restraining order Tuesday and refused to stop the city from firing Cooper. In a written opinion, Hayes said the likelihood of successfully overturning the city policy was "minimal."
"The City's anti-nepotism policy is clear, does not appear to violate any of Cooper's asserted rights and the City has an absolute right to terminate any employee at will for any reason or no reason at all," Hayes wrote.
I don’t know all of the details, but I think Matt Cooper is out of luck. My guess is that further legal action won’t get him anywhere.
ICE on Cell Phones
From the Washington Post, a new idea to assist emergency responders in contacting next of kin:
To its owner, the cell phone is an indispensable lifeline at times of crisis, reuniting loved ones separated by unforeseen events at the touch of a button. But for members of the emergency services making life-and-death decisions, the cell poses a conundrum: Which of the numbers stored in its electronic address book should they call to reach a casualty's next of kin?Now a simple initiative, conceived by a paramedic in Britain, has gained momentum on both sides of the Atlantic to try to solve this problem. Cell users are being urged to put the acronym ICE -- "in case of emergency" -- before the names of the people they want to designate as next of kin in their cell address book, creating entries such as "ICE -- Dad" or "ICE -- Alison."
This sounds like a pretty good thing. I bet it won’t be long and the cell phone companies will be including this feature in their phones.
PSOB to Include Heart Attacks and Strokes
From Firehouse.com, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program will soon cover firefighters that die due to heart attacks or strokes. This is a big deal since so many firefighters are affected by these health issues.
This means the regulations will be published shortly, and the publication will be followed by a public comment period of 60 to 90 days, Webb said. In the meantime, the DOJ is expected to implement an interim rule, Webb said. "What that rule is I don't know," he said.
It will be important for the fire service to send in their comments during the comment period. Stay tuned and I’ll be sure to post when the comment period starts and ends.
Firehouse Poles Declining
Via US Firefighting News, an article by the Star Tribune covers the decline of poles within firehouses.
It's the same around the country, as cities build one-story firehouses and update older ones. "It certainly is without any question that firehouse poles are becoming, with each new firehouse, a thing of the past," said Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Here is why:
The removal has also coincided with heightened concerns about safety in recent years. Every firefighter seems to tell stories of pole-related broken ankles, sprains, blown-out knees, friction burns, concussions, twisted and broken backs. News accounts described one pole-related paralysis, in 1969, and one civilian death, in 1929.
It’s too bad that they are unsafe; however, they will forever remain a symbol of firefighting.
50 Year Volunteer
Here is a great story about a man that has spent his life volunteering in the fire service.
After more than 50 years of dedicated service with the Lexington division of fire, it does not appear that Donnie Ridley plans to retire any time soon.Retirement is something Ridley's sister, Myrna Burke, says she has discussed with her 66-year-old brother, but it's not an option that interests him.
"I've tried to get him to retire, but he won't," Burke said, chuckling. "I think it's wonderful that he's had the longevity to stay here."
Yesterday, Ridley was promoted to deputy chief, making his time with the department even sweeter.
Ridley, who is mentally disabled, has been an adopted brother of the fire department since he lived around the corner from Station No. 5 as a teenager in the 1950s.
Read the whole article. The firefighters in Lexington, KY have proven that they are the best.
Fire Hall Lost to Fire
The Milden Fire Department in Milden, Saskatchewan lost its fire hall, tanker, and fire gear to a fire that also destroyed a lumber yard and car wash. See details here and here.
Volunteer firefighters who'd run out to respond to the lumber yard blaze quickly changed into their gear as their fire hall was heating up. One of them drove the fire truck out of the building - just in time, as he suffered minor smoke inhalation, said Fire Chief Randy Reid.The volunteer fire department lost its water tanker truck, used to put out rural grass fires, and most of its firefighters' suits with jackets alone worth up to $1,000, Reid said. "We just bought a whole bunch of new fire gear," Reid said.
"We've still got a fire department and that's what matters. I can suit up three guys for a fire."
Chief Reid has the right attitude.
Japanese Fire Coats
Via Firefighter Blog, Cincinnati.com has a cool article about Japanese fire coats from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Just like today's firefighters, Japanese firefighters of the 17th and 18th centuries wore a kind of uniform that not only identified them as firefighters but also as members of a particular unit. Unlike today, the coats were cotton and were stenciled, painted and dyed with a squad's pattern, then tightly quilted. Many reversed to a ceremonial side with fantastic designs plucked from ancient stories, and depicted strong and determined creatures or historic heroes.
Here is the link to the Cincinnati Art Museum where they will be displayed.
OSHA Forces Commitment
Here is an interesting article about the fire brigade at the James Lick Observatory in California. The University of California-Santa Cruz was using employees of the observatory to staff the fire brigade when fires broke out. However, OSHA regulations require that the personnel receive the proper training. It looks like UC – Santa Cruz opted to reduce their fire protection instead of committing to training their personnel.
"The briefing by the OSHA investigator was very explicit," said Stone: "If we fight fires, we're liable for major fines."So the brigade has been renamed the Mount Hamilton Safety Brigade. It can assist firefighters and respond to medical emergencies -- always a key function for its members. It can keep an eye out for fires -- especially important in a high-brush summer after a wet winter, like this one, said the mountain's resident police officer, Mark McDonald. But it can't fight them.
I wonder if they considered forming a volunteer fire department at the observatory instead relying on distant units to provide fire protection.
World Firefighters Games
After a little surfing, I found another international firefighter sports competition – the World Firefighters Games. This one is similar to the World Police and Fire Games, except that it is only for firefighters and their spouses and it is held on even numbered years.
The next competition for the World Firefighters Games is slated for Hong Kong, China in 2006.
World Police and Fire Games 2005
I'm a little late on this, but I ran across the website for the World Police and Fire Games today. The games for 2005 finished on July 5. So what exactly is this event? This from the official website:
Every other year since 1985, the World Police & Fire Games Federation has been staging a one-of-a-kind event.This international rendez-vous highlights the cultural uniqueness of the host country and the ethnic diversity of participating athletes. Representatives from four professions related to public safety take part in the Games with a single goal—surpassing themselves in the spirit of sport!
The World Police & Fire Games (WPFG), now the second largest international sporting event after the famed Summer Olympics, attracts more and more athletes each time they are held. With their wide variety of disciplines, the WPFG offer an unrivalled display of amateur athletic performance.
The symbolic torch of these Games burns even brighter thanks to the warm and friendly spirit of camaraderie that prevails!
There are 62 sports including events you would find at the Olympics such as track and field, boxing and soccer. Other sports that aren't traditionally found at the Olympics include angling, golf, tug-of-war, and ultimate firefighter.
The next games are scheduled for Adelaide, Australia in 2007. Better start training now!
Firewhirl
Welcome to Firewhirl, a blog by Northern Plains Fire. Don’t know what a blog is? Essentially, it is a journal that can be updated easily and published to the internet so that everyone can read it (here is a more detailed definition).
We will use this blog to post about interesting things that pertain to firefighting and to let you know about new developments within Northern Plains Fire. It is our hope to provide you with interesting and timely information and to develop a community of readers that share an interest in firefighting.
Enjoy!
