Rapid Intervention Safety and Command (RISC)

RISC is a highly trained and dedicated team of secret service agents that work in and around the White House. The folks on this team respond to chemical, biological and radiological threats; fire hazards; physical entrapments and other life-threatening emergencies. There have been wide spread rumors as to the reason for the formation of this team, including the replacement of DC Fire-EMS units and restricting DCFD access to White House grounds. There has been statements made that DCFD hasn't required FBI background checks on its employees since 1992, thus a great reason in my mind to limit their access. The official statements are that RISC would be a rapid intervention team that stabilizes any emergency until the FD arrives and would be 'limiting the day to day responses for "lesser" emergencies'.

This group was formed October 2004 (if I am mistaken please correct me) and to my knowledge there hasn't been a major conflict since its formation (event). In my opinion this is a great idea and all companies and organizations should create teams like what the Secret Service did.

The basis for this post is this: Change is different, not bad. Embrace the changes and try to make the most of them. It may benefit you more than you know. I recently spoke with a guy in my department that (when speaking of another new guy that got kicked out of a medic class) said that if no punishment was dealt out to the guys that were (like him) required to take the class he was going to drop his card as well. If one person will not do a job then someone around the corner will. RISC, Fire/Medic cross training, Tech Rescue, Haz Mat, and all of the other specialty areas are all different (changes) and they are all needed. Embrace the change and join the team to make our jobs better and safer.

Great Train Crashes Since 1900

I have been searching for incidents on and about this time frame across the web. I found this website. There are several listings on various incidents out there, so I am trying to vary the content and context of my postings. Woorking off of a previous post on the Hammond Circus Train Crash I decided to post on train crashes. I am sorry I haven't posted photographs of these events or elaborated on the incidents, some I do not have a great deal of knowledge while others I may post on in the future.

Here is a list of some of the major train disasters since 1900:
May 22, 1915: Passenger train collides with a troop train in Gretna, Scotland killing 227.
Dec. 12, 1917: A troop train derailed near the entrance of Mt. Cenis tunnel in Modane, France and killed 543 soliders.
Jan. 16, 1944: Train wrecks in the Torro Tunnel in Leon Province, Spain. More than 500 people were killed.
Mar. 2, 1944: A train broke down in a tunnel in Salerno, Italy, causing 521 passengers to suffocate.
Oct. 22, 1949: The Danzig-Warsaw express derails in Nr. Dwor, Poland. Resulting in the death of more than 200.
Apr. 3, 1955: A delrailed train plunged into a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico killing 300.
Sept. 29, 1957: An express train collided with a stationary oil train in Montgomery, West Pakistan killing 250.
Feb. 1, 1970: An express train ramed into a stationary commuter train in Buenos Aires, Argentina killing 236 people.
Oct. 6, 1972: A train carrying religious pilgrims derailed and caught fire in Saltillo, Mexico killing 208.
June 6, 1981: A train crashes after a bridge collapsed in flash floods from a monsoon in Bihar, India. Reports state that more than 800 people were killed in what is reported as the worst train disaster in history.
June 3, 1989: A liquefied gas pipeline exploded and engulfed two Trans-Siberian Railroad trains that were parked outside the Central Asian city of Ufa (previously a part of the Soviet Union) killing 575 people.
Jan. 4, 1990: An overcrowded 16-car passenger train collided with stationary freight train in Sindh Province, Pakistan resulting in the death of more than 210.
Sept 22, 1994: Faulty brakes are reported to have caused a train to crash in a ravine in Tolunda, Angola killing 300.
Aug. 20, 1995: A speeding passenger train crashed into a train which had struck a cow, then stalling out in Firozabad, India resulting in the death of 358.
Aug. 2, 1999: Two express trains collided head-on in Gauhati, India, reports states that more than 285 people were killed.
Feb. 20, 2002: An overcrowded train traveling from Cairo to the Egyptian city of Luxor erupted into flames, then traveled 2 1/2 miles before the driver was able to bring it to a stop. More than 360 people died in this incident.
Feb. 18, 2004: Runaway train cars bearing fuel and industrial chemicals derailed, causing explosions resulting in the destruction of five villages in Neyshabur, Iran. At least 200 people were killed.

The Fire Service on TV

In an earlier post I wrote about Fire Service based movies. I decided to create a post about the various television series that contain and address the fire service.

The first series I am listing in the great classic EMERGENCY. There are no other shows that boasts a following as large as Emergency. This show inspired thousands to enter the fire service and become EMS certified responders.

Others:
Code Red
LA Firefighters (aired on Fox)
Third Watch (aired on NBC)
Rescue Me (airs on FX)
Saved (airs on TNT)
Boston Firefighters
Paramedics

I am sure there are others out there that I have failed to list but I am unable to think of them. I do know that there was a firefighter drama, kind of like a soap opera that aired in England, but I do not know the name or particulars.

Any one that wants to share other TV show names or wants to comment or make reccomendations, please feel free to contact me.

Question about a fire hydrant

I had a question about a particular style of fire hydrant (Rensselaer, above). The hydrant itself is not one I have been able to operate or service. From what I have learned, the company that makes this style isn't in operation any more. I managed to find pictures and information you can access at Firehydrant.org here, the folks that operate this website have really done their homework. Most of the fire hydrant photos I have posted are from their website. I reccomend visiting FireHydrants.Org for any research into fire hydrants.

The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Train Wreck

Just before 4 a.m. 88 years ago tomorrow Hammond Indiana suffered one of its worst tragedies ever and the worst ever circus train wreck. It happened just beyond the city's eastern border in Ivanhoe, Indiana. The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train was parked on a rail siding waiting to switch over to a track that would take it into Hammond.

The train was scheduled to stop at Calumet Avenue and 150th Street to set up their tents and perform for the scores of children and adults expected to attend. The train was not clear of the Michigan Central Railroad line, which it had just turned off, and right behind it was an empty troop train heading from Kalamazoo to Chicago. The troop train engineer didn’t see the circus train blocking his right of way, because he had just fallen asleep at the throttle. It took very few minutes for the troop train to plow full steam, an estimated 60 mph into the parked circus train. Reports state that 86 of the 300 passengers on board the circus train were killed and 127 were injured. Many were charred beyond recognition. Kerosene lanterns, used to light the sleeper cars on the circus train caused fire to break out, which spread rapidly. Another contributing factor was that most of the Pullman cars were made of wood.

The scene, as with all disasters, drew large crowds of curious onlookers. The scene took several days to control and clean up. The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus had to only cancel 2 performances. The one in Hammond and its next stop Monroe, Wisconsin. This was due in part by the assistance by many of its competitors, including Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Shows lending needed equipment and performers so that the show could go on. Many of the city's residents and shop keepers gave food and clothing as well.

June 22 1918 will be remembered in Hammond Indiana as a day of death and sorrow. The sight of the accident will be forever burned in the eyes of its townspeople. The information for this article came from the Hammond Historical Society. If you want to learn more you can contact the Hammond Historical Society for more.
Contact the:
Hammond Historical Society
564 State Street
Hammond, IN 46320 USA
Phone: (219) 931-5100

June Fire History

I have been taking a break from everything lately and have neglected my site. I haven't found anything I can post about the history of June 19th, so I decided to post on the month of June as a whole. I am only posting things I haven't posted on before and ones I think may be a little obscure or otherwise unknown to most.
Here is the partial list so far in order of event:

June 8 1783 the Laki Volcanic System in Iceland began erupting setting off a chain reaction of volcanic eruptions & leaving a dusty haze creating massive food shortages & the death of 9,350 people (mostly due to starvation) by February 1784
June 20, 1877 fire in St John NB Canada killed 100
June 20 1919 Mayguez Theater Fire in San Juan kills 150
June 19 1932 Hailstones kill 200 in the Hunan Province in China
June 5 1946 fire at LaSalle Hotel in Chicago killed 61
June 26 1957 category 4 Hurricane Audrey swept through Texas & Louisiana leaving 390 dead secondary to 12 foot storm surges that moved inland as far as 25 miles.
June 23 1959 fire at Resort Hotel in Stalheim Norway killed 34
June 1 1965 coal mine explosion killed 236 near Fukuoka Japan
June 6 1972 coal mine explosion killed 427 in Wankie Rhodesia
June 19 1972 Hurricane Agnes kills 118 in New York and Florida
June 24 1973 bar fire in New Orleans killed 32
June 30 1974 Discotheque fire kills 24 in Port Chester New York
June 9 1977 fire in nightclub in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
June 26 1977 Jailhouse fire in Columbia Tennessee killed 42
June 19 1980 saw a battle between police & demonstrators in Capetown leaving 34 dead
June 7 1997 Temple fire in Thanjavur India killed over 60
June 13 1997 movie theater fire in New Dehli India kills 60
June 30 1999 camp dormitory fire killed 23 in Hwasung South Korea
June 23 2000 hotel fire killed 15 in Queensland Australia

In doing the research for this post I learned a few facts on some of these events that I may post on in the future. If you have photos or information on any of these please feel free to contact me, I would love to include more.

The events I post on are generally ones that make widespread news and result in massive monetary and life loss. There are millions of events throughout history that effect the lives of people that make little or no great effect to the world as a whole but inflict terrible loss to the people effected. My site does not intend to show deminished respect to those people, only to highlight the highly technical and lengthy response of fire and emergency responders.

Hangin' at the station

The picture above was taken from a website showing pictures from the Atlanta Photojournalism contest. I can't remember the name of the young lady that took it. The picture shows FF Jimmy Jennings, Lt Gary LaPrad, Capt Riley Peters, and FF Willie Wines Sr from Roanoke City Fire EMS Department in Roanoke City Virginia in front of Fire Station 1.

Recently I was returning in my apparatus from our central service center after much needed repairs when I passed another one of our stations. The station is in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city filled with gangs, violence, and system abusers in an EMS sense. The guys at #9 stay on the go most days. This particular day I noted that all 5 of the guys on duty this day were sitting in front of the house relaxing and talking.

This sight spawned a thought process. How often do we just sit out front and hang out talking about.... whatever. The old days that everyone often tout as so grand are made so by the friendships and fondness for each other that we share. None of us have the time to sit and 'chew the fat' with each other like we used to, but we should make an effort to keep the spirit of brotherhood and the station spirits high.

I think this is an important part of history. After all, the fire service 'Band of Brothers' is a real group and it exists in each and every department and we all need to just relax and hang out.

The national stand down is approaching quickly (June 21) so my challenge is this: Take the day slow and appreciate the break from training and all the other stuff your departments send your way and get the guys together and pull some chairs out in front of the station and just hang out. Watch the cars, the people, the sky, or whatever you want and just chat it up with your station-mates, and watch the bonding taking place before your eyes.

Oklahoma City Memorial Pictures

Roanokefire.Com sent links to these photos of the memorial. As you can see there are 168 chairs facing the reflecting pool and a large monument to the victims. It also appears that each chair is lighted at night. I have never been to the memorial, but from the pictures it is moving.




All of these photos come from

Alfred P Murrah Building

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Publishing Company (OPUBCO) http://www.newsok.com/At 902 AM on April 19 1995 a tremendous explosion rocked the foundations of America and played havoc with the residents of Oklahoma City. A rental truck with the sole and evil intent to kill and wound was driven to this building and parked intentionally on the side that a child care center was housed and detonated. The result, 168 deaths and over 490 injuries. Among the dead were 19 young children that had their lives stolen from them and the lives of their siblings and friends forever altered. The response to this event was enormous, bringing responders from across the country.

Recently, I was able to attend a class with a Captain from Fairfax County (VA) Fire Department who happened to respond with the task force to this incident. I didn't pry, even though I was interested, about the response and what he saw. He did speak of the unforgetable sights of devastation and tragic loss of life he saw. The scene was huge and chaotic, even after it was organized. He did tell me of the Oklahoma Firefighters that were on scene with him. He spoke highly of the men and women that took the event in stride and managed to live through this tragic event and operate in extreme conditions that most departments would crumble under.

He told me of men that would pull a 24 hour shift on duty then report to the site and pull 16 hours digging through the rubble, then go home for 6-7 hours and report back to work for 24 more hours. The Pyschological stress of the initial response alone should have crippled the department and the physical strain on manpower had to be overwhelming, but somehow the department and its membership managed to survive and mitigate the situation quickly and in an effective fashion.

Please visit the memorial site here and you can view Oklahoma City FD here

Here is a page dedicated to the investigation. Oklahoma City fire Capt. Chris Fields carries 1-year-old Baylee Almon (who later died as a result of her injuries), injured in the bombing at the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. This photo was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for photographer Charles H. Porter IV. The massive response to the bombing and support services on scene Unidentified rescuer taking a break with his K9. After a report of another possible bomb staff from hospital retreat to a safer location

There is a very nice memorial with a reflecting pond and 168 seats that provides the families of the victims a place to mourn on the site of the building. I haven't been able to find a picture of it for this post, but if I do I will post it.