Fire Chief's Briefing for March 20 through March 25, 2014

Here is a summary of Brentwood Fire and Rescue’s emergency responses for the period of March 20 through March 25, 2014.

We responded to 44 emergency calls for service.

These calls can be broken down into the following categories:

Fire: 1

EMS/Rescue: 29

Service Call: 1

Good Intent: 7

False Call: 6

Thursday, March 20 at approximately 4:07 pm:

E11 was dispatched on a medical call for a report of a patient with chest pain.  Personnel arrived on scene and made contact with the patient who was complaining of chest tightness.  Crew members began obtaining vital signs along with an EKG assessment, which indicated that the PT may be having a heart attack.  EMS arrived on scene and patient care was transferred.  E11 personnel assisted EMS with moving the patient to the ambulance along with establishing IV access.  EMS performed a 12 lead EKG which confirmed that the patient was suffering a heart attack.  EMS transported the patient emergency traffic to a local hospital and E11 returned to service.

Friday, March 21 at approximately 2:16 pm:

E2 was dispatched on a report of a grass fire next to a commercial structure.  Crew members arrived on scene to find a 50’ by 100’ area of grass on fire.  Business owners were unsuccessfully attempting to control the fire with a garden hose and fire extinguishers.  E2 deployed a 100’ 1 ¾” hand line and began to extinguish the fire.  E2 crew members were able to contain and extinguish the fire before it spread to the building.  Once all fire had been extinguished and the remaining grass had been wet down, E2 returned to service and quarters.

Monday, March 24 at approximately 6:02 am:

E1 was dispatched on a medical call for a report of an unresponsive patient that was not breathing.  Upon arriving on scene, fire department personnel found the PT lying on the floor not breathing and pulseless.  E1 crew members immediately initiated CPR and started manually ventilating the patient.  EMS arrived on scene and established an advanced airway along with IV access with assistance from E1.  The patient regained a pulse and was packaged for transport.  EMS transported the patient emergency traffic to a local hospital with 1 firefighter aboard to assist with further patient care. 

Monday, March 24 at approximately 2:51 pm:

R1 was dispatched on a report of a vehicle accident with injuries.  R1 arrived on scene to find a 2 car rear-end type collision with all occupants out of the vehicle.  Crew members made contact with one vehicle occupant who was complaining of severe chest pain and trouble breathing.  R1’s paramedic provided patient care while other vehicle occupants were checked for injuries.  EMS arrived on scene and the patient was quickly moved to the ambulance.  R1 personnel assisted with further on scene care including IV access.  The patient was transported to a local hospital and R1 personnel checked the vehicles for any additional hazards.  BFR personnel removed broken glass from the roadway and returned to service. 

BFR Confined Space Training

Over the past couple of weeks, all members of the Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department have taken part in a confined space training evolution. The idea behind this evolution was to train our members with the skills necessary to rescue a patient from a confined space. The scenario in this training was a victim who was confined approximately 15’ down in a 24 inch wide pipe covered by a manhole. BFR’s goal was to send a firefighter down the pipe, package the victim for removal, and then remove the victim from the pipe.

 

 

First things first, firefighters need tools. Rescue 1 supplied most of the tools necessary to rescue the victim. This included a tripod, hauling systems, tarps, harnesses, pike poles, ladders, ropes, and helmets.

 

 

BFR Lieutenants strategize on the best plan of action to remove the victim, whom they can see from where they are sitting.

 

 

A firefighter was lowered down inverted into the pipe in order to tie a rope around the victim in preparation for raising them out. This task needed to be done quickly because the firefighter can only work upside down for a short amount of time. In order to safely lower the firefighter, communication was paramount. It required a firefighter communicating with the rescuer in the hole, a firefighter communicating with the team at the haul system, and firefighters at the haul system responding and communicating as necessary with the firefighters at the hole.

 

Once the firefighter had the victim packaged properly, the above ground crew raised the firefighter out of the hole. Then it became a coordinated effort of the remaining members to safely raise the victim out of the hole.

While situations like this do not occur on a regular basis in Brentwood, BFR is dedicated to remaining prepared to answer any emergency that may arise. While this exact scenario may never present itself, the skills honed during this evolution can be applied in other ways.  This is another example of the dedication of the Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department to continue to train and prepare to serve our community effectively.

 

Fire Chief's Briefing for March 14 through March 19, 2014

Here is a summary of Brentwood Fire and Rescue’s emergency responses for the period of March 14 through March 19, 2014.

We responded to 47 emergency calls for service.

These calls can be broken down into the following categories:

Fire: 1

EMS/Rescue: 29

Service Call: 2

Hazardous Condition: 2

Good Intent: 4

False Call: 9

Wednesday, March 19 at approximately 9:18 pm:

E4 was dispatched on a report of a residential fire alarm.  Crew Members arrived on scene to find a two story residence with no fire or smoke showing; however an audible alarm could be heard coming from inside the residence.  While walking around the home checking for hazards, E4’s officer found water flowing out from under a door of the home.  E4’s officer established command and requested E2 to respond due to a possible sprinkler controlled fire.  Personnel made access to the home and discovered that a water line had broken inside causing significant damage to the interior.  E2 arrived on scene and BFR personnel shut off all utilities to the home, including water, and began the salvage and overhaul process.  Salvage covers were used to protect as much undamaged contents of the home as possible.  R1 responded to the scene with a wet/dry vacuum to assist with water removal.  Contact with the homeowner was made via phone and the property was secured.  With no further hazards found, all BFR units returned to quarters.  

Fire Chief's Briefing for March 8 through March 13, 2014

Here is a summary of Brentwood Fire and Rescue’s emergency responses for the period of March 8 through March 13, 2014.

We responded to 51 emergency calls for service.

These calls can be broken down into the following categories:

Fire: 5

EMS/Rescue: 34

Service Call: 2

Good Intent: 4

False Call: 6

Saturday, March 8 at approximately 11:49 am:

E2 was dispatched on a report of a grass fire that was spreading rapidly.  E2 arrived on scene to find a 100x30 area of grass on fire in the front yard of a residence.  Crew members used hand tools to quickly extinguish the active fire and keep it from spreading to an adjacent yard.  The fire was believed to have been caused by a small ember from an outdoor fireplace.  Personnel soaked the edge of the burned area with a garden hose to ensure complete extinguishment.  Once all hazards had been addressed E2 returned to quarters. 

Saturday, March 8 at approximately 6:23 pm:

All BFR units were dispatched on a report of a residential structure fire.   Initial dispatch information indicated that smoke was filling the upstairs of a two story home.   E4 arrived first on scene to find a two story residence with light smoke showing from the open front door.  E4 established Incident Command and was met by the homeowner who said they came home and their house was full of smoke.  Command of the scene was turned over to C3 while E4, E2 and R1 entered the home to investigate the cause of the smoke.  It was discovered that a trash can inside the house had ignited producing all the smoke.  The remains of the trash can were extinguished with a water can and removed from the residence.  L1 utilized their electric positive pressure fan to remove the smoke from the residence.  All other units were returned to service.  It was determined that the cause of the fire was an improperly disposed of match.  Once all smoke had been removed from the residence E4 verified there was no further fire using a TIC.  With no further hazards command was terminated and all BFR units returned to service.  

 

Monday, March 10 at approximately 11:07 pm:

E1 was dispatched on a medical call for a report of a patient who had fallen.  Initial dispatch information indicated a worker had fallen from a roof of a two story home.  E1 and EMS arrived on scene and made contact with the patient before requesting the response of Vanderbilt Lifeflight to the scene.  C3 arrived on scene and established incident command while E1 and EMS personnel provided patient care; C5 responded to the scene to establish a landing zone (LZ) for LifeFlight.  Once LifeFlight had landed the patient was loaded into the ambulance and driven to the LZ.  Patient care was transferred to LifeFlight crew members who then transported the patient to a local trauma center.  With patient care complete, command was terminated and all BFR units returned to service. 

Wednesday, March 12 at approximately 10:41 pm:

E3 was dispatched on a report of a commercial fire alarm.  The engine arrived on scene to find a single story commercial structure with nothing showing.  E3’s officer established command and completed a walk-around of the entire building.  The fire alarm was activated along with the water motor alarm.  E3 crew members noticed a burning smell near the rear of the building and checked the fire alarm panel to determine the origin of the alarm.  E3 gained access to the affected business and encountered light smoke near the rear of the store.  C3 arrived on scene and assumed incident command.  After further investigation it was determined that a trash can had caught fire after business hours causing the sprinkler system and fire alarm to activate.  Thanks to the sprinkler system the fire was confined to the garbage can.  BFR crew members removed the smoldering debris from the store and reset the alarm system.  With no further hazards all BFR units returned to service. 

Thursday, March 13 at approximately 6:56 pm:

E3 was dispatched on a medical call for a report of a patient not breathing.  Crew members arrived on scene to find one patient unresponsive with a family member performing CPR.  BFR personnel immediately began providing advanced life support including CPR and cardiac monitoring.  After a few minutes of CPR the patient regained a pulse and EMS arrived on scene.  The patient’s airway was secured with a King Airway device and the patient was quickly moved to the ambulance.  The patient was transported emergency traffic to a local hospital with one member of E3’s crew aboard to assist with care.  Once transport had been initiated, E3 returned to service. 

Thursday, March 13 at approximately 9:00 pm:

All BFR units were dispatched on a report of a residential structure fire.  E1 and C3 arrived on scene to find a 1 story home with nothing showing.  C3 established command and assigned E1 to investigate the interior of the structure.  The homeowner indicated that they thought the fire in their fireplace had spread to the chimney.  L1 arrived on scene and was assigned the task of inspecting the chimney on the exterior of the house.  After a complete inspection of the chimney area using a thermal imaging camera no fire extension was found, but the chimney was found to be in need of a thorough cleaning to remove heavy buildup of combustible materials.  The homeowner was advised to have the chimney professionally swept and all BFR units returned to service.