WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT of every five (39%) home Christmas tree fires started in the living room,...
Transcript of WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT of every five (39%) home Christmas tree fires started in the living room,...
Tis the Season - Cold Weather Safety
…..Acting to Save
Planning to Protect... ...Acting to Save
November 2015 Volume 3, Issue 11
WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Inside this issue:
Fire & EMS Run Review 1
EMS Bureau Report 2
Fire Prev./ Public Safety 4
Operations Bureau 6
Training Bureau 7
In Their Own Words 8
YEARS of SERVICE ~November
Capt. T Lamberg....1/26/90
LT J Gustafson.....11/18/96
LT R Lesiecki.......11/18/96
FF M Rinzel…......11/27/96
LT R Schafer…….11/27/96
POC Wahouske…...1/02/98
POC FF Guild …..11/15/04
Our first snowfall of the season has arrived, a preview of things to come. Now is the time
to start thinking about some simple things you can do to keep yourself and others safe.
Continued on page 2
Emergency Activities
Types of Calls
November 2015
October 2015 Year to Date
(2015) Year to Date
(2014) Fires Calls 17 35 368 428 Emergency Medical Calls 225 207 2604 2468 Paramedic Intercepts 11 10 123 128 Interfacility Transports 39 36 461 464
Totals 292 288 3556 3488
Town of Barton Calls 8 7 77 67 Town of West Bend Calls 8 17 139 138
Cold weather and snow
bring there own set of
problems for emergency
responders answering a
call for help. Snow and ice
can make driving hazard-
ous for emergency vehi-
cles. When arriving at a
scene getting to the pa-
tient can be a challenge.
When responding to a
motor vehicle crash the
footing on the scene can
be very slippery and ini-
tially there is not a lot fire
personnel can do but to
better. Unfortunately we
know emergencies have
no schedule and can hap-
pen at any time of the
day or night.
It is especially important
for people to help out the
elderly at this time of
year and make sure the
surfaces they are walking
on are not slippery, a fall
for an elderly person can
be a devastating injury.
One other very important
issue that we need to
Emergency Medical Services Bureau BC Van Langen and Captain Thrash
Page 2
move about very care-
fully. When arriving at
a residence it is very im-
portant to emergency
responders that side-
walks and especially
steps are snow and ice
free. Using salt or some
other type material to
keep these surfaces from
being slippery could pre-
vent one of the respond-
ers from being injured.
The sooner you can
clean the sidewalks and
steps after a snowfall the
mention is first ice. All
parents should take the
time to speak with their
children about the dan-
gers of walking out onto a
newly frozen surface. It
must be emphasized that
looks can be deceiving
and this ice is extremely
thin. There are many
lakes, ponds, and streams
within our response area.
Unfortunately first ice
often coincides with kids
being out of school on
Christmas break.
‘Tis the Season - Cold Weather Safety by Todd Van Langen
Page 3
Emergency Medical Services Bureau Battalion Chief Todd Van Langen & Captain Tom Thrash
WBFD EMS TRANSPORTS
West Bend Fire De-
partment Paramedic
Ambulances have been
busy so far this year.
We have had contact
with over 3200 pa-
tients to date. The
chart below shows
where we have trans-
ported those patients.
Note that there are
times where we arrived
on a scene and did not
transport the patient.
In this situation para-
medics most likely on-
ly gave simple assis-
tance. They may have
just helped someone in
getting up from the
floor. In most non-
transport cases they
likely did an assess-
ment and then had a
discussion with the pa-
tient explaining their
findings. At that point
the paramedics and
the patient agreed that
transport was not
needed. As the chart
indicates St Joseph’s
Hospital is where we
transport over 40% of
our patients. We try
to give the patient eve-
ry opportunity to go to
the hospital of their
choice.
Page 4
November 2015 Prevention & Inspection Activities
Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tammy Lamberg
ian deaths, 52 civilian
injuries, and $13.3 mil-
lion in direct property
damage per year.
On average, one of eve-
ry twelve Christmas
tree fires resulted in a
fatality. In addition,
Christmas tree fires are
statistically shown to
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0
50
100
150
200
250
300Periodic InspectionsReinspections/Follow-upsViolationsSystem Acceptance TestsRequests/ComplaintsMeetings/ConsultsPermitsHome Smoke Alarm InstallsCommunity Safety PresentationsPlan Reviews
314 39 70 9 5 7 6 5 2 5
The National Fire Pro-
tection Association
(NFPA) reports that
there is an estimated
annual average of 410
home structure fires
that begin with Christ-
mas trees. Based on
data from 2004 through
2014, these fires caused
an average of 34 civil-
Christmas Tree Safety Guidelines by Captain Tammy Lamberg
Page 5
Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tammy Lamberg
Christmas Tree Safety Guidelines continued
advises that these arti-
ficial trees are the saf-
est option for in the
home. If you do choose
to bring a live tree into
your home remember
to keep your tree moist
with at least twice daily
watering. If at any time
the needles appear to
be drying out the tree
should be removed
from the home. Do not
place the Christmas
tree next to a fireplace,
heat vent or any other
possible ignition source.
Also, make sure tree
lights are not damaged
or worn. Remember
these tips to keep your
family safe. Happy hol-
idays to you and your
families!!!
an open flame was ap-
plied to the tree using a
propane torch. The
branches ignited brief-
l y , b u t s e l f -
extinguished when the
researchers removed
the torch from the
branches. This demon-
stration shows that
moist trees are much
safer. They should have
pliable green needles at
all times. Signs of a dry
tree would be needles
that break easily when
bent or needles that
fall from the tree when
the branches are shak-
en.
There are many beauti-
ful, realistic artificial
trees available for con-
sumers today. NFPA
a very short period of
time.
Wet trees tell a
different story.
For comparative pur-
poses, researchers se-
lected a fresh, green
Scotch pine, had it cut
in their presence, had
an additional two inch-
es cut from the trunk's
bottom, and placed the
tree in a stand with at
least a 8 liter water ca-
pacity. The researchers
maintained the Scotch
pine's water on a daily
basis. A single match
could not ignite the
tree. In a second at-
tempt an entire burning
matchbook failed to
ignite the tree. Finally
spread beyond the
room of origin. The
fires that spread be-
yond the room of origin
caused 94 % of the as-
sociated fatalities.
When bringing home a
live Christmas tree the
key thing to remember
is this: It is the moisture
content of each tree
that will determine the
fire hazard each tree
represents. Retaining a
high moisture content
in the needles of the
tree is very important
to limit accidental igni-
tion and prevent rapid
flame spread. A tree
which has dry needles
can readily ignite and
generate heat release
rates that are capable
of causing flashover in
Firefighters look over the remains of a burned Christmas tree
Example of a Christmas tree located too close to the fireplace
Keep the Wreath Green This Holiday Season
Fire Department Operations Bureau Battalion Chief John Spartz & Captain Jon Coutts
Page 6
Christmas is a time of
great joy and cheer for
many. However, it is also
a time of increased fire
risk. Thousands of fires
occur during the holiday
season. Locally, a fire can
devastate a household in
seconds. The members of
the West Bend Fire de-
partment want to remind
you to have a safe holiday
season this year.
In order to show how
many times fire can affect
a community, the West
Bend Fire Department has
adopted the “Keep the
Wreath Green” Program
during the 2015 Christmas
and New Year’s holidays .
A holiday wreath is dis-
played in front of all three
fire stations. They are dec-
orated with green lights and
1 white light. The single
white light at the top of the
wreath is in remembrance of
all firefighters who have died
in the line of duty. A green
light will be replaced with a
red light each time our de-
partment responds to a
structure fire from Thanks-
giving through New Year’s
Day.
It is our hope that the
wreath will remind people to
be “fire safe” during the holi-
day season by practicing fire
safety everyday. A list of fire
safety tips for your family to
use are given below.
Finally, the Operations and
Maintenance Bureau wishes
everyone a happy and safe
holiday season.
Holiday Safety Reminders
Here are a few fire safe tips that we all should keep in mind during the upcoming Holiday Season:
Burn candles away from any drafts and all flammable materials. More than half of home candle fires occur
when something that can catch on fire is to close to the candle.
Never leave a burning candle unattended. Candles should be extinguished when you leave a room, leave the
residence, or go to bed.
Candles started 7% of home Christmas tree structure fires.
Christmas trees account for hundreds of fires annually.
Live trees should be recut approximately 2 inches above the old cut as soon as you get it home. The tree
should then be put into water & the water level should be maintained for the duration that it’s in a residence.
Keep the tree away from heat sources & use decorations that are flame resistant.
Electrical problems were factors in one-third (32%) of home Christmas tree structure fires.
Twelve percent of home Christmas tree fires involved decorative lights.
Two of every five (39%) home Christmas tree fires started in the living room, family room, or den.
Fire Instruction & Training Bureau Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tom Thrash
Page 7
Citizen Appreciation
Award
For the second year in a
row The West Bend
Fire Department is
honoring citizens who
have done exceptional
things. When citizens
take initiative to act it
benefits the residents of
West Bend and makes
it a safer place to live.
This year we are recog-
nizing Mr. Michael
Mets, Mrs. Mary Metz,
and Mrs. Sue Garvey at
the November 16th,
2015 Common Council
meeting.
On October 14, 2014,
Michael and Mary were
driving on University
Drive when they no-
ticed a tree burning
next to a large apart-
ment building. The
Metz’s stopped their
ROW
vehicle and phoned 911
to alert fire crews.
They began notifying
building occupants to
get out. The fire was
extinguished and no
injuries were reported.
They also remained on
scene to further assist
the fire department
with information and
giving witness state-
ments.
As a result of Michael
and Mary’s actions, the
West Bend Fire De-
partment believes they
saved the property
from significant dam-
age and they might
have also saved a lot of
lives.
On October 4, 2015,
while letting her dog
out, Sue smelled smoke
and knew that it didn’t
smell like a campfire.
She took time to inves-
tigate further and
found the neighbor’s
house on fire. She
called 911, and then
went to the neighbor’s
door and alerted the
female resident of the
fire. She then assisted
further with removing
some items from the
garage.
The fire investigation
revealed that the fire
started in the at-
tic\chimney area. This
area was not equipped
with smoke detectors to
alert the resident.
Sue’s neighbor may not
have become aware of
the situation until it
was to late. If Sue
would not have been
willing to get involved,
this incident may have
had a very tragic end-
ing.
Each of the recipients
were awarded a framed
Certificate of Apprecia-
tion that was presented
by Fire Chief Gerald
Kudek to the individu-
als
Last years winners were
Mr. Marvin Young and
Mr. David Schlough.
We plan on continuing
our citizen recognition
program. Awards will
be given annually dur-
ing Fire Prevention
Month to thank those
who go above and be-
yond. Their actions
make this a safer area
to live in for our citi-
zens.
Citizen Appreciation Awards
325 N 8th Ave.
West Bend, WI 53095
262.335.5054
www.ci.west-bend.wi.us
WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Planning to Protect… ...Acting to Save
Personnel Spotlight: MPO Larry Schwechel Firefighter David Keon
was born on 11-1-1968 in
Belfast Northern Ireland
where he spent the first
year of his life. Dave and
his family then moved to
Queens in New York City.
Dave moved to Wisconsin
in 1992. Dave started in
the fire service with the
Menomonee Falls Fire De-
partment in 1998. Dave
started on our department
in February 2001. On one
of the first days that Dave
was on the job at our de-
partment our present Chief
Gerry Kudek gave him the
nickname Bronx. Dave
explained that he grew up
in Queens not the Bronx,
Gerry replied then we will
call you Queens. Dave
quickly replied that Bronx
sounded just fine.
Dave enjoys hiking out-
doors with his wife Lori,
listening to rock and roll
music, boxing, and snow-
boarding.
The back page of our newsletter features a note or card that we have received from
our customers….the people we serve. Whether it is during an ambu-
lance call, fire call, or a public education assignment, the
members of the West Bend Fire Department are al-
ways dedi- cated to making their contact
with area residents a positive experi-
ence.
Personnel Spotlight:
In Their Own Words…...