Tuesday, June 18, 2013  On November 11, 2012, Firefighter Mark Haudenschild II, 26, was killed when the water tanker he was driving overturned while he was  responding to a brush fire near Fort Wayne, Indiana. He left a wife and two young children. He was a volunteer with the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department serving his community.

Over the past several years, too many firefighters have been killed or injured in water tanker/ tender  rollovers while responding to emergencies.  National Tank Truck Carriers ( NTTC) has produced a new version of the Cargo Tank Rollover Prevention Video it developed with the U.S. Department of Transportation to help educate water tanker drivers on the special characteristics of tank truck vehicles and the actions they can take to avoid rollovers.

“While this DVD was originally developed for commercial tank truck drivers, the principles of tank truck vehicle dynamics, road challenges,  and   safe  dri... [ more ]

Tuesday, June 18, 2013  IT STARTED as a routine run, an ambulance ferrying a seriously injured man to the hospital after he was struck by a car.





But yesterday's trip quickly became extraordinary. The patient assaulted two paramedics, then jumped out and tried to steal a fire engine before police officers responding to the medics' call for help shot the patient with a stun gun to regain control, said Frank Keel, a spokesman for the firefighters' union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22.

It started just before 5:30 a.m., when a car hit a 40-year-old pedestrian on Roosevelt Boulevard near Berkley Street, seriously injuring him. Paramedics responded, but not long into the trip, the patient began attacking them, Keel said.

The injured man allegedly chased one medic out of the ambulance and down the street near 19th and Tioga, Keel said. He then threw a... [ more ]

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 

The Impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on Firefighters


Created: June 18, 2013

 

In many areas, the fire service culture, which is built largely on the values of bravery and pride, prevents its members from asking for help when needed.

The pressures of today’s world can lead to mental health issues in any individual. The death of a loved one, divorce and financial challenges are only some of the most obvious stressors that affect people’s coping mechanisms in today’s society.

Firefighters are a unique breed as they not only have to deal with the same issues as society in general, but also the fact that they are exposed to events that involve trauma, death and loss on a regular basis throughout their career. Being exposed to these events can have an effect on an individual over time and can compound significantly if they are not handled properly.
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Monday, June 17, 2013  Police in Calvert County report traffic in both directions of Route 2/4 at Sixes Road in Prince Frederick has been halted as a result of a serious motor vehicle accident. Shortly after 6 p.m. Lt. Steve Jones of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that one person is dead and at least one person has been flown to shock trauma as a result of the accident, which involved a vehicle from Calvert Advanced Life Support (CALS Company 10). Jones stated that a preliminary investigation has indicated the accident was not the fault of the driver from Company 10, who was injured and flown from the scene. According to Jones, an accident reconstruction will be conducted at the site.

The sheriff’s office reported the accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. Sixes Road eastbound from Grays Road is also shut down as a result of the accident.

Monday, June 17, 2013  For all, but especially so many directly impacted, this is one of the toughest weeks in the American Fire Service.
BOSTON: June 17, 1972
THE VENDOME HOTEL FIRE
170 Commonwealth Avenue, 4 alarms Box 1571, (Dartmouth & Newbury Streets)
Fire Lieutenant John E. Hanbury, 46 Ladder 13, Fire Lieutenant Thomas J. Carroll, 52, Engine 32, Firefighter Richard B. Magee, 39 Engine 33, Firefighter Joseph F. Boucher, 28 Engine 22
Firefighter Paul J. Murphy, 36 Engine 32, Firefighter John J. Jameson, 52 Engine 22, Firefighter Charles E. Dolan, 47 Ladder 13, Firefighter Joseph P. Saniuk, 47 Ladder 13 and Firefighter Thomas W. Beckwith, 35 Engine 32.
 
These nine members died in the Line of Duty when a rear portion of the Hotel Vendome, which was under renovation collapsed, without any warning. The fire was under control and firefighters were overhauling. Several other members were injured. It took over 10 hours to remove all... [ more ]

Sunday, June 16, 2013  Two firefighters, a beekeeper and (presumably) a lot of angry bees had a very bad day after some hives caught fire.

City News Service reports that firefighters were dispatched to the 8300 block of La Tuna Canyon Road at 10:42 a.m. today. They had the fire out within 37 minutes of their arrival, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles City Fire Department told CNS.

However, in putting out the fire, two firefighers were "repeatedly stung" and a male beekeeper suffered burns to his arm and face. He was taken to a hospital in "fair condition." It's not known if the firefighters also had to be hospitalized.

Somehow the hives, located in the foothills east of the San Fernando Valley, caught fire. A burning vehicle may have sparked the blaze, firefighters at the scene said. The fire burned one-half acre of brush before it was put out.

It's not known if a "smoker," a common apiary tool, sparked the fire. Per more ]

Saturday, June 15, 2013  GROUND GRADIENT

Ground Gradient is a term used to describe the electrical field established around the current’s point of entry into the ground from SSG’S, downed conductor, or other source (for example, backhoe boom or truck outriggers) into the earth.

1.  The electrical field created in these situations dissipates as the distance from the point of entry increases. The dissipation creates a difference in potential between any given two points in the electrical field. (See example illustration).

2.  The difference in potential decreases rapidly as the distance from the point of entry increases.

 

STEP POTENTIAL

Step potential describes the difference in potential that exists between two points in a ground gradient.

1.  The difference in potential between a person’s feet can cause current to flow through a person’s body.

2. ... [ more ]

Friday, June 14, 2013  A house in Mishawaka caught fire late Friday afternoon, and a high-ranking firefighter was involved in a car crash on his way to the blaze.

Around 5:40 p.m., crews got the 911 call of the working house fire in the 1000 block of Geyer Ave.

Police and fire officials were urging people to steer clear of the area.

WSBT has learned from the city’s fire department that the battalion chief was involved in a traffic accident at 12th and Capital but fortunately is okay.

Friday, June 14, 2013  A FIREFIGHTER has said that tackling a fatal blaze in Bray, Co Wicklow, was like working on a time bomb and that it looked as if a jumbo jet had crashed.

Brian Murray (46) and Mark O'Shaughnessy (26) died fighting the fire at a disused ink factory at Adelaide Villas in Bray on September 26, 2007.

Wicklow County Council, which runs the local fire service, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four charges relating to alleged criminal breaches under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 between September 1, 2005 and September 26, 2007.

Tony Horan, a firefighter with the Wicklow service, said he was in the first engine that went to the scene. He told Alex Owens, prosecuting: "It looked like a black wall. It looked like a 747 crashing.

"The smoke was almost like it was alive. It was going high, then going back to the ground.

"From the moment we got there, it was like working on a time bomb. People wer... [ more ]

Thursday, June 13, 2013  Tracie Dunavin knew someone was going to die.

Dunavin was driving home Tuesday night after watching her daughter's softball game in Lincoln.

A couple miles west of Eagle, she spotted a 2002 Ford Ranger pickup swerving across both lanes of U.S. 34.

The driver clearly was drunk, she said Wednesday.

“I've never been so certain in my life that an accident was going to happen. He was literally from one shoulder to the other, repeatedly.”

Dunavin first called 911 from near 192nd Street while keeping her distance from the eastbound pickup. She passed up her turn a mile later, determined to help deputies in their pursuit.

She followed the pickup for another 8 miles, as the driver sped up and slowed -- fluctuating between 50 and 70 mph -- and nearly ran head-on into at least three cars, Dunavin said.

Dunavin was on the phone with a dispatcher for 10 to 15 minutes before her worst fears were realized.
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Thursday, June 13, 2013  Three Lakeville firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the city’s second structure fire in a 24-hour period Tuesday night.

The firefighters were hurt when ceiling collapsed while they fought a blaze at 7910 166th St. W., says a Lakeville Fire Department media release. All three were treated at the scene.

The house fire, which was reported at 7:08 p.m. Tuesday, severely damaged the home, the media release states. The cause of the fire, which started in the garage, remains under investigation.

On Monday, Lakeville firefighters battled a house fire at 16798 Huntington Path. Click here to read about that fire.

Here is the text of the press re... [ more ]

Thursday, June 13, 2013 

June 13, 2013

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu firefighter sounds the alarm about psychological harassment

By Anne Leclair Global News

MONTREAL – A member of Montreal’s fire department committed suicide last fall, after enduring months of psychological harassment from a co-worker. The incident rocked the fire department’s reputation and the fire chief was forced to resign in February. Around the same time that Stéphane Archambault took his life, a woman by the name of Nathalie Michaud was going through her own ordeal with workplace bullying, at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Fire Department. The two incidents weren’t related, but Michaud sees many similarities.

“I really unfortunately understand what probably lead Mr. Archambault to do that,” said Michaud while holding b... [ more ]

Thursday, June 13, 2013  A Largo district fire chief was transported to the hospital Wednesday following a collision with another vehicle.

According to Pinellas EMS, the crew was responding to a 911 call heading westbound on Ulmerton Road.

As they approached the intersection of Ulmerton and 113th Street North, another vehicle t-boned the passenger side of the fire vehicle.

The district fire chief, a passenger, had to be extricated out of the vehicle and was transported to Bayfront Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The investigation into the accident is still under investigation.

The other driver was cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Thursday, June 13, 2013  Six fire company crews are on scene Thursday morning at an ammonia hydroxide spill HAZMAT incident in Montgomery Township that has closed Route 309 in both directions between Richardson Road and North Broad Street.

Ammonia hydroxide is considered a Class 8 Corrosive. Fire crews are ordering firefighters to be decontaminated prior to rehabilitating at the scene.

As of 1:30 a.m., the Department of Environmental Protection has been notified and will be in contact with Montgomery County HAZMAT.

A Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale ambulance has been called to the scene to check out one firefighter, per Montgomery County West radio. 

The firefighter is reported to be overheated and is cooling down and getting some fluids, per county radio.

Fire crews were in the process of making a larger dam to contain the chemical. A nearby drain has been blocked off.  

More fire personnel has been ... [ more ]