Another NAED Navigator Conference has come and gone… It was great getting to see so many old friends and spend time with our 3 newly re-assigned Captains from EMS. The classes were full of useful information and Baltimore is always a great place for the conference.
Being here on the water this week has really made me miss living on the coast. The water is so relaxing to me. One day we will have to move back to the coast. Maybe not the Texas coast (it’s not really the same…) but the coast somewhere!
My last class wrapped up at noon today, so I got to spend the afternoon exploring. There is so much history here in Baltimore. I took the water taxi out to Fort McHenry after getting a tip from one of the other folks at the conference. It was fantastic. Again, so much history… This is the place (well, in the harbor) that Francis Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner in 1814 after witnessing the British bombardment of the fort during the War of 1812. I wish that Alexis could have been here to see this historical area first hand.
The US Fire Administration public education team focus’ on Wildfire Safety at the beginning of every fire season. This article describes what home owners can do to help reduce their risk during a wildfire and has some great information in it.
Aimee and I were in the San Diego area back in October 2007 when they had one of the worst wildfire outbreaks in recent history. I remember listening to one of the fire officials saying that they were only trying to save homes that had a 100 foot “Defensible Zone”. It seemed odd to me that they would say, on television, that they were choosing which houses to assign resources to and which ones they would let burn. Not a great PIO message to deliver, you know? It does make sense… A defensible zone gives the firefighters a foothold to defend from. And in California it’s actually a law. (CALFire 100 foot defensible zone)
The biggest threat to homes from wildfires are glowing embers, which can travel several miles. These embers contribute greatly to rapid fire spread, the ability for fire to jump large roadways and even rivers and obviously create huge problems for firefighters. This article discusses the importance of reducing the fuel load in the immediate area of your home and having a defensible zone. Combined, these tactics don’t eliminate the threat from wildfire… but they will give you a better chance of a favorable outcome.
This is a list of reference websites that I use to stay informed about the ongoing wildfire incidents here in Central Texas. The information here is current and provides facts about the fire response, mitigation and outcome.
State and Federal Agency SITREPs:
These Situation Reports (SITREPs) are used to communicate current information about all the incidents that each agency is responding to. They are a great source of current intelligence on all the fires burning around the State and the Country.
The National Weather Service provides fire weather prediction maps that are valuable to responders. The National Weather Service uses this data to issue Red Flag Warnings.
At the local level our cities and counties are on the front line of managing incidents in their jurisdictions. These websites provide information on preparedness and the local response to incidents.
RadioReference.com is a website for police scanner enthusiasts. They provide lots of information about the radio system’s being used around the country and also provide local police scanner audio feeds from their subscribers. The quality of the audio and the channel selection varies greatly, but these are the 3 links for the local fire area.
Last Monday I ventured out to take pictures of our paramedics taking care of patients for our department to use as part of a media campaign. This is a shot from EMS Supply of a box that was full of patches that were removed from old uniform shirts that were being destroyed. Yes… Very random… But the images of our crews have patients in them, so I can’t post them on my personal blog.
I’m hoping to get back out in the field again soon to capture more images to contribute to our media bank. With a little luck some of the images will be published in EMS Trade magazines!
IHBA Top Fuel Hydro - Speed Sports Special - Driven by John Haas
This is a photo that I took at the Marble Falls Lakefest in 2009. It’s a shot of the Speed Sports Top-Fuel Hydro with a top speed of 258mph and a 6,000 horsepower engine. These guys run the 1000′ long course in less than 4 seconds with race speeds in the 220-230mph range.
Sadly, while researching the history of this boat I discovered that John Haas (the driver of this Top Fuel Hydro) was killed in a crash on August 7, 2010 in Oklahoma. John was a three-time IHBA World Champion and devoted family man. He left behind his wife and children in this tragic accident. His sons both said that they know he died doing what he loves. He was an active member of Racers for Christ (www.teamrfc.org) and was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in October 2010.
This is a neat shot of STAR Flight 2 making a water drop from the 140 gallon “Bambi Bucket” at the scene of the Leander Wildfire on Monday afternoon. I didn’t include it in my previous post, so here it is for a Foto Friday! Greg Houston has quite a few more pictures that he [...]
Aimee had her 24 week appointment at Dr. Seeker’s office this morning. We spent 30 minutes with the sonographer who did an anatomy check of little Lainie… She received a clean bill of health, checking out in the 65th percentile… and running about a week ahead of schedule (size wise). Here is a copy of the video [...]
Yesterday afternoon a wildfire erupted in Leander (2 miles from our house) that almost immediately destroyed 6 mobile homes. The fire quickly spread into neighboring fields and started jumping from cedar tree to cedar tree. It was threatening an entire subdivision within minutes. The Leander Fire Rescue Department, along with about 15 other agencies, all [...]
Zeke couldn’t understand how we knew that he was guilty of chewing up the bright orange throw pillow… He’s not the smartest puppy sometimes… Caught red handed…err… pawed?
