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FireYesterDaily- 30 Minutes of Training Per Week is Unfair and “Unreal”

So much to do- so little time.  

Here is the second installment of “Two Thousand and Nine Favorite FireDaily Blog Posts from 2009”. Call it “FireYesterDaily.”

If you missed the first one you can find it by following this link: “Got a Bad Attitude? Stay at Home…”


Running Against The Wind
Running Against The Wind

I had just finished reading a depressing thought I found on facebook by Christopher Naum:

“There’s an awful lot of time, energy and resources being committed and directed towards fire service safety. Is anyone really listening? Does anyone really care?” Are we just running against the wind?

Almost immediately after reading that, I find out that a downstate Illinois fire protection district has a problem. Some of their firefighters do not have the proper qualifications for responding to and working a structure fire.

“I see there are firefighters with zero hours in training,” one trustee said. “Either you are a firefighter or you’re not.”

Most were the older guys, retired, and unable or unwilling to commit the time and energy needed to meet the requirements set forth by the state of Illinois.

According to the Illinois Fire Protection Act, firefighters are required to meet a minimum of 24 hours of training per year.

I did some quick math. My 3rd grade daughter confirmed my calculations. That’s two hours a month. 30 minutes a week.

Tell me there aren’t firefighters out there that are donning equipment with which they are not completely familiar, advancing the wrong size line with the wrong nozzle into a ‘burning box’ just waiting to collapse, unable to recognize the deadly warning signs of a catastrophic fire event for which their equally untrained buddies will have to come in and effect a rescue they are ill-prepared to attempt potentially killing them all.

Please tell me this is a unique situation. TELL ME!

Recognizing the liability of untrained firefighters on the fireground, the trustees of this fire protection district are considering their chief’s proposal to form a second tier of membership- call it an auxiliary role.

Keep the guys active, but don’t put them into a position where they could hurt themselves or others.  There are other things these guys could do in a support role.

Sounds like a great idea, right?

You’ve read this far, you earned your payoff:

After the news of the proposed change appeared on the FireRescue1 website, one lonely comment appeared. It’s so bizarre; I’m not quite able to accept that it wasn’t posted as a facetious remark. Here it is, by ‘tommy517’:

“I think it is unreal what law makers are trying to require volunteer firefighters training for responding to calls. I know they feel it is for firefighter safety they come up with some of the stuff, and anything to make it safer is better. However, someone who has done it for years should be given some credit for years of service. I’m a volunteer and I love it. There isn’t anything much better to me than running on fire and rescue calls. I took all the required classes I needed at the time. Now they are wanting to come up with new stuff all the time. When I started I was a student in high school. Now I have a family and work full time. Its hard to get all the “new” trainings that are out there. I wish I had the time to go and take all the new classes and find out what is new in the fire service. With a job and family now its hard to respond to calls sometimes let alone run here and there for classes. Really what has changed? We still gear up get on the truck and put the wet stuff on the red stuff…”

Like he said, “Really, what has changed?’”

Seriously, folks. How many line of duty injuries and worse do we have to endure before this kind of mindset changes?

30 minutes a week…

Posted in Change, Firefighter Safety & Health, LODD, Training, Training & Development, WTF?

Posted by on December 11, 2009 • 4 comments

360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 12/3/2009

Ten Years Ago Today

On December 3, 1999, the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire took the lives of six firefighters.  Head on over to FirefighterCloseCalls.com for a full report, complete with links to articles, photos, audio, and much more.

Follow that up with a read of an article entitled “A Chief’s Perspective” by retired Worcester District Fire Chief Michael O. McNamee and hope you never have to go through his nightmare. With trapped crews inside and after others had gone in to save them,  Chief McNamee ordered that no more firefighters go in.  He was met with heated threats of physical violence by his firefighters on the scene, many demanding to allow them to go in to rescue their brothers.  But he hung firm- and in doing so stopped that massive fire from killing any more of his men that night.  Thanks, Chief.  Use the information at FirefighterCloseCalls.com to create a training session for everyone on your department, especially for the newer guys who may never have heard the tragic details.

More is Less is Less is More

Did you catch the post by FireGeezer on Tuesday about the Newark (OH) fire chief who did the math?  Turns out that hiring more firefighters resulted in less overtime costs (way less).  Read the story about how fire chief Jack Stickradt was able to show the city manager how it could be done, after which the mayor followed suit.  Now with more firefighters, there’s les OT, less injuries, and more safety.  Hmmm.I’ve always wondered why a municipality would want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars rather than hire more people…

Next on the horizon for firefighters?   Personal air conditioning…ahhhhhh…

Colorado State University engineering professors are using a $917,000 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to develop technology that would protect firefighters’ cardiovascular health and stave off heat stress. Researchers will use a device called the SCAMP (Super Critical Air Mobility Pack) device from Niwot Technologies that can cool firefighters and hazmat teams as they work. SCAMP was developed for and used by NASA astronauts 20 years ago and uses cryogenically-cooled air in a thin compact case. Their work looks to help alleviate the number one cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths (cardiovascular failure- 43% of all deaths) by providing up to four hours of purified air and body cooling. See more here.

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Leadership, Line of Duty, LODD, Major Incidents, Never Forget, News, Staffing, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on December 3, 2009 • No comments

LODD- FF Terrance Freeman, Sr. 36 Rockford (IL) Fire Dept.

We’ve lost another.

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official line of duty death of Firefighter Terrance Freeman Sr., 36, of the Rockford (IL) Fire Department on November 22, 2009.   Terrance is the 82nd LODD for 2009.

While visiting relatives in suburban Chicago, Firefighter Freeman passed away of an apparent heart attack several hours after coming off of his shift during which he had responded to multiple emergency calls.

He leaves behind his wife, Lawanda, and six children.

According to the Rockford Register Star, Rockford Fire Department Division Chief Jim Strey said news of the veteran firefighter’s death came like a surprise punch to the gut, stunned Rockford firefighters and cast a somber pall over the department.

“We come to our job for a career and when someone’s life is cut short at the age of 37, everyone is just stunned,” Strey said. “He has a lot of friends and colleagues who think a lot of him. He’s a nice man, a good person and does a very nice job for the city of Rockford, so it’s a devastating, tragic situation.”

Through his career, Terrance was stationed with Ladder Co. No. 2, Engine Co. No. 4, Ladder Co. No. 1, Engine Co. No. 1, and currently earning his Paramedic rating at Engine Co. No. 3.  He was recently recognized for excellence in customer service.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has asked all government agencies in Illinois display their respect for our fallen brother by lowering to half staff the flags of the State of Illinois and the flag of the United States beginning at sunrise Thursday until sunset Saturday.

A visitation will be held from 1400-1600hrs on November 28, 2009 (Saturday), followed by a memorial service at 1600hrs at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford, IL 61108.

As always, our thoughts and prayers pour out over his family and friends during this time of such loss.  Additionally we look to comfort all of our brothers and sisters at his second family at  the Rockford Fire Department.

Posted in Line of Duty, LODD, News

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Posted by on November 25, 2009 • No comments

If We Do What We’ve Always Done, We’ll Get What We’ve Always Gotten…

I see that NIOSH reports have popped up on the radar of the blogosphere recently.  Frankly, I’m surprised at the heat a few have been giving them.  Maybe I’ve been missing something (it’s happened before). So I took a closer look.
We already know that heart attacks and traffic accidents are the main murderers of us firefighters, so I’m sure we’ve already dedicated the necessary resources to firefighter health and safety initiatives and accident scene safeguards to keep these killers from having free reign over our troops.
Right?
So, I went to the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports page from NIOSH and randomly picked 5 of the reports with deaths involving fire suppression. I was looking for patterns. Guess what I found….
NIOSH Report 2008-26
A residential basement fire had been burning for over 30 minutes. A crew was directed to enter the first floor to perform horizontal ventilation and found a spongy floor. The last (victim) of the four-man crew was just about out when the floor collapsed into the basement on top of working crews. Heavy smoke conditions hampered efforts to locate the victim and he died on the scene.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Sizeup, Risk/Gain “ensure that the incident commander (IC) conducts a 360 degree size-up which includes risk versus gain analysis prior to committing interior operations and continues risk assessments throughout the operations”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “ensure that standard operating procedures are established for a basement fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that proper ventilation is done to improve interior conditions and is coordinated with the interior attack”

TIC- “ensure that interior crews are equipped with a thermal imaging camera”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that Rapid Intervention Teams are staged and ready”

NIOSH Report 2008-34

One of only three firefighters on the scene, the victim entered a burning residence alone with a partially-charged 1 ½ inch line and became lost in thick-black smoke, radioing for help from the other two. They couldn’t locate him, a flashover occurred, and the home became fully engulfed. A cop found him an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up, Risk/Gain- “ensure that officers and fire fighters know how to evaluate risk versus gain and perform a thorough scene size-up before initiating interior strategies and tactics”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Staffing- “ensure that adequate numbers of apparatus and fire fighters are on scene before initiating an offensive fire attack in a structure fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that properly coordinated ventilation is conducted on structure fires”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available at structure fires”

SCBA- “ensure fire fighters are trained in essential self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and emergency survival skills”

Mayday- “ensure that protocols are developed on issuing a Mayday so that fire fighters and dispatch centers know how to respond”

NIOSH Report 2008-08

30 minutes into a residential fire, crews had been pulled out. A decision was made to send a crew back in to extinguish the fire. A crew of 3 (A/C, Capt, FF) made their way into the basement of the burning structure with an 1¾ line. One by one they evacuated due to conditions. The third never came up the stairs. RIT was activated but repelled by the heat. Victim found an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the Incident Commander continuously evaluates the risks versus gain when determining whether the fire suppression operation will be offensive or defensive“

SOP’s/SOG’s- “review, revise as necessary, and enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) to include specific procedures for basement fires and two-in/ two-out procedures“

TIC- “enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) regarding thermal imaging camera (TIC) use during interior operations“

Mayday- “ensure that fire fighters are trained on initiating Mayday radio transmissions immediately when they are in distress, and/or become lost or trapped“

NIOSH Report 2008-06

Without the protection of a charged hoseline, a Lt and FF (victim) were searching a 2-story residence for a trapped occupant. They did not know where the victim was and had no TIC. Conditions deteriorated, trapping the two on the second floor. The LT exited the front door and RIT was deployed to get the victim. Both were hospitalized and the victim succumbed to burn injuries 5 days later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- “ensure the Incident Commander receives pertinent information during the size-up (i.e., type of structure, number of occupants in the structure, etc.) from occupants on scene and that information is relayed to crews upon arrival”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure ventilation is coordinated with interior fireground operations”

TIC- “ensure that fire fighters conducting an interior search have a thermal imaging camera”

Mayday- “ensure that Mayday protocols are developed and followed”

NIOSH Report 2007-32

Two firefighters died while conducting an interior attack to locate, confine, and extinguish a fire located in the cockloft of a restaurant. One victim had been flowing water into the cockloft from the kitchen, another had been checking for fire extension in the main dining area. At about 5 minutes in, a rapid fire event occurred.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the incident commander conducts an initial size-up and risk assessment of the incident scene before beginning interior fire fighting operations and continually evaluates the conditions to determine if the operations should become defensive”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) that address the hazards and define the strategies and tactics to be used while operating at specific structures known as “taxpayers”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that fire fighters understand the influence of ventilation on fire behavior and coordinate with interior fire suppression operations”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention crew (RIC) / rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available to immediately respond to emergency rescue incidents”

TIC- “use thermal imaging cameras (TICs) during the initial size-up and search phases of a fire”

Any patterns?
Size-up, Risk vs. Gain- Does your first in crew perform a 360 and report an accurate size up of conditions to all others? Is a risk vs. gain assessment actually made? Are your initial tactics based upon these findings?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Are your SOP’s/SOG’s current to the ever-changing tasks being performed at your incidents? Do you follow them? Do you even have any?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is ventilation performed early and integrated with your interior attack? Or has ventilation worked its way down to fifth or sixth on your list of priorities? After all, it will eventually vent itself.
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is a RIT/RIC established early on? If you don’t have the personnel to form a RIT/RIC, do you have a mutual aid response to give you the number of firefighters needed to operate safely?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Does your department have at least one Thermal Imaging Camera? It’s been called the best thing since SCBA in many firefighting circles. You have SCBA, right? Does your department know to call a Mayday early? Too macho to call it? Does EVERYONE ON THE SCENE know what to do when a Mayday is called?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
WHY ARE WE NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH?
Are the reports too difficult to understand? Perhaps we need to dumb them down or fluff them up? Fine. I’m all for whatever it takes.
But let’s not forget that the reports are just that- reports. We need to make the changes, NIOSH ain’t gonna do that for us.
So read the reports, see how they killed our brothers, and take a hard look at how you and your department operate.
THEN IMPLEMENT THE CHANGES YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR GUYS ALIVE.
Because if we continue to do it the same way, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. Another NIOSH report with the same ol’ stuff.

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Rescues, Training, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, WTF?

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Posted by on November 22, 2009 • 6 comments

It’s Time.

From Michael McAuliff of the New York Daily News

First responders and Ground Zero workers are pleased Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is headed to New York to face justice – but they hope to win a different kind of justice of their own.

“Eight years later they finally bring the terrorists to New York and eight years later we’re still waiting for help” treating 9/11-related illnesses, said John Feal.  “It doesn’t equate,” added Feal, who heads the FealGood Foundation, devoted to raising awareness about the health crisis. He and busloads of survivors and victims held a rally Wednesday in Washington.

The FealGood Foundation holds a press conference earlier this year at the scene of the 9/11 attacks (photo by Schwartz for News)

They’re demanding Congress act on legislation named after James Zadroga, an NYPD officer who died from his exposure to Ground Zero. The proposal would spend about $8 billion to reopen the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation fund to care for the illnesses suffered by the responding heroes.

“I’m going to be focused on getting that bill passed,” said Glen Klein, a former NYPD Emergency Service Unit officer who spent 700 hours at Ground Zero. “It’s time.”

It’s the same two words Jim Ryan wanted to tell Congress Wednesday hoping to join hundreds of his fellow Sept. 11 responders on their journey to Capitol Hill. But he couldn’t make it.

He’s dying himself.

“I was a 46-year-old firefighter, working at my job in April 2006,” said the husband and father of two teenage boys and a 9-year-old daughter. His doctor thought he had gallstones, but it was pancreatic cancer, a deadly illness more common in older men. The fire department eventually agreed the cancer was from 9/11, and he retired.

He beat it once.

Then came the relapse last November – and more treatments. His doctor can’t do any more.

“They just determined last week it wasn’t working. As of right now, I’m not on anything. At this point, I’m just seeking second opinions,” Ryan said.  He doesn’t want to ask how much time he has left.

“I don’t believe in deadlines,” he said.

But he wanted to do what he could to push Congress to pass the $8 billion measure. It would reopen the Sept. 11 victims’ compensation fund and provide for the families of the ill and dying.

So Tuesday night he packed some gear in the car of his friend and fellow firefighter, Keith Palumbo, and went to the Engine Co. 320/Ladder 167 firehouse in Flushing for a party that Palumbo arranged so Ryan’s department brothers could see him again before it was too late.

“It was overwhelming,” Ryan said.

But he got violently ill, and it was obvious to his friends that Ryan, who’s lost 50 pounds to his illness, couldn’t make the trip to Washington.

“Keith, he took my bag out of his car and he said, ‘You’re not going.’ He said, ‘You can’t, you’re not physically able to,’” Ryan recalled.

It’s almost the way he felt about the months he spent digging through the voids in the wreckage of the twin towers, searching for the fallen. He tried to explain it to his wife, Magda, when she asked why he wanted to swim in that toxic devastation for so long.

“I told her I don’t. It’s the last place in the world I want to be, but right now, and it’s kind of hard to put it in words, but right now it’s the only place in the world I want be,” Ryan remembered.

There was no internal conflict about going to Washington Wednesday, except that he couldn’t.

“I felt horrible because it’s not only about me,” he said. “It’s about all the guys who are going to come after me, and there’s going to be plenty of them. … I don’t think you’ve even seen the tip of the iceberg yet.”

Ryan and the other advocates say they’ve received assurances that Congress would act this fall. But sources told the Daily News that the battle to overhaul the nation’s health care system comes first – a fight that could extend into next year. Feal said rally goers intend to take their message straight to lawmakers.

“We’re taking three teams into each congressional [office] building,” Feal said Wednesday. “I’m storming the Capitol.”

The Zadroga Act is sitting in Congress, held hostage by the health care reform debate. The House version is all but ready to go. The Senate’s has yet to be discussed in a committee hearing.

Palumbo and others carried the message for Ryan, visiting lawmakers in their black turnout coats. He hopes legislators heard it.

“We’ve got eight guys in the firehouse who have cancer,” Palumbo said after walking the halls of Congress, knocking on doors.

“Hopefully, we prodded them with our tale.”

Posted in Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News

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Posted by on November 20, 2009 • No comments

LODD- Deputy Chief Chad Eric Greene, 34, Union Cross Fire & Rescue, Kernersville, NC

We’ve lost another.

The U.S. Fire Administration announces the official line of duty death of Deputy Chief Chad Eric Greene, 34, of the Union Cross Fire and Rescue in Kernersville, NC on November 4, 2009.

Deputy Chief Greene completed his shift at approximately 0830hrs immediately after responding to a motor vehicle accident. After completing his shift, he left the station, dropped his son off at pre-school, and went home. When Deputy Chief Greene’s wife returned home, she found him unresponsive and subsequently called 911 and began CPR. Deputy Chief Greene was transported to the NC Baptist Hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1230hrs. The cause of death is pending further investigation.

He was a member of his department since he was 15 years old and was awarded the 2008 Squad Person of the Year.

He leaves behind his wife, a young son and daughter, and an unborn child due in June 2010.

Chief Greene is the 80th line of duty death this year.

Viewing will be held on November 7, 2009, 1800hrs-2100hrs – Greene Street Baptist Church, High Point, NC. The funeral will be held on November 8, 2009, 1400hrs – Greene Street Baptist Church, High Point, NC.

Memorials may be directed to the Children’s Trust Fund, Truliant Federal Credit Union, 500 Pineview Drive, Suite 117, Kernersville, NC 27284

As always, our prayers and thoughts are firmly with his family and friends, as well as those in his second families at Union Cross Fire and Rescue and the High Point Fire Department.

Posted in In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, News

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Posted by on November 7, 2009 • No comments

LODD- Firefighter Robert Stone, 47, Amity (PA) Fire and Rescue

We’ve lost another.

The U.S. Fire Administration has now announced the official line of duty death of firefighter Robert Stone, 47, of the Amity (PA) Fire and Rescue on November 4, 2009.  He is our nation’s 79th to perish in the line of duty this year.

Upon returning to the station after responding to a residential carbon monoxide alarm on November 3, 2009, Firefighter Stone began complaining of chest pains and was subsequently transported to Reading Hospital. After recovering from surgery for an aortic separation at the hospital, Firefighter Stone went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at approximately 0730hrs the following morning.

His love of photography drew him into the fire service where he captured thousands of photographs.

Information on arrangements can be found at his department’s website. The viewing for Bob Stone will be Wednesday, November 11 from 0900 to 1100 at Houck & Gofus Funeral Home, 955 North Charlotte Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. A funeral service will follow immediately after the viewing. Anyone needing information can contact Station 49 at (610) 689-5218 or Chief Richter at (484) 256-7145.

As always, our prayers and thoughts of pour out over his family and friends, as well as those in his second family at Amity Fire and Rescue.

Posted in In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, News

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Posted by on November 7, 2009 • No comments

What Happened at the Station Fire? $$$ ?

On a sizzling August morning, as flames burned unchecked down the road, fire crews milled about at an Angeles Crest Highway ranger station. Others were parked along the pavement — a critical line of defense — their engines quiet and hoses slack.

It was more than an hour after first light, and some six hours after U.S. Forest Service commanders had determined that the fire required a more aggressive air attack. But the skies remained empty of water-dropping helicopters — tankers that were readily available.

What was happening?

In a story to be published in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times, Paul Pringle reports on the mounting quest for answers regarding the response to what turned out to be the largest fire in LA County history. The Station Fire eventually killed two Los Angeles County firefighters, destroyed about 90 dwellings and devastated one of America’s most-visited national forests.

It had been previously reported that the Forest Service issued a memorandum to Southern California Managers three weeks prior to the Station Fire. It had directed its Southern California managers to trim expenses by reducing the use of reinforcements from municipal departments and the state.

Many have charged that the initial response to the fire was inadequate, and assets that were ready and available were not used soon enough, resulting in a conflagration that should never have occurred.

County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said he has ordered an executive review of his department’s response during the first five days of the fire.  It is due out November 17.

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Major Incidents, News, Wildland, WTF?

Posted by on October 31, 2009 • No comments

Paul Boyer Funeral Arrangements

Many of his brothers and sisters have been having difficulty finding this information, so look no longer.

Funeral arrangements for Paul Boyer, EMT-P, of Womack Army Medical Center/Fort Bragg EMS are as follows-

The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 pm Thursday evening, October 29, at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home in Raleigh.

The family wishes to inter Paul in York, Pennsylvania where he is from. The interment will be at Mount Rose Cemetery; date and time undecided at this point.

Memorial service will held later in November.  You can find his obituary here.
Bryan-Lee Funeral Home
138 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919) 832-8225

Mount Rose Cemetery
1502 Mt Rose Ave
York, PA 17403
(717) 845-6618

Posted in LODD

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Posted by on October 28, 2009 • 6 comments

EMS LODD- Paramedic Paul Boyer, Womack Army Medical Center Ambulance Service

Update 10/28/09- Click Here for funeral arrangements and obituary information

A spokesman at Fort Bragg confirmed the Thursday death of civilian paramedic Paul Boyer, 54, of Womack Army Medical Center Ambulance Services. Initial reports indicate the medic was the passenger in the ambulance en route to an EMS call at a parachute training jump area at Camp McCall when the driver lost control, over-corrected, spun around and landed in trees. The driver was injured, and no other persons were on board at the time.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of paramedic Boyer as well as his co-workers at Womack Army Medical Center Ambulance Services.

Posted in Line of Duty, LODD, News

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Posted by on October 25, 2009 • 3 comments

LODD- Lt. Roy Everett Westover, 41, Westover Borough (Clearfield County, PA) Fire Station #45

We’ve lost another.

Lieutenant Roy Everett Westover Jr., 41, from Westover Borough (Clearfield County) Fire Station #45 has died in the Line of Duty.

While working a structure fire in an abandoned building early this morning, Lt. Westover reported that he did not feel well. Treatment was immediately initiated by paramedics and he was transported to Miners Hospital. After arriving at the hospital he arrested and died, in the line of duty.

The fire is under investigation as a possible arson.  If so, his death would be ruled a homicide.

Westover is a charter member of his fire company, serving since 1980.  He is survived by his three sons.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Lieutenant Westover’s friends and family, and with his second family at Westover Borough Fire Station #45.

Posted in Line of Duty, LODD, News, Uncategorized

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Posted by on October 25, 2009 • No comments

Two Dead in I-65 Ambulance Crash Hours Ago

A crash between an ambulance and a Tennessee Department of Transportation truck killed two people this afternoon on Interstate 65 north of Nashville, TN.

Preliminary reports say the driver of the ambulance, an off-duty Franklin firefighter, was killed, along with the patient being transported. An off-duty Metro firefighter working as an EMT for the ambulance company was injured and hospitalized in stable condition.

The names of those involved, as well as the ambulance company, are not yet available.

Posted in EMS, LODD, News

Posted by on October 22, 2009 • 2 comments

LODD- Capt. John Thurman, 52 Clinton MS FD

We’ve lost another.

Captain John Thurman, 52, a 21-year veteran with the Clinton, MS Fire Department, was found unconscious in the park next his station late yesterday afternoon.

Thurman had been exercising in the park while on duty, when a passer-by found him down and summoned help. He was transported to Jackson Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.  The cause of death has not been released.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Thurman’s family and friends, as well as his second family at the Clinton Fire Department.

Posted in In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, News

Posted by on October 22, 2009 • 3 comments

LODD- FF Gary Street of East Lake Sinclair VFD, GA

We’ve lost another.

An apparent heart attack took the life of East Lake Sinclair Volunteer Fire Department Firefighter Gary Street on Saturday. After moving a fire department squad to make way for an incoming ambulance on an EMS call, Street collapsed.

Our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends, as well at the members of ELSVFD.

Posted in Line of Duty, LODD

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Posted by on October 19, 2009 • 9 comments

Get Up and Hug Your Kids. Right Now.

When Yonkers Firefighter Patrick Joyce’s 7-year old daughter Isabelle woke up, she found out that her daddy was never coming home.

Then she wrote this in her diary:

Hug your kids right now.  Then hug them again.

Posted in Line of Duty, LODD

Posted by on October 17, 2009 • 5 comments

Freak Wind Accident Kills LA Paramedic Friday

EMS LODD A bizarre weather incident claimed the life of a Louisiana ambulance worker last Friday afternoon.

Winds in the area gusted strong enough to knock a Cameron Parish EMS trailer off of its blocks. 38-year old Thomas Widcamp of Grand Lake, LA was pinned between the building and a car. He was transported by air to a Lake Charles hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Widcamp leaves behind a wife and four children and numerous other family members as well as his devastated co-workers.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

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Posted in EMS, LODD

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Posted by on October 12, 2009 • No comments

LODD- Capt. Carl Nordwall, Norfolk Airport Fire Dept.

 We’ve lost another.

Captain Carl Nordwall of the Norfolk Airport Fire Department passed away Tuesday after collapsing during shift change on Saturday from an apparent heart attack. CPR and ALS treatment were immediately given by his crew.

The funeral for Captain Nordwall will be held on Saturday, October 10 at 1400 hours at the Rosewood-Kellum Funeral Home, Witchduck Road, Virginia Beach, Va.

Expressions of sympathy or condolences can be sent to Local 3406 at 4710 Pinehurst Avenue, Norfolk, Va., 23513-3755.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Captain Nordwall, and to our extended family at IAFF Local 3406.

Posted in LODD

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Posted by on October 8, 2009 • No comments

FF Joyce Funeral Video

red line of courage maltese WABC has the video of their news report on today’s funeral of Brother Joyce.  Click here for the video on their sire, as well as their report.

Godspeed, Brother.

-J

Posted in Brotherhood, LODD

Posted by on October 6, 2009 • No comments

Tradition Tuesday- Bagpipes

It is OK to Cry Today

The tradition of bagpipes being played at fire department funerals in the United States goes back over one hundred and sixty years. When the Irish and Scottish immigrated to this country, they brought many of their traditions with them. One of these was the bagpipe, often played at Celtic weddings, funerals and dances.

It wasn’t until the great potato famine and massive Irish immigration to the East Coast of the United States that the tradition of the pipes really took hold in fire departments. Factories and shops had signs reading "NINA" meaning No Irish Need Apply. The only jobs they could get were the ones no one else wanted — jobs that were dirty, dangerous or both — firefighters and police officers. It was not an uncommon event to have several firefighters killed at a working fire.

bagpipes The Irish firefighter’s funerals were typical of all Irish funerals-the pipes were played. It was somehow okay for a hardened firefighter to cry at the sound of pipes when his dignity would not let him weep for a fallen comrade.

Those who have been to funerals when bagpipes play know how haunting and mournful the sound of the pipes can be. Before too long, families and friends of non-Irish firefighters began asking for the piper to play for these fallen heroes. The pipes add a special air and dignity to the solemn occasion.

Today, the pipes will play for our fallen brother Pat Joyce. 

It is OK to cry.

Posted in LODD, Tradition

Posted by on October 6, 2009 • No comments

Accused Firefighter Murderer Appears in Court

Courtroom Packed With Our Brothers

roldan 33-year old Rafael Roldan appeared today in a Yonkers courtroom to face arraignment on charges he set fire to an occupied building last week, killing one of our brothers, Patrick Joyce. Roldan stands accused of second degree murder, second degree arson, and first degree burglary.

The nearly 100 firefighters who crammed into the courtroom in a show of unity will continue their support by joining legions of others in attending Joyce’s funeral tomorrow morning in the Bronx.

Roldan continues to be held without bail.

Joyce’s two young daughters continue life without their Daddy.

Posted in Brotherhood, LODD

Posted by on October 5, 2009 • No comments

360 Burn Around the Fire Web

Web Stuff Absolutely Worth Checking Out

28th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend 

FF Memorial “The weekend features special programs for survivors and co-workers along with public ceremonies. New survivors will have the opportunity to meet fire service survivors from across the country so that you can share experiences, make lasting friendships, and begin to look ahead. The Memorial Weekend is a time for sharing and healing for the families of our fallen firefighters.”

 

 

On TheKitchenTable site, Christopher Naum blogs of this weekend’s activities at the Memorial, located on the grounds of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

This weekend, a plaque with the names of 103 firefighters killed in the line of duty in 2008 will be added to the Memorial.

If you are unable to attend this weekend, make it a point to stop here anytime you are in the Baltimore/D.C. area.  I found the Memorial to be quite inspiring and incredibly spiritual even when my daughter and I were the lone visitors one autumn day a few years back.

 

First In

First In BET FireCritic.com is always worth a look, and he leaves not wanting once again. Black Entertainment Television (BET) has a new show called First In. FireCritic gives us quite a thorough review on this show he describes as a “COPS” version of firefighting.

Did you miss the first two episodes? He’s got ‘em all linked up for you.  Cool!

 

Firefighters Seek Actions- Not Words

“It’s not enough to tell someone they are lucky to have a job. It worked in the 30′S but today it doesn’t wash.”

Amen.

FirefighterHourly.com hits it right on the head with this post. If you find your department grappling with a negativity problem, try to lay hands on the book written by Chief Rick Laskey, Pride and Ownership. Here’s an excerpt: Laskey pride and ownership

  • Who owns your fire department?
  • It’s been said for years that being a firefighter is the best job in the world. Why is it the best?
  • What kind of a leader does it take to provide that feeling?
  • Just as important: What kind of firefighter does it take?
  • Do you own your fire department?
  • Do you know where it all started and why?
  • Do you have that pride, that love for the job, or do you just show up?

You might also want check out my earlier post on bad attitudes. When you see Mr. Negative sulk in through the door at your house, you have quite a job ahead of you. Try to remind him of the stoked feeling he had when he realized he was hired/appointed. Once he remembers how cool that was, try to get him to identify things he can do to get that feeling back.

He deserves the help, and you owe it to him to get him off the negative track. More importantly, it’s not just about him; it’s about the whole crew now.

 

Enjoy the weekend and keep the shiny side up!

-J.

Posted in 360 Burn, Just For Fun, Leadership, LODD

Posted by on October 3, 2009 • No comments

Yonkers, NY LODD FF Patrick Joyce

Maltese_LODD

While his wife and two young daughters were nestled in their beds at home, daddy was crawling into a burning bedroom to search for and rescue trapped children he didn’t know.

Tragically, daddy is never coming home.

39-year old Patrick Joyce died early this morning after bailing out of a third-story window when conditions in that room became untenable. Two brothers, Lt. Joseph Murray and Firefighter William Kanych, also bailed and are currently in serious condition. Two residents were treated for non-life threatening smoke inhalation.

Yonkers, New York firefighters responded to the blaze after 1:00 a.m. and encountered “a chaotic scene”. Initial reports of children trapped on the third floor sent this veteran crew in for the rescue. The reports were later found out to be inaccurate and nobody was found.

yonkers-fire_2 "…. He feared nothing. He gave his life on a report to rescue others. Right now the fire is under investigation… His first decision was to enter a room that was super heated and smoky because there was a report of people trapped…. when these things happen, they happen within seconds and you don’t have much time to make decisions. Firefighter Patrick Joyce was one that never hesitated”.

-Yonkers Fire Commissioner Anthony Pagano

The 3-alarm fire in an apartment building at 148 Waverly St. appears to have been set according to fire investigators. Initial reports indicate more than one point of origin.

As we read these details, we are all visualizing ourselves in a horrible situation, forced with having to bail out of a third-floor window to avoid being cooked. Take a moment to discuss this situation with your brothers and continue to emphasize self-rescue in your regular training.

Join us as we pause to pray for the family and friends of the all three firefighters- especially for the two little girls who will never see their daddy again.

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Posted in LODD

Posted by on October 2, 2009 • 1 comment

EMS Flight Crew Perishes in S.C. Helicopter Crash

lodd ems      lodd ems      lodd ems

FireDaily.com deeply regrets to report the line of duty deaths of three rescue workers as the result of a helicopter crash late Friday evening near the Belle Isle area of Georgetown County in South Carolina.

Flight Nurse Diana Conner All three were crew members aboard the aircraft and identified as pilot Patrick Walters, 45, of Murrells Inlet, flight nurse Diana Conner, 42, of Florence (pictured right) and paramedic Rondolph Dove, 39, of Bladenboro, NC. No patients were on board and no other injuries were reported.

The Lifecare flight crew had just left the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and headed to their base in Georgetown County, an area just inland from Myrtle Beach.

The last communications were received at 11:16 p.m. according to Georgetown Emergency Management Director Sam Hodge. After the helicopter failed to arrive, a search was initiated. Emergency crews did not arrive at the crash scene until after 1:00 a.m.

ems chopper crash site The National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Robert Sumwalt said today the pilot indicated clear weather upon leaving MUSC, but then the helicopter encountered severe upon approach to the Georgetown County airport. It crashed in a wooded area about 1 mile from the airport. Initial investigation indicated the helicopter impacted the ground nose first and there was no sign of an in-flight fire. The NTSB and FAA continue their investigation.

FireDaily.com extends our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of these three everyday heroes who made better the lives of so many others. Know that you are not alone in your grief.

Posted in EMS, LODD

Posted by on September 26, 2009 • No comments

LODD- Joseph Barlow, 55 Johnson Co Rescue Squad TN

Maltese_LODD We’ve lost another one.

Joseph R. Barlow, 55, of Mountain City, TN died this afternoon, September 18, 2009 at the Johnson City Medical Center. He succumbed to injuries sustained as he was driving a Johnson County Rescue Squad ambulance to the hospital with a patient being treated for pneumonia.

The crash occurred on Highway 67 at mile marker 2 about a mile north of Butler in Johnson County at approximately 10:15 last night. A 2001 Chevrolet Lumina being driven by 51 year old Brenda J. Buchanan of Elizabethton reportedly crossed the center lane and hit the 2001 Ford ambulance forcing it off the road.  As it came back onto the road, the ambulance’s rear tire caught the JCRS sceneedge, causing the rig to flip over an embankment ejecting Barlow from the vehicle. He was airlifted by Wings Air Rescue to the Johnson City Medical Center where he arrived in critical condition. His partner, 32 year old Kevin Colson of Laurel Bloomery, was also airlifted by Wings to JCMC with non-life-threatening injuries.

The patient being transported, 57-year old Alicia McCoy was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car that hit the ambulance, 51 year old Brenda J. Buchanan, of Elizabethton, was also airlifted by Wings to JCMC and released earlier today.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, reportedly saying they are treating the MVA as a criminal investigation due to the fact that drugs may have been a factor. It is unclear at this time what charges, if any, will be placed against Barbara Buchanan.

Our thoughts and prayers rain out to the family, friends, and brothers and sisters of the Johnson County Rescue Squad. You are not alone in your sadness and grief.

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Posted by on September 18, 2009 • No comments

LODD- Gretna, LA Ricky Christiana, 44

Maltese_LODD          gretna-louisiana-ricky-christiana-lodd

We’ve lost another.

According to reports from The Times-Picayune,  a fire that broke out in Gretna on Friday night at the city building official’s home claimed the life of one firefighter and sent several to the hospital.

Ricky Christiana, a 20-year veteran, died of a heart attack. He was 44. He had served as a paid firefighter under four chiefs at the David Crockett Steam Fire Company No. 1. 

This is the 2nd LODD to strike this department in just under a year.

Christiana suffered the heart attack while he was fighting a three-alarm fire that broke out around 9:30 p.m. at 202 Hamilton St., the home of Danika Gorrondona, who is Gretna’s code and building inspector.

"What a heroic man to be out there to try to save our home," Gorrondona said. "I’m just so thankful to his family. It’s a tragic thing to happen during another tragedy."

Christiana had been helping pull fire hoses and had walked off to take a break. He went down a few minutes later, said Fire Chief George Burnetz Jr. Christiana was taken to Oschner Westbank Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"Whenever you lose a family member, especially in community service, it’s very, very difficult," said Gretna Police Department Maj. Anthony Christiana, Ricky Christiana’s first cousin. "Under the circumstances, that it was Danika’s house, it adds a little more sympathy to it."

The fire was called in by a neighbor who had stepped out for a cigarette and noticed flames coming from the Gorrondonas’ attic, according to Mayor Ronnie Harris. The neighbor broke down the door and alerted Gorrondona, who had been asleep in a second-floor bedroom. Her husband escaped through a back window and was sent to the intensive care unit at Oschner for two days for smoke inhalation.

Most of the roof and upstairs portion of the house had been destroyed, Burnetz said.

One city official, who had been among several to gather at the home Saturday night to help the couple, was sent to the hospital after becoming ill, Harris said.

"It was a bad weekend for Gretna," Harris said.

Christiana’s death comes almost one year after the death of his colleague, Ralph Arabie. Arabie, 48, was killed in the line of duty Sept. 29, 2008 when a boom on one of the station’s fire trucks pinned his head to the back of the truck. Arabie was the first on-duty casualty at the department 30 years.

Visitation hours will be Tuesday from 6 to 10 p.m. at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 West Bank Expressway, Harvey. Visitation will continue Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. and a procession to Westlawn Cemeteries, at 1225 Whitney Ave., will pass the fire station.

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Posted by on September 15, 2009 • No comments