Back to school- did you feel it?

Hello everyone,

Well the first week of classes is over and we are celebrating with a holiday weekend. Nothing like easing into the new semester!

Did you feel the any of the earthquakes this week? I was in my office on campus Wednesday and felt the 4.1 that occurred in Yorba Linda. I was talking with a student when we heard a bit of a bang, the walls and ceiling shook and then we experienced some slight rolling. Of course everyone wanted to continue just going about their business. In fact some classrooms didn’t even evacuate! 

 

I was at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg MD last May, which is also home to FEMA. While I was there we were evacuated into the basement due to a Tornado Warning. The second Tornado warning, an hour or so later, we stayed above ground, away from the windows (but close enough to look out). The third time, about 7 pm that evening, we moved our beer from the glass walled “garden room” into the masonry pool hall. The fourth time, 11 pm, - we had moved back into the bar- we decided to stay where we were and watch the FEMA Trailers through the glass walls, agreeing that if they flew away we would move. And these were some of the highest trained emergency responders in the country, as well as your humble professor. Embarrassing but true.  Actually I kept my eye on both the FEMA trailers for lift-off and the graveyard next door for…movement. There was lots of lightning and would have been a perfect setting for some zombie action. Just saying. Risks.

 

We had two cohorts that took shelter for each alarm. They told us they had seen to many victims who said “If only….”, and they didn’t want to be in that position.

The attitude “it won’t happen to me” is persistent in our culture. We are very good at giving up responsibility for our own safety and taking risks based upon false assumptions, “Chimpanzees make awesome pets.”;  “Google Navigator doesn’t make mistakes.” “Physics does not apply to fire apparatus or school busses” ”Safety restraints on amusement rides are designed to hold everyone.” “Cats like babies.”   

I was on an airport shuttle when two women, both Professors from a college in Oklahoma entered the van and settled in. One of the ladies turned to the other and said “Mary, be sure to buckle your seatbelt”

“Um, ok, why?”  I kid you not, that was Mary’s response. 

I expected her answer to be “the laws of physics are different in California”, which would have made sense. I would have accepted “because your ricocheting body, in the event of a bad thing, would hurt me- and that odd woman with the dropped jaw sitting behind us and eavesdropping on our conversation.” It was neither.

“Because they have very strict seat belt laws here.”  was her reply.  (“And excellent brain surgeons” was what I thought in my head, because I am quietly sarcastic like that.)

Anyway, my point is that we interpret risk is a little bit warped.  Which is more dangerous- Swimming Poos or Guns? Drunk driving or drunk walking?

 

 

The book (and movie) Freakanomics does a good job of illustrating this. (Let me know if you want to read the book or watch the movie for extra credit

Why do you think that is?

The first week of school is always busy and this semester is no exception.

Class enrollment is down, believe it or not. That means smaller class sizes for you. The college has also added new class sections, full semester and 8-week classes, that do not appear on the printed schedule. If you or someone you know need more units take a look online. 

I have heard that the first Physical Ability Test in September has a lot of openings. This is a really good opportunity to a) get it done if you are finishing your core classes or b) give it a try to find out where you are currently performing at.

There are also still openings in FAC 008B the Physical Ability preparation class. It is an 8 week class that meets 2 hrs each week (Wed night or Friday morning) at the Central Net Training Ground (behind the HBFD station on Gothard between Talbert & Ellis). It is only .3 units, so it is cheap. Get added Tuesday (call the fire tech office) and you can work out Wednesday!

If you are currently volunteering your time, as an explorer, CERT member, or – whatever- get with our Service Learning Program and receive recognition for you work. Participants receive a Presidential Certificate for 100 hours of community service.

The Fire Tech Club will be meeting in room W101 on Tues, Sept 4 at 3:00 pm. We will be registering members, selecting future meeting times and dates, nominating leadership roles, discussing the club constitution and selecting projects and goals for the semester.

Leadership roles that need to be filled include President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicist; Interclub Council Representative; Interclub Council Representative Alternate; Project managers. Projects already under consideration include the Hero’s to the Top stair climb, Zombie Run, Small group EMT tutoring, Small Group Cross Fit Training, “Mini-Biddle” relay, movie night, resume workshop, mock oral board.

We will also have club T-Shirts & shorts ($15 each) as well as wristbands ($2) for sale.

 If you can’t make the meeting you can sign up in the Fire Tech Office. Members need to have a current Student Services sticker ($5).

I will be using this blog to share with you my thoughts and observations as we move through the semester. At least once a week, a new post will be added. These posts will include a look at what has been happening at Santa Ana College, opportunities and “breaking news”, current events, real stories, as well as your questions and comments answered.  

You can also find me at www.twitter.com/fireprevgeek and www.facebook.com/firepreventiongeek.

I am dedicated to helping you, our Fire Tech students, to understand more about what we do… and when I can, helping your experience at Santa Ana College be as rewarding as possible.

I hope you enjoy it.     

Cheers

 

Truck Ops Electrocution Close Call Video

Vintage footage of a truck company operations involving power lines.  Graphic Content.

EMT struck & killed during response

April roars in like a lion - showers, snow, winds - SignOnSanDiego.com

SAN DIEGO — A Pacific storm moved through the county Thursday morning and brought along with it chilly temperatures, high winds, snow and heavy showers that made for a treacherous drive on the freeways.

Dozens of accidents were reported throughout the morning, including one that killed an emergency medical technician who was responding to a crash.

Esteban Behana, 24, had arrived at a collision on state Route 163 just north of Washington Street about 7 a.m. and was putting out flares when he was hit, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

Click the link for full story.

Illegal NYC apartment walls create firetraps - Life- msnbc.com

Illegal NYC apartment walls create firetraps - Life- msnbc.com

NEW YORK - The firefighters were trapped in what amounted to a burning maze: a Bronx apartment illegally divided into extra rooms for the sake of making a buck in this cramped city.

With flames licking at their bodies and black smoke making it nearly impossible to see, the men had little choice but to jump from a fourth-floor window. Two were killed and four others were hurt in the January 2005 fire.

"Next thing you know, that I remember, is hitting the ground 40 feet below," firefighter Jeffrey Cool testified recently in court. "I was in a world of hurt. I was in the worst pain I've ever found myself in."

The former owner of the building, the current owner and two tenants are being tried on manslaughter and other charges, accused of allowing illegal construction that prosecutors say turned the building into a deathtrap.

The case highlights the persistent fire hazard of using temporary walls for illegal apartment conversions — a common problem in a city where rents are high and space is always in demand.

Across the city, such makeshift warrens can be found in neighborhoods popular with college students, recent graduates on their first jobs and immigrants. A lock is often slapped on the extra rooms so they can be rented for extra money.

"Owners complain to me, every door of every bedroom has a padlock on it," said Frank Ricci of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 property owners in the city. "It's tremendously difficult for them to gain access to their apartments."

Permit required for walls
To build such walls, a permit is needed from the city's Department of Buildings. If any electrical wiring is installed, an electrical permit is also needed. And the agency recommends working with an architect.

"Illegal walls can put tenants and first responders' lives in danger. Owners and tenants must obtain a permit to safely install a wall," said agency spokeswoman Kate Lindquist, whose department gets thousands of complaints annually related to illegal conversions.

Apartment owners often plead ignorance, saying they have little control over tenants because they rarely see what goes on within the apartments. But renters say owners are just as guilty.

In one example, tenants at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, a massive rent-regulated complex in Manhattan, complained to city fire and buildings officials about owner Tishman Speyer Properties advertising "convertible" apartments.

The firm purchased the complex in 2006 for a record $5.4 billion, setting off fears among tenants and some public officials that it was hoping to make a profit by seeking to charge market rates for the rent-stabilized apartments.

Jim Roth of the tenants association said he remembered the deadly fire in the Bronx when the association filed the complaint. "I thought, can they do this? The answer was no, not without a permit," he said.

City officials told the company it couldn't advertise apartments with the suggestion that it was OK to add so-called pressurized walls, and that permits were needed for any changes. Since then, Tishman Speyer has obtained permits, and it declined to comment further.

In the last six weeks of the year, the city vacated at least four buildings in Chinatown because of building and fire safety violations, mostly because the floors were divided into single-room units that had blocked sprinklers and exits and little or no ventilation.

As a result, many of the tenants, mostly immigrants from China, were displaced, though some were relocated by the city. Both owners and tenants are pointing fingers, each claiming the other was responsible for the illegal construction.

Clck the link above for the rest of the story

Demonstration mishap

Firefighter Training Mishap - The best home videos are here
Another demonstration gone bad....

Firefighter Killed, One Injured In Explosion Near LAX - KNBC-TV- msnbc.com

Firefighter Killed, One Injured In Explosion Near LAX - KNBC-TV- msnbc.com:

LOS ANGELES - Authorities said one firefighter was killed and another remained hospitalized Wednesday evening in critical condition after an explosion at a building near LAX.

Fire officials said the firefighters were transported to the hospital in critical condition. Fire officials announced at an afternoon news conference that one firefighter died. The firefighter, a 10-year veteran of the department, was not identified.

Officials said the second firefighter was in critical but stable condition. A bystander was treated and released, according to fire officials.

The explosion happened at the southwest corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and La Tijera Boulevard, at 8800 Sepulveda Boulevard.

Authorities said the blast appeared to be "electrical in nature." Deputy Chief Mario Rueda of the city fire department said the explosion was in an electrical vault.

Firefighters were called to the location to investigate dislodged manhole covers. During the investigation, firefighters said they noticed smoke coming from a room near the back of a building and several explosions occurred in the room, according to fire officials.

Video from news helicopters showed damage to a credit union for Department of Water and Power employees. At the Wednesday afternoon news conference, fire officials said a room at the back of the building where the blast occurred housed an electrical panel.

Fire officials said there was no indication on the outside of the door to indicate it contained electrical equipment.

Sepulveda Boulevard was closed during the investigation.

Click here to read the SOG Response to Power Lines/Energized Electrical Equipment for the Johnston City Fire Dept.

Click here for information about electrical vaults.

Durango Blaze Recap/Video Shows Firefighters in Explosion

The explosion was caught on tape. It happens at about :59 into to the video. It keeps running and they show them loading 2 of the firefighters into ambulances.

... fire and explosion ripped through the historic district of downtown Durango on Friday afternoon, injuring as many as seven firefighters who were on the roof of the building when it exploded.

Dave Abercrombie, spokesman for the Durango Fire and Rescue District, said the firefighters were standing on top of the Le Rendezvous Restaurant when it blew up about an hour after firefighters arrived.

David Bruzzese, spokesman for the Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, said seven fire and rescue personnel were brought to the hospital.

He said six were in good condition and one was in fair condition. Bruzzese said the hospital planned to admit three.

He declined to say what types of injuries the seven received.

The fire was reported about 1:39 p.m., and three buildings were ablaze when the firefighters arrived two minutes later, Abercrombie said.

In flames were the Seasons Restaurant, Le Rendezvous Restaurant and Half-Price Tees, a shop that sells T-shirts, said Abercrombie.

"We had a crew on the roof of Le Rendezvous - between six and seven firemen - when it exploded," Abercrombie said.

For the rest of the story click on the link above.

Agency Sued Over Death of Firefighter at Tower

Agency Sued Over Death of Firefighter at Tower - New York Times

The sister of one of the two firefighters killed in August fighting a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building sued the government agency that owns the building and several contractors on Wednesday, charging they knowingly created dangerous conditions that led to her brother’s death.

Firefighter Robert Beddia, who died in an August fire.
The sister, Barbara Beddia Crocco, contends in the suit that her brother, Robert Beddia, 53, died because of conditions caused during the dismantling of the building, including piles of combustible debris, dismantled fire connections, compromised stairwell walls and barricaded exits.

But in a striking omission, Ms. Crocco did not sue New York City or the city’s Fire Department, even though city officials relieved three senior fire officers of their posts about 10 days after the Aug. 18 fire. Aryeh Portnoy, a lawyer for Ms. Crocco, said his client had not ruled out suing the Fire Department, “at the right time.”

The suit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages. Mr. Beddia and a second firefighter, Joseph Graffagnino, 33, died when a broken standpipe in the basement could not deliver water to the fire, which fire marshals said was probably started by a cigarette. At a news conference in August, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said three senior fire officials had been stripped of their command during an investigation into the fatal fire.

The mayor said the local firehouse had failed to conduct any required inspections of the building, which was on the edge of ground zero, since 2006.

California Captain Pinned Between Fire Trucks

California Captain Pinned Between Fire Trucks - Firehouse.com News

A Marin County fire captain was in critical condition Monday after a fire engine struck him and wedged him against another fire truck, officials said.

Rubin Martin, 37, of Windsor was airlifted from the Throckmorton Ridge fire station, where the mishap occurred, to the trauma center at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, firefighters said. Martin suffered a broken leg and a "massive blood loss," according to fire broadcasts.

"It sounded like he was in pretty bad shape, losing blood internally," said Deputy Chief Rich Lopez.

The incident occurred at 3:20 p.m. as the Throckmorton crew was returning from a call. Martin, a longtime county firefighter, got out of the truck to help guide a colleague who was backing the fire engine into the garage, said acting Sgt. Bryan Yops of the California Highway Patrol.

When Martin moved from the left side of the rear bumper to the right side, he got pinched between the moving fire engine and a stationary one, Yops said. The firefighter who was driving the truck, 35-year-old Todd Lando of San Anselmo, heard Martin yell and quickly moved the truck forward.

"(Martin) temporarily lost consciousness and lost quite a bit of blood," Yops said.

The fire truck was backing up at less than 5 mph, he said.

A medical helicopter landed at the fire station and flew Martin to John Muir. He was in critical condition Monday night and was admitted to the hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

The incident will be investigated by the California Highway Patrol and Cal/OSHA, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

"We don't know whose fault it is at this point," Yops said.

Backdraft.

Pretty incredible backdraft.

Fire service 'could face charges'

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Coventry/Warwickshire | Fire service 'could face charges'
A fire service could be charged with corporate manslaughter over the deaths of four firefighters, police have said.

Ashley Stephens, 20, John Averis, 27, and Darren Yates-Badley, 24, were found dead in the gutted remains of a warehouse in Warwickshire.

Ian Reid, 44, died in hospital following the fire on 2 November.

Police said Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service could face charges and they were "ruling nothing out". The fire service has not commented.

Officers have spent the last four weeks searching the shell of the Atherstone-on-Stour warehouse and are treating the blaze as suspicious.

Cause unknown

At a news conference held on Wednesday morning, Warwickshire Police said a "meticulous" search of the site had not provided clues to the cause of the fire so far.

Asked whether the fire service would face charges, Det Supt Ken Lawrence said: "It is possible. We are exploring every single possibility and ruling nothing out."

He added: "I still don't know what started it. I am erring on the side of caution, treating it as if it was arson, but clearly I would add that I am open-minded about that."

A fire service spokesman told the BBC it "would be inappropriate" to comment while the investigation was ongoing.

Mr Lawrence said initial reports that migrant workers had been sleeping in the warehouse on the night of the blaze were untrue, although it might have happened on previous occasions.

He added that the search of the site could take at least until the end of January.

Police officers are still interviewing warehouse workers and have drawn up a list of 400 people who were on the site in the days running up to the fire, on 2 November.

Ch Supt Paul Mason Brown, in charge of operations at the scene, said the building was still unstable and the safety of those working there was a priority.

He added that an air raid-style siren was being used to warn people of any movement in the warehouse.

Floral tributes have been laid in front of the site.

Last Moments of FDNY Firefighters Revealed -

Last Moments of FDNY Firefighters Revealed - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty

NEW YORK-- "Mayday, mayday, mayday! . . . Engine 75, 15 feet in, running out of air."

Veteran FDNY Lt. Howard Carpluk spent his last conscious moments pleading for air and desperately trying to communicate his position after being buried in a floor collapse, says an FDNY report on the tragic Aug. 27, 2006, Bronx blaze that also killed rookie firefighter Michael Reilly.

"You see where the line went in? There's a hole for me to get air - we need a mask toward the back," Carpluk told searchers minutes after his initial "mayday."

A mere four minutes later, he gasped: "Mask. Get it back here. I'm out of air . . Keep coming straight back here, we only need a mask. There's a void for me, come here, you'll see it. All I need is air, bro."

Carpluk, Reilly and eight other firefighters tumbled into a trash-filled abyss while fighting a blaze in a 99-cent store.

According to transcripts of FDNY handie-talkie recordings made at the scene and included in the report, which was obtained by The Post, Reilly was never heard from after the collapse.

But Carpluk, 43, almost immediately began calling for help, calmly and heroically communicating at least a dozen distress calls from 1:01 p.m. until he was found at 1:26 p.m.

Amid the chaotic radio chatter, some of Carpluk's mayday calls went unheard.

"All handie-talkie traffic cease," a Division 6 commander barked in frustration at one point. "Unit with the mayday, go ahead."

Carpluk responded with directions, trying to lead frantically digging firefighters through the harrowing maze.

"75 to Alpha . . . you have to go further back. Mayday, further back," he said.

Later, as his 40 minutes of oxygen ran out, he pleaded with the firefighters that he could hear rummaging around him.

"Come on, see the guy with the line. Forget the water, give me the mask first and turn around and hit it. You go down the left side, 75 mayday, go down the left side. You'll see me sticking out my hand."

Carpluk finally grabbed the leg of a firefighter crawling past him - and got his air mask.

"Save my probie," he urged. "He's underneath me."

The fallen firefighters were hidden beneath a massive air-conditioning unit.

The motion sensors on their bunker gear - designed to beep and flash when a firefighter has not moved in 30 seconds - failed to alert rescuers to their location, the report revealed.

One by one, eight other entombed firefighters were freed.

But Carpluk and Reilly, trapped face down, bent forward from the waist and partially wedged under a splintered girder, were all but unreachable.

By the time Carpluk was freed at 2:15 p.m., he was in cardiac arrest. He died the following day from asphyxia and head trauma.

Reilly, buried for one hour and 40 minutes, died at the scene of asphyxiation due to "compression of the chest," the FDNY said.

The Bronx DA's investigation into the deaths continues. The FDNY report concluded that the engineer hired by building owners in 2000 to repair prior fire damage had illegally removed some support beams from the basement and failed to notice the remaining ones were significantly weakened by decay and termites. The city allowed the engineer to self-certify his work.

Click the link above for more information about this incident.

Burned San Diego Firefighter Describes Cheating Death - Firehouse.com Wildland Firefighting

Burned San Diego Firefighter Describes Cheating Death - Firehouse.com Wildland Firefighting

A female firefighter critically burned in the Harris fire returns home and recounts the moments when she thought she would die.

Brooke Linman was cared for at the UCSD Burn Center for three and a half weeks before going home -- at one point she was put into a medically induced coma. This week, she went home to her family and daughter in Mira Mesa, though, and she celebrated a birthday.

"When I came home, I told her, 'I know Mom looks a little funny,' " Linman told NBC 7/39. "She said, 'You look perfect to me.' "

Linman's ear is still healing, as is a burn on her face, which, with the help of donor skin, will grow back. Doctors say her badly burned lungs are now 100 percent.

"I'm a work in progress, but I'm healing," said Linman. "I'm better off than I was three weeks ago -- that's for sure."

Linman and her crew were trying to protect a home in the remote East County community of Potrero when they found themselves in trouble. The crew and 15-year-old Richard Varshock took refuge in a fire truck when the windows exploded.

"There was a moment when I thought, 'I cannot believe I'm going to die in this engine right now,' and then something else clicked in: 'You're not. You're getting out of this engine now,' " Linman said.

Linman got out of the truck and soon was trying to put the fire out on her face and get under her emergency shelter. Then she heard Varshock scream.

"We got into my shelter, and I just wanted to calm him down," Linman told NBC 7/39. "He was severely burned. He kept asking me if we were going to die. I said, 'No, were not going to die.' "

At that point, Linman said, she focused on what she has wanted to do since the age of 7 and dressed up as a firefighter: help others.

As she celebrated her 33rd birthday on Tuesday, she was thankful to all those who have helped her.

"I have a new appreciation -- not just for life but for the people in it," Linman said at the party.

She told the well-wishers at the party that she was thankful to be alive.

"Yeah, this was a birthday that almost didn't happen," she said. "It was a special one. It's going to be a good year."

Like most heroes, Linman said she is not a hero, even when pressed about how remarkable she was saving Varshock. She said she was just doing her job. Linman also said that the real heroes are the people at the burn unit who she said never left her side.

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review-Under the influence?

Boston mayor demands fire dept. review - Yahoo! News
BOSTON - When firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne died in a fast-moving restaurant fire in August, they were hailed as heroes — the first Boston firefighters to die in the line of duty since 1999.

But leaked autopsy results that reportedly showed the two may have been impaired have led Mayor Thomas Menino to demand a review of the fire department and prompted calls for more random drug testing of firefighters.

The reports said Cahill had registered a blood alcohol level of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit in Massachusetts, and Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.

Cahill, 55, and Payne, 53, died battling a blaze in a one-story Chinese restaurant in the city's West Roxbury neighborhood.

Click the link above to read the entire story.

Firefighters Hurt in California Crash

Firefighters Hurt in California Crash - Firehouse.com Wildland Firefighting
Thankfully they were all wearing their seat belts!! Here is hoping for a speedy recovery for all of the members involved! Click on the map above to link to a podcast, slideshow and video of the rescue.

BIG BEAR LAKE - A U.S. Forest Service truck plunged off Highway 18 on Monday morning, tumbling nearly 300 feet down a mountainside before splitting in two. Eight firefighters were injured.

The California Highway Patrol is still trying to figure out what caused the 9:50 a.m. accident. They have ruled out speeding and mechanical failure.

The driver lost control of the white crew transport as it rounded a corner near the Arctic Circle, close to Big Bear Dam. The vehicle bounced off the guardrail, causing the driver to stomp on the brakes.

More than 50 feet of wide black skid marks darted off the asphalt where the rig plowed through the rail, rolled onto its side and careened over the hillside.

The impact ripped off the hood, which came to rest on a small ridge just below the highway. The cab split from the chassis as it came down the mountain, stopping upright against a tree.

"It's not fatal, and that's what we're thankful for," said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for San Bernardino County Fire Department. "They're extremely lucky and very blessed they didn't receive major, major injuries."

Two firefighters initially listed in serious condition were flown to Loma Linda University and Arrowhead Regional medical centers.

One, who dislocated his shoulder, was sent home late Monday. The other, who suffered a dislocated pelvis, was expected to spend the night in the hospital.

Six firefighters, including the driver, received minor injuries and were taken to Bear Valley Community Hospital. They were trying to help the CHP piece together what happened.

The Heaps Peak crew, firefighters who rappel from a helicopter, was driving east on the 18 for their morning briefing when the vehicle went off the road, said Forest Service spokesman John Miller.

OSHA Cites Fire Department: Three Serious Violations

ABC News 4 Charleston - OSHA Cites Fire Department: Three Serious Violations

State officials have handed the Charleston Fire Department four citations for violating firefighter safety.

The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the department for one willful violation involving firefighter safety and three serious violations for firefighters on the scene not wearing full protective gear.

OSHA's report on the June 18th fire at the Sofa Super Store was released Thursday.

The Sofa Super Store was also cited for locked or improperly working exit and fire doors.

Nine firefighters died in the blaze. OSHA officials say the violations will result in monetary fines.

7 Injured, One Critically, In N.J. High-Rise Apartment Blaze

7 Injured, One Critically, In N.J. Apartment Blaze - News Story - WNBC | New York

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- A fire broke out Thursday in a 15-story apartment building, injuring seven people and temporarily trapping several others on balconies, the city's fire department said.

All seven who were injured, including one critically, suffered smoke inhalation.

The blaze, the cause of which is not known, began around 11:20 a.m. in a cluttered 14th story apartment of the Monroe Towers. The fire forced those living in the top three floors to flee, said Garrett Giberson, an Asbury Park fire inspector.

The apartment's occupant, Sunovia Williams, 80, was pulled out by firefighters who had to crawl over an array of debris that contributed to the intensity of the blaze and hampered efforts to reach her and her husband, Giberson said.

A juvenile, whose age was not immediately available, and five firefighters also suffered smoke inhalation.

The building is one of the tallest buildings in Asbury Park, a community along the Atlantic Ocean. The blaze was initially too high for ladder trucks, forcing firefighters to fight the flames from inside, Asbury Park fire Capt. Frank Dilello said. He wasn't sure if the building had sprinklers, but said there were hose hookups inside.

Los Angeles Captain Injured Responding

Los Angeles Captain Injured Responding - Firehouse.com News
Gotta watch that first step....it's a doozy!!! (Note: The video is of a DIFFERENT firefighter falling off a rig...not our LAFD Capt....I just thought I would add a visual-for amusement purposes only.) Best wishes for a speedy recovery go out to our unnamed LAFD Capt....and to the poor guy in this video that ended up on YouTube!

A Los Angeles Fire Department captain suffered moderate injuries when he missed a step while getting out of a fire truck while responding to a blaze at a South Los Angeles apartment building Tuesday.

Firefighters were sent to the 8700 block of Figueroa Street, near Manchester Avenue, at 4:35 p.m. where heavy smoke and fire were showing from the second floor of a six-unit garden-style apartment, said Diana Igawa of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The captain, whose name was not released, received moderate injuries when he fell, Igawa said. He was taken to a hospital where he was being treated and evaluated, she said.

Firefighters Bid One of Their Own Farewell

Firefighters Bid One of Their Own Farewell - New York Times
RIP

The firefighters in crisp blue uniforms stood in formation for the second successive day, for the second funeral of a fallen comrade, a day after two more of their colleagues were injured at the same site where these two had perished.

There was grief today at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, and even some laughter at a few memories of Firefighter Robert Beddia, a 23-year-veteran of the department who died on Saturday doing the work he loved.

The Rev. John Delendick, a fire department chaplain, told the mourners gathered at the ornate church that Mr. Beddia, 53, “didn’t become a firefighter for the money, he didn’t become a firefighter for the glamour.”

“He became a firefighter because of certain values,” the chaplain said.

But along with the grief there was weary frustration and simmering anger at the circumstances that had claimed Firefighter Beddia’s life.

He died on Saturday along with a colleague, Joseph Graffagnino, while battling a seven-alarm fire in the former Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan, which was in the process of being dismantled. Both were assigned to Engine 24 and Ladder 5, based at a firehouse at Avenue of the Americas and West Houston Street in SoHo.

The fire raised troubling questions about why it had taken so long to bring down the 41-story building that was damaged beyond repair in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.

On Thursday, as Firefighter Graffagnino’s funeral was taking place in Brooklyn, two more firefighters were injured at the building when a worker lost control of a small forklift on the 23rd floor of the building, sending it tumbling down 200 feet to the ground.

The forklift crashed through a construction shed on the ground level, and part of the shed collapsed on the two firefighters.

Both firefighters, Neil Nally, 35, and William Carbettis, 51, of Engine 258 in Long Island City, Queens, were listed in stable condition today at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. They both sustained head injuries.

Firefighter Carbettis had his spleen removed. Firefighter Nally also had an injured back and right hand, according to a fire official, and could be allowed to leave the hospital today, fire officials said.

At today’s funeral for Firefighter Beddia, there were echoes of the funeral on Thursday for his colleague, Firefighter Graffagnino.

At both, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace” for a crowd of mourners that again included Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

And as a backdrop for both funerals, there were thoughts about the troubled building where all four fighters had been harmed, and about why city officials and building owners can’t seem to get to the bottom of the task of bringing down the condemned building.

Mayor Bloomberg, who said he had never met Firefighter Beddia, said he had been described to him by others as a dedicated professional.

“For 23 years he was a quiet hero,” the mayor said at the Mass. “He rarely spoke, but when he did others listened.”

The mayor also talked about the fire that took Firefighter Beddia’s life.

“This fires raised a lot of difficult questions,” the mayor said, adding that city and fire officials would “investigate to get to the bottom of what happened.”

Such an inquiry, he said, would hopefully “lead to actions to make the Fire Department stronger and safer.”

Firefighter Beddia often drove the fire truck for Engine 24, a post referred to as the chauffeur, but when he was not behind the wheel, he was working with the younger men, firefighters said.

Lt. Richie Quinn of the Fire Department spoke to reporters outside St. Patrick’s today about Firefighter Beddia.

“He was our chauffer, he knew every building inside and out, which was extremely helpful for us,” he said.

Firefighter Beddia’s sister, Susan Beddia Olson, spoke about him before his flag-draped coffin, in the form of a letter to him, which she began by saying, “Dear Bobby,” the name those close to him called him.

“Remember walking me down the aisle?” she asked. “Remember dancing with me at my wedding?

“You are my friend, you are my brother,” she said. “You are my hero.”

Two hours after the funeral mass had begun — as the family and other mourners accompanied the coffin out of the cathedral, from where it will be taken to a cemetery in Staten Island for burial — hundreds still lined Fifth Avenue.

A church bell tolled, and the crowd went silent as Firefighter Beddia was led out of Manhattan, a borough whose streets he knew so well, for the last time.

Fitness for duty

Fitness for duty -- baltimoresun.com
Fitness must be a pre-requisite---NOT A HOOP!!!

The Baltimore Fire Department failed recruit Racheal M. Wilson long before she entered a burning rowhouse in a training exercise. It accepted her into a cadet class in 2006, when it probably shouldn't have. Officials overlooked her failings on an agility test and sent her into a live-burn exercise when she apparently wasn't ready to handle it.

An independent investigation of Ms. Wilson's death reaffirmed that many mistakes were made during the training exercise, but it raises new concerns about a firefighter's fitness for duty that shouldn't be ignored.

Ms. Wilson died in the Feb. 9 exercise after she was overcome by heat and smoke and couldn't climb out of a window to escape. A department probe found dozens of safety violations, which led to the firings of the academy director and two other officers and an overhaul of the training-safety division.


But the independent evaluation of the accident ordered by Mayor Sheila Dixon also suggests that Cadet Wilson may not have been ready to enter training. And the question that must be asked is why the department would admit Ms. Wilson after she performed poorly on agility tests.

Firefighting is a demanding, dangerous job, and its newest recruits should be in the best shape, physically and mentally. If not then, when? The department should have an overall fitness standard; resistance to one, either by officials or firefighters, is unacceptable considering the rigors of the job.

Fire Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. rejects the suggestion that Ms. Wilson died because of problems related to her performance on one aspect of a five-part agility test. The safety lapses and mistakes on the fire scene that day - some very basic - were responsible for her death, he says, and we don't disagree.

The department that performed so poorly that day, he says, isn't the one he was raised in. But it is the agency he commands. The investigative report offers a chance to revisit the fitness issue. Can seriously overweight firefighters do their job ably and safely?

The report by Howard County Deputy Chief Chris Shimer also harshly criticized a view in the department that "recruits must be exposed to heavy fire conditions in order to be adequately prepared for the field." That literal trial by fire sounds more like a hazing rite than a professional firefighter's code.

Chief Goodwin should ask Mr. Shimer to return in three months and undertake a performance audit to see whether policy changes ordered by the chief are being followed and the firefighter culture has improved. The work at the Fire Department is not done.