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BALDY MESA — As this perilous fire season continues, many rural areas of the Victor Valley are not serviced by full-time firefighters. Several areas are serviced by San Bernardino County Fire stations manned by paid-call firefighters.
Paid-call firefighters are usually training to become full-time firefighters and use this opportunity to gain hands-on training.

Paid-call firefighters Joel Jensen, 20, left, Grant DeRose, 22, center, and Grant Osuna, 21, go through their equipment at station 16 located in Baldy Mesa. Some San Bernardino County Fire stations are manned by paid-call firefighters. Reneh Agha / Staff Photographer

“I started as a fire explorer at the age of 14 and kept on going,” said Grant Osuma, 21, who has been a paid-call firefighter at the Baldy Mesa station for two years.
As a matter of fact, all of the firefighters at the station are paid-call.
Paid-call firefighters are usually used in rural areas where they lack the tax base and population to support a full-time force, according to fire officials.
“These guys are out there serving their community every day in locations where we may not have the chance to have full-time firefighers,” said Otto Schramm, spokesman for county fire.
Paid-call firefighters must go through training, which includes wildfire and structure-fire training and life-saving techniques.
Osuma plans to attend paramedic school soon to get closer to his goal.
In San Bernardino County, about 400 firefighters receive paid-call wages, according to county Fire Chief Pat Dennen. Those wages can range from a little more than minimum wage up to about $14 an hour, depending on certification and longevity.
While the majority of paid-call firefighters, like Osuma, are looking for a career in firefighting, there are a few who do this on top of their regular jobs.
“We have a few of those guys who serve a few weekends and evenings in order to serve their community,” said Osuma, who works at the station four to six days a week.
“It takes amazing dedication to do what they do for the amount they get,” said Otis Warner, 72, who lives in Phelan. “Especially those who don’t have to be there with the economy the way it is.”

West Coast 911 firefighting news - By Beatriz E. Valenzuela, VV Daily Press

Announcing the 12^th Annual Craig Alder Charity Golf Tournament! Craig Alder, the son of retired LAFD (Los Angeles City) Fire Captain Rich Alder and brother of SBFD (San Bernardino City) Battalion Chief Mike Alder, was an SBFD firefighter whose career was cut short when he suffered serious brain injuries after being struck by a car while crossing the street in his home town of Temecula. Family and friends have put together this annual golf tournament for Craig and his family, wife Buffy and two sons Jake and Wyatt, to help ease the financial burden of living expenses plus his continuing care and rehabilitation. Last year’s tournament was a huge success and we sincerely appreciate the support of the LAFD, SBFD and many other fire departments, friends and families.

 

This year’s tournament will be held Monday, September 15, 2008 at the Temecula Creek Inn Golf Club in Temecula, Calif. The tournament will be a four person scramble format with a 9:00 AM shotgun start. Men and ladies are welcome and you may enter as a foursome or as individuals. The entry fee is $125.00, which includes golf, cart, banquet lunch and T-shirt.

Hole sponsors and tee sponsors are also needed. Entry blanks will be sent to past participants and you may get further information by contacting Mike Alder at (909) 693-6490 or by clicking on the attached documents below.

Thank You in advance for your support,

Michael Alder

12th-annual-ca-golf-cover.doc

12th Annual Craig Alder Golf Tournament Flyer

 

Temperatures were hovering near the century mark last month and San Rafael resident Barbara Perinoni just wasn’t feeling well. Her daughter called 911. A cadre of firefighters lifted the dizzy and nauseated woman into a waiting ambulance.

Seated by her side on the way to the hospital, San Rafael firefighter-paramedic Mark Sedlack was monitoring her progress when she threw up all over him.

 

“That’s not your fault,” he said. “I’m sorry you’re sick. I just happened to be in the line of fire.

“We’ll blame it on Ryan’s driving,” he joked, referring to the paramedic at the wheel.

These days, Sedlack and dozens of other Marin firefighters trained as paramedics find themselves responding to far more medical cases than any other call or service. The phenomenon is part of a nationwide trend in which the fire service has evolved into a kind of mobile emergency room. In graying Marin, where one out of every three residents will be 65 or older by 2030, medical emergencies already account for most fire calls. Although call volume has remained steady over the years due to a stable population, authorities expect that to change as the population ages and the uninsured continue to seek treatment in hospitals.

Also expected to affect the system is Marin’s shortage of primary-care physicians - a factor expected to tax pre-hospital care as paramedics and hospital staff work on more complicated cases. Paramedic service also is expected to cost more as insurance companies curb reimbursement for ambulance rides. “The fire service has done a great job with fire prevention,” said Marin County Battalion Chief Mike Giannini. “Years and years and years ago, we had a lot more fires and through our efforts we’ve reduced that number.

“We’ve evolved and found a niche in offering EMS care,” he said. “We’re there to mitigate your problem, whatever it is.”

Fire-based system
In Marin, paramedic service is carved into five zones serving Novato, San Rafael, West Marin, the Ross Valley and Southern Marin. Marin’s fire department-based emergency medical services means it is possible to send the highest-trained responders - the paramedics - to 911 calls from Sausalito to Novato. Those paramedics provide a continuum of care, treating the patient at the scene and transporting them to the hospital.

Such a system is considered a model, fire officials said. In most places, people are treated by fire department paramedics but ride to the hospital in a private ambulance.

“Calling 911 is, in some cases, the only access to the health-care system people believe they have and know will be effective,” San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray said.

Nationally, the uptick in call volume is already being felt, said Fergus Laughridge, president of the Falls Church, Va.-based National Association of State EMS Officials. As a result, recruiting and retaining paramedics is a challenge, he said.

“You have what used to be the burnout rate of five to six years in metropolitan areas,” he said. “The rate is now three years. Folks are saying, ‘this is not for me.’”

A Marin County Health and Human Services advisory committee on emergency medical services is studying the effect the aging population will have on the system, county officials said.

“Their No. 1 priority is the issue of the aging on the EMS system,” Dr. Bill Teufel, Marin County emergency medical services director.

“If you look at older people, we already know they consume health care at a pretty voracious rate,” Teufel said. “They are big-time consumers of health care because they are older and they are sicker. They are also consumers of pre-hospital care.

“As we get older, you can expect more 911 calls - they will be more complex, harder to handle,” he said. “The elderly are much more challenging, much more complex. They are just going to be putting an increasing load on the system in Marin.

“Are we planning for this? I think so,” Teufel said.

Last week, Novato Battalion Chief Ted Peterson, the fire district’s emergency medical service director, returned from a California Ambulance Association convention in the Lake Tahoe area. The event featured a talk on baby boomers that predicted future demand on emergency medical services.

Call volume will increase, he said, but he believes Marin’s system can handle it.

WestCoast911 article source - By Jennifer Upshaw, Marin Independent Journal/photos by Robert Tong  / read entire article

During her first year working for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, firefighter Michelle Arcediano didn’t get to fight a structure fire.

None happened on her shifts.

“Not even a teaser, not even a smoker,” Arcediano said.

In the two busy years since she graduated from the district’s academy, she can count on one hand the number of burning buildings she has encountered.

The work of firefighters has evolved. They have become paramedics, hazardous material specialists and first responders to major disasters ranging from floods and plane crashes to homeland security threats.

Over the past 30 years, they have battled fewer wildland and structure fires. And everything from recruitment and training to equipment has changed.

“Our mission has gotten a lot more complicated,” said Capt. Tom Sherlock, a Sacramento firefighter with more than four decades of experience. “The variety of things that we run into are more.”

Rescue and emergency medical calls make up 60 to 80 percent of their work around the country, firefighters say.

The development of the 911 system and changes in the health care system have led to the public relying more on firefighters-paramedics for medical needs.

People without health insurance often go without treatment until they need to call for an ambulance. Or patients call 911 for a cold or stomachache, because their doctors are not as readily available as the paramedics, fire officials said.

Figures from the National Fire Protection Association show medical aid calls in the United States have increased by about 180 percent in the last three decades, from about 5 million in 1980 to 14 million in 2005. In the same period, fire incidents dropped by nearly 50 percent, from 3 million to 1.6 million.

California and local data largely reflect the national trend. In the city of Sacramento city, data from 1985 to 2006 show an overall increase in calls and an increase in emergency medical calls. The number of fire calls remains almost the same year to year, though, bucking the national downward trend.

Capt. Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department explains that Sacramento is an older city: Victorian houses in midtown and downtown do not have fire stops, sprinklers and other features found in newer buildings that help to prevent or suppress fires.

“Many people want to join the department because they want the experience of firefighting,” Doucette said.

Firefighters’ role evolved

Kevin Olson, training chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, joked that his father – who was a firefighter with the department from 1952 to 1981 – would have chosen another career if he had to respond to medical aid calls.

“He loved to fight fires,” Olson said. But not the needles, the blood or going to hospitals – the everyday staples of many firefighters today.

How the profession changed is being meticulously documented by a San Diego firefighter-paramedic, Mitch Mendler.

Before the 1960s, mortuaries and private companies provided most of the country’s ambulance services. However, neither mode provided adequate standards of pre-hospital emergency care.

Firefighters took on the new task because, as many firefighters explain, they were simply available. They were also already trained in first aid.

“We’ve always been there for emergencies,” Olson said.

Just as fire departments around the country began incorporating paramedic services, Mendler said, “Fire prevention became better.”

Municipal governments also realized that emergency medical runs generated significant revenue, Mendler said.

Then in 1972, a television series “Emergency!” debuted, featuring the lives of paramedics at a Los Angeles County fire station (and a Sacramento-born star, Randolph Mantooth). The popular five-year show brought to the nation’s attention the fledging EMS system and the new paramedic roles undertaken by firefighters, Mendler said.

“It inspired cities, politicians and little boys,” said Mendler, now in his 50s. “Guys like me who saw that show said, ‘That’s it! That’s what I’m doing!’”

Sacramento Metro Fire Engineer Bob Webber recalls responding to a vehicle accident scene in 1978 as an 18-year-old firefighter.

A woman folded in the seat – her legs broken – screamed in pain.

About half a dozen firefighters, including Webber, tended to her – none of them paramedics. The woman, who survived, would have received a higher level of care from paramedics today, he said.

Training standards raised

Over the years, fire departments have raised the entry-level education and training requirements for firefighters. Candidates with paramedic skills often stand a better chance of being hired.

About 42 percent of Sacramento Metropolitan firefighters are also paramedics. That statistic is 63 percent in the city’s Fire Department.

When Jim Eastman Jr. started his career in 1974, young firefighters often volunteered before being hired. They faced a less competitive environment, said Eastman, Sacramento Metro deputy chief of support services.

“In the old days we were just fire-oriented,” said Eastman. “Now we are considered all-risk – animal rescue, medical aids, vehicle accidents – you name it, we go.”

That means residents are getting more services for their tax dollars, Eastman said.

“Because of the specialization that we are experiencing now, we need people now that are broadly trained,” said Steven Broderick, deputy fire marshal for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

“Before, it was: Put you on an engine, give you a hose, and we’ll teach you how to fight a fire when you get there,” Cal Fire’s Olson said, half-jokingly.

West Coast 911 fire new source - Sac Bee / photo by José Luis Villegas

The 30-year-old man’s irritable-bowel syndrome was causing severe pain and he could barely stand up. His mother called 911.

It was the third time last week the mother and son had called 911 from their trailer. Both suffer from the same ailment. With no car, no doctor and not knowing many people in Tucson, they found themselves with few choices.

The Tucson Fire Department was dispatched. But rather than sending a medic truck or a fire engine or both — standard in medical emergencies — the department dispatched a much cheaper, two-person extended-cab pickup called “Alpha.”The Alphas — named after the fire dispatch code for low-priority calls — are becoming increasingly important to the Fire Department as its duties continue to shift from putting out fires to medical calls and fire prevention.

A growing elderly population, flagging economy and overloaded health-care system are fueling the need. The Alpha trucks respond to many people who don’t have rides to the hospital or enough money to pay for a cab.

To that end, firefighters working the Alpha trucks have become the department’s “problem-solvers,” adding social-service referrals to their duties. The firefighters carry a list of phone numbers for assistance agencies, including contact information for the Pima Council on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association and others.

“We can let them know about assisted living, for example, if they are having trouble getting chores done, getting bathed,” said firefighter Matt Lott, who works on an Alpha truck.

“Then they might not need to be calling 911 every three days,” he said.

Putting out fires used to be the sole function of fire departments. No longer. About 88 percent of the Tucson Fire Department’s calls are medical-related — everything from the flu to cardiac arrest. Of the department’s 700 uniformed personnel, 250 are paramedics.

Approximately 16 percent of the department’s calls last year were classified as Alphas, and those are predicted to grow in number.

By 2020, about one-fifth of the local population is expected to be 65 years of age and older.

Alphas frequently include calls from elderly people who have fallen. Sometimes they’ve fallen out of a wheelchair. Other times they are being cared for by an elderly, frail spouse who is having trouble coping.

“Some people just don’t know there’s assistance out there, and that’s where we can help with education,” said Pete December, Lott’s Alpha truck partner. “You help people who don’t or can’t help themselves. We become problem-solvers.”

The local Alpha program began in 2006 with one two-person truck. There are now two fully funded trucks and a third that runs when staffing is available. The department’s plan includes four, but officials would like five, Assistant Chief Dave Ridings said.

Ridings, a 31-year department veteran, initiated the Alpha program. As a medic, he had noticed people who were uninsured and underinsured were increasingly relying on 911 for medical issues.

“Frankly, we had a tier of calls being over-serviced,” he said.

The Fire Department has repeat 911 callers — as many as four or five from the same person in one day — often referred to as “frequent fliers.” Occasionally callers are more bored and lonely than sick. Some callers are drug users looking for a ride to a hospital to find pain medications. But department officials stop short of saying the system is being abused.

Some of the “frequent fliers” need medical attention, they say. Other callers can benefit from education.

“The 911 system is free, so we’ve really asked for this problem,” Ridings said. “We need to provide solutions.” Continue reading →

Spotting your apparatus between yourself and oncoming traffic at accident scenes is critical for Firefighter / Rescuer safety.

This video emphasizes firefighter safety training and fire apparatus spotting:

Long Beach, CA FFs responding to a traffic accident are themselves struck by a suspected drunk driver at a busy intersection. While rescuers are transporting patients in the vehicle that struck the Truck Co, a second vehicle cruising through an adjacent parking lot strikes a pedestrian and pins her under that car…Apparently the occupants of that car were watching the action in the street instead of foot traffic in the parking lot… A very busy incident!

We all remember learning about that Pavlov guy, who taught dogs to respond to the sound of a bell. For 30 years now I have been doing the exact same thing. Not so much the teaching part; I’ve been the dog. Way back in 1978, I received intensive training on how to respond to a bell by immediately stopping whatever I was doing and jumping onto a fire truck. Often the bell rings while I’m doing paperwork or in some form of training. That’s not so bad. The time I least enjoy hearing the bell ring is when I’m in the shower. But as time has gone by (and a lot of it has), what really seems to be getting to me is the bell that rings in the small hours of the morning and forces me to jump out of bed. Many firefighters work 24-hour shifts. This requires fire crews to spend every third day of our lives away from home. In my case, that’s 10 years spent waiting to produce a Pavlovian response.

Lately I’ve developed a cautious fear of these. It’s funny, the things I’ve worried about as I close in on my 50th birthday. Fifty may not be that old in the private sector, but it’s not the perfect age for throwing ladders against buildings or crawling through crashed cars in the middle of the night. I’m not just worried about my overall health—I’m also concerned for the welfare of my specific parts. My prostate, for instance.

Thirty years ago I would not have known that a prostate has a fairly predictable life span. Now I know that it is an organ designed to live a happy life of about 50 years until it swells up and keeps you from properly using a bathroom. I doubt that either evolutionists or creationists can account for that flaw in intelligent design.

And then there’s my heart. I can’t help but wonder what jumping out of bed all these nights is doing to my ticker. I have always been pretty good at waking up quickly for emergencies, but how many more times can my heartbeat nearly double in response to the bell without some kind of problem? Imagine having your spouse wake you up every third night several times to tell you that he or she thinks someone is breaking into the house. Now spread that angst over 30 years. Jumping out of bed is where some firefighters’ careers (and lives) end. In all honesty—and I know this sounds both selfish and melodramatic—if I’m not going to live long enough to see a pension, I think I would rather perish following the performance of an act that at least I was proud of. Who wouldn’t want to be remembered as the guy who “gave it all” after rescuing someone from a burning building? It sure sounds more respectable than “that poor old firefighter who had a heart attack trying to get out of bed.”

My career has had some interesting highs and lows. I have had the honor of taking part in saving lives under dangerous and stressful conditions that I would not wish on anyone (those are the highs). I have also been injured in ways that they never mentioned in the fire academy. I have been bitten by dogs and people. I’ve been kicked, punched, vomited on, overcome by smoke, burned and nearly electrocuted, and I have fallen through floors; one time I was nearly hit by lightning. Those were the lows, but for some reason people seem to enjoy those stories the most. Believe me, I’m not complaining. There are plenty of firefighters not lucky enough to still be here to tell stories. It’s been a great career, and I wouldn’t change a thing—except maybe the guy who bit me.

It would be hard not to love being a firefighter. I appreciate the public’s trust, and I’m especially grateful that I’ve come through the years relatively unscathed. I just hope I can continue to keep all my parts intact long enough to wrap up this career. As with everything else we enjoy in life, the trick is knowing when to stop and go home. Without a doubt, my heart has always been in my work. I just hope that the two of us are able to leave the firehouse for good someday, and in proper working order.

So until the day that I get to go home and stay there, I’ll continue to arrive at the firehouse every third morning prepared for anything. In recent months I’ve found myself staying awake at night later and later. I don’t believe it’s due to fear that my heart might not want to wake up as fast as necessary when Pavlov calls. I just hope that if I become a firefighter health statistic, it’s for being one of the lucky guys, who enjoys his pension for at least as long as he did his career.

Fraser lives in Clearwater, Fla.

© 2008 NewsWeek Magazine By David Fraser / Photo Kathleen Flynn-Rapport

In a week long class conducted in San Bernardino, 20 west coast firefighters from all across southern California participated in training simulations for the CSFM Fire Command 2E.

The Class was held at the headquarters for the San Bernardino unit of Cal Fire. Battalion Chief Dave Golder with The California Fire Department lead the instruction for the week with assistance from Battalion Chief Jim Topoleski from Redlands.

In preparation of the 2008 wildfire season, students were able to utilize an incredible tabletop simulation station. The pool sized table consists of dirt strategically arranged throughout, with hills, model homes, and roads. The vegetation was saw dust and wood shavings.

The students were able to simulate operating at wildland incidents and coordinated resources utilizing the incident command system. The uniqueness of the training table left all of the students with laughs, sighs and of course, spotlight anxiety as they each took turns being in charge of resource assignments and establishing a command presence.

Fire Command 2E left a lasting impression, more slides for the carousel, and bettered the skills of all who participated, including myself.

Written by Jason Serrano, WC911 Editor

EMMITSBURG, MD. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, working in partnership with the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), have developed a report that provides technical guidance and training programs in traffic incident management for fire and emergency service providers. The report, Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS), contains guidance for local-level fire departments on compliance with the DOT’s Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the National Fire Service Incident Management System (IMS) Consortium’s Model Procedures Guide for Highway Incidents.

“Too many firefighters and other emergency responders have been killed on duty from being struck by vehicles. Implementing an effective traffic incident management system could reduce this number,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade. “The USFA was pleased to work with the DOT and IFSTA to enhance their safety while working on the roadway.”

This project included research into emergency services implementation of TIMS and the IMS Consortium Guide, examining such technologies and practices as effective distance for placement of roadway warning signs; correct amount and type of emergency vehicle warning lighting (e.g., intensity, color, etc.); and training, placement, and protective equipment for “flaggers”.

“We’re committed to protecting the lives of firefighters and emergency responders working on our nation’s roadways,” said Jim Ray, Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. “We must provide for the safety of these men and women who act selflessly to risk their lives to assist someone else who is in harm’s way.”

The manual includes case studies of roadway incidents that have taken the lives of firefighters, highway scene safety survival basics, incident command for roadway incidents, and examples of effective TIMS programs. It also provides information on the American National Standards Institute/ International Safety Equipment Association (ANSI/ISEA) standard 207, High Visibility Public Safety Vests.

“IFSTA was proud to work with USFA and the U.S. Department of Transportation in this initiative to protect firefighters operating on the roadway,” said Chris Neal, IFSTA Executive Director. “Traffic incident management is an important operational and safety issue for today’s fire service.”

Further information about this study may be found on the USFA Web site here.

West Coast 911 firefighting news source - USFA