Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by Jim Doucette

Sacramento Fire PIO Retiring

2010-07-14T21:47:00Z

After over 30 years in the local Fire Service, I am hanging up my helmet! It has been a very long career, and one that I will surely miss. I am more than fortunate enough to retire and still have my health! For the last 4 years I have been the Sacramento Fire Department’s “Public Information Officer”. I left the fire house back in 2006 for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is that being a Firefighter takes its toll and I needed a change.

I considered doing other “desk jobs” in the fire department, but none of them appealed to me as much as being the PIO. People that know me know that I have a passion for talking! And I love to talk about things that are near and dear to me. That is why this was such a perfect fit for me. I love the Sacramento Fire Department. I love the people who work here and they are what I am most proud of.

I am not totally leaving the Fire Service. I have accepted a position with the Firefighters Burn Institute. This local charity is the organization that runs the Kids Summer Burn Camp in Lake Tahoe and works closely with the Shriners and UC Davis Hospitals and their burn units. I am so privileged to have been chosen to be their new Executive Director and I will work hard to make the Burn Institute a local charity that benefits everyone in our region.

You will hear from me on occasion writing stories for the Burn Institute in the Sacramento Press. The Sacramento Press has been an awesome way for me to get out the message of the Sacramento Fire Department. Everyone who I have had contact with at the Sacramento Press has always been helpful to me and I really appreciate everything. Your “on line paper” has become a success and I believe your future looks very bright.

Thanks again,

Captain Jim Doucette
Sacramento Fire Department

Firefighters Hurt in House Explosion

2010-07-08T17:46:42Z

Around 10:00 A.M. Monday July the 5th, four Sacramento Firefighters were injured while on the scene of a natural gas leak on 25th Avenue in Oak Park. Three of the Firefighters are still in the hospital. They all suffered burns when the home exploded.

The cause of this fire and explosion is still under investigation. All of the Firefighters will make a full recovery, but their injuries were severe and they will have to go through months of treatment. We were very lucky that no one lost their life in this explosion.

The Sacramento Fire Department has received many calls from the public expressing their well wishes to these Firefighters.

Get Well cards and letters can be mailed to:

Sacramento Area Fire Fighters
3720 Folsom Blvd. Suite #A
Sacramento CA 95816

Sacramento Fire Department Open House Schedule

2010-05-20T19:27:34Z

The Sacramento Fire Department recently started our “Open House” program. The public is invited to attend any of these events, and meet your Firefighters and see the equipment and tour the stations. The times are 2:00 – 5:00 P.M. The dates and locations are below and you can also visit our website at www.sacfire.org for more information.....

• May 22 Station #13 1100 43rd Avenue
• May 29 Station #15 1591 Newborough Dr
• June 5 Station #11 785 Florin Road
• June 12 Station #57 7927 East Parkway
• June 19 Station #5 731 Broadway
• June 26 Station #10 5642 66th Street
• July 10 Station #6 3301 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• July 17 Station #16 7363 24th Street
• July 24 Station #17 1311 Bell Ave.
• July 31 Station #18 747 N. Market Blvd.
• August 7 Station #60 3301 Julliard Dr
• August 14 Station #20 2512 Rio Linda Blvd.
• August 21 Station #4 3145 Granada Way
• August 28 Station #19 1700 Challenge Way
• September 18 Station #8 5990 H Street
• September 25 Station #56 3720 47th Avenue

Most Stressful Jobs "#1 Firefighter"

2010-04-27T21:08:10Z

Recently careercast.com, a job search web site, did a study and listed what they found to be the most stressful jobs of 2010. Firefighter came out as the most stressful job in their study. Although some of you may or may not agree with this report, I thought that I would give you a little insiders view on some of the things that I believe make our profession stressful.

Some may think the obvious; “Firefighting” is what makes our job the stressful one it is. While it is true, the actual act of fighting a fire can be and is many times very stressful. It is obviously very dangerous, and it is very difficult, if not impossible to control everything that goes on around you. The fire ground is where many of us are seriously injured and unfortunately sometimes killed.

As Firefighters, we constantly train and prepare for the different types of emergencies we will encounter during our tour of duty. We try to be physically fit, mentally fit, and as prepared as possible for what ever may come our way. But here are some of the things that I and many others believe are the real stress creators of being a Firefighter.

It is the wear and tear of getting up in the middle of the night to answer an alarm. It is the dealing with and comforting of those who have lost family members to some kind of tragedy, especially when it involves children. It is, not knowing what kind of possible disease or sickness we may be bringing home to our families. It is not being there for our families for birthdays, holidays, etc... It is the constant worry of making the right decision, during a very hectic situation.

Imagine being sound asleep, and immediately waking up to a bell, getting your gear on and in a matter of a few minutes, fighting a large fire! Do you know what it is like to search for victims in a burning home? How about dodging cars on the freeway while working at the scene of a bad accident? It’s not fun to tell a spouse of someone whom they may have been married to for many years that their loved one just died. Or, worse yet, letting a parent know that their child has died. Or how about sitting in the back of an ambulance with a person who is throwing up all over the place or maybe coughing all over you and you know that they have Tuberculosis, or some other contagious disease.

These situations and many more are what I consider to be the true stress creators of our job. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and have loved it for the thirty plus years I have been in the Fire Service. There is no doubt in my mind that there are many other stressful jobs and probably some that may even be more stressful than that of a Firefighter. But I feel it is safe to say that Firefighters do have a very stressful job, and it is a job that I am proud to say I have made my career!

Here is the link to the study:

http://www.careercast.com/jobs/content/ten-most-stressful-jobs-2010-jobs-rated-0

Please Put Your Kids in a Lifejacket!

2010-04-26T16:29:59Z

This past Sunday morning I went down to Tiscornia Beach at Discovery Park to do an interview with Univision about Water Safety. There was a recent drowning on the American River near Auburn and the local media was interested in doing a story and hopefully preventing future drownings.

Typically this time of the year I will try and do some outreach to the public regarding the dangers of our waterways and what we can all do to prevent this unnecessary loss of life. While being interviewed by the Univision crew I noticed three very young girls, playing in the water. None of them had life jackets on. The new County and City Ordinance require that all children under the age of 12 to wear a life jacket, if they are in our waterways. (It’s a good idea for kids to wear them in swimming pools too!)

I know this is controversial and a lot of you think there is too much government in our lives. I agree with this point on many levels. But I think this ordinance was written to educate people about just how dangerous these local rivers and lakes really are! The ordinance was not meant to raise more money for the City or the County. In fact I doubt that there has ever been any citations written since the ordinance was enacted.

But with that said, I can honestly say that I use this ordinance to educate people. This Sunday morning I was able to educate these girls father! Unfortunately for him, they filmed me talking to him, explaining to him just how bad these waters really are, how cold the water is right now, and that how I have been part of body recoveries of young girls his daughters age, at this exact same place, more than I care to remember. He wasn’t happy that he was being filmed and he got mad at the news crew.

It is not my intent to ever humiliate anyone. But the sad fact is his girls were out in the water, water that is very cold that you cannot survive in for very long, and they were near the dangerous drop off where this beach is notorious for drownings. The good news is that his girls did put on life jackets and all of the other kids I saw that morning wore them too.

I obviously never want to see anybody drown. But if you are an adult and you make a stupid decision, it is a little easier for me to live with that. It is the kids that I really am concerned about! In almost every drowning incident, involving a child, there always seems to be lack of an adult supervising them. It only takes a minute for a child to drown. Besides wearing life jackets, there is nothing more important than having a responsible adult supervise children that are swimming. And this is just as important in swimming pools and spas.

History tells me that we will continue to see more drownings. And the sad fact is that some of these will be innocent kids, who should not have drowned. Please do not let your children or anybodies kids out in our waterways without wearing a life jacket. Many of our local swimming areas have loaner life jackets available and so do many of our fire stations. You can also purchase them at most sporting goods stores. The new styles of life jackets are easier to wear and even more fashionable!

I have never responded to a drowning where the victim was wearing a life jacket. I am not saying it never happens because it can! However the odds are greatly in your favor that you won't drown if you wear one! Be safe!

Randy Brink "Fire Chief For the Day!"

2010-04-21T14:32:54Z

This morning the Sacramento Fire Department welcomed the “Fire Chief for a Day”, Randy Brink. Randy, who is known to us as the “Honorary Fire Marshal of Old Sacramento” turned 50 last week. A huge birthday party was thrown for Randy at Cal Expo. About 300 people showed up to wish randy a “Happy Birthday”. Randy received many gifts at the party and one of those gifts was to be “Fire Chief for a Day” of the Sacramento Fire Department.

This morning his first duty as Fire Chief was to do an interview with Mark S. Allen of Good Day Sacramento. Mark S. Allen interviewed Randy sitting behind the Fire Chief’s desk. He answered many questions and gave input into what he would do for the Sacramento Fire Department! He proudly wore his new uniform.

Randy can be seen at almost every major event in Sacramento. He has many volunteer jobs, including Volunteer Health and Safety Officer at Cal Expo, Honorary Fire Marshal of Old Sacramento, Chief Sound Engineer and Production Stage Manger for the Sacramento Kings, Facilities Manager for Lucy Co., Division Chief for Medic Ambulance Company, and a Bounty Hunter for Leonard Padilla, and much more!

Randy has his own website. You can read all about Randy at www.lucyco.com/randy and you will be able to see this morning’s interview with Mark S. Allen at www.gooddaysacramento.com

Sacramento Fire's Walk n Rock Team

2010-04-01T19:51:31Z

Members of the Sacramento Fire Department as well as community members are invited to join the Sacramento Fire Department’s “Walk n Rock for Kids” team. This event is scheduled for Sunday May 30th. Our Team is raising money for the City of Sacramento’s “Access Leisure” program. Below is information about Access Leisure and the link to our team page....

Access Leisure Youth Programs, through their River Cats Independence Field Leagues and Paralympics Sport Sacramento Club programs provide sports for youth with disabilities. They also offer outdoor education and residential camping, social and fitness programs. All are designed to "Optimize the experience of living" for youth with special needs. Access Leisure programs foster independence, promote healthy lifestyles through physical activity, and create positive social environments for children with disabilities to build peer groups and develop lifelong friendships.

http://www.walknrock.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=335979&team=3627605

5 Alarm Fire Destroys North Sacramento Landmark

2010-03-30T17:11:18Z

A 5 Alarm Fire destroyed a Sacramento Landmark early Sunday morning. At 3:30 A.M. in the morning, the Sacramento Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire endangering a building on Del Paso Blvd. Sacramento Firefighters arrived in about 3 ½ minutes and found heavy fire to the rear of the Iceland Ice Rink at 1430 Del Paso Blvd.

Firefighters initially went inside the building and attempted an Offensive Attack, but quickly backed out when they determined the large volume of fire already burning overhead and the truss roof overhead which is a danger for collapse. The fire attack went to a Defensive one.

The two adjacent buildings were spared due to the quick thinking and hard work of Firefighters who were able to deploy fire hoses between the buildings. Four Aerial Ladders were put up and water was sprayed onto the building from above.

Sacramento Fire Investigators are and have been on scene. The ATF has been requested to assist with the investigation due to the size and dollar loss of the fire. The investigation may take a few days to complete.

There has been much speculation as to the cause of the fire, but right now it’s all just speculation. Our Fire Investigators have a big job ahead of them, and hopefully they will be able to pinpoint a cause.

The Iceland Ice Rink was built in 1940 and was still in business. Spending the last two days at the fire scene, I was amazed to see so many people stopping by to see the remains of this Sacramento Landmark.

Having grown up in Sacramento and working here my entire life, I was familiar with the building, driving by it my entire life. I am sorry to say I have never been in the building or ever even have ice skated! But I do know a lot of people that have consider this Ice Rink a huge part of their life. It is sad to see it burned to the ground.

I apologize for not publishing any pictures of this fire. However there are many photos on line if you have the time to search for them!

Explosion Destroys Oak Park Home

2010-02-08T19:25:45Z

An explosion ripped through a vacant Oak Park home early Sunday morning, completely destroying the house. Fortunately there were no injuries and no lives lost. The fire, with explosion was reported shortly after 2:00 A.M. Sacramento Firefighters were on scene in about three minutes.

The fire was contained to a small portion of the house and surrounding trees, but the house was destroyed. Firefighters were able to search the home and they did not find any victims inside. Crews from Pacific Gas and Electric were on scene and they were unable to find any signs of a natural gas leak. The cause of the fire and explosion is currently under investigation by Sacramento Fire Department Investigators.

In the past couple of weeks we have experienced a few vacant home fires. There has been speculation that they have all been connected, possibly started by the same person(s). Although this is certainly possible, so far, our Fire Investigators have not determined that a serial arsonist is responsible.

It is common for the Sacramento Fire Department and surrounding fire agencies to have fires in vacant homes. With the current foreclosure issue, we are bound to have more. Some homeowners believe that burning their home will get them out of their mortgage. The truth is it will not get them out of their mortgage, but it will get them in jail! When a home burns, the homeowners insurance company also have an interest in what caused the fire, and believe me, if it is determined the homeowners has intentionally set the fire, the insurance company will not pay.

Also vacant homes tend to attract the wrong kind of people. Illegal drug users, transients, kids playing, and vandals all contribute to this growing problem. These groups of people will participate in various activities which are conducive to starting fires.

The Sacramento Fire Department once again wants to remind everyone to keep an eye out in your neighborhood for any suspicious activity especially in and around abandoned homes. You are encouraged to contact local law enforcement if you witness anything unusual around these properties.

Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident

2010-02-04T21:38:08Z

A Sacramento County garbage truck and a work van were involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident this morning along the 8500 block of Folsom Blvd. The accident seriously injured the driver of the garbage truck and killed the driver of the work van.

According to the Sacramento Police, preliminary witness reports indicate that the garbage truck was traveling west bound on Folsom Blvd. The van, traveling east bound on Folsom Blvd. traveled into the path of the garbage truck, hitting the garbage truck head on. The garbage truck then hit the overhang of a Pre-School coming to rest near the playground of the school. Fortunately the children were inside the school and were not harmed.

The van’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the garbage truck was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. Sacramento Firefighters had to extricate both victims. It took Firefighters over 20 minutes to extricate the driver of the garbage truck.

Hydraulic oil and diesel from the garbage truck was leaking into the gutter and a Level 2 Haz Mat was requested. Firefighters from Sacramento Metro Fire also responded and the investigation into the exact cause of the accident is being conducted by the Sacramento Police Department.

Haz Mat Incident at UC Davis Medical Center

2010-02-01T20:59:23Z

A Level 2 Haz Mat incident occurred this morning at UC Davis Medical Center’s “Glassrock Building” on Stockton Blvd. Sacramento Firefighters responded to the reported chemical spill with possibly two persons complaining of inhalation symptoms at 9:47 A.M. Firefighters arrived on scene in about three and a half minutes.

A small amount of 10 percent formalin, which is a mixture of 90 percent water, formaldehyde and methyl alcohol, was spilled in one of the rooms on the fourth floor. Firefighters evacuated the building and called for additional resources. The two persons were transported to a local hospital with minor symptoms. A very small amount of the solution was spilled and Firefighters were able to isolate the room.

Personnel with UC Davis were on scene and were going to clean up the spill. The employees and patients of the clinic were allowed back in after a short time.

Sacramento Urban Search & Rescue Team Deployed to Haiti

2010-01-14T18:24:19Z

The Regions Urban Search and Rescue Team, California Task Force 7, was activated late last night and they are now on their way to help out with the rescue efforts in Haiti. Firefighters from Fire Agencies in the Sacramento region and some civilians make up the 72 person team. These individuals are highly trained in search and rescue, specifically in building collapses. The team has rescue dogs, Doctors, Nurses, Rescue Specialists and many other highly trained individuals. This team, like every other USAR Team across the nation are able to be fully self sufficient for a minimum of 3 days.

They left their storage facility at McClellan Air Park very early this morning and headed off to Travis AFB to await their flight to Haiti. It is not known at this time how long their deployment will be. They train for these missions constantly and always look forward to being called so that they can serve what ever community needs their help.

This activation was a little bit different than most. Most USAR activations are initiated by FEMA, but this is an International disaster and the orders come from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. There are many USAR Teams across the Nation, but only two teams are designated as International Teams, They are Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles County. All other teams can be deployed to respond to international incidents, but the orders have to come from O.F.D.A. Sacramento’s team received these orders along with 5 other USAR Teams.

California Task Force 7 was one of the first on the ground at the World Trade Center on September the 11th, and at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. They have also responded to numerous Hurricane incidents and other natural disasters.

We at the Sacramento Fire Department are proud of our Firefighters that are on their way to Haiti and we wish them well and hope they are able to save lives and make a difference.

Sacramento Fire Captain Burned at House Fire

2010-01-06T22:18:58Z

A garage fire in a Fruitridge neighborhood home burned a Sacramento Firefighter this morning. The fire was reported at 4416 Mello Court at 10:54 A.M. Sacramento Firefighters arrived within 5 minutes and found a garage from the one story home heavily involved in fire.

While preparing to attack the fire, Captain Rick Hudson of Truck 6 suffered serious burns to his hand. He also had minor burns to his facial area. He was transported to the local Burn Unit and is reported to be in good condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The home had major damage to it. The occupants, a family of four, were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross for housing needs.

4 Alarm Downtown Apartment Fire

2009-12-28T21:13:46Z

A 4 Alarm Fire ripped through an apartment building in Downtown Sacramento early Sunday morning. The fire was reported at 2:20 A.M. at 10th and E Streets. Sacramento Firefighters arrived within a few minutes and found heavy fire from the two story apartment building. As they prepared to attack the fire, the entire second floor of the building collapsed.

A total of 4 Alarms were requested and because of the extent of the fire involvement, Firefighters went to a Defensive Mode and protected exposures. A second building had significant fire damage.

There were no reported injuries and the fire is currently under investigation. A young girl had awaken to the smell of smoke and she was able to alert her family and an elderly neighbor. They all escaped the fire safely. The American Red Cross was called in to help find shelter for one elderly man.

The attached photos were taken by Sacramento Firefighter Jason Meyer.....

Lucky the Fire Dog Not stolen at All!

2009-11-23T17:58:43Z

Let me start off by apologizing. Our supposedly stolen dog was not stolen at all! Lucky the Ceramic Dalmatian was taken by the Firefighters of the A Shift over the weekend to a car race that the crew was in. The word never got passed on to the B or the C Shift Firefighters, and as you can guess, some of us (me included!) overreacted!

So thanks for the calls and the comments, but Lucky is fine! In case any of you want to know about the race, the crew from Station 2 on the A Shift were involved in their first ever car race at the 24 Hours of Lemons car race in Willows California. Lucky is their teams mascot, and he attended the race with the crew.

For more about this race please visit www.24hoursoflemons.com Thanks again and sorry about the mistake!

Sacramento Fire Stations #2 Ceramic Dalmatian Dog Stolen!

2009-11-23T05:08:33Z

The Sacramento Fire Department is requesting the public’s assistance in helping us find the Ceramic Dalmatian Dog that was stolen in front of Sacramento Fire Station #2. The dog has been missing for about three days. It is not possible that the dog left on its own! It had to have been stolen.

Anyone that knows the whereabouts of our Beloved Mascot are asked to bring the dog back to Fire Station #2. There will be no questions asked, and you will not be in trouble! The dog was a welcome site to the people who worked in the Downtown area and has been photographed by people from all over the world!

Sacramento Fire Department Helps Rescue Goose!

2009-11-20T19:08:06Z

Well, last night was another not so typical night for Sacramento Firefighters! It was typical in the fact that we were very busy with a few structure fires that we had to fight and the numerous medical aid calls that we respond to daily. The not so typical aspect was the call we received from Sacramento City Animal Control requesting our assistance to help them rescue a Goose that had become trapped on an island in one of the Duck Ponds at William Land Park.

Firefighters from Engine 12 responded and were met by one of the Animal Control Officers. Across the pond, there he (or she) was! A large white Goose was stuck on the island, with one its foot entangled in some type of wire. The crew from Engine 12 requested the Sacramento Fire Reserves respond with one of their inflatable boats.

The Fire Reserves brought out one of their boats and were able to successfully paddle over to the island and free the bird! The bird did have a minor laceration to the foot and the Animal Control Officer took the bird to a Wild Life Rescue Agency in West Sacramento where they would care for it. Not a typical emergency for us, but one none the less that we enjoy responding to!

Firefighters Toy Brigade

2009-11-13T21:15:27Z

This years "Firefighters Toy Brigade" is under way. Members of the public are encouraged to donate new, unwrapped toys to any Sacramento City, Sacramento Metro, West Sacramento or Roseville Fire Station or to locations at the Sacramento County Courts. These toys will be given to the children who are patients of the Shriners Hospital for Children here in Sacramento.

This is the second year that local Firefighters have taken up this cause. Thousands of children are seen at Shriners every year, and for obvious reasons; toys are a big part of their rehabilitation. Local Firefighters have a natural relationship with these children, especially those who are being treated for burn injuries.

Last year Firefighters from our region visited the hospital and delivered the toys to many of the Shriners Kids. It was a great day, and we are all looking forward to doing it again this year!

There is much more information available at the following website; www.firereserves.org

Pet Fire Safety

2009-10-22T19:12:51Z

Recently I had the pleasure to work with Christina Selter. She is nationally known as the “Pet Safety Lady”. She works for Bark Buckle Up, a pet safety non profit organization. She was in Sacramento promoting a new campaign. This is a movement to equip every Fire Engine across this country with Pet Oxygen masks.

Currently in the Sacramento Fire Department we do not carry this equipment. However we do rescue and try to revive many pets through out the year. Many pets are killed every year in house fires. If we have a dog or a cat that is not breathing, we typically do our best to save the animal by using human medical equipment, that rarely works or even doing “mouth to snout” rescue breathing.

This campaign asks members of the public to visit their web site and make a monetary donation that will be used to purchase “Pet Oxygen Masks”. The donator can specify what Fire Department gets the masks. Once the Sacramento Fire Department starts to receive these masks, we will get them out into the field and assign to the most appropriate fire company. These masks are designed to be used with the oxygen equipment we currently have. The website for the campaign is www.bark10-4.com

Sacramento Public Safety Open House

2009-10-07T21:24:37Z

This Sunday, October 11, 2009, the Sacramento Police and Fire Departments, along with Sacramento CERT, will be holding a public safety fair. The fair will be at the Public Safety Center located at 5770 Freeport Boulevard from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

The event is sure to be fun and educational for the entire family and will include many activities including fingerprinting for kids, equipment displays, fire extinguisher demonstration, DUI simulation goggles, Sparky the fire dog, USAR Rescue Dog demo, Auto Extrication demo, CERT trailer, Police K-9 demonstrations, safety presentations, crime prevention information, first aid demonstration, blood pressure checks, a bounce house for the kids, and much more.

The event is free and everyone from the community is invited to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.

Sacramento Firefighters Rescue Kitten

2009-09-17T18:10:44Z

Firefighters from Sacramento Fire Station #30 in North Natomas made an unusual rescue yesterday. A man called and said that he had just driven away from his home, when about three blocks later he heard “a meowing” noise coming from inside the engine area of his car. He immediately pulled over and lifted his hood. He heard what sounded like a cat somewhere inside the engine compartment.

Engine #30 responded and to everyone’s surprise, they found this little kitten tucked up under the car’s radiator. Fortunately he was safely removed and uninjured! The Firefighters from Engine #30 took the kitten back to their fire house where they bathed him and gave him some food and water.

Our Fire Dispatchers have affectionately named the young kitten, “Dip Stick!” Dip Stick is now awaiting adoption at the City of Sacramento’s Animal Shelter. You can adopt Dip Stick or other deserving animals by contacting the Animal Shelter at (916) 808-7387 between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Tuesday through Friday and 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. on Saturdays...

Remembering 9/11

2009-09-10T22:13:42Z

Every year when September 11 comes around, we in the Fire Service pay our respects to those killed that horrible day in many ways. This year, Engineer Matt Cole with the Sacramento Metro Fire District organized an event that we hope to continue for many years.

Tomorrow morning, September the 11th at 8:00 A.M., 343 Firefighters from throughout the Sacramento Region will participate in a “9/11 Memorial Climb” at the Renaissance Tower at 8th & K Streets in Downtown Sacramento.

This event is to pay tribute to the 343 New York City Firefighters who were killed on September 11, 2001. Firefighters will climb the inside stairs, to the top of the building four times, for a total of 110 flights. The 110 flights represent how tall the World Trade Center Towers were.

Each Firefighter has paid a registration fee and all proceeds from this event will go to the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, Widows and Orphans Fund. This event is not open to the public, however anyone can contribute to the charity by visiting this site; www.ufanyc.org/funds/widows_and_children.php

This event is sponsored by the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and could not be possible without the help of the Renaissance Tower, USAA Real Estate Company, and SITQ.

No matter what you do tomorrow, please keep in your heart the memory of the Firefighters and all of the victims that were killed that tragic day. It has been 8 years since these terrorists committed this horrible crime, but we must never forget.

Below is a portion of an email that Sacramento Fire Department, Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja, sent out today to our Fire Department. He was one of many from Sacramento that responded to the World Trade Center on that day;

“As an agency, eight years ago this week the Sacramento Fire Department responded to WTC. The events were incomprehensible and many that responded took home indelible life altering images and memories. To a person, those that responded will state that it was an honor to have been able to represent our agency and City at this tragic incident. As we come to another anniversary of 9/11 we will all be swamped with media accounts and public comment by those that have the luxury of only remembering the events of that day once a year. I commend those of you that have chosen/volunteered in formal ways to memorialize those that gave their lives in efforts to save others. Events such as the 110 flight stair climb are great ways to raise the public consciousness in remembrance of the 343 from WTC. But if we want to truly honor their memory, we need to honor it daily. We're all personally responsible for our own Knowledge Skills and Abilities relative to our job. The Department has a responsibility to provide us with a level of training, a foundation if you will. But we as individuals, officers, etc. have much more control over our level of performance. Average is not good enough, mediocrity kills. We've all been apart of, or a witness to, an on the job "Close call". Did we survive these "Close calls" because of good training/preparation, or did we create the "Close call" because of a lack of training/preparation?

Our profession has come a long way over the years. Some changes have been for the good, some not so good. Technology has made available training aids and information never before seen. My opinion is that "Lap top" Computers in recliners don't train us for the next time our abilities will be tested by a high risk, low frequency situation. We'd better be ready! Captains, are your personnel going home everyday because you've prepared and trained them, or because of the "luck of the draw" they just weren't tested that tour?

So, as 9/11 approaches hug your kids a little tighter, appreciate life a little more. But honor those that "gave" their lives by preparing for the event that we pray never happens. I don't want to deal with another 9/11. I do want to sleep at night knowing those I work for, with and supervise, are better trained because we've done everything in our power to prepare them for even the unimaginable!”

What's a Rainbow Strike Team?

2009-08-28T19:13:35Z

Early this morning about 22 Firefighters from the Sacramento, Folsom, and Cosumnes Fire Departments responded to the Big Meadow Fire in Yosemite. They were sent out as Rainbow Strike Team #4158C.

So what is a “Rainbow Strike Team?” Heck, what is a Strike Team? I know many people do not understand much about what we do and much less about what it takes to battle a large fire, like the one in Yosemite, or what it takes to respond to a large disaster, such as a hurricane, earthquake, terrorist act, or flooding.

A Strike Team is typically a five piece team of Fire Engines or other types of fire apparatus. They respond and work together as a team. A Rainbow Strike Team is made up of different fire agencies. A regular Strike Team comes from one Fire Agency.

The Strike Team will respond and report to the incident. There they will be given an assignment, which could be anything from protecting structures to mopping up hot spots. They are usually assigned to a shift of 24 hours on, and 24 hours off. While they are working their 24 hour shift they will try their best to take an occasional nap, but sleep usually happens on their day off. And their 24 hours off, is most often not 24 hours! There is the drive time from their assignment to camp, there may be meetings and de-briefings to attend, equipment and supplies to replenish. It is a very hard and tiring job! In the Sacramento Fire Department, it is our policy to rotate fresh crews in after two weeks.

Another aspect of these large incidents is the “Overhead and Incident Management Teams”. These are the Firefighters and support staff that work behind the scene managing the incident. Logistics, Medical, Information, Liaison, Finance, Geographic’s (maps), Communications, Operations, Command, these are some of the positions that make up the Overhead and Incident Management Teams! In the Sacramento Fire Department we not only send Strike Team members but many Overhead people. We have Firefighters that are members of Incident Management Teams for the U.S. Forest Service as well as Cal Fire.

The incidents that I have responded to, as part of an Overhead Team have opened my eyes to how hard of a job it is to manage one of these large incidents. Literally, the Incident Management Team will move in and set up a small city! You can imagine how hard it would be to manage thousands of Firefighters and support staff! These Incident Management Teams do this, and they do it well! Sure there is always something that doesn’t go as planned, but they fix it and get on with the business of managing the incident. I always joke with my Cal Fire friends that they should be “wedding planners” on their days off. They are so organized!

So why do we send our Firefighters out to these fires? And how can the City of Sacramento afford to do this during these tight budget times? These are legitimate questions. The Fire Agencies in California are members of CALEMA (California Emergency Management Agency). We are part of this large agency that responds to large incidents, when the incident becomes too big for the local agency to handle on their own. In California, this happens a lot.

But here in Sacramento we do not have these types of large wildland fires, so why participate? Well the simple answer is; we have the distinct possibility to have large incidents in our region that would totally overwhelm our local resources. Floods and earthquakes are two very real scenarios. Last year there was a large wildland fire in Eastern Sacramento County that required the response of out of County resources. I believe this was the first time this ever occurred in our County. When something big happens here in Sacramento, and unfortunately it probably will, we will get the help we need from CALEMA.

What about the costs associated with sending our Firefighters out on these teams? Who pays the bills? The costs become the responsibility of the jurisdiction where the incident is. Typically the Sacramento Fire Department gets reimbursed by the State of California or the Federal Government; it just depends on whose emergency it is. Last year we sent resources to Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi during the Hurricane Ike. We were reimbursed by those States.

I have only scratched the surface of what happens at these large agencies. I haven’t even mentioned that there are many other different agencies, both public and private, that respond to these large scale incidents. There are a lot of people who are real busy during Fire Season. They are always ready and willing to respond anywhere, whenever they are needed!

Arsonist Strikes In Downtown

2009-07-22T22:08:00Z

The Sacramento Fire Department responded to 9 separate fires in the Downtown area since 12:40 A.M. Most of these fires have been set inside dumpsters. At least two have caused damage to buildings with the most serious damage to an apartment building at 1312 18th Street. This incident was moments away from creating a major fire. Fortunately Sacramento Firefighters were able to arrive on scene in two minutes and were able to prevent major fire damage.

We are asking for the publics help in identifying who may be responsible for setting these fires. Anyone with information or anyone who may have seen someone or something suspicious we are asking them to call the Sacramento Fire Department Arson Tip Line at (916) 808-8732. You can remain anonymous. You may also stop by any Fire Station and let the Firefighters there know if you have any information pertaining to these fires.

Small But Stubborn Wildland Fire Along Sacramento River

2009-07-13T20:44:35Z

A small, but stubborn wildland fire is keeping Sacramento Firefighters busy along the Sacramento River near 35th Avenue. This fire is the second fire since yesterday at the same location. The fire is on the river side of the levee.

It is not threatening any homes, but crews are having to shuttle water from the nearby neighborhood and from SFD Boat #5 which is pumping river water onto the fire. A Sacramento City Utilities Bull Dozer is also on scene helping to clear some of the thick brush and removing some dead trees.

Firefighters are expected be on scene a few more hours.

Sacramento Fire Department Sirens

2009-07-10T21:08:38Z

From time to time I receive phone calls from the public complaining about something we may have done. This doesn’t happen that often, but when it does we take complaints seriously and do our best to sort out the potential problem. Recently I received a complaint from a citizen about the noise our sirens make, especially at night.

This is not the first call I have taken regarding our sirens. We understand how loud and annoying they can be! But obviously there is an important reason we use them. Our sirens are meant to alert other drivers and pedestrians that we are coming and that we are asking you to make room for us, pull over to the right, stop, and let us through.

Another important reason is that, the law requires us to use them! The California Vehicle Code requires us to use our red lights and sirens when we are responding “Code 3”. That means we are responding to an emergency. “Code 3” responses are true emergencies where it could be a matter of life or death. Driving “Code 3” gives us the ability to get to the scene quicker, and in our profession, time is everything. Time can mean the difference between someone living or dying, or it could mean saving someone’s property or not!

Our Firefighters know that our sirens our loud, and they are also annoying to us, but we have no choice but to obey the law and get to the scene as quick as possible, and in the safest manner! So please bear with us, if you see the red lights and hear the siren while driving, please pull over to the right and stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Remember the emergency that we are responding to could be for you!

John Bidwell Elementary School Targeted by Vandals on the 4th of July

2009-07-07T23:33:49Z

During the afternoon of the 4th of July, someone threw fireworks through a window at John Bidwell Elementary School on 65th Avenue. The Sacramento Fire Department responded to the school for a fire alarm. They arrived and found light smoke, and the remnants of fireworks in a Kindergarten classroom.

The fireworks burned two small portions of carpet in the classroom. Although the damage was minimal, there were numerous boxes with paper goods in the class that could have easily ignited.

Investigators from the Sacramento Fire Department are currently trying to determine who did this. There were reports of children in the area playing with fireworks. So far there are no suspects.

The security cameras at the school, photographed these juveniles who were at the school during the time of the incident. Anyone with any information on this case, or if you may know the identities of the two juveniles in these pictures is encouraged to contact the Sacramento Fire Department’s Arson Tip Line at (916) 808-8732.

Elderly Woman Dies in Oak Park House Fire

2009-06-22T08:05:24Z

An elderly woman was killed, and an elderly man is in critical condition after a house fire tonight in Oak Park. The Sacramento Fire Department responded to multiple reports of a house fire at 4500 12th Avenue at 10:48 P.M. Fire Dispatchers also received reports of two elderly, disabled persons, trapped in the home.

Firefighters arrived in four minutes and found the house well involved in fire. A citizen and Police Officers from the Sacramento Police Department were removing the elderly man from the front of the home. Firefighters from Sacramento Truck 6 entered the home and found the elderly female in a back bedroom. She was removed from the home and both victims were transported by Sacramento Firefighter/Paramedics to a local hospital. The female victim was pronounced dead at the hospital and the man is in critical condition.

The fire went to two alarms and the residents in a next door home needed assistance for temporary housing from the American Red Cross, due to fire damage of their home. A Sacramento Fire Department Investigator is on scene trying to determine the cause of this tragic blaze. There were reports of fireworks in the area, but the exact cause is not known at this time.

It is not known at this time if the victims home had a working smoke detector. But this is a sad reminder of the importance of having a working smoke detector in the sleeping area of your home. Smoke detectors are a very inexpensive tool that do save lives each and every day. It is very rare for Firefighters to respond to a fatal house fire where the victims had a working smoke detector.

Smoke detectors can be purchased at almost any hardware store for as little as $5. If you cannot afford one, the Sacramento Fire Department can provide you with one. Please call the Sacramento City Operator at 311 to request one. Many other local Fire Agencies will also provide you with a smoke detector if you live outside the City of Sacramento.

Downtown Building Collapse

2009-05-19T23:58:15Z

The Sacramento Fire Department responded this afternoon to a reported auto accident at 16th and U Streets in Downtown Sacramento. When Firefighters arrived they found two vehicles that had crashed into each other and into a vacant building. The entire front of the one story brick building had collapsed.

Both drivers had minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital by Sacramento Firefighters. A woman sitting outside at a nearby café was slightly injured by the crash. She was not transported to the hospital.

After SMUD and PG&E responded and shut off the electricity and gas to the building, Remy, one of our Urban Search & Rescue Search Dogs, searched the wreckage for any possible victims. No victims have been found at this time.

The Sacramento Dangerous Buildings Department also responded to determine the integrity of the structure. The Sacramento Police Department is investigating the cause of the accident.

5 Year Old Boy Drowns in Backyard Swimming Pool

2009-05-08T17:47:02Z

Last night a 5 year old boy drowned in his back yard swimming pool in South Sacramento. This was a very sad reminder to all of us, just how fragile life is but more importantly, we need to all realize that these types of tragedies are very much preventable. There is no call more devastating for a Firefighter than to have to respond for a child that dies. And obviously there is nothing more devastating for a parent to go through than a loss of their child.

Drownings in Sacramento have become a problem. They occur way too much and it is very frustrating for us, because it seems like there is not much more we can do to help prevent them. Since I have become the Fire Departments Spokesperson, I have made drowning prevention a high priority. Captain Christian Pebbles, the Spokesperson for Sacramento Metro Fire and me continuously try our best to outreach to the public about the dangers of our waterways and the importance of having a responsible adult always keep an eye on children whenever they are in or near any body of water.

We have filmed and recorded many Public Service Announcements with various local media outlets, and we have written press release after press release and have spoken to many community organizations and anyone who will listen to us about this problem. But whatever we do, it never seems to be enough. We still have kids drown, and I guess I am starting to realize, that we always will. But we will not stop trying.

Sacramento Fire Battalion Chief Niko King is working on a project with the National Fire Academy that will help identify, exactly who it is that is drowning in our waters. We have a general idea of who drowns, but not enough specifics to help us better target our audience. Language, gender, age, were drugs or alcohol involved? These are some of the things that may help us do better outreach.

Statistics for drownings in Sacramento have never been very accurate. Some drownings get reported to us as “unresponsive persons, difficulty breathing, etc.” So they never get put into our system as drownings. Chief King is working on a documentation program that will have first responders in our County fill out a form that will help identify some of these important bits of information. And these forms will not only be filled out for confirmed drownings, but for near misses, where a person may have come close to drowning but actually survived.

In Sacramento City and County there is a new ordinance that mandates the wearing of a life jacket for anyone under the age of 13 when they are in any natural waterway, I.E. rivers, lakes, or streams. This has been somewhat controversial, because some believe that government has become to controlling. I agree in a lot of cases, but this ordinance was meant to help prevent needless deaths of children. It wasn’t written to create additional cash flow to local government; it was written to be used as a tool to help save lives.

If common sense were used by more people, these types of laws would not be required. But sadly, the lack of common sense seems more and more common now. I feel that educating people will help us achieve the results we are looking for. Many people do not realize just how dangerous our waters are. Hopefully the more we keep trying to get this message out, we will see more success.

For anyone that is interested in statistics, the Sacramento Region had about 80 drownings last year. It is unknown how many close calls there were, but we can assume there many.
Please respect our waters and always where a life jacket when you and your kids are in the water. And have a responsible adult keep an eye on the children when they are in the water. Nothing takes the place of a responsible adult.

Sacramento Fire Department Award Ceremony

2009-05-06T18:36:00Z

Yesterday the Sacramento Fire Department held its Annual Awards Ceremony. Every year the Fire Department honors Sacramento Firefighters and citizens from the community for acts of heroism and bravery and for community service. The ceremony is usually held at the California Firefighters Memorial site at the State Capitol, but due to the weather, we moved it indoors to the Atrium at the Fire & Police Headquarters Building.

The event was well attended and Natalie Bomke from FOX 40 was our Mistress of Ceremonies. Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at the opening of the ceremony and credited Sacramento’s Firefighters for doing much more than just fighting fires. He spoke on how we are a part of the community and that as a young man growing up in Oak Park, he knew of the Firefighters at Station 6 and how busy they are and what they did for his community.

Many were honored yesterday, but I am going to highlight four of the awards. Two Kaiser Permanente Physicians were on duty at Kaiser South Hospital on December 9, 2008 when three family members were admitted for flu like symptoms. The Doctors and their staff quickly realized that these patients were showing signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

They quickly contacted us, because they knew there were more family members at home. We responded and found two more family members that had the same symptoms. Both of these patients were transported to the hospital and it was confirmed that all of the family had Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

The levels of Carbon Monoxide were so high in the home, that we believe if we would not have responded and taken these two young family members out of the home, they would have most likely not survived the night. Because of their actions, the two Doctors were awarded our Outstanding Service Award.

On May 1, 2008 a fire broke out in the home of Jessica Lazaro. The family was outside, having a barbeque for Jessica’s younger sisters’ birthday when a fire broke out in the kitchen. Jessica quickly realized that her young sister was missing and probably still inside the home.

Jessica ran through the heat and thick smoke of the kitchen to find her sister in a back bedroom, scared and frightened, refusing to leave the safety of her bedroom. After a brief struggle with her sister, Jessica soon realized that their exit route was now cut of by the rapidly advancing heat and smoke. They were both trapped, but remaining calm; Jessica broke out the bedroom window and passed her sister out the window to the family members outside.

Because of her actions, Jessica was awarded the Sacramento Fire Department’s highest civilian award, the Commendation of Valor.

On January 5, 2008 Firefighter Tilden Billiter was working his shift at Truck 10 when they received a call for a structure fire. Truck 10 arrived and found heavy fire from one side of the home. Neighbors reported that the occupant, an elderly female was trapped inside.

Firefighter Billiter reacted and went through the garage door without the protection of a fire hose. He tried to enter the door from the garage into the house, when he realized there was something on the inside, up against the door, preventing him from opening it. He quickly removed the doors hinges and opened the door where he found the elderly victim, slumped over. She had collapsed against the door.
With the fire and smoke now spreading into the kitchen, Firefighter Billiter removed the unconscious victim to safety where she was transported to a local hospital. Because of his actions, Firefighter Billiter received the Sacramento Fire Department’s third highest award, the Medal of Superior Effort.

On November 11, 2008, Firefighter Debbie Mart was working her shift at Engine 19. A call came in for an auto accident on the Capital City Freeway near Cal Expo. When Engine 19 arrived, they found one car on its side, with heavy fire coming from the rear of the car and its gas tank. The driver, a young female, was trapped inside and the fire was moving dangerously close to her.

Firefighter Mart, acting under the direction of her Captain, entered the car and got between the fire and the driver. She protected the driver and stabilized her until other Firefighters were able to control the fire and extricate the victim from the car.

Because of her actions, Firefighter Mart was awarded the Sacramento Fire Departments second highest award, the Medal of Merit.

With the exception of moving the location of the ceremony at the last minute because of the weather, the ceremony went well. Fire Chief Ray Jones presented all of the recipients with their awards and all recipients received a Resolution from the California State Senate.

This ceremony demonstrates that it takes everyone in a community to come together during times of crisis. There were many acts of selflessness and community service demonstrated by both civilians and Firefighters. The members of the Sacramento Fire Department appreciate the help and support we receive by the Citizens of Sacramento, especially at the scenes of emergencies.

Another Negative Story

2009-04-24T18:27:20Z

I really hate this type of article. I do not want this to be my forum for airing grievances, but last night; CBS 13 ran another story about the Sacramento Fire Department. The story was about four of our Firefighters who were involved in an incident last summer while at a Wild Land fire in Butte County.

Before I get into the story let me say a few things. I have been a Firefighter in Sacramento for over 29 years. Although I am the Public Information Officer for the Fire Department, my background is definitely not in the media. I knew little about the media prior to taking this assignment. These past three years as the P.I.O. have given me a lot of experience and I have had a lot of media training. I now know a little more about the media, particularly I know how the media and public safety agencies interact with each other. Or at least how they are supposed to!

While going through a week long training program three years ago I remember clearly one instructor who had been employed by the media and was a long time public safety information officer. He said, “The media as you know it, is dead!” What he meant was that newspapers, local television, and radio are going to have to change or they will not survive. The emergence of the Sacramento Press is a great example of the new media!

As the P.I.O. for the Sacramento Fire Department, my main job is to get out useful and factual information to the public. There are obviously a lot of ways to do this, and the media is one of those ways. Working with the media is all about building relationships and trust. You help them and they help you! All I have ever asked is that we are treated fair, nothing more, and nothing less.

Public Safety Departments of times past use to be “secretive.” We never liked interacting with the media. Today the more progressive organizations, (and I like to think that the Sacramento Fire Department is one), have changed. We realize the importance of getting our message out in a timely fashion, and being honest and transparent. You won’t get anything less from me.

So with all of that said, let me get to the point of my story. After a story on CBS 13 called the “Scoop” ran a couple of weeks ago about our department, (I wrote a story for Sac Press about that story on April 3rd) I along with Captain Christian Pebbles of Sacramento Metro Fire District asked to have a meeting with the News Director and the General Manager of CBS 13. The reason for this meeting was to let the management of CBS 13 know that we have some concerns on how they report the news, particularly about the local fire service. We gave them examples of the recent R.E. Graswich story, (the Scoop) and a recent story about Sacramento Metro Fire, and how they received a helicopter form the California National Guard at no cost to the taxpayer. That story made some wonder how Metro could afford the helicopter, even though they received it free! There were many more examples given but I do not need to list them all here.

I also expressed my concern that it was only two days after my complaint to one of their Producers and to Mr. Graswich about his story that I received a call from one of the anchors at CBS 13 wanting to know more about the incident last summer in Butte County. I let them know that this seemed to me to be more than a simple coincidence, since they have had the information about the Butte County incident since last December. The management assured me that it was all a coincidence!

Last June during the Northern California Wildfires, we sent many of our Firefighters to a lot of these emergencies throughout Northern California. (I was sent to one myself!). Typically Firefighters assigned to the fire lines work 24 straight hours, than they are given 24 hours off of down time. They are either sent to a hotel or to a camp. These four Firefighters were sent to a hotel. Even though they were off the fire line, they were still being compensated.

Sacramento FD Policy, Sacramento City Policy, and policy of the Office of Emergency Services, prohibit you from purchasing, consuming, or possessing any alcoholic beverages while on a deployment. Our four Firefighters did in fact violate these policies, two different times. What they did was wrong and as soon as this activity was reported, the department took action. All were downgraded pay steps. There is more discipline involved, and because this is a personnel matter, I cannot get into much more. But what I can say is that the City and the Fire Chief felt that the discipline was appropriate for the violations.

I am not making excuses for their behavior, what they did was wrong. But like any violation of policy, there are always facts to consider. The four Firefighters were off duty, they were not going to be sent to the fire line until the next day. They did not drive their Fire Department vehicle under the influence. At no time was the public in any danger. But again, they violated a set of policies and they were disciplined.

This incident happened last June. I received my first request from the media about this incident in November. One of our local TV stations called me about it, and once they found out the facts, they told me that there was no story. CBS 13 asked for, and received the disciplinary letters in December. They knew about this incident then. They never called or asked to do the story until two days after I complained about the Graswich story. The management of CBS told me and Captain Pebbles that they were going to run this story because of their “sweeps” month coming up!

Last Saturday morning I saw the first “promo” of the story on UPN 31. The promo, if you have not seen it, portrayed us really bad. I spoke with the General Manager and he assured me that the story would portray us in a positive light. (I guess some could see it that way, but I couldn’t.) I told him that although the actual story may be a good one, his promo was very negative and actually doing harm to our Fire Department. I have had calls from some of our Firefighters who have told me that members of the public were asking about the promo and wondering why were drinking on the job. The General Manager didn’t seem to care about my concerns.

The story ran last night and I guess it could have been worse, but none the less, it was not a good one for the Sacramento Fire Department. The men and women of the Sacramento Fire Department take their job seriously. We are dedicated professionals who do an amazing job each and every day. Most of us have clean personnel files and have never been in any trouble. But we are human. A few of us have made mistakes in the past and like everybody else, we will probably make more. We have also learned from our mistakes. These four Firefighters were swiftly disciplined. They acknowledged their mistakes and have taken responsibility for them.

Most of the media in Sacramento were aware of this incident and chose not to do the story. They told me that it was an old story, the Fire Department handled it well, and there was no real scandal. But CBS 13 did the story. They also gave the names of the Firefighters. I understand that this is public record, but what is the purpose of naming them? What is the purpose of showing “Facebook” pictures of two of them? Was this story, as old as it is, really that important to air, or was it a matter of improving their ratings? Should the public know about all of the discipline that happens in the Fire Department? Is this just a sign of the times and the public has this desire to see those in an authority figure being shot down?

Four of our Firefighters made a mistake. They knew better, but they have paid a price. You may or may not agree with their punishment and I understand this. But they were punished. No one tried to hide this information, and there was no cover up. But this negative story aired and brought discredit to the entire Sacramento Fire Department. We also understand, very clearly, that this story would not have aired if our Firefighters would have not done something wrong. And now we have to live with it.

News Story about Sacramento Fire Department

2009-04-03T23:45:04Z

This past Wednesday, CBS 13 ran a story on their evening news called the Scoop. I have never responded to this type of journalism, but I owe it to the citizens that we protect to give you the response from the Sacramento Fire Department. First I would encourage everyone who reads this article to visit CBS 13’s website, find the story and read it. It is in their “Special Investigations” section.

I will now give you the Fire Departments version. But first let me say this,” If the Sacramento Fire Department or any of its employees ever do anything that is not in the best interest of the citizens that we are sworn to protect, we will always do everything in our power to correct, or make right, anything that we do that is not in the publics best interest”. We always welcome the public’s criticism and input.

The lead to the story stated that the Firefighters are racking up overtime and soaking the taxpayers. This is not true. Yes we do have overtime, and some of our Firefighters work a lot of it. But it has been proven on many occasions that to staff extra Firefighters to fill any vacancy, it is more cost effective to do it with overtime than to do it with extra Firefighters.

The reporter states that if you spend anytime around any of our Fire Houses you will hear tales of Sick Leave abuse! I have worked in Sacramento’s Fire Houses for almost 29 years and I have never heard anyone speak about calling in sick to benefit another Firefighter so that he or she could work the overtime.

The reporter states that some of our Fire Houses could operate with 3 person staffing versus 4 person staffing. He did not say which fire stations could do this. Cutting our staffing to a very busy Fire Department is only going to reduce response times and potentially cost lives and property.

He speaks about a 10 or 12 hour shift and how we may have to change from a 24 hour shift. Our Firefighters work 48 consecutive hours than they are off for 96 hours. Going to a 10 or 12 hour shift would result in hiring more Firefighters, thus costing more.

He also states that the Firefighters might have to change their lifestyle and that many of us live far away from the City and have second jobs. Some live in the City and some do not. As far as his comment about second jobs, back when I was hired in 1980, many Firefighters did have second jobs. But today it is not that common.

I did mention to the reporter that I do know of a few Firefighters who have second jobs. A few teach Fire Technology and Emergency Medical Classes part time. A couple of our Firefighters are Flight Medics on Air Ambulances on their days off. And I also mentioned that we have three young men serving their country in Afghanistan in the California National Guard. The comment about our Lifestyle, I do not understand.

In all honesty, the only factual part of the story was the statement from Chief Ray Jones. He said,” The Sacramento Fire Department does not have a sick leave abuse problem.” “Our Firefighters, on average call in sick four times each year.”

Thank you for your time and feel free to contact me anytime with comments or questions….

Captain Jim Doucette jdoucette@sfd.cityofsacramento.org

Sacramento Fire Department Paramedics

2009-03-23T20:42:14Z

I became an EMT in 1979, one year before becoming a Firefighter. Back in those days the Sacramento Region had EMT’s and EMT 2’s. Today we have EMT’s and Paramedics. EMT’s are what we call in laymen’s terms, “Basic Life Support Providers”. We can take vital signs, perform CPR, insert basic airways, and perform many other basic life support functions. Paramedics however can do so much more.

In our Fire Department, well over one half of our Firefighters are trained as Paramedics. The citizens of Sacramento are much better off because of this! What a Paramedic can do for victims of medical emergencies truly amazes me and I think that most people really don’t know what these amazing folks can do.

They are trained in advanced airway management and can treat persons suffering from Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, and many other life threatening airway problems. They have many different tools at their disposal to treat heart attack victims, and they can administer many different drugs for a variety of illnesses and injuries. They even have the ability to use a tool to infuse the patient with life saving fluids and drugs when a patient’s vein is not accessible for an I.V. They treat seizures, asthma attacks, drug overdoses, and all kinds of trauma including gun shot and stabbing victims, auto accidents, etc. I have not scratched the surface of what these men and women can do. I like to tell people that we bring the emergency room to your home!

Paramedic training consists of well over a thousand hours of classroom study along with hospital and field training. There is also a large amount of continuing education that is required throughout a Paramedics career. Many people who start a paramedic training program do not finish. The training is difficult and lengthy. It takes a lot of commitment to become a Paramedic. It is very stressful and it is not for everybody!

The Sacramento Fire Department is definitely not the first Fire Department to use Paramedics. If you are as old as me, you will remember the TV show from the 70’s, “Emergency”. It showcased two Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedics. I’d be lying if I said this show didn’t influence my career choice!

Most of the Nations Fire Departments now utilize Paramedics and are the First Responders to their communities Medical Emergencies. It was a very natural progression for the Fire Service to respond to these types of calls. Fire Stations are strategically located through out a community and for a very long time Firefighters have been trained in basic first aid. Throughout the years we have definitely stepped up this level of service.

The Sacramento Fire Department currently has 23 Fire Engines, 9 Fire Trucks, and 12 Medics. All of our Medics (Ambulances) have Paramedics assigned to them and our Fire Engines and Trucks also have Paramedics on board. It would be very rare to find an Engine or Truck Company without a Paramedic on board. This is why we send a Fire Engine or Truck to every medical aid call. We can get a Paramedic to you in a short amount of time.

Our Firefighter/Paramedics not only serve the citizens of Sacramento, but they utilize their medical training all over the world. Our Firefighter/Paramedics responded to some of our largest disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 911 attacks. We also have three of our Firefighters currently serving our Country in the National Guard in Afghanistan as Flight Medics. A few other members of the Sacramento Fire Department have also served in Iraq and other parts of the world!

Sacramento Fire Reserves

2009-03-19T17:51:10Z

I have often written about the Sacramento Fire Department. But there is a segment of our department that is often overlooked and not many people know about. What I am talking about is the Sacramento Fire Department Reserves.

The Sacramento City Fire Volunteer Reserves can trace their history back to 1953 when they began as the Sacramento Fire Auxiliary for Civil Defense. Headquartered today at Fire Station 99, in a South Sacramento Fire Station that was closed a few years ago, the 50-member volunteer responds to many of the City’s emergencies including Haz Mat incidents, multiple alarm fires, DART calls, USAR activations, and other emergencies whenever additional resources are required.

The Sacramento City Fire Volunteers provide supplemental staffing, food, drinks, and EMS standby at the scene of emergencies. They also do a lot of Community Service projects and outreach. Many of these young men and women spend countless hours training and at the scenes of emergencies. Most are working hard to make the fire service a career and the training and experience they receive is invaluable.

The next time you see them at the scene of an emergency or out in the community, give them a “shout out” and let them know that their hard work is appreciated. They enjoy what they do and helping those in times of need.

You can find out more about their organization at www.firereserves.org

"Fill The Boot For Burns" Annual Boot Drive

2009-02-13T18:33:52Z

Starting today at 12:00 P.M. at the corner of Greenback and Sunrise, at the Sunrise Mall, many local off duty Firefighters will be out in the streets, with their fire boots, collecting donations for the Fire Fighters Burn Institute.

The Fire Fighters Burn Institute is a local non profit organization that many of your local Firefighters support and take great pride in. Sometimes out of tragedy, good things happen, and the FFBI is a good example of this!

In 1972, a jet airplane attempting to take off from Sacramento Executive Airport, crashed into a crowded Farrell's ice cream parlor, killing 22 people and burning many others. A Sacramento firefighter, Gene LaVine, and eight members of his family died in the fiery crash.

Shortly after the crash, Cliff Haskell, a Captain with the Sacramento Fire Department, convinced the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 to allow him to begin to work in establishing a specialized burn unit for the area. Cliff began fundraising campaigns and the Firefighters Burn Institute was formed in December 1973.

With the collaboration of physicians and administration at the University of California Davis Medical Center, it was agreed that a specialized burn treatment facility was needed. The UCDMC Regional Burn Center opened in January of 1974.

The Firefighters Burn Institute participates in local burn care, burn prevention and education, and also plays an active leadership role on a national level with the Federation of Burn Foundations and the American Burn Association.

If you are in the area of Sunrise Mall this weekend, please stop by and support this great organization. We understand that times are difficult, but any donation would be appreciated. There will also be many other “satellite” boot drives this weekend throughout Central and Northern California, all benefiting the FFBI. For more information please visit www.ffburn.org

What Does the Sacramento Fire Department Do?

2009-02-11T19:37:23Z

Yesterday the Sacramento City Council voted to try and find additional funds to prevent closing a second fire engine in the Sacramento Fire Department. The City Council, Mayor, and the City Manager are all working very hard to try and avoid this additional engine closure. The task they have is very difficult.

I have been bombarded with questions and comments pertaining to our Fire Department. People ask me on the street, readers comment in newspapers, and I receive telephone calls. Most of the people I speak with appreciate the job that your Sacramento Firefighters do, but many do not understand how or why we operate the way we do. The Fire Service, including your Sacramento Fire Department, historically has not done a very good job of informing the public about our jobs and what we do. I will try and change that! Here are some of the questions and comments that I get.

“Why do you send the big fire engine to a medical aid call?” Our Fire Engine and Truck Companies are all staffed with EMT’s and Paramedics. All of our personnel are also Firefighters! Our Fire Stations are geographically placed throughout the City and this equipment can usually get to the emergency much faster than our ambulances can. Because of the serious threat of fire and rescue emergencies, we have more fire engines and truck companies than we have ambulances.

If your heart stops, you will be dead in about 4 minutes. All of our Engines and Trucks carry Heart Defibrillators and Advanced Life Support gear and both Paramedics and EMT’s are trained to use this life saving equipment. During a call where a person’s heart has stopped and we are administering CPR, manpower is extremely important. One Firefighter has to do the chest compressions, one has to maintain the victims airway, another has to administer the advanced life support drugs, one has to get the ambulance and its equipment ready for transport, the Captain usually has to do the documenting and taking care of the victims family and friends. The patient has to be “packaged” and loaded onto the gurney and sometimes carried down many flights of stairs to the waiting ambulance.

To do this and many other medical aid calls is very labor intensive. And yes, this is a very typical call for us, one that we respond to many times on any given day.

“I was in a fender bender and 6 Firefighters showed up, and I wasn’t even hurt!” Car accidents can be very serious. We always respond at least one Fire Engine and one Ambulance to vehicle accidents.

Victims can be trapped; the car can be on fire. Removing victims from mangled cars takes a lot of personnel. There is broken glass, jagged metal, leaking fuel and the possibility of fire. We also need to make the accident scene as safe as possible for both the victims and the Firefighters. The “big Fire Truck or Engine” can block traffic and prevent others from running into to us!

If it is only a fender bender and no one is hurt, what we typically do is release the ambulance, so it can respond to other calls and we will stand by and wait for law enforcement. If another call comes in, we can always leave the scene and respond to the next emergency.

The main thing to remember is that usually in any emergency our Dispatchers receive many 911 calls. Until we actually arrive and see what we have, we do not know the true extent of the emergency. On many emergencies that we get called for, we immediately release equipment and make them available for other calls, if the emergency doesn’t require the dispatched fire equipment.

“How come some local Fire Agencies have only three Firefighters on their Fire Engines and you guys have four?” The Sacramento Fire Department operates with four Firefighters on every Engine and Truck Company. There are many reasons for this. There was a time that we operated with five Firefighters on all equipment.

The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is the organization in this country that sets standards for the fire service. The NFPA is not a labor or management organization. It is made up of people from many different backgrounds, people who have an interest in fire safety and prevention. Building Industry officials, Government officials, Firefighters, Fire Equipment Manufacturers and many more. The NFPA has set many standards and one of them states that Fire Engine and Truck Companies, to do their job properly and safely, should have as a minimum, four Firefighters assigned to them at all times. The standard even states that some companies should have five personnel assigned!

The Sacramento Fire Department has a much more diverse geographical area than the surrounding fire agencies do. In Sacramento we have many older buildings, high rise buildings, multiple story offices and apartments. Our life safety targets are high within the City limits. We also have the typical suburbs and even wildland areas.

With four persons on all of our apparatus we have the ability to quickly attack the fire and rescue any trapped occupants. Three personnel would only slow us down and hamper our ability to keep the fire small, and rescue trapped victims. A good example of this was the recent fire on H Street. It is my opinion that if we would have operated with three person companies, we would have probably lost that entire building and possibly the buildings next door!

“Why do you work 24 hours and fully staff your fire stations at night time?” Some people think that we only sleep at night and never respond to calls. After being on the job going on 29 years, I wish that this was true! It is very rare for any of our Firefighters to sleep all night. We get many calls after hours, and most of our more devastating and fatal fires happen late at night and early in the morning. Sleep is a luxury our Firefighters usually only get at home!

“Recently the Fire Inspectors showed up at my place of business to inspect my fire extinguishers, and these inspectors came in a big fire truck!” The Sacramento Fire Department has a Fire Prevention Bureau. The Fire Prevention Officers have a wide range of responsibilities, including building and business inspections, code enforcement, plan checks, and much more. However they do not ride in Fire Engines. They use staff cars.

What this person saw was their local Firefighters doing their “Monthly Business Inspections”. Every fire station is assigned to do monthly business inspections. This is when your Firefighters will come to your business, and look for any possible fire or safety problems. The Firefighters have the ability to write “correction notices”. If the problem is severe, they can refer to Fire Prevention who can write “citations” and in extreme cases even close down the business, until the problem is corrected.

As an Engine Captain, I would say that the main purpose for having me and my crew out doing business inspections is so that we can become familiar with your building and business. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have been at a fire or some other type of emergency, that it has helped me in knowing the layout of the building, where the fire hydrants and fire sprinkler connections are, where the best access points are, where some hazardous materials are stored. The list goes on and on. It pays for us to know your building inside and out!

“There aren’t that many fires in Sacramento, so what do you guys do all day?” Unfortunately in Sacramento we do have many fires. On any typical day we have at least one “working structure fire”. We have many more car fires, garbage and trash fires, brush fires, etc. We are also one of the Nations first Fire Departments that have trained Haz Mat Personnel. We run many medical aid calls and other calls for service.

Your emergency becomes our emergency and we do our best and are always ready to assist you! We also maintain our apparatus and equipment. You will not see any dirty, rusty, or poorly maintained fire equipment on any of our apparatus. We believe that this equipment can save our lives and lives of others, and unless they are in good working condition, we will not be able to depend on it in an emergency. We take great pride in our gear and equipment.

We also take pride in the training that we do. We train each and every day in some way. Without the training we do, we cannot be ready for the emergency when it hits!

And yes we do cook and eat, doesn’t everybody? Some of our Fire Houses have four persons and some have as many as eleven. Preparing for these meals is a job in itself, but like anything else that we may be doing, and you can use your imagination, when the bell hits, we stop what we are doing and we are out of the house in about one minute!

“And why do you still get cats out of trees?” We still respond to “cat in the tree” calls as well as other types of non-emergencies, because the public has grown to expect us to. Even though I have never seen a cat skeleton in a tree, we typically try and help the citizen get their cat down! Even though this is not a true emergency, we all carry radios and if another emergency is dispatched, we respond and we’ll come back to the cat call at a later time.

I really appreciate the opportunity I have to do this at Sacramento Press. To be able to respond in a letter to the editor in other newspapers, is usually difficult and most times it gets edited. I also encourage anyone who has more questions or comments to please respond to this and I’ll try and give you an answer or response. If you rather, you can also email me at jdoucette@sfd.cityofsacramento.org

Thank you for interest and always know that your Sacramento Firefighters take our business serious and although we hope that we never have to serve you, rest assured that we are there for you when you call!

Sacramento Fire Engine Closures

2009-01-24T22:11:31Z

Someone asked me the other day about a sign outside of Sacramento Fire Department Station #2, located at 13th and I Streets. The sign announces, “Engine #2 is Closed Today”. This sign is one of many that appear on a rotating basis, every day at one Fire Station located somewhere in the City.

Earlier in 2008, because of budget cuts, the Sacramento Fire Department, along with every City Department had to reduce its budget. The Fire Department had to cut its budget by 4%. The majority of this was accomplished by “closing” one Fire Engine each day on a rotating basis. This savings is realized by not having to staff four persons each shift that may be on leave, I.E. sick leave, vacation, or injury leave. The four Firefighters, who would have worked the Engine closed for the day, are moved to another Fire Station where there is a vacancy. There is a very small additional savings in fuel and vehicle maintenance, but this is miniscule.

Not all fire stations are affected. The Engines that are closed are only the ones that work in a “double company” house. That means there is a Fire Engine and a Fire Truck stationed there. Both Fire Engines and Fire Trucks are staffed with EMT’s and most times Paramedics. Most of the emergencies we respond to are medical in nature, so these closures do not affect are ability to respond, but they do increase response times and they have and they can affect our ability to combat fires. And even though most of our emergencies are medical aids, the Sacramento Fire Department still responds to many fires. We are one of the Nation’s busiest Fire Departments in terms of call volume and how many actual fires we have!

So the fire station remains opened with the Truck Company, but the Engine that is stationed there will be closed for the two day shift. The next shift, another Engine somewhere else in the City will be closed for the two day shift.

The Administration of the Fire Department gave it a lot of thought and it was determined to only close Fire Engines, not Fire Trucks. The thought behind this is that the primary responsibility of a Fire Truck at the scene of the fire is to rescue trapped occupants. The primary responsibility of the Engine Company is to get water on the fire. Now in all honesty you have a hard time doing either without both Fire Engines and Fire Trucks and their personnel on scene. The decision to close only Engines was not an easy one, but it had to be made. The Fire Department is constantly evaluating this decision, and if need be, this could change in the future.

With the budget problems we currently are in and with no “light at the end of the tunnel”, we hope to prevent future company closures, but this cannot be guaranteed. The importance of having a fully staffed Fire Department couldn’t have been more evident, with the recent fire we had at 13th and H Street.

Below is a list of the current Fire Stations and their locations that continue to have a Fire Engine closed on a rotating basis every day:

Station #2 1231 I Street
Station #5 731 Broadway
Station #6 3301 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Station #7 6500 Wyndham Drive
Station #10 5642 66th Street
Station #16 7363 24th Street
Station #17 1311 Bell Avenue
Station #20 2512 Rio Linda Blvd.
Station #30 1901 Country Club Drive

Sacramento Fire Department History

2009-01-07T20:19:53Z

After our recent fire at 13th and H Streets involving a historical Victorian building, I thought about not only the history of that building, but the history of the Sacramento Fire Department. When this particular building was built, almost 100 years ago, the Sacramento Fire Department was already one of the nation’s oldest Fire Departments.

The Sacramento Fire Department has a very rich history! The Sacramento Fire Department was established on February 5, 1850 when California’s first Fire Company was organized, Mutual Hook and Ladder Company #1. This first Fire Truck was a hand drawn piece of apparatus. The Sacramento Fire Department was an all volunteer force then, much like the rest of the nation’s Fire Departments. None of the apparatus was motorized; it was either hand or horse drawn.

The Fire Department grew from here and in 1872 the State Legislature passed a bill creating a paid Sacramento Fire Department. One reason for creating a paid department was that the Legislature wanted a reliable firefighting force to protect the State Capitol building. It was a good thing to establish this “new” type of Fire Department. Sacramento, like many other cities of that era, had many devastating fires.

Most residents of Sacramento know that we sit at the confluence of two mighty rivers and that Sacramento is prone to flooding. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that Sacramento also burned! There were many conflagrations in the early days of Sacramento. And fires today continue to threaten our City.

Back in the early days of the Sacramento Fire Department, the job as a Firefighter was pretty one dimensional, they fought fires! Today the department does much more. We still fight fires, and in Sacramento we fight a lot of them! Our EMT’s and Paramedics render high quality medical aid and transport patients to area hospitals. We are trained and respond to a variety of our City and Nation’s emergencies. Heavy Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, Hazardous Materials Response, Urban Search and Rescue, High and Low Angle Rescue, Wild Land fires, and much, much more. We also have Public Education and Fire Prevention programs.

The Sacramento Fire Department has not really grown much over the past 50 years, in terms of manpower, but our responsibilities have definitely increased! The fire at H Street made me realize the significance of our lengthy history and that we live and work in a very historical city. If you are interested in the history of our Fire Department, I would recommend the book; “Memories of the Fire Service’, written in 1941 by Sacramento Fire Captain Harvey Michael Heiser. Also visit the site of our “Pioneer Mutual Hook and Ladder Society” at http://www.rcip.com/pmhls/

H Street Fire 12-30-08

2008-12-31T19:37:26Z

Yesterday afternoon I had just sat down for Coffee at Peet’s on J Street with two of our Battalion Chiefs when the call came in for the apartment fire on H Street. The two Chiefs and I responded and were on scene right after the first arriving fire company. Heavy fire was engulfing the upper floor of the Victorian building. It was a good thing that our Firefighters were able to arrive on scene in about two minutes!

A second alarm was requested and our Firefighters went to work protecting the two adjacent buildings and attacking the main body of the fire. It took a few minutes but our crews were able to knock down the fire and prevent it from spreading to the adjacent buildings and to the lower floors of the Victorian.

Victorian style buildings as well as many of the older style construction that we see in the downtown area of Sacramento, make our job as Firefighters a little more difficult. A lot of these buildings are over 100 years old and many are built with what we call “balloon” construction. That means that the walls of the building run continuous from the ground to the attic with no fire breaks inside the walls. Basically you have a chimney from the basement to the attic and the fire spreads very fast. Fortunately, over time the building codes have changed and this type of construction is not allowed anymore. Another issue we face in the downtown area is how close these old buildings are to one another.

I get questions all of the time about why we send so many Firefighters to the downtown area on a fire. In the City a typical first alarm assignment for a structure fire is to send three Fire Engines, Two Fire Trucks, (Engines carry hose, water and have the pump, and the Trucks have the big ladder on top and carry the rescue equipment.) one Medic, (Ambulance) and two Battalion Chiefs. On all structure assignments downtown we send five Engines, three Trucks, two Medics, three Battalion Chiefs, and the EMS Captain. As you can see that is a lot of manpower and equipment! We have learned over time that it is better to send a lot of resources on downtown responses, and if they are not needed, we can easily turn them back!

Our Firefighters did a great job on this fire! This fire could have easily destroyed the entire building as well as the next door units. The Firefighters who work for you take their job very serious and we constantly train and do our best to be prepared for fires like this and for the every other type of the 70,000 plus calls we have every year!

The Sacramento Fire Department is one of the nation’s busiest Fire Departments. Fortunately we do not have these types of fires every day; however we typically have one or two structure fires each and every day somewhere in the City. We appreciate the support and comments we received yesterday from the fire victims and the people who were watching the fire. Our job can be very difficult at times, but all of us love doing it and we love serving this City.

Carbon Monoxide Poisons Family of Five

2008-12-10T18:25:15Z

About one month ago I wrote an article for the SP about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide. Last night we had the Sacramento Fire Departments first emergency call of the season with Carbon Monoxide. A family had been using their fire place all day and they also had been using two gasoline power generators inside their closed garage for at least one month. The fireplace may have not been venting properly, and of course using generators inside your garage with no ventilation is a recipe for disaster.

Luckliy for them, the staff at Kaiser Hospital South recognized the sysmptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning when the mother and two boys came to Kaiser for medical treatment. These signs and symptoms include, nausea, vomiting, headache, sleepiness, and sometimes red skin color. . The hospital staff called us and when our first fire engine arrived, they found two more girls with the same symptoms. We transported the two girls to the hospital, and fortunately they should all be OK.

However this could have been a huge tragedy. I firmly believe that if not for a family member taking the Mother and her boys to the hospital, and if the family would have gone to bed last night without this problem being recognized, the entire family would have probably died. Carbon Monoxide is a poison and it kills.

This poison gas is produced by anything that burns. Fireplaces, gas stoves and heaters, gasoline and diesel powered equipment, and barbeques all produce this poison. Fortunately if these items are in good working order, if they are properly cleaned and maintained, you should not have a problem. We recommend that you have your fireplace and wood burning stove cleaned and inspected by a professional at least every year or two. All of your gas powered stoves and heaters should also be serviced and inspected periodically.

If you or family members believe that you may have a Carbon Monoxide emergency, open your windows and doors and get everyone out, and call 911. There is much more information available about the dangers of carbon Monoxide and other safety tips. A good web site is http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/

Sacramento Fire Department Disaster Search Dog Passes Away

2008-11-13T21:26:14Z

The Sacramento Fire Department regretfully announces the passing of Ana, the first nationally certified Fire Department Disaster Search Canine and the first dog certified by the Search Dog Foundation. Ana spent her last shift yesterday at Fire Station #56, and passed away last night from cancer. Ana was born on July 4, 1995 and had officially retired in February of this year.

Ana is best known for her work at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, and three separate building collapses here in Sacramento. Ana was not only a member of the crew of Fire Station #56, but she was a member of the Sacramento Fire Departments Urban Search & Rescue Task Force #7. Her handler is Sacramento Fire Department Captain Rick Lee. Captain Lee and Ana were inseparable. Ana spent most of her time with Captain Lee, both on and off duty. Those who knew and worked with Ana enjoyed her very much and were awe inspired by her strong work ethic.

Ana had been featured in several local and national news stories, a feature on National Geographic’s “Dogs with Jobs” show, a spot on “Animal Planet” and an interview with CNN. She is also featured in a book titled; “Dog Heroes of September 11th”. There is a large picture of Ana at 3rd & Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento on a fence at the former construction site.

A memorial service will be held, date and location to be announced later. Donations can be made in memory of Ana, and much more information can be found at the Search Dog Foundation at www.searchdogfoundation.org

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week

2008-11-07T00:16:47Z

Next week is California’s Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness Week, an opportunity to help educate families about this deadly threat before the weather turns colder.

In the past two years, nearly 100 Californians, many whom were children, have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in more than 20 incidents across the state. Public health experts agree that someone involved in just one CO incident may develop long-term health effects that could last a lifetime. Evidence indicates that overexposure to carbon monoxide can inflict lingering or even permanent bodily harm, such as memory loss, speech and mobility problems, or psychiatric issues, like depression.

All of these incidents may have been prevented had there been working CO alarms installed.

Odorless, colorless and tasteless, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, and having a working carbon monoxide alarm is the only safe way to detect this poisonous gas in your home.

The California Air Resources Board, in a 2005 report to the California Legislature, estimates that each year, carbon monoxide accounts for “30 to 40 avoidable deaths” and “hundreds to thousands of avoidable illnesses.”

In my work with the Sacramento Fire Department, I have seen firsthand the devastation CO poisoning has on families and know the importance of doing all we can to prevent these senseless tragedies. I encourage homeowners to make the decision to ensure maximum protection for your family and act now by updating your CO alarm or purchasing one if you don’t have one installed in your home.

By practicing good safety habits at home, families stand a much better chance of not becoming a victim of this silent killer. Don’t wait ‘til it’s too late. For more information about CO Awareness Week, carbon monoxide, and how to help protect your family, visit www.knowaboutCO.com.

Captain James Doucette
Public Information Officer
Sacramento Fire Department

Sacramento Home Fire Safety

2008-10-31T16:47:20Z

This years California Wildland Fire Season is nearing its end. This past fire season has been an ugly and deadly one. But here in Sacramento we are entering our "Urban Fire Season". What I mean by that is this is the time of year where we start seeing more structure fires and unfortunately this is usually the time of year that we experience our fire deaths.
More people are spending their time indoors for obvious reasons. With that we have fires that are caused by defective heating equipment, fireplaces, candles, cooking, and the all too common, "smoking". Now is the perfect time to go through and check the safety of your home. It's is also a very good time to sit down with your family and talk about fire safety and go over and practice a fire escape plan. Never think that fire cannot happen to you. It can and it is devastating.
In Sacramento we have twice as many fire deaths as compared to any similar sized city in California. The public needs to be proactive and make sure that they do not live or work in a fire trap. There are many resources available to the public regarding fire safety. Visit our website at www.sacfire.org to get more tips. Stop by any of our fire houses and talk with the Firefighters there. They will gladly give you some sound advice.
Probably the most important tool that you can have to help prevent fire deaths is a simple smoke detector. Smoke detectors have demonstrated time and time again that they do save lives. They do not prevent fires, but they give you warning and the time to safely escape your home in the event of fire. I can honestly say that in my 29 years as a Firefighter, I have never been on a home fire that has had a working smoke detector and someone there has died. It rarely ever happens, and if it does there is usually some other factor involved, like alcohol or drug use affecting the persons ability to safely escape.
With the change of the clocks this weekend, now is the perfect time to change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors. Only use brand new fresh batteries. Statistics have shown that over 90% of the homes in the U.S. have smoke detectors. That's the good news. The bad news is that in over 25% of the homes with detectors, the detectors do not work. Usually this is due to "dead batteries". It is a good idea to replace your smoke detectors after 10 years. They start to lose their effectiveness around then.
Please do not become a grim statistic. Make sure you and your loved ones are protected. And make sure you have working detectors in your home, preferably in every bedroom of the house. Please feel free to give me a call or drop me a note. The Sacramento Fire Department is here to serve.
Captain Jim Doucette, Public Information Officer
Sacramento Fire Department