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Home My WebLink About2012 - Couplings Spring Newsletter j ��UVu�uuui�uuu�i��Uiilui�uuou��ui�U�i�� Ni E T I IN G TH E C 0 ILII M U N I "' W ITH T F S I IIS` I P T ILII ilk T 00011�11 1uuuiull0111 M111091=011011ulu MOP ��1�I IIIIII 111111°°illlll A ct oIIIIII'�illlllIII�I By Tom Kiurski " Not too long ago, you read about the grand opening of our burn chambers on our Glendale training site. This allows us to use live fire training in an environment that is quite controlled and run by instructors who are aware of the safety measures built into the system. In an agreement with Schoolcraft College, a fire training tower was built by Schoolcraft near our burn chambers. Now, Livonia firefighters and the Schoolcraft fire academy students can train at both facilities...literally, the best of both worlds! The training tower is five stories high, has a gas fire room, an outside fire department connection that brings water into the high rise portion of the tower, and has sprinkler heads for training in how to stop the flow of water from an activated sprinkler head within a building. It has several places to practice rappelling down a building, as well as many confined spaces for us to practice in. We can practice cutting holes in a roof prop. We can move "unconscious" firefighters up and down stairs, through hallways and numerous other obstructions. The possibilities are endless. With the coming of spring and the nicer weather, I have a spattering of pictures of LFD in Action! Enjoy! ,, � ��<<I�Iillliillllillllllilil��lllllllllll jp,j I IIIIIII IIIIIIII IIII iil,ilp,llllll IIIIIIIIIIII II,I„II,,,I 111,11,11, �� °� ° � , uu uuuuuuuuuuu uuu uuuu u'u'V'uu uu uuuu uu uu'u u u uuuuuuu uuuu uuu uuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuu uu u�uuu u u uuu u �� l//i iny�ylk�/ i t it I f/lull � IIIIIIIIIIIIIII uuuuuu i � IIIIIIIIIIIIII 1 II 111111 Q uuuuuuuuuuQ 0Muuuuu By S hadd Whitehead ��titititi�tiv»�i� We are happy to have you here for the latest issue of Couplings. I would like to thank all of the Livonia citizens who voted for the public safety millage. This has allowed us to staff our vehicles to respond best to any emergency situation in the city. Our trained firefighter/paramedics are here to serve you each and every day in a professional manner, and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuV we will prove it if and when the time comes that you need us. But don't wait for an emergency, come in u oiiuuuuuuuiQ and visit us at any of our fire stations. imr�i�iui�ioirc ool poioio ioio NuOioioiNI f away ftm rl ! Children am,, nalwally C'Unotis aboutm 6 fto lwa f keep mmtches, out of and out, of o 1 � el J In case I of an Emergency ... ;+ r Dial 911 By Tom Kiurski Sometimes you just can't help but ask yourself "What were they thinking"? This happened to me when I read of a recent incident at a bar in New York. 1 The bar owner and bartender were tipped off that police were coming to investigate them for serving alcohol to minors. Since this was common practice, to avoid being ticketed, they went to the DJ at the club and told him to announce that there was a fire in the building. No other instructions, no calming notification to use the nearest exit, no pointing out the location of exits, just the announcement of "fire" in a crowded bar, located in the basement of a building. The only visible access that most patrons knew of was the narrow stairs they took to enter the club. Did they not remember the E2 nightclub stampede in Chicago on February 17, 2003? On that night, security guards tried to break up a fight using pepper spray. Several patrons close to the commotion experienced vomiting, fainting and similar reactions from the spray's fumes. Add that to the panic from others who were unaware of the source of the smell, and you have a crowd moving to their only exit at the steep front stairwell leading to the main entrance. The door opened inward, so the crowd pushing toward the exit caused a situation where the doors could not open for a period of time. The inward swinging door is a clear code violation. This incident lead to the deaths of 21 people and more than 50 were injured when the over capacity crowd headed to the exits. Have they not heard of The Station nightclub fire, which happened just three days after the Chicago incident? On February 20, 2003, pyrotechnics from a live band ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceiling surrounding the stage. This fast-moving fire engulfed the club in just about five minutes. This incident killed 100 people and injured another 230 people. Strangely enough, a television crew was inside The Station filming a piece on fire safety considerations in crowds in response to the E2 incident of a few days earlier. If you wish to watch some of the footage, it is available on YouTube to watch, but I warn you that it may be disturbing to watch. The fire at The Station was different in that it did have several other marked exits available, but few people used them. As is often the case, many people go to that familiar entrance door that they used to come in. One point to walk away from this article with is locating exits when in crowded, unfamiliar places such as bars, large restaurants, concert halls and theatres. Following the crowd may not be your best decision. The tragedies do not stop there. A similar incident at The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Kentucky killed 165 people in 1977. A fire in the Cocoanut Grove night club in Boston killed 492 people in 1942. A theatre fire in Chicago in 1903 killed 603. Learn the lessons, plan ahead and take proper action. When the emergency happens, it may be too late. For many Livonia residents the last days of March serve as a painful reminder that it is time to work on their spring cleaning checklist. As many begin the arduous task of cleaning and clear- ing the debris that accumulated over the winter months, the Livonia Fire Department recom- mend that residents add home fire safety to their list. To assist you in fire proofing your home during the spring season, consider the following safety tips: • Check and clean your smoke alarms. • Check and clean your carbon monoxide alarms. • Check your fire extinguisher. • Make sure electrical outlets and extension cords are not overloaded. • Have air conditioning units and other electrical appliances checked by a licensed professional. • Clear your basement and attics from old papers, oily rags, and broken furniture. • Make sure all fire exits or escape routes that are identified in your fire escape drill are clear of any debris and are not blocked-off. • Inspect your charcoal/gas grills. • Spread mulch at least a foot away from the house with a non-combustible barrier in between, such as rock. • Finally, when you are finished spring cleaning make sure all cleaning products are stored in child safety latched drawers and cabinets with the original labels. I In loin I o 11, III L'.. LIgllll.�WlllVu,wIlInI,niouul VlmmW,�Va,I9uN,lmluNua�p lll�i� �WlllNuwoIlInInouul�lI�III4„lIll I' wwlIiIiVluIIlIlIlIlIlVlInI l��mIIlIlIlIlIII ' w4uuIImlIlIlIlI1 lVlIn1 IIlIWp�I,IIIIIIIIIILI IIIIII o ou II 1�of II 11111`1 IIIIIIInIIIII)� �5uIIuII AC IIIIiIII 1I1I 11 By Tom Kiurski I have been stressing fire and life safety through this column for quite some time now. With apologies to the caveman commercials, I titled this column "Fire Safety— So Simple a Child can do it!" I do not mean to imply that a comprehensive safety plan is an easy thing to do. What I have found is three great examples of three very young children who acted appropriately in a stressful situation and are heroes — at least in my book! My first hero is a 12 year-old boy named Kenneth, who was at home in his bedroom one afternoon. His baby sister was napping in her bedroom and his mother left some food cooking on the stove and stepped out of the house (the mother is NOT a hero of mine). Kenneth heard the smoke alarm sound, as smoke was filling his house. He turned off the burner to the stove, grabbed his younger sister and ran to their neighbor's house. He was outside the home, tears filling his eyes, as fire units arrived at the smoke filled house. He had to be thinking he lost his mother, but she showed up a bit later and the family was reunited. , ii ✓r,Y' j� t ;, My second hero is a 9 year-old boy named Tristin, who was at his 1�� grandmother's house with his 2 year-old sister. When he couldn't find her, he checked outside in the pool. After seeing his sister in the pool, he pulled her out and began performing CPR to try to save his sister's life. After a few minutes, she began to breathe on her own. Young Tristin told responding firefighter/paramedics that he learned the CPR techniques from a television show. My final hero is from New Hampshire, and this incident just happened in July of last year. Ten-year- old Dylan was playing at home when he noticed his younger brother's lips start to turn blue and he appeared to be in great distress. He couldn't breathe because he put a marble in his mouth, which blocked his airway. Dylan's father is a firefighter, and he taught Dylan how to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Without delay, he jumped into action and the marble came shooting out of his brother's mouth. I am quite sure that there are many youngsters out there who would also make m hero list should the opportunity arise. We need to take the time to Y pp Y go over emergency actions with our families when the opportunity arises. It may be after a television show or movie that shows an emergency situation, a real life family emergency or an emergency that strikes a family member or friend. It may not even be related to a real emergency; it can be practiced because it is important. Plan ahead what numbers need to be called to initiate the emergency services here in Livonia, how to contact family and neighbors to get immediate needs taken care of, and where you can sign up for a first aid and/or CPR class. umu mi u�npl�� #OII ��II �YNuuMuo' Vum IVum�Y�NuuMuo'. "'v�VB�mVuii��IIIINmmll.#wluu��h,Ym �9� uuumi mi III'',,�Wllluwinnuu @��p��twinn��d. By Tom Kiurski This tale has it all: a gale-force storm battering the ship, all-night partying by passengers, smuggling of drugs, drinks and illegal immigrants, a possible murder, and .....death! Sounds like the makings of a good murder mystery, but they are the unfortunate events of the Morro Castle luxury liner in September of 1934. The ship had made hundreds of weekly runs between New York City and Havana Cuba prior to this one without incident. The Great Depression was affecting all except for the very wealthy, and those were the passengers on that ship. Prohibition was also in effect, so once the ship was three miles from shore, many passengers began a vacation filled with alcohol that didn't end until they were almost back in port. While on the return trip back to New York City, the long-time captain of the ship died mysteriously. Heading into the eye of the storm, a fire of unknown origin began and swept through the ship. No alarms were sounded, and the distress signal was never ordered by the inexperienced first mate in charge. Crew members had a disdain for the rich passengers, and let them sleep while they commandeered the life boats, leaving the passengers on board the burning ship. The first lifeboat held 28 crew members and 3 passengers, and the second one IIJ/,,,, �1 i held 7 crew and 3 passengers. The �� next six lifeboats had a capacity of 408, but carried only 85, most of which were crew members. The next morning, the burned out shell of the Morro Castle ran ashore �yYl1Nr w�� in New Jersey. A total of 137 people died as a result of that fire on thee° high seas. �NNIII I mIIlNmpi imam m��l amp '', ��ou mule imuN uuu Iou amp uuumul�llll� mule Vmmolu��Vl ou Vmuuu IIINuoi 11111111111 °° �I°° �,�IIIIII �Nppi��iiiii °°�iiii� ��pi��iiiiii ��,iuq , iiiiii �iiii� II ,9ma 19 a wIWN�� IWN ,9ma m imam u��,��Vk uu mIIlNmpi uumum�W mllgNuap imam mW ''.��Nmiµ� m m'ou Vo ,mml aopl�llll uuu imam umN ooNl opl "��,��VI..+�I m;'. � ppppp��lpi�� ppp��lpi��iiiiii N�II�,Illp� By Tom Kiurski came across a Canadian survey of what items are on their spring cleaning list. While fire safety may not be high on the list of respondents, it (along f, with every other season) has some safety issues that should be addressed. l'II�I What items would make your list? / Topping the list of spring cleaning tasks in the survey is sorting through seasonal clothing and donating unwanted items. This was cited by 72% of respondents in the survey and it is a great way to get started. Not only does this help those we donate the clothing to, it keeps our homes from getting cluttered and hard to move through. I have had my share of moving slowly through homes that are cluttered, without sight due to smoke from the fire in the home. It is a slow and dangerous crawl, and the added fuel gives the fire more to burn, which increases heat and smoke production. Another 46% of responses indicated they would be doing some extra cleaning in the kitchen. This also helps out the fire safety picture, as the buildup of grease and oil from cooking that may splatter on the back of the stove, cupboard walls and floor give fire an easy place to start or spread to. Keeping cooking surfaces clean, having a fire extinguisher handy (that you know how to use), and taking out the pan and lid that you plan on using are also good fire safety tips. The lid to the pan can be used to smother out an unwanted fire that may start by eliminating the oxygen, as you then can shut off the heat to the burner. Less than half of the respondents checked off the box on the survey that had direct impacts on fire safety. Only 26% stated they would be removing potential fire hazards from their homes that have not been used, such as paint and cleaning products. One-third of respondents stated that they would be replacing smoke alarm batteries in their homes, and this should include carbon monoxide alarms as well. I generally don't replace my smoke alarm batteries in the spring, either. I replace them in December, as it is my habit to buy extra batteries at that time of year, since I had to buy so many for my kids' toys. My kids are now older, but I have continued that schedule of smoke alarm battery changing. Smoke alarms should be tested monthly and the entire unit replaced every r ten years. If you aren't sure how old your smoke alarm is, then take it off the i� pa �� pm ceiling and look at the back of the unit. It should have the year that it was made clearly labeled on the unit. If you don't see it, it is probably over ten years old, since the smoke alarm marking system I refer to started in the pm r mr m ✓ii year 2000. The units are inexpensive enough to replace every ten years, �� Ifwfrrvua;,mmwrrravey D !o'vDN/'"�� ern tJa j �� and the technology gets better all the time. Remember smoke alarms activating from shower steam? The technology is much better today, and we get almost no activations from showers any more. Spring cleaning is a great time to look at the safety measures in your home, and take a few minutes to maintain them. Your family will be glad you did. PWf + dFA4P PKIYENrO T Ri R4FS! stop, ro + - and roill if YoNle''r r :t •4 catch fire'. �Doni't ruin! r` olil over and over c - - �'• until the flames ARNOW � are out, .r� NFF% The name and the Image of SparhyO erre registered trademarks of the NFPA SMOKEY SAYS DON'T v ;�Av WITH MAWHES!.f .-IF a Tess ou1r `- smoke + _ � w it's a, sound L ' you can livewith. ■ v I� Y + li iiw r - The name and the knep atSpa erre registered tredemada, at time NFPA