Wes Bowers
Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.
(TNS)

Mar. 14—The Lodi Fire and Police departments are set to receive much-needed equipment this week, if approved by city leaders.

The Lodi City Council will consider two items on its consent calendar Wednesday night that will provide the fire department with a new chest compression device, and the police department with a variety of equipment over the next three years.

According to Wednesday’s staff report, the city will purchase a Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assisted System, more commonly known as a LUCAS 3, chest compression device from Stryker Medical for $25,000.

There will be no fiscal impact to the city, according to staff, as the purchase will be made possible through a donation from the Lodi Fire Foundation.

The LUCAS device, according to www.stryker.com, maintains a patient’s chest compressions during transport to medical centers.

The device is placed around the torso so a patient is lying flat against a back plate and the compression component is directly above the chest during transport.

It weighs a total of 17.3 pounds and can be carried by firefighter paramedics in a case that is worn like a backpack, according to Stryker’s website.

Staff said the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of 47 LUCAS devices in 2020, of which Lodi firefighters received four the following year.

The devices were placed on the department’s frontline fire engines. This newest device will be placed on Truck 2051, equipping all of the front-line apparatus with the chest compression unit, staff said.

The council is also set to approve a three-year contract with LC Action Policy Supply of San Jose to provide the police department with a variety of equipment, including body armor vests, duty belts, holsters, flashlights, batons, and weapons.

The equipment is expected to cost no more than $100,000 during those three years, according to the staff report.

About 40 vests will expire within the year and must be replaced, staff said, and the department will also have ongoing vest and equipment needs for new officers, as well as equipment damaged in the line of duty.

Staff said LC Action Police Supply was found to be the most cost-effective, responsive, and guaranteed a quicker delivery.

Garbage rates discussed

The council will also undertake a public hearing to consider future solid waste collection rates for residential customers.

The council is no longer accepting public comments via Zoom or telephone, so you must be present to speak about the proposed rates.

Written comments related to an agenda item or non-agenda item can be mailed or hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s Office or emailed to councilcomments@lodi.gov.

Public comments submitted by email, mail, or hand-delivered are forwarded to the council. Written public comments will not be read aloud during the meeting, but will be included in the final record.

For more information regarding council meetings, visit www.lodi.gov/152/City-Council&nbs

Aprell May Munford
The Republican, Springfield, Mass.
(TNS)

Mar. 15—AGAWAM — Replacing older models that were beginning to fail, the Agawam Fire Department received a delivery of 37 new air packs Monday.

The new self-contained breathing apparatuses — which firefighters don to protect against toxic smoke and gasses generated by structure fires, vehicle fires and hazardous materials incidents — were designed with more safety features than the older models, said Agawam Fire Chief Alan Sirois.

“This new standard provided a number of safety enhancements including adjusting the amount of time that a firefighter has to exit a burning structure after their low air alarm activates,” Sirois wrote in an email. “Improved redundancies in the air supply system as well as electronics were also included.”

Agawam firefighters last recieved new air packs in 2010 and they were beginning to give out, Sirois said.

According to the fire department, some fires fueled by composite materials and plastics can produce smoke “so toxic that inhalation can result in almost immediate death.”

The new air packs cost the department $254,363, but most of that cost was mitigated through a Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters grant, which also helped the department upgrade its air filling station.

Because there are 37 seated positions across the fire department’s vehicles that include a tower ladder, four fire engines, four ambulances, equipment standards set by National Fire Protection Association say the department must have 37 air packs.

“Each fire apparatus is capable of carrying a set number of firefighters, so an (air pack) is allotted for each riding position,” Sirois said.

The Town of Agawam maintains 60 full-time firefighters when fully staffed.

“These career personnel are augmented by a Call Firefighting force of 6,” Sirois added.

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(c)2023 The Republican, Springfield, Mass.

Visit The Republican, Springfield, Mass. at www.masslive.com

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Maddie Pfeifer
Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.
(TNS)

Mar. 14—The Albany Fire Department has released its 2022 report, highlighting the agency’s training methods, call data and grant funding. Among the revelations: 469 of the calls were false alarms and 89% were requests for medical assistance.

Training

In 2022, Albany firefighters logged 10,858 training hours. Specific types of training included “traffic incident management system” training which teaches them how to stay safe when responding to and managing traffic incidents. The Oregon Department of Transportation taught this course.

The agency also participated in a fire investigation course with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. During this training, investigators learned how to look into arson, electrical fires and more.

Albany firefighters utilized a “burn to learn” method of training as well. This happens when someone donates a structure to the department so firefighters can practice extinguishing a staged, controlled fire.

Each year, the department also has a wildland fire refresher training to prepare crews for wildfire season. Other trainings AFD participated in include ventilation, active threat and rescue technician training.

Call numbers

The 2022 report includes some data regarding the types of calls Albany Fire Department responded to.

There were 11,260 calls for service, with 89% of the calls being medical. The agency received 294 calls for fires, 41 calls for hazmat, four explosions and 469 false alarms.

According to the report, AFD responded to 507 motor vehicle collisions.

December in particular had a historically high call load with 1,158 emergency calls and 609 ambulance transports. The Dec. 23 ice storm in itself resulted in 85 calls for the day, which doubled the previous daily record.

Notable highlights

Another major point from the 2022 report included the opening of Station 15 in Millersburg. That city provided the funding, while AFD helped with the floor plan and amenities and provides the staffing for the station.

The agency also received multiple grants last year. The department received a $35,000 grant to increase staffing during wildfire season as well as $642,727 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant for a new fire engine and $1.3 million from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant to go toward the hiring of three new firefighters for three years.

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Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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(c)2023 Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.

Visit Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore. at www.gazettetimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Horton Emergency Vehicles, a subsidiary of REV Group Inc., and a leader in ambulance safety, announces the launch of Horton Occupant Protection System™ (HOPS) featuring MBrace™, the first of its kind protection for first responders.  MBrace is a patent-pending advanced airbag safety system designed specifically to protect emergency care providers inside the patient compartment during frontal impacts, in addition to ambulance rollovers. Horton is the first and only brand in the ambulance industry to offer MBrace.  All Horton vehicle orders placed on or after April 1, 2023, will include the MBrace system as standard equipment. 

Independent data indicates that nearly 80% of accidents with ambulances that resulted in fatalities and serious injuries were frontal impacts*. MBrace was developed to provide more protection against head and neck injuries during frontal impact collisions, in addition to ambulance rollovers.  MBrace integrates an airbag into an innovative multi-point restraint that both protects emergency care providers while allowing them the mobility and freedom to work. Designed and engineered by IMMI and tested extensively with Horton ambulances at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), MBrace takes EMS protection to a new level.

“Pioneering safety is in Horton’s DNA, and our partnerships with industry leaders, such as IMMI, have enabled us to keep advancing the level of safety that is available to emergency care providers”, stated Mike Albers, Vice President and General Manager for Horton Emergency Vehicles. “We are excited to offer MBrace as standard equipment. Improving the safety of our ambulances is one of our highest priorities.”

Customers who already have a Horton ambulance on order can work with their Horton dealer to add MBrace to their order, depending on how far along it is in the design process.  In addition, MBrace will be available for Horton remounts that are performed at the REV Remount Center in Grove City, OH. 

“The launch of MBrace is the culmination of years of research and development with partners such as Horton, who share our goal of raising the bar on safety through innovation,” said Larry Gray, CEO of IMMI.  

The MBrace system will be on display in the Horton Emergency Vehicles booth #4920 and the IMMI booth #4632 at FDIC International in Indianapolis, Indiana from April 27 – 29, 2023.  Find out more information about MBrace at www.hortonambulance.com.

*Source:  NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System 1991-2000; Green J. et al, “Reducing Vehicle Crash-Related EMS Worker Injuries Through Improvements in Restraint Systems”, World Congress on Safety & Health at Work. 9/05.