Just in case you missed the action in Parker today, here is what I filmed
from my back yard.


Training tip for today: Don't do this!

Look up before raising a ladder or aerial device (source IAFC).


Initial Attack on Georgia: WAR
By John Markoff

Weeks before bombs started falling on Georgia, a security researcher in suburban Massachusetts was watching an attack against the country in cyberspace.

Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks in Lexington noticed a stream of data directed at Georgian government sites containing the message: "win+love+in+Rusia."

Other Internet experts in the United States said the attacks against Georgia's Internet infrastructure began as early as July 20, with coordinated barrages of millions of requests - known as distributed denial of service, or D.D.O.S., attacks - that overloaded and effectively shut down Georgian servers.

Cyber Attacks – Georgian Ministry of Defense Reportedly Evacuated:  

From John Arqtangent’s “Cybertastrophe” blog:  Georgia's critical infrastructures have been crippled far worse than by Russia's physical military attacks.  Deputy defense minister Ramaz Nikolaishvili ordered an evacuation of the Ministry of Defense building after Russian soldiers in Leningrad remotely disabled the building's power, water, phones, and Internet connections.  "We had no choice but to evacuate," Nikolaishvili told reporters.  "The MoD building has been completely destroyed by Russian military hackers.  It's a total loss." Accessed at:  http://blog.afcyber.us/2008/08/13/tbilisi.aspx 

Check out the new NFA course offerings listed on the Instructor Page.

SCBA Drill: Check out this months SCBA training drill at Fire
Engineering.com (Click Here.)


Quote of the month:
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams

NFPA Releases 2007 Fire Fighter Fatalities Report
It's how you live life that matters, but if you want to keep from
dying, check out the following report.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) released “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2007” this week, part of its series of annual studies of on-duty firefighter fatalities. According to the calendar year 2007 report, the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) lost 118 firefighters in Line-of-Duty (LODD) deaths:

• 68 volunteer firefighters and 50 career firefighters died while on duty.
• 21 firefighters died in 7 incidents that claimed the lives of 2 or more firefighters.
• 11 firefighters died in activities involving brush, grass, or wildland firefighting.
• 76 firefighters died while engaged in activities related to emergency incidents.
• 38 firefighters died while engaged in activities at the scene of a fire.
• 26 firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergency incidents.
• 11 firefighters died while engaged in training activities.
• 15 firefighters died after the conclusion of their on-duty activity.
• 52 firefighters suffered heart attacks, the most frequent cause of death for 2007.

This year’s report includes information on the hazards to firefighters caused by their lack of seatbelt use.  In 19 of 27 fatalities from vehicle-related incidents where seatbelt status was known, 11 firefighters were confirmed as not wearing seatbelts at the time of the event.

Click here for the full report.


Training Tip of the Month: When There's Smoke.

If we are not careful, our training can set us up for failure.  In order to simulate the fireground, we often attempt to simulate conditions in a fire without considering the implications of our training method.  One example of this would be the process of completely covering our SCBA masks with our hoods in order to remove all visibility.

As we have performed this operation many times, we have become comfortable in zero visibility conditions, but should we be comfortable in zero visibility conditions?  Shouldn't this be a warning sign that things are going poorly?  Shouldn't this be an indication that we desperately need ventilation?

Recent changes in technology have allowed homeowners to have energy efficient homes that are tightly sealed against the weather.  This represents a significant change over past construction where smoke and heat could easily escape from a building.  Now we are entering virtual ovens and exposing ourselves to conditions that our forefathers would never have considered.

Remember that smoke is unburned fuel.  Fuel that only needs enough oxygen and heat to ignite and perhaps explode.  So the next time you are in heavy smoke, change your terminology and replace the word smoke with gasoline.  Then ask yourself if you should be in this building at this time, or whether you need immediate ventilation.



Sofa Super Store Fire (Charleston SC  June 18, 2007)  Flashover caused
when the Chief ordered fire fighters to remove the front windows.  Nine
fire fighters perished. (Photographer: John Pundt) Phase II Report





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