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NIOSH summary report on CFD firefighter/paramedic Christopher Wheatley’s LODD prompts an interesting question

 

Today’s Chicago Tribune includes a report by Trib reporter William Lee who draws our attention to the NIOSH report summary released earlier this month on the August 9th death of Chicago firefighter/paramedic Christopher Wheatley.

You may recall that Chris fell 53 feet to his death while using a fire escape ladder in ascending to the roof of a four-story West Loop building.  He was wearing full turnout gear and carrying a 63- pound hand pump.

In a nutshell, the report summary says that, although Chris was directed to ascend to the roof via an aerial ladder, he instead opted to use the building's fire escape system. 

Second-guessing Chris’ actions and decisions in this case will not help us to understand why he chose this route to the roof.  We’ll never know, so let’s put that aside for a moment.

Rather, I found myself contemplating this thought:  Given the same circumstances, what would I have done? 

What would you have done?

Is it important to follow each fireground order to the letter, or should we have the latitude to act upon our instincts and experience to get the job done?

Take a look at the NIOSH summary report, it’s not that long and well worth your time.  Then ask yourself just how probable it would be that you may have done the same thing.  Next, discuss it with your crew.  How do they feel about this:

 

Posted in Chicagoland, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on June 29, 2011 • 1 comment

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Four- Taking Care of Our Brothers

I’ve been sharing with you a story of humor, yet it is also a story many of each of you have been apart of in your own experiences.  You get on a department, and you grow close to each other as you begin your journey developing your second family.

There are many other stories, as I’m sure you can imagine.  Some can be related, some are better left untold.  But each story are singular threads that we share to create the fabric of life- the truly special one which we all share as Brothers and Sisters in the greatest profession on earth.

I began my career with Buzz, and was fortunate enough to have him as a part of our company when I suffered my injury a few years back.  From beginning to end, Buzz has been and continues to be my Brother.

Buzz has a beautiful wife and three fantastic young men for sons.  Throughout our Brotherhood, Buzz has always had the support of both his families.  Buzz also serves his country in the Global War on Terror, having been in the sands as a Navy medic saving the lives of his other Band of Brothers, our heroes in the Middle East.

When he is gone on his tours, the Brothers back home make sure his family is never in want for anything.  From simple chores to assistance with major issues we all made sure his wife, Maria, and her three sons could count on us to have their backs just like if Buzz was there for them.  We treated his family just like they should be treated, and how we would expect they would treat ours. 

Today, our Brother faces a new crisis, and we are all stepping up for him.  For those of you who are unaware, his eldest son Ken was unexpectedly diagnosed with brain cancer this last March. After 2 brain surgeries 5 weeks of radiation and countless medications, Ken is looking and feeling better and better. He still has a long road to recovery and many months of chemotherapy ahead, but things are looking positive.

This unfortunate medical issue came at a time when Ken was off of a health insurance plan between graduating college, and trying to get a small business up and going. His medical expenses are staggering and overwhelming.  Now, this is something that will dealt with over time, but we all can have an impact now.  Why?

Ken will be unable to work for at least a year.  But in this, the greatest country in the world, Ken can also receive a higher level of healthcare treatment IF he can pony up certain percentages out of pocket.  In other words, if he has more money, he can get better treatment.  God Bless America, right?

Anyway, us Brothers are not going to let a lack of finances hold Buzz’s son to a lesser standard of care without a fight.  We’ve put a party together and want everyone to join us the weekend after the Fourth of July at Arlington Park Racecourse. 

Join us as we bet on the ponies, break some bread, share some pop, enjoy pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, 50/50 raffle, silent auction, other raffle prizes, and a demonstration by our very own Chicago Fire Professional Soccer Team.

A Day At The Races runs from noon until 6pm (post time at 1pm) on Sunday, July 10th at Arlington Park Racecourse.  Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for children 4 years old and older.

Your ticket includes food, non-alcoholic beverages, and entertainment, and all proceeds will be donated to Ken so that he can get the level of treatment he deserves.

Now I realize that many of you are geographically unable to make it to suburban Chicago for this mega-party, but you can still help out in several ways.  First, visit “Ken Krull Fundraiser” on facebook and “like”  the page.  It will help get the word out to the world.  Secondly, we’ve set up a PayPal account to which you can donate by using the email address “kenfundraiser@gmail.com”.  Local 3481 will also be graciously accepting checks mailed to Local 3481, PO Box 1683, Barrington, IL 60010. 

Finally, contact me below for any further information on how you might wish to get involved.

This is one of those situations in life that happens all around us, but you never really grasp the impact until it happens to a loved one.  

Buzz is my buddy.  Buzz is my brother.  He was there when I started, and he was there on my last day.

Join me now as we stand right beside him today, as we know we will for the rest of our lives.

 

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, IAFF, In Da House, Just For Fun, Tradition

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Posted by on June 16, 2011 • No comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Three- Escape. Wait, no. Maybe Not

When you last left us, the two hapless FNG’s had amazingly escaped a potential situation in which something got broken.  Remember, if something gets broken, we’d have to endure the Wrath of the Lieutenant- that unimaginably obscene and cataclysmic display of sound and spit-spray.

But just as things looked like they were going our way, the rising railroad crossing gate snapped off the lens of our rotating light sending it high up into the air.  Oh no!  What if it gets broken?  AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!  We watched in amazement as it arced about forty feet into the air then began its descent toward the line of traffic stopped at the light.

But the Gods were smiling down upon us on that memorable day as the lens came down hard- into a landscaping truck filled to the rim with grass clippings.  It bounced once, then twice, then finally settled on top of the pile in the back of the truck.

The light turned green.  Nooooo! 

I bolted (I know smart-asses, not so much bolting these days anymore) for the landscaping truck as it began to start forward with the traffic.  I yelled STOP! and with one leap (well, OK, I stopped, put my cigarette out and coughed, cinched up my pants, then heaved myself up attempting to get up into the back of the truck).  My third attempt was successful. 

I grabbed the lens and looked it over in wide-eyed amazement.  Just a scratch!  Well, we could get that out.  In the words of Spicoli, “my Dad’s got an awesome set of tools.”

Down I sprang (well, climbed laboriously- HEY enough from you guys already, huh?) and skipped my way back to the ambulance holding the lens with both hands above my head like the Stanley Cup (Go Bruins!) as Buzz waited dutifully with the patient.

“It’s not broken, it’s not broken!” I screamed, ecstatically incredulous.  I gently placed the lens on the front passenger seat like a majestic crown on a velvet pillow, buckled it in securely, then retook my position as driver/operator of the mobile intensive care unit.  As we made our way to the hospital, tears again, this time tears of joy and re-relief. 

Me and Buzz on our first call together.  We had successfully avoided the Wrath of the Lieutenant.  We would not be so successful in the future.  Things would get broken, Wraths be unleashed.  But today….sweet victory.

To be continued…

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not be a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, IAFF, In Da House, Just For Fun, Tradition

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Posted by on June 15, 2011 • No comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Two- The Wrath of the Lieutenant

When you last left, a Metra Commuter train was barreling down on our ambulance trapped in a railroad crossing as we were transporting a patient to our local hospital.  2 FNG’s, me and Buzz, and a patient were on the way to the hospital when the crossing gates came down on top of the box near a multi-hundred dollar revolving light, seemingly calling attention from anyone nearby to waste just a moment of their time to claim witness to what was about to happen.

This is a good point to address the obvious question you all may have here.  Why not just throw it into reverse and break what needs to be broken- just to be safe? 

B e c a u s e  i f  s o m e t h i n g  e v e r  g e t s  b r o k e n, we endure the Wrath of the Lieutenant. 

OK.  I know you readers are all rolling your eyes- but hear me out- this was not something to ever be a part of. 

The Wrath of the Lieutenant was cataclysmic.  Each of the five human senses were so violated by the event that the End of Times would be pleasurable by comparison.  One need only hear about one of these things to never want to be nearby when it erupts.

The message was clear: Don’t break anything.  It’s only that simple.  Don’t friggin’ break a thing.

Even though it looked like there might be just enough space for the train to clear the front bumper, I thought about the emergency lighting in the front bumper as well.  If those got broken, well, the Wrath of the Lieutenant would be known! 

Something was going to get broken, it was just a question of how spectacular that breakage would be.

So this FNG did the bravest, most heroic deed ever seen in my department’s history.  Forget about saving babies from a raging inferno, this took balls. 

I put her in reverse and slowly backed up. 

The first sound was that of the wooden railroad gate contacting the lens of the revolving light on top of the ambulance box.  Clink.  Tears streaming down my face in anticipation of what would happen if anything broke, I continued inching backward. 

Buzz peeked his head through the cab window and asked what was the matter.  My tear-stained head spun around and I screamed “BEWARE THE WRATH OF THE LIEUTENANT”!

Buzz froze.  He knew. 

His eyes welled up as he quickly did the Sign of the Cross on himself. 

“Don’t break anything!  Just let the train smash us!” Buzz screamed. 

The ambulance continued inching slowly backward.

Others nearby probably only heard the blaring of the approaching train’s horn, but the two terrified FNG’s could only wait for the sound of “something breaking”.  The wooden gate creaked and groaned as it bent farther and farther back, the revolving light holding it’s ground.

After what seemed like hours, the train finally roared by.  Turns out we had plenty of room after all.  Buzz and I shared a look of intense relief and began to dry our pitifully snot-slobbered faces.  Nothing got broken!  We had avoided the Wrath of the Lieutenant!

As we high-fived and danced a merry jig of exultation, the railroad gate, which had been bowed back about 30 degrees began to ascend upward to allow traffic through.  In doing so, it popped the clear dome light lens catapulting it up and forward high in the air, the revolving light still spinning away.

The lens flew like a rocket, arcing high up into the air.  Oh no!  What if it gets broken?  AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!  We watched in amazement as it arced about forty feet into the air then began its descent toward the line of traffic stopped at the light. 

Things were not looking good again for the two FNG’s.

To be continued……

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not be a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, In Da House, Tradition

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Posted by on June 14, 2011 • 2 comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s- Part One- Buzz

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s

Part One- Buzz

Hello Friends,
 
I would like to take a few days to relate a story of the Brotherhood of two FNG’s.  For those of you who don’t know, N stands for “new” and G stands for “guy”.  After the story has been told, I would like to tell you why this all came to mind this month and tie it all together with a dose of true humanity.  Enjoy!

When I made the move to my most recent department, I was among a group which almost doubled the size of the career staff there.  The department was making the difficult transition from volunteer to combination and this was a significant growth spurt for the paid firefighters.

Among my group was a firefighter named Brian Krull.  Brian would be the first of the group to earn a nickname that has stood for more than 14 years now.  Let me explain.

Around the newly-expanded day room table sat 6-7 FNG’s.  The Lieutenant came bounding in (he bounds, what can I say?) and smugly asked (he smugly asks, what can I say?) which of the new guys had been responsible for sending the personnel manager a stunning bouquet of flowers following his acceptance into the department. 

Brian raised his hand.  

Oops.  Day one and he was singled out already.

It was 1997.  Back in the 1900’s, FTD had a commercial out about some guy dressed as a bumblebee who delivered flowers, remember? 

Buzz.

The nickname Buzz stuck like honey to a hive. 

So, after a couple weeks of FNG training, we were divvied up into the three shifts.  I had been warned that I should slit my wrists if I was assigned to black shift.

Naturally, I was assigned to black shift.

So was Buzz, and thus began what turned out to be an extraordinary band of brothers who were constantly on every chief officer’s radar screen.  We were a proud group, eager to put up our skills against the other shifts when challenged, and always coming out on top.  That made black shift a target, from blue shirts and multi-bugles alike.

Buzz and I ran our first call together.  2 medics on an EMS run, allowed to solo for the first time without adult supervision despite our Lieutenant’s better judgment.  On the way to the hospital, me driving-Buzz in back, we approached a railroad crossing.  Cars were stopped for a light so I had to enter the opposite lane to slowly sneak around the stopped line of traffic.  Just as I committed the ambo into the RR crossing the bells started ringing and gates started lowering. 

Maybe I shoulda just gunned it, but as I said we were FNG’s on our first call.  Fearing the worst, I stopped which allowed the gates to come down on the top of the box. 

Thunk!

I stuck my head out the window and saw the RR gate had come down behind the rotator light on the front corner of the ambulance.  If I backed up I would surely snap the multi-hundred dollar accessory and face the Wrath of the Lieutenant (he wraths, what can I say?)  If I didn’t back up- well the train probably would clear the front of the ambulance no problem.  Right?

I had a decision to make.  Back up and break the multi-hundred dollar light?  Take a chance on the train missing us?  Howabout just getting out and running away screaming like a girl?  You know- right to O’Hare for starters- then who knows where? 

To be continued…..

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, IAFF, In Da House, Tradition

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Posted by on June 13, 2011 • 2 comments

The Passionate Discussion Continues Tuesday Night

Link to the live show

Join in on Tuesday May 17th at 9pm ET for another special and exciting program continuing our series discussion on the Emerging Tactical Renaissance in the Fire Service.

Taking it to the StreetsTM, radio program hosted by highly regarded national instructor, author, lecturer and fire officer Christopher Naum, continues to provide provocative insights and dynamic discussions with leading national fire service leaders and guests on important issues affecting the American Fire Service with applications internationally within the tradition and brotherhood of the Fire Service.

This edition of Taking it to the StreetsTM the program is all about being COMBAT READY and THE FIRE SERVICE WARRIOR

Christopher BrennanJoining the program will be special guest, Christopher Brennan the author of The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness, published by PennWell Books and the author of the notable blogsite, The Fire Service Warrior.

Christopher Brennan is a firefighter in the suburbs outside Chicago; a field instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute; and a consultant for local, state, and federal agencies.

He joined the fire service in 1997 as a paid-on-call member of the Calumet Park (IL) Fire Department.

During his career, Chris has worked for the Calumet Park Fire Department, part-time for the Darien-Woodridge (IL) Fire Protection District, and as a career firefighter and engineer with the Harvey (IL) Fire Department.Chris is an active instructor teaching for the Illinois Fire Service Institute, has taught terrorism response training overseas, and has been an instructor for FDIC.

He is a member of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, and the Illinois Society of Fire Service Instructors.

He is also the author of numerous articles for fire service magazines, including Fire Engineering.

Join in on what is certainly going to be an insightful look and discussion of the path of the fire service warrior.

Discussions on what is meant by embracing the philosophy of the fire service warrior, and striving for the ready position—the synthesis of physical and mental readiness that allows for suggested optimum fireground performance— and its potential application towards reducing firefighter injuries and fatalities

We’ll further explore how as Christopher Brennan states; “Today’s firefighter must be a warrior who will unflinchingly put his very life in harm’s way to accomplish a mission, but who is also fully informed about the path being chosen”.

LINKS

  • Surviving on the Fireground: Chris Brennan Talks Situational Awareness at FDIC 2011, HERE
  • A Culture of Excellence – Christopher Brennan , HERE
  • The Fire Service Warrior Blog, HERE

Posted in Change, Firefighting Operations, NetCast, News, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on May 16, 2011 • No comments

Sending love. Literally.

I had originally planned to remain silent today, letting others share their thoughts on this special day.  But as I began to peruse some of the rhetoric being shared by a few (thankfully) that still are filled with hatred and venom, I began to think about love vs. hate and the role it plays in my life.

The accelerating growth of Firefighter Netcast has brought me away from my family more this year than at any other time in recent memory.  We have been in many different places in just a few short months.  We have been fortunate and honored to meet some very interesting people, and have generated relationships that are sure to endure for years to come.

Being away from home has affected my youngest daughter as well.  We have attempted to bridge the miles with video phone calls on a nightly basis, no matter where we are.

But I want to relate an interesting development that has come about in the relationship between us.  We have come to recognize a very interesting way of “sending our love”.

This revelation came about during a phone call while I was away in Baltimore this summer.  My daughter asked me if I had “felt an overwhelming sense of love” from her at about 9:00 that morning.  I initially smiled and wanted to instantly respond with a “yes, of course I did, sweetheart.”  But I paused, and tried to remember what I was doing at 9:00.

Astounded, I realized that I had been thinking about how far she had come in spite of the rough start she had when she was born.  You see, she was born at only 25 weeks, critically ill from a fetal infection, certain to die if left in the uterus, almost as certain to perish if taken out so early.  It was the most agonizing time of our lives.

I vividly recall watching helplessly, transfixed at the heroic efforts to intubate her tiny purple body and give her life.  Lungs just dried paper-like sacs, not lubricated enough to expand.  Staff traded places each taking a shot at tubing my little girl, then stepping aside to let the next person give it a go, shaking their heads at their failures.  Seconds turned to minutes. It reminded me of some of the difficult tubes we encountered in the field.

Daddy and Lexi kangaroo, sharing love

Me and Lexi exchanging love, kangaroo-style.

But this was different.  This was my little girl.

I prayed harder than I had ever prayed before.  But beyond that, I felt a sensation, one which I will have difficulty describing here.  At that moment, there rose a powerful and palpable physical sensation in my torso, as if I were transmitting emotion straight to my helpless newborn.  Crazy at it sounds, I felt as if I were “sending love” in an unspoken, non-tactile method.  It was the first time thus had ever happened, but I remember it as clear as day, and will never forget it.  I never spoke of it to anyone then or since.  But the feeling has been a part of my life regularly from that moment on.

Remember the news story out of Australia last week about a baby born at 27 weeks?  After hospital staff tried to resuscitate the child for 20 minutes they gave the parents the heartbreaking news that their little boy had died. But his mother placed the baby on her chest (just as we did ours) and used the kangaroo method, which involves skin-to-skin contact between mother and child. She remained in that position for two hours and soon the infant’s gasps became more regular and, after a while, he opened his eyes.

Sent love?

Certainly, this all could have a very reasonable explanation.  The feeling I experienced in the NICU may have been an intense physical reaction to fear; the feeling my daughter had at 9:00 could have been coincidental.  But I am certain it was all real.

Why am I telling this to you?  Because I want you to know that is is possible.  I want you to consider that you can also “send love”.

Literally.

On the day in which we remember so many lost souls- brothers and sisters who gave their lives in the service to others- why not try open your hearts in a new and powerful way to send them love.

Concentrate on them.

Concentrate on their wives, their husbands, their mothers and fathers, their brothers, and their sisters.

Try to visualize their children, now nine years later, having grown up a bit more in the absence of their magnificent parent.

Then send them love.

Posted in Never Forget

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Posted by on September 11, 2010 • 5 comments

WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES.

Ever have trouble pulling out for a run forgetting you left a coffee cup on the bumper?

Yeah, me too.  In fact, I had this happen several times due to the fact that I couldn’t impress upon a rookie on my crew to make a walk around the engine before it moves.  After losing a particularly valuable piece of equipment left on the tailboard after a call, I knew I had to figure out a better way to get my point across to this hapless lad.

Bear with me here.

I grew up in the 70’s.  You know, the generation that brought us both Led Zeppelin AND the Captain and Tennille.   “Convoy” by C.W. McCall AND Aerosmith.  Mac Davis (“Baby Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me”) and Foreigner (btw, Foreigner 4 is the all-time best break-up album ever).  Terry Jacks, Elton John, Neil Sedaka,… I think I just puked a little bit in my mouth.

I was there when disco came, and I was there at Comiskey Park in July of ’79 when we brought death and destruction to disco- and the double header scheduled for that night.

The 70’s have been described as one of the most musically diverse decades ever.  I’ve also heard it described as one of the most “musically-dead” eras in recent memory.  But through all the Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and Electric Light Orchestra songs, I always had a secret dream to become a rock star.

Who hasn’t?  Oh the life of a rock star.  Sex, drugs, rock and roll, sex, travel, sex, partying… rock stardom had all the perks.

Speaking of perks, who can forget the most famous concert riders brought to us courtesy of Van Halen?  TSG has obtained a copy of the rider requesting that, among a myriad of other items, M&M candies be supplied in the crew room at the concert venue.  The rider specifically stated: “WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES”

Well, I guess this is one of the perks of being a rock star!  You can basically demand anything you want backstage, all the while being freakishly weird about said demands.  I can vouch for the fact that brown M&M’s do not taste any differently from yellow ones or blue ones (although there does seem to be a subtle difference to those sought-after green M&M’s…).

Now, you may ask what this has to do with firefighting.

To which I will return the volley with a question of my own:  Did you ever hear the real reason behind the specific request of ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES?

Read on as David Lee Roth describes in Snopes.com:

“Van Halen was the first band to take productions into tertiary, third-level markets.  We’d pull up with eighteen-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max.  And there were many, many technical errors- whether it was the girders couldn’t support the weight, or the flooring would sink in, or, the doors weren’t big enough to move the gear through.

The contract rider read like a version of the Chinese Yellow Pages because there was so much equipment, and so many human beings to make it function.  So just as a little test, in the technical aspect of the rider, it would say “Article 148: There will be fifteen amperage voltage sockets at twenty-foot spaces, evenly, providing nineteen amperes…”  This kind of thing.  And article number 126, in the middle of nowhere, was: “There will be no brown M&M’s in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation.”

So, when I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl… well, line-check the entire production.  Guaranteed you’re going to arrive at a technical error.  They didn’t read the contract.  Guaranteed you’d run into a problem.  Somewhere it would threaten to just destroy the whole show.  Something like, literally, life-threatening.

The folks in Pueblo, Colorado, at the university, took the written contract rather kinda casual.  They had one of those new rubberized bouncy basketball floorings in their arena.  They hadn’t read the contract, and weren’t sure, really, about the weight of this production; this thing weighed like the business end of a 747.

I came backstage.  I found some brown M&M’s, I went into full Shakespearean “What is this before me?” … you know, with the skull in one hand..and promptly trashed the dressing room.  Dumped the buffet, kicked a hole in the door, twelve thousand dollars’ worth of fun.

The staging sank through their floor.  They didn’t bother to look at the weight requirement or anything, and this sank through their new flooring and did eighty thousand dollars’ worth of damage to the arena floor.  The whole thing had to be replaced.  It came out in the press that I discovered brown M&M’s and did eighty-five thousand dollars’ worth of damage to the backstage area.

Well, who am I to get in the way of a good rumor.”

David Lee Roth put into place an automatic check, an indicator of sorts, as to the attention to detail he needed.  I took his lead and put my own indicator into play, in order to get the crew into the habit of doing a quick 360 around our expensive apparatus full of expensive, life-saving equipment.

Upon a small Styrofoam coffee cup, I wrote the message: “When you find me, deliver me to your Lieutenant.”  Then, I left it somewhere on the apparatus that it would readily be found by the engineer (“drivers” in some areas, “Lieutenants” in Roanoke) as he performed the quick 360 before moving the apparatus.

If we moved before I got the cup, I’d just smile and wait if he would spot it at some point later.  To his credit, he picked up on it pretty quickly.  We even got to the point we saved a ten thousand dollar TIC from certain damage if not total loss.

So the fire service could do well from the example given us by a rock star.  Pay attention to the details and we’ll all do just fine.

Now back to XM channel 7 and Al Stewart’s “Time Passages”….  More puke in my throat.

“ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES”

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in In Da House, Just For Fun, Leadership, News, Tips and Tricks, Training, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus

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Posted by on September 10, 2010 • 1 comment

Explore the poisons in what we commonly call “smoke”

www.FirefighterNetCast.com

On Thursday, July 29th, Firefighter Netcast Presents The Voice of Reason will welcome special guest Shawn Longerich, Executive Director for the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition (CPTC) and can be found on the world wide web at www.FireSmoke.org.

The mission of the CPTC is to “focus the required attention and resources on the issues, the CPTC aims to increase awareness about the risk of fire smoke cyanide exposure as it relates to Awareness, Prevention, Protection, Detection, Diagnosis and Treatment”.

Please join Art and his guest, Shawn Longerich on Firefighter NetCast at 9:00 pm EDT on Thursday, July 29th for a very special evening as we explore the poisons in what we commonly call “smoke”.

Posted in Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, NetCast, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on July 28, 2010 • No comments

Thoughts and Prayers are Hollow Without Conviction

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, co-workers, and friends of  Rocky Mount, Virginia Fire Chief Posey Dillon, who died today along with Firefighter William Daniel “Danny” Altice in a horrific traffic accident while responding to a house fire.

I’m following this tragedy from many sources, but I know my partner Rhett is all over it at VA FireNews.  If the initial reports coming out of Rocky Mount are true, these two firefighters have died while not wearing their seat belts.

I’ll say it:

WTF.

We will never know if seat belts would have made a difference.  Initial reports seem to say that a vehicle hit the apparatus.  Nothing they could do, right?  Plus, anytime any fire apparatus flips multiple times, the chances for survival are bleak.

But what are the chances for survival if the occupants are not belted?

As we all pause, yet again, to claim that our thoughts and prayers are with the firefighters and their families, make a difference.  Vow to never let your apparatus turn a wheel unless EVERYONE IS BELTED.

Whether you are the company officer, the driver, or riding backwards- never accept- for any reason- that the apparatus moves without everyone belted.  Period.

Has your department attained 100% compliance with signing the International Seat Belt Pledge?

International Seat Belt Pledge

“I pledge to wear my seat belt whenever I am riding in a Fire Department vehicle. I further pledge to insure that all my brother and sister firefighters riding with me wear their seat belts. I am making this pledge willingly; to honor Brian Hunton my brother firefighter because wearing seat belts is the right thing to do.”

Last week at Firehouse Expo, I had the honor and priviledge to sit down and talk with Dr. Burton Clark, originator of the seat belt pledge. He is a man who has, for years, tirelessly been spreading the word for firefighters to buckle up.

We were recording an interview for Firefighter NetCast in which this wise man brought up a very valid point:

Wearing seat belts save firefighters lives, yet not all firefighters are wearing them.  We can all make the decision to wear them.  We can “decide”, as an entire group, to save lives.

This is different from deciding that heart attacks won’t kill us.  This is different from deciding that walls won’t collapse, and stairways won’t fail.  This is different from from deciding that flashovers and backdrafts and all the other hostile fire events won’t take us out.

We can’t decide on these.  But we CAN DECIDE that failure to wear seat belts will no longer kill us.

I am sickened at the continued unnecessary gut-wrenching agony we all face as we begin the process to bury more brothers.  Especially if it isn’t necessary.

As we watch the funerals, refuse to accept anything less than complete adherence to wearing belts.  Commit to save ourselves from ourselves.

Put some oomph into your words concerning thoughts and prayers.

Click here for the link to the Seat Belt Pledge, and get your department 100% compliant.

Posted in Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, NetCast, Never Forget, News, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, WTF?

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Posted by on July 27, 2010 • 3 comments

The Pinata Reflection

You’ve all seen the reports, the press coverage, the YouTube videos, the blog posts. The American flag is under attack. Anti-American fire chiefs are taking away the rights of patriotic hero firefighters who love their country. Welcome to the police state. It’s all about race. REVOLUTION!

Oh, please.

Tear yourself away from the carnival and let me redirect your attention for just a moment as I recall an interesting experience. Bear with me here.

When our department first began technical rescue training way back when, we practiced rappelling down the side of our station in full PPE and on air. We loved it. It was a riot. Everyone went over the side.

Then, it happened.

I had just made the move over the side when I managed to tangle up my pack with my ropes. I ended up inverted. Oh, the laughter from the clowns down below.

Wait, it gets better.

As I’m hanging there upside down like a piñata, the station draws a call for an explosion and fire. Clowns turn to Olympic sprinters as everyone wigs out and bolts for their spot on the equipment leaving only me and the instructor on the safety line up top.

So I’m swaying in the breeze listening to the cacophony of sirens headed for a most-excellent call of which I should be a part, I had a moment to think to myself. “How did I get in this situation at this moment of my life? What actions had I taken to be where I am here and now?”

My point here is we all need to exercise the skill of stepping back and looking at exactly how we arrived here at the situation at hand. I dubbed it The Pinata Reflection. Only with this type of honest reflection can we expect to change our reactions and behaviors. Even as the carnival ramps up into high gear, methinks there is a lot of reflectin’ going on in Chester, PA.

Remember: this nightmare didn’t start with a ‘flag on a locker.’ Based only on what we’re hearing from the firefighters, one could easily surmise the genesis came from some chucklehead who decided to display a racially charged picture on a locker for all to see. Purty funny, huh? That guy needs to reflect on his culpability in birthing this #&$% storm and step up to claim ownership of his responsibility here. Nice job there, brother.

Of course then, management had the responsibility to address that situation quickly and decisively. But I hope that the administration is reflecting on the inflexibility of the shotgun approach they chose to take. One guy screws up and a blanket policy goes into effect.

We’ve all seen it before- it’s a managerial shortcut to a solution for a relatively benign molehill involving one or two guys, but everyone gets a taste of the punishment. It’s a path that leaves the door open for numerous other issues to take root. And it left the administration locked into a position that offered no flexibility, and flexibility would have worked marvelously here.

To be fair, we don’t know the all the specifics of how this went down. We don’t know what other factors (histories, attitudes, need to show power, labor management issues) played into the decisions of everyone including the commissioner, the chief, suspended firefighter James Krapf, and the chucklehead. In fact, we haven’t heard much at all from the administration on their side of the story. May not be a bad idea for them to continue to follow that tactic after what happened in D.C. last week… (see my post on using the Head Rule).

When I heard of the flap, I knew I should head over to FirehouseZen.com. You can always find a superb post on leadership by Mick Mayers, who again nailed this one on the head. Check it out and see if you don’t agree with the alternative approaches he offers. My, how things could have been different.

Finally, we also own part of this, folks. Too many of us have become so eager to be offended. Tolerance has taken a backseat to emotional outbursts unencumbered by the thought process. No need to be civil when you can be loud.

Of course we love our country.

Of course we adore the flag.

Of course we are patriotic.

Duh!

We’ve become so used to having the spin-meisters do the thinking for us. It’s so much easier to be told what to think and to follow the herd than it is to develop our own views and stand up for them. Stoking the fire with patriotic gasoline, we’re being told this is all about a fire chief denouncing the patriotism of a firefighter.

Bull-ticky.

It’s about a simple issue resulting in a chain of events that should never have led to this: the Chester Fire Department swaying like the proverbial piñata- just waiting to be whacked as the whole world looks on.

-J

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Leadership, News, WTF?

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Posted by on October 18, 2009 • 2 comments

CDC Says 1 in 3 Will Contract H1N1

First Responders Are In For A Battle

Strap yourselves in, it’s starting to get rough out there. In a story that may rival the coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the H1N1 flu pandemic is sweeping across the nation and across the media.  As of today, the CDC reports that 79 children have died in America this year due to H1N1. 

The CDC fears that the public may not fully appreciate the magnitude of the situation.  As the flu hit earlier this year, one quarter of patients afflicted ended up in the ICU, and 7% of those died.  Today, a CBS poll reports that 51% of respondents say they will pass on the vaccination.  Parents of the those most affected (under 24 years old) are in a quandary over what to do.

video courtesy CBS News

Don’t be too quick to blame the parents, as they are getting mixed messages on whether or not to vaccinate their children.  Some pediatricians are advising to hold off on the first round of vaccine because the study sample was too small (only 600) to deem its safety.

And parents are listening.  The  poll released today indicates nearly 40% of parents will choose not to vaccinate their children.  Early government agency screw-ups haven’t helped give credence to a message that could very well be true.  And the wrong decision –either way- puts the parents un a life-or-death trick bag,

The Children’s Hospital at Oklahoma University Medical Center in Oklahoma City is one example of the pandemic’s impact today:

video courtesy CBS News

Some of these infected patients are arriving at the ER by ambulance, so some first responders say the vaccine can’t come soon enough for them.  As we speak, Milwaukee Firefighters join thousands of first responders as the first to get vaccinated.

Video courtesy of WISN-TV Milwaukee

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed a proclamation Wednesday allowing emergency medical technicians in the state to administer flu vaccines in light of continuing concerns about the spread of H1N1 influenza.  EMT’s normally do not administer injections, but will be put into action into what Ohio calls a “state of emergency.”

As the axiom goes: “Knowledge is Power.”  So go now and seek the knowledge you need immediately to get you and your family through this crisis. 

FireDaily will continue to follow all aspects of the pandemic, and will keep a special eye focused on its effects within our first responder community.

-J

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Posted in EMS, H1N1 Flu Pandemic

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Posted by on October 9, 2009 • 1 comment

East Haven CT 1st Lt Joseph Lambert dies in crash

-From WTNH and The New Haven Register

Video courtesy YouTube

Firefighters, family and friends are mourning the loss of one of East Haven’s bravest.

East Haven 1st Lieutenant Joseph Lambert died in an automobile crash along I-91 in New Haven early Sunday.

"Very sad, heavy-hearted. Joe was a great friend," said Neil Florio, president of Foxon Volunteer Fire Company No. 3. "I’ve known him for years. I’m really going to miss him."

An empty set of boots and bunker pants were at the ready at the firehouse on North High Street. They’re not Lamberts’, his are still in his car, but they are a reminder of a faithful firefighter who will not be there on the next call.

Connecticut state police are investigating the cause of the crash, which happened on I-91 North between Exits 6 and 8 around 4:00 a.m. Sunday. According to an accident report, Lambert apparently lost control of his vehicle, struck a guard rail, and was then struck by another vehicle.

New Haven firefighters found his shield in his wallet and called the East Haven chief.

Lambert Lambert, 30, had been a volunteer firefighter in East Haven for eleven years. He came from a family of firefighters. Friends and family said they always put others first.

"He’d get a call in the middle of the night — 2:00 o’clock in the morning, 3:00 o’clock in the morning — and he’d be out the door in his pajamas," his sister Aimee Lambert said.

"We’d get calls in the neighborhood often and he’d be right there, she said. "Neighbors had a baby that had stopped breathing for SIDS and he was right across the street and did CPR on the baby right away."

Black bunting and a lit candle were outside of the fire house. Lambert used to sit in Engine No. 5. Florio said it will be very difficult to fill that seat.

"I was sitting in the truck before and it’s not the same," he said. "It was tough to sit in there and not look over and see him."

Lambert was certified in cold water rescue, hazardous materials operations as well as rapid intervention. His goal was to one day become a career firefighter like his father.

"It was his life-long dream since he was a child," his sister Aimee said. "My father was a New Haven firefighter and we always looked up to him a lot and Joseph really wanted to be firefighter like my father and follow in his footsteps."
In a statement Mayor April Capone Almon said Lambert "served the people of East Haven selflessly and will be missed."

One of the special jobs Lambert was known for was leading the Explorers, a group of teens hoping to become firefighters. He was there in the rain, sleet, snow or hail to work with the kids, Florio said.

Career firefighter Jack Guido said he has a son with special needs who was in the Explorer program and Lambert gave him a lot of individual help and attention, taking him under his wing.

“He was just wonderful,” Guida said. “What he did for my son will never be forgotten.”

Details about memorial services were not immediately available

-Courtesy WTNH, and The New Haven Register

As always, our thoughts and prayers rain out over his family, his fire company, and his friends.  You are never alone during this horrific time in your lives.

Posted in Firefighters

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Posted by on September 21, 2009 • No comments

East St. Louis Informational Picket Tomorrow

From www.bnd.com

The East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority is expected to vote on the city’s proposed budget Monday afternoon, including whether the city will be allowed to lay off 11 full-time firefighters.

The Financial Advisory Authority meeting will be held at 3 p.m. at the Kenneth Hall Regional Building near City Hall. Firefighters and other concerned citizens are planning to hold an informational picket from noon until the beginning of the meeting at 301 River Park Drive.

If the authority passes the budget as it is proposed, the city will lose 11 firefighters and two currently vacant positions will remain unfilled. If the authority does not pass the budget as proposed by the city, the firefighters will keep their jobs until the city presents another budget proposal to the authority.

ESTL Chief

 

East St. Louis Fire Chief William Fennoy talks about the cuts to the fire department as East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. listens. – Derik Holtmann/BND

 

If the cuts are approved by the Financial Advisory Authority the layoffs would take effect on Oct. 1.

The cuts, which would trim $1.08 million from the city’s budget, would leave the city with 42 full-time firefighters, according to International Association of Firefighters Union Local 23 President Lt. Jason Blackmon. The union contract calls for 58 firefighters.

"We are concerned about the safety of our citizens," Blackmon said. "We have an older community and a lot of people are not insured. We are concerned about the closing of the 1700 Lincoln Ave. firehouse and the impact it will have on the safety of our citizens."

The East St. Louis firefighter’s union launched a radio and television informative ad campaign to try to convey the concerns it has about losing 13 positions. Fire Chief William H. Fennoy warned that the reduction amounts to the loss of an entire shift of firefighters.

"We couldn’t get the city leaders to understand our perspective on safety," Blackmon said. "We are running the ad to try to inform our citizens about our concerns for their safety. Right now we have over 1,200 runs at this point in the year and we haven’t even made it to October yet."

If the layoffs take place the firefighters would be eliminated according to seniority, Blackmon said.

"It would take us all the way back to the last person hired in August 2000," he said. "It takes seven years for our firefighters to be vested into the pension and nine of the 11 are already vested."

Video courtesy of IAFF23.com via YouTube.com

Posted in IAFF, WTF?

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Posted by on September 20, 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.

Posted in LODD

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Posted by on September 15, 2009 • No comments