Been awhile!

For those of you who actually check this from time to time, you probably noticed that I have not updated for some time. Sorry!! But here is some fresh updated material!

The big news so far is that are starting to launder our bunker gear. This is your responsibility to get this done and when done have Chief Seymour or DC McCurdy inspect it. This includes your helmet!! If they determine that you need new gear, it will be documented and we are waiting to hear if we get grant money. If we do, we will be able to purchase several sets of gear. If not, maybe about 5 sets of gear. Time will tell but keep hoping for the grant!!

November is almost half way gone and the end of the year is quickly approaching. Remember to check your training hours and start attending drills or find ways to make up some time to meet our requirements. Also, there is a notice on the board with names of people who have not completed their skills maintenance.

The officers have been reviewing the current set of SOG's and have made some revisions. Those have been passed along to Chief who has been reviewing the revisions and with any luck we should have a revised copy for everyone at the start of next year. We will then review these and try and resolve some of the issues that were brought forth from your one on one chats with the Chief earlier this year.

Well, that is the most current information. I will try and make a better effort to keep this upto date.

Tiller Roll-over

In the training video segment, there was a news story on newly released video from Raleigh, NC. It shows two video images of Tiller 4 making a left hand turn at the last minute. This last minute decision to make the turn looks to have been one of the possible factors for its rollover. Speed also possibly played a part in it as well.

So just remember, plan ahead and know where you are going. And proceed at a reasonable speed that allows for safe operation of the unit.

Buffalo Double LODD

My condolensces to the Buffalo FD for their loss of live this morning. Listed below under the safety segment is a video clip from their noon news. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

Update

Ok, here is a brief update with all the ongoings around IFD....
1) 337 is here but is still awaiting on mainly the radio. Once it is installed, sounds like things should progress and be ready for service shortly. Just a matter of the radio.
2) 338 is creating problems. Best guess at this point is mid-late August.
3) City hall construction is still going. Just be cautious of their workers using our lot when coming up to the station. The office upfront will be experiencing some changes as the air handlers are going up on the roof and the location is right above our area.
4)Of course RAGBRAI is coming this week. Monday night at drill we will be going over everything so please plan on attending. This is also a business meeting night. For a map of the city and different locations of things, here is a link that will show you a map or you can explore the website further...
http://www.indianolaragbrai.com/pdf/maps/For%20Info%20handbook%20City-Campgrounds%20Purple.pdf
5) Squad 3 is out of service. It struck a deer the other night and as a result, the transmission is messed up. Unsure if it will be back in service by Tuesday or not. When squad 3 does return to service, the drug box will be returned to the unit.
6) Warren County fair and the National Balloon Classic will be starting very soon as well. Sign up sheets are in the dayroom on the board. Sign up if you haven't yet.

Stay safe and enjoy the cool July weather.
Jamie

IFD Update

Here is my latest attempt to update everyone with the happenings at IFD...
1) The biggest thing - the officers met on 4/30 and discussed the results of the one on one comments. We went through the list one comment at a time and grouped the comments into a couple different catergories. Our next goal is to break down these catergories and come up with solutions and time frames. I know that everyone is wanting to see results quickly and there have been some changes that have already occured but the bigger issues are going to take time and we ask for your patience.
2) In that officers meeting, Mark was given the lateral transfer from 303 to 301. None of the job responsibilities or duties changed with the move.
3) 337 should be moving through production. We have not heard from Rosenbauer but when we were there in early April they were about a week out from starting the truck and they gave us an estimate of about 4 weeks before we could go up and inspect it before they finalized it. So it should be coming up to that point very soon.
4) 338 has snagged a bit. There seems to have been some communication difficulties with the companies involved and it has not progressed as quickly as orginally anticipated. But it should be started by next week.
5) Squad 2 sign up sheet has been posted on the dayroom board. Most of May has been filled. Please remember, if you sign up for a shift, you need to fill it. June's sheet should be posted in the near future.
6) Sunday is Mother's Day!

Houston FD crash

Hey, have heard or seen any of the pictures coming from Houston about their vehicle collision? From the reports that they have put out upto this point sounds like someone called in smoke, possible house fire, and a ladder truck and an engine collided in an intersection. The pumper hit the side of the ladder truck causing it to overturn. The ladder landed on the front half of a car and also caught someone that was riding her bike on the sidewalk. The person in the car was able to remove herself from the vehicle and transported to the hospital. The person on the bike is still sedated with head injuries. The way it sounds, the person driving the ladder is at fault for running the red light. The call ended up being the Houston sewer department smoking the sewer line. So false alarm, no damage done? Wrong, that false alarm is going to cost a lot of money and manpower!!!
Lesson learned: If the light is red stop and clear the intersection prior to proceeding through. Also, be aware of other units responding to the same call!!

Click on the title to see news footage of the accident.

Chief's one on one meetings - status

Ok, I have been hearing different people wondering what has happened now that the Chief has sat down with everyone. Chief has compiled a list of everyones comments and sent them out to all the officers for them to look over. At the officers meeting, this list was look over and some discussion was held on it. ( I was not able to attend the officers meeting due to personal issues but did meet with the Chief the following week and we went over the topics of the meeting.) The officers are meeting again near the end of the month and they are to be looking over the list and highlighting several keys items to bring back to the next meeting. At the meeting, the highlighted issues will be brought forth and determine which items urgently need attention and come up with a course of action and a time frame to reevaluate to see if we are making progress. This will continue until we have gone through the list and address the issues. The list was 7 pages long so there are many issues that have to be addressed. So, with that being said, it is going to take time to get through everything.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas, please either take them to the officer that has been assigned to you or the Chief. There is a new list of officer contacts for people to use. Some people stayed with their officer from last year, while others might have been moved.

Stay safe and keep up the good work!

Updates

Sorry that I have not updated the blog lately, just have not thought much about it. But anyway, here is some things that have been happening. I know that some of you are wondering what is taking place with the meeting that you had with the Chief. He has concluded the meetings and has compiled his notes and we have an officers meeting on March 25. The details of the meeting have not been addressed, we have been told expect a longer meeting. A full/part timers meeting has been scheduled on April 1 and would imagine that some of the meeting will be spent dealing with issues there as well. When it will be brought before the body as a whole, I have not heard for sure. But be looking for something in the near future.
We have started to become busy with grass fires. Just be aware of the ground and if apparatus can actually be taken off road or not. We have gotten 338 stuck several times already this year and we need to pay more attention to our conditions. Based off of a call last week, an Indian gun has been moved from 335 to 333 for the time being. Don't know if this will be a permanent move, or just a temporary move until grass fire season is over. The chassis for the new 338 came in over the weekend and they have been working on the box for it so hopefully we should be seeing a new 338 within a couple months. 337 is still being prepared for construction. The time frame on that is late spring, so sometime in June. Chief is going up there the first part of April along with Mark and maybe myself to look at some different ladder trucks and while there we are going to the factory to see how 337 is progressing.
Thanks to everyone for their assistance at the pancake breakfast. Last night at the meeting it sounded like we had a good showing for the department and had a successful event. This weekend is ACLS for the paramedics. In May we are doing an 8-hr confined space class. Looking at bit more down the road, we have a busy stretch in July-Aug with the RAGBRAI coming into town, then the county fair begins and followed by the balloons.
Well, that is the major updates that I can think of for now. Thanks for checking back in and I will try to keep better tabs on the updates.

Fire in China

Below in the videos, I have added some video of a massive fire in China that destroyed a hotel that was under construction. Firework safety kindof comes to mind but it is hard to say if that is what actually started the fire. Take a couple minutes and look at the videos and see what you think.

New Heart Monitors

The new heart monitors have been placed in service as of 2/6/2009. If you have not received training on the new monitors, stop in the station ASAP and have someone show you the use of the machines. They are fairly simple to use, but do need a couple minutes for demonstration.
The Zoll's are no longer on board the squads. For the paramedics, we will continue to use the Zoll electrodes until our stock is gone.

Welcome to 2009!

Well, we are a week into 2009 and so far we have avoided the major snowstorm but keep getting plenty of ice. As probably most of you know, it is slippery. Watch your step when getting into or out of the vehicles and on scene. This is a bad time of season when people are falling and getting injured and we are not excluded from that. Plus, we create even more ice with water usage!

DC McCurdy has put out a tenative training schedule. There are still many open nights so if you feel upto it, sign up to help instruct. Or pass along some more ideas.

Chief is working on finishing up the personal conversations with everyone. As I stated before, if you have not had a chance to speak with him when your time comes, please be open and share your feelings. If you don't and you are questioning why something is happening, then we can't try to correct issues.

Please be safe and here is to a good 2009!!!