NIST experts dispatched to Charleston
Four National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fire experts were dispatched to Charleston, South Carolina, to investigate the fire and collapse of the Sofa Super Store and warehouse in which nine members of the Charleston (SC) Fire Department were killed on June 18. The NIST team was working with local officials and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to gather information about the collapse and was to determine if additional study would be appropriate. The tragedy claimed the lives of Charleston Fire Department members Captain William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48; Captain Mike Benke, 49; Captain Louis Mulkey, 34; Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40; Engineer Bradford “Brad” Baity, 37; Assistant Engineer Michael French, 27; Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, 56; Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27; and Firefighter Melven Champaign, 46.
New burglar alarms pose safety hazards
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) says a new burglar alarm system that deploys dense smoke in an effort to incapacitate an intruder may in fact endanger the lives of firefighters who may be called to investigate a report of smoke in that building.
IAFC Fire and Life Safety Section Chair Chief Alan Perdue alerted the IAFC board of directors to the fact that several national franchise businesses are reportedly installing this burglar alarm system. The International Fire Code prohibits this type of system, and the National Fire Protection 101 Safety to Life standard prohibits “anything [including dense smoke] from impeding egress from a building,” the IAFC says. In addition, the IAFC notes, “Fire departments may not be notified of installations of these alarm systems in their jurisdictions, because they are part of a burglar alarm system.”
According to the IAFC, the Central Station Alarm Association, which represents the nation’s burglar and fire alarm monitoring and installing companies, does not approve of these types of systems and supports the IAFC position of eliminating the use of smoke barriers.
Fire department officials should be aware of these types of installations, the IAFC says. The IAFC Fire and Life Safety Section board will continue to monitor the issue and will report any findings to its members.
White Paper cites “importance” of fire service-based EMS
“There is no service more capable of rapid multifaceted response than a fire service-based EMS system,” asserts Prehospital 911 Emergency Medical Response: The Role of the United States Fire Service in Delivery and Coordination,” a 13-page report endorsed by the Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates Steering Committee, which includes the Congressional Fire Services Institute, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fire Protection Association, and National Volunteer Fire Council. The report was prepared by Dr. Franklin D. Pratt, medical director, Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department; Dr. Steven Katz, associate medical director, Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue; and Dr. Paul Pepe, Riggs Family Chair in Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center at Dallas.
The report explains that the training, expertise, and equipment of fire service-based EMS responders make them capable of simultaneously securing a scene; mitigating the hazard; and triaging, extricating, treating, decontaminating (if necessary), and transporting the patients who have been injured to an appropriate medical facility. The paper is intended to help fire departments educate local, state, and federal officials about the role of fire service-based EMS.
The report is available at the Coalition organization Web sites. A video, Fire Service-Based EMS: The Right Response, features various fire service EMS experts, including Dr. Pratt; Dr. Eugene Nagle, Miami (FL) Fire Department; Chief William “Shorty” Bryson, Miami (FL) Fire Department; and Chief Dennis Compton, International Fire Service Training Association. Request it from update@cfsi.org.
NVFC asks House Subcommittee for Citizen Corps and Fire Corps authorization
National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman Chief Philip C. Stittleburg, in June, asked the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response to pass an authorization for Citizen Corps that would include a subauthorization for Fire Corps, the Department of Homeland Security’s national grassroots initiative to involve citizens in helping their communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.
Fire Corps, created in December 2004, is dedicated to increasing the capacity of volunteer, career, and combination fire and EMS departments by having community volunteers assist in nonoperational roles. Stittleburg, in testimony before the Committee, noted that Fire Corps has greatly increased the nation’s fire and emergency medical services’ ability to provide, maintain, and increase services to their communities. He included in his examples the Johnson County Rural Fire District #1 Fire Corps program in Clarksville, Arkansas, which increased fire safety programming from 100 hours per year to an average of 8,600 hours per year (after Fire Corps); the Mesa (AZ) Fire Department, in which Fire Corps donates 29,040 service hours each year; and Stayton (OR) Fire District’s Fire Corps, which installed reflective address signs in the 104-square-mile district.
The testimony is on the NVFC Web site at http://www.nvfc.org/pdf/2007-jun-testimony.pdf.
Americans support FEMA, poll shows
AUPI/Zogby poll conducted among 5,932 representative adults who were interviewed online in April revealed that nearly 71 percent of respondents believed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be restored to the status of an independent agency and that FEMA should not have been absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security. More than 4 to 1 respondents said FEMA’s being included in the Department of Homeland Security damaged the government’s ability to respond to disasters.
FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker noted that FEMA was regaining public confidence since the Hurricane Katrina response. However, when the poll participants were asked about the FEMA placement in DHS, only 16 percent felt the move “helped the government to better coordinate the response to natural disasters and emergency situations.” On the other hand, 66 percent said, “Placing FEMA under the DHS hurt the government’s ability to respond to natural disasters and emergencies by shifting the focus from disaster and emergency preparedness and placing more emphasis on counterterrorism.”
FEMA’s status in Homeland Security has been a matter of concern for some lawmakers since the law moving FEMA was passed in 2002. It was feared the agency would become lost in the departmental reorganization. As predicted by some, various parts of FEMA, such as its grant-giving functions, were broken off and migrated to other elements of DHS. Lawmakers are weighing the issue, and some still support pulling FEMA out of the DHS. http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/features/printer_1296922.php April 27, 2007
NFA announces new procedures for contract instructors
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) will soon release on its Web site a new procedure for recruiting and certifying contract instructors. One of the newest changes, according to National Fire Academy (NFA) Superintendent Denis Onieal, is that potential instructors who meet the qualifications to teach a class can now become eligible contract instructors without attending the once mandatory in-service training class. Depending on the course, a contract instructor might be able to meet the qualifications by teaching a demonstration module of the class while at the NFA.
“The National Fire Academy is constantly trying to improve its operations,” Onieal explains. “We’ve shortened classes in response to student requests; now we have opened the doors to the next generation of NFA instructors.”
Recruitment of new instructors was scheduled to begin sometime in early summer. Information about the new procedure and online applications are at www.usfa.dhs.gov.
Senate establishes National First Responder Appreciation Day
On June 20, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution (S. Res. 215) designating September 25 as “National First Responder Appreciation Day.” The resolution was introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard (CO) and cosponsored by more than 30 senators.
Since December 2006, the First Response Coalition (FRC) has asked Congress to establish an official day to recognize first responders. More than 5,000 people had signed the FRC’s online petition advocating that the commemorative day be established. The American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the National Civic League, and the Veterans of Foreign War have endorsed the FRC campaign.
Steven Jones, FRC executive director, is asking the House of Representatives to introduce a similar resolution and President Bush to declare National First Responder Appreciation Day as an annual day of recognition. Additional information is at www.FirstResponseCoalition.org.
DHS announces fourth round of FP&S awards
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded 25 grants totaling more than $1 million to U.S. fire departments and fire prevention organizations in the fourth round of Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants. FP&S awards support projects in the categories of Fire Prevention and Safety (public education, arson prevention/awareness, code enforcement/awareness, wildfire prevention/education, juvenile fire setter intervention, burn prevention, media/PR campaigns, sprinkler awareness, or smoke alarm distribution) and Firefighter Safety Research and Development (data collection and analysis projects; sociological projects and problem-focused technology studies that address firefighter safety, wellness, fitness, or health). FP&S is part of FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. A list of FP&S grantees is at www.firegrantsupport.com; the latest round of FP&S award announcements is at www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/award/.
ICC incorporates NYC high-rise evacuation standards in national model
At a hearing in Rochester, New York, in May, the International Code Council (ICC) moved to revise the International Building Code to include the installation of glow-in-the-dark (photoluminescent) path markings in the stairwells of most high-rise buildings more than 75 feet high, as required in New York City. The new lighting will facilitate occupants’ use of enclosed staircases for emergency evacuation.
New York City was the first major U.S. city to adopt the photoluminescent regulations, in 2004, as part of Local Law 26. Additional information on the NYC regulation is at www.iccsafe.org. “Space TALK,” www.brooklyneagle.com online, June 6, 2007
Fire Corps holds first training session for advocates
On March 31, division and state advocates for the Fire Corps Advocate Network held its first training session at the Ponderosa (TX) Fire Department. Advocates from Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, Missouri, and Georgia attended. Among the advocates’ functions are to present educational sessions and to serve as contacts between fire departments and Fire Corps programs within their assigned geographic area. The goal is to have Fire Corps advocates in all 50 states by September 2007. At press time, 33 states had identified advocates. Those interested in becoming a state advocate should contact the Fire Corps office at (1-888) 324-6361 or info@firecorps.org.
The Fire Corps is a locally driven Citizen Corps program that offers community members an opportunity to assist their local fire and EMS departments in nonoperational roles. Fire Corps program coordinators, citizen volunteers, fire and emergency service representatives, and Citizen Corps Council members may join the Fire Corps Connection listserv, a national information-sharing network. To subscribe, send an e-mail to subscribe-fcconnection@cosmo.lyris.org; type “Subscribe” in the message line. It is part of the National Preparedness Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additional information is at www.citizencorps.org.
USFA releases new civilian fire fatality information
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has begun posting civilian fire fatality information, gathered from media through the Quick Response Program, at www.usfa.dhs.gov. The Quick Response Program was started 15 years ago as a tool for getting fire safety and prevention messages to local communities that suffered a fire fatality. The messages are sent to local media and fire departments in the vicinity of the area of the fire fatality to use the “teachable moment” (the time shortly after a tragedy when citizens are most receptive to learning about fire protection).
The nation’s media are searched for fatal fire incidents daily and entered into the USFA database that aids in tracking deaths in almost “real time.” The Quick Response Program database contains reports from January 2007.
The database is at www.usfa.dhs.gov; look for “Fire Fatalities” and click on the link “Details.” You will arrive at “Residential Fire Fatalities in the News.” Also on this page are the daily reports provided to the USFA.
APCO supports 700MHz conditional auction
The Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials (APCO) is supporting a conditional auction approach that would require the winner of a Federal Communication Commission’s planned spectrum auction to build a broadband network that will serve public safety and commercial users. The network is designed, built, and maintained to meet public safety requirements.
“The only viable option to fund a national public safety broadband network is to form a public-private partnership whereby spectrum resources can be shared among commercial and public safety users, but on a network that meets the requirements of first-responder agencies and retains public safety control over public safety spectrum,” APCO International President Wanda McCarley said in her testimony before the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council.
ICC offers support for sprinklers despite rejecting requirements
“The International Code Council (ICC) offered growing support for residential sprinklers despite its rejection of single-family fire sprinkler requirements for the International Residential Code (IRC) supplement at the May 22 hearing in Rochester, New York,” according to the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA). The recommendation received a majority vote but not the two-thirds majority vote required to overturn the committee’s initial decision not to include sprinkler requirements in the IRC supplement. If passed, the residential sprinkler requirement mandating the installation of fire sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings would have become a part of the 2009 edition of IRC.
“Anyone who has been in the fire sprinkler industry long enough to see the gains we as an industry have made over the years knows that every significant fire sprinkler requirement in the building codes has been hard earned in an evolutionary process,” explains NFSA President John Viniello. The NFSA has been submitting code change requests to the model code groups for more than 20 years. Viniello adds, “The fact that 56 percent of the ICC now agrees that fire sprinklers should be included as front-line fire protection in one- and two-family homes should be viewed as a tremendous victory-a litmus test for what is to come.” The NFSA will continue coalition building for residential fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes over the next 18 months preceding the next round of hearings.
Sports cream use implicated in teen’s death
A17-year-old female high school track star from Staten Island, New York, died from an accidental overdose of methyl salicylate, the wintergreen-scented ingredient in liniments used by athletes for aches and pains resulting from training regimens. The girl’s death was the first of its kind in New York City. The girl used several types of the muscle cream on her legs.
Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center, says the public must be made aware that these products should be used under medical supervision. Dr. Thomas Kearney, director of a poison control center and professor of pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco, noted that topical application of methyl salicylate can be dangerous if it is smeared over 40 percent of the body, if the user has a skin condition, or if another medication interacts negatively with the products.
A Federal Drug and Administration (FDA) spokeswoman said the agency was studying the situation. AP, June 13, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19208195, June 14, 2007
Globe recalls dry sprinkler heads
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Globe Fire Sprinkler Corp., Standish, Michigan, announced in June a voluntary recall of Globe’s Model J series dry fire sprinklers. Some 300,000 of the heads are involved in the recall; the heads can deteriorate over time and fail to operate in a fire. Globe received five reports of such failures; no injuries were reported.
The sprinklers (pendent, upright, and sidewall configurations) were sold by fire protection contractors nationwide between January 1990 and December 1999. Globe is making replacement sprinkler heads available at a reduced cost of $9 per head. Additional information is available from Globe at (800) 248-0278 or its Web site, www.globesprinkler.com; click on “Recall.”
Act would prohibit federal taxing of volunteer benefits
In May, Senators Chris Dodd (CT) and Gordon Smith (OR) introduced the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (S. 1466), which would exclude from federal taxes benefits localities and states provide for volunteer fire and emergency medical services personnel. The bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The House of Representatives version (H.R. 943) was introduced in the House on February 8.
The National Volunteer Fire Council, the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Association of Towns and Townships are supporting the measures. The NVFC is asking that the fire service members contact their senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 1466.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
May 25. Firefighter Bradley W. Green, 53, Monroe Township-Cowan Fire Department, Muncie, IN: heart attack.
May 28. Firefighter David A. Middleton, 38, Boston (MA) Fire Department: apparent heart attack; actual cause pending autopsy.
May 28. Firefighter II Felix M. Roberts, 41, Fulton County (GA) Fire Department: overcome by rapid fire progress while searching for an occupant in a residential structure fire.
June 4. Engineer Mark S. Carter, 53, Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department: heart attack.
June 12. Firefighter David Allan Rufer, 42, Monroe (WI) Fire Department: cause to be determined.
June 18. Captain William “Billy” Hutchinson, 48: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Captain Mike Benke, 49: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Captain Louis Mulkey, 34: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Engineer Bradford “Brad” Baity, 37: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Assistant Engineer Michael French: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Firefighter James “Earl” Drayton, 56: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
June 18. Melven Firefighter Champaign, 46: Charleston (SC) Fire Department: Sofa Super Store fire and collapse.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
LAST Teams Provide Local Assistance for LODD
BY RONALD E. KANTERMAN
As you read this, the last of the 50 Line-of-Duty-Death (LODD) State Response Teams have been trained and are ready to respond to any location in the United States. These teams were developed in response to a request the Department of Justice (DOJ) made in Spring 2006 of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). The DOJ cited long delays in paying death benefits to the families of fallen firefighters-the delays in some cases were as long as 18 months. In virtually all cases, the main reason for these delays was that the applications and related documents associated with a Public Safety Officer’s Benefit (PSOB) claim had been incorrectly prepared and submitted, causing the incorrectly prepared application to be put aside as a new application arrived. Last year, there were 106 fire service and 155 law enforcement LODDs. That’s an application just about every day going across the benefits desk in Washington, D.C. In an effort to speed up the process, the DOJ reached out to the NFFF.
PREPARATION
The NFFF conducted a survey to determine which states had LODD teams. The state fire organizations for those states that did not have a team were asked to recommend team leaders. The project committee compiled a work manual consisting of 25 sections, which was made available to each team. The teams attended a two-day training course on four weekends between October 2006 and August 2007 at the National Fire Academy Campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The training included the “Taking Care of Our Own” program, an NFFF initiative designed to prepare chief officers and their staffs for an LODD and a run-through of the LAST manual.
The team’s main mission is to ensure that the PSOB application is properly completed and submitted, but it also offers other services the local department and the family of the deceased firefighter may need. Very few fire departments have enough resources to handle an LODD by themselves. The operational concept of the team and the manual were derived and developed with this in mind. When this team responds, it represents the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
The manual’s chapters include the following topics: Rules of Engagement, Team Configuration, Finance & Administration, Resource Guide, After-Action Steps for the Team, Benefits, and Work Book Instructions. The appendices cover Honor Guard Protocol, Funeral Protocol, Autopsy Protocol, Investigation, Fire Department Staff Assignments, Eulogy Guidelines, Reception, Ceremonies, NFFF Firefighter Family Data Sheet, IAFF Contact Form, PSOB-DOJ Forms, State and Local Benefit Forms, Mobilization Protocol, Travel and Expense Forms, Hot Sheet for the Chief of Department, State Resource List, Workbook, and the Federation of Fire Chaplains current roster.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The “Rules of Engagement” for the state response teams are summarized below. They explain when and why the LAST responds.
Mission: To provide the necessary assistance and support to families and fire departments of fallen firefighters, as requested. The team’s primary mission is to bring expertise to the surviving family in filing for the DOJ-PSOB. All other functions are secondary and are available if needed.
Team Values: Family and department above all; ask first, act later, tread lightly; maintain transparency; assist, do not take over unless requested; do all things well; provide accurate and timely information; personal and organization integrity are paramount; honor, dignity, and respect at all times.
Team Members: The team coordinator selects alternates and team members and keeps all contact information current, notifying the NFFF of changes.
Team Maintenance: The coordinator develops and maintains a state resources list that will best serve the surviving family and the department. This list is inserted in the manual, Chapter 2-Resources Guide tab.
Notification Protocols: On notification of an LODD within the state, the coordinator contacts the NFFF. If the NFFF is notified of an LODD, it will notify the coordinator.
First Contact: On notification, the coordinator contacts the chief of department or the chief’s designee and offers the team’s assistance.
The Chief’s “Hot Sheet” for Initial Action: Regardless of whether the chief accepts or rejects the team’s services, the coordinator will offer to fax the LODD Hot Sheet, which lists issues that should be considered within 24 hours of an LODD.
Notification of Actions Taken: The coordinator notifies the NFFF of the action taken-e.g., the coordinator is responding, the entire team is responding, or assistance was refused. In any case, the coordinator, as a representative of the NFFF, will ask the chief for some basic information as outlined in the Firefighter Family Data Sheet (Appendix I). This form is also in the team’s Field Workbook.
Labor Union Special Note: In career fire departments, the coordinator may be interacting with the Local IAFF president or other IAFF representative and may be directed there by the chief.
Initial Response: If the chief or his designate accepts the assistance of the team, it is expected that the coordinator and the team will arrive within six hours and remain for three to five days. It is also expected that the team will be able to assist from notification through the funeral and beyond when and where necessary. The coordinator is the point of contact for the team and will serve as liaison to the chief or the chief’s designate.
Team Mobilization: If the entire team or part of the team is requested, the coordinator employs the mobilization protocols. It is possible that part of the team may respond initially and other members may be needed later. The coordinator ensures that protocols are established for contacting team members, considering distances and travel times.
Exit Strategy: The team must have an exit strategy, which should be discussed at the end of the first day. The coordinator will discuss this matter privately with the chief/chief’s designate at the appropriate time. A packet of information is left with the family and the department; a copy of Appendix Q of the workbook is made for the NFFF, and copies are given to the chief and the family before leaving the jurisdiction.
A trifold brochure outlining what the team can provide, what it can and can’t do, and the rules of engagement is available from the NFFF. Chiefs and other fire service organizations should distribute them among their members.
The thing to keep in mind is that this team will not come into town without being invited and will not take over any operation. It is a support mechanism and will work behind the scenes as requested. When the team meets with the chief, his designate, or a union official, it will do whatever it is asked to do if it is within its scope and will have the requesting party sign off on that assignment to document the request.
RONALD E. KANTERMAN has been chief of emergency services for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company in New Jersey for 13 years. He has a B.A. degree in fire administration and M.S. degrees in fire protection management and environmental science. He teaches undergraduate and graduate fire science and lectures around the country on various fire service related topics. He is a long-time instructor at FDIC and has been published numerous times. He is the chief of operations for the annual National Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg and is an advocate for the NFFF.
