Please take the time to read the article in the link. While so many cities and government agencies are slashing public safety, this city is doing the exact opposite.
Council considers budget cuts to find money for public safety staff
Stay safe and pass this on to others, especially if they are a politician with tough decisions to make.
This is an incident that could turn out to be very interesting.
This is going to address the use of back up lines and when they are deployed.
I had an interesting conversation about assignments, as you could tell from the previous post.
This discussion circled around the deployment of the second apparatus on the scene. This is not a metro response where engines do engine work and so on. Rather, this is where the second in unit is assigned upon arrival.
With this picture in mind, what does your second in unit do? Does it backup the first in crew with a hand line? Does it perform ventilation? Just where do you order this second in crew and what are the tactical priorities?
I believe that there is a time and situation for using the second in unit for a back up line, but not automatically just because they are the second unit there.
What do you think and why? You gave some great insight into run procedures, so I know there will be some great conversation on this one.
Stay low and be safe.
How are you assigned? Or are you?
This is more of a poll question that I would really like a lot of input on.
How are you assigned?
Do you run separate engine, truck and rescue companies?
Do you run with predetermined assignments based on your arrival order?
Are your people assigned tasks by seating?
Or, do you arrive and wait for an assignment from the IC?
These questions came up in a recent conversation with several people on multiple occasions. I am really interested to know how the rest of the country is doing “it” and what trends are being followed.
This is especially interesting with the unfortunate budget cuts and reductions in staffing in some jurisdictions.
Let us know what is going on out there, we really look forward to your feedback.
I am not going to add any commentary here since I don’t know the entire story behind why or how this has all transpired. I did my best with the email that I received and the image of the letter.
If you want a better copy, email me and I will forward it to you.
Stay safe and be careful.
I tried to copy the image and it did not work, it was too tiny.
The letter is dated January 22, 2010 to Bob Barger, DFBLS from Arizona State Fire Marshal Phil Mele.
“Please accept this memorandum as my formal notice of retirement from State service effective March 26, 2010.
I could not have imagined a better way to end 33-year career in the Arizona Fire Service than I have experienced working for you and with the dedicated staff of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
During my tenure as State Fire Marshal, I believe, the true critical nature of the position was being recognized, by the state’s fire service and public we serve. The mission of the Office of the State Fire Marshal does, in fact, provide for the public safety through its fire prevention responsibilities as well as in the education and training of the State’s firefighters.
I leave with the belief that the State must recognize this responsibility and the significance of our mission. The recognition must also provide continued support of the activities of Office of the State Fire Marshal for the benefit of Arizona’s citizens and firefighters.
Thanks you for giving me the opportunity to serve the citizens and firefighters of Arizona.”
This is a good example of the need for more resources. It concerns me when I see lines in a building and there is nobody at the entry point for a back up.
In addition, we are constantly training on coordinated attacks. We have no available crews for ventilation or search and rescue that I can see.
There are no crews for RIT or to secure utilities. How about keeping the civilians out of harms way?
There are other issues with this scene, but I will let you discuss the tactical side of things.
Let’s look at this video in two ways. First, how would your department tackle this fire with your typical response? Let’s pretend that we don’t know the status of occupants. Whatever your department gets is what you get.
Second, discuss your concerns with how this went down. I am not going to beat up on any department, this department looks to be short staffed and doing the best with what they have. But, I am willing use it as a learning tool. So, where is there room for improvement?
Thanks for taking a look. Stay safe and train hard.
How do you assign these firefighters?
Here is the scene. You are the officer in charge here and when you arrive this is what you see.
You have reports of possible victims in an early morning fire.
Now, this house is approximately 1600 square feet with a basement. Single story about 25-30 years old.
Based on your tactical priorities, start assigning these crews where it is most appropriate. Explain where and why you sent your crews there. Keep in mind you are a medium sized department that is a suburban island. Meaning that basically you have three trucks on the scene with this number of personnel.
Your next truck in is 10 minutes away. You have public water supply.
The neighbor got up to go to work and noticed smoke coming from the house next door. Exposure B and D are about 15 feet away on both sides.
What do you do?
Here is more on the situation in Arizona. I have attached the letter from the Fire Marshal.
Things are getting crazy out there. Be careful and we need to rally the troops and fight these cuts. Some of these programs are crucial for training and resources.
Read this letter, it is frightening what is happening.
Stay safe and be careful.
Today I received an informational email outlining the immediate suspension of services provided by the Arizona State Fire Marshal’s Office. I am waiting on more information about how these cuts will directly effect the Arizona fire service, but some mentioned in the announcement are obvious.
If some of you in the Arizona area have more knowledge, please pass it on. Here is the announcement that the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association put out in regards to this issue:
Suspension of State Fire Marshal Programs
| By: Arizona Fire Chiefs Association |
Published: 1/8/2010 |
Dear AFCA Member:
Due to budget reductions and other mandates, the Office of the State Fire Marshal has immediately suspended several significant programs and implemented polices, procedures and processes which are necessary to reflect staff reductions in the Office. Specifically, 3 positions will be immediately vacated including two Fire Training Program Specialists and the State Fire Resource Coordinator. These reductions and mandates will eliminate all state training and certification programs as well as Fire Marshal support for the Statewide Mutual Aid Program, the NFIRS Reporting System and other major programs and activities.
In addition, the 2nd Annual Arizona Fire Instructors Conference, scheduled for April 8th and 9th in Mesa, and is a collaborative event between the AFCA and the State Fire Marshals Office, has been cancelled.
Some important questions I have is where will cadets and candidates get their state certification testing or will they be exempt from such requirements?
What will happen in jurisdictions that depend on state sponsored courses because of already small budgets and lack of resources?
Who is going to pay the price for the cuts and decrease in services and how much burden are the local agencies going to be expected to carry?
What is, or is there, a plan to reinstitute these services? It is sad to say that typically once items are cut for budgetary purposes, they never come back.
Knowing the fire service like I do, they will adapt and overcome and the politicians will think that we are doing okay with what we have. How far do they think we can be stretched until we break?
I will try to keep you updated on this, and some may already have more information than me. If you do, please pass it along. If Arizona has done this, then there will surely be more states looking to cut costs by slashing important services.
Stay safe out there and fight the good fight.
Look ma', no gear!
I love this picture. Not because it is an easy target for us safety minded guys who like using these kinds of pictures for training purposes. No, I love it because this was just how it used to be. It still doesn’t make it right, but, in small towns all over America and the world, volunteer fire companies did with what they had.
Most of these guys probably left their jobs in the middle of the day, and their employers were okay with that, to fight a fire that threatened a neighbor in their small, tight-knit community. Their gear was likely still at the firehouse so they met the trucks at the scene that were driven by the older volunteers that didn’t actively fight fire anymore. Granted, the fires of yesterday are not the same as they are today in terms of release rate of heat and flame, but they were still working fires.
This is a picture from my hometown department that is now a progressive combination department and I am trying to find out about the characters in this photo. I just wanted to post it to show an example of how far we have come in the fire service. I don’t condone or encourage not wearing gear, you must wear your PPE. The purpose of this is not to glamorize the actions portrayed in the photo, just the progress that we have made and to honor those that had to do with what they had at the time.
I encourage you all to visit your local volunteer departments if they are still around. Find the old guys and ask for the stories and accounts of fires from yesteryear. Once gems of the fire service are gone, so are the memories and stories that were untold or never asked about. We are lucky now, we have great technology and training, but we have much to improve on. Some day we will be the old guys and we will need to pass on our stories too, hopefully someone will ask. Stay safe and be careful.
 This blog is part of the Emergency Services Ad Network. For marketing opportunities, please click here |
I wrote a non-EMS related blog. It's about my vagina, and who doesn't want to read about my… (more)
FORCE MORE DOORS IN A DAY THAN YOU HAVE IN YEARS! The Bluffton Twp. Fire District will be hosting… (more)
There was a "life lesson" or some sort of Fire Department training in every task. They worked hard… (more)
Retired Norfolk (VA) firefighter Sara Jones "Jonesy" needs your help in her battle with cancer.… (more)
Recent Comments