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These Tunes Are ON FIRE!

A neighbor observed his 57-yr old neighbor listening to music in his BMW parked in the driveway of his home.  Shortly thereafter, the car was ablaze, and as was caught on police dash cam, responding officers noticed the man was still inside.  The Police officers are seen reaching into the vehicle and dragging him away from the intense heat and flames, clearly risking their lives .  The man, described as having been incapacitated, and he was transported to the hospital suffering only from minor smoke inhalation.  You gotta love the dash cam!

Injured CFD's Finest Rescue Carful of Criticals Who Pulled Out In Front Of Them

Alcohol is being investigated in the cause of an intersection accident in which Chicago Fire Department engine 62 struck an automobile on Monday night injuring ten including 4 firefighters.  3 children and two adults were critically injured.  According to initial reports, the automobile proceeded into the intersection after stopping, and the engine did not have enough time to avoid the crash.  Witnesses at the scene reported that firefighters injured in the collision immediately began to treat those in the automobile before other firefighters and paramedics arrived.  The 18-yr old driver has since been charged with DUI and other traffic offenses.  Check out the news report from MyFoxChicago.com :

9 Injured When Chicago Fire Truck Crashes Into Car: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

Patriots Send NH Fireighter to the Super Bowl

A New Hampshire firefighter will be unable to respond to calls this weekend because he is a volunteer.  Why?  The New England Patriots chose 10 “Super Persons” from around New England, police, firefighters, teachers, and military members, all a part of their Celebrate Volunteerism Campaign.  One of those winners is Somersworth NH firefighter Tim Wilder.  Tim is headed to the Super Bowl this weekend along with nine other public service workers.  Watch the video from WMUR TV :

Nom Nom Nom…..

Here's some secret recipes for firehouse snacks on this- the most glorious weekend to be on shift at the firehouse- the Super Bowl!  First up, an ultra simple idea that will make you look like you know how to make something- even though your partners will realize you can’t.  Get a brick of Philadelphia cream cheese, put it on a plate, pour some shrimp sauce over it.  Wallah- with a few triscuits, you’ve got a dipping delight! 

Now for a secret recipe from my firehouse that is sooo simple and soooo yummy, you’ll make it even during the off season.  Pop a blob of beef roast into a crock pot at the beginning o your shift and cover it with a big jar of giardinara peppers.  Cook it on low heat til game time, open the lid, shred the meat with a couple of forks and serve it on some fresh French bread with a little mozz or provolone- and you’ve got some of the best Italian beef sandwiches you’ll ever taste. 

If you want to show some true effort with a quick, easy, and healthy Super Bowl food idea check out the video below from TheFirehouseChef.  In this episode, Ryan celebrates one of the most hallowed days at the firehouse- Super Bowl Sunday- with his famous Chipotle Chicken Salad Crostini.  Although it’s great all year long, this finger food combination of chicken, garlic, and chipotle is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  And here’s a secret- The full video recipe enables guys like me to shine in the most valuable position in the firehouse- the shift’s cook. 

Bon Appetit!

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As reported on DailyFireFix.com:

It’s the 5-second rule practiced in fire stations all over the United States and, indeed, all over the world. 

You drop something on the floor and scoop it up.  Firefighters and paramedics do it everyday, although many won’t admit it.  Unless they can’t deny it, as was the case in Mexico City last week.

Exiting a helicopter in what was called “a rapid precision maneuver”, a couple of paramedics “dropped the ball”, or to be more precise, “almost broke a heart” on camera as the precious cargo rolled out of it’s cocoon cooler and tumbled onto the street.

From CBSnews.com

As you can see, the paramedics immediately employed the “rapid scoop” maneuver well within the five seconds allowed, and continued their race to the hospital where the package was dusted off and successfully implanted into its anxious recipient. 

I began to wonder what the paramedics first said to each other once safely out of the camera’s eye in the back of the ambulance?

Doctors are cautiously optimistic on the outcome saying the heart is doing fine. 

The paramedics? 

Well, they'll endure the wrath of their peers for years to come, constantly being reminded that "their heart was in the wrong place."

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This article is also found at Daily Fire Fix

Probably Not.

Daily Fire Fix ran across this video with the interesting title and had to see what was going on.  It’s actually a compilation of videos of the Grant’s Pass Rural Fire Department in Josephine County Oregon which is in southwest OR along I-5 and the California border. 

Grant’s Pass Rural Fire Department is one of three private fire departments competing for fire protection “contracts” for properties in the county. See if you share the myriad of emotions that others have when you see these “firefighters” in action at a residential structure fire.

One you are past the “Oh my God’s” and the “What the &%^#’s”, I’d like to challenge you to watch it a second time.  Only this time, I want you to ask yourself, “if I’m watching this fire department floundering on video, how many other fire departments in the United States operate in similar ways, with no command structure, old equipment, no PPE, no money, and no clue?” 

My guess is that there are quite a few.

Now, let’s take this a step further.

I’d like to pose a challenge to you, the firefighter:  Put yourself into each of the following roles and think about what actions you would take based solely upon the information in the videos and what I have provided you in this article.

1. You have just been appointed as fire chief of the GPVF and you have just seen this video.
2. You are the fire chief of the Rural/Metro Fire Department, a neighboring combination department and you have just seen this video..
3. You are a resident considering with which department to contract your fire protection services: GPVFD at a very, very low cost (45 cents per thousand) , GPFR at a cost five times that of GPVFD, or elect to opt out entirely from any fire contract and you have just seen this video.

If you’d like to, leave a brief comment to this article, or call in and leave a voicemail with your input.  I’ll report back later here on Daily Fire Fix with your ideas.

It's easy to identify the problems.  Got any solutions?  888-887-8718

Stay stoked!

-J

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A 19-year old Pennsylvania firefighter died in the line of duty while responding to a fire in his POV on Wednesday evening just before 6pm,

Brandon Little of the United Hook and Ladder Fire Company, Company 33, out of New Oxford, Pennsylvania crested a steep hill, apparently lost control of his Jeep Grand Cherokee and crashed through a post and rail fence before slamming into the roof of a house and into a tree.  Debris from the crash flew through the front window of the homeowner who called 911.

Speed is believed to have been a factor.

He was ejected from his vehicle, landing in the road.  Police do not believe he was wearing his seat belt. 

Here is the initial video report from WHPTV.com:

From abc27.com

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In extremely local news, Bell County Kentucky fire protection is venturing down the subscription-based model that led to nationwide embarrassment in Obion County Tennessee, twice.

You’ll recall the headlines about firefighters responding to structure fires and standing by while they burned because they property owners had not paid their annual fire protection fee.  The Obion County firefighters were ordered by their administration to NOT take action, placing them in the unenviable position splashed across TV screens all across America.

In December Bell County KY Volunteer Fire Department shuttered two stations and initiated a subscribers fee of $30 per year for vacant land and $150 for occupied land.  The department claims lack of fundage and lack of volunteers, but the County disagrees and wonders where the $6 million of county money given to the non-profit fire department since 1979 has gone.  Until the two stations reopen, the county has cut off any further funding of the County Fire Department.

This is where it gets interesting. 

Daily Fire Fix has done gone mining and struck gold.  They found raw video of a public meeting of the Bell County Fire Volunteer Department in which enraged citizens join in shouting, arm waving, and finger pointing in what appears to develop into an unstructured confrontation of words between fire officials, lawyers and citizens.  At one point police from multiple agencies appear, apparently having been summoned by concerned witnesses, maybe one of the nice ladies sitting up front where the spittle was flying.. 

Check out the audio report on this and other stories over at Daily Fire Fix.com

Meeting Part One

Meeting Part Two

Meeting Part Three

Other links to this story:

WBIT-TV News Video: Bell County KY Closes Two Fire Stations

WBIT-TV News Video: BCVFD Proposes Subscriber Fee

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The audio of this report can be found at Daily Fire Fix

A Sunday night hi-rise fire in Chicago that spread smoke and heat beyond the room of origin required over a 2-11 alarm assignment and over 150 firefighters to attack, contain, and eventually extinguish.

An EMS Plan 2 was initiated, calling in 11 ambuli as report after report continued to include new victims in need of emergency medical care.  2 firefighters were also injured, one seriously.

When Chicago’s finest arrived at the 21-story residential apartment building at 3130 N. Lake Shore Dr, they reported fire blowing out of a twelfth-floor window and attempted to put the building’s elevators into ‘fire mode’ without success.

Instead, they were forced to hump their hose and other equipment up the fire floor to make an attack, costing precious time which allowed the fire to grow exponentially.

One citizen was coming home from getting take-out food and had taken the elevator to 12.  Its doors opened, and she was blasted by the smoke and superheated gasses, killing her.

Many others reported hearing no alarms but were awoken by fire sirens.  Some residents, unaffected directly by the fire reportedly never woke up until the next morning, unaware how close they came to taking their final breath.

Here's the report from NBC Chicago:

32-Year-Old Dies in High Rise Fire: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

IF ONLY there was a way to alert all the souls sleeping in a burning building to the deadly danger!

IF ONLY we could invent a way that water could be sprayed on a fire right in the area it started immediately as technology discovers it!

IF ONLY we could figure out a way to have each unit’s door automatically close and keep a fire to its unit of origin with walls that could, in some way, be fire rated!

IF ONLY we were able to program elevators to return to the ground floor during a fire and stay there until fire crews could control them for safe use, rather than deliver unsuspecting victims into a 1,500+ degree hellfire death.

Of course, all of this is already possible. So what happened here?

A city ordinance requiring older high-rises to be retrofitted with a modern, connected alarm and detection system BY THIS MONTH was recently extended until 2015 by the city council, according to a Chicago Building Department spokesperson.

Also, older residential buildings in Chicago ARE NOT required to install sprinkler systems, instead they may opt to be evaluated and other safety upgrades can be put in place.

According to NBC Chicago, an employee of this building’s management company, Planned Property Management, declined to comment at the scene. The company’s president and chief executive officer, Robert Buford, was appointed to the city’s Community Development Commission in July.

So, just how much would it cost building owners to retrofit their money-makers with adequate detectors (beyond the first alert local models) and sprinkler systems?  According to the National Fire Sprinkler Association, the cost to retrofit is about $1.50 to $2.50 per sq. ft.

WHICH COSTS MORE?

Compare the costs of adding sprinklers and a building fire detection system with the cost to clean up, repair, and rehab the large area unnecessarily burned due to late detection and exponentially uncontrolled growth of a fire taking place in a non-sprinklered environment.

Compare the costs of adding sprinklers and a building fire detection system with the loss of rental income while repairs are being made to the large, damaged area of your money-maker.

Compare the costs of adding sprinklers and a building fire detection system to the cost of having to face litigation following the incident as building owners would face lawsuit after lawsuit from a single incident.

And finally, compare the costs of adding sprinklers and a building fire detection system to the unimaginable loss now being endured by the family and friends of one of the tenants of your money-maker, who when returning to her Lake Shore Drive apartment, was crisped as the elevator doors opened into the gates of hell.

Which costs more?  Which decision is the more fiscally responsible? 

Could it be that, at times, the power of the almighty dollar leaves us unable to rationalize between short term costs and long term gains? 

Stay stoked!

-J

The audio of this report can be found at Daily Fire Fix

Daily Fire Fix is a short audio rundown of what's happening in the fire service. 

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The final version of this superb video is finally available.  Brought to us by our friends over at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and

featuring my fine friends at the Chicago Fire Department, this is excellent training and should be seen by every firefighter everywhere.

_________________________________________

“What’s most important is that we all go home.  We’re not Superman. We have families that need you to, so…we have other obligations as well. “

“When you’re a young kid, you got that cape on. you wanna go through walls. And if you don’t have the old timers, they’ll kinda  pull you back a little bit, They say hold on kid, understand what your doing, and why you’re doing what you’re doing, and to give yourself a way out.”

 “Have a wife turn to you, and look at you and say, “What the hell happened here? Where the hell was his hood?  Who was in charge? How did you guys let this happen to him? Why him?  What do I say to them?”

“If you think you’ve got some good reason for not wearing this or for not doing things the right way , write it down.  Because I need to read that to your widow.  Because I’m not going to know what to say.  You say it for me.”

I think the worse day I’ve ever had in my life is when I was five years old and my father was killed in the line of duty.  That day stays with me forever.  It’s like it happened yesterday.  I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that.  And I don’t speak just for myself, I speak for my family, I speak for the firefighters that worked with my father that were next to him when he got killed. It never leaves you.  It’s a scar you’ll always have.

“We don’t have any more room for badges on the wall.”

_________________________________________

Any kid can smear on the war paint.  It’s what you do once you’re all “warriored-up” that shows your true worth on our battlefields.

The firefighter I want with me on a line or with a tool by my side is a brother who is not only aggressive and eager to do the job, but also has the knowledge and seasoning to know when to go and when to think twice when it’s appropriate.  I don’t need young, dumb, and full of a battle cry and a death wish. 

If he aint got no brains, send him the f*&% away..

Stay stoked.

-J

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Refusing to consider what Ronald Reagan called “revenue enhancements”, the people of Moline have spoken.  Bub-bye to 4-5 firefighter/paramedics PER SHIFT.

In six months the City of Moline, one of the “Quad Cities” along the Illinois-Iowa border will have its’ emergency medical services provided by a private entity. 

So how do you like your tea?  One lump or two?

"Are we doing it right or is everyone else doing it right?” asks Moline (IL) Mayor Don Welvaert.  "When you look around us at the greater region, ourselves and our sister city of Rock Island are the only two public EMS systems left in the greater area."

The use of the word “greater” is now arguable.

The city council’s alderman voted 4-4 on the proposed budget package and Welvaert cast the deciding vote, effectively eliminating the positions of twelve of the city’s firefighter/paramedics.  The budget looks to close a $1.7 million dollar deficit.  The Council’s vote clears the way to begin accepting proposals for which the city hopes to choose one and have the private firm in place providing service on July 1, 2012

“I'm just looking at it from a financial point of view. What are the real numbers, because we've heard real numbers from A to Z. If the citizens of Moline are willing to fully fund EMS services and support personnel the tax rate would have to be readjusted," says 4th Ward Alderman Ted Ronk.

However, the nationwide cacophony of demands for lower taxes does not make that likely to occur.  Extremists like those in the Tea Party have demanded their political leaders not allow one extra penny of taxes.  Their extremist right-wing hero, Grover Norquist, has made many political “leaders” sign a pledge to that end. 

Can I warm up your tea for you?  Bub-bye 12 finely trained firefighter/paramedics. 

The vote was close. 7th Ward Alderman Sean Liddell who voted against the proposal put it this way:  "I would compare this call to privatize EMS in order to save pension costs being a boat that's taking on water and trying to bail out with a Dixie cup. Why would we cut personnel that all but pays for it?"

Union President Brian Vyncke expressed dismay that the city had not sought the union out earlier in the process to work toward a solution that would not result in slashing the daily staffing. 

“We understand concessions need to be made, but when they start threatening cuts of 4-5 firefighters on a shift, 18% of our guys, that's just not even remotely close to being fair."

The firefighter's union says this fight is not over. It will start negotiating with the city in January and the union says the goal is to save the 12 jobs.

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A fire that may have been started by an explosion is now burning in a vacant downtown building along the riverfront in St. Louis.  No injuries were reported at this time, however the adjacent buildings had to be evacuated. 

The fire started just after 11 a.m. Thursday in the 700 block of South 6th Street. near the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River. 

Bystanders report the building is over 100 years old.

HazMat crews were originally dispatched due to an initial report of chemicals involved, however, chief officers on the scene have stated none have been found.

At one point early on, an evacuation signal was sounded sending all firefighters outside where an aggressive exterior attack was mounted as the north side of the building is reportedly appearing to prepare to buckle. Multiple elevated streams are seen making progress as the smoke pouring from the large building slowly lightens up in color.

The north side of the building is reportedly apearing to prepare to buckle. 

No firefighters are reported injured at this early report.

Click here for live video from Sky Zoom 4

Video from Fox2now.com

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“Warning: This video is graphic and depicts a man being rescued from his burning home.”

That’s the disclaimer shown at the beginning of this video just posted in YouTube by NewsWorking out of Pennsylvania.

On NewsWorking’s website, an accompanying article tells of firefighters arriving to a woman telling them her husband went back into their burning home to rescue their dog.

The video shows various emergency responders in action including police officers and Whitehall’s firefighters removing the victim from the front door and the eventual arrival of EMS.

Comments?

Stay stoked!

-J

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