(fireengineering.com)

By John F. “Skip” Coleman

The fire service is evolving at an electrifying pace. Things that were unheard of a few years ago are now taking place. When my father came on the job in 1952, the police did EMS work. To be sure, the fire department was called when a building collapsed or a train hit a car, but the police responded to an ill-person call. I don’t have to tell you where the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue is today as it relates to EMS—up to its eyeballs.

This month’s Roundtable concerns perhaps the third-largest expense to a fire department: fire apparatus costs (first is staffing; second is building, namely the cost of a fire station).

I remember year after year fighting at budget time for new apparatus. In a city doing 50,000 runs out of 17 stations, we generally ran the heck out of an engine. City council members would choke when they saw lines in the budget about four apparatus that would exceed $2 million. You can imagine the types of questions that would come from the ill-informed council members. Before I retired, we began looking into leasing fire apparatus.

This month’s Roundtable question is, Does your department lease apparatus and, if not, has that option been considered? Visit http://emberly.fireengineering.com/index/roundtable.html and click on the January question to send in your replies. Responses will be published later in the month in a separate article. Take the ideas provided and implement them in your own community.

FIRE LIFE

Fire Life is devoted to the interests of firefighters off duty and their families. Go to firelife.com to read the following columns and more:

Rip Esselstyn, a firefighter for the Austin (TX) Fire Department, transformed the way Austin’s Engine 2 ate to save firefighters’ health. As the author of The Engine 2 Diet, he teaches the irrefutable connection between what you put in your mouth and your ability to reach your ideal weight and health in his recipes, featured in “Fire Station Cooking.”

In “Fire Safety Kids Zone,” Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog teaches kids about fire safety on their level. Download Sparkles’ coloring page for your kids today and teach them these important fire safety messages.

In “Yoga for Firefighters,” Clair Diab and Dennis Boyle teach you yoga moves that can help you during your daily firefighting routines and off the job as well. Diab is an internationally recognized yoga therapist and founder of the American Yoga Academy. Boyle is a retired fire director and acting chief with the West Orange (NJ) Fire Department.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: The Highway 58 (TN) Volunteer Fire Department and mutual-aid companies respond to a fire at a single-story wood-frame home. A firefighter was injured by an exploding paint can during the incident. [Photo by Patrick (PJ) Kellam (www.pjkellam.smugmug.com).] Send your submissions for Photo of the Day to peterp@pennwell.com.

FDIC ONLINE

This innovative online conference and exhibition uses leading-edge technology to bring fire industry decision makers together with solution providers over the Internet. Visit the interactive exhibit floor filled with top exhibitors and interact with vendors and win prizes. Attendees can view a keynote by John Salka of the Fire Department of New York as well as educational seminars by Peter Van Dorp, Mike Daley, Michael M. Dugan, Michael Hennigan, Steve Bernocco, and Kevin Kalmus. Registration is free for attendees. Visit fdiconlineevent.com to register.

FEATURED ARTICLES

In a new column on suburban firefighting, author Jerry Knapp looks at a recent fire that ended in the death of a firefighter in relation to the act of conducting a 360-degree walk-around as part of size-up in “The 360.”

Loren Charlston, a captain in the Redmond (WA) Fire Department, and Warren Merritt, deputy chief of operations for the Bellevue (WA) Fire Department, write in their article “Once Around” about a firefighter’s near miss while off-duty. On September 1, 2009, a lieutenant experienced her own close call. A group of Redmond firefighters were enjoying a motorcycle ride but could not avoid a section of 21⁄2-inch hose that was in their lane of travel. The article shows the steps taken to secure hose and other equipment on apparatus.

Steve Schreck, a battalion chief with the Alaska Division of Fire and Life Safety and coordinator for the Office of Rural Fire Protection, discusses the Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society, better known as FOOLS. “The Art of Acting FOOLish” discusses the true mission of the organization.

COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THE MONTH

Name:Bonnie Blondheim.

Residence: Calmar, Alberta, Canada.

Department: Calmar Fire & Rescue.

Title/rank: Firefighter First Responder.

Years of public service: Six.

Agency structure:Volunteer fire department.

Top issues in your department:Volunteer recruitment and retention.

Professional Qualifications: Level One Firefighter, First Medical Responder, Advanced CPR & Defibrillator, Vehicle Extrication.