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ISorting through the clutter
n March of 2010, I was in Kingston, Ont., taking stock photos for the magazine and I spent the day at Station 1 with Capt. Shawn Babcock and his crew. Shortly after I arrived at about 9 a.m., the crew was called out to a fire in an apartment building. There were no injuries, but the fire happened in a unit that was crammed full of newspapers and other items that made it tough for firefighters to do their jobs.
Fast forward to Edmonton in late June. I had attended the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association conference and had arranged to stay for an extra day and ride along with the crew at Station 1 on 96th Street in the city’s downtown. While I was out with Capt. Gerrit Meulenkamp and his crew on a call to a community centre for a needle-box check, there was a fire call and the crew was sent to a highrise building with smoke showing from the 12th floor.
Once again, firefighters were challenged by piles of stuff through which narrow aisles had been carved. I remember firefighter Todd Molineaux standing outside in the heat of a beautiful Alberta afternoon, drenched in sweat and downing bottles of water, hands held in front of him about 12 inches apart to depict the skinny paths through which firefighters had to manoeuvre to get to the smouldering mattress in the unit’s bedroom.
The state of the apartment units in Kingston and Edmonton angered and frustrated the firefighters, but at that time – less than two years ago – many municipalities didn’t have the tools or trained personnel to deal with hoarding, and hadn’t yet brought together agencies or established task forces to tackle the issue. (And reality-TV programs about hoarding had only recently started airing.)
In September 2010, Toronto Fire Services responded to the now infamous Wellesley Street highrise fire that resulted in two mayday calls (both firefighters were rescued, one by sheer luck) and – rather quickly by government standards – changed the way Canadian municipalities are handling hoarding.
TFS Chief William Stewart’s PowerPoint presentation on the Wellesley Street fire –which I’ve seen three times, with updated information and photos provided at each viewing (Stewart was scheduled to present the latest version at the CAFC conference in Calgary in September) – is an eye-opening, breathtaking, awe-inducing, hour-long lesson on the terrifying consequences of hoarding.
Originally, Chief Stewart chose his descriptives about Wellesley Street carefully, talking about the fuel load and combustible materials in unit 2424.
By the time I saw the presentation the third time, at an Institution of Fire Engineers (Canada branch) in Toronto in May – in conjunction with presentations by public health nurses Alanna Barr and Ulla Wise about the health implications of hoarding, and Nancy Macdonald-Duncan with the Office of the Fire Marshal on the legal ramifications – Stewart’s language had become more mainstream and he was able to show numerous photos of the unit of origin and other apartments that contained similarly dangerous levels of hoarding.
Stewart hadn’t been coy in the early presentation, he was just careful not to disparage residents of 200 Wellesley St. But as the investigation continued, more municipal agencies got involved, media coverage of the incident grew, and it became clear that hoarding was a problem for 200 Wellesley St., for Toronto’s public housing agency, and for TFS. TFS hopes to implement a public-education campaign on hoarding that will reach people in 550,000 highrise units.
As Wise, the public health nurse, said in an e-mail, it’s “a proactive approach by increasing awareness of the problem through education of staff, stakeholders, and the public, and formulating a detailed response plan to hoarding complaints and establishing an information tracking database.”
For more on hoarding, see our cover story on page 8.
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Spreading the fire-prevention message
Do you ever have the feeling that someone is watching you? Abnormal paranoia aside, we all probably do.
That’s because someone is watching. Actually, lots of people are watching – the public, our peers and, most certainly, council. Why? It’s not because they think we are not doing a good job; they just want to know why it costs so much to do it.
I have friends in large, city fire departments and in small, rural ones, all commissioned to do a job and all constantly questioned and scrutinized about how much money it costs to do that job, and whether the outcomes outweigh the consequences of not doing the job at all.
This may seem silly to us in the fire service. We all can justify what we do, or at least I hope we can; the fire service is most certainly valuable and necessary to the communities in which we live and work.
However, the battle for lower taxes and high output of public services has been renewed with the election in Toronto of Mayor Rob Ford, and the Ford administration’s mandate of lower taxes – and, therefore, service cuts – is likely to ripple across the country. Now is a good time for all fire services to consider their funding models and the need to focus more on fire prevention and public education in the face of cuts to operations.
Cost-conscious councillors are challenging the budgets of yesteryear as newer programs (such as restoration of historic buildings, more nature trails and increased social programs) present competition for the dollars that used to go to the fire department and other basic services.
derstand how fire services of the future will work, and then work toward that vision. It’s not only firefighters and fire-service leaders who have to examine this. Provincial governments must be lobbied and informed of the challenges that face the fire services today and in the future so that change and improvement can be achieved. Areas such as service levels, fire prevention and public education must be better defined.
Ken Sheridan It’s not always that there is less tax money, rather that there are more things and programs on which it needs to be spent.
Although provincial and federal governments do offer grants for some of these programs, the grants are often one-time financial giveaways and the municipality is then forced to maintain those worthy initiatives. These projects cause our cities, towns and villages to demand financial accountability. It’s not always that there is less tax money, rather that there are more things and programs on which it needs to be spent.
Many municipal councils are demanding cuts to all municipal programs and departments – fire included – often to fund other areas. Many Canadian fire departments are going to feel the cuts deeply.
If this is you – if it’s not now then it will be down the road – how can your department cope with a zero increase in your 2012 budget, or worse, a reduction in funds?
My sense is to think beyond our current situation and look into the future. Ask where you see the fire service in five or 10 years, or how your municipality will look, because your municipality’s goals and objectives directly affect your future, both personally and professionally. Before we can find answers, we have to know what questions to ask. The survival of your fire service depends on knowing the questions and then developing a plan for the future.
This is not a doom-and-gloom situation. There are many solutions, but fire-service personnel have to know what we want and need and un-
(Organizations such as provincial associations of fire chiefs, training officers and fire-prevention officers are bringing forward issues and they need our support. Fighting for what we have is com monplace; if it can’t be justified then alternatives must be examined. Be prepared to change. If your thought process of having fire trucks in the bay of your fire hall is good enough to face the future, it is not.)
The cost of running a fire department is astro nomical. Pumper trucks cost $350,000 (and up), aerial trucks cost more than $1 million. There are not as many fires as there used to be, yet dollar losses due to fire continue to increase. Of all the measures we’ve taken and money that has been spent, our fire death rate is almost the worst in the western world. Does this add up to you?
If we are really in this business to save lives and property, why are we fighting change? Perhaps we have not come to the point where we must let go of the glamour of fighting fires and accept that we don’t want people to have fires and be hurt or killed by them.
We must continue to be creative and accept the fact that life in the fire service is an evolution. I really believe that more fire prevention and public education is the key to our communities’ best chance against fire. Some countries in the Far East realized this a long time ago. Recently appointed Tokyo Fire Chief Yoshio Kitamura stated after a major earthquake in eastern Japan, “We need to promote overall earthquake safety measures, meet the public demand for advanced emergency medical treatment, strengthen community disaster preparedness, and promote fire prevention with the latest fire protection technology.”
His approach seems quite clear on the need to educate and promote preparedness. We have come a long way over the last few years in this area of emergency preparedness through education from a global perspective; however we must see the future with fewer fires through the same approach. Fires have to be reduced; it’s just costing too much.
Ken Sheridan is captain of fire prevention in Norfolk County, Ont. He is a certified fire prevention officer and certified fire and life safety educator for the Province of Ontario. He is a graduate of the Dalhousie University fire administration program and has more than 21 years in fire suppression and fire prevention. Contact him at ken.sheridan@norfolkcounty.ca
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Collecting trouble
Understanding the risks and remedies of hoarding
By Laura King
Ontario
Fire Marshal Ted
Wieclawek used blunt language to describe the worst hoarding fire in Canada, the September 2010 highrise fire at 200 Wellesley St. in Toronto:
The tremendous growth and spread of the fire was a result of the excessive amount of combustible materials stored on the balcony and in the suite of origin . . .
In the context of this large multi-unit dwelling, the intensity of the fire hampered firefighting efforts of Toronto Fire Services and created a significant risk to first responders and those attempting to evacuate the building.
This was due to the excessive amount of materials stored on the balcony, which well exceeded the height of the safety railing, and combustible materials that were stored at a significant depth throughout the apartment.
Given the amount of these combustible materials, the dwelling was no longer being used for its intended purpose and could have physically trapped an individual inside.
With two mayday calls from downed firefighters during the fire fight, the consequences were almost tragic.
Indeed, the fuel load in apartment 2424 at 200 Wellesley St. was so overwhelming that firefighters could open the apartment door just 18 inches and had to force it the rest of the way.
The story of 200 Wellesley St. (see the December 2010 issue of Fire Fighting in Canada) is familiar to firefighters and fireservice leaders as likely the worst example to date of the crises that hoarding can cause for tenants, landlords, firefighters and other emergency responders, and social and municipal agencies.
Although agencies from public health to community housing and fire and police forces are now involved in hoarding task forces, such as that in Durham Region in southwestern Ontario, the bulk of the hoarding-prevention efforts have landed squarely in the laps of many Canadian fire services.
What can the fire service do to prevent hoarding and the dangers that it causes for first responders?
• • •
To deal with hoarding, fire departments first need to understand it.
Hoarding is complicated. According to
Toronto Public Health nurse Alanna Barr, hoarding is an equal-opportunity concern, meaning that it can be found in all cultures, income groups and education levels. The mean age of the onset of hoarding symptoms is 13.
Barr says hoarding is considered compulsive when it impairs daily living. Essentially, hoarding involves the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of things or animals.
“Most people are able to say, ‘I’ll never use that in a lifetime,’ and discard it,” Barr told a workshop of fire engineers in Toronto in May. “But for the hoarder, it’s the thrill of the acquisition. They have no insight or understanding that they shouldn’t have bought 100 cans of tuna.” Barr says the proliferation of dollar stores makes it easy and affordable for hoarders to keep buying more things.
Collectors usually take pride in their items and look after them. Hoarders, on the other hand, are compulsive and often become so overwhelmed by the extent of
Fire departments have several options when dealing with hoarders but are advised to partner with social agencies that understand the delicacies of the illness.
Photo
their acquisitions that they can’t sort their possessions. This can lead to unsafe and unhealthy conditions.
Public-health experts and psychologists have identified two types of hoarders: generalists save everything from valuable items to human waste; specialists save one or more specific categories of items, such as newspapers or angels.
Ulla Wise, a consultant and mentalhealth nurse with Toronto Public Health, says hoarding is not considered a mental illness, rather it is categorized as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder, so treatment is still elusive. (She says a combination of medication and cognitive behaviour therapy has proven effective but only if the patient is motivated, has access to certain resources, and other conditions that impact the behaviour are also addressed.)
Experts do know, however, that hoarders generally don’t recognize the danger caused by mountains of combustible goods and the resulting lack of cleanliness. And they often resent accusations of wrongdoing and become hostile toward those who don’t respect their possessions. That’s why dealing with hoarders is best left to social agencies and trained personnel, including fire-prevention officers, rather than firefighters at a scene. •
Hoarding is often discovered by fire inspectors. The problem is that orders for removal of clutter cannot be issued if there are no fire-code violations, and that limits the options for changing this type of behaviour. Public-health experts say that encouraging hoarders to put items into storage to increase available space and allow for cleanup doesn’t work because hoarders need to be able to see their things. Generally, removing items from a home or apartment is ineffective; doing so has a dramatic, negative impact on the hoarder and the hoarder will simply replace the items.
Nancy Macdonald-Duncan was the regional prosecutor in St. Catharines, Ont., for several years before joining the Office of the Fire Marshal in Ontario in 2008. She says hoarding can be addressed only through a comprehensive approach that involves cooperation among agencies.
Besides the familiar TV scenes of ceiling-high piles of clutter, she says hoarding often involves:
• Temporary wiring;
• Charged appliances buried in debris;
• Volumes of stacked items that lead to entanglements of wires/cords;
• Exposure to toxins from crushed containers.
Speaking to the fire engineers and specifically targeting Ontario (but noting that other provinces have similar legislation), Macdonald-Duncan said fire departments have several legal options under which to address hoarding, including sections of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act dealing with immediate threat to life, inspection orders, compliance orders and cost recovery.
Under immediate threat to life, two factors must be present: the risk of fire must be imminent and there must be a risk to life. In such cases, an assistant to the fire marshal can remove people, post a fire watch, remove combustibles and dispose of materials. The fire marshal can also eliminate ignition sources, make repairs to fire-safety systems, install temporary safeguards and do other things required to remove or reduce the threat to life safety.
Macdonald-Duncan says hoarding action plans should include:
• Careful study of the applicable legislation to determine which tools to use;
• Co-ordination with support agencies, family, the building superintendent and animal control (if necessary);
• A complete inspection of the building;
• Sharing information with the suppression team and a pre-plan for the building.
She urges fire departments to develop operational guidelines for hoarding situations and establish working groups with local property managers so everyone is aware of the issues and understands the processes and policies.
“We are seeing more and more of this,” she said. “It would not be unbelievable to say that every community has them.” •
The hoarding task force in the Regional Municipality of Durham, to the east of Toronto, is trying a soft approach.
“Obviously, firefighter safety is No. 1,” says Robbie Lee, the fire-prevention inspector with Ajax Fire and Emergency Services.
But he says mental-health experts working with fire, police and social agencies on the task force have advised that building a stable of resources and trained experts to help the fire department deal with hoarding might be preferable to legal action in some situations.
“We don’t want to be the person who comes in and barks orders,” Lee says. “We want to make it so that we’re there for their safety, so we’re trying to get on board with the mental-health organizations. Our primary purpose in this is to provide life safety. We are taking the lighthanded approach and we’ll see if that will work. We’re focusing on the person, not the stuff.”
In Toronto, where there are 550,000 highrise units and a high risk of fire spreading and affecting multiple tenants, the fire department has proposed a fire-safety public-education campaign focusing on multi-residential buildings.
In a budget briefing note, Toronto Fire Services (TFS) says it can “invoke remediation measures to ensure compliance with orders to eliminate fire code violations but cannot address the social and behavioural aspects.”
The proposed campaign – which is on record but has not yet been considered in budget deliberations – includes development of literature to educate staff, stakeholders and the public, and the distribution of brochures through community organizations, health professionals, tenant and landlord organizations, fire-safety presentations and media.
According to the budget briefing note, TFS would develop follow-up, maintenance and evaluation guidelines for situations in which hoarding has been identified, and a database of hoarding calls, complaints, inspections and follow-up calls to help the department when dealing with persistent hoarding issues in highrises.
TFS also recommends the scheduling of evening fire-prevention/education sessions to reach residents who work during the day. This would involve overtime costs for TFS staff.
As the briefing paper notes, hoarding has been identified as behaviour that is difficult to change and there is a high degree of recurrence. For fire personnel used to working within the boundaries of very specific fireground policies, dealing with hoarders can be difficult and frustrating. The best advice from public- and mentalhealth experts is to set up teams and policies so that the fire department can call the right agencies when help is needed.
“The tipping point for municipal intervention is quite high,” says Wise, the mental-health nurse. “But it can be catastrophic, as we’ve seen at 200 Wellesley.”
By David Gillespie
LDue diligence What departments need to know before hiring training companies
ast fall my roof needed to be re-shingled. I had a few options: I could do it myself, hire a buddy, or go with a contractor. I quickly ruled out doing it myself as the job required more skill than my big thumbs could handle. I wasn’t sure I wanted to take a risk on my buddy –even though the price wasn’t much more than a couple of cases of beer.
So, I started asking for referrals, called those who were well recommended, got quotes, checked references, and finally picked a contractor. The result: my new roof is very nice. It definitely cost more than a do-it-yourself job but, so far, no leaks.
In many ways, the process of choosing a roofing contractor is similar to that of choosing a technical rescue trainer. With more fire departments expanding into technical rescue, and with an increased emphasis on NFPA compliance, many people are dabbling in technical rescue training. This is good news for fire departments: they may now find it easier to locate a trainer close to home. However, departments need to be aware of the risks and benefits of hiring outside trainers and know what questions to ask.
We consulted two training companies – Raven Rescue, based in Smithers, B.C., and Access Rescue Canada in Mississauga, Ont. – for tips about hiring technical rescue instructors. Walter Bucher operates Raven Rescue and has more than 25 years of experience in technical rescue teaching and fire response. His operation provides rope, swift water and ice training across Canada. Mark Alderman runs Access Rescue Canada and has more than 25 years of fire/rescue training and technical rescue experience with Canadian fire departments, government agencies and private businesses.
There are advantages to choosing a third-party trainer to provide inhouse training or instructor certification training for your department. Bucher and Alderman cite the added level of expertise of a specialized company that has the resources to keep up to date on the latest training techniques and theories. However, choosing a third-party trainer can be difficult and time consuming, so we asked Bucher and Alderman about best practices for hiring outside trainers. Here is their advice.
• Ask for credentials. Credible trainers will have considerable training, professional memberships and a history of recent professional development.
• Request references. Trainers worth considering can quickly provide professional references and a list of agencies they have taught in recent years.
• Ask for liability insurance. Bucher and Alderman agree that a trainer should be able to provide proof of a minimum of $2 million in liability coverage and workers’ compensation insurance.
• Check teaching materials. Alderman has seen some instructors use a mix of old photocopies from their initial training courses that are out of date. He says a published text, an online program or a customized PowerPoint presentation are minimum standards that departments should require of outside trainers. Departments should also ask what participants will take away from the training program for reference purposes down the road.
• Ask for standard operating guidelines. Bucher suggests asking whether the company has internal guidelines, subscribes to a
Fire departments need to ask a series of questions before hiring trainers to teach technical rescue programs to their crews.
specific health-and-safety plan, or has paperwork stating that it follows specific practices on incident command, accountability and PPE, for example.
• Ask if the training is based on NFPA standards. Bucher points out that many trainers talk the talk, but have little actual knowledge of the contents of those dense red books. Credible technical rescue trainers will have a strong working knowledge of NFPA 1670 (Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents), 1006 (Rescue Professional Qualifications), 1500 (Safety and Health), 1951 (PPE for Technical Rescue), 1952 (Surface Water PPE and Gear) and 1983 (Rope and Equipment).
• Find out what other standards the training company follows. Alderman points out that trainers must follow industry standards and best practices, but most municipalities, provinces and territories have additional standards for training or rescue operations that must be considered. Prospective trainers should be made aware of municipal bylaws that impact the response level of the local fire-rescue service, and the resulting training requirements (for example, shore-based rescue versus water entry).
• Make sure the trainer is fit and up to the tasks required. It takes physical stamina for rescue students to swim in Class 3 white water, hang off buildings or rescue a hypothermic patient. Trainers must be physically fit and able to demonstrate those same tasks to a high level.
• Determine what documentation the prospective trainer will provide to students. Bucher notes that training isn’t worth much if students can’t prove they have been certified, so proper documentation should be a requirement. In addition, ask whether the
Photo by
documentation can be quickly verified or replaced, for employment or legal reasons.
• Find out the teacher-student ratio. For high-risk activities, such as high-angle rescue or swift-water rescue, industry best practices call for a 6:1 ratio. For low-risk activity, such as flat-water rescue, industry standards run as high as 12:1. Teacher-student ratios of, for example, 15:1 are inappropriate – unless you are doing knots in the classroom, and even then this ratio provides limited instructorstudent contact.
• Ask about a training safety plan. This should include a site-specific hazard assessment, either written or digital, following a visual inspection of the training area. Get a hard copy. Is there a safety briefing prior to field training with a dedicated safety officer for high-risk activities? Alderman notes that a detailed safety briefing should be held prior to field sessions and that the training agency should provide a dedicated safety officer for higher-risk activities. The trainer may assume safety officer responsibilities for low-risk activities.
• Spell it out. Ask for a contract that specifies deliverables such as texts, audio-visual materials, a site-hazard assessment and a training safety plan. The contract should include delivery timelines and defined job-performance sign-offs to NFPA standard 1670 or other provincial standards.
• Evaluate after the fact. Solicit feedback and comments from your members about the training program. Was there any followup by the trainer? A request for feedback and interest in continual improvement is an indication of professionalism. These points highlight the many steps required to identify a credible training provider in order to meet fire industry standards, ensure
With increased emphasis on accountability, fire departments need to ensure the credibility of the companies they bring in to teach specialized training.
safety for members in high-risk activities and reduce the risk profile for the department. But remember that, under Bill C-45, all firefighters are responsible for the safety of our fellow brothers and sisters. So let’s do our due diligence. Prepare questions and shop smartly. That way, we can ensure that everyone goes home.
David Gillespie is a 16-year veteran of the fire service. He is a technical rescue instructor-trainer and a certified incident safety officer. He has seven years of experience as a chief training officer and is currently acting captain with Peterborough Fire Services in Ontario. Gillespie helped to develop the Ontario water/ ice rescue program and is a member of F.O.O.L.S. International and the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. He can be reached at dgillespie@sympatico.ca
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Pump ops refresher
If you’ve been around the fire service long enough, you realize that there’s almost nothing that’s too basic to review from time to time.
For the purpose of this column, pump operations will refer to checking the apparatus and equipment, driving the apparatus in emergency and non-emergency situations and emergency-scene apparatus placement and pumping.
As with any other aspect of fire fighting, maintaining a condition of readiness that includes thorough maintenance of the apparatus and equipment will go a long way toward reducing the likelihood of problems when we can least afford them. Despite this obvious assumption, how many of us have occasionally rushed through or even skipped a truck check due to call volume, training schedules or complacency?
Whether you are an urban, rural, career, parttime or volunteer firefighter, anything less than a thorough check of the apparatus and every piece of equipment at the start of the shift or on training days simply indicates that you are not committed to your sworn obligation to protect the lives and property of those you serve.
While some jurisdictions have created specialized positions of engineers or chauffeurs that come with a slight pay increase, most of us rotate through the position of pump operator while also developing our skills on the nozzle. Whatever the case in your department, the skills required to do the job safely and effectively include mechanical aptitude, defensive driving and a strong knowledge of friction loss and hydraulics.
line from the street immediately in front of the fire building where the ladder is setting up).
Whether stopping short or driving past, pump operators need to understand that they are not spotting the apparatus as much as they are placing the hose bed and/or the rear of the apparatus in the best possible position to facilitate the stretch and make the hydrant con nection. We all have that special building in our district – usually a low-rise residential complex without standpipes – that requires every metre of our longest attack line to reach the farthest apartment on the top floor. Apparatus placement can make or break the timely arrival of the nozzle at the unit of ori gin in buildings like these.
hUnT
How many of us have occasionally rushed through or even skipped a truck check due to call volume, training schedules or complacency?
No discussion concerning pump operations (and specifically the driving/response aspect) would be complete without a reminder that some of us are still not buckling up, and senseless and unnecessary injuries are still occurring. It requires a serious commitment on the part of pump operators, with the support of their officers, to ensure that the apparatus does not move until everyone is seated and seatbelts are fastened.
Arriving at the fire building is always a source of stress for operators as they search for the perfect location to ensure the speedy placement of the initial-attack hoseline, while also allowing for adequate space for the ladder truck. Most fire-department pumpers are designed with transverse beds or cross lays, which are generally 60 metres (200 feet) long, for the initial attack. They are rarely used in my department, as the pumper usually goes so far past the fire building to accommodate the ladder truck that we are forced to stretch a 120-metre (400-foot) line from the rear. Although it’s often not doable, I remind my pump operators to consider the possibility of stopping short instead of driving past, which might streamline the operation. This will allow the nozzle team to stretch the shorter and more manageable cross lay while also placing the apparatus closer to the hydrant (or, at least, eliminating the large-diameter supply
Once the pump operator has spotted the ap paratus, the initial-attack hoseline has been stretched and the hydrant connection has been made, a safe working pump pressure must be established. While space does not permit a dis cussion of friction loss and hydraulics, pump op erators must have a thorough knowledge of the subject to ensure the correct nozzle pressure for the attack team. In addition, it’s essential to know the correct pump pressure for those times when we may need to deviate from it – such as a poton-the-stove situation, in which the nozzle team needs an adequate water supply but the correct pump pressure could be counterproductive.
If the pump operator supplied the initial attack hoseline from the booster tank prior to securing a water supply from a hydrant, it is imperative that the booster tank be refilled immediately upon doing so. The 2,250 litres (500 gallons) of water carried on board could be the difference between life and death if there is a failure in the water supply and the nozzle team has to bail out. For reasons such as this, it is critical that the pump operator carry a radio at all times during an operation to maintain contact with the crew inside.
It’s also worth mentioning that it’s dangerous to drive past a hydrant with the expectation that the second-due pump will catch it and supply firefighters upon arrival. I have run out of water at a fire and although it is embarrassing at the very least, it could be deadly at worst, jeopardizing the lives of civilians or firefighters in the building.
There’s an old saying in the fire service that the single best tactic to save the largest number of people and keep property damage to a minimum is to get water on the fire as quickly as possible. Pump op erators can go a long way toward ensuring this occurs through proper maintenance of the apparatus and equipment, safe driving practices and a thorough knowledge of pump operations. Good luck.
Peter Hunt, a 29-year veteran of the fire service, is a captain in the Ottawa Fire Department’s suppression division. He can be reached at peter.hunt@rogers.com
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QUEBEC
Areo-Fire 615 Guimoind Blvd.
Longueuil, Qc J4G 1L9
1-800-561-0400
Web: www.wfrfire.com
1-800-469-1963
E-Mail: hpicard@areo-feu.com
By Todd Aitken
IFunctionally fit
Movement-based training improves stability and core strength
n the world of strength and conditioning training, firefighters are considered to be on the same level as extreme-sport and elite athletes. Therefore, the training style that firefighters require for their physical development is very similar to what athletes rely on to excel in their sports.
Athletes employ functional, movement-based exercises to develop their bodies as a whole, from the inside out. This type of training is optimal for firefighters. Functional training is developed from techniques designed by physiotherapists in order to rehabilitate their injured patients. Sport-conditioning coaches use many of these same techniques to develop their athletes, while also including balance, speed, quickness, power and anaerobic conditioning.
Functional-training exercises strengthen the core muscles (the muscles around the trunk and pelvis). Firefighters need to have a strong core to improve balance and stability, which are essential to smooth movement patterns. The core stabilizes the spine and trunk, allowing for powerful movement throughout the body. Weak core muscles lead to poor posture and increase the likelihood of lower back pain or injury.
Movement-based exercises develop the muscles as a group, not individually or in isolation (see photo 1). This produces better motion patterns, increasing athletic performance by training the muscles in the manner in which they will be used in the performance of a particular skill or movement. The use of several muscle groups to move two or more joints through a range of motion increases the caloric and metabolic output. Consequently, the body changes its composition by adding lean muscle and reducing body fat.
Functional training requires firefighters to develop internal stability and to maintain body alignment and centre of gravity (see photo 2). A goal of functional training is to allow firefighters to move and control their bodies at a variety of angles and on a variety of surfaces. This type of training enables firefighters to react to movement challenges within diverse physical environments.
A training environment that is more relevant to the real world will have a greater carryover to functional activities. The firefighters’ combat challenge was developed to simulate the physical demands of real-life fire fighting by having firefighters perform a linked series of five tasks: climbing the five-storey tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound “victim.”
Case study
I work part time at Twist Sport Conditioning in Mississauga, Ont., where we train a considerable number of high-performance athletes in a variety of sports. We have several firefighters who come to train with us to be better prepared for the physical demands of their work. In January, we took on Tim Lisecky, a firefighter at Toronto Pearson International Airport and a combat-challenge athlete. Lisecky has been competing since 2004, and set his goal to be grouped with the top competitors in the field. “I felt that in order for me to achieve the goal that I set for myself, I needed to train like an elite athlete,” he said.
We discovered a couple of muscle imbalances and weaknesses in Lisecky. Previously, Lisecky had been following a more traditional style of weightlifting, geared toward bodybuilding rather than athletic
Photo 1: Tim Lisecky, a firefighter at Toronto Pearson International Airport and a combat challenge athlete, performs a lunge using a 12-kilogram ViPR, a new product being used in sport conditioning centres to train athletes. The lunge is a functional, movement-based exercise and the ViPR provides three-dimensional resistance, similar to lifting a ladder.
2:
while standing on a smart balance board. Functional training (standing on a balance board) combined with traditional exercise (bicep curls) helps firefighters strengthen their core and stability.
on an anti-burst stability ball, strengthening his core, while building his pushing muscles with dumbbells.
Photo
Lisecky performs towel-grip bicep curls
Photo 3: Lisecky lies
Photos by t odd
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training. He was very strong but his upper-and lower-body muscles were not linked together, which is a typical result for athletes who perform much of their training on machines and sitting or lying on benches. Individually, the muscles of the upper and lower body are strong but, when they have to perform together, there isn’t much carryover. Traditional, machine-based training focuses on the development of stronger primary, mover-muscle groups, an approach that can lead to internal imbalances and weaknesses.
“I was humbled after my first training session at Twist,” Lisecky said. “I had always done heavy weights sitting or lying on a bench, but when I did the same exercise on a stability ball, I could not believe how much more difficult it was. I had to lower the weight of the dumbbells substantially at first until my core strengthened, but now my entire body feels a lot stronger and is working together. I feel that I am better-prepared not only for the combat, but also for my duties as a firefighter.”
Lisecky had a strong foundation; his muscular strength, aerobic capacity and body composition were all good but we needed to develop secondary fitness characteristics, such as dynamic balance, speed, agility, co-ordination, explosive power and anaerobic conditioning.
The first order of business was to develop core strength and rotary power in the standing position, as well as ful-body strength. When firefighters are advancing a hoseline and carrying or hoisting a hose pack, they are either standing or crawling. To develop a direct application to the functions involved in their work, firefighters need to perform exercises that mimic those movements or muscle involvement. When firefighters advance a hoseline, they step forward, typically with the hose over one shoulder and the nozzle in that same hand. The core is engaged to stabilize the upper body while the legs and glutes work to move the hose forward. The muscles of the upper and lower body are working together, with the power originating from the core.
Here is an example of an exercise progression that we used with Lisecky: the chest press.
Lisecky had been using a seated and lying chest-press machine to strengthen his pushing muscles. To perform this exercise, he had been lying on a bench, pressing the weight up over his chest in a single plane of motion. The pushing muscles (chest, triceps and shoulders) were being worked, but in isolation.
We substituted the bench with an anti-burst stability ball to strengthen the core and provide internal stabilization, while still training and strengthening the pushing muscles. We had Lisecky lie on his back with his shoulders
Photo 4: Lisecky’s legs are under tension while he performs a standing chest press on a BOSU while using smart toners.
on the apex of the ball, his legs bent and his feet on the ground (see photo 3). Using dumbbells, he gained a greater range of motion in his shoulders. His body was then working like a machine, with the core, the leg muscles and the gluteal muscles acting to stabilize the body. Once his core and legs were strong enough to stabilize his body, we increased the intensity by using a single arm to press the dumbbell. This progression increases the intensity and recruitment of the core stabilizing muscles.
In addition, we had Lisecky perform a chest press in the standing position using resistance tubing (smart toners). To perform this exercise, Lisecky stood in an athletic position (feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, shoulders back, knees slightly bent) using a toner (band) or cables to perform a chest press. To keep his body stable while he was performing the exercise, his legs were under tension while his core was engaged. This type of exercise links together his upper and lower body muscles to make them work in conjunction (see photo 4).
To increase the intensity and complexity of this exercise, you can perform a multi-joint squat-to-chest press or use a single arm to perform the press. This will increase the activity of the core muscles in very much the same way that advancing a hose line would challenge them. You can also increase the complexity by adding instability. Stand on a BOSU or on a single leg while performing the chest press.
Since January, Lisecky has seen positive results, both in his performance, and in his correction of muscle imbalances and weaknesses. He has increased his full-body strength, foot speed, agility, endurance, full-body power, core strength, dynamic balance and anaerobic capacity. “Overall, my strength, power and athlete co-ordination have improved tremendously since I started to do athletic training,” Lisecky says.
Todd Aitken has served for 10 years with the Scugog Fire Department in Ontario and is a captain at Toronto Pearson Fire Department. He works part time at Twist Sport Conditioning Centre where, as a coach (TSCC-Gold), he trains elite athletes and firefighter combat challenge participants. E-mail Todd at toddaitken@sympatico.ca
Photo by t odd a itken
B.C. tanker crash challenges first responders
Environmental concerns, communication and security among issues for firefighters
By Shannon Moneo
Emergency responders in British Columbia can’t understand why 40,000 litres of gasoline and 600 litres of diesel didn’t erupt into flames after a truck pulling two tankers went off the road, overturned and spilled a majority of its contents.
What started around 1800hrs on April 16 on a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, just north of Victoria, B.C., known as the Malahat Drive, became a 22-hour roadblock when the driver of the fuel truck crashed his Columbia Fuels tanker. (The incident is under investigation. The driver was sent to Victoria General Hospital after the crash, where he was arrested for suspicion of impaired driving. The driver was also investigated for assaulting a police officer at the time of his arrest.)
“How it didn’t catch fire, no one can
say,” says Kerry Zado, deputy fire chief with Langford Fire Rescue. Truckers who saw the incident told Zado that such fuel spills always ignite – just the spark from metal coming into contact with pavement will do the job.
“It was a 10 for its potential to be a cataclysmic event,” recalls Zado, who has been with the 60-member Langford department for 22 years, the last two years as deputy chief.
The crash occurred in Langford’s jurisdiction, and the department was on scene 10 minutes after a public 911 call came in. It quickly became evident that Langford would need to make use of its mutual-aid agreements. Colwood, another Victoria suburb that borders Langford, was called, as was Sooke, which doesn’t border Langford but is part of the Greater Victoria area.
Not only was Langford dealing with a fuel spill, but also it was obvious an environmental calamity was unfolding thanks
to the location of the incident, which bordered a provincial park and the salmonbearing Goldstream River.
Unfortunately, the truck’s fuel had quickly emptied into a ditch with a nearby culvert that went directly into the Goldstream River. The fuel expeditiously made its way into the river. Some of the fuel was also absorbed into the ground and fractured bedrock, and concerns remain about where the fuel will end up.
It took less than a minute for much of the gasoline to empty from the truck’s rear trailer, due to the big gash from the impact, says Fire Chief Steve Sorensen from Sooke Fire Rescue Service. And while the front trailer remained intact, diesel was slowly escaping from one of its compartments.
The gaping hole in the tanker that overturned on B.C.’s Malahat Drive, near a river stocked with salmon fry.
Photo courtesy sooke Fire rescue service
“It had tremendous potential to be really bad. But, it would have made cleanup easier,” Sorensen says.
If the fuel had caught fire, it would have started before any fire/rescue departments responded. In that case, the priority would have been protecting exposures and keeping the fire from moving through the trees in the non-residential and hard-to-navigate area without fire hydrants, Zado says.
Still, the reality on the ground was that the firefighters were dealing with not only a fire hazard, but also the contamination of a pristine stream and the long-term effects of gas entering into the environment, Zado notes.
To add insult to injury, the day before the spill, salmon fry had been released into Goldstream River as part of a fish-rearing project.
Meanwhile, the highway – the primary link connecting southern Vancouver Island to the rest of Vancouver Island – was closed. The corridor – a mix of two- and four-lane sections with speeds ranging from 50 to 90 kilometres per hour – is used by more than 20,000 vehicles each day.
When Zado arrived, his first concern was safety. Because of the lay of the land –a highway full of curves and rapid changes in elevation – the normal 1,000-foot
safety distance posed a challenge. “We had to mitigate the problem. How do you do that?” Zado recalls asking.
Foam was one solution.
Sooke was asked to bring its hazmat equipment, and the Colwood department, which had a foam trailer due to its proximity to Department of National Defence’s naval base, was asked to respond with the foam unit.
Within in about half an hour, Colwood had sprayed the foam to keep the gas vapour from igniting. Because of the location of the spill – hemmed in by a rock wall on one side and forested land on the other –there were no hydrants in the area, so water had to be trucked in to make the foam.
But even with the foam down, there was still a chance of an explosion as fumes travelled downstream on the river, Zado notes.
The local highway maintenance company, Mainroad South Island Contracting, brought in sand that was used to build berms to pre-empt any more fuel leaks since not all of the fuel initially spilled, Zado says.
When Sorensen and three other Sooke members arrived with their hazmat equipment, their first priority was to put a boom into the Goldstream River to absorb and
contain the fuel. The river was also diked.
Sooke also did an initial assessment of the dangerous scene.
Sorensen, who ironically was recertified as a hazmat technician only the day before the incident, wondered what the odds were of being called on a hazmat incident. He was soon on his biggest hazmat call in 30 years of service.
In addition to the fire departments and Mainroad Contracting, the RCMP, ministries of transportation and environment, a hazmat team, traffic analysts, Columbia Fuels (the company that owned the truck) and a tow truck company were all eventually on scene.
“It looked like the lineup for the May Day parade,” Sorensen quipped. “At one point, there was probably a hundred people around.”
A decontamination area had to be set up. Because of the overpowering fumes, responders wore protective equipment and breathing apparatuses in the hot zone, Zado says. Fumes at the site were concentrated and not dissipating as quickly as hoped.
A lot of boots got washed and a few RCMP officers had to take time off work after prolonged exposure to the fumes, but there were no significant injuries suffered
Responding crews from Langford, Colwood and Sooke used foam and sand to prevent further damage.
Photo
The
Malahat, over which 20,000 vehicles pass a day, was closed for 22 hours while responders dealt with environmental and safety concerns.
on site, Sorensen says.
It took the hazmat crew, hired by Columbia Fuels, about six hours to empty the fuel from the second tanker. A crane then picked up the wreckage for removal, only after much time was spent figuring out the best way to hoist and move the ruined mass. Firefighters also spent a lot of time holding hoses as a precaution while the tanker was being emptied, Sorensen notes.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, it was difficult to get the specialized equipment necessary to drain the truck’s tank. The potential for ignition of the fuel as well as an ongoing criminal investigation into the action of the truck’s driver also led to slowdowns.
There were several lessons learned from what became a 17-hour call for the Langford department.
Following an in-house, post-incident critique with other agencies, Zado says the No. 1 improvement would be to make sure all agencies on site can communicate with one another. When the tanker was being emptied, firefighters were not kept up to date on the progress because they couldn’t speak to those actually doing the job, Zado says. The communication shortcomings can be very easily rectified, he says. A unified command post should be set up at which someone from each agency is present so messages from each agency can be shared.
A second improvement would be tighter security at the scene to keep everyone safe, Zado says. Agencies need to know
who is present. More accountability is needed.
But Zado is quick to note that, for the most part, everyone worked well together in what became – as Sorensen says – a case of hurry up and wait.
Now with two major fuel tanker incidents on his rap sheet (the first one a propane truck, also on the infamous Malahat), Zado doesn’t want a third.
Much is made of the dangers of driving the Malahat because it’s a road of many curves, but often crashes are due to excessive speed and driver inattention. A few decades ago, the day Zado got his driver’s licence, the neophyte hit the Malahat. “If you drive within your abilities and the speed limit, the Malahat’s not a danger,” he says.
Malahat Drive reopened at 1530hrs on April 17, almost a day after the fuel truck driver crashed his rig.
In late June, one area along the Goldstream River still carried the heavy odour of gasoline while fuel-absorbing booms floated on the surface.
See sidebar, page 29
Shannon Moneo earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism at the University of Regina. She is now a freelance writer based in Sooke, B.C. She avoids the Malahat Drive during rush hours and long weekends when some of the most aggressive, purely bad driving seems to rule the route.
Medicine in motion
Summer holidays present a great opportunity to recharge, reflect and catch up on long-awaited vacation opportunities. No phones, no pagers, no emergencies . . . paradise. While rolling down one of southern Alberta’s highways this summer, pulling my camping trailer, I got to thinking about the next topic of this column. However, there was a more pressing issue in my head as I drove. You see, the firemedic in my soul kept on the alert as we passed through small Alberta towns. I began wondering about the level of care, the fire response and the EMS system. I wondered what might occur if an emergency were to happen during my travels and I hoped that the emergency process would be co-ordinated and efficient. Sometimes knowledge can be your worst enemy; however, in this case, the enemy is injury or death.
In this column, we will investigate means to advance fire/EMS relations, look at tips to improve your department’s medical strength and review the latest activities in services that answer medical calls for help.
Jack Stout, known for developing many EMS systems, states, “Just as a reliable ALS transport system is no substitute for a reliable first-responder program, a reliable first-responder program is no substitute for a reliable ALS transport service. A first-class pre-hospital care system must have both.” This statement clearly describes the importance of ensuring and co-ordinating efficient and appropriate patient care. Does your department’s response to medical emergencies meet satisfactory criteria?
dedication to what’s often the largest source of calls.
Developing a partnership, regardless of your system, is integral to saving lives. Success with a department’s EMS care can be measured by patient outcomes. If patient outcomes and care are improved, the value to the community is enhanced. As I often mention in this column, serving the community is the goal. There are many ways a department can improve its dedication to care for the community, including:
• adding injury prevention when discussing fire safety
Lee SagerT
Regardless of your response model, place the patient as your top priority and it will pay dividends . . .
It’s difficult to grasp the many delivery models of emergency care in these days of sweeping healthcare reform. One way to handle these changes is through partnerships with our co-responders. For example, a local fire department is dispatched to a medical call but the closest ambulance is unavailable. This leaves the fire crew to “attend” to the patient until transport is available. Is your department truly ready to handle this situation? Are both responders operating within the same protocols? Are these responders communicating and co-operating en route and during this call? Obstacles such as poor interactions, personnel resistance and labour beliefs can cause a scene to backfire. We have all seen how a call can deteriorate when egos and turf wars prevail. Strong partnerships are the only way to ensure great patient care.
Firefighters are the largest group of providers of pre-hospital emergency care in North America. We train on the latest fire equipment and study the latest firefighting techniques. As “all-hazards” responders, we continually educate ourselves about how to handle the next call. Do we include EMS skill advancement in these drills? Does your leadership support and expect equal emphasis on both fire and EMS training? The definition of a firefighter covers all of the tasks of today’s fire service, including EMS. The measure defines a firefighter as one who responds to any emergency where life, property or the environment is at risk. If the fire service asks the bravest men and women to meet all these challenges, its leadership needs to have the same vision and commitment. If you’re a fire-service leader, you know that leadership comes with responsibility. With few exceptions, you can’t ignore or give less
• ensuring staff study EMS trends and protocols
• ending any turf wars and maintaining partnerships
• identifying areas of community outreach
• providing CPR classes and blood-pressure clinics
• regularly following up after calls with coresponders
• regularly training with co-responders
• involving media to show teamwork and partnership
• including your department in EMS research projects
• training crews on medical legislation and regulation
• incorporating medical directors into the fire-station lifestyle, including participating in ride-alongs and wearing uniforms
• communicating improvements in care delivery
• providing access to online medical control
• insisting on simultaneous dispatch for emergencies
• monitoring pending legislation and trends
• educating the public on the value of firebased EMS
• decalling your apparatuses using medical symbols
Departments that respond to any and all calls for help face a difficult challenge of co-ordinating fire and EMS but reap many benefits. For departments that are the sole responders to fires, imagine the opportunity to widen your care for the community by connecting with EMS. Excellence in patient care is the least we can do for our patients. Therefore, make it a main concern before your next run. Create a station atmosphere that is savvy to EMS, ensure your equipment is modern and your protocols are studied. Regardless of your response model, make the patient your top priority and it will pay dividends to your department’s reputation. After all, don’t we all deserve the best in medical care?
Until next time . . . be safe!
Lee Sagert is a career paramedic/firefighter with the City of Lethbridge in Alberta and a volunteer lieutenant with Coaldale Emergency Services. Lee is a former flight paramedic with S.T.A.R.S. and has trained at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. He resides in Coaldale, Alta., and enjoys photography and spending time with family. Contact him at leesagert@shaw.ca
n my last Extrication Tips column, in July, the focus was on moving a vehicle to access a victim. The column dealt with a vehicle that had crashed into a fixed object (such as a power pole, light standard or tree) and the solution was to carefully move the vehicle to access the severely impacted side. This time we will focus on options and tips to disentangle the patient(s) safely after we have moved the vehicle and are ready to extricate.
Side-impact crashes are one of the most common types of serious accidents and are often the most deadly. However, in a typical head-on collision involving a modern vehicle, the design of the vehicle absorbs crash forces and dissipates that energy through crumple zones that are engineered into the front rails, the framework and other parts of the vehicle, keeping the crushing effect away from the passenger compartment and protecting the occupants.
This energy dissipation takes place over a large surface area that encompasses the front bumper, the entire engine compartment, the firewall and the dashboard. This area is considered valuable real estate, so to speak, that affords this crash-force engineering some time and distance to absorb energy and do its job. From start to finish, frontal- and side-impact crashes happen in milliseconds, and the crash energy must be slowed down or absorbed to minimize impact on the patient. In frontal crashes, there is more space or reserve to absorb the energy, but in a side-impact crash, there is an extremely small distance – usually only a few inches or even centimetres – from the outside of the vehicle’s doors/B-pillars to where the occupants are seated. When crush space is so limited, side-impact crashes can be lethal.
With the side structure of the vehicle severely deformed and impinging on the patient, any movement is going to aggravate the patient’s injuries (see photo 1). Our first priority is to minimize that movement to the best of our ability by ensuring that tools are correctly placed and by creating space between the patient and the interior side of the front and rear doors/B-pillar. Cross-ramming has been discussed before and proves to this day to be a good alternative to creating space from inside the vehicle. This option warrants a clear path and good access from behind the front occupants’ seats. If the vehicle has patients in the rear seating area, it becomes difficult to perform the cross-ramming evolution safely and effectively because of the limited working space. We will discuss another way to create space inside the occupant area while working from the outside of the vehicle.
As always, the evolution takes place after size-up, scene safety, vehicle stabilization, electrical system shutdown and interior trim stripping. Step 1 is to decide where to place your hydraulic spreader to offer the most effective metal relocation. The degree and location of the intrusion and the position of the patient’s seat in relation to the B-pillar are a few determining factors. Larger occupants will generally be seated so that the upper torso is in line with the B-pillar or slightly behind it; smaller occupants are generally seated slightly forward of the B-pillar. Other considerations are the vehicle make and model, and the size of the Bpillar. In our case, most of the intrusion and impingement is forward of the B-pillar, so our initial efforts will be concentrated here.
Place the spreader with the tips near the roof rail and the top of the doorsill. Slowly open up the spreader arms enough to make contact
and add a small amount of tension, enough to hold the tool in place. This is done for two reasons: firstly, so the energy from cutting the B-pillar with a hydraulic cutter is minimized, and secondly, because the spreader will not allow the impacting components to move any closer to the patient once the B-pillar is severed, as it is holding the
Photo 1: Side-impact crashes usually leave the vehicle severely deformed and any movement may worsen the patient’s injuries.
Photo 2: Opening the spreader arms creates more space between the patient and the side structure by forcing the metal down and away.
Photo 3: Insert a mini ram on the opposing side of the spreader to continue the relocation of the doors and B-pillar. Photos
side structure in its current position.
Another rescuer will then sever the top of the B-pillar as close to the roof rail as possible. If everything goes as planned, the impacting tension from the intrusion will be somewhat relieved and will start to ease off of the patient. Continuing to open the spreader arms will create more space between the patient and the side structure by forcing the metal down and away as the spreader arms open in an arc-type pattern (see photo 2).
Be aware of the limits of your spreading tool; most spreaders have a maximum opening distance of about 70 centimetres (28 inches). The space created may not provide enough clearance to safely remove the patient, so a mini ram should be ready to be inserted on the opposing side of the spreader to continue the relocation of the doors and B-pillar (see photo 3).
Prior to removing either the spreader or the mini ram, a cribbing wedge should be inserted between the seat bracket and the B-pillar if possible to minimize spring-back of the side structure onto the patient once the tools are relocated or removed (see photo 4).
If possible, a rescuer should keep the hydraulic mini ram under tension in the space between the roof rail and top of the doorsills. If the rear door Nader pin is exposed enough from the relocation efforts, it should be cut with hydraulic cutters to allow the rear door to open. If not, further spreading may be required to expose the pin to allow the rescuer to make the cut.
After the rear door is forced open to approximately a 90-degree angle to the vehicle, make another relief cut parallel to the rocker panel at the bottom of the B-pillar (see photo 5). At this time, cribbing should be placed
Photo 4: Insert a cribbing wedge between the seat bracket and the B-pillar prior to removing the mini ram or spreader to minimize spring-back of the side structure onto the patient once the tools are relocated or removed.
Photo 6: Place the spreader tips on the rocker panel and the lower rear door hinge and spread the B-pillar until it tears off at the spot welds attached to the rocker panel.
Photo 5: Once the rear door has been forced open to roughly a 90-degree angle, make another relief cut parallel to the rocker panel at the bottom of the B-pillar.
Photo 7: The rear door, B-pillar and front door should now be rotated toward the front of the vehicle via front door hinges, creating a large access and removal point.
Photos by r andy s ch M itz
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directly underneath the rocker panel to fill the space between the Bpillar and the underlying surface. This is done so the rocker panel will not move downward as you continue the spreading efforts.
Next, place the spreader tips on the rocker panel and the lower reardoor hinge (if possible) and spread the B-pillar until it tears off at the spot welds attached to the rocker panel (see photo 6).
The complete side structure, including the rear door, B-pillar and front door, should now be rotated toward the front of the vehicle via front door hinges and out of the way for greater access and easier removal (see photo 7).
Cover all sharp edges created by the cutting efforts. A convenient solution for covering sharp edges is to wrap the vehicle’s floor mats over the hazards. Old, large-diameter hose that has been cut into sections can also be used to cover sharp and exposed posts (see photo 8).
A few points to remember:
• Hard protection is essential – pay close attention to any toolwork being done in the proximity of patients and interior rescuers.
• Stripping away the plastic trim or fabric-covered material to expose potentially hidden hazards, such as undeployed, high-pressure roof curtains, cylinders and seatbelt pre-tensioners is a must in areas where spreading and cutting is required.
• Also, when the trim is removed and out of the way, extra space is gained for cutters to sever pillars and make deeper relief cuts. Reclining the front seat or removing it completely, if possible, makes inserting a backboard more convenient for patient removal.
I have written a few articles on side-impact extrication options in the last few years, as I have found that they have been the most challenging incidents with the highest fatality rates. Knowing a few solutions for these types of crashes will hopefully help you increase the survivability of your patients. Good luck and keep safe!
Randy Schmitz is a Calgary firefighter who has been extensively involved in the extrication field for 19 years. He is an extrication instructor and has competed internationally. He is the education chair for Transport Emergency Rescue Committee (T.E.R.C.) in Canada, a T.E.R.C. International extrication judge and a tester and evaluator for manufactured prototype products for extrication equipment. He can be reached at rwschmitz@shaw.ca
Photo 8: Use the vehicle’s floor mats or pieces of an old, large-diameter hose to cover all sharp edges created by your cutting efforts.
Photo by r andy s ch M itz
Plugging away at a solution to leaks
Glenn Cox has a motto: Saving environments and lives. So it was difficult to miss his booth at the Maritime Fire Chiefs Association show in Fredericton, N.B., in July, where the mantra was splayed across banners promoting RUPTUREseal.
Cox knows of what he speaks. In 1994, he responded to a tanker truck accident on Vancouver Island, where he was stationed with the RCMP and was a volunteer firefighter. The tanker had overturned and was leaking diesel fuel from a two-inch gash.
Glenn Cox, president of Zengo Inc., manufacturer of The RUPTUREseal (SEAL is an acronym for Saving Environments and Lives), displays his patent-pending device used to plug holes.
As Cox explained in Fredericton, the Department of Environment emergencyresponse team had been dispatched but estimated a three-hour response time. Cox had responded to the scene as a RCMP officer. The fire department arrived shortly thereafter but did not have equipment to stop the leak. When the emergency response team finally arrived, the spill specialist mixed a granular product with water and kneaded it until it turned into a putty.
“He approached the leak with a small piece of plywood and a long-handled shovel,” Cox explains on the RUPTUREseal website. “As he was being sprayed by diesel fuel, he shoved the putty into the rupture and placed the plywood behind it. He then propped the shovel against it to hold it all in place, reducing the leak to a trickle. By then, several hundred gallons of fuel had leaked into the environment, costing thousands of dollars to clean up.”
After leaving the police force, Cox worked as a risk manager for an insurance company. In 2007 he attended a seminar on hazardous spill site remediation, and it became clear to him that technology to plug leaks hadn’t advanced. Cox, who is a talented artist (he was a forensic artist for the RCMP), sketched an idea on a notebook for a RUPTUREseal.
The RUPTUREseal is a four-foot, extendable device that uses a two-part polyurethane foam, which is injected into a specially designed bladder that is inserted into the rupture. Foam is injected into the bladder and seals the rupture in less than 15 seconds. This device is designed to seal leaks of two inches or more.
In 2010, Cox developed a quick-plug device called the RS-2 to seal ruptures of two inches or smaller. Extensive research and development using a 1,000-gallon tank led to the creation of the prototype plug. (Neither product would have stemmed the flow of oil from the tanker on the Malahat in our story, but Cox says he continues to work on products to seal larger ruptures.) Both devices are meant to be temporary solutions but can last up to 10 hours.
Fire departments can buy kits consisting of three plugs through the RUPTUREseal website at www.ruptureseal.com
Photo by l aura
Healthy eats for a healthy hall
When we choose fire fighting as a profession, or decide to help serve our communities as volunteer firefighters, I am sure we consider the risk-versus-reward aspect of this career. The rewards associated with fire fighting can be one of the biggest highlights of this job. Firefighters are an integral part of the community, serving as role models and serving individuals in their greatest times of need, which can provide great personal and job satisfaction.
Unfortunately, the risks associated with fire fighting come at an equally high level. We work in toxic environments, put ourselves in dangerous situations and encounter very high levels of stress. We all accept these factors as part of our job, but sometimes we forget the impact these things have on our bodies.
Despite all of the dangers we may face, heart attacks are the leading cause of lineof-duty-deaths. It’s hard to believe that we deal with so many job-related dangerous situations over which we have no control, but heart attacks – something we are quite capable of preventing – are taking the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters. Fire departments across the country are now stressing nutrition, fitness and health awareness to their memberships and we can definitely do our part. October is Canada’s official Healthy Workplace Month – a perfect opportunity to tweak our diets and lifestyles just a bit to ensure the rewards of this job far outweigh the risks.
The strain on our hearts comes from many directions. We often go from a pretty sedentary state to fully active beyond normal conditions, in just minutes. Throw in a heavy dose of adrenalin and our hearts are pumping before we even start our work. When our work does commence, it is very labour-intensive and we must work in extreme conditions. Top off all this with the stress of wanting to perform our jobs well, especially if lives are involved, and it’s easy to see how our tickers take quite a beating. That is why it is so vitally important to start out with a good heart, so when we get on those trucks, we know our heart can handle the load of this job.
The diet aspect of this scenario is such
Patrick Mathieu is an 11-year veteran of Waterloo Fire Rescue. He has won several cooking competitions and has helped raise thousands of dollars for charities by auctioning gourmet dinners at the fire hall. Contact him at patrickmathieu78@yahoo.ca
by
Turkey stew
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 lbs bone-in turkey thighs (skin removed)
• 1 tbsp herb de Provence
• 1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 149 C (300 F).
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 medium turnips, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cubed
• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• fresh ground pepper
• pinch of chipotle pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2. Rub 1 tbsp of olive oil on the turkey thighs and then season with the herb de Provence, a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper.
3. In a Dutch oven with a lid, heat the other 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-to-high heat on the stovetop. Brown the turkey pieces in batches if necessary, 3 to 4 minutes per side. In the last minutes of browning of the last batch, add the onion, celery and carrots.
4. Add the salt, chipotle pepper, Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, bay leaves and half of the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, remove from the stovetop, cover, and put in the oven for one hour.
5. After an hour, remove the Dutch oven and add the rest of the vegetables and remaining stock. Return to the oven covered and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about one more hour.
6. When stew is finished, stir in the fresh basil and parsley and season with fresh ground pepper. Enjoy!
Turkey stew combined with a salad with plenty of ingredients is a healthy way to satisfy a hearty appetite.
Photo
Patrick Mathieu
Spinach salad with apple dressing
Ingredients
• 10 oz pre-washed baby spinach
• 2 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 3 oz lean turkey bacon, finely chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, sliced z
• (about 1 cup)
• 1 lb button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 Gala apple, cored and sliced thin
Directions:
Heart-healthy foods do not have to be bland and unsatisfying.
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• Salt and pepper
1. Place spinach into a large bowl. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes, or until it is just crispy. Remove meat from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Drain any remaining fat from the skillet.
2. Add olive oil, apple and onions to the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, or until onions soften slightly. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 more minutes. Put apples, onions and mushrooms on top of the spinach.
3. Add apple cider and vinegar to the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until cider is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Whisk in mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour warm cider dressing over the mushrooms and spinach and toss until the vegetables are well coated. Sprinkle the bacon and pecans on top and serve. Enjoy!
an easy fix. It is common knowledge that firefighters have hearty appetites, and often eat a lot of processed food that is quickly and easily prepared. The fix can be as simple as adjusting the ingredients we choose: for example, using lean cuts of meat or fish, using whole grains and whole foods, minimizing processed foods and getting a heavy dose of fibre-rich fruits and vegetables. Employing different cooking techniques, such as grilling and braising, or using a slow cooker, can help to optimize the benefits of the ingredients we choose. Heart-healthy foods don’t have to be bland and unsatisfying and shouldn’t leave us raiding the refrigerator for a slice of pizza. Cooking healthier food is an opportunity to be creative in the kitchen. Flavouring good-quality ingredients with fresh herbs and different spices can add a pop to heart-healthy foods, creating an unlimited array of possibilities. Fall is the perfect time of year to use fresh, local produce and herbs to create a warm, satisfying meal for members of your firehall family that will keep them around longer to enjoy the benefits of this very rewarding career.
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RIT: Air pack/bottle changeover
By Mark van der Feyst
Amayday firefighter’s air supply is an important area of concern. While conducting a nine-step assessment, one RIT member checks the air-cylinder gauge on the back. The air-cylinder gauge gives a true indication of the amount of air left, while the chest gauge may give a faulty reading due to damage to the SCBA. The RIT firefighter who is checking the air-supply status also needs to check the condition of the SCBA to make sure there is no damage to the cylinder, the air lines or the face piece. If there is no damage, the air supply can be easily addressed by connecting the RIT air pack to the universal RIT connector on the back of the SCBA, or by changing the SCBA over to another one.
It is important to stress that if the mayday firefighter is not breathing, a grab-and-go operation needs to take place. Wasting time changing or augmenting the air supply takes time away from addressing the mayday firefighter’s breathing problem. The purpose of augmenting or replacing the air supply is to buy time to allow the RIT members to do their jobs.
The most efficient way to augment the air supply is through the RIT connection on the back of the SCBA. The connection is universal, meaning that any brand of SCBA with this connector can connect to a RIT kit of any brand. As seen in photo 1, a single hose from the RIT pack is pulled and connected to the SCBA. Once the connection has been made, the air from the RIT pack is crash-filled into the other SCBA, equalizing the two bottles. Depending on the length of the rescue operation, multiple RIT packs may be needed to keep equalizing the cylinders. The SCBA on the mayday firefighter will never be 100 per cent full due to the equalization process, so numerous fillings may be required.
If there is no RIT connector on the SCBA, or if it is damaged, then an SCBA changeover is warranted. Two firefighters perform this operation, which results in the mayday firefighter breathing from a new SCBA. As shown in photo 2, the two RIT firefighters position themselves so that one of them is in front, facing the mayday firefighter, and the other is behind the mayday firefighter. The RIT firefighter behind the mayday firefighter lets the mayday firefighter lean back onto his lap. This positioning allows the RIT members to function effectively. The front RIT firefighter gets the RIT pack positioned and ready by ensuring that it is opened fully and that the regulator is ready to go, and passes the new regulator to the rear RIT firefighter. To do an SCBA changeover, the SCBA and the RIT pack must be the same brand so that the regulator will fit properly into the mayday firefighter’s face piece.
Next, the front RIT firefighter positions his gloved hand onto the regulator of the mayday firefighter, and the rear RIT firefighter ensures that the new regulator is close to the face piece. When both RIT firefighters are ready, they change the SCBA by exchanging the regulators; the front RIT firefighter removes the regulator and the rear RIT firefighter replaces it with the new one. The new regulator needs to be placed very close to the face piece before the existing regulator is removed – this reduces the exposure time. The rear RIT is positioned in a way that enables him to mimic the action of putting on his own regulator (see photo 3). The purge valve should be opened to prevent contaminants from entering into the face piece during the changeover, and to ensure that the mayday
firefighter is breathing immediately after the regulator is inserted. Once the changeover takes place, RIT members need to needs to make sure that the mayday firefighter is breathing by closing the purge valve and listening for air exchange.
If the face piece has been compromised, it is not possible to conduct a changeover and a face-piece changeover will be required. This process is similar to the changeover process described above. Two RIT
Photo 1: Connect a single hose from the RIT pack to the SCBA to crashfill the air from the RIT pack into the SCBA, equalizing the two bottles.
Photo 3: The rear RIT firefighter inserts the new regulator on the mayday firefighter the same way he would don the regulator himself.
Photos by Mark van der Feyst
Photo 2: Positioning one RIT firefighter in front of the mayday firefighter and one behind makes the process more effective.
firefighters are required and are similarly positioned: one in front and one behind the mayday firefighter. As seen in photo 4, one RIT firefighter removes the old face piece and the other replaces it with a new one. The front firefighter prepares the RIT pack with the new face piece connected and ready to go, and the rear firefighter removes the helmet and pulls back the flash hood. The rear firefighter then places his gloved hand on the lens of the face piece to hold it to the face of the mayday firefighter, while pulling the netting of the face piece over in front with the other hand.
Once both RIT firefighters are ready, the front RIT firefighter positions the new face piece in front of the old one so that the new one can be applied as soon as the rear RIT firefighter removes the old one.
The purge valve should be opened to push away contaminants in
The New
the air from the face of the mayday firefighter. Once the new face piece is on, the flash hood and helmet are put back on and the mayday firefighter is prepped for removal.
The RIT pack needs to be secured to the mayday firefighter for the removal process. The mayday firefighter’s lap is the best place for the RIT pack (see photo 5); this allows the pack to sit between the mayday firefighter’s legs and be clipped to his SCBA waist belt. At this point, the mayday firefighter is ready for rapid extrication.
Mark van der Feyst is a 13-year veteran of the fire service. He currently works for the City of Woodstock Fire Department in Ontario. Contact him at mark@FireStarTraining.com
Photo 5: When removing the mayday firefighter, keep the RIT pack in his lap.
Photo 4: If the mayday firefighter’s face piece has been compromised, two RIT firefighters will quickly need to replace it.
Photos by Mark van der Feyst
The rise and fall of the paramilitary structure
Can
By Jay Shaw
Hfire departments maintain discipline on the fire ground if it’s absent in the halls?
as your fire department’s tolerance for discipline and traditional top-down rule changed in the last 10 years? Is the Canadian fire service following the private-sector trend toward soft-skill human resource policies that are designed to increase efficiency and productivity by coddling employees and nurturing their every need and want?
Trends such as appreciative inquiry – a positivist’s look at problem solving, or, in other words, looking at what is being done well and ignoring the problem – and other socially responsible organizational behaviour models are prevalent. Businesses are more flexible and reward employees for creative thinking. Work from home? No problem. Need to leave early? Sure. Yoga classes at lunch? You got it. Free high-end coffee and pet sitting? If it makes workers feel more valued, companies will do it.
All of which is well and good in today’s busy and evolving work world and, perhaps, a necessary evil if employers want to get the
most from workers. But can a fire service move away from its paramilitary roots to properly and safely serve its customers and protect its own?
There’s was story making the rounds early this year about a young member who walked into a holiday gathering of fellow firefighters. He called out to a retired captain, whom he obviously still held in high regard, and said, “Cap, how are you sir?”
A current captain, within earshot, heard the complimentary quip, and, tongue-in-cheek, bellowed out, “You don’t get that kind of respect any more in the halls. I feel like I’m babysitting sometimes. I actually had to tell our rookie to put his freaking phone away. He looked at me square in the eyes and said, ‘Why?’ ”
This exchange, of course, opened a Pandora’s box of all things from the old days, as a few junior members listened to stories for half an hour about how the job has changed and how the new kids (meaning those with fewer years of service than the person telling the story) just don’t get it anymore.
Behaviourists say these workplace
changes are a result of technological advances and societal demands. We are in a rush all the time. We need instant access to information. We demand better services and benefits. We want luxury working conditions. And yet, we offer nothing in return to our employers for these creature comforts. Employees of the Canadian fire service are part of the same demographic as the rest of the national work force, and this means that we, too, are subject to these types of cultural shifts. Our young workers come from the same cultural backgrounds as those in every other industry experiencing problems with a workforce infatuated with instant gratification.
Retired Dalhousie University sociology professor Dr. John Benoit, who has spent
The paramilitary structure that is the foundation of the North American fire service is built on the tenets of seniority, experience and respect. Some say younger generations of firefighters are losing interest in the top-down formula.
Photo by l aura k ing
much of his career researching the fire service, agrees that there has been a change in attitudes and values.
“It is apparent that these observed generational behaviour trends are affecting the Canadian workforce and businesses,” he says. “The question is, how does this correlate to the fire service? We need to do some research here to further examine this hypothesis, because we need answers before the rudder comes off.”
Recently retired Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Battalion Chief Wayne Humphry, who served for more than 32 years, is the owner and chief consultant for Fire Works Consulting and Training Services (www.fireworksconsulting.ca), and has seen in action this move away from the paramilitary structure.
“A large portion of this has to do with the hiring practices and the HR involvement that didn’t exist years ago,” he said. “And tie this to the fact that most organizations only hire those candidates that have the required training, which means you can only select from those that can afford to take time away from work and afford this type of training . . . it drastically reduces the number of candidates to choose from and the result is they have less loyalty to the organization.”
Vancouver Battalion Chief Randy Hebenton offers insight about this shift in employee behaviour.
“We came on under the watchful eye of the ’46ers – post-war era, hard-nosed old vets who were big on, and instilled, the military values, which the fire departments follow in many ways,” he says.
“I believe the younger generation of firefighters has a heightened view of the world and what they want, but not enough life experience to see that they have to wait a while to use their knowledge.”
Hebenton believes new firefighters – through no fault of their own – are less informed about fire-service traditions and values, partly because departments have moved away from training their own. This change, he says, has led to a lack of respect for those traditions and values.
“Some new rookies also have a tendency for instant gratification,” he adds. “They want things now, not later, and don’t seem as prepared to work for it, to earn it, and to establish their place in the organization and culture by putting in their time, getting the required experience and earning the respect of the others that have moved through the organization in this manner.”
The term paramilitary, or semi-military,
means a group or agency of individuals acting under the resemblance of a true military system, such as the Canadian Forces. The term paramilitary is subjective, and can mean different things in different countries.
In North America, law-enforcement agencies, fire departments, coast guard, cadet organizations and security companies are examples of paramilitary structures.
Peter Sells, a retired Toronto Fire Services district chief, offers some perspective on the paramilitary structure and a good example of how it taught him to respect his superiors.
“When I joined the Toronto Fire Department in 1986 as a fresh college kid with no fire background, I expected a paramilitary environment and that’s exactly what I got,” Sells says. “It was clear that I was low man on the totem pole and I understood and accepted that. My opinions on fire fighting were given no regard, and although I felt that I did have some knowledge and insight to contribute, again I accepted my place.”
Sells remembers that dominoes was the game of choice for most of the veteran guys and when the dominoes came out, he was ordered out of the room.
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“I thought this was petty and stupid, but it’s not like I really wanted to watch four guys play dominoes, and the hall was plenty big enough to find someplace else to hang out if the evening was slow.
Then, he says, came his big break.
“One night, the other truck was out of the hall for a couple of hours and the old guys needed a fourth for dominoes. The same senior man who forbade me from playing was now inviting me in. I told him to shove the dominoes up his ass; I was playing darts by myself. Thirty minutes later, after a whole lot of grumbling which I overheard from the next room, and thoroughly enjoyed, the three of them announced that we were playing darts and told me who I was paired with. That senior man made my life hell for my first four years on the job. He had a long-standing reputation as a grumpy old man and it was well known that I was his latest whipping boy. Still, of all of the department funerals I have attended in the last 25 years, his is one that sticks out in my mind. I learned a lot from him.”
No one is saying that we need to go back to times when disrespect and outright rude behaviour was more the norm. Yet municipal governments need to be mindful of policies that conflict with fire-department guidelines and operational procedures, particularly those that use a hierarchical system of structure and discipline. Fire departments aren’t renewing pet licences or running community clubs; firefighters are risking their lives to save life and property. The practice of discipline is key to making sure order is maintained when and where it is needed most – on the fire ground. Discipline in the station means a higher likelihood of compliance when it’s really needed.
It’s clear from reading newspapers or listening to workplace experts that the erosion of traditional work ethic and values is not a regional quandary, but a national epidemic. From coast to coast, in all employment sectors of Canada, people have noticed a generational change in the young worker. There must be a problem when today’s 20-somethings have been coined “generation Y-Not” and “generation Me.”
University of Manitoba sociologist Dr. Lori Wilkinson says the problem – like so many societal issues – starts at home.
“Many social sciences trace the change in work to the values instilled by parents in their children in recent years,” she says.
“Children are increasingly socialized to be independent at a young age. This causes difficulties at home, as youth question their
In many fire departments, station duties are based on seniority.
parents’ authority. This culture of independence doesn’t lend itself very well to workplaces that value working together for a common good or purpose, much like what you might find in the police force, in a hospital setting and in the fire-protection services.”
The fire service needs to do a better job educating fire administrators and floor officers about ways to bridge the gap between oldschool, tried-and-true methods of managing and new techniques that value the education and energy that new recruits bring to the table.
Sells offers some solutions that can be effective – but only if they’re implemented.
“We need to establish, or re-establish, some rules of behaviour and then enforce them,” he says. “The days of the pecking order are over, but young folks still expect direction from their superiors.
“In my opinion, the last wave of deterioration of discipline in the fire service has not been due to the gen-Y rookies, but due to the gen-X captains not enforcing the same levels of discipline that they were subject to 15 or 20 years previous. Have rules that are sensible, legal and reasonable. Make sure they are communicated to all members and then hold people accountable.”
There are all kinds of famous quotes that don’t need to be repeated here about what happens in the absence of leadership and structure. But while the fire service is embracing change and empowering leaders to move us through the 21st century, we need to look to the past and remember how we got here in the first place. Maybe it’s time for a history lesson.
Jay Shaw is a nine-year member of the Winnipeg Fire Department. Shaw has worked in hospital emergency rooms, rural ambulance services and with the Canadian Forces fire service. He is completing graduate studies in Disaster and Emergency Management at Royal Roads University. Contact him at jayshaw@ mts.net
Photo by l aura k ing
against the tide
Hi there,” I said, pressing the cell phone to my ear to drown out traffic. “I’m at the airport. Can I get a ride to the hotel?”
“Certainly,” said the hotel clerk. “From which terminal?”
“Oh,” I said, feeling the wind ooze out of my sails, “there’s more than one terminal?” Somehow I had missed this important piece of navigational trivia when I plotted my course to Toronto from Upsala.
“There are three, sir.”
“Three? Three? Um, actually . . . I have no clue. What if I gave you a few landmarks? I see a concrete overpass, some pillars with numbers, and a bunch of tall buildings with . . .”
“What airline did you travel with sir?
“WestJet.”
“Stay right where you are, and someone will be along soon.”
A short time later, like magic, a shuttle bus appeared and gave me safe passage through the tangled maze of city, right to the doorstep of my hotel. Whew.
Successful journeying requires knowledge of three basic pieces of information: your current location, your desired destination and a practical means to get from here to there. My firm grasp on two of the three was not sufficient, and without the helpful clerk, my journey would have ended at the airport. The road to effective fire service, unlike a simple trip to Toronto, is more like travelling up a downward escalator. If you run, you might be able to advance. If you walk, you may keep your current position. If you stand still, you will certainly end up behind. Many of us have stood still too long, and our destination dangles like a carrot, far out of reach.
without a partner, and without your protective clothing?”
The newest rookie knows it would break every standard in the book, but the audience, seasoned by years of trick questions, knew better than to take the bait. Later in the presentation, Gardiner offered a scenario where an off-duty firefighter sees a house with smoke coming from an upstairs window, and stops to help. He pounds on the door and gets no answer. He opens the door and sees an elderly person on the floor, five steps into the smoke-free entranceway. What should he do? The second floor is burning. He has no partner, and no protective clothing. The technically correct answer might still be wait for help, but you and I both know what we would do.
If the level of service we say we provide were measured against applicable standards, we might find ourselves further behind than we thought.
We all have ideas about where we would like our departments to be. We might even think we have a plan to get there. The downward escalator, however, can skew our perception of where we currently are. Upsala advanced by leaps and bounds in the latter half of the 1990s, recruiting, training and acquiring equipment. Then it was tempting to take a deep breath and relax a little. Time – our enemy – never relaxes though, causing the playing field to perpetually change. Even the best training needs updating. Technology expands and brings new hazards as well as new solutions . . . which demand more training. Volunteer staffing ebbs and flows like the Bay of Fundy, only less reliably. One day our department looks just fine. The next day some ungodly substance spills into our backyard, and we realize the escalator has left us far behind in the dust of unpreparedness.
Time and money are two commodities required to make progress. Both are in short supply in the cultural recession facing small departments. If the level of service we say we provide were measured against applicable standards, we might find ourselves further behind than we thought. This is a dismal prospect, and some say we should cut back our services. I’m not sure that’s the best answer to the problem.
Dan Gardiner, retired fire chief in Fairfield, Conn., asked an interesting question in his presentation at the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs conference last spring. “Would you enter a burning building
Small departments, and perhaps even some bigger ones, are confronted with nebulous situations on a regular basis. Standards that say thusand-so are in place, while reality and common sense dictate otherwise. Sean Tracey made a good case in his NFPA Impact column in the August issue of Fire Fighting in Canada, saying that departing from standards is a dangerously slippery slope. Vince MacKenzie made an equally valid point in his Volunteer Vision column in the June issue of Fire Fighting in Canada, stating many small departments are kidding themselves if they think they can comply. The litigators and government watchdogs eye us from the wings, waiting until we make a fateful choice before swooping down with their judgment on the matter.
Agencies like the NFPA provide these standards to help us identify our GPS co-ordinates in the journey to providing safe, effective service. Government agencies use standards as benchmarks for enforcement. If applied without appropriate support, however, standards only add to the escalating downstream rush that threatens to wash away small departments like a flash flood in a desert gully. Should volunteer departments have different standards than career? I won’t weigh in on that debate, except to say that if standards are enforced equally upon all, funding and support must be provided equally to all.
The fire-protection world is not equal. I foresee a day when standards could be used to bludgeon small communities right back into the dark ages of the bucket brigade. If, on the other hand, they are used as tools to identify where we currently are, and if support is forthcoming to take us to where we should be, then perhaps standards will actually provide some real benefit to small departments. In the meantime, we face the choice of whether to take those five steps, or wait for backup that might not be coming.
There is no magic shuttle bus to transport us into the future. Instead of a helpful clerk who desires to guide us to our destination safely, we might only get a gruff police officer who says, “Here’s a map. Figure it out yourself.” For now, our destiny is in our own hands if we want to outrun the downward escalator.
Tim Beebe is the fire chief in Upsala, Ont. Contact him at upsalafd@ tbaytel.net and check out his blog at www.beebewitzblog.blogspot.com
Tim BeeBe
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