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

The significance of rigorous and consistent training with thermal imagers cannot be overstated. While immersive drills involving simulated fires and technical rescues are crucial, there are numerous quick and effective training exercises that can be incorporated into the daily duties of firefighting personnel. The message is clear: fire departments do not always need elaborate setups to enhance their skills with TICs.

A few drill suggestions include:

• Use the circuit panel in your station as a training focal point.
• Create a controlled environment by boiling water in a pot and then analyzing the temperature readings coming from both the water and the surrounding pot surface.
• To familiarize team members with shutter mechanisms, firefighters can manipulate the thermal imager immediately after powering it on and observe the frequency at which the shutter engages. Identifying what happens during this period—when the download of thermal data seems “frozen”—will build confidence in recognizing normal equipment functionality.
• While performing standard tasks—such as refilling SCBA tanks—firefighters can take a thermal imager to monitor changes in temperature. Observations can include the heat generated by compressors during operation or residual heat in equipment.

For more information on thermal imaging, visit www.bullard.com/thermal-imaging.

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Special Delivery Alan M. Petrillo

The West Tuckerton (NJ) Volunteer Fire Company wanted to replace an old Peterbilt elliptical tanker and, after considerable research about the value of an urban interface rig, chose to have a pumper-tanker built by Spartan Emergency Response (ER). Not long after the fire company ordered the pumper-tanker, it decided it also wanted a pumper and purchased a stock unit that had just started production.

Anthony D’Andrea, West Tuckerton’s fire chief, says the fire company’s district only has 260 hydrants, with much of the coverage area needing to be serviced by tanker operations. “The pumper-tanker from Spartan ER is a one-stop rig that can be the source for 10,500 gallons of water,” D’Andrea points out, with its 3,500-gallon tank and two 3,500-gallon portable tanks. “It’s self-sufficient and is able to handle being tied to an aerial with a master stream all by itself. On structure fire calls, the engine drops a supply line at the driveway and wraps a mailbox, while the tanker picks up the lay and supplies the pumper, serving as a water source.”

Tim Burkhart, regional sales manager for Spartan ER, says the pumper-tanker is built on a Kenworth T880 chassis and two-door cab, is powered by a Paccar MX15 500-horsepower (hp) engine and an Allison 4500 EVS automatic transmission, and has a Dana 20,000-pound front axle with a Hendrickson SteerTek suspension and a Meritor 52,000-pound tandem rear axle with a Primax EX air ride suspension. Wheelbase on the pumper-tanker is 257 inches, overall length is 34 feet 7 inches, and overall height is 11 feet 7 inches.

He says the rig has a side-mount 2,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) Waterous CSU pump; a UPF Poly® 3,500-gallon water tank; and two 3,500-gallon FOL- DA-TANK portable water tanks, one on each side of the body.

Bill Bartos, sales representative for Campbell Supply Company, who sold the rigs to West Tuckerton, says the Spartan ER pumper-tanker has two 200-foot 1 3/4-inch crosslays; an FRC InControl pressure governor; Akron discharge valves; two Waterous master intake valves; a Trident AirPrime system; three Newton 10-inch quick-dump valves (left, right, and rear); one 3-inch tank fill valve; and two 5-inch tank fill valves at the rear.

D’Andrea points out that the pumper-tanker has a Task Force Tips (TFT) Crossfire manual deck gun with an 18-inch TFT Extend-A-Gun. The rig’s hosebed carries 1,000 feet of 5-inch large-diameter hose (LDH) and 600 feet of 3-inch hose. D’Andrea says that West Tuckerton had Spartan ER install two 4-inch tank-to-pump valves, a primary and secondary, to ensure maximum water flow in case the pumper-tanker is parked on a hill.

1 Spartan ER built this pumper-tanker on a two-door Kenworth T880 cab and chassis for the West Tuckerton (NJ) Volunteer Fire Company. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of Campbell Supply Company.)

2 Spartan ER also built this pumper for West Tuckerton on a Spartan Metro Star MFD cab and chassis with a 10-inch raised roof and seating for six firefighters.