Safety Reminder: Seat Belts Are Not Optional - Buckle-Up!
Any personnel becoming lost, disoriented, or trapped that can contact Command shall utilize the
Term MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. Personnel declaring a MAYDAY shall provide the following information if possible. The acronym LUNAR shall be utilized: Location, Unit Number, Name, Assignment, and Resources needed for rescue. Upon receipt of a MAYDAY, only radio traffic specific to the MAYDAY situation shall occur.
Fitness Tip: “Maximize your workout and burn over 1,000 calories per hour!" That's a claim you may see in advertisements for treadmills, stair-climbers, and other cardio machines. And it's true. You can burn 1,000 calories per hour doing those activities — if you crank up the machine to the highest level and if you happen to have bionic legs. If you're a beginner, you'll last about 30 seconds at that pace, at which point you will have burned 8.3 calories.
There's a better approach to calorie burning: Choose an activity that you can sustain for a good while — say, at least 10 or 15 minutes. Sure, running burns more calories than walking, but if running wipes you out after a half mile or bothers your knees, you are better off walking.
STAFF MEETING
March 10, 2009
Chief #09-04
ATTENDEES: Chief Hohman; Asst. Chiefs Weir and Hubbard; Division Chiefs Robinson, Ewers, Kuruc, and Spencer-Strong; Act. Division Chief Kesting; Battalion Chiefs Lancaster and Devers; Directors Blackwell, Preis, Brown, Korn, and Hill; Fire Lieutenant Lynn Mullahey, Comm. Dir. Armacost; Mgmt. Analysts Holman, Stewart; Executive Secretary Lysakoski
CHIEF HOHMAN
Enjoyed attending the Lieutenant Seminars. Attended 2 Captain Seminars.
ASST. CHIEF WEIR
Apparatus Out of Service:
M-2..... Mechanical
M-11... Computer installation
M-15... Suspension
M-55... Ignition
M-8..... Fuel Rail
84% of firstline medics in service
E-101.. PM
E-14.... Mechanical
E-7...... U-Joint
E-15.... Head Gasket
E-16.... Generator
E-41.... Pump
79% of firstline engines in service
T-15... Body Work and 189's
86% of firstline trucks in service
ASST. CHIEF HUBBARD
Submitted our annual local government Homeland Security grant application to MEMA. We expect to get approval of the final budget/projects requested in a few months. This grant covers projects submitted by County agencies.
Witnessed a Harford County EOC drill to test a new public notification system and software.
Appeared before the Council meeting March 2 to request acceptance of Homeland Security funds for Health Department and Mobile Command Post Projects.
A vacancy is anticipated for the positions of administrative duty officer (ADO) in the Fire Communications Division. Transfers will be accepted from persons holding the classification of Fire Lieutenant or Fire Captain until Friday, March 27, 2009 at 1630 hours. Transfers are being accepted in accordance with MOU Section 12.3 and must be filed electronically. Communications station number is 68. Please contact Fire Director Richard Petry (410-307-2040) with any questions.
DIVISION CHIEF ROBINSON
The 95th recruit class, with 25 PM/Recruits, continues their progress and are now involved in ALS training. A note of thanks to stations housing reserve medics and E-shift medics for your outstanding cooperation during night driving evolutions this past week.
The Maryland Chief Officers Seminar was held last weekend 2/28-3/1, and we wish to commend those personnel who attended this informative program.
The following attended the program in Shady Grove. B Shift was on duty both days.
Both days!!
BC3A Wayne L. Tome, Sr. Fire Capt. Dennis Robertson 12-A Fire Lt. Dawn Miller 10-B
BC2C Stephen Lancaster Fire Capt. David Miller 11-B Fire Lt. Bryan Smith 7-B
Fire Capt. Jennifer Utz 16-A EMS Lt. Jack Amrhein EMS-6
Fire Capt. Pam MacLean 57 C Fire Lt. Jeffrey Snyder 19-C
Fire Capt. David Bycoffe 57 B Fire Lt. Keith Fisher 5-C
Fire Capt. Michael Rutledge 9 B EMT/FF Ronald Blizzard 19-D
Fire Capt. Tom Amerhein 15 B FS David Snyder 17-B
Fire Capt. Kenneth Thomas 54 C FADO Steve Barry 10-C
FS Scott Knatz 1-B
Volunteer Nicholas Sayler 48 (Sat. only) Michael Griffiths 48 (Sat. only)
Paul Sullivan, Jr. 20
Sunday only
Fire Captain Paul Lurz BC2-B
Fire Captain Tyrone Cooke 3 -B
Fire Captain James Massey 4 -B
Fire Captain Patrick Murphy -13 B
On Thursday 3/19, the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association will be hosting a dinner/seminar featuring Chief Billy Goldfeder of “Firefighter Close Calls. Com”. There is no charge for this seminar that will be held at the Level Volunteer Fire Company in Havre de Grace beginning with dinner at 1730 and followed by an informative safety-focused program. There is still limited space available and if interested contact: Rhonda Polk @ 443-982-1835
Our spring fire/rescue refresher will commence next Friday, 3/21/09. A schedule has been sent to the field, and this program will be running through the month of June. The training will focus on our compliance with NFPA 1404 “Air management”. All personnel are encouraged to practice with SCBA to include troubleshooting, emergency, and RIT procedures prior to attending. This will be an all day practical program, and personnel should bring their lunches. Contact Fire Lt. Sam Pearce with any questions or concerns.
Our EMS to FF Bridge Program will be running the week of 3/23 and thus far we have registered 13 pre-qualified personnel. Any personnel who have not confirmed their attendance and who desire to participate should contact Lt. Mark New –ASAP to assure their pre-requisites have been completed.
ADC KESTING
Fire Lieutenant Thomas Schwartz and EMS Lieutenant Joseph Grusch have been chosen Firefighter and Paramedic of the Year by the St. Agnes Chapter of the Knights of Columbus.
I would like to thank the crews and staff that fought the fires at Rosewood did an excellent job. The use of Class A Foam, which was provided by Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company, greatly helped to suppress the fire.
BATTALION CHIEF DEVERS
Responded to an ice rescue in Middle River. Patient was released from the hospital with no lasting injuries. Held a Post Incident Review last week.
DIRECTOR KORN
The annual Promotions and Commendation Awards ceremony will be held 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, atGoucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium. At this year's ceremony, Lt. Thomas Schwartz, FF/EMT Richard Green, Jr., and FS Thomas Curtis will receive Bronze Stars, three civilians will receive Citizen's Metals of Honor, andall persons promoted since last year's ceremony will be recognized for their achievements.
DIRECTOR BROWN
Working with OIT and EST, we have made additional adjustment to the timers and MDT. Hopefully, we've corrected all the battery issues.
We are presenting 2007-2008 departmental accident data during the Captain's Seminar to education our officers on the number and various types of accidents.
DIRECTOR BLACKWELL
Acceptance for PEMT applications closed yesterday. Human Resources received 2,010 qualified applications. Examinations will be complete by the end of March.
DIRECTOR PREIS
The EMS Today Conference is being held in Baltimore March 24th - 28th. Exhibit hall passes are available free to department members. Discounted conference rates are also applicable to department members. An email has been sent out with the code to use to secure your pass. Send an email to Office Coordinator Donna Gillespie if you need this sent to you: .
Career ALS skills evaluations are going very well, about 20% completed. Volunteer evaluations will commence the second half of this year.
COMM. DIR. ARMACOST
We are working with IT on a complete analysis of the web sections for Fire and Emergency Management. This is part of a government-wide review being performed by IT. Using WebTrends and other measuring tools, this review shows us, among other things, how heavily each page and file is used, how long visitors stay on various pages, what kinds of people are using our site, how they are finding us and what search terms they are using.
Using this data, we will eliminate unnecessary pages/files; optimize pages/files that are important but that people seem unable to find; update pages that have not been revised in the last 12 months; and review for general customer service needs.
The analytics show 244,705 visits to the Fire Department's pages in 2008. The top five pages were: Fire Department Main (43,916 visits); Join the Balto Co Fire Dept (17,648); Fire Station Information (14,693); FRA main page (11,679); and Schedule of Fireworks displays (8,984).
FS Jay Ringgold and Communications Director Elise Armacost spoke on Feb. 25 to a Towson University graduate-level class in crisis communication, taught by Baltimore County Police Dept. spokesman Bill Toohey. This was a great opportunity to highlight our EOC and discuss how we handle crisis communications during various types of emergencies.
The Department of Social Services has asked us to spread the word that they desperately need gently used bed linens for a new men's shelter on the west side. The fitted and top sheets and pillowcases do not need to match. They would also appreciate new or gently used pillows. They provide receipts for donations. Drop off the linens at the Volunteer Office of the Baltimore County Department of Social Services, 6401 York Road. Or, call Deborah Ward, 410-853-3021, and she will direct you to the closest shelter in need of a donation.
FIRE LT. LYNN MULLAHEY
Received a letter of thanks to Fire Lt. Mike Stawski, FADO John Purkey, FF/EMT James Partridge, and PFF Brent Williams from Golden Ring Fire Station-A-shift. They visited McCormick Elementary School and gave an excellent program to the second grade classes.
Halethorpe Fire Station – C Shift and personnel from the Eastern and Western Fire Marshal’s Offices delivered educational programs in their districts.
Public Safety Education applied for a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. This grant request was for new educational resources to address an increase in injuries due to falls in our elderly population.
MGMT. ANALYST STEWART
An updated email cheat sheet has been posted on BCNet.
MANAGEMENT ANALYST HOLMAN
When submitting requests to fill vacancies, please include position and rank.
Remember to use F time by the end of the month.
RECOGNITION:
Bobby Troxell from the 911 Center Training Academy wrote to thank members of Brooklandville Fire Station for giving a HazMat presentation to their students. “Thank you to Fire Capt. Frank O'Connor, Fire Lt. Jeffrey Kriemer, FADO Phillip Hebert, FADO Gary Rickrode and Fire Specialist Bruce Snyder for bringing the Engine and HazMat Unit for the students to see. Fire Lt. Jeffrey Kreimer gave an outstanding talk in reference HazMat, which I learned a few new things myself that I will pass on to future classes.”
Retired Lt. Timothy Robinson sent an email thanking the below listed members who responded to his home to extinguish a fire in the flooring caused by a plumber’s torch.
Engine 4 Engine 41 Truck 13
FS John Bennett FS John Crooks, Jr. FADO Ira Lapps
FADO Bruce Fleming FS Glenn Peacock FADO Gary Logan
PFF Jermaine McCullough Fire Capt. Kevin Stielper Fire Lt. Joseph Ryan
Fire Lt. John Schultz FF/EMT Ron Imbragulio EMT/FF Scott Wagner
Medic 4
PEMT Robert Patrylak
PM Carlos Velez
The Executive Director of the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce wrote to thank Texas and Brooklandville Fire Stations and Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company for their help in the rescue of a young man from Quarry Lake on February 15.
The Director of Maryland Department of Disabilities Emergency Preparedness Policy sent an email thanking Director James Korn, Fire Lieutenant Mark Demski, and Fire Specialist Jay Ringgold for their assistance when she became ill while attending a meeting at the PSB.
A citizen sent an email to the Chief thanking Fire Captain Mark Garrett, Fire Lt. Jason Hahn, FADO Michael Scott, FF/EMT Mike Mather, PMAtiya Smith, and PEMT Joseph Funk for the care they gave his wife.
A couple wrote to thank Fire Lt. Neal Simmons, FADO Morgan Lambert, FS Gary Bull, and FF/EMT Kelvin Seigle for their assistance when they were locked out of their home.
The Heritage Community Association sent an email thanking Acting B.C. Paul Lurz for speaking at their meeting. The members enjoyed his presentation.
The next Staff Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 10:30 in the Dulaney Room
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