Monday, January 23, 2012  During the morning hours of January 21, the Reedsville Fire Company, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania was dispatched to assist with a chimney fire in Union Twp, Mifflin County, PA. Shortly after response of the engine, the company was dispatched for a motor vehicle accident in Brown Twp, Mifflin County. It was reported to be on Tea Creek Rd. The Rescue and Lt arrived to find a member of the company who was responding to the station for the earlier dispatched chimney fire had lost control of the vehicle on the snow covered roadway and was pulled off the roadway and struck a stone bank. Luckily, the firefighter was not injured, she did however total her vehicle. The firefighter was wearing her seat belt.
Be mindful of road conditions at all times. Always take the time to buckle your set belt.

Sunday, December 4, 2011  Our department was dispatched to a 1 car rollover with injuries on State Route 17 in the Westbound lane of travel (This is a 4 lane divided state highway). This accident was caused by an ice patch in the left passing lane. EMS units proceeded to the westbound side and conducted patient assessment. FD units arrived and remained on the eastbound side of the highway and worked over the guard rail. EMS personal requested several time to have the westbound passing lane closed due to the icing condiuton; this task was never accomplished. After operating for approx 10 to 15 minutes on scene; another vehicle hit the same patch of ice causing the 2nd vehicle to slide in to the initial vehicle. This cause personnel to dive out of the way; one FD member was struck in the arm and sustained minor injuries to her forearm. She was transported BLS the hospital. After the 2nd accident a safety zone was finally setup to protect personnel. While this zone was being established a New State Police Officer was almost struck for a second time.
Personnel safety must come first and foremost!!! Safe work zone must be established as soon as possible especially during hazardous road conditions. All agencies musts learn to work in unison to quickly protect personnel on roadways.

Thursday, November 10, 2011  A fire was reported in a diesel locomotive as it was passing through town. The train was stopped outside of town where easy access could be made. The cargo manifest was checked, the locomotive's emergency stop activated, and the main knife blade power breaker was shut off. The engineer confirmed all power was turned off and brakes were set. Two dry chem extinguishers were used but failed to extinguish the fire. Access was made via a top hatch and a hose line used to fully extinguish and cool the generator compartment. Afterwards, a railroad locomotive repairman arrived and asked if hte capacitors had been drained. No one on the train crew or the fire department knew about the capacitors

LESSONS LEARNED:
The capacitors carry enough voltage and amperage to kill any firefighter on a hose line. Ensure that if you have a railroad in your jurisdiction, officers have training on all the safety aspects of dealing with a locomotive fire.
 

Friday, November 4, 2011  Our engine crew was dispatched to a vehicle fire with flames showing from the engine compartment. It was confirmed that no one was inside the vehicle. Upon arrival we found a car that was fully involved. We pulled a line to about 50 feet from the car and not quite 45 degrees off of the front. As soon as we got the line flaked and called for water we heard two loud bangs. One was a tire blowing and one we later found was one of the hood struts. Shortly after we heard another loud bang and had a piece of the other hood strut shoot out and skip within 10 feet of us on the road. We then backed up and started our attack at more of an angle. In a short amount of time we had the fire under control.

LESSONS LEARNED:
-Keep your distance from car fires initially until you get it cooled down. -Approach the car at an angle so you arent in the path of any struts that might blow. -Dont get complacent with car fires, bad stuff can happen.
 

Sunday, October 30, 2011  The engine from Kittrell Fire Department was on its way to a PR event when the engine dropped off the road causing the driver to lose control. The engine then crossed the road going into another ditch where it rolled over on the drivers side. All occupants of the engine were wearing there seatbelts and there were no injuries.
Lessons :Always properly wear your seatbelt. Use caution on small rural roads that are not designed to carry the weight of fire appararatus. Travel at slower speeds on narrow roads.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011  While pulling a newer fire engine around to the back of the station in order to drive into the app bay, I nearly struck the right rear door on the building. I am an acting driver and have driven infrequently for about two years. The engine is new to the depertment and to me. It is larger and has a worse turning ratio than previous enginge's I had driven. There were other cars parked in the already cramped back lot and workout equipment in the app bay. I allowed myself to enter the bay at a poor angle and was slowly pulling forward watching my front left corner pull closer to the workout equipment when I lost track of the rear right corner coming close to the building. Luckily another member saw this and stopped me, then helped me back up and pull in without incident.
Watch your corners always while driving and if in doubt, stop and try again.
 

Thursday, October 6, 2011  - An emergency response volunteer was critically injured Monday night while directing traffic at the intersection of U.S. 127 and state Route 274 near Carthagena.
Marvin D. Collins, 56, of Fort Recovery, was one of several members of the Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers (MCSERV) group called to assist as Mercer County Sheriff's deputies investigated an earlier accident at the intersection of U.S. 127 and Clover Four Road.
Collins and James E. Kittle, 64, of Celina, had set up traffic control at the Carthagena intersection with amber roof lights on their pickup trucks issuing warnings to approaching motorists. Orange reflective traffic cones were in place and the men wore reflective vests and had flashlights with red cones for added visibility.
Just before 8 p.m., Collins returned to his pickup truck to retrieve equipment when a northbound 2001 Saturn driven by Kameron J. McCarty, 21, at large, failed to slow or to yield to the traffic control detail, according to sheriff's office reports.
McCarty reportedly drove over a reflective traffic cone and struck the front end of Collins' pickup truck, pushing it into Kittle's pickup truck that was parked just behind the other truck.
Collins was struck by the vehicles.
"From the investigation thus far, we know Marvin had walked back to his truck and had the door open when the crash occurred," Sheriff Jeff Grey said this morning.
Collins was rushed by ambulance to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater and later transferred by emergency helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Kittle escaped injury as did McCarty and his passenger, 20-year-old Ashley N. Farmer of Celina.
McCarty refused to consent to blood or urine tests so a search warrant was obtained with the assistance of the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. He remains incarcerated at the Mercer County Detention Facility pending the filing of formal charges later today.
Farmer also was taken into custody on an outstanding theft warrant from the Celina Police Department. A syringe was located during the investigation and she faces charges related to the possession of drug paraphernalia.
The pair are expected to appear in Celina Municipal Court later today following the filing of charges.
Firefighters from St. Henry, Coldwater and Chickasaw also responded to the scene.
Deputies continue to investigate the initial accident which involved a forklift and the trailer upon which it was being carried. No details regarding that crash were available by press time today.
Chief deputy Gery Thobe said Collins and Kittle were diverting traffic south of the crash site while additional MCSERV members handled similar duties north of the crash scene at the intersection of U.S. 127 and state Route 219.
"Last night's crash is a tragedy," Grey said. "Our prayers are with the Collins family at this time."
 

Thursday, September 22, 2011  HX: The City of Bend, Oregon is the seventh largest city in the state of Oregon. Bend Fire and Rescue is a full-service Fire/EMS transporting agency serving over 100,000 population answering 8,000 calls for service in 2010. The department is staffed daily with 16 fire-medics; a total of 66 paid professionals on the line work a 48/96 schedule.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
 We had responded out of 304 in the medic for a report of a sick female with abnormal breathing. The call came in at 0524. Dispatch reported that the patient would meet us at the power substation on Hwy. 20 E. I had no idea if the patient would be in a vehicle or was on foot.
We traveled Hamby Road to Hwy. 20. At the stop sign I looked east and found no traffic as far as I could see. I think you can see at least a mile if not farther to the east. I looked to the west and saw no traffic as far as I could see. I think you can see 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to the west. This was at 0530 on a Sunday morning, so I was not surprised to not see any traffic. I was driving and proceeded east bound on Hwy 20, code 1. Less than half a mile from Hamby Rd, before the power substation, we saw a person lying in the gravel on the north or west bound side of the Highway not moving. I proceeded just past the patient’s location and pulled slightly to the right to allow enough room to turn the medic unit around and position it east of the patient in the west bound lane. As I began turning across the Highway I noticed something in my mirror and then immediately out my side window. I slammed the brakes on and was astonished at what I saw. It was a huge semi-tractor! He did not have a trailer in tow, just the tractor. He made an evasive maneuver to the left, braked, and came to a stop in the bike lane on the north side of the highway. Two of us seated in the front stated, "Where the hell did he come from!?!" I immediately realized that I did not have my emergency lights on, so I turned them on. The truck driver simply backed up a little and took off east bound. I never saw his face and he made no attempt to make contact or communicate. We proceeded to the patient, took appropriate action and transported.
It was obvious to me what mistakes had been made. 1. On finding a patient I should have immediately turned on the emergency lights (we would be working on or near a major roadway). 2. By pulling even slightly to the right (to allow enough room to turn around) I would be giving other drivers on the roadway the impression that I was simply pulling over on the shoulder, even though I had my left turn signal on. 3. And, the biggest mistake....you already know what it is.....I should have stopped and checked my mirrors before I ASSUMED the roadway was clear.
I thought after the fact that the truck driver must have been traveling at a high rate of speed in order to close that distance and for us to not see him or his very large vehicle or headlights at the Hamby/20 intersection. Well after the incident I remembered seeing this same semi-tractor (big and yellow) traveling the same section of roadway some days prior when I was off-duty and he left me in the dust heading east from 27th street.
Perhaps we have down played the importance of emergency lights, "travel code one whenever possible,” even if it's a Charlie or Delta call. I don't know. I think it was an appropriate response level given the time of day, day of week and distance from the station. Did complacency play a role? Maybe, I know a really big-ass assumption sure did. How about tunnel vision? Yep! We were looking for a patient at the power substation not well west of there, and I was a little surprised to see what appeared to be an unresponsive patient lying next to the roadway. My thought was to get the apparatus in a position to protect this patient from possible west- bound traffic. I never even thought that any east bound traffic could have possibly been upon us in such a short amount of time.
This was an absolute near miss and drives home the importance of always expecting the unexpected! Never deviate from the standard safety practices we have been taught since we began our driving careers. Always use ALL warning devices on our apparatus when approaching an incident or preparing to turn, stop or stage apparatus on a roadway for an incident. Drive with a purpose to broadcast to others your intentions on the roadway. And last, expect the unexpected!
 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011   A Fire Department based ambulance is nearly struck by a fast moving semi-tractor when attempting a U-turn to attend to a victim lying within close proximity of a major highway.

Many lessons learned:

1. Always utilize "emergency" overhaed lights when on-scene of an incident on-or-very near to a roadway

2. Always look--multiple times--to assure the U-turn will be done safely

3. Avoid U-turns on public roadways when possible

4. And, this is one of the most dangerous moves anyone can make on a roadway, don't take it lightly!
 

Thursday, September 1, 2011  While returning to the station from a call for service related to Hurricane Irene our command vehicle was hit by a falling tree. Both members in the vehicle were transported to the local emergency medical department, evaluted and released.
Our organization has a practice of suspending or altering resposnes during high wind environments. Our practice of suspending or altering response takes affect as soon as sustained winds reach 35 mph. Due to several hours of rain that preceeded the higher winds of the hurricane we started experiencing down trees prior to the 35 mph wind threshold.

Lessons learned...make sure policies are in place to identify conditions that warrant altering levels of resposne based on adverse conditions.
 

Sunday, August 14, 2011  On Monday the 8th of august, Ladder 1 was dispatched for a car fire on Independence Blvd at the Charlotte Ave interchange. Crew arrived to find a early 90's Ford F250 with heavy involvement in the engine compartment with moderate involvement in the cab. The Truck was attached to a 18 foot landscape trailer with mowers and gas cans on board. A 1-3/4 handline was stretched at the same time another was stretched for the exposure on the trailers. A quick check of the cab was made to ensure no one was inside. While the engine compartment was being suppressed the second line was used to cool the mowers and landscape trailer. Upon extinguishment of the fire crews began to overhaul the vehicle for hot spots. It was at this time that the crew found what appeared to be a 75 to 100 gallon propane tank under a work tool box in the bed. The tank had been rusted and matched the bed at first glance. The fire had gutted the interior of the cab and was only six inches from this tank. It was later determined that the truck was gasoline powered at one time but was converted to propane. Also a picture was taken of the tank if it assists with the description of the story
Along with checking for victims in a car fire, a thorough check on the vehicle should be made to ensure safety of the suppression crew at all times.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011  On July 22, 2011. My FD responded mutual aid to a neighboring department with a pumper and a ladder for a reported apartment fire. While en route, the ladder trucks left front tire disintegrated at about 50 mph. Because of the drivers training and experience, he was able to safely bring the truck to a stop on the opposite side of road after some serious "man handling" of the steering wheel.

LESSONS LEARNED
Because of the drivers training and experience, he knew not to try and over correct it which may have resulted in the 23+ ton ladder truck flipping on its side. Our FD strongly enforces seatbelt use which resulted in no injuries to any of our members.