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Volume 11 , Issue 1

January, 2013 Chief’s Corner John Bales, Fire Chief

W here do we go from here? Looking back at 2012, we say goodbye. The last month or so has been insane. You look back on this year and some might say good rid-

dance. I would agree. The murders and shooting of fire-fighters in West Webster, NY were without a doubt one of the most horrific events for the 2012 fire service. When you look at the West Webster fire-fighters who were gunned down, they did nothing wrong. They responded the same way any fire department anywhere in our country would have re-sponded. They were well pre-pared to fight that fire when they were sucker punched.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time firefighters have been shot at or sucker punched. The same goes for other firefighters doing the right thing, such as direct-ing traffic on the highway at the scene of a minor accident when some drunk driver slams through and hits them. There is only so much we can do.

Have we seen a cultural change nationally? I certainly think so. In the last ten years or so the number of firefighters being ejected from a moving apparatus has declined dramatically. Last month a ladder company in Queens, NY crashed into a garbage truck and the firefighters up front survived because they were belted in. There’s definitely more cautious thinking toward what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. The culture has changed. 83 firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty in 2012. The numbers are being reduced annually and working towards the goal of 0 fatalities is admirable. This is just not realistic when LODD are happening with things out-side our control such as West Webster NY.

The rules have changed. Many firefighters across the country are still struggling with the idea that not every fire has to be an aggressive interior attack. Now I love going inside just as much as the next guy but sometimes you just have to say why? There are times we should and times we shouldn’t. Take a look at some of the work the UL folks are doing with fire behavior studies. That should tell us something. It is not our Dad’s firefight anymore. If you don’t believe things are changing and

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sometimes for the worst, I invite you to attend the Tuesday night training on January 29th when Deputy Chief Piper presents a two hour class on “Wind Driven Fires.” Ar-vada experienced firsthand the tragic results when two firefighters became trapped and severely burned in a residential structure during a wind driven fire. Wind driven fires are nothing new, as Chief Snart will attest to. The wildland folks have had this knowl-edge and insight into this for years and years. The contents inside a structure today are burning at a much higher energy level and temperatures, flashover happens much quicker and there is a great potential for flashover.

Bottom line is that it is still the Company and Chief Officer’s role to lead the cultural change. With that said, a huge welcome to the Officer’s who will lead this charge in 2013. Welcome aboard to our new Lieutenants’ who are beginning their new roles. Congratulations to Jason Flicker, CJ Adkins, Chad Wachs, Jeff Steinhoff, Ben Moline and Tina Balgemann. Your adventure is just beginning and our expectations are high. Our Battal-ion Chiefs and Captains for 2013 remain the same as they were in 2012. Please continue your efforts to make sure you take everybody home.

Another new addition later this month will be Lieutenant Matthew Karsriel, who will take over the role in the Training Division. Lt. Kasriel comes from Garden City Kansas Fire Department where he served as a line Lieutenant and has a good training background with Garden City Community College and the University of Kansas, instructing in both fire science programs. Matt will begin his career with Golden on January 28th and is planning on attending the annual awards banquet on the 26th to get an opportunity to begin meeting the membership. He will be jumping right into the recruit academy starting in February.

Let’s make sure we have a safe and prosperous new year for Golden Fire.

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Birthdays & Anniversaries

Anniversaries There are no anniversaries for January

Birthdays Angela Baca 01/11

Matt Finley 01/31

Michael Jojola 01/12

Anthony Martinez 01/07

Kent McCreary 01/13

Adam Phipps 01/13

Jeff Steinhoff 01/17

Craig Weimer 01/13

Arvada Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Piper

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I n last month’s update, I mentioned that there was a desire to adopt the 2012 edition of the International Energy Code in the City of Golden. As such we planned to adopt the 2012 family of correlated I-codes which includes the 2012 IFC. Part of this process was to evaluate the significant changes to the 2012 edi-

tion of the IFC as compared to our currently adopted 2009 edition. This has been done and while the intent is to make as few amendments as possible to this model code, an ordinance was drafted with some amendments and proposed to city council for adoption.

For the most part, the proposed ordinance maintains the current amendments that were included in the adop-tion of the 2009 IFC save for some modifications to some administrative sections and the creation of a new definition for sky lanterns and an operational permit for them and for model rockets. These two areas were ad-dressed because they do not fit nicely in any fireworks or pyrotechnics definitions or operational permit re-quirements, yet they can pose some of the same fire risks. Another amendment proposed is to require commer-cial kitchen hood suppression system maintenance contractors to report directly to GFD any non-compliant systems. This was a result of lessons learned from our October Mexican restaurant fire and experience the tem-porary closing down of one or our Chinese restaurants.

Some of the most significant changes in the 2012 IFC involve requirements surrounding energy and green con-struction technology and the resulting concerns for firefighter safety in incident response. The changes are too numerous to mention here so I planned to put together a separate document to share perhaps via a training night when time permits after the 2012 is adopted and in effect. Due to public notice requirements and council meeting schedules, mid March is the anticipated time frame that the 2012 IFC will take effect.

As for construction permit activity for the new year, it appears that it will remain steady in 2013 if all the pro-jects currently in the planning stage begin. One larger new project has already begun. It is a new building in the Jefferson Office Park at 10th and Johnson that will house a VA clinic and offices. Preliminary plans have been submitted for a stand-alone building used for a climbing gym adjacent to Panorama Orthopedics on Golden Ridge Road. The existing building at Pine Ridge and Avery that was once a rental center was sold to a company that does R&D level testing of high performance fabrics and materials used in recreational sports and even space. This will result in a significant remodel, with the addition of a fire sprinkler system as one of the most important to us. The developer of the vacant property between 8th Street and Hwy 58 continue to work on their plans for a 99 unit multi-residential complex on the site. Finally, the Colorado School of Mines contin-ues with their master planning and capital construction program. A new welcome center building at 18th and Illinois is well into the planning process. Additionally, we will learn more this month about the preliminary site development plans for a new football stadium on the site of the existing Brooks Stadium and Campbell Field on 12th Street, as well as plans for a new residence and dining hall on the site of the current parking lot along 18th Street between Elm and Maple Streets.

As always, we continue to get new tenants in existing buildings such as the language learning center currently under tenant finish in the remaining portion of the basement of the Foss Building that is not occupied by the

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Fire and Life Safety Jerry Stricker, Fire Marshal

Fire Prevention Bureau Updates For January

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Blue Canyon Underground Bar. There has also been an inquiry about a roof top patio bar in the 1100 block of Miners Alley. The Foothills Art Center at 15th and Washington is undergoing a re-model in January which will include a new monitored fire alarm system and Knox Key box that is being required by a couple of major art displays coming to this location in 2013. This highlights some of the new projects planned or underway, but we will certainly keep you updated throughout the year.

Last Minute Bureau Updates:

Below is a list of new projects (not just tenant finish or remodels in existing buildings) that are currently un-derway or have a planned start for the first half of 2013:

1020 Johnson Road- Office building that entirely houses a new VA clinic

Jeffco Jail crime lab and mechanical room addition (we are requiring a review of the emergency vehicle access and response points as part of this)

CSM Welcome Center – 2 story 20,000 s.f. building.

CSM Residence (200 beds) and dining hall.

CSM football stadium- Marv Kay Stadium

1300 8th Street Apartment building- 99 units or the active lifestyle.

Lastly, not a new building, but the fire alarm system at 700 Jeffco Parkway is being replace with a new one and will monitor the renovated sprinkler system that protects the ENTIRE building instead of just the two shop areas.

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S omebody asked Winston Churchill one time what most prepared him to lead Great Britain through WW2? This was Churchill’s response: "It was the

time I repeated a class in grade school." The questioner said, "You mean you flunked a grade?" Churchill said, "I never flunked in my life. I was given a second opportunity to get it right."

2013 – When I say that, I feel like we should be living in the Jetson’s era. It’s a new year. Another opportunity. As I sat thinking about 2012, I was very pleased with some of the things that happened in my life, but there were some things I didn’t get accomplished. I could sit back and com-plain or I can look at it the same way Churchhill did. A second chance to get it right.

As a pastor and a chaplain, no one believes more in second chances than me. If I didn’t believe in second chances, I wouldn’t do what I do.

So let me ask you: What were your failures last year? What were the things you started that you didn’t finish? What were the goals that you didn’t achieve?

What’s stopping you? What’s keeping you from setting those goals and getting back in the game? This is a new year and a new opportunity and my prayer for you is that you will not let anything hold you back as you go forward in achieving your dreams.

As a firefighter for Golden Fire, you have and are doing great things. Don’t ever let failure stop you from going forward and fulfilling your dreams and aspirations. May 2013 be a great year for us all.

Total Calls - 124 Hazardous Condition - 6 Mutual Aid Given - 6

District # 1 - 59 Clear Creek Canyon - 6 Average Response Time - 04:40

District # 2 - 50 Miller Coors Property - 1 Average Firefighters/Call - 5.45

Fire Response - 3 Out of City/Other - 7 Average Total Time/Call - 40:47

Rescue/EMS - 67 Mutual Aid Received - 0 Est. Fire/Damage Loss - $0

NUMBERS FOR DECEMBER 2012

Fire & Brimstone Mark Testroet, Chaplain

A Second Chance To Get It Right

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I f you haven’t seen the news or read the newspaper lately, the cold and flu season is upon us in full force. The initial reports further state that they are expecting this year to be much worse than previous years. So far 41 states have had severely high flu outbreaks, overwhelming emergency rooms with patients. Com-

pare this latest report to the beginning of December when only five states reported serious outbreaks.

As a result of this, we should be aware of the situation and take the necessary precautions so we don’t become part of the problem.

As firefighters we are regularly exposed to various hazards. Because of this we train on a regular basis to keep our skills up so we can recognize these hazards and take the necessary precautions to safeguard ourselves against them as needed. But now let’s think about how our response has changed over the years. These days, most fire departments are now responding to an increasing number of EMS calls. And when we respond to these incidents, we are usually dispatched with only generic information like “Sick Party” or some other vague information. This dispatch information could mean just about anything when we respond onto the scene. It is only after we arrive on scene that all the information becomes available and we can begin to recognize the haz-ards that might exist on scene…well almost that is.

When I was in hazmat class, I can remember the instructor stating that hazmat was relatively easy; you saw the problem, kept yourself at a safe distance, formulated a plan and took care of the incident. With that thought process, you could also say the same about most of the incidents that we respond to. A problem is recognized and we address the problem as safe as possible to get the desired outcome. The instructor further stated that what he was most afraid of were the things that you couldn’t see or what couldn’t be immediately detected

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Bugle Notes Gerard Lutz, Captain

It’s That Time Of Year Again!

December 5,2012 December 29,2012

with a meter or some other instrument while you are on scene. These are the types of incidents that you have no idea if or when an exposure has occurred.

Now, even though there have been many Hollywood movies made about some virus that wipes out the world population, this isn’t really as farfetched as one might think. If we take a look at the past, history has shown that there have been many outbreaks that have decimated the world’s population at one time or another. The Black Plague which peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1350 killed between 75 to 200 million people world-wide. This number was estimated to be between 40-80% of Europe’s population. At a time that the world population was estimated at only 500 million people, this was a significant number of people. More recently, the Spanish Flu of 1918 killed between 20 to 100 million people worldwide in only 2 years.

Now I know that you might be thinking that we live in a time with better medical care and that this couldn’t happen today, but is that really the case? The Bird Flu, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the Ebola Virus are just a few viruses that the World Health Organizations keeps track of each year. And when you think about how these viruses might mutate into new strains that could be transmitted throughout the world by way of modern travel, it makes you wonder how bad a modern day pandemic could really become.

Now, let’s go back to our response on our “Sick Party”. When we arrive on scene, we can only assume that the patient is infected with some unknown virus. If the illness is an airborne illness, this increases our chances of becoming infected through our respiratory track as well. If contact was made and you inadvertently touch a mucus membrane you may have infected yourself. However, how soon will it be before you realize that you are infected and start showing the symptoms yourself? Some reports suggest that you might be contagious for up to 24 hours prior to showing any symptoms of the illness when infected. If you think about all the people that you have come in contact with in the last 24 hours, and how many people they come in contact with and so on and so on, you can start to see how these illnesses can spread so rapidly.

To give you an example of how easy this might occur, let us take a look at an average fire house:

A firefighter reports to work who is not feeling well but still insisting on working their shift. When asked about it, they respond by saying that it’s nothing and that they feel fine, that they just sound a little hoarse and that they feel they can still do the job. Then about a week later, another firefighter calls in sick with similar symptoms. Before you know it there is a “mini pandemic” occurring in the firehouse. Several years ago, I was part of one of these “mini pandemic” that ended up a lot more serious than just the common cold. A cou-ple of firefighters who responded to a sick party a few days earlier reported to work. When they started their shift they stated that even though they felt a little sick, they could still perform their jobs as needed. Within two weeks 10 firefighters in our department were all diagnosed and treated for pneumonia. At that time, this was 1/3 of all shift personnel. To make matters worse, I brought the illness home and passed it to my oldest son and my brother-in-law who was in town visiting for the weekend. This all occurred prior to me knowing that I even had pneumonia. (My youngest son had been inoculated for pneumonia as an infant and my wife was promptly placed on antibiotics when the two of us were diagnosed with pneumonia and avoided the ill-ness. My brother-in-law returned home prior to having any symptoms and brought it back to Michigan where it continued to be passed along to his co-workers. ) As a result of the number of members in our department that were diagnosed, the Colorado Department of Health and the CDC were advised of the incident for follow up. Many of us had multiple follow up visits with various doctors before we could return to work.

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So what can we do to prevent such spread of an illness?

When I was in EMT school, the instructor told us that the three best ways to stop the spread of any illness was: 1)wash your hands,2) wash your hands, and 3)wash your hands. If you think about this, it only makes sense. When I go in to see my doctor when I am sick, the doctor and nurses come in, wash their hands, donn a pair of gloves, perform the physical examination, carefully remove their gloves and promptly wash their hands. Now I know that these health care professionals do get sick and probably build up their immune system over time, but I am sure that their hygiene practices also help reduce their chances of getting sick all the time.

In the event of a known respiratory illness, we have to make sure to wear respiratory protection as well. Visit any doctors office this time of year and you will see the same sign on the door, something to the extent of: **IF YOU HAVE FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS, PLEASE ASK THE RECEPTIONIST FOR A MASK**. Wear-ing a mask if you are sick will reduce the chance of passing along the illness to others. Furthermore, if you know that you are going into someplace where people are sick, wearing a mask might reduce your chance of contracting the illness. If anything, it could eliminate the possibility of you putting your fingers or some other infected object into your mouth.

One final note, when you are sick, STAY HOME. Coming in will only increase the chances of passing along the illness that you might have to others. Once you are back to feeling healthy, is it OK to return to work.

Stay Safe and Healthy.

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All types of flu have similar symptoms. Although the flu and common cold have similar symptoms, the flu tends to be more severe. Flu symptoms include a fever, body aches, tiredness, and cough. Your health care provider can give you a test to determine whether or not you have the flu.  

What are the symptoms of the flu? Flu symptoms include:

A 100oF or higher fever or feeling feverish (not everyone with the flu has a fever) 

A cough and/or sore throat A runny or stuffy nose Headaches and/or body aches Chills Fatigue Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea (most common in children)

For more information about the flu check out: flu.gov

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2013 LIEUTENANT's PROMOTIONS CONGRATULATIONS!

Left: On December 7, 2012 The Golden Fire Department was dispatched to an injured bicyclist about 1-1/2 miles above the Apex Trail Head. Foothills Fire, Jeffco Rangers and Highland Rescue also responded from the top of the mountain to assist. Once on scene command used an iPad Mapping app to help with determining the location of the victim. GFD crews met up with the others and located the patient. The patient was packaged and transferred to High-land Ambulance. No further action was required and all units cleared the scene.

Below: On December 4, 2012 the GFD was dispatched to a downed parasailer on Mount Zion. Upon arrival, crews found the pilot about 150 feet down the mountain. The scene was prepared for a steep slope evacuation. The patient was immobilized, package and hauled uphill to the road. The patient was then transported to the hospital.

ON THE SCENE WITH THE GOLDEN FIRE DEPARTMENT

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FIREFIGHTERS OF THE MONTH

For their actions at a structure fire in Pleasant View on December 20, 2012. This fire resulted in a civilian fire fatality. Check out more photos of this fire at 5280fire.com

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fr i Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 Work Detail Battalion 1

7 8

Business Meeting 19:00 Station 1

9 10 11 12

13 Work Detail Battalion 1

14 15

EMS In-service 18:30 Station 1

16 17 18 19

20 Work Detail Battalion 2

21 22

Ice Rescue Classroom 18:30 Station 1

23 24 25 26

Ice Rescue Field Day

27 Work Detail Battalion 2

28 29

Multi Company Operations 18:30 Station 1

30 31

January 2013

Golden Fire Department

911 Tenth Street

Golden, Colorado 80401

On January 7, 2013, the Golden Fire Department was dispatched to a car fire at 660 Heritage Ridge Road. Upon arrival Battalion Chief Burrell established command and found a white VW with the hood open and fire coming from the engine and passenger compartments. As Engine 21 was arriving on scene, the exposure vehi-cles to both sides of the fire vehicle were becoming involved in the fire. The crew from Engine 21 established a water line and extinguish the fire with a 3 1/4 inch pre-connected hose. Fire Marshal Stricker investigated the fire and all units were cleared by command. The fire caused approximately $2000 in damages to the vehicles.