The FireLedeFirefighter Updates for Rockland County NY

A car accident involving a Castlegar fire truck Friday afternoon is underlining the risks inherent in “pranks” like setting brush fires and purposely setting off alarms.

Fire chief Gerry Rempel was responding to a call regarding brush fires at 2:20 p.m., when the accident occurred on Columbia Avenue in front of the Sandman Hotel.

No one was hurt in the collision, but he says that’s more luck than good management.

“I’m not blaming anyone – these things happen – but it’s a spin off that sometimes people don’t think about,” he said. “It could’ve been worse, if I had been going faster. I’m just thankful the other driver wasn’t injured.”

After having the power company disconnect the electricity to a 43 unit apartment complex that destroyed two-thirds of the building a tower ladder with two firefighters came in contact with a primary on the C side of the building and it arced against the boom.
LESSONS LEARNED: We took for granted that the actual lines had been disconnected from the grid when in actuallity the had shut the power off to the building from the pole and not the primary line that ran adjacent to it. Lesson learned make sure tell the power company exactly what you want done and verify that it was completed.

CT FIRE POLICE CAPTAIN DIES IN THE LINE OF DUTY-MEDICAL EMERGENCY WHILE RESPONDING
The Secret List www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

It is with deep regret that Beacon Hose Company # 1 announces the Line of Duty Death of past Asst. Chief and current Fire Police Captain Kevin Swan. At 0508 hours this morning, March 10, 2010, Beacon Hose …

I was detailed to an upper county station and assigned to ride the engine. A call came in for a field fire about 10 minutes from the station. The brush truck responded, with me riding on the right. Once we got there, we were directed by the farmer\’s family, to an area about a half a mile away from the road. When we got on scene, there was a utility truck fully envolved sitting right next to a pole. There were high tension power lines over head, coming from the power plant. There was mutual aid stations responding from a nearby county. They stretched hand lines, as did I and another firefighter. Myself and the other firefighter from my station had a really good angle on putting this fire out quickly. The mutual aid company was only hi…

It is with deep regret that Beacon Hose Company # 1 announces the Line of Duty Death of past Asst. Chief and current Fire Police Captain Kevin Swan. At 0508 hours this morning, March 10, 2010, Beacon Hose Co was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 20 Susan Street . FP 23 (Captain Swan) signed on the air and died in his vehicle of an apparent heart attack. Arrangements will be posted a soon as possible. This is their home page: http://www.beaconhose.com/ As always, our sincere condolences.

It is with deep regret that Beacon Hose Company # 1 announces the Line of Duty Death of past Asst. Chief and current Fire Police Captain Kevin Swan. At 0508 hours this morning, March 10, 2010, Beacon Hose Co was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 20 Susan Street . FP 23 (Captain Swan) signed on the air and died in his vehicle of an apparent heart attack. Arrangements will be posted a soon as possible. This is their home page: http://www.beaconhose.com/ As always, our sincere condolences.

I am not a firefighter, just a buff. However, I average between four and five 9-1-1 calls every year to report that fire apparatus and fire department ambulances (the most common culprit) forgot to turn on their emergency lights! I can’t help but conclude that this is a common problem. I have seen it in many different departments. When I report it to the respective fire alarm office, they will sometimes quickly notify the apparatus on the radio to “check their lights” and sometimes wait so long to do so that it is no longer relevant. One large, east coast fire alarm office actually gave me a hard time for trying to report it. This may seem trivial to most of the safety matters that you address, but seems to me to be an unnec…

Thanks to www.Statter911.com for bringing this story to our attention.
Nevada County Consolidated Fire Capt. Bruce Niederberger was being evaluated at Sutter Roseville Medical Center Monday after he passed out behind the wheel while on a call.
A stroke or heart attack have been ruled out, said Consolidated Fire Chief Tim Fike. The incident Sunday morning tied up traffic in Grass Valley, but a crash involving the engine was avoided.
Niederberger had been out on a stroke call, and his firefighter partner had accompanied their patient to Sierra Nevada Memorial
Hospital, Fike said. Niederberger was en route to the hospital to pick up his partner at about 10:30 a.m. an…

Thanks to FDNY Chief of Safety Steven Raynis for sharing this video from a recent taxpayer fire at Bronx Box 55-3563. There was a partial roof collapse, followed by a collapse of the front parapet and exterior wall. Operations at this fire were changed from an offense to defensive attack because of heavy fire and concerns about the structural integrity of the building. Prior to the collapse all units were withdrawn and collapse zones were established. A HT announcement was made over the tactical and command channels by the Incident Commander. Suddenly without warning the front parapet and exterior wall collapsed. There were no injuries as a result of this collapse because collapse zones were established early on and all members remain…

Over the past 70 years, the number of LODDs suffered by the FDNY has been drastically reduced. From 1941 to 1960, an average of 9.25 firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty. Over the next 20 years, it dropped to 8.25. From 1981 to 2009 — excluding the September 11 terrorist attacks — the department has averaged 2.04 fatalities annually.
But it’s still not enough, according to the department — and it is on a mission to transform its safety culture.
“We can’t tell anybody it’s acceptable — two LODDs a year is two too many,” Deputy Chief Stephen Raynis told the 2010 Everyone Goes Home Safety Summit in Emmitsburg Saturday.
Chief Raynis serves as Chief of Safety at the FDN…

In a few months, NIST’s fire investigators are expected to complete a study of the Sofa Super Store fire in Charleston that killed 9 Firefighters in the Line of Duty. Officials with the National Institute of Standards and Technology are scheduled to complete the investigation soon, though the study has taken longer than expected.

NIST’s Michael Newman said that they expect to release an announcement soon regarding the findings of their study that has been underway since the 2007 fire. He said the goal of the organization is to help improve fire protection equipment and procedures to help keep firefighters safe.
Newman told the Associated Press that only a few members of the institute a…

An independent Board of Inquiry has found at least 15 separate safety and maintenance issues played a role in the 2009 crash of a Boston fire truck into a Mission Hill apartment building. Veteran Fire Lt. Kevin Kelley died when Boston Fire Ladder 26 lost its brakes descending a steep hill and crashed into the building.
The Board of Inquiry, made up of 11 Boston Fire Dept. members, notes at least 15 problems played a role in the crash, including the age of the fire apparatus, the installation of improper parts on the and a lack of certified mechanics and maintenance workers for the truck fleet.
The findings echo earlier those of earlier investigations into the crash, which have already led to changes implemented by the …

One person is dead after a frightening series of crashes Monday night in Van Buren County.
Police say 58-year-old Everett Painter of Lawton, Michigan first hit a Coloma EMS ambulance going westbound in the 23000-block of M-43 in Almena Township just after 8:30 p.m. Officers say the EMS workers, Mark Anthony Haney and Jessica Zirkle, weren’t injured.
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A water rescue in Noblesville created some tense moments Sunday when the rescuers themselves got stuck and needed help.
Crews went out to the Riverwood Dam around 1:30 pm after a fisherman pulled up to the dam, got too close and couldn’t maneuver his boat out. When firefighters launched their boat to rescue him, they got stuck too. That forced crews on shore to tow everyone in by rope.
“We had our secondary team in place and we launched them. We used our throw ropes. We were able to deploy some units onto the shore and we were able to pull our boat and him out to safety,” said Rick Russell, Noblesville Fire Division Chief.
The fisherman, Paul Rossi of Greenwood, was taken to the hospital as a precauti…

Paramedic Daniel McIntosh, a 13-year veteran paramedic for the Bensalem Rescue Squad, leaves behind his wife and two daughters, ages 1 and 5. He was also a Tactical Medic for the Bucks County South SWAT Team and was recently hired as a part-time police officer for Hulmeville Boro.

As an update to last nights EMS LODD, it appears that the Bensalem EMS Paramedic was either chasing or was attacked by that mentally disturbed man. According to police: “Police and Bensalem rescue responded to a subject with mental illness call on Knights Road. The medics arrived shortly before police and the medics were approached by the subject and as a result of that, one of …

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As an update to last nights EMS LODD, it appears that the Bensalem EMS Paramedic was attacked and stabbed by that mentally disturbed patient. According to police: “Police and Bensalem rescue responded to a subject with mental illness call on Knights Road. The medics arrived shortly before police and the medics were approached by the subject and as a result of that, one of the medics was severely injured.”
The Paramedic later died in the Line of Duty, at the hospital. The 37 year old Paramedic leaves…

A female wild land firefighter was involved in fighting the STATION wild fire in California on September 1, 2009. During the cleanup phase of the fire she was over an area of a hidden defunct mining operation. While extinguishing the residual flames of a tree trunk, the roots collapsed into a hole and a strange blue flame emanated. She backed away and retreated from the site. Minutes later she suffered symptoms of tremors, nausea, and dyspnea. She had what was described as a respiratory arrest and was resuscitated. She was taken to a local emergency department where she was hospitalized for two weeks. A Sherriff’s hazardous materials team investigated the incident three days after exposure that documented an airborne c…

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Inspite of previous reports of traumatic injuries it has been determined that Bensalem Paramedic Dan McIntosh died of a heart attack.

Bensalem public safety director Fred Harran says Bensalem’s emergency workers are in mourning.
Emergency medi…