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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

Semi and Ambulance collide on I-75

Posted: Apr 12, 2016

Semi and Ambulance collide on I-75

By Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas A traffic collision between an ambulance and a tractor-trailer is typing up traffic on Interstate 75 at mile marker 65, near Ochopee. The Florida Highway Patrol and other agencies were responding as of 2:04 p.m. FHP is reporting a roadblock in the right lane.

The ambulance operator was driving a Collier County EMS ambulance west on I-75 in the left lane when the ambulance drifted left onto the median rumble strips, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. The report states Hanning oversteered to the right and lost control of the ambulance, which overturned and struck the tractor-trailer.

The impact caused the tractor-trailer to jackknife into the right shoulder. The crash was not alcohol-related, according to reports.

Two of the four passengers in the ambulance were taken to the Physician’s Regional Medical Center on Collier Boulevard to be treated for minor injuries.

Fall River, New Bedford Departments Suit Up for Firefighter Demonstration

FALL RIVER - Thick smoke made the room so dark that you couldn't see the person next to you kneeling just feet away on the cement floor, until flames spread across the ceiling. Avoiding panic as heat from the flames increased was no easy task - even knowing that they were only coming from half a bale of hay, in a highly controlled environment.

Deputy Fire Chief Roger St. Martin, of the Fall River Fire Department, said there were legal limits on how much you could burn at an instructional event such as Sunday’s, which Fall River and New Bedford firefighters dubbed “Fire Ops 101.”City councilors, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, Fall River Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II, and members of the media suited up in full fire gear for the event, which gave participants a firsthand taste of firefighter duty.The event came amid ongoing challenges for fire department funding in both cities, and as budget talks ramp up for fiscal 2017.New Bedford firefighter Billy Cabral, president of the local firefighters’ union and information officer for Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, helped organize Sunday’s event. He said Fall River’s department did something similar last year, but it was the first such event for New Bedford officials.One takeaway was clear: Firefighting is demanding, tiring work, and about a lot more than fighting fires. Climbing 35-foot ladders, chopping through roof shingles, power-sawing through the windshield of a Dodge Durango, trying to shear off that Durango’s doors with heavy tools known as the “jaws of life,” and more, all are hard tasks — and exponentially harder in full, heavy fire gear.And that was all on a clear, cool April day, without frightened, injured passengers inside the Durango, or flames billowing out of windows near the ladder, or children trapped and screaming.

Why I Teach: Joe Knitter

In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

Joe Knitter

Joe Knitter

Chief

South Milwaukee (WI) Fire Department

Fighting Fires in Fast-Food Restaurants

Thursday, April 21, 3:30 p.m.-5:15 p.m.

The impetus for this class was the line-of-duty deaths of Houston Firefighters Lewis Mayo III and Kimberly Smith in the McDonald's Restaurant arson fire on Valentine’s Day of 2000. After reading incident reports and watching the American Heat video produced about this fire, I was left with far too many questions about the “why” behind their deaths.

Those questions led to my researching areas such as the causes of fast-food restaurant fires; the techniques and products used in the construction of these free-standing, lightweight buildings; and the operational considerations necessary when responding to fires in these structures. My research led me to develop this program that provides “cues and clues” for every rank of line personnel and raises their awareness about these occupancies.

A fire chief who had attended this program a year ago stated that as soon as he heard a dispatch alert to a fire in a fast-food restaurant, this program “popped into his head” and everything discussed in class came back to him as he responded to the scene. He read the building, predicted the location of the fire and its travel, and ensured that his personnel survived the fire.

Other attendees reported, “We never look at one of those occupancies in the same way after attending your program. My response: “Mission accomplished.”

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Cary (NC) Planning Two More Fire Stations

Posted: Apr 11, 2016

Cary (NC) Planning Two More Fire Stations

Town officials want to build at least two new fire stations in the coming years to improve response times and maintain one of the highest rated fire departments in the state. One fire station would be in the Walnut Street and U.S. 1 area. The other would be near 2531 O'Kelly Chapel Road in western Cary.

The Cary Fire Department, which was established in 1922, has nine fire stations - five of which opened in the last 20 years in response to increased development and population growth.

"My rule of thumb is about once every five years, because of growth, we've had to construct and staff a fire station," Cary Fire Chief Allan Cain said.

The Cary Fire Department strives to have the first truck arrive on the scene of an emergency about seven minutes after 911 is dialed at least 90 percent of the time, Cain said, including no more than five minutes of travel time 90 percent of the time.

The town has about $834,000 remaining in fire bond proceeds, but that isn't enough to cover the construction of either facility.