Firefighter-EMT.com

Firefighter-EMT onboard with shipments to Chile

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:07:01 +0000

Firefighter-EMT is coordinating a shipment of firefighting equipment to Chile in light of the earthquake that happened on February 27, 2010.

Currently the Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association in Swarthmore, PA, as well as the Garden City Fire Department, will be donating used firefighting equipment including jackets, bunker gear, helmets, gloves, hoods and boots in an effort to provide relief to departments in Chile that suffered extensive losses in the aftermath of the earthquake. The total payload should not exceed 1000lbs at this time.

This shipment currently needs a mode of transportation.

To coordinate shipping, we are currently contacting:
UPS, who routed us to:
* AidMatrix
* GiftInKind

We are also in touch with:
LAN Chile
Continental
Virgin Atlantic
AA Cargo
Fedex Cargo

If individuals or fire departments are interested in participating please contact me at 508-293-1123.

The following fire departments/contacts in Chile are possible contacts for receiving the shipment:

Segunda compañia Zapadores del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Cauquenes
Temuco Fire Department(s)
Los Angeles Fire Department(s)

Video: US Rescue Teams Fly to Chile

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:41:58 +0000

The Fairfax County, Virginia Urban Search and Rescue (Virginia Task Force 1) is getting prepared to go to Chile after the country sustained a devastating earthquake over the weekend.

Meanwhile, a similar elite USAR team known as the Los Angeles County Fire Department “Heavy Rescue Task Force,” based out of Los Angeles, California, was not deployed because Chile did not request for their aid. The 74-member team was demobilized at 3pm on Tuesday.

Video courtesy of the Associated Press.

Video: Chile Earthquake

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:07:15 +0000

Chile earthquake rescue photos

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:57:01 +0000

UPDATE: Dear friends,
Donation of firefighting equipment and tools is a GO! We are coordinating with Charles Spencer of Spencer Global in Temuco, Chile, to assess areas of Chile that are in most need of firefighting equipment. If you know of anyone who is willing or can donate, please give me a call at 508-293-1123. I may be able to also go to Chile along with the equipment. Please see this thread for relevant background information.

Firefighters search for remaining victims in Curanipe. Martin Bernetti-AFP/Getty Images

UPDATE 2: Pending organization on our end Caritas Chile is requesting donations: you may either contact me or send donations directly to:

Caritas Chile
Banco Santander
Account #: 0-082-18-00080-1
R.U.T. CARITAS CHILE: 70.020.800-1

UPDATE: Firefighter-EMT.com is starting a fund to help provide equipment and money to local fire departments that may have lost equipment during the earthquake. Please contact Rio at mail@firefighter-emt.com for details. Once we get more details from the ground I will begin asking for ideas and donations.

Our hearts and minds go out to our Chilean counterparts who are continuing their efforts to search, rescue and recover victims of Saturday’s 8.8 earthquake.

Photo by AP/Natacha Pisarenko. Rescuers exit from a collapsed building as they search for victims.

Firefighters and rescue workers on the scene of a partially collapsed building in Concepcion. Photo by AP/Natacha Pisarenko.

A puppy is rescued from a building in Constitucion, Chile. AP Photo/Roberto Candia

Firefighters recover a body of a victim in Concepcion on Sunday. Photo by AP/Natacha Pisarenko.

A rescue worker takes a rest outside a collapsed building in Concepcion. Photo by AP/Natacha Pisarenko.

Photo by CLAUDIO SANTANA/AFP/Getty Images. A firefighter fights a fire at a Polar supermarket in the city of Concepcion, the second largest city in Chile. It is believed that the fire was intentionally set. Video is available here.

Detroit firetruck crushed by passenger train

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:00:25 +0000

A top fire department official minced no words in criticizing a firefighter who parked a truck on a set of train tracks while responding to an accident. The fire truck was subsequently hit by a train.

Photo by David Guralnick / The Detroit News

“I’m very upset,” said executive fire commissioner James Mack. “I’m going to make it known that this is not acceptable and we’ll do some training.”

The fire truck was crushed by a passenger train late this morning in southwest Detroit. The train resumed its trip to Chicago around 3:00.

The driver of the fire truck was injured when he ran back and tried to get his rig off the tracks. He was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital and treated for a gash to his head, said Capt. Steve Kirschner, vice president of the Detroit firefighter’s union. No other firefighters were injured.

From The Detroit News

Metro train derails again in DC

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:51:26 +0000

Firefighters on the scene of a subway car derailment on Washington DC’s Metro system at the Farragut North Station. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Metro says a six-car red line train has derailed near the Farragut North station in downtown Washington and three minor injuries have been reported.

Spokeswoman Cathy Asato says only the front wheels of the train’s first car slipped off the rail just after 10 a.m. Friday. She says the car did not hit anything when it derailed.

Video: 911 dispatch insight

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:11:34 +0000

This video will give you a small perspective into the tireless 911 dispatchers and the job they do fielding calls from frantic people seeking emergency aid. This one’s from Collier County in Naples, Florida.

Medevac flights from Haiti resumed

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:03:41 +0000

The U.S. military says it has resumed the airlifts that brought hundreds of Haitian earthquake victims to hospitals in the United States, ending a four-day suspension. In a statement, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said, “Patients are being identified for transfer, doctors are making sure that it is safe for them to fly, and we are preparing specific in-flight pediatric care aboard the aircraft where needed.” According to Vietor, Florida is identifying facilities to absorb new patients and some evacuees could be sent to other countries.

Above, a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter embarks an injured Haitian at a landing zone in Killick for transport to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Milot, Haiti, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. Photo courtesy of USCGPress.

Firefighter-EMT.com updates

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:57:06 +0000

Dear readers,
Thank you once again for being fans of this humble and small news website dedicated to firefighters, emergency responders and medical personnel around the world. As 2010 starts kicking strong, we’ve decided to make sure we give you the latest news, opinion and editorial pieces as we can. We will be bringing out new features, new videos, and more training material that you can share with your friends and colleagues so that a mistake will never be repeated.

Thank you once again, and keep on coming back!

Rio
Firefighter-EMT.com Editor

Photo of the Day, January 17, 2010

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:28:13 +0000

A house on Richhill Street in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, is engulfed in flames early Monday, Jan. 11, 2010. A coroner has confirmed that two children died in the house fire, though a woman escaped as did two other children who jumped off a roof into the arms of a police officer. (AP Photo/Observer-Reporter,Bob Niedbala) #