BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET - City of Boca Raton

A publication by the staff of the City of Boca Raton Fire-Rescue Services Department
February 2009
BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET
http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/fire/newsletters.shtm
Fire Chief Report
By:
Thomas R. Wood,
CFO
Firefighters of the Year - 2008
It is with great pleasure that we announce
that the Crew of Fire Boat 3:
Captain Todd Stewart, Firefighter/
Driver Donald Horn and Firefighter
Tomas Martin, have been selected as
the Firefighters of the Year for 2008.
Monday, May 26, 2008, was another
beautiful Memorial Day in Boca Raton.
The temperature was a mild 75 degrees
with clear skies, although scattered
showers were in the forecast; the average
humidity was 57% on what seemed
like a perfect day for a boat ride.
However, the conditions on the Intracoastal
waterway belied the conditions
off shore. The forecast called for an
average east north easterly wind at 12
mph with gusts of 25 mph, and 6 to 8
foot seas; conditions that are unsuitable
for a small craft, especially traversing
the Boca Raton Inlet.
The alarm came in at approximately
6:40 pm advising of a capsized boat
with 6 souls overboard located approximately
100 yards south of the Boca
Raton Inlet. Reports also indicated that
none of the victims were wearing personal
floatation devices and seem to be
struggling in the rough seas.
Captain Todd Stewart decided to respond
in Fire Boat 3 knowing that the
conditions in the Inlet were at the upper
limit of Fire Rescue’s 28 foot vessel’s
performance envelope. When they arrived,
the situation appeared dire, 5
victims were still struggling to hold on
Firefighters of the Year: FFD Donald Horn, FF Tomas Martin & Captain Todd Stewart
to the hull of the capsized vessel, one
appeared to be seriously injured, and
swells were running approximately 8
feet or more with a stiff breeze from the
northeast.
With Firefighter Driver Donald Horn at
the helm; Firefighter Tomas Martin and
Captain Todd Stewart executed a daring
water rescue by plucking 3 victims from
the water while operating near a capsized
32 foot vessel in rough seas. Bystanders
stated that Fire Boat 3 appeared
to go vertical on several occasions during
the operation. A “good Samaritan”
on a Wave Runner rescued the other
three (3) victims by assisting them to the
beach.
The efforts of our heroes saved the lives
of all aboard the capsized vessel. Two
of the victims required medical evaluation
and transport to Boca Raton Community
Hospital, one deemed serious
but stable by the hospital staff; both
patients made a full recovery.
It is with great pride that Boca Raton
Fire Rescue Services Department recognizes
and honors the commitment to
excellence of Captain Todd Stewart,
Firefighter Driver Donald Horn and
Firefighter Tomas Martin. They demonstrated
the courage, skill, and dedication
to excellence that defines what it is to be
a hero in the service of our community.
Todd, Donald and Tomas will be honored
guests at the 100 Club Annual Dinner
scheduled for Tuesday, March 31,
2009.
Congratulations are also in order for two
other employees nominated and considered
for the award this year: Battalion
Chief Brett Lea and Firefighter Sean
Migone.
Promotions
We have been busy filling vacancies.
Effective on January 26, 2009, followed
with a “Badge Ceremony” on January
27, 2009, we made the following promotions:
Mike Gergora was promoted to Assistant
Fire Chief (Planning)
Aaron Oatley was promoted to Captain

Page 2
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
Mike Davanzo was promoted to Captain
Matt Tupper was promoted to Firefighter/Driver
Congratulations!!!
Two New SWAT Medics
Firefighter/Driver Mike McBrien
and Firefighter Brian Ward successfully
completed the Palm Beach Community
College Law Enforcement
Academy and graduated on January 21,
2009. They will now be eligible to
serve as SWAT Medics with our Police
Services Department. Mike earned the
class “Firearms Award” by outscoring
all other classmates at the shooting
range. Each student shot at least 1,500
rounds. Mike also earned the class
“Academic Achievement Award” for
having the highest grade point average
at the completion of the program.
Brian was selected early on to serve as
one of two “Squad Leaders” for the
class. I am extremely proud of the
demonstrated leadership and outstanding
performance shown by both
Mike and Brian. They will receive
their Police Services badges at a ceremony
on February 11, 2009 at 3:00 PM
at the 6500 Building Auditorium. They
will also be awarded the Fire Rescue
Services Department Excellence
Awards at the same time.
Left to Right: Chief Tom Wood, FF Patrick Lao (received an Excellence Award), Assistant Chief
Mike Gergora, Captain Aaron Oatley, Captain Mike Davanzo, and FFD Matt Tupper.
Brush Fire Season Update
As of January 5, 2009, the Keetch Byram
Drought Index (KBDI) for Palm Beach
County was listed at 614 on a scale from
0 to 800. As of February 2, 2009 the
KBDI has climbed to 674.
Until next month…be safe.
Police Academy Graduation night for FF Brian Ward and FFD Mike McBrien.
Shown from left to right: Police Captain Shawn Fagan, Firefighter Brian
Ward, Firefighter/Driver Mike Davanzo, and Police Lieutenant Ryan Kenny.
02/01 Craig Montgomery
02/03 Erik Solensten
02/04 Curt Berryman
02/05 Patrick Rea
02/05 Scott Shadoin
02/05 Carmen Aragona
02/08 Amy Ross
02/09 Bob Owens
02/09 Marcus Cooper
02/10 Victoria Osborn
02/10 Jason Owens
02/12 Eric Alexander
02/15 Joseph Idelfonso
02/18 Christopher Neville
02/18 Jeffery Lazzeri
02/20 Brunna Ward
02/25 Jay Sumner
02/28 Joseph Henry

Page 3
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
Administration
By: John Johnson
Deputy Chief
Fire Administration has a new Assistant
Fire Chief. Mike Gergora was promoted
to the position and is charged
with the duties of Planning Chief.
Mike will be working on the Department’s
Fire Accreditation, Grants, and
Emergency Management, as well as
other tasks that arise. Please welcome
Mike into his new position.
Also, as part of the Chief’s succession
planning, I will be moving into Operations,
and Glenn Joseph will be taking
over my place in Administration. We
will be working together for several
months learning the responsibilities of
our new positions. The Assistant Fire
Chiefs will also be cross training to
gain knowledge of each other’s duties.
This is all designed to better prepare the
Department by ensuring that all persons
are aware of the duties and responsibilities
of each position within the Department.
Operations
By: Glenn Joseph
Deputy Chief
Station Bids are over! From all reports,
the live feed of the bid process was at
least entertaining and allowed us to
complete an entire shift in a record 40
minutes. The process was smooth and
for the most part uneventful because of
the assistance of Local 1560 Captain
Mike LaSalle who was present as a
witness and assisted with the bid process
as it happened; thanks Mike, your
assistance was invaluable.
We expect to begin full implementation
of the new station bid assignments the
week of February 9, 2009. That will
allow us to meet with the Battalion
Chiefs to discuss any complications with
the implementation process. That meeting
is scheduled for February 3, 2009, at
the 6500 Building, and we expect to
move forward promptly thereafter.
Stella Cantalupo is saying goodbye to
the Fire Department by accepting a full
time position with Police Services.
Over the past two years, Stella assisted
with scheduling training, vacation picks,
and maintaining and updating our training
records. We will all miss her smile
and friendly personality. Stella will
miss us too, but I have not yet observed
any evidence of that with all the smiling
and grinning. I guess we will have to
take her word for it. Please join me in
wishing her all the best in her new job.
On February 9, 2009, Deputy Chief
Johnson will be assuming the responsibility
for Operations and delivery of
emergency services to our community.
It has been an honor working with such
a talented group of men and women,
you represent us well and it has been a
pleasure working with you all. Your
dedication, commitment and skill set a
very high standard in the City of Boca
Raton as well as Palm Beach County
and the State of Florida as a whole. In
turn, I will be assuming the responsibility
for the Administrative services.
As always, Be Competent, Be Professional,
Be Safe.
Hold the Dates
April 4 & 5, 2009
Logistics and
Support
By: Raul Travieso
Assistant Chief
On January 8, 2009, the Selection Committee’s
ranking for two custom 4-door
triple combination rescue Pumpers -
RFP 2008-087 placed Sutphen Corporation
as #1, Pierce Manufacturing, Inc.
as #2, and Hallmark Apparatus (E-One)
as #3. The Selection Committee consisted
of four voting staff members,
who thoroughly evaluated the three
vendor proposal documents. Sutphen
Corporation was selected as the top
ranked pumper by the selection committee
members based on consideration
of quality, performance, durability,
price and related factors, and the overall
criteria identified in the Request for
Proposal documents. The approval to
purchase the two new Sutphen Pumpers
is slated for the February 25 th City
Council Agenda.
I am pleased to announce construction
projects at Fire Station 5 continue to be
right on schedule. The outside sewer
lines and fire main have been installed,
the roof dry-in is complete and ready
for tile. The attic insulation is complete,
the apparatus bay concrete floors
have been poured and drains set, hurricane
windows were installed, and all
the metal studs are in place for drywall,
and fire sprinklers are roughed-in. Subcontractors
continue to work on plumbing
and electrical lines. [Pictures on
page 4.]
The construction of the CVS store adjacent
to Fire Station 6 has started. The
contractor has cleared the land and
staked-out the site of the new building.
The first phase of the project includes
extending our west driveway so we can
drive around the back of the station to
enter the apparatus bay and once that is
completed, the east driveway (which is

Page 4
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
now on CVS property) will be closed–
off. Phase two includes the actual construction
of the CVS facility followed
by the third phase which will relocate
our current main entrance to the front of
the fire station.
The 2009 work shirt order was received
and all the shirts were distributed to
personnel. The pants order was placed
and all personnel will be issued three
new 100% cotton trousers within several
weeks.
The ground and aerial views of construction on FS 5.
Greetings from the Office of Planning!
Just think, a short while ago I could not even spell Assistant
Fire Chief and now I am one. All kidding aside, I am
excited about having the opportunity to serve our Department
in my new position. I would like to thank Fire Chief
Tom Wood, the Executive staff, and the City of Boca
Raton for their confidence in my abilities and the promotion.
I am committed to working toward making each day
a little better than the day before for our fire department
family. Please allow me to let the dust settle from my transition
of duties in order to provide a more comprehensive
report in next month’s newsletter.
Until Then - Stay Safe and Professional!
Planning
By: Mike Gergora
Assistant Chief
Communications
By: Mike O’Neil
Division Chief
This month has been mainly devoted to
determining the proper settings for Noise
Reduction and Audio Gain, and frequencies
that will be available with our rebanded
radios. We must complete the
rebanding our all of the radios in the City
by June 1, 2009. Each radio must be programmed
with new frequencies and features.
Several of the meetings that Chief Travieso
and I have attended have been to discuss
various features, new frequencies,
and assure they are correct with engineers from Motorola. We
have over forty different variations of features that must be
manually placed into programming templates. The fire department
alone has several different mobile radios, and two different
model portables. Our portable radios alone require four different
combinations of features such as the noise reduction,
audio gain, and scanning. In addition, each model radio also
requires a different programming template.
Motorola has offered us suggested guidance in enabling Audio
Gain that modulates a user’s voice amplitude for our XTS 3000
portable radios and Noise Reduction that reduces fire ground
noise for our XTS 5000 portable radios. Noise reduction is not
available for our XTS 3000 series radios. We are leaning towards
simplifying these settings as much as possible. The paper
print out for the programming of a single radio model type is
over 200 pages of options and settings.

Page 5
BOCA FIRE RESCUE

Page 6
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND AN EXCITING ONE DAY SEMINAR PRESENTED BY:
BOCA RATON FIRE RESCUE SERVICES
THE FIREFIGHTERS OF BOCA RATON, LOCAL 1560
THE BOCA RATON FIREFIGHTER & PARAMEDIC BENEVOLENT
Firefighters & Fire Officers
2009 SURVIVAL PROGRAM
“Not…EVERYONE Goes Home!”
PRESENTED BY:
Chief Billy Goldfeder, E.F.O., Deputy Chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department,
Associate/contributing Editor for FIRE ENGINEERING, FIRE RESCUE, FIREHOUSE, AND
FIREHOUSE.COM, monthly columnist: Firehouse Magazine’s “CLOSE CALLS” and co-host of
www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com
Chief Goldfeder will present through video, audio and "WAKE UP" lecture, an in-depth review
of specific fireground events and the LESSONS LEARNED so that these incidents (and those involved)
don't ever become forgotten. This very personal, high energy DIRECT AND FRANK
class, professionally and respectfully presented, provides the attendees an excellent opportunity
to apply the LESSONS LEARNED to their own departments…and to themselves...helping
avoid the tragedy of "history repeating itself."
When: Thursday March 12 & Friday March 13, 2008
(Same program presented both days to accommodate personnel on shift)
Where: The Auditorium at 6500 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL
Time: 8:30AM – 4:30PM
THIS SEMINAR IS FREE FOR CITY OF BOCA RATON EMPLOYEES, BUT YOU MUST REGISTER
WE MADE IT EASY TO REGISTER ONLINE AT:
www.BocaCares.org
OR
FILL IN THE FORM AND MAIL TO:
The Boca Raton Firefighter & Paramedic Benevolent
P.O. Box 565 Boca Raton, FL 33429
Name: _____________________________________ Employer: _____________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________________________ State: _________ Zip Code: ______________
Phone: ______________________________ Email: ______________________________________________
REGISTER EARLY
CHIEF GOLDFEDER’S LECTURE IS VERY POPULAR & WE ANTICIPATE AN EXCELLENT RESPONSE

Page 7
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
EMS News
By: Michael Barker
Assistant Chief
Smart Heart is scheduled for February
20, 2009. This is a great community
service event. Partnering with Boca
Raton Community Hospital, free
screenings for blood pressure, glucose,
and cholesterol are provided to our residents
and surrounding community. If
you are interested in assisting with this
event, please contact Captain Mitch
Greenberg (you can opt to receive comp
time or be paid through the hospital
foundation).
Fire Rescue East 2009 took place the
last week of January. Our ALS competition
teams participated in a very challenging
scenario and although they didn’t
place high enough to be in the finals,
we were well represented and the
lessons learned will be utilized for future
competitions. I attended numerous
meetings trying to get a picture of EMS
around the state. From the information
presented, EMS in Southeast Florida
continues to be ahead of the curve. The
real benefit of this conference was twofold:
I was able to talk with several
peers and find out how they resolved
problems in their organization with
such issues as computer reporting, and
the second benefit was talking with the
numerous vendors at the trade show
and gaining some valuable information
on products available that could improve
our service.
“Not…EVERYONE Goes Home”
will be presented by Chief Billy Goldfeder
of www.FirefighterClose
Calls.com on March 12 & 13, 2009.
This is a one day seminar that will be
presented on two days to accommodate
shift personnel. Chief Goldfeder delivers
a dynamic, hard-hitting presentation
aimed at improving safety and survival
of firefighters. The event is free for all
city employees and should not be
missed.
The EMS Challenge is closer than you
think. We’ve set the date for “The Challenge”
on April 22, 2009. Lt. Pat Bayne
is heading up the committee for this
event and will be looking for personnel
to assist.
EMS News
By: Bob Nelligan
Division Chief
Boca Raton Community Hospital
(BRCH) is taking great strides toward
becoming a designated Primary Stroke
Center. This is in part due to the vision
of the current BRCH administration. In
the past, BRCH has provided the same
treatment to stroke patients that the
other 108 designated Stroke Centers in
Florida have provided, but had not been
certified by The Joint Commission on
the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
(JCAHO). JCAHO sets standards
for healthcare organizations and
issues accreditation to organizations that
meet those standards. JCAHO also conducts
periodic on-site surveys to verify
that an accredited organization substantially
complies with Joint Commission
standards and “continuously makes efforts
to improve” the care and services it
provides.
A Stroke Committee has been formed
by BRCH to prepare for the inspection
and they have requested that Fire Rescue
be a part of the committee. Since
January 14th, Deputy Chief Glenn Joseph,
Assistant Chief Mike Barker and I
have attended several of those meetings.
The committee is made up of approximately
14 members from all disciplines
of health care within the hospital and
EMS. It was encouraging to witness and
be a part of the team that has one vision
with many goals. The meeting on January
28th was chaired by Dr. De Orchis,
a Neuro Interventionalist. Dr. De Orchis
recently came to BRCH from
Brown University and Rhode Island
Hospital. Dr. De Orchis led Rhode Island
Hospital to become the only designated
Stroke Center in that state. With
his profession as a Neuro Interventionalist,
the goal of BRCH is to become a
designated Comprehensive Stroke Center
soon after receiving Primary status.
There are presently only 10 Comprehensive
Stroke Centers in Florida with
only one in Palm Beach County. Comprehensive
Stroke Centers are accredited
by JCAHO to provide “intraarterial”
interventions in acute ischemic
stroke. BRCH has two interventionalists
on staff, who do provide these types
of interventions at this time.
What can Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services
do that can change the outcome of
victims of stroke The first thing we
have to do is to understand that time is
the enemy. Definitive care for a stroke
patient is to administer clot busting
drugs in the hospital. These drugs cannot
be administered if 3 hours have
passed since the onset of stroke symptoms.
That time is extended to 5-6
hours if the intervention is done intraarterial
by a Neuro Interventionalist.
Our job in EMS is to rapidly evaluate
and recognize the symptoms, determine
when the onset of symptoms started,
and rule out mimics of a stroke such as
low blood sugar. We would immediately
notify the nearest stroke-ready
hospital that we are transporting a
“Stroke Alert” to them, and provide
rapid transport while providing treatment
during that transport. By notifying
the hospital early that we are coming to
them with this type of patient, they
would clear the C/T room for our patient
in an effort to reduce the time from
onset of symptoms to drug delivery.

Page 8
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
Fire and
Life Safety
By:
David Woodside
Assistant Chief
A
L
U
M
N
I
SWAT Medics
Congratulations to Brian Ward and Michael
McBrien who completed their
Police Academy training and graduated
from PBCC Law Enforcement Academy
on January 21 st . Mike and Brian
spent 32 weeks attending classes four
nights a week and all day Saturday and
Sunday to complete the Criminal Justice
Institute Basic LEO Training. At
graduation, McBrien received the
award for highest over all GPA of 97%
and for marksmanship on all weapons
during the academy. The academy
training is an important requirement in
their role on the SWAT Team as
SWAT Medics. The Police swearing in
will take place on February 11, 2009 at
3:00 PM at 6500 Congress. Both Brian
and Mike have completed Basic SWAT
School and have operated with the team
for a number of years now. Congratulations
to Brian and Mike.
FAU
Two new buildings are completed and
occupied on FAU campus. Located on
the south side of Lee St. and just west
of Palm Beach Ave. are the “Alumni
Center” and the “Recreation and Fitness
Center”. The Marleen and Harold
Forkas Alumni Center is a two story
13,000 sq. ft. building housing offices,
meeting rooms and a small kitchen (w/
UL300 suppression system). The FDC/
back flow and hydrant are located on
the south side of the building and the
fire control room is located in the N.E.
electric room and is marked F.C. Room.
The sprinkler riser is in a storage room
located off the south/center meeting
room and the gas shut off is located on
the west side of the building. There is
also an elevator/mechanical room on
the southwest side of the building. The
C
E
N
T
E
R
Mizner Court Condos
F
I
T
N
E
S
S
C
E
N
T
E
R

Page 9
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
building has two remote notification
alarm panels (w/no operational capabilities),
one located in the main hallway
and the other in the N.W. meeting
room. The Alumni Center has been
designated as Building 94. This building
will be used primarily for alumni
functions and office space on the second
floor. Main entrance to the building
is on the north side.
The Recreation and Fitness Center is
located just east of the above mentioned
Alumni Center. This facility’s operational
schedule is from 8:00 a.m. to
Midnight. It houses a full indoor basketball
court as well as fitness center
with complete weight equipment. A
few small offices are located in the fitness
center. The FDC is located on the
S.W. corner of the building and the
backflow/sprinkler riser and gas shut
off is located in a locked fence enclosure
on the south side of the building.
The fire alarm panel is located in
“fitness studio” #127, which is behind a
door marked “electrical room #128-B.”
The fitness center has been given the
designation Building 91. The fitness
center is well populated with students
throughout the day and very popular in
late afternoon and early evening hours
4:00-7:00 p.m. The main entrance to
the building is on the west side of the
building. An Olympic size indoor pool
will be the next planned development
located adjacent to the Fitness Center to
the east of the building.
Mizner Court Condos
Renovations are taking place to the
parking lot and front entrance of Mizner
Court Condo located at 100 S. E. 5 th
Ave. The front entrance as well as the
parking lot will not provide access to
the building during the construction.
New curbs, car stops and landscape will
be installed by the end of the construction.
The tile at the exterior of the front
entrance has been removed to make
way for new pavers to be installed. A
utility trench has been cut across the
entire parking lot front, east to west,
near the main entrance.
Units responding to this address will
need to park at the 120 Building and
walk to the 100 building. Access to the
building can be gained through the garage.
A Hudson box is located at the
garage doorway entrance into the building.
The alarm and sprinkler systems
are operating normally.
Training
By: Pat Kelly
Division Chief
Hello once again
Congratulations to those recently
promoted. Our Department needs
strong leadership in these trying
times and I am certain these individuals
will make a positive contribution
to fulfilling our mission. As
some of you are aware, Captain
Mitch Greenberg in the Training and
Safety Section has replaced newly
promoted Assistant Chief Mike Gergora.
Please join me in welcoming
him to this new position as we look
forward to his positive impact on the
training needs of the Department.
Stella Cantalupo has been transferred
to a full time position with the
police department, we wish her the
best of luck. While a permanent replacement
is sought, Captain Dan
Coine has been assigned on light
duty to fill her position.
We continue to experience difficulties
with passwords for various software
applications. My recommendation
is to use one password for all
work related software. To do this
you should select a password that is
between 6 and 14 characters, is all
lower case, is alphanumeric and contains
no punctuation or symbols. If
you need a password for the SMS
program (including training data
entry) please send an e-mail or intradepartmental
mail request to Division
Chief O’Neil. This communication
MUST contain the password
that you would like to use. Emailrelated
password issues should be
directed to either Dan Fabian, or in
the alternative, Bill Jackman at the
6500 Building.
During the month of January, all onduty
officers were oriented to the
new Training Codes that we will be
using. These codes went into effect
on the morning of January 30, 2009.
Remember that besides reporting
any training that was done in the
Station Log, it is also mandatory to
record ALL training in the Training
Module of the SMS program. While
each individual is responsible for
his/her own training records, a single
individual may enter all training
for the entire crew. If you have any
questions regarding this issue,
please feel free to contact either
Captain Greenberg or myself.
Till next time, be safe.
Things to Ponder…
One of the kindest things you can do
for another person is to share a nice
story with a parent about his or her
child.
Sharing the “nice” stories from
your day is a proven stress-reliever,
and will bond the members of your
family or friends more closely together.
Being aware of how people feel
when something is taken away from
them, helps you become more sensitive
to the feelings of others, and it
helps keep your own stress level to a
minimum.

Page 10
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
Special Operations
By: Scott Johnston
Division Chief
The next few months will be busy for
our Special Ops Division. Here is a
summary of what to look for:
February Training
On February 16 th and 17 th , we will be
conducting our annual Rope Operations
Refresher training. Safety Solutions
will be the vendor who provides this
training for us while familiarizing our
personnel with some of the new equipment
purchased recently. This training
will be geared towards those personnel
who took the Rope Ops Class last year,
although if you are interested in rope
rescue, come on out. I am sure you will
learn something.
March Training
The first 2 weeks of March will be Haz
Mat Tech Refresher training. All 4 regional
Haz Mat Teams will be coming
together to accomplish this and work
together. We will be sending EN6,
HM6, and a Medic unit while on duty.
If you are not assigned on duty, you are
welcome to attend on one of your off
duty days. Just let me know so I can
place you on the day’s roster.
March 9 th , 10 th , and 11 th will be the start
dates for the 160 hour Haz Mat Tech
Class being held at Coral Springs Fire
Academy. We had 19 personnel express
interest in this class and presently we
have approx 8 out of the 19 personnel
signed up. If you have received the registration
information from me, please
act soon, seating will be limited. If you
are interested in becoming a Haz Mat
Tech and did not inquire yet, please
contact me and I will send you the registration
information. If class seats are
available, you will be able to register.
April Training
Over 4 consecutive Mondays, we will be
conducting Confined Space Rescue Refresher
training at our training facility or
possibly off site in a “live” Con-Space. I
will be scheduling this with the BC’s in
order to assign our on duty techs to the
training so we have enough bodies to
complete the evolutions. If you are interested
in Con-Space Rescue and have not
yet received this training, come on out
on your off time anyway. We can always
use some extra hands, and I am
sure you will learn something at the
same time.
Other Upcoming Training
I have been in contact with Boca Raton
Ocean Rescue, and we will be scheduling
a class to develop “Rescue Swimmers”
to be assigned to Boat 3. This
class will be a combination of Red Cross
and USLA criteria and will cover basic
and open water “surface” rescue techniques.
You will be required to pass a
swim test, which will consist of a minimum
500 meter swim in less then 10
minutes, so a strong swim background
will be needed on your part. You can
look for an announcement soon as to
when the class will be held -- possibly
April or May.
Also on the horizon will be some boat
handling training for the personnel assigned
to Fire Station 3 and responsible
as the “Boat Operator”. Our plan here
will be to train the present personnel and
then develop a program to teach other
personnel looking to be boat operators
in the future. The details are being
worked out, and the dates will be released
at a later time.
I recently went on Broward Fire Academy’s
website to look at the FLUSAR
list of classes. Starting in February, they
have a list of classes with dates and
times for you to register at a reasonable
cost to you. If you are interested in any
of these classes, I suggest you act
quickly to reserve your seat.
Stay Safe.
By: Frank Correggio, PIO
Two Injured While
Snorkeling Off Boca Beach
On January 11, 2009, at approximately
2:00 pm, Boca Raton Fire
Rescue crews responded to a report
of two people struck by a boat in the
ocean, south of Boca Raton Inlet.
Both females were initially treated
by Ocean Rescue Lifeguards and
brought by boat to Silver Palm Park
Boat Ramp, where they were transferred
to Boca Raton Fire Rescue
Paramedics for continued care. The
victims were transported in stable
condition by Fire Rescue to Boca
Raton Community Hospital for further
treatment and evaluation.
There were no other injuries reported.
The incident is being investigated
by Boca Raton Police Services
and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Training To Save Lives
During the month of January, employees
at St. Andrew Estates North took
advantage of specialized training that
was offered to them. Boca Raton Fire
Rescue was on hand teaching a class on
Photo by F. Correggio
John Botero handles extinguisher while
Vince Salerno (blue shirt) acts as back

Page 11
BOCA FIRE RESCUE
the proper use of fire extinguishers.
The class was taught to security personnel,
maintenance workers, food service
staff, administrators, and their nursing
staff. All were given a talk about safety
and the different types of fire extinguishers
and their use. After the class,
each person was given the opportunity
to use a fire extinguisher to put out a
fire using Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services’
live fire training prop. Knowing
the proper fire extinguisher to use and
how to correctly fight a fire will help
citizens save lives.
Haz Mat Team entered the building
wearing breathing apparatus and carrying
special air monitoring equipment.
The team checked the building and
found no trace of Anhydrous Ammonia,
a flammable acid gas that is used as a
refrigerant. The entire event lasted for
approximately two hours before fire
officials gave the all clear allowing
workers to safely enter the building.
The cause of the possible leak is unknown
at this time.
Think Green!
Most paper is made from trees, but
some is made from recycled paper.
You can also buy products made from
recycled materials. Look for products
marked as recycled materials. You
should also think twice before printing
out emails.
Students Meet Boca Raton Firefighters At Career Day
On January 23, 2009, Boca Raton Firefighter / Paramedic Andrea Brennan
showed the kindergarten students from Mrs. Freitas’ and Mrs. Barths’ class at
Addison Mizner Elementary School’s annual career day, the equipment that is
carried on Engine 5. Andrea dressed in her firefighting gear and showed the
students the self-contained breathing apparatus that firefighters use when fighting
fires. Students and teachers were amazed that when fully suited up to fight a
fire, the firefighter’s gear weighs more than fifty pounds. Professionals from
our community as well as other departments within the city talked to over 125
students and their teachers.
Photo by F. Correggio
FF Nathan Nichols checks his air monitoring
equipment before entering US Foods.
Throughout the year, Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services Department visits
schools and organizations talking about fire safety and allowing the participants
to view the apparatus and equipment that firefighters use to protect our city.
Possible Ammonia Leak Causes
Evacuation
On January 15, 2009, at approximately
1:50 am, Emergency Dispatchers received
a 9-1-1 call of a possible ammonia
leak at 7598 NW 6th Avenue. Fire
crews arrived at the US Foods location
to find that approximately two dozen
workers had evacuated the building.
Workers in the building had reported
the strong smell of ammonia and called
for help.
Due to the potential hazard, Boca Raton
Fire Rescue called for a regional Haz
Mat response and Boca Raton’s Haz
Mat Team was assisted by Delray Fire
Rescue’s Haz Mat Response Team.
Members from Boca Raton Fire Rescue