July 09, 2008
Cal Fire Rep. On Firefighter Heat Related Injuries
Yesterday I posted my concern for firefighters as heat related injuries mount.
A reporter at Redding.com caught up with the the Public Information Officer for Cal Fire Carol Jolley.
Jolley offered this to Rob Rogers of Redding.com concerning firefighter heat related injuries,
"That was on my mind when I woke up this morning," said Carol Jolley, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In order to stay safe, firefighters need to be in good physical condition and be acclimated to the region they are working in, she said.
"That -- acclimatization -- is tough (for them) to meet," Jolley said.
After that, it's vital they keep themselves hydrated, find a break from the heat at some point and get plenty of rest, she said.
Jolley then acknowledged that can be pretty difficult to do if you're on a fire line.
"They can't always get to shade," she said.
Concerning firefighter treated for heat exhaustion in the past few days?
"We're starting to see stuff like that," Jolley said.
You have to be kidding me. Cal Fire fire professionals deserve better advocates in Sacramento than that. Her curt responses are insulting and frankly embarrassing. It would have been better for her to have the actual statistics, you know the "stuff" like how many have been injured.
It would also be nice to hear the representative for Cal Fire, the most professional wildland firefighting outfit in the world, tell us they are actually monitoring firefighter health.
112 degrees in Redding and west foothills today, working in the sun all day and into the night, day after day and the mounting injury total just occurred to them last night?
I would like to see a medical team at each base camp as well as portable hydrating stations within a reasonable distance from each hand crew strike team. Step in Arnold!
A reporter at Redding.com caught up with the the Public Information Officer for Cal Fire Carol Jolley.
Jolley offered this to Rob Rogers of Redding.com concerning firefighter heat related injuries,
"That was on my mind when I woke up this morning," said Carol Jolley, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In order to stay safe, firefighters need to be in good physical condition and be acclimated to the region they are working in, she said.
"That -- acclimatization -- is tough (for them) to meet," Jolley said.
After that, it's vital they keep themselves hydrated, find a break from the heat at some point and get plenty of rest, she said.
Jolley then acknowledged that can be pretty difficult to do if you're on a fire line.
"They can't always get to shade," she said.
Concerning firefighter treated for heat exhaustion in the past few days?
"We're starting to see stuff like that," Jolley said.
You have to be kidding me. Cal Fire fire professionals deserve better advocates in Sacramento than that. Her curt responses are insulting and frankly embarrassing. It would have been better for her to have the actual statistics, you know the "stuff" like how many have been injured.
It would also be nice to hear the representative for Cal Fire, the most professional wildland firefighting outfit in the world, tell us they are actually monitoring firefighter health.
112 degrees in Redding and west foothills today, working in the sun all day and into the night, day after day and the mounting injury total just occurred to them last night?
I would like to see a medical team at each base camp as well as portable hydrating stations within a reasonable distance from each hand crew strike team. Step in Arnold!
Labels: Cal Fire
Comments:
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If you understand Wildland Fire Management you would know the response from Cal Fire was more than appropriate. Every Incident Management Team has a Medical Unit staffed with paramedics and EMTs. Each Division on the line will also have at least one, usually several, EMTs on hand. Heat is a beg problem but Incident Safety Officers and Medical Units as well as Divison Supervisors are dealing with it.
Thought you might want to know Tassajara Zen Monastery totally evacuated tonight. http://sittingwithfire.blogspot.com/
July 9th - evacuation
On the advice of the experienced Fire Service people at Tassajara we have decided to evacuate everyone. While they have not yet left, we expect them at Jamesburg shortly. The fire has not yet reached Tassajara or the road.
We do not know how long Tassajara will remain empty but the current Red Flag warning does not end for a couple of days. Fire crews have told us of strong winds at the ridge. These winds together with the extreme temperatures and little or no recovery in humidity overnight produce ideal conditions for the fire to move faster than we had hoped.
We appreciate that this news may cause concern but please do not call the Tassajara or Jamesburg numbers as we need the phones.
July 9th - evacuation
On the advice of the experienced Fire Service people at Tassajara we have decided to evacuate everyone. While they have not yet left, we expect them at Jamesburg shortly. The fire has not yet reached Tassajara or the road.
We do not know how long Tassajara will remain empty but the current Red Flag warning does not end for a couple of days. Fire crews have told us of strong winds at the ridge. These winds together with the extreme temperatures and little or no recovery in humidity overnight produce ideal conditions for the fire to move faster than we had hoped.
We appreciate that this news may cause concern but please do not call the Tassajara or Jamesburg numbers as we need the phones.
# posted by 
: July 09, 2008 7:43 PM
: July 09, 2008 7:43 PM
Best of luck to the fine people at Tassajara. I'm sure the crews assigned to the grounds will do their best.
Thanks for the info. The KML overlays are not showing the activity described. GeoMAC is catching up.
Mike
Thanks for the info. The KML overlays are not showing the activity described. GeoMAC is catching up.
Mike
Louie, the response by the Cal Fire Information Officer was callously presented in my opinion. The comment, "hearing stuff" like injuries to over heating is outrageous. Stuff?
I do know the ratio of EMT's on scene is overwhelming, great. Half the people on scene are EMT's.
I also know firefighters are monitored, generally. It's the responsibility of crew leaders, strike team leaders, div. sups. and up.
I would have liked to hear the Information Officer state that.
It was a poor response from someone who presented herself as just rolling out of bed with a thought.
WTF?
Mike
PS. I worked fires, no one ever came up to me and asked how hot I was. Yeah, if I go down to heat exhaustion there will be an adequate response, that's not the issue here.
Read the interview again, I differ with you about the appropriateness.
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I do know the ratio of EMT's on scene is overwhelming, great. Half the people on scene are EMT's.
I also know firefighters are monitored, generally. It's the responsibility of crew leaders, strike team leaders, div. sups. and up.
I would have liked to hear the Information Officer state that.
It was a poor response from someone who presented herself as just rolling out of bed with a thought.
WTF?
Mike
PS. I worked fires, no one ever came up to me and asked how hot I was. Yeah, if I go down to heat exhaustion there will be an adequate response, that's not the issue here.
Read the interview again, I differ with you about the appropriateness.
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