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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: May 31, 2016

Wrexham Firefighters Donate Historic Equipment to Museum

Lifesaving equipment which helped firefighters protect the people of Wrexham across nearly six decades will have a new lease of life as they are passed on to the town's museum. Wrexham County Borough Council's Museum service was donated a collection of firefighting equipment from the Bradley Road fire station, which was opened in 1957.

The items were donated by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service before last month’s move from the Bradley Road station to the new state of the art Ambulance and Fire Services Resource Centre(AFSRC) on Croesnewydd Road.

Some of the items donated include a tannoy that has been on-site since the 1950s and alerted officers in the event of emergencies, as well as breathing apparatus, helmets, technical items and call-out bells which have been used at the station from the 1970s to the present day.

Karen Murdoch and Virginia Bithell of Wrexham Museum were invited to the Bradley Road station before the move to collect the items for preservation.

The items donated will be stored in the Museum’s collections centre.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “The donation from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is very welcome.

“The items of firefighting equipment donated will have served long and interesting careers with the fire and rescue service, and having them at the museum will go some way to revealing the social history of the town during the time in which they were used.”

This Saturday between 11am and 1pm the Fire Service will join the Museum for a forecourt event which will feature a display of two vintage fire engines.

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Posted: May 31, 2016

Augmented Reality Visor Lets Firefighters See Through The Smoke

When you're fighting fires, you want as many weapons as possible at your disposal. Now, augmented reality glasses are helping firefighters navigate extreme working conditions. Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) a Swiss university, invented a visor that lets firefighters see through smoky dark conditions using a thermal camera.
It adds an additional layer of information to firefighters' field of vision, letting them spot a person trapped inside a house, or a potential danger that they wouldn't be able to see without the thermal camera. Many firefighting forces use a thermal camera already when fighting fires, but current models are bulky and handheld. This new version is hands-free. “At first it’s hard to know what you’re seeing, if it’s the real thing or not, but you get used to it surprisingly fast and can easily handle the two overlapping views," Jean-Marc Pittet, who trains firefighters in Switzerland, and who helped the researchers test their prototype, said in a press release.
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Posted: May 31, 2016

Firefighters Prepare for Fire Season With Helicopters

(TNS) - Demi Garcia is 21 and a new member of the state's elite helitack firefighting team, so new she was still awaiting her first real action Wednesday as she and team members participated in their last hands-on training in preparation for fire season.
“If there’s a fire today, I’m first out,” said the California native, who’s stationed in Ellensburg.

That call never came Wednesday, but Garcia and the other members of the helicopter-based quick-response team got some experience anyway. They were gathered at Cle Elum Municipal Airport, responding to a mock fire as news media watched.

They used a windswept meadow as base, loading baskets for cargo drops and water drops while getting valuable time with real equipment and real helicopters.

“Today is a great opportunity for our program to get some real hands-on training with the helicopters, with all the fuel trucks and with all the radios, so that we are as proficient as we can be when it comes to actually doing our task when the fires start to go off later this summer,” said helitack crew member Aaron Siebol of Ellensburg.
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Posted: May 31, 2016

Police Launch Investigation Into Martin County (KY) Fire Trucks Being Repossessed

WARFIELD, Ky. (WYMT/WSAZ) - Kentucky State Police have launched an investigation into the Warfield Volunteer Fire Department in Martin County after four fire trucks were repossessed. County officials said a loan company from out of state repossessed the trucks Monday and will not give them back until the department makes substantial payments on loans taken out against the trucks.

Representatives from the First Government Lease Company in Northfield, Illinois, took the fire trucks, claiming loans taken out on them had not been paid back, said Warfield Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jay D. Hinkle.

"It impacted me pretty bad," Hinkle said. "I got mad at first and then it hurt me because the community is who suffers in this."

Department leaders and county officials are trying to figure out who applied for loans on the trucks and why, since the vehicles were already paid off.

Kentucky State Police are investigating. In the meantime, Warfield firefighters are trying to figure out how to get the trucks back.


"Right now we're going to try to seek some legal aid and see what we can do," Hinkle said.

The Warfield Volunteer Fire Department is now down to two fire engines and a rescue truck, Hinkle said.

But Hinkle said the department is still able to provide adequate fire coverage to people in the Warfield area because they are receiving help from departments in nearby Inez and Kermit, W.Va.

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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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