LifeNet 64 and LifeNet 61

LifeNet 64 touches down at Christiana

Christiana, DE -- LifeNet-64 descends to the pad at Christiana Hospital's Trauma Center outside Wilmington.  The crew was transporting a trauma code patient who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident south of Middletown, DE.  LifeNet-64, along with 2 other BK177's, is operated by Air Methods under contract with Christiana Care.  "64" is based at Georgetown Airport in Sussex County covering lower Delaware and the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia. (photo: Lou Angeli)

N117J -- LifeNet 61's new ship

N117J has been placed in service as LifeNet-61 operating from Christiana Hospital in New Castle County, Delaware.  Medevac for Christiana is contracted to Air Methods of Englewood, CO.  The "new" ship is painted in the corporate colors of Christiana Care and includes the hospital's new circle "C" logo.  In the background is the reserve unit for LifeNet 61.

(photo: Lou Angeli)

###

Replacing Heavy Rescue With Lightweight Trailers

Pumpers will tow Rescue Trailers to the scene
(Heavy Rescues to be shut down and sold)

by: Lou Angeli

Wilmington, DE (May 11 2012) -- On January 1, 2011, the lone career Heavy Rescue in the State of Delaware was disbanded by the Wilmington (DE) Fire Department, and 17 jobs eliminated, in an effort to cut “tough times” spending in the state's largest city. At that time, the technical rescue mission was handed over to 2 of the city’s Engine Companies (Engine 1 and Engine 3), which were renamed Squads. During a rescue response, the Squad’s 4-person crew would split up, with 2 firefighters staffing the Engine and 2 responding with a Heavy Rescue.

A few weeks ago, an arbitrator ruled that the Wilmington Fire Department's Squad program  violated its contract with IAFF Local 1590 (Wilmington Firefighters) specifically a clause dealing with 4-person Minimum Staffing. The arbitrator instructed the Fire Department to staff every apparatus with 4 firefighters.

In a somewhat bizarre effort to meet the arbitrator’s demand, the Fire Administration has proposed purchasing three (3) 18-foot trailers, which would carry rescue and haz-mat equipment to incident scenes by towing them behind the existing Squad Pumpers (Squads 1 and 3) and the Haz-Mat pumper (Engine 6). The city says that such a change would allow the 4-person crew to remain together on a common apparatus, while at the same time carrying the tools needed for technical rescue.

Fire administration supports their decision saying that the use of pumper-trailers by fire suppression units is “a popular trend” among the nation’s departments. It is true that the concept of using trailers to haul specialty equipment has been around for several years now, however the towing vehicle is never a pumper with a ball hitch, but rather a dedicated vehicle like a Ford F-550 or even a small 5th wheel tractor.

View samples of emergency service trailers nationwide

For the past few days, Wilmington’s firefighters have been walking around their stations as if a huge question mark had been stamped on their foreheads. The decision is not popular among Wilmington’s rank and file, and comments from fire officials nationally leave dozens of questions unanswered.

 Pumper as Prime Mover?

The most common question among many responders is whether Wilmington’s Pierce pumpers were designed to pull 7 tons of trailer and equipment.

”You’re going to have all sorts of mechanical issues with the proposed idea,” says a retired Battalion Chief with the FDNY. “You need air assist breaks, a chassis and frame designed for towing, beefier suspension and tires to take the load.”

An Illinois Fire Chief comments, “They’ll (also) need a trailer which is designed to carry several tons of equipment, one with heavy duty suspension, and  adequate breaking system and a sturdy frame.”

According to a Pennsylvania manufacturer of similar trailers, “We build these for

construction contractors and landscape companies.” He adds, “They were never designed to serve in an emergency scenario.”

The use of a lightweight trailer has practical drawbacks as well. There is no compartmentalization, interior shelving or ability to mount equipment to the walls. The inability to drop a supply line from a hydrant limits the team’s firefighting power to the 500 gallons of water carried aboard the pumper’s tank. 

During a motor vehicle accident -- the city's most common non-fire rescue response -- rescue tools, like the Jaws of Life, will no longer be pre installed as they are on Heavy Rescue units. The jaws, cutters, spreaders and power plant will need to be retrieved from the trailer, set up and tested, thus delaying the rescue operation.

If you Google "fire pumper with trailer" http://tinyurl.com/8xs8qkc you won't find a single image of a fire pumper with a trailer. You will however find plenty of purpose-built trailers manufactured by companies, which specialize in fire-rescue equipment. You'll also note that they are towed by dedicated prime-movers or towing vehicles.

Incredibly, the most obvious solution to arbitrator's demand seems to escape the mayor and his staff. That answer sits in one of the city’s fire stations – an apparatus which the city already owns -- Rescue-1. Staff it and the city and fire department will be spared the consequences of operating a dangerous system, which has no track record.

 Wilmington's answer: An apparatus which they own!

####

Fatal Fire, Minquadale, DE

House Fire Kills Boy, 5

On the evening of 12/5/09, New Castle County (DE) fire dispatch toned out a half dozen county stations for a house fire with reported entrapment and a police officer down.

First units arrived to find heavy fire conditions and a report of 4 people still inside. One of the first to be rescued was a badly injured child, who was handed over to county paramedics for the trip to AI duPont Children's Hospital.

The 5 year old boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.

It was the second major blaze for these firefighters within 3 hours, and despite the cold, snowy conditions, firefighters controlled the fire quickly.

These are photos of the mop-up, and the men and women who served at this job.

photos by: Lou Angeli

An Open Letter To Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Vice President,

Here in your hometown of Wilmington, firefighters and citizens are marking the closing of RESCUE-ONE, quite possibly the most important fire-rescue unit in the state. The reason? Mayor James Baker's decision to layoff highly trained public servants for not agreeing to his unusual demand to ignore the articles of their contract, which were negotiated and signed just weeks ago.

The citizens of Wilmington and the State are losing the ONLY full-time technical rescue team in the First State. With Rescue-One's closure the city of Wilmington returns to tactics that were used in the 1960's. The family trapped in a wrecked auto along I-95 will be required to wait for a volunteer squad to come to their rescue. Such delayed rescues will deprive them from gaining quick access to definitive health care at nearby Trauma centers.

Workers trapped on a scaffold on the upper floors of a Wilmington High-Rise will be required to wait it out hundreds of feet above the street, as dispatchers check with surrounding cities to determine if fire-rescue administrators are willing to lend assistance. Children caught in a swiftwater Brandywine River will perish as their would be rescuers stand not grabbing hold of a rescue line, but rather holding paperwork in the unemployment line.

Many see Rescue-One's closing as being punitive in nature, as the city administration has turned a deaf ear to dozens of options offered by citizens and firefighters alike.

Mr. Baker’s layoffs make a bad problem worse. The firings will do absolutely nothing to help fix the overriding problem -- overtime. So Chief Willie Patrick will still need to initiate his proposed rolling bypass concept, which closes inadequately staffed stations for the day. There will be days when this city of 75,000 plus will be protected by as few as 24 firefighters -- down from 38.

Mr. Vice President, you have said on several occasions that the burden of current state, county and city financial woes should not be borne on the backs of its public servants. President Obama announced last week substantial increases in the SAFER program, which you helped develop as co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Surely, Wilmington's finance officer could develop a proposal requesting assistance from the SAFER fund.

I know that your schedule is extremely tight, but many of us in Wilmington are hoping that a phone call to the Mayor may help him re-think this decision.

I respectfully submit this letter as a firefighter advocate, and as the rookie firefighter who responded, along with Larry Mertgenthaler and Don Lentes, to the horrible accident that affected you and your family in December of 1972.

Regards,

Lou Angeli
2203 N. Harrison Street
Wilmington, DE 19802
302-275-4535

Wilmington Layoffs Will Endanger Citizens

Layoff Trend Hits Home!

WILMINGTON, DE (May 6, 2009) -- The national public safety hit list hit home this past week, when Wilmington, DE Mayor James Baker announced layoffs of firefighting and police personnel. How Baker tagged the fire department is somewhat fishy but a story worth sharing.

Just a few weeks ago, Local 1590, the Wilmington Fire Fighters Association and the city agreed on a new contract, after the fire department had been working without one for over 2 years. The members received slim raises, but there was comfort knowing that the city fire department would finally be working at authorized staffing for the first time in nearly 20 years.

In the meantime, Chief Willie Patrick, CFO and his administrative staff had labored diligently to cut nearly $800,000 from the department's 2010 budget at the Mayor’s request. They presented the plan to Wilmington City Council last week, who had questions and asked for clarifications, but suggested no changes.

Rolling Bypasses

The biggest money saver for the city would have been Patrick’s concept of “rolling bypasses”, which would close a single company for the day, if it were understaffed due to vacation or illness. Overtime personnel normally fill those positions, but since the mission was to drastically reduce overtime pay, bypass was fair resolution. It was a win-win-win situation for everyone – the citizens, city government and the firefighters, since staffing would remain the same and there would be no company closings.

Then, last week, Mayor Baker announced the layoffs, claiming that Local 1590 would not agree to freeze their newly authorized wage increase. His announcement came as a shock to the firefighting community, since he made no reference whatsoever to raise freezes just days before while the city and union were hammering out a settlement.

Incredibly, no one came to the firefighters’ defense, and the local newspaper, the News-Journal, did nothing to report on the impact of such layoffs to city residents. Well, since the News Journal didn’t feel the need to report the bad news, here it is.

Probable Scenario

I’m told that at least, 20 Wilmington firefighters will be fired– and the city's job hackers will be going back through the past three recruit classes to find enough firefighters to axe. Some of these brave men and women have invested 10 years on-the-job, and will soon lose their health benefits and payments into the pension system.

With 20 members gone, somewhere in Wilmington, a company will certainly be closed down. In the most logical scenario, the closure will likely be Rescue-1, which responds to every alarm in the city providing fire scene rescue, auto extrication, water rescue, high-angle rescue, technical rescue and hazmat mitigation. Rescue-1's closure will have immediate ramifications on emergency response and deny city residents the same level of protection that the smallest neighboring volunteer companies provide on a daily basis.

Historically speaking, when Wilmington shuts down a firehouse or closes a company, it never re-opens again. In the last generation alone, the city has lost four companies and two stations to cutbacks, none of which have ever come back online.

Expect 30 firefighters per shift

Unfortunately, Mr. Baker’s layoffs will do absolutely nothing to help fix the overtime problem, so Chief Patrick will still need to initiate the rolling bypass concept. There will be days when this city of 75,000 plus will be protected by as few as 3 engines and 2 ladders, or some combination thereof.

In order to fight a working fire, the WFD will be calling on neighboring volunteer companies more and more often to provide Rapid Intervention Teams, cover-up companies, even suppression units during large scale blazes. The volunteers are barely handling their own load, especially during the daytime hours, and are now be told to back-up their career colleagues with NO compensation whatsoever. The city receives pro-bono firefighting services by relying on an age old mutual aid agreement.

However, for those of you who recall layoffs and closings in Camden, NJ about 10 years ago, South Jersey volunteers and the City of Philadelphia FD were being called into Camden several times each week to handle an endless wave of arsons. But after a year, the volunteers got wise to Camden's ways and stopped responding, as did the City of Philadelphia -- and one could only watch as Camden burned, burned and burned some more.

Just a few weeks ago, Vice President Joe Biden emphasized that city, county and state fiscal woes “would not be borne on the backs of public safety personnel.” Evidently Joe’s friend, Mayor James Baker, and so many other public officials, didn’t tune into CNN for that speech.

"I find it difficult to comprehend that an elected official would endanger his constituents and end the careers of so many dedicated firefighter/EMT's based on retaliation." said Michelle Jones, a resident of the 40 Acres section of the city.

"The mayor is pointing the finger of blame at the firefighter's union,' she added, 'when in reality, it is his (Baker's) decision alone that will soon place the citizens of Wilmington at risk."

Update: On May 7, 2009, President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign commitment by proposing a huge funding increase for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants, which has been the IAFF's signature program. The extra funding is being made available to career departments in order to keep firefighters in firehouse, not the unemployment line. A portion of these funds could be directed to the Wilmington Fire Department, if someone would simply apply for the assistance.

------

The Biden MVA: The Response I Can't Shake

VP claims driver in fatal '72 wreck was drunk because that's what officials told him!

WILMINGTON, DE (March 26, 2009) – This narrative is in response to a CBS Report suggesting that a Pennsylvania man, Curtis Dunn, who was involved in the fatal accident involving Vice President Joe Biden’s deceased wife, Neilia, was not intoxicated. I was there in an official capacity, and the facts as I remember them are as such.

For those of you who are reading my work for the first time, and aren't aware of my history, I am a veteran firefighter and AEMT based in Delaware. At the time of Neilia Biden’s accident, I was studying at the University of Delaware and serving as a 20-year-old probationary volunteer fireman.

I refer to the current Vice President as Joe, not out of disrespect, but because in 1972, everyone in the state referred to Mr. Biden simply as Joe.

On the afternoon of December 19, 1972, I was returning home from classes at the University, when my fire scanner blurted out a dispatch for a "PI 10-10," a personal injury auto accident, on Limestone Road. Although firefighters and first-aid personnel weren’t permitted to respond to alarms in personal vehicles, first-in units indicated that the situation was very serious, so I made the decision to drive directly to the accident scene.

The Scene

In 1972, the intersection of Limestone and Valley Road was very remote, a rural section of New Castle County made up of mushroom farms and a lone liquor store. However, as I arrived, the scene was unusually busy with dozens of onlookers and those who had stopped to render assistance.

Law enforcement on the scene included a Delaware State Police officer, as well as a PA State Trooper, who had been ticketing a truck driver at the state line about 3/4 mile north of the scene. A first-aid crew and firemen from the volunteer station in Hockessin, Delaware had arrived, and the department’s fire policemen were taking positions to direct traffic. Scanner reports indicated that three other ambulances were on their way from Mill Creek, Newark and Pennsylvania.

A mangled auto lay in a ditch, about 150 or so feet from the intersection, and as I moved closer, it became apparent that persons were trapped in the wreckage. The Trooper had already checked the auto registration and radioed his supervisor that he believed the victims to be members of the Biden family. I hoped that he was mistaken.

The first-aid crew was working on Mrs. Biden while others searched for the infant, Naomi. Beau and Hunter Biden had been bounced around on impact and were severely injured— including head injuries, lacerations and broken bones. I was horrified.

A group of us huddled around an eyewitness, listening to her describe the accident. From her account Neilia Biden was stopped on Valley Road, preparing to cross Limestone Road. The woman recalled that the Biden car began to cross the road, and was struck broadside by a truck driven by Curtis Dunn of nearby Avondale, PA.

Limestone Road was a popular trucker shortcut in the Piedmont foothills leading from Delaware into Pennsylvania. The intersection with Valley Road was extremely dangerous, located at the bottom of two steep hills. Truckers traveling in either direction used the momentum coming down one hill, in order to climb the other. The speed limit on Limestone Road, at the intersection, was 35mph and huge REDUCE SPEED signs were posted a half-mile in both directions. Whether Curtis Dunn was speeding is unknown, but he had applied his brakes, which was apparent from twin 150 ft. skid marks.

Mr. Dunn's Condition

With the focus on the seriously injured Biden family, another firefighter and I attended to Mr. Dunn, who was seated in his truck. He was in shock, and had difficulty understanding me when I explained what had happened. He kept asking the same question over and over. "What am I doing here?" I placed a cervical collar around his neck and checked vital signs. A secondary survey revealed lacerations and contusions, but he was breathing, not bleeding badly and therefore was in no significant danger.

In regards to intoxication, there was no way to determine if Mr. Dunn had been drinking, since neither of the police officers had breathalyzers aboard their cruisers. His injuries were such that his demeanor was similar to that of someone in a stupor, but those of you who serve in emergency medicine know that such behavior is often presented by victims who are in shock, or perhaps even diabetic.

The scene was chaos, but within 10 minutes ambulances, and police escorts, began rushing the family members to Wilmington hospitals, about 16 miles away. Keep in mind it was the early 70’s and there was no ALS or paramedic system. Those of us who were firefighters had 40 hours of first-aid training, and our job was to make certain that the victim was breathing, that severe bleeding was controlled and that a patient's injuries were stabilized as best we could. Then we were off and running, rushing the victims to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible.

Beau and Hunter were the last to be moved because they required special attention. I recall Larry Mergenthaler and Don Lentes, both veteran volunteer firefighters working carefully on the boys. Beau and Hunter couldn't have had a better team treating them. It's said that every firefighter chooses a mentor early in his/her career, and it was at that moment that I chose mine.

I’ve learned that all of the records pertaining to this accident are lost. It doesn't surprise me. Back then our ambulance incident report was filled out on a 5x7 card and filed away in a box. Once a month the information was transferred to a master list, which was latter placed in storage.

If Mr. Dunn was intoxicated, there was no way to determine that at the hospital either, since alcohol blood tests were not mandatory in 1972. The hospital records are missing, as well as the police reports. To be honest, those of us in fire-rescue here in Delaware assumed that Mr. Dunn had been drinking, based on comments made by police officers at the scene. And in the Delaware fire service, rumors travel from station to station like wildfire.

Until he remarried in 1977, whenever Joe Biden attended a public safety event, parade or spoke during a firehouse banquet, police officers and firefighters would approach him and discuss the accident and the tragedy of his wife Neilia and daughter Naomi falling victim to a drunken driver. Imagine how those discussions must have affected the young Senator.

Curiously, the Attorney General’s office never filed charges against Mr. Dunn, and so the official word is that he had not been drinking.

Fast-Forward

The next time I came in contact with Beau Biden was during his campaign for Delaware Attorney General in 2006. Beau, a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia, had just completed a debate with his opponent, Ferris Wharton. Beau, and the entire Biden clan, were in the lobby of an elderly high rise shaking hands with well wishers and supporters. My wife approached Beau and mentioned that I had been one of the firefighters who responded to his aid back in 1972.

He grabbed me by the sleeve and we walked to a quiet area. He called his brother Hunter to join us. There were few words; plenty of tears but both men thanked me again and again. I mentioned that I knew their mother personally, as I served as a media volunteer on Joe's first senatorial campaign.

The last time I saw Neilia alive was a week before the election, when I drove her to a meet and greet at the Stone Balloon in Newark. A popular band called The Boys were performing and the place was packed. But when Neilia walked onto the dance floor, she became the center of attention. She often was.

As first responders, our participation in emergency incidents ends when we back the ambulance into the station. We're trained to forget details. But the Biden accident and my work at ground zero are two incidents that I’ll take to my grave.

###

What if you had a fire…and no one came?

By Lou Angeli

They are the folks who leave behind family and home at a moment’s notice to help a neighbor or other any person in need. That’s the story of 800,000 Americans who serve as fire-rescue volunteers. Until recently, it was a story that brought pride and inspiration to 80% of the communities in this nation. But times have changed and what was once America’s greatest emergency asset is suffering from a variety of setbacks.

A generation ago, when the fire whistle blew, members raced to the firehouse – almost as if someone’s life depended on it. Every firefighter’s goal was to arrive at the station as quickly as possible, in order to ride out on the first responding engine.

“Within 3 minutes of the alarm being sounded, that firetruck was packed with firefighters,” says Paul Brown, a veteran Delaware volunteer. “There were so many of us onboard that we often left the station with guys riding atop the hosebed.”

In 1976 it was this country’s largest private club. But a generation later, the sad truth is that somewhere along the line many of Firefighter Brown’s colleagues fell off the hose wagon. With membership numbers dropping, the inability to retain well trained personnel and with very few new recruits, the American volunteer service is in dire straits and some say that its downward spiral is irreversible.

With the notion that fire-rescue services are a given, supported by some secret stash of tax dollars, the public never really learns about the hard, cold reality of delivering and managing fire-rescue services in North America’s suburban and rural communities. Citizens expect, and government claims they rightfully deserve first-class fire protection, no matter where they reside. In fact, most citizens assume that the vast majority of firefighters receive a paycheck.

“They think of us as the glitzy, metropolitan image of the ideal firefighter,” says Michael Donofrio, a volunteer in suburban Philadelphia. “What they don’t know is that 80% of us work for free, in departments that often are ill prepared to do an effective job.”

Asking Folks To Risk Their Lives - For Free

Many of North America’s volunteer fire departments are hurting - in a very big way. Problem #1 for volunteer administrators is finding suitable individuals to serve at America’s most dangerous occupation - for free. When I first became a firefighter 23 years ago, I simply filled out a one-page application, submitted it to the membership chairman, and 56 of the 57 members attending the company meeting voted me “in” as a member. I was issued a locker and turnout gear, and responded to my first call within 2 hours of my acceptance into the company.

These days it’s not quite that easy. Prospective members must endure a thorough screening, medical physicals, extensive background checks and face-to-face interviews, before they’re presented to the membership. And in my mind, that’s a real good thing. Some questionable individuals, who were invited to ride the back step in 1976, wouldn’t make the cut in today’s volunteer fire service. But eliminating warm bodies has taken a toll on the system’s overall numbers.

Keeping The Good Ones:

A generation ago, Firefighter I and II, a 40 hour EMT course, and an Extrication class were all we really needed to be certified as firefighters. These days, similar training merely earns a spot in the jumpseat of the last out rig. In an industry that has evolved into a multi-task emergency response system, training volunteers for every eventuality requires a major commitment on the part of individual members.

The question in many minds is, how much more can we ask of our volunteer members?”With families and two jobs it’s a commitment that many just can’t make. For departments, retaining these qualified, trained personnel becomes a real challenge. The reward of the annual banquet dinner or Christmas party somehow has lost its appeal.

Managing Costs With Limited Funds:

“Running a volunteer department has become a real art,” one chief officer told me recently. “…because technology keeps bashing us in the head.” As the fire-rescue business diversifies to include specialty tasks such as haz-mat and terrorism response, the need for expensive, high-tech equipment becomes a costly reality. With these new tools comes another costly demand – additional training.

Volunteer departments on the East Coast are fortunate. There is a huge tax base from which to draw, and the most costly line items – salaries and benefits – don’t appear on the spreadsheet. On Long Island, for example, volunteer departments operate with new, state-of-the-art apparatus, working from stations that are so large and well equipped that they’ve earned the nickname “fire cathedrals.”

Unfortunately, the vast majority of volunteer fire departments don’t enjoy the same level of support as their colleagues in the Mid-Atlantic States. For example, Oceanside, Long Island’s vintage parade pumper might be some other department’s first-out machine. Can you imagine stretching a hose line from a 35-year-old rig, not knowing whether the pump will draw an adequate vacuum, or simply grind to a halt? Or worse yet, responding to the call in protective equipment that was a “hand me down” in 1978.

There are many among us who do it every day. That’s the predicament faced by thousands of departments nationwide, especially those in America’s heartland. When the cards are laid out on the table, it’s clear to see that inadequate funding often forces small town fire administrators to gamble with firefighters’ lives.

Providing Adequate Daytime Response:

But the issue that is common to all volunteer departments, large or small, and regardless of funding, is that of Daytime staffing and response. More than any other issue, it has become the prime fodder that fuels the ongoing debate over volunteer vs. career. And it is this often-heated debate, which has allowed the problems of America’s volunteers to surface in headlines and on TV, bringing the entire system (good and bad) under public scrutiny.

The problem is simple - the solution is not. Simply stated, the volunteer system functions best after 5pm, when the majority of its members have returned from their full time jobs, and are readily available to respond to emergencies. Unfortunately, the fire beast, an inattentive driver or a broken down human heart could care less about job commitments and the 9 to 5 routine of daily life. Serious emergencies strike where they want, when they want, as often as they want.

More than all of the other problems combined, the issue of daytime response is the most important for the volunteer sector to address. For many departments around the country it means bringing paid personnel aboard to serve as the nucleus for daytime response. For others it means consolidation and relinquishing control to a greater authority. Career proponents are eager to begin the conversion, however die-hard volunteers are vehemently opposed to either solution.

But one thing is certain, whether it’s poor staffing or the inability to place rolling stock on the street in a timely fashion; the situation is looking quite grim for the Volunteer Fire-Rescue Service. And many of those who make firefighting and EMS part of their lifestyle and living, believe that it’s the beginning of the end for one of this nation’s most venerable of institutions.

-30-

Inaugural Pumper 2009

Inaugural Pumper 2009
Originally uploaded by LouAngeli2008

This pumper from Elsmere, Delaware was one of three fire engines featured in January 20's Inaugural Parade's Line-of-March in Washington, DC. With 300 television million viewers, that's a lot of name recognition. Congratulations to the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association and Pierce Manufacturing for being chosen to represent the nation's firefighters. (photo by Lou Angeli)

Recalling Route-52's "Phantom Box"

WILMINGTON, DE (December 27, 2008) – Long before the Route 141 Bypass, and years before Greenville evolved into a suburban shopping Mecca, firefighting along Route 52, Delaware's Chateau Country, was often handled by the Wilmington Fire Department. At least that’s the story that’s been handed down by old school Wilmington firefighters, several of whom recalled responding to what were commonly reffered to as “phantom box alarms."

In layman's terms a “Phantom Box” referred to a Fire Alarm Box (or Box number), which didn’t exist. When a call for help came from a citizen along Kennett Pike, Wilmington’s Fire Station 5, located in the 40 Acres section of the city, was dispatched to box 5-5-5. In strictly covert fashion, the men of Station 5 responded with a pumper, a multi-purpose quad and a crew of 9 or 10. And when the job was over, the crew quietly returned to quarters as if nothing ever happened. It was never discussed…never entered into the house journal.

Before World War II, fire response along the Kennett Pike, from Wilmington to the Delaware/PA state line, was virtually non-existent. There were no community fire stations, and it would be decades before New Castle County fire companies would determine how to slice up that piece of the county. When a fire occurred on the Kennett Pike, homeowners would dial “0” and reach the Diamond State Bell operator, who would direct the emergency call to individual fire company dispatchers, many of whom worked from their homes.

Once the operator convinced a rural dispatcher that there truly was an emergency, an engine was sent from Elsmere, Talleyville, Hockessin or even Kennett Square – whichever station assembled their crew the fastest. Back then; the trip wasn’t easy, as the top heavy, slow moving pumpers would make their way through the winding back roads and hills to the fire scene. The trip often took 30 minutes or more.

View the Fire Response map along Route 52

It’s tough to find records from days gone by, but suffice it to say that the Brandywine Valley had its share of blazes in the first part of the 20th century. From barns to multi-million dollar homes, if there was a working fire in Chateau Country, chances are fire companies would arrive to find little more than a smoldering foundation. With such tremendous losses, it may seem odd that communities like Greenville and Centerville, the folks who could easily afford to support a local firehouse, never considered building their own station.

The lack of rapid fire response became an issue with wealthy estate owners, whose assets included large homes, which contained collectibles, irreplaceable furnishings and artifacts. So, a wealthy few took the firefighting problem into their own hands, creating their own brigades, staffed by employees, chauffeurs and farm hands

The first brigade was formed in 1924 when multi-millionaire Pierre S. DuPont purchased a GMC fire engine to protect his estate, Longwood Farms. (Now Longwood Gardens) Two years later, he founded the Longwood Fire Company, and expanded the brigade’s responsibilities to include protecting his neighbor’s homes.

Further toward Wilmington, another DuPont family member, Henry Francis, established a well-equipped fire brigade to protect his growing property, furniture and art collections at the Winterthur Estate. Nearly 80 years later, Henry's brigade still exists covering the Winterthur Estate and Museum with 24 hour coverage, two fire engines and 26 trained fire-rescue personnel.

For the duPonts, leaving their properties unprotected would have been foolish, especially when a small investment in apparatus and equipment could provide them with a trained, rapid-response team. In retrospect, their good sense preserved what have become cherished national treasures.
But for other families and homeowners along the road between Kennett and Wilmington, the thought of watching their home burn as they waited for fire crews to arrive didn’t sit well.

The first to approach the city Fire Bureau was H. R. Sharp, Jr., whose "Gibraltar" estate sat just outside the city's corporate limits. His pitch to fire administrators was simple -- "I'll pay for you to respond to my home." It wasn't long before other families along Route 52 caught on and began to contract with the Wilmington Bureau of Fire for the so-called phantom protection.

For Wilmington firefighters, who worked a grueling military schedule of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, the response to rural New Castle County was always welcomed. Why? Homeowners were extremely kind to the responding firemen, offering them food, drink, but most importantly, gratuities. Of course uniformed personnel were forbidden to accept tips or gifts, but the thinking among the fire station personnel was, "What the Hell, these are phantom boxes”, fires that never took place…never happened at all.

Most of the salts who I’ve spoken to recall that the “phantom box alarms” ended sometime in the mid-1960’s. By then, volunteer companies had established district boundaries, with mutual aid agreements, many of which have been fine-tuned to provide much better service for those who live along Route 52.

Since the last phanton response, the Pride of the 40 Acres, Engine 5, has lost over half of its crew through cutbacks and attrition. These days there are just 4 firefighters and one pumper remaining in a station that once held three apparatus and housed 10 firefighters.

But even now, when FireCom dispatches volunteers along the Route 52 corridor, Station 5's watchman turns an ear, and the mighty Pierce Pumper draws a little extra current from it shore line, just in case the Phantom returns.
-----

Up Next: Could the Phantom Box concept increase fire protection along Route-52? What are some of the other solutions that could solve the problem of rapid response to Chateau Country?

###

Interviews included retired firefighters FFr.Doug Rifenberg, Lt. Russel Stats, Lt. Ed Stepp, and the late Chief Sean Mulhern.

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

###

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.

####'

Resources:

-News Journal Papers
-Delaware City Fire Company

-Delaware State Police

Letter to the News Journal Editor

published on Thursday, December 11, 2008

A debt is owed to all who volunteer to fight fires

America’s volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians are extraordinary people. Why? That’s simple – they work at this nation’s most dangerous profession for free. And you will likely never meet a group of individuals more consumed by an avocation, because theirs is a mission of supreme importance – to save lives and limit damage to property. They are dedicated to the core and prove it day-in and day-out by placing their own lives on the line to protect those of others.

The controversial decision as to what level of protection a volunteer fire department provides is not one that firefighters make, but a choice that falls smack dab on the laps of the citizens that they serve. Without the level of dedication provided by local community volunteers, fire rescue services in Delaware would be forced back upon local, state and possibly federal government,

And the thought of inviting federal emergency management at the local level would be disastrous.

We must take stock and the populace must make up its mind of which way they want to turn. If the community wants a higher level of fire protection, they’ll have to pay for it one way or another. Money makes the system work, and that is the bottom line.In a very real sense, the antagonist in this story is not the stubborn volunteer or the head-strong career advocate – it is public apathy.

Lou Angeli,
Wilmington

View my photo essay on Delaware's Volunteer Firefighters

###

Volunteer-to-Career: Costs vs. Benefits

Volunteers at the mercy of the communities they serve
by: Lou Angeli
Nation's Bravest.com

(New Castle County, DE) -- I became a firefighter on a dare. I lost the bet and have been calling myself a volunteer ever since.

It was 1978, and the fallout from Wilmington’s “King Riots” (Martin not Rodney) had not yet cleared. Even though the rioting had been suppressed in a matter of weeks, the city remained a “police state” for a year, with heavily armed National Guard and State Police patrolling Wilmington's neighborhoods each and every night. Whether the constant military presence was really justified is still being debated in the First State. But one thing’s for sure - the riot patrols were a constant reminder that the city had somehow gone bad.

Civil disorder had ruined a huge section of town, and well populated Irish, Italian, Polish and Hispanic communities surrounding the devastation, were being abandoned for the safety and comfort of the city’s western suburbs. My parents and our family followed the lead.

The same scenario was being repeated up and down the East Coast as cities along the I-95 corridor lost families (and tax base) to suburban communities. In most cases, growth came so quickly to suburbia that government was ill prepared to cope. With the emphasis on providing better roads and a more appropriate infrastructure, Fire-EMS-Rescue protection was the last thing on most legislators’ minds.

“The Volunteers will handle it!”, was the reaction from many county seats and state capitals. But there was an inherent problem with their thinking. Volunteer fire departments were originally designed to protect small rural communities - not extensions of the big city.

Me and Citizen Fritz

Still in college, and a cub journalist for the local newspaper, my editor had assigned me to develop a feature expose’ on Delaware’s volunteer Fire-EMS system for the first-ever edition of Delaware’s first Sunday newspaper.

It seemed that some very vocal residents of a rapidly growing Wilmington suburb, Pike Creek Valley, were complaining that their community was being denied adequate Fire-EMS-Rescue protection. “The Valley” was a no-man’s land, developed on rolling farmland, miles from the nearest stores, churches and volunteer fire station. The community's mouthpiece, “Citizen Fritz” claimed that under the best of conditions, response time to “The Valley” was in “excess of 15 minutes.”

Although I didn't want the story, the editor claimed that I was best suited for the assignment, because I was already a Reserve Firefighter in the Wilmington Fire Department’s CD incubator system. He also knew that as a career advocate, I’d make the story controversial.

While researching the story, the local volunteer department’s President suggested that I join the company as a “probationary member” to get a firsthand look at how the volunteer system worked. But there was a catch to his proposal. If my report was favorable to the volunteers, I’d have to join as a full-blown member.

The Pike Creek Valley community lobbied heavily at the county and state levels to have a career fire station built - the first ever in Delaware, outside the city of Wilmington. Politicans promised quick action, which came in the form of an “outside” study. The results from Princeton, “not enough call volume to warrant a career station...’ but ‘the community is a prime candidate for its own volunteer station.”

At first, County government suggested that the existing volunteer agency relinquish the “valley” section of its district to the local community. And both the county and state agreed to fund the new entity as Delaware’s newest department. But there was just one problem, a big problem, as I reported in that very first edition of the Sunday paper, “...no one in Pike Creek Valley wants to man their proposed new volunteer fire station.”

Since then Delaware’s Mill Creek Fire Company has built, recruited personnel for and manned a well equipped fire station not far from the spot where I first interviewed “Citizen Fritz”, whose complaints of inadequate volunteer service were among the loudest. 25 years later, I’m told that “Fritz” has never stepped foot in the station that he so vehemently demanded.

“Citizen Fritz” is just one of millions of citizens nationwide, who enjoy the tax payer friendly protection of a volunteer system, but who are unwilling to join the “community of givers”, a term coined by Chief Ken Farmer of North Carolina. In most cases, “takers”, like Fritz, are also unwilling to dole out the money needed to support the career system that they believe they deserve.

So the controversial decision as to “what level of protection a
community deserves” is not one that we as firefighters make, but
a choice that falls smack dab on the laps of the citizens we serve.

“Fire, Rescue and EMS volunteers continue to provide a valued and low cost service in many communities, as they have for hundreds of years.” says volunteer activist Jim Wick, who was a member of Mill Creek Fire Co during the Pike Creek controversy. Today, Wick heads the Oregon Governor’s Fire Council and reminds us that “the volunteer service is still a good service, but it’s a changing service.’ He adds, “We need to keep the focus on service and cost to citizens.”

Case Study - Mill Creek Fire Co.

What would be the cost to citizens of converting their local volunteer agency to a career system? That’s the question that we posed to a half dozen fire service administrators, both career and volunteer. Their answers were remarkably identical, and is best illustrated by using the Pike Creek Fire Station, the one that “Citizen Fritz” demanded, as an example.

The Pike Creek fire station is operated as Mill Creek Fire Company’s Station #2, and serves as a remote sub-station to its main headquarters, which is still located in the heart of the original community, Marshallton, Delaware. The department operates as a corporation and is contracted by the state and county to provide emergency services. When the department was founded 75 years ago, it was a small farming community with less than 1,000 residents living in the district.
Today, the department serves a community of nearly 60,000, covering 17 square miles and a wide variety of risks. Annual call volume for both stations is in the thousands, and increasing each year.

Although the department has 300 members on its books, Station #2 is covered by 24 or so “active” volunteers, who are commanded by two company level officers and an Assistant Chief. During daytime hours, the department employs a core group of “paid” members to man and operate first-out equipment. The members of Station #2 operate a BLS ambulance, quint, rescue pumper and brush rig.

Even though “our administrators” disagreed on manning levels, (some suggested three and even two person engines) for the sake of argument, it was agreed that two firefighter-EMT’s would be assigned to the ambulance, with three other firefighter-EMT’s and and a shift commander assigned to cross-man the fire suppression and rescue rigs, 24x7, 365 days a year.

The committee arrived at the calculations by various methods and formulae, but the final average cost to the community came in loud and clear. Converting Station #2 to a career system would run a little over $840,000 per year, excluding capital expenditures such as training, PPE, tools and equipment, apparatus and building maintenance. Add to that amount projected overtime to cover vacations and sick leaves, a solid benefits package, and of course, a pension program, and the final number is well over $1 million. That’s the cost of running one small volunteer station, as a career job.

The benefits of such a career model are obvious. Immediate response by career professionals, day or night, as opposed to a delayed home response by well trained volunteers. In an ideal world, with no financial restrictions, my choice would be crystal clear.

But the ideal world only exists on paper, and the hard, cold reality is that the general public is not ready to bear the financial burden for the perfect system. At the same time, the chances of persuading John Q to devote a dozen hours each week to what we consider to be a noble profession are slim to none.

Without the level of dedication provided by local community volunteers’, says Chief Rod Carringer of Indiana, ‘fire rescue services in this country would be forced back upon state, local and federal governments.” And the thought of inviting federal management at the local level has many administrators shaking in their boots.

“If the federal government intervenes at the local level,’ notes Chief Michael Perkins, ‘the quality of protection will be based on a community's ability to lobby in Washington, not at the town hall. And that’s where small communities will lose out.”

And so the debate over career vs. volunteer is not one in which we, as firefighters, should be engaged in at this time. In a very real sense, the antagonist in this story is not the stubborn volunteer or the head strong career advocate - it is public apathy.

Change is blowin’ in the wind.

Will change in the fire service be a breeze, or forced upon us like a gail force wind? Only the general public can determine how hard this wind blows. But one thing's for certain. We can affect the outcome of the approaching storm by taking our message to the street, and allowing the public to decide.

####

Delaware's Volunteers: Response Times Fall Behind

Wilmington, DE (December 7, 2008) -- The long standing feud between Delaware's volunteer firefighters and the state's largest newspaper came to a head today when the News-Journal published a scathing report on volunteer response time. There's been a great deal of research involved with this story, and as they say, numbers don't lie!

Read the News-Journal story by Mike Chalmers

For most Delawareans, this feature represents their first knowledge of a system that can no longer serve the best interests of the community. What's the answer? It's time for fire administrators to staff Delaware's 60 fire stations with a core team of career firefighters, who can place first-due apparatus on the streets in 10 seconds -- not 10 minutes.

Interactive Map of Delaware's Fire Stations

Photos of Delaware's Firefighters

My Report: Last One Standing

###

Arsonists Busy In Delaware

Wilmington, DE (June 4, 2008) -- First State firefighters have been extremely busy for the past 18 months. In fact, Delaware departments have been called out to more arson fires than ever, nearly twice the national average according to the FBI.

The more serious arson jobs end up as “working fires,” complete with heavy black smoke, red hot flames and fire police closing down highways. It’s the type of response that requires more personnel and more equipment, making the fireground a very busy place. Word on the web is that there’s plenty of action in tiny Delaware, so much so that fire buffs from as far away as New England have been setting up weekend photo junkets to the First State.

In a recent News-Journal article, reporter Terri Sanginiti writes, "In Delaware, an arson is committed just about every day, statistics show. The state has averaged 364 arson investigations in each of the past five years, including 328 in 2007." Kudos to the state's fire investigators who have one of the nation's highest conviction rates on a a crime that is the most difficult to prove.

A Serious Danger to Firefighters

More serious arson blazes aren’t your run of the mill room and contents job. Fire-setters use flammable liquids and tri-nasty chemicals to create a blaze so intense, that it destroys as much property as possible, while at the same time wiping away any evidence of foul play. Inside the structure the fire cooks until it reveals itself to the outside world.

By the time someone spots the flames and dials 9-1-1, the arson fire has had a head start and may have reached the fully developed stage. The room of origin heats quickly as fingers of flame roll across the ceiling, reach out into adjoining rooms and upward into the attic. As companies begin to arrive and go to work, frontline crews face a firefighter’s greatest fear – Flashover.

That’s what happened yesterday (06/03/08) to firefighters responding to a house fire in Hamilton Park, an area which borders Wilmington’s Southbridge section and is protected by Holloway Terrace Fire Company. A county police officer on routine patrol reported a house fire with “smoke conditions,” and dispatchers relayed her conservative size-up to first responding Engine 205.

As the operator brought the E-One to a stop at New Castle Avenue to take a wrap around the hydrant, dark, billowing smoke was venting through every crack and crevice in the 70 year old balloon construction home some 100 yards down the street. The first-in officer radioed heavy smoke and fire, a report that prompted other responding apparatus operators to forget about $5 per gallon diesel prices, push the pedal to the floor and lay on the air horn at intersections.

With the fire now venting through the roof, two hoseteams made entry. But the incredible build up of BTU’s ignored their 175 gallon per minute streams and spit the flames back into their faces. Rather than risk his crews on a vacant home, the Incident Commander issued the order to evacuate the structure, and the operation smoothly transitioned to an exterior attack.

And that’s the problem with arson fires. When companies arrive, there’s no way to distinguish between a torch job and a “legitimate” house fire, the kind with trapped occupants. Regardless of how the fire initiated, during those first minutes firefighters must risk their lives to conduct a thorough search. The burning building is cleared only when the incident commander is convinced that there is no life safety issue.

Some experts suggest that the number of arson fires will increase in coming years because of the current economic situation and pending recession. As homeowners face foreclosures and SUV owners are stuck with the $600 per month payments on their monster H2 Hummers, a crazy few will attempt to collect on insurance policies by taking match to their property.

Freakin’ arsonists – why can’t they be more considerate and go that extra step? Hang a sign on the mailbox which says, “Arson Fire – No Need To Search.” In my mind, because of the danger to firefighting crews, every arson charge should come with a bonus "attempted murder" indictment.


And for the fire buffs who’ve been making the rounds, Delaware’s volunteer firefighters are some of the best trained in the country, so photograph their good side.
----

It's Chapter 11 for American LaFrance

ALF Owners Call For A Time-Out

by: Lou Angeli

Wilmington, DE (January 30, 2008) -- Here in Wilmington, DE it’s the biggest news regarding fire apparatus since Chief Jim Wilmore ran out of working engines. What’s the big news bulletin? On Monday of this week, the venerable American LaFrance Corporation filed for bankruptcy in US District Court in Wilmington.

American LaFrance filed here under "Chapter 11" of the bankruptcy code, which typically is used by businesses that need to buy time to reorganize their finances and secure new capital. In many cases, Chapter 11 filers continue to operate. According to Bloomberg Financial some of the largest creditors listed in the filing include American LaFrance's owner, New York-based investment firm Patriarch Partners, and trucking giant Freightliner, which sold the business to Patriarch about two years ago. Various employees are owed $1.4 million for accrued vacation. It’s not clear but some say that ALF could be as much as $250 million in the hole.

This is a HUGE story for the fire service nationwide, because now 2 of the Big-3 fire apparatus manufacturers are in trouble. Ocala (FL) based E-One showed a substantial drop in earnings last quarter and some say that sale of the firm is inevitable. The remaining large capacity apparatus builder, Pierce Manufacturing, seems to be doing well, albeit the firm’s profit margin remains mighty slim.

“American LaFrance (ALF) has claimed that a bungled implementation of IBM software contributed to the demise of its business,” says IT reporter Kelly Fiveash in The Register. ALF said that when it switched to its new ERP software last June, "serious deficiencies" threw its operations into chaos.

"These problems have resulted in slowed production, a large unfulfilled backlog, and a lack of sufficient funds to continue operating." as reported by ALF to The Register.

With ALF under Chapter 11 protection, and unable to make good on current deliveries, it is unlikely that fire department administrators will consider the firm during the bidding process. With that in mind, ALF's frontline sales team, the independent distributors, are moving quickly to represent other firms. In a few days time, German-owned Rosenbauer has already signed many of ALF's key distributors, including Delaware-based DPC Emergency Equipment.

View photos of American LaFrance Fire Apparatus

My bet is that Italian-based Iveco-Magirus will make a run for American LaFrance. They already own much of the international market and, like Rosenbauer and other European manufacturers, Magirus and its partners are eager to expand into the states.

By the way, the fire apparatus situation here in Wilmington has been resolved in big fashion. The WFD, under the command of former Chief Jim Ford -- and the current boss Chief Willie Patrick -- boasts the second-fastest response time in the country (according to a Boston Globe study) And the department recently took delivery of eight new frontline Pierce machines.

-----
featured photo: An American LaFrance Rescue-Pumper operated by the Belvedere (DE) Fire Company. (photo by Lou Angeli)

resources:
(1) Bloomberg.com
(2) The Register
(3) TruckingInfo.com