Fireworks Safety
Are you planning on shooting some fireworks with your family over the holiday? Here are some safety tips from the USFA.
Residents Working to Dissolve Fire District
Some residents on Long Island have had enough of their fire district (from Newsday.com via Firehouse.com).
A group of Gordon Heights Fire District residents, exasperated at paying Long Island's highest fire taxes, have begun circulating a petition to dissolve the district - a move experts called unprecedented in New York State....
While Gordon Heights fire officials called the push for dissolution rash, petitioners say average fire tax bills of $1,344 - nearly four times higher than one neighboring district - demand a radical solution.
...
Gordon Heights is a small, predominantly black neighborhood nestled between Coram, Middle Island and Yaphank. Its fire department, which protects fewer than 900 homes, has a $1.48-million budget, a fleet of 20 vehicles, a 24-hour emergency medical staff and three secretaries.
$1,344 for a fire tax bill - Holy Smokes! I guess if I was paying that much I would be upset too. The bill my dad pays to the fire district he lives in is probably around $25 per year.
I'm not sure that dissolving the fire district is the answer, but certainly working with the district board to reduce the fire tax would be appropriate.
World Cup Fan Pulls TV from Fire
Hehehe, this guy must be a serious soccer fan (from FireFightingNews.com).
A Beijing football fan refused to let the small matter of his house burning down disturb his enjoyment of the World Cup match between France and Spain. A fire broke out in a hutong in the centre of the Chinese capital in Hanover and gutted the traditional courtyard dwelling, the Beijing Daily Messenger reported."When the neighbours shouted 'fire!', I took my little baby and ran out in my nightclothes," the man's wife told the paper.
"My husband paid no attention to the danger, just grabbed the television and put it under his arm.
"After getting out of the house, he then set about finding an electric socket to plug in and continue watching his game."
Reminds me of this cartoon that I posted about a month ago.
Dry Powder Foam
Over at Firefighter, Wayne has posted a picture of a dry powder foam eductor. I've never heard of dry powder foam. If you've heard of this type of system and have some info, please send me an email.
Fire Museum to Close
The New England Fire & History Museum in Brewster, MA, is closing temporarily (from the Cape Cod Times).
And now, the New England Fire & History Museum, has announced it will not open this year.Noel Beyle, who sits on the fire museum's board of directors, said the board decided not to open this summer, so it could inventory the collection and develop new programs and funding sources.
The board hopes to reopen the museum in the spring, he said.
This museum relies on volunteer help and admission fees to keep it running. If you live up in that area, I'm sure they would appreciate a helping hand. If you don't live near there, a donation would give them a boost.
Tempe Firefighters Use Wi-Fi
CNET has an article about the Wi-Fi system in Tempe, AZ, and how the fire and police departments are using it.
The pictures in Jensen's van are sent through the city wireless network to an emergency operation center, where important decisions can be made. "In my (business), you need to make some decisions really quick. That is what this allows us to do," he said....
He can also pick up useful information on the Internet, such as the floor plans and chemical inventories of local industries, and keep them updated on a secured Web site.
Cool stuff. There is a video report to watch too. Just follow the link.
Near Miss: TIC Dropped
This near miss report isn't dramatic or exciting, but it illustrates how an injury can be avoided if we take the time to do things right.
While searching for the origin of smoke inside a commercial occupancy a firefighter was assigned to check the roof A/C unit. A decision was made to utilize the fixed service ladder attached to the building. While the firefighter was climbing, he carried a tool in one hand & the thermal imager with strap over his shoulder. During the ascent, the imager slipped off his shoulder and fell 20' to the ground. A second firefighter waiting to climb was moved out of the way 10 seconds prior in case of an accidental drop. The object would have stuck the second fire fighter in the head or upper body.
These are the kind of stories I like to read because it shows that these firefighters are watching out for each other. They aren't afraid to correct a situation so that everyone stays safe.
Coffee Break Questions:
- Would your firefighters correct this situation if it happened on your fireground?
- Would your firefighters respond positively if given the order to clear the ladder in this situation?
- Does your department follow the motto of "Safety First"?
SWAT Medics
Firefighters are now part of the SWAT team in Hialeah, FL (from FireFightingNews.com).
Florida - What do fire hoses, pistols and first-aid kits have in common. They are the tools that may help a new breed of Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, members save lives in Hialeah. For the first time, the city's fire department teamed up with its police department in an effort to create SWAT medics, a group of medically trained firefighters that can provide immediate attention to wounded victims in emergency situations.
Living out in the sticks, there are very few SWAT teams in my area, let alone SWAT medics. It is an excellent idea. Check out this web site for more details about SWAT medics.
Rapid Intervention Safety and Command
The Fire Service History blog has an interesting post about the Secret Service's Rapid Intervention Safety and Command unit.
RISC is a highly trained and dedicated team of secret service agents that work in and around the White House. The folks on this team respond to chemical, biological and radiological threats; fire hazards; physical entrapments and other life-threatening emergencies.
Here is an article from the National Fire & Rescue web site about the formation of this unit (about 1/3 of the way down the page).
Apparently, there was some controversy about the creation of this new unit, but it sounds to me like it is just another tool in the toolbox.
Wildfire Updates
With wildfire season picking up the following sites are excellent resources for getting updated information:
NIFC National Fire News
This report gives an overall view of the fire situation nation-wide. It includes updates on all large wildland fires.
InciWeb
Updates on large wildland fires and the reports may include pictures, maps, and more in-depth information.
Toughest Firefighter Alive!
Toughest Firefighter Alive!
Rain and hail halted the
Toughest Firefighter Alive Competition!
Courtesy of Scottie's Cartoon Gallery.
Can FEMA Be Saved?
The roll of FEMA has been debated over the past few years, especially after Hurricane Katrina. Here is an interesting article from the Washington Post (via Fire Engineering) about the future of FEMA.
Who should be in charge of domestic disasters in the United States? Should power be centralized in the White House or spread out to civilian agencies, the military and the states? And for what kinds of emergencies should FEMA prepare -- a nuclear strike, terrorists using weapons of mass destruction, or natural disasters?"Spinning off FEMA doesn't really get to the root of the real problems," said Frank J. Cilluffo, director of George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute and a former special assistant to President Bush. "It's a politically expedient solution . . . that would give a false sense of security that FEMA was 100 percent effective."
Good points. Read the article to get a sense of where things are headed. Whatever happens to FEMA will directly affect the USFA which in turn will have an impact on the AFG program.
State of Emergency in Nevada
Nevada is burning up (from FOXNews.com).
RENO, Nev. — Gov. Kenny Guinn declared a state of emergency as state and federal crews put practically every available piece of equipment on the lines to combat dozens of lightning-sparked fires that have burned 125 square miles of Nevada.More than 1,000 firefighters on Wednesday were battling dozens of fires, from a 57,000-acre blaze burning out of control largely in uninhabited rangeland in northeast Nevada to a complex of a dozen smaller fires around Reno and Carson City that forced evacuations at the town of Mound House along the historic Pony Express Trail.
The wildfire season has been picking up gradually since the big grass fires in Oklahoma and Texas were extinguished earlier this year. As far as I know, the Nevada fires are putting the first real strain on the firefighting system since then.
Comments Turned Off
Spammers strike again!
Due to a large volume of comment spam, I have to turn off the comment feature in Firewhirl.
Please feel free to drop me an email to share your thoughts. My email is joe@northernplainsfire.com. The email is also listed in the sidebar at the right.
Sorry for the loss in this feature, but the time it was taking to zap all of the spam was getting ridiculous.
Fire Safety Campaign for Babies and Toddlers
The USFA has a new fire safety campaign emphasizing babies and toddlers. It covers things like smoke detectors, matches, and home escape plans.
Everyone with children should spend some time at this web site. Good info!
Emergency Lights in Private Vehicles
Interesting results! In our small, volunteer department some of the firefighters use emergency lights in the POVs and some don't. I've spent time with and without emergency lights in my personal vehicle. In my experience, if you drive safely, the emergency lights help clear the traffic so that the trip to the fire hall is quicker. Not a lot quicker, but a little.
On the flip side, I've seen guys respond to the fire hall driving too fast and putting the public at risk. The emergency lights just make this situation worse.
Post your thoughts on this issue by leaving a comment.
FireFit Program
The Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team has developed a fitness program for wildland firefighters called FireFit.
This program was created with the intent to provide the interagency wildland fire community with a comprehensive, easy-to-follow, fitness program with the ultimate goal of improving firefighter safety and health and reducing injuries.
Check out their web site to get the details.
Are you as physically fit as you would like to be?
NIOSH Report on 2005 Basement Fire
NIOSH has released their report of a 2005 basement fire in New York where a firefighter was killed while trying to exit the building.
On January 23, 2005, a 37-year-old male career fire fighter (the victim) died while exiting a residential basement fire. At approximately 1337 hours, crews were dispatched to a reported residential structure fire. Crews began to arrive on the scene at approximately 1340 hours and at approximately 1344 hours, the victim, a fire fighter and officer made entry through the front door and proceeded down the basement stairwell to conduct a search for the seat of the fire using a thermal imaging camera (TIC). At approximately 1346 hours, the victim and officer began to exit the basement when they became separated on the lower section of the stairwell. The officer reached the front stoop and realized that the victim had failed to exit the building. He returned to the top of the basement stairs and heard a personal alert safety system (PASS) alarm sounding in the stairwell and immediately transmitted a MAYDAY for the missing fire fighter. The victim was located at approximately 1349 hours, and numerous fire fighters spent the next twenty minutes working to remove the victim from the building. At approximately 1413 hours, the victim was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
It took firefighters 20 minutes to remove the victim from the building due to heavy smoke and heat conditions and a narrow stairway cluttered with debris. Here is a picture of the stairway where they found the victim.
Photo courtesy of NIOSH.
This incident really shows how quickly things can go wrong and how difficult it can be to move an injured firefighter.
Read the whole report to get all of the details.
Federal EMS Office
Should there be a federal office for EMS? NAEMT thinks so (from FireChief.com).
An overwhelming majority of EMS professionals responding to a recent survey feel Congress should establish a federal EMS entity similar to the U.S. Fire Administration that would raise the profile of EMS in the nation’s capital and improve federal response to large-scale disasters.Respondents to the survey conducted by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians were divided, however, as to whether EMS workers should be categorized as health-care providers, public safety responders and/or public health workers.
This sounds like a good idea to me and it makes sense. The question from the second paragraph is little more difficult to answer. I feel a poll question coming on.
Another question that comes to mind is where within the government would a federal EMS office fit? Should it be placed within FEMA, which is part of DHS? Hmmm.
Wild Wildfire Season?
Wildfire season is kicking up - lots of news articles out there about wildland fires. This from FireFightingNews.com:
Only four days into summer, wildfires are already burning in record numbers as experts fear drought conditions mean a dangerous wildfire season in the U.S. Statistics complied by National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, show the 3.2 million acres burned up by 54,686 fires already this year tops the 10-year average of 39,240 fires burning a million acres.Although the fires have been mostly contained, experts say the dry ground is ripe for a worst-case scenario.
Around here, we are drier than normal, so I would expect some significant grass fires later this summer.
Trumpets
Photo courtesy of NYFD.com.
Here is a nice post about the different categories of trumpets that were used in the fire service (from Firefighter).
Fire Service TV Shows
Over at Fire Service History, they are listing TV shows that address the fire service. Give them a hand in listing these shows.
Aurora FD Celebrates 150th Anniversary
The Aurora Fire Department located in Aurora, IL, is celebrating their 150th anniversary. Check out their website and this newspaper article from The Beacon News.
If you let me know of a significant anniversary (100th, 125th, 150th, etc.) for your department, I'll post about it. Just send the info via e-mail or leave a comment.
Near Miss: Contact with High Voltage Power Line
This report is short, but contains a critical lesson.
Responded to wires down across roadway. After consulting with local electric company via phone, it was decided wire was a ground or guy wire. Moved wire out of way with tree branch. It turned out to be high voltage wire, luckily not energized. There was no risk to life or property at the time and no immediate action was needed.
Lessons learned from the report:
Take the time to think, especially when no risk to life or property is involved. Do not take the word of others, verify. Do a risk / benefit analysis.
This could have been really bad. Here are some coffee break questions to discuss:
When presented with a downed power line, who should move it?
What circumstances would indicate that the power line should be moved by firefighters?
Is there ever a safe time for a firefighter to touch or move a downed power line?
German Firefighters Killed in Wreck
There was a terrible accident in Germany involving a fire engine (from Firehouse.com).
Four German firemen were killed when their fire engine crashed as they rushed to what turned out be a training exercise, police said Tuesday.The firemen from the small town of Wolmirstedt, near the eastern city of Magdeburg, were alerted Monday evening that a fire had broken out at a kindergarten in a nearby town. They were not told that it was an exercise, police said.
Our sympathies are with the firefighter's families and colleagues.
2006 Safety Stand Down
Today is the start of the 2006 International Fire Fighter Safety Stand Down. Be sure to do something in your department over the next week or two to emphasize firefighter safety.
Click here to go to the Safety Stand Down web site for info and ideas.
Timeliness
Better late than never.
Is this always true? Not in the fire service. Check out this picture from WF&DT (via Roanoke Firefighters).
Serious About Seat Belts
It looks like the folks that responded to the poll are serious about having their firefighters wear seat belts. From my perspective, that is the right attitude. Just this last week, a firefighter was killed when his apparatus overturned and he was ejected from the vehicle. He was not wearing his seat belt.
Almost a Week
Holy Cow! I realized this morning it has been almost a week since I last posted. It has been a little busy here, so blogging took a back seat.
Much of last week was spent studying for my EMT-B exam, which I took on Saturday. I passed the practical stations without any trouble, but the written test was really tough. We get the results of the written test in a couple of weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Now that I'm done with the EMT class and test, blogging should be back to normal.
Saturday Night Movie!
Saturday Night Movie!
This happened many years ago in Ponsonby, Auckland.
Courtesy of Scottie's Cartoon Gallery.
Junior Firefighter LODD Benefits
The majority of the respondents think that junior firefighters should receive line of duty death benefits, but there are some that don't agree. This issue may not be as clear cut as I first thought.
Thanks to all of you that participate in the polls.
Seat Belt Pledge
Do you have the courage to take the Seat Belt Pledge?
Dr. Burton A. Clark has developed this pledge to honor Firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton. Firefighter Hunton fell from his truck and died two days later from his injuries. He was not wearing his seat belt.
Check out Dr. Clark's article here (from Firehouse.com).
Here is the link to the pledge (pdf). Print it out, sign it, and then fax it to the appropriate number listed at the bottom of the form.
Roethlisberger Motorcycle Wreck
I've been a Steeler fan forever, so that is why I'm posting about his: Ben Roethlisberger was involved in an accident while riding his motorcycle yesterday. Check the details here (from FOXNews).
PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger has a lot more to worry about than playing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition late Monday night after breaking his jaw and nose in a motorcycle crash earlier in the day.
Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl championship, was taken to Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital, where he underwent seven hours of surgery.
My thoughts and prayers are with Ben and his family. Hopefully, he has a full recovery. It would be a bonus if he can continue to play football for the Steelers.
Note to Ben - listen to the advice of your coach next time. Get rid of the bike.
NIOSH Report on 2005 Electrocution
NIOSH has released their report on the electrocution death of a California firefighter in 2005. Here is the executive summary:
On February 13, 2005, a 36-year-old male career Captain (the victim) was electrocuted while working at the scene of a three alarm residential structure fire. The Captain was checking on one of his crew members when he walked under a tree and came in contact with a 12kva power line. The line had burned through early in the fire with one section landing on the ground to the south and the other lodged in a tree near the northwest corner of the fire building. It is believed the victim knew of the downed power line that had fallen to the south. However, it appeared to witnesses that he was unaware of the power line that was hanging in the tree, and possibly did not see the caution tape or hear the warning of a fire fighter who was in the vicinity. He walked directly into the power line and collapsed to the ground. A nearby fire fighter used an ax handle to secure and hold the power line off of the victim while fire fighters pulled him away from the line to a safe area. Advanced life support was administered immediately by emergency medical personnel who were at the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
After looking at the pictures of the incident, it would have been extremely difficult to see the power line that killed this firefighter, especially in the dark. Be sure to read the recommendations in the report and then discuss with your fellow firefighters whether your department complies with them.
9/11 Firefighter Monument
Photo couresty of Rambusch Decorating Company.
A monument dedicated to the 343 firefighters that were killed on 9/11 was unveiled recently (from The New York Times).
The first large-scale 9/11 monument at ground zero — a bold, literal and almost neo-Classical 56-foot-long bronze relief dedicated to the firefighters "who fell and to those who carry on" — was unveiled yesterday on the side of "10 House," the home of Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10, across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center.
Follow the link. There is an interactive feature with a picture of the entire bas relief that can be viewed.
Next time I'm in New York, this will be a must-see.
I'm Back
Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days, but I was out of the office. The South Dakota state fire school was in session Thursday through Saturday.
John T. Brennan Fire Museum
A fire museum is set to reopen (from The Jersey Journal):
The Bayonne Fire Department will mark its 100th birthday later this summer with a parade and post-parade party on the lower level of 16th Street Park.As part of the Sept. 9 celebration - six days after the actual anniversary date - the department's brass plan to put out a souvenir journal and invite the public to see the fruits of long hours spent renovating and maintaining the John T. Brennan Fire Museum on West 47th Street off Broadway.
...
Among the artifacts still remaining are an ancient, manually operated, horse-drawn pumper and a well-traveled 1840 hose cart, originally used by New York, then by a post-Civil War southern state, then the Peekskill, N.Y., Fire Department and, finally, Bayonne.
Sounds cool. If you are near Bayonne, NJ, stop by and check it out.
Congratulations to the Bayonne Fire Department for hitting the century mark. Have a great celebration!
Home Fire Sprinkler Systems
Most of our poll respondents don't think that new homes should be required to have sprinkler systems installed. I don't either, but I'm torn on this issue. I'm pretty sure that having a sprinkler system in homes would greatly reduce damage, injuries, and deaths from fires. However, would that justify a law requiring sprinkler systems? I don't know - it's something to ponder.
East Timor Firefighters
How would you like to be one of ten firefighters in a city of 180,000 people, only have two fire engines, and depend on international peace keepers to protect you while you fight fires? That is what the firefighters in Dili, Timor, deal with on a daily basis (from The Herald Sun).
DILI'S firefighters are probably the world's busiest right now as arsonists torch homes across the East Timorese capital – yet there are only 10 of them facing daily threats from angry mobs.Known locally as bombeiros, the firefighters have not been paid for two months, make do with only two fire engines and live permanently in their dilapidated central Dili headquarters alongside relatives and 250 refugees.
They have had knives held to their throats as they attempt to extinguish the handiwork of arsonists and must be escorted by armed international peacekeepers as they rush to stop the city burning.
Read the whole article. These folks really show what being a firefighter is all about.
Here is some info about the country of East Timor.
Blind Dispatcher
Dispatcher Steven Tidwell of Watson Chapel, AR, hasn't let a little thing like the loss of his sight stop him (from KAIT8.com).
WATSON CHAPEL- In Watson Chapel, it doesn't take sight to lead firefighters to the scene of a fire. All that's needed is Steven Tidwell.Tidwell is blind but works as a dispatcher for the volunteer Watson Chapel Fire Department. The 22-year-old was an infant when he lost his sight and, as he was growing up, he developed a mental map of the city while listening and talking to family members as they all went about their daily routine.
Keep up the good work, Dispatcher Tidwell!
Firefighter Proposes from Rooftop
This is a cool way to propose (from The Billings Gazette).
Billings firefighter Briana Masche climbed a very steep 53 steps up a fire truck ladder, swung her leg onto the roof of a building and stepped into the surprise of a lifetime Saturday afternoon.
Masche clamored up the steps, supposedly to check a report of a hot odor coming from one of the Stapleton Building's heating units.
Supposedly is the key word.
There was no emergency atop the building, just a very nervous fiancé-to-be.
While Masche and other members of the firefighting crew checked their bulky fire-proof gear and got the huge aerial ladder just right against the top of the four-story building, her boyfriend, firefighter Joe Sands, was already on the roof.
Sands was wearing his firefighter dress uniform and hat. His black shoes shined and his badge and nametag glimmered in the sun.
"What are you doing up here?" Sands said Masche asked when she saw him. "I said, 'I'm here to do what we've been talking about.' "
Read the rest of the article to see how it turned out. The article has some pictures too.
DOJ Files Appeal in Firefighter Death
A couple of months ago, a court ruled that the family of Junior Firefighter Christopher Kangas would receive LODD benefits. Now the Department of Justice has filed an appeal (from delcotimes.com via Firehouse.com).
Unless the DOJ withdraws the appeal before October, Kangas’ name won’t be listed on the memorial this year, and Amber-Messick won’t receive federal death benefits worth $267,000. She’s already received local and state benefits worth $270,000."It’s disappointing, but I can’t say I’m surprised," said Amber-Messick, who first started fighting the DOJ over death benefits in 2002.
She has lost those legal battles three separate times over the past three years. The DOJ claimed each time that the Kangas family was ineligible for benefits because Chris did not fall under federal "firefighter" definitions, since he was not permitted to "fight fires."
The DOJ ought to withdraw their appeal. The judge was right in granting the LODD benefits in this case. In my book, if someone is on the department and respond to incidents, they are a firefighter, regardless of their actual duties. It takes a team effort to fight fires and not everyone is going to be on the nozzle.
Big Bushfire in Namibia
A large bushfire in Namibia, Africa, has been burning for a week. The article details what kind of equipment they have for fighting this fire. It isn't much. Here is an excerpt (from allAfrica.com):
By yesterday morning, the fire had swept through 500,000 hectares of land, ruining large quantities of both harvested and unharvested crops while large tracts of prime grazing areas were simply reduced to ashes and thick clouds of smoke rose into the air.
500,000 hectares converts to 1,235,526 acres - big fire!
Those involved in the efforts to put out the fire have been unable to do so because they were only equipped with two tanks with capacities of 5 000-litres and 6,000-litres that can only be mounted on a trailer pulled by either a tractor or a truck, while villagers also tried in vain to use freshly-chopped tree branches.Other fire-fighting equipment in the hands of forestry officials at Katima Mulilo, are four mobile water tanks that each can be filled with a maximum of 3,000 litres of the liquid.
He says the tractor is too slow and inadequate for such a challenging task, while the only truck, a 6x6 Mercedes Benz truck suitable for such emergencies was sent to Windhoek in 2002 for repairs but has yet to be fixed because of financial constraints.
This shows just how lucky we are. I can't imagine trying to extinguish a 1.2 million acre fire with a handful of broken down trucks and water tanks on trailers.
Here is some info on Namibia for those that are interested.
Near Miss: Captain Runs Out of Air
This week's near miss has two separate reports for the same incident. The incident involves a captain ignoring his low air alarm during the search for a child in a structure fire.
At some point my vibra-alert began to sound and I figured we still had time to continue the search. The fire, mattress, was darkened down and the heat was low. I called for a thermal imaging camera and assistance with the search. My alarm continued and one firefighter recommended leaving the area. I thought we still had time and wanted to wait for the next crew. The next crew arrived as I was running out of air. I broke the seal on my mask and took a smoky breath from the floor. I asked the arriving crew where the stairs were for a quick exit. The incoming crew was able to direct me with the hoseline, I took one more breath from the floor and raced up the stairs with my firefighters close behind.
This is just an excerpt from the full report made by the captain involved. Here is the other report made by a different firefighter at the same scene. Read both reports to get different perspectives on the same incident.
So what can be learned from this near miss? The captain that ran out of air says it best:
I re-learned what I learned in the academy 18 years ago LEAVE WHEN YOUR VIBRA-ALERT GOES OFF.
MFD Stands By at Races
On Friday, May 26, the Miller Fire Department was on hand at the Miller Speedway just in case there was a wreck or fire. This night, there were neither, just lots of good racing!
Task Force Releases Hydrogen Cyanide Report
A couple of months ago, I posted about an incident in Providence, RI, where firefighters were exposed to hydrogen cyanide. The chief of the department formed a task force to study the problem and they have released their report. Here are some interesting points (from The Providence Journal).
The report contains 16 recommendations for the fire service, the medical community and the public. The task force advocates training firefighters about the risks and to consistently wear their air masks, educating the medical community to routinely test smoke-inhalation victims for cyanide poisoning, and teaching the public that there's no time to spare in getting out of smoky buildings.Above all, the task force is pressing to end the traditional "smoke-eater" culture of fire departments, in Providence and nationwide.
...
The task force recommends more scientific and medical research. They found that Rhode Island Hospital is the only major hospital in New England that performs cyanide testing in-house, and there are only eight laboratories in the country that perform whole blood cyanide tests. Hospitals that can't perform the tests in-house can wait up to a week to get test results, which is useless when determining whether a critically ill person has been poisoned by cyanide.
The report is being sent to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which recently sent a team of doctors to investigate the cyanide incidents. The NIOSH team is expected to release its report in several months, and might end up recommending a wider investigation into how prevalent hydrogen cyanide is at fire scenes -- and what firefighters nationwide should do to protect themselves.
Lots of good info in this article.
As firefighters, we all know that we should be wearing our SCBA in any IDLH atmosphere. This will go a long way to preventing hydrogen cyanide poisonings.
The medical community will need to beef up its ability to test blood for hydrogen cyanide. With only eight labs able to do the test, there could be a big bottle neck.
I'm interested to see what NIOSH has to say in their report. I'll be sure to post when it comes out.
