Featured Blog Posts – February 2009 Archive (40)

Are Your Ears Burning? - PPE advances aren’t to blame for poor risk assessment & decision-making

Over the last 25 years, protective clothing manufacturers have made great strides in designing a safer, more effective protective ensemble. In years past, firefighters were provided with nothing more than a raincoat, tin helmet, rubber boots and fireball gloves (made of plastic, no less). Today, most firefighters throughout the country are provided with a fully encapsulating ensemble that incorporates technological advancements in thermal protection, breathability, chemical resistance and… Continue

Added by Timothy Sendelbach on February 28, 2009 at 8:17pm — 9 Comments

IAFC Issues Fire/EMS Survival Alert

2009 isn’t starting out on a positive trend as far as firefighter LODDs go. Accordingly, the IAFC yesterday issued a Fire/EMS Survival Alert to its members. The goal: get departments to redouble their efforts to prevent firefighter injuries and deaths by reviewing and establishing safe practices for driving, MVAs, health and fitness and more.

The alert noted that so far in 2009, just some fire/EMS LODDs include:

• Several firefighter LODDs due to medical emergencies

•… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 28, 2009 at 6:49pm — 2 Comments

You Make the Call - C-Spine Precautions

Let's place a game of You make the call...

You can comment here and/or read other comments at my home blog, linkable from my profile page.

This call was one of the ones I look back on as a perfect example of why a blanket C-Spine protocol is never a good idea. Paramedics need the training and authority to "clear" C-Spine in the field based on proven assessment techniques.

I'm assigned to an ALS ambulance dispatched to a PD eval late on a Saturday night to a… Continue

Added by the Happy Medic on February 28, 2009 at 4:24pm — 8 Comments

3407

From www.tigerschmittendorf.com:

Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center, NY around 10:20pm on Thursday-February 12, 2009 - killing 50 people and changing the lives of thousands more, including mine.

I responded in the first wave of emergency services personnel sent to help restore order to the chaos that the crash created.

Frankly, I’m not ready to write about this experience… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on February 25, 2009 at 2:30pm — 4 Comments

Life as a small town volunteer #5

So just a couple of things that have happened to me recently. I was finally able to get into an EMT-Basic class and tonight was the start of the third week. I have been waiting for this class for a year and a half. I am hoping that I am able to learn all that I need in class. The lady that is teaching the class isn’t the best teacher in the world. She tends to skip words that are too long or too hard to say. Then there are some people that are in the class that insist on bringing their three… Continue

Added by Gordon "Gopher" Runer on February 25, 2009 at 1:32am — No Comments

More on Mobile Home Fires: Quick tips for firefighter safety

Earlier this week, I posted some comments from FireRescue magazine's Fire Attack columnist, Greg Jakubowski, on mobile home fires, since they're certainly on our minds following the double-LODD in West Virginia.

I wanted to add a bit more from Greg's fellow Fire Attack columnists, Mike Kirby and Tom Lakamp. They provided the following safety tips:

• Mobile home fires present… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 24, 2009 at 7:19pm — 9 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner: Of Pancakes and Concrete Shoes

Another “brisk” morning run…it was 22 degrees at 7 a.m., but factor in the gusty winds and “Lake Effect Snow” (what lake would that be in Albany, exactly.. ? )it made heading out kind of sucky, for lack of a better word.

We always start out enthusiastically, all chatty and chipper, feeling like we could run forever, until that first blast of icy wind smacks you right in the grill and suddenly the fun factor drops. That’s when you have to dig down and remember why you’re doing this in… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 21, 2009 at 10:38am — 10 Comments

Near-Miss Reporting System & Common Voices Receive Sarbanes Award

CFSI Press Release (Feb. 20)--The Congressional Fire Services Institute and the NFFF just announced their choices for the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award: the International Association of Fire Chiefs for its Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System and Common Voices for its advocacy efforts around fire… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 20, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

ABC Looking for Firefighters Seeking to Reunite with Victims, Colleagues & Motivators

Are you searching for a victim, fellow firefighter, lost family member, or someone else from your past that had a great impact on your life? Share your story on a new TV show from the creators of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Secret Millionaire."

If yours is a story of separation and a desire to meet up again, then we want to talk to you! Are you a firefighter whose own life was saved by… Continue

Added by FFN WebTeam on February 20, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

The Greatest Ambition - The true test of a fire officer’s greatness is their devotion to instructing others

The late Edward F. Croker, who served as FDNY chief of department from 1899 to 1911, will forever be remembered for his saying: “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman.” Chief Croker’s words epitomize the thoughts of many men and women within our ranks and many more who will soon follow.

What drives us to be firefighters is something we may never truly understand. To the ordinary citizen, we are presumed to be a little left of center, a card shy of a… Continue

Added by Timothy Sendelbach on February 20, 2009 at 9:30am — 10 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...February 19, 2009

A few nights ago I got to try the thermal imaging camera. When you go to the Academy, they mention the camera when you hit the chapter in the book but the only way you get to try certain pieces of equipment is in the firehouse or at a scene. At a scene is not necessarily the best way to learn something but if it's not busy, it's a good way you can pick up some practical knowledge.

I was lucky enough to be with a volunteer… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on February 19, 2009 at 9:27am — 6 Comments

Emergency Twitters: How Is Your Department Using It?

This is the first in a series of occasional articles from FireGeezer.com about how some fire and rescue departments are using Twitter to enhance their operations.

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR THE ENTIRE AREA AROUND GALVESTON BAY, TEXAS, was girding up for what was looking like a certain hit from Hurricane Ike that was heading their way.

Tracking models showed that it was likely to make landfall at… Continue

Added by FireGeezer on February 17, 2009 at 8:30pm — 11 Comments

Stimulus Bill Signed Today: What you need to do next

President Obama is set to sign the economic stimulus law today. As detailed in a previous post, the law includes significant funds for public safety. A new report from Galain Solutions indicates that the range of total funds available is anywhere from $4 billion to $13.8 billion for local public safety. The range is so large because of the State Fiscal… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 17, 2009 at 12:37pm — 34 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...February 16, 2009

A week in the life of Denise Broesler, Rookie Firefighter, RE/MAX agent and humanitarian.

People ask me when do I plan to consistently write on this blog. Writing this column has become a very safe outlet for me, and since I haven't publicized it to more than firefighters and EMS workers, I know what I say will not be admonished nor ignored.

After all the months it has taken me to get my daughter to the proper… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on February 16, 2009 at 1:37pm — No Comments

My Top 16: Rethinking the Life Safety Initiatives

In a couple weeks, I’ll be attending the Everyone Goes Home Safety Summit. I’m pretty excited about it because I support the Life Safety Initiatives and what the program’s trying to do. To prepare for the event, I’ve been studying up on the LSIs and it occurred to me that despite how many times I’ve read them, I don’t really remember them. Of course I remember something about changing to a safety-based culture, and I know there’s… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 15, 2009 at 5:50pm — No Comments

It CAN Happen Here: The Crash of Continental Flight 3407

Thursday night, Continental Communter Flight 3407 crashed into a house less than two blocks from the firehouse in Clarence Center, New York. This incident killed 50 people and injured several others. It also destroyed a Dash 8 aircraft and the home into which it crashed.

How many of us have heard the phrase "It can't happen here"? This can be heard when firefighters and medics don't want to take NIMS training or to consider EOC or logistics roles because "That's… Continue

Added by Ben Waller on February 14, 2009 at 10:34am — 1 Comment

Crash Site IC: “One of the Biggest, Hottest Fires I’ve Ever Seen”

I just spoke with Clarence Center Volunteer Fire Company (CCVFC) Chief Dave Case, who was the incident commander at the scene of the Continental commuter plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y. Despite it being difficult to digest everything that has happened in the past 12 hours, Case was able to offer FireRescue and FirefighterNation.com some initial reflections on the event as well as a play by play of the… Continue

Added by Janelle Foskett, FireRescue on February 13, 2009 at 5:00pm — 11 Comments

Final Stimulus Package: $210 million for fire station construction

The full text of the compromise stimulus bill was finally released today, and the House has already passed it; Senate voting starts at 5:30 eastern and the bill is expected to pass. As reported by the IAFC, the compromise bill includes several items of interest to the fire service:

• $210 million for fire station construction via the firefighter assistance grants program, with no grant exceeding $15 million.… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 13, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Crash Responder: "We Knew It Wasn't Going To Be a Rescue Mission"

I had the opportunity to speak with Chief Jim Quigley of the East Amherst Fire Department, a 100 percent volunteer department, which responded as mutual aid to the scene of the Continental Airlines commuter plane crash last night. He recalls his first thoughts upon arrival at the scene and discusses some of the fire-suppression effort during his 6 hours on… Continue

Added by Janelle Foskett, FireRescue on February 13, 2009 at 1:30pm — 11 Comments

Goldfeder Comments on NIOSH Vacant Structures Draft Alert

(See my earlier post on the draft alert.)

Firefighter Nation had a chance to talk with Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder about the recently released draft alert on vacant structures. Chief Goldfeder, who served as a technical reviewer on the document, and is Chair of IAFC Safey, Health and Survival Section,… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 12, 2009 at 10:13pm — 1 Comment