G O L D E N F I R E D E P A R T M E NT Smoke Signals Volume 11, Issue 12 December, 2013 Chief s Corner John Bales, Fire Chief Who Are We? T he Nation s fire service is made up some interesting facts about stations, personnel, and status of the fire personnel. This month I thought I would share the latest census of the Nation s fire service as of August 26, 2013. Stations The fire departments registered with the census represent approximately 48,800 fire stations across the country. Seventy percent of the departments have one station, 16 percent have two stations, and the remaining 14 percent have three or more stations. Organization Type The majority (96 percent) of the registered departments are local fire departments which include career, combination, and volunteer fire departments and fire districts. The remaining four percent are comprised of State and Federal government fire departments, contract fire departments, private or industrial fire brigades, and transportation authority or airport fire departments. Personnel The fire departments registered with the census are staffed by approximately 1,190,000 personnel. This figure includes career, volunteer, and paid per call firefighters as well as civilian staff and non firefighting personnel. There are a total of 1,044,300 active career, volunteer, and paid per call firefighters representing nearly 88 percent of the registered departments personnel. (Continued on page 2)
(Continued from page 1) Department Type The department type is based on the NFPA definition Career: 100 percent of a department s firefighters are career; Mostly Career: 51-99 percent of a departments firefighters are career; Mostly Volunteer: 1-50 percent of a department s firefighters are career; Volunteer: 100 percent of a department s firefighters are volunteer. Of the fire departments registered with the census, 8 percent are career 21 percent are combination 71 percent are volunteer So now you know who we are in comparison to all of our brothers and sisters across the country. The Newsletter This is the final edition of Smoke Signals. The newsletter has been a part of a long tradition for many years but like a lot of printed media it has become an out of date communication tool. Like many newspapers across the country that have gone out of business, it is the electronic media that has replaced the way we communicate. Even the television news at 6:00 PM is old news. We needed to determine a better way of communicating with our staff and membership that is more up to date and relevant. There is just too much information that is required to be communicated and by the time the Newsletter was published, it was old news or information. The Department will be releasing a new communications policy that will go into effect in January. We currently have a Twitter Page and soon an official Face Book Page will debut. We also intend to be able to have Blog pages where articles can be attached that are of interest. Staff recently discussed in great detail whether or not to continue the newsletter and for a variety of reason has decided to discontinue the publication. We wish to thank Captain Young for being the editor in charge for many years but now his attention will turn to other forms of communications media working with the City s Communication Department. For those of you who continue to have the desire to write articles, we promise there will be a way to dispense that information. Birthdays & Anniversaries Anniversaries No anniversaries for December Birthdays Sean Arbuthnot 12/06 Nathan Beckman 12/17 Jessica Crump 12/25 Charles Grandberg 12/12 Debbie Testroet 12/19 Page 2
Other Chiefs Corner Aaron Giesick, Assistant Chief Where Did Our Brotherhood Go? W ell another chapter seems to be closing in the Golden Fire Department, I don t have to write an article, but am. It came as somewhat a surprise that this is happening, but it is. It seems like this is becoming more and more common in our department and the fire service as a whole with change happening even faster. For those that have been around 10, 20, or even 30 years, often we re left with a glimmer of hope that maybe what we replace it with or the change that was made, will be better than what was in place before. In terms of this periodical, maybe we find something like Smoke Signals we can do in the future, only in a less often bimonthly or quarterly fashion. Maybe officers will send out more communications to their subordinates, I don t know. What I do know is that it seems like only yesterday that I started my chapter with Golden Fire Department, not knowing that I would be here this long (I had other dreams and aspirations that I am now too old to chase (yes even at 36 I m too old to do some things). I remember getting hard copies of this very newsletter every month on varying colors of paper in my mailbox from our previous administrative assistant / public educator. There was a time not too long after that that the organization went through some change and this paper document became electronic (circa 2003?). We won an award for our Smoke Signals newsletter shortly there after. I ve had many people comment on the professionalism and how well this document is put together and how they wished their department had one like this. I ve seen others and how little there is in them, some from organizations much larger than ours. We even had one at work that has gone by the wayside with a change and the dismantling of a public education program. Lets stop and look at some of the this change. Demographically we ve gone from an organization of 30-40 individuals who work and live in Golden to nearly 100 who most of which don t work or live in or near Golden. We had many members of our organization with 10, 15, or more years when I started. A few trainings ago, there were four or five with more than 10 years at a training. You look at the department composite and see how many have less than 5. Is this bad? Not completely. I d like to think we do some things very well. Look at how many of our volunteers have gone on to become paid firefighters elsewhere. Look at how many have stayed, but also look at those we have lost. One of the biggest changes, which probably goes with the changing demographics, is how the members of this department work and play together. This has now been brought up to me by at least two people is how we ve (Continued on page 4) Page 3
(Continued from page 3) fractured some of the very brotherhood this profession is based on. Gone are the days of seeing most of the department at city events or going out with several of the guys (or most of them) after training or Sunday work detail for drinks or breakfast. Where did our brotherhood go? I hope it s not because of the rank and file structure we have setup (that is so loosely followed anyway I highly doubt it). Can anyone answer this? If so, please let me know so we can try to re-instill the feelings of brotherhood that were once there in this department. Things we used to do that have gone away also include simple gesturers like giving a smoke detector to families with new kiddos, send cards and flowers to those with deaths in the family, and give support our brothers and sisters who have major illnesses. Unfortunately I can t recall the last time we ve done this, that anyone has brought it up at a meeting, or that we ve made one of those things happen. Where did our family get lost? If anyone has some thoughts, I m willing to listen, but remember we are only a couple voices. It is all of our second family we must talk to. As much as I want to say we are a better department than we were 10 or more years ago, I m not sure as a whole. We do something s better, some things about the same, and definitely do some things worse. Is it a give and take? Is this the drive of the fire service? As we get better at doing one thing, do we have to give up another? ANYONE? NUMBERS FOR NOVEMBER 2013 Total Calls - 99 Hazardous Condition - 5 Mutual Aid Given - 0 District # 1-58 Clear Creek Canyon - 2 Average Response Time - 04:45 District # 2-34 Miller Coors Property - 0 Average Firefighters/Call - 6.45 Fire Response - 1 Out of City/Other - 2 Average Total Time/Call - 40:47 Rescue/EMS - 56 Mutual Aid Received - 0 Est. Fire/Damage Loss - $0 Page 4 SMOKE SIGNALS
Rope Strengths Reference Card Print, Cut Out & (Laminate @ Media Services) For Your Reference ABCDE: 5 Point Rope Safety Check (Done before system is loaded) A Anchor Rigged correctly, back tied? B Belay Rigged correctly, belayer ready (top and/or bottom), release mech? C Carabiners locked and not side or 3-way loading D Decent Control Device eight, brake bar, ID, MPD, etc; Rigged correctly? E Edge protection and personnel in place and ready Rope Strengths Card MATERIAL STRENGTH 6mm Cord 7.5 KN 7mm Cord 10 KN 8mm Cord 13-15 KN 11mm Cord 30 KN 13mm Cord (12.5=1/2" rope) 40 KN Aluminum Carabiner 22-30 KN Steel Carabiner 40 KN Large Diameter Pulley 32 KN PMP (Prusik Minding Pulley) 36 KN Brake Rack 46-56 KN (breaks rope @ 26 KN) 25mm Tubular Webbing 18 KN 25mm Flat Webbing 26 KN W2P1 (Tub/Flat) 24-26 KN/32 KN W3P2 (Tub/Flat) 35-40 KN/46 KN Radium Release (RRH) 35+ KN 540 Rescue Belay 70 KN (NFPA -36 KN) Tandem Prusik Clutch at 10-14 KN Single Prusik Clutch at 9-13 KN Swivel 36-46 KN Kootney Carriage 40 KN Scarab (steel) 26 KN Rescue 8 (AL and Steel) 45+ KN Rigging Plate 36-52 KN Petzl I'D Slips at 8 KN (12.5 mm rope) Petzl ASAP Fall Arrest 1 Person (2 use sorber) Petzl Grigri (10-11 mm rope) Belay Device 1 Person Rescuecender 36 KN (slips or breaks rope @4-5 KN) Knot Decrease Rope Strength by 1/3 Page 5
Training Notebook Jeanette Kehoe, Training Division Captain Our Reputation Is Not Guaranteed. We Have To Earn It Every Day W e all know that the Golden Fire Department is known in the metro area, the state, and even nationally as a progressive, professional, and well trained volunteer fire department. We are proud of who we are and the high standard of care we give to the citizens we serve. However, we can t rest on those laurels and assume nothing will change and that we will always have the support of our community and peers. Our reputation is hard earned from the countless Golden Firefighters who served before us and it is our responsibility to continue to rise to that standard and beyond every single day. I believe that the majority of us are here because we have a love for the fire service and a dedication to the Golden Fire Department. It is our responsibility to uphold our reputation by being professional in our actions, progressive in our thought, and as always, train, train, train! I challenge you to ask yourself this question Why do you train? Is it because your officer says so, because there s nothing else to do, or because you have to meet your numbers? As your training officer I sincerely hope these are not your reasons. I hope that your reasons for training are to learn new skills, hone skills learned, teach skills to your fellow firefighters, and most importantly, to assure that when the bells rings YOU ARE READY. The Golden Fire Department is a progressive department. With that in mind it is our responsibility to continue to reevaluate where we are and how we can best meet the needs of our citizens. The training division recently polled the members regarding how we can adapt our training program to meet the department needs while taking into consideration the diversity of our members and everyone s work, family, and school commitments. Based on this poll and research involving other departments we have made some revisions regarding how we train. We believe this will improve our program and maintain our reputation as highly trained firefighters. (Continued on page 7) Page 6
(Continued from page 6) CHANGES TO THE 2014 TRAINING PROGRAM With 90 plus volunteers one of our challenges is assuring that everyone is trained to the high standards of a Golden Firefighter in all the firefighting, medical, and technical skills we require. Following is a summary of the core changes for 2014: 1- One of the major changes in 2014 will be the addition of a training week where the same core training will be offered three nights in a row. In the member poll 87% of the members said they could or probably could make one of these nights of training. We will also be offering this same training the first Wednesday of the month during the daytime. This will give members more options to make a training night and help assure all our members are trained on the same skill sets. 2- Every other second Tuesday of the month will continue to be EMS skills training with Exempla. On the alternate months we will have EMS training combined with technical skills such as off-road response, hazmat, confined space, and tech rescue. I will be submitting a training plan for each of these trainings to Quaife for approval for EMS Continuing Education hours. Thus, pending Ron s approval, every second Tuesday of the month will count as EMS CE s. 3- We will continue the first Thursday of the month Officer Development classes with everyone welcome. 4- When we polled the members approximately 60% stated that they could make a Saturday or Sunday morning training. We will be offering ½ day weekend trainings throughout the year on special skills such as tech rescue, burn house, strike team exercises, and multi-company operations with our neighboring departments. Pleasant View Fire will be coordinating trainings on weekends as well which our members will be encouraged to attend and will be considered department training. 5- The fourth (and fifth) week of the month will be open for any special trainings that come up such as new building familiarization, administrative training, and any guest speakers or special trainings the volunteers would like to coordinate. 6- There will be several months where there will be a theme to all the month s training such as Fire, Wildland, or Tech Rescue. 7- February is the month for completing annual requirements. This will include the following: 1- CPR Renewals 2- Wildland Pack Tests 3- SCBA Fit Testing 4- Annual Gear Inspection (Continued on page 8) Page 7
(Continued from page 7) REQUIREMENTS The department training hour requirements will remain the same with a change to the 12 hour Tuesday Night category. Any department scheduled training conducted on a weekday night will be considered Tuesday Night training. The name of the requirement will change to Weekday Night Training. The 12 hours can include the Officer Development classes, the monthly EMS training, and one of the Monday/Tuesday/ Wednesday night training (i.e. if you attend two of these nights of the same training one counts as a required Weekday Night training). COURSES OFFERED IN 2014 As a department we will be offering the following courses: 1- DO Utility (Utility trucks and Brush 21) in Spring 2- DO Pumper (with Rescue) and DO Aerial in Summer 3- Technical Rescue Academy Mid to late Summer 4- Firefighter II course will be offered at Pleasant View Fire in Fall TRAIN OFTEN TRAIN BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TRAIN BECAUSE YOU ARE PROUD TO BE A GOLDEN FIREFIGHTER Teamwork is the ability to work together towards a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. Andrew Carnegie From the Training Division, thank you to all of the volunteers for your dedication and commitment to training. We could not do this without you. Captain Kehoe & Lieutenant Kasriel Page 8
Closing Smoke Signals Editorial Tom Young, Captain I wasn t going to write an article for the last issue of this newsletter; however, after reading Chief Giesick s article, I was motivated to write one last article. I am the least senior member of the over 30 year s active with the Golden Fire Department club. I stand, or sit if you will, amongst two individuals whose dedication to the Golden Fire Department, I highly respect. Chief Burrell and Engineer Finley were two of my mentors and I learned a great deal from them along with many others who have since retired many years ago. Back in the day, July 6, 1982, when I joined the GFD things were much different as Chief Giesick mentioned in his article. Reminiscing, all four fire stations were active with membership. I can remember razzing one another because Station 2 had more personnel on scene than Station 1. The West Third area had more volunteer firefighters that lived in the area than the Station 3 apparatus would carry. A majority of the 8-10 firefighters would respond to the scene in their personal vehicles and most of their POV s were equipped with lights and siren. My first siren was a department issued, lower quality Federal Q type siren that would nearly turn my wife s Chevy Monza on its side as it wound up to a full wale! After it was installed, I couldn t wait for the first call to be able to run emergent in my own car. It did not take long for me to figure out that lights and siren on a Monza are really useless and responding without was a safer and more effective method. In the mid-1980s I was station captain of Station 2, yes, Station 2 actually had a station captain and crew. In fact, on any given day or night, we would fully staff both apparatus. The entire department membership would vary between 35 and 50 volunteers who all lived within the city limits. The paid staff consisted of two personnel, a fire inspector and secretary. Even then, we responded on many swift water and highly technical rescues in Clear Creek Canyon, in fact, our swift water team was recognized as the best. I can remember many technical industrial entrapment rescues that required several hydraulic tools and some thinking of how to best extricate the victim. We had our fair share of structure fires, some very large, which were safely and effectively extinguished with all volunteers. One of the first apparatus that I was trained on was Pumper 1, a 1960s Ford Howe, which was a five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel-drive pumper. I guess you had to learn on the manual transmission apparatus before graduating to the newer automatic apparatus. The one thing that my instructor did not tell me is that when you shift from second to third gear you grind your knuckles on the dash of the pumper. For those of us who learn quickly, it only took one time to learn that third gear could be painful if you were not cautious. A majority of the apparatus that serve the city today, Chief Kellenbenz spent many hours writing the detailed specifications, providing you today with the best apparatus in the Front Range. We spent many Friday evenings with family and friends at Station 1 solving all the problems in the world. It was a great time to socialize and yet a great camaraderie was created on those Friday afternoons. Family members played a huge role in the success of a Golden firefighter. After returning from a long on scene response, sandwiches and refreshments were prepared by the firefighter family members at Station 1. After I was injured, every single volunteer and family member of the GFD played a huge role in my recovery. I was comforted to know that everything around my house and family were taken care of by someone on the Golden Fire Department. We were a very tight knit group that provided outstanding emergency response and much more to (Continued on page 10) Page 9
(Continued from page 9) the citizens of Golden. I am honored to have served with and learned from all of the retirees, active or truly retired. Today s GFD has changed considerably over the years, mainly because of necessity. Due to change of demographics, time available to volunteer and requirements placed on a volunteer firefighter, the change has been inevitable. As a matter of fact, the sheer volume of calls has grown from around 400 in 1983, to nearly 1400 incidents this year. This change is not unique to the GFD as the volunteer fire service, in general, has changed nationwide. Although things have changed, today, the men and women who volunteer with the Golden Fire Department still provide professional, high-quality fire and life safety services to the community. I am still proud to be part of this organization. The opportunity to volunteer here daily is an admirable form of mental therapy and brings somewhat normalcy for myself and my family. Thank you for that opportunity! When I came back to work post injury, October 1993, Administrative Assistant/Fire Safety Educator, Kay Woolley was responsible for publishing Smoke Signals. Once a month, she would set a deadline for the staff to submit articles. As the deadline would close in, Kay would come to me and remind me about writing an article and that the deadline was nearing. Of course, I would be the last to submit an article and usually after the deadline. 11 years ago I was asked to take over the Golden Fire Department newsletter publication. Now I understand Kay s frustration as I am the one who is constantly nagging for articles. On the other hand, I can empathize with individuals authoring an article to submit as Smoke Signals column. For the most part, writing an article is not the top priority for the daily tasks to effectively perform our jobs. Over the years, the newsletter has been an effective tool to communicate with staff, volunteers, retirees and others outside of the organization. Now, with electronic media and the fact that information is disseminated nearly as fast as the event is taking place, it was determined that the newsletter was no longer an effective way to communicate. I hear from many people outside of the organization about what a great newsletter Smoke Signals is and that many have used it as a template for their circular. I hear from GFD retirees about how much they enjoy reading the newsletter and staying informed about happenings around Golden Fire. In fact, Smoke Signals won a national Award of Excellence in the category of Printed Publications, Internal Newsletter. That being said, I have mixed feelings about the newsletter being replaced with electronic media. We see locally and across the nation that many large print media publications, such as the Rocky Mountain News, can no longer compete with instant news. Now with Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, the same information that has been in print form is instantly available in living color. For the most part, information distributed via print media, even with daily publications, is outdated and Smoke Signals is no exception. As we move into a new era of communicating, I encourage everyone who is reading this to follow the Golden Fire Department on Twitter @GoldenCOFire and Facebook at Golden Fire-Rescue. We will continue to communicate with the retirees by email, snail mail and telephone. I believe that communication is the utmost importance to the success of any organization. If we do not keep up with the change of how to communicate, the effectiveness of the communication will deteriorate. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to create this publication and I appreciate all of the nice comments over the past 11 years. I look forward to the new way of communicating with you all! Page 10
December 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Work Detail Battalion 21 2 3 Business Meeting 19:00 Station 21 4 Officer Development 18:00-20:00 Station 21 5 6 7 8 Work Detail Battalion 21 9 10 CSM Hill & Coolbaugh Hall Familiarization 18:30 Station 21 11 12 Underground Storage Tank Patient Extrication 18:30 Station 21 13 14 SCBA Training with DFD Chief Robert Murphy Station 21 15 Work Detail Battalion 22 16 17 2014 Training Schedule Movie Night Burn 18:30 Station 21 18 19 20 21 22 Work Detail Battalion 22 23 24 No Training 25 26 27 28 29 Work Detail Battalion 23 30 31 No Training Page 11
A Glance Back On The Golden Fire Dept. Golden Fire Department 911 Tenth Street Golden, Colorado 80401