Friday, January 9, 2009

California Fire News - Updates in your mail box

California Fire News - Updates in your mail box

Link to California Fire News - Structure, Wildland, EMS

NIOSH News: LODD Prevention report released

Posted: 08 Jan 2009 02:20 PM CST

LODD Prevention - Leading Recommendations for Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities, 1998–2005

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released "Leading Recommendations for Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities, 1998–2005," that summarizes the most frequent recommendations from the first eight years of the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Pro­gram (FFFIPP).

It was compiled to help Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies protect personnel, their foremost critical infrastructure, by developing, up­dating, and implementing effective policies, programs, and training to prevent Line-of Duty Deaths (LODD).

The report synthesizes 1,286 individual recommendations from the 335 FFFIPP investigations conducted through 2005.

The investigations, which involved 372 LODDs, encompassed circumstances such as car­diovascular-related deaths, motor vehicle accidents, structure fires, diving incidents, and electrocutions in career, volunteer, and combi­nation departments in both urban and rural settings throughout the United States.

The recommendations were developed by NIOSH investigators using existing fire service standards, guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and other rel­evant resources. NIOSH personnel reviewed records, such as police, medical, and victims' work/train­ing records, as well as departmental procedures, and examined the incident site and equipment used, including personal protective equipment.

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) notes that for each of the ten recommendation categories that follow, the report presents an overview of the category, category recommendations, a case example of a fatality investigation report summary, ESS department self-assessment questions, and key resources.

· Medical screening

· Fitness and wellness

· Standard operating procedures and guidelines (SOPs)

· Communications

· Incident command

· Motor vehicle

· Personal protective equipment

· Strategies and tactics

· Rapid intervention team

· Staffing

The report (56 pp., 828.89 KB) is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-100/pdfs/2009-100.pdf.

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Colorado: Boulder wildfire - 1,400 acres 30% contained

Posted: 08 Jan 2009 01:58 PM CST

Boulder+Colorado, wind-driven wildfireWind driven fire
More than a two hundred firefighters spent the night battling a stubborn, wind-driven wildland fire that triggered the evacuations of more than 1300 homes as it scorched grasslands near Denver. Two homes were destroyed.

Boulder wildfire should be contained today

Evacuations: 70 percent of affected Boulder County residents have been allowed to return to their homes.
1,300 homes were evacuated and two were destroyed. The evacuation order for 70 percent of those homes was lifted this morning in an area east of U.S. Highway 36. The order remains in effect west of the highway.

FEMA boss "Brownie" Evacuated - Among the evacuated was horse trader and vilified ex-Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown.
Nicknamed "Brownie" Brown was lauded by President Bush for doing a "heckuva job" in the botched rescue and recovery during Hurricane Katrina which took the lives of 1,836 people and caused more than $81 billion in damage.
Brown resigned in disgrace.

Closures: North Foothills Highway (US Hwy 36) has been closed between Broadway (the north Boulder City limits) and Hygiene Road, two miles south of Lyons.Boulder Reservoir is closed.

IA: Wildland Fire - 45 th Street/Neva Road, west of Niwot : gusty winds are pushing the fire east.
Sizeup: 3,700-acre fire zone, about 1,400 acres have actually burned. The blaze is 30 percent contained, but authorities hope for full containment this afternoon.
Two homes totally destroyed and out-buildings have been lost.
Weather: The National Weather Service forecast winds of 20 mph in the area with gusts up to 40 mph through Thursday afternoon.
Injuries: Two firefighters and a police officer sustained minor injuries.
Cause: The fire, believed to have started when winds knocked down a power line, has burned 2.8 square miles in Boulder County, about 25 miles northwest of Denver.

Heroic effort: "The effort to suppress this wildfire once the winds died down last night was exhausting and downright heroic," "As long as the wind doesn't come up today, I'm very confident we've about got this thing licked." - Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle

Source: Colorado: Boulder County wildfire today - 1,400 acres 30% contained

Fire sites: Intermountain Fire-Rescue Department

Posted: 08 Jan 2009 01:11 PM CST

Intermountain Fire-Rescue Department updates website - http://www.intermountainfire.org/) with new photos and information posted!
Shown are some interesting dip tank and water supply operations from 2007 Harris, Witch Fires in Southern California.

dip tank and water supply operationsIntermountain Fire department Portable Dip Tank Operations
- Witch Wildland Fire -
Portable Dip Tank Operations
Credit: www.intermountainfire.org - image
Intermountain Fire department Water Tender-Intermountain Fire department Water Tender- Witch Wildland Fire
Portable Dip Tank Operations
Credit: www.intermountainfire.org - image

Note: Images are labeled Harris Fire on Inter-mountain Fire website, but file naming convention shows witch fire?

CNN.com

News: Breaking News -- MercuryNews.com

AP Top U.S. News At 8:45 p.m.