BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET - City of Boca Raton

Page 2
OPERATIONS
By: Glenn Joseph
Deputy Chief
There were 72 firefighter line-of-duty
deaths (LODD) in the NFPA’s 2010
Report. In 2010, eleven (11) firefighters
died as a result of vehicle crashes,
nine (9) involved road vehicles. Four
(4) of the nine (9) firefighters were not
wearing seatbelts and were ejected during
a road vehicle crash that caused
their death, while only one (1) firefighter
wearing a seatbelt was ejected
and died as a result of the crash. Alcohol
was a factor in one (1) of the
crashes, excessive speed a factor in at
least two (2) incidents; other factors in
the rest of the incidents include inexperience,
driver inattention and weather
conditions.
The numbers seem to indicate that the
most significant behavior to reduce the
risk of injury and death from motor
vehicular crashes is a sensible operator,
a responsible supervisor and the mandatory
use of seatbelts. The operator
must use due care when operating an
emergency vehicle, especially in adverse
weather conditions, and the supervisor
must not allow dangerous behaviors
to become the norm. Seatbelt
use must be mandatory when the vehicle
is moving.
Let’s do the numbers:
Sept Oct
Total EMS Incidents 874 893
Average Resp. Time 5.56 5.49
EMS Unit (most alarms) M2-208 M5–219
Total Fire Alarms 160 178
Average Resp. Time 6.13 6.20
Fire Co. (most alarms) TK1-188 TK1-213
Sta. 5 (most alarms) 430 417
Other 263 347
Total Alarms 1,297 1,418
Be Safe, Be Competent,
Be Professional.
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
Administrative
Services
By: Raul Travieso
Assistant Chief
Bike Medic Team
The Bike Medic Team has been expanded
to 16 members, who attended a
32-hour certification course through the
International Police Mountain Bike Association
(IPMBA). The course included
classroom and day/night cycling.
Bike Medics are being used more often
at: the FAU Football games, “Meet me
at the Promenade”, Holiday Parade,
FAU July 4 th Fireworks, and other similar
events. Firefighter David Weyer has
been named the coordinator for the Bike
Medic Team, and he will be responsible
for the maintenance of the bikes, supplies,
and inventory. See Photo of Bike
Medic Team on page 3.
CISM Team
We have now provided and completed
the education and preparation training
for our 12-member Critical Incident
Stress Management (CISM) Team. This
is the first step in restoring our Department’s
CISM Program. The purpose of
the CISM program is to provide a means
of support to all employees during times
of crisis through peer intervention in the
form of debriefing with appropriate
clinical follow-up if necessary. Boca
Raton Fire Rescue employees are encouraged
to participate in the debriefing
process in order to minimize the effects
of the critical incident. Our ultimate goal
is to be recognized and to serve as a key
group of the Palm Beach County Critical
Incident Stress Management Team.
Fire Expo 2012
We will keep reminding everyone that
FIRE EXPO 2012 will be held at FAU
on February 25, 2012. Please mark your
calendars as we want to improve the
event for the children and parents who
attend the event. This year we are going
to need everyone’s help to make Fire
Expo a huge success. The word is out
that this year’s expanded Fire family
oriented Expo will be the “BIGGEST
and GREATEST” in Boca Raton history.
Our plans for this year’s Expo
will include more exciting “ACTION
FILLED” exhibits for children and
adults to enjoy, coupled with great
“FUN-FILLED” activities for the kids.
You dare not miss this year’s expanded
Fire FAMILY Expo.
Seminar
We have scheduled Gary Ludwig to
speak to us regarding EMS Operations.
Gary will conduct the 8-hour
seminar on Wednesday, March 28,
2012, and repeat the lecture on the following
day. This is a lecture you don’t
want to miss.
Gary Ludwig currently serves as a Deputy
Fire Chief for the Memphis Fire
Department. He has over 34 years of
fire, rescue, and EMS experience, starting
his career with the City of St. Louis
two months after graduating from high
school and rising through the ranks,
retiring as the Chief Paramedic of the
St. Louis Fire Department. Chief
Ludwig currently serves as Chair of the
EMS Section for the International Association
of Fire Chiefs, and was appointed
by the Secretary of Transportation
to the National EMS Advisory
Council in 2010. A noted speaker and
writer, Chief Ludwig has written over
500 articles for professional publications
and has spoken at over 250 conferences
or seminars. He writes a
monthly column in Firehouse Magazine
and the monthly leadership column
in the Journal of Emergency Medical
Services. He has a masters degree in
Management and Business, and has
been a licensed paramedic for over 30
years.
REMEMBER
Please mark your
calendars to attend on
March 28 or 29, 2012.