SFD Media Release - For more information on this release please call (509)625-7002

ISSUING OFFICER: Brian Schaeffer
DATE OF INCIDENT: 3/30/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Information
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 44 West Riverside
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99201

NARRATIVE: Living History Day at the MAC!
Thursday, April 2, 2009, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Looking for something fun and different to do during Spring Break? Bring the entire family to the MAC for one of its most popular events! During Living History Day you'll experience life in Spokane 127 years ago. The Spokane Fire Department Museum will have the antique 1959 Pirsch fire engine on display. This apparatus is retired from Station 11 and is still in working order. SFD's Museum Curator and retired SFD Deputy Fire Marshal, Tommy Heckler, will be available with old firefighting photos and related equipment.

Special admission for Living History Day is only $15 per family and includes the galleries and Campbell House. The event is FREE for MAC members.

PROBABLE CAUSE: N/A
DAMAGE EXTENT: N/A
DOLLAR LOSS:
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 0
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

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Kidde Recalls Fire Extinguishers Due to Failure to Operate

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. announced a voluntary recall of Kidde XL Fire Extinguishers due to the pressurized cylinders, which could lose pressure and fail to operate. Although no incidents or injuries have been reported to date, the failure of the cylinders could put a consumer and property at risk in the event of a fire. About 167,000 Kidde XL Fire Extinguishers were sold in department, home, and hardware stores nationwide from October 2007 through April 2008 for about $35.

The model numbers associated with the recall include:

FX340SC, FX340H, FX340GW, XL5MR, FX210R, FX340SC-2, FX210W, XL2.5TCZ-4, E-340-3 and are marked with a manufacturing date that falls between October 2007 and April 2008. To help consumers determine if they have a recalled extinguisher, the company said that “Kidde” and the model number can be found on the label on the front of the extinguisher. The manufacture year is on the bottom of the extinguisher.

If a consumer has an extinguisher with a listed model numbers and is marked with the year 07 or 08, Kiddie must be contacted. For additional information, Kidde can be contacted at (888) 345-4407 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s web site at

www.Kidde.com

March is "National Red Cross Month"

President Obama has declared the month of March as "National Red Cross Month" which represents a particular time to recognize the importance of the Red Cross in Spokane. While we often hear of the Red Cross during fires and natural disasters, we would be thoughtless to forget the year-round contributions of this organization. With little recognition, our local Red Cross volunteers are out in the field helping people, in the midst of disaster, put the pieces back together again.

In my position at the SFD, I can tell you that firefighters and the CARES Team works on a daily basis with the Inland Northwest Chapter of the Red Cross. Whether we are responding to a structure fire, wildland fire, or just about any other kind of disaster imaginable--we know that we can call the Red Cross any time of day or night and have a response from their staff and volunteers. While firefighters are busy dealing with the disaster, Red Cross volunteers are there to calm the victims and meet life's basics - such as food, clothing and a even a temporary place to stay.

The Red Cross also helps with water and meals at the scene of significant incidents such as large building fires and hazardous material incidents, which helps to ensure that firefighters have proper hydration and nourishment while they are working.

If you weren't completely sure how critical the Red Cross is for the SFD, just consider recent incidents here in Spokane. During larger disasters such as the Joel Building Fire, Valley View Fire, Ugly Duck Fire, Cold Storage Warehouse Fire and literally tens of hundreds other incidents within the last 12 months the Red Cross volunteers assisted property owners deal with the consequences of the emergency while providing them important resources like food, shelter and most importantly, hope.

As emergency responders, we appreciate not only the humanitarian work of the Red Cross in sheltering, feeding and counseling disaster victims, but providing other affordable lifesaving training to our community through CPR, First Aid and a myriad of other safety-related courses.

We have always found it admirable that the Red Cross, a nongovernmental organization, is right by our side as we respond to any disaster and I am not sure what we would do without them. During this month - National Red Cross Month - I encourage all of Spokane to take time to learn more about this organization and all that they do for the people of Spokane. You can learn more at http://www.spokaneredcross.org/ or call the Inland NW Chapter at 509.326.3330

Refurbished Spokane Fire Engine 10's debut at the St. Patrick's Day Parade

Past SFD member Robert Ladd drove retired Engine 10 in the 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday March 14, 2009.   This Engine was in front-line service from 1938 to 1969 at Station 10 located at Division/Gordon (closed).  The apparatus is a 1938 Kenworth with 700 ci Hall Scott inline 6 cylinder motor with a 750 GPM/150 booster tank.

SFD Media Release - For more information on this release please call (509)625-7002

ISSUING OFFICER: Bob Green/Battalion Chief
DATE OF INCIDENT: 3/15/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 1634 N Holliston Road
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99205

NARRATIVE: The Spokane City Fire Dept. dispatched fire fighting crews and their apparatus to 1634 N. Holliston Road at 11:25 PM on Saturday, March 14th, to a reported structure fire. Initially one Fire Company was dispatched to investigate a reported possible chimney fire at this address. Once that fire crew was on scene they noticed visible flames burning on the roof near the chimney of the 2 story wood/frame dwelling and immediately requested a full alarm to respond. While other apparatus were in route to this incident the on-scene crew began to stretch hose lines, don their SCBAs, and do the other tasks required prior to making entry into the building. Once some of the additional companies began arriving on scene, entry was made into the interior of the structure to determine the extent of the problem and to locate the source of the fire. As the remaining fire crews began arriving on scene, assignments were given to put ladders to the house for access to the roof, search the building for any possible victims, ventilate the house, put additional hose lines into the structure for fire suppression and to back-up the crew already inside, and to shut off the gas supply and shut down the electrical circuits in the house. Quick action and aggressive fire fighting techniques, both inside the structure and outside on the roof, resulted in a rapid knock down of the fire which prevented more serious damage to the house. All occupants of the structure were able to exit the building prior to Fire Dept. arrival. The occupants are a family of four who lived on the main floor of the building, the upper floor has been converted to an apartment and that tenant was not at home at the time of the fire. The Red Cross is assisting the family with temporary lodging and the apartment tenant was going to be staying with family until the structure can be repaired. There were no reports of any injuries to the firefighters or to the displaced family. Damage to the house was substantial on the first and second floors and to the roof area around the chimney. There was some water and smoke damage in addition to the fire damage. Members of the Spokane Fire Dept.'s Special Investigation Unit arrived on scene as the fire fighting work was starting to wind down and began their investigation into the cause of this fire. Further investigation is scheduled to continue on Sunday as their work is made much easier by the light of day. Twenty three fire fighters were delivered to this incident on 6 pieces of fire fighting apparatus, 2 Command vehicles, and 1 fire investigation truck.

PROBABLE CAUSE: Currently under investigation.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Heavy fire damage to the roof area around the chimney; moderate fire, water, and smoke damage to the upper floor apartment, moderate fire, water, and smoke damage to the ground floor's living room especially the ceiling and the walls surrounding the fire place.

DOLLAR LOSS: 25,000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 23
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE

SFD Media Release - For more information on this release please call (509)625-7002

ISSUING OFFICER: Brian Schaeffer
DATE OF INCIDENT: 3/13/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Information
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 44 West Riverside
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99201

NARRATIVE: Poison Prevention Week, which runs from March 15-21, provides an opportunity for families to take steps to protect themselves from household poisons. Families, especially those with small children, are most often concerned about the toxins stored in medicine cabinets or locked away under the kitchen sink. But with the cold weather and recent incidents, we want to remind you of one life-threatening poison that may not come to mind--carbon monoxide (CO).

Odorless, colorless and tasteless, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, claiming 500 lives and sending another 20,000 to the hospital every year (CDC).

A by-product of combustion, carbon monoxide can build up in the home when household fuel-burning appliances, such as furnaces, fireplaces, and generators, aren't properly ventilated or maintained. The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, nausea, and dizziness, and it can often mimic the flu. Having a working CO alarm is the ONLY safe way to detect this poisonous gas in your home, but studies show that most homes don,t have one.

Washington legislators are currently considering steps to help keep families safe from CO by introducing a bill that would require carbon monoxide alarms in homes. I encourage homeowners to act now to ensure maximum protection for your family. If you haven,t already, be sure to install a CO alarm on every level of your home specifically near sleeping areas.

By practicing good safety habits at home, families stand a much better chance of not becoming a victim of this silent killer. Don,t wait until it is too late. For more information about Poison Prevention Week, visit www.poisonprevention.org.

PROBABLE CAUSE: N/A
DAMAGE EXTENT: N/A
DOLLAR LOSS:
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 0
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

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Emergency Preparedness for Special or Specific Needs Populations

A major emergency in our region will dramatically impact us all. But for those who
are more vulnerable, there will be an even greater risk or being “left out or left behind”. The traditional “first responders” from Fire and Law Enforcement agencies will be taxed to the limit and will simply not have resources to help everyone. Individuals must become able to help themselves and others in their circle of care.

Recognizing that at least 20% of our families, neighbors and co-workers have some type of special need impacting their own emergency response capability, the Spokane Committee for Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Specific Needs and their partner agencies are sponsoring a one-day training on March 18th at Mukogawa Institute in Spokane. The featured speaker, Ana-Marie Jones, is the executive director of CARD, (Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster) in Oakland CA. She has extensive experience helping persons with special needs and the agencies they interact with on a regular basis prepare to thrive, not just survive, in a major emergency such as earthquake or wildfire.

If you are a “traditional first responder”, an individual with needs related to communication or mobility, or an agency working with children, isolated elderly, non-English speaking communities, lower income families, or persons with cognitive or mental health issues, this workshop will provide important resources for your emergency planning and response capacity. As Ana-Marie has said, “We cannot afford random acts of preparedness”.
Please contact Jan Doherty, Spokane Fire Department at 625-7058 or jdoherty@spokanefire.org for any questions about this training.

Thank you to Northern Lakes Fire District for a job well done!

Thanks to the Northern Lakes Fire Protection District Fire Chief Dean Marcus and Deputy Chief Ralph Kramer who assisted the Spokane Fire Department during a recent motor vehicle collision on March 6, 2009 at 3:30pm near Green and Market.

The Northern Lake members were already on-scene of the incident and were treating an injured woman with an obvious fractured femur and multiple other traumatic injuries.  Engine 7 contacted me after the incident and felt that their performance was outstanding and the company was very grateful for their help.

Without the selfless performance of both off-duty Chief Officers and their quick actions prior to our arrival, the patient most likely would have suffered an untoward outcome—and for this reason we are extremely thankful.

Thanks Northern Lakes! 

Sincerely,

Brian Schaeffer
Assistant Fire Chief

Why Home Fire Sprinklers Are Important

http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/
Your risk of dying in a home fire is cut by 80% when sprinklers are present. This video tells why home fire sprinklers are a critical in saving lives and property from fire.

SFD family member dies in car accident.

It is with deep regret that I am letting you know that Captain Mike Bacon’s wife Lori passed away this morning as a result of an automobile accident.

This is a shock to Mike and all of the Bacon family as well as all of us at SFD. We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident.

Please keep Mike and all of his family in your thoughts and prayers.


Bobby Williams
Fire Chief

Daylight Savings a Good Time to Check Smoke Detectors

When you move your clocks one hour forward this weekend, please take time to also check on the condition of your smoke detectors. This check-up applies to every home, whether the smoke detectors are hard-wired into the elctricity or they are battery-operated and screwed into the ceiling or wall.
Fire Departments now know that the most common type of smoke detector currently in houses and apartments, the ionization detector, does not respond quickly enough to a slow-burning, smoldering type of fire. Another family suffered the loss of three children last month in Pennsylvania when their ionization detectors failed to alarm on time for the children to escape or the adults to rescue them from a smoldering fire.
* Look on the back of your detectors to find the manufacture date. If your detector is 10 years old, it is at the end of its useful life cycle. Smoke detectors average a 3% failure rate per year. After 10 years, that means a 30% failure rate. If you have electric, hard-wired smoke detectors that do not have a battery back-up, they are likely more than 10 years old!
*Look on the back of your detector to determine whether the unit is IONIZATION or PHOTOELECTRIC. If you cannot find either word but you see "contains a small amount of radioactive material", then you know that you have an ionization unit. If all of your detectors are ionization and they are less than 7 years old, purchase at least one PHOTOELECTRIC detector for each level of your home as soon as possible. This will give your family a much higher chance of being alerted to a slow-burning, smoldering type of fire such as those that start in wiring or from smoking materials.
* If you have long-lasting lithium batteris, test them to make sure they are still operating. If you put 9-volt alkaline batteries into your detectors in the past few months, test them to make sure they still work. Also, purchase some back-up batteries so that you don't have an unprotected house for ANY amount of time when the battery begins to "chirp" that it needs replacement.
* If you have a newer home with just hardwired ionization detectors, install at least one screw-in PHOTOELECTRIC detector on every level of the house or have an electrician replace some of the ionizaiton units with photoelectric ones.
* Don't be fooled by prices. A photoelectric smoke detector costs between $12 and $18. A dual-sensor (ionization and photoelectric combined) detector runs between $25 and $30. To date, these dual-sensor units are only the battery-operated type. They have not yet been made for hardwired detectors.
*Thank you for taking the time to make sure that your family is always protected with working smoke detectors and a good fire escape plan. If you have questions about firesafety in your home, please call the Spokane Fire Department at 625-7058 or stop by your neighborhood fire station.

PROBABLE CAUSE: N/A
DAMAGE EXTENT: N/A
DOLLAR LOSS: 0
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 0
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at http://www.spokanefire.blogspot.com/

END OF RELEASE

March 2009 2nd Alarm

2nd Alarm is a video news magazine produced by the Spokane Fire Department. It airs locally on City Cable 5. This months episode focuses on carbon monoxide poisoning.

Back episdodes of 2nd Alarm can be found at http://www.spokanefire.org/

SFD Media Release - For more information on this release please call (509)625-7002

ISSUING OFFICER: Battalion Chief Steve Sabo
DATE OF INCIDENT: 3/3/2009
INCIDENT TYPE: Structure Fire
INCIDENT ADDRESS: 3914 W. Longfellow Ave.
CITY: Spokane
STATE: WA
ZIP: 99205

NARRATIVE: At 0511 this morning, Tuesday, March 3rd, the Spokane Fire Department was dispatched to a reported house fire at 3914 W. Longfellow Ave. Upon arrival, the first crew found a single family, one story house with light smoke coming from the eves of the roof, and light smoke on the main floor. The occupants reported that they experienced electrical problems in the kitchen last evening, and noticed a slight odor of smoke this morning. Thermal imaging cameras were used to locate the source of the smoke, which was in the kitchen ceiling and the upper portion of several walls in that area. As other crews arrived they assisted in opening up the walls and ceiling to expose and extinguish the fire. The fire had likely been burning in the attic insulation all night, and several ceiling joists had burned completely through. The occupants had an operating smoke detector, but it did not activate because the smoke was mostly confined to the attic. While there was minimal smoke or heat damage to the living area of the house, significant repairs will need to be made to the walls and ceiling in the kitchen and dining room due to the fire mitigation actions. The electrical wiring in those areas was also damaged. The four adult occupants of the house will be unable to stay there until repairs are made. The Red Cross is assisting them with temporary accommodations.

PROBABLE CAUSE: The cause of the fire was determined to be malfunctioning electrical wiring in the attic, which ignited insulation and wood framing members.
DAMAGE EXTENT: Damage to the structure and wiring is estimated to be $10,000.
DOLLAR LOSS: 10000
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE: 21
MUTUAL AID: None Given

For more information on this release, please call (509)625-7002 and/or check out the SFD Blog at www.spokanefire.blogspot.com

END OF RELEASE