Fire Wire - Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services

The Fire WireCherokee County Office of Fire and Emergency Services150 Chattin Drive, Canton, Georgia 30115 • (678) 493-4000July - August Volume 10 - Issue 4Safety Town Celebrates10 YearsStory on Page 3

The Fire WirePublished bi-monthly by theCherokee County Office of Fireand Emergency ServicesThe Fire WirePage 2Water Rescue Training HeldTim PratherFire ChiefTim CavenderEditorEddie RobinsonAssistant Fire ChiefRick RuhFire MarshalKevin BottsSupport Services ManagerJill Mabley, M.D.,FACEPMedical DirectorCherokee County firefighters learn how to maneuver Boat-13 on LakeAllatoona.Cherokee County Office ofFire and Emergency Services150 Chattin DriveCanton, GA 30115Phone: [678] 493-4000Fax: [678] 493-4034www.cherokeecountyfire.orgOffice Hours: Monday through Friday8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.Closed Saturday, Sunday and HolidaysABOUT THE COVER: 2012is the Tenth Anniversary ofSafety Town. Each year, childrenlearn about fire safety andhave the opportunity to tour areal fire truck.Story on page 3Cherokee County firefighters headed to Lake Allatoona in June to domore than enjoy some time on the lake. The firefighters went throughan extensive water rescue training event to help them be betterprepared during an emergency at the lake.Lake Allatoona is one of the most frequentlyvisited lakes in the nation with nearly 7 millionvisitors each year. The lake is mostly insouthwestern Cherokee County, but asignificant part is in southeastern BartowCounty, and a small part in Cobb County nearAcworth.Cherokee County firefighters are trained forany type of emergency at the lake. The latesttraining included boat maneuvering, drivingand maneuvering our two rescue boats, boattrailer maneuvering, limited contact rescues,personal flotation device safety, and rescuerope throw bag operations.”All in all, Cherokee County firefighters received about 8 hours in theclassroom and 10 hours of practical application training.

The Fire WireCelebrating 10 Years of Safety TownCherokee County Fire and Emergency Servicesvisited children in June who participated in SafetyTown at Bascomb Elementary School. This is the10th year that Safety Town has been in existence inCherokee County.Page 3Safety Town is a week long experience and featuresa pint-sized town where comprehensive safetymessages are taught by safety professionals tokindergarten age children. Each day they learned adifferent safety message.Along with pedestrian and traffic safety, the innovativecurriculum included poison prevention, watersafety, playground safety, animal safety, strangerawareness, bicycle safety, school bus safety, andmore. Safety Town's goal is to help children recognizehazardous situations and react to them. Childrenhave "hands-on" learning while riding throughthe Safety Town streets along with singing safetysongs, playing safe games, coloring and participatingin other activities designed around safety.On the last day of Safety Town, the subject was firesafety and Cherokee County firefighters were onhand to teach the children some important safetytips. Children were entertained by Freddie the FireTruck and also watched afireman put on histurnout gear. Theyalso received atour of a fire truckand learned aboutfire safety whileexperiencing theFire Safety House.The Fire SafetyHouse is amocked-down,split-level versionof a private home on atrailer. Infused with theatricalsmoke to simulate reallifefire conditions, participantspractice effectivefire evacuationtechniques in aSgt. Babette Davis, a fire safety educator, talks tothe children about the importance of testing their firealarms.Cherokee County Fire Chief, Tim Prather, hands outthe medallions to the graduates of Safety Town.realistic setting.Debi Radcliff, one of the directors of Safety Town,said, “When we first started, we had 42 children whoparticipated in the program. This year, we did theprogram for three weeks and had over 210 childrento participate.” Since Safety Town began in 2002,approximately 1,700 children in Cherokee Countyhave gone through the week long safety program.Safety Town was held three times this year duringthe month of June. For more information on SafetyTown, go to www.cherokeecountysafetytown.org.

The Fire WirePage 4Cherokee County Fire and Emergency ServicesNamed Lead Agency of the YearCherokee County Fire and Emergency Services was recently honoredby Safe Kids Georgia at their Inaugural Safe Kids Georgia Gala thatwas held on Friday, May 4th, at the fabulous W Hotel in Midtown. SafeKids Georgia presented Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Serviceswith the Lead Agency of the Year Award at the event. Numerouslocal celebrities were on hand to honor those in attendance includingAtlanta Falcons football players Kevin Cone and Andrew Jackson, LoriGeary with WSB-TV and Christi Paul from CNN.According to Safe Kids Georgia, “Not only do they house our Safe KidsCherokee County Coalition but they participate in our efforts and makeSafe Kids a priority. Even though there was recent change in leadershipwithin the fire department, the Safe Kids Program remained afocus and continues to be supported as “a program the communitycouldn’t do without.” The support for Safe Kids Cherokee County goeshigher to the county management level. Cherokee County recentlyworked through a contract deal with a local community sponsor, Northside Hospital Cherokee, to securefunding for the coalition for the next five years! Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services providevehicles, trailers, fire apparatus, manpower and supplies necessary for the events. The fire department’sdesire to help is the driving force behind Safe Kids Cherokee County.Safe Kids is dedicated solely to preventing unintentional childhood injury. The focus is on one specific problem:more children 1 to 14 die from accidents such as motor vehicle crashes, drowning, and falls than anyother cause. Accidents kill one million children around the world each year and permanently disable manymore. Almost all of the injuries are preventable.Captain Chad Arp, Fire SafetyEducator with Cherokee CountyFire and Emergency Services, isthe Coalition Leader for Safe KidsCherokee County. To learn moreabout Safe Kids Cherokee Countyor to volunteer, please call CaptainArp at (770) 721-7808.Captain Chad Arp (left) and Cherokee County Fire Chief, Tim Prather(right), with CNN's Christi Paul.

The Fire WireFive Explorers PromotedPage 5Five explorers with Cherokee County Fire and EmergencyServices Explorer Post #469 were promotedon Tuesday night, May 1st, during ceremonies heldat fire station #22 near Bridgemill.Cherokee County Fire Explorers that were promotedinclude: (Back row - left to right) Sgt. Matt Armstrong,Captain Josh Germon and Sgt. Lane Emert. (FrontRow - left to right) Lt.Cheyenne Gurley and Lt.Austen Fowler.The ceremony was attended by numerous parents, advisors and fellow explorers.Promoted to the rank of Captain was Josh Germon.Cheyenne Gurley and Austen Fowler were promotedto the rank of Lieutenant and Matt Armstrong andLane Emert were promoted to Sergeant.The Explorer program is a co-educational programproviding an opportunity for young adults to explorea particular career field. The Cherokee County Fireand Emergency Explorers Post provide an opportunityfor young adults to get a hands-on introductionto fire and emergency services. They hold regularmeetings and training events, ride fire trucks andparticipate in emergency incidents under the supervisionof their advisors, senior firefighters and others.For more information about Fire Explorers Post #469, contact Lead Advisor, Michael Sims, at (678) 644 -1377.Firefighters Participate in GeorgiaPolice/Fire GamesSeveral Cherokee County firefighters participated inthe Georgia Fire and Police Games that were heldJune 18th - 24th in Dalton, Georgia.Cherokee County firefighter, Richard Ehlke, placedfirst in the 40-44 age group in the ToughestFirefighter Competition which resulted in him placingthird overall. Tom Pelletier placed first in the 45 to 49age group.Cherokee County firefighters who participated in thefour man golf tournament included (left to right):Coleman Schlenke, Dan Neglia, Eric Boling and JimStrack.Cherokee County firefighters, Colman Schlenke,Dan Neglia, Eric Boling and Jim Strack placed thirdin the four man golf tournament. Eric Boling placedsecond in the individual category. The golf tournamentwas held at the Nob North Golf Course inCohutta, Georgia

The Fire WirePage 6Accident Victim Thanks FirefightersFriday, May 25 th , is a day thatmost Cherokee County firefighterswill never forget. That was theday that a major fire broke out atthe Canterbury Ridge Apartmentsin Canton. As firefighters wereworking hard to contain the fire,another emergency was occurringon the southbound lane of I-575,just south of Highway 92.Lori Lindsey with the firefighters who responded to her accident.Standing (left to right): Benjamin Kiefer and Jeremy Pannell. Kneelingwith Lori are (left to right): Sgt. Nathan Baum and Sgt. Jason Williams.It was shortly after 5 PM, as LoriLindsey was heading home fromwork when a red Ford pick-uptruck cut in front of her. Loriquickly swerved to keep fromhitting the truck which resulted inher 2001 Mercury Mountaineer toflip approximately 5 to 7 times.Lori remembers the sound of thevehicle crumbling and crunchingand her thoughts of “please stop,please.”The car eventually stopped and Cherokee County firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Fourparamedics with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services responded to the scene; Sgt. NathanBaum, Sgt. Jason Williams, Benjamin Kiefer and Jeremy Pannell. According to Nathan Baum, a CherokeeCounty firefighter, “When we arrived on scene, we could see Lori’s left foot sticking out the driver’s sidewindow and her right foot had gone through the front windshield.”Lori said that she had a broken collarbone, a broken humerus in her left arm which resulted in a stretchedradial nerve, and a broken tibia and fibula in her left leg. Her right foot was severely damaged, too, aftergoing through the windshield. Lori was a good patient. According to Nathan Baum, she never lostconsciousness. Jason Williams, after looking at her injuries, stated that he was surprised that she was notscreaming. A life flight helicopter was called to the scene, but was later cancelled. “We felt that we couldget her to the hospital just as quick,” said Baum. Lori’s husband, James, also arrived on the scene shortlythereafter. “I totally lost it,” James said, after seeing his wife’s foot through the windshield.Lori spent 19 days in Kennestone Hospital recovering from the accident. On Monday afternoon, June 26 th ,approximately one month since the accident, Lori stopped by Station 14 in Woodstock to thank thefirefighters for what they did that day. Lori thanked the EMT’s and paramedics, but went on to say that“thank you” was just not enough. “You guys are wonderful,” she added.This was an important day for the emergency service personnel who responded to the accident that day.For the most part, these experienced men never have a chance to meet with the patients that they serveafter they are left at the hospital. To experience a few moments with one of their patients to see that theysurvived a tragic accident is truly what keeps these dedicated men motivated.

The Fire WireIn Memory of a Fallen FirefighterPage 7Scott Webb(1962-2012)The Last AlarmTradition has it,That in the early days of firefighting,A company was given an alarm by ringing in a code.The alarm code 5-5-5 signifies that companyreturning home to quarters.Scott Webb has touched many lives,In many different waysWe thank the lord for lending Lieutenant Webb to us,If only for a little while,And for the many blessing we received,And will continue to receiveFrom his example.He will continue to live in ourHearts and minds and his teachingWill continue to live on forever!Gallons Per Second Training HeldTraining Instructor, Curt Isakson, talks aboutfire flow needs for firefighters.Cherokee County firefighters recently participated in atraining class entitled “Engine Company Operations: GallonsPer Second.” The focus on the class showed how to exceedfire flow needs and still manage water during thecrucial initial hose-line advancement in an interior offensiveattack. Firefighters also learned why it is necessary to thinkin terms of gallons per second at this time. Strategies werealso presented for managing the booster tank supply until asustainable water supply has been established.The class is especially relevant for engine companies thatcommonly engage with the booster tank and deploy suburbanfire tactics.The training was held at Station 23, off Vaughn Road, inHickory Flat. Battalion Chief Curt Isakson, with the Escambia County Fire Rescue in Florida, was the traininginstructor.

The Fire WireStay Cool This Summer!Page 8The atmosphere and the windows of a car are relatively transparent to the sun’s shortwaveradiation and are warmed little. This shortwave energy, however, does heat objectsit strikes. For example, a dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in therange of 180°F to more than 200°F. These objects, e.g., dashboard, steering wheel,childseat, heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and give off longwave radiation(infrared), which efficiently warms the air trapped inside a vehicle. Cherokee County Fireand Emegency Services urges you to learn more about the importance of Heat Safety.Child Safety TipsHeat Safety Make sure your child's safety seat and safety belt buckles aren't too hot beforesecuring your child in a safety restraint system, especially when your car has beenparked in the heat. Never leave your child unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows down. Teach children not to play in, on, or around cars. Always lock car doors and trunks--even at home--and keep keys out of children'sreach. Always make sure all children have left the car when you reach your destination. Don'tleave sleeping infants in the car ever!Adult Heat Wave Safety Tips Slow down. Reduce, eliminate or reschedule strenuous activities until the coolest time of theday. Children, seniors and anyone with health problems should stay in the coolest available place, notnecessarily indoors. Dress for summer. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect heat and sunlight. Put less fuel on your inner fires. Foods, like meat and other proteins that increase metabolicheat production also increase water loss. Drink plenty of water, non-alcoholic and decaffeinatedfluids. Your body needs water to keep cool. Drink plenty offluids even if you don't feel thirsty. Persons who haveepilepsy or heart, kidney or liver disease, are on fluidrestrictive diets or have a problem with fluid retentionshould consult a physician before increasing their consumptionof fluids. Do not drink alcoholic beverages andlimit caffeinated beverages. During excessive heat periods, spend more time inair-conditioned places. Air conditioning inhomes and other buildings markedly reduces danger fromthe heat. If you cannot afford an air conditioner, go to a library,store or other location with air conditioning for part of the day. Don't get too much sun. Sunburn reduces your body'sability to dissipate heat. Do not take salt tablets unless specified by a physician.