This is a week to recall and reflect on two historic fires; Friday marked the 66th anniversary of Boston's Cocoanut Grove night club fire. The Boston (MA) Fire Department responded 5 alarms to Box 1521 that night, where 492 lives were lost and 166 were injured. Many of the doors to nightclub were bricked up or bolted shut and the entrance was a revolving door.
The night club was filled with flammable decorations, and although it was rated for 500 persons, officals estimated more than 1,000 people were in the building at the time of the fire. Below are photos from our good friend Bill Noonan
This morning, December 1, is the 50th anniversary of the Our Lady of the Angels fire in Chicago. On this tragic day, 92 children and 3 nuns lost their lives. The building was a two-story school with numerous renovations that been grandfathered regarding the codes of the day. Many lessons would come from both of these fires, to include panic hardware and exit requirements, flame retardant furnishing, and surface coatings.
We are extremely honored to have a recording with our good friend Mike Mason, who was a student at Our Lady of the Angels on December 1, 1958, and
Fire Engineering technical editor Glen Corbett discussing the fire and what it means to us today.
CLICK HERE to listen to this Fire Engineering Radio podcast.
posted by Bobby Halton
11/30/2008 07:10:00 PM
Today we posted another article regarding cutbacks in a major metropolitan fire department. The Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers in trying to explain the proposed deactivation of seven fire companies added that, despite these proposed closings in Philadelphia, the fire department will continue to respond to "any and every emergency in an urgent and timely manner." I have no doubt that will be the case; the proud and ever capable firefighters of the city of Philadelphia will continue to respond in urgent and timely manner. The issue is that they will be responding with seven fewer companies.
The explanations provided by the commissioner included the fact that none of the current Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department employees will be laid off, which is indeed great news. In explaining these "deactivations," the commissioner and his staff provided statistical analysis of call volumes response times and other factors that typically are used to explain fire response and effectiveness. That is all well and good, however I'm sure the same set of statistics were used in some way or another to explain the very presence of those same companies. I imagine in those discussions there was talk of a firefighter safety, fireground efficiency, and tactical competence.
To simply say that fire trucks will be available in the area to respond is insufficient reason to eliminate existing engine companies and ladder companies from critical fire boxes. My hope is that the research was done correctly and that none of the brave Philadelphia firefighters are going to be put at any undue risk while operating without the seven companies. I'm sure that my sentiments are equally shared by those Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department members whose concern is probably more for the folks who they have sworn to protect than themselves.
Elsewhere in the country, we received news that the furloughs of the Atlanta (GA) Fire Department members are increasing to 10 hours per week. That means that the department, formerly staffed by 200 members per day, will currently be operating with somewhere around 150 to 125 members per day. The department recently took a 15 percent cut from the budget, went to three person staffing, and closed several companies. Atlanta has also had to implement rolling brownouts in various parts of the city, where companies are taken out of service intermittently.
As we all face uncertain economic times, in major metropolitan cities and small towns alike, we can only hope that the fire service leadership, both management and union alike, are collaborating to make intelligent and well-thought-out decisions regarding these highly volatile concerns. We hope that the politicians in charge of these cities are heeding the concerns of these dedicated public servants.
On another note, I recently spent a day in Charleston, South Carolina, with the IAFF peer fitness and hazardous materials training groups. I had the pleasure to visit with some of the IAFF leadership, and it's heartening to spend time with the professional staff that has been assembled by General President Harold Schaitberger of the IAFF. This team of dedicated professionals continues to impress me with the programs and the leadership they are providing. Next month the IAFF will be providing affiliate leadership and a labor-management initiative programs for their members. Both programs provide incredible insight and usefull training to the men and women of the American fire service who proudly belong to the IAFF.
While in Charleston, I got to visit again with some of my friends in the fire Department. I spoke briefly with their new fire chief, Tom Carr, who is excited about his new job and looks forward to the opportunities that he will have while serving in that fine city. Tom was accompanied by his new boss, Mayor Riley, who spoke briefly to the group and expressed his gratitude and his admiration of the IAFF. He also gave his commitment to continue to work tirelessly to make Charleston a model fire department. To those of us who have followed the tragedy of the Sofa Super Store fire, there can be little doubt that he means exactly what he said. And with Chief Tom Carr and the brave men and women of the Charleston (SC) Fire Department by his side, there's little doubt that they will be anything shy of successful.
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posted by Bobby Halton
11/18/2008 07:07:00 PM
Farmington Hills Fire Chief Richard Marinucci will retire on December 15, 2008, after 31 years of service to the department. He was hired as a firefighter in 1977 and was appointed fire chief in 1984.
Richard Marinucci has served in the position of chief longer than any other fire chief in Southeastern Michigan. In this leadership role, he was responsible for the administration and management of the department and was active in EMS, fire prevention, public fire safety education, and firefighter training. Chief Marinucci also serves on the faculty of several universities, writes for numerous fire publications, and speaks regularly at fire conferences throughout the country.
He is a member of the Western Wayne Mutual Aid Association, Oakland County Fire Chiefs, Southeastern Michigan Fire Chiefs, Michigan Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Fire Protection Association. He has been chair of the Regional Alliance for Firefighter Training (RAFT) since its inception in 1998.
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posted by Bobby Halton
11/08/2008 04:20:00 PM
After nearly a year of researching, assessing, and discussing the importance of caring for the needs of emergency service workers who have been critically injured in the line of duty, the IAFC SHS board of directors is releasing a survey (link to survey is below) to collect more detailed and specific information on those needs. The survey will assist us in gathering resources and in developing SOGs for departments to use in the event a critical firefighter injury.
Link to survey:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228D3JXPZZ4Please help us spread the word about this survey so that we can obtain as much information as possible. If you know of a firefighter or emergency medical service worker who has been injured, please let them know about this survey. It is confidential and the information gathered will only be reviewed by the project committee.
Thank you for helping us get the word out on this very important project.
Wendy Norris
IAFC SHS Section PIO/Section Member
Master Chaplain/Instructor Federation of Fire Chaplains
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posted by Bobby Halton
11/08/2008 04:09:00 PM
Every now and then it's absolutely appropriate to use this space as a bully pulpit. And today I fully intend to do that. This Thursday, the American fire service suffered an incredible tragedy. It is such a significant tragedy because it is a values-based tragedy. St. Louis firefighter Leonard Riggins, 52 years old, was shot and killed while trying to do what he had spent his entire adult life doing--helping others. Firefighter Riggins stopped to lend aid to a motorist whom he thought had been involved in an accident. Little did Leonard know that he was approaching a desperate man with a gun who had just carjacked a car.
For the last 14 years, Firefighter Riggins had risked his life every day for the citizens of St. Louis. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and children; they will miss him every day. The death of firefighter Riggins exemplifies what the American fire service truly stands for, service to others above all else. Knowing that her husband and their father lost his life because he was a man of values and integrity will always be the memory which will comfort the Riggins family.
Someone once asked me how to win firefighters support; they wanted to know what were firefighters' primary issues. Firefighters--men and women like Leonard Riggins--cannot be won over by discussing issues or making promises. We are all brothers and sisters of Leonard Riggins, a man not of issues but a man of values. A man of ideals, a man of honor and integrity, a public servant who in the final moments of his life was thinking not of himself but only of helping a fellow citizen of St. Louis. And Leonard stopped to help that night not because he was employed by St. Louis and not because he was a fireman. He did it because that was the kind of life he lived.
I would like to express my deepest sympathies to his family and friends, to his brothers and sisters of the St. Louis Fire Department and to the citizens of St. Louis. They have lost a man who is irreplaceable; they have lost the best of the best and the bravest of the brave. May God's angels lift him up and carry him safely home.
The details of Leonard's funeral arrangements:
The Wake for FF Leonard Riggins will be Wed, Nov 12 from 4pm-8pm at Harris Stowe College
The Funeral will be Thurs, Nov 13th at 11am, also at Harris Stowe College.
Out of town guest can get rooms at a discounted rate at the Luminere Casino Hotel for $99/night, they have 35 rooms reserved under "St Louis Fire Dept"... The Hyatt Regency has 10 rooms reserved for $29/night, also under the St Louis Fire Dept name.
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posted by Bobby Halton
11/07/2008 06:47:00 PM
1 Comments:
Reflection upon these tragic events forces me to lament the reactive position taken by many governing bodies, in that they only pass legislation and ordinances for public protection when forced by a high profile loss of life and/or property.
Also, I resent the shame and embarrassment brought upon the fire service by the firefighters who have filed suit against El Paso Natural Gas for the distress experienced by them during their response near Carlsbad, NM to the tragic pipeline explosion of August 2000 in which a family of 12 were killed. This litigation has been rejected twice by the courts, but a Board of Appeals in Santa Fe, NM ruled that it has merit and sent it back to the court in Roswell, NM for trial. The "discovery" process is currently under way. This challenge to the Firefightrers' Rule is disgusting.
The responders to the Cocoanut Grove and Our Lady of the Angels fires surely did not consider such disreputable action in pursuit of profit on the coattails of lost innocent lives.
Michael H. Reynolds, Fire Chief
Carlsbad Fire Dept.
Carlsbad, NM
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