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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

Posted: Sep 21, 2016

Neshoba Co. Improves Firefighting Capabilities

Tucker Fire Department in Neshoba County has received a new fire truck. "We generally have to replace them every 15 to 20 years depending on the capabilities and how many residents are in the district, the mileage of the district," says Jeff Mayo with Emergency Management Agency.

Up-to-date equipment helps improve capabilities of fighting fires. It also helps improve the fire protection rating in the district.

"That has a large impact on your insurance premium that you pay for your insurance for your dwellings or houses, structures," says Mayo.

The Tucker district is rated a class 8. Response times play a big role in determining the rating.

Response times on average are five to seven minutes, but it could take longer depending on where the emergency is and how long it takes for the volunteer firefighter to get to the station.

"All 12 fire departments out in the unincorporated areas of the county, they're all volunteer so their response times are going to vary," says Mayo.

There's no one at the stations full-time and Neshoba County doesn't have the means to place someone at each location, so they continue to work on improving the system to respond faster.

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Posted: Sep 21, 2016

Turnout Gear Will Have Special Room

New Lincoln fire stations will have an extra room to store the heavy gear that firefighters wear on the job. The gear -- coats, pants, overboots, gloves, a helmet and headsock -- is known as turnout gear, or bunker gear, or personal protective equipment.

After a call, the gear is sometimes covered in soot, or a hazardous material, which is one of the reasons blamed for firefighters being twice as likely to get some kinds of cancer, according to research. 

Turnout gear is currently stored in the bay areas of Lincoln stations where the trucks, engines and ambulances are parked. That keeps it away from the stations' dining and living areas.

But it also means less room for vehicles. And those areas are not ventilated to protect employees from potential airborne carcinogens.

A special room in new fire stations will have its own ventilation, to dry out the gear more quickly and to vent the air outdoors -- away from the men and women who live in the station 24 hours at a time, said Fire Chief Micheal Despain.

A new room -- the size of a small bedroom -- will be part of all new fire stations, starting with Station 11, which is replacing an older Air Park station.

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Posted: Sep 21, 2016

Fire Truck Photo of the Day-Ferrara Rescue-Pumpers

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Posted: Sep 20, 2016

Cason (TX) VFD Gets Enhancement to Firefighting Capabilities

Cason VFD after side./Copyright 2016 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Cason Volunteer Fire Department recently received aid from two assistance programs administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. The department received an excess military vehicle, a Bowen-McLaughlin-York five-ton transport truck, from the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program.
A requirement of the program is that the department turn the military vehicle into a fire-fighting apparatus within 180 days of acquisition.

"We painted the truck and did some other repairs like moving the red line reel down behind the cab so a fire-fighter doesn't have to be on top of the truck to reach the line," said Jerry Ragsdell, Cason VFD Chief. "Being able to reach the line from the ground is a safety issue and safety is a priority with our department."

In addition to the military truck, the department also received a grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The grant was used to fund a slip-on unit for the back of the truck.

A slip-on unit is a complete, self-contained fire-fighting apparatus designed for a pick-up truck or custom-built vehicle platforms. It is intended to become a fast, initial attack fire-fighting component used for wildland fire-fighting, structure and automobile fires. The truck could also be utilized for high-water rescue when needed due to the height.

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Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
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Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
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Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
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Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
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Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
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Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
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Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

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Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
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Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
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Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
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Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

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