Lincoln Fire & Rescue has been training lately on techniques for fighting fires in high-rise buildings. The mothballing of two 1960s-era University of Nebraska residence halls (the Cather/Pound complex) have presented a great opportunity for this training, coordinated by Capt. Jamie Pospisil in the department's training division.
Capt. Pospisil put it well, when she characterized high rise fires as "high risk, low frequency." You could say that about significant fires generally: in the past 90 days, we have responded to 31 fires with any property loss at all, no matter how small. During that same time period, we have responded to 4,894 medical emergencies. It is clear that our primary business is emergency medical services, and that is where the greatest risk to public safety exists--by a huge margin.
Nonetheless, fires happen. High-rise fires, although very rare, also happen--and in a city approaching 275,000 like Lincoln, you better be ready when they do. The potential consequences of failure to train and failure to prepare are huge.
I spent a lot of hours during my career on the firing range. I never needed to discharge my sidearm in combat, and rarely needed to deploy it at all. I can count the number of police officers who have actually used their firearms against a threat during my years on one hand. It's pretty much the same concept with high-rise fire training: prepare for a bad day, and hope that it never happens.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Does the 4,894 medical emergencies include things like non-prescribed drug overdoses (legal and illegal, including alcohol) and attempted suicides of any types?
8:05,
Sorry, I inadvertently deleted your comment from yesterday. I reposted it just now, and I also have the answers to your questions.
In the past 90 days, LF&R responded to 124 medical emergencies involving an overdose. I cannot break that out by type of drug, though, or legal vs. illegal without looking at each individual case.
Also in the past 90 days, LPD has responded to 12 suicides and 77 suicide attempts for a total of 89, of which 50 were overdoses--including 2 completed suicides by overdose.
Can you discuss why union Firefighters are against using smaller, nimble vehicles? They are worried about losing their high paid"apparatus operator" positions. Always comes back to what is best for the perpetuation of the union power not the safety or cost to citizens. Do they not realize they look greedy and outdated?
4:39,
Not entirely sure. The stated objections and the unstated ones are not necessarily the same. Hadn't thought about the F.A.O. angle. Don't think it threatens that at all, though.
Maybe some of it is as simple as preference. When I was a police officer, and lost my 351 Crown Vic for a four-cylinder 1982 Dodge Aires, I wasn't exactly thrilled. I soon learned, though, that the K-car just fine for the downtown sergeant. I wasn't going on any 100 MPH pursuits anyway. Good thing: they put a full-sized light bar on that thing, and it was like pushing a billboard out I-180.
4:39,
Not entirely sure. The stated objections and the unstated ones are not necessarily the same. Hadn't thought about the F.A.O. angle. Don't think it threatens that at all, though.
Maybe some of it is as simple as preference. When I was a police officer, and lost my 351 Crown Vic for a four-cylinder 1982 Dodge Aires, I wasn't exactly thrilled. I soon learned, though, that the K-car just fine for the downtown sergeant. I wasn't going on any 100 MPH pursuits anyway. Good thing: they put a full-sized light bar on that thing, and it was like pushing a billboard out I-180.
Tonight for the umpteenth time I look out and see a car parked squarely in front of our mid block fire hydrant, hiding it from view of the street. Why don't you guys start an enforcement of that law?
Sounds like the union is really hot to file a grievance. Hats off to Chief Huff for doing the right thing. He needs to provide evidence of the practice being used nationwide to save resources.
Post a Comment