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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 • – – – – – • – – – 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. • – – • – 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.
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Title | Fire & rescue journal |
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Date | 2008 |
Description | Winter 2008 |
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Full Text | 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 • – – – – – • – – – 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. • – – • – 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. |
OCLC number | 18621903 |