BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET - City of Boca Raton

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Page 4 BOCA FIRE RESCUE too have some new features from our current Medic Units. The patient compartment has a roll-over protection system (air-bags) for occupants. This added safety feature caused the removal of the report writing shelf, but it was definitely a good trade-off. Jackets Speaking of good trade-offs; how about those new winter jackets! I know you thought that we would never get them, but a year and a few months later and they are here just in time for the cooler weather. Please note the cleaning and care instruction on the attached tags. These jackets are waterproof and bloodborne pathogen resistant. Safety Vests/Cutting Pliers The two additional safety features mentioned above will be augmented by a couple of other new safety items. We will be replacing the safety vests on all the apparatus in order to provide you with better protection. The new vests have added visibility and a five point attachment system that will enable the garment to be removed easily. It is also shorter in length to allow you to have better access to equipment that you may be carrying. The final new items that will be provided to you are the Klein J2000 high leverage side cutting pliers. The decision to purchase these pliers was a result of the recent strategic decision making training that was conducted at our Department. These cutters will enable you to cut through wires and cables easily in the event you get entangled during a fire. As you can see, there are a lot of things that are happening behind the scenes in order to accomplish these improvements. Miscellaneous I thought that I would share some other information with you about activities that are occurring behind the scenes. The Logistics and Support Division continues to do an outstanding job in meeting the demands of the Department. Last fiscal year we received 3755 Work Orders with a 96% completion record. We have 86 open and 78 pending Work Orders. Some require the actions of another department and others are waiting for back ordered items. Please thank our staff for a job well done. How much fuel do you think our Department used last year? Well it is probably a lot more than you could have imagined. Collectively Fire Rescue Services used 65,314 gallons of fuel at a cost of $215,569.63 ($3.30/gal). Now that’s a lot of dinosaurs. Other outstanding Fire Rescue issues: Apparatus: New Apparatus: 2 new Ladder Trucks and 3 Medic units arrive this month. Facilities: Miscellaneous: Still working with Facilities Maintenance to address the A/C ductwork problem at Station 2. Station 7 will have repairs to the flooring and kitchen on the second floor. Roof leaks are being addressed as they arise Equipment: New Side Cutters: The new Klein J2000 pliers should be arriving before the end of December. I would like to wish all of you a healthy and safe Holiday Season! Please stop in my office anytime that you are at Fire Administration. Until Then - Stay Safe and Professional!
Page 5 EMS By: Mike O’Neil Division Chief ALS Competition Our Advanced Life Support Competition Teams placed First in a competition in New York, and placed Second and Third at the Flagler County ALS Competition last month. The City of Boca Raton’s web site (http:// www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/fire/pdf/ CompetitionResults.pdf) lists competition results from 1981 to the present. The next competition is at Fire Rescue East this January. Medical Protocol Revision The EMS Division will be releasing new medical protocols in November. We are adding several new medications and the new American Heart Association recommendations have been added to the protocols. Along with the revision, we have completely revised the format of all EMS related forms, vehicle inventories, created reference guides and operating instructions for major equipment. All of these will be available on our network and on the laptop computers. Patient Follow Up Program Boca Raton Regional Hospital has been updating the EMS Division on our most critical patients that are transported to BRRH. Delray Medical Center is also providing data outcome for patients. This process is accomplished using a secure electronic file exchange. We have received requests from other agencies around the State who are interested about our methods. This program was implemented as part of our Quality Assurance Program. BOCA FIRE RESCUE Training & Safety By: Joe Majhess Division Chief As we put Halloween behind us, we are all eagerly anticipating the holiday season over the next few months. Whether it be to share a meal, the exchange of gifts or any other special occasion, coming together to celebrate with family and friends is a blessing we can all enjoy. In the last month, I attended training at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Course discussion focused on how we, as a Fire Rescue service, can reduce risks in our community. In conducting research to prepare for attending this training, I discovered some interesting facts and statistics that are worth sharing. In the United States, the leading cause of death for persons ages 1 – 44 is unintentional injuries. Injuries stemming from Motor Vehicle Crashes is the number one cause of death in approximately 98% of these cases. In fact, the industry has gone as far as reclassifying these events as “crashes” rather than “accidents.” Why? Because in a majority of cases, these incidents are not accidents at all, they are “PREVENTABLE” incidents. Other leading causes include drowning, fire/burns, suffocation, poisoning and falls. In these incidents as well, a majority of cases are preventable. I cannot tell you how many times in my 20 years of responding to people’s tragedies that I have heard the victim’s family members express, through the hysteria, tears and sadness, a desire to have done things differently in the events leading up to their devastating loss. Folks, something as simple as putting a seatbelt or bike helmet on can mean the difference between life and death. Not allowing ourselves to be distracted when performing tasks such as driving or supervising children greatly improves our chances of avoiding “preventable” incidents. Sadly, in most cases, humans must experience a “significant emotional event” in order to change a negative behavior or habit. I share this information with you to raise your awareness of just some of the many hazards present in your everyday travels and educate you on the risks they pose to your health and safety and that of your family members. Will this be sufficient to motivate you to make the positive changes necessary to reduce your exposure to these hazards and risks or will you, like many, wait to experience your own personal “significant emotional event?” With these thoughts in mind, I ask you to observe your actions in the course of just one day and count the number of times you have the power to make a choice that could decrease the exposure of hazards and risks to you and/or those around you (family, friends, coworkers, the public). I believe the results will surprise you. In closing, I learned a lot in my recent training about reducing risk in our community. While the Fire Rescue Service can play a major role in educating the public on hazard awareness and ways to reduce their risks, only the public’s willingness to act on the information provided can lead to a reduction in the number of deaths due to unintentional injuries. Together, we can all play a part in reducing the risks in our community. We can all make choices that not only increase our safety, but also foster good habits in the youth that look to us for examples. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Ms. Cindy Cevallos for all her assistance with the research conducted on emergency reporting data in the City of Boca Raton for this project.
Page 1 and 2: A publication by the staff of the C
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Page 11 and 12: Page 11 Casey Denhard David Weaver

BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET - City of Boca Raton

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