WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

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1 WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT Planning to Protect......Acting to Save March 205 Volume 3, Issue 3 Inside this issue: Emergency Responders & Community Problem Solvers Fire & EMS EMS Bureau Report 2 Fire Prev./ Public Safety 4 Operations Bureau 6 Training Bureau 7 In Their Own Words 8 YEARS of SERVICE ~March MPO D McCreary. 3/22/00 FF K Demler... 03/02/08 Our firefighters are trained to do many things. Beyond fighting fires and providing paramedic care we are also trained in hazardous materials response, ice & water rescue, vehicle extrication, fire code enforcement, public education, health & fitness training, disaster response and more. Each firefighter in West Bend commits to maintaining proficiency in all of these areas. Our goal is to provide overall protection from harm, preservation of property and life safety interventions whenever and wherever needed. In addition to providing those services we often find ourselves in the role of Problem solvers for the citizens of West Bend. When people find themselves in difficult situations and they don t know what to do their automatic response is to call the fire department. We always do our best to assist in finding solutions to whatever difficulty a resident may be dealing with. In the photo above, FF Kyle Demler (Kneeling) and FF Steve Stockhausen are shown with a resident holding her kitten that they had just freed from being trapped under the seat of the car. The cat had gotten it s head wedged under the frame of the car seat and the resident drove to the fire station to ask for help...acting to Save Emergency Activities Types of Calls March 205 February 205 Year to Date (205) Year to Date (204) Fires Calls Emergency Medical Calls Paramedic Intercepts Interfacility Transports Totals Town of Barton Calls Town of West Bend Calls

2 Emergency Medical Services Bureau Page 2 BC Van Langen and Captain Thrash American Heart Month by Todd Van Langen The American Heart Association wants to raise awareness about heart disease and how people can prevent it, both at home and in the community. Heart month was first introduced as a proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 964. If you think about it the heart is an amazing organ. Your heart beats about 00,000 times a day and about 35 million times per year. During an average lifetime your heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. The good news is heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions. Communities, health professionals, and families can work together to create opportunities for people to make healthier choices. Some of the heart disease Risk Factors that we have control over include: poor blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, being overweight, lack of physical activity, and drinking to much alcohol. You can control many of these risk factors by making lifestyle changes. Eat a healthy diet, be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat foods low in saturated fat and high in fiber, also limit salt intake. Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese is hard on your heart and causes it to work harder than it should have to. Being overweight also increase your chances of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, Exercise regularly, physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Don t smoke, the more you smoke the higher your risk if you quit smoking at any time it will lower your risk for heart disease. Avoid drinking to much alcohol, which causes high blood pressure. Your doctor might also suggest medicine to help control some of these risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Make sure to take your medications as prescribed Some of the Risk Factors that we cannot control are: Age, family history of early heart disease, race, and ethnicity. By making the decision to commit to reducing your risk factors for heart disease is a huge step towards heart health. Make a difference in your community, spread the word about strategies for preventing heart disease and encourage people to live heart healthy lives.

3 Emergency Medical Services Bureau Page 3 Battalion Chief Todd Van Langen & Captain Tom Thrash 205 EMS TRANSPORTS # of Transports We have 3 months complete this year and it has been a very busy one again for the Paramedics at the West Bend Fire Department. So far in 205 we have been called out to respond 80 times. That is the total number of responses which includes fire calls, Haz Mat, EMS and other types of calls. Of those calls we predominantly deal with medical calls. Of the 80 calls about 000 of them have been a medical call. Either an ambulance call, hospital to hospital transfer, hospital to home transfer or a Paramedic Intercept with one of our neighboring departments. Of the medical calls we have transported 823 times to many various hospitals within Wisconsin, but mostly the greater Milwaukee area. Again we try to work with the pa- tient to do what is best for them, however the decision on which hospital to transport to really relies on the Paramedic. Sometimes the hospitals in our area get very busy and go on diversion which means they cannot handle any more patients. This situation forces us to transport our patient to a different facility to get our patient the care they need. West Bend Fire Department Med. Med responds from station at the corner of HWY 33 and 7th Ave.

4 Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tammy Lamberg March 205 Fire Inspections Follow-up Compliance Semi-Annual Annual Total Violations Inspections Cards Station # Station # Station # Bureau Captain Totals Page 4 NFPA Recognizes Hoarding as a Significant Fire Safety Risk Factor by Captain Tammy Lamberg Many fire departments are responding to serious fires, injuries and deaths as a result of compulsive hoarding behavior. The excessive accumulation of materials in homes poses a significant threat to firefighters fighting fires and to residents and their neighbors. Studies suggest that approximately five percent of the population are excessive hoarders. Fire departments must now become familiar with this issue and how to effectively handle it. Hoarding results in rooms being filled with so many possessions that residents can no longer use the rooms as intended. Everyday living and health becomes compromised. This behavior is often found in individuals who have disorders such as OCD, depression or dementia. It is most common in older adults. Often times fires in these homes result in fatalities. Blocked exits and little clearance for movement hinder the resident s abil- ity to escape from the home. Responding firefighters are also put at risk due to obstructed egress, excessive combustibles and tumbling piles of household items. (Continued on next page) March Permits & Fees Count Permit Type Total Fees 2 Alarm systems 0-50 devices $ Sprinkler alterations 5-00 heads $ Total Total Permit Fees for March $85.00

5 Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tammy Lamberg Page 5 Reviews, Testing, Consults, Investigations & Public Safety Presentations for March OCCUPANCY TYPE ACTIVITY NOTES Residential Consult Meeting with property owner & contractor re: upgrades in fire protection Storage Follow-up Issues regarding stacked combustibles and egress concerns Manufacturing Consult Evaluate moving private hydrant and resulting FD access Educational Acceptance test Alarm testing in new atrium addition Manufacturing Acceptance test Hydro test of sprinkler system in new addition Multi-family Presentation General safety and fire prevention presentation to residents NA Presentation Heroin in our Community presentation to WB Leadership group Residential Care Consult Meeting with fire protection contractor for new CBRF facility Assembly Follow-up Met with owner regarding blocked egress complaint Educational Consult Met with facility rep and architect regarding occupancy limits in renovated area Hoarding (Continued from page 4) by Captain Tammy Lamberg (continued from previous page) Another factor is the excessive load on the weight bearing components of the home. This increases the likelihood of structural collapse which is a leading cause of firefighter injury and death. Hoarding will also significantly delay fire crews from gaining access to the fire. This delay in executing suppression tactics allows the fire to develop to a much more dangerous level. If a firefighter becomes trapped, injured or distressed, accessing him and removing him will be extremely difficult. In addition those living adjacent to a resident who hoards will be at a higher risk due to excessive smoke and rapidly expanding fire conditions. In our roles as paramedics and firefighters West Bend Fire Department personnel have witnessed hoarding first hand right here in our community. With sensitivity and with a focus on safety and health we attempt to encourage citizens to correct this situation. We understand that often the conditions took years to develop and may take a substantial amount of time to improve. Accomplishing change usually requires a comprehensive effort from the citizen, family members and a number of supporting agencies. These agencies may include the fire prevention bureau, the building code officials, the local office on aging, the health department, professional psychological support services, animal control and more. If you know of someone who may need assistance with this problem reach out to any of these agencies for assistance.

6 Fire Department Operations Bureau Battalion Chief John Spartz & Captain Jon Coutts New Ambulance Specifications Completed Page 6 The West Bend Fire Department is on track with the purchase of a new ambulance to serve the city. Our Purchasing Committee, which is comprised of members from all 3 shifts and all ranks, had visits and demonstrations form numerous ambulance manufacturers. As a result of these visits, they were able to complete the specifications for the new ambulance. The specifications will be sent out in early April, with bid opening scheduled for April 20. Purchasing an ambulance is not buying a car. Most ambulance Current Ambulance Style interiors are custom designed by the purchasing department to meet their needs. Using our past experiences, and the visits from the manufacturers, we were able to design an ambulance interior that will be more efficient and safer for the paramedics, and more comfortable for the patient. One of the changes we made is moving the location of our monitor/defibrillator. It has always been close to the patients legs and not easily accessed by the paramedics. We have relocated the monitor to a tower cabinet at the head of the right side seat. This location provides easy accessibility to the monitor and ability to better view the monitor. The ambulance will also have a new look to it. The chassis that we were using is no longer available with a diesel engine, so we New Ambulance Style needed to look at other options. Our new chassis will look similar to a pickup truck with a large box on the back. It will also have new rear suspension to give the patient a smoother ride. The suspension is a new technology that uses compressible liquid in a sealed system to provide a smoother ride, along with improved handling. The target date for delivery of the new ambulance is late November or early December. This month not only are we showing our time for the past month, but also for the first quarter of 205. It has been a busy year so far, and it will continue as we strive to complete repairs and preventive maintenance on a timely basis.

7 Fire Instruction & Training Bureau Page 7 Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tom Thrash Open Burning: Spring is time when many people are raking their lawn getting all the winter kill and sticks picked up from our long cold winter. Remember that The City of West Bend does not allow this to be burned in your backyard fireplaces. We have very specific rules that are stated in our local ordinances that addresses these regulations. From the municipal code; Open burning in the city: FIRE PREVENTION AND PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRE Only charcoal, electricity, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or oth- Lt. Andrew Whitmore stands in front of the WBFD grass fire rig. er substances used in accordance with the manufacturer s instructions may be used for food preparation in portable broilers, grills, and similar appliances. Only nonchemical treated wood or other substances used in accordance with the manufacturer s instructions may be burned in a fully enclosed device manufactured for the purpose of wood burning, but only if used as recommended by the manufacturer of the device. Fully enclosed means that any openings through which air or other gases may enter or escape are fully covered by spark arresting screens. You can dispose of your yard waste at the municipal building located at 25 Municipal Drive. Please use the driveway south of the building to drop off materials. No dumping after hours. Monday, Wednesday, & Friday Year Round - 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Summer April - Sept. 4 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday (weather permitting) March November 8 a.m. - :30 p.m. The Wisconsin DNR web site is very helpful to find out when burning is prohibited and what the burning conditions are. The DNR suggests that is always better to use alternative disposal methods, including composting, recycling, and landfilling when disposing of yard waste. Although the ground seems very saturated with spring rains there is very dry grass and other natural vegetation that is on the surface. The West Bend Fire Department would like to remind you to use extreme caution when doing any type of outdoor cooking, burning or campfires. Everybody wants to enjoy the outside weather but we need to do it responsibly.

8 In Their Own Words... The back page of our newsletter features a note or card that we have received from our customers.the people we serve. Whether it is during an ambu- lance call, fire call, or a public education assignment, the members of the West Bend Fire Department are always dedicated to making their contact with area residents a positive experience. Personnel Spotlight MPO/Paramedic Kenny Asselin has proudly served the City of West Bend since 996. Kenny hails from Butler, WI, where he served as a volunteer firefighter/ EMT and a fire inspector for seven years prior to his arrival in West Bend. His certifications include Firefighter II, Fire Officer II, Fire Inspector I, Fire Instructor I, Driver/Operator Pumper and Aerial, Haz Mat Technician and is licensed as a critical care paramedic. Kenny holds associate degrees in marketing and paramedic technician, a bachelor degree in business administration, and is currently a graduate student at Cardinal Stritch University working on his MBA. Kenny and his wife Sandy enjoy downhill skiing in Colorado and Upper Michigan, camping, biking, golfing, and the occasional relaxing weekend in Door County. WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT Planning to Protect...Acting to Save 325 N 8th Ave. West Bend, WI