…..Acting to Save

Planning to Protect... ...Acting to Save

May 2014

Inside this issue:

Fire & EMS

Run Report 1

EMS Bureau Report 2

Fire Prevention/

Public Safety Bureau 4

Operations Bureau 6

Training Bureau 7

In Their Own Words 8

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

YEARS of SERVICE ~May

Lt R. McCartney.... 31 years

zens and to the surround-

ing communities. Fire De-

partment personnel work

hard to provide emergency

medical services to those in

need. Our department’s 3

fire stations are staffed 24

hours per day, 365 days

per year. Being paramed-

ics allows our EMS profes-

sionals to function as a pre

-hospital mobile emergen-

cy room. Our EMS person-

nel have received extensive

didactic and practical

training and are licensed

through a State and Na-

tional certification system.

Every day our EMS per-

sonnel are on the front

lines of emergency re-

sponse. They treat people

where they live, work, and

play. We would like to

thank our EMS personnel

for the skilled and timely

response that they consist-

ently deliver to their pa-

tients.

National EMS Week May 18-24th

National EMS Week was

May 18-24. Since 1974

this week has been set

aside to recognize the

dedication of those who

provide pre-hospital

emergency medical ser-

vices. Many things have

changed in EMS over the

years. Pictured in this

article are the EMS pro-

fessionals from our de-

partment who take great

pride in the services that

they deliver to our citi-

Emergency Activities

Types of Calls May-14 Apr-14 Year to Date (2014) Year to Date (2013)

Fires 7 2 21 25 Emergency Medical Calls 207 204 1091 1038 Paramedic Intercepts 11 11 48 45 Interfacility Transports 43 57 249 223 Hazardous Conditions 4 3 25 25 Service Calls/Good Intent Calls 11 14 70 55 False Alarms/False Calls 14 15 85 54 Other/Special Incident Types 0 0 5 3

Totals 297 306 1594 1468

Town of Barton Calls 13 8 47 24 Town of West Bend Calls 15 11 57 54

In recognition of the

40th annual National

EMS Week our de-

partment held an open

house on Monday,

May 19th at Fire Sta-

tion 3. This year’s

theme was “EMS—

Dedicated for Life”.

Working with the

Washington County

Injury Prevention Co-

alition we offered a

free car seat check as

part of the activities.

Car seat technicians

checked 17 vehicles to

ensure that these pro-

tective devices were

installed properly. Pic-

to meet continuing

education require-

ments. Our depart-

ment partners with

the Injury Prevention

Coalition throughout

the year to deliver

programs and infor-

mation with the goal

of promoting a safer

community. Other ac-

tivities at the open

house included tours

of the station and the

apparatus. Pictured

above is Captain Tom

Thrash enjoying

providing a med unit

tour to one of the fam-

ilies who attended. Ac-

tivities for kids includ-

National Emergency Medical Services Week—Open House

Page 2 Emergency Medical Services Bureau Battalion Chief Todd VanLangen

Captain Tom Thrash

Page 2

tured above are some

of the cars positioned

in line to have car

seats checked. Proper

car seat installation is

crucial to a child’s

safety because motor

vehicle crashes kill

more children than

any other cause. Pic-

tured above is a tech-

nician working on in-

stalling a car seat in

one of the vehicles

owned by a resident

who took advantage of

the opportunity. These

technicians receive an

initial 32 hour training

and then are required

ed face painting, the

chance to meet Sparky

the Fire Dog, and the

opportunity to play

Spin the Safety

Wheel, an educational

safety game with the

chance to win a prize.

The event was a tre-

mendous success. Peo-

ple enjoyed them-

selves while the de-

partment promoted

safety, provided an

opportunity to view

emergency equipment

up close, and encour-

aged residents to meet

the firefighters who

work hard to keep

people safe.

In the world of responding

to ambulance calls our

paramedics get a chance to

see a lot of things. It can

range from the very basic

stomach ache or bloody

nose to a horrific motor

vehicle accident resulting

in fatal injuries. Arriving

on the scene of somebody’s

home to find them unre-

sponsive is not a new thing

for us. In years past we

would be thinking of dif-

ferent reasons for why

someone is unresponsive.

Did they have a seizure,

hit their head or are they

diabetic and low on blood

sugar? Unfortunately

some of our thinking has

changed for those patients.

Now we have include the

suspicion that there is

some type of illegal or legal

medication involved. The

abuse of both legal and

illegal drugs has become a

problem in our area. As

this article is being written

there are plans being pre-

pared for a Community

Conversation about Heroin

and other drugs in our

community. The West

Bend Police Department

along with the West Bend

Fire Department has

teamed up with Elevate

and the West Bend School

District to give infor-

mation to parents and

community members. The

intent is inform parents

that illegal drugs are in our

community and give them

information on how to

help detect if their child is

involved and most im-

portantly what to do or

where to go for help.

Last year the West Bend

Fire Department adminis-

Working to Prevent Drug Overdoses Page 3

tered Narcan 46 times.

Narcan is a medication

that reverses the effects of

opioids. Heroin is an opi-

oid. Opioids have a direct

impact on respiratory

drive. If you take too

much of an opioid then

you will lose your drive to

breath and go into to res-

piratory arrest. That will

lead to cardiac arrest. The

Narcan or Naloxone will

reverse the opioid and give

the person back the drive

to breath. Hopefully there

has not been any brain

damage done from the lack

of oxygen. So far this year

we have used Narcan 19

times. Our hope with the

Community Conversation

is to bring awareness to

this problem. The Com-

munity Conversation that

is being held will be

Wednesday June 18th at

Badger Middle School.

This will be offered at 7:30

a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m.

Stay tuned to next

month’s newsletter for an

update about how the

event was received.

American Legion Awards

Members of the West Bend Fire Department recently received awards from the American Le-gion. (From L to R) Chief Gerald Kudek, Certificate of Thanks; Lt Mike Wes-ton, Firefighter of the Year; Captain Tom Thrash, EMT of the Year; and Legion Post Com-mander Brian McDonald.

Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Captain Tammy Lamberg

Page 4 Planning to Protect…………..

May 2014 Inspections

Semi-Annual Annual Total Violations

Follow-up

Inspections

Compliance

Cards

Station #1 192 14 206 31 5 7

Station #2 61 42 103 7 1 0

Station #3 94 9 108 21 4 2

Staff Captain/

Townships

39 8 47 14 14 6

Totals 386 73 464 73 24 15

Count Permit Type Total Fees

4 Tent permits $300.00

1 Sprinkler Alterations, 15-50 heads $165.00

1 Kitchen suppression system $100.00

1 Sprinkler Install 51-250 heads $345.00

3 Fire Alarm Install 1-50 detectors $395.00

1 LP Gas Permit $75.00

Total= Total Permit Fees for May $1380.00

Engineers, Ahern Fire Pro-

tection, Steiner Electric,

SimplexGrinnell and Cedar

Community facilities person-

nel regarding all aspects of

May Permits and Fees

The West Bend Fire De-

partment Fire Prevention

Bureau has been working

with CG Schmidt Construc-

tion, Kapur & Associates

The Cottages

at Cedar Run

fire protection at The Cot-

tages at Cedar Run. Located

at 6090 Scenic Drive West in

the town of West Bend, The

Cottages is a new specialized

memory care facility.

Initial fire protection

designs were developed over

18 months ago. The design-

ers were in contact with Cap-

tain Lamberg at the very

beginning of the project.

Things such as water supply,

fire department access, inte-

gration of systems and spe-

cific needs of the occupancy

were discussed.

To meet the water supply

needs an underground water

tank was required. The tank

(Shown at left before instal-

lation) is a 15,000 gallon

tank. In addition, the build-

ing has three pre-action

sprinkler systems, four wet-

pipe sprinkler systems, a fire

pump, a kitchen suppression

system, and an integrated

alarm system.

Captain Lamberg will be

meeting with contractors the

week of June 16th-20th to

complete final acceptance

testing of these systems.

Page 5

DATE OCCUPANCY TYPE ACTIVITY NOTES

5/5 Business Acceptance test Tenant build out/renovation

5/5 Storage Follow-up Follow-up with building inspection staff on issues with long standing

violations

5/7 Educational Acceptance testing Acceptance testing of fourth phase of construction

5/12 Commercial Acceptance Test New addition sprinkler system testing

5/14 Health Care Acceptance test Large tenant build out/renovation system testing

5/15 Business Plan review Plan review of sprinkler system expansion and building renovation

5/16 Business Plan review New CBRF fire protection plan review with additional requirements

5/19 Storage Plan review Tenant build-out with additional fire protection requirements

5/19 Storage Legal prep Mtg. with city admin. and legal staff regarding non-compliant property

5/20 Assembly Follow-up Non-working notification and detection devices

5/28 Commercial Plan review Review for spray painting booth requirements

Fire Prevention Bureau Plan Reviews, System Testing,

Consultations and Site Investigations for May

Captain Tammy Lamberg

Backyard Bonfire Safety enter or escape are fully

covered by spark arrest-

ing screens.”

Examples of accepta-

ble burning devices are

shown in the photos.

Covers must always be

in place and the burning

devices must be located

at least ten feet from lot

lines and any part of a

structure. This includes

overhangs and decks.

(The use of one of these

devices on a deck was

the direct cause of a re-

cent house fire in West

Bend.)

This time of year The

West Bend Fire Depart-

ment Prevention Bureau

receives a lot of inquiries

regarding codes and

guidelines for backyard

bonfires.

The City of West

Bend Municipal Code

states that, “ Only non-

chemically treated wood

may be burned in a fully

enclosed device manu-

factured for the purposes

of wood burning. Fully

enclosed means that any

openings through which

air or other gases may

Page 6

Operations Bureau Battalion Chief John Spartz

Captain Jon Coutts

HOSE TESTING CONTINUES

The department said

good-bye to a couple of

familiar vehicles during

May when vehicles #382

and #639 were retired.

Both vehicles had served

the department over 20

years and were currently

utilized as reserve appa-

ratus.

Vehicle #382 was a

1984 Ford Braun. It be-

gan its career as an ambu-

lance and served at Sta-

tion #2 for several years.

The fire and police de-

partment fire investiga-

tion unit converted the

vehicle to carry equip-

ment and serve as a field

office on fire scenes. Al-

though the body was in

good shape the engine

needed repairs and parts

were not available due to

the age of the vehicle.

Vehicle #639 was a

1991 GMC Sierra pick-up

whose original title was

“Engine 10” and later

changed to the “Brush

Rig.” The truck was used

to fight grass fires and

other types of fires with

no road access. A “slide-

in” unit consisting of a

small pump, water tank,

and hose lines was added

to take the fire fight off-

road.

The vehicle was con-

verted to a utility vehicle

when a new pick-up was

bought that allowed a full

crew to respond to grass

fires.

We will be looking to

replace the pickup in

2015. Equipment carried

on the fire investigation

vehicle is currently being

stored at Station #3 and

will be brought to fire

scenes when requested by

the incident commander.

TWO DEPARTMENT VEHICLES RETIRED FROM SERVICE

Top: Vehicle #639 as a utility vehicle. Bottom: Retired Fire

Investigation Vehicle was an old ambulance.

FF Marc Rinzel changes hose while conducting annual pressure

testing. WBFD annually pressure tests over 370 lengths of hose per

NFPA guidelines to insure it can withstand the rigors of fire fighting.

MAY MAINTENANCE BREAKDOWN

Page 7

Fire Instruction & Training Bureau

POSITIVE PRESSURE AT-

TACK: Over the past 25

years in the fire service I’ve

seen ventilation fans used for

a variety of different tactics

and strategies. The West

Bend Fire Department has

optioned to use Positive Pres-

sure Attack (PPA) as its first

line strategy. This whole con-

cept has been very controver-

sial throughout the fire ser-

vice. Some swear by the tac-

tic and think that any other

option is irresponsible. Others

maintain that the use of this

tactic could result in death

and disaster.

Using fans to bring fire under

control is effective and safe

when done correctly in struc-

tures that have the character-

istics that would make this

tactic successful. To make the

determination of when to use

PPA, fire companies must

first learn how fire behaves in

an enhanced pressurized at-

mosphere. It is not enough to

train firefighters in how to use

a blower. They must be

taught when, where, and how

to deploy PPA.

In cooperation with the West

Bend School District the

West Bend Fire Department

is now able to practice this

important tactic. We have

been working with Mr. Da-

vid Schlough, West Bend

High Schools Advanced

Wood Shop instructor.

With his help, as a class pro-

ject students were able to

build us a training structure

from a blue print supplied

by the fire department. Ini-

tially they framed it up in

the parking lot at the high

school. They then took it

down in panels and dry

walled it behind the wood

shop. Next they worked

with us to get the panels

hauled over to the snow lot

by city garage. This is where

the burning will take place.

There Mr. Schlough, with a

handful of students raised

the structure and finished it.

We supplied engine compa-

ny personnel to assist with

the heavy dry wall when

needed. The student’s ef-

forts are appreciated greatly

and we thank the West Bend

School District, Mr.

Schlough, and his class for

making this happen. This

cooperative effort could in

fact save a firefighter’s or a

West Bend citizen’s life

someday. The tactics that

will be learned in this struc-

ture could prove to be the

difference in life or death. I

would like to personally

thank everybody involved

for their efforts in making

this happen.

Battalion Chief Chuck Beistle

Captain Tom Thrash

The PPA structure that the High School Students built this year

325 N 8th Ave.

West Bend, WI 53095

262.335.5054

www.ci.west-bend.wi.us

The back page of our newsletter features notes or cards that we have received from our customers….the

people we serve. Whether it is on an ambulance call, fire call, or a public education assignment, the

members of the West Bend Fire Department are dedicated to making their contact with us a positive expe-

rience.

In Their Own Words…...

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

Planning to Protect… ...Acting to Save

Motor Pump Operator Mi-

chael Heinen started his

career with the West Bend

Fire Department as a Paid-

On- Call Firefighter in

1994. Mike was hired as a

full time firefighter in

1999.

Mike was promoted to Mo-

tor Pump Operator in Feb-

ruary 2004. Mike is at the

top of the Lieutenant’s

promotional list and will be

the next person promoted

to a Lieutenant’s position

in July of this year.

Mike became licensed at

the EMT-Paramedic level

in 2009. Mike is a past

member of the EMS and

Protocol Committees. Mike

is currently a member of

the Safety, Hazmat and

Fitness Committees, Mike

is one of our four depart-

ments peer fitness coordi-

nators

Mike enjoys family time

and is active outside the

department volunteering

with the Boy Scouts,

Youth Sports, his Church,

and PFFW Charities.

Personnel Spotlight: MPO Michael Heinen

Photo By: Portraits Today