All Blog Posts Tagged 'Schapelhouman' (9)

A Joint Effort: One responder’s account of the response to the San Bruno explosion

TECHNICAL RESCUE

By Harold Schapelhouman

On Thursday, Sept. 9, at 1812 HRS, the San Mateo County Public Safety Communications Center (PSC) received a report that an explosion and subsequent fire had occurred in the Glenview neighborhood area of San Bruno, Calif., a city within San Mateo County, which borders the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Bay, the City of San Francisco and Santa Clara County. This region is often…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 25, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Aircraft Down! Miracle on Beech Street

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

Aircraft Down! The miracle on Beech Street

By Harold Schapelhouman

“Aircraft down”—two simple words that tend to get the immediate attention of most responders and generally cause concern for most urban emergency responders who live in areas where private and commercial aircraft are…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on May 7, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Natural Disasters: Are we prepared to respond anywhere, any time?

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

Natural Disasters: Are we prepared to respond anywhere, any time?

By Harold Schapelhouman

The recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Japan and Turkey have people understandably wondering what’s going on with our planet, as seismic activity seems to be at an all-time high in many regions of the world, and whether an area near them may be…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 2, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments

Got Apps? Cell phone applications can aid first responders

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

There's an App for That: New cell phone applications can aid first responders on the emergency scene

By Harold Schapelhouman

Imagine the following scenarios:

1) A disaster has struck your community and, as a rescuer, you need some basic reference data to establish an area-wide, methodical, geographic search for survivors and trapped victims; or

2) You’re responding to an overturned… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on March 5, 2010 at 10:00am — 12 Comments

Thank You, Haiti Rescue Responders

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

Thank You, Haiti Rescue Responders

By Harold Schapelhouman

As the national (and international) urban search and rescue (USAR) task forces return from Haiti, they deserve our thanks for a job well done. They performed difficult jobs under extremely difficult conditions, and they did so in representation of the United States of America.

Although the situation in Haiti, particularly… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on February 5, 2010 at 10:30am — 1 Comment

How USAR Started, Part 3

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

The First Deployment: Hurricane Iniki

The history of the national Urban Search & Rescue program, part 3

By Harold Schapelhouman

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series on the history of the national USAR program. Read the previous posts:

Part 1: How It All… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 22, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

How USAR Started, Part 2

FireRescue's Technical Rescue Web column

From the Ground Up: The history of the National Urban Search & Rescue Program, part 2

By Harold Schapelhouman

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series on the history of the national USAR program. Read the previous post:

Part 1: How It All Started

In 1990, the Federal… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 3, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

The (secret) dark side: The reality of a first responder’s job can be traumatic

The (secret) dark side: The reality of a first responder’s job

can be traumatic

Story & Photo by Harold Schapelhouman

Recently, I was asked to do a presentation for a Catholic men’s group on the various disasters I’ve responded to over the years. More than 100 men showed up to the event, where I delivered about a 45-minute discussion that included the Loma Prieta earthquake, the Oklahoma City bombing, the attack on the World Trade Center, the… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 27, 2009 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

NIMS: It's Not Perfect, But It Does Work

It’s Not Perfect, But It Does Work

In defense of the National Incident Management System/Incident Command System

Story & Photo By Harold Schapelhouman

Recently, I finished reviewing the December 2008 National Incident Management System (NIMS) update. It wasn’t light reading so it took me a while to get through it, but it was a good review and an informative update. The 158-page document can be found at… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on August 31, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment