Dallas Firefighter Killed Following MAYDAY Transmission

 

 DALLAS (AP) — A firefighter's body was recovered Monday several hours after he called for help because he was trapped in a condominium complex blaze.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans did not immediately release the name of the man, whose body was pulled from the rubble after a frantic, hours long search during the six-alarm blaze in northeast Dallas.

"From where they thought the firefighter was there was pretty much an assembly line of debris, coming where guys were just handing back debris," Evans said.

The fire was reported shortly before 3 a.m. Monday at the three-story condo complex, Evans said. A U.S. flag covered the firefighter's body when it was located and removed.

Two firefighters were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. Five residents were rescued from the fire and two were treated for minor smoke inhalation, Evans said.

Authorities are trying to determine what sparked the fire, Evans said.

He declined to release details about the firefighter's call for assistance, saying it was a very sensitive matter to victim's family and to the department.

"It's not something that you'd want to hear, you'd want to forget it," Evans said, at times choking back tears during a news conference.

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Full coverage at FirefighterNation 

Veteran Wilmington Firefighter and Police Ofiicer Dies On The Job

Fire Inspector Brian P. Waynant, Sr. was on duty with Arson Task Force...found dead

WILMINGTON, DE (March 02, 2010) -- Wilmington Fire Chief Willie J. Patrick confirmed today that a city firefighter lost his life while on duty. Fire Inspector Brian P. Waymant, Sr. was found dead along the Amtrak line near the Browntown section of the city. Officials noted that Inspector Waymant was working as part of an arson detail, which was investigating gang-related fire incidents.

Decorated as a law enforcement officer and firefighter, Inspector Brian P. Waynant, Sr., moved to the Wilmington Fire Department in 2004 after a lengthy career as a Wilmington Police officer. Waynant was 45-years old.

Inspector Waynant was hit by an Amtrak train just south of the Wilmington city limits. The 911 center received a report from an Amtrak conductor who said that his train had just hit a person. Within minutes, firefighters from Engine-1 and Rescue-1 -- along with volunteers from Five Points and Newport -- responded to the scene and recovered Waynant's body alongside the tracks not far from Browntown.

Brian Waynant is survived by his wife, Cheri, and their two children, a son and a daughter. Inspector Waynant had served for 16 years as a Wilmington Police Officer before deciding in 2004 to leave the Police Department to join the Wilmington Fire Department as an arson investigator. During his career, Inspector Waynant initiated numerous arrests of suspects connected to fire incidents and was proud of his 100% conviction rate.

The City of Wilmington is assisting the Delaware State Police and Amtrak Police with the ongoing investigation of Monday night’s incident.

Personal Note: Brian was a Fire Explorer when I first joined the Mill Creek Fire Company. Ever since then, he has served the community in a career and volunteer capacity. He is sadly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.

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Haiti: Red Tape Endangers Lives!

Desperately needed supplies sit on the tarmac at PAP Airport while Haitians suffer and die.

by: Lou Angeli

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Thursday January 21, 2010) -- As of late Wednesday, International USAR teams have rescued 121 people from collapsed buildings in Haiti since the January 12 earthquake, according to Carlos Castillo, a spokesperson for US-based USAR teams.

The most recent rescue was that of a 5-year-old boy, who flashed a huge smile and flung his hands upward in victory, as a US-Hungarian rescue team pulled him from the rubble.

Currently, 43 international USAR teams, comprised of 1,739 rescue workers, with 161 dogs, are working in Haiti. 6 of those teams are from the United States – with 511 rescue workers from Fairfax County, Los Angeles County, Miami-=Broward, Miami-Dade, Virginia Beach, and New York. In addition, another 1000 or so EMT’s and firefighters from North America have self deployed,

working mainly in the villages surrounding Port-Au-Prince. In addition, there are 20 U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard vessels as well as 51 helicopters deployed.

As of January 20, more than 5,000 patients have been treated by Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) from the Department of Health and Human Services. Despite DMAT efforts, officials estimate that approximately 2,000 injured Haitian injured are succumbing each day to infection and dehydration.

Most of the deaths have taken place in hospitals which have been staffed with volunteer physicians, nurses, paramedics and EMT’s from around the world. Why? These well-trained, highly motivated medical professionals are being denied medicine and equipment that is crucial to providing definitive health care.

“We’re working with a Civil War mentality.” said one Trauma doc from San Francisco. “With no meds or surgical equipment, we’re amputating broken limbs with hacksaws and without anesthetics, in order to keep infection from spreading so the patient will live.”

Many of the medical professionals who are working these “street hospitals” blame DMAT for hoarding medicine and equipment, which is simply being stockpiled at the Port-Au-Prince Airport.

“DMAT can’t meet the level of need here in Port-Au-Prince, They don’t have the numbers” one US nurse complained. “If lives are going to be saved, they (DMAT) need to come off those supplies and distribute them stat!”

Officials estimate that nearly 350,000 Haitians are walking wounded, many with serious injuries. They wait in makeshift EMS staging areas, laying on the ground in the scorching sun, hoping to be seen by DMAT or flown to the single operating room aboard the USS Vinson. For many, help doesn’t arrive in time – their dead bodies moved onto a pile to make room for other injured.

In the meantime, many drugs, especially antibiotics and pain meds, are being slipped into the country by newly arriving medical groups, which are not affiliated with DMAT. In my hometown of Wilmington, Delaware today, a plea went out to radio listeners asking them to check their medicine cabinets and dresser drawers for any antibiotics or pain medications which can be spared to support the effort of a local team of physicians and medical volunteers.

Denying life-saving medicine and supplies to other medical professionals, simply because they’re not wearing a DMAT patch, is absurd. Such thinking is based solely on the belief that unaffiliated volunteers, like the group from Delaware, should be banned from the disaster ground. But this isn’t a FEMA operation – it is a large scale disaster that is international in scope. The term SCUV* is not a four letter word in Haiti – here it is as important as the Star of Life.

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*SCUV – Spontaneous Convergent Unaffiliated Volunteer -- a term which arose from the ashes of 9/11, referring to those who willingly volunteered to serve during the crucial first 72 hours, when no "official" agency was set up to provide support to the rescue effort.


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Why America Still Burns!

A History Lesson
by: Lou Angeli

Organized chaos. That's how the fire scene is often described. The adrenaline charged atmosphere feels like a battleground. But in this war zone there's no time to develop a battle plan. For the firefight to be successful action must be immediate. Firefighters have only a few precious minutes to defeat their opponent.

Back in the day, Firefighting was all about racing to the scene, donning a tin helmet and aiming the nozzle at the flames and smoke. And that's pretty much how the general public still perceives the job. But times have changed, and today there’s an art, not to mention a science, to fighting fires.

In terms of extinguishing blazes, today’s firefighters are trained to go face-to-face with the beast, inside the burning building for an "offensive" attack. Some fire training experts say that the trick is to tame the fire, before extinguishing it, and there are dozens of tactics for doing so. But these strategies often come with extreme risk. Bottom line -- firefighters must make crucial life and death decisions quickly.

During the past 30 years, annual civilian fire deaths have been reduced by 50%. But firefighters deaths continue to rise, with 112 being lost in the line of duty last year alone. Even more disturbing are OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association’s predictions that fully one-third of the current firefighting force of 1,100,000 will be injured on the job during they year 2009. Of those who will be injured, it is estimated that over half do not have adequate insurance coverage to attend their needs. Is this any way to treat the Bravest?

Change Comes Slowly to America's Firehouses

Our firefighting counterparts of just 50 years ago were leather-lunged old salts who were overworked, under trained and poorly equipped. Without adequate personal protection, or proper equipment, a "career" in the fire service back then was a sure fire invitation to an early grave.

Thankfully, our job as firefighters has evolved into a high-tech profession. During the last generation alone, the fire-rescue service has seen more change than it did in its first 250 years. In the years immediately following World War II, some of the technology that had been made available to the armed services was brought home to fire stations by the soldiers and sailors who actually used it.

Tools and equipment like Chem-Ox masks, fog nozzles, even 1.5 inch hose were all born from military uses during the War. Imagine the culture shock that existed among veteran 1950's firefighters, when these "wet behind the ears" probies introduced their new toys. Hell, the old-timers we're just growing accustomed to motorized apparatus.

But the post War techno-revolution was short-lived, and our counterparts of the late 50's and early 60's found themselves falling way behind the rest of society. The World was changing, and so were our first-alarm districts. In homes and businesses, wooden furniture and cotton products were replaced by plastics and hydrocarbons, which changed the way we did business at fires. The DuPont slogan, "Better Living Through Chemistry," brought new meaning to America's Bravest.

Without proper equipment and training, fighting these "new wave" fires was a tough game. By 1965, we'd lost possession of the ball and our forward momentum had stalled. Our coaching staff was perplexed and the spectators were beginning to lose their interest.

The Fire Act of 1972

President Richard M. Nixon (a Republican) made a bold move by appointing a special commission to study the fire problem here in the United States. His directive was simple -- determine the fire problems, and make suggestions on how to fix them. Nixon was determined to make the Commission succeed, and he did so by enlisting and recruiting the nation's movers and shakers of the fire-rescue services.

Once together, theirs was no small task. The commission took on some very controversial issues including rising civilian deaths, firefighter safety, the high-rise dilemma, and fire prevention. Their report "America Burning" was a harsh, and very critical review of the fire situation here in America.

"It is appalling,' the report began, 'that the most technologically advanced nation in the World, reports the highest per-capita fire deaths and monetary fire loss." They pulled no punches in their treatment of the issues, and those of us who serve today, owe a great deal to the men and women who recommended the changes most of us take for granted.

35 Years Later

Now 35 years later, the fire problem here in the United States has once again raised its fiery head. And according to fire administrators, the situation seems to be getting worse, instead of better.

“To a great extent, the fire problem in America remains as severe as it was 30 years ago.” That’s the very first sentence in the updated report, “America Burning Recommissioned.”

Even with the introduction of the smoke detector, the incidence of fire in this nation has increased to an alarming rate. Why? Some say it’s public apathy.

“Americans have always been neglectful of safety and loss prevention,” says investigative journalist Herb Denenberg, He adds, “Perhaps we are more focused on producing wealth than preserving it.” The most recent commission agrees. “The indifference with which Americans confront the subject, which the 1973 Commission found so striking, continues today.”

Fire is the most common of all home disasters and the third leading cause of accidental injury and death in the home. Fires spread very quickly, but it isn’t the fire itself that kills! Deadly smoke and poisonous gases snuff the life out of victims long before the flames reach them. There's no time to stop and think and wonder what's the best thing to do. The situation can change in seconds. Half a minute after the smoke alarm goes off, an entire floor of your house could be filled with dense smoke.

More than 4,500 Americans die each year in fires and over 150,000 are injured. An overwhelming number of these life-threatening fires occur in the home. However, there are time-tested ways to prevent and survive a fire. It's not a question of luck - it's a matter of planning ahead. Too many fires are caused by carelessness and ignorance of fire safety principles that have been, until now, thought to be obvious. Education about the fire hazard should not only reach children, but to the adult community as well – the caretakers.

But one of the problems for fire departments is finding necessary funding to conduct adult oriented public education programs. Fact is, there are few fire safety informational programs designed for secondary education and adults.

Do you know what you should do if there's a fire? Are you sure? Does everyone who lives in your home know? If you're not able to answer these questions, ask your kid.

In a recent early morning row home fire in Baltimore, a news helicopter arrived before the fire department. Hovering above the scene, the camera reveals a fire that's moving rocket fast through the center of the block, spreading quickly to homes on either side through common cocklofts.

What struck me most about the chopper coverage was the evacuation of the two attached homes -- both led by children. In one scene, a youngster is shown taking his parents and siblings by the hand and moving them to a safer spot further up the block.

Now, that kid deserves a medal.

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Death Toll from Aussie Blazes Now at 200

VICTORIA, Australia (February 9, 2009) -- Victoria's bushfire death toll has hit 200, as major blazes continued to menace many country towns and a massive relief operation gathered pace. 52 major fires are still burning with some firefighters having worked 3 days with no sleep. More than 700 homes have been destroyed and 330,000 acres have been scorched.

Blazes have been burning for weeks in the southeastern state of Victoria but turned deadly on Saturday when searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across the region. A long-running drought in the south, the worst in a century, had left forests extra-dry and Saturday's fire conditions were said to be the worst ever in Australia.

Evidence of heart-wrenching loss abounded. From the air, the landscape was blackened as far as the eye could see. In at least one town, bodies still lay in the streets. Entire forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks, farmland to ashes.

The bushfires have been moving across the terrain with lightning speed, which has made it impossible for firefighters to build firebreaks in order to separate the blazes from tinder dry fuel. Much of their time is spent going into burned towns in an attempt to recover burned corpses.

The Kinglake area remains the worst hit by a fierce 220,000 acre firestorm, which ripped through the region on Saturday, killing 103 people, so far, and destroying over 550 homes. Nearby Marysville was annihilated and is one of dozens of towns that have been declared major crime scenes as police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon confirmed some fires were deliberately lit.

An emotional Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the firebugs responsible were nothing short of mass murderers.

"What do you say about anyone like that? There are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Mr Rudd said.

Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers have been traumatized by many of their gruesome discoveries and the job of searching for bodies has been taken over by specialized police Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams.

As refugees flooded down the mountain from Kinglake and surrounding townships into Whittlesea, emergency relief workers headed the other way, taking desperately needed food, water and fuel supplies to firefighters and those who have remained behind.

"We’ve been making the area safe for firefighters to work in but (we’re) also getting supplies and resources to people on the mountain who decided to stay and protect their properties," CFA spokesman Dave Wolf told AAP.

Many firefighters stood helpless as firestorms roared through communities consuming their own homes and those of their colleagues. While responding to fires in the Yarra Valley on Saturday, Fire Lieutenant Drew Adamson's strike team was stopped just outside Yarra Glen to extinguish an overturned burning car. When he opened the door of the wreck a body fell out.

"It's just like a bomb blast, like street after street is just no longer there.” Adamson said. “You see fireplaces and remnants of tin roofs still there and car bodies, cars that are half alight still."

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Bushfires Rage in Australia: 108 Dead

Compiled from dispatches

VICTORIA, Australia (February 9, 2009) -- The death toll after the worst wildfires in Australian history has risen to 108, with thousands of firefighters tackling the blazes.

Fires caused by temperatures of approximately 116F have burnt countless homes across the state of Victoria, with entire towns destroyed as unpredictable winds and high temperatures combined for the most deadly Australian bush fires in more than 25 years.

"It rained fire," said one survivor, showing his singed shirt. "We hid in the olive grove and watched our house burn."

On Sunday, the remains of charred cars littered the smoldering towns, about 50 miles north of Melbourne. Some vehicles had crashed into each other as their drivers frantically tried to escape the approaching fires.

Thousands of firefighters battled to contain the blazes, which witnesses said reached four stories high and raced across the land like speeding trains, spewing hot embers as far as the horizon. The most serious fires are burning north of the Victorian capital, Melbourne, reported the UK Guardian.

See current County Fire Authoirty Incidents and Statewide Fire Locator

Entire townships were razed to the ground, with television footage showing the picturesque hamlet of Marysville reduced to smoking ruins. Victoria state's Country Fire Authority said only one building was left standing in the popular tourist hamlet.

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd said the nation had experienced an "appalling tragedy"."Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," he added.

Queen Elizabeth today expressed her shock at the destruction caused by this weekend's fire."I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and my deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster," the head of the commonwealth said.

Victoria premier John Brumby confirmed he has accepted an offer for help from the national army to assist firefighters in the fight to contain the blazes. He indicated that the state has already received A$10 million in emergency aid.

The neighboring State of New South Wales has sent more than 250 firefighters, 50 tankers, 25 search-and-rescue experts, nine identification experts and five paramedics to help in Australia's worst bushfire disaster. New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees added that the state will provide assistance for as long as is needed to bushfire-ravaged Victoria.

A group of 30 American volunteers, who serve as seasonal smokejumpers with CalFire, plan to fly to Sydney on Monday, then travel to Victoria to assist with the firefighting effort. Ten American firefighters, part of a training team serving in South Australia, are already working on the frontlines north of Melbourne.

The BBC reports that Bushfires are common in Australia, but the current blazes have eclipsed the death toll from what had been the previous worst fire in 1983, when 75 people died on a day that became known as Ash Wednesday.

View slideshow produced by Australian Broadcasting

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Update on Delaware LODD, Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith pictured with Warren Jones, President of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association during the 2008 conference. (Photo courtesy Delaware City Fire Company) Click here for more Photos

Driver with Revoked License Arrested in Firefighter's Death

Line-Of-Duty Death Update:

NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DE (December 23, 2008) -- Delaware State Police late Monday identified the driver of a BMW which ran down Firefighter Michelle Smith and an injured motorcyclist, as Joseph Taye, 28, of Bear, Delaware. Taye was arrested and taken to Troop 2 in Glasgow, state police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh said.

Taye was expected to be charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, driving on a revoked license, leaving the scene of a crash and failure to report a crash, Whitmarsh said.
He is being held in Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $37,000 cash bail. Sources close to the family say that he expected to make bail sometime today.

In the meantime, firefighters throughout the First State mourn the loss of a brave woman who was a dedicated firefighter and loving mother.

Michelle L. Smith had served the Delaware City Fire Company and the Delaware City Ladies Auxiliary for over five years. She also served as a member of the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown, DE. A graduate of Middletown High School, Michelle worked for Coventry Healthcare. She leaves behind a 12 year old daughter.

Department spokesperson Dave Carpenter, Jr. characterized Michelle Smith as a truly positive person who specifically became a member to provide assistance to the community, through fire prevention and emergency medical services. Her work in fire prevention earned her the Edward McCormack Award, presented by the Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission.

Funeral arrangements are being made and will be posted on the Department's website at Delaware City Fire Company (Station 15). I am personally asking my fire-rescue-EMS colleagues in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland to consider sending a representative to Firefighter Smith's funeral.


Lou Angeli
302-275-4535

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Delaware Firefighter Dies After Weekend Accident

DELAWARE CITY, DE (December 22, 2008) -- A Delaware City (DE) Volunteer Firefighter died today of injuries she sustained after being run down by a motorist on US Route 13 at the New Castle County Airport. Firefighter Michelle Smith, 29. was assisting in the treatment of the victim of a motorcycle accident when a driver sped through the emergency scene, running over Smith and the patient.

Smith and her EMT partner were staffing the Delaware City BLS Unit, which had been covering Wilmington Manor Fire Station #28, when they were dispatched to the report of a motorcycle accident with injuries, about 1 mile from the station. In Delaware, accidents involving motorcycles receive a multi-tiered response, which includes the nearest BLS unit, a county Paramedic unit, a Rescue/Pumper, Fire Police and the Delaware State Police helicopter.

The Delaware City ambulance responded immediately, arriving less than a minute after being dispatched. On arrival, Smith noticed the motorcyclist lying in the median of the four southbound lanes of busy US Route 13, and placed the ambulance in a blocking position. Smith and the EMT began to access the victim's injuries as traffic in adjacent lanes sped by at 55 miles per hour.

A passing New Castle County Police Officer stopped to render assistance, pulling his patrol car near the grass median. According to a News Journal report, "as he opened his door, the officer noticed a 2004 BMW 760 speeding in his direction and quickly got back into his car to avoid being struck."

Witnesses say that the BMW sideswiped the police cruiser, swerved around the ambulance and ran down Smith and the accident victim, Edward Reiss, 30. of New Castle.

The driver of the BMW fled the scene, then abandoned the car further south on US Route 13. He is said to have jumped into another vehicle, which quickly left the area. Delaware State Police believe they have identified the runaway driver, but offered no further information.

According to initial information released by the Delaware City Fire Company, Ms. Smith was treated on scene by NCC Paramedics and EMT’s from Wilmington Manor and Goodwill Fire Companies. She was transported to Christiana Emergency Department, where she was initially listed in stable condition as her injuries were further being evaluated.

News of her death came at around Noon on Monday, sending a shockwave through Delaware's small, tighly knit emergency services community. Smith is the first Delaware firefighter to perish in the line of duty in nearly 9 years. In 2000, a Greenwood (DE) Assistant Fire Chief was killed in a flashover during a training exercise gone bad.

Offer your condolences by visiting Delaware City Fire Company on the web.

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Resources:

-News Journal Papers
-Delaware City Fire Company

-Delaware State Police