"Quality Professional Services Delivered with Compassion"

Transcription

1 MARCH/APRIL 2013 A PUBLICATION OF THE MOBILE FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT- ESTABLISHED 1888 INSIDE FEATURES Residential Sprinklers USCG Presentation Training Photos Firefighter Safety: Mayday "Quality Professional Services Delivered with Compassion"

2 An official publication of the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. Stephen A. Dean, Fire Chief Editor & Publisher Steve Huffman The Trumpet welcomes your questions and/or comments. To submit photos, articles or comments call (251) or The Trumpet is published by the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. Copyright 2013 by Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. All rights reserved. Our Mission The Mission of the Mobile Fire - Rescue Department is to identify and respond to community needs in order to deliver an effective and efficient system of service which minimize risk to life, health, and property from fire, trauma, acute illness, and hazardous conditions. On the Cover Firefighter Rick "Zeus" McKenzie brings out the last of five cats that firefighters rescued from a structure fire on Taylor Avenue on December 27, Residential Sprinklers By CHIP CURRERI Captain, Fire Investigations civilian and fire fighter injury and fatalities. What are some of the problems facing implementation of residential sprinklers? The largest issue is the lack of support from the home builders. The builder will argue that costs are a factor regardless of a good or bad economy. Also would they rather get the home owner to get the extra add-ons than place a sprinkler system in the home and adding costs and losing on the inflated add-ons for profit. Licensing of installers is another issue and who can install these types of systems. Insurance companies support has grown and several states such as Washington and California have now adopted codes for new home construction to be constructed with a sprinkler system. If we compare the cost of a sprinkler system for a 6100 sq ft home at $ to the cost of a bed in the burn unit at $ per day, well you do the math. We should be prepared as residential sprinkler systems will be coming our way soon. There is a large push from government organizations and several states already mandating these type systems to be placed in new homes. Sprinklers are cost effective and have proven to reduce injury and fatalities. New Ladder Trucks Arrive There is a big push to have the future code mandate residential sprinklers. The Fire Sprinkler Initiative and the Home Fire Coalition have presented this concept on their web site firesprinklerinitiative.org. Among the organizations that have joined this movement is the National Fallen Firefighters Association in their Initiative 15. Why the push to have residential sprinklers placed. Sprinklers are 96% effective. The life safety factor is 85% meaning that a person is more likely to be saved by a sprinkler system and able to evacuate from a residential fire. The average sprinkler loss (water damage) is 76% less than a fire loss. Sprinklers have proven to reduce Photos By PHILIP BALLARD Cover Photo By: Steve Huffman Visit Our Website: 2

3 Captain Tom Maine, Commander of the USCG Aviation Training Center in Mobile, presented a framed print to the department for assistance provided during the search of flight CG3565 that crashed in Mobile Bay on February 28, The art piece was commissioned to honor the flight crew that perished in that crash. Now What? 3

4 First Graduates of Marine Firefighter Course Mobile Fire-Rescue Department Training Division recently completed the pilot program for the 40 hour certification Marine Firefighter course. This course was developed by District Chief Kenneth H. Keller, Jr., in coordination with the Alabama Fire College, and teaches emergency responders who respond to maritime emergencies the hazards associated with the maritime domain. In addition, students will learn how to conduct preplans at marine facilities, identify key vessel personnel, conduct a vessel inspection, and discuss strategies and tactics firefighters use to control vessel fires. May Day Training Photo By KEN KELLER 4

5 Rescue Rope Training January 28-February 1 Photos By Porsha Black 5

6 RETIREMENTS Deputy Chief Ricky Brannon Over 34 Years Service Retired 03/01/2013 Administration Mobile Fire-Rescue Thank you seems like such a small thing to say for all of your support and the services that you provided during our time of loss. We can't tell you how much it means to us to know that you were there. Thanks so much, Daphne Fire & The Castrillo Family Captain Mike Revere Over 29 Years Service Retired 01/17/2013 Truck 5, Shift C Captain Bill Carroll Over 23 Years Service Retired 02/26/2013 Engine 12, Shift A We wish you the best of luck upon your retirement and future endeavors! MARCH 10 6

7 Firefighter Safety Mayday Command By Greg Lindsay Lindsay is a 28- year member of the Oklahoma City Fire Department, currently serving as a battalion chief. Lindsay has a master s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma and has been a trainer with the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System since Case Study: Report # The fire department received an alarm for a natural gas leak at a near-by business While attempting to keep onlookers clear, the D side of the building suffered a catastrophic event where two firefighters were last seen. The gas had been pulled into the building by a fresh air intake and found an ignition source, causing the building to explode, collapse and catch fire. At 1336 hrs, followed by a rapidly spreading fire and a brief moment of unaccountability, the driver of the engine quickly got on the radio to establish communications with the two unaccounted firefighters. The ladder operator began establishing a water source from the hydrant. The RIT team sprung into action to locate their unaccounted brothers. The mayday sounded. The captain radioed, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. The platoon chief was down. Trumpet Discussion Points - It is very likely that during a mayday response, the incident commander may maintain overall command of the incident and assign the RIT operation to a qualified officer on the scene. Would you be ready during an incident to manage this type of response? - Discuss departmental policies regarding maydays with your crew. - Familiarization with building construction is vital to completing size-up for fire attack. Which skill sets do you consider vital for commanding a response to a mayday? - How often does your department train on rapid intervention techniques? - If you were the firefighter trapped in a structure like the one mentioned in the case study, would the crews you train with be prepared for this fire and the subsequent collapse? Comments Commanding a response to a mayday call combines several elements. The first involves incident command coupled with the urgency of immediate need for rescue. Procedures and guidelines specific to your department play an integral part in the initial thought process. Additionally, the personnel initiating the mayday are likely to be your co-workers. Finally, you have an emergency incident that needs your attention that is the reason you were called in the first place. Each twist on this command places a heightened sense of anxiety on the person leading the response. It can be even more frantic if the command falls on your shoulders unexpectedly. Leading the charge on a mayday can be manageable. One of the basic tenets of incident command is to monitor your span of control. At first, you may be limited. You may only have the crew that is serving as the rapid intervention team (RIT). When more personnel are available to augment RIT activities, assign the most appropriate personnel to key activities. Once the RIT is deployed, another crew must be established as a back-up. Depending on the size of the building, additional alarms may be struck and the entire response could be assigned to the rescue effort. As a number of the companies receive assignments, and the rescue effort ramps up to full swing, ask yourself, Is anyone fighting the fire? Cut out high-calorie foods Skipping one or two high-calorie items that you might have otherwise eaten is a good place to start when cutting calories. For example, you could skip your morning caffe latte or the bowl of ice cream you always have after dinner. Think about what you eat and drink each day and identify items you could cut out. Choose lower calorie foods Replace foods that are high in calories with ones that are lower in calories. For example, drink fat-free milk instead of whole milk and sparkling water or diet soda instead of regular soft drinks. Or have an extra serving of vegetables at dinner instead of an extra serving of meat. You might find that these substitutions are easy to make and the number of saved calories quickly adds up. Snack on fruits and vegetables. 7

8 Dates to Remember March 10 - Daylight Savings Begins at 2:00 a.m. March 17 - Saint Patrick's Day March 20 - Spring March 20 - Extraterrestrial Abductions Day March 29 - Good Friday March 31 - Easter April 1 - April Fool's Day April 2 - National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day April 5 - National Walk to Work Day April 15 - Income Taxes Due April 16 - Patriot's Day April 17 - National Cheeseball Day April 22 - Earth Day April 24 - Administrative Professionals Day April 25 - Take Your Daughter to Work Day April 26 - Arbor Day MOBILE FIRE-RESCUE 701 Saint Francis Street Mobile, Alabama