Lion’s corporate headquarters has moved! We are excited to be just a few blocks from our previous location. Our new corporate address is:
Lion
7200 Poe Avenue, Suite 400
Dayton, OH 45414
We are fully operational in our new building. All telephone numbers, extensions and fax numbers remain the same. The only change is our physical address. Please send all mail and freight to the above address.
We’ve been busy decorating the new space. Check out some of the wall murals we’ve recently installed in the reception area and conference rooms and let us know what you think!
By PoliceOne Senior Editor Doug Wyllie
For more coverage of IACP 2010, visit PoliceOne.com
Lincoln (Neb.) Police Chief Tom Casady — whose agency patrols a city of about 75 square miles and protects a population of a quarter of a million people — sees a the potential for predictive policing to lead to the end of one paradigm in law enforcement that’s been omnipresent for many decades. He highlighted his belief by posing a rhetorical question to the attendees at IACP 2010 in Orlando.
“What is the number one activity of police officers in U.S. cities? What is the number one thing that they do?” Casady paused before answering his own question. “It’s driving around aimlessly, burning fossil fuels, waiting for the next call from the dispatchers. For those of you in the room who are Chiefs, how many times have you heard your officers say, ‘We’re going from call to call to call’ and you know that that’s not true. There is an awful lot of driving around aimlessly waiting for something to happen. I don’t think this can last.”
Officer.com recently posted the fourth article by Officer Randy Rider in an ongoing series that examines police and domestic violence:
In the past three articles we have looked at how easily high profile, everyday people, and our fellow officers have gotten themselves into a domestic violence situation. Of the groups, our profession has the most to lose in a domestic violence situation.
I have been very fortunate to have been married to my wonderful wife for nearly 36 years. I went to work on a Monday in 1974 and we were married on Saturday. This job is all she knows. She has had to put up a lot from me. We have had good times and bad as any couple.
Logan Fire Station of the Bellefonte Fire Department
Independent or integrated systems
There are two basic types of personal rescue systems: independent and integrated. An independent system attaches to a separate Class I or a Class II seat harness or escape belt. The rope and hardware are usually stowed in a bag that attaches to your harness or escape belt.
An integrated system employs the waist strap of your SCBA as the harness or escape belt. The hardware and rope are usually stowed in a bag that is attached to the SCBA straps or waist belt.
Each unique system has its strengths and weaknesses. There are numerous different options and models available to the fire service. During my career, I’ve tried a many of them, including my own personally developed system that I stowed in my thigh pocket. I like my system a lot because it’s:
simple to deploy and maintain,
it’s always there when I need it,
never in the way when I don’t need it,
and the rope and hardware are shielded from the elements.
The drawbacks are that it’s my system and it has never been tested beyond me. Although I trust it fully, I would never ask another fire fighter to rely on it.
I was recently shown a commercially developed personal escape system that is similar to my system and other systems I’ve seen put together by individual fire fighters. The Personal Rescue System from Lion Apparel stows the rescue rope and hardware in a cargo pocket on the turnout pants. But this pocket is different than mine. It’s built specifically to hold personal escape tools and keep them accessible. The inside of the pocket is divided into two compartments – one holds the rescue line, the other the hardware. Plus, it’s removable so the pocket works like a drop bag.
Here’s how the Personal Rescue System works:
Open the pocket flap and pullout the pre-rigged carabineer and descender. The carabineer is attached to the lead end of the life safety line.
Connect the carabineer to the anchor or wrap the rescue line around the anchor and hook the carabineer onto the rescue line itself.
Pull the rope taut.
Engage the lever of the descender as you back away from the anchor toward the window. When you reach the window, rip the pocket off your pants leg and toss it out the window.
With the descender in the locked position, exit the window.
Begin your repel to safety.
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series written by Assistant Chief/President Walter Schneider, Logan Fire Station of the Bellefonte Fire Department, focusing on personal escape systems.
For teenagers and their families, fire safety can often take a back seat
According to a recent article in FireRescue1, fire safety can often take a back seat for college students and their families. It is up to us to give them the information they need to keep safety at their forefront of their minds.
Some of the major components of a college fire safety program are listed below. You must decide if you plan on tackling each issue separately or whether to give all the information out at once.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, has launched the IACP Center for Social Media, a project to build the capacity of law enforcement to use social media and related tools to prevent and solve crimes, strengthen police-community relations, recruit employees, and enhance services. The cornerstone of the project is the website www.IACPsocialmedia.org. The website contains a host of no-cost resources, including a model policy, fact sheets, case studies, and instructional tutorials. Both the IACP and BJA are committed to helping law enforcement adopt new technologies to solve crimes, engage community members, and keep officers safe while using this technology.
“The IACP Center for Social Media provides essential information about social media and related technologies. Every police chief should have an understanding of how these tools can be used to enhance our ability to fight crime and enhance service to the communities we serve.” said Michael J. Carroll, IACP President and Chief of Police in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania.
“The IACP Center for Social Media can help law enforcement agencies learn to reach citizens more quickly by sending safety messages about crimes committed just minutes ago, how to better deter burglars, the places and attacks of recent sexual assaults, or inviting families to a neighborhood watch cookout.” said James H. Burch, II Acting Director for BJA, “With better communication between law enforcement and citizens, the more confident citizens will be when they contact their local law enforcement agency.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the world’s oldest and largest association of law enforcement executives. Founded in 1893, the IACP has more than 20,000 members in over 100 countries.
As a senior knife instructor for military and law enforcement — as well as a combatives practitioner for more than 37 years — I think the idea of having a usable backup edged weapon is vital. What I mean by usable is often we get very comfortable with having a folder on our person but don’t realize that getting that folder into play is a lot harder than one might think.
Try this exercise: Put your folder in your standard carry location. Do five circular pivots with one hand on a basketball or object on the ground then do to fine up/downs and deploy your edged weapon. Do this exercise 10 times. If you can get your blade into play 8 out 10 times quickly then you have a solid base line to work from. If you find yourself fumbling with your blade and have to do two-handed openings you should either:
A) Learn a new deployment technique B) Buy a new folder that you can deploy quickly without fail C) Get a fixed blade that you can get a positive grip on in wet, dark, and in a startled state
Do you actively practice with a backup edged weapon? Do you prefer fixed or folding blades?
Are we sacrificing proven methods in tactics and strategy when fighting structure fires? We have generally improved how we do things, especially with regard to personal protective equipment (PPE) and the greater availability of technology. However, there are many examples that show that tried-and-true principles are being violated. These examples have been identified in research that studied selected incidents that resulted in firefighter fatalities. The goal of my research was to determine how tactics and strategy depend on proper staffing and directly affect firefighter survival. Adequate staffing at incidents enables departments to use proper tactics to implement a strategy that fits the scenario presented. These tactics will lead to increased firefighter survival. Where sacrifices in tactics were made, they frequently were the result of having inadequate personnel at critical times during the incident. Inadequate staffing for preincident functions such as fire code compliance enforcement, training, preincident planning, and underappreciated administrative functions also indirectly negatively impacted firefighter survivability.
You are a firefighter. It doesn’t matter whether volunteer or career. When the call comes, you go. Usually, everyone comes back. Occasionally, someone doesn’t. You don’t want that firefighter to be you.
A cursory glance at the recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association and International Association of Fire Chiefs shows that much of the fire service thinking is in the vanguard of fitness, health, safety, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, many of these recommendations are not implemented and the standards are not adhered to on the departmental level.
What can the average firefighter do to improve this situation?
Having survived 69 days underground, the last of the 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine emerged from the bowels of the earth late Wednesday and were reunited with loved ones, capping a grueling, dramatic rescue made possible by a generous supply of U.S. equipment, manpower and ingenuity.
According to the Washington Times, One by one, the miners were hoisted to the surface in an operation that began late Tuesday and transfixed the world.
More than two months after being trapped in the collapsed mine, including more than two weeks during which they were feared dead, the men emerged to hugs, tears and cheers from Chileans.
Lion’s corporate headquarters has moved! We are excited to be just a few blocks from our previous location. Our new corporate address is:
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