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Welcome

The Finest Supporting the Bravest!

The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Truck Lost to Hurricane Matthew Floods

Posted: Oct 31, 2016

Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Truck Lost to Hurricane Matthew Floods

When flood waters from Hurricane Matthew began to rise Oct. 9 and a fire trapped someone inside a home, Virginia Beach Master Firefighter Alexander Wazlak and his crew responded like they would any other day.

They had no idea they were about to lose a fire truck. Among Virginia Beach first responders, they were not alone.

Two weeks after the storm, the city faces an estimated cost of $1.25 million to replace emergency vehicles lost to flood damage, including police cars, ambulances and a reserve truck from the Virginia Beach Fire Training Academy, according to City Manager David Hansen’s Hurricane Matthew recovery briefing for city council on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The fire truck, which was being used by Fire Station No. 20, will cost $500,000 to replace, an amount budgeted from the Fire Apparatus Capital Improvement Program, according to VBFD Public Information Officer Art Kohn.

Wazlak has worked for VBFD for 13 years, and calls Station No. 1, at 2837 Shore Dr., his office. But the night Matthew hit, he worked at Station No. 20, at 885 Little Neck Rd., because it was short on manpower.

“We were going to wires down calls all over Little Neck Road and trees were coming down … you could see transformers blowing off in the distance,” said Wazlak recalling the night’s work shift. “During those times, I get really focused.”

Wazlak worked through the night of Oct. 8, and at around 8 a.m. on Oct. 9, the call came.

The battalion chief saw smoke rising in the Bow Creek area, confirmed a fire, and Wazlak drove his crew toward it in a reserve 2002 American LaFrance Pumper, a truck designed to attack flames. A typical pumper carries 500 gallons of water and 1,000 feet of 5-inch supply line used to connect to a water source.

“I was trying to get to the fire and I could only go so fast … I didn’t want to get water in the engine and I was watching these waves coming from the fire truck crashing into people’s houses … cars were floating … anything with air in it was floating,” said Wazlak.

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Ambulance Left on Its Side After Collision in Grand Traverse County

Posted: Oct 31, 2016

Ambulance Left on Its Side After Collision in Grand Traverse County

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mi. (WPBN/WGTU) -- A two vehicle crash in Grand Traverse County Friday afternoon left an ambulance on its side.The crash happened around 3 p.m. Friday on M-137 near Tenth Street in Interlochen.Green Lake Township Emergency Services S

Green Lake Township Emergency Services Supervisor Michael Stinson said an ambulance ended up on its side after failing to yield to oncoming traffic.

Stinson said the ambulance was not on a call. He said the driver was test driving the ambulance when it was hit.

The driver of the car and ambulance were not injured, and there was not a patient on board.

Greenport's (NY) New, State-Of-The-Art Ambulance Is Ready To Roll

Earlier this month the Greenport Rescue Squad welcomed a shiny new addition to its team: a brand new custom outfitted ambulance. Rescue squad captain Linda Mysliborski is thrilled. "It's very exciting," says Mysliborski. "The best thing about the new ambulance is its larger size.

"In the older ambulances it’s very cramped; there’s not enough room if you have three EMTs working at the same time. It can be difficult. It’s great to have all the extra room.”

The new ambulance also has a feature lacking in their previous vehicles: the walls are made of a white-board surface so EMTs can write on them.

Mysliborski explains: “If someone’s doing a PCR [patient care report] they can write the vital signs directly onto the wall and when we get to the hospital we can just transcribe them. It’s really convenient.”

The gas-powered Ford ambulance, which was funded by Greenport Village, was originally supposed to take 18 months to be delivered but it ended up taking less than a year.

The process to get the funding in place for the ambulance was pretty quick, Mysliborski said. “We sent out our specs and companies bid through the village. Then the village approved one of the bids and they got to work outfitting the ambulance for us.” The cost of the new vehicle was just over $200,000.

Ambulance Hits Boy Who Darted Into Brooklyn Street

An ambulance knocked a 10-year-old boy to the ground after he ran into a Brooklyn street Friday, officials said. The boy, who was not hurt in the collision, had darted between cars into the street at Blake and Howard Aves. in Brownsville when the FDNY ambulance struck him about 2:40 p.m., officials said.

The ambulance had its lights and sirens on and was responding to a report of a injured patient when it struck the child.

The boy was brought to Brookdale University Hospital but escaped serious injury officials said.

The ambulance only made "light contact" with the boy, who fell to the ground but was basically unscathed, said Local 2507 union head Israel Miranda.

"We're happy to say all the worst outcomes were avoided and this was dee