The IAFF local fought a battle many thought they couldn't win, taking on the city, Giles and filing a lawsuit involving the deputy chief. Now Giles has resigned, the city is listening and word came through that the deputy chief has also resigned.

For Topeka's bravest the news means they are one step closer to rebuilding a department that had switched to "spreadsheet" management. It's been a long battle but Topeka is better for it because firefighters refused to limp away.

We will discuss this in tomorrow's podcast.

The fire spread quickly, eventually destroying eight apartments and leaving the building in ruins.

Powedersville protects a community of just under 6000 residents.

FER will focus on real world information about products. What works, what is hyped far too much and who gives great customer service.

Swansea Ammonia Leak

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Training Is Essential For High Rise Fires

Can The First Due Fit Down The Streets?

City Should Take Over EMS

Columbia Update


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Size matters. In cases where departments operate quints strictly for ISO purposes there is a deficiency often overlooked. Instead of matching apparatus to territory and hazards, a rig is purchased to meet "paperwork" performance standards.

Imagine the media, courts and citizens reacting to a fire in a house where two children die because fire apparatus weren't able to fit down the street or were unable to provide an initial knock down of the fire.

A perspective shared by some indicates this shows a need for a full time Hazardous Materials Team such as the one neighboring Columbia has to provide protection for Richland County. Technicians in Columbia don't just possess rudimentary certifications - many have been to advanced schools and are able to respond as "one unit" 24 hours a day.

Another possibility, and one less expensive for Lexington County taxpayers, is to call for Columbia's Haz-Mat 1 in the event of a serious incident. This response works both ways and sharing resources is one way to provide all citizens with a level of protection superior to any single agency.

Just a few weeks ago an incident happened wherein heavy lifting capability was needed but no call came in for Columbia's Rescue 1. We are looking in to this and will report on it within a few days.

• Unfamiliarity with the controls of a new fire apparatus
  
• Training in a high risk situation without adequate familiarization with the fire apparatus
• No fall restraint devices in use during training at height
• Design of the lifting eyes (one of which snagged the parapet wall) and platform doors which sprung outward during the incident.

The Aerial, made by E-One, snagged on the parapet wall. When firefighters worked to free it the platform sprung out violently throwing two of the four firefighters out of the platform.

It should also be noted firefighters were not wearing restraints inside the platform.

Read the full report

Since public safety is being cut in favor of other, non-essential projects the organizations representing firefighters should seek to have an independent forensic auditing firm, or special investigator, put in place to report back to a panel, or law enforcement, to see if there were any laws broken over the last four years.

When a city loses the amount of money Columbia lost and is unable to fund firefighters and police officers there is a significant problem. Peoples lives are at stake requiring a careful examination of what led to the woeful oversight by city council. Millions of dollars are no longer available to fund essential services. Where did it go and who knew about it?

This approach would answer questions and place responsibility, a necessary action prior to moving forward. National firefighters organizations have stepped in with advertisements, editorials and political muscle in Washington D.C. to promote change. One example is Charleston, South Carolina where the State of South Carolina's most powerful Mayor was "encouraged" to work with firefighters.

It appears as though the city is serious about not funding public safety. In an election year, with poor economic decisions still fresh in mind, there could be substantial changes on council. Firefighters will be part of the process.

This is the second time the building has had a fire. A few years ago a fire went to six alarms and caused a fatality. This fire was stopped on the roof.

As firefighters evacuated residents others began fighting the fire. A total of 5 alarms were struck prior to the fire being placed under control.

Twitter.com/ffhourly

FFHourly.com

Columbia works on parks but neglects public safety

Election year means backing those who back firefighters

Smart people Got Played Like a Cheap Fiddle

The Booster Line: Trip to the Museum


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Entry teams found a woman once entry was made. She perished on scene.

Ammonia is found throughout the environment in the air, soil, and water, and in plants and animals including humans. Exposure to high levels of ammonia can cause irritation and serious burns on the skin and in the mouth, throat, lungs, and eyes.

At very high levels, ammonia can even cause death. Ammonia has been found in at least 137 of the 1,647 current or former National Priority Sites list identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The decision, at best poor, is the reason the State of Arizona is citing him for unprofessional conduct. The citation will remain on his paramedic file.

This is a decision impacting all of the fire service. How often does something similiar to this occur? Perhaps not with a helicopter but with some other resource. Trying to make your part time employer look good on the taxpayers time is a problem, one without a solution since ethics rules vary from state to state.

Out in the suburbs it's often worse. A county may have 30 or 40 stations but only have one or two people per piece of apparatus. A few common responses given if the public makes inquiries:

We are augmented by volunteers. (The dirty secret is they aren't compelled to respond and during the day it's possible they may be at their full time job. In addition, if less than 20% of those on the roster actually respond it's a lose-lose situation. Also be advised not all volunteer firefighters can go inside. Some are just admin or simply don't have the skills. This does NOT take away from those departments who are well trained.))

We send a lot of trucks to make up for the lack of people. (The secret here is what can and can't be accomplished with the first alarm. A bunch of pretty, new fire trucks are worthless if they only have one or two people. Firefighting is labor intensive.)

We call for help right away.  (The secret: They don't have enough people or equipment. They get an A PLUS for calling for help but time is critical. Often time kills people and destroys property. There are no moral victories.)

While out riding through your neighborhood stop and see how many people are in the firehouse. Ask them where the next due is coming from and ask to see response times WITH the number of people arriving on scene. You will likely be shocked.

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Who Spoke for Firefighters?

Closures of Engines 8 and 9 Disrupt Services

Ladder 9 Can't Fit Down Some Streets in First Due Area???

If Cuts Are To Be Made Make Them Administrative


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While convenient the booster line has proven ineffective leading to the deaths of firefighters.

Still some officers pull the line for a very small fire despite the presence of jump lines. It boggles the mind and calls into question judgment by the officer, his immediate supervisors and the department.

We will have more on this Tuesday night.
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An OpEd piece claims the fire department ran a deficit. This isn't true. The department was within their budget until city bureaucrats added costs into the budget prior to the end of the year.

The fault rests with poor oversight during the past five years at the council and finance levels of city government.

Costs added to departments budgets to spread the deficit around is not the responsibility of the fire department.
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How can you cut training, reduce the budget by over three million and claim the level of service will be the same. It's akin to taking 25 seats out of a 100 seat auditorium and telling people it will still seat 100.

What's more mind numbing is what the city went through just a few months ago. Citizens and tourists were horrified when the wildfire of '09 ripped through the area. Yet, according to the city manager it's okay. They are determined. How much fire can a determined city manager put out?

They seem to believe firefighters getting a certification will suddenly protect the city but the truth is the certification is the first step in a process. Now the process will take a long time because there is one less training officer. However, if another wildfire rumbles through the city there will be a new victims advocate to help those burned out of homes.

The Mayor of North Myrtle Beach along with council has put the City of North Myrtle Beach on the map with other cities neglecting the fire service. Atlanta, Philadelphia and Topeka are just a few and now North Myrtle Beach, making outrageous claims, joins the list.

A 39.7 percent decrease was due primarily to the reduction of one fire training captain and a reduction in operating expenditures.

No essential training has been cut in the Department of Public Safety.

The training Captain position wouldn't be a significant hit in a department with 10 training officers nut North Myrtle Beach doesn't have ten-they now have one less than they need. Yet, despite the facts staring him in the face, the city manager pushes forward with cuts to operating expenditures.

During discussions this year, the city of North Myrtle Beach reduced its total expenditures due to the recession. Overall, the FY 2010 budget was $3,257,927 less than FY 2009. However, one goal of the City Council was to keep service levels the same for the next year. This would be true of all city departments, including the Department of Public Safety. Departmental staff assisted in keeping budgets in control in a tough economy.

He states the goal was to keep services the same. How is it possible? Either he and his staff were three million over budget last year, and wasted the taxpayers money, or they are attempting to provide services with three million less this year-which amounts to a reduction in services. In fact, the loss of one training Captain is a huge reduction in training alone. So, what is it? A lie last year or this year?

He also mentions the recession. How ironic. Are visits to North Myrtle Beach down this year? How much is revenue down from previous years? Is it wise to vacation in a city that has cut public safety?

The article begins with an assertion that City Council made cuts to the Public Safety budget somehow in spite of the worst fire in the city's history. That is not true.

It's actually worse. The cuts were recommended prior to the wildfire and allowed to go through despite the city being in the eye of the media storm. This calls into question good judgement.

No one in Public Safety, City staff or City Council has in any way lessened our determination to deal with wildfires of the future, or any other emergency.

The determination is there but what does that actually mean? Services are cut in order to fund a victims advocate program, which is a worthy position, but not if it increases the chances of more victims! Public safety cannot be managed through a spreadsheet or absurd "budget getaways."

North Myrtle Beach is steadfast in wanting to cut public safety despite being found lacking during the wildfire of 2009. This calls for deeper looks into what is actually taking place.

This author remembers the Hess Oil Terminal fire in the late 80's wherein firefighters from across the lowcountry sped to fight a raging fire that Maxwell directed operations at - including several of us from the City of Charleston. This author and a current City of Charleston Assistant Chief and current Battalion Chief worked for hours during the fire.

Chief Maxwell will be missed.

Our condolences go out to the Maxwell family, his friends and the departments he served.

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The Equipment is Great But You Need The Professionals


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