Three Things

First of all a big thank you for your support and for helping me through all of our Territory meetings. This process has had it's inherent stress (probably more than it should) and having great Officers and Firefighters doing their jobs well make it easy for me to do what I do. I hope to be posting some good news here this evening.

Second, great job at the fire on Sunday. So many things about our capabilities and strategies have become standard that we forget about a time (not long ago) that a small incident like this would have stretched our systems capabilities. Thanks for supporting the system and great stop on the fire guys!

The third thing is this illustration of brotherhood from Oakland California:

California Firefighters Serve Food, Kind Words to Grief-Stricken Police

............

Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer
The San Francisco Chronicle (California)



When awful, unexplainable things happen, sometimes the best thing is a warm meal served by a friend who has been there before.

That's why Oakland firefighters loaded up on hamburger and tri-tip steak and took over the kitchen at the Oakland Police Officers Association, to serve comfort food to a force reeling from the slaying of four of its officers last weekend.

Firefighters lit the grill and worked the room, offering round-the-clock meals and conversation since Monday morning.

"We are there to talk to the guys," said Lt. Chuck Garcia, president of the Oakland branch of the International Association of Firefighters. "This is a big, crazy city. We have to be there for each other."

Two professional counselors and a medical doctor also are offering their services.

Grief is rippling from department headquarters on Seventh Street throughout the city after the shooting deaths Saturday of Sgts. Mark Dunakin, 40, of Tracy, Ervin Romans, 43, of Danville, and Daniel Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley, by Lovelle Mixon, a 26-year-old parolee whom police had pulled over in a routine traffic stop. Mixon was killed in a shootout with SWAT officers.

Removed from ventilator
Motorcycle Officer John Hege, 41, of Concord was removed from a ventilator Monday night at Highland Hospital in Oakland after donating organs.

"Everyone is trying to understand what the hell just happened here," said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association.

The outpouring of support from the firefighters - and from elected officials such as city Councilman Larry Reid and state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who have been coming to the association offices every day since the killings - has been an enormous help to officers who want to talk, he said.

Many officers also have opened their homes for grief gatherings, Arotzarena said.

Libraries are collecting cards, condolence books are coming from City Hall, Whole Foods sent more food, and flowers are taking up half the police station foyer.

Jeff Thomason, spokesman for the Oakland police, said he is getting several hundred e-mails a day from well-wishers.

"It's overwhelming," he said. "Police agencies from all over the country are coming to the funeral. Boston is sending 50, I've heard from New York, Baltimore, and all the California agencies are coming."

$40,000 donation
Although Arotzarena had not yet tallied the donations, the largest one so far came Tuesday from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Palm Springs. The tribe sent $40,000, to be divided equally among the four officers' families, along with a personal letter from tribal Chairman Robert Martin.

Dennis Miller, a member of the tribal council, said the tribe was touched by similar violence in the late 1990s, when two sheriff's deputies were murdered during a domestic violence call in Riverside County.

"There are ... orphans now," said Miller, referring to the children of the slain Oakland police officers. "Our donation is a way to send a signal that we're not going to tolerate this kind of violence anymore."

Funeral for the officers The public memorial for Oakland's four fallen police officers will be 11 a.m. Friday at Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way.-- The services will be led by the Rev. Jayson Landeza, chaplain of the Oakland Police Department. Organizers are expecting more than 12,000, including uniformed officers from police agencies around the country.-- Overflow crowds will be invited to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, where a big screen will broadcast the service.-- Parking lots open at 7:30 a.m., and the arena will open by 9 a.m.-- Drivers should use the 66th Avenue exit off Interstate 880. Guests are encouraged to take public transportation to the arena, accessible by the Coliseum BART Station and AC Transit.-- Find more information and directions at www.opoa.org/funeral.DonationsThe Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Alameda County has established a memorial fund. Mail contributions to San Francisco Police Credit Union, attn.: OPD Memorial Fund, 6689 Owens Drive, Suite 125, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Make checks payable to OPD Memorial Fund.

FROM DC KAZ - QUARTERLY TRT DRILL PLEASE SIGN UP

The next MABAS 201 TRT Quarterly Drill takes place on March 19B / 20C / 21A, 2009. This drill will be a Deployment Exercise to Warsaw, IN for a Confined Space Incident. We will depart Clay Fire St#2 - Auten Rd at 0730hrs, Stop at SBFD Central - and continue to Warsaw. Our goal is to arrive at Warsaw 0900hrs, assist them with a Con Space Rescue and complete the drill by 1100hrs and then return home. We will only be taking one set of Con Space equipment with us from St. Joe County so we don't have to tow trailers, etc.


I NEED A LIST OF WHO IS GOING TO ATTEND WHAT DAY ASAP SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE PROPER # OF VEHICLES GOING, PRE-ROSTERING A TEAM, ETC.



Thursday

Lamb

Hummell

Richards

Grabowski

Kazmierzak

Bolinger

Callaway

Barker



Friday

Iwaniuk

VanEs

Miller

Orlowski

Roark

Brubaker

Iden

Schmitt

Barker



Saturday

Ginevicki

Dempler

Brown

Hester

Price Sr.

Shilling

Veracautern

Barker


We will roster a team, divide into squads; use the 800MHZ radios, etc just like this was a real deployment.


IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN DEPLOYABILITY STATUS WITH THE MABAS 201 TRT YOU MUST HAVE MADE THREE OF THE LAST FOUR QUARTERLY DRILLS, IN ADDITION TO YOUR MONTHLY SHIFT TRAININGS WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT. ANY MEMBER NOT MAKING THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE CONSIDERED UNDEPLOYABLE AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO ON DEPLOYMENTS UNTIL THE MEMBERS MEETS REQUIREMENTS AGAIN.

TO SEE WHERE YOU STAND VISIT: TRT Roster

Please let me know ASAP if you have any questions - I want to have this drill organized WELL IN ADVANCE!

A NEW WAY TO COMMIT SUICIDE

New way to commit suicide Recently a new way to commit suicide has been discovered by mixing two chemicals that can be bought over the counter at local stores. They are Bonide – a sulfur spray used as an insecticide for fruit trees and hydrochloric (muriatic) acid. Once mixed, the chemicals produce heat and a flammable, noxious gas that causes the subject to pass out and the heart stop within minutes. The process appears to be quick and painless. Two recent cases, one in Pasadena, California and the other at Lake Allatoona in Bartow County, Georgia, involved young men in their early 20’s. Both were found locked inside their cars with the chemicals. Each left a note on the car warning anyone around of danger. The car at Lake Allatoona had been taped to prevent gas from escaping.

Does this sound like a routine call that most of us would respond to and take similar action? It’s Sunday morning 0730 hours, you respond to a person down in auto. You locate a car in the empty parking lot of a business. The engine and med unit pull up near the vehicle and personnel see a person inside that appears to be asleep or unconscious. Wearing safety glasses and medical gloves, you walk up to the car and knock on the window. The patient does not respond to your knock on the window, and the doors are locked. What action will you take? Will you hurry to make patient access? Will you use a lockout tool, center punch, or halligan to make entry? You make access, a rush of warm air comes out of the vehicle and you smell a sharp odor. You have just become a victim and have been exposed to a noxious possibly fatal gas.

What could you have done differently? You are the first-in unit. How should you respond to this type of incident? 1. Do not become complacent! Your response should be similar on every call. 2. Be well trained, know your job, do your job. 3. Start your size-up from the time a call is dispatched. 4. Establish a strong command and control the scene. 5. Don’t go rushing in. 6. Survey the scene. 7. Does the scene look routine? 8. Do you see anything unusual? (Example: A note on the window, containers inside the vehicle and taped windows or vents). 9. Is the scene safe? 10. Wear the appropriate PPE. 11. Establish a Hot Zone. 12. Develop a plan of action and coordinate activities. 13. Call for additional resources. (Hazmat Team, PD, etc.) 14. Did PD arrive prior to FD and become contaminated requiring emergency decon and first aid?

The call listed in the first paragraph of this document started as a routine person down call. This type of incident can easily expand into a full blown Hazardous Materials Incident with a multijurisdictional response. Be aware of this new way to commit suicide and don’t become a victim. Use common sense and stay safe. To review a newspaper article and pictures regarding the suicide in Pasadena, California, visit: http://beaconmedianews.com/2008/08/26/23-year-old-man-commits-suicide-with-chemicals-inside-2003-vw-bug/ To review a newspaper article and pictures regarding the suicide in Barton, Georgia visit: http://www.daily-tribune.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=674BB0CD-19B9-E2E2-676...