Hey…
3 members of the Baltimore City FD were injured this morning when a 2nd floor partially collapsed at a fire. Firefighters from T18/12 fell to the basement and during their rescue, 2 other FF’s were injured in the process. At this time 2 of the members are released with burns and minor injuries and the 3rd member is at Shock Trauma with 2nd degree burns and was stable and doing well this morning. Command officers in Baltimore City acknowledged the extreme heroic efforts of their members in the rescue of their own. We wish the injured members a rapid recovery.
==CAN YOU HELP? : NY FIREFIGHTERS INJURED IN COLLAPSE UPDATE:
A Firefighter who had a wall fall on him a week ago today in Friendship (NY) remains in serious condition. FF Thomas Torpey, 29 has improved to serious condition from the fire and wall collapse. 3 FF’s were released and still have out-patient treatment. Fire Lieut Jason Butts of the Cuba FD, has a Web site ( www.cfdsmokeeaters.com ) and he is updating the condition of FF Torpey and the others.
CAN YOU OR YOUR FD HELP?
FF Torpeys Doc said he would like as many cards as possible to be sent to boost his spirits. Get well cards can be sent to:
Firefighter Thomas Torpey
Friendship FD
P.O. Box 503
Friendship, N.Y., 14739.
==TODAY’S WTF?!
"…..We have MORE Firefighters than we need"…"The number of firefighters per truck does not correlate with either public or firefighter safety…."
More short sighted city hall dwellers with pre-determined final conclusions. ‘Course it depends on what you DO need-and if it is "your" fire or not. Major cases of NTS….and then there will be a fire…and then…well, you know what happens after that.
This time it is (again) in Massachusetts where the City of Brookline’s "Efficiency Initiative Committee" (the name of that committee alone forces us to call EAP and make an appointment) may recommend that the BFD trim 20 to 36 firefighters, while leaving the cops unscathed. "We have more firefighters than we need," member Sandy Batchelder said at a recent meeting of its public safety subcommittee. "It’s up to the fire chief to decide what to do." Six members of the subcommittee determined that the smaller reduction, which would mean cutting a company, could be done in the short term – saving the town $1.4 million in next fiscal year’s budget. But while deferring to Chief Peter Skerry, they cited extensive research by member Peg Senturia that the number of firefighters per truck does not correlate with either public or firefighter safety.
Brookline staffs with 4 Firefighters on the apparatus while many surrounding communities do it with 3 or less. Look, those with 3 (or less) DO NOT operate as efficiently or safely as those with 4. It’s simple math based upon the required tasks for any given fire. Now, if they want to cut their staffing and accept the fact that their companies and operational response times will suffer, that’s different. At least it would be honest thinking. But then again, it’s an "Efficiency Initiative Committee" in city hall. What did anyone expect to come out of that committee. To get an idea about how BFD’s Local 950 feels, check http://www.brooklinefirefighters.org/index.cfm
Beware of an "Efficiency Initiative Committee" coming to a City Hall near you. Better yet…be pro-active, FORM ONE…but one where open minds and a true interested understanding of what a fire can do exists. Start with the "sprinkler" discussion and then follow it with the…"just in case it is not sprinklered" discussion"…..
==A MOTHERS PLEA AFTER LOSING HER OWN CHILDREN IN A FIRE:
While we try to remains focused about what we do on the FFCC website and what we send out on The Secret List to normally be focused on FF safety and survival, sometimes we will take an opportunity to pass other fire info on to you. This would be one of those cases.
A few years ago I became friends with Commissioner Lloyd Ayers in Philadelphia. If you pickup anything about him, it is his concern for the incredible amount of fire deaths in his city. He and his Firefighters have their hands full if you understand the socio-economic fire problem in that city. It is really bad. And it was bad again this weekend. One of the first "heads up" we got on this was from Dave Statter/911 early Saturday morning. Dave and I go way back a few decades as friends and his support of helping get fire and EMS information out there is top shelf.
In this latest Philly fire, the mother of 3 little kids killed in a Philadelphia house fire held up their morgue photos at a packed church and pleaded with the hundreds in attendance to outfit their homes with smoke detectors to prevent such tragedies. 6 people were found huddled together at one end of the room; a seventh was found near the basement’s only exit to the outside. Investigators said the interior basement stairs had been removed. There were no smoke alarms in the house. Here is a local link to the tragic fire:
Here is a link to Dave’s information:
Take care-BE CAREFUL.
BillyG
The Secret List 12-29-08 / 1535 hours
