July/ August 2003

Texas Fire World

TCC Opens Fire Service Training Center

Fort Worth - Tarrant County College Northwest Campus is the latest of state-of-the-art fire service training centers in Texas. The grand opening of the school was held October 29, 2002 and featured live-fire demonstrations.
Students who complete 512 hours of coursework meet requirements to become firefighters as established by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. Current firefighters also may train at the center and qualify for fire training credits toward their ISO rating, used to determine insurance rates. These credits, combined with other fire prevention enhancements may lower the insurance premiums in the community.
The center is designed using computer-controlled equipment to simulate real world fire situations, instead of previously used makeshift fires. The center features a live-fire disaster city replicating elements of a community, including landscaped residential street, homes, businesses, an apartment-hotel complex, a warehouse, a high-rise building and swift-water rescue. The complex is positioned on 23 acres of land and includes a 48,000 square foot administrative classroom building which houses 12 classrooms, a 130-seat lecture hall and is connected to a large apparatus learning center designed to simulate a working fire station.

Contact Information:
Fire Service Training Center
Tarrant County College Northwest Campus
4801 Marine Creek Parkway
Fort Worth, TX 76179
Phone: 817-515-7440
Fax: 817-515-7445
Web Site: www.tccd.edu


Mark your calendars for the 19th annual Industrial Fire World
Conference and Exposition
April 12-15, 2004
at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Houston

 

In This Issue:

o TCC Opens Facility

o News

o Texas Grant News

o Fire Grant Web Sites

o Features
School Explosion Still Considered Worst in Nation

There are lots of stories about who caused the gas leak at New London, Texas School, but everyone seems to agree that when a shop teacher plugged in an electric sander, the spark ignited a mixture of gas and air causing one of the worst disasters in United States history.

Almost 300 students, teachers and visitors died March 18, 1937 when the school exploded and collapsed on them.

The tragedy led to a law mandating that natural gas must be odorized.
News
Teen's Death Angers Town
Newcastle, WY - A crash that took the life of a 16-year-old volunteer firefighter has focused new attention on drinking in the many small-town firehouses that double as social clubs.
Anndee Huber, a straight-A high school student, was killed when the firetruck she was riding in rolled over and crushed her.
Ronald Caillier, driver of the firetruck, was charged with drunken driving. Although the firehall has a bar, Caillier had been drinking at another location the night of the accident. Caillier had a drunken driving conviction from a year ago and a week and a half before Huber was killed, Caillier had gotten out of jail on another drinking-related offense.
The accident sparked a local outcry to ban alcohol in firehouses.

Fireworks Explosion Kills Three
Kilgore, TX - An explosion that ripped through a fireworks warehouse in Kilgore July 3rd is being blamed on a spark. The explosion killed three people including the father of the warehouse's owner.

The blast at Lamb Pyrotechnics rattled windows and damaged several homes in the area. The warehouse and six homes were damaged or destroyed.Six employees were working in the warehouse when the blast occurred.

The American Red Cross is assisting eight families who were displaced by the blast. Under more stringent municipal codes adopted last year, the fireworks business would not be allowed to located near private homes. The warehouse was allowed to continue to operate at its present location due to a grandfather clause under a code adopted in the early 1970s.

Volunteer Firefighter Arrested For Allegedly Setting Fires
Dallas - A Cockrell Hill volunteer firefighter was arrested and charged with setting at least 40 fires. Ernest Lee Maggard III, 19, is the son of the fire chief in Cockrell Hill.
The younger Magill was charged with first degree arson and released after posting a $5,000 bail.
Fires were set in fields, trash bins and buildings, but caused no injuries and minimal damage.
City officials said the younger Maggard and two other volunteer firefighters have been suspended from duty and that the town's all volunteer fire department will be investigated.

EMT Held Liable for Violating Patient's
Privacy
A Wisconsin court upheld a ruling against a volunteer EMT for invading a patient's privacy by revealing confidential information.
The EMT treated the patient for a possible overdose and later spoke to a friend about the incident. During the conversation, the EMT learned that her friend worked with the patient at an area hospital. The EMT testified that she contacted her friend after the ambulance call because she was concerned about the patient and thought her friend could be of assistance. Following the telephone call, her friend drove to the hospital and discussed the patient's situation with other hospital staff.
The patient filed the lawsuit against the EMT alleging that the EMT had defamed her and violated her privacy by publicizing information concerning her medical condidtion and making untrue statements that she had attempted suicide. She said she had suffered a reaction to medication when she was taken to the hospital by the volunteer fire department ambulance.
The court ruled that telling just one person can be enough to invade someone's privacy. In this case, the EMT told one person who, in turn, told 10 more people including co-workers of the patient.

Firefighting Exercise "Gets Out of Hand"
FL - A fire training exercise gutted an abandoned home and damaged an occupied house next door, when fire rescue training officers were conducting smoke exercises. They never intended to burn down the house.
Next door neighbors said they knew something was wrong when one of the guys jumped out of the window and asked to borrow a hose. The neighbors were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. There were no other injuries.
The training officers were using a barrel with wood fibers to create a smoke maze when the barrel ignited a couch in the house. Because they were armed with fire extinguishers and not firetrucks, the training officers had orders to exit the building if an actual blaze started.

Allen, TX Firefighter Dies in Florida
Ronald Eugene Gentry, 59, passed away on July 8, 2003. He was hired as the Allen Fire Department chief in 1982 when it began growing beyond volunteer. His carreer started in June 1965 when he became a firefighter in Richardson. At that time, he also volunteered with the Allen Fire Department as part-time chief until he left Richardson in 1985. It has been said that Chief Gentry built the Allen Fire Department into what it is today. He was a member of the Texas and National Fire Chief's Association.
Features
National Response Center: "Friend," Not "Foe"
Smart firefighters know that you make your friends before you need them. The National Response Center is a friend that needs to be near the top of the list in emergencies involving oil and chemical spills.
Reaching the NRC is as simple as dialing (800)424-8802. That number is staffed around the clock, 365 days a year. That number is the sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills. For those without 800 access, dial (202)267-2675. You can also check out rules and proceedures by visiting the NRC web site at www.nrc.uscg.mil.
Those responsible for a spill are required by law to contact NRC about any oil or chemical spill in "reportable quantity." Depending on the chemical involved, that quantity varies from many gallons and pounds to as little as a single ounce. This allows federal authorities to track the clean up and determine if a federal on-scene coordinator from either the EPA or Coast Guard should be dispatched.
That coordinator has the authority to bring in other federal agencies responsible for everything from law enforcement to hazardous material control. The coordinator would also take charge of monitoring air and water quality. If they are dissatified with the efforts of the responsible party and local officials, the coordinator can take charge or "federalize" the emergency. With limited federal funds available, federalizing an emergency is strictly a last resort.
If a reported incident qualifies, one of 13 Regional Response Teams is alerted. RRTs are primarily planning, policy and coordinating bodies. They provide guidance to the on-scene coordinator and work to locate assistance requested during an incident. For example, if a helicopter is needed, it can likely be obtained from the Department of Defense.
The NRC's other responsibility is to notify the appropriate state about the spill so that the emergency can be monitored first hand and recommendations made.
Fire departments should verify that an incident has been reported to the NRC to insure that clean up and recovery is handled correctly. An on-scene coordinator's authority extends as far as making arrests if those responsible fail to act.
RRTs meet twice annually to update the Regional Contingency Plan governing emergency response. Attending these meeting is another smart move for fire departments. Relationships with those people and agencies likely to be involved in emergency response can be forged ahead of time.
 On-scene coordinators are an important link between federal authorities and local community response. The entire National Response System, from initial report to detailed follow up, is intended to give local authorities what is necessary to make a bad situation better.

 

Texas Fire World
PO Box 9161, 589 Graham Road Suite A
College Station, TX 77842/45
Phone: 979-690-7559
Fax: 979-690-7562
E-mail: ind@fireworld.com

Publisher: David White - davidw@fireworld.com
Editor: Teresa Riecher