Scuttlebutt 1/19

Hasenfratz Named 2018 EVT of the Year

Al Hasenfratz of the Sylvania Township, OH, Service Department has been named 2018 Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) of the Year by Firehouse.

Hasenfratz is an EVT/mechanic with over 30 years of experience in vehicle repair. A Master Heavy Duty EVT, Hasenfratz is also Master Heavy Duty certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). He is an active member of the Ohio Association of EVTs (OAEVT) and an alternate to the committee for NFPA 1071: Standard for Emergency Vehicle Technician Professional and he serves on the EVT Certification Commission Task Group.

One letter nominating Hasenfratz stressed his passion for safety: “Al is always eager to latch onto each and every ‘teaching opportunity’ to help educate others on proper and safe best practices.”

The other four finalists for the award included:

Second Place: Jeff Morris, fleet services crew leader, Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department, Fire Apparatus and Resource Division. Besides Master EVT and Master ASE certifications, Morris is a member of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) Strike Team 197 and was deployed two weeks during Hurricane Harvey. He is also active in the Texas Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians.

Third Place: Kevin Sullivan, fleet maintenance supervisor, Corpus Christi, TX, Fire Department. Sullivan is a Master EVT, Master ASE and Master Ambulance EVT, among several other certifications. He has implemented an annual maintenance program for all 140 pieces of equipment and is commended for being “a mentor to his subordinates.”

Fourth Place: Jason Nickelson, fleet manager, Mesa, AZ, Fire and Medical Department. With 18 years of service, under Nickelson’s vision, the Mesa Fire and Medical Department’s Fire Mechanical Division is “98 percent self-sufficient” and only relying on upholstery repairs from an outside vendor.

Fifth Place: Jarrett Hill, fleet manager, Rattlesnake, CO, Fire Protection District. After nine years with South Metro Fire Fleet Services, Hill left to develop a new fleet division in Elbert County and provides services to eight fire departments. He also is the Colorado Fire Mechanics Association’s academy director, organizing programs and instructors, and promoting educational opportunities for current and future EVTs.

A special recognition was requested posthumously for Daniel Peluso, who was an EVT with the Holbrook, NY, Fire District and vice president of the Long Island Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians. After 30 years of dedication and passion for apparatus safety and education, Peluso passed away last year after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

The 2018 EVT of the Year Award is sponsored by Spartan and will be presented to Al Hasenfratz during the Fire Department Safety Officers Association’s Apparatus (FDSOA) Symposium, which will be held Jan. 20–24 in Orlando, FL.

Firefighter Cardiac Health Survey

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) is collaborating with leading researchers from Skidmore College’s First Responder Health and Safety Lab on cardiovascular research to help decrease the toll of cardiac disease in the fire service. Dr. Denise Smith and her team are conducting a brief survey to better understand the incidence of various cardiovascular conditions in the fire service. This is an important step to understanding the problem, so we can better target screening and treatment programs in the future.

The NFFF is asking all firefighters to read the project description and complete the survey. To help compare firefighters to the general population, the NFFF is asking all who take the survey to not only share the survey link with other firefighters, but also with friends or family members who are not in the fire service and ask them to complete the survey. The collected responses will be anonymous. The link and consent form are the only official materials from the study.

The survey can be found at tinyurl.com/NFFF-cardio.

CMC Announces 2019 Rescue Class Schedule

CMC has announced its 2019 CMC School schedule of courses for rescue professional training. The CMC School will be available at strategic locations around the country, which allow for individuals to enroll in Confined Space Rescue, Rope Rescue Technician I/II and Trench Rescue classes.

“For over 40 years, CMC has remained dedicated to manufacturing and distributing the industry’s most reliable and trusted life safety equipment and gear; however, we also understand that equipment, without the requisite education and hands-on training, can only take rescue and rope access professionals so far,” said John McKently, CMC school director. “Through extensive, hands-on courses led by our team of seasoned instructors, the CMC School provides our community of rescue and other work-at-height professionals with the knowledge and training to do their jobs safely, effectively and confidently.”

CMC School’s Open Enrollment Schedule for 2019 will include the following rescue training courses:

Confined Space Entry and Rescue—This course covers NFPA 1006 skills, including preplanning, team evaluation, assessment, confined space hazards, PPE, hazard control, atmospheric monitoring, ventilation, supplied-air breathing systems, communications, tripods and other high-anchor points, rope systems for confined spaces and patient packaging. 

Rope Rescue Technician I/II—This intense, five-day, 40-hour training course involves rope rescue fundamentals in both high- and low-angle rescue situations. The course covers skills used in wilderness, urban and industrial environments.

Trench Rescue Technician—This intensive 24-hour hands-on course covers the Technician-Level Trench Rescue Shoring & Evacuation Skills in NFPA 1006.

For more information on the CMC School and for the full course schedule, visit cmcpro.com/school.

NFPA Warns of Winter Storm Threats

Most of the U.S. is at risk for winter storms, which can cause dangerous and sometimes life-threatening conditions. Blinding wind-driven snow, extreme cold, icy road conditions, downed trees and powerlines can all wreak havoc on our daily schedules. Home fires occur more in the winter than in any other season, and heating equipment is involved in one of every six reported home fires, and one in every five home fire deaths.

The NFPA is offering a free downloadable PDF for firefighters to pass along to members of their communities, with tips on how they can stay safe this winter. Tips include:

·         Test all smoke alarms

·         Generators should be used outdoors

·         Stay away from downed wires

·         Turn portable heaters off when you leave a room

To download the free tip sheet, visit tinyurl.com/NFPA-winter.

This Month in Fire History

Jan. 1, 1853, Cincinnati, OH—The first fire engine is tested

Jan. 5, 1985, Erath, CA—Texaco gas plant fire causes $51 million in damages

Jan. 5, 1995, Seattle, WA—Pang Warehouse fire kills 4 firefighters

Jan. 6, 1961, San Francisco, CA—Thomas Hotel fire kills 20

Jan. 10, 1976, Fremont, NE—Pathfinder Hotel fire kills 20

Jan. 11, 1820, Savannah, GA—Fire damages 463 houses

Jan. 12, 1908: Boyertown, PA—Rhodes Opera House fire kills 170

Jan. 14, 1969, Pearl Harbor, HI—USS Enterprise carrier fire kills 24

Jan. 19, 2017, Tehran, Iran—High-rise fire and collapse kills 30 firefighters

Jan. 23, 2005, New York—FDNY Black Sunday fires kill 3 firefighters

Jan. 27, 1967, Cape Kennedy, FL—Apollo 1 launch pad fire kills all three crewmembers and causes $413 million in damages

Courtesy NFPA