A WMATA employee asleep while manning the Columbia Heights Metro station kiosk. Photo credit: Collin Kettell, via Unsuck DC Metro.

Recent news of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial opening later this month in D.C. started me thinking about our Metro system. Like any major event in the city—say, a presidential inauguration or the Stewart/Colbert Rally just about a year ago—the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has promised "early opening and enhanced service" on August 28th. According to the website, this means:

• Open the station two hours earlier than they normally would on a Sunday
• Trains will come every 8-12 minutes throughout the day
• No bicycles allowed on the cars, at all
• "Many" escalators will be turned off
• Free parking at all Metro stations for that day

Ah, just what I bet everyone wants to do with their weekend! This means that countless armadas of SUVs and minivans will be fortunate enough to:

• Arrive with a somnolent yet irritated family at an outlying station at 5am
• Cram the car into a lot filled with fellow tourists and weekend warrior cyclists/runners/rollerbladers/decathletes/competitive unicyclists/child pageant stars on hovercraft who are accessing the W&OD trail
• Ride into the city on a car filled with sweaty, camera-laden tourists while unwillingly engaging in borderline frottage
• Climb the longest damn rack of "out of service" escalators and feel them shudder disconcertingly under our weight
• Stare at the event like it's the pin on a Par 5 and hold my children up to block the non-view of everyone behind me

(Alright, so maybe I'm a bit jaded towards the wave of tourists that show up every summer. Hey, it happens.)

(Thanks, Mitch Hedberg.)

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Personally, I'd really prefer that early opening and more frequent trains were considered Metro's standard of performance (I would love to Metro to the firehouse one day, haha). However, it seems that these luxe items won't be a regularity any time soon. On the contrary, it appears that Metro lowered their standards back in May: instead of trying to be on-time for the rail system 95% of the time, the new acceptable margin has been dropped by 5%.

I stumbled across this information while browsing a new favorite DC blog, entitled "Unsuck DC Metro." The watchdog website that provided the opening photograph prides itself on analyzing as much of WMATA's performance as possible, while offering an outlet for anyone who wants to submit their frustration regarding the function of the system.

For instance, Station Managers sleeping on the job. From the standpoint of both a firefighter responding to a Metro incident as well as a frequent user of the system, this is appalling. There's a reason there's supposed to be a warm body within each kiosk: watching the camera monitors, listening to the radios, keeping an eye on the elevator functionality, maintaining an even and organized flow of persons through the turnstiles, and communicating with OCC (the Operations Control Center, located in downtown D.C.). If you've ever been through a Metro station you might not see it, but they are in fact imbued with a hefty set of responsibilities.

But it's okay, you can just doze off in the confines of SOME OF THE MOST VISIBLE WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE CITY. Thousands of commuters walk past your fucking glass box every single day… are you kidding me with this?!

Again, absolutely appalling to me. But maybe we as a city shouldn't bring up our complaints too much. Somebody might become upset!

Remember my post on how Facebook can really screw up your life? Well, one not-so-clever WMATA employee (a "Certified Rail Station Manager, Line Platform Instructor, and Utility Depot Clerk, according to his FB profile") apparently didn't follow directions.

Ozzie L. Andrews' status updates turned mean three days ago, when he posted:

Good Morning Facebook Family_I have a problem with these damn Examiner, Unsuck DC Metro People and Catherine Hudgins our Board Chairwoman. I challenge any one of these people to put on a blue or white shirt and come out in the field/on the front line to see if they could make it through a day without going the f**k off on someone. It may appear to be an easy task but trust me it's not.

Somebody must have stoked the fire a bit, because about an hour later he wrote:

We deserve our pay raise and some, I refuse to let haters and these white people who hate Metro kill my belief, my vision, my purpose, my peace, and my joy. They have nothing else better to do but complain and yes f**kup the USA only to have a brother in the white house trying to fix what they broke-ain't that some sugahoneyicetea. Love you fam for letting me vent today!!

I mean, I'll give you some leeway here. I'm not sure I'd want to sit in that little-ass booth for an entire shift dealing with difficult and petulant commuters. But the color of your skin has nothing to do with it, and I hope they fire you for saying it.

"Enhanced service" for Dr. King's memorial dedication, my ass.

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Carrying a rich history of America's earliest presidents and great thinkers, the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA, provided a gorgeous venue for the event. Groundbreaking for this memorial took place in 1922—stoneworkers completed the structure ten years later, undeterred by the Great Depression.

Presenting to the largest group ever to attend the event, organizers and speakers were happy to see so many hands go up when the crowd was asked who among them is a "first timer."

The opening presentation was provided by Robert Morris, the current Captain of FDNY's Rescue Company 1 (located in midtown Manhattan). A true veteran, and lifelong student of the fire service, Captain Morris has been one of New York's Bravest for over thirty years.

All firefighters are taught that a Halligan bar is one of the most useful and versatile tools in the fire service; however, a morning spent listening to an instructor with decades of first-hand experience provides a new respect for a tool that many new firefighters are never taught to use properly.

"When I started in the fire department, we didn't have fancy hydraulic tools or these new gadgets. All we had was an axe and a halligan bar, so we were taught how to make it work. When the Rabbit Tool [a hydraulic forcible entry tool] showed up, it pushed forcible entry training back by, I don't know, ten years. Guys were coming on with no knowledge of how to use the irons, because they thought they didn't need to."

As Captain Morris clearly shows, even verbally teaching forcible entry tactics is not a stationary activity.

Organizers and instructors stand amid a pile of goodies while selecting the winning raffle tickets. Prizes included a collection of Andy's writings, coffee mugs, and even a brand-new forcible entry tool for one lucky attendee.

Alexandria's fire safety mascot dog slides across the stage, much to the crowd's enjoyment. [Note: I felt it only appropriate to capture this hilarious, action-packed moment in the same style that won me the promotional poster contest. Thanks again! /RL]

FDNY Battalion Chief Thomas Dunne presents a new way to work your brain on a fireground; "Think Like an Incident Commander" aimed to keep everyone involved in an incident looking at the same big picture on the very same page.

Another multi-decade veteran of the FDNY, Batt. Chief Dunne has an easygoing manner that lends itself well to teaching. Practicing what he preaches, some of his first words to the crowd were about a person's presence and demeanor.

"The way you carry yourself, the way you act, the way you communicate, and the way you project yourself, are all going to affect everyone else. In life, in a fire… whatever you're doing, most of us have to take it down a couple notches."

Participants return from a short break rested, well-fed, and eager to continue. The Training Days will continue through Wednesday, covering additional topics such as high-rise fires and Rapid Intervention Team tactics (taught by Lt. Tony Carroll, of DCFD Rescue Company 2).

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Everyone in attendance seemed to be excited for more of the top-notch instruction afforded by the speakers; there will certainly be more to come soon, as I take in more of this invaluable knowledge! I will unfortunately be unable to attend tomorrow's session, as I'm back at work. I will, however, be attending on Wednesday; follow the live Twitter updates from @AndyFredericks to keep up with what's going on as-it-happens, or check out the schedule to discover what topics are being discussed.

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*** UPDATE: DAY 3 ***

Attendees participate in a donut-eating competition for the last of two highly-sought-after items; a Training Days challenge coin, and a bound collection of Andy's numerous firefighting articles.

Captain Dave Barlow of the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department begins his presentation on attic and basement fires. The increasingly prevalent use of lightweight construction poses a hazard not only to Barlow and his crew, but to all firefighters in rapidly-developing areas.

A clip from the 1991 movie "Backdraft," a scene well-known to most firefighters. One character's monologue was loosely utilized by Barlow to explain that crews must understand how fire behaves in different situations in order to effectively extinguish it quickly and safely.

"Small spans, smaller compartments, smaller rooms. Access the attic from [these places] and exploit what you know about trusses to attack it safely… the important thing is to understand the principle of firefighting, not just the procedure. Don't be a cookbook firefighter!"

Captain Barlow stresses using hoselines in the right places as one of the key factors in firefighting.

"The problem isn't getting in there; we can do that. It's mis-application of water. See this house? We burned the roof off of it with two inch-and-three-quarter handlines already inside."

Lieutenant Fred Ill of the FDNY explains one of the funnier stories from the seminar; a very active storyteller, his body language is outdone only by his New York accent.

"So a buddy of mine and I are visiting the firehouse, about to head over to Rescue 1's company picnic. We're late, we've got all the beer, they're waiting… we find out from the guys that there's a job up the street; I grabbed my gear, but he didn't have his. He grabs the first thing he sees… and it's the Chaplain's turnout gear. I mean, this stuff is pristine. So we got over there and went in… it was a good one. He came outta this fire, and this gear looks like it's had thirty years on the job."

Lieutenant Ill and Lieutenant Chris Reynolds (pictured, also of the FDNY) presented a basic approach to garden apartment fires. These low-rise, multiple-dwelling buildings present their own unique complications from a firefighting perspective, especially since the quality of their building construction has been diminishing with each passing year.

"These things are built with math now, not mass. Used to be when you had to hold up a heavy load, you used a heavy piece of lumber beneath it. Now, they use protractors and compasses to hold these buildings up. They're just not as strong, and they fail on ya faster."

Just a couple of wiseguys.

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Unfortunately, I was unable to finish out the rest of the day, and so missed two of the presentations. I wish to thank all the coordinators and instructors of the Training Days for putting on such a wonderful three-day event (which I will certainly be attending next year!)

For more updates on the rest of the day, dozens more photos, and links to Andy's articles (definitely worth a read), follow #AndyFredericks on Twitter or find them on Facebook.

4:15 a.m. – Everyone else is dispatched to deal with what they found.

A great video clip can be found at this link; credit to Vernard Green on Medic 8 at the time.

(As usual, click for full-size images.)

Motir Services, Inc. is (was) a consulting firm serving the DC area; clients include The Library of Congress, Arlington National Cemetery, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, and a whole slew of DC government organizations. Their self-description reads:

"A MULTI-SERVICES FIRM WHOSE PRINCIPAL STRENGTH IS THE ABILITY TO TAKE THE WORLD’S MOST SOPHISTICATED MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND APPLY THEM IN ORDER TO YIELD ONE CONSISTENT PRODUCT – WORLD-CLASS SERVICES."

Perhaps the folks at Motir could offer some upper-management-level advice regarding the best placement of this ladder (not that Truck 7 needed it).

The fire eventually went to two alarms, and took approximately thirty minutes to control. At one point, there was fire to be found on every one of the four story building, including a large wooden lean-to structure on the roof.

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Do you know what the best part was? Nobody cared what we were wearing.

Alright, that's it. I'm finally going to bed.

/RL

We received dozens of submissions featuring photographs from all over the country.  In the end the photo we choose came from Alex Capece who is a firefighter in nearby Washington, DC and a talented photographer to boot. While his photo didn’t show a raging inferno or a dramatic conflagration I liked how it showed firefighters moving a hose line.  A simple task that we all need to be proficient performing, and perhaps most importantly, something that speaks to Andy’s legacy — mastery of the basics.

A few weeks ago, a fellow blogger alerted me to a photo contest, the winner of which would have their photo utilized as the promotional poster for the three-day conference in Alexandria, VA. I sent a few of my best their way, and I received the good news this morning.

Thanks to Bill Carey over at BackstepFirefighter for the heads-up… the May 2011 conference has some great speakers (no, seriously… read this list) and is shaping up to be quite the event. Register to attend here! There’s deals on lodging, and the registration fee is a steal in itself for everything that you get.

It looks like a wonderful legacy from a great man—more info on Andy Fredericks is available on the homepage. Three days of learning more about the greatest job in the world? Plus helping out a heartfelt charity organization to boot? Sign me up, buddy.

Unfortunately, it commands such a presence within my demographic (not only by age, but also by profession—I’d be hard pressed to find coworkers who don’t have a FB acount) that I feel unable to get rid of it. Some of my associates who I contact regularly either a) are so ingrained in Big Blue that it’s pretty much their only form of communication or b) I have no other means of contacting them—either it was lost to time or never provided to me in the first place.

It is this chronic presence of social media, Twitter pictures, mobile updates, etc. within the fire service that I’m concerned about. It’s already bad enough that the citizens we protect can be all too litigious without warning; but if you spread something stupid around the internet, it’s certainly lights out for your career. Both the higher-ups and the general public can get you into more hot water than you thought possible.

Here’s a quick timeline of Internet-based screwups, just from 2010:

February 11th, 2010: South Carolina firefighter/paramedic Jason Brown posts an animated short film which he created using xtranormal.com (a site where you can make various characters interact with dialogue and actions of your choosing)—the video in question depicted a conversation between a firefighter and a doctor. The Colleton County Fire/Rescue Director ruled that “[Brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center.” Amidst several allegations—not the least of which was outright racism—Brown was dismissed. His appeal process was unsuccessful, and he was escorted to his station to empty his locker while his officers watched over him.

“I felt like a criminal,” he said.

Source: WCSC News / Charleston

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July 17th: A 23-year-old female is involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident in Spalding County, Georgia. Responding firefighter Terrence Reid filmed the accident scene and the victim’s body with his cell phone, then passed it around to friends at a bar. After the video hit the internet, it didn’t take long for the victim’s father to learn of the video that contained graphic footage and firefighters’ conversations describing his daughter’s mangled body.

Reid has since been dismissed, for various charges including lying to his supervisors about the incident and conduct unbecoming a public officer.

Sources: Statter911; Blippit

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October 1st: A Florida firefighter awakens from a nap to find an unusual picture on his laptop computer. While he slept, a coworker had exposed himself and stood… unnecessarily close to the sleeping man, then uploaded the picture where the napper would certainly find it. FireGeezer reported more back in late October.

(Note: while I see that the issue is more about complaints of repetitive hazing amongst the High Springs Fire Department, it’s just an example of the kind of stupid uploaded photo that can get you in some serious trouble. )

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October 27th: Austin, TX firefighter Alejandro Garza is placed on indefinite suspension without pay due to the discovery of nude photos he had posted online earlier this year. In the “profile” area of his account, he had included information that revealed him to be an Austin firefighter. Despite arguments that he had posted the photos in 2006 and had since “taken them off the internet,” a second complaint indicated that he had posted additional photos as recently as August.

Source: El Paso Times / El Paso

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November 4th: A Canadian paramedic has been fired over a Facebook photo that showed people “having fun,” said an anonymous source. Spokesmen for various agencies (including unions representatives and county officials) refused to give details, as it may compromise investigations. However, Brian Gregg, the chief administrative officer for Essex County, said that “an employee would not be fired simply over a photo posted on the Internet, though a picture could lead to an investigation.”

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Now, I’m not advocating that everyone trash their social media accounts and hermit themselves up with no virtual communication—far from it. I will continue to use Facebook and Twitter, and all of you will to. My only suggestion is that everyone be careful with what gets posted. The second you hit “post” or “send,” it’s all out of your hands.Go back and delete it all you want, but remember: a bad decision on the internet is like herpes.

That shit never goes away.

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P.S. – BusinessInsider put up two great features regarding everyone’s Facebook use; take the information for what you will.

10 Reasons to Delete Your Facebook Account

10 Reasons You’ll Never Quit Facebook (Even If You Think You Want To)

Edit: TheHappyMedic posted his own take on the matter today, venturing more in-depth into an interesting double-standard out in his neck of the woods. Head on over if you haven’t seen it—take it all together and let us know what you think!

N.B. – in order to give due respect to Boston.com’s The Big Picture, higher-resolution images will not be made available on RaisingLadders. Additionally, all captions remain unchanged.

To see larger, even more stunning images, please follow this link.

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At around 2:15 PM, a fire broke out in an apartment building in Shanghai. Under renovation at the time, the twenty-eight story building quickly allowed the fire to spread to every single floor. According to a Chinese news source, it took around 100 pieces of apparatus from over 25 different stations to control the blaze (after four hours of firefighting, which utilized tactics such as placing hoses on the roofs of neighboring buildings).

Firefighters spray foam and water on the lower portion of an apartment building on fire in the downtown area of Shanghai on Monday Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo)

A person waits for rescue in the scaffolding of a burning apartment building in Shanghai on Monday Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Xinhua).

Out of an estimated 150 families located in the building, firefighters were able to rescue approximately one hundred people. The official death toll (as reported by Xinhua) stands at 58.

56 more people are still missing.

A man prays for victims killed in an apartment block blaze, at the entrance of the building, in Shanghai November 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Rescue workers carry a victim out of a burning building in Shanghai, November 15, 2010. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

People gather to watch an apartment building that was destroyed by fire, while flowers and wreaths are placed around in the downtown area of Shanghai on Nov. 17, 2010. (AP Photo)

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VIDEO

CNN put together an excellent minute-long newsreel, seen on YouTube.

Dave Statter also has a much longer, much more comprehensive video, available here.

]]> http://raisingladders.com/2010/11/shanghai-apartment-fire/feed/ 0 http://raisingladders.com/2010/07/the-scba-revolution/ http://raisingladders.com/2010/07/the-scba-revolution/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:15:50 +0000 raisingladders http://raisingladders.com/?p=674 Thirty pounds. That’s a well-packed office bag, complete with laptop, paperwork, power supplies, etc. It’s a couple of grocery bags, gathered in a bundle to save a last trip from the car to the kitchen. Most people wouldn’t think twice about carrying thirty pounds of anything more than a few steps from the Metro to the office, or from Best Buy to the car. In truth, it’s not that much weight, for short periods of time. But try carrying it on your back while you run, crawl, crouch, climb, or even just take a bone-jarring step down from an elevated vehicle cab with more weight than your body was built to be spry with. However, regardless of the complaints or the conditions, firefighters do this several times each day; and there’s no shortage of members who will tell you the toll it can take on their bodies. The extended use of the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) currently utilized by departments all over the world doesn’t seem to lead to friendly outcomes for firefighters’ knees or backs—two problem areas that plague many within the brotherhood, both past and present.

Future generations—perhaps even our own, within the next few years—may soon be forced to worry about something else. Vulcore Industrial, based out of Fort Wayne, IN, has been developing what they call the “Flat Pack.” With this new design, they’re setting themselves up to revolutionize the way firefighters carry their most essential tool: breathing air. Current systems are based around a metal cylinder with a carbon fiber over-wrap; at 7+ inches in diameter, the added bulk on top of already shoulder-widening gear can make confined or entangling spaces almost impossible to navigate. Accordingly, a significant portion of fire academy instruction is related to maneuvering with the SCBA; at times, areas can get so narrow that one must resort to removing a shoulder strap and swinging the system around to the side of the now “thinner” firefighter.

At a diameter of 2.75″ each, the multi-cylinder system provides firefighters with no more bulk than a mostly empty school backpack. The new system—based off of CEO Stan Sanders’s patented design and a material called Hytrel—is molded into the thin bottles and then wrapped with Aramid and carbon fiber. According to the manufacturer’s specifications, the first “808 model” weighs up to 30% less than current systems, putting the prototype at a hair over 20 lbs. The “Cobra” model is advertised as 30% lighter than the 808. Thus, the potential exists for a breathing apparatus with the same amount of air/breathing time; but at 14 lbs, it’s over 50% lighter than what the fire service is using now. Vulcore Industrial was unavailable for comment, although their full set of Frequently Asked Questions is available here.

Images © Vulcore Industrial, LLC

In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security offered a 15-month, $2.7 million grant to the IAFF for the purposes of equipment research; and although the technology and initial prototypes were born from Vulcore, they just didn’t have the manufacturing power to mass-produce their product. Mine Safety Appliances, more commonly known throughout the fire service as MSA, has been assigned the daunting task of making Vulcore’s dream an assembly-line reality. The grant money will additionally be used for field testing and fulfilling government/NFPA certification requirements. An advisory committee working with the IAFF and International Personal Protection, Inc. has recommended a 45-minute service-rated system for the initial wave, although Vulcore states that they have the ability to produce 30- and 60-minute systems for different applications.

According to the May/June 2010 issue of International Fire Fighter, “Several firefighters from the Washington, D.C. area, conducted rigorous field tests to determine how a new, lighter, and lower-profile system would compare to the traditional SCBA… [the] series of functional tests, including timing, donning and doffing, roof operations, ladder escapes, crawling through tight spaces and fire ground survival skills” appeared to bode well for the system’s future in emergency services. Initial reactions are overwhelmingly positive, due to the light weight and increased maneuverability:

Video © Bobby Halton, Editor-in-Chief of Fire Engineering Magazine.

Additionally, videos posted on Vulcore’s own website show how the Flat Pack simplifies many of the entanglement hazards present inside dangerous environments:

The IAFF is expecting commercial production of the Flat Pack within the next year, marking a new introduction to an application that hasn’t changed since the first firefighting breathing apparatus was developed almost forty years ago.

I’ve finally put together a Facebook page for the photography business; with the increasing functionality of FB’s pages for services/businesses, it’s almost like you don’t need a home website anymore (don’t worry, I won’t be discarding RLP.com—I’m always wary of FB crashing and burning as it becomes too Big-Brother-esque for its own good).

Become a Fan/Like It here, and browse around a bit if you haven’t already seen the photos from the main RLP site. The NikonFest video I made is also up there—damn you, Facebook, for being so versatile.

I’ve created an ad, as well, so keep an eye out for that in your sidebars while you mercilessly stalk your friends and coworkers.

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FDIC 2010 is just wrapping up in Indianapolis; Saturday is the last day, and I regret that I was unable to attend. I will, however, be looking to head out to wherever they hold it next year with my fellow FireEMS bloggers; sorry I couldn’t meet up with you guys! A quick search reveals a whole menagerie of posts on FireEMSBlogs about Indy and FDIC; a few of note come from Backstep Firefighter, FireCritic, and Tiger Schmittendorf (with my vote for the most clever “I’m at FDIC!” title I’ve found yet). He was also the one who was kind enough to use my photos in his presentation—more on that later.

Edit: Damn, I knew I’d miss some cool stuff! Not the least of which is this sweet podium designed to look like the tip of an aerial ladder, captured nicely by FireGeezer (original page):

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Last but not least, Gizmodo had a neat tidbit on a new firefighter’s mask that they found; did anyone see this at FDIC?

Designed by Jason Swartzentruber (and featured on the concept technology website Tuvie.com), all these features like GPS trackers, a rotating cylinder harness, and a voice amplifier are supposed to make us safer and more effective as firefighters.

Any thoughts? To check it out even further, you can find more pictures on the Tuvie site (also accessible by clicking the photo above).

From www.tampabay.com’s All Eyes feature: Christopher Holmes from the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue searches for survivors in the rubble of a building after a massive earthquake on January 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti as governments and aid agencies launched a massive relief operation after a powerful earthquake killing possibly thousands. Numerous buildings were reduced to rubble by the 7.0-strong quake on January 12. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Sergeant Holmes and his dog before, and they do make quite the team together. Great work, Sarge—be safe out there.

Dave Statter of Statter911 has been doing an excellent job chronicling the efforts Virginia’s Task Forces One and Two; more information (video interviews, news updates, pictures, etc.) is available here.

Alan Taylor, the brains behind Boston.com’s The Big Picture, has kept up an excellent feed of images from various stages of collapse, rescue, and recovery; Earthquake in Haiti; Haiti 48 Hours Later; Haiti Six Days Later.

(As he writes on the Big Picture “About” page, these photos are the best selections from various wire services that flow into the Boston Globe; he’s got a hell of an eye, and I eagerly await the Mon/Wed/Fri updates.)

Lastly, I’d like to include this image: from the UK’s Evening Star comes a photograph from Port au Prince (© Matthew McDermott) that shows a much greater side than most of the typical pictures of death and destruction so rampant in the news today.

This is Kiki, an eight-year-old boy who was rescued in the Nazan district after being trapped for over a week underneath the rubble. I’d be pretty ecstatic, too!

A great job and best wishes to every rescue worker who is down in Haiti doing something to help—and here’s to hoping everyone makes it home safely.

I do, damnit. Hands covered in newsprint are an archaic badge of honor… so I’m still going for the print edition someday.

Screenshots below lead to full-size images. The first is from Inauguration Day, and the second is from the weekend blizzard the east coast had in the middle of December.