Leaders at Thurston County’s 911 dispatch center say the radio system that emergency responders use to talk to dispatchers and each other is outdated and they are asking state lawmakers for the ability to collect more sales tax to pay for a $30 million upgrade. TCOMM 911 handles emergency calls and dispatches first responders in Thurston County with the exception of Washington State Patrol.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2019 8:14:21 AM - SOURCE: Olympian

By Bill Adams

Occasionally I’ll take a draft of an article to morning coffee for Raisin Squad members to check out. If the geezers understand it, most normal people should too. Their bickering and busting intimate body parts is a small price to pay for their input, experiences, and sometime meaningless comments. My latest crusade about ground ladders is a result of being indoctrinated as a kid observing ladder work in Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston, Massachusetts. My volunteer company strived to emulate them. “Throw ground ladders until you run out or you’re told to stop,” was drilled into our heads as “juniors” in the early 1960s. 

One Raisin criticized my commentaries about carrying multiple roof ladders on pumpers and the benefits of 18-foot and 20-foot roof ladders. “That’s dumb. They’re oversized! That’s why there’s extension ladders.” Fire Engineering’s November 2018 cover photo showed a three-alarmer in a large three-story residential in Louisville, Kentucky, with four so-called oversized roof ladders in use. I brought the magazine to morning coffee. Half the crew agreed it was excellent ladder work. Some questioned why roof ladders were used as wall or straight ladders. One grumpy geezer said, “Why don’t they use wood ladders anymore?” He reminded me of my father at 101 saying if the Good Lord wanted aluminum ladders, he would’ve made aluminum trees. We couldn’t figure out the ladders’ lengths. We counted rungs, made estimates and ended up arguing whether the rungs were 12 inches or 14 inches apart. 

I contacted the Louisville Division of Fire about the ladders. They run 19 engines, eight trucks (ladders), three rescues, and some auxiliary pieces. Terence Delaney, assistant chief of operations genially responded, “The ladders you referenced in the cover photo are a combination of 18-foot and 20-foot. We have basically two different ladder complements on our ladder trucks that include straight/roof ladders. A straight-bed truck, quint, or tower has two extension ladders, typically both 35-foot and two 18-foot straight/roof ladders and two 16-foot straight/roof ladders. Some of the newer apparatus have an 18-foot.

“A tractor-drawn aerial has three extension ladders: one 40-foot and two 35-foot, and one 20-foot, two 18-footers, and two 16-foot straight/roof ladders. Some older units also have a 24-foot or 25-foot straight/roof. The Louisville Fire Department has used these ladders for a long time. We do not have an exact date but have photos dating back in the 1950s. The City of Louisville has a large number of older dwellings in close proximity to each other with large porch roofs extending from the front and/or rear of the dwelling. This creates a unique set of challenges, making the use of straight ladders necessary where the use of extension ladders is extrem

In the last year, Ventura County's first responders have been put through the wringer. From the Thomas Fire in December 2017 to the Woolsey Fire, and the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in between in November, it's safe to say it hasn't been easy. But in the face of all the hardship and tragedy, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen has been a steadying force not only for the first responders, but for the community — which is why Congresswoman Julia Brownley will have Lorenzen as her guest to the State of the Union Address Tuesday night in Washington, D.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ventura County Star

Three days after losing a lower court’s ruling, the city is taking steps to take an arbitration case against the city’s firefighters’ union to the state’s highest court. On Friday, the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Rochester, unanimously reversed a ruling by state Supreme Court Judge James P.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

VIDEO: A Dauphin County firefighter with special needs is breaking barriers serving his community. 33-year-old Danny Zmitrovich has been working with Hummelstown Fire Department for the last seventeen years. “I’m like, we’re going! So we grab our gear jump in the truck and go!" said Zmitrovich. "I like helping out people that need the help so that’s why I do this job for a reason," he added.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox 43