In August, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrated a prototype of a “breadcrumb communication system.” The technology was developed to maintain two-way communications with first responders as they move about in building fires, mine and tunnel collapses, and other enclosed environments where radio dead spots and severely weakened signals can impede communications.
The demonstration was in conjunction with the 2008 Workshop on Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking for Emergency Responders at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. The automated system can be deployed on the fly and features “smart” multihop relays (referred to as “breadcrumbs”) that advise first responders when to place the next device to extend the communications range, explains NIST.
The system was assembled from off-the-shelf microprocessors and other standard hardware. The relays incorporated NIST-developed software that monitors the status of radio communication signals. The software implements an “adaptive strategy” for maintaining connectivity. NIST evaluated the adaptive breadcrumb deployment strategy in computer simulations of a wide variety of emergency scenarios and in several field tests. The NIST team is interested in sharing the prototype technology and its underlying concepts with businesses and other organizations committed to improving the quality and reliability of first responder communication systems. Additional information is available at www.itl.nist.gov/rtm/.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
September 1. Crew Chief-Mechanic Zachary Jake Vander-Griend, 25, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: air tanker crash as it was departing for a fire assignment in Calaveras County, CA.
September 1. First Officer-Pilot Gregory Gonsioroski, 41, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: air tanker crash as it was departing for a fire assignment in Calaveras County, CA.
September 1. Chief Pilot Calvin Gene Wahlstrom, 61, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: air tanker crash as it was departing for a fire assignment in Calaveras County, CA.
September 3. Firefighter Greg Northup, 55, Gallipolis (OH) Fire Department: heart attack.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
Law entitles college students to fire safety information
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act (H.R. 4137), signed into law by President Bush in August, includes The Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act, which will require colleges and universities to provide students with information on fire safety on campus. The information must include the number of fires and their causes, the number of injuries and deaths related to fires, and the amount of property damage related to fire, according to the Congressional Fire Services Institute. In addition, the institutions are to report on fire safety systems, the number of regularly scheduled fire drills, fire prevention and education policies, and any fire safety activities and plans scheduled for the future.
NFA offers internship program
The National Fire Academy (NFA) is offering a college internship program for men and women interested in a career in the fire and emergency services. Interns will work at the U.S. Fire Administration in Emmitsburg, Maryland, assisting in developing and maintaining course and curriculum materials conducting basic research; summarizing information from office files and other sources; and performing basic editing and reviewing of training materials to ensure they reflect current practices. If accepted, students will receive campus housing in a private room and the opportunity to attend up to two NFA courses. Students are expected to work full time with training specialists, instructional systems specialists, and other USFA staff; attend weekly staff meetings; and participate in emergent projects as needed. Applicants must be enrolled as a student at an originally accredited institution in the United States, be a sophomore or junior, have successfully completed introductory courses in a field related to fire and the emergency services, maintain a 3.0 GPA in the discipline, and demonstrate an interest in training and education and a career in the fire and emergency services or allied disciplines.
Candidates should send a resume, cover letter, three letters of reference from college or university faculty, college transcripts, and a personal statement of interest to Kelly Snyder, Program Analyst, USFA, 16825 S. Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727, or by e-mail: Kelly.Snyder@dhs.gov.
NIOSH awards $9 million for 9/11 first responder program
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has awarded Stony Brook University Medical Center’s Long Island (NY) World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program $9 million for medical programs through mid-July 2009.
The program has cared for thousands of 9/11 first responders, many of whom continue to suffer from health issues related to their work at Ground Zero.
“We continue to see the need to care for and monitor these patients, as conditions such as respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases and post-traumatic stress disorder are common, sometimes chronic, and require long-term monitoring by healthcare professionals,” explains Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., director of the program. He adds that there is concern about the development of new illnesses such as cancer and autoimmune disease resulting from “the intense exposure to dust and toxins.”
The funding will enable the program to build on its medical treatment programs, psychiatric care, and social work. Also, data will be analyzed to identify the types of physical and mental difficulties first responders have experienced in the past seven years. Clinics are planned for other areas in New York’s Suffolk and Nassau Counties.
Physio Control recalls LifePak CR Plus AEDs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised in September that Physio Control, Inc. LifePak CR Plus automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have been recalled because the shock button is not visible, which impedes responders’ ability to provide shock therapy. According to FDA’s MedWatch notice, “The AED instructs the responder by voice prompts to press the shock button, which is not visible because it is covered, thereby making the responder unable to provide shock therapy.” Remove the AED from service, or consult the manufacturer’s diagram to remove and discard the shock button cover, the FDA recommends. Additional information is at www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#LifePakCR.
DHS issues National Emergency Communications Plan
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP). The document outlines major goals for advancing emergency communications in 56 states and territories. Among the objectives is that 75 percent of nonurban area security initiative jurisdictions demonstrate by 2011 the ability to establish response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions. The NECP, created through the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (H.R. 1), was to have been completed by April 2008.
In addition, H.R. 1 mandated that the NECP be completed before awarding to the states Interoperable Emergency Communication (IEC) grants. The IEC grants were scheduled to be awarded to states by September 30, 2008. The grants are to assist in meeting the goals of the NECP and to achieve a coordinated effort for all levels of government. A copy of the NECP is at www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/national_emergency_communitions_plan.pdf. Information about IEC grants is at www.fema.gov/government/grant/iecgp/index.shtm/.
National “Dirty Bomb” coalition formed
A diverse group of first responders, business groups, health advocates, and homeland security experts have formed the national, not-for-profit Radiological Threat Awareness Coalition (R-TAC). Among its objectives are to increase the resources dedicated to preparing for, protecting against, and preventing a radiological disaster in the United States. According to James P. Pinkerton, a former White House adviser, journalist, and chairman of R-TAC, the coalition’s central mission is to advocate practical and achievable policies and practices that contribute to preparedness for events such as “dirty bomb” attacks. An advisory board of radiological and preparedness experts will guide the coalition. Additional information is at www.r-tac.org/chairman.html/.
GAO: States not fully prepared for pandemics
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) study “Influenza Pandemic: Federal Agencies Should Continue to Assist States to Address Gaps in Pandemic Planning” (GAO-08-539) (June 2008) reports on the site visits it conducted in five states and 10 localities to assess these entities’ plans for an influenza pandemic. Congress had provided $600 million to these states and localities to assist with pandemic plans and exercises testing these plans.
According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials, the administrator of these federal pandemic funds, all 50 states have developed a plan in accordance with federal pandemic funding requirements.
However, since the GAO visited the above sites, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assessed the plans of the states, the territories, and the District of Columbia (hereafter referred to as states) for conformance to federal guidelines in 22 priority areas, among them policies for school closures and communications. The HHS found “many major gaps” in 16 of these 22 areas. The states and localities the GAO reviewed had said they would welcome additional guidance from the federal government to help them improve their plans and exercises for an influenza pandemic especially in areas such as community-level interventions for reducing the transmission of a pandemic virus. HHS and DHS, in conjunction with other federal agencies, had hosted a series of meetings of states in the five federal influenza pandemic regions to discuss drafting and updating their pandemic plans. Noting that an influenza pandemic is a real threat facing the United States and the world and that such a pandemic poses some unique challenges, the GAO has recommended that the secretaries of HHS and DHS, in coordination with other federal agencies, hold additional meetings of the states in these designated pandemic regions to address the identified gaps in the plans.
In March, HHS, DHS, and other federal agencies provided guidance to the states to assist in their updating of the pandemic plans; the updated plans were to have been completed by July 2008 and were to be reviewed by the HHS for a second time. Additional information and the full report are at www.gao.gov; click on GAO-08-539.
Frederick County (MD) Fire and Rescue Services earns Seatbelt certificate
Superintendent of the National Fire Academy Dr. Denis Onieal joined with Frederick County, Maryland, fire service leaders to award a Seatbelt certificate to the Division of Fire and Rescue Services. All Division firefighters have pledged to always wear and use seat belts while riding on fire apparatus. Six of the local fire stations have returned documents pledging to wear and use seat belts at all times. The Seatbelt Pledge campaign was originated by Dr. Burton A. Clark of the NFA following the death of Firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton, Amarillo, Texas, a 2005 graduate of the NFA. The firefighter died two days after falling out of a fire truck while responding to an alarm. Thousands of firefighters across the nation have signed the pledge. Additional information is at www.trainingdivision.com/SeatBeltPledge.asp/.
All NYC buildings should be subject to fire code, officials say
Buildings owned by the Port Authority, the state or federal government, the United Nations, and others should be brought under the New York City fire code and be subject to inspections by the city’s fire and building department, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said at a press conference in August. Joseph Graffagnino, father of Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino, who died last year in the Deutsche Bank building fire with Firefighter Robert Beddia, was present at the event. Stringer noted that no one should be above the law when it comes to safety. The Deutsche Bank building was owned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and was not subject to city inspections. State Senator Martin Connor said he plans to introduce legislation requiring that state-controlled buildings be subject to the city’s fire code. www.efluxmedia.com/news, Aug 12, 2008; www.nysun.com, Aug 11, 2008
CPSC: Synthetic turf fields pose no threat to children
Young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in synthetic turf fields, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). “Newer fields had no lead or generally had the lowest lead levels,” the agency reported. Its evaluation, the CPSC said, “showed small amounts of lead on the surface of some older fields, but none released amounts that would be harmful to children.”
Although this evaluation found no harmful lead levels, the CPSC is asking that voluntary standards be developed for synthetic turf to preclude the use of lead in future products, as “a proactive step to address future production of synthetic turf and set a standard for new entrants to the market.” The agency recommended that young children wash their hands after playing outside, especially before eating. Additional information is at www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia08/os/turfassessment.pdf/.
Paper cites need for “qualified” designers of fire protection systems
Qualified professionals should design fire protection systems is the message of the position statement “The Engineer and the TechnicianDesigning Fire Protection Systems,” jointly authored by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies. The organizations say the statement came about “because of industrywide concerns over the inconsistencies in state and local engineering regulations regarding the qualifications for those who design fire protection systems.”
Chris Jelenewicz, SFPE engineering program manager, notes that design requirements for fire protection systems in the United States are governed by state and local regulations and, consequently, the qualifications for professionals who design these systems differ from state to state. The position statement, he said, stresses the point that engineers and technicians have essential roles as long “as both practice within their areas of competence.” In addition, he notes, the document established “basic rules for the relationships {among] design, code compliance, and construction entities,” an approach that “better protects the public, firefighters, property, and the environment from fire.” The statement is at www.sfpe.org/.
IAFC and IAFF cosign Labor-Management Initiative
The “Joint IAFC/IAFF Labor-Management Initiative’s Guiding Principles” is designed to strengthen relationships between firefighters and chief officers, according to a Media Member Alert from the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). The document, cosigned by the International Association of Fire Fighters, offers a model and a tool for helping fire departments to improve labor-management relations that will foster a relationship of mutual respect and understanding. The Principles are available at www.iafc.org and www.iaff.org/.
Medication Adverse Event Reports
The Food and Drug Administration notified healthcare professionals of the following:
- Simvastatin used with amiodarone: There is a risk of muscle injury, rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure or death. The risk is dose related and increases when a dose of simvastatin greater than 20 mg per day is given with amiodarone. Patients should not take doses of simvastatin greater than 20 mg per day when taking amiodarone. The complete MedWatch safety summary is at www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#Simvastatin.
- Rituxan® (rituximab): Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec, Inc. have advised healthcare professionals in September that a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who received Rituxan in a long-term safety extension clinical study died from a progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), the first reported case of PML in a Rituxan-treated patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patient was diagnosed about 18 months after the last dose of Rituxan. The patient had been treated for oropharyngeal cancer with chemotherapy (a platinum-containing regimen) and radiation therapy nine months before developing PML. The patient had longstanding RA treated with immunosuppressants and a complex medical and rheumatologic history. Physicians are asked to consider PML in patients treated with Rituxan presenting with new onset neurologic manifestations. Questions should be directed to Genentech Medical Information/communications Department at (1-800) 821-8590.
