Chiefs at Scene
Preparedness and organizational marketing go hand in hand and provide us the opportunity to get a variety of messages out to our citizens and visitors. When we attend safety fairs, public education events, or our fire company fundraisers, we have an outstanding opportunity to inform the attendees about the importance of community preparedness and the fire and emergency services we provide.
In the rural areas of Sonoma County, it is safe to say that our citizens need to be prepared to help themselves and their neighbors for nearly seven days following a large scale disaster. In the event of a major disaster the only emergency resources the rural
areas will see for up to a week will be those of our local fire companies. The population centers will present the priority for rescue team and emergency responders and they will likely not be available to help the rural areas. Resources from outside the area will take days to arrive and will be assigned to the highest priority need that may or may not be in a rural area.
One outstanding program we have as a tool to prepare the local residents is CERT (Community Emergency
Response Team). One of the most successful CERT programs is in the City of Sebastopol. The CERT
program provides community members with training, so they can be part of the solution rather than become a victim. These programs can provide the individual with the choice to be an active member of the CERT Team or just to go through the training and be better prepared to deal with a disaster. I encourage each community to develop a CERT program. My staff will be happy to get you the necessary information on a training program nearest your home; and if any of the Volunteer Fire Companies would like to host a CERT program we will help you get what you need to build a successful program.
Our volunteer fire companies do a very good job marketing the organization, its services and its needs. Coordinating our marketing efforts with preparedness education is a great opportunity. Recently, we have witnessed horrible disasters in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand and now Japan. You can see the sheer devastating power of a large earthquake and its ability to cause massive destruction of unprecedented proportions. When the Bay Area experiences our next powerful earthquake, we need to have made every effort possible to prepare our communities with safety training, education, and survival supplies.
If you are interested in learning more about the preparedness programs available, please feel free to contact me and I will make sure you get the information you need.
Everyone stay safe and keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers.
The Opinion Area
Flood Insurance
Because standard homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding, it's important to have protection from floods associated with winter storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact Sonoma County.
For more information on flood insurance, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program web site at:
www.fema.gov/business/nfip
Fire Prevention
WINTER STORM SAFETY—Part Three
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a silent, deadly killer claiming about 1,000 lives each year in the United States. Such common items as automotive exhaust, home heating systems and obstructed chimneys can produce the colorless, odorless gas.
The gas can also be produced by poorly vented generators, kerosene heaters, gas grills and other items used for cooking and heating when used improperly during the winter months.
- NEVER run generators indoors. Open a window slightly when using a kerosene heater.
- NEVER use charcoal to cook indoors.
- NEVER use a gas oven to heat your home.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include sleepiness, headaches and dizziness.
If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, ventilate the area, get fresh air and call 9-1-1
Fire Safety
Wood-burning stoves, fireplaces and heaters can add a cozy glow, but make sure you are using them safely. Always keep a screen around an open flame. Never use gasoline to start your fireplace.
- Never burn charcoal indoors.
- Do not close the damper when ashes are hot.
- When using alternative heat sources such as a fireplace, woodstove, etc. always make sure you have proper ventilation. Keep curtains,
towels and potholders away from hot surfaces.
- Have your chimney checked before the season for creosote buildup -- and then clean it.
- Have a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors ... and make sure they work! Establish a well-planned escape route with the entire family.
Wind and winter storms can cause trees to fall on to power lines creating a dangerous situation. Be safe...
at least 30 feet away from a downed power line - you cannot tell by looking at it if it is an energized line.
- Never attempt to move a downed power line.
- Never walk under a downed power line.
Avoid trees and branches that are in contact with the power line.
If you encounter downed wires, assume them to be energized and potentially lethal. Be careful that such wires haven't electrically charged puddles of water, chain link fences or other conductive sources.
Never assume a power line is de-energized until PG&E has confirmed the line has been de-energized and grounded.
The grounding of power lines is performed by line men separate from a technician pulling the fuse.
Fire Safety Tip
More on Smoke Alarms
Every year, approximately 2,600 Americans die in home fires. Over half of these deaths (52%) occur between the hours
of 10:00pm and 7:00am, when residents are typically sleeping.
Smoke and toxic gases from a home fire are as deadly as heat and flames. Just two or three breaths of toxic smoke can render you unconscious. In addition, smoke obscures vision, decreasing your ability to escape.
Smoke alarms save lives, prevent injuries, and minimize property damage by detecting fires early and alerting residents, allowing crucial time to escape. The risk of dying from a fire in a home without working smoke alarms is twice as high as in a home with working smoke alarms.
To find out what type of smoke alarms are available for your home, including where to install and how to maintain them, visit Focus on Fire Safety: Smoke Alarms on the U.S. Fire Administration's website.
Hazmat/Cupa Division
Hazardous Waste
Part 2
Last month we discussed the factors that legally define a substance as “waste.” This month, let’s look at what makes a waste “hazardous” in the eyes of the law. First, the actual physical properties, or characteristics, can define hazardous wastes. There are four main characteristics that deem a waste hazardous.
The first, “Ignitability,” is based on whether a substance can easily burst into flame, and measured by the flash point of the liquid. Liquid waste substances such as contaminated gasoline and used paint thinner fall into this category, as well as flammable solids that can ignite and burn from friction or exposure to moisture or air.
The second, “Corrosivity,” is defined as material that can corrode steel at a certain rate, or that falls within a certain range of measurement for acids and caustics – the pH measurement. This includes sodium hydroxide (lye, the primary ingredient of Drano), Hydrochloric acid (AKA muriatic acid, pool and masonry cleaner) and many other materials that are used in industry. Corrosive wastes have probably caused more acute injuries to the public and workers than any other type of hazardous waste.
The third category, “Reactivity,” is less common, but quite dangerous. Reactive substances react violently with water or air, either causing explosions, rapid and dangerous reactions, or give off poisonous gases. Cyanide, peroxides, sodium and concentrated sulfuric acid are examples of these wastes.
The fourth category is the most complicated – the characteristic of “Toxicity”. This characteristic can be defined by several measures; the concentration of listed hazardous metals or chemicals in a waste, whether a substance is a strong cancer-causing material, or a waste’s hazards to aquatic organisms. The best way to imagine a toxic waste is to imagine a poison, which can be either an acute (short term) or chronic (long term) health risk.
There is one last way that a waste can be deemed hazardous, and that is by the stroke of the pen, but we’ll discuss that in more detail next month!
Operations Update
Injury/Accident Reporting
While Injury and Accident reporting may not be the most exciting subject to talk about it is a very important and required part of our business. In recent years, the procedures have changed somewhat so it’s important to communicate and train on those changes. For the purposes of OSHA compliance all volunteers are considered employees so the term employee will refer to all us in Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services including paid employees and volunteers of County Fire, Hazmat and Emergency Management.
Step 1 The First Report
If an employee has an accident or suffers an injury that requires treatment beyond first aid or a visit to the doctor or emergency room a Supervisor’s Report of Occupational Injury / Illness / Exposure must be completed by their supervisor and sent to the Department Safety Coordinator (Eleanor Ratliff) and Sonoma County Risk Management within 24 hours of knowledge of the incident. The Duty Chief has these forms and is available 24 hours a day and can be contacted through REDCOM. The Duty Chief should be notified immediately if an accident or injury occurs so that we may comply with these notification timelines.
Step 2 The Second Report
The Accident/Investigation Report of Occupational Injury or Illness must be completed by the Supervisor and sent to the
Department Safety Coordinator and Risk Management within 2 working days of the incident. All Duty Chiefs and Fire and Emergency Services division managers have these forms and can complete this report. This report will include a detailed account of what happened and list Initial factors, contributing factors and any corrective actions discovered. A corrective action plan is also a required part of the process and the form.
Step 3 Serious Injuries and OSHA Notification
A “Serious injury or illness” means any injury or illness occurring in a place or in connection with any employment which requires hospitalization for a period in excess of 24 hours for other than medical observation or in which an employee suffers a loss of any member of the body or suffers any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by the commission of a Penal Code violation, except the violation of Section 385 of the Penal Code, or an accident on a public street or highway. (California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 330.)
The reports shall be made immediately (not longer than 8 hours) to the nearest District Office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The phone number is (707) 576-2388. Please put it into your cell phones just in case. The fax number is (707) 576-2598. The Duty Chief has these forms and should be contacted immediately.
This report notification is also required if law enforcement or the fire department in called to an accident involving an employee covered by this code. That means that if we respond to a civilian worker injury, we must report it.
The information required includes:
- Time and date of accident
- Employer’s name, address, and telephone number
- Name and job title, or badge number of person reporting the accident
- Address of site of accident or event
- Name of person to contact at site of accident
- Name and address of injured employee(s)
- Nature of injury
- Location where injured employee was moved to
- List and identity of other law enforcement agencies present at the site of accident
- Description of accident and whether the accident scene or instrumentality has been altered
- The reporting in (1) and (2) above, is in addition to any other reports required by law and may be made by any person authorized by the employers, state, county, or local agencies to make such reports.
These reports are all available to the Duty Chiefs and included in every departmental Injury Illness Prevention Plan distributed to each volunteer fire department. In house training is planned for all departments but if you have any questions before then, please contact Eleanor Ratliff.
Administration Division
Traffic Safety Grant will Save Lives in Sonoma County
New Tools Will Help Crash Victims
Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department was awarded a $100,348 traffic safety grant for the purchase of
extrication equipment to be placed in four volunteer fire company response areas, thanks to funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant funded equipment can aid in more quickly and efficiently extricating victims from a severely damaged vehicle.
Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department has purchased and will be distributing extrication systems in
communities served by Mountain, Valley Ford, Bodega, and Annapolis Volunteer Fire Companies.
Traffic deaths from all causes declined in 2009 in California by 10.3 percent from 3,434 killed in 2008 to 3,081 in 2009.Safer roads and cars, stepped up enforcement and awareness along with faster and higher tech extrication equipment for emergency responders can account for these dramatic results.
“Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).“Time is critical and these tools will give rescuers the ability to extricate more rapidly.This equipment can be the difference between life and death in the rural communities of Sonoma County.”
“More people are making it home safely and alive each day,” said Murphy.“But to keep this trend going, we will continue to strive to meet our vision – Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”
A kick-off event will be held on April 11, 2011 at 6PM at the Bodega Fire Station, at 17184 Bodega Hwy in Bodega.
|
