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Newletters From April, 2004
FEMA'S FIRE DEPARTMENT CENSUS HAS 22,250 FIRE DEPARTMENTS OR 75% OF ALL FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN THE US
Originally Posted: April 27, 2004 6:11 PM
Last Updated: April 27, 2004 6:11 PM
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says the National Fire DepartmentCensus had 22,250 registered fire departments on April 1, 2004 or approximately 75 percent of U.S.
The fire departments registered with the census represent some 41,000 fire stations and more than 1 million personnel, including career, volunteer and paid-per-call firefighters, civilian staff, and non-firefighting volunteers. The departments are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The census is managed by the National Fire Data Center, part of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).
"USFA staff members plan to use the census data to conduct special studies, guide program decisions and improve our communication with fire departments throughout the country," said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison.
For more info on FEMA or US Fire Administration, click on
"Search" in the upper right of your NEEDA NEWSLETTER screen.
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PIERCE SPONSORS FIRE CHIEF OF THE YEAR: 04 NOMINATION PERIOD OPEN NOW FOR NEW ORLEANS PRESENTATION
Originally Posted: April 27, 2004 5:53 PM
Last Updated: April 27, 2004 5:53 PM
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of custom and commercial fire and emergency vehicles, will sponsor the Fire Chief of the Year Award program which honors longtime dedication and leadership in the fire and emergency services.
Nominations for Fire Chief of the Year should be made through any one of sixty-four fire service organizations and associations listed in the current issue of Fire Chief. Any fire or emergency responder may submit recommendations for nominees for the award.
Pierce Manufacturing, Inc, part of Oshkosh Truck Corporation, is a North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, minipumpers and elliptical tankers. The company designs and manufactures its own foam systems.
For other NEEDA NEWSLETTER stories about Pierce Manufacturing, click on "Search" in your upper right screen.
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FIVE FIRE DEPARTMENTS BUY FIREBASEPIP MAPPING SYSTEM FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
Originally Posted: April 27, 2004 5:46 PM
Last Updated: April 27, 2004 5:46 PM
FIREbasePIP is in Nashville Fire Department, Chehalis Fire Department, Lewis Country Fire District, Elyria Fire Department and East Nash Volunteer Fire Department.
At $495, FIREbasePIP is part of Mapping Solution's line of FIREbase(R) emergency planning and response solutions, based on GiveMePower's PowerCAD(R) graphics development software system.
FIREbasePIP, is an emergency response software system to assist fire, police, EMS and homeland security agencies bring people to safety faster and more efficiently. Installed across an agency's central computing network and on mobile, in-vehicle-mounted computers, FIREbasePIP allows rescue agencies to create pre-incident plans, and to give emergency responders evacuation routes and maps while on-route to an incident.
Terry Scholl, Deputy Chief, Creve Coeur (MO) Fire District: "We have equipped all of our emergency vehicles with FIREbase-equipped laptops so when dispatch calls, teams can punch up the location and instantly view the maps." Creve Coeur is in St. Louis County.
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PHOENIX 20-STORY BUILDING HAS FRESH AIR SOURCE FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AT EVERY OTHER FLOOR
Originally Posted: April 27, 2004 5:09 PM
Last Updated: April 27, 2004 5:09 PM
A new air-replenishment system installed in APS' downtown headquarters - the first of its kind in Arizona - will help first responders who may face an emergency in the APS building. The Rescue Air System(TM) provides a fresh air source on every other floor of the 20-story APS headquarters, saving firefighters the time and effort of climbing up and down stairs to refill breathing tanks.
The Rescue Air System's interconnected-tubing extends vertically in the building's pressurized stairwells, allowing rescue workers to plug into the air system on odd-numbered floors. Even under extreme heat, the permanently installed non-combustible stainless steel tubing provides reinforced safety, while distributing compressed breathing air to free-standing fill stations.
Phoenix Assistant Fire Chief Bob Khan: "In the most dangerous fire fighting situations - high rises, this system will make firefighters safer and give them the ability to do a better job."
APS of Phoenix serves 931,500 customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters is a subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS CRITICIZES ADMINISTRATION'S FUNDING OF FIRE AND EMS DEPARTMENTS
Originally Posted: April 26, 2004 2:24 PM
Last Updated: April 26, 2004 2:24 PM
The President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, Harold Schaitberger, says
". . . the $3.561 billion President Bush claims to allocate to fund first responders is actually a reduction of $700 million from last year's $4.2 billion in funding approved by Congress. . .
". . . Bush claims a 400 percent increase over the previous Administration's funding for FIRE Act grants. He fails to say that the first year of funding for that program was 1999 and was established by Congress at an initial funding level of $100 million for a start up program. President Bush's first two budget proposals for the FIRE Act eliminated the program by zeroing out any funding for local fire department grants. Congress had to intervene and fund the FIRE Act grant program again and again, finally increasing its funding levels to $750 million. Bush's 2005 budget is a cut of 33 percent, or $250 million, from the FIRE Act's current funding levels.
". . . two-thirds of America's fire departments remain under-staffed because President Bush refuses to spend one penny to fund the SAFER Act, a new law that was passed with bipartisan support in Congress that would put more fire fighters in our communities.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT NEAR DULLES AIRPORT PURCHASES COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT FROM XYBERNAUT ATIGO, FAIRFAX COUNTY VA
Originally Posted: April 26, 2004 10:53 AM
Last Updated: April 26, 2004 11:12 AM
Sterling (VA) Volunteer Fire Company has purchased Xybernaut Atigo(R) (Fairfax VA) products for its stations (Sterling Park, Sugarland and Cascades) in the northern Virginia near Dulles International Airport.
This equipment allows critical incident response teams to formulate tactical plans while en-route to a crisis situation, decreasing deployment time and increasing operational efficiency. Once on site, responders coordinating various efforts and teams will continue to have access to critical information via the wearable computers.
Xybernaut Corporation sells wearable/mobile computing hardware, software and services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a hands-free design to people when and where they need it.
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REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS HELP FIRST RESPONDERS IN CRISIS
Originally Posted: April 5, 2004 12:19 PM
Last Updated: April 5, 2004 12:19 PM
May 2-5, 2004 experts will discuss the latest research and technology developments designed to help first responders handle medical challenges but are remote from hospitals and medical specialists. Emergency responders often find they face exceptional challenges and need remote access to medical facilities and medical professionals. This conference will help emergency medical responders and the companies which serve the EMS market. Some leading EMS companies belong to NEEDA.
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LA TIMES CONFIRMS NEEDA NEWSLETTER STORY: FIRE LOSS IN SOME BUILDINGS RESULT FROM FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE LAWS
Originally Posted: April 5, 2004 12:07 PM
Last Updated: April 5, 2004 12:07 PM
Fires and deaths following California earthquakes may be related to failure to comply with California's 1991 law requiring building owners to prepare buildings for earthquakes and meanwhile to post notices to warn all building users and tenants. The Los Angeles Times has confirmed what we published here in NEEDA NEWSLETTER. The California legislature is now looking at the earthquake laws to increase safety for citizens, tenants, and fire fighters.
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