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Fire at London Cancer Hospital

Posted on January 2nd, 2008 by admin

Patients were being evacuated from the Royal Marsden Hospital today after a blaze broke out on the top floor of the building, London Fire Brigade said.

Eight fire engines and 40 firefighters are battling the blaze on the Fulham Road, central London.

The emergency services were called to the hospital at 1.20pm.

All patients and staff at the Royal Marsden Hospital have been evacuated safely after a ferocious fire broke out on the top floor, London Fire Brigade has said.

Pablo Pico, who works at Peter Harrington Booksellers in Fulham Road, said: “There is a lot of smoke and we can see a lot of ashes flying over.

“There are ambulances coming down the street still and helicopters overhead.”

The manager of Finch’s bar, near the hospital on Fulham Road, said: “There’s an extremely large volume of emergency vehicles coming down at the moment. It’s not good at all.”

The Royal Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer.

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Filed under: Fighting Fire, On the Fire Side

Safety System Saves Brooklyn Firefighter

Posted on January 1st, 2008 by admin

Rope saves veteran FDNY from burning building
The fire on Willoughby Ave., Brooklyn. Image courtesy of the Daily News.

Nearly three years after two New York City firefighters jumped from a burning building and plunged to their deaths, a 24-year FDNY veteran yesterday became the first to use a widely hailed safety device to escape from a Brooklyn house fire that almost engulfed him.

Raymond Pollard, 50, of Brooklyn, reppelled away from searing flames that had trapped him near a fourth-floor window of an apartment building on Willoughby Avenue, fire officials said.

The fire was reported at 3:41 a.m. Pollard drove the second unit to arrive at the scene, Ladder Company 102 from Bedford Avenue.

Within 10 minutes, officials said, Pollard broke three fourth-floor windows facing the street and entered the building to look for occupants. When he moved to the hallway, fire surged up the stairway and over his head, blocking his exit. He moved to the next room, where the fire forced him to retreat to the window.

“Just as the fire was blowing over his head, he took the hook out and jammed it into the windowsill,” said Stephen Raynis, safety command battalion chief.

The emergency device, called the Exo System, was developed by FDNY members in the wake of the deaths of Lt. Curtis Meyran and firefighter John Bellew, who jumped from a window of a burning Bronx building in January 2005, when they could not find the fire escape. Four other firefighters who also leapt from that building were critically injured.

Bailout harness

The manufacturer, Petzl, describes the device as a system that allows trained personnel to exit a burning building very rapidly using a heat resistant escape line, a specially designed anchor, a connector and a harness.

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Filed under: Cool Tools, Fighting Fire, On the Fire Side

They Thought He Was Dead

Posted on December 31st, 2007 by admin

A lawsuit filed by the family of a living man who was declared dead, packed into a body bag and taken to a morgue charges the mistake led to injuries from which he might never recover.

Patient being placed into a body bag, from a demonstration
In a demonstration to Columbia County High School, Florida EMS and police personnel prepare to zip a dummy patient into a body bag.

Larry D. Green, who now lives in a nursing home in Wilson, was walking across a highway north of Louisburg in January 2005 when he was hit by a car. At the scene, the lawsuit alleges, medical officials inadequately checked his vital signs, failing to notice that his heart was still beating even though he didn’t have a noticeable pulse and didn’t appear to be breathing.

The lawsuit charges that emergency responders didn’t use monitors _ such as an electrocardiogram monitor or a stethoscope _ that would have shown that Green was still alive.

“Franklin County EMS mandated that resuscitation efforts should be undertaken immediately ‘if doubt exists,’” the lawsuit said, charging that medical workers at the scene violated policy in their care of Green.

Full article via the Associated Press

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Filed under: EMS, Proper Practices

2007 Firefighter Exam Results Promising

Posted on December 26th, 2007 by admin

Results of the 2007 Firefighter exam show more minorities and women passing the test than ever before. The city expects this will mean an unprecedented increase in the hiring of minority and female firefighters in 2008. The Fire Department has been actively recruiting a more diverse group of applicants.

Michael Bloomberg along with fire officials announce the results of the 2007 Firefighter exam
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Scoppetta, as well as other FDNY officials announce the results of this year’s firefighter exam.

Minorities represented 38 percent of those passing the exam, which was given last January. There was also a 50 percent increase in the number of women passing the test.

“These impressive results show that people of all backgrounds want to study and train hard to become a New York City firefighter- a great job with great benefits,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a press release.

Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Martha Hirst announced the results on November 27. “More minority candidates have taken this year’s written firefighter test than any other previous test for the position,” Commissioner Hirst said in the press release. “The firefighter exam is highly competitive, but anyone willing to dedicate the time to study and prepare can succeed.”

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Filed under: On the Fire Side