Moved equipment-2522 and 2523

Hello Folks,

 

Some time ago DC Straily tasked me with putting the grant funded pediatric medical kit on 2522.  We are obviously tight for compartment space.  Lt. Corbit had suggested that I place the back braces under the forward facing jump seats in the cab.  They are soft, don’t take up much space, and might remind folks of their availability.  Suffice it to say that wasn’t enough room.  Today we moved the smoke alarms to the passenger side forward compartment (Gas monitor, electric sump pumps).  That still wasn’t enough room.  Finally I moved the animal rescue bag to the EMS compartment on 2523.  The difficult decision of pediatrics or pets as the priority for a first out ALS engine was not easy.  Many of the compartments on 2522 are at full capacity.  Before we add anything else we need to think carefully about what we can do without.    The proposed ready rack that should be in place at the end of the remodel may help in some ways.  Thank you to Lt. Corbit for his idea on the back braces.  If someone else has some better ideas floating around I am interested.  Thank you.

Chain saw marathon

Just as the ink was drying on my last chain saw bulletin….The second Echo (not the one that came back from Hauer’s yesterday) was discovered to be leaking fuel.  It will need to be sent to Hauer’s (the Echo dealer) for professional service.  The other Echo was borrowed from 2523 so that we have a correctly fitting vent saw on 2541 (for automatic/mutual aid).  A small Stihl 025 remains in service on 2523.  Thank you.

Zoll AED Pro Lithium Non-rechargeable batteries

Just so you know…we are now using lithium non-chargeable batteries in all our Zoll AED Pro’s.  These units are presently on 2523, 2541, 2561, and the Durango.  The use of the non-chargeable batteries do not eliminate the need for a regular visual check of the AED but do eliminate the ritual of rotation and charging of the rechargeable batteries.  If this proves to be too expensive in the long term then we can always decide to switch back at a later date.  All of our AED’s will be serviced Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thank you.

Mattress rodeo

Hello All,

 

The long awaited bed sets and frames arrived Friday.  The original order for three mattresses and box springs were for standard length sets and frames.  In January it was decided to upgrade the undelivered order to the extended length that most folks prefer.  It was also determined that in some applications the standard length frame can be a bit dangerous.  It took a lot more time to finally get the longer frames.  After careful evaluation a final decision was made.  Thanks goes to Mark and Aaron for wrangling around seven different frames, mattresses, box springs, and re-bagging four sets.  Zach successfully completed his EMT practical in time to help with disposal.

 

Based on quality, condition, room design (new frames), and number of nights used per month it was elected to place all three new sets at Station 2.  The new beds were labeled by room number and will remain in the assigned rooms.  One extended Serta set and standard frame from Station 2 were brought to Headquarters to replace the last short blue bed in the dorm.  The two blue sets were pretty worn out but were provided to Women’s Resource in lieu of the landfill.   Hopefully we can adopt a purchasing regimen where we might buy one high quality extended set and frame every year.

 

The two Serta Sets from Station 2 were in disappointingly poor condition.  Both sets had a number of incidental stains that suggest sloppy bed side food and beverage habits.  One set had so many stains that is was decided to dispose of it entirely rather than bring on outside embarrassment.  There has been recent discussions about the benefit of good quality Mattress Protectors.  I am now convinced that they are needed for all eight beds.    There is also been some thought given to getting bed spreads again.  We will probably talk about this at the Officer’s meeting on Monday.

 

Mark and Aaron insisted on taking advantage of the opportunity to vacuum under the beds at Station 2.  We did dirty the tiled areas a little bit so I did a quick cursory mop job.  The hallway, dryer area, kitchen, and dayroom would benefit from a thorough mopping.  I hope that someone might do that before I visit again on Thursday.  Thank you.

Chain Saws

Hello All,

 

In addition to the change in small engine fuel practices we have also undertaken improvements in chain saw practices and placement.  We have upgraded the quality of the saw chains that we use for ventilation and obtained high quality backup chains as well.  We have also decided to partner a small reserve saw with the ventilation saw on 2523. 

 

We have a total of six chain saws in our department.  Three are considered fire service grade with larger power heads that make them well suited to roof ventilation.  They are the Stihl MS 460 rescue saw on 2522 and the older Echo QV-8000s that are on 2541 and 2523.  We recently decided to outfit all of these saws with Rapco brand carbide tip chains.  These chains are repairable and recyclable even when they have been badly damaged.  We have obtained carbide tip backup chains for both the Stihl MS 460 and Echo’s.  These chains are expensive and we need to take good care of them.  We are keeping the extra chains in the shop at Headquarters rather than allowing them to rust in a metal coffee can.  All of our saws will be maintained with chain/bar protectors on them as well.

 

The three smaller Stihl 025 saws are intended for more general use.  They are outfitted with ordinary chains and the backup chains for them are at HQ as well.  These chains are pretty inexpensive and we will keep two or three extra on hand at all times.  The three Stihl 025s are on 2522, 2523, and 2521.  We previously had one small Stihl 025 on a shelf at Headquarters.  Partnering that saw with an Echo is a more effective use of our existing resources.  In the event that any saw goes out of service we will need to juggle a bit to keep an appropriate saw on every engine. 

 

Whenever any saw is used the chain needs to be carefully inspected on a bench under good lighting.  The bar and chain should be properly cleaned and if there is any doubt a new chain should be put on.  The old chain should be evaluated by one or more skilled set of eyes and appropriate sharpening, repair, or replacement carried out.  If in doubt ask questions.  When a saw at Station 2 needs special attention please let the career staff know and we can work together to take care of it.

 

We are trying to improve our level of preparedness on this topic.  These are life safety tools.  Your safety and effectiveness is our prime concern.  As we move into next budget year and beyond we would like to have some constructive conversations about how we might replace some of the older pieces of this “saw fleet”.   Aaron has done a lot of research over the past few years and can offer more detailed conversation.  Thank you.

2541 echo chainsaw

The echo that was at Hauer's equipment is fixed and is in good working order. It has been retrieved and is now on the ready-rack. We're not sure as to where this saw is suppose to return to.

Thanks

Broselow tapes

Hello All,

  Intern FF Plant assisted today by adding Broselow Tapes to both 2523 & 2521 medical kits.   Aaron B   

New Pediatric Broselow Tapes

Hello All,

 Today we have added new Pediatric Broselow tapes to each of the following apparatus medical kits 2522 & 2541.  I will add the new tapes to the medical kits on 2523 & 2521 tomorrow on my way home from shift.  DC Straily also has a Broselow tape in his medical kit as well.  Thanks Aaron Bielemeier   

The power washer is back and was a fuel problem.

The old 5000 watt generator from 2541 is back and has wheels now. They put a new carb on it. They also drained the fuel system for storage.

There is now motomix in the fuel cabinet if the green mixed cans need to be filled by the career personnel.

Wade Mathews

Generator

Clatsop Power Equipment called to let us know that the generator has been repaired and is ready for pickup.

 

Chainsaws

Hello All,

Today we found that there wasn’t a chainsaw on 2541.  We elected to move the Echo QV-8000 from 2523 to 2541 due in part to storage issues. We replaced the Echo chainsaw with the spare Stihl 025 chainsaw from the ready rack. 

In addition we also found the chain was installed backwards on the Stihl Rescue Saw; we fixed the problem and installed a new carbide tipped chain.  We also installed a new carbide tipped chain on the Echo QV-8000 that is currently on 2541.  Please be sure to double check that chains are installed properly, if you are unsure of how a chain is to be installed please consult another firefighter or refer to another resource such as a manual hard copy or online.  We also removed the spare chainsaw chains from 2522 today.    Thanks again Aaron Bielemeier

Hand primer pump

There is now a hand primer attached to the small water pump on 2523. Everyone at station 25a should get familiar with it, thanks.

Wade Mathews

3 inch hose

There is a 3 inch section of hose on the hose rack marked for the Oregon Responder. If someone comes in for it give it to them.

Wade Mathews

Hose

We have added new hose to 2522. The other crosslay is now blue, and one of the 200' rear pre-connects is green. The idea behind the colors is to keep easier track of the hose on a fire scene when it needs to be shut down or charged. Also these sections of hose have reflective arrows on the female couplings that point the way out or towards the water source for safety.

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Equipment in Fire Bay

The pile of vehicle storage boxes and radio equipment in the middle of the fire bay is out of Jeff Rusiecki’s vehicle.  The vehicle had a leak and it is at the shop being repaired.  The equipment will be placed back into the vehicle as soon as the repairs are complete.

This post made by Lt. Gascoigne for B shift.

2541 Echo saw

The echo from 2541 that has been out of service, has been dropped off at Hauer's equipment. We requested that they fully service it, as well as install the replacement part.

Please direct any questions to myself, Driver Engineer Rummell, Lieutenant Corbit, intern Casillas, or intern Gauthier #1.

Thanks

Servicing of the Heating System at Station 2

FYI:  I will be meeting P&L Johnson at Station 2 next Tuesday, March 27^th at 9am to let them into the building to service the heating system in the building.  This should take a couple hours to complete.  P&L Johnson phone #: 503-325-2180.

 

New thermal imager

The new thermal imager has been placed on 2522. It is very similar to the old one and uses the same charging base. If you have any questions please direct them to DC Straily. DC Straily has the old TIC and is planning on having it placed on 2523

Thanks
Rob

Coast Garage Door

Coast Garage Door will be here March 29th to service the bay doors at HQ and Sta.2
Mark

Foam Eductors

All the old foam eductors have been replaced with new ones. $ 95 gpm eductors have been placed on 2522,2523,2541 and 2521. A 60 gpm eductor has been placed in 2561.
Mark

5000 watt generator

Brett reminded me that the fuel was swapped out on the generator just the other day.  I spoke with Greg.  His advice is to store it completely dry and start with fresh fuel every time.  That may be the best plan.  Thank you.

5000 watt Honda generator formerly on 2541

Upon removal from 2541 the 5000 watt Honda generator was found to be leaking fuel.  This may be a byproduct of our old white gas days.  This generator has an approximate replacement cost of $2500 dollars and still has a lot of value in an emergency.  It has been sent to Clatsop Power with instructions for a serious makeover with an eye toward being stored under a ready rack.  They will dump and flush the fuel and look at all the old seals.  Fred thinks that he has an old wheel kit for this model and would like to give it to us at no cost.  It will be refueled with a small amount of non-ethanol fuel when it returns.  Fred would like to emphasize that this model has a fuel shut off switch that should be used and then allow the unit to run until the carburetor is empty and it runs out of fuel.  He cautions that when removing from storage that it may take a couple of minutes for the gravity fed fuel to fully settle into the carburetor and restart it.  “If it has been stored properly it may take a couple of minutes before it is ready to fire up and run.”  This is a good piece of equipment that needs to be stored properly.  It should be kept with a minimum of fuel and should not need to be ran on a regular basis.  When it  returns we needs to put some instructions with it to remind us how to store it.  Thank you.

2561 Back in Service

Hey Team,

2561 is back from Ocean Crest. The alignment is complete. I have given the results of the alignment to shops for their records.

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Hand primer

The hand primer's for the small Honda pumps have now been tethered to the pump using strapping. The hand primer will still connect to the discharge and can be used without disconnecting it. I also ordered another hand primer for 2523's Honda pump and will tether it also when it arrives.

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2561 alignment

Hey Team,

2561 went out to Ocean Crest for alignment work today at 1300. I will let you know when it is back from service.

Thanks,

Brett

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2541 Compartment #8

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Hey Team,

2541 Compartment # 8 has NEW equipment! The Honda EM 5000 SX generator has been replaced by a new Honda EB 3000 generator. The extension cords have been placed on cord reels. The power cord for the electric starter for the 5000 has been zip tied and tucked out of the way. The cord for the scene lights has been coiled up and strapped and buckled.

Thanks,

-Brett

Silicone lubricant and airway manikins

When working with airway manikins it is important that any silicone spray lubricant water based.  The Napa CRC can from the shop is hydrocarbon based and bad for the equipment.  Thank you.

2522 chain saw chains

The carbide tip chain for the rescue saw is damaged beyond repair so Intern Plant on a regular chain and sharpened it. He also evaluated the chain on the 025 Stihl and got an extra chain for each saw. Please don't put the chains by themselves in the bottom of the coffee can as they will rust and become unusable.

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2541

The refurbished intake for 2541 is back from being rebuilt. The loaner intake is in the shop right now, we didn't get to packaging it up for shipping back though.

Pressure washer

The Honda pressure washer was not starting so it was taken to Clatsop Power.

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Small Engine fueling & SOG

Our department as adopted some new fueling practices for our small engines.  Please read and review SOG # 208 Small Engine Fueling, it is available on the network “General” drive under “SOG’s Newly Adopted. This new SOG is in effect immediately.  If you have any questions please discuss with your company officer.

As of today, the fuel in all of our small engines and small fuel cans has been changed out and is now in compliance with the SOG.  If you need to refuel any of the small engines or refill the cans, be sure to follow the procedures.  The initial fueling operations used all of the supply of mixed fuel.  All engines and cans are filled however there are no spare cans in the fueling cabinet.  More is on order and should arrive soon.  Meanwhile, if you use the can on an apparatus, swap them out with a can on a reserve apparatus or the CERT vehicle.

Lt. Gascoigne

Miscellaneous fuel key

I have a police slick top car to take to a two day class.  I have taken the miscellaneous fuel key for use both evenings as I am not able to locate a fuel key that is assigned to the car.  Thank you.

SCBA's

Aaron and Rob have borrowed 2 SCBA’s for their benefit stair climb.  DC Straily sent an email a while ago granting permission to do so.  They have removed one SCBA from 2521 and have taken the spare from over by the shop.

They should be returned in a couple of days.

 

Lt. Gascoigne

FW: Missing Vertex portable radio 05-03

Subject: Missing Vertex portable radio 05-03

 

I almost forgot…..we have been unable to locate one Vertex 600.  It should have 05-03 engraved on the top face of the radio.  I am not so much concerned that the radio is lost as that it may be left with the improper programming.  That could be a serious problem some day.  It should have the old laminated programming card on it.  If you happen to come across this radio please send it to Jake or myself.  Thank you.

Subject: Vertex 600 portable radios

 

Hello all,

 

Jake has spent a good chunk of time updating the programming on the Vertex 600 portable radios.  These radios are used as reserve and backup radios.  I want to call your attention to a few details so that you are familiar with their operation.

 

These old school non-alpha numeric radios have a total of 48 channels.  The channels are contained in three zones of 16 channels.  There is a toggle switch on the top right side that controls the zones.  The zones are identified as A; I; and B.  In keeping with some a portion of the Clatsop County Fire programming Matrix these radios have been programmed the same as the A and B zones of the other radios.  The “I” zone has been set up with the Clatsop County mobilization zone channels.  We hope that this particular arrangement will give the maximum amount of versatility with the 48 channels that are available. 

 

There are laminated channel cards attached with Velcro to the face of each radio.  In keeping with revised SOG 121 these radios are to be stored with the channel selector in ZONE B-Channel One which is Orange.  Please take a few minutes to re-familiarize yourself with these radios.  I have attached a few pictures and the pending SOG revision to help illustrate the subject.  Thank you.

 

 

New tires 2561

The pickup has new tires.  It will probably be scheduled for alignment and some other front end work in the coming weeks.  Thank you.

2541 drivers' side inside dual

Hello,
Yesterday while checking 2541 it was discovered that the drivers' side inside dual was flat, and off the bead.

We took it over to dels ok tire to get fixed. It turns out the that the reason the tire was flat was because of a bad stem.

Thanks

I would like to congratulate Justin Gauthier and Adam Casillas for completing their entry level firefighter requirements. They will now be sporting FIREFIGHTER crescents on the sides of their black helmets. This signifies they can make entry into an IDLH environment with a FF I or higher. Good job guys.

 

Terry

The temporary intake on 2541 is here and installed. It has an adapter on it that sticks out several inches. Be aware of this while operating to avoid any mishaps.

Side intake 2541

We will be sending the side intake on 2541 in to be re-built on Monday March 5. A loaner will be delivered on Sunday March 4 so we dont have to take the qunit out of service. It will take about 10 days to get the ours back from TFT. When it get here we need to make sure it is fixed proberly and get the loaner ship back. I will get the shipping address to return the loaner on Sunday.
Mark

FW: Fire extinguisher

We have opted to utilize this extinguisher as a reserve and have called Columbia Fire to have it serviced.  Please place it in the ready rack area when it returns.  Thank you.

 

From: Paul Gascoigne
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 3:46 PM
To: Bob Johnson; Terry Corbit; Steve Straily; Wade Mathews; Mark Truax; Jake Rummell; Aaron Bielemeier; Robert Weidman; Brett Bishop
Subject: Fire extinguisher

 

During our tour of station 2 we found a CO2 extinguisher in the hose tower with an inspection tag last dated in 1994.  We loaded it up and brought it back to headquarters with us.  We need to figure out whether to service this extinguisher or if it has been left out of the loop on purpose.

 

Also, the two missing plastic tables were located in the hose tower.  Just a heads up.

 

Lt. Gascoigne

Fuel

Sometime this next week Wilcox & Flegel will be delivering a 55 gallon drum of super unleaded. It will go into the fuel shed and Rod/Bo needs to be notified.

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Computer at Station 2 Not Working.

Lt. Gascoigne went to use the computer at station 2 this morning and found that the computer does not power up.  I have contacted Ifocus about this problem and they will try and get over to look at the computer tomorrow, Friday, March 2^nd or Monday, March 5^th.  I will update everyone as new information comes in on the computer.

 

iTX gas monitor

The AIM Pilot has been removed from 2522. I placed the iTX and sampling pump in the AIM bag and it is on the same shelf. Every Saturday the iTX needs to be placed in the docking station until it has been calibrated, bump tested and charged.

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FW: Message from TERRYS PLUMBING

Terry’s Plumbing is having Public Works turn off the water/fire line to Bethany Lutheran Church this morning, Thursday, March 01, 2012 at approximately 8:30am to repair a gated valve.  Terry’s Plumbing will call us back when the water/fire line is turned back on.  

 

From: Unity Connection Messaging System [mailto:unityconnection@astoria.or.us]
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 8:12 AM
To: Tara Constantine
Subject: Message from TERRYS PLUMBING