Posts Tagged Springfield Fire Department

Area apparatus orders

From Fire Apparatus Magazine:

Illinois Fire Service Institute, Champaign – Pierce Enforcer pumper 1,500/500.  Delivery in September.

Geneva Fire Department – Pierce Enforcer PUC pumper 1,500/750. Delivery in September.

Lake Forest Fire Department  – Spartan Gladiator/Marion pumper 1,500/850/30. Delivery in November.

Lake Zurich Fire Department – Pierce Saber pumper 1,500/750. Delivery in September.

Mount Prospect Fire Department Pierce Dash CF PUC pumper 1,500/750-gallon tank. Delivery in September.

St. Charles Fire Department – Pierce Dash CF PUC pumper 1,500/750. Delivery in September.

Springfield Fire Department  – Two Pierce Enforcer pumpers 1,500/750. Delivery in September.

thanks Ron

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from Foxillinois.com:

The City of Springfield and the Springfield Firefighters Local 37 have agreed on a new contract which will be in effect until 2021 It includes a residency clause, whereby anyone hired after January 1st of this year will have six months to move within the city limits.

The last contract expired almost three years ago, and they have been negotiating ever since. This contact is called a great compromise by everyone who worked on the agreement.

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New engines for Springfield FD

From the Springfield FD Facebook page: (1/23/19)

Today we ordered two new fire engines to replace two front line apparatus. From drawing to fighting fire is approximately 8 months, we will keep you posted up to delivery. This pumper will be very similar to our newest (engine 4) but will feature an EMS compartment in each side with exterior access to accommodate our ILS equipment.

Mechanical drawing of new Pierce fire engine for the Springfield FD.

thanks Keith

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from the statejournalregister.com:

Springfield aldermen are weighing whether to spend $1.2 million to buy two new fire engines before the next budget year starts in March so the city can get a reduced price. The two engines, and the refurbishment of a third engine for about $227,500, were included in a proposal for the budget that begins March 1. However, Pierce, who sells the engines the city uses will increase the price of the new rigs and the refurbishment after Jan. 31.

By putting the purchase on a fast track, the city can save $73,000, Fire Chief Allen Reyne said. Much of the fire department’s spare fleet is more than 20 years old. The last Springfield engine was purchased four years ago.

The mayor proposed $4.3 million worth of equipment upgrades across the fire, police, and public works departments, all of which would be funded through short-term loans. To pay for the engines up front, the city would float a loan from its general revenue fund until the new budget is approved. Most of the aldermen expressed support for buying the engines early.

Aldermen also forwarded ordinances for final approval to purchase two fire department staff vehicles for a total of $74,000. The money was initially budgeted last year to buy a cardiac monitor for firefighters to use on medical calls. However, Reyne said the department found out the monitor it wanted to buy could not be taken in for repairs at HSHS St. John’s Hospital.

While the department worked on finding a new type of cardiac monitor, the chief proposed switching the funding to staff vehicles, which are similar to what the Springfield police use.  In years past, many of the fire department’s staff vehicles have been sold. The newest vehicle on hand is a 2007 Ford Taurus.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from the state-journal register.com:

In the course of three days, more than 150 firefighters were trained in the new way the Springfield Fire and Police departments are going to handle active shooter and mass casualty events.

Now, instead of waiting to give medical attention to gunshot victims a block away, firefighters will go in with police officers to be able to give immediate care. While other Springfield police officers focus on stopping the shooter, rescue task forces made up of police officers and firefighters would enter warm zones — secured areas with the potential for danger — and focus on the victims.

“Firefighters have been traditionally taught to stand down during an active shooter event, to stage blocks away and to wait until police officers have secured every nook and cranny of the building,” Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne said. “We’ve learned through other people’s tragedies that that isn’t the best practice, that there had been people who had been survivable victims who ultimately bled out waiting for rescuers to enter the building.”

A study conducted in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people died, found that 16 victims might have lived if they had gotten care with 10 minutes and reached a hospital within an hour. A Propublica investigation found that the Orlando Fire Department had a plan in which firefighters would enter warm zones with police and had purchased bulletproof vests, but momentum to enact the plan stalled and training was never implemented.

However, at the request of the chief of the Orange County, Florida, Fire Rescue Department, the National Fire Protection Association created new standards last year to address active shooter incidents, which included rescue task forces entering warm zones.

Other than training, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle — protective equipment for the firefighters — fell into place within the last two months. The Foreign Fire Insurance Board unanimously voted to spend about $15,800 on 20 bulletproof vests and helmets to have on hand in case of an active shooter situation. 

Twenty-two medical kits were purchased through a $9,400 grant provided by Memorial Medical Center Foundation. Instead of the large duffel bags full of equipment firefighters normally carry, the kits can be slung around their waist or chest and contain only the supplies needed to stop life-threatening bleeds.

One of the police training officers reminded firefighters of the need to move fast and use fewer supplies than they would during a normal medical call. In entering a building, the number of casualties are unknown and firefighters can’t leave to resupply. He used the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 as an example. There, the gunman killed 28 people within 10 minutes.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from foxillinois.com:

The Springfield Fire Department is using the King Airway, making intubation easier on paramedics. Regular intubation can be difficult and if done incorrectly, can hurt the patient. With these new tools, if a person isn’t breathing, the paramedics can simply insert the King Airway tube. The tube also comes with safety measures so a paramedic can’t accidentally go into the esophagus, which can happen with regular intubation.

“It is important to have one on each rig because it gives us another avenue or opportunity to intubate a patient and this is something that anyone one can do,” Springfield Firefighter Beau Friday said. “It doesn’t take any special skills being that it is a blind insertion.”

The Springfield Fire Department said they have King Airways on every rig and everyone in the department knows how to use it.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from foxillinois.com:

Springfield Fire Department Chief Allen Reyne decided to revamp and upgrade their policies. It’s going to cost $30,079 out of their budget, which was approved by the council. Reyne said these revisions will help with risk reduction and liability.

They’re hiring a company that Reyne says has a good reputation of being meticulous and careful to improve policies and procedures.

The policies need to be consistent with state law. Other updates will include adding standards for social media and driving a fire truck. Right now, some of the policies date back to the 90’s.

“So if God forbid we get in a traffic accident,” Reyne said. “It just reduces that risk for the taxpayers in the end.”

About $17,000 of the $30,000 will go to training to all 215 firefighters.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from Foxillinois.com:

There’s a boost in Springfield’s training for responding to an active threat. National standards are changing as the country sees bigger and more horrific incidents across the nation.

The Las Vegas shooting killed 58 people and injured 851. This week, 5 people were shot dead at a Maryland newspaper. Now local law enforcement is teaming up to enhance active threat training.

The fire department is collaborating with police and other emergency departments to refine the response. New national standards from the National Fire Prevention Association call for having a unified command, integrated response, and a planned recovery. Readjusting training is a part of an evolution. Over the many shootings, multiple deaths happen after the incident through blood loss. 

The new concept calls for people in the community to learn first aid, like CPR and how to stop someone’s bleeding. The fire department wants to have blood stop kits in certain buildings across the city.

The departments are also working on upgrading the response to situations at our local schools.

This Rescue Task force effort, of police and fire working together, is sparked by the NFPA. They just released a new roadmap for emergency responders. In it, it reads about how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an active threat, like an active shooter or stabbing.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from newschannle20.com:

During Fiscal Year 2018, Springfield city employees were paid $6.5 million in overtime pay. That’s an increase of over $1 million from 2017.

Of the FY 2018 overtime, $2.6 million came out of the city’s corporate fund, which is their general fund. The city is currently facing a $2.5 million structural deficit in that corporate fund.

In FY 2018, the Springfield Police Department paid out $1.6 million in overtime. Much of that was budgeted to cover items guaranteed in union contracts. To cut costs, the department is delaying hiring a new class of officers until January.

The Springfield Fire Department paid about $650,000 worth of overtime in FY 2018. Again, union contracts drove much of that. “Most of our overtime line, actually almost half, is really just budgeted holiday pay,” Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne said.

The state taking more tax dollars from the city, rising police and fire pension costs and less sales tax dollars coming in are also contributing to the deficit.

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Springfield Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from foxillinois.com:

On Tuesday, the Springfield City Council unanimously voted the mayor’s appointment of a new fire chief. Chief Allen Reyne was formally a captain so he jumped several positions. He has been with the department for over 18 years.

Reyne takes the position after former Chief Barry Helmerichs retired earlier in April. His son and wife were a part of his pinning ceremony. He said it was an honor to take the lead of a Class 1 fire station.

thanks Dan

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