Round
24 Will Be Awarding 2 MN Departments
7
MN Fire Departments Awarded in the 23 Round
On Friday Dec 3rd there will be two fire departments in Minnesota
receiving awards along with 222 other fire departments throughout the
United States in the twenty-fourth round of the Fiscal Year 2004
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.
The twenty-fourth round of grants provides more than $17,967,017 to
help local fire departments fund the purchase of firefighting
equipment, fund firefighter health and safety programs, enhance
emergency medical services programs, and conduct fire education and
prevention programs.
Last week 7 lucky recipients were awarded. Congratulations to the
following.
| Staples
Fire
Department |
Staples |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$17,996.00 |
Equipment
($19,995) |
11/26/2004 |
| Tyler
Fire
Department |
Tyler |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$66,285.00 |
Equipment
($21,500)
Personal Protective Equipment ($51,800) |
11/26/2004 |
| Hibbing
Fire
Department |
Hibbing |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$83,618.00 |
Personal
Protective Equipment ($92,909) |
11/26/2004 |
| Cleveland
Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department |
Cleveland |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$60,511.00 |
Equipment
($17,640)
Personal Protective Equipment ($49,595) |
11/26/2004 |
| Bruno
Volunteer Fire Department |
Bruno |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$61,445.00 |
Personal
Protective Equipment ($65,472)
Training ($2,800) |
11/26/2004 |
| Embarrass
Region Volunteer Fire Department |
Embarrass |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$10,800.00 |
Equipment
($12,000) |
11/26/2004 |
| Marshall
Volunteer Fire Department |
Marshall |
MN |
Operations
and Firefighter Safety |
$103,266.00 |
Equipment
($9,200)
Personal Protective Equipment ($105,540) |
11/26/2004 |
Future of Bunker Gear Is Changing
The Future of Bunker Gear, thanks to a DHS grant and the leadership of
the IAFF and the IAFC
Thanks
to funding from the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) through the
Department of Homeland Security, the IAFF has assembled a dynamic team
including the IAFC, Total Fire Group/Morning Pride, NIOSH, the University
of Arkansas,
The University of Massachusetts-Cambridge and International Personnel
Protection, to address the fact that the world, as firefighters know
it, has
changed.
This
group will soon be unveiling what will be "state-of-the-art" advanced
structural fire fighting bunker gear that not only improves "daily"
firefighter safety and survival issues, but addresses chemical and
biological protective hazards, as well.
First, lets
discuss how this gear functions more effectively for structural
responses:
- Exhaled
SCBA air is used to cool the firefighter's trunk. The concept is
extremely effective and noticeably cooler when worn.
- The
bunker pants and bunker boots are completely integrated. Some
estimate that 85% of lower torso burns are scald burns from superheated
water flows up the leg, this mated system seals the lower torso to make
such burns almost impossible. There is no difference in donning ,
doffing or comfort levels and no exterior visual change from the system.
Second, lets consider the importance
of passive
chemical and biological protections in turnout gear. Firefighters
cannot respond to all incidents in NFPA 1991 "Level A" suits, but yet
the potential for biological and terrorist related hazards exists now
more than ever in this post-9/11 world. Firefighters may find
themselves in situations and already "committed" at the time of the
exposure wearing structural gear that is not designed to provide this
additional hazard protection.
This dynamic team, with 100% focus on
firefighter safety and survival, will soon be unveiling this new bunker
gear with greatly improved chemical and biological protection built
right in. Designed to be
as indistinguishable as possible from bunker gear, the team will
incorporate numerous advanced improvements such as:
-Integration of
PPE system designs so that the interface areas also function for
effective protection.
-Moisture
management, stress dissipation and weight minimization technologies.
-Simulant and
active agent testing.
-FR polymer
material options.
One
of the most exciting elements of the program is that these key designs
can be retro-fitted into existing Morning Pride gear in most cases.
At
key stages of the developmental process, end user peer and field test
review will be solicited to insure that FIREFIGHTERS provide input at
all levels.
Everyone
coming home is the focus of today's fire service. At no time on the job
has there been so much energy and action toward achieving this goal. In
a "standard" pre-9/11 type of emergency response, firefighter
protective clothing provided excellent protection in most cases. Today,
however, post-9/11, the possible and sometimes predictable hazards of
terrorism exist daily--every time the apparatus responds.
The
main goal and focus of our COMMITMENT and INVOLVEMENT with TSWG, and
the dynamic team that has been assembled, is for ALL FIREFIGHTERS TO
RETURN after every run, including a terrorist or WMD hazards event.
http://www.totalfiregroup.com/
Safety
Alert - Vehicle Fire Attack
On
Sunday November 21, 2004, the Windsor Locks Fire Department responded
to a reported car fire. Upon arrival the fire was confined to the
engine compartment. During gaining access to the engine compartment,
one of my firefighters had just released the hood safety latch when the
hood shock strut exploded and fired into my firefighter, striking him
in his upper thigh and piercing completely through his leg and bunker
pants with the approximate 18 inch long strut. He is home recuperating
and we will not know how extensive his injury is for awhile yet.
I wish to make other departments mindful that these struts are gas
filled and are common on General Motor products, in particular Buicks
that I am aware of.
In my 30 plus years on the fire department this is the first time I had
ever heard of one these gas filled struts exploding like this.
The fire and accident remain under investigation.
Please pass this along to other firefighters to be aware of the
potential for these shocks to fail when exposed to fire. I am just
grateful that this accident did not have a worse outcome. Picture of
the car in question is on our Department's website at www.wlfd.com.
Gary Ruggiero, Chief
Windsor Locks Fire Department
Difference
Between NIMS ICS and FIRESCOPE/NIIMS ICS
Some of you have been asking; What's the difference between NIMS ICS
and FIRESCOPE/NIIMS ICS?
The ICS organization has five major functions, including command,
operations, planning, logistics, and finance and administration.
In the NIMS ICS, a potential sixth functional area to cover the
intelligence function can be established for gathering and sharing
incident related information and intelligence.
The Information and Intelligence function provides analysis and sharing
of information and intelligence during an incident.
Intelligence can include national security or classified information
but also can include operational information such as risk assessments,
medical intelligence, weather information, structural designs of
buildings and toxic contaminant levels.
Traditionally, information and intelligence functions are located in
the Planning Section.
In exceptional situations, however, the IC may need to assign this role
to other parts of the ICS organization. Under the NIMS ICS, the
intelligence and information function may be assigned in one of the
following ways:
Within the Command Staff;
As a unit within the Planning Section;
As a branch within the Operations Section; or
As a separate General Staff Section.
NATIONAL
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NIMS)
– AN INTRODUCTION BROADCAST FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
The Emergency Education NET work (EENET) December 8th satellite
program
2:00PM – 3:00PM
and re-aired
7:00PM – 8:00PM
Eastern Time
NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NIMS)
– AN INTRODUCTION BROADCAST FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
Washington D.C. - Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland
Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, announced the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will broadcast an introduction to
the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS establishes
standardized incident management processes, protocols, and procedures
that all responders, whether from federal, state, tribal, or local
levels of government, will use to coordinate and conduct response
actions.
SATELLITE
COORDINATES
2:00PM – 3:00PM tech test @ 1:45 ET (12/15
tech test @ 1:30 ET)
C-Band
Galaxy
3C
Transponder
23
Downlink Freq: 4160
MHz
Audio Freq: 6.2/6.8
MHz
Location: 95°
West
Polarity:
Horizontal
Ku-Band
SBS
6
Transponder 2
Downlink
Freq:11749 MHz
Audio Freq: 6.2/6.8MHz
Location: 74° West
Polarity: Vertical
7:00PM – 8:00PM tech test @ 6:45 ET
C-Band
Galaxy 3C
Transponder 23
Downlink
Freq: 4160 MHz
Audio
Freq: 6.2/6.8 MHz
Location: 95° West
Polarity: Horizontal
Ku-Band
SBS
6
Transponder 16
Downlink
Freq:12092 MHz
Audio Freq: 6.2/6.8MHz
Location: 74° West
Polarity: Vertical
ODP
Clarifying
Overtime and Backfill Policies for Part-time Employees and Volunteers
On
November 19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it has
changed its guidelines to allow volunteer first responders to be
reimbursed for anti-terrorism training. The announcement comes after
the NVFC worked with members of Congress to introduce legislation to
make volunteer first responders eligible for reimbursement and had
backed a provision in the House-passed 9-11 Commission bill, which is
currently stuck in Conference.
Until now, DHS grant regulations had made it nearly impossible for
state homeland security agencies to compensate volunteer first
responders for taking anti-terrorism training courses because the
federal grants were only allowed to be used to reimburse for overtime
and backfill costs, which had only applied to full-time fire
departments.
http://minnesotafireservice.com/whatsnewnimsmenu_odbib141_11_19_04.html
Season's
Greetings From Us At Minnesota Fire Service News
|
Solve
your morale problems!
Your
firefighters maybe bored because of nothing to do and the public
doesn't recognize them as heroes. Get them involved in public education
and fire prevention activities where they are helping the public. It
won't be long and they will become recognized heroes for saving lives
in a proactive way.
Thought
For The Week
Is
it just me or does anyone else find it absolutely amazing that the U.S.
Government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right
to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington, and determine
exactly what that cow ate. They can also track her calves right to
their stalls, and tell you what kind of feed they ate. But they are
unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around in their
country, including people that are trying to blow up important
structures in the U.S. My solution is to give every person a cow as
soon as they enter the country. What do you think?
|
