The Valley City Fire Department recently announced the start of a free lock box program that allows fire, rescue and police personnel to gain easier access into the homes of eligible and participating residents during an emergency where someone cannot reach the door, medina-gazette.com reported.

A lock box can be installed on a resident’s home, and inside the box is a key to the house. The boxes can be placed by hooking it over the top of a door or fastened to the exterior of the door. A universal key to open all lock boxes in the township would be securely housed in the fire apparatus and only be used during an emergency.

Previously, if someone was having a medical emergency and was unable to answer the door, the department would have to forcibly enter the residence, a fire official said. This way it would be faster to enter the residence without causing property damage.

Fire Prevention Officer Chris McDaniel proposed the program to the Valley City Firefighters Association. The Liverpool Township trustees decided to have residents pay no additional charge for the service.

Residents who have special needs, a major medical disability or are 65 and older are eligible to participate in the program, he said. Those interested can contact the fire department at (330) 483-1986 or email knox@valleycityfire.com to get started.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) proudly announce that applications will be accepted starting Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, from rescue squads for $2 million in grants through the newly created Rescue Squad Grant Program.

In 2022, Governor Bill Lee and the General Assembly approved the funding of this program for the purchase of lifesaving equipment by Tennessee rescue squads. Grant awards may be used to purchase equipment used by rescue squads for incident response and to protect the lives of squad members.

“This program will help provide resources to Tennessee’s rescue squads while fulfilling Governor Lee’s vision of strengthening Tennessee’s rural communities,” said Tennessee State Fire Marshal and TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence.

Said TDCI Assistant Commissioner of Fire Prevention Gary Farley: “The men and women who serve Tennessee communities in rescue squads embody the Volunteer State’s spirit at its finest. It is a priority of our team to provide them with a way to acquire reliable and effective equipment to serve their communities in much the same way that the Volunteer Firefighter Equipment and Training Grant Program assists Tennessee’s volunteer fire departments.”

Eligible rescue squads must have an active registration with the Secretary of State and be recognized by a local government to provide rescue squad services. There are over 90 rescue squads across the state that provide a range of specialized services including extrication, structural collapse response, and swift water rescue.

Applications received during the submission period will be scored internally and submitted to a seven-member committee who will oversee the award selection. The committee is composed of six members from the Tennessee Rescue Squad Association and TDCI’s Assistant Commissioner of Fire Prevention.

Applications will be accepted until Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, at 2:00pm CT.

Applicants with questions about the grant should contact Director of Education and Outreach Michelle Price at SFMO.grants@tn.gov or (629) 259-1713.

Keeping It Safe Robert Tutterow

I recently read an article about the rising number of fires caused by electric bicycles and electric scooters. Granted, there has been a lot of study and research about electric car fires. However, there has not been much about the smaller electric modes of transportation.

There are a lot of shoddy batteries being manufactured overseas in use in this country. The bottom line of the article was that we should make sure that any battery being used is Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listed. And that is a notable example of why we need standards and why first responder personal protective equipment (PPE) is certified by an accredited independent third-party certification agency.

Unfortunately, there remains a lot of misinformation within the fire service about our standards, almost all of which are National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The fire service paid little attention to standards until the late 1980s, when NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellness Program, was developed. It was the first time a standard was written that prescribed what we “shall” do to improve our safety and health. Prior to that, the existing standards were product standards that had minimal requirements, such as NFPA pamphlet 19, the precursor to NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus. However, NFPA 1500 got our attention. It was met with a tremendous amount of resistance and resulted in the technical committee being dissolved and a new committee appointed. It was going to put some fire departments out of business, some claimed.

• Ensure NFPA Automotive Standards Reflect Your Perspective and Interests
• NFPA Standards: A Look Inside the Process

Trying to gain a grasp of the standards-making process was quite the challenge. As with a lot of “so-called news outlets,” there were partial truths and myths that had to be debunked. A couple of these myths still need to be addressed. The first myth is that standards are written by NFPA staff. This is totally false, as NFPA staff members have a lesser voice in the process than anyone else. The standards are developed by volunteer committees whose membership is divided among nine different membership classifications, with no one group having a majority membership.

A second myth to be debunked is the one that says standards are made by the manufacturers. Again, this is totally false. Yes, manufacturers are on technical committees, but they are only one of the nine classifications. Many firefighters think that manufacturers should not have a vote. Having been actively involved as a member of three different t

Toyne—Rochester (NH) Fire Department pumper. Spartan Metro Star LFD with 10-inch raised roof cab and chassis; stainless-steel body; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Waterous CSU 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 1,000-gallon water tank; TFT XFT-NJ monitor with 18-inch extension; Onan 8-kW generator; Command Light 442-A-FS LED light tower. Dealer: Jerry McKay, Eastern Fire Apparatus, Milton, NH.

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