I am working today. We had an eventful morning running about 5 calls in about 4 hours. Mostly the usual and a pickup truck on fire on the interstate. Needless to say that people CANNOT drive!
After lunch and a little bit of training I was trying to tie up some loose ends and I took a step into the watch room. I nearly lost my lunch when I walked in and found one of our Firefighter/Medics reading…..
Yes… You got it right. There he was reading STATter 911. You know, the fire service news blog run by the recently unemployed retired Dave Statter.What the hell am I chump change? Actually, this guy is a class act and keeps up on the fire service news pretty well!
It is hard to admit, but I am glad he was reading it. He filled me in on a fatal fire in Seattle that took the lives of 5 people.
People are pointing to response times. I must say that 5 minutes from the first call to the first engine being on scene is acceptable.
The firefighters were unable to get the engine into pump gear after several attempts.
What got my attention was this excerpt from the Seattle times article on the fire:
Asked Sunday why firefighters from Engine 18 didn’t then try to enter the burning unit to try to rescue the victims, Dean said crews are not allowed to enter burning buildings until water is being poured on a blaze.
“Having flames and fire on the first floor, they cannot proceed onto the second floor until they have got that fire out,” Dean said. “If you don’t put that fire out, you will have that fire follow you and burn you and your hose and remove your escape route also.” Read the entire article
I am certain that the firefighters on scene are beating themselves up. Equipment failures are going to happen. At times like these those failures CAN prove to be fatal. However, there may not be any way of knowing if any other actions would have had a better outcome.
As I have always said, the public will NEVER understand what we do.
Read the article on STATter911 here. It includes video, photos, and articles on the fire.
I saw news that…
…Seattle is having all of their apparatus checked for problems with the PTO. I am curious to see what they find to be the ultimate cause of the equipment failure.
…Seattle's municipal leadership has now decided to forego the idea of staffing reductions on the city's engines, in reaction to this particular incident. It really shouldn't take bad news to make the political types do the right thing, but I'm glad the brothers up there won't have to suffer with short-staffed companies.
I saw news that…
…Seattle is having all of their apparatus checked for problems with the PTO. I am curious to see what they find to be the ultimate cause of the equipment failure.
…Seattle's municipal leadership has now decided to forego the idea of staffing reductions on the city's engines, in reaction to this particular incident. It really shouldn't take bad news to make the political types do the right thing, but I'm glad the brothers up there won't have to suffer with short-staffed companies.
Was that a rhetorical question – “What am I chump change?” or would you really like for me to answer that?
Clearly you have a sophisticated group of firefighter/medics who know quality when they see it. Hang around with them some more Rhett maybe it will rub off.
But remember it is not about the number of people reading you, it's about microblogging.
I am surprised we haven;t been banned in Roanoke? If that's the case my site probably isn't worth reading.
Thanks.
Statter
Easy Dave, I am sorry…just kidding. Is a large media outlet like the Seattle Times new media or old media?
I am antiquated…and no you are not banned in Roanoke! But then again, you answered that issue with your last sentence!
I read something about on Monday the Mayor cut every department BUT the FD.
You are right though…it is a shame that it takes tragedy for beancounters to understand our need!
It's horrible to watch the news as you know it was devastating to the guys and you can just see it on everyone's faces. Even if they'd had water it was well beyond that.
Hubby and I find it very odd that at 10am in the morning they didn't get out when it started. Were there no smoke detectors? 2 did get out. Quite the odd time of day to not get out, especially since news reports say they were all 5 huddled in the bathroom together. It's just tragic for everyone.
It's horrible to watch the news as you know it was devastating to the guys and you can just see it on everyone's faces. Even if they'd had water it was well beyond that.
Hubby and I find it very odd that at 10am in the morning they didn't get out when it started. Were there no smoke detectors? 2 did get out. Quite the odd time of day to not get out, especially since news reports say they were all 5 huddled in the bathroom together. It's just tragic for everyone.
It's about time firefighters across the nation give the utmost respect due to the unsung heroes at the panel who get the interior crews safely to the fire and ensure the interior crew has the water it needs to get the real job done.
Hip-hip-hooray to the drivers!
It's about time firefighters across the nation give the utmost respect due to the unsung heroes at the panel who get the interior crews safely to the fire and ensure the interior crew has the water it needs to get the real job done.
Hip-hip-hooray to the drivers!
I cannot find any info on the cause of the fire (stating unknown at this time) nor if there were any working smoke alarms in the home…. The news media & public sees only the events AFTER the fire….. but it is the events BEFORE that seriously attributed to this tragedy… my focus would be on educating the public on fire safety…..
I cannot find any info on the cause of the fire (stating unknown at this time) nor if there were any working smoke alarms in the home…. The news media & public sees only the events AFTER the fire….. but it is the events BEFORE that seriously attributed to this tragedy… my focus would be on educating the public on fire safety…..