JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
A publication of the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
Fire Team USA Focuses on Residential Sprinklers
Winter 2008
What’s Hot Inside
Public policy and
community planning were
the topics that kicked off
November’s Fire Team
USA Residential Fire Sprinkler
conference, hosted by the Office
of State Fire Marshal in Southern
Pines and funded through a
Department of Homeland
Security Fire Prevention grant.
More than 80 attendees, including
fire marshals, fire chiefs, elected
officials, building code officials
and water purveyors, gathered to
share information and to network.
The conference attendees may
have hailed from many different
communities across the state,
but all shared the same desire
to establish partnerships aimed
at improving the quality of life
in their communities. During
the course of the conference,
they discussed fire prevention
techniques, alternative approaches,
and ways to promote fire
protection legislation. Residential
fire sprinklers quickly came to
the forefront of the dialogue as
the discussion shifted to focus on
the reality of fire deaths in North
Carolina and across the country.
“It’s time for the fire service
to adopt a new perspective,”
said OSFM’s Angie Gregg, who
attended the conference. “More
than 3,000 people die in fires
across the U.S. each year, and
this number continues to remain
high. The majority of those
deaths are from residential
fires. As a member of the
fire service myself, I can see that
our traditional responses are not
working to prevent these deaths.”
In fact, Fire Team USA
members noted, while only 23
percent of fires are residential
fires, a whopping 80 percent of
fire deaths and 75 percent of fire-related
injuries are suffered during
residential fires.
Why are residential fires
so deadly? The answer is
straightforward — interior fire
loads are more intense due to a
home’s contents, and flashovers
often occur before emergency
responders can arrive. And
flashover means death for anyone
inside, residents and firefighters
alike.
So how can the fire service
more adequately address these
threats? Fire Team USA poses this
question and more, asking, “As
a fire department, are we doing
what it takes? Are we truly making
a difference in the community
outside the expectations of
extinguishing fires and going
on calls? Are we committed to
preventing flashovers to improve
the chance for occupants to
escape or be evacuated? What
are we doing differently from the
past?” The answers lie in breaking
away from the traditional role of
reacting and instead searching for
a proactive approach. No amount
of new trucks, additional stations
or more staffing can prevent
home fires or the flashovers that
so commonly kill. It will take
a new approach and a push for
alternative solutions — such as
residential fire sprinklers — to
bring those tragic statistics down.
Barriers remain strongly
against the nationwide utilization
of residential fire sprinklers,
conference attendees noted. A lack
continued on page 8...
Water Tower Rescue Training Class.......................................3.................................... “25 in 5” Classes Complete for 2007
NFIRS Reporting Needs Improvement...................................4-5........................................ Live Fire Revisted: Milford, Mich.
Looking Back:......................................................................6-7................................................. R.J. Reynolds Building 256
Inspection Tips ...................................................................8-9.............................. Bradley, Kanner Win Statewide Awards
Open Letter from Kenneth G. Mullen ................................... 11....................Permanent Checking Stations Important to FDs
Fire Team USA members (left to right) Jim Dalton, Vickie Pritchett, Wayne Waggoner, Shane Ray and John Corso.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
From the Commissioner’s Desk
Last year, North Carolina
saw no fewer than 27 fire-related
deaths, including
the tragedy at Ocean Isle. That’s
why the North Carolina Building
Code Council’s rejection of
proposals to include residential fire
sprinklers in the Building Code
was a disappointing blow to the
fire service’s attempts to increase
protection for the public and save
lives.
The Council stated that North
Carolina’s fire service needed to
make a larger effort to educate the
public about residential sprinklers,
and that will ultimately drive the
demand for safer homes.
Ideally, we would hope for a
Council that would recognize
their role in making homes and
buildings safer across North
Carolina, and we would work
together to educate the public
and improve requirements.
Unfortunately, that is not the
hand we’ve been dealt, and it’s
up to us to lead the fight for safer
homes and better fire protection.
I encourage you to join this fight
by educating yourself about
the issue and then work toward
raising awareness in your own
communities.
There is assistance available that
can help flood your communities
with educational materials and
messages about residential fire
sprinklers. The Home Fire
Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) is
launching a new Public Education
Kit that is full of educational tools
and information that can help you
during presentations to various
groups and the media. The Public
Education Kit includes:
Public relations materials:
Tips for working with the
local media
Interview talking points
How to communicate
successful sprinkler stories
Fire sprinkler facts
News releases and print
advertisements that can
be customized for your
department
DVD videos:
Protect What You Value
Most (ideal for educating
consumers thinking about
buying or building a new
home)
Living with Sprinklers –
designed to educate
consumers already living in a
home protected by sprinklers
Built for Life – ideal for
outreach to developers,
homebuilders, and local
•
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community planning
decision-makers
Animated Features:
Water Flow: Fire sprinkler
vs. fire hose
Fire Sprinkler System: How
fire sprinklers work
Home fire timeline comparisons
Compares a home fire with
and without fire sprinklers.
Two versions: for adults and
for middle school students
To order these free materials, visit
www.homefiresprinkler.org.
I hope that you will join the
campaign and take the time to
reach out to homeowners, home
inspectors, plumbing inspectors
and other agencies that have a
stake in making homes safer. If
we keep pushing, maybe one day
residential fire sprinklers will be as
common as smoke alarms.
•
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Residential Fire Sprinklers Save Lives, but
Code Officials, Homeowners Need Convincing
by Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Jim Long
Are you looking for Fire and Life Safety Education certification classes? If so, check out the
North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Educator’s Web site at www.ncflse.com.
A calendar of events and training can be found under Information Calendar.
JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
Published by the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1201 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, North Carolina 27699
Jim Long, Insurance Commissioner & State Fire Marshal
Wayne Goodwin, Assistant Commissioner
Tim Bradley, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal
Executive Editor
Chrissy Pearson, Director of Public Information
Managing Editor
Chris Best, Supervisor, Research and Program Development
Associate Editor
Kristin Milam, Assistant Director of Public Information
Graphic Designer
Trisha Tripp
Editorial Assistant
Karen Holder
The Fire & Rescue Journal is a quarterly publication of the
N.C. Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1202 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699
Questions, comments or story ideas should be directed to
Chris Best at 919-661-5880 x332 or cbest@ncdoi.net.
To sign up for the mailing list or to submit an address change, contact
Chrissy Pearson at 919-733-5238 or cpearson@ncdoi.net.
3,200 copies of the Journal, which is funded through a grant from the North
Carolina Association of Insurance Agents, were printed and mailed at a cost of
$2979.92 of $1.2956 per copy.
Winter 2008
Fire and rescue departments
across the state are looking
for new and innovative ways
to train new and old members.
Take the Elizabeth City Fire
Department and the College
of Albemarle’s Water Tower
Rescue class held Sept. 22-23, for
example.
This class is designed to meet
your department’s skill and
equipment level. Instructors
Eric Stroud, High Point Fire
Department; Billy Winn and Mike
Tinkham, Gates County Rescue
Squad; and Joe Burris retired
OSFM Fire and Rescue Training
Specialist, custom develop each
class to meet the needs and wants
of each department requesting
this class.
Local community colleges
can administer the class and the
student fees are minimal. Also,
if necessary, equipment can be
obtained from local community
colleges, rescue squads or any of
the instructors. Prior to signing
up for this class, students should
have a basic knowledge of ropes,
anchors and lowers, but the
curriculum runs the gamut of
skills from basic rappelling and
ascending to a full scale scenario-driven
victim removal. Depending
on the department’s needs, the
class can run from 20 hours up to
60 hours.
As instructor Eric Stroud puts
it, “These towers are everywhere
and workers are always around
them, therefore we as rescuers
should know the dangers and
know how to rescue victims from
these towers.” If you are interested
in participating in a Water Tower
Rescue course or have additional
questions, please contact Stroud at
estroud13@aol.com.
Water Tower Rescue Class Provides New Take on Training
The 2007 offering of the “25
in 5” training program traveled
across North Carolina last fall,
starting in Sylva on Oct. 1 and
completing 21 classes by the end
of November. The program goal
is to reduce the loss of life and
number of injuries due to vehicle
accidents while responding to and
returning from emergencies by 25
percent in five years.
After 2006’s focus of rollover
prevention, the 2007 presentation
discussed the importance of
traveling to and from incidents
safely. The train-the-trainer
courses “North Carolina Privately-
Owned Vehicle Operations” and
“Intersections: Operation Safe
Arrival” touched on this issue,
and provided instructors with
the tools to reach out to each fire
and rescue department in North
Carolina.
Vehicle accidents while
responding to or returning from
emergencies are responsible for
approximately 25 percent of
firefighter deaths. Unfortunately,
there are still individuals — even
emergency responders — who
refuse to slow down or wear seat
belts, despite the fact that these
simple measures have been proven
to save lives. Make sure your
department knows how to prevent
these accidents by requesting to
have these classes in your area.
For more information, contact
Mike Hill in Loss Prevention
with the North Carolina Safety
Worker’s Compensation Fund
at 1-888-240-9797 or
vswcf@aol.com.
2007 Classes for “25 in 5” Focused
on Traveling to, from Incidents Levels II, III High Angle Rescue
School Held at Pilot Mountain
Sixteen instructors joined 92 students for the High Angle training
class at Pilot Mountain, Nov. 2-4. Cosponsored by the Surry
Community College, N.C. Association of Rescue and EMS and
OSFM, the school covered Level II and III skill sets and lead
students through a brief refresher course and into practical
evolutions depending on training level.
With perfect weather and beautiful scenery down below, students
in Level II participated in low-angle slope evacuation and vertical
and horizontal lowers and raises, both of which included the
utilization of an attendant with a stokes basket. To accomplish
these tasks students had to select appropriate anchor systems
and rig both lowering systems and mechanical advantage systems.
The Level III students made use of their repelling skills to remove
victims from inaccessible areas and utilized telpher systems to
span horizontal distances.
For more information about upcoming High Angle schools, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
October 1-5, 2008
World Burn Congress
Raleigh Convention Center
Last year only 59 percent of North
Carolina fire departments reported
their 2006 incidents even though
all departments are required by
law to submit fire incident reports
to the Department of Insurance
Office of State Fire Marshal.
While some might think incident
reporting is not necessary or does
not fall within the scope of the fire
service, accurate and up-to-date
fire statistics are essential to the
industry.
Take the recent movement
by county fire marshals and
firefighters across the state to
educate the North Carolina
Building Code Council about
the importance of automatic
residential sprinklers or the efforts
to get fire safe cigarettes pushed
through the legislature. OSFM
provided statistics for both of
these efforts, but we could only
provide data from 59 percent
of departments in the state. Just
think how much stronger our
arguments could have been had
the remaining 41 percent of
departments provided their
data. As it was, we could not
provide the full picture.
North Carolina uses the United
States Fire Administration’s
National Fire Incident Reporting
System to collect incident data,
and this incident reporting
program is available for free to all
fire departments. Your department
may download the program from
the USFA Web site at
www.nfirs.fema.gov, or OSFM
can mail you the software
and instructions on CD. Your
department may also choose to
purchase third party software to
collect incident data. Departments
may send in data monthly or
quarterly via email to Kim
Williams at kdorman@ncdoi.net.
Not sure if your department
is reporting? Visit OSFM’s
Web site for the complete
list of reporting departments:
www.ncdoi.com/osfm/
FireAndRescueCommission.
Incident Reporting Still Needs Improvement in North Carolina
Why should North Carolina Fire Departments use the
North Carolina Fire Incident Reporting System?
• to justify budget requests and provide a basis for resource
allocation
• to measure the success of fire prevention and safety programs
• to generate statistical reports
• to assess department activity and summarize annual activities
• to answer questions about the nature and causes of injuries,
deaths, and property loss resulting from fires
• to determine needed improvements within the department (i.e.
response time, training, etc.)
• to predict fire-related problems within your community
The International Association
of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Volunteer
and Combination Officers
Section (VCOS) honored Jeffery
C. Cash with the first John
M. Buckman III Award for his
leadership within the volunteer
and combination fire service.
Cash is the Cherryville Fire
Department’s chief and serves
as the National Volunteer Fire
Council’s (NVFC) director
from North Carolina. The
Award is sponsored by Provident
Insurance and was presented
during the VCOS Symposium in
the Sun conference on Nov. 4.
Now in its inaugural year, the
John M. Buckman III Award will
annually recognize a volunteer or
combination department chief
officer who stands out on the
local and/or regional level as a
true professional and has demon-strated
leadership, integrity and
outstanding moral values within
the fire service. Chief Buckman,
the Award’s namesake, is a past
president of the IAFC, a founder
of VCOS, and the current chief
of the German Township
Volunteer Fire Department in
Evansville, Ind.
“Chief Cash is very deserving
of this Award, and the NVFC
is proud to see he is the first
recipient,” said NVFC Chairman
Philip C. Stittleburg. “Chief
Cash is a dedicated leader in his
department, his community,
his state and on a national level.
He exemplifies the leadership,
integrity and values that this
Award represents.”
The Cherryville Fire Depart-ment
is a combination depart-ment
that serves a community
of 5,600 people and 4.2 square
miles, with an average call
volume per year of 1,000. Chief
Cash is committed to the de-partment’s
vision of “Safeguard-ing
our Community through
Exceptional Service.” In addition
to being a respected leader in his
community, Cash is an active
member of the North Carolina
State Fireman’s Association, has
served on the Board of Directors
of the NVFC for over 10 years,
and is a member of the NVFC’s
Executive Committee. His lead-ership,
dedication and hard work
have earned Cash much recogni-tion,
including the Cherryville
Firefighter of the Year, Western
North Carolina Fire Officer of
the Year, North Carolina State
Firemen’s Association Firefighter
of the Year and the Gaston
County Heroism Award.
Cherryville Fire Chief Cash Receives Inaugural John
M. Buckman III Award from IAFC
Cynthia Cash, Chief Jeff Cash, Chief John M. Buckman, Barry Balliet, President Provident (Award
sponsor) and Jeff Siegrist, Regional Director Provident
8
2008
Calendar
of Events
March 28–30, 2008
High Angle Rescue School
Level I and IV
Stone Mountain State Park
Roaring Gap
March 1, 2008
Volunteer Fire Department Fund
Grant Application Deadline
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
March 10–14, 2008
NC Breathing Equipment School
Gastonia
October 31–November 2, 2008
High Angle Rescue School
Level II and III
Pilot Mountain State Park
Pinnacle
April 30, 2008
Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund
Deadline for Submission of Invoices
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
Winter 2008
Live Fire Training Revisited:
Milford, Michigan; 1987
As we continue to revisit the
events and tragedies that
have shaped the landscape
of live fire training across the
country over the past 26 years, we
are obligated to draw our attention
to the painful memories and
difficult lessons learned at terrible
cost. Once again an important
anniversary has recently passed, as
this past October marked 20 years
ago that we lost three firefighters
in a training fire in the sleepy little
village of Milford, Mich., during
another “routine” training fire.
Located about 40 miles to the
northwest of Detroit, Milford is
surrounded primarily by rural
farm country. In 1987, the
Milford Fire Department consisted
of 26 volunteer members tasked
to protect 10,000 residents living
within its 36-square-mile fire
district. These members answered
302 calls the year prior, consisting
of both fire and medical responses.
During the summer of 1987, a
house became available for the fire
department to use for training.
This 120-year-old farm house was
located five miles from the Milford
Fire Department. The owner had
begun construction on a new
ranch style house approximately
50 feet behind the original home.
According to local zoning laws,
two houses could not occupy
the same three-acre plot, so the
old farmhouse had to be razed.
Arrangements were made between
the owner and the fire department
to use it for a training drill.
Milford fire officials surveyed
the two-story balloon-framed
structure several months prior
to the training burn to prepare
for concerns regarding overhead
power lines. They would return
to the sight twice more, the
last time being the Wednesday
night prior to the burn. During
this visit, truck and equipment
placement for the exercise was
determined. It had been decided
that the burn would be used as
an arson awareness class, with
Assistant Chief Beczynski in
charge of setting up the arson
props and trailers. Beczynski
worked as a criminal investigator
in a neighboring county. The plan
was to do only one burn involving
several arson sets. Once the fires
were extinguished and firefighters
had an opportunity to examine
the results of the accelerated fires,
the house would be burned to the
ground.
The original construction
of the farm house had been
modified in years past with a
one-story addition. This addition
contained a kitchen, a bath and
utility rooms, and would be
the only usable entrance or exit
for the firefighters during the
exercise. The original two-story
structure contained the family’s
dining room and living room
on the first floor, and two
bedrooms and a bathroom
upstairs.
Sunday morning arrived
with a chill in the air.
Temperatures were in the
mid-20s as the area was
experiencing the first cold
snap of the season. All of the
firefighters involved with the
multi-agency training met at
the Milford Fire Department
for breakfast prior to heading
out to the house. Slightly
before 8 a.m., Assistant
Chief Baczynski and some
firefighters traveled to
the house to set up the
arson props for the burn.
All but three firefighters
would walk through the
house prior to setting the fires
to familiarize themselves with
the various props and trailers.
Interviews after the incident
indicate that these firefighters
noticed a strong odor of fuel
throughout the house during their
walk-through. The walk-through
took place approximately 30
minutes prior to ignition of the
props that would signal the start of
the exercise.
Numerous fire sets were located
in all parts of the house. Gasoline
soaked wax paper was used as a
trailer that traveled to every prop,
originating at the only usable door
in the utility room. Camp stove
fuel was poured on the kitchen
floor and gasoline-filled rubber
gloves were tacked approximately
two feet high on the walls of the
dining and living rooms. Kerosene
and camp fuels were poured
onto two couches and chairs in
the living room. The wax paper
trailers crisscrossed in the dining
room with one strand leading
upstairs. All of the arson props on
the second floor were located in
one bedroom. A dresser and pile of
clothes were soaked in flammable
liquids, a jug filled with gasoline
was in one corner, and kite strings
with newspaper wrapped around
them were strung across the room
to act as a conduit for the fire to
spread from one prop to the next.
Approximately 36 firefighters
were gathered for the training
exercise. Originally 12 firefighters
from Milford and one each from
Highland and Lyon Township
were scheduled to be involved
in the interior operations. Two
1-½ hose lines were set up in
the driveway. One 2-½ line was
placed at the rear of structure to
protect the new house located 50
feet from the farmhouse. This line
would be manned by four explorer
scouts from the Highland Fire
Department.
Around 8:45 a.m., the paper
trailer was ignited from the
exterior door leading into the
utility room. Some of the arson
sets ignited, but did not burn
and extend as anticipated. Several
things may have contributed to
this lack of fire propagation. When
the explorer scouts were being
oriented to the 2 ½ inch exposure
continued on page 10...
The Fire & Rescue Journal presents another review of a live fire training incident which, due to its tragic outcome, guided the direction of
the NFPA 1403 standard into the document that it is today.
An artist’s conception of the Milford, Mich., training fire
showing the location of the arson props and the bodies of the firefighters that were recovered.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Looking Back:
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Building 256
If you looked back at the
skylines of North Carolina’s
cities just 200 years ago, you’d
find a very different sight than
today. With an economy built
on textiles and tobacco, North
Carolina in the 1800s was a state
of factories and the infrastructures
that supplied them. Where now
stand condos, office buildings
and biotechnical companies, large
factories and industrial facilities
once dotted the landscape. You
can still find their remnants
among the modern buildings.
It was in one such relic that the
Winston-Salem Fire Department
fought one of its largest fires, on a
blustery day in August 1998.
Aug. 28, 1998: the day began
with 25 mph wind gusts fed
by a tropical storm battering
the Carolina coastline. Just
a month prior, construction
crews began work to restore the
historic R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company Building 256. The
factory was built in the mid-
1800s to accommodate the
tobacco company’s manufacturing
operation. The structures that
made up Building 256 were
five stories high and 260 feet
long by 300 feet wide, and were
constructed out of masonry
and oil-soaked timber floors.
The sprinkler system had
been shut down to
facilitate restoration
operations
Construc-tion
crews
discov-ered
a
fire in a large rubbish pile adjacent
to the building. Workers briefly
attempted to extinguish the fire
with buckets of water, but when
they realized their efforts were not
working, they called for help.
The first alarm at 10:37 a.m.
went to Winston-Salem Fire
Department’s Engine 1, Engine
4 and Battalion 1. At the time
of the first alarm, Aerial 2 was
several blocks away delivering a
ventilation fan to a business, so
it responded to the scene after
observing a large column of
smoke.
Once on the scene, Aerial 2
advised that they had a large
rubbish fire behind the 256
building that was extending
through windowless openings.
The officer requested a second
alarm which brought to the
scene Engines 3 and 5. Aerial 1
responded after finishing with
an earlier alarm. Command staff
then decided to initiate an attack
from Patterson Street using master
streams.
Within nine minutes of
the first alarm, four engine
companies, three aerial companies
and two command units were on
the scene. At 10:52 a.m., the third
alarm went out and Engines 6
and 18 responded. Two minutes
later Aerial 3 was requested to the
scene as well. There were reports
of chemicals and oxy acetylene
tanks in the area, so Command
requested that Hazmat 1 respond
as well.
Personnel attempted a brief
attack within Building 256, but
they quickly abandoned
their efforts after
meeting
heavy fire
conditions
within.
The fire
quickly
escalated
and
began
to
move from floor to floor. At
this point, Command decided
to forsake offensive operations
within Building 256 and
concentrate on the other
exposures.
Two other buildings were
adjacent to 256; one of these was
directly connected
by causeways on
each of the five
floors. Crews
were sent into this
building, Building
12, to investigate
and prevent any
extension. When
crews reached the
causeways, they found heavy fire
encroaching. The ability to trench
the causeways was not feasible due
to the conditions, but a stand was
made with 2.5-inch lines to hold
the fire at bay. Because of this no
fire reached building 12.
The building to the south
of the body of fire, Albert Hall,
was occupied by a combination
of residential and commercial
tenants. Crews were sent in to cut
off any extension there and were
met with active fires, high heat
and smoke. Master streams were
placed between the two buildings
in order to dampen some of the
extreme fire conditions. Despite
the heavy fire conditions the
building was salvageable.
As the event unfolded a re-quest
was sent out to neighbor-ing
departments for assistance
with personnel and equipment.
A department-wide call-back was
initiated for all off-duty person-nel.
The neighboring departments
included Kernersville and other
departments in Forsyth County.
These departments brought a
great deal of personnel and equip-ment
that proved invaluable to
the on-scene operations. In addi-tion
to the efforts on scene, these
departments assisted in manning
stations throughout the city.
As the day wore on and the fire
expanded beyond Building 256,
first reponsders were faced with a
new and unique challenge in their
response. The Forsyth County
Jail was forced to evacuate due
to its proximity to the growing
fire. The Forsyth County Sheriffs
Department coordinated with the
LJVM Coliseum to hold its large
population of prisoners until the
incident was resolved.
As the 256 building became
more and more involved,
it became difficult to direct
streams from aerial units into the
building. The remaining intact
windows throughout the building
were constructed with glass bricks,
and proved problematic for fire
crews. Crews needed to vent the
upper floors, and searched for
some way to break the glass bricks
that high up. At firefighters’
request, Forsyth County Sheriff ’s
deputies took position on the
street below and fired round after
round of shotgun blasts into the
windows. Ironically enough, some
100 years ago a similar tactic was
tried in a burning building across
the street; unfortunately, this idea
proved to be just as ineffective in
1998 as it did the first time.
As fire consumed more of the
building, much of the upper floor
became extremely unstable. On-lookers
on the street below wit-nessed
many dramatic collapses,
and some equipment succumbed
to the onslaught of falling bricks.
A DH Griffith Company operat-ing
in the area on a demolition
project volunteered their heavy
equipment to bring down some
of the unstable areas of the build-ing.
The tactic to utilize such a
resource put operators of this
equipment in unique situations
not often faced in their daily
operations. The equipment opera-tor
was briefed and equipped to
operate in the hot zone. The large
track hoe used to bring down
some of the upper areas of the
building was effective in gaining
Onlookers on the street below
witnessed many dramatic collapses,
and some equipment succumbed to
the onslaught of falling bricks. ©1998 Winston-Salem Journal photos
Winter 2008
access to master streams and mak-ing
safe some of the areas under
question.
As night fell the fire was
brought to a point that some
of the crews could be released.
Despite the fact that most of the
building had been destroyed and
the forward movement stopped
into the adjacent buildings,
crews remained into the next
day. Operating apparatus for
prolonged periods required
on-scene refueling and constant
checking. Crews had to be rotated
and the incoming shifts found
their trucks already in operation
wetting down the ashes of the day
before.
As the smoke cleared, the scar
in the Winston-Salem skyline
became more apparent. The
Reynolds 256 building was a
total loss and the two adjacent
buildings sustained some fire and
water damage, though both were
ultimately repairable.
Despite the large scale of the
incident there were only a few
injuries, none of which required
hospitalization. The crews work-ing
that day operated valiantly
and, if not for their actions, the
incident could have had much
different outcome. The incident
command faced a great deal of
challenges that stretched the
Winston-Salem Fire Department,
but these challenges where faced
and conquered to bring a positive
outcome to the incident.
Following the fire the
department began to look at
how to better serve its citizens.
In the last 10 years, staffing has
been increased throughout the
Winston-Salem Fire Department,
and specialized companies such
as the rescue company and
truck company concept have
been added. To improve radio
communications, which were
a problem during the incident,
Winston-Salem and Forsyth
County have changed to an 800
MHz system.
As our cities grow and the
skylines continue to change, we
are going to be faced with new
challenges not met before. We
hear the siren call of past fires
and incidents that ring out the
changes coming. On that one
hot summer day 10 years ago,
Winston-Salem was confronted
with one of those calls — and
the departments involved rose to
battle the flames.
Jason D. Gore is with the
Winston-Salem Fire and Rescue
Historical Society and contributed
to the bulk of this article.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Q: Our department is
looking at the equipment
list for engines. What
equipment is really needed and
how does it affect our rating?
A: One of the most
important parts of a
NCRRS is the credit
received for engine companies.
This is the bulk of the fire
department section of the survey,
and provides a foundation for
several other areas to build
upon. To receive full credit for
equipment, each engine must
have all the equipment required
to get 654 total engine company
points. You should also consult
the equipment substitute list for
equipment substitutions.
The following minimum
equipment must be carried on all
engines:
• 400 feet of 2 ½ inch or 3
inch hose for hand lines,
and an additional 800 feet
of supply hose 2 ½ inch or
larger as a minimum
• 300 gallons of water
• 200 feet of booster line or a
third 1 ½ inch or 1 ¾ inch
pre-connect with 200 feet
• two 200 foot pre-connect
lines of 1 ½ inch or 1 ¾ inch
with nozzles
• 200 feet of spare 1 ½ inch or
1 ¾ inch hose and 200 feet
of 2 ½ inch or 3 inch for
hand line use for each engine
(either in station or carried)
• a heavy stream device (deck
gun or monitor with nozzles)
• a distribution nozzle
• a foam eductor
• 10 gallons of approved UL
foam concentrate
• 15 gallons of spare foam
(either in station or carried)
• two solid stream 2 ½ inch
nozzles with shut-offs
• two 2 ½ inch combination
nozzles with shut-offs
• two 1 ½ inch or 1 ¾ inch
nozzles
• four SCBAs
• four spare cylinders
• two salvage covers
• two approved portable hand
lights. (4V wet or 6V dry)
• one hose clamp 2 ½ inch or 3
inch acceptable
• one hydrant hose gate or
quarter turn valve 2 ½ inch
• a burst hose jacket
• one gated Y 2 ½ inch x 1 ½
inch x 1 ½ inch
• a mounted radio
• a portable radio
• a 24 foot extension ladder
• a 12 foot or 14 foot roof
ladder
• three consecutive years of
hose tests
• three consecutive years of
pump service tests
If you are lacking one or two
items but you figure that it will
even out in other areas of your
survey, you need to think again.
The score from the equipment
requirements can carry over to
other items including the credit
for reserve or out-of-service
engines, which would affect the
percentages carried over to the
distribution section’s figures.
One example of how it could
affect another part of the survey
is seen in the incident response
section. Even if you lost only 10
points in the equipment section,
those 10 base points for engine
companies could come into play
when looking at incident respons-es.
If your department responds
with two engines to 75 percent
of incidents and only one engine
to 25 percent of incidents, even if
you receive full marks for all other
items, you could still only receive
up to 8.75 points out of a possible
10 points. Other similar examples
exist that could negatively impact
your overall rating.
Meeting minimum equipment
requirements is the foundation
for other survey areas, so it’s
important to have all the necessary
equipment. Generally speaking, if
it’s on the minimum requirement
list, you should consider it
essential equipment that’s really
needed.
For additional information about
the NCRRS survey process, visit the
Ratings and Inspections section on
OSFM’s Web site at
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
Equipment List for Engines a Vital Part of NCRRS Credit
Inspection Tips
...continued from page 1
of understanding about sprinklers,
an uneasy political climate, and
the fear of higher building costs
have prevented changes in state
codes and local ordinances. Fire
Team USA warns that the fire
service can no longer afford to be
the “sleeping giant,” but must take
action and facilitate change.
Fire Team USA provided
the following tips for leading
the efforts to get residential fire
sprinklers in homes:
Educate yourself — knowledge
is the key to being a sprinkler
•
advocate. Learn all you can so
you are prepared to educate
others about residential
sprinklers.
Speak up — don’t fear
introducing the idea of fire
sprinklers in your community.
Tell the truth — be honest
about the capabilities of the fire
department.
Build coalitions — assemble
a team and educate everyone
in the organization about the
importance of fire sprinklers.
Include all stakeholders,
developers and builders,
•
•
•
elected and appointed officials,
building officials, water
purveyors, fire departments,
insurance agencies and citizens.
Test the political climate — use
opportunities to introduce the
importance of fire sprinklers to
the future of your community.
Attend planning and zoning
meetings, council meetings,
civic groups, etc.
Utilize Resources — get
help from those who have
experience.
Do your homework — gather
resources and information that
•
•
•
will assist in the process. Visit
www.fireteamusa.com.
Actively support local, state and
federal legislation that affects
fire and life safety issues.
Don’t give up — the process
may take years.
Insurance Commissioner and State
Fire Marshal Jim Long strongly
supports new building codes in
North Carolina that would require
fire sprinklers in larger new homes.
But the same barriers seen in other
states are rampant here. Read more
about the push for sprinklers in his
column on page 2.
•
•
Federal Line of Duty Death Updates
The federal Public Safety Officer’s benefit recently increased to $303,064
to account for the increased cost of living. In addition to the benefit
increase, the Department of Justice has revised the claims review process
for determining distribution of benefits related to the Hometown Heroes
Survivor Benefits Act of 2003 that provides benefits to families of public
safety officers who suffer fatal heart attack or stroke while in the line of
duty. The new process clarifies the meaning of “non-routine stressful or
strenuous activity” and states that responding to an emergency call will be
treated as “non-routine.” The update also addresses the issue of providing
medical evidence of the LODD and clarifies that medical records will only be
requested if the claim files hints that the heart attack or stroke had other
causes. For more information about these changes, visit www.cfsi.org.
Winter 2008
OSFM’s Manufactured Building Division Adds Two New Employees
John Stoppi, Building Code
Consultant, Manufactured Building
Division — John Stoppi is originally
from east central Pennsylvania
and received his B.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from
Pennsylvania State University
and a M.S. degree in engineering
in Fire Protection from the
University of Maryland in 2006.
During his graduate studies, Mike
worked as a full-time system
engineer for Northrop Grumman,
Newport News Sector. And just
prior to joining the Department of
Insurance, he worked as a code/fire
protection engineering consultant
at Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc.
He lives in Raleigh with his wife
Melissa and two-year-old daughter
Aliyah.
Mike Litaker, Field Inspector,
Manufactured Building Division —
After graduating from high school,
Mike Litaker began his career
at Southern Energy Homes as
the Assistant Quality Control
Manager. After six years with
Southern Energy Homes, Mike
turned his focus to enforcement
when he became a Code
Enforcement Officer with Stanly
County for the next eight years
before joining the Department
of Insurance. Mike was born and
raised in Albemarle where he still
resides with his wife, Holly.
John Stoppi
Mike Litaker
On Oct. 15, OSFM’s own
Tim Bradley and Jeff
Kanner were awarded the
North Carolina State Employees’
Awards for Excellence in the Safety
and Heroism and Innovations
categories, respectively.
The Safety and Heroism
award requires a “demonstrated
outstanding judgment or courage
in an emergency, voluntarily
risking his life, or exhibited
meritorious action to prevent
injury, loss of life.” On Oct. 22,
2006, Tim Bradley lived up to
that description when he pulled
a 5-year-old
boy from his
burning home
in Mebane.
Bradley,
the volunteer fire chief for the
Mebane Fire Department, was
the first to arrive on scene. After
learning from the boy’s mother
that her son, Nathan, was still
inside, Bradley went in after the
boy. Without hesitation — even
though he did not have his
breathing apparatus — Bradley
searched for Nathan for nearly two
minutes before he felt the boy’s
arm.
“After crawling across the room
and around a dresser I felt an arm
near where I thought the door was
and pulled the young boy under
my arms,” Bradley explained.
“When I turned around I couldn’t
find the widow, but I knew the
general direction. I crawled a few
feet I saw the light and went to it.”
Bradley handed the boy out the
bedroom window to safety.
Even though Bradley has
gained national attention
for his efforts — he was
awarded the Firehouse
Magazine National Award
for Heroism and Valor
and was a runner-up in the
National Fire Slayer of the
Year award — he maintains
that he was just doing what
thousands of fire service
personnel agree to do each
day. “It was a departmental
rescue,” Bradley
told the
Burlington Times
News in February.
“Even though I
was the first one
on the scene, you make decisions
knowing they’re coming right
behind you.”
The Innovations award category
demands that the recipient
“successfully established new and
outstanding methods, practices,
plans or designs,” to receive the
honor. Jeff Kanner’s work
on North Carolina’s
Accessibility Code
exemplifies this
definition and paved the
way for the state’s 1.3
million citizens living
with a disability to have
equal access to buildings
across the state.
In 1991, the N.C.
Building Code Council
requested that Kanner,
a registered architect
and experienced plan
reviewer, update the state’s
Accessibility Code, which had
changed little since its origination
in 1973. He single-handedly wrote
and illustrated the code book
and incorporated requirements
from the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility
Guidelines and the Fair Housing
Act. The updated version of the
state’s Accessibility Code went into
effect on July 1, 1999.
Kanner then began the process
of getting North Carolina’s
Accessibility Code certified at
the federal level — an elite and
lengthy process that only five other
states completed before North
Carolina. The certification process
commenced on Nov. 28, 2005,
when North Carolina became
the sixth state in the country to
have a federally certified Code
compliant with the Americans
with Disabilities Act Accessibility
Guidelines. Not only is the state
Accessibility Code
referenced by architects, engineers,
designers, general contractors,
nonprofit groups and private
citizens in work done in the state,
but professionals in other states
have lauded its content; in fact,
the State of Tennessee officially
adopted Kanner’s updated version
of North Carolina Accessibility
Code to be used in Tennessee,
effective July 2006.
Congratulations to both Tim
Bradley and Jeff Kanner for their
contributions to the State of
North Carolina!
OSFM Employees Bradley, Kanner Receive Excellence Awards
Commissioner Jim Long presents
Tim Bradley (right) his state excellence
award during a ceremony in October.
Commissioner Long congratulated
Jeff Kanner (right) on receiving
the distinction of the Award for
Excellence.
10
The Fire & Rescue Journal
...continued from page 5
line, they spent several minutes
washing the exterior walls of the
farmhouse; due to the condition
of the house, a great deal of water
apparently made its way inside the
structure. The large amount of
flammable and combustible fuels
combined with the lengthy time
that passed between application
and ignition also seems to have
played a significant role. As the
fuels continued to vaporize, they
displaced oxygen that was so vital
to sustaining the fires.
After the fire failed to progress
for several minutes, Assistant
Chief Baczynski and firefighter
Dale Wiltse entered the house.
They took pictures of the lightly
burning arson sets on the first
floor, then proceeded upstairs
with intentions to ignite the prop
located in the bedroom. Several
firefighters standing outside threw
rocks through windows to try to
help ventilate the structure.
Four firefighters waited eagerly
outside of the kitchen for the
opportunity to attack the fire.
These four were chosen because
they needed additional experience
on an attack line. The group
consisted of firefighters Robert
Gregory, Thomas Phelps, Marsha
Baczynski and David Goodnaugh.
A captain standing nearby told the
group to enter and take a quick
look around — this is when the
breakdown in communications
started because the group went in
much further than anticipated.
The crew passed by small fires in
the kitchen while encountering
moderate smoke conditions. They
did not see any other fires as they
advanced up the stairs, probably
due in part to a wall that divided
the dining and living rooms was
blocking their view.
As soon as Assistant Chief
Baczynski saw the four firefighters,
he ordered them out of the house.
When the crew reached the
bottom of the stairs, one of them
apparently saw something that
disturbed him or noticed that their
exit was no longer reachable. For
reasons unknown, the group went
back up the stairs. Meanwhile,
the assistant chief and firefighter
in the bedroom recognized that
the fire conditions were rapidly
changing from moderate to
heavy. The two began to exit the
structure when they unexpectedly
ran into the crew in the hallway.
The heavy smoke condition and
general chaos of the moment
prevented the assistant chief
from being able to tell how many
or even which firefighters were
now trapped with him on the
second floor. A later investigation
determined that missing ceilings in
the second floor rooms allowed the
smoke and heat to layer and build
intensely above the firefighters’
heads prior to mushrooming and
rapidly descending on the crews.
As conditions became untenable
throughout the structure, the
assistant chief tried to herd the
firefighters to a hallway window
on the north side of the house,
located above the kitchen
extension.
Firefighters outside noticed
the smoke conditions changing
rapidly. One firefighter yelled to
other members to get everyone
outside. The same captain that had
sent the crew inside stepped into
the doorway just as the fire flashed
over. Flames blew out of all of
the first floor windows. Suddenly,
Assistant Chief Baczynski came
crashing through the second
floor window above the kitchen,
landing on the steeply-pitched
roof of the addition. Although
the firefighters standing outside
had been caught off-guard, they
began to scramble looking for
a ladder. The house was now
billowing heavy fire and smoke.
Firefighter Goodnaugh was the
next firefighter out of the window,
suffering burns to the right side of
his face as his face piece was pulled
away. Firefighter Wiltse would
be the last member to exit the
structure alive. Wiltse located the
window, and then went back down
the hallway in an attempt to locate
the other firefighters. The heat and
intense flames finally drove him
back to the window, where Wiltse
exited with flames blowing over
his head. Firefighter Wiltse’s heroic
efforts resulted in severe burns
to his hands and ears, requiring
hospitalization for several weeks to
treat his injuries.
All of the hose lines located
around the structure were put
into service, as crews attacked
the fire. More smoke than fire
was now issuing from the house,
and the fire was knocked down
relatively quickly. Because of
communication breakdowns,
many of the personnel on scene
were not even aware that there
had been six firefighters inside the
structure. Tense moments passed
as a head count was attempted
among the chaos. Assistant Chief
Baczynski reentered the house
via an extension ladder placed at
the northwest corner bedroom.
Almost immediately, he located
Robert Gregory in the center of
the room and handed him outside
to other firefighters. He continued
to search until his SCBA ran
out of air, at which time he
evacuated out of the same hallway
window that he had jumped from
only minutes before. Assistant
Chief Baczynski suffered smoke
inhalation and was sent to the
hospital.
Firefighters Phelps and
Baczynski were finally located in
the second floor hallway, near the
stairwell. They were also removed
by ground ladder. Two of the
three firefighters were found with
their face pieces in place, though
damaged. All three firefighters
would be pronounced dead on
arrival at Huron Valley Hospital.
The cause of death for all three
was reported as smoke inhalation.
Robert Gregory was 33 years
old at the time of his death. He
had been with the Highland
Fire Department for almost a
year, serving with neighboring
Novi Fire Department prior to
that. Thomas Phelps, 34, was
an 11-year veteran of the Lyon
Township Fire Department. And
Marsha Baczynski, 41, was a two-year
member of the Milford Fire
Department and the estranged
wife of Assistant Chief Baczynski.
The charred remains of the
house stood as a criminal, rather
than a fire. Tensions ran high
throughout the community and
the fire service as accusations were
made and implications realized.
While no criminal charges would
ever be filed, the actions of that
day still hold a major impact on
live fire training in that area of
Michigan today. Since the Milford
tragedy, fire departments in the
region no longer use acquired
structures for live fire training.
They fear the repercussions should
lightning ever strike twice.
These training disasters
obviously affect more than
just the local communities of
Milford, Mich., Boulder, Colo., or
Greenwood, Del., so why is it still
so easy to think it couldn’t happen
here, in North Carolina? We
must tell and retell these stories to
enforce the understanding that,
without qualified and responsible
instructors, it can.
If we lose the opportunity to
train our personnel in realistic
conditions, we will risk even
more injuries and fatalities on real
incidents. In today’s environment
of hotter fires and better protective
gear, it is more important than
ever to teach the correct methods
and proper thresholds in which
to engage active fire. Just as
important is the need to train our
people to recognize and predict
the hostile event that is getting
ready to occur. Protect live fire
training by being above board and
following NFPA 1403. We must
make every effort to prevent the
proverbial lightning from striking
again, ever.
Kevin McArthur is a training
specialist with OSFM. He can
be reached at 919-609-4794, or
kmcarthur@ncdoi.net.
The actions of that day still
hold a major impact on live fire
training in Michigan today.
On Oct. 9, the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association formally opened the doors to their new offices in Raleigh’s
downtown Quorum Center. Be sure to update your contact information and stop by to visit the new location.
323 West Jones Street, Suite 401 • Raleigh, NC 27603 • 919-821-2132 (phone) • 800-253-4733 (toll free) • 919-821-9382 (fax)
Winter 2008
11
The following is excerpted from an
open letter from Kenneth G. Mullen,
Executive Director of the N.C.
Association of Fire Chiefs.
We know that the general
public sees the fire
service as that big red
truck rolling down the road when
there is a fire, and we still get
strange looks and people saying,
“I called for an ambulance”
when we roll up to a medical
call. I am constantly made aware
of how little the general public
knows about the fire department
whenever they don’t know where
a fire station is located. But when
I say it is beside the main post
office, they knew exactly where
that is. Why? Because they go
there to conduct business.
Sandwiched between the
high-profile responses and the
fire education programs is the
installation of child safety seats
offered at fire stations in the form
of permanent checking stations.
We all know that child safety seats
save lives, but this service receives
little fanfare and is hard to see
the results of lives saved. But this
program does provide a valuable
opportunity to interact with the
public and impact the safety of
our most precious possession
— our children. The program is
the only program that brings the
public to us rather than us going
to them. The permanent checking
station extends our mission of
protecting the lives of those who
cannot protect themselves.
We sell fire station locations
based on community and the need
to be strategically located for the
benefit of those we serve. As a
service industry, fire stations are
logical sites for offering parents
a convenient location to come
to insure a car seat is installed
properly. The fire service has
learned that we can’t be everything
to everybody; however, the
permanent checking station
approach to injury prevention
certainly fits into our overall
mission.
I recently heard it said that
if we are going to commit to
respond to an incident, we should
be offering a way to prevent the
incident or reduce the impact
of the incident. When we began
responding to vehicle accidents
as part of our service delivery,
we obligated ourselves to look at
ways to reduce the impact to the
passengers of the vehicle. Seat
belts are now required because
they have proven that they save
lives. Child safety seats were the
next logical choice for legislation
to protect our smallest passengers.
Children are required to ride
in a child safety seat until they
reach a certain age or weight
because we know car seats save
lives and reduce injuries in a
crash. However, we also know
that these seats offer minimal
to no protection if they are not
installed properly, so they provide
a false sense of security for many
parents. Since the seats require
correct installation to be effective,
where can a parent go to ensure
their child is being afforded the
protection the seat is designed to
provide?
Prior to instituting the
permanent checking station
program in Rocky Mount, there
was a good deal of discussion
about who should offer this
service. Some would say it is a
law enforcement responsibility,
some would say it is the health
department who should provide
the service and some said it is
a social service responsibility.
It would be great if all of these
agencies got involved with
this program, but the reality
is they have not committed to
the program on a statewide
level. Our employees stepped
up because they saw this as
part of our overall mission
of saving lives. Technician
certification became part of the
career development plan for
fire captains and certification
became part of the recruit
training program. It is a service
that is beneficial and essential to
life safety.
When we sponsored the
first child passenger safety
set clinic, we found that 1 out
of 89 seats we checked were
installed correctly. We knew
we were doing the right thing
by providing this service and
immediately identified our fire
stations as permanent checking
sites. It was a shocking statistic
that no one really knew about,
but now that we do know, we
are responsible to do something
about it. After all, if we walked
into 89 homes and found one with
a working smoke alarm, would
we just walk away from the other
88? Certainly not, we would have
inspectors calling rental agents
and engine companies installing
a detector before they left the
building.
It’s not about adding a
program; it’s about delivering a
service that is a natural fit for
the fire service. Firefighters
understand the terrible impact
of crashes. Firefighters are
committed to provide quality
service whether it is responding
to fire or medical emergency
or programs that offer fire and
injury prevention. To be able to
prevent or reduce the injury to
a child by providing a location
with firefighters who are trained
to install a car seat properly is a
winning combination for the fire
service and the citizens. The time
we spend with a mother or father,
and in many cases an entire family,
through the permanent checking
station program has the potential
to be life saving rather than life
changing for a family. Plus, we
have an opportunity to talk about
fire safety in addition to child
safety seats. Permanent checking
stations are a win for everyone.
If you are not involved in this
program, I would encourage you
to seriously consider investing
the time and energy required
to provide a true life saving
service. The training is extensive
and professional, and the
recertification process is provided
online in order to simplify the
process of maintaining the
required upgrade training. This
is not just a program; it is a life
changing opportunity. Remember,
the mission of “saving lives
and protecting property” hasn’t
changed, but the methods we
use to accomplish the mission
have changed from just a fire
prevention approach to a focus on
overall life safety.
For information about
permanent checking stations or
training schedules, visit
www.ncsafekids.org.
Letter to North Carolina’s Fire Service:
Permanent CPS Checking Stations Important to Fire Departments

The death of a fire/rescue brother or sister is devastating for
all involved, and because it’s not something a department
or squad handles on a regular basis, how to respond isn’t
always clear. Although, we hope to never need to assist
your department with a LODD, please know that our staff is
available for assistance should your department need it.
If your department suffers a line of duty death, help
is available with documentation required for benefits
applications, funeral protocol, honor guard, pipes and drum
support, service planning and more.
During business hours, call:
1-800-634-7854
After hours, call:
Tim Bradley 	 (919) 218-5311
Steve Sloan (336) 813-0088
Larry Hughes (919) 218-1319
1202 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1202
(919) 661-5880
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
The Fire & Rescue Journal
(Above) Rescue Technician: Agricultural Machinery Pilot in Gates County;
Nov. 16–18. Members of Gates County Rescue Squad and Cherry Point Fire
Department prepare to lower a patient from an elevated grain bin exterior ladder.
(Below) Rescue Technician: Agricultural Machinery Pilot
in Randolph County; Nov. 16–18. Participants dig to
remove a trapped patient from a post-hole auger.
(Right)
Rescue Technician:
Agricultural Machinery
Pilot in Robeson County;
Nov. 30 – Dec. 2.
Participants lower a patient
using a ladder-as-a-derrick.