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Monday, February 23, 2009
Fla. firefighters honored for water rescue
By Jerome Burdi
The Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
BOCA RATON, Fla. — With 6- to 8-foot waves crashing on them, Fire-Rescue workers pushed through the inlet to save people whose boat had capsized.
For their bravery in rescuing three people that Memorial Day weekend, the firefighters — Capt. Todd Stewart, Donnie Horn and Tomas Martin — received their department's 2008 Firefighter of the Year Award.
The men surveyed the inlet earlier that day, May 26, and hoped there wouldn't be any calls.
"We said, 'If we get a call today, we're not going to go out,'" Martin said.
The police have a boat better equipped for rescues in rough waters than the Fire-Rescue Department's 28-foot rigid-hull inflatable.
But, as firefighters say, instinct took over.
"When the call comes down, you just go," Horn said.
They were sitting down to a steak dinner when the call came.
Boater Juan Ras, 48, of Plantation, took his 32-foot boat out on the clear, windy day but decided the waves were too strong and tried to head back, police said. That's when another wave came smashing in, flipping the boat and sending six people without life vests, including a pregnant woman, into the ocean. They were about 100 yards south of the inlet. To keep the Fire-Rescue boat from capsizing, Horn pushed the boat into oncoming waves.
"I wanted to keep the wind and waves hitting my bow," he said, fearing a sideswiping wave would leave the rescuers in need of a rescue. When they got to the capsized boat, Ras and two women were hanging on a boat-tube. While taking in water, the Fire-Rescue workers pulled all three into their boat, including the pregnant woman.
"They were hysterical, they were crying," Martin said.
The women, Ana Balcazar, who was pregnant, and Orfa Coral, 57, both of Oakland Park, were taken to the hospital but survived. They could not be reached to comment Saturday, despite attempts by phone.
Of the other three on the capsized boat: one person had made it to shore with the help of a personal watercraft rider, and a private boat rescued two others.
Boca Raton Fire-Rescue spokesman Frank Correggio said the agency trains for water rescues but doesn't often get calls for them.
Copyright 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
BOCA RATON, Fla. — With 6- to 8-foot waves crashing on them, Fire-Rescue workers pushed through the inlet to save people whose boat had capsized.
For their bravery in rescuing three people that Memorial Day weekend, the firefighters — Capt. Todd Stewart, Donnie Horn and Tomas Martin — received their department's 2008 Firefighter of the Year Award.
The men surveyed the inlet earlier that day, May 26, and hoped there wouldn't be any calls.
"We said, 'If we get a call today, we're not going to go out,'" Martin said.
The police have a boat better equipped for rescues in rough waters than the Fire-Rescue Department's 28-foot rigid-hull inflatable.
But, as firefighters say, instinct took over.
"When the call comes down, you just go," Horn said.
They were sitting down to a steak dinner when the call came.
Boater Juan Ras, 48, of Plantation, took his 32-foot boat out on the clear, windy day but decided the waves were too strong and tried to head back, police said. That's when another wave came smashing in, flipping the boat and sending six people without life vests, including a pregnant woman, into the ocean. They were about 100 yards south of the inlet. To keep the Fire-Rescue boat from capsizing, Horn pushed the boat into oncoming waves.
"I wanted to keep the wind and waves hitting my bow," he said, fearing a sideswiping wave would leave the rescuers in need of a rescue. When they got to the capsized boat, Ras and two women were hanging on a boat-tube. While taking in water, the Fire-Rescue workers pulled all three into their boat, including the pregnant woman.
"They were hysterical, they were crying," Martin said.
The women, Ana Balcazar, who was pregnant, and Orfa Coral, 57, both of Oakland Park, were taken to the hospital but survived. They could not be reached to comment Saturday, despite attempts by phone.
Of the other three on the capsized boat: one person had made it to shore with the help of a personal watercraft rider, and a private boat rescued two others.
Boca Raton Fire-Rescue spokesman Frank Correggio said the agency trains for water rescues but doesn't often get calls for them.
Copyright 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Monday, February 2, 2009
Earthquake Occurs in New Jersey
Pica confirmed with USGS that an earthquake shook homes throughout New Jersey at 10:35pm Monday, February 2nd. The quake was minor and could only be felt within quiet homes.
As of now, no damage has been noted.
Earthquakes are rare in New Jersey but have caused severe damage in the past.
As of now, no damage has been noted.
Earthquakes are rare in New Jersey but have caused severe damage in the past.
New symposium aims to raise PPE awareness
By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
 Photo Emergencyphoto.com |
Improvements in design and technology mean turnout gear has become a major investment – and with that comes a greater awareness of its importance, both in selection and maintenance.
This trend has led to the creation of the Fire Service PPE Symposium, with the inaugural event taking place in Charlotte, NC, in March.
It aims to bring together leaders from the fire service, manufacturing and industry to provide attendees with the knowledge needed to properly select and maintain PPE.
Robert Tutterow, vice-president of the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization, which is organizing the event, said it will enable the fire service to meet and discuss issues with component manufacturers, end product manufacturers, testers, researchers, and other firefighters.
"There's nothing like getting a group of people together who are really interested in a subject and allowing them to network," he said.
"So much information and ideas can come out of something like this."
Replicate successTutterow said he hopes the symposium can replicate the success of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association's annual Apparatus Specification & Vehicle Maintenance Symposium, which is now in its 21st year.
"That event brings together a lot of people responsible for speccing out and purchasing apparatus, and we want to give people the information needed to do that for PPE," he said.
"I think what it's done is put together a core grass-roots knowledge base out there in the field."
While the fire service has always given apparatus heavy focus, Tutterow said, it is only relatively recently that PPE has gained similar levels.
"Focus on PPE has grown over time, especially since the mid-1990s," he said. "I think people started to realize there was a big need to take care of PPE, especially as it is a significant part of a fire department's budget today.
"The price of PPE has also soared since then. It's become a substantial investment for a fire department ."
Task force
In preparing for the symposium, Tutterow, a health and safety officer at the Charlotte Fire Department, helped to put a task force together to identify the main issues that needed to be addressed.
Among the many topics to be discussed at the event are the selection, care, and maintenance of turnout gear, SCBA and CBRN PPE; electronics and PPE; testing; visibility and limitations of PPE; and legal issues related to NFPA non-compliance.
"We wanted to cover as much as we can in this first symposium," Tutterow said.
"We want people to take as much knowledge away with them as possible, not just the selection of PPE but also the entire aspects of PPE, everything you need to consider about it."
Tutterow said one of the biggest gaps in knowledge among the fire service generally relates to the care and maintenance of PPE, as outlined in NFPA 1851.
"Awareness is growing but there''s still a huge void out there," he said. "It's something departments have not typically budgeted for, which compounds the problem."
- The Fire PPE Symposium takes place March 9-11 at the Omni Charlotte Hotel. For more details, go to Fireppesymposium.com.
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