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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnnual Report of the Fire Department 1981r Cayuga Heights Fire Department 19 81 � F M 'f)• ANNUAL REPORT CAYUGA HEIGHTS FIRE DEPARTMENT 194 PLEASANT GROVE ROAD ITHACA. NEW .YORK February 169 1982 Honorable Frederick G. Mareham, Mayor Members of the Board of Trustees Village of Cayuga Heights I am submitting herewith the Annual Report of the Cayuga Heights Fire Department of the year ending December 31, 1981. The Department responded to 204 emergencies of which 67 were general alarms, 30 were incident investigations, and 107 were Rescue Squad calls. This means the general alarms were 28 less than the previous year. There were 2 more incident calls, and 22 more rescue calls during the year. The insured fire loss for the Village in 1981 was $2,065 down slightly from $3,107 the year before. The loss in the part of the Town of Ithaca that we call our Fire Protection District was $44,530, up from the amount of $29,730 for the year 1980. Most of this loss was one barn owned by Cornell University which was full of hay and valued at a total of $39,500. Our volunteer Fire Department has an active membership of 48 persons. Of these members, there are 34 active firemen and 14 active fire police. We are a volunteer Fire Department and we urge anyone interesthd' in helping out,to talk to any member of the Department. A special thanks to all members of the Fire Department for the hours they have spent at fire calls, rescue calls,drills, fire schools, first aid classes, work details, meetings, and pumping basements. The Rescue Squad has been very busy for the year. The number of rescue calls has passed the number of fire calls for the first time. I wish to thank the Rescue Squad for the excellant service they are performing for the community. I also want to thank the Mayor and the Board of Trustees for the support and cooperation they have given me since I became the Fire Chief. Without their help, we would not have a Fire Department. Respectfully submitted, Francis L. Miller Fire Chief - 1 - "HELP PREVENT FIRES" TABLE OF CONTENTS OFFICERS - Fire Department and Fire Company CLASSIFICATION AND NUMBER OF ALARMS FIRE CAUSES TYPE OF SITUATION FOUND FIRE LOSS INCIDENT RESPONSES MUTUAL AID MANPOWER EQUIPMENT USED AT ALARMS EQUIPMENT USED AT INCIDENTS VEHICLE STATUS RESCUE SQUAD TRAINING FIRE PREVENTION FIRE INSPECTION AND SAFETY REPORT - 2 - PAGE 3 4 5 6 T 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 OFFICERS OF THE CAYUGA HEIGHTS FIRE DEPARTMENT Francis L. Miller • Edward C. Collins • W. Warren Buck • Daniel R. Rogers Christian M. Boissonnas John P. Millier David H. Bessel Richard A. Vorhis Fire Chief 1st Assistant Fire Chief 2nd Assistant Fire Chief 3rd Assistant Fire Chief lot Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenant 3rd Lieutenant 4th Lieutenant (Fire Police) OFFICERS OF THE CAYUGA HEIGHTS FIRE COMPANY NO. 1, INC. Theodore P. Penalver Edward L. Kabelac Frederick B. Warner James G. Bennett Peter Kuniholm +' Ronald E. Anderson +► John W. Patte President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Assistant Treasurer Fire Warden Fire Warden " Denotes Member of the Fire Council - 3 - CLASSIFICATION AND NUMBER OF ALARMS VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT MUTUAL AID NON NON NON FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRES FIRES PUBLIC ASSEMBLY Education 1 2 1 10 - - RESIDENCE Apartment - 1 3 3 1 - Dormitory - 5 - 1 - - Private Duelling 4 6 2 1 1 - MERCANTILE Stores 1 1 - - - - Utilities - 1 - - - - Special Properties 3 - 2 1 - - Motor Vehicle 1 - 2 1 1 - Other 1 3 - - - Stand By - - - - 4 1 TOTALS 11 18 13 17 7 1 _4_ 0 FIRE CAUSES The Fire Department responded to 24 actual fires during the year 1981. Listed below are what we believe to be the causes of the fires, broken down between the Village and the Fire District. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRES VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT Incendiary Act 2 1 Misuse of Heat of Ignition 3 3 Misuse of Material Ignited - 1 Mechanical Failure of Malfunction 5 5 Construction,Design,or Installation Deficiency 1 1 Other Act of Omission - 2 TOTALS 11 13 Listed below is a breakdown of the equipment we believed the fires started in. EQUIPMENT INVOLVED IN IGNITION VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT Heating System 2 - Cooling Equipment 1 2 Airconditioning, Refrigeration Equipment - 1 Electrical Distribution Equipment 1 - Electrical Appliances and Equipment 1 1 Special Equipment - 2 Service or Maintenance Equipment 2 - Other Object(any not covered above) 4 7 TOTALS 11 13 - 5 - TYPE OF SITUATION FOUND VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT MUTUAL AID Fire 11 13 6 Hazardous Condition 3 - - Alarm No Fire 7 10 - False Alarm (Malicious) - 1 - Electrical Problem 3 2 - Other 5 4 - Stand By - - 2 TOTALS 29 30 8 -6- 0 FIRE LOSS VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS FIRE DISTRICT 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 Buildings and Contents 46,451.49 5,943.42 12,557.00 2,200.00 65.00 Motor Vehicles 4,580.00 3,333.56 2,013.00 907.00 2,000.00 Exposure Loss -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- TOTALS 51,031.49 9,276.98 14,570.00 3,107.00 2,065.00 FIRE DISTRICT The Cayuga Heights Fire Department extinguished 3 fires during the year 1981 which were listed as incendiary acts. These fires made a total of $39,505.00 in property value lost for the year. -7- 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 Buildings and Contents 3,735.00 4,000.00 96,965.36 29,730.10 39,530.00 Motor Vehicles 1,050.00 72.56 1,200.00 -0- 5,000.00 Exposure Loss -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- TOTALS 4,785.00 4,072.56 98,165.36 29,730.10 44,530.00 The Cayuga Heights Fire Department extinguished 3 fires during the year 1981 which were listed as incendiary acts. These fires made a total of $39,505.00 in property value lost for the year. -7- SITUATION FOUND Alarm Malfunction Assist Other Departments Assist Cayuga Heights Police Electrical Problem Flooding Gas Odor Investigation Open Locked Door Smoke Investigation 'Water Leak INCIDENT RESPONSES VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT MUTUAL AID 5 2 - 3 1 1 1 2 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 3 1 - 1 - 1 - 4 - - 1 - - TOTALS 16 1/3 10 1/3 3 1/3 The above totals do not reflect truly the work put in by the members of the Fire Department during the year. One of the above calls,divided into thirds for the report,represents three solid days of work adding up to 367 manhours as a result of the flood of October 1981. - 8 - 9 1 15 23 30 42 46 52 67 ALARM 41 vtir��7 GIVEN TO WHAT WE DID VARNA STOOD BY AT VARNA FIRE HOUSE VARNA STOOD BY AT VARNA FIRE HOUSE LANSING ASSISTED AT GARAGE FIRE LANSING NORTH APARTMENTS LANSING ASSISTED AT TRACTOR FIRE 899 CAYUGA HEIGHTS ROAD ITHACA STOOD BY AT ITHACA STATION N9 VARNA STOOD BY AT VARNA FIRE HOUSE ITHACA STOOD BY AT ITHACA FIRE CENTRAL VARNA ASSISTED AT ABANDONED HOUSE FIRE ON FREESE ROAD RECEIVED FROM & WHERE MANPOWER EQUIP14ENT SUPPLIED VARNA ON THE SCENE 14 1 TANKER, 1 PORTABLE POND LANSING ON THE SCENE 25 1 ENGINE, 1 HOSE TRUCK,2000' of 6" HOSE ITHACA IN OUR STATION 3 1 ENGINE CORNELL ON THE SCENE 5 1 BACIMOE, 1 DOZER It is becoming more common for volunteer firemen to help other fire departments during daytime fires if they happen to be in the vicinity of n.fire call. We are also receiving much aid in this manner. We welcome the aid given by other departments if they are called by us or if they show up on the scene and offer help. New York State has improved the in- surance situation in regards to mutual aid given and received by other departments in this State. With the daytime response of all departments down, we welcome what the State has done for us. - 9 - r MANPOWER RESPONSE ALARMS MEMBERS AVERAGE RESPONDING RESPONSE Fire Alarms (days) (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) 36 434 12.1 Fire Alarms (evenings) (4:00 p.m. to 12:00 mid.) 24 397 16.5 Fire Alarms (nights) (12:00 mid. to 8:00 a.m.) 7 76 10.9 TOTALS 67 907 Incident Calls (days) (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) 12 46 3.8 Incident Calls (evenings) (4:00 p.m. to 12:00 mid.) 17 71 4.2 Incident Calls (nights) (12:00 mid. to 8:00 a.m.) 1 3 3.0 TOTALS 30 130 1BMBERSHIP Active Volunteer Firemen in the Department 34 Active Volunteer Fire Police in the Department 14 48 During the year 1981 the Fire Department had 5 rev members join- f=d_Ve had 5 members resign. - 10 - EQUIPMENT USED AT ALARMS Adapters, hose couplers 2 Ladder, Aerial Air Packs 8 Ladder,Extension Axes 2 Ladder, Folding Bolt Cutters 1 Ladder, Roof Brooms 9 Master Keys Cascade, Breathing Air 1 Mops Chinning Bar 1 Nozzels, 3/4" Electric Cords 700' Nozzels, 1 31" Extinguishers, Dry Chem 5H Nozzels, 2 ;1" Extinguishers, CO2 10# Nozzels, Master Stream Extinguishers, Water 5 gal Pails Extinguishers, standby 4 Pike Poles Flood Lights, 500 Watt 3 Pitch Forks Generators 2 Pry Bars Hand Lights 28 Safety Belts Hand Tools 8 Shovels Heat Gun 3 Siamese, Gated Hose 1" 200' Smoke Ejectors Hose 1 3/4" 1000' Squeeges Hose 2 ;1" 600' Water Hose 3" 900' Wet Vac Hose 6" 2000' 'dyes Hose,Booster line 2050' Hose,Hard Suction 20' Hose Bridges 2 Hydrant Wrenches 2 Indian Tanks 5 - 11 - 45' 24' 10' 42' 1 3 10 12 5 1 3 9 4 2 2 2 1 8 4 150,735 gal. 1 1 0 j 1 Cascade, Breathing Air Electric Cords Flares Flood Lights, 500 Watt Generators Handlights Hard Suction Hose Hose, ill " Pike Poles Pitch Forks Screwdrivers Spanner Wrenches Traffic Cones Trash Pumps Water Wet Vac Wrecking Bar EQUIPMENT USED IN INCIDENTS 1 200' 15 3 3 15 110' 600' 7 2 2 12 4 9 2000 gal. 2 1 - 12 - A � VEHICLE STATUS First Line Until Reserve Until Engine 201 (1968) 1000 G.P.M. pumper 1983 1988 Engine 202 (1980) 1500 G.P.M. pumper 1995 2000 Engine 203 (1975) 1250 G.P.M. pumper 1990 1995 Truck 234 (1974) Ladder Truck 1989 1994 Squad 241 (1969) Rescue Truck 1982 -- DEPARTMENT VEHICLE DATA These vehicles are driven for driver training, drills, and weekly checks as well as for alarms and incident calls. Without this extra driving, the Fire Department would not know if the trucks were operating properly nor would we have the qualified operators to use the equipment at fire calls. As normal, an excellant job of keeping the vehicles in the best operating condition possible was done by our member John Patte. Mr. Patte has responded to our call at any time of the day or night to repair the trucks and put them back into service after calls. We have been able to keep 241 on the road for another year with the help of Mr. Patte, several of our members, and some of the students and teachers at H.O.C.E.S. This is our way of thanking these persons. Ye hope to have the truck replaced in the coming year. The Ladder on 234 was tested this past summer, and some minor repair work was done on the vehicle. The one year old Sanford pumper 202 has been living up to our expectations. - 13 - Alarm Incident Miles Vehicle Responses Responses Driven Fuel Used Engine 201 5 - 251.5 106.2 Engine 202 59 2 1071.0 , 278.0 Engine 203 38 2 471.9 192.1. Truck 234 33 - 602.0 294.4 Squad 241 39 126 811.3 194.9 These vehicles are driven for driver training, drills, and weekly checks as well as for alarms and incident calls. Without this extra driving, the Fire Department would not know if the trucks were operating properly nor would we have the qualified operators to use the equipment at fire calls. As normal, an excellant job of keeping the vehicles in the best operating condition possible was done by our member John Patte. Mr. Patte has responded to our call at any time of the day or night to repair the trucks and put them back into service after calls. We have been able to keep 241 on the road for another year with the help of Mr. Patte, several of our members, and some of the students and teachers at H.O.C.E.S. This is our way of thanking these persons. Ye hope to have the truck replaced in the coming year. The Ladder on 234 was tested this past summer, and some minor repair work was done on the vehicle. The one year old Sanford pumper 202 has been living up to our expectations. - 13 - Rescue Squad 1981 was another busy and important year for the department's rescue squad. Along with a substantial increase in calls we were also able to implement the advanced life support program discussed in last year's report. • As can be seen from the chart below, the total number of calls increased and the ratio of calls between the Town and the Village has shifted back to the Village. 1981 1980 1979 Village 45 42.0 36 42.3 25 36.7 Town 35. 32.7 37 43.5 27 39.7 Mutual Aid 27 25.2 12 14.1 16 23.5 Total 107 85 68 The number of mutual aid calls was up slightly and reflects several calls with Varna as well as a typical number with Lansing. The figures show an increase of over 25% in the total number of calls compared to last year. The increase is 55% compared to 1979 figures. The rescue squad treated 116 patients during the 107 recorded calls for 1981. This is an increase of 12.6 compared to 1980 and 61% compared to 1979. The following chart shows a breakdown of calls by gneral type. 1981 1980 1979 # % # o # p Medical Emergency 45 42.0 29 34.1 28 41.1 Cardiac Related 18 16.8 13 15.2 7 • 10.2 Cardiac Arrest 6 5.6 5 5.8 7 10.2 Respiratory Problems 9 8.4 NA 0 NA 0 Accident 13 12.1 18 21.1 13 19.1 Motor Vehicle Accident 15 14.0 18 21.1 12 17.6 Assult 0 0 0 0 1 1.4 Aircraft Crash 0 0 1 1.1 0 0 Suicide 1 .9 1 1.1 0 0 Total 107 85 68 The percentage of cardiac related calls and cardiac arrests continues to remain constant at 20 -22 %. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint the specific reason(s) for this consistent trend. Fortunately, this is an area in which the rescue squad is particularly well trained and equiped to handle. This is even truer now that we have two members trained in advanced life support and three more currently enrolled in the advanced classes. - 14 - 1 6 The advanced life support training that our members have or are presently receiving, will allow them to start intervenous lines, insert advanced airways, apply medical anti -shock trousers (MAST) and do advanced oxygen therpy and suctioning. The fact that this type of treatment can be in- stituted minutes before the arrival of the ambulance could make a major difference in the outcome of the call. The total class time required for this level of advanced training is 50 plus classroom hours and 50 - 100 hospital hours. The third level of advanced training, pre - hospital critical care, will probably not be avail- able for rescue squads in the near future. However, it is consistantly available on the ambulances which respond into our fire protection dis- trict. The rescue squad spent a total of 328 plus hours treating patients. This is an increase of 79% and is largely accounted for by the increased num- ber of calls and the advanced life support concept. Figures for the en- tire County reflect a similar increase which is being attributed to spend- ing more time on the scene stabilizing the patient under direction from the hospital. The days of "grab and run" are trully over, at least in Tompkins County. It is also interesting to note that members of the rescue squad contri- buted a total of 5,616 manhours to the rescue squad including time spent on calls. While all of this time was not actually spent on calls, it was spent on duty. When a squad member is on duty, including weekends, he is expected to remain available and within the fire protection dis- trict. While this does not completely prohibit family and social act- ivities, it does place substantial restrictions on the on -duty squad members. During the past year the members of the rescue squad met an average of one and a half times per month for special training sessions lasting around two hours. At the present time we have four members taking the 81 hour basic Emergency Medical Technician course and as noted earlier three members are taking the advanced life support courses. Two members have completed the same advanced courses. When all of the courses are completed the squad will have received around 720 hours of training or an average of 60 hours per man. This is in addition to the state fire courses, department fire training and meetings. There seems to be little doubt that 1982 will see an increase in the number of rescue calls, although the increase may not be as dramatic. One thing, however, is certain. The total number of manhours will surely increase as the squad becomes more involved with advanced life support. Over the past year, the Village and the Fire Company have been generous and supportive of the rescue squad and its needs. Chief Miller has also been very supportive from the Fire Department point of view. With the continued assistance and support of all of the parties mentioned above I would expect 1982 to be another year of growth and development. - 15 - 1 6 FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING FOR THE YEAR 1981 The Fire Company training was again handled by the Lieutenants of the Fire Department under the direction of 2nd Assistant Chief Warren Buck and 3rd Assistant Chief Dan Rogers. The drills covered most aspects of fire fighting from smoke masks to master stream hose lines, from injuries to rescue work, from gas problems to disaster preparedness. With more officers involved in the drill sessions, the quality of the drills has improved greatly as has the depth of the drills. There was a total of 45.5 hours of instruction offered to the Fire Department members in the twice a month drills this year. Also offered were 12 hours of instruction in pumping and operating the fire trucks. 'We were involved in 2 mutual aid drills with Varna Fire Department which added 8 hours to the training. The State of New York offers many courses taught by qualified instructors which some of our members took this year. There are also courses taught at the State Fire Academy at Montour Falls which two of our members went to this year. State seminars in Syracuse and Binghamton were attended by 7 members during the year. Also was the instruction received by the Rescue Squad members in college courses. - 16 - 1 r FIRE PREVENTION The members of the Cayuga Heights Volunteer Fire Department like to believe the importance of fire prevention training has been proven in our area. The Fire Department responded to 67 fire alarms during the year V 1981 as compared to 97 alarms the year before. As in the past our members have given tours of the fire house, handed out fire prevention literature to visitors, and used any other method of spreading the word of fire prevention to the community we could dream up. We would welcome any person or group to the fire house to give tours of the building. We will arrange to take equipment to any other nearby location for demonstrations. We have access to films which are meant to be used in fire prevention programs for all ages. Anyone interested should talk to any Fire Department member or if you can not reach one, a call could be placed to the Cayuga Heights Village Hall and you will be told how to contact someone. - 17 - i I FIRE INSPECTION AND SAFETY REPORT The fire inspection program continues to be a community service orientated program, and one that has achieved excellent cooperation from Village res- idents. i In addition to conducting fire inspection of the Northeast School, DeWitt Jr. High School, BOCES, the Day Care Centers within the Cayuga Heights School building, multiple residences, and commercial properties, assistance has been given to numerous Cayuga Heights residents concerning the installation of wood burning stoves and fire detectors. Meetings were also attended during which time architects presented plans for proposed building projects. The New York State Occupational Safety and Health Act became effective in January 1981. As a result of this law, safety inspections are now being made of Village properties and work crew operations. Employees Injury Reports are also being reviewed. During 1981, there were four injuries reported. Three were minor, the fourth, a back injury resulted in the employee being unable to work for four days.