Health and Wellness
Cheryl Holland | 01/11/2010

Facing the end of life is a fact of life. It will happen to all of us. As someone who works in Emergency Medical Services, you understand that reality better than most. What can be avoided is putting those you love in the position of having to make confusing, heart-wrenching decisions on your behalf. By being prepared —by making your wishes known upfront —you can save a highly emotional time from becoming impossibly difficult.

From the Editor
Sherry Brooks | 10/18/2009

In this edition, we feature expanded coverage in the area of Hazmat. It is such a vital area of the Fire Rescue EMS world, and we’re pleased to bring it to you.

We welcome Glen Clapp, president of the North Carolina Association of Hazardous Materials Responders (NCAHMR), and his expertise on all things hazmat. In this issue, Clapp covers the Annual Hazmat Competition, along with some amazing pictures from Michael Porowski. Read his feature article on the challenge of chlorine railcar enhanced fittings.

expanding our knowledge
DOUG ROSS | 01/11/2010

Over the past few issues I have discussed certain issues that negatively affect the fire and arson investigator in the Carolinas. This article will be no different. A troubling statistic that hasn’t varied over the past decade is the conviction rate for individuals charged with arson —two to four percent! (USFA). Think about that number for a minute. With only a two to four percent conviction rate, 96 arson cases are either lost in court, nol prossed or the prosecutor chooses not to take the case to trial for various legal reasons. That isn’t acceptable.

Communications
Lorraine Murphy | 10/18/2009

As firefighters battled flames inside the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001 they were faced with an even larger obstacle. Fire rescue personnel, lacking communications equipment compatible with that used by other responders at the scene, including members of the New York Police Department, were unable to receive warnings of the buildings’ inevitable collapse.

Fire
JOE MANCOS | 01/11/2010

I have been told that to be successful in any emergency field you must “think outside the box.”In this article, we are going to explore rapid assessment and prehospital treatment of severe Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). The skull has been often described as the box the brain is enclosed in. With this in mind, let us review the basic anatomy, assessment and treatment for head injuries as well as some common pitfalls when treating the head injury patient in the prehospital environment.

Fire
DAVE MURPHY | 01/11/2010

Our essential mission and number one priority is to deliver the best possible service to our customers —or is it?

Do we only show up when someone calls 911? If this is the case, I maintain you are not providing the best possible service to your customer, the citizens that pay your salary, or provide the necessary resources for you to operate.

Fire
| 01/11/2010

To the untrained eye the oceanfront party held each May at Springmaid Resort is like so many in Myrtle Beach. Steak and chicken are charcoaled on the grill, a live band pumps out classic rock tunes, and adult libations are the beverage of choice.

But what has now become an annual tradition on the third Wednesday of May is far from normal. Hundreds of people come from New York, the Carolinas, Connecticut and even as far away as Los Angeles to bask in the Myrtle Beach sun, play some of the nation’s best golf courses, and celebrate a bond that only firefighters can appreciate.

Education and Training
Carter Jones | 10/18/2009

For a number of years the national fire service has experienced some 100 plus firefighter line-of-duty fatalities annually. Additionally, injuries sustained by our firefighters linger around 80,000 each year. Providing solutions to the fatality and injury issues seem easy in light of the tremendous data base of information relating to the causes. However, the solutions become clouded when we begin to apply those lessons learned to the cultural environment in which we, as a service, have been reared.

Fire
DAVID ELLIOTT | 01/11/2010

We’ re all very familiar with the incident command or incident management system. You have either been trained on it, or like myself, have applied it to successfully mitigate large-scale, multi-agency responses.  About 13 years ago I responded to a large woods fire. I established and maintained command until the incident was terminated. By the end of the day, fire equipment from the state and multiple counties was requested and utilized. The high number of news helicopters present prompted me to request restriction of air space over the incident in order for forestry aircraft to survey the scene. The extended duration of the incident necessitated delivery of replacement batteries for portable radios. EMS was needed to evacuate invalid residents in the area. 

KEEPING YOU SAFE
MICHAEL P. DALLESSANDRO | 01/11/2010

In the fire service there are people who just drive fire apparatus, and there are drivers who skillfully drive and operate fire apparatus safely. I have been very fortunate over the years as a guest speaker, to be able to travel to many conferences and fire departments that held safe apparatus operator workshops. Through my travels I have met many skilled apparatus driver/operators and I have also met a number of people who just drive fire trucks. There is a difference. I have been driving fire apparatus myself for approximately 25 years, but have only really been an apparatus driver/operator for about 18 of those 24 years.