Firewhirl: Procedures Archives

Firefighting Foam Approved to Kill Bird Flu Poultry

The federal government has approved the use of firefighting foam to kill poultry that has been infected with bird flu (from heraldsun.com).

Foam can be used to suffocate floor-reared flocks -- chickens and turkeys raised primarily for meat -- to contain deadly bird flu, APHIS spokeswoman Karen Eggert said.

I looked around on the internet for some more specifics on the techniques that should be used, but didn't find anything.

Add this to the expanding role of the fire department.

Crew Attends Ballgame

It looks like a Kansas City fire crew has caused a stir by attending a high school baseball game (from the Kansas City Star).

An on-duty Kansas City fire captain has been taking his pumper truck and crew into Lee’s Summit to watch his son’s high school baseball games.

The Fire Department launched an investigation after The Kansas City Star raised questions, but officials declined to comment Monday on their findings or any actions taken.

Twice this month Star staffers saw Pumper 43, based out of Station 43 on Missouri 350, parked in the Lee’s Summit North High School parking lot during freshman team games. The school is more than 5 miles from the station’s Knobtown location and is about 2½ miles outside Kansas City’s city limits.

Since I don't have much knowledge of urban fire department procedures, is this a big issue?

It seems to me that the fire department should have some policies regarding how far the crew and engine should be allowed to travel from their station. If it were up to me, I would be inclined to nix this type of thing since it was so far from their station.

Chime in and let me know what you think.

Wisconsin Town Fine with Beer in Fire Hall

A town in Wisconsin has voted to allow the firefighters to continue their practice of having beer at the fire hall (from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal via Firehouse.com).

Apr. 6--Palmyra -- With only a two-vote difference, voters in this small community let the firefighters have their beer.

But newly re-elected Village Trustee Al Tietz said Wednesday that firefighters shouldn't order a round at the fire station just yet.

Read the whole thing. I've posted on this issue before but involving a different fire department. See the post here.

I like to tip back a beer as much as the next guy, but it just doesn't make sense to me to have alcohol at a fire hall. The possible legal and liability issues far outweigh the social benefits.

Legislations Aims to Curb NY Fire Districts

Do you remember the series of articles from Newsday.com highlighting the financial issues of the Long Island fire districts? Well, here is a follow up article discussing some proposed legislation (from Newsday.com).

No more taxpayer-funded liquor at lavish fire installation dinners. Firefighter seminars in the Bahamas will have to be justified to the state. And most of New York's fire districts will be audited once a year, if lawmakers approve a detailed package of bills filed this week by Lindenhurst Assemb. Robert Sweeney and others.

Sweeney, chairman of the Assembly's Local Governments Committee, has been negotiating since January with fire service leaders and other state officials on the 13-bill package he hopes will help clean up the extravagant spending, mismanagement and weak oversight highlighted in Newsday's series in November on Long Island's volunteer fire system.

The package, which is expected to pass both houses this spring with volunteer support, is aimed at better accountability and more public involvement, Sweeney said.

Follow the link above to view the follow up article as well as links to the original articles.

It sounds like this is a comprehensive overhaul of how fire districts will do business and should go a long way toward fixing things. However, there is one piece that I'm not sure is a good idea:

Fire districts could no longer create reserve funds to save up for buildings and trucks without putting their plans to a public vote.

Many times the public doesn't understand the need to save up the large sums of money for new trucks or new fire halls. If the public doesn't cooperate with the fire department, the department's effectiveness will suffer.

On the other hand, it makes the fire department get out and educate the public on the need to regularly replace apparatus. Hmmm.

Drive Home Cars?

The Knoxville FD is trying to save money be reducing the number of drive home cars (from www.wate.com).

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- A spokesman for the Knoxville Fire Department says it has implemented some changes to reduce expenses. They come after allegations of unacceptable overtime.

One change is reducing the number of drive home cars from 18 to 14. This happened on Monday.

One of the complaints in a grievance filed by Capt. Jamie Faucon is that her car was taken away. Spokesman Charlie Barker says that was done to save money.

Only supervisors such as the chief, deputy chief and fire marshal will now have cars. They're on-call 24/7. This change is planned to save money on fuel and personnel expenses.

Is it a common thing for career departments to have drive home cars for their officers?

At our volunteer fire department here in town, everyone has a drive home car. Of course, it's their own car! (hehehehe)

Beer at the Fire Hall

This fire department is learning the hard way that drinking at the fire hall is inappropriate (from mlive.com).

Officials say a group of firefighters play Texas Hold 'em poker and some drink beer every Monday night after training exercises.

In a report that aired Wednesday, Fox 66 Anchor/ Investigative Reporter Jim Kiertzner showed up at the hall with a video camera and asked Krupp and Quaderer whether "hoisting a cold one" rather than a ladder was good public policy.

...

Township Treasurer Cheryl L. Bishop said she was vaguely aware that some of the Fire Department's 50-man volunteer force drank at the hall.

"I didn't know that it went on all the time," Bishop said, vowing to "definitely do something" to "curtail" the practice.

In the past, the fire department not only provided an important service to the community, it was also a social club. Considering the liability issues surrounding alcohol consumption at the fire hall, I believe the days of have a cold one after training are gone.

USFA Report on Response Times

The USFA has released a report on the response times for structure fires in the U.S. Here are their major findings:

• Regardless of region, season, or time of day, structure fire response times are generally less than 5 minutes half the time.
  
• The nationwide 90th percentile response time to structure fires is less than 11 minutes.
  
• Structure fires in the Northeast have the lowest response times while those in the West have the highest.
  
• Average structure fire response times show a relationship between flame spread and longer response times, but only after flames have spread beyond the room of origin.

The whole report is pretty short so reading it should only take a few minutes.

There was an interesting bit from the conclusion that caught my eye:

Despite the differences in size of fire departments, career or volunteer status, time of year, or location in the country, there is not a great difference in response times to structure fires as analyzed here. A more detailed analysis may uncover larger differences.

I was surprised by this. It would seem that large, urban fire departments would have better response times, but according to the report that isn't necessarily the case.

No Pay, No Aid Policy

A Missouri fire department chose not to fight a fire because the owner had not paid membership fees for fire protection (from News-Leader.com).

Firefighters near Monett stood by and watched a fire destroy a garage and a vehicle because the property owner, who was injured battling the flames, had not paid membership dues.

Monett Rural Fire Department Chief Ronnie Myers defended the policy, saying the membership-based organization could not survive if people thought the department would respond for free. The department said it will fight a fire without question if a life is believed to be in danger.

...

The Monett Rural Fire Department responded to the scene but did not fight the fire. Firefighters stood by as the fire burned itself out, watching in case the flames spread to neighboring properties owned by members.

This is really an unfortunate incident. I'm a strong believer in letting each local jurisdiction handle it's own business, but I think there are better ways to fund a fire department. Fight the fire and sort the financial details out later.

New USFS Type I Teams

The U.S. Forest Service has a new idea regarding incident management teams (from the San Diego Union-Tribune).

BILLINGS, Mont. – The U.S. Forest Service is looking for experienced wildland firefighters to fill two experimental teams that would be dedicated to tackling complex wildfires, hurricane relief or other large emergencies.

The teams would share the same qualifications as the specialized incident management squads, known as Type 1 teams. Those teams manage the nation's biggest wildfires and also have been called upon to help coordinate the response to disasters such as the World Trade Center terror attacks and the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

But the new teams would be smaller – seven members, rather than about 30 – and they'd handle their duties full-time.

This is an innovative approach and they are starting with just two teams to see if it will work.

It looks like the career path for emergency management is becoming better defined. Back is September, 2005, I posted about college degree programs in emergency management. A student could graduate from one of those programs, get hired in a variety of emergency management positions, and eventually land a job on a Type I incident command team.

Red Tag, Green Tag

I was reading through an article about some wildland firefighters that are expecting an early fire season (from KOLD.com). The end of the article really caught my eye:

Captain Rodeffer of Northwest Fire says he sees the day coming when crews issue red tags or green tags to homes.

A red tag would mean there are too many hazards, so in case of a wildfire, firefighters wouldn't be able to defend the home and would leave it to burn.

While that day may be a bit far off, wildfire season is just about here already.

I've heard some talk of this type of thing, but nothing serious, just coffee table talk. This is already done during major wildland/urban interface fires while the incident is in progress. There aren't red and green tags, but the structures are "triaged" and the buildings that can't be protected are ignored while the firefighters move on to others that can be protected.

Doing structural triage before an incident happens is a good idea, but how do you identify the structures that should be protected and those that shouldn't. Hanging tags off of the houses won't work. Perhaps if they were affixed to the inside of a window facing the street or driveway, it would work.

This brings up a question though. How would you keep a homeowner that has received a red tag from placing a green tag in their window?

What are your thoughts on this issue? Will pre-incident structural triage work?

Texas Test Procedures Under Spotlight

More news on the case of Houston firefighter Beda Kent and the test procedures that forced here to take her promotional test 12 hours after giving birth (from the Houston Chronicle via Firehouse.com).

The law that forced Houston firefighter Beda Kent to decide between taking a career-advancing exam 12 hours after giving birth or postponing promotion to captain for two to three years could be revised by the Texas Legislature next year, local lawmakers said Friday.

...

State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, pledged to address the issue "and possibly include some general medical condition waiver language so that people with medical conditions are not put in a position of having to forego the test. I will work with my Senate colleagues to make sure that the Texas law does not unfairly discriminate."

...

In the meantime, the International Association of Fire Fighters plans to address the issue at its national conference on diversity Jan. 26-29 in San Antonio.

This is good news and shows that the lawmakers and firefighters recognize an unfair situation.

This story deals specifically with the state of Texas. Do you know the procedures and laws that apply to this situation in your state? Could this same thing happen to firefighters on your department? Please let me know if this is the case.

I'll keep my eye on this and let you know when new info comes out.

Are Engines Needed On Medical Calls?

Should fire engines be dispatched on medical calls? Here is an article that addresses that very question (from SentinalandEnterprise.com).

For any potential life or death situation, the Fitchburg fire department will dispatch a fire engine, staffed by three firefighters, along with an ambulance from Patriot Ambulance Inc. with two paramedics on board.

"We have very good coverage in the city," said Roy.

But some city councilors have questioned the wisdom of paying to send the fire engines to emergency medical calls, saying although the firefighters may help save lives, the fire trucks are getting worn out because they're constantly in use.

"It's basically just an emergency medical response, so you're getting those EMTs to the scene. But now they're showing up in a fire engine, how much more of an expense is that" asked Fitchburg at large City Councilor Ralph R. Romano III.

Those of us in the fire service might be quick to dismiss the question, but we should think it through to make sure we are serving the public the best we can.

Although I live in a rural area that doesn't typically send fire apparatus to medical calls, I can see several benefits to the practice. More personnel to help with the patient, lots of equipment available on the truck in case you need it, fire suppression available in case of a fire (especially car fires), use of the apparatus to block traffic.

Is there a more cost effective way to do this? Could fire departments have a light rescue vehicle (like an SUV) or a mini-pumper to fulfill this purpose?

Feel free to put in a comment and send us your thoughts.

3D Firefighting Tactics

I've heard of 3D firefighting tactics before, but an article from Ivanhoe Broadcast News reminded me of it.

GRESHAM, Ore. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Every year dozens of firefighters in the United States die fighting fires. Explosions, back drafts and flashover fires can trap them inside buildings. Now, a new method of firefighting aims to change that.

Engulfed and devoured by flames, within seconds an inferno could surround and overcome even the best firefighters. Edward Hartin is one of the first people in the United States to teach 3-D firefighting -- a method that looks not only at flames, but also the flammable gasses they create.

...

Hartin's firefighters still use a powerful stream of water once they get to the flames, but first, they shoot short bursts of water, creating a fog. "You're providing a buffer zone, in essence, between the firefighters and the fire," Hartin says. Without that buffer zone the gasses can ignite.

The main criticism of this tactic is that it creates steam that could burn firefighters and could push the smoke down obscuring what the firefighter can see.

However, on the second page of this article, they list some impressive results of implementing this tactic:

In Sweden, the number of firefighter deaths was cut in half from 1986 to 2005. The United Kingdom adopted the 3-D firefighting approach in 1997 with even more impressive results. Britain lost 12 men to extreme fire behavior from 1990 to 1996, but from 1997 to 2003, they didn't lose any. France has since made the 3-D technique its official training methodology.

Firetactics.com has tons of info on this technique.

Electing the Fire Chief

Lou Angeli has a new story up on his blog "Rescue Us!" about the pitfalls of electing a fire chief.

Even so, the question remains. Does it make sense to "elect" emergency management without regard to qualifications or experience? No way. But the fact is that America's most dangerous job is sometimes run by individuals who don't have the qualifications or skills to lead firefighters and rescue personnel during emergencies.

I agree with Lou's premise, but I'm not sure it would work in small, volunteer departments. It is certainly a good question to ponder.

But It's a Dry Cold, Chief

Yesterday I added a link to Lou Angeli's blog, Rescue Us! Today, Lou has posted a nice article about cold weather firefighting. Here is an excerpt, but you'll want to read the whole thing.

But It's A Dry Cold, Chief

Try telling that to firefighters in Indianapolis, who are accustomed to relatively stable Winter weather. Last year by mid-December, they were operating in the coldest air to hit the area since 1887. Just South of Indy, in Bargersville, Indiana, the town experienced 12 consecutive days of sub-zero weather. Years of training and experience hadn't prepared these Johnson County volunteers for this type of firefighting.

I had to laugh when I read the opener to that paragraph. In the article, there are some tips for fighting fires in cold weather. Here is my favorite:

(10) And finally, ensure that extra turnout gear is available, especially gloves. It's recommended that personnel wear layered clothing, rather than bulky articles.

I carry an extra pair of gloves in my gear bag just for this purpose.

New Guidelines from the Red Cross

The Red Cross has come out with some new guidelines for CPR and first aid (from the Red Cross website via FireFightingNews.com).

Friday, December 09, 2005 — As the country’s leader in first aid and CPR education, the American Red Cross is working hard to implement newly released first aid and CPR guidelines into training programs. The new Guidelines for First Aid co-developed by the American Red Cross and American Heart Association as well as the American Heart Association’s CPR Guidelines were released on Nov. 28, 2005.

The training methods in place now for first aid and CPR are not incorrect nor are they harmful, but improved methods based on new scientific evidence will make it easier for the public to learn CPR and other life-saving skills.

“We are enthusiastic about the new ‘simpler is better’ approach endorsed by research and scientific experts across the country,” says Scott Conner, Vice President of American Red Cross Products and Health and Safety Services. “If learning and remembering these new skills is easier, we feel that the average person will have more confidence to respond to an emergency, and more lives will be saved.”

I think this is a good approach. If you don't use a skill often, it is pretty easy to forget the specifics. Simplifying CPR and first aid techniques will make it easier to remember how to help someone who needs it.

Be sure to follow the link above to read a brief summary of the changes. It looks like these changes will actually take place in the spring of 2006.

Taxi Drivers Respond to Medical Calls

In rural Shropshire, in the UK, taxi drivers are now trained to respond to medical calls and administer aid (from the BBC via FireFightingNews.com).

Craig Richards and Cliff Edwards, from Central Taxis, Horsehay, Telford, carry defibrillators to resuscitate people and are able to attend 999 calls.

The volunteers, who can give medical aid before an ambulance arrives, have already saved one life.

Mr Richards said: "Telford's a big place. You've only got a certain number of ambulance drivers."

This is a pretty good idea, especially if the ambulance takes a few minutes to respond. Has anyone heard of this type of thing here in the U.S.?

Homeowners Build Fire Apparatus

A homeowner in California has built his own fire rig to protect his house from wildland fire (from abc7.com).

LA HABRA HEIGHTS - One local man has taken some unusual steps to increase his home's odds of surviving a firestorm. He has set up his own personal firehouse - sort of.

George Edwards has been a video photographer here in Los Angeles for the better part of 2 years, during that time he has found himself in the middle of everything including forest fires. So when he and his wife bought property in La Habra Heights a few years ago they were determined to make sure their investment did not go up in smoke.

They decide to take firefighting into their own hands. They took a tractor and added a water tank, installed a high-pressure pump and purchased surplus fire hoses and then got the nozzles they needed.

There are some pictures of their fire tractor to check out too.

I think it is a good thing that this homeowner is taking some responsibility to protect his property. However, there are a couple of things that I didn't see that concern me. Has this couple purchased the proper PPE for wildland firefighting? Have they taken any formal wildland firefighting classes?

If they haven't done either of these things they are really asking for trouble. They could easily get themselves into a situation where they will be seriously injured or killed. They may even endanger firefighters that could be dispatched to extricate the homeowners from the dangerous situation.

I posted about homeowners as firefighters back in September. The original article I read dealt with homeowners refusing to evacuate after an evacuation order was given so that they could protect their property.

Dispatchers Work from Home

Working from home has a lot of advantages, but this is the first I've heard of dispatchers working from home (from Firehouse.com).

Jeannie Kinback's house is just like anybody else's -- sort of.

It has bedrooms. A living room. A kitchen and bathrooms.

But then there's the emergency dispatching center located in her dining room -- a fully functional dispatching center plopped right next to her table.

The setup includes a red phone with a special ring, Caller ID and a two-way radio to link with area fire departments and the local ambulance service -- plus the ability to fire up the community's tornado sirens.

...

With today's state-of-the-art regional communications centers, such an arrangement may seem odd. But in rural Sandy Township it's tradition that dispatchers -- there are four of them -- work out of the comfort of their own homes. It's been that way for as long as anybody can remember, back to the days when firefighters' wives were volunteer dispatchers.

And as far as local authorities are concerned, their unusual system -- they don't know of another one like it in the area -- operates just fine so there's no reason to change it.

It sounds like this works great in their community. I would imagine that in jurisdictions with larger call volumes, this set up wouldn't be the most efficient use of money or resources.

Bushfire Warning System

Australia is launching a new warning system to inform citizens of approaching bushfires (from The Advertiser).

NEW Bushfire Warning System will be implemented for the state this year, scrapping the four-tiered system in use since Ash Wednesday.

Project Phoenix, the CFS review into the fatal Eyre Peninsula fire in January, found many in the community did not understand the current warnings system.

The CFS will launch a radio and television campaign to advise of the new two-tier system – – a Bushfire Information Message or a Bushfire Warning Message.

"The community needs to be aware of what these messages will mean to them and we encourage them to take active roles in listening for messages," said Andrew Lawson, CFS acting deputy chief officer.

The messages will be broadcast via television and radio and will be available on the CFS website.

This sounds similar to our current storm warning system where a watch is issued and then a warning. Is there anything like this warning system in the U.S. for wildland fires?

County-wide Fire Departments

Here is an article about the county around San Diego consolidating their fire departments into one county-wide fire department (from the San Diego Union-Tribune).

Lurking in the background is the issue of consolidating the region's firefighters. A fragmented command scattered among 65 fire agencies – 35 of them in the unincorporated portions of the county – was pointed out in later critiques as a major weakness during the Cedar fire.

The county, pushed by Jacob, is looking for ways to combine many of those smaller rural fire departments into a unified entity. A county report due in December is supposed to identify options for doing that, and spell out what each would cost.

The idea faces possible opposition from fire agencies in the more affluent unincorporated communities, where consolidation is viewed as a way to get rich communities to pay for fire protection in poorer ones.

I had a discussion just yesterday about this very subject about a county in South Dakota.

There are some definite advantages to this approach. Equipment can be optimized to serve the entire county. Fire protection across the entire county would probably improve. The fire departments would work together better at large incidents. There are some disadvantages too. Individual fire departments would lose some local control. Paid personnel would be needed to lead a large, county-wide organization. Funding could be a problem.

Are county-wide fire departments becoming more prevalent? If you've heard anything on this, I'd appreciate it if you would drop me a line.

Keys to Success at Topanga Fire

This is a great opinion piece about the successful firefighting effort on the recent Topanga wildfire in California (from the Ventura County Star).

The overall success of this historic incident can be attributed to three key areas: proactive prevention efforts; an effective organization system; and dedicated people.

Don't miss this article - read it.

Katrina Affects Wildfire Evacuation

Newsweek has a pretty good article about how Hurricane Katrina affected the evacuation effort on the Topanga fire.

A month after Americans watched the terrible images of stranded New Orleans residents struggling for their lives, many Californians who lived in the path of the wildfire chose to get out before they faced a similar fate. Fires in the West are more common than hurricanes in the South, and in the past, plenty of homeowners refused to leave, trying to fend off the flames themselves by dousing their roofs with garden hoses and hoping for the best. But this year cops and firefighters say it's been much easier to persuade people to pick up and leave. "They've been great," Assistant Los Angeles Fire Chief Tony Varela says. "Because of those current events, they knew they stand to lose more if they don't go."

This is probably a short term change. The memory of the Katrina disaster will start to fade, and in a few years the public will not evacuate so easily. I hope that isn't the case, but I bet it will be.

10-Codes Still Allowed

From Firehouse.com, it looks like first responders will still be able to use 10-codes and still be in compliance with NIMS.

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced today that it is no longer necessary for first responders to discontinue using the 10-Code system of verbal communication in order to come into compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

I think this is a mistake. According to the article, this is the reason for the change in direction:

...Chertoff said there was a strong response from the law enforcement community against this proposal. “We had a discussion about it. As a result, I have decided that NIMS compliance will not include the requirement of the abolition of 10-Codes in everyday law enforcement communications”

This may be a case where law enforcement has a requirement for 10-codes, but I don't think the fire service has the same requirements.

Wildfire Benefits Wilderness

This is a great article about the benefits of wildland fires on the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

Now that roughly 22 percent of the land base in "the Bob" has burned over the last two decades, Wirt says fire is finally resuming its natural role in the wilderness.

...

The change has introduced diversity, regenerating fire-dependent vegetation. It has led to browse growth, providing benefits for wildlife. And perhaps most significantly, the burns of the last 20 years have actually improved the Forest Service's ability to manage future fires in the Bob.

I've posted on these types of articles before, but I'm going to keep posting them until the public finally understands the problem we have created by suppressing all fires in the forests.

National Disaster Coordination Plan

Here is a pretty good article from the AP (via Firehouse.com), that discusses the possibility of a national plan to coordinate response to major disasters.

Military officials told President Bush on Sunday that the U.S. needs a national plan to coordinate search and rescue efforts following natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

Bush said he is interested in whether the Defense Department should take charge in massive national disasters.

"Clearly, in the case of a terrorist attack, that would be the case, but is there a natural disaster of a certain size that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort?" Bush asked. "That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about."

I'm not sure its a good idea to have the Department of Defense in charge of a disaster, however, we should find ways to get them involved and utilize their resources.

Be Prepared

Here is another article (this one from the Sequim Gazette) that encourages people to be prepared to take care of themselves in a disaster.

There's only so much an individual can do in a disaster. Emergency professionals - the firefighters, paramedics, police and others - will be stretched thin in a major catastrophe. Should an earthquake, tsunami or major winter storm strike it likely will be up to citizens to take care of themselves and their neighbors until help arrives … and that could be a while if the disaster is really big, experts say.

We all need to work together, said Steve Vogel, fire chief of District No. 3, which covers the Sequim area. The biggest thing is we've got to get people to stop looking to government and take care of themselves, their family and their neighbors.

...

"It all boils down to the old Boy Scout motto: be prepared," Tarbuck said. "The best thing is to look in on your neighbor and be able to help each other."

Emphasis added by me.

That emphasized sentence says it all. I'm going to keep posting on this subject because I think that a lot of the pain and suffering in New Orleans could have been prevented if people had been ready to take care of themselves. It may sound a little hard-hearted, but I think it needs to be said anyway.

Related posts to personal responsibility are here, here, and here.

San Francisco Hydrants

I've known that some cities have different types of hydrants and hose threads. I haven't considered this issue in light of the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle (via FirefightingNews.com). It discusses the problems that may arise in San Francisco because other city's firefighting units won't be able to hook up to San Fran's hydrants.

If a big earthquake hits San Francisco and flames spread through the city, firefighters rushing in from elsewhere to help will encounter what could be a major problem -- their hoses will not fit the city's hydrants.

It has been 14 years since a similar predicament contributed to the spread of the Oakland hills fire, in which 25 people died and 2,699 homes were lost. After dozens of firefighters from surrounding agencies found that their hoses couldn't be attached to Oakland's hydrants, state lawmakers required that all cities in California adopt a standard connection size by 1994.

San Francisco, however, successfully lobbied to be exempted from the law, and city fire officials say they have no plans to change their hydrants to fit the state's standard size. Instead, they are following a model that caused problems in the 1991 Oakland fire, planning to hand out adapters to out-of-town fire crews so they can connect their standard 2 1/2-inch hoses to San Francisco's 3-inch hydrant openings.

This could really be a big problem. It seems a little shortsighted of the city since they have already had troubles in Oakland in 1991.

Homeowners as Firefighters

Here is a short article from the Australian Broadcasting Corp. It is about allowing homeowners to stay and protect their homes from fires instead of evacuating.

The ACT Volunteer Fire Brigades Association says healthy, well-prepared people should be allowed to stay and defend their homes from bushfires.

The Government has rejected a call by Civil Liberties Australia to change laws that make it an offence for people to stay and defend their homes when ordered by police to leave.

The association's Pat Barling says many houses were saved during the 2003 bushfires by home owners who stayed behind.

I've never really put much thought into a question like this. Here are a few things that come to mind:

1) People need to realize that if they stay behind to protect their property, the fire service can't guarantee their safety.

2) Firefighters spend many hours preparing themselves and their equipment to meet the challenges of wildland fires. How much training will the homeowners have and will they be prepared? My guess is that most of them will not be trained or prepared.

3) Will people that stay behind cause problems that will impact the safety of the firefighters?

If a homeowner has some training, has purchased the proper equipment and PPE, and has prepared their property to mitigate fire damage, then I don't see why they couldn't stay to protect their property.

Any thoughts from the readers?

UPDATE: Here is a post from a blog called debitage on this subject. Read it.

Disaster Preparedness and CERT

Here is another article on disaster preparedness and CERT from Fire Engineering.

That's where CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training comes in. It's a FEMA program offered locally that trains citizens how to help themselves and others. At the end of each nine-week program, a disaster drill is held to test what students have learned.

"Being a CERT member is making sure you and your family are prepared," Daniell said. "If you're not, you can't go out and help other people, and we all know that when a disaster happens, average citizens are initially the first-responders in the first few minutes."

This article highlights the concept of personal responsibility during a disaster. Personal responsibility will be a recurring theme over the next few months as various inquiries sift through the details of the Hurricane Katrina.

San Diego Evaluates Readiness

The San Diego Union-Tribune has a great story on San Diego's preparedness for a major disaster. Here are the parts that caught my eye:

"You'd better look out for yourself because you have to assume nobody else will." That warning comes from someone who should know, Mike Workman, spokesman for the county government.

...

Officials say civilians should be ready to survive without the services of law enforcement and other response agencies for 72 hours.

...

We can talk about it and can warn and predict, but the bottom line is people have to be accountable for themselves."

This sounds reminiscent of a post I wrote a few days ago.

However, it isn't all doom and gloom. Read this quote from the Union-Tribune article:

Many residents here already are aware that they may have to rely on themselves and not on government agencies in the wake of a crisis. But it doesn't have to be "every person for him or herself."

Evoking images of World War II block wardens, hundreds have signed up to join local citizen response teams and have undergone training to respond to disasters at the neighborhood level. Classes that started last week in the city of San Diego were full, and the county has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in the past two years.

I think they are referring to a program called Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). This is a good program. Our local CERT team has been training over the past couple of weeks and they should be good to go if we ever need them. Check out the CERT website.

Protecting Homes from Wildfire

Are people starting to change their attitude about protecting their homes from wildland fires? Perhaps. Read this from the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

Despite the imminent threat, the decision to thin trees — a service the fire district provides for free — replace the roof and do all the work necessary to lessen the extreme fire danger did not come easily.

“We thought maybe it would be better for a fire to burn the whole thing and just take the money,” Rose said, although he and Maria Glowatsch, who lives with him, “finally tipped over to trying to save the house.”

Such reluctance is puzzling to fire officials and insurance industry representatives, who are finding increasingly persuasive ways to change mountain residents’ attitudes.

“Anyone that’s ever gone through losing their home to wildfire would never say that,” said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “First, the personal loss, the memories, the nostalgia — it’s a difficult process to rebuild. ... And you’d better make sure you have enough insurance.”

The rest of the article is good. It mentions that insurance companies are beginning to reduce insurance premiums for those homeowners that take steps to protect their homes from fires.

I think as more and more people move to the wildland urban inteface, firefighting agencies will take a tough stand with homeowners that don't try to protect their homes.

If the homeowner doesn't take the appropriate steps, why should firefighters put their lives on the line? Good question. Any thoughts from the readers?

Lessons Learned from Katrina

Here is a story regarding the review of disaster plans in the Washington D.C. area (via WVEC.com).

Shaken by what they view as a slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, regional leaders are reviewing their disaster plans in hopes of avoiding a similar catastrophe.

Metropolitan areas across the country would be well-advised to review their plans too.

In the upcoming months there will be tons of "lessons learned" lists. Here is one from Instapundit.

My two cents: Everyone needs to take personal responsibility for their own safety. It isn't the local, state, or federal governments' job to protect us from every possible danger. Be prepared with extra supplies, money, and transportation.

Appropriate Management Response for Wildfires

Here is another article about the changing tactics for wildland fires. From the Missoulian:

For nearly a century, Forest Service firefighters toiled under a policy that every fire discovered in the wilds was to be extinguished before 10 a.m. - the hour considered the start of the next burning cycle.

If firefighters didn't catch the blaze, then it was time to bring in more yellow shirts, helicopters and slurry bombers to do whatever it took to douse the flames before the next 10 a.m. deadline.

It was a policy on which generations of Westerners learned to depend. Fire was bad and it had to be beaten back. It didn't matter that fighting the fire could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. It certainly didn't matter that the fire might actually be doing some good.

But those days are well on their way to being over.

...

Using a process called "appropriate management response," Bull said officials identified five of the six as fires that would benefit the forest if allowed to burn. The evaluation process included consideration of a variety of factors: firefighter safety, potential resource benefits of allowing the fire to burn, and costs of fighting the fire.

Interesting stuff. I'm happy to see more coverage of this in the media.

USFS Wildland Fire-Use Program

Here is an excellent and educational article from the Ravalli Republic on the U.S. Forest Service's wildland fire-use program.

However, if you describe the wildland fire-use program as the Forest Service's "let burn" policy, you'll be quickly corrected.

It's an honest mistake though, said Chris Ourada, incident commander for the Salmon-Selway complex, which is located almost entirely on the West Fork Ranger District.

He refers to Yellowstone National Park and the summer of 1988, when lightning-caused fires burned nearly 800,000 acres and changed the face of the America's first national park.

At the time, the park's policy was to allow naturally caused fires to burn. That meant they didn't really have any management options, Ourada said.

But in the wildland fire-use program, fire managers have the same options available as they would on a fire they would actively suppress, the only difference is wildland fire-use fire is used for resource benefits, he said.

If you want to understand how important wildland fire is in maintaining a healthy forest, you should read the whole thing.

CPR to be Revamped

This is an interesting article (from Firehouse.com) about future changes to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is crucial when people collapse with cardiac arrest, but it's hard to perform correctly. Now major efforts are under way to improve how doctors, paramedics and average bystanders do the job: New CPR guidelines are due this fall, and high-tech machines that promise to help are already showing up in ambulances and offices.

Not yet proven is whether using technology -- like a chest-squeezing gadget or sensors that coax rescuers to pound harder -- to spice up the 40-year-old resuscitation technique really will save lives.

Emergency-care specialists agree that CPR today doesn't save as many lives as it could.

''We've got our work cut out for us to make sure CPR is done better,'' says Mary Fran Hazinski of the American Heart Association, which is finalizing new recommendations designed to do just that.

This will have to be a major campaign to retrain all of the folks out there that have had CPR training over the years.

No 10 Codes Allowed

Do you still use 10 codes in your radio communications? We still use a few in our fire department. To continue to be eligible for federal funding, departments will need to discontinue the use of 10 codes and use plain English. This from WOODTV:

Codes like 10-4, 10-15, and 10-20 are all part of sort of secret language police and firemen use to talk to each other, but now the federal government says they need to stop or risk losing funding.

...

"We're saying, in order to continue federal funding from any departments and federal agencies, they need to meet those requirements by the end of FY '06 and that includes the plain English standards," says Gil Jamieson of FEMA.

I think that using plain English makes good sense. Less confusion, new firefighters won't have to learn the 10 codes, and in the long run it will probably save time.

I'll try to find the regulations at FEMA and post a link later.