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PPE
A couple in their 70s were taken to the hospital after being stung by bees Tuesday, and firefighters directed nearby residents to “shelter in place” to get away from the swarm.
A sheriff’s spokesman said deputies shut down Mount Vernon Street between Bonita and Main streets after the swarm was reported around 1:15 p.m.
The husband was stung 30 to 40 times as he walked out to check his mailbox, said Lemon Grove Fire Capt. Jon Taff. The man’s wife, who was in the garage, was stung more than 20 times. The couple were transported to the hospital for treatment. Neither was apparently allergic to bee stings.
People in the area were asked to close their windows and doors until the bee-removal company arrived and removed the hive, Taff said.
The beehive was in a tree in the front yard of the couple’s home and had been maintained by them for several years, Taff said.
Firefighters, wearing protective gear — including bee hoods — were protected from the bees, Taff said. “There was one firefighter who got stung a couple of times,” he said.
From what I saw on the news, I'm thinking bee-hoods are now standard PPE gear on the engine.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Bee swarms? Bee hoods? No, nothing to do with us, call a pest exterminator or an apiarist. We've called them to our station when bees have moved in.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on
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Hey why not just one more tool in the arsenal that protects us.
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Permalink Reply by Allen Ray Corey j.r. on
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Deck Gun
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Permalink Reply by Olivia Jones on
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It must be real nice to work for a department that has a large enough budget to ba able to afford something that most in fire service wouldnt dream of having as part of thier PPE. Not only because hey how many bee swarms does the fire service deal with a year, but in far too many places we are seeing lay offs, out dated turn out gear, extrication tools that arent able to cut the metalsn in newer cars, etc. etc.
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Another tool in the arsenal? Yes, but I'm still not interested. Leave it to the people who make a living out of it. Not my job.
I should have split my initial response into wasps get the exterminator. Bees get the apiarist, they always seem to be looking for more.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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About 1 attack a month makes the paper, including a fatality last month. It's not a once in a blue moon event anymore.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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I don't disagree that if it's pest abatement, and there is not a life safety issue involved, then let the professional bug killers deal with it... However, when you are faced with a swarm of bees that have attacked folks, possibly rendering them non-ambulatory, then it's the fire department who gets called to make the problem resolve to a point where the professional bee keeper can be called in to manage the problem.
Bee swarms are so common in some parts of the USA that Fire Department Bee Eradication have been started. An example of this would be Bullhead City FD which is located in Arizona. Bullhead Firefighters are trained to eradicate aggressive bee swarms using high pressure foam. Citizens are encouraged to contact a beekeeper or an exterminator to have beehives removed, but if the bees are aggressive and agitated, and there is a danger that the bees might attack and sting, the fire department will respond and attempt to foam the swarm.
It's also not uncommon to have firefighters to use other forms of PPE, normally used for hazmat or WMD response for dealing with aggressive bees.
So my question Tony is how do you deal with aggressive bees, or a rescue situation? I'm sure it's a land of OZ thing but we don't have the luxury of saying, it's not my job. It's kind of a "the buck stops here"... Plus it always makes good press, showing folks where there tax dollars are going. And believe me, when someone calls 911, and asks for help. we are always there to do the best we can to mitigate whatever situation we encounter, including medical calls and issues which are commonly associated with bee issues.
Fraternally,
CBz
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Ah, "there is not a life safety issue involved" is the key point Mike. If there wass, we'd by quite likely to be involved, somehow. Life threatening always has priority. Not that we receive any training at all for this kind of work! I think I'd probably want a gas suit if it was a swarm of the European wasps that we have!
As for not having "the luxury of saying, it's not my job", we operate under a State government Act. Yes many times "the buck stops here", but not for everything. For instance, we are not medical, we do not operate ambulances, those things come under another State Gov. body, we just get called to assist them when needed. And we're specifically NOT to be sent to the 'cat in tree' jobs, but we do go when the caller says they can't get help from the RSPCA. Grr, I've never yet seen a cat skeleton in a tree; moggie gets up then moggie can get down. But we still get sent
Press; our local media tend to ignore us unless it's a big job. The mainstream state-wide media are ONLY interested in big jobs. And most of the people in our area don't believe that we're volunteers either, and that with numerous articles the media will run for us.
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Permalink Reply by JP Desilets on
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don't just think of a swarm of bees (looking for a new nest) what about migrant hives being taken to another farm or orchard involved in a traffic collision , now you may have from 10 -100 hives toppled over with millions of bees involved , that is well beyond the scope of most any local beekeeper to handle, they are going to ask for your help. Who else is the public going to turn to in situations like this?? Firefighters have always handled things like this and many others for years, so let's not think "it can't happen here, or it's not our job"
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