HYD #2: This Week In Firefighting

Hey Crew!

Here’s your Sunday Morning Size-Up. 🌅 Let’s get hydrated! 💦

Welcome to the 250 new members who joined this week. — If you want to share trending fire news in your part of the world, please send it.

In This Week’s Issue: 

• 🛟 3 Maydays, 3 Close Calls

• 🐻 Flying Bears

• ☕️ Coffee to the Rescue

• 💩 Battling Bad Press

• 🚒 A Dying Fleet

North Carolina: During a house fire in Asheville, NC, a flashover occurred trapping a crew of three firefighters inside. Another firefighter from a different company also fell through the floor and was rescued. One firefighter was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, but is expected to be discharged from the hospital.

Alabama: Three firefighters were injured when a porch collapsed as they were backing out of a duplex fire in Birmingham. ‘The porch collapsed, trapping them under debris, and a Mayday was called. Two sustained minor injuries, while the third suffered more serious injuries. All were expected to recover.” — No update yet on the seriously injured FF.

East Cleveland: A residential fire at shift change devolves quickly as multiple floors collapse trapping two firefighters. A third firefighter was also involved, but managed to escape on his own. A mayday was called and the two brothers were quickly removed to safety. No major injuries. Total loss. Helluva a way to start the day.

Mississippi: Lightning Sparks Massive Gas Fire. Mother Nature struck again at the Corinth Compressor Station in Mississippi. The owner of the pipeline claims lightning sparked the fire. No injuries. The brothers handled it promptly. Apparently, this “once in a career” event happened 20 years ago.

Florida: SpaceX's rocket launch caused a multi-acre fire in a nearby state park and even threw debris, including concrete and steel, thousands of feet away.

Reno: Firefighters rescued a bear stuck in a tree. Wildlife personnel tranquilized the bear. The bear fell from a tree into a salvage tarp held by the responding ladder company.

Huntley, IL: The FD found a man whose leg was pinned between the bumper of a skid steer and the bumper of a dump truck, according to a news release. Spreaders were needed to lift the dump truck off the man’s leg.

North Liberty, IA: Firefighters rescued two people trapped on the second floor during a house fire in North Liberty early Saturday morning. They found fire outside the home, extending into the attic space. Firefighters found two people trapped on a second-floor outdoor deck and got them out safely through a first-floor patio door.

Chicago: IAFF Local 2 posted a shocking rundown of the ages of both frontline and spare rigs in Chicago. Two-thirds of front-line engines are much older than 10 years, with 30 out of the 94 total engines between 20-25 years old. Nearly all spare rigs are over 20 years old. In a city where some rigs go out the door twenty times a day, it shouldn’t come to this. #TechnicallyAntique

Milwaukee: City proposes a 25% budget cut. At 25%, 11 fire stations, 11 engine companies, four ladder trucks, one rescue company, four paramedic units and one battalion chief would be decommissioned.

Texas: Firefighters saved by blocking vehicle. As multiple agencies responded to the crash, a “Blocker” equipped with a Traffic Management Attenuator was put into place to protect first responders. The device absorbed the impact from an 18 wheeler. The engine was hit, but the driver was unharmed.

FDIC is underway. I drove down on Tuesday. So many mustaches. Seriously, next level guys . Please check out their page for a full account, but I wanted to share some conversations I had with the early bird vendors.

Fire Dept. Coffee: Rosenbauer donated a $900,000 support rig to FDC. I spoke with Randy James, the Director of Brand Relations for Fire Dept. Coffee about his years long vision for a state of the art support vehicle to deploy into disaster zones. That dream came true this week. The rig is outfitted to serve both responders and the victims of disasters. It’s nuts. Oh, and of course is equipped with a full-blown coffee station. We’re following up for a tour in the near future.

GEAR: EDC/FIRE Flashlight: Talked with Ian (the owner of SGT Fire Bags), about sewing his first bag, firefighter jargon (e.g. Jake. Joker Stand, Radio Bucket) and creating gear that does more than look good.

I didn’t need a fire bag, but this flashlight caught my eye. The features: Swivel flashlight head, magnetic swivel butt, side LED w/red light (I’ll use for sailing), and the size. This light was designed for a radio strap, but it makes for a nice pocket EDC.

Senior Firefighters Using (HTC-FREE ) CBDs: I met up with Jon from Rescue 1 CBD. I assumed CBDs were a young guy thing, but turns out senior firefighters are the ones buying and using CBD’s.

Does that sound familiar? The research consistently shows that CBD's are helping reduce pain, inflammation, anxiety and depression symptoms, and it also improves sleep. Good to know.

Sooty Skin Needs Attention Too: I spoke with Tara with Flame Natural Decon about why bar soap & shower gel doesn’t come close to removing all the carcinogens from the fire and/or your gear. Why is her soap different?

Flame soap has 4 separate charcoal formulas to remove all forms of carcinogens from the skin. We’ve gotten better at cleaning our gear, maybe it’s time to clean the most important layer of protection.

My new mug. Like many of you I have a coffee problem. I snagged this from George @ Hook & Irons. It says it all. Have a great Sunday!