Mike Hendricks
The Kansas City Star
(TNS)

Three and a half years after a young, inexperienced fire truck driver killed three people in a crash in Westport, and weeks after the city refused a payout for him, the Kansas City Fire Department has initiated a formal driver training program.

Like most of his peers over the past couple of decades at least, Dominic Biscari was in the process of learning to drive a 40,000-pound fire truck on the job when he ran a red light at full throttle while behind the wheel of Pumper 19 on Dec. 15, 2021.

The big rig hit a compact SUV that had the green light and was passing through the intersection at Broadway Boulevard and Westport Road. The impact killed the SUV’s two occupants, as well as a woman who was on the sidewalk. Her body was recovered hours afterwards from beneath the wreckage of a building that was also damaged in the crash.

The new training program is meant to prevent future tragedies like the one that haunts the victims’ families, ruined Biscari’s career and cost Kansas City taxpayers millions of dollars.

From now on, young firefighters who want to fill in as drivers on their way to becoming fully certified in that job will have classroom and hands-on training during a 40-hour course of instruction, the Kansas City Fire Department announced this week.

During a news conference on Thursday in the parking lot of the American Royal, Deputy Chief Steven Shaumeyer said the driver training program for “working out of class” (fire department lingo for filling in for someone in a more senior position) was part of an overall increase in emphasis on professional development within the department by his boss, Chief Ross Grundyson.

Response to fatal crash?

Shaumeyer would not respond directly to repeated questions as to whether the new training had any direct connection to the Westport crash, which in addition to the lives lost cost the city $3.6 million in settlements paid to the victims and owner of the damaged building.

And that bill could rise. The city recently refused to approve a more than $900,000 settlement to Biscari to settle a legal dispute over the fire department’s failed attempt to fire him. An arbitrator ruled that his termination was unwarranted, in part, because the department allowed firefighters to drive fire trucks without formal training.

The city took steps to terminate Biscari after he pleaded guilty while maintaining his innocence (what’s known as an Alford plea) to three counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2023 and was sentenced to probation.

Shaumeyer said it was “not within my purview” to discuss whether the new training course might have helped prevent the Westport accident or others and changed the subject to discuss the broader training program.

“Chief Grundyson, two years ago, set a big goal of expanding professional development within the KCFD,” said Shaumeyer, who heads that division within the department. “We’ve added approximately 15 people to our division, and so we’ve expanded training throughout the department.”

Atop the list is training for firefighters who want to work as apprentice drivers when no certified driver is available. As Shaumeyer outlined the program to reporters, eight young men who graduated from the department’s academy within the past two years stood in a half circle across the parking lot.

They were gathered around Capt. John Young as he lectured from the bucket

Delivery of the Month

SPARTAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE— Addison (TX) Fire Department Star pumper. Gladiator ELFD cab and chassis with 10-inch raised roof; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Waterous CSU 2,000-gpm pump; 750-gallon polypropylene water tank; 45-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 2002 single-agent foam system. Dealer: Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, Houston, TX.

 

---

 

PIERCE— Peoria (IL) Fire Department two pumpers. Impel cabs and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engines; Waterous CSU 1,250-gpm pumps; UPF Poly 500-gallon water tanks; Duo-Safety ground ladders. Dealer: Brenden Hurd, MacQueen Emergency, Aurora, IL.

 

---

 

ROSENBAUER— Buffalo (NY) Fire Department two pumpers. Commander cabs and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engines; Rosenbauer N55 stainless steel 1,500-gpm pumps. 750-gallon polypropylene water tanks; 20-gallon foam cells prepiped for future foam systems; Duo-Safety ground ladders. Dealer: Empire Emergency Apparatus, Niagara Falls, NY. (Photo by Paul Barrett.)

 

---

 

FERRARA— Shreveport (LA) Fire Department two pumpers. Cinder cabs and chassis with 8-inch raised roofs; Cummins L9 450-hp engines; Darley PSD 1,500-gpm PTO pumps; 500-gallon polypropylene water tanks; two-piece aluminum hosebed covers; custom Hydrassist and high-rise hose pack mounting; cab-mounted Active Air purification system. Dealer: BFA of LA Inc., Prairieville, LA.

 

---

 

DARLEY— New Auburn (WI) Area Fire Department light tactical pumper. Ford F-550 4×4 four-door cab and chassis; 7.3L Godzilla 350-hp gas engine; Darley 2BE 250-gpm @ 40- psi pump; 1 1/2-inch CAFS discharge; 400-gallon polypropylene water tank; 25-gallon foam cell; Fast Foam 50 model FF50 foam system; Boss SC18 compressor. Dealer: Troy Crothers, Darley Company, Chippewa Falls, WI.

 

---

 

E-ONE— Hornell (NY) Fire Department pumper. Typhoon long cab and chassis with 12-inch Vista roof; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Waterous CSU 1,500-gpm pump; 1,030-gallon polypropylene water tank; 3/16-inch extruded aluminum body with low hosebed; Whelen warning light package; FireTech scene light package. Dealer: Mike Jamison, Fire Line Equipment, New Holland, PA.

 

---

 

SUTPHEN— Cazenovia (NY) Fire Department SP 95 platform quint. Monarch 73-inch flat roof

Three Macon-Bibb County firefighters were sent to the hospital after their apparatus overturned while responding to an emergency, according to a fire official, wgxa.tv reported.

As the rig attempted to make a left turn at an intersection, it flipped over on its side, the report said.

A fire official said three firefighters sustained injuries and were taken to Atrium Health Navicent for treatment.

Another fire crew responded to the emergency call, which turned out to be a false alarm.

The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department is investigating the incident.

The post Macon-Bibb County (GA) FD Apparatus Overturns While Responding to Emergency appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

HUNTINGTON/HURRICANE, W.Va. – U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) traveled to Huntington and Hurricane, West Virginia, where she participated in an economic development event and toured a manufacturing business.

First, Capito delivered remarks at the Westmoreland Fire Station Site Dedication event in Huntington. Originally built in 1926, the new Westmoreland Fire Department was funded by a Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) request Senator Capito secured, which was critical in helping address space for living for the firefighters and proper equipment storage.

“Thanks to Capito’s steadfast support to secure $4.2 million in federal funding, this long-awaited investment is finally moving forward. We’re grateful she stood with our department and the Westmoreland community to mark this milestone,” the Huntington Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

“This site dedication marks a major step forward for the Westmoreland neighborhood and the city of Huntington. I was proud to secure the funding to help make this new fire station a reality because it invests in public safety, community resilience, and local jobs. This project will support the dedicated men and women of the Huntington Fire Department and strengthen the entire region for years to come,” Capito said.

“This new station will help us answer the call faster, safer, and better equipped. It’s an investment in the safety of Westmoreland, and in the firefighters who serve our neighborhoods every day. We’re grateful for the leadership that made this possible and proud to keep moving forward, together,” said Chief Greg Fuller, Huntington Fire Department.

“Senator Capito is a true partner in building a safer, more resilient, and thriving Huntington. Thanks to her support, Westmoreland is getting the fire station it needs. The men and women who protect our neighborhoods will have the tools they deserve. That’s how you lead. That’s how you make a city safer,” Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell said.

Next, Capito visited Eagle Research in Hurricane where she toured the facility and met with the company’s leadership. Eagle Research is female-owned manufacturing business that sells gas flow monitoring and control devices to companies and public utilities in the natural gas industry.

“It was great to visit Eagle Research and see firsthand the innovation and impact of a woman-owned manufacturing business right here in Hurricane. Companies like this are driving growth and creating good-paying jobs in West Virginia. As the Senate takes up the reconciliation bill, I’ll continue pushing for permanent tax relief that empowers small businesses to invest, expand, and compete. West Virginia’s manufacturers deserve a tax code that works for them — not against them,” Capito said.

“We are grateful that Senator Capito represents our state and honored to have her visit our factory in Hurricane, West Virginia. The energy industry in West Virginia would not be as strong as it is without her continued support,” Frances Butch, Eagle Research President and CEO, said.

Capito also met with Marshall Health Network’s new President and CEO, Scott Raynes, and other members of the Marshall Health Network administrative team. During the meeting, the group discussed a number of policy issues important to the region, and ways Senator Capito can assist.

The post Project Leaders Host Dedication Ceremony for $4.2M Westmorland (WV) Fire Station appeared first on Fire Ap

Michael Hixon
Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif.
(TNS)

When it comes to strokes, every minute counts.

So in an effort to reduce long-term complications and even death, two state-of-the-art Mobile Stroke Units were unveiled on Wednesday, May 28, at Torrance Fire Station No. 1 by Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and UCLA Health.

“For every minute that a patient waits for treatment, 2 million brain cells die,” Hahn said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “But if doctors can treat someone quickly, they can not only improve that patient’s chance of survival, but can prevent serious brain injury and nerve damage.”

The new Mobile Stroke Units join one that’s been operated by UCLA Heath, in partnership with LA County, since 2017. The original unit “has responded to more than 2,000 calls and treated more than 360 patients,” according to a Wednesday press release from Hahn’s office.

The new units will serve areas of the Westside, South Bay, Long Beach, the Gateway Cities and, beginning in August, the San Fernando Valley.

Dr. May Nour, an interventional and vascular neurologist and medical director of the UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit Program, said the hope is to expand the units to all the fire departments in the county.

“Our vision is to see this available for every stroke survivor in our county,” Nour said. “Our dream and our vision is to have seven to 10 mobile stroke units that become part of the fabric of EMS care.”

The units are “built with a mobile CT scanner, point-of-care lab tests, telehealth connection with a vascular neurologist, and therapies,” a Wednesday press release said, “all designed to deliver proven stroke treatments to patients faster than ever before.

“Physicians on the unit can administer clot-busting drugs to patients in the field,” the release added, “long before they get to an emergency room.”

Hahn is continuing the legacy of her father, the late Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who started the nation’s first paramedic program, which began by treating “heart attack patients in the field, before they arrived at a hospital, improving their health outcomes,” according to the press release.

The elder Hahn had a stroke when he was 67 years old, the younger Hahn said. That left him paralyzed on his left side and he lost the use of his left arm, his daughter said, but “he eventually went back to the job he loved as county supervisor.”

“He was in a wheelchair for the last 10 years of his life,” Hahn said. “Obviously, it was difficult for him to get around. It was really hard on my mom, who was his primary caregiver, and difficult on everyone around him to keep him engaged in his life and his job while being paralyzed.”

In 2017, Hahn partnered with UCLA Health to launch the first Mobile Stroke Unit on the West Coast, in L.A. County.

“We’re adding two newer, even more high tech units; that means faster response times and ultimately, better outcomes for more people,” Hahn said. “Our goal is simple, to save lives and preserve the quality of life. We want people not to just survive a stroke, like my dad did, but to walk, to talk, to enjoy life. We’ve seen people who have experienced a stroke walk out of the hospital hours later because the Mobile Stroke Unit figured out which kind of stroke they were having.”

The fund for the new units came from a $6 million donation from the Brett Torino