Firecall Summer 2014

Official magazine Of Dublin fire, ambulance anD emergency ServiceS

f ­ irecall

Summer 14

DFB’s Newest MeMBers Passout New recruits

fire inveStigatiOn | PiPe banD | DOnnybrOOk carDiac arreSt anD much mOre

Contents

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13 04 Editor’s LEttEr 07 ForEword 09 datEs For Your diarY 10 a NEw arrivaL Dolphin's Barn has taken delivery of a new Scania appliance.

13 thE NExt ChaLLENgE

20

Raising funds for children's hospice charity LauraLynn, firefighter and runner Paul McGurrell faced his toughest challenge yet – the Sahara desert.

18 thE FuturE's FirE sErviCE The annual CFOA conference and exhibition was held in Naas, Co Kildare.

20 dFB's NEw rECruits 25 DFB recruits successfully completed their training and took part in the passing-out parade in April.

26 rEduCiNg PEdEstriaN FataLitiEs Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has been working with several partners – including DFB – to implement their casualty reduction strategy.

30

30 a wELComE rEuNioN Though many DFB members will never meet the people they save, when they do it's always a proud moment, writes Linda Scully.

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Contents

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35 PiPe Band Charity SuCCeSS After months and years of hard work promoting their début CD, DFB's Pipe Band has handed over a substantial cheque to charity Suicide or Survive.

38 the Way ForWard The Fire Investigators' Association of Ireland held a training day in the OBI in April. Firecall went along to speak to some of those in attendance.

42 Station ProFile: north Strand Covering a large area of north Dublin – including Dublin's docklands and the busy Port Tunnel – we caught up the crew of C watch North Strand.

47 CyCling For Charity Organised by DFB's Paddy O'Mahony, DFB members and friends gathered for a charity cycle in May, to raise funds and awareness for the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association.

42

50 FireFighting teChnology Continuing developments in technology mean that firefighters can make their dangerous job a little easier.

55 riSing to the Challenge Firecall meets Emma Wilson, one of the latest additions to DFB's control room at Tara Street.

59 diSaSter underground

47

301 people lost their lives when an explosion at Soma Coal Mine ignited a deadly fire deep underground. Conor Forrest recounts the events of last May, and looks at the response to the disaster.

63 international neWS

50

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Editor: Conor Forrest Consulting Editor: Greg O’Dwyer Contributors: Felicity Gill, Linda Scully.

Editorial and Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Design and Layout: Jane Matthews and Colm McDermott Advert Design: Colm McDermott Photography: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, The Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, Kildare Fire Service, DFP Pipe Band, Linda Scully, Conor Forrest, Yenal Kucuker, Hilmi Hacaloglu, Mustafa Karaman, Kevin Baird, US Naval Research Laboratory/Jamie Hartman, Thomas Hawk, Christopher Munoy, Paul McGurrell.

Sales Director: Paul Clemenson Production Executive: Nicole Ennis Publisher: Chesterfox Ltd, T/A Firecall Magazine, P.O. Box 6766, Dublin 2.

Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 672 7100 Managing Director: Diarmaid Lennon Distribution by: Magazine Mailing Ashville Media Group Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7 Tel: (01) 432 2200 Fax: (01) 676 6043 Publisher’s Statement: The information in Firecall is carefully researched and believed to be accurate and authoritative, but neither the Dublin Fire Brigade Sports & Social Club nor the publisher can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.

Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the publisher.

Copyright ©2014 Firecall Magazine No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Editor’s Letter

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Dear readers, Welcome to the Summer 2014 issue of Firecall. DFB members have been quite busy over the last few months, and we have a jam-packed issue of everything they've been getting up to. In this issue, we meet Emma Wilson, one of the new recruits at DFB's Townsend Street Control Room.

Having set her sights on joining DFB since she left university, Emma outlines her new, busy and often challenging role.

The Fire Investigators Association of Ireland held a training day in the OBI last April, with speakers including Dr Peter Mansi, President of the International Association of Arson Investigators. We spoke to Dr Mansi and several members of DFB about their views on the importance of fire investigation.

In this edition's Station Profile, we travelled to the busy North Strand and the crew members of C watch. Covering an area which includes Dublin's docklands and the Port Tunnel, we spoke with SO Jim Bissett and his crew to discover the major issues associated with covering such an area, and how they would respond to an emergency.

Though firefighters rarely get the opportunity to meet the people they save, 16-year old Suzanne Stapleton visited the crew members of A watch Donnybrook last May, who saved her life following a cardiac arrest at her school. Linda Scully recalls the proud moment Suzanne walked through the station doors, fit and healthy.

One of the world's most gruelling ultramarathons, the Marathon de Sable takes place in the Sahara desert, where participants must run approx.

254km over six days in incredibly tough conditions. Firefighter Paul McGurrel, from D watch Swords, was one of 13 Irish people who took part in the race in 2014, running in aid of children's hospice, LauraLynn.

On a more sombre note, last April saw an explosion and resulting fire at the Soma coal mine in Turkey. In the wake of horrified reactions, familial pain and political protests, I take a look back at the events of those days, examining the reaction from inside and outside Turkey.

And finally, we have a roundup of all the other events and news in DFB, including a new fire tender for Dolphin's Barn, cycling in aid of the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, DFB's latest recruits and much more.

Hope you enjoy the read,

Conor Forrest Conor Forrest

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FIRECALL

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Foreword

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Dear readers, Welcome to the Summer issue of Firecall.

The most recent class of DFB recruits passed out at the OBI, Marino last April at a parade attended by Lord Mayor Oisin Quinn, DFB senior officers and family and friends. The day was a great success and I'd like to wish our newest recruits the very best of luck in their careers with DFB. Having released their first CD in 2012, DFB Pipe Band handed over a substantial cheque to charity Suicide or Survive. Eighteen months' hard work has gone into selling the CD, and the funds raised go directly to the charity's work in raising awareness of mental health issues here in Ireland. The Band raised 10,254, so well done to all involved.

The future of the fire service was the topic at the recent Irish Chief Fire Officers' Association annual conference held in Co. Kildare, examining how the sector must be able to adapt to meet current and future challenges, and how technology continues to have a greater role to play. Later on, we'll also be taking a look at how technology is being used by fire services around the world. rv ice nc y Se

In addition, the recent cycle organised by DFB's Paddy O'Mahony in aid of the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association was a great success, both in terms of the weather and participation. Paddy received a lung transplant in early 2013, and worked alongside many others at DFB to ensure the event went well – congratulations to all involved.

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7

Coillte. Trees are just the start of it.

20 12 /1 3

W in ne r

At the 2013 European Business Awards, Coillte was the outright winner for Environmental and Corporate Sustainability, beating off competition from over 15,000 European companies.

It’s official – Coillte is No.1 in Europe for Sustainability

Natural resources, responsibly managed. www.coillte.ie

Dates For Your DiarY

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Dates For your Diary

DUBLIN FIRE BRIGADE SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB UPCOmING EvENTS

Family Fun Day Sunday 31st of August 1.00pm - 5.30pm DFB Training Centre

PaRaDe oF celebRation & DisPlay Saturday 6th of September 12 noon Royal Hospital Kilmainham

RetiReD membeRs PResentation Function Friday 17th of October from 8.00pm The Clarion Hotel, Liffey valley

All members and their families are welcome, please come along and have a great day out for the kids before they go back to school.

• • • • • • •

Bouncy Castles Super Slide Obstacle Courses Face Painters Stilt Walkers Kids Disco Lots of Goodies & Barbeque Marquee

The Frontline Emergency & Security Services Eire Forum (FESSEF) Parade of Celebration and Display takes place at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on Saturday 6th of September. The showcase parade begins from Civic Offices on Wood Quay at 12 noon, marching to The Royal Hospital Kilmainham where a static display of all agencies will take place until 5.00pm.

Our annual Retired Member’s Presentation Function is a celebration night with food and entertainment and to support those who recently retired receiving their Statuettes from the Chief Fire Officer.

The hotel will be providing a special room rate for any members wishing to stay. Unfortunately due to large numbers attending partners and guests cannot be facilitated.

The Retired Members Association is still going from strength to strength and meets the first Thursday of every month to catch up on all the news and plan their trips and various events. To promote this great organisation the DFBS&S club will pay for your first year’s subscription. So why don’t you get involved and contact one of their committee members or the Sports and Social club for information.

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9

New TeNder

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Left and below: the latest fleet member at Dolphin’s Barn, a Scania P320.

A New ArrivAl Dolphin’s Barn took DElivEry of a BranD nEw scania appliancE in Early JunE.

E

arly in the morning on June 3rd, senior officers – including CFO Pat Fleming – and crew members from Dolphin’s Barn fire station gathered to welcome the latest addition to the station, a brand new Scania P320.

“It’s a Scania P320 with 320hp. The pump being used is a 4010 Godiva Prima bronze pump, with around the pump foam proportioner,” explains

Noel Howard, MD HPMP Fire, based in Tullow, Co Carlow. “The body itself is completely recycled plastic – polypropene plastic – and the entire body and tank combined is constructed from this material. There would be very few of them in the country at the moment – I think this is the third one operating in Dublin. It’s the first of two this year – the other is going to Kilbarrack. Hopefully

this is the start of a good relationship with DFB.” Considering the current economic conditions, it’s great to see the addition of a new tender, and CFO Pat Fleming welcomed the new arrival. “It’s great to see this, in these economic times,” he said. “It’s good for the brigade, and it’s good for this particular station and the crew here in Dolphin’s Barn to have a new state-of-the-art appliance. You can see the difference between the

appliances they already have and this new one – in terms of the little improvements which have been made.”

Pat echoed the hopes of Noel Howard in terms of securing new appliances for DFB in the future. “We would hope that we would get more central government funding for more appliances in the next 12 months, but obviously times are difficult. But we’re absolutely delighted with this, and it’s great to have it.”

hpMp firE Based in the small town of Tullow in Co Carlow, HPMP Fire was established in 1976 and began working with the fire industry in 1980. They provide a range of vehicle services to the emergency services sector, including tailored cabs, hygiene stations, locker configurations, spring bar systems, pump options and vehicle graphics.

Firefighters with CFO Pat Fleming.

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FIRECALL

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Celebrating 20 years

of riverdanCe Still aStoniShing audienceS around the world, riverdance celebrateS 20 yearS Since euroviSion 1994.

20

years ago on april 30th 1994 something happened during the interval of the eurovision song contest that was to lead to the creation of one of the most successful stage shows of all time and that would introduce the wider world to irish dance and music.

As the votes were being counted around Europe, in Dublin in the Point Theatre (now the O2), Riverdance burst onto the stage and took the audience by complete surprise.

From the haunting vocals of anúna, the graceful elegance of Jean Butler, the explosive arrival of Michael Flatley and culminating in a long line of Irish dancers beating the stage in perfect heart-stopping harmony, a whole new genre of entertainment was born. 20 years

Composed by BILL WHELAN

and 25 million audience members later – Riverdance still astonishes globally.

Riverdance for Eurovision 1994 was presented by RTÉ, produced by Moya Doherty, composed by Bill Whelan, choreography by Michael Flatley and Jean Butler and staging by Mavis Ascott.

Where were you on that extraordinary night? Share your memories with us on #riverdance20 or on www.riverdance.com riverdance returns to the gaiety theatre for the 11th successive year running from 24 June to 31 august 2014.

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1

28/4/14 15:52:00

The Running FiReFighTeR

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Running Firefighter in the Sahara.

The NexT ChalleNge

Raising funds foR hospice chaRity LauRaLynn, fiRefighteR and Running enthusiast pauL McguRReLL faced his toughest chaLLenge yet – the sahaRa deseRt.

t

he Marathon de sable, known simply as the Mds, is one of the world’s most gruelling races held in one of the most inhospitable places you might find yourself in – the sahara desert.

A multi-day ultramarathon, the race covers around 254km over six days in blistering heat and incredibly tough conditions, the equivalent of running from Dublin to Cork, if Ireland’s climate could push 50°C, and the roads were made from sand.

There are many reasons

why someone might choose to run the MdS. For Paul McGurrell, firefighter on D watch at Swords fire station, it was the next step in his search for adventure, and an ideal opportunity to raise some muchneeded funds for charity.

the next chaLLenge Paul ran his first marathon – the Dublin marathon – in 2006, and was hooked from there. He began searching for ways to push himself further, competing in ultra marathons and continually searching for the next thing.

“That led me to my desert adventure,” he explains.

“The way it works is you apply for your place two years beforehand. In June 2012 I applied to a company in England which takes Irish registrations, and told them I wanted to apply for a place. In June 2012, registration went live for the June 2014 race. The whole thing sold out in 11 minutes.

It’s very sought after.”

Considering the conditions in the Sahara, Paul’s training was very full on. Running through the

Sahara desert in sweltering temperatures would make many feel tired simply by thinking about it, but to make it even more of a challenge, the MdS is a selfsufficient race. Although the organisers provide water at stages throughout the race, as well as an eightman tent to sleep in at night, runners have to carry the remainder of supplies on their back. Throughout 2013, Paul completed various ultra marathons around the country, and also spent several weeks training in Dubai in an effort

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13

The Running FiReFighTeR

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A proud (and tired) Paul at the end.

to get used to the heat. “It’s very hard in this country to train for those kind of temperatures,” says Paul.

“You really have to learn a lot about hydration. I also took up hot yoga and towards the end of the training, I was running with several layers on, and also doing work with the backpack.”

PreParation into Practice Having trained well in the lead up to the event, Paul was very confident going into the race, recognising that it was going to be hard, yet assured that he had made all the right preparations. “Life was very simple out there during the race. The camp would rise at 5.30 in the morning, everybody getting their kit ready, getting their water ration and some food.

Then you’d do your stage and when you’d get back

– depending on how long the stage is – the first thing you would do is get back to your tent and into shelter, get your feet off the ground for a little while and make sure you get your fluids and food onboard.” Food came in the form of freeze-dried foods, rehydrated substances

known as expedition foods, generally used by the military or people on Everest expeditions. “You lose weight very fast over there and it was actually impossible to replace the amount of calories you burn each day with what you could eat. But it was enough

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Having put in so much effort over the previous months and years, the determination not to see it go to waste was the main driving force behind Paul’s success in finishing the marathon, keeping it in his mind that he had known it would be a major challenge, and all he had to do was keep going and finish. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

to keep you ticking over,” Paul explains. “When you were on the run, you needed to be munching away as well. I was given advice about the energy gels which runners use – there’s only so much of them you can take before you start feeling sick. So it was a mixture of consuming little packs of savoury foods and sweet foods like crushed up crisps and peanuts. But pepperami was the best discovery, and I actually still love it!”

There were 13 Irish in the race this year, all looking out for one another.

Unfortunately we lost one on the long day but there was great camaraderie; everyone was feeling the same misery, everyone was going through the pain,” he explains. “You just got stuck into it together.

The most important thing was looking after your feet – the feet would be the second biggest reason for drop outs, as your feet tend to get destroyed from the terrain. I was one of the luckier ones; people actually broke bones or got stress fractures. You had to be regimented – as tired as you were, you had to get in, get your food and look after your feet.”

the charitable cause Having put in so much effort over the previous months and years, the determination not to see it go to waste was the main driving force behind Paul’s success in finishing the marathon, keeping it in his mind that he had known it would be a major challenge, and all he had to do was keep going and finish. But the fact that he had raised so much funding for his chosen charity, LauraLynn, was also

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FIRECALL

The Running FiReFighTeR

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// key in helping him cross the finish line. “A lot of people knew what I was doing it for – I did a big push beforehand, there was a page set up and a lot of people were keeping track of me. That was in my mind, and that helped me a lot when I was down in the dumps; I thought ‘come on, everybody at home is rooting for you’.”

Two reasons were behind Paul’s choice of LauraLynn.

“Firstly, because of what they are, the only children’s hospice in the whole country, which I couldn’t believe.

As an organisation they are absolutely fantastic, they do unbelievable work. That was the initial attraction.

The other part – in light of what has gone on with charities in the public eye of late – I wanted to be able to tell people where the money went.” When Paul approached LauraLynn, he explained that he didn’t want any of the money he raised simply disappearing into some central fund, but that he wanted to be able to show his donors where their money was spent. LauraLynn responded by presenting Paul with a shopping list

Paul and Padraig Thompson.

of equipment they sought.

“They’re not state-funded at all, they completely rely on charity, so they just handed me the list and said ‘whatever you can get for us off that list, get it for us.’ And I thought that was brilliant, and told them I would be with them all the way.”

Having set up a mycharity. ie page, firefighter Ian Lawless – also from D watch Swords – suggested setting up an accompanying Facebook page which he called ‘The Running Firefighter’, posting news

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On the ground, Paul notes the huge help he received from DFB which provided a platform for his fundraising efforts, as they spent several days collecting in local shopping centres, with a fire tender on hand and colleagues fundraising with buckets on the day. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

and updates. “We got some really generous online donations,” Paul acknowledges. “The Sports & Social Club were very good too, they gave me support in terms of getting my kit and covering costs. I got two company sponsors as well, and wore their names on my arm alongside the crest and the LauraLynn logo. Dubco as well were very generous.”

The final fundraising figure stands at u20,679.50

Support On the ground, Paul notes the huge help he received from DFB which provided a platform for his fundraising, as they spent several days collecting in local shopping centres, with a fire tender on hand and colleagues fundraising with buckets on the day. “And last October for the Dublin marathon – training and a fundraiser – I ran the marathon twice,” Paul adds. “I started that at 4am with a fire crew – I’d like to mention Paul McEvoy from D watch Swords and Shane Tierney from D watch Donnybrook, as they drove

a fire brigade support car and got us through traffic all the way through the night.

And Padraig Thompson who is on D watch in Tallaght ran the first marathon with me. I have to take my hat off to Padraig because he was actually registered to do the marathon that year, but he sacrificed his medal and a finisher’s t-shirt because he ran the first one with me, just so I’d have company. I really appreciated that, he’s a top bloke.”

Though the race across the desert was tough, as was seeing friends and other competitors drop out over the course of the six days, Paul appreciates the experience he has had.

“The scenery was just phenomenal,” he says.

“As much as you were boiling hot, and feeling very miserable, you couldn’t help but think ‘this is spectacular’.

All you could see was sand dunes as far as the eye could see. It was everything I thought it would be, and I’m delighted I could do so much for LauraLynn. I’ve had phenomenal support, from the job itself, colleagues, friends and family. They were all brilliant.”

Paul hands over the cheque.

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15

TRANSDEV OPERATOR OF LUAS You think transport.

We respond mobility.

You want to go further.

We propose intermodal connectivity.

You said “well done”.

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Motorists –

What’s the harM? GamblinG on runninG a red liGht at luas crossinGs has resulted in some serious collisions. transdev has partnered with several concerned parties in a bid to see the incidents reduced and removed.

m

inister for transport, tourism & sport leo Brian Brennan, Managing Director of Transdev said: “Luas varadkar, luas operator transdev, railway is a very safe system to travel on. Over 30.4m passenger procurement agency and an Garda síochána combined journeys were made last year on the service and the forces earlier this month to appeal to motorists to stop trams covered over four million kilometres. Whilst it is breaking red lights. luas is particularly concerned that important to assure customers how safe the system is the figures are on the increase. the trams are very much to travel on we must now at the start of summer target a part of dublin’s transport infrastructure and this type gambling motorists. We must reduce the number of of motorist behaviour is a worrying trend. 'what’s the emergency brakes the trams are forced to make because harm' is an advertising campaign aimed at educating of reckless motorist behaviour, we motorists that breaking red lights must reverse this trend so that we do and colliding with luas may result in not face a summer of further pain and the statistics associated serious injury or kill someone. with motorists and tram suffering.” collisions are as follows: In addition to the awareness consequences campaign other steps are being taken You may be prosecuted by the Gardaí and to change motorist behaviour. lastly you affect the lives of thousands to date in 2014 For example, An Garda Síochána of commuters by putting an unnecessary and unwelcome delay on their journey. has undertaken targeted patrols of in 2013 While the majority of motorists drive Blackhall Place, Queen St and Belgard safely and adhere to the law, it is the Rd (in South Dublin) in an effort to minority who gamble when the lights turn reduce this illegal and very dangerous in 2012 red or go through on the red that we must driver behaviour. target to protect the lives of commuters and pedestrians going about their day-to/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// day business. To show the public 'What the Harm Is' when motorists break red traffic lights, Luas made CCTV footage available to view on-line. Check out these videos on our YouTube channel - /officialluas Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar said: “Breaking a red light is one of the most dangerous things any motorist can do, and driving through a red light at a Luas junction is both irresponsible and stupid. There have been 14 incidents between motorists and trams this year, and one loss of life. This new awareness campaign aims to prevent further incidents. Under a new pilot scheme starting later this year, Gardaí will be able to initiate prosecutions using CCTV footage of motorists who break /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// red lights.”

14 38 24

“ While the majority of motorists drive safely and adhere to the law it is the minority who gamble when the lights turn red or go through on the red that we must target to protect the lives of commuters and pedestrians.”

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17

CFOA COnFerenCe

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The FuTure’s Fire service The IrIsh ChIef fIre OffICers’ AssOCIATIOn (CfOA) hOsTed ITs AnnuAl COnferenCe And fIre TeChnOlOgy exhIbITIOn In nAAs, CO KIldAre On The 7-8Th July.

T

he theme of the conference this year was ‘leading the fire service of the future.’

According to Seamus Murphy, CFOA Chairperson and Mayo CFO, speaking before the event: “The aim of the conference is to afford all involved in the fire and rescue area the opportunity to debate current issues and to see the latest developments in fire service appliances and equipment, and to explore the newest technology in fire service operations and fire prevention.”

The conference hosted a number of expert speakers working with the emergency services sector and the fire technology industry from across Ireland, the UK, USA, Netherlands and Estonia, offering their thoughts and ideas on how fire and rescue in Ireland can adapt to meet the various challenges it currently faces.

Speakers at the event included Sean Hogan (Director, National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management); John Power (Director General, Engineers Ireland); Paul Fuller (President, CFOA UK); Sue Lampard (President, British Association of Public Safety

Communication Officials); Barry Van Padje and Guido Leegemate (Netherlands); Connor Hanaway (Managing Director, SHRC Limited); Caroline Creamer (National University of Ireland, Maynooth); Tony O’Brien (Deputy Executive Director, European Emergency Number Association); Margo Klaos (Estonian Rescue Board); Carmel Kirby (Limerick County

Council); and Professor Daniel Boatright (Senior Associate Dean, University of Oklahoma, USA).

“Kildare Fire and Rescue Service is delighted to be able to host this year’s event, which takes place at an interesting time for the Irish fire service,” said Celina Barrett, Conference Secretary and Kildare CFO. “The sector has had to adapt and be competent

to meet current and future challenges against a background of budget and service constraints, changing personnel demography, greater scrutiny and wider demands on the service it delivers to the community.

Technology is rapidly advancing with information being readily available and expectations are more demanding for an instant solution.”

ChIef fIre OffICers’ AssOCIATIOn The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) expresses the professional opinion of Chief Fire Officers in Ireland on matters related to fire service operations, fire safety and major emergency management. Their objective is to improve the safety of all people and places – thereby protecting life and property throughout the country.

The Association is also a member of the Federation of European Union Fire Officer Associations (FEU) that has 22 members in Europe. Representatives from the CFOA attend their twice yearly meetings.

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FIRECALL

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EastEr Passout

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DFB’s New RecRuits 25 new DFB RecRuits successFully completeD theiR tRAining AnD pARticipAteD in the pAssing-out pARADe At the DFB tRAining centRe in mARino lAst ApRil.

R

ecruits from DFB completed their 27-week training programme earlier this year, and took part in the first passing-out parade since 2009 held last April 15th. Attended by Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn, senior officers from DFB along with Cathaoirleach Carrie Smith

of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin Lord Mayor Dermot Looney, the recruits demonstrated some of the skills they have developed over the course of their training, including an exercise in road traffic collisions, and fire discipline.

The DFB Pipe Band was also present on the day.

“It was an excellent

day – that’s a little unusual on Passout day, because you usually have a few glitches,” explains Rob Tierney, Course Director, who joined DFB in 1996 and current operates as a station officer in Foxtrot District.

“The public wouldn’t notice it but as instructors you would. This one went quite well – the marching went

as planned and everything else just fell into place. We also kept it quite short; previously on Passout days you can have the drills going on for a little too long and the public – while initially in awe – start to lose interest.

So I kept the timing very tight.”

The recently graduated class came about from a

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FIRECALL

EastEr Passout

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Clockwise from far left: Recruit Class 1/2013; Lord Mayor Oisin Quinn presenting graduation scrolls; L-R F/F Richie McDonald, Sub Officer Martin Cooke, S/O Tony O’Byrne, C watch; Syndicate 4 with Syndicate Officer Sub Officer Martin McCabe (in front of fire appliance T4); Recruits marching onto drill yard; R/F/F Amy Watters A watch No. 7 and Deirdre Berry, C watch No. 4; Lord Mayor Quinn congratulating a recruit; Recruits demonstrate ladder drill; S/O Hughy O’Leary, MC on the day.

new method of recruiting candidates for DFB, redeployment from the four Dublin Local Authorities.

The majority (more than 50%) went to C watch, which was in need of extra personnel, while the remainder were dispersed evenly amongst the other watches. “The calibre of the recruits passing out is

a testament to the hard work and dedication of the instructors and the recruits themselves,” said Lord Mayor Quinn. “Dublin fire brigade provides a vital service for the city and county of Dublin and I have no doubt that all 25 new firefighters joining the ranks of DFB will continue to uphold that proud service.”

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21

EastEr Passout

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Below: Lord Mayor Quinn congratulating a recruit; S/O T O’Byrne, Sub Officer Martin Cooke, R/F/F Deirdre Berry and F/F Richie McDonald welcome Deirdre to C watch.

Above: Recruits marching onto the drill yard.

Recruit Class 1/2013 Instructors (L-R) F/F Sinead Peers, Sub Officer Martin McCabe, Sub Officer Pat Teehan, Sub Officer Peter Sherlock and Sub Officer Tom Doolan.

The recruits undertook a quite rigorous 27-week training programme to allow them to take their place alongside their new colleagues in DFB. Divided into 17 weeks of fire and rescue training, and ten weeks of paramedic training, the recruits received specialist training in breathing apparatus/ compartment fires, swift water rescue, RTCs and dealing with hazardous materials. “I had all recruits trained as SRTs. We found it was more effective to train them out there, as opposed to taking operational staff and training them as SRTs,” Rob explains. “They were also the first class to undertake a complete hazardous materials training programme – the first time

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FIRECALL

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Gas Discarge Lamps - fluorescent tubes, low-energy light bulbs (CFLs) Small domestic appliances - keyboards, toasters, electrical toys, etc

Display Equipment - CRT, LCD and plasma televisions and computer monitors.

IT Equipment Large Domestic Appliances Small Domestic Appliances Home Entertainment Appliances

Household Portable Batteries under 2kg including dry cell, rechargeable and single use batteries

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What’s Collected?

Any used electrical item with a plug or a battery

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The European Recycling Platform (ERP), is a compliance scheme set up to ensure cost-effective implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Waste Battery Directive through innovative waste management strategies for the benefit of participating member companies, their customers and the environment.

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19/5/14 09:42:27

EastEr Passout

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Above: Recruits stand to attention on the drill yard.

Left: Recruits demonstrating RTA response skills on the day.

ever. So they’ve been very well trained. There were 22 males and 3 females – I found them a great class to work with, and I’ve been involved in a lot of recruit training. I was previously course director for the Limerick recruit class and became a syndicate officer in 2008. I’ve instructed on every recruit class since 2008 in some form – whether as a specialist instructor, syndicate officer or course director.”

Training 27 recruits to such a high standard meant the involvement of quite a large number of officers

and firefighters from DFB who gave of their time and knowledge throughout the training process, something which Rob is quite grateful for.

“I’d just like to thank all of the officers and firefighters who were involved in this training,” says Rob. “We added it up, and throughout the 27 weeks they were training they had contact with around 63 different instructors, whether they were firefighters or officers.

I’d like to thank anyone who gave of their time and did a great job with the recruit class.”

RecRuit Facts The average age of the recruit class is 31.4 years.

This is the first time staff have been redeployed from the four Dublin Local Authorities, while the last passing-out parade was held in November 2009.

The 25 recruits have completed 39,000 work hours during their training, and gone through 56 tins of boot polish and 158 lint rollers.

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25

Casualty ReduCtion

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Reducing PedestRian Fatalities dún Laoghaire-rathdoWn County CounCiL haS been Working With a nuMber of organiSationS inCLuding the gardaí and dfb to iMpLeMent their CaSuaLty reduCtion Strategy, expLainS feLiCity giLL, road Safety eduCationaL offiCer.

a

pril 1st 2014 saw the launch of the gardaí’s Summer Casualty reduction programme.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is committed to continuing road safety campaigns and promoting the key messages of ‘Be Safe Be Seen’ through visible presences on the main roads in the county, and through educational programmes which are carried out in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, DFB, the HSE National Ambulance Service and the Road Safety Authority.

Safety MeSSage Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has a consistently good record

when it comes to road safety. Statistics show that the number of serious injuries and road fatalities over the past ten years in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are well below the national average.

The focus of the educational campaign for summer 2014 will be ‘Street Smart’.

Targeting the safety message towards young school children, the ‘Street Smart’ programme aims to bring road safety to life in a fun way and is available to local schools throughout the county area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

To supplement the ongoing Summer Casualty Reduction Strategy 2014 Garda April/May Casualty Reduction Campaign,

students from St. Patrick’s National School, Glencullen were treated to a fun-filled day of activities covering all aspects of the ‘Be Safe’ programme (roads, fire and water safety). This was closely modelled on the large scale ‘Street Smart’ and ‘Be Safe’ training events which are delivered to primary schools nationally. The ‘Be Safe’ day was organised by the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s road safety team and ran in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, Dublin Fire Brigade and the HSE National Ambulance Service.

Spreading the Word Other initiatives throughout Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown included an N11 and Rock Road safety campaign for vulnerable road users consisting of high-viz vest, bicycle lights, and other safety equipment giveaways. Gardaí have also been providing advice to road users in addition to their regular road safety enforcement activities throughout the county.

According to Council Road Safety Engineer, Seamus Storan, the events organised “are innovative ways of bringing home the very real impact of road collisions which members

of the emergency services must attend on a daily basis nationwide. The fact is that, while we are constantly improving our roads infrastructure, it is the actual behaviour of road users which can prevent collisions, injuries and deaths.

While collisions have many causes, the one thing that all serious collisions have in common is that they destroy lives forever and place an immense burden on families and communities. Sadly it is the 18 - 24 age groups where accident statistics show the highest fatality rates. We’re highlighting the need to drive safely, to slow down and observe speed limits. Never use your phone while driving; always wear seatbelts and never ever drink and drive, in particular for pedestrians; the use of crossing and the best practice of ‘Be Safe Be Seen’.”

Our message is that everyone – drivers, bikers, walkers, cyclists – should exercise care, caution and courtesy on the roads at all times. Remain focussed on your safety and that of all other road users throughout your entire journey, and actively observe the Rules of the Road.

For further information and advice road safety visit www.dlrcoco.ie and www.rsa.ie

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FIRECALL

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TAX

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ConCern WorldWide greatly apprecIates the generosIty shown by readers of fIrecall.

I

f everyone in the country signs and returns the form that Concern has posted to them, the aid agency will have an extra €4.58 million to ensure it can continue its life-saving work.

If you are a PAYE taxpayer and have given annual donations of €250 or more to Concern in the three years; 2010, 2011 and 2012, Concern can

claim back money from Revenue on your donations.

And it doesn’t cost you a cent! In recent days you have received a letter from Concern about this.

For people on the standard rate of tax – 20 per cent – Concern can claim an extra €63 from Revenue for every €250 donated. On the higher rate of tax – 41 per cent, a donation of €250 is worth

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From 2013, Revenue has put a new system in place.

There is a universal rate of 31 per cent return on all donations above €250, irrespective of your tax band.

This applies to both the PAYE

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call 01 – 417 7777 If you have any questIons. the web address Is www.concern.net/tax.

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29

CardiaC arrest

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Donnybrook crew members welcomed Suzanne and her family to the station.

A Welcome Reunion

Though many DFB memBers will never meeT The people They save, when They Do iT’s always a prouD momenT, wriTes linDa scully.

F

or the members of Donnybrook fire station, sunday 4th may 2014 was a proud day as they watched 16-year-old suzanne stapleton walk in through the station doors, along with 11 members of her family. In 2013 Suzanne (then 15) suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Thankfully, the outcome was an entirely positive one and Suzanne was able to come visit the firefighters and paramedics

who helped save her life.

As she stood in the station surrounded by her family, the crew began to think about that near fateful day, which started out as any other normal day for A watch on duty in Donnybrook fire station.

Daily Drills Fire tenders were being checked, the ambulance was out on a call and the station was being cleaned

when at approximately 2pm on Thursday 28th November 2013, the sound of D12 bells could be heard ringing around the station. Firefighters Mick Duggan, Tony Phelan, Dave Ryan, Alan Bergin and station officer John Rush got into their turn-out gear and headed out the door with the crew asking the usual questions concerning their destination. “A collapse

case,” was the reply from SO Rush when questioned about the nature of the incident. The fire tender was being turned out to a 15-year-old schoolgirl who had fainted during class and, as there was no ambulance available at that present moment, D12 (equipped with five paramedic firefighters) was dispatched to the school in order to provide treatment and assistance as necessary.

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FIRECALL

CardiaC arrest

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Suzanne had some firefighting training on the day.

A Swift ReSponSe On arrival at the school, D12 were directed to the classroom and were advised that the young girl had collapsed during her lesson. The teachers had placed her in the recovery position, then phoned for the ambulance. However, she had not yet woken up.

As far as the teachers were aware, she had no medical problems and was a fit and healthy teenager. The crew began to examine her and quickly realised that they were now dealing with a cardiac arrest. Realising that Suzanne had no pulse Tony Phelan, knowing every second counts in a cardiac arrest situation, immediately began compressions on the teenager, pumping oxygenated blood around her body to her vital

organs. A quick and co-ordinated effort began to save young Suzannes’ life. Compressions were performed, an airway was put in place and breaths were given to her while the defibrillator was placed on her chest. The hope was that she would have a shockable rhythm which would greatly help her chances of survival. And she did! The ambulance was en-route but the crew did not cease their combined effort of CPR and defibrillation.

Meanwhile, SO John Rush was obtaining as much information about the young girl as possible and ensuring that her parents were going to be contacted. Then, F/F Alan Bergin noticed a change in the patient after delivering another shock

from the defibrillator, holding his breath as he checked for a pulse. “I have a pulse, a strong one,” he informed the rest of the crew, and a momentous sense of relief swept throughout the room.

The ambulance quickly arrived with paramedics Mark O’Byrne and Kevin Manley. Between

themselves and the fire crew, Suzanne was transferred to the stretcher and transported to St. Vincent’s hospital. Though everyone present wanted to travel in the ambulance with her to help with her treatment during transport, they were wryly reminded that “someone needs to drive the fire tender lads.”

Tony Phelan volunteered to stay with the fire tender and followed behind the ambulance as it sped to St. Vincent’s where the doctors and nurses having been notified of the situation - were waiting to take over her treatment, aiming to discover what caused this bright young teenager’s heart to suddenly stop ticking. Having been whisked into the Resus emergency room, after a time the crew heard that though she was very sick, Suzanne was going to be ok.

poSitive ending Five months later, all the crew at Donnybrook had wide and smiling faces as Suzanne sat in front of them; young, happy and alive as she paid a visit to the fire crew which saved her life. The crew have since

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She has no memory of the incident, however she does know that her life was saved by these guys standing in front of her and as she hugs them, she has a happy smile and a little twinkle in her eye as she sprays some water on one of the crew. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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31

CardiaC arrest

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// of the incident, she does know that her life was saved by the people standing in front of her and, as she hugs them, she has a happy smile and a little twinkle in her eye while she sprays some water on one of the crew.

Lessons Learned

Suzanne’s siblings also got in on the action.

discovered that Suzanne had to spend a month in hospital and tests showed that she has a congential condition called Long QT syndrome, which is one of the causes of SAD (sudden adult death syndrome).

A condition involving the disturbance of the heart’s electrical system, it causes issues with the rhythm of the heart, and can lead to fainting spells, dizziness,

and sudden cardiac arrest.

As a result of Suzanne’s experience, all of her family has been tested for the condition and surprisingly six out of ten siblings have tested positive for the same condition.

Speaking to Suzanne’s mother Anne and father John, they expressed their sense of relief that Suzanne has made a full recovery. “To be told on the phone that

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The fire tender was being turned out to a 15-year old school girl who had fainted during class and, as there was no ambulance available at that present moment, D12 (equipped with five paramedic firefighters) was dispatched to the school in order to provide treatment and assistance as necessary. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

your daughter has collapsed is bad enough,” Anne recalls. “But then when the teacher told me that the fire crew were still working on her, my heart felt like it had stopped itself and the terror I felt can’t be explained.”

John commented that Suzanne’s 16th birthday was a month ago and it was the most emotional birthday any of the 12 family members have ever experienced. Both parents agreed that it has been hard to let her out of their sight. Her nine siblings are all in agreement that Suzanne doesn’t get any special treatment now and jokingly state that she still has to do all her household chores.

With all the attention of the day focusing on her family and their experience, Suzanne – having presented the fire crew with a handdrawn picture of a fire truck and a thank you card – races out with her brothers and sisters to see what being a firefighter is like.

Though she has no memory

Anne has since bought a defibrillator for her home just in case another emergency arises. However, now that the siblings have been diagnosed, early treatment and preventative measures are being put in place, thereby reducing the risk to her other children.

Unwittingly, Suzanne’s cardiac arrest experience has potentially saved her other siblings’ lives. Both Anne and John are grateful for the care that both Dublin Fire Brigade and St Vincent’s hospital provided to Suzanne that day.

“The cardiologist said that the work DFB did before Suzanne arrived at the hospital was excellent, giving him an excellent patient to work with,” says John.

Suzanne’s mother Anne comments that she and her family were delighted with the visit to the station. “We can’t express how grateful we are for what you guys did to bring Suzanne safely back to us. Our lives would never have been the same without her. We are eternally grateful to all in A watch.”

For the crew at Donnybrook fire station, they can move onwards with the continued knowledge that their lifesaving training as both firefighters and paramedics means they are suitably equipped to deal with any emergency they encounter.

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FIRECALL

commercial profile

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Leading Provider ArAmArk IrelAnd Is the country’s leAdIng IntegrAted food servIces provIder And hAs operAted the dublIn fIre brIgAde food servIces contrAct for over eIght yeArs At theIr trAInIng centre.

A

ramark food services serves over 250,000 meals every day across our operations. We deliver high quality dining experiences in business and industry employee restaurants, government locations, educational institutions such as schools and universities and healthcare organisations, including patient-focused food services, as well as retail food solutions.

Focusing on seasonality and local supply is a considerable benefit to our clients as cooking locally produced foods in season delivers a more nutritious, fresher and better quality experience to our customers. It is also of benefit to our economy with €60million spent on local goods and services annually.

Aramark also partners with GIY (Grow It Yourself), the not-for-profit organisation dedicated to inspiring people to grow their own food. This year, we teamed up for the Celebrate Irish Food campaign, an initiative to promote the use of locally-sourced products and awareness and

understanding of the impact that food has on our health and wellness. In December 2013, Frank Gleeson was appointed Managing Director of Aramark Food Services, bringing with him a wealth of experience in delivering high quality dining. Gleeson said: “We are delighted to be supporting Dublin Fire Brigade and its firefighters as they take on the tough challenges that their daily work entails.

For them, nutritious food is even more important and we work to provide nutritious food choices that promote the benefits of a balanced diet in the workplace.”

Aramark Food Services is part of Aramark Ireland – the country’s leading integrated services supplier, not only of food services but also facilities management, property and environmental services. Aramark is one of the country’s largest US multinational employers with over 4,000 people throughout the island of Ireland; Aramark is headquartered in Dublin, with regional offices in Cork, Limerick and Belfast.

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12/6/14 14:45:23 FIRECALL 33

commercial profile

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The ImporTance of

preparaTIon

IT Carlow is now enrolling for the following

Emergency Services Programmes

Why undertake a Bachelor of Business (honours) in emergency services With i.t. carloW?

a

Many of our adult learners decide to embark on degree s a firefighter you know the importance of study because they feel they have reached a stage in their preparation. now it’s time to prepare yourself lives where they now want to take on a new challenge. for your future. it’s time to progress. at it carlow we Do you want to understand how Human Resources is have the course for you. delivered in both dublin and implemented in an organisation, increase your knowledge shannon locations, our Bachelor of Business (honours) on theoffinancing of a(Honours) business or gain more knowledge in emergency services is an honours degree course Bachelor Business in Emergency Services in building regulations? The BBS degree will enhance that will enable this progression. our degree is an (supported by Dublin Fire Brigade) your knowledge and add to your skills. This may create investment in you. opportunity in your career that you cannot foresee.

Many promotions look for a degree level qualification. The Certificate in Fire Talk to your employer aboutServices the courseManagement you are about to BBS (Hons) in Emergency Services gives you a level eight (Supported Dublinavailable.

Fire Brigade) and the by supports Talk to current and degree. This programme is designed for those who are keen undertake past students who have undertaken the course so you are to develop and consolidate their business, management and best prepared yourself.

You may to plan financially and emergency services skills through lectures, discussion and Certificate in need Media Communications analysis of key management concepts. The programme aims it is worth talking to IT Carlow about payment options. for EMS professionals To find out more about courses beginning in early to help learners progress to a standard of understanding and (developed September, please go to: in conjunction with analytical thinking that enables them to make a significant Carlow County Fire and Rescue Service) www.itcarlow.ie/emergency_services contribution to their organisation.

presented in Dublin and Shannon

IT Carlow is now enrolling for the following

Emergency Services Programmes

Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Emergency Services Presented in Dublin & Shannon Venues

Certificate in Fire Services Management Certificate in Media Communications for EMS professionals (developed in conjunction with Carlow County Fire and Rescue Service) Presented in IT Carlow Campus

Institute of Technology Carlow is at the forefront of Innovative Life Long Learning For further information and to enroll contact: Tel: (01) 637 3939 Email: llldublin@itcarlow.ie Web: www.itcarlow.ie 34229696_2L_ITCarlow_CMD_FC.indd FIRECALL

1

Supported by Dublin Fire Brigade and Carlow County Fire & Rescue Service

30/5/14 11:21:22

DFB PiPe BanD

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PiPe Band Charity SuCCeSS

After months And yeArs of hArd work creAting And promoting their début cd, dfb’s pipe bAnd hAnded over A substAntiAl cheque to irish chArity suicide or survive.

f

ollowing 27 years of playing pipes and drums, dfb’s pipe band released their first cd in december 2012. Entitled ‘Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band and Friends’, the CD is the result of many hours of hard work recording in Floodplain Studios, Clasac Centre in Clontarf, with the expert help and guidance of audio engineer and producer Graham Watson. The CD was created as a way of

marking DFB’s 150th Anniversary, while charity Suicide or Survive (SOS), which works to break down the stigma associated with mental illnesses here in Ireland, was chosen as the beneficiary from the sales, as many DFB members feel a deep affinity to the organisation.

The CD featured members of the Pipe Band, along with friends who were invited to contribute

on some of the eleven tracks, including Kelley Bermingham on vocals, Niall Gilchrist (FF, C watch, Swords) on guitar, Michael Lothian on drums, An Garda Síochána Band, the Tallaght Youth Band, the Dublin City Council Choir, broadcaster Joe Duffy, the bell ringers of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, as well as a solo performance from the band’s piping tutor, Dave Rickard.

community effort Throughout 2013, and continuing through to 2014, the Pipe Band continued in their fundraising efforts, promoting and selling the CD to family and friends, loyal supporters of the band, pipe band enthusiasts as well as members of the general public. Band member Mark Toner (A watch, Swords) acknowledges the support the Band has received without which, he says, the

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35

DFB PiPe BanD

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The cheque presentation.

CD would never have been as successful.

“The response so far has been really good, from the loyal supporters of the band who have supported us over the years, from serving members to retired members and family and friends,” he explains. “We originally began selling the CD on the street in December 2012 and then further into 2013, with several media pushes on it.

The response on the street was quite favourable to both the CD and to what we were doing – we came

across quite a few people who had been affected by it. The reception has been quite good, and I think that has been noted in the cheque we handed over to Suicide or Survive.”

As a result of their efforts over the past 18 months, the Band recently handed over a cheque for the sum of f10,254 to SOS director Caroline McGuigan at the Mansion House, in the presence of Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn. The funds which were raised from the sale of the CD will go directly to the charity’s

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The Pipe Band’s relationship with SOS now dates back several years, before the time of Mark Toner. A number of years ago, SOS was a fledgling charity, and one of the members involved in SOS was also involved in the Pipe Band – Stephen Pender. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

work in raising awareness of mental health issues in Ireland, through their therapeutic education programmes and their Eden programme which assists people at high risk of suicide – a service which offers people hope, a safe place and a positive future.

“We cannot thank the DFB Pipe Band enough for their continued support,” said Caroline McGuigan, CEO, Suicide or Survive.

“It’s efforts such as this which help towards breaking down the stigma associated with mental health issues.

The CD is a truly wonderful production, there is definitely something for everyone on it, and we are humbled that the DFB Pipe Band decided on us as their chosen charity.”

PartnershiP The Pipe Band’s relationship with SOS now dates back several years, before the time of Mark Toner. A number of years ago, SOS was a fledgling charity, and one of the members involved in SOS was also involved in the Pipe Band – Stephen Pender. The Band was asked to hold a gig to help the charity fundraise, as well as a charity bucket collection in Temple Bar. “That kicked off the association the Pipe Band has with the charity,” says Mark. “When we were putting this project together, we had to present to the committee a number of charities that could be worthy of the proceeds of the sale of the CD. SOS was one which was included in the list, as they deal with something a lot of people have been

affected by.” Charitable work among members of DFB is widespread. Although the DFB Pipe Band has also undertaken smaller initiatives such as small fundraising gigs and charitable bucket collections, their partnership with SOS in selling the CD represents the largest charitable initiative the Pipe Band has worked on to-date, but hopefully not the last.

helPing hands As Mark explains, the production and success of the project wouldn’t have been possible without the huge support they received, both inside and out of DFB. A number of sponsors ensured the project’s success; DUBCO Credit Union; DFB Sports and Social Club; the Dublin City Council Arts Office; The Music Outlet, Swords; Tower Records; McCallum bagpipes; Liberty FBLA Voluntary Protection Scheme; and Swords Credit Union.

“In particular the band would like to thank the loyal supporters of the band over the years, and particularly in promoting this CD,” says Mark. “That’s from our own band members to serving members of DFB to associate members of the Pipe Band with the fire brigade, the retired members’ association and all of our families and friends, without whose co-operation we wouldn’t have been able to put the project together.”

For more information, find them on Facebook and Twitter, visit their website www. dublinfirebrigadepipeband. com, or contact any of the Band’s members.

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FIRECALL

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Fire investigations

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Members of the Irish chapter with IAAI president Dr Peter Mansi (second from right).

The Way ForWard

The FIre InvesTIgATOrs AssOcIATIOn OF IrelAnd held A TrAInIng dAy In The OBI lAsT APrIl. FIrecAll wenT AlOng TO sPeAk TO sOme OF ThOse In ATTendAnce.

O

n April 30th last, the OBI played host to a training day organised by the Fire Investigators Association of Ireland (FIAI), the Irish chapter of an organisation known as the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI). In attendance were a number of professionals from both sides of the Border, including firefighters from DFB and further afield. The theme for the day revolved around investigation at the scene of a fire, and writing the subsequent report, while case studies

from fire investigators, information from the Garda Technical Bureau and scene photography were also covered.

The Irish chapter was initially put together by Paul Cartman, a district officer in DFB. “It’s an all-Ireland chapter and also covers the North of Ireland,” says one of the attendees, Paul Rock of Phibsborough fire station. “You have the PSNI, the Gardaí, the fire service, insurance investigators; a mix of private and public entities who all come together for the common good. It’s about

educating each other and trying to get some sort of standards going forward.

It’s a platform where we can all work together and develop fire investigation.”

One of the more unusual features concerning the Irish chapter is that it covers the southern and northern jurisdictions of the country, unique across the members of the IAAI worldwide.

Paul is quite positive on the advancements in fire investigation seen in Northern Ireland, where the PSNI are collaborating with firefighters. “In Northern

Ireland, they were the same as us for a long time – the PSNI had the right to investigate fires while the fire service didn’t. A lot more resources are now being pumped into the joint approach, even in England where they’re pushing their resources into a regional approach rather than individual – like Dublin, or Wicklow or Kildare.”

PurPOse Arson remains a significant issue for many parties, something which brought about the existence of the

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Fire investigations

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// IAAI in the first place. “The IAAI came together to address the local prosecution rate for arson, which is quite low, about 3 per cent in western countries, and one of the lowest prosecuted crimes,” says President of the International Association of Arson Investigators, Dr Peter Mansi, who gave a talk at the training day in April. “I bring practitioners from the fire service, private sector, insurance investigators and police – everyone involved – and pool that information, cross-train and educate. I think the Irish chapter has done a fantastic job over the last ten years, raising the need for fire investigation.”

Fire investigation is a relatively new branch of the fire services. “It’s a fairly new discipline. If you look over the last 40 or 50 years, certainly in Europe, traditionally the police investigate if it’s a crime, the fire brigade turn up and if it’s a crime, they don’t do crime,” says Peter Mansi.

For Mansi, fire investigation is at the forefront of fire safety, and believes that if you don’t know what is causing fires, then allocation of resources becomes a problem. Mansi also highlights that no matter the level of fire, completing an investigation and then recording and sharing the resulting information can be of great benefit. “Even if it’s low-level fires which seem obvious, if you have documents and you’re recording and sharing that information, you can look at patterns and trends, you can spot fraud or you can recognise a defect in the product, like in a fridge freezer for example, and

whether that particular make has caused a lot of fires.

They might not have been big fires but if you share all of that information you can get an improvement, or a product recall, and prevent a big fire.

Normally when there’s a big fire through an appliance, there has been lots of small fires leading up to it.”

In Ireland at present, fire investigation remains a small part of current procedure. As stated by the FIAI: “Currently the 37 fire authorities (29 brigades) within the Republic of Ireland have a minimal input into the discipline of investigating fires. This mainly comprises of operational fire officers conducting a basic scene investigation in an effort to determine an origin and cause. This function is carried out for the purposes of completing initial fire reports. None of these officers receive certified fire investigation training.

The result of this deficit is manifested somewhat in the fire statistics compiled within Ireland (Department of Environment statistics) The FIAI hope to effect a change to this situation as well as promoting the training of Certified Fire Investigators in Ireland.”

View from the Ground Paul Rock is a vocal proponent of fire investigation. He completed his masters in Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, in 2007, and is one of the few in Ireland to have it. “It went through all aspects of fire organisation from report writing to gathering evidence to the physics of fire,” he

explains. “As regards fire investigation and DFB, it’s crucial in my opinion that it be carried out in conjunction with the Gardaí. You could ask any firefighter where the fire began...probably nine out of ten times they would be right.”

Paul also stresses the need for greater co-operation between Gardaí and members of the fire brigade, so that the number of fires currently classed by the Department of the Environment as ‘unknown’ can be lowered.

“There needs to be more understanding between the fire brigade and the Gardaí, so that we can work together,” he says.

“There needs to be a unified fire report system between ourselves and them in the way that things are documented.

Basically, they should use the same template that we use so that it’s the same information being collected.”

The benefits of such interorganisational co-operation could be discovered in terms of community fire safety – discovering arsonists at a much earlier stage. “We could see certain things which could prove very useful to Gardaí and could allow us to build up a risk

map of Dublin of where these incidents occur,” says Paul. “You could focus all of your resources on school projects in a particular area, and eliminate the problem before it begins. The traits in arsonists begin very young, and before they progress to causing multimillion-euro damage, you could reduce this risk significantly.”

According to committee member Alan Finn, who works on B watch Rathfarnham, the annual event was quite a success.

“I think we were quite happy with the event. Too big an audience means you don’t get enough hands-on time on the workshop side of things. We were able to split the workshops into two groups, which worked well in terms of the case studies which people were given.

Overall I think people were quite happy,” he explains.

“I’d like to thank the training centre and Gerry Stanley, the brigade training officer, for facilitating us and the rest of the committee for their contribution, headed by the current President, Noel Burke, CFO for Cavan. He has been instrumental in pulling this together. And of course those who organised the speakers, and the speakers themselves.”

fiAi The Fire Investigators Association of Ireland was formed in 2004, and is a unique cross-border operation with members from both the Republic and Northern Ireland – the only chapter which features two jurisdictions working together. The committee consists of a wide range of individuals from different organisations – fire, police, forensic, insurance, military legal and educational sectors are all represented.

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FIRECALL

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Station Profile

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Station Profile

North StraNd C WatCh COvering a large area Of nOrth DuBlin – inCluDing DuBlin’S DOCklanDS anD the BuSy POrt tunnel – we Caught uP with Jim BiSSett anD C watCh nOrth StranD.

The crew of C watch, North Strand.

S

tation Officer Jim Bissett is one of two SOs on duty at one of the city’s biggest and busiest stations. Having moved around several stations in a career which has spanned 26 years in DFB, Jim can be currently found manning North Strand fire station, and C watch. “I’ve been here for the last five years,” he explains. “I came over

from Donnybrook, so I’ve been 26 years in the job at this rate. I started out in Dun Laoghaire, moved to Phibsborough and from there I was promoted to Tara Street. I did a stint over in No. 2 as a sub officer and then was promoted to station officer and moved to Donnybrook, Rathfarnham and then came over here.”

a watChful eye Each of the city’s stations is unique in some way – whether in terms of the equipment they use, the firefighters who work there or their location. And North Strand is no different.

Covering an area which includes both Dublin’s docklands and the Port Tunnel, a large aspect of North Strand is that their

region is home to quite a lot of industry. “The fuel coming in – whether it’s aviation fuel or other types of fuel or chemicals, there’s a lot of it down there,” Jim explains.

“We have a station officer down there at the moment updating all of the pre-fire plans for the dock area. The crews here, with the foam support unit which is now based in Townsend Street,

L-R: North Strand’s Tunnel Response Vehicle.

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FIRECALL

Station Profile

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Clockwise from left: Dublin’s Port Tunnel; equipment on the TRV; FF Enda McKenna and SO Jim Bissett.

are fully trained in how to use that. We also carry out exercises – training the crews and familiarising ourselves with all of the facilities down there. The last big exercise we carried out was down in Topaz Yard Two where we had a fuel tanker that was on fire.”

However, the docks and tunnel are only a part of the North Dublin region which is under the watchful eye of the station and its crew.

“We’re backing up No. 6 and all of the North county.

From here, 4-1 would be a busy appliance, as would 4-2 in the city centre,” Jim explains. “One of the most recent fires we would have had would have been down the road beside Connolly Station and we had one of

the old three storey terraced houses on fire. From the Five Lamps, in around that area, all the way out to North County, and then we basically go up as far as Queen’s up in Drumcondra.

When you consider there’s so much industry behind us, and anything to do with vessels coming into the port behind us, you’ll find that our crews will be more familiar in that area.”

“The big thing is that we back up No. 6 Kilbarrack,” fellow SO Conn Flanagan adds. “One of our appliances here turns out with Kilbarrack everytime.”

With a sizeable region of the city and county to cover, it’s unsurprising that life is never too quiet at North Strand. “As a fire station,

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Four exercises are carried out on a yearly basis by each watch at North Strand, one of which is an interagency event including staff from the tunnel control building, the Gardaí and North Strand firefighters, putting their procedures into action to ensure they’re working. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// we have our fair share of fires in relation to the likes of Tallaght or Dolphin’s Barn,” says Jim. “North Strand is and always has been considered a specialist station for the work we do

with the foam support unit, with the TRV and everything else we do here as well.

We also have the water here beside us, and a few times we’ve rescued people from the canal – we’ve had

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43

Station Profile

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Demonstrating correct tunnel gear and the TRV’s telemetary board.

several SRT incidents. And it’s like everything in the city, if anything big happens, we usually end up there too.”

SpecialiSt training Being responsible for responding to emergencies involving Dublin’s Port Tunnel requires specialist training and vehicles, which are part and parcel

of everyday life in North Strand and most recently the TRV’s crew was sent to Switzerland to complete training in combating tunnel fires. “At North Strand we have a complement of 15 firefighters and four officers on duty per watch – a district officer working from here and two station officers – one being for the TRV which

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Being responsible for responding to emergencies involving Dublin’s Port Tunnel requires specialist training and vehicles, which are part and parcel of everyday life in North Strand, and most recently the TRV’s crew was sent to Switzerland to complete training in combating tunnel fires. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

is a special appliance here,” Jim explains. “The TRV crew were sent to Switzerland, training in how to fight tunnel fires. There was a week’s course over there. They’re a specialised crew and use different long-duration BA sets. Information from the BA set is sent back to a telemetry board, which is an interesting aspect. We also have two pumps here with A and B cafs which we can use in the tunnel for firefighting down there. The reason being that whether there’s maintenance being carried out or for any other reason, we can make 4-2 into a tunnel reconnaissance vehicle.”

“It’s the only station that has two station officers, because we have the TRV, which is a specialist appliance, and that’s manned by a station officer,” adds Conn Flanagan. “All of the other stations, the one pump stations, have one SO.”

tunnel Watch Four exercises are carried out on a yearly basis by each watch at North Strand, one of which is an interagency event including staff from the tunnel control building, the Gardaí and North Strand firefighters, putting their procedures into action. “We also go down to the Port Tunnel control room every day and every night to do a comms check – we’d all be familiar with each other and all of the procedures that are put in place,” Jim adds.

Safety is undoubtedly a key priority in the busy Port Tunnel. The design of the tunnel incorporates a number of safety features which are activated in the event of a fire.

Sixteen large jet fans provide forced ventilation within the tunnel – mounted at various locations throughout. Under normal circumstances, the fans dilute the pollution from

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FIRECALL

Station Profile

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Part of the station’s decorative wall.

vehicles passing through; in the event of a fire the fans are deployed to control the smoke. Initially, low airflow is created and maintained so that smoke is contained within the one area, allowing downstream vehicles still in the tunnel to escape if they can.

Additional fans are then switched on, with the smoke being blown towards the exit portal – none of

F/F Ronnie Prouse.

it moves back upstream towards the vehicles caught in congestion.

In addition, three methods of detecting fires are used in the tunnel. Linear heat detectors raise the alarm when the temperature rises to a predetermined limit or if the temperature indicates that a fire is likely.

Emergency push buttons are also located at strategic locations throughout the

tunnel including in the emergency call niches, which alert the control room when pushed. And finally, optical smoke detectors are placed in various plant rooms across the Port Tunnel facility, comprehensive fire detection and alarm systems are used throughout the plant areas and buildings, supplemented by automatic gas extinguishing systems in areas of particular

Well-balanced creW As with many stations across the city, the crew at North Strand is a mix of youth and seniority, with one of the recently graduated recruits now added into the mix.

One of North Strand’s longest serving members is Ronnie Prouse, who joined DFB in 1982. “My first station was Tara Street, for two years until 1984,” he says.

“And after that, I arrived at North Strand. I’ve been here for 30 years now.” Having served in DFB for such a long period of time, it’s unsurprising that Ronnie mentions the changes he has witnessed in the brigade over the years, particularly in relation to the equipment firefighters now have available to them. “The main change is the equipment,” he acknowledges. “We have a lot more equipment now than we ever had on the appliances, while the training has increased. With drugs etc it’s getting quite technical now – there have been major changes on the ambulance end over the years.”

importance. Emergency niches along the tunnel also contain two fire extinguishers for use on minor fires, with fire hydrants linked to a dedicated hydrant main, fed via pump from a water storage reservoir. At each drainage sump, gas sampling and nitrogen foam extinguishing systems are utilised to detect the buildup of a potentially deadly atmosphere in the drainage sump – on reaching critical levels, an alarm activates in the control room and foam is released.

In the event of a tunnel emergency, Dublin Port Tunnel notifies DFB HQ that there has been an incident.

The north and south bore are closed off and any vehicles that can be removed from the tunnel are removed.

While the DO goes to the tunnel control building, Delta 4-1, 4-2 and 4-5 move to the tunnel’s south entrance, while Delta 5-1 and 6-1 move to the north side. “The DO goes up to the control room and on the cameras he can actually see what’s happening,” Jim explains.

“He then sets the velocity pressure to push the smoke and flame away from our entrance point, and there’s a positive pressure build up in the unaffected tunnel, which we would enter.”

As with any of Dublin city’s fire stations, the crew at North Strand are welltrained and well-capable of handling whatever situation they find themselves in.

With Jim Bissett and Conn Flanagan at the helm, the North County Dublin region is well served by the highly trained, experienced and enthusiastic C watch crew at North Strand.

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Charity CyCle

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CyCling for Charity

organised by Paddy o’Mahony, dfb MeMbers and friends gathered for a charity cycLe in May, to raise soMe Much-needed funds for the irish Lung fibrosis association.

o

n sunday May 25th at 9.30am, lung transplant recipient and former iPf (idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis) patient Paddy o’Mahony was joined by dfb members, a number of personalities and friends on a 40K and 100K cycle to raise aware of lung fibrosis and the importance of organ donation, and to raise funds for the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association (ILFA). Starting orders at the line were given by Senator Fergal Quinn and Dublin GAA star Michael Darragh McAuley. The event was a huge success – with

great weather and fantastic participation.

DFB’s Paddy O’Mahony was fundraiser and organiser for the event. “I was diagnosed with IPF in April 2010 in Beaumont Hospital, and my life expectancy at that time was just three years – I had a very aggressive form of IPF and needed oxygen each and every day. In 2012, it was decided by my doctors that I met the criteria to be put on the transplant list and in early 2013, I received a lung transplant. The transplant and the help and support that the doctors, nurses and surgeons gave me

over the years from my diagnosis to the transplant, was enormous – my life has changed dramatically.

It is the organ donors and their families that make this change possible and from here on in, my focus is to promote organ donation and the powerful part it can play

in ordinary people’s lives like mine,” he said.

With an unknown cause, IPF is a chronic, debilitating and life-limiting lung disease – patients develop progressive and severe breathlessness and fatigue, and completion of everyday tasks becomes

about iLfa The ILFA was founded in 2002 as a way of honouring the memory of Fergus Goodbody who died from lung fibrosis. The primary aims of the association are to provide information and support to people suffering from the condition, as well as funding for research and development of new treatments.

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47

Charity CyCle

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Lung Fibrosis Fibrosis – which causes the development of scar tissue in the lungs – results in the lungs becoming stiff, preventing the effective transfer of oxygen from blood to the lungs. More commonly seen in men than women, and usually between the ages of 60 and 80, patients develop breathlessness, fatigue, cough and finally respiratory failure – those living with IPF (Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) must rely heavily on oxygen therapy 24/7.

Dublin footballer Michael Darragh MacAuley with Paddy O’Mahony.

a struggle. While there is no known cure for IPF, lung transplants remain a life-saving treatment for patients who meet the strict criteria to complete a complex operation. Those patients who do receive a lung transplant generally experience improved health and well-being. Since 2006, over 70 lung transplants have been carried out at the National Lung and Transplant Unit at the Mater hospital in Dublin. In 2013, a record 31 such operations were performed; 12 of which were IPF patients. However, more than 650 people currently await life-saving

operations here in Ireland – for lungs, hearts, kidneys, liver and pancreas.

Senator Fergal Quinn, one of the patrons of the ILFA, is quite vocal in his support for organ donation, and first raised the issue for a soft-opt out donation system for Ireland (persons are assumed to be an organ donor unless they’ve decided to opt out in the case of unforeseen death, though patients’ next-of-kin will always be asked for their consent) in his Human Body Organs and Human Tissue Bill 2008, and continues to campaign for its introduction.

“I was really pleased with

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

With an unknown cause, IPF is a chronic, debilitating and lifelimiting lung disease – patients develop progressive and severe breathlessness and fatigue, and completion of everyday tasks becomes a struggle. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

our government’s decision to raise the issue of the soft-opt out organ donation system and propose a revision to the current organ donation model,” said Senator Quinn.

“I think it’s a progressive step forward and believe that many lives could be saved by introducing the soft-opt out model. I have seen firsthand what a debilitating disease IPF is, and for many patients a transplant is vital for survival.”

Pulling together an event of this size required substantial organisation from individuals across DFB including senior officers, DFB Pipe Band and members of the O’Mahony family, for which the ILFA have expressed their gratitude.

“Special thanks to everyone at Dublin Fire Brigade for supporting the ILFA cycle so wholeheartedly. ILFA would like to acknowledge the great support and generosity of Chief Fire Officer Pat Fleming for allowing us to use the facilities at the O’Brien Institute, Marino, Paddy O’Mahony, Brendan Lodola and Mario Lodola did an amazing job organising the event and they thought of everything, the pipers and drummers from the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band played amazing music and helped get the adrenaline

flowing, and the advanced paramedics, safety car and motor bike drivers and marshals all deserve high praise for their excellent skills in keeping everyone safe around the courses,” the organisation said. “Thanks also to the O’Mahony family: Pauline, Jacqueline, Deirdre, Terry Snr, Terry, Pamela and Mary for looking after the registration desks and making great sandwiches, to the chefs for the delicious hot food; to the band for treating everybody to wonderful music after the event, to all the staff of the O’Brien Institute and Dublin Fire Brigade who helped out with their time and talents and to the members of the Dublin Fire Brigade cycling club who took part in the cycle.”

For more information on the ILFA, visit www.ilfa.ie, find them on Facebook at www. facebook.com/ILFAIreland, or follow them on Twitter @ILFAIreland.

Supporters included CFO Pat Fleming (second from right) and Senator Fergal Quinn (right).

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FIRECALL

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Technology

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FireFighting technology Continuing developments aCross a wide range of teChnologies mean that firefighters Can make their dangerous job a little easier. fireCall looks at some of the latest and most interesting developments.

A DJI Phantom Quadcopter.

Copyright Kevin Baird/Flickr.

FireFighting UAVs The continued development of the technology behind Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) means that they are becoming more readily available, moving out of the military usage zone into more widespread commercial and personal uses, including for emergency services across the world, which have begun to realise the possibilities of these machines. Montgomery County Fire Department in Maryland, for example, has recently purchased three UAVs in the hope that they will prove useful in tackling fires. “I think that this is going save lives, and it’s also going to save property loss,

and it’s going to save us time,” Montgomery County Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Clemens told WNEW News. “It is exciting because it’s another element to make us better.”

This isn’t the first time UAVs have been deployed in an emergency setting – Branford Fire Department in Conneticut deployed the first UAV in their history earlier this year during a quarry fire, while Australian firefighters are trialling camera-equipped UAVs to monitor fires and incidents. In Spain, authorities responsible for the management of wildfires have being using the ELIMOC E300 to track wildfires at night, a UAV

which can be operated for 1.5 hours from up to 27 miles away, and hover over a fire at night for three hours, as far away as 62 miles from the launch point. The UAV can record video footage of the fire line, and geo-tag thermal images which can then be sent back to mobile command centres.

The smaller, more lightweight eBee UAV from Swiss-based Sensefly is equipped with high resolution cameras which can take highly accurate aerial images and can be preprogrammed using Google Maps before deployment.

Mapping software allows for these images to be processed into 3D models.

The possibility has been raised of using eBee UAVs to work with wildland firefighters’ backpacks and in future, 3D models could be displayed on firefighters’ rugged smartphones.

The heavier-duty K-MAX multi mission helicopter, meanwhile, is capable of moving gear and personnel in and out of the field and has a payload capacity of 2,720kg without risking further lives, or when personnel are stretched.

Items like fuel, water, blood and food can all be delivered remotely. The Defikopter offers a similar service – created by German nonprofit Definetz, it can parachute defibrillators to emergency responders or heart attack victims in the field. The drone is controlled by a smartphone app, through which users can request a defibrillator.

Developments have also been made to technologies which can work hand-inhand with UAVs on the ground. Modified Ford trucks, for example, are being fitted with security cameras, sensors, radar and communication capabilities and can be outfitted with trailers to carry UAVs into the field. The UAVs can then be operated remotely from these mobile command centres.

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Technology

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smart shoes save lives

Google Glass. Copyright Thomas Hawk/Flickr.

GooGle Glass Google’s Glass project has been creating quite a stir recently across the world of technology. The next step in the evolution of wearable technology, Google Glass is simply the technology behind smart glasses, a battery-powered HUD display which sits above the right eye, and through which you can view information such as Google searches, record video or translate your own voice. Developers are continually working on creating apps for Glass, and the possibilities seem endless. One such developer is Patrick Jackson, a firefighter and self-taught computer programmer from the Rocky Mount Fire Department in North Carolina. Jackson has created an app which can display incoming dispatches, pin incidents on a map, search for the closest fire hydrants and display building plans. He originally developed the app, known as Firefighter Log, in 2010 for Android smartphones, and once he heard about Glass, he raised funds through Indiegogo to purchase a pair for $1,500. Once information from a 911 call begins to be dropped into a database, Jackson gets an alert through the app, which could give him up to a minute of a headstart to act.

“It gives me a real quick way to get notifications, as well as a map of where it is, along with notes that the dispatcher can type in,” he explained to Fast Company Labs. “I won’t wear it on EMS calls because people don’t know what it is, and it’s an invasion of privacy having a camera there.”

Jackson does believe, however, that Glass has a future in the EMS field. He’s already working on new features which could allow him to receive floor plans or locations simply by saying an address aloud, or looking at a building, as well as the integration of car diagrams which will make cutting through crashed vehicles much easier. Other uses could involve recording emergency scenes, and could prove to be a useful asset for fire investigators. “I see Glass as being very helpful there in a hands-free way to get information,” he added. “Having a Glass hasn’t saved a life, yet, but it has saved property. Given the right situation, it could.”

Researchers at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed firefighting footwear equipped with sensors, which will allow incident commanders to track movements on the ground, and up to 25 metres below. The system combines sensors such as an accelerometer and gyroscope, alongside a processor, is capable of withstanding shock and extremely high temperatures, and is designed to work where other GPS systems would fail. Data is forwarded to incident command through a wireless device worn on the shoulder – precise information on responder location and movements will allow command to control an incident

remotely, and ensure that firefighters remain both safe and effective.

“When the firefighters can work safer and more efficiently, they can also save more lives,” said Peter Handel, Professor of Signal Processing at KTH, and one of the team members who worked on the project. The system has already been tested successfully underground, and could be extended to other emergency service personnel, including response forces from the police and military.

The next step of the project includes making the sensors a part of the sole, generation of its own power supply by the sole, and making the sole thin enough that it can be used in ordinary shoes.

Copyright Senior Airman Christopher Muncy.

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Technology

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Demonstrating the robot’s stability.

Photo: US Naval Research Laboratory/ Jamie Hartman.

RobofiRecop A group of Malaysian businessmen and robotics enthusiasts have been developing the firefighting community’s answer to Robocop – the enthusiastically-named MyBOT-X Fire Fighting Robot. Danny Lim (founder of Intellogic Technology Sdn Bhd) has partnered with Dr Tan Chee Fai – senior lecturer at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTEM) – and Mark Liew, managing director of Ritz Power Engineering and Supply, to build a remotely-controlled vehicle which can be loaded up with cameras, sensors, firefighting equipment and much more.

According to a story featured on Malaysia’s The Star Online, the project began in the hands of Mark Liew, who had some time on his hands, and

began thinking about the possibility of creating a robot which could help fight fires, and began to develop prototypes. At an exhibition in 2006, Liew met Danny Lim and Dr Tan where they were displaying their sewer robot, which could be used to detect faulty pipes.

Realising they had similar interests in creating a robotic firefighter, their partnership began. “The [MyBOT] 3000 model is much more equipped to handle and deter mortal hazardous endeavours,” Tan told the NewStraitsTimes. “Besides the portable water cannon, it also has the option to pull water hose or a water pack, although that may need refilling after use.”

Its current design helps reduce some of the risks in firefighting – such as dangerous environments

including high temperatures, fumes and unstable buildings. For stability purposes, the robots feature tracks rather than legs, and are more similar to a military bomb disposal robot in their design. “You may think that robots are all about twolegged machines roaming about. That’s not true, as the definition is basically a combination between mechanical automation and artificial intelligence,” Tan added when asked about the treads the 3000 employs.

“It can tread places too dangerous for humans, especially firemen.”

The US Navy Research Laboratory, however, clearly didn’t get this particular memo. That’s because their latest fire-fighting project is also a robot; with legs, arms and a face, of sorts. Fighting fires on land is a hazardous

task on its own – add in the roll of the ocean and some very enclosed spaces, and the job can be ten times as hard. Step forward (literally) the Shipboard Autonomous Fire-fighting Robot, otherwise known as SAFFiR, a human-sized autonomous robot which is capable of both finding and suppressing ship fires, and working alongside human firefighters. Developed by researchers at the US Navy’s Navy Centre for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence, SAFFiR comes with advanced navigation capabilities and a suite of sensors including a camera, gas sensor and infrared and ultraviolet cameras.

“This highly specialised research, to promote advanced firefighting techniques, includes development of the naval robotic platform and fire-hardened materials, algorithms for perception and navigation autonomy... and computational cognitive models that will allow the robotic firefighter to work shoulder-to-shoulder and interact naturally with naval fighters,” said the laboratory.

As a result of these advancements, SAFFiR can walk in all directions, maintain its balance in sea state conditions, and both lift and activate fire equipment like water valves, lift and walk with a fire hose, and activate the nozzle. It can also work seamlessly alongside human firemen, and can respond to gestures and commands – the team is working on human-robot interaction technology, which doesn’t sound like something which could go awry in any way.

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EmErgEncy controllErs

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Rising to the Challenge Firecall mET Emma WilSon, onE oF THE laTEST aDDiTionS To DFB’S ConTrol room aT ToWnSEnD STrEET.

T

hough it has been a while since an open recruiting drive has been held for DFB, last year applications were invited for a number of positions in the control room at Townsend Street HQ, and resulted in a number of applications. Fast forward to June 2014 and successful candidate Emma Wilson – a former secondary school teacher – is several weeks into her new job, and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

“Since I left college, it was my ambition to join the fire brigade, but there hasn’t been a recruitment since I was in school,” Emma explains. “Though it isn’t into the fire brigade in full, it’s a way in. We’ll be working in the control room for three years. Following that, we’ll do our six months’ fire and paramedic training.” Emma is the first member of her family to join DFB, a fact of which she is proud Having said that, she has spent time working on lifeboats out in Skerries, and is enjoying her current time

in DFB. “I don’t have any background in the service at all, though I am on the lifeboat crew in Skerries with the RLNI,” she explains.

Training Training for the post spanned eight weeks in the fire brigade’s training centre in Marino, which contains a specific room that also acts as a backup for the control room in Townsend Street.

The training facility has virtually the same features as the actual control room to give trainees a feel for the job. “We had exactly the same set up, minus the actual phones. We had the dual screens, maps, unit activities and the call card where you input all of the information – the address, what type of call it is, and any other information like names, numbers or directions.

“We did a lot of system training, critical incident stress management like dealing with suicidal callers, and background to the fire brigade,” explains Emma.

“We also learned about

Emergency controller Emma Wilson.

rank structure, because we were coming into an organisation that’s based on ranks – learning about who is in charge and when. We also learned about fires and other incidents – different levels of fires and how many fire tenders would attend, for example.” Following the eight weeks, Emma and the other recruits completed two exams – a written test followed by a practical exam involving a series of calls, with an instructor listening in to ensure they followed the correct procedure.

The recruits were also supervised for seven day and seven night shifts with a supervisor listening to the calls they received, both as a form of backup and to give direction where needed.

FolloWing ProCEDurE While there might never be a truly typical day in the control room, operators arrive about an hour before their shift begins to get into their uniform, or have breakfast in the canteen.

Incoming operators relieve the previous shift 20 minutes before the official ending time, and everybody remains in the control room at the beginning of the next shift. “That’s when the slate is done – the officer on duty will inform us of the personnel present, who is on the first phone and second phone, and who is staffing the Incident Command Unit – that changes every shift. That decides whether we need overtime etc. If you’re on the second phone, you go

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EmErgEncy controllErs

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Emma is one of several recent additions to the crew at Tara Street.

away for an hour to cover training and appliance checks and cover breaks.

Then you’re on for the whole afternoon, whereas if you’re on the first phone, that takes you until lunch and you provide cover in the afternoons,” says Emma.

“The next day will be the opposite then, and it’s the same with nights. If it does get busy, they’ll set off the bells and everyone comes up to the room. Last year during the flooding everybody was in the room because it was so busy.”

Callers to the emergency lines reach an Eircom operator, who patches the call through to the DFB control room when required.

These operators pass along the calling number to the control room operator – it avoids issues with people phoning in bogus numbers, or if they get cut off. “You then have to get an address and a hit on the system, which can sometimes be difficult. Next you have to

get the type of call – fire brigade or ambulance,” Emma explains. “If it’s an ambulance call, we have a series of questions we have to go through – there’s a protocol to be followed.

And depending on what the chief complaint is, it will send you through a series of questions with a code at the end – the code determines what the problem is and how serious it is.” When cases are queued, issues coded Delta and Charlie would receive ambulances before those marked Alpha or Omega, during busy times. Control room operators also log any additional information, such as ‘45-year old female, conscious and breathing, fell down a flight of stairs’, and send an ambulance or fire tender to the scene.

“Sometimes if it’s a medical problem that looks serious, you would send a fire tender as well, with advanced paramedics on board. With fire calls, you’re just trying to

find out what’s on fire, and where. We would also have a lot of RTCs, especially during rush hour – that would be the busiest time.”

Handling tHe StreSS Understandably, the job can be quite challenging for operators, who have to deal with people at some of the most stressful times of their lives, and try to keep callers as calm as possible, often talking them through CPR procedures on their loved ones while waiting for the tender or ambulance to arrive. “We’ve had training for everything, and you just have to talk them through it,” says Emma. “You stay on the line with them until the ambulance gets there.

But sometimes you need to take a five minute break and leave the room. It can be quite stressful in there – the phone can just keep ringing and ringing – you don’t always have time to process things.”

looking aHead Though Emma is looking forward to the day she can begin her training to become a fully-fledged firefighter, she’s enjoying the varied work that comes with her post in the control room. “It’s really enjoyable – every day is different,” she explains. “A car fire in Dublin might bring ten calls, because a lot of people have seen it and rang in. So you keep answering, and letting them know that you know about it. And then you’ll get a different call and it will be really serious – you weren’t expecting it.

There are also calls which are really funny as well – they leave you wondering why people would need an ambulance for this! Overall, it’s really interesting – you realise how busy DFB is all of the time, you get to know what all of the stations are doing, and you get a really good overall picture of the fire service in general.”

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St. Mary’s Cathedral St. Mary’s Cathedral was founded in 1168 by King Donal Mor O’Brien on the site of his Palace and is the oldest building in daily use in Limerick City today. Long before that date the Vikings built their ‘Thingmote’ or meeting place on the site.

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Soma mine DiSaSter

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Rescue workers at Soma Mine. Photos: Mustafa Karaman.

Disaster UnDergroUnD 301 peOple lOsT Their lives when an explOsiOn aT sOMa COal Mine igniTed a deadly fire deep undergrOund. COnOr fOrresT reCOunTs The evenTs lasT May, and lOOks aT The respOnse frOM wiThin and wiThOuT Turkey.

O

n May 13th 2014, 301 people were killed following an explosion at a coal mine in soma, Manisa, Turkey, causing an underground mine fire which burned for two days.

The Soma mine fire is the worst mine disaster in the country’s history. Mining accidents are quite common in Turkey as a result of poor safety conditions. According to a 2010 report carried out by the Turkish Economy Policies Research Foundation (TEPAV), deaths per one million tonnes of coal mined

were 7.22 in Turkey in 2008; a figure five times that of China, and 361 times the rate in the US. From official statistics, 3,000 coal miners died in mining accidents between 1941 and April 2014. In 1992, 263 people lost their lives in an explosion at a mine in Western Turkey, an incident which held the dubious honour of Turkey’s most deadly mine accident prior to the events at Soma.

Cause The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, though a severe lack of

sufficient safety features underground can certainly be highlighted. An early report suggested that coal in the mine had heated up following contact with the air, sending carbon monoxide through the tunnels. In an interview with Turkish newspaper Habervesaire, mining engineer Mehmet Utkan - who worked in the safety department at the mine and who wasn’t present when the explosion occurred, but returned to Soma once he received the news - spoke about the rumours concerning

the trigger. “In this kind of situation, one thing can lead to another. Oxygen may be the starting trigger, but the main cause in this particular case was the usage of old, non-fireproofed material in the electric panel. Because of that, flying sparks ignited the coal,” he explained.

“Since the temperature was increased by this initial conflagration, the coal was burned along with the oxygen. Average carbon monoxide levels reached 600-700 ppm, and even worse, up to 1200 ppm in some areas. Such carbon

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Soma mine DiSaSter

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Left and centre: Police and rescue teams in Soma. Photo: Mustafa Karaman.

monoxide levels would definitely be fatal. Since we did not witness the events, we can only speculate. There are two possibilities: firstly, electric cables might have melted because of overload, and contact between the cables may have caused an electric arc. Secondly, the coal might have caught fire due to external reasons,

which is very likely because of the high monoxide levels, and that may have led to the cables melting, in turn resulting in the arc. In any case, the main factor was likely the cables and the material used in their manufacture.”

The fire was ignited as a result of an explosion two km beneath the surface, killing

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Concerns about the state of affairs in Turkish mines had already been highlighted well before the incident at Soma. In late 2013, miners protested dangerous mine conditions, while a demand to investigate mine safety was rejected in Turkey’s National Assembly by ruling party AKP several weeks prior to the fire. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

301 workers and injuring a further 30. The mine’s lift was damaged, and 600 workers became trapped in the mine. Around 787 workers were underground when the explosion occurred, however the exact number was initially hard to determine, as the explosion occurred around the time of a shift change.

Safety ConCernS Mining, and especially coal mining, is often listed as one of the most hazardous occupations worldwide.

A variety of dangerous situations can arise – cave-ins, gas explosions, chemical leaks, vehicle collisions or crushing, fires and electrocutions. Around ten million people around the world work as miners, and there are in the region of 12,000 deaths across the globe every year. Long term exposure to coal dust causes coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP), more commonly known as

Black Lung Disease – the body can’t cope with coal dust once it’s inhaled and it builds up in the lungs. Coal dust explosions are also a frequent worry for miners – dust particles hanging in the air can suddenly combust, and not always as a result of a naked flame; friction, hot surfaces or electrostatic discharges can all cause an explosion. Roof collapses remain a common cause of injury within coal mines, whether through human error when setting up tunnel supports, or a lack of such supports in the first place.

Concerns about the state of affairs in Turkish mines had already been highlighted well before the incident at Soma. In late 2013, miners protested dangerous mine conditions, while a demand to investigate mine safety was rejected in Turkey’s National Assembly by ruling party AKP several weeks prior to the fire. Over 3,000 workers have been killed in mining accidents since

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Soma mine DiSaSter

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Soldiers were drafted in to assist in the rescue. Photo: Mustafa Karaman.

1941 – the majority from methane gas explosions, mine collapses, and fires, with over 100,000 people injured in these accidents. A research paper published by two researchers at the Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey, noted that because health and safety inspections at Turkish mines are divided between different authorities, low levels of co-operation result in ineffective supervision.

In Mehmet Utkan’s opinion, substandard safety procedures are a direct cause of incidents such as that at Soma. “In case of an emergency, production must be stopped immediately, and people have to be evacuated. That is the necessary procedure. As you know, since the legislation in Turkey is intended for covering up the mess instead of taking measures, security chiefs provide reports, and the operations manager, who is responsible for both safety and production,

makes decisions according to those reports. This is the consequence of the fact that the work safety experts are paid by the company itself. The inspections are substandard. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labour are bribed. There are many witnesses to this.”

Utkan also noted that production in the mine at Soma had increased in the months prior to the incident, and said that once productivity is made the main focus, the importance and emphasis on safety declines. “The problems arise when you prioritise production. And those problems had increased beyond what could be compensated for. After that stage, accidents do occur. A capacity for production has been calculated, and a certain performance level has been reached, once you step over those limits, you have to start prioritising safety back again.

This was not done, and hence the result.”

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In the days which followed the disaster, sadness turned to anger as protests swept the nation of Turkey, in response not only to the conditions which led to so many deaths, but also the ill-received reaction from the political ruling class. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// It later emerged through Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that Soma received a perfect score in March of this year, through a report which noted that while only ten of the 2,948 people involved in the operation were not involved in dangerous jobs, “no shortcomings were found in the scheduled inspection.”

According to the paper, the mine was inspected by the Ministry for Labor and Social Security’s chief inspector, whose brother-in-law held a

senior executive role at the mine. Though the company denies any negligence, eight suspects have been provisionally charged with ‘causing multiple deaths by negligence’.

Protests In the days which followed the disaster, sadness turned to anger as protests swept the nation of Turkey, in response not only to the conditions which led to so many deaths, but also ill-received reaction

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Soma mine DiSaSter

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From official statistics, 3,000 coal miners died in mining accidents between 1941 and April 2014. In 1992, 263 people lost their lives in an explosion at a mine in Western Turkey, an incident which held the dubious honour of Turkey’s most deadly mine accident prior to the events at Soma. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

from the political ruling class. As reported in The Guardian, authorities had “no inspection and supervision problem,” according to Hüseyin Celik, AKP deputy leader of the ruling party who insisted the mine had undergone inspection eleven times since 2009. “Let’s learn from this pain and rectify our mistakes. The private sector and the public sector will draw lessons. This is not the time to look for a scapegoat.”

During a visit to the mine in the immediate aftermath, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that such accidents were inevitable in the mining industry, pointing to 19th century British incidents as an example. “I went back in British history, and about 204 people died when a mine collapsed in 1838, 361 in 1866 and 290 in 1894,” Erdogan said, as reported by Hurriyet. “Even in America with all of its technology, 361 miners died in 1907. These are usual things.” Hostile crowds took exception to the statement, jeering and chanting loudly.

As Erdogan took refuge in a local supermarket, police deployed tear gas and water cannons against the grounds, as they did in Istanbul, where hundreds of mourners and protesters gathered to voice their displeasure.

Photos which later emerged did nothing to dispel the rage against the Prime Minister and his government – prime ministerial aide Yusuf Yerkel was photographed lashing out at a protester who was being restrained on the ground, an image which quickly went viral and became one of the symbols of the Turkish government’s poor handling of the situation.

While Erdogan initially refused to fire his aide, news emerged almost a week later of Yerkel’s dismissal, though this was later revealed to be false.

Reaction Avoiding a tragic incident in the future will require a recognition of the lax health and safety standards in Turkish mines, a concerted effort on the part of owners

Above: Turks in America held a memorial service in front of the White House. Photos: Yenal Kuculcer.

and government officials, and a change in the cultural attitude towards workplace safety in Turkey.

A parliament commission was established in Turkey, tasked with investigating the disaster, and has voiced the need for a coal mining law to prevent such incidents from ever happening again.

While many detractors are pessimistic concerning the chances of change, Mehmet Utkan is determined that Soma represents a crossroads, and

is determined that a lesson will be learned. “I will talk.

I will prepare a scientific report. I will display the levels of carbon monoxide and methane, and will relate those to the increase in production – as, indeed, the production was increased tremendously in the last two months. Overcoming all obstacles, I will demonstrate that this was a mistake.

Because many people who were like brothers to me, let alone friends, died here...I will put up a fight for this.”

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InternatIonal news

International News

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EmErgEncy sErvicE nEws from around thE globE.

Greenland: forEst firE ash impacting icE shEEts Colombia: bus firE claims 31 young livEs a tragic bus fire has claimed the lives of 31 children in fundacion, colombia. according to witnesses, the bus stalled and the bus driver attempted to refuel the vehicle with the engine still running. the fuel ignited and the bus went up in flames. the families of the children – who were being driven home following a church event – have called for answers, and justice. colombian president Juan manuel santos ordered flags to be flown at half mast, and for three days of mourning. the incident has done nothing to improve the image of colombian road safety, which has garnered a reputation for ineffective enforcement and regulation.

Evidence has been found that ash from forest fires across the Northern Hemisphere is making its way to Greenland and into snow-build, leading to ice sheet vulnerability and melting. The ice sheet in Greenland is one of the biggest in the world – it makes up 660,000 square miles (80 per cent) of Greenland’s surface. Previous studies had blamed changing climates as one of the factors behind the melting ice.

However, this research from Dartmouth, in collaboration with Thayer School of Engineering and the Desert Research Institute, has found that

SCotland: mackintosh library dEstroyEd ash build-up is also a major concern. “The widespread melting of the Greenland ice sheet required the combination of both of these effects – a lowered snow albedo from ash and unusually warm temperatures – to push the ice sheet over the threshold,” said Kaitlin Keegan, lead author and a doctoral student at Thayer. “With both the frequency of forest fires and warmer temperatures predicted to increase with climate change, widespread melt events are likely to happen much more frequently in the future.”

new Zealand: olympic rowEr Joins firE sErvicE olympic gold medalist rower Joseph sullivan has made an official announcement of retirement, while also announcing his intention to become a firefighter. sullivan won six international titles in a row, three elite championships and four world cup medals, to name but a few. he said he was inspired to join the new Zealand fire service following a meeting with firefighters during the anZa challenge in april 2013.

A fire swept through the Mackintosh library of the Glasgow School of Art recently, causing extensive destruction. The library was widely recognised as holding some of the finest examples of nouveau art in the world. The school’s archives, however, escaped unscathed. Speaking to the BBC, Muriel Gray, the school’s chairwoman, said: “This is an enormous blow and we are understandably devastated. The most amazing, almost miraculous, news is that the majority of the building is still intact.”

Scottish firefighters were hailed as heroes in tackling the blaze – having formed a human wall to contain the fire, 90 per cent of the structure remained viable, while they estimated they had saved approximately 70 per cent of the contents.

The fire is believed to have been started after a faulty projector caused foam in the Category-A listed building to ignite. 17 crews of firefighters worked for several hours to contain the fire. The Scottish government has pledged support to the school in its rebuilding efforts.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

International News

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// EmErgEncy sErvicE nEws from around thE globE. missouri ‘firEnado’ capturEd on camEra

USA: californian wildfirE arson A Californian man was charged with arson in connection with a number of wildfires which spread through California last May. 57-year old Alberto Serrato was charged with adding fuel to a smaller fire which covered 105 acres, and was later fully contained. Around $20m in damage was caused by the fires north of San Diego, which prompted wide-scale evacuations and were fought by the efforts of thousands of firefighters and a fleet of civilian and military helicopters dropping water over the area.

Weather conditions didn’t help – usually not seen until later summer, the area was described as a ‘tinder box’ due to high winds, temperatures and extremely dry weather.

Janae Copelin became something of an internet sensation when she posted a photo to Instagram of a pillar of fire in the town of Chillicothe, Missouri, and which has since been dubbed a ‘firenado’. The phenomenon was caused by a farmer burning off his field. Despite looking quite unusual, fire whirls (their official name) aren’t actually as uncommon as one might think. Generally forming during house fires or wildfires and more closely related to a whirlwind than a tornado, fire whirls form when fire heats the air over the earth’s surface – superheated air rises in plumes and as it begins to rise it rotates, drawing in more air and beginning to suck fire upward. Most of these remain small, though they have been known to increase in size to 400 feet tall and 50 feet wide.

GermAny: anciEnt church guttEd fire tore through a 650-year old church in the historic centre of nuremberg, largely destroying the ancient building. firefighters arrived in the early hours of the morning to tackle the blaze, and doused surrounding rooftops in water to prevent the fire from spreading. dating back to 1356, st martha’s church was undergoing renovations. its roof collapsed inwards during the fire, the cause of which is still unknown.

Chile: activist dEstroys studEnt dEbt

Sweden: fiEry missilEs on thE East coast

Chilean activist Francisco Tapia set fire to documents representing around $500m (f370m) worth of student debt. He destroyed the papers during a student takeover of the Universidad del Mar, where students were demanding free higher education. In a video translated by the Santiago Times, Tapia said: “You don’t have to pay another peso [of your student loan debt]. We have to lose our fear, our fear of being thought of as criminals because we’re poor... this is my act of love for you.” Tapia recently put the remains of the burnt documents on display at a cultural centre in Santiago, which the police seized as evidence shortly after.

Protests against education policy in Chile have been ongoing for several years, with students speaking out against for-profit schools, and a perceived lack of action on the part of the education minister.

The university will now reportedly have to sue each student individually – a lengthy and costly process.

A fire in a warehouse on Sweden’s east coast had the unusual effect of turning the contents of the warehouse into flying missiles. The fire began in the early hours of the morning in a warehouse containing 1,000 tins of surstromming, a foulsmelling, fermented Swedish delicacy, which was being kept in highly pressurised tins. It has been described previously as an ‘acquired taste’, smelling akin to rubbish left outside for days.

Several major airlines have banned the pressurised cans in recent years, arguing that they should be classed as potentially explosive. Explosions from inside the warehouse were first thought to be propane containers, before the realisation struck that the fermented herring containers had been compromised. One flew over the roof of a nearby outhouse, while another sailed over the bay towards a neighbour’s house. “The firefighters were surprised,” according to warehouse owner HansErik Englund.

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