A few weeks ago, Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania lost his bid for re-election. Whatever the reason, the fire service, supported by Weldon throughout his 10 terms in the House of Representatives as founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, has lost a longtime friend and ally. With his proactive outlook and the help of many other members of the House and Senate from both parties, the fire service is much better off than it was 20 years ago before Weldon, a former fire chief, was first elected to Congress. We may have not received all the funds we thought we were entitled to, but still billions of dollars have been used to better the lives of this nation's first responders.
I first met Curt Weldon in St. Louis when I asked him to speak at Firehouse Expo in the late 1980s. He often spoke during the opening ceremonies in Baltimore, the last time in 2005, and for a time wrote a column for us. Never one to be short on words, Weldon repeatedly urged all segments of the fire-rescue service to get together so we had a common agenda. When I called the Congressional Fire Services Institute to assess how many seats were lost in the caucus, the results were still being tabulated. They did say that there is always turnover after elections, but the major factor in this election is the loss of leadership. Four of the eight co-chair positions of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus were lost. Two of those leaders, Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York, retired and two others, Weldon and Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, lost their bids for re-election. To read an analysis of the congressional fire situation, see Hal Bruno's Fire Politics column on page 18.
As I write this, I am in California to interview fire officials about recent massive wildfires. Chief John Hawkins from Riverside County spoke to me at length about the "Esperanza Fire," in which five firefighters lost their lives in late October. Several major factors helped push the fire more than two miles an hour in its early stages. Santa Ana winds in and below passes in certain parts of the state create wind tunnels, and Riverside has one of them. The fire eventually burned over 14 miles from east to west and more than 10 miles to the south.
Chief Hawkins will present an overview of the "Esperanza Fire" at Firehouse World in San Diego early next year. Weeks before the fire, we moved the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) presentation from a seminar class to the keynote address at Firehouse World. This way, the foundation can address a larger audience with its important message on reducing firefighter line-of-duty deaths (see www.Firehouseworld.com for more details). I also spoke with Chief Bob Roper from Ventura County, who had to deal with the "Day Fire," which burned for a month. During my trip, I passed the area off Interstate 5 where that fire started. I could see a portion of the rugged mountains and steep terrain where the fire burned. These wildlands remain a daily threat to the firefighters and civilians who live and work in the urban/wildland interface. Both chiefs repeatedly told me about the "California fire triangle" — fuel, weather and topography — and said that's what make wildland fires in California so tough to fight. We'll provide complete coverage in an upcoming issue.
In this issue, we devote extra coverage to hazardous materials response. On page 54, Barry Furey reports on a major hazmat incident that occurred in a small town. Barry describes how local officials worked effectively to mitigate a potentially serious situation. Our hazmat columnist, Robert Burke, reports on an innovative rescue-the-rescuer procedure designed for hazmat incidents; see page 58. Also, on page 66, Robert pays a call on the nation's first fire department hazmat team and assesses how it has progressed since its founding three decades ago.
Chief Jim Smith reviews strategies and tactics that can be implemented at strip mall fires, a common occurrence across the country. See Jim's Fire Studies column on page 20. Two of our writers take a historical approach this month. Gary Ludwig's EMS column, on page 42, examines how responses to vehicle accidents have changed since a landmark report on response protocols was issued 40 years ago. Looking back 60 years, Bill May of Atlanta Fire Rescue interviews a retired chief who responded to the Winecoff Hotel fire, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history. See page 72 for the chief's vivid memories of what he calls "an awful fire." Finally, we thank the manufacturers and service providers participating in our annual Buyer's Guide, beginning on page 78. They provide the valuable tools that help you do your job safely and effectively every day.
