“Good girl.”  She closed her eyes and lay her head back on the stretcher…

While it’s not the adrenaline rush that first responders brag about back at the station, it does give meaning to what the job is about. There’s probably no such thing as a routine Hospice call for people in the emergency services field; it can’t be easy to know that you’re giving someone their last ride. However, this paramedic so very beautifully and delicately shared her experience in this story recently published by JEMS online.

For all of us in every vocation, there’s a lesson in compassion and tenderness: sometimes the most heroic thing we can do for those in our care, is to simply listen.

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Lt. Dan Marcou on PoliceOne.com

Most officers start their career as idealistic young rookies ready to catch bad guys and rescue damsels in distress. Inevitably, they’ll meet a cynical, time-scarred veteran who will tell them to “Slow down… you know you can’t make a difference.” He may even add an observation like, “A career in law enforcement is like putting your hand in a bucket of water and pulling it out. When you retire no one will even notice you were here.” This will be the rookie’s first (among countless) invitations to venture down the path of cynicism and negativity.

(more…)

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NIST recently completed a multi-year study on positive pressure ventilation. A wide range of experiments were conducted in different environments, including high-rise buildings, a high school and within the laboratory. The reports all total more than 1,000 pages.  The below article from Fire Engineering focuses on the practical results of the studies.

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One of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) Firefighter Health and Safety Priorities for departments is: Provide and require the proper use of full personal protective equipment (PPE).

There are obvious safety reasons for wearing full PPE correctly every time, but there are also important health reasons. Proper use of PPE protects you from inhaling potentially dangerous smoke, debris, and toxins, which could otherwise cause significant harm to your lungs, respiratory system, and general health. PPE also protects your skin so that you don’t absorb harmful particles and toxins through your skin. Protecting your head with a helmet can prevent head injuries that could lead to acute or chronic health conditions.

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By Lt. Michael Swiman – Wake Forest (NC) Fire Department
For LION Connects

Lt. Michael Swiman of the Wake Forest Fire Department

What are you doing to improve your health and fitness at work? With more departments implementing NFPA standards on health and safety, it is up to you to make sure you stay ahead of the game. Today’s departments offer basic workout equipment and many even require their personnel to do some form of physical training (PT) while on shift. How are you maximizing your workout efforts? We all have a an idea or basic plan of what we want to do when performing PT, but are you stuck in a rut or have you plateau?

First and foremost is proper nutrition. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT! Are you and your crew experts on the local restaurants and can recite the menu from memory, or do you make an effort to cook a healthy meal? I know that the toughest decision made at the station is what the meals for the day are and it gets harder to make those choices when you are in a multi company station. The most basic way to ensure proper nutrition is portion control, staying away from battered and fried foods (which seem to be a staple here in the south) and incorporating fruits and vegetables in your meals and throughout the day. Try to eat 5 small meals instead of 3 big meals. This will make you feel better throughout the day and eliminate the need to gorge out during dinner. Thirsty? We should be drinking anywhere from 3 to 4 liters of water daily and cut down on the sugary drinks.

(more…)

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The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) launched a new wildland fire preparedness initiative—Ready, Set, Go! (RSG)—at their annual Wildland-Urban Interface conference.  In consultation with the RSG program administrator, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC)learned the public education program is a collaborative process that can improve coordination and communication between emergency response agencies and individual residents.  The program stresses fundamental actions homeowners can take to enhance property survivability in a wildland fire.  Fully engaging individual homeowners and aligning program components with existing community-based programs help build partnerships, and clarify and refine priorities to protect life, property, infrastructure, and key resources.

“We’ve identified eight fire departments from across the country to run the program in their communities this year,” said IAFC Wildland Fire Policy Committee chair Chief Bob Roper.  “These departments will help us fine-tune Ready, Set, Go! for a nationwide rollout next year.  The eight fire departments are located in Arizona, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Montana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  The departments range from small volunteer companies to large municipal or county departments, but all face similar challenges from development in or near natural areas that are susceptible to wildland fires.

“We’re working with private industry and a number of local, state, and federal partners to make Ready, Set, Go! a viable national safety and awareness program,” said Chief Roper.  “The U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fire Administration, National Fire Protection Association Firewise, and the Institute for Business & Home Safety have been instrumental in bringing the program to this point in its development.”

The EMR-ISAC confirmed that the 2010 fire season will be used to collect data from the departments using RSG to further define the program’s components.  “If all goes as we expect, our goal is to roll out a national version of Ready, Set, Go! next year,” said Chief Roper.  “Ready, Set, Go! protects lives, property, and firefighters.  It’s a win-win solution for anyone living or working in the wildland-urban interface.”

Detailed program information can be found at the RSG Program Outline (PDF, 318.5 KB).

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from Tom Munsey
on Police1.com

Too often, when officers write their reports, especially after a difficult situation that requires the application of force, they get in a rush to complete their report. They want to relax a moment, or just get back on patrol, and they write their report in haste, leaving out details. While this does get the officer to a point of closure with their report and other forms — so they can move on to a different activity — it can create problems later.

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A recent FireRescue1 article reports that the United States Fire Administration (USFA), in partnership with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), announces the release of Respiratory Diseases and the Fire Service, a report discussing the findings of a long-term study intended to examine and improve the occupational health of firefighters.

(more…)

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By Assistant Chief/President Walter Schneider

Logan Fire Station of the Bellefonte Fire Department

The ideal tool for bailing out is a personal escape system that is certified to meet NFPA 1983 Standard on Fire Service Life Safety Rope and Equipment, 2006 Edition. It’s important that the entire system is certified, not just the individual components. Remember this a system and needs to perform as one flawlessly.

The components of a personal escape system typically are:

• Class II Seat Harness or Escape Belt
• Life Safety Rope – Rope dedicated solely for the purpose of rescue.
• Load-bearing Connectors – carabineers, rings, quick links or snap links
• Descent Device – Friction or mechanical device utilized to control descending on a fixed line.
• Tether – Webbing that connects ascent device to a Class II harness or escape belt

Over the years, I have seen many inventive fire fighters develop their own systems using components from a variety of sources, including recreational equipment and hardware store purchases. This type of innovation has often been the genesis for advances in safety equipment and tools. The pioneers of personal escape systems are to be commended for acknowledging the threat and filling an equipment void, however there are drawbacks to homemade systems. These include the lack of testing, training, oversight and consistency.

The commercialization of personal escape systems during recent years has delivered an important level of quality control. There are a number of systems available to the fire service certified to meet NFPA 1983, 2006. Like any other equipment acquisition, the selection of a personal escape system should start with a risk assessment to develop criteria. While each department is unique, the criteria for selecting a personal escape system will likely be based on ease of use, storage and attachment, weight, quality of components and whether or not the manufacturer provides training.

1. Ease of use – It’s paramount for the system to be simple. As a whole, the fire service is not comfortable with rope. It’s not a skill we use all the time. If you need to bail out, you don’t want to be trying to learn the system in a smoke filled hot room, nor do you want to be putting a complex system together while hanging out of a third story window. You want to be able to anchor the system, clear the window, and go. (more…)

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PoliceOne.com reported on an AP story about ex-cops in California speaking out in favor of Proposition 19, a ballot measure that would legalize marijuana.

The group supporting Proposition 19 is largely comprised of former or retired police officers, judges and prosecutors. These supporters said keeping pot illegal props up drug cartels and overburdens the state’s court system. Stephen Downing, former deputy chief for the Los Angeles Police Department, said the nation’s drug policy has failed, likening it to cutting off the leg of a spider to cripple it.

“The drug organizations are more like starfish,” Downing said during a press conference at a West Hollywood park where children were playing with their parents behind him. “You cut a leg off, it regenerates. We are dealing with a sea of starfish. The only way you kill a starfish is to remove its nutrient. And that nutrient is money.”

If approved by voters, the proposition would allow adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Local governments would be allowed to tax its sales.

(more…)

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