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| Volume 3, Number 4 - THE CANDLE |
From the President
Question and Answer
Scrapbook
Call for Articles
Conference Announcement
Its Happening Again!
How to Register
Personal Protective Clothing Maintenance
Constitution and By-Laws Proposed Revisions
Helping your Community Help YOU!
Upcoming Events
The Teachers Answer
FROM THE PRESIDENT . . . . . . .
The Planning Committee has again put together a great conference Program. National Speakers have been scheduled and will provide an opportunity for putting "U" Back Into Education. Conference notices have been mailed and you should have them by now.
The Board has reviewed the By-Laws and proposed several changes. Take time to review the proposal as these will be up for discussion at the annual meeting. Also, during the meeting, election of officers will take place for the positions of President and Secretary. Information for the George Hughes and the Earl Malone Awards have been included in the registration packets. If you have a nomination for either, please get those to us as soon as possible.
Hope to see you in January!
by David Gabaree
Copperas Cove Fire Department
? Question & Answer ?
Did your department get some new equipment that you would like to brag about?
Let me know and share your experience with other departments. Or maybe you are considering the purchase of a similar piece of equipment someone has purchased and would like to know the advantages and disadvantages they have experienced. Responses should be sent to:
Pat Clinton, Secretary, 1763 Cricket Hollow, Austin, Tx 78758.
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We are putting together an Association Scrapbook!
1. Do you have any pictures from previous conferences you would be willing to share?
2. Do you have copies of previous Conference Announcement mailouts?
Be sure to take a look at it when you get to the conference
CALL FOR ARTICLES
Each and every one of our members is an incredible wealth of knowledge. Please send an article on new ideas, training methods, innovative tips, unique situations, or safety concerns. Use your imagination! If it helped you, chances are it will benefit others!
Articles should be submitted to:
Pat Clinton, Secretary
1763 Cricket Hollow
Austin, Tx 78758.
13th Annual Instructor's Conference January 9 - 15, 1999
Host Hotel: The Omni Austin Hotel Southpark @ (512) 448-2222
Main Conference: January 10-15 - $175.00
Some of those on the program this year are:
(mention Texas Fire Educators to receive room rates of $ 65.00–Single or $95.00–Double)
Late Registration (after Dec. 14, 1998 - $200)
[Additional $10.00 Fee for Hands–On Option]
It is Happening Again.
The Texas Association of Fire Educators is going to do it again , "Putting ‘U’ Back in Education". The Texas Fire Educators Conference is coming back in January 1999. Speakers, Awards, Vendors, Training Props and more.
Speakers include Andy Hickman, Ron Moore, Paul Shapiro, Paul Stein and many more. Topics are numerous and varied such as ‘Layin’ the Big Lines, High Flow Handlines, Everyone’s a Teacher, Company Performance Evaluation and more. ‘U’ hear the very best.
This is the networking conference for those teaching the fire rescue services. Renowned instructors sharing their best. Instructors, trainers and educators of the fire service recognize their own with the Earl Malone Award and the George Hughes Award. This is where the greatest in fire service training and education will be in January. This includes ‘U’.
Vendors will be on location to demonstrate the most advanced equipment. The ‘hottest’ images (thermal cameras) to the ‘coolest’ materials (high tech fabrics). The most visible light (locator strobes, flashlights) to the brightest hoses and ropes (retroreflective). It will all be here, shouldn’t ‘U’.
Hands on "Train the Trainer" program to be held at the Austin Fire Department Training Facility. Trainers, maybe you, will be sharing props and ideas on the newest developments in the service. These include Saving Our Own, Flashover Survival, Urban High-Rise Rappelling, Airbag Rescue and ideas yet to be discovered. This is "The Edge for U".
The Texas Fire Educators Conference is for fire department trainers, fire brigade trainers, company officers and Wanna Be’s. Volunteer Paid or Private. Anyone and everyone interested in bringing the latest and greatest training techniques and modern methods to their organization. This means ‘U’.
You do not want to miss the 1999 Texas Fire Educators Conference. January 9 through 15, at the Omni Southpark, Austin Texas.
Those wanting to share an idea, prop, technique or other training related item should contact: Tim Sendelbach, Missouri City Fire Department, P. O. Box 666, Missouri City, TX 77459, (713) 261-4254.
by Glen Turner
Sugar Land Fire Department
13th Annual Instructor’s Conference
For registration contact:
Clint Browning, with the Lockhart Fire Dept.
512 398-2739 or 376-3443
(e-mail e39lfd@aol.com)
Clint will be handling registration for both the Main & Mini-Conference this year.
If you have questions contact:
Gary Vincent, 1999 Conference Chair
(409) 321-3155 or (713) 465-0592
(e-mail garyvincent@dialaccess.com)
Personal Protective Clothing Maintenance
Contaminated turnout gear can pose significant health and safety risks for today’s fire fighters. That is why regulations and standards have cropped up that address the need for properly maintaining protective clothing. Revisions to several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards specify that protective clothing must be cleaned at least once every six (6) months. Similar requirements are being made by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Fire departments nationwide are seeking cost-effective methods to comply with these standards.
Some departments are cleaning their own gear at the station, a good start but not always the best way. Be aware that unsophisticated methods of cleaning, such as a washer/extractor will remove only day-to-day soot and perspiration. These methods of cleaning will NOT remove severe contamination or hydrocarbons. Leaving residue and dirt in a garment will shorten its’ life span and cause your department to retire gear early. This can be expensive. Another item to ponder when cleaning gear at your station is the product you use as a detergent. Many products on the market both "designed for turnout gear" and off the shelf detergents are extremely harsh and if not rinsed out thoroughly, leave flammable residue on the garment. Of course, we all know not to use chlorine bleach on protective clothing. Even the smallest amount will seriously reduce the protective qualities of your gear. Consider also local, state, and federal wastewater regulations.
Other departments take their gear to the local laundry or the dry cleaner down the street because it is convenient and they can get their gear back the following morning. WRONG! Again, you don’t know what type of detergent is being used or what water temperature is being used. Local laundries frequently use high heat for the fast drying time or have poor temperature control. The mechanical action and high heat of a dryer can damage or shrink your gear. As for dry cleaning, PLEASE DON’T. There are far too many components in turnout gear that can be damaged by dry-cleaning. Dry cleaners put chemical on top of whatever it is that you already have on your turnout gear. Neither a laundry nor a dry cleaner specialized in the sensitivities of protective clothing. Many departments are sending their gear to professional cleaning and repair facilities. Do not be afraid to ask questions of these companies.
After making sure that the company you choose has all the above credentials, that company should be able to clean, remove any hazardous contamination and safely restore your gear into service. The company should also work within the manufacturers’ guidelines and within NFPA requirements.
Some Cost-Saving Tips for Cleaning and Repair of Turnout Gear
Examine Garments Thoroughly During Periodic Gear Inspection and Evaluation
The BAD NEWS is that it is not as simple and easy as it may have seemed to maintain personal protective clothing. The GOOD NEWS is that there are companies out there that can help!
By James M. Baker, General Manager
National Safety Clean, Inc.
225 Birch Street Kennett Square, PA 19348
800-253-2690 or 610-444-1700 FAX 610-444-0135
www.natsafe.com - E-mail: sales@natsafe.com
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Proposed Revisions to the Constitution and By-Laws
Below you will find the constitution and by-laws of the Texas Association of Fire Educators. Proposed deletions from this document are shown as strike-through text. Proposed additions are shown as underlined text.
CONSTITUTION ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of the organization shall be the Texas Association of Fire Educators.
ARTICLE II
To promote education in the fire service in the State of Texas.
ARTICLE III
Upon desolution of the Association, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.
Preference would be distribution of the resource library and equipment divided among public community colleges involved in fire protection training.
ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP
The Texas Association of Fire Educators shall be made up of individuals who are in, or interested in, training in the fire service. There shall be four types of memberships. These memberships shall be active members, affiliate members, sustaining members, and honorary members.
ARTICLE V - OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
SECTION 1 - The officers of the association shall consist of president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.
SECTION 2 - Officers shall be elected by ballot by a simple majority of members present at the annual meeting and shall assume the duties of their respective office upon election. The officers shall hold office for two years or until their successors are elected. The president and secretary shall be elected in odd numbered years. The vice-president and treasurer shall be elected in even numbered years. No member shall be eligible to hold office unless they are a current, active member in good standing.
The provisions governing the meetings of the Association are set forth in the by-laws.
BY-LAWS ARTICLE I - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION 1 - PRESIDENT - The president shall preside at all meetings of the association. The president shall appoint all committees not otherwise provided for and perform such other duties as may be required by the association. The president shall be ex-officio, a member of all committees.
SECTION 2 - VICE-PRESIDENT - In the absence of inability of the president, the vice-president shall perform all the duties of that office.
SECTION 3 - SECRETARY - The secretary shall record and keep a complete and accurate record of the proceedings of all meetings of the association. The secretary shall distribute or read a summary of the minutes of all of the meetings, both regular and special, handle all correspondence, issue notices of meetings as may be required or directed by the president. The secretary shall publish and distribute to members, special items of professional interest and value.
SECTION 4 - TREASURER - The treasurer shall be the custodian of the association, keep a record of the same, and pay all bills due. The treasurer shall be authorized to withdraw from the association account by check only. The treasurer shall make a report of all monies collected and dispersed at each meeting. The treasurer shall turn the books over to the president, not less than one time a year for the purpose of auditing. The treasurer shall made a report to the membership at the annual meeting. The treasurer shall keep a register of all members of the association.
SECTION 5 - All officers and committee members shall serve without any remuneration.
SECTION 6 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS - The Board of Directors shall conduct all business of the association that must be transacted between regular meetings of the association. The Board shall meet at the call of the President. Actions taken by the Board shall be made known at the next regular meeting of the Association. Four members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall be made up of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the past President, and two active members of the Association appointed by the President.
SECTION 7 - The board of directors shall set the budget.
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1 - MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: There shall be a membership committee consisting of a minimum of three active members of the association. The membership committee shall promote and seek out applications for membership to the association.
SECTION 2 - ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP: Active membership shall consist of those individuals from a paid or a volunteer organization holding a Texas Commission on Fire Protection instructor certificate. Active members shall have one vote in the association. Active members shall be the only voting members in the association.
SECTION 3 - AFFILIATE MEMBERSHIP: Affiliate membership shall consist of all other persons with interest in the fire service.
SECTION 4 - SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP: The sustaining membership shall consist of all persons providing service to the association. Individuals or vendors who purchase vendor space at the annual conference shall automatically be sustaining members for that year.
SECTION 5 - HONORARY MEMBERSHIP: Honorary membership shall consist of those individuals who were former members of the association that have retired, or persons who have given service of financial or professional aid to the association in furthering its cause. There are no dues for the honorary membership. Nominations for honorary membership may be submitted to the membership committee by an active member for consideration.
SECTION 6 - DUES: All dues are due and payable on or before the annual meeting
SECTION 7 - REMOVAL FROM MEMBERSHIP: Members who do not comply with the provisions of the constitution and by-laws of the association including its goals and objectives may be removed from participation and membership in the association. If a complaint is made against a member for such violations, the president shall request the membership committee to investigate the complaint and to prepare an appropriate recommendation. Should the recommendation be to terminate the membership of the member of the association, the chair-person of the membership committee shall request the secretary to notify the offending member and all other active members that the matter shall be considered at the first regularly scheduled meeting following reasonable notice and preparation time. A vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting shall be required to remove a person from membership in the association.
ARTICLE III - ELECTIONS
SECTION I - All officers shall be elected and shall serve for two year terms.
SECTION 2 - An officer shall be eligible to serve two consecutive terms in office. At the completion of two consecutive terms in office, a member must abstain from holding office for at least two years.
SECTION 3 - All nominees must be active members in good standing.
SECTION 4 - If a vacancy occurs in any office, the vacancy shall be filled by a special election. Notice of the vacancy and the date of the special election shall be give 30 days before the election.
ARTICLE IV - APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES
SECTION 1 - The president shall appoint and dismiss all committees with the exception of the annual conference committee. The annual conference committee shall be comprised of volunteers from the membership and shall elect their own chair. The annual conference chairman shall be responsible to the board of directors and the conference shall operate on a budget approved by the board of directors.
SECTION 2 - The president shall appoint a member of the association to serve as newsletter coordinator. This appointee shall be responsible for the preparation and distribution of a newsletter and / or quarterly report to all members.
ARTICLE V - MEETINGS
SECTION 1 - Meetings shall be held at least once a year. "Robert’s Rules of Order" revised, shall govern all meetings of the association. The president shall have the authority to call a special meeting with 30 days notification.
SECTION 2 - The annual meeting shall be held in conjunction with the annual conference, which shall be held in January.
SECTION 3 - The president shall call a special meeting upon receipt of written request from at least ten (10) active members.
ARTICLE VI - AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1 - Proposed amendments to the constitution and / or by-laws shall be presented to the secretary thirty (30) days before the meeting. The secretary shall submit a copy of the amendments to all active members. A two-thirds vote of the active membership present and voting shall be required for the addition of an amendment.
HELPING YOUR COMMUNITY HELP YOU;
The call comes in, "One down, victim in full arrest. Bystander CPR and defibrillation in progress." Fiction? Maybe it shouldn’t be.
What can your service do to increase the cardiac arrest survival rates in your community? Numerous studies have reported that reducing the time to defibrillation will directly impact cardiac arrest survival rates. In fact, the American Heart Association has stated that defibrillation within the first six minutes of an arrest can save up to 30% of patients.
Therefore, implementation of an early defibrillation program in your community can have a dramatic impact on your survival rates.
Public access defibrillation programs should be designed to reduce the time from the onset of cardiac arrest to defibrillation. This means placing the equipment in the hands of those individuals who can be on-scene first. These responders may include law enforcement personnel, peace officers, community watch programs, corporate safety personnel, or any other locations where cardiac arrest occurs.
When you consider the critical time to defibrillation of 4-6 minutes, these programs can literally mean the difference between life and death. Your role in making this a reality in your area, in addition to education about Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and CPR, should revolve around helping local groups make decisions as to what equipment is right for the targeted responder groups.
Your recommendations will save quite a bit of effort and confusion about the many features and benefits different machines offer. They may also prevent circumstances in which the unit gets misused, or not used at all. Your primary goal should be to ensure that the user purchases a device with the easiest to use operator interface. This will ensure the greatest chance of success for the lay rescuer in a defibrillation attempt.
AED’s are designed to be used only in rescue situations when a patient is unconscious, not breathing and has no pulse. They are not intended, nor licensed by the FDA, to be used as monitors, or for any other reason. In other words, inclusion of any features which may not directly promote proper application are contraindicated, and may provide more of a distraction, and subsequent delay in delivery of a defibrillation shock.
Modern AED’s are safe and effective. The methods that AED’s utilize to determine shockable and non-shockable rhythms are extremely accurate, when the device is used properly. Proper use indicates application when a victim presents as unconscious, no breathing, no pulse. The victim should weigh in excess of 90 lbs., with arrest not occurring not as the result of traumatic injury, where excessive blood loss is likely.
With this in mind, let’s consider what features might be helpful for the lay rescuer. Let’s begin with ease of operation.
First, get the screen off of the AED. What benefit will an EKG rhythm have to someone not trained to interpret it? This usually proves to be more of a distraction from patient care than valuable information, and may even delay delivery of therapy.
The most critical feature is to reduce the number of steps for the user. The user interface should provide for minimal chance of mishap. The following features can reduce steps for the user:
Next, let’s consider maintenance. Lay persons will not properly maintain equipment as professional responders do. Therefore, maintenance requirements should be minimal. The AED should perform exhaustive self-checks on the internal circuitry, including a periodic full energy load test on the capacitors. The chance for battery failures should be virtually eliminated via constant monitoring of remaining energy levels. Perhaps, the inclusion of a battery fuel gauge? What about electrodes? How can we ensure that they are present, and in working condition in the event the defibrillator is needed? Ideally, the AED should check the electrode status as well. In the event that any of the machine self testing fails, both visual and audible alarms should alert the user as to the problem.
The last issue to be covered is almost always the first question asked when expanded access programs are presented in the field. What are legal liabilities in having and using the device? To answer this quickly, little liability exists for laypersons. In fact liabilities may exist for many places which choose not to provide AED’s, especially as the AED starts to become a standard of care. Some of the AED manufacturers offer legal indemnification to customers to help get AED programs started.
In conclusion, wouldn’t it be nice to get a call for a cardiac arrest run knowing that CPR and early defibrillation were already underway? Wouldn’t it also be good knowing that the AED’s and people operating them in the community were confident, competent and ready to help you increase survival rates of victims of sudden cardiac arrest? Imagine the support ‘just one’ layperson save could have for your efforts. Choose carefully, and make your recommendations known.
Dan Rutledge is an EMT, and Sales Consultant for SurVivaLink© Corporation, based in Houston. SurVivaLink© manufactures, and markets the revolutionary FIRST SAVE
by Dan Rutledge, EMT UPCOMING ASSOCIATION EVENTS
Final 1999 Planning Mtg — Nov. 6, 1998 @ 1:00 p.m.
1999 — 13th Annual Instructor’s Conference — January 9 — 15, 1999
2000 — 14th Annual Instructor’s Conference (lst Planning Mtg — at the conclusion of 1999 conference.
The secretary shall keep a register of all members of the association.
January 31 of each year for the year. Persons not paying their dues by February 15th January 31st shall be dropped from the active rolls of the association.
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EXPANDED ACCESS TO DEFIBRILLATION.
SurViva Link Corp
1234 Moss Dale
Sugar Land, Tx 77479
A teacher gave her 4th grade class the beginning of a list of famous sayings & asked them to provide original endings. Here are examples of what they submitted
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