Through listening and talking to speakers and attendees, it became clear to me that this is a time of many challenges for not only cities and states, but also for our country. As we face economic instability along with more and more natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, we find ourselves with many new challenges that require strong leadership in the emergency service field. Additionally, we are beginning to see the impact of the “baby-boom” generation hitting retirement age and how it is leaving gaps in areas where we need experienced leaders. What will this mean to the fire and EMS service? How will we maintain our high expectations and continue to grow, improve and move forward?

There are many possible answers to these questions, but one thing we know for certain is that big decisions are going to be required. Big risks may have to be taken. Leaders will have to think outside the box. Most of all, leaders will have to be accountable for how they respond and how they lead.

During the conference, the participants had many opportunities to listen to outstanding presentations offering a variety of points of view and from several areas of expertise. I found the lectures I listened to were thought provoking and value-added.

One of the speakers I listened to was Andrew Card. Mr. Card was Chief-of-Staff to President George W. Bush during the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorism attack. On that dreadful day, President Bush was in Florida at an elementary school function. When the first plane hit the South Tower, Mr. Card was the one who walked into the classroom to inform the President of the incident. After the second plane hit the North Tower Mr. Card again had to be the one to update the President. This time he told the President, “A second plane hit the North tower and America is under attack.” If you recall the President just nodded his head and stayed in the room for another 20 minutes. Some wondered why the President didn’t immediately leave the room and take command. Mr. Card explained that staying in the room was the right thing to do for several reasons. First, the President didn’t want to scare the children who were present. And, secondly, the President knew that the necessary notifications were being made. By the time the President left the classroom the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, FAA, DOT, and all the other alphabet soup departments were notified and were taking action.

There were approximately 700 people listening to Mr. Card and during this phase of his presentation you could hear a pin drop.

In summary, the TEEX Symposium provided the participants with opportunities to gain new insights, hear important and relevant information, reacquaint with old friends, make new ones, and refill your leadership engine. If you have the opportunity to attend next year you should.

Paul Stein

LADDER AND APPROACH THE INVOLVED AREA FROM THE UNINVOLVED AREA
A minimum of two ladders should be raised away or opposite the location of a fire. This allows personnel to start and return to the strongest portion of the building and their means of egress.

LADDER THE STRONG AREAS OF THE BUILDING-ROOF
Normally, the corners of a building offer personnel the ability to ladder the strongest portion of a building, and not place ladders over horizontal openings (i.e., windows, doors, etc). Other areas that offer strength are hips, valleys, ridges, etc.

RAISE THE FLY OF AN EXTENSION LADDER-AERIAL DEVICE ABOVE A PARAPET OR ROOF TO BE EASILY SEEN
If a ladder is a primary means of egress from a roof, make it easy to locate. Therefore, do not limit the extension of a ladder above a roof-parapet to 3 or 4 feet.

PERSONNEL-EQUIPMENT
Roof ventilation operations are simplified and safety is increased (accountability) when a minimum of two firefighters are utilized. The following equipment should be considered as the basic minimum necessary to accomplish roof ventilation operations:

• SCBA
• Communication capability
• Pick-head axe (used for prying, and as a back-up for power saws)
• Pike pole, trash hook, or other suitable tools for removing cut sections of roof decking
• Power saw. Historically, the rotary saw has been widely utilized as a viable roof ventilation tool, although size, weight, and the “gyroscopic” effect of the blade often detract from its effectiveness. In applications other than metal-deck roofs, the modern chain saw has proven to be a superior roof ventilation tool due to its effectiveness and ease of use-which often translates into firefighter safety.

General features that adapt a chain saw into an effective roof ventilation tool are as follows:

– Minimum engine size of 4 cubic inches (adequate power for multiple layers of roofing material
– Sprocket tip guide bar between 16 and 20 inches in length (cooler running chain and reach)
– Large air cleaner (increased time in smokey conditions)
– Muffler guard (normally a piece of aluminum on front of the muffler which minimizes maintenance and clean-up operations)
– Carbide-tipped chain (superior to standard chains)

READ THE ROOF

• Before leaving a ladder and walking across a roof, personnel must take the time to observe the roof and any visual conditions. A few considerations are:

– What is the location of fire and is fire showing through the roof?
– Is a portion of the roof sagging, are there heat blisters?
– Does the roof have ventilators, vent pipes, skylights, and are they issuing smoke?
– Communicate with interior fire attack crews on interior-attic conditions, and/or the location of fire.

DETERMINE THE TYPE OF ROOF
This can be easily accomplished by pre-fire planning (a prior knowledge of a building-roof) or quickly removing a small piece of composition (or other material) from the roof covering only. This is easily accomplished with an axe or power saw and will reveal the type of roof decking below the roof covering. As an example:

• Corrugated metal indicates a metal-deck built-up roof with open web bar joists
• 1X6-inch sheathing indicates a conventionally constructed roof
• Plywood, particle board, OSB, etc. on a newer building is an excellent indicator of lightweight construction

DETERMINE THE LOCATION AND EXTENSION OF FIRE
Prior to any roof ventilation, the location and/or extension of fire must be determined. In conjunction with knowledge of the type of roof, the feasibility of a strip ventilation operation can be quickly determined before leaving the route of egress (ladder). The location-extension of fire can be determined by:

• Visual size-up. What areas of the roof are issuing fire or smoke?
• Small inspection-indicator openings (kerf cut, etc) can be cut with an axe or power saw in the roof decking and utilized to determine the location-extension of fire. Consider the following four conditions showing from an inspection opening:

– Fire
– Black, hot, pressurized smoke
– White, lazy smoke
– Nothing

Additionally, always remember to consider pressure, color, and temperature of smoke.

DETERMINE VENTILATION FEASIBILITY
If you have a basic idea of the type of roof you are standing on (fireground time) and know where you are in relation to the fire (area of strength or weakness), there should be no reason for you to be standing over a fire area (particularly lightweight construction) attempting to cut a ventilation opening in a roof!

SOUND THE PATH OF TRAVEL
Sounding with an axe, pike pole, trash hook, or other suitable tool in front of the intended path of travel will verify a roof’s safety. Remember, if you sound with your feet, they are connected to your body.

WORK FROM THE STRONG AREA AND/OR TOWARD THE LADDER-MEANS OF EGRESS
Ventilation cuts should be designed to start in the weakest portion of a roof (toward the fire) and finish in the strongest portion of a roof (away from the fire).

KEEP THE WIND AT YOUR BACK
When possible, ventilation cuts should be planned to keep the wind at the back of personnel.

IMPLEMENT THE CONCEPT OF “TIMING” TO STRIP VENTILATION OPERATIONS
As strip ventilation operations can be a time and resource intensive operation and an opening can accelerate the travel of fire to its location, conduct strip operations as two distinct operations. The first operation is to cut the strip. The second operation is to open the strip opening.

In past pieces with this (and other) sites that I write for, I have talked about the issue of “bias.” When someone says the “B” word, many instantly default to issues surround “race” or other “protected class “ issues. That “instant default” is a form of bias in itself, but that is not my point here.

Sometimes we make up our minds too quickly based on partial information – and the bad news about your brain is that once it makes up its mind, it hates to change direction. And sometimes this “cognitive lock” can cause you a tremendous amount of grief.

If you want to read all about this in some books by some “smart” people, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s great work “Blink” or the fantastic book by James Chiles, “Inviting Disaster”.

So with the above in mind, let me give you a “cop” story that was in the news this week. Please be patient with me. I know most of you are not on the “cop” side of things but there is a lesson to be learned here for everyone in the fire community.

Here is a story out of South Dakota that caught my eye, and I am glad I read the entire piece. I have redacted the article so that it fits within this piece.

A state trooper seized 980 pounds of marijuana on Friday making what is believed to be the biggest pot bust from a traffic stop in the state’s history.”

With the help of a service dog, drugs with an estimated street value of $3.9 million were found in the bed of a pickup a 40-year-old man was driving on Interstate 90 about 11 miles east of Rapid City.”

“As far as we know, this is the largest marijuana seizure from a traffic stop,” Capt. Kevin Karley, head of the Rapid City division of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, said Monday.

Donald McCormick, who is from Ipswich, Mass., faces two felony drug charges – possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, according to court documents. He also is accused of possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, according to court documents.

On Friday afternoon, the trooper logged McCormick’s truck traveling 70 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone in the eastbound lane of I90 near mile marker 71, according to court documents.

When the trooper walked his service dog around the pickup, the dog indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the vehicle. The trooper found numerous bales of marijuana under a large wooden shelf in the bed of the truck that was covered by a topper, court documents stated.

The trooper detailed the traffic stop in the probable cause affidavit filed with the Seventh Circuit Court:

He reported several religious and patriotic decals like “Support Our Troops” magnets and a “Jesus is The Answer” bumper sticker on the 2006 Chevrolet 2500HD pickup. A mountain bike was secured to the back of the truck’s camper shell.

Once pulled over, McCormick told the trooper he was checking out Sturgis while on his way to Wisconsin from Vale, Colo. A Bible lay on the front passenger seat and a church ID badge hung from the rear view mirror.

Dressed in a long-sleeved dress shirt, McCormick appeared nervous, his hands trembling and his breath labored, police said.

The court document stated that the trooper found McCormick’s story of travel confusing and his casual conversation unusual with the driver saying he found God and that the trooper was “really a good guy and appreciated the way I treated him.”

When the trooper walked his service dog around the pickup, the dog indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the vehicle. The trooper searched the truck and found spare decals, air fresheners and a rubber-banded bundle of cash adding up to about $1,000.

The trooper searched the bed of the truck covered by a topper and found numerous bales of marijuana under a large wooden shelf, court documents stated.

Before I continue on, I have to tell you that when I was a brand new CHP officer in 1973, my “break-in” officer (now they call them FTO’s) told me to be wary of people with “Support Your Local Police” bumper stickers on their car. He explained that some bad people will put that on their car to “fool” an officer into thinking that the people in the car are “pro police” and not participating in criminal activity.

Throughout my career, I used my FTO’s line of thinking often – never using a “bumper sticker” as cause to stop someone – but rather to be cognizant that “things may not be what they seem to be” and to not let my guard down because of this bumper sticker.

So what does all of this have to do with you? As you know, I am not in your business, but I have a lot of friends and contacts in the fire service and we communicate regularly. As I listened to a “war story” recently from a Fire Chief, I got to thinking about the dangers of “cognitive lock.”

He was talking about the importance of the “size up” prior to going into a structure that is on fire and his point was that you have to use all of your senses, coupled with all of your past experiences to make the “right call” on a give incident. Again, I don’t know anything about “reading smoke” and other issues regarding “fire behavior” – but sometimes there are “external indicators” that may indicate something to you at first glance that in reality is not the full story.

Early on in my career I ran into an obvious “drunk driver” who ended up being a “very sick diabetic.” I made up my mind based on a lot of indicators that told me he was drunk, and once I made up my mind, that was the way it was going to be. I missed killing that guy by just a couple of minutes and thanks to the work of an alert Doctor, he is still alive.

My guess is you have similar experiences in fire service operations, so take the time to recall those adventures and share your “close call” with your peers, particularly the newer personnel who might not have the benefit of that experience.

Sometimes things are not what they seem to be and the smart people gather all the facts prior to making a decision. Anyhow, that is all for this piece. Again, I wish you and all close to you a wonderful New Year.

Gordon Graham
President, Lexipol

DROP seminar
January 24, 2012 Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union 815 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041	January 25, 2012 Residence Inn Santa Clarita 25320 The Old Road Santa Clarita, CA 91381
Both seminars are from 6:30pm – 8:00pm.

Light refreshments will be served.

Seating is limited. RSVP by January 23, 2012 to:
Tino Keshishian
tkeshishian@lafirecu.org
(800) 231-1626 ext. 4913.

*Non-deposit investment products and services are offered through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (“CFS”), a registered broker-dealer (Member FINRA/SIPC) and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Products offered through CFS: are not NCUA/NCUSIF or otherwise federally insured, are not guarantees or obligations of the Credit Union, and may involve investment risk including possible loss of principal. Investment Representatives are registered through CFS. Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union has contracted with CFS to make non-deposit investment products and services available to Credit Union members.

I followed Chief Castro’s presentation identifying some of the many challenges facing today’s fire officer/supervisor. My presentation was totally interactive. No PowerPoint just me and the participants having a discussion.

You can probably guess that the first topic of discussion was the budget difficulties all fire departments are presently dealing with. We all agreed that these are difficult times and many difficult and unpopular decisions have to be made to deal with the current budget crisis. Hopefully, before all these budget cutting decisions are made the department administration consults with all the major players in the organization, including the union leadership.  The decisions that are made should be based on “what is best for the department” not “politically based.”   These decisions are then sent down through channels and should be thoroughly explained. There are those that might disagree with some of the budget cuts proposed, however, it is my opinion that we as team members should do everything to support those decisions.  I will discuss this budget issue in more detail next month.

Another topic of discussion was department morale. Most agreed that due to the budget cuts morale has been impacted organizationally. However, it appears that the morale among the individual companies remains high. That’s good news.

What is morale? To paraphrase the Miriam Webster dictionary, morale is “enthusiasm, confidence and loyalty of an individual or a group, a sense of common purpose.”  Morale can also be described as a feeling of well being based on the group’s accomplishments and a “strong regard for the honor of the group.”

To me, the phrase “strong regard for the honor of the group” is where I would like to begin.  We all worked hard to get a job in this profession.  For most of us it was a dream that finally came true after years of repeated testing.  When we received word we were hired, when we graduated from the training academy, when we got our badge, our “morale” was about as high as it could ever get.  We had become part of a noble profession, and the honor of wearing that badge was not lost on us.  We also realized that at this point in our new career, we had done nothing to deserve the honor the Firefighters badge implied.  That respect and admiration had been gained by those Firefighters that came before us.

So what happens to some of us?  Do we keep in mind how hard we worked to get this career so that we can maintain that initial high personal morale, or do we become complacent?  Do we listen to the negative opinions that are often based on individual feelings or gossip and agree with them, or worse yet, say nothing?  Do we let these factors affect our morale?

Here are some of the factors that can improve or reduce morale.

• Management style of the organizations leadership
• Personnel believe their contribution is valued by their employer
• Individual & group empowerment
• The perceived value of the work being done by the organization as a whole
• Team composition
• The work culture

When morale is high, there is positive cooperation between divisions and shifts.  Our citizens receive better service, accidents and injuries are reduced, and grievances, discipline, and absenteeism are minimized.  And hopefully, this high productivity and cooperation is appreciated and noted by all management levels.

When morale is low, you will see signs of a reduced work ethic, pettiness, and an increase in absenteeism, which ultimately leads to a decrease in customer service and an increase in complaints.  Eventually, like a disease, low morale can spread rapidly, especially if no one tries to correct this trend.  At some point, it can negatively impact the positive relationships Firefighters have always had with their citizens.

As a leader, morale starts with you.  If your dedication to the Fire Department and its goals has fallen off, how can you expect your team members to be excited about their responsibilities?  If you aren’t excited about coming to work and doing a quality job, it is human nature that your team will follow your lead.  That’s why it’s called “leadership!”

“Morale is a state of mind.  It is steadfastness and courage and hope.  It is confidence, and zeal and loyalty.  It is élan, espirit de corps and determination.  With morale, all things are possible.  Without it, everything else, planning, preparations and production, count for naught.”

Paul Stein

Speaking of getting caught up, Mrs. G was with me and she is busy getting ready for the Christmas season and she has a party planned for this week.  I went to a “Christmas Party” last night which was uneventful and it was nice to see a lot of old friends. If you are wondering where I am going with this – I will get to the point quickly.

I got a call last week at my law office from one of your peers (not from California and someone I had not met before) who went to a Christmas party and by his own admission had a “few drinks” and he got into a solo collision not too far from his house on the way home and left the scene on foot and then came back to his car and some police were on scene and he was arrested for driving under the influence and hit and run.

He had a series of questions about whether he should notify his department and what the potential consequences could be and if I could take his case (I do not do criminal defense) and if I could refer him to an attorney and how much would the attorney cost and would he lose his license to drive and would he be able to get permission to drive at work and what would this arrest do to his insurance and if he would be fired from his job….. and I know this is a run-on sentence but it was a run-on conversation on his part and obviously he was worried.

The above paragraph is all “lawyer” talk.  I referred him to a criminal lawyer (I do not accept referral fees on criminal cases) and that was the end of my involvement with this fellow.  While it is over for me, it is just starting for him and I hope I never have to go through this – because I am familiar with every question he asked.

In no particular order, his lawyer is going to cost a lot of money.  If he decides to plea guilty early on in the process, the fee to the lawyer will be substantially lower, but if he decides to contest this arrest the lawyer fees will easily be in excess of $10,000.  And I think you know this but if he is acquitted, he will still be out of pocket whatever money he paid the lawyer.

If convicted, there may be some jail time involved depending on the mood of the judge, and that will be followed with a period of probation where even a minor violation of any law can cause a ton of consequences.  Also, if convicted, he will either lose his license (remember that DMV is very active in this area) for a time, or be restricted as to the ability to drive.  If he chooses to violate that restriction on driving and gets caught, you can count on a substantial fine and possibly jail.

If the license is revoked, he will not be able to drive to work, and there will be a huge financial hit if he is unable to work for a period of months.  This restriction may even cause consequences at work in terms of continued employment.  Regarding his insurance company, I can guarantee you that a conviction (or plea) to DUI will cause an exponential increase in insurance costs for years to come.

Not to digress, but many of you reading this piece are or were active firefighters and paramedics working the street at one point in time – and you know the devastation that can occur in a traffic collision.  I spent twenty years working the street as a cop and these events were almost nightly in frequency in downtown Los Angeles.

Whenever I talk to someone facing all these issues, I am always concerned about the “mental health” issues associated with all the grief (particularly if they injure someone) they are going through – and I briefly mentioned my concerns regarding this – but he did not seem to be “mentally distraught” regarding this event – just very concerned.

I will conclude this portion of my comments with this thought.  This arrest – regardless of how it ends up criminally – is a significant event and if he pleads guilty or is found guilty it will have repercussions for many years to come.

So let me take off my lawyer hat and put on my “risk management hat” for the last few paragraphs in this piece.  It is the Holiday Season, and you (or a co-worker that might not be reading this piece) will be going to parties.  My personal rule is I do not drink at parties if I am driving later.  Not just two, or just one – it is not a good idea to drink at these things.

But if you choose to drink at one of these events and you are driving, please think this through.  I think DMV has some nice charts on their website about alcohol consumption and how little it takes to be impaired – so please drink responsibly.  Remember also that most of the parties are in the PM and you already may be tired – and the “F” word (that is fatigue) can exacerbate the impact of alcohol consumption.  This is also true if you are taking many types of medication which may negatively interact with alcohol.

The “designated driver” plan is a good one – and if you have someone who has not been drinking who will drive everyone home, that is good.   Spending the night at the location of the party is an option if okay with the host – but do not think you can sleep it off in your car – because in many jurisdictions if you are in the car and have functional control of that car – just sleeping there while impaired is a violation.

If you are the host of this party, please be responsible in serving alcohol to people who are impaired.  You too could face a number of problems should someone leave your home intoxicated and then getting involved in some nasty incident.

I hope I am not making you angry because this is so basic – but I am sure that the fellow who called me last week had heard all of this at some point in his career – yet for some reason he “forgot” about all of this prior to the party.

So on that happy note, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – and I thank you for your continued work in making things better for all of us.  I truly hope that I don’t get any phone calls from any of you with any of the above problems.

Gordon Graham
President, Lexipol

You know that I have focused many of my monthly columns on this and related issues.  Let me start this piece with some thoughts on how I learned about money.  When I was a kid in the 50’s I did not get an “allowance.”  My parents provided everything I needed but I wanted to help out so I set upon a plan to get a job.

Both of my parents were of the “depression” era, so the topic of money and the lack thereof occurred often.  My Grandmother lived downstairs for half the year (she had a ranch up North but came to the City during the cold months) and she got a “pension” check (her husband was a Rough Rider for those of you old enough to remember that term) and monthly her treat was taking all of us to the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley for Sunday dinner.  Not to bore you but all six of us ate for less than $15.00.  It was very clear to me that I too had to contribute also.

I was too young for a paper route (I think you had to be 10 to get that job) and too young to mow lawns (young kids and mowers do not mix) and I was trying to figure out how I was going to make some money.  I thought about shining shoes – but to get enough foot traffic to make that work I would have to go someplace with a lot of people and that would require travel so that was out.

One day as I was walking home from school I saw a guy painting his street address numbers on the curb in front of his house and I saw my “fortune” right in front of me. I could do that!  So I ran this by my Dad and he had all the stuff and he built me a frame out of wood that I would use to spray paint a white “box”.   He had some stencils or numbers and he showed me how to do it and I practiced on our own curb out in front and line of the 3 and the 2 and the 7 and that was my first job.

So I would go door to door and solicit business and I did pretty good at this.  For the job of painting your address on your curb I charged twenty-five cents.  To me that was a fortune.  Early on in my business life, I came home with something like ten quarters and I thought I was rich!

We had a savings plan at grade school (no joke, the Bank of America would send someone to the school on a weekly basis and collect envelopes of money from the kids and make an entry in the ledger) and I was on top of the world.   I showed my parents my savings passbook and they were impressed. 

And then I got some advice from my Dad that sticks with me even today.  “Twenty-five cents is a lot of money.  Make sure that your customers think the job you did is worth more than what they pay you.”

I took that line of thinking into my first “real job” when I got a job at Swensen’s Ice Cream when I was in high school.   Then I was making $1.10 an hour (the state minimum wage at the time) and my Dad gave me the same advice.  Make sure that Mr. Swensen thinks you are worth more than $1.10 an hour.

I had a dozen other jobs in high school and college but that thought of “dollar value” was always with me.  And when the CHP hired me in 1973, I was making $505.00 per month and I always wanted my Sergeant to know that I was worth more than that to the State of California.

So why am I boring you with this?  First, it is always fun to think about the old days when life was so much simpler and I did not have a worry in the world.  But there is another reason I mention this today.  Here is something out of a Northern California newspaper.

MILLBRAE—Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies already patrol a handful of cities, and in the past year San Mateo County took over policing for two Peninsula towns.

Millbrae may join those ranks, but before that happens, city residents will be able to weigh in at a community meeting on Saturday. Millbrae, like many cities, has seen consistent budget shortfalls in recent years. Now its leaders must decide whether they can afford to keep spending roughly a third of the city’s $17 million budget on the police department.

Residents and police at a meeting earlier this week questioned whether their community would still be protected. They also were afraid of losing officers who know their community best.

Money, or lack thereof, is at the root of the decision. Millbrae’s withered department has had about 25 percent of its officers cut in the past decade, leaving it with the equivalent of about 21 officers.

Rebuilding the department will cost an extra $410,000 a year, money the city would raise by laying off employees from other city services. The alternative is hiring the sheriff’s office, which would save the cash-strapped town roughly $1.1 million over what it’s spending this year.

Residents, elected officials and police themselves remain divided on what to do. A majority of Millbrae’s police are in favor of the sheriff’s proposal, said Millbrae officer and union head Robert Raw. They have seen a decade of cuts and are suffering from low morale. But many police are committed to keeping their stand-alone department.

Mayor Dan Quigg said outsourcing is the only and best option for the city. But he’s just one of five votes.

“I feel the Sheriff’s Office will keep the community safe,” he said.

The meeting on the future of Millbrae’s police is set for 9 a.m. Saturday in the Chetcuti Community Room at 450 Polar Ave.

I don’t know a thing about Millbrae Police Department (although I dated a girl in college from Millbrae), but I know this scenario is playing out around California and the nation.  This is not just a police department issue, but it also concerns fire departments nationally.

I am wrapping up this piece but here is a question for you.  Take a look at the pie chart your city or county has regarding budget expenditures and look at how big the “piece” is for police and fire protection.  In some jurisdictions this “piece” is very substantial.

Now ask this question.  Do members of your community think they are getting dollar value from your organization?  You and I both know that there is a lot of “negative” news in this regard, so what can be done to enhance the image of your Department?

There are so many things that can be done to improve our image – and simultaneously there are so many things that can damage our image.  In the news this week out of Florida are two stories.  One involves the FHP Trooper stopping the Miami PD cop for 120 MPH in a City PD car while he was in route to his secondary employment at a private school outside of the City of Miami.  The entire contact was videotaped from the Trooper’s car and it is quite an embarrassment.

This was all over the news in Florida – until it was replaced by this story that I edited slightly for purposes of brevity.

WPLG-TV reported yesterday “The Village of Key Biscayne has launched a massive investigation after Local 10 cameras spotted on-duty firefighters playing tennis outside the village limits.”

The point of the story is that the entire shift of Key Biscayne Fire Rescue was found by the reporter and videographer playing tennis a little less than a mile outside the Village limits on October 20 at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. The officer in charge has now been asked to write a report to interim Village manager John Gilbert. (Gilbert is still listed on the Village of Key Biscayne website as the Fire Chief.)

If the firefighters were doing what they were supposed to as part of PT, they probably shouldn’t have run from the cameras the way they did. The reporter says they gave the indication they were responding to a call on the radio, but Village officials say that was not the case.

Gilbert confirms there was no specific policy the crew violated, except possibly using common sense. It looks like there soon will be policy. The report indicates the firehouse has a gym and basketball court.

This is another good reminder that cameras are everywhere. Make sure you can justify your actions and don’t have to run from them. Whether you like it or not, little things that everyone used to get away with will likely come back to bite you on the local newscast or YouTube.

The last paragraph is so true and everyone working for Government needs to be aware of this.  

Gordon Graham
President, Lexipol

 PLACEMENT OF VENTILATION OPENINGS
Offensive ventilation openings are normally placed over or as close to the seat of a fire as possible. Defensive ventilation openings are placed ahead of a horizontally extending fire to change the horizontal direction to a vertical direction. In this scenario, let’s assume the roof ventilation team discovers that fire is just starting to extend into the common attic of the single-story structure. A strip/trench should be cut in the roof of the single-story structure and as close to the two-story structure as roof integrity will allow. If there is one advantage of lightweight construction, plywood/OSB materials can be rapidly cut with power saws.

 Note: Remember that the success of strip/trench ventilation openings are dependent on completing the cut from one side of the building to the opposing side, and coordinating with engine company operations to ensure personnel can pull the ceiling area under the strip/trench opening to be able to use a hose line to extinguish any visible fire and/or begin to extinguish the fire back to its source. A strip/trench opening without a coordinated attack from below can be ineffective!

DON’T BE A ROOF SHEPHERD
When roof ventilation operations are finished, personnel should not spend unnecessary time admiring their handiwork as there are stronger and safer areas to rest in addition to other fireground priorities that likely need to be completed. When roof operations are completed, exit the roof in a safe and timely manner.

PATH OF EGRESS
Always know how to exit a roof safely. Generally, leave the roof the same way that you climbed onto it. Unless conditions have changed, consider the original path to be the best way off. If your path to the roof was safe, it should still be safe for your exit from the roof.

THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA
Lastly, more departments are successfully using this tool for roof operations as it can locate an area under a roof that is exposed to fire and it can also locate some structural members (larger members retain more heat than their surroundings). However, the value of this tool is based on the expertise of the operator.

**SIDEBAR**

MODERN WOOD AN ADDITIONAL FIREGROUND HAZARD?
Most firefighters are well aware of the inherent hazards of lightweight construction as it has been commonly used by the building industry in various configurations since about 1960. These hazards are a result of the reduced size of structural members in tension and compression configurations and the use of gang-nail plates or glue instead of 8/16 penny nails, or steel plates and bolts in older truss construction. However, it is easy to overlook the fact that the wood currently being used is significantly different than the wood that was used in older construction. From a logging perspective, old growth trees are just a memory with “new growth” trees (or 2^nd growth trees) and “plantation trees” normally replacing the older trees. This has resulted in wood that is not only different, but wood that burns significantly hotter and faster. Interestingly, about 1986 the lumber industry changed their rating system from Utility (utl), Standard (std), Construction Grade (cons), and Select (sel) to #3, #2, and #1 (best).

Old growth trees produced a wood that was denser and had a reduced level of pitch (which burns like a petroleum type product). Additionally, it was not uncommon for wood — particularly wood that was to be used for structural members — to be cut from the “heart” of the tree (maximum density and minimal pitch). Interestingly, Douglas fir was the standard for exterior bearing walls (the good stuff), with White fir or Hemlock used for interior walls (the cheaper stuff). Conversely, new growth trees are less dense and have a higher concentration of pitch as compared to old growth trees. This has resulted in wood that is lighter in weight, is capable of burning more rapidly and with a higher BTU heat level, and “cheaper” types of wood used for structural members. When these factors are combined with this type of lumber being used in various lightweight configurations in modern building construction, it should not be a surprise that modern buildings are collapsing faster and burning hotter than the buildings of yesterday.

Today, we are celebrating the 76^th Anniversary of the beginning of Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union.

I am sure that our founders never envisioned the size and scope that this Credit Union has grown to. What they did vision for within the depths and deep struggles of the 1930’s depression…was a financial institution that they could trust to build their families financial lives around.  The vision would also focus on being a financial institution that provided fair loan rates and good savings rates and who would not gouge or cheat them for basic loans.

Well, I for one can tell you that the torch of that vision that was created way back then and has  been carried forward by past and present Boards of Directors and staff lives on very strongly today.  And, in fact, it is deeply embedded in who and what we are and how we represent ourselves to members and others.

Do we look different than 76 years ago?  Absolutely!  We have many more products and services, robust business units, a field of membership exclusively serving professional firefighters across the state of California (almost 200 fire departments), and a dedicated staff who share that same basic 76-year-old vision.

We will continue to evolve, but we will do that on a bedrock foundation of that 76-year-old vision.  And in the process, we will become more successful and create more value for more members in the process.

Happy 76^th to all of you and for your efforts in taking us forward.

Please join us at the Credit Union branch for cake and refreshments.

Happy Birthday!

Mike

You’ve heard the news reports. America’s largest banks, such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo, are looking for even more ways to charge their customers for using their services. Free checking has become a scarce commodity in the financial world. And now, for millions of bank customers, free access to their own money with a debit card will soon be a thing of the past.

If you currently have accounts or loans through one of these big banks, I would like to remind you that you have a choice. You can choose to pay these new fees or you can choose to consolidate your accounts at Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union.

I would also like to personally invite your professional firefighter friends and immediate family members to make the switch to Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union.

As an LAFCU member, you have access to a host of free products and services, including:

• Free Checking accounts, with no annual fees and no minimum deposit
• Free Debit Cards (with no monthly fee)
• Free Online Banking, Budgeting, Bill Payment and Online Deposits
• Free access to more than 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs
• Free access to LAFCU’s branch as well as 6,700 shared network branches nationwide
• Free financial planning and no-cost professionally prepared financial plans

And coming very soon… Smartphone Mobile Banking at no cost to you.

If your firefighter friends and immediate family members are looking for a financial institution that is honest and ethical, treats members as an important part of the “Fire Family,” and offers competitive savings and loan rates, please refer them to Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union. We’re determined to provide financial solutions that offer real value, convenience, and exceptional service. We know you have many choices when selecting your primary financial institution. We appreciate your decision to place your business and your trust in Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union where you are an owner/member not simply a “fee generator” for stockholders.

Become a member today at www.lafirecu.org or call us at (800) 231-1626.

Thank you and please keep in mind… The more business we do together as a “Fire Family,” the greater the reward will be for all members!

Sincerely,

Michael L. Mastro
President/CEO
Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union