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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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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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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It happened again.  We shouldn’t be surprised. 

Click the picture for the story from WPSD

In rural Obion County, Tennessee, another fire burns a structure to the ground as firefighters stand idly by, obeying the orders of their administration NOT to extinguish the fire.

Why? 

The property owners did not pay for fire protection.  The rural portions of the city of South Fulton are not taxed like the citizens of the city are, and therefore do not contribute to the staffing, maintenance, and service the city department provides. 

Furthermore, these Obion County rural homeowners went to the polls and CHOSE NOT to pay taxes for the city department to provide coverage to the rural area.  So the city offered a “subscription-based” fire protection service, giving rural homeowners the option of obtaining fire protection for a mere $75 per year.

Some paid, some didn’t. 

It should be noted both properties that burned were owned by homeowners who knew they were not going to receive fire services because they had made a conscious decision to NOT pay the fee. 

What do you think? 

Should the firefighters have put out the fires anyway?

What do you think of this type of fire service funding?

Who is at fault?  The homeowner?  The firefighters?  The administration?  The Tea Party?  Obama?

We want to hear your comments.  Call us toll-free at 1-888-887-8718 and leave your thoughts on our voicemail.  We’ll play as many as possible on our next episode of the Firefighter Netcast Show.

888-887-8718

Firefighter Netcast

This ain't your Daddy's fire service radio podcast…..

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Yesterday, I wrote a short article "NBC blew it. Then they blew it again."about how NBC and Brian Williams mishandling of their response to a fire alarm during a live news broadcast did our nation's public a great disservice.

A little digging, and I found this today in the Washington Post:

A NBC News rep told The Associated Press it was just a drill and that technicians couldn’t immediately turn off loudspeakers on Williams’ new studio — as if that somehow made it seem better, not worse.

If Brian Williams truly knew that there was no need for alarm, a simple single-sentence explanation would have kept our nation's schoolchildren from wondering "why the pretty newsman isn't going outside."

Today, a video out from the folks over at Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" shows just how foolish the response was.

At the end, a choice to laugh it all off.

Ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Ha.

All better now?

Stay stoked!

-J

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Whenever I give a size up upon arrival of a commercial fire alarm with people huddled outside in the parking lot, I never use the phrase “the building has been evacuated.”  Why?  More times than not, someone, apparently armed with omniscience (look it up) or at the very least a crystal ball refuses to budge.  Either the uninterrupted status of their valuable task at hand is paramount to life safety, or they are much too important (or comfortable) to be bothered by the multi-thousand dollar alarm system to move from their post.

Better to say “occupants are exiting the building” and remember that someone’s ass is still probably glued to their leather chair. 

What are the chances that the alarm is false?  What are the chances that there is no fire?  What are the chances that it’s just burnt popcorn again by those secretaries on the third floor?

Pretty high.

But what if?

And further, what if that one "glue-ass" morphs into two?  Then four.  And so on and so on….

This is why what happened Tuesday evening is another huge blow to the fine folks in the fire prevention bureau.  If NBC doesn’t stop what they’re doing and evacuate when the fire alarm sounds, why should anyone else?

What does this teach our school children?  I think it will never get that far, but does anyone still remember “Our Lady of Angels?”  Thank God our children still evacuate when they hear an alarm.  They are still smarter than some of the adults who grace God’s green earth.

Why is it that commercial buildings are never fully evacuated when the fire alarm goes off? 

There are many, but one of the primary reasons was further implanted in millions of American’s minds Tuesday night.  In the midst of NBC’s live network newscast, the fire alarm went off.  Did they evacuate?

Nope.

Earlier this summer, I was invited into the very room where Brian Williams’ desk sits for the nightly news.  I can vouch for the fact that there is no quick way out of this inner Sanctum, nor the busy control room off to Brian’s right.  If there had been an actual fire, we would have lost who some call “America’s hardest working news anchor.”

Obviously, it's very difficult to drop everything and flip off the switch when we are surprised by the fire alarm.  Which is exactly why such an incident needs to be planned for in advance, practiced, and put into play each time a fire alarm is activated.  Does NBC have such a plan?

One night later, I'm watching Brian Williams now on this evening's news cast.  He apologized.  Not for their inaction.  He expressed sorrow for the viewers who had to put up with what happened. 

Too hard on NBC?  Then so be it.  They dealt the fire service a huge blow by their non-actions on live TV in front of millions.  Then they blew it again by missing an opportunity to set their viewers straight on what should be done when the fire alarm sounds.

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I read an article by an old acquaintance the other day.  I don't want to identify the author because this is not about the "who", but the "what."  What a concept. 

Here's an excerpt:

“There was a code that said that the coach was always right and you NEVER questioned a coach’s decision in regards to you. Like it or not, you had to respect it. It was not an option!  Sound familiar?  It should!”

“I came up in the fire service at a time when we did what our instructors told us to do. We learned very quickly that questioning the instructor was not the same as asking questions. The smart ones knew it. Questioning the “whys” had its consequences. We didn’t have time to break into focus groups to discuss our feelings. You were told how to do it, shown how to do it and then, you DID it!”

 

Sit down youngsters, and let Grandpa John tell you a story. 

It’s a story about growth, maturity, change, and ego.  It’s about the people we trust as fire service leaders to give us the best damn knowledge available for new kids entering the service.  It’s about accepting change.  It’s about recognizing that times just ain't like they used to be in the 60’s and 70’s.  It’s about not who you are. 

It’s not all about you.

Once upon a time long, long ago in my basic firefighter education, our instructors were often looked up to and held in reverence as they expounded their thoughts and ideas to eager young ears.  I had some kick-ass instructors for which much of that tribute was earned.  Of course, there were the others who were teaching for other reasons.  But we always took what we were told as good information without thinking for ourselves if something didn’t make sense.  We did as we were told and we never asked any questions.  We ate our meat or we couldn’t have any pudding.

Here's an example of something I always found hard to swallow:  Always fight a fire from the unburned side.  That way you push it back in on itself and extinguish it without creating further damage. 

Sound familiar?  That’s what we were told, so that’s what we did.

After awhile however, there were a few who began to question this edict handed down from above.  These brave souls raised their hands and asked “why?”   If the circumstances involving ventilation, fire behavior and building construction dictate that it may be better to fight it FROM THE BURNED SIDE, then why are we being told the opposite?

WTF? 

How dare these impetuous little rookies pose the question?  How dare they pose ANY question?  Don’t they know who I am?

The fact is, these “impudent pukes” who had previously and erroneously defined as disrespectful have actually become the moving force within the new leadership of the fire service.  There’s good REASON for this:  These are the new leaders who are no longer cultivated by their last name or years on the job, but rather by their inherent ability to lead and their ability to recognize and address EVOLVING KNOWLEDGE in the fire service.

Dinosaurs often forget that the fire service is dynamic (in constant motion).  Tactics and strategies are constantly developing- many out of close calls and lessons learned after following old principles which may no longer apply. 

One need only look as far as the gargantuan aircraft carrier-type shift in the fire department culture seen in Charleston, South Carolina.  Following the tragedy at the Charleston Sofa Superstore Fire four years ago, they recognized and admitted that their own policies and procedures which had been unchanged and steeped in history no longer applied as they had for decades in the past.  To say that they are a changed department today is a massive understatement. 

If we do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. These old beasts do their dear fire service a great injustice by sticking to their guns on old tried-and-true methods when challenged with facts, and science, and actual accounts which clearly suggest otherwise.

In fact, new students entering into the fire service deserve leadership willing to accept these brave questions without feeling their fragile egos are being attacked.  In other words, don’t take it personally when you are asked “why?”

The true leaders in today’s fire service do not adorn themselves with a crown of closed-minded glory. They are open to new ideas and new concepts which they feel is their DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to pass on to the new generation of firefighters, both for practical use and as an EXAMPLE of how you perpetuate a dynamic and growing fire service.

The true value of any “experienced” fire service leader can only be found in those unthwarted by the recalcitrance of a barricaded mind which can only find comfort wrapped in the chains of their unyielding personal history.

Ask questions, demand answers, adapt to change, and pass it on. 

Or die off and become an oil field. 

Stay stoked!

-J

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343.

We have this number stuck in our heads.  Obviously, it represents the number of firefighters lost at the World Trade Center on 9/11 when our country- indeed, our Brothers- were attacked by terrorists from the Middle East.

We read 343 names. 

We ring a bell 343 times. 

We get a 343 sticker for our helmet or a bumper sticker or window decal that simply says 343. 

T-shirts, tattoos, you name it- we solemnly pay tribute to the 343.

We’re Brothers.  That’s what we do.

343.

This week, I heard alot of "343", and "Never Forget."  Yet, not once on this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, did I hear a “Brother” give any attention to the number of FDNY Brothers and Sisters who have continued to die from the 9/11 attack. 

What?  There were more?

You know, the Brothers and Sisters who worked up to 16-hour shifts for weeks on “The Pile” breathing in a toxic cloud of plastic, jet fuel, and human body parts.

Any guesses at that number?  My bet is that you have no clue.

Nope, it’s not 343. 

Actually, it just eclipsed 343.  That’s right- we’ve lost another 343+.  And my bet is we’ll be losing another 343 soon as well.

We won’t be seeing their names carved on a granite wall, will we?

343.  It’s a snapshot in time, but far from the reality of the number of firefighters lost from the attack at the WTC on 9/11.

Stay tuned, and I’ll continue this story and help you “Brothers” to understand why we should remember that 343 is just a number.  And I'll tell you how to be a true Brother beyond just latching onto the hype of the number 343.

Stay stoked.

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Click here to listen to my ranr as I gave it on this week's Firefighter Netcast program

It’s been 10 years since the horror.  How are you remembering?

We see the networks ramp up their coverage of the tragedy with all the videos seen and various fire entities do their best to commemorate the lives of the three thousand taken that day- including 343 of our nation’s finest.

We’re remembering by hearing stories of individual lives lost and those left behind, by attending local tributes, by ringing bells, by running stairs, by wearing bracelets, by carrying photos around our necks and in our helmets, by wearing t-shirts admonishing us to “never forget,” by getting misty at the piper’s playing of Amazing Grace and the mournful notes of a bugler signaling Taps.

It’s the national response to an American tragedy with millions of Americans remembering/commemorating/memorializing- each in their own way.  It’s the way we do things.  We pause, we remember, and we move on.

Is it enough, Brother?  Hell no, it’s not.

Why are our Brothers and Sisters STILL waging a war to obtain benefits from the long-term effects of their heroic actions working “The Pile” in the hours, days, and weeks that followed?

The same government that told them- within days- that The Pile’s environment was “safe” to work in is STILL denying that the cancer ravaging their bodies is connected in any way.  Our Brothers and Sisters are being told that enough time hasn’t past to make that determination. 

How does this make you feel? 

The only reason I ask is that I’m not hearing much from any of you out there whenever these stories of how we are being treated bubble up to the surface.. 

This treatment of the “other heroes” of the days and weeks that followed the deaths of the 343 is ludicrous and they deserve much better than this.

This is pure crap and it pisses me off.  Where is your outrage?

Howabaout the unconscionable lack of progress made in one of the findings of the 9/11 commission wherein police and firefighters are STILL unable to communicate with each other when (not if) the next attack occurs?  Ten years later!

Again, How does this make you feel?  Again, I ask is that because I’m still hearing crickets as these stories get reported.

This is pure crap and it pisses me off.  Where is your outrage?

As we pause to remember the brave folks who gave their lives at The World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and in Shanksville, please- don’t forget so many of the others who are still suffering today from working the pile, and those who will suffer in the future because we have –to date- STILL FAILED to do everything we can to help us meet the challenges from the next attack.

So, go ahead and buy the t-shirt.  Wear the bracelet.  Climb the stairs with or without gear.  Put the stickers on your truck bumper and make your helmets look cool.

But I dare you to be outraged and to do more.  Do what the fallen would want you to do.  Make yourself heard whenever you feel that they would want you to do so.

Don’t forget – NEVER FORGET- that the attacks on America and indeed- America’s fire service continue to this very day. 

Never forget that.

Stay stoked, my friends.

-J

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In just a few weeks, our country will “come together” to memorialize the thousands of Americans murdered ten years ago at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, including 343 brave and courageous firefighters.

I envision that at some point, we will all pause and bow our heads, say a prayer, and otherwise honor the memories of the bravery exemplified on that horrific day as hundreds of firefighters committed their lives to the rescue of those trapped in each of the twin towers.

Of course, we all know what happened.  The towers collapsed, and thousands lost their lives.  But many of the rescuers who survived the initial collapse needed rescuing themselves.  Amid acrid and unhealthy conditions, thousands took up that challenge, and stepped up to perform those rescues.

The toxic swirl that engulfed lower Manhattan after the attacks included known carcinogens. Many workers, relying upon government assurances that the air in lower Manhattan was safe, took few precautions or none whatsoever.

In the time since, many have been stricken by leukemia, thyroid, blood, brain and other cancers. Worker-advocacy groups, and doctors who have treated many first-responders, tie the cancers to exposure to the toxic dust and debris at the WTC site.

Questions on the air quality at Ground Zero were posed by rescuers almost immediately.  We urgently checked with our experts in the government, asking that, with all the lead, asbestos and other known carcinogens in “the pile” was it safe for anyone to be searching without adequate respiratory protection?

While we were smart enough to pose the question, were we dumb enough to believe the answer?

Many remember the smiling EPA Administrator looking directly into the camera to reassure the country as thousands continued their frantic searches.

“The concentrations of (asbestos and lead) are such that they don’t pose a health hazard.  We’re going to make sure everybody’s safe.”  -Christine Todd Whitman, Bush Administration EPA Administrator (2001-2003)

Today, the sad reality is that cancer has stricken hundreds of police, firefighters and volunteers who spent hours, days and months searching "the pile" at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan – first in a rescue mission after the Sept. 11 attacks, then as part of the recovery operation.

This week, despite this “anecdotal” evidence to the contrary, a review by NIOSH determined there exists too little scientific evidence linking cancer to time spent amid the dust and wreckage at Ground Zero.  Cited in the failure to link was “a lack of research.”

That means, for now, cancer victims do not qualify for compensation and treatment under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

Don’t worry, though.  More research will take place and, if the findings change, those sick and dying might be able to apply for benefits at that time.  The deadline will be September of 2013, unless new links are found.  Then the application deadline could be extended even further.

The message now to the sick and dying is “hang in there”.

After all, it’s only been ten years.  What’s the rush?

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