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Friday, January 9, 2009

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.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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

Posted: 08 Jan 2009 01:58 PM CST

Wind 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.

Intermountain Fire department Portable Dip Tank Operations
- Witch Wildland Fire -
Portable Dip Tank Operations
Credit: www.intermountainfire.org - image

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?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

California Fire News - Updates in your mail box

News: Firefighter charged Tuesday with three counts of second-degree commercial burglary.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009 07:22 PM CST

Fireman charged in theft of station funds
Chief: Team feels violated after money went missing

It was the lack of integrity, not the wad of bills stolen from two fire stations, that made Crest Forest Fire Protection District firefighters feel violated.

One of their own, 20-year-old Burl Lee Baxter, was charged Tuesday with three counts of second-degree commercial burglary.

The charges stem from thefts at two fire stations and the Lake Arrowhead Deli.

"The guys are like a team, and they hate to see a guy go bad," said Chief Michael Sherman. "Like with any theft or burglary, they feel violated. They feel violated because someone inside their own organization was untrustable."

Baxter, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, had worked for the district as a paid-call firefighter for 13 months before his arrest Saturday at one of the district's seven stations.

Firefighters first noticed money missing from several boxes set out on behalf of children's fundraising efforts. A memo even went out asking whomever had shortchanged the candy box to pony up the dough.

That's when they realized "it wasn't down a dollar or two, it was down quite a bit," Sherman said. "We started putting two and two together and called the Sheriff's Department. Everything pointed to this one individual."

Baxter had aroused suspicion because he had been spotted in areas of the fire stations where he wasn't supposed to be. He had also slept in an office at a fire station one night, and cash was discovered missing from that room the next day, officials said.

Paid-call firefighters work as needed and are bound by more restrictions than full-time career firemen. There are 45 paid-call firefighters and 27 career firefighters in the district.

Before being hired, Baxter had to undergo a background check, including his past employment. He is not expected to return to work for the fire district.

"We don't tolerate dishonesty. We don't tolerate that at all," Sherman said. "Especially being one of our guys."

Source: http://www.sbsun.com Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer- Link