Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSunriver SD Fire Dept Request for LandETES � 2 A, A -k Department of Administrative Services Dave Kanner, County Administrator 1300 NW Wall St, Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541 ) 385-3202 www.co.deschutes.orus January 13, 2011 TO: Board of Commissioners FROM: Dave Kanner RE: Request from Sunriver Service District for County -owned property For your consideration at the January 19 work session is a request from the Sunriver Service District, specifically the Sunriver Fire Department, for the County to transfer to the District a .75 acre piece of County -owned property, zoned RR -10, on which the District would like to build a fire training facility. As you can see from the attached, Chief Art Hatch first submitted this request about a year -and -a -half ago. Shortly after submitting it, he contacted me and asked that it be put on hold. In December, he indicated that the District was now ready to move forward. The property in question was acquired by tax foreclosure and the County has the statutory right to sell, exchange or lease the property or to relinquish it to another public entity. In this case, the property in question is a high -groundwater ("red") lot and, as you know, the County has a policy of not transferring red lots. In this case, the property is to be used for a public purpose and we believe it may be possible for the fire department to create the training facility without installing an on-site wastewater disposal system. There would be a number of land -use hurdles to overcome, however Chief Hatch has already met with Planning staff to gain an understanding of what would need to be done. However, given the County's policy of not transferring red lots, staff's recommendation is that we instead enter into a 99 -year lease with SSD for $1 per year. In this way, we remain true to the policy and, if the SSD is unable to get its land use approvals or is for any other reason unable to go forward with the project, it remains in County ownership. Chief Hatch and County staff will be at your January 19 meeting to answer any questions you might have. Enhancing the Lives of Citizens by Delivering Quality Services in a Cost -Effective Manner SUNRIVER SERVICE DISTRICT FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM P.O. BOX 2108 SUNRIVER, OREGON 97707 (541) 593-8622 FAX (541) 593-2768 TO: Board of Deschutes County Commissioners FROM: Art Hatch, Sunriver Fire Chief DATE: July 28, 2009 SUBJECT: County Land Donation The Sunriver Service District Fire Department is requesting that the County donate land to the Service District for the purpose of constructing a training facility. Please find attached a White Paper describing the need for a training facility in the south county region in general and the Sunriver Service District in particular. There are no suitable properties currently available within Sunriver, but there is county owned land just outside of Sunriver that would be ideal. We are requesting the donation of this property as there are currently no funding sources available to purchase property for this purpose. In fact, once we have obtained a suitable piece of property, we will be seeking funding for the construction of the facility from a variety of sources, including, potentially, partnering with the LaPine Rural Fire Protection District. However, without a parcel of land on which to build, obtaining funding for construction would be difficult at best if not premature. Additionally, it is possible that we will need a land use variance to construct the facility on this property. Also attached is a map of the Upper Deschutes Fuel Treatment area. The lots we would like donated to the Service District are Lots 21 and 22 on the southwest corner of Solar Drive and Covina Road intersection (highlighted). A second choice would be Lot 20 on the southwest corner of the Solar Drive and Fontana Road intersection (highlighted). We greatly appreciate the Commission's consideration in this matter. I am available to meet with the Commission, attend a Commission meeting, or make a presentation in order to answer any questions or clarify our needs and intentions. Attachments Fun. aim PREVENT FIRE - SAVE LIVES ��I Ii 10 V I"W�rr 111111 2 3 4 �- 5 G 1 SPRING RIVER RD 25 1 2 ;I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10,11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22,23 24 26 j 3 27 ; 4 I 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 2,43,44,PT.�l1 38.37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 5 39, • 0+PT.4 28 ' _-= AZUSA RD ] DRR r� i 11 7 1 2 3 4 LOTS 5 6 & 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16,17 23 8 J 18 19 20 21 22 /A 1 24 9 25 10 (47 45,46 43,44 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 31,32 30 29 28 27 26 /20 19 8 11 - 12 _---BAKERSFIELD RD'=- 21 ii 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 3 4 14 2 17 23,24 15 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 261 21 PT.16 �— 25 -�:, _ - _ COVINARD7 1 21 6 2 ij 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 4 3 23 2 II • 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 24 20 11 25 1 DOWNEY.RD - �� � 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13114 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 �� 1 2 3 23 • 4 46 45 44 ] DR' 43 H 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 24 18 17 5- 25 11c" 11 1211 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ELSINOR 9 10 RD 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 4 14 1311 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 trl 3 x. j© FONTANA RD - g 11 m 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ;0 14 13 m 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31L30 29 28 27 26 25 24 22 &23 MIL 'EEr GLENDALE RD— --_-- 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 L 14 13 1 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 6 ��I 7 — -- Ili HERMOSARD_.- it 11 12 I11Fr1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ISI I 14 IV 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 I; i 10 I 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 221 21 11 _ -- 13 14 r 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 INDIO 10 11 RD 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21,22 1'j 23 1 2 3 1646145 44 43 42141 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32131 30 29 28 27 26 25� 24 f 39 o _.�__ JACINTO RD - ill1 , g 1 w h 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 46 45 44 ` 2 [:46 45 44 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 _ 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 mi 19 18 17 16 MIE® 121 II! 9 8 7 6 5 4 no 1 111' Upper Deschutes Fuel Treatment Total Acreage of County Properties: 21.98 Acres W+E Key Road Centerlines n Flagged County Lots Other Taxlots Printed: February 6, 2007 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 0 200 400 800 1,200 Feet The Information on this map was derived from dgtal databases on Deschutes County's G.I.S. Care was taken in the creation of this map, but it is provided `as is'. Deschutes County cannot accept any responsibility for errors, omissions, or positional accuracy it the dgtel data or the underying records. There are no warranties, express or implied inducing the warranty of merdtantabilrty or fitness for a particular purpose, accompanyng this product. However, notification of any errors cull be appreciated. Deschutes County Road Department Gnu.. John Andersrrn, (,IS Speculat thane 64 22-7 R2 Er IJI turn laer.uAtux ilul.. w ,u Ade -es E I Ise SE J7e, S= pan+. Oe£77a2 P:\ArcGIS_Projects\BOCC\Wood Contract\ White Paper Emergency Services Training Facility From Sunriver Fire Department Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Disclaimers Some information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 Business Challenge 5 Solution Description 11 Solution Benefits 12 Appendix A 13 Appendix B 15 Contact Information 19 Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Executive Summary Firefighting is an extremely hazardous activity that requires the ability to perform hundreds of tasks — under highly stressful circumstances and in a limited if not zero -visibility environment — coupled with the timely and efficient coordination of those tasks by individual firefighters and teams of firefighters. It is well recognized by industry experts that frequent, realistic training is essential to the safe and effective use of knowledge, skills, and equipment in order for fire departments to carry out their mission: to save lives and protect property. Without a comprehensive, task -oriented training program that includes regular practice of critical firefighting skills, well -coordinated fireground tasks cannot be safely and efficiently performed. Essential to a comprehensive, task -oriented training program is the equipment and facilities necessary to provide safe and realistic initial and ongoing training in a variety of critical skills. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Business Challenge NEEDS ASSESSMENT In order to identify the equipment and/or facilities necessary to provide this training to Sunriver firefighters, a needs assessment was conducted that included: • Conducting a "Gap" Analysis • Identifying Priorities • Identifying Cause of Performance Problems • Identifying Possible Solutions The methods used to perform the needs assessment included direct observation, consultation with our personnel and others in key positions or with specific knowledge and background, and reviewing relevant literature. The focus of our needs assessment was the strategic priorities common to all emergencies to which we respond and, specifically, structural firefighting. Subsequently, the priorities we identified are those universal strategic priorities which are: • Life safety • Incident stabilization • Property conservation LIFE SAFETY While managing a structure fire, life safety is always our first priority. If a life safety problem exists, tactical objectives would be to rescue (identified occupants), perform search and rescue (strongly suspected or reported occupants), or conduct a primary search (unknown but possible occupants). The ability to safely and effectively perform any of these tactics requires frequent and realistic training. This cannot be done with the props and make -shift facilities currently available. For example, the donated, single -wide mobile home that is used for structural search and rescue training does little beyond allow personnel to practice crawling on their hands and knees in a zero -visibility environment by blacking out their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) face pieces. Because of its size and configuration, it actually does very little to prepare firefighters to conduct a search and simulate a rescue in a structure that would typically be found in Sunriver. A search and rescue prop (maze) should be easily arranged to provide varied situations and include the elements of darkness, smoke, and noise. Training sessions should consist of several rescue exercises at varying degrees of difficulty and complexity. For example, a search and rescue with one victim, then two victims, then a victim with entrapment. A maze emphasizes various levels of physical stress and endurance. The physical exertion -5- Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper simulates the stress and tension that a firefighter may experience in a real situation; raising and climbing ladders, pulling hose, setting up equipment, or movement in restricted situations encountered in a burning building. Controlled breathing, teamwork, and safety when moving though scuttles, joists, stairs, and tunnels are stressed. None of this is possible absent a dedicated training facility; certainly not in a single -wide mobile home. We teach this in the classroom ... SEARCHING A BUILDING Indicate that room has Be alert for been searched, trapped victims. Call for 1 111 charged ►� line. Close doors to confine fire. Search under and • behind all furniture. Probe with leg or tools. IIIIIiIiIIiIIP: AsAMMIIMEMPREN top of stairs. Search all closets, cupboards, and shower stalls. Probe for victims just inside doors. Ventilate as you move. -6- Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Then follow up with practical application here.. . Instead of here. If one merely imagines being awakened in the middle of the night by a smoke alarm in an upstairs bedroom, choking on and unable to see through thick, black smoke in a 2000 or 3000 square foot, two-story house, then imagine the would-be rescuers were trained in a 300 square foot mobile home to search for, locate, and remove the occupant(s), it becomes very easy to understand the need. It is analogous to a football team preparing for the "big game" by practicing on a racquetball court. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper The point of that thought experiment is to illustrate the gap that exists between expectation and reality. If one were to find him/herself in this uninviting circumstance, the expectation would be that the well-equipped, well-trained professional rescuers are going to quickly perform the highest fireground priority of any fire department: rescue. The reality is that unless these rescuers train on a regular and ongoing basis — in a manner that, as closely as possible, replicates reality — the potential for a positive outcome will be, at best, uncertain. Though the outcome in this case was tragic, the enclosed article (Appendix A) illustrates how a well -practiced team of rescuers — when time and polished skills are absolutely critical — can seamlessly adapt to a changing environment. Though such a scenario may be rare, it is definitely possible and the need for preparedness cannot be overstated. And it is precisely because it is rare that frequent, realistic training is essential. A major function of the fire department is to plan for rare events. In esoteric risk -management terms, these events are HRLF-NDT's: High risk, low frequency, no discretionary time, events. The only way to minimize risk, increase frequency, and mitigate the need for "discretionary" time is through frequent, realistic training. In addition to the training necessary to rescue civilian occupants, the very real danger of firefighter injury or entrapment necessitates training of firefighting personnel to serve on Rapid Intervention Teams (R.I.T.); this is the essence of the OR -OSHA "two -in, two -out" rule. Firefighters must be trained to perform the tasks associated with accessing and rescuing downed firefighters. In many ways, this is a more difficult task that requires additional training. Moreover, as is noted in the attached article (Appendix B), failing to properly train firefighters to perform work in the environment in which we expect them to operate could be a violation of the OR -OSHA General Duty Clause (OAR 654.010). INCIDENT STABILIZATION Typically, the incident will be stabilized by achieving these tactical objectives: • Confine • Ventilate • Extinguish That is, provide for ventilation of heat, smoke, gases and other products of combustion from the structure, confine the fire to the room or, possibly, the structure of origin, and properly apply extinguishing agent to the fire to put it out. Though it sounds simple enough, the fact is that each of these tactical objectives requires frequent and on-going training in order for those tasks to be performed quickly and safely and in a well -coordinated manner. Improper or ill-timed venting of burning structures or improperly applied fire streams can easily make the problem worse and create an even less safe environment in which to operate while causing unnecessary damage to property. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Additionally, there are times when the order of events is dictated by the conditions found and these tactical objectives cannot be addressed "in order." For example, while "life safety" remains the highest strategic priority, there are times when the fire must be extinguished (incident stabilization) before a rescue can be performed. Yet, in all cases, a well coordinated and timely team effort is essential for success, and that requires frequent realistic training. Without a facility that provides live -fire training in a controlled environment, firefighters will not experience, first-hand, how compartment fires spread, how fire behaves under varying circumstances, or the undesirable effects of a poorly selected fire stream or its application until that occurs under emergent conditions; that is not the time to learn those lessons. Many fire departments are without a dedicated live -fire training facility and rely upon "acquired structures" (residential and commercial structures scheduled for demolition that are donated to the fire department for live fire and other training) for live -fire training events. But, because of the nature of this community, acquired structures are extremely rare and are — when they do become available — inherently dangerous (as are all acquired structures). They are also very expensive endeavors due to the exorbitant number of hours required for planning and conforming to OSHA regulations and NFPA 1403 (Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions) and the amount of support staff necessary for such training events. This makes regularly scheduled training for this absolutely critical performance dimension impossible. What is worse, as mentioned above, it more often than not means new members (primarily Reserves) encounter their first structure fire, not in a controlled training environment, but in an emergency situation. This is no less a bad idea than sending soldiers into battle never having fired live ammunition. Absent a dedicated training facility, similar limitations with other critical tasks such as vertical ventilation and search and rescue are the norm for Sunriver Fire Department. As a November, 2004 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) publication points out, "Live fire training exercises are a crucial element in the structural firefighting curriculum." And this same report notes that "During 1983 — 2002, 10 fire fighters died as a result of injuries while participating in live -fire training exercises at acquired structures." And as Harry Carter, Ph.D. explains, "The problems here do not seem to be happening at established local, county, regional, and state training centers. What we do hear about is people being burned and killed in acquired structures. When you think about it, the reason for this is quite simple. "The environment at a fixed, permanent bum building is controlled. Someone is responsible for maintaining the bum buildings. They usually receive frequent cleanings, as well as periodic maintenance. You do not have the same luxury in an acquired structure scenario. You have what you have, because that is what was offered to you. Even the best inspections by well-trained fire personnel cannot see through walls, ceilings, and roofs." (Firehouse.com August 4, 2002) Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper PROPERTY CONSERVATION Typically, this involves operations referred to as Salvage Operations or Loss Control and provides for protecting property inside the structure from fire loss or unnecessary smoke or water damage. This work also requires the ability to rapidly deploy salvage covers, construct water chutes or catch basins. While these skills can be practiced in a variety of environs, it is most realistically practiced in conjunction with on-going fire suppression activities in addition to the stand-alone manipulative skills involved. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Solution Description The training needs described above should be addressed by constructing a dedicated, fixed facility that provides for regularly scheduled training in critical firefighting and rescue skills, specifically: search and rescue, vertical ventilation, and live -fire structural fire suppression. In this way, firefighters are prepared to face the rigors and demands of achieving fireground objectives here .. . prior to encountering them here .. . Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Solution Benefits The value of live -fire and attendant training is difficult to calculate because it's impossible to put a value on human life. There is simply no substitute for live firefighting experience under safe, controlled conditions. Firefighting professionals agree that live fire training in a controlled environment can: • Reduce the number of injuries to and deaths of firefighters and civilians • Reduce property loss and business interruption resulting from fire • Reduce lost time injuries and compensation claims • Reduce property damage • Increase fire department efficiency and morale • Improve training capability of the fire department • Improve the public image of the fire department Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Appendix A © McClatchy -Tribune Information Services. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. Omaha World -Herald, Neb. (December 13, 2008) Dec. 13 — Seconds count when a 3 -year-old boy lies trapped inside a burning house. Two firefighters rush in a side door, but the intense heat forces them to the floor and pushes them back out. Elapsed time: less than 10 seconds. The two run to a ladder another firefighter had set against the front of the house. The first firefighter breaks the window with his ax and dives in, landing on a bed. The second firefighter dives in, landing on top of his partner. Firefighter No. 1 rolls off the left side of the bed; No. 2 rolls off the right. Neither can see a thing. No. 1 feels around with his hands, finds a child and tells No. 2. No. 2 radios in that they found the child as he climbs back on the bed and out the window. No. 1 follows the sound of crunching glass back toward the window and hands No. 2 the boy. No. 2 carries the boy down the ladder. No. 1 follows. Elapsed time: About 30 seconds. Firefighter No. 1, Firefighter Candidate Will Guidebeck, and Firefighter No. 2, Capt. Jim Lee, recounted those intense seconds Thursday, a day and a half after they pulled Davius Potter -Tate out of the house at 1428 0 St. The boy died after he got to the Nebraska Medical Center, a victim of smoke inhalation. But without the efforts of Guidebeck, 32, and Lee, 42 -- and the assistance of others on the scene — Davius would have had no chance. Funeral services for Davius are pending at Myers Funeral Home, 2416 N. 22nd St. It took firefighters three minutes to get to the house from the fire station at 25th and L Streets after the 911 call at 11:07 p.m., officials said. Lee said firefighters were happy to have rescued the boy from the house while he was alive. Still, the boy's death meant Wednesday was a somber day. 'We wish the outcome would have been a lot different," he said. Both Lee, a firefighter for almost 12 years, and Guidebeck, who comes off probationary status in March, said they could hear a smoke alarm sounding when they entered the side door. Both said people should have a plan for getting everyone out of a house in a fire. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper 'We want to help," Lee said. 'We'll put smoke detectors in. We'll come talk to you help you plan on how to get out of a house." Officials said the adults in the house had tried to extinguish the fire, which started it's best to get out first and call 911 so the firefighters can get to work. about home safety. We'll in the living room. Lee said After all, seconds count. "You gotta let us know," Lee said. "You've got to call us right away." Contact the writer: 444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com To see more of the Omaha World -Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Omaha World -Herald, Neb. Distributed by McClatchy -Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Appendix B Not Training is Just Plain Dumb Dr. Harry R. Carter, MIFireE, CFO, is an intemationally-known, veteran fire officer, municipal fire protection consultant, author, writer, and lecturer. He currently serves as a fire commissioner and is Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners for Fire District #2 in Howell Township, New Jersey. Dr. Carter has also served on the adjunct faculty of a number of community colleges in New Jersey, as well as the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, CFO The level of ignorance in society today is a source of constant amazement to me. Each and every day a new story appears on the television news or in my local paper. Each of these gives me pause to ponder the mental capacity of some people in our society. It seems to be at a low point in the ebb and flow of history. Not too long ago on NBC TV's Tonight Show, Jay Leno shared another one of his "stupid criminal" stories with America. It seems that a certain individual was arrested by his local police department and charged with possession of a small pistol. Of course the man denied any knowledge of said weapon. Unfortunately for him, his undoing proved to be the fact that he just happened to have a tattoo on his leg of that particular weapon, as well as the serial number. Boy was that dumb. Let me give you another example of what I have come to call the vaunted "dumb ass". I am making reference to those legions of fire departments which fail to train their people to do the job they are sworn to do. There was even a fire chief at a seminar in Pennsylvania not too long ago who spoke up and said that he did not want too much training imposed on his department. His reason for this statement stopped everyone in their tracks. That person said he did not want his people to know more than he did. If you don't believe me on this one, ask Ron Siarnicki of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. He shared that story with a number of us at a seminar here in New Jersey last year. I can hear the moaning now. The "we've never done it that way" warriors will be leading the cheers. Harry is on a training tear again. Yep, you are right. Let me suggest a few versions of the moans we all might hear: Who in the heck are you to tell me anything? Get off our case Harry, we train. If you don't believe me Harry, just check my records. - 15 - Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper We don't need to train Harry, we go to a lot of fires. We don't need no stinking training. (Ala Treasure of the Sierra Madre -1948 or Blazing Saddles -1974) There are other people who play a part in my life for whom fire service training is also a passion. My friends up at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Massachusetts stand representative of the best in fire service training. They recently sent me an email version of a really neat article from the Boston Herald which spoke volumes about the bad things that can happen when you fail to train your troops. They asked me to share it with you. This is a good example of what can happen when people do not take training seriously. It seems that there was a serious incident involving a private sector construction worker in a local Massachusetts community. The individual in that instance was attempting to disassemble a crane for movement to a job site. According to the Boston Herald article, "a ...construction company has been cited for 'serious' violations by not training an employee to use a crane, which fell on him and crushed his legs when he was dismantling it last February." Let me quote further from the Boston Herald article: "On Feb. 2, 2005, an employee was seriously injured while dismantling the Link -Belt Crawler crane without any process to be followed," the citation reads. "The employer did not instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury." It is at this point that I would expect many of you to start telling me about how stupid it was to have someone doing a job for which they were not trained. Have at it my friends. Duh! Take your best shot. And then once you have done that, let me give you a few points to ponder. At this time in the 21st Century, there are states in our great nation that have failed to develop and implement full mandatory state training programs. Here in New Jersey, we have a great many fine county -level programs, but there is no state mandate for training. Since I have been involved with this process for more than 15 years, I feel qualified to pitch a bitch. The reason is really stupid my friends. In New Jersey we have a series of regulations that control how our system of government will work. One of the rules is called "State Mandate — State Pay." In other words, if the state mandates training, the state feels it will get stuck with the bill. As I said earlier, this is nonsense. This has left us here in New Jersey with what we jokingly call a system of "voluntary standards." What a contradiction in terms. That is sort of like discussing the concept of Army Intelligence. I believe such things are called oxymorons by the unbelieving public. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper There is a fear rampant in government about this law. I can recall the time my consulting firm completed a study for the State Division of Fire Safety of the implications of the "Two- In/Two-Out Rules" that were being implemented at that time by New Jersey. The state said that they were being forced by the federal government to obey this law. The research which my associates and I conducted arrived at the opposite conclusion. At that time, New Jersey was not an OSHA state. The law was created by the state, based upon the federal model, but it was a state creation none -the -less, or so my associates at the federal level assured me. There was no federal mandate at time for the state to implement this requirement. This led the State of New Jersey to pay my firm and then never publish the report. You might call this another example of better living through good government. Because of this little bit of legal chicanery at the state level, we have forced the cost of training downward thus making the system of training delivery uneven. Some counties have large, modern facilities, while others make do. There are even a couple of counties that do not have training academies. Oddly enough, these happen to be the most populous counties in the state. Very few of the major cities even have training academy facilities any more either. There will be those who love to hate me because of the positions I take and the opinions I put forward. Good. I love it when people take positions of ignorance and then proceed to provide a strong defense of ignorance as a concept. Let me take my argument to its logical conclusion. Let me stress to you that far too many people also take a cavalier view of what training is and what is needed. When I was assigned to the training division of a certain major metropolitan fire organization, I had frequent contact with the head of that agency. Sadly, his actions confirmed the paucity of his thinking for me. One day while I was working to justify increased resources for a particular program, the boss said something to me that shocked me. More than that, I cannot repeat it in its actual English language phraseology. However, let me paraphrase what I heard that afternoon in the late 1990's. The man asked me why I was so concerned with training. He indicated that it was a jerky function. He told me that we went to a lot of fires, so we would learn what we needed to do while we were doing it. This from a person with a bachelor's and master's degrees in education. Hmm, I wonder if that person has anything to do with a certain construction company in the state of Massachusetts. My friends, it is high time that we wake up and begin to smell the alluring aroma of well - thought -out fire training coffee. Far too many people with a similar low opinion of training occupy important positions in their fire departments. I want each of you to share this article with your supervisors. Put them on notice that you want more training. Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper This is not a career vs. volunteer issue my friends. In my state the fire department is your employer whether they pay you or not. While there may be variations of the law in your part of the world on this, I would be willing to bet that you could be found liable in court (or in the court of public opinion) for someone who died or was seriously injured because they were performing a task for which no recent training had been provided. You may agree with me or you may disagree. This being a free society, you have that option. However, I want you to know that I believe in practicing what I preach. I would not feel right speaking on this if I did otherwise. I still attend drills. I can recall one that my fire department held last year. Like a good soldier, I shaped up and played my part. In the midst of that high -humidity, 85 degree evening, a relevant brain wave shot through my consciousness to the core of my being. It was what some of you might call a "hallelujah moment." It went along the following line of thought. "Son, maybe it is time to let the young folks do the heavy lifting." This thought led me to start pondering my mortality. None of us likes to think that we are losing that extra step that keeps us out front, but such is the case now. That may be what is happening to me. Therefore, I am taking a "time out" to reevaluate my capabilities. This might be tough for some of you younger folks to understand. But life is a series of side trips within the overall journey we call life. If you have known me for more than one day, you are surely well aware of the value that I place on training. Personally and professionally I believe there is a crying need for life-long learning and practice. It is because of this that I would like to share with you the fact that there are things in my firefighting world that I am phasing out of my operational inventory. Owing to facts of training shortfalls and advancing age, I am in the midst of altering the way in which I perform certain aspects of my work here in Adelphia. It is because I do not want to put my buddies at risk. I am looking at my ability to be an active firefighter. It just might be that I have no desire to become an LODD. It might also be that I don't want to hurt my buddies. This is a tough call. Firefighting has been such an important part of my life for so long that coming face-to-face with my mortality is tough. However, this sort of thing comes to us all. Don't think that I am going to totally chill out. I am going to base my work on the four decades of experience I have gathered in a variety of venues. I can still teach and I can still share. As a matter of fact, what I will also continue to do is bust the chops of people who pay lip service to training. Of course, if I can get my butt back in shape, who knows. Just remember the story of the man in Massachusetts who almost lost his legs doing something for which he had not been trained. If you think that structural firefighting without proper training is safer than operating a crane without proper training, then maybe you need to have your head examined. That's my view, and I could be wrong. hftp://www.harrycarter. com/commentary.php Sunriver Fire Department Training Facility White Paper Contact Information Contact Us Agency Name: Sunriver Fire Department Address: PO Box 2108 Sunriver, OR 97707 Email: ahatch@sunriversd.org Tel: (541) 593-8622 Fax: (541) 593-2768