sept_oct04

Sept./Oct. 2004 A newsletter for Texas Firefighters		Texas Fire World Senator Cornyn Recognizes ESTI’s 75th Anniversary at TAMU Municipal School photo by Anton Riecher Firefighters choked Texas A&M University’s fire apparatus and equipment-laden Reed Arena in July as the Emergency Services Training Institute conducted registration for its annual municipal school. Pushing through the crowd, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn greeted many of the emergency responders personally . “This is a remarkable experience for me to be able to walk along the aisles and shake the hands of and express my graditude and thanks to the men and women who volunteer their time and literally risk their lives to keep our state and nation strong and safe,” Cornyn said. Cornyn, R-Texas, was on hand to present a certificate of appreciation to the Texas Engineering Extension Service in recognition of ESTI’s 75th anniversary. ESTI is one of the seven divisions within the TEEX system, training more than 55,000 emergency responders every year. The senator made reference to ESTI’s contributions to homeland security after the tragedy of 9/11. “I guess it took great shock to our nation’s sensibilities - 9/11- for us to kind of wake up and to appreciate the freedom we enjoy in this country and to recognize also that the world is still a very dangerous place.” In the three years since 9/11, America has realized “that we are in a fight for our very lives,” Cornyn said. “Thank goodness we have not waited for a commission study almost three years after the fact to get to work on providing the resources and means to avoid another 9/11.” Instead, steps have been taken to provide the resources needed by first responders at the local level if an event on a par with 9/11 ever happens again, he said. “We have been able to bring some money to the local level through FEMA grants,” Cornyn said. “In particular, we have been able to get about 40 different specific FEMA grants to local first responders all around the state, allowing them to purchase in excess of $2 million of equipment and training.” by Anton Riecher

Table of Contents • Texas Law Model for New Legislation, Page 2 • Texas Fire Dept. Moved up in Safety Ranks, Page 2 • Fire Chief Files False Reports, Page 3 • Federal Grant: Terroist RepsonseTraining, Page 3 • Dog Detects Hazardous Chemicals, Page 3 • Moore County Disaster Memorial, Page 4

The Worst Ship Disaster Forgotten The Sultana, a decrepit Union cargo ship was ordered to bring weak and diseased soldiers from a Confederate prison camp in Mississippi to Illinois after the Civil War ended. The load included 2,200 people and 160 livestock on a ship outfitted to carry 376. On April 27,1865, while paddling upstream one of the boilers exploded engulfing the entire vessel in flames. Those who didn’t die in the blast drowned due the a lack of strength to swim. The death toll was 1,547, more than the Titanic. Newspapers were still buzzing about the death of President Abraham Lincoln that occurred on April 14, 1865 and the Sultana Explosion was reduced to a few paragraphs and placed in the back pages soon to be forgotten. .

News Briefs

Lawsuit May Have City of Houston Paying Big Bucks

A lawsuit filed in 1995 representing 2,600 Houston Fire Department paramedics claims they have been denied rightful overtime pay for 13 years.

A U.S. district judge last week ruled in favor of the paramedics and ordered the city to pay damages adding up to nearly $96 million. According Mayor Bill White, the city plans to file an appeal.

New Legislation Promotes the Donation of Fire Equipment

Legislation has been introduced to the House Committee in Washington, DC in support of the donation of surplus equipment from companies and fire departments to volunteer and financially struggling fire departments.

Millions of dollars of surplus equipment is wasted every year because of the fear of civil liability lawsuits for the donation of faulty equipment.

The legislation, H.R. 1787, the Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act, will limit the liability of companies and fire departments.

Without donations, millions of dollars are spent by local taxpayers for operating expenses and for purchasing replacement equipment for their volunteer fire departments. The legislation removes barriers that hinder volunteer firefighters from receiving safe equipment, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

Under H.R. 1787, donated surplus equipment will be inspected by the department receiving it, and once approved, will be used in the field.

The legislation is modeled after state law passed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas. Since the legislation went into effect in Texas in 1997, more than $10 million of equipment has been donated to volunteer fire departments.

Without the fear of litigation, volunteer fire departments will be able to get the equipment they need to provide services to their communities.

Beaumont’s BEST

The winds of change are blowing as the Industrial Safety Training Counsil (ISTC) secured a long term lease and management

of the Beaumont Fire/Rescue Training Center.

Attendance at the Center has gradually dropped over the past eight years and ISTC hopes to reverse the trend and make it better than before. The Council has started by changing the name of the facility to the Beaumont Emergency Services Training Complex (BEST Complex).

The Division of the ISTC plans to have a more aggressive marketing plan focused on local, state, national, and international customers. Council priorities include customer service and revamping fire training projects with general facility upgrades.

For updated information on the progression and changes for the BEST Complex, visit www.istc.net and look for the upcoming website, www.bestcomplex.com.

Two Texas Firefighters Charged with Arson

After a string of eight fires, two volunteer firefighers in Benavides were charged with arson after a convenience store video showed them paying for diesel fuel, bought two hours before the latest fire that burned down a house.

Assistant Duval County District Attorney Joe Mike Pena said a forensic analysis from the house showed the fire was started by diesel fuel. Most of the other fires were started in abandoned houses. One fire struck the house of an elderly man who barely escaped safely.

The town of 1,686 residents is usually accustomed to one or two fires a year. The string of fires has caused the volunteer fire department to lose popularity with the town. Most calls are made to a town 17 miles north of Benavides.

The volunteer fire chief, Ricardo Carrillo believes the two firefighters, Adam Nerio, 28, and Robert Galvan Garcia, 24, are innocent and the fires were started by kids.

Nerio and Garcia are free on $200,000 bail each and no trial date has been set.

Texas Fire Department
Safety Efforts Paid Off

Pasadena has received a reduction in its Public Protection Classification from a score of five to a score of three thanks to fire fighting and safety measures taken by the city.

A city’s fire efforts are ranked bythe Insurance Services Office on a scale of one to 10 with one being the best.

The reduced classification can produce benefits on property insurance. Pasadena homeowners could see a premium reduction of nearly 7 percent while business owners could see up to a 13 percent reduction.

The city’s high score can be attributed to changes and upgrades made to the volunteer fire

department and the fire marshal’s office.

Other factors such as new fire equipment, upgrades in the city’s water system, increased inspections and maintenance of fire hydrants, along with a concentration on fire safety education also contributed to a higher score that put Pasadena above 96 percent of the 44,000 communities graded nationwide.

In the future, the city plans to introduce new changes and improvements such as the relocation and reconstruction of two existing fire stations that they hope will allow the city to drop two points to achieve the highest ranking.

Louisiana Fire Chief Indicted for Alleged False Reports

Donaldsonville Fire Chief Kirk P. Landry, 46, has been indicted on four counts of felony for allegedly filing false reports in order to get the city a lower insurance rate.

He is accused of filing one accurate report with the state fire marshal and an inaccurate version of the report with the insurance agency in 2002 every time the department responded to a fire.

The inaccurate reports allegedly stated that the department responded to fires with more personnel and equipment than the department possesses. Insurance rates are affected by the fire ratings issued based on the reports.
A committee has been formed by city officials to investigate the charges against Landry.

Tennessee Volunteer Firefighter Dies After Fall From Pick-up Truck

Following a three-day training course, a volunteer training safety officer suffered a severe head trauma after falling from a moving pick-up truck. The victim was sitting on the tailgate of the truck while being transported within the training grounds when he fell onto the road.

After being treated by fellow firefighter/emergeny medical technicians (EMTs) and on-site emergency medical services, he was transported by medical helicopter to a local trauma center where he died six days later from his injuries.
In order to reduce the risk for future incidents of this nature, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggest fire service organizations should:

• ensure that all personnel being transported when on-duty, be securely seated and restrained in approved vehicle passenger compartments.

It is unclear if a medical or physical condition contributed to the fatal accident, but NIOSH suggests fire departments implement safety and health recommendations based on physical

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continued from above... demand and medical requirements of firefighting by: • providing mandatory pre placement and annual medical evaluations, consistent with NFPA 1582, for all firefighters to determine medical fitness for duty and training. • conducting periodic physical capabilities testing to ensure that fire department personnel meet the physical requirements for duty and training exercises. Fore more information on this case (F2003/17) or others, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/firehome.html or call toll free 1-800-35-NIOSH. Retired Director of Safety for the Texas Railroad Commission Dies Hugh F. Keepers, a long-time guest instructor at Texas A&M University’s Emergency Services Training Center passed away Sept. 7 at the age of 79. Keepers served four years in World War II, participated in 34 invasions in the South Pacific and was awarded six distinguishing medals for his service. After being honorably discharged, he joined his father at the Houston Fire Dept. In 1953, Keepers served as Chief of Crash Training at Foster Air Force Base for eight years in Victoria, Texas. He later served as Director of Safety and the Emergency Response Team for 35 years with the Texas Railroad Commission. After retiring in 1993, Keepers joined the staff of the Texas Engineering Extension Service at Texas A&M University as a Liquified Petroleum Gas Specialist and a Master Industrial Instructor. Keepers also wrote the book The L.P. Gas Story, Safety in the Refinery. A member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, and the National and Texas Society of Professional Engineers, he dedicated his life to safety. Keepers is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann Keepers. Grant Information Firefighter Line of Safety Receives Grant NIST has awarded a grant to Firefighter Line of Safety to fund their National Fire Research Agenda. The grant has three components: planning, hosting a research summit, and the development of an after action report to document the findings of the summit. The organization hopes that with input from others in the fire industry, the research done can help prevent line-of-duty deaths. Federal Grant for Terrorist Response Training A $2.5 million federal grant has been awarded to the University of Nevada, Reno	Fire Science Academy by the U.S. Department of Energy. The grant will fund live-fire training for more than 700 municipal and rural firefighters annually in flammable liquid and tank firefighting. Firefighters will learn techniques used to fight incidents often associated with terrorist threats. Tuition, travel, lodging, and meals will be covered by full scholarships provided for U.S. firefighters attending the four-day course at the Fire Science Academy in Carlin, NV. For more information on applyingfor a U.S. Department of Energy/FSA training scholarship, visit the University of Nevada, Reno FireService Academy website: www.fireacademy.unr.edu, email: fireacademy@unr.edu, or call: 775-754-6003, toll free 1-800-233-8928. Features OSC Defined When situations threaten, On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) located throughout the country are available to work to evaluate emergency cases as part of the EPA’s emergency response team. OSCs work with state and local response teams, local police and fire departments, and other Federal agencies in cases that require Federal response action. Members of the OSC are highly skilled individuals on-call 24 hours a day for hazardous substance release and oil discharges. The OSC is ready to respond and evaluate each situation by taking whatever means necessary by Federal Law while also keeping the public and business community informed. Nose in Chemical Detecting Out of all the technical innovatioins for detecting chemicals, who would have ever thought of using man’s best friend? Norm, a golden retriever mix named after Austrailia’s National Organchlorine Residue Management program, is trained to detect organochlorides such as DDT and dieldrin. Environment Waikato and the Waikato Pesticides Awareness Committee in New Zealand have employed Norm to find an estimated 5,000-8,000 contaminated sites that could be of risk to livestock and people. The seven-year-old dog’s occupation poses no threat to his health. Norm made his way from Hamilton, New Zealand from Toowoomba, Australia accompanied by veterinary officer Dr. Allison Cook and stock inspector Greg Horrocks. Norm is the first dog in the world trained to detect chemical residue. The dog’s nose, 1 million times more sensitive than the human nose, is 98 percent accurate, and to experts, this canine innovation smells like success.
		Texas Fire World PO Box 9482, 540 Graham Rd. College Station, TX 77842/45 Phone: 979-690-7559 Fax: 979-690-7562 Publisher: David White davidw@fireworld.com Editor:Donna Berny donna@fireworld.com

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