Firefighters participate in hepatitis C awareness march
On August 3, firefighters from Pennsylvania and other states and Canada participated in a hepatitis C awareness march hosted by members of Philadelphia (PA) Fire Fighters Local 22. Firefighters estimated by various sources to be from 1,000 to 2,100 in number marched to the site of the Liberty Bell at Independence Mall in Philadelphia to try to convince city leaders that hepatitis C should be classified as an “in the line of duty” hazard and treatment costs and lost time should be covered by workers’ compensation statutes.
Last year, it was revealed that 140 of the 2,100 active and retired Philadelphia firefighters tested for hepatitis C had contracted the disease, an infection rate the Philadelphia firefighters say is nearly three times higher than the national average. [The city has 4,000 active and retired firefighters.]
Among speakers at the march were Pennsylvania State Treasurer Barbara Hafer, a former nurse and keynote speaker, who said hepatitis C should be acknowledged as a work-related disease and asked that state officials support the firefighters’ request. Many firefighters, she pointed out, have contracted hepatitis C “through heroic behavior.”
Among other speakers were Representative W. Curtis Thomas (D-North Philadelphia), who previously had introduced a bill in the state’s House to include hepatitis C under workers’ compensation guidelines; state Representatives John Taylor (R-177th district), Chris Wogan (R-176th district), and Dennis O’Brien (R-169th district); City Councilman James Kenney (D-at-large); Dr. Kenneth Rothstein of the American Liver Foundation; Maria Terpolilli, Esq.; and several Philadelphia Fire Department hepatitis C victims.
Some of the marchers came from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Ohio; and Vancouver, British Columbia, and London, On-tario. Although the march was scheduled to coincide with the Republican National Convention, its intent was not to protest, stress the march organizers, but to focus national media attention on the hazard hepatitis C poses for firefighters.
NFPA: 1999 U.S. fire deaths down; number of reported fires up slightly
The number of fire deaths in the United States in 1999 (3,570) decreased 11 percent from 1998, according to the most recent National Fire Protection Fire Association (NFPA) study on fire loss. The study showed also that the overall number of reported fires rose four percent, to 1.823 million, and that property damage resulting from fire was up 16 percent, to $10.024 billion. Among other findings were the following:
- Fires known to have been deliberately set or suspected of being set decreased five percent.
- Every 17 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United States.
- A home fire occurs every 85 seconds.
- There is a civilian fire injury every 24 minutes.
- Vehicle fires dropped by three percent last year, to 368,500.
Fire service testifies on behalf of FIRE Bill
On July 25, representatives of fire service organizations testified on behalf of the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act (H.R. 1168/S. 1941) before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology. The hearing was called by Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ).
Among the organizations represented were the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
The FIRE Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Curt Weldon (R-PA) and in the Senate by Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Mike DeWine (R-OH), all of whom also testified at the hearing. The bipartisan legislation at press time had 277 cosponsors in the House and 34 in the Senate.
The FIRE Bill would authorize $5 billion in competitive grants to fire departments over five years. Grants could be used for training, EMS expenses, apparatus, communications, wellness/fitness programs, PPE, infrastructure modification, personnel, certification of fire inspectors, fire prevention programs, and public education. The grants would be available to volunteer, paid, and combination departments; fire departments would have to match 10 percent of the grant to be eligible.
On July 13, the Senate passed a $309.8 billion Fiscal Year 2001 Defense Authorization Bill (S. 2549) with the FIRE Bill language included as an amendment (S.AMDT.3753). The amendment, introduced by Dodd and cosponsored by 16 other senators, would authorize $3.1 billion over six years in direct grants to the fire service. The amendment’s language still needs to survive a conference committee meeting that, at press time, was expected to take place after the August recess.
DOT names heads of haz mat, pipeline safety
Robert (Bob) A. McGuire was recently named the associate administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Safety and Stacey L. Gerard the associate administrator for the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS).
The Office of Hazardous Materials Safety is responsible for coordinating a national safety program for the transportation of hazardous materials by air, rail, highway, and water.
Clinton pledges millions for wildland firefighting
In response to a request from the Department of Agriculture, President Clinton has released $150 million in emergency funds to be used to fight wildfires throughout the western portion of the country. The funds will be taken from an emergency account established by Congress to help meet urgent firefighting needs and rehabilitate eroded lands nationwide.
The funding provides for firefighter salaries and expenses, national mobilization costs, and large aircraft and helicopter operations. Rehabilitation activities include reducing erosion and loss of soil productivity, deterioration of water quality, changes to ecosystems, and damage to critical cultural and natural resources.
San Manuel Mission Indians and City of San Bernardino form “partnership”
The City of San Bernardino, California, needed some new fire equipment, and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians needed fire and emergency services on the reservation. Out of their mutual needs evolved a government-to-government arrangement in which goods and services were swapped.
The San Manuel Tribe provided $1.2 million with which the San Bernardino City Fire Department purchased three new fire engines and a hazardous materials rig. The city, in return, will provide fire and emergency services to the San Manuel reservation through June 30, 2006. The vehicles purchased by the tribe will carry the tribal logo along with city fire department identification. Chief Larry Pitzer and tribal representatives worked on the agreement. Additional information is available from June Durr, marketing and public affairs director, Mayor’s Office, at (909) 384-5133, or Ted Dorney, marketing director, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, at (909) 382-2222.
NFPA and OSHA offer “Best Practices” Conference
The National Fire Protection Association, working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), will present an “OSHA Best Practices” conference on December 6-8, 2000, at the Hyatt Regency in St. Louis, Missouri.
Among topics to be addressed will be hot work operations, personal protective equipment, confined space safe practices, electrical safety, hazardous materials response, fire department operations, industrial fire brigades, and atmospheric monitoring instrumentation. Additional information may be obtained by calling (800) 344-3555 or logging onto www.nfpa.org.
Standard provides criteria for testing smoke management system fans
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)/ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, Inc.) Standard 149-2000, Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans Used to Exhaust Smoke in Smoke Management Systems, applies to fans to be permanently installed in smoke management systems to exhaust smoke, including fan components and accessories when supplied, mounted, or intended to be mounted to the fan.
According to William Webb, committee chair, “The standard will enable the industry to specify fans designed for smoke management service tested under temperature and operation conditions the fans likely will experience in service.” The cost of the standard is $36.
Lack of managers complicates wildland firefighting
Although fires in the West have resulted in a severe shortage of firefighters, the biggest problem facing officials is the lack of highly trained fire managers, according to Bill Baden, the National Association of State Foresters representative at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Managers, in addition to supervising firefighters on the front lines, also plan for evacuations, salvaging property, preserving wildlife, and allocating re-sources. The present number of 16 management teams trained to handle the most serious fires would be more than adequate in a “normal year,” Baden notes. However, according to Ron Dunton, national fire program manager of the Bureau of Land Management, the present situation is an “absolutely unprecedented event that has placed a huge strain ellipse on the entire firefighting structure.”
At press time, more than four million acres of forest, brush, and grass had burned, and 66 fires were burning throughout 11 Western states. Fire managers have requested an additional 10,000 firefighters to complement the 25,000 already working fires in the West, but there is no one left to send, Dunton says. Some new forces are coming in, but college students and teachers experienced in firefighting will be leaving to return to school. Military troops are being used to spell trained firefighters at the less critical fires. About 400 Canadian firefighters, including one management team, have joined in the firefighting effort in the Western states. Officials are looking for additional managers in other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, and among retirees with management experience. (Source: Jessie Halladay, USA TODAY.)
UDOT announces emergency preparedness initiatives for 2002 Winter Olympics
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has announced a plan for promoting emergency preparedness along rail lines and highways during the 2002 Winter Olympics, to be held in Salt Lake City. The project includes developing and distributing specialized emergency response software and training to emergency workers in areas surrounding the Olympic sites.
An advisory group established with the Operation Respond Institute will oversee the development of a refined version of the Operation Respond Emergency Information System (OREIS), designed by UDOT to meet specific needs relating to the event. The OREIS software offers to emergency responders many safety and security options for handling problems along highways and railways. It also includes information on how to verify chemical content of motor carriers and freight trains and on law enforcement as it relates to security issues. The software will be installed at 25 regional dispatch centers and traffic management facilities located along transportation corridors serving the 10 Olympic venues.
UDOT is also sponsoring a series of training classes for emergency personnel covering safety and security issues that may arise. More than 500 police officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel will be trained under this initiative.
The software distribution and training conceived under the project will be complete by September 2001. The National Volunteer Fire Council serves on the Operation Respond Steering Committee.
American Heart Association revises CPR guidelines
The American Heart Association has released new guidelines pertaining to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in August. Among them are the following:
- Lay rescuers are to check for signs of circulation, such as normal breathing, coughing, and movement in response to stimulation when determining if they should administer chest compressions. They should not check the victim’s pulse. However, trained medical personnel are still advised to check for a pulse.
- Lay rescuers performing adult CPR should provide 15 chest compressions for every two rescue breaths, regardless of whether one or two rescuers are present.
- To treat an unconscious adult choking victim, lay rescuers should begin standard CPR, including chest compressions, and not conduct abdominal thrusts or blind finger sweeps of the mouth.
The new CPR training courses take two hours instead of four hours for the average person. Individuals previously trained in CPR will need retraining when their current certification expires.
NFPA releases 5000 Building Codedraft
A draft of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 5000 Building Codetrademark has been released by the NFPA Building Code Technical Correlating Committee. Interested parties may review and comment on the draft code through the Internet at
The code development process will continue through May 2002, when the document will be put up for vote before the NFPA membership.
Line-of-Duty Deaths, 2000
August 3: Seasonal Firefighter Phillip Conner, 29, of the National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Nevada, died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash while returning to the command post after fighting a wildfire in Nevada.
August 6: Firefighter/Paramedic Bradley Pierce, 27, of the St. Charles City (MO) Fire Department, died of an apparent heart attack at the fire department while exercising with weight equipment after working a 24-hour shift.
August 9: Captain Steve Wilmot, 47, of the Springfield (IL) Fire Department, died of injuries sustained in a fall that occurred on July 18 during an arson investigation.
August 9: Firefighter Lisa A. Farrow, 30, of Engelhard (NC) Fire and Rescue, collapsed at the scene of a residential fire. A preliminary report from the medical examiner indicates that the death was caused by acute hypoxia caused by pulmonary edema.
August 11: District Forester James Burnett, 51, of the Department of Agriculture/Forestry Services, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, died from burns sustained while fighting a Wyoming wildfire. He was attempting to get to a safety zone and was overrun by fire.
August 13: First Assistant Chief Grant F. Trick, 49, of the Canton Boro (PA) Volunteer Fire Department, died of an apparent heart attack at the fire station while preparing to participate in a controlled burn.
August 13: Firefighter Warren J.C. Smith, 28, of the Indianapolis (IN) Fire Department, died during a routine dive rescue training exercise as a result of barotrauma, which causes gases in the body to expand as the diver rises to the surface.
August 13: IFR Captain Lester Lee Shadrick, 53, of the BLM c/o ERA Aviation Inc., Louisiana, died from injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed while fighting a wildfire in Nevada.
August 14: Assistant Chief James R. Renfroe, 47, of Dallas County (TX) Fire and Rescue Services, died of an apparent heart attack at the scene of a railroad bridge fire.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
