The California chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (CALNENA) reported that there has been a “dramatic decline” in caller location information on wireless 911 calls made to public safety answering points (PSAPs) in five geographic areas of the state since 2008. In the filing of data with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in August, CALNENA says the data showed more than half of all California wireless 911 calls in these areas did not have location information. The FCC requires that this information be provided for all emergency calls to facilitate finding callers who may be confused, lost, unconscious, or unable to communicate.
One of the problem areas was San Francisco. CALNENA suggested that the drop in rural areas may be that many calls originate indoors or from environments between tall buildings where the function of a global positioning system may be limited. Pasadena, Bakersfield, San Jose, and Ventura County were the other four areas where wireless 911 caller location information was a problem.
CALNENA is urging the FCC to “take immediate action on existing rule compliance and require the wireless carriers to provide location data with all 911 calls in all environments, indoor and outside, urban and rural.”
NIOSH releases reports on firefighter LODDs
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recently released the following Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports:
- “Driver/engineer suffers sudden cardiac death at scene of motor vehicle crash—Georgia” (F2013-18); March 07, 2013. It is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201318.html.
- “Career fire captain dies when struck by a pickup truck while working at the scene of two traffic incidents—California” (F2012-07), Feb. 29, 2012. It is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201207.html.
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August 10. Pump Operator/Engineer Juan Pablo Casanova, 53, Brownsville (TX) Fire Department: heart attacks; the first one was suffered on July 16 in the fire station. August 10. Firefighter Kevin Hall, 59, BLM, Vale (OR) District: found unresponsive while supporting a bulldozer crew as it worked to repair an existing fire line on the Grassy Mountain fire. August 12. Captain/Paramedic Matthew G. McKnight, 51, Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department: found unresponsive in Communications Center. August 20. Lieutenant James Fellows, 45, Clearwater Township Fire Department, Rapid City, MI: stricken with a sudden illness on August 19 within 24 hours of having responded to a rescue call. August 25. Firefighter Oscar Montano-Garcia, 50, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Medford, OR: succumbed to medical condition, the nature of which is still to be reported, during operations on the Nabob fire in Northern California. August 30. Captain Token Adams, 41, Santa Fe (NM) National Forest: accident involving an ATV he was riding while checking on a report of smoke in the forest. September 4. Assistant Chief Joe Darr, 62, Chillicothe (MO) Fire Department: found unresponsive in the firehouse on August 17. He was hospitalized and released and was found unresponsive while still on medical leave on September 4. He passed away in the hospital from a cause still to be determined. Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database |
Departments earn NASFM life safety awards
One hundred seventeen U.S. fire departments were awarded National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation (NASFM Foundation) and Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company Life Safety Achievement Awards for their fire prevention accomplishments in 2012. “The award recognizes fire departments for the positive results they achieved in protecting the lives of their citizens and emergency responders from fire,” explains J. William Degnan, president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals.
To qualify for the award, fire departments must record zero fire deaths in residential structures or a 10 percent reduction of fire deaths from the prior year; demonstrate commitment to preventing residential fires in their communities through active and effective fire prevention programs; and present evidence through some department-determined measure that the department’s fire prevention efforts increased over the previous year and made a positive impact.
Fire departments are encouraged to apply for the 2013 Life Safety Achievement Award for their fire prevention efforts. A list of criteria and an application for the 2013 award will be available on www.grinnellmutual.com in the spring of 2014. The list of 2012 Life Safety Achievement Award recipients is at http://bit.ly/Gzv128.
NFPA issues 2012 fire loss report
In 2012, a home fire occurred every 85 seconds, according to the http://www.nfpa.org/National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) “Fire Loss in the United States in 2012” report. In addition, the report stated that public fire departments responded to 1,375,500 fires, including 480,500 structure fires, and the fires caused 2,855 civilian deaths and 16,500 civilian injuries.
Other 2012 data reported by the NFPA include the following:
- A civilian fire injury occurred every 32 minutes, and a civilian fire death occurred every three hours and four minutes.
- Home fires accounted for 76 percent of all structure fires. The majority of civilian fire injuries and deaths (78 percent and 83 percent, respectively) occurred in home fires.
- Property damage caused by fire amounted to approximately $12.4 billion. Home fires caused $7 billion in property loss.
- Highway vehicle fires resulted in $1.1 billion in losses.
- Intentionally set fires in structures decreased as follows:
- —a 5.7 percent reduction in structure fires.
- —a 5.3 percent reduction in civilian deaths in structures.
- —a 3.3 percent reduction in property damage in structures.
IAFC and NGA testify on emergency preparedness
On September 19, Chief Jim Schwartz, chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee, and Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response & Communications. Ghilarducci represented the National Governors Association and the Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council.
The hearing, “Assessing the Nation’s State of Preparedness: A Federal, State, and Local Perspective,” examined the nation’s ongoing level of homeland security preparedness from the state and local perspectives and on the basis of implementing lessons learned from disasters of the past year.
Both speakers acknowledged an improvement in the nation’s level of preparedness since 9/11/01 as evidenced in responses to events such as the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri; Superstorm Sandy; and the Patriots’ Day bombing in Boston. Schwartz, also chief of the Arlington County (VA) Fire Department, attributed the improvement in preparedness “in large part to the collaboration between the federal government and local first-response agencies.” He explained: “Jurisdictions across the nation are developing capabilities to fill gaps in their preparedness systems and studying these events to learn lessons that can be applied in their communities.”
Ghilarducci credited the progress to a “whole community” approach and a “decade’s worth of federal investment and engagement at the state and local levels.”
Both told the Senate committee members, however, that there still was more to be accomplished. Additional information on their testimonies is at http://bit.ly/1fs1MUQ.
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