The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Philip H. Neubich, 69, of the Spooner Fire District Department on April 25, 2018.

On April 24, 2018, at 2319hrs, Firefighter Philip H. Neubich responded to the fire station when his fire department was paged out for a gas leak inside of a residence. Several hours later, at approximately 0615hrs, at home, Firefighter Neubich was found unresponsive by his wife. Local EMS responded, but Firefighter Neubich was found to be deceased. The nature of fatal injury is reported to have been a heart attack. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Neubich at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 32 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

At FDIC International 2018, Zico debuted its new slide-out ladder gantry, the SLG-M. The SLG-M allows departments to store ladders on the roof of their fire apparatus and retrieve easily when needed. Firefighters unlatch the gantry, pull straight back off the apparatus, and lower to the ground. Storing ladders on the roof leaves more room for side compartments in the fire apparatus body and allows for the retrieval of ladders in more narrow operating areas. The SLG-M locks safety in place in both the stored position and when fully lowered.

Zico also introduced its "multiple extrication tool holder," the QM-MEH-1. The unit allows departments to secure up to four extrication tools on the rotating platform. Adjustable mounting brackets accommodate virtually any make and model of cutter, spreader, or combination tool—both hydraulic and electric. Firefighters raise teh center knob and rotate the turntable to access the required tool. The turntable safely locks into place after each rotation for quick and safe tool retrieval.

For more information, visit www.ziamatic.com.

WOOSTER, OH—IDEX Fire & Safety introduces Captium™, the first-ever connected vehicle platform built specifically to meet the unique needs of fire and EMS. Designed for first responders, Captium goes beyond the typical fleet management system by harnessing the technical complexities of today’s apparatus. The platform allows for secure, over-the-air updates to vehicle component electronics and provides actionable insight to not only responders operating the vehicles but also their support channels responsible for keeping vehicles healthy and operational.

Captium connects equipment, electronics and vehicle networks so responders can easily share key data and mission-critical information via an intuitive Web and mobile-friendly dashboard. This new smart vehicle platform allows for safer, more efficient operations and supports increased on-demand service to drive maximum vehicle uptime.

Sean Tillinghast, IDEX Fire & Safety Group vice president, explains, “We have centuries of experience equipping fire and rescue teams, so we know the demands of the fire service and the expectations of the communities they serve. The Captium-connected equipment of our legacy brands of Akron Brass, Class 1, Hale and V-MUX, enables them to monitor the health of their vehicles and make proactive decisions to avoid costly repairs.”

Several industry-leading fire truck manufacturers in collaboration with IDEX Fire & Safety will be the first to adopt Captium as a standard offering on their fire trucks and ambulances. Jeff Zook, marketing manager for Connected Solutions at IDEX Fire & Safety, states, “We are pleased to share a similar vision of creating equipment that brings new levels of support based on intelligence inside the vehicles. Real-time access to the health of networked electrical controllers, multiplexing systems and water flow components can help save valuable time.”

IDEX Fire & Safety has partnered with Microsoft for its secure cloud platform. IDEX Fire & Safety has built the Captium platform on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform for two fundamental reasons: scalability and security. Richard Zak, Director—Justice & Public Safety Solutions at Microsoft and also a member of the fire service, states, “Responding to citizens in need requires highly trained people with the right vehicles and equipment. IDEX Fire & Safety is leading the way by leveraging Microsoft Azure to make fire vehicles smarter and better able to support the fire service mission.”

Jim MacLennan, chief information officer at IDEX shares, “IDEX makes things—lots of things—that solve critical challenges and improve people’s lives. So, it just makes sense to add our products to the Internet of Things. Incorporating connectivity and capturing data will allow IDEX businesses to add information and insights as impactful new capabilities for our products. Captium is a leading-edge example for us. We are excited about the positive impact that Captium will have for our customers and the people they serve.”

Learn more about Captium at captiumconnect.com.

About IDEX Fire & Safety: IDEX Fire & Safety represents a collaboration of global brands that deliver trusted solutions to help emergency responders save lives. For centuries, customers have relied on the brands of IDEX Fire & Safety to provide quality equipment and service. Our brands include Akron Brass, AWG, Class 1, Dinglee, Hale, Hurst Jaws of Life®, Godiva, Lukas, Vetter and Weldon. The IDEX Fire & Safety brands represent business units of

Two fire departments are mourning the loss of Erik Shouse, a Mill Creek paramedic and a Camano Island fire commissioner who died this week. Shouse served most of his 15-year career assigned to a medic unit at Station 76 in Mill Creek. He suffered a cardiac arrest at his home Sunday, according to Snohomish County Fire District 7.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2018 1:56:30 AM - SOURCE: Everett Herald

CORRECTION - Yesterday's headline on this story mistakenly said Chief Scott was taking a position in Albany, New York when it should have read Albany, GEORGIA - Albany City Manager Sharon Subadan announced at Tuesday’s Albany City Commission meeting that Cedric Scott has been named the city’s new fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Albany Herald