Names in the News
departments
Downs Retires
Chief Carl M. Downs retired Dec. 24 as Chief of the California Department of Forestry/Orange County Fire Department. Upon his retirement, Chief Downs was retained by the County of Orange as a Consultant/Director of Orange County’s Fire Program to oversee the orderly transition of fire protection and paramedic services from the CDF to the local level. The state-county cooperative fire protection contract will terminate June 30, 1980.
Chief Downs, who is now in his 38th year in the fire service, began his fire career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1941. He spent 3 1/2 years in the U.S. Navy during World War II in shipboard fire fighting and damage control. His employment with the California Department of Forestry/Orange County Fire Department began in 1951. He progressed up through the ranks and was named Deputy Chief in 1957, and was appointed Chief of the combined departments in December of 1971.
Rogers Named Chief
Assistant Chief Ralph H. Rogers has been appointed chief of the Corpus Christi Texas, Fire Department effective last Jan. 16. He succeeded Chief John G. Carlisle, who retired in January 1979.
Rogers has been a member of the Corpus Christi Fire Department for 21 years, working up the ranks to his present position. He was a training instructor while both a lieutenant and a captain. As district chief, Rogers was responsible for implementing the city’s ambulance service in 1973, training personnel, purchasing equipment and organizing the ambulance service with city and county hospital district officials.
Upon his promotion to assistant fire chief, Rogers transferred to fire suppression. He was appointed first assistant chief in November 1977.
Rogers, who holds a teaching certificate from the Texas Education Agency, taught fire science technology at Del Mar College for several years.
Tarkowski Honored
Arthur J. Tarkowski was named “Fire Service Instructor of the Year” at the annual meeting of the Michigan Fire Service Instructors Association in Ann Arbor.
Tarkowski started a 26-year career with the Flint Fire Department on Nov. 1, 1947. He was assistant chief for 6 years before he retired in 1973.
Tarkowski’s instructional career started in 1957 when he became certified to teach firemanship training by the Michigan Office of Vocational Education. His present instructional activities include assignments with the Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council and the University of Michigan’s Extension Service. He also is an instructor at Mott Community College in its associate degree program and at Madonna College in its baccalaureate degree program.
Streuli Retires
Chief A. V. (Bud) Streuli of the Contra Costa County Consolidated Fire District retired on Mar. 29, ending 31 years of service.
Streuli was instrumental in establishing the fire protection district, which now covers 185 square miles in central Contra Costa County. Streuli became a fire fighter in the Central Fire District in Walnut Creek in 1949. He became chief of the fire prevention bureau with the rank of lieutenant in 1953. He was promoted to captain in 1957 and to assistant chief in 1958. He became Chief of the Central Fire District in 1963.
Streuli participated in the proposal for the consolidation of the Mount Diablo Fire District and the Central Fire District. Upon that consolidation in 1964, he was appointed chief of the Contra Costa County Consolidated Fire District.
Dramatic Film Available
A dramatic film, “The Split Second,” which pays tribute to firemen, paramedics and policemen who respond daily to life-and-death emergencies is now available from Federal Signal Corporation.
The movie dramatizes the events that occur during the first 10 minutes after an accident to which help is summoned. In addition to the people involved, the part played by modern equipment and its applications appears prominently throughout the action.
The film was shot on location in Northfield, Ill., with the participation of municipal and volunteer personnel.
The color film is 25 minutes in length and can be used by television stations.
Federal Signal is making the film available on a one-time basis without charge. Organizations may purchase prints at a cost of $100 each by writing to: Federal Signal Corporation, 1301 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, Ill. 60521.
FAIR Plan Hits at Arson
In an effort to eliminate incentives for arson in slum areas, FAIR Plans regulations have been revised by the Federal Insurance Administration to permit cancellation of fire insurance policies when arson indicators exist.
Under a regulation effective Feb. 29, insurers may cancel with a minimum of five days notice policies on properties if “good cause exists to believe” that a building will be torched, if a building has had two fires with $500 minimum damage in one year or three such fires in two years provided the fires are due to conditions for which the insured is responsible, or if 65 percent of the rental units are unoccupied in the absence of an approved rehabilitation plan.
Other causes for insurance cancellation include failure to start fire damage repairs 60 days after a satisfactory adjustment, a clear indication that fire damage will not be repaired, nonpayment of real estate taxes for two years beyond the nonpenalty grace period, failure to pay for utility services for 120 days and disconnection of these services, conviction or indictment for arson or insurance fraud, of the insured or anyone else with a financial interest in the building, unexplained removal of undamaged salvageable items from a building, or abandonment of the property.
Nuclear Plant Precautions
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have signed a joint agreement that defines each agency’s responsibilities in preparing for emergencies at commercial nuclear facilities. The agreement is responsive to a Dec. 7, 1979, presidential directive on the agencies’ roles.
The agreement applies to emergency preparedness for all commercial nuclear power plants, certain nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and nuclear materials licensees whose operations have a potential for significant accidental off-site releases of radiation. The emphasis will be on emergency preparedness at commercial nuclear facilities for the first six months.
FEMA responsibilities include reviewing state and local emergency plans and rating their adequacy; overseeing state and local emergency plans regarding plant operation; and organizing the training of state and local officials for nuclear emergencies.
NRC duties lie predominantly with the adequate implementation of licensing emergency plans at both the state and local level.
Paramedic Fee Voted
Citizens of San Raphael, Calif., have voted to pay a special fee to finance a paramedic program proposed by Fire Chief Robert Marcucci.
A majority of 80.1 percent voted to pay $12 per living unit per year to help fund this fire fighter paramedic program.
Under a cooperative policy, the fire department’s mobil intensive care unit transports advanced life support patients while The Bay Cities Ambulance Company transports basic life support cases.
