Great Video by Dale G. Pekel, on YouTube, for Donning your SCBA more effectively.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Category Archives: Safety
MayDay: Are You Ready?
AEDs Removed From Calif. Department’s Rigs
Ben Welsh On Jul 7, 2015
Source: Los Angeles Times
County regulators ordered the department to remove the devices last week after fire officials were unable to produce documentation showing Compton firefighters had been properly trained to use the equipment.
The action comes after The Times disclosed in March that nearly one in four city firefighters lacked a permit to perform emergency medical care, a key credential required by other local fire agencies.
“If they aren’t going to follow directions and it’s not going to be a safe use of the equipment then you have to put a stop to the program,” said Cathy Chidester, head of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency, which oversees 911 service in the area.
Officials say it may take several weeks to train the firefighters or verify their credentials. In the meantime, some units that arrive first at the scene of a cardiac arrest could be limited to providing CPR until highly trained paramedic rescuers arrive to deliver an electronic shock.
FDNY Fire Fighters, Fire Officers Urge Congress to Renew Zadroga Act
June 11, 2015 – Dozens of IAFF members from the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) Local 94 and Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) Local 854 stormed Capitol Hill today to urge Congress to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The fire fighters and fire officers arrived by bus to attend a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health specifically on H.R. 1786, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act. Following the hearing, Local 94 and Local 854 members met with New York and New Jersey members of Congress.
H.R. 1786 was introduced by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) earlier this year. The bill has quickly gained the support of 82 bipartisan cosponsors, and the bill’s broad support was evident at today’s hearing. Members from both sides of the aisle were quick to offer their support for the bill, as well as and praise the first responders in attendance.
The bill would reauthorize the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, which provide health monitoring, treatment and compensation for 9/11 responders and survivors in all 50 states. Unless the programs are reauthorized by Congress, they will begin to expire in October 2015.
General President Harold Schaitberger submitted a statement to the Subcommittee urging them to advance the Zadroga Reauthorization Act.
“The survivors of 9/11 should not have to worry every few years that their health care might vanish,” said Schaitberger. “They should not have to worry about how they would support their families were they to become ill. They should not have to worry about partisan politics in Washington, DC when their lives and livelihoods are on the line.”
The hearing ended on a hopeful note; Subcommittee Chair Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA) predicted that the Zadroga Reauthorization Act would soon pass the Subcommittee and Committee on its way to consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives.
Read President Schaitberger’s Zadroga_Testimony to the Subcommittee on Health in its entirety.
A recording of the hearing is available on the House Energy and Commerce web site.
Continue reading FDNY Fire Fighters, Fire Officers Urge Congress to Renew Zadroga Act
The Charleston 9: Remembered
Let us never forget the tremendous sacrifice our firefighters, their families and coworkers make. Their efforts and legacy must be one of honor, remembrance and learning. Hear, in their own words, their story. Special thanks goes out to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for this presentation and the their tireless efforts to assist firefighters in getting home.
To my friends in the Charleston, S.C., Fire Department, I am proud of your long, albeit painful, and continuing recovery process. Your story is one of lament, progress and hope. Your strength and resilience is inspiring.
A lesson for us all…
The Ultimate Sacrifice…
Trapped??? Think Bailout!
It is our greatest hope that firefighters will recognize trouble and exit the roof or upper floors before it becomes too late. The use of thermal image devices and training in flash-over simulators are giving firefighters better ‘intel’ concerning changing conditions on the fire-ground. Unfortunately, “Situational Awareness” is still lacking severely.
Loss of or limited egress options are causing firefighters to use personal escape rope or personal escape devices/systems. Firefighters must review indicators indicators and the decision list for deployment.
Firefighters must also become completely familiar and train with their specific system to become comfortable and confident in its use.
Calling the MayDay
IT IS, HIGHLY, RECOMMENDED YOU COMPLETE THE FULL NFA “CALLING THE MAYDAY” COURSE!
Thank you, Dr. Burton Clark, NFA, for your tireless efforts on behalf of firefighters and the important awareness of “May-Day” Training.
The “culture of the fire service” continues to be a barrier for firefighters to call for help when they need it. You’re in a fire. The situation is getting worse. You become lost, separated, low on air, you take a fall, the building or floor collapses; and we have firefighters debating, with themselves, on whether they are going to call for help or not.
The High Rise Fire Study
FDIC 2016: Call for Presentations
FDIC2016 Call for Presentations
Still the Greatest (FIRE) Show on Earth. Deadline for submissions is:
June 19, 2015
Thirteen Fire Fighters Hurt: Hazmat
Thirteen firefighters were taken to area hospitals for treatment Wednesday after fighting a garage fire in Hamilton that contained chlorine, fire officials said.
The 2:45 p.m. fire ripped through two large garages in the 2000 block of South Broad Street, gutting the buildings and at destroying two vehicles parked inside one of the garages, firefighters and witnesses said.
One of the garages contained a container of chlorine, the kind used in backyard pools, and when it burned it caused a gas that caused several firefighters to suffer respiratory injuries, fire officials said.
At about 3:15 p.m., as an odor of a chemical hung in the air, fire officials and Hamilton police officers moved onlookers out of the immediate block, saying the fumes from the chlorine would be harmful to inhale.
And the numerous firefighters who responded were moved a block away and emergency medical officials started setting up a decontamination process for the firefighters, so they could then be taken to local emergency rooms for evaluation.
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