Monday, January 4, 2016

New Year's Day 2016; Friday, January 1st

OPEN SHIFTS: January: 10th 0700-1900; 23rd 0700-1900. Both shifts are vacant. 1 must be EMT.
26th 0700-1900; 31st 0700-1900 must be EMT.  February all set. March: 27th 0700-1900, must be EMT.
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Happy New Year!  Sorry for getting this out late.  I had it ready to go on Friday but got distracted by a day off.  Well, we ended 2015, with 700 calls for service. Our busiest year since 2012, when we responded to 714 calls. We treated approximately 400 patients last year too.  2015 was a bit of a roller coaster year. We had much success and some set backs too. Of our set backs; it is my hope and intention that we learn from them, In 2016, we need to train and drill on more organized water supply/tanker shuttle operations, implement the SLICE-RS concept to fire attack. The best thing about 2016 will be welcoming Chris Carpenter home again.
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Engine 83: It's back in service. The cross lays are re-installed. Retaining nets have also been installed over each cross lay. The are attached with quick-release clips. Please take some time to get familar with how they work. On spot chains have also been installed.
Engine 84: Retaining nets have also been installed on E84. Each cross lay, speed lay and the rear hose bed now have retaining nets.  Nets are being ordered for E81, S87 and L82.
Ladder 82:  The truck is still out of service until we can get the alternator issue fixed.
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Everyone Goes Home: Firefighter Safety & Welfare: We often think of safety & welfare as preventing physical injury, mechanical accidents, getting a bottle of water from the WART trailer or SMART truck. Firefighter safety and welfare is much broader than that. Not only are physical health needs on and off the fire ground important, but so are our mental health needs. Stress management and emotional health are just as important to our over all well being as is getting vaccinated, exercising & eating right. We see and deal with situations that aren't normal. We are exposed to events and situations that the average person never sees. This has an impact on our psyche whether we realize it or not. If we don't deal with this, over time it will begin to effect our health. This is one reason why I place such an emphasis on critical incident stress debriefs. Initiative #13 of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives discusses psychological support for our Firefighters. Look it over.

EGH: 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiative:
 http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/16-initiatives/
EGH: Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13
http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/16-initiatives/13-psychological-support/ 
EGH: Behavioral Health Training
 http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/training/behavioral-health-training/
Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
 http://www.ffbha.org/FBHA_Page.php
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Coffee Break Training: Characteristics of the Incident Command System - Safety Officer
Learning Objective: The student will be able to understand the Safety Officer's responsibilities within the Incident Command System (ICS).
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2015 Fire Rescue Awards:  Who in the department, do you think, is deserving of recognition? Please give this some thought.  Submit your nominees before January 31st. This link will take you to the nomination form on the website; https://sites.google.com/site/gmillsfr/fire-rescue/award-nominations
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Physicals: Only those who would enter an IDLH environment are required to complete a physical under the BLS respirator standard. Everyone else is now on a 3 year cycle. Non-IDLH employees may also use there PCP. Those who are employed full-time by another FD, can submit documentation from there employer's physician that they are medically fit for IDLH duty.  Directive 2111 and the Personnel Policy contain more details.
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Annual Core Training; It's that time of year again. We'll be posting a schedule Core Training in the next week or so.  In the past few years, everyone has done a terrific job of getting this task completed promptly. Let's continue that momentum this year.
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Pay Period:  The Full-time, Per Diem and Student payday is going to change. It's being brought in line with Lyman's pay day. A date for this change hasn't been set yet. I'm anticipating sometime in January.
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Personnel Records:  All fire department employee personnel and medical records are kept and maintained at the Lyman Town Hall.  Lisa Vargas our point of contact regarding these records.
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Per Diem Schedule: New schedule goes into effect 1/3/16.
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Annual PPE Inspections: A binder is located in the OPS Room. Inspection forms are filed in the binder by Company.  Please assure that your inspections are completed by March 31, 2016.  Once the inspection form completed, place forms in Capt Duross' mail slot.  For repair issues, you do NOT need to do a work order, Capt Duross will do these from your forms.  If there is an item that needs immediate attention, please notify Capt Duross or DC Johnston asap.  The Maintenance Requirement Cards for each article of clothing is also in the binder for reference.
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Recent MVA involving MSP cruiser:  On Saturday night we responded to a MVA on Alfred Rd by Walker Rd. The call involved a State Trooper.  Neither the Trooper nor the driver of the other vehicle were injured. Both were transported as a precaution.  These kinds of mishaps can and do happen to the best of us. People don't always see or hear flashing lights and sirens. EVERYONE riding the apparatus needs to have an eye out for trouble. Let the driver know what you see!  I want to thank  everyone who responded for your professionalism. After EMS transported, our primary role was traffic control while the SP did the reconstruction. Route 111 is a tough road to work on. All went well and safely. I found one thing about this call that was disturbing to me. The Trooper's wife found out about the accident from Facebook! A passerby snapped a picture and posted it. Not the way any of us would want our family to find out we've been in an accident on duty.  Not much that can be done about it in this day and age. I know none of us posted a pic about this call, but, each of us needs to consider what we post. A lot of first responders post on Facebook Fire Alarm or Maine Firefighters, one of those types of sites. Think about it. Is it really necessary?
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Ice Fishing Derby:  February 6th. Help is needed to work the day of. A sign up schedule is on the bulletin boards. Keep pushing the raffle tickets.
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Navy: I'll be away next week, Tuesday through Friday for the Navy.
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Events Next Week:  Tuesday: 1900, GMFRA;  Thursday; 1830 All Officers.
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Be safe, dress warm,
Chief





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Roger S. Hooper, Fire Chief
Goodwins Mills Fire-Rescue
481 Goodwins Mills Road
Lyman, ME 04002
Office: 207-499-7878
Station: 207-499-2362
Fax: 207-499-2893
www.gmfd.org