Cal Fire points us to Ready For Wildfire, an informational program to educate potential fire victims in the wildland-urban interface.

In the video below Cal Fire reminds homeowners it is their responsibility to take action to prepare their property against approaching fire.  They break it down to three steps, Ready, Set, Go.  Have a look.

From ClickOn Detroit – The Detroit Fire Department could adjust to a looming 15 percent budget cut by allowing some abandoned buildings burn to the ground, according to the city’s top fire official.
Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin said his is creating three proposals for Mayor Dave Bing to consider when making deep reductions to the 2012-13 budget, likely to be below this fiscal year’s $183 million. Detroit is going through a state-monitored budget overhaul under a deal reached between Gov. Rick Snyder and city officials, an alternative to a state-appointed emergency manager……..
One of Austin’s proposals would allow vacant buildings to burn if they’re more than 50 percent ablaze — as long as they’re not a risk to inhabited structures and the weather is favorable. Austin said about 40 to 60 percent of the fires in Detroit are in vacant structures.

I might take the policy a step further. Put the list of 10,000 abandoned homes designated for demolition in front of the fire department and allow them to identify all the structures on the list that could be burned safely. According to this Wall Street Journal piece the city is sitting on over $20 million in federal money set aside specifically to deal with demolition. Chief Austin should make a pitch to get some of that money. Burn one house a day with a private demolition crew to come in the following day with a dozer, loader and dumper. Pre-plan, execution and clean up, three days from beginning to end. Surely this would cut into the typical $10,000 costs to demolish a residential dwelling.

My opinion. If the advertiser can promise a percentage of profits gained from the campaign back to the city – designated directly back to the fire department as well as the money from the ads then why not?

–Prosecutors say that laid-up L.A. city firefighter Rafael Davis was caught moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter, under the name “The Noodle:” The 35-year-old was arrested at his Lomita home at 9 a.m. this morning on suspicion of insurance fraud, according to a statement from the L.A. County District Attorney’s office. He was hit with four felony counts of insurance fraud, the office says.
Prosecutors contend that the Los Angeles Fire Department employee filed for workers compensation insurance between Dec. 2, 2008, to May 20, 2011, even as he fought in MMA bouts.–

If true Davis gave a black eye to the profession and deserves the full weight of the criminal justice system to bear down on him.

April 9, 2012
(Ridge, N.Y.) – The following information regarding the brush fire in Ridge is updated as of 5:30 p.m.:
Currently, firefighters from 109 departments in Suffolk County have responded to the scene of the brush fire, and 15 additional departments from Nassau County are en route.
A mandatory evacuation is being sought by the Riverhead Police Department for the area north to Grumman Avenue, east to Edwards Avenue, south to Peconic Avenue, and west to Wading River Manor. The Riverhead Senior Center in Riverhead, has been established as an emergency shelter.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

Follow updates on Twitter.

After some lean years as a volunteer firefighter, Jonathan Smith landed a fulltime job
with the Augusta County Virginia Fire & Rescue last fall. The young firefighters and his
wife Jennifer brought home a new baby daughter Lillian in December. With the fulltime
firefighting job he’d always wanted and a new baby, Smith had high hopes for 2012.

But the young firefighter developed a dry hacking cough that wouldn’t go away, and
flu-like symptoms. He collapsed in February and an x-ray revealed spots on his lungs
that weren’t present when he had a pre-employment medical exam a few months earlier.
Smith, a former Boy Scout, was diagnosed in February with pleural mesothelioma, an
incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs. Smith is now undergoing chemotherapy
treatment to try to slow this aggressive cancer and save his life.

Firefighters are among the workers recognized as having an occupational risk of exposure
to asbestos, which can causes malignant mesothelioma tumors in the lining of the lungs
and abdominal cavity. Firefighters are exposed to smoke, soot, byproducts of combustion
and contaminants from building materials such as asbestos, a mineral fiber used in
insulation and asbestos tiles. Firefighters may inhale airborne asbestos particles in an
older house or building damaged or destroyed by fire if they are not wearing proper
respiratory gear.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Among Firefighters

A known human carcinogen, asbestos was widely used in the construction of many
houses and buildings constructed before the early 1980s.

Many FDNY firefighters who worked at Ground Zero have experienced decreased lung function and respiratory problemssince exposure to asbestos and other toxic dust after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

According to the National Cancer Institute, a firefighter’s risk of developing
mesothelioma and asbestos-related disease depends on how much asbestos an individual is exposed to, the duration of the asbestos exposure and the chemical makeup of the asbestos fibers among other factors. But all forms of asbestos cause cancer.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is working with the United
States Fire Administration on a multi-year health study analyzing cases of cancer
and other diseases among 18,000 current and retired career firefighters. The study
will improve researchers ability to estimate the risk of cancer for firefighters and the
comparative risks to workers in other occupations.

The Stuart Draft Virginia Volunteer Fire Department, where Jonathan Smith served until
recently, held a fundraiser on March 17 to raise money for Smith’s medical treatment.
Scores of community residents attended the fundraiser to help the young firefighter who
was willing to risk his life to help them, according to the The News Leader newspaper of
Staunton, VA.

Firefighters perform their jobs with remarkable courage and bravery in the face of many
dangers. Firefighters shouldn’t have to face the avoidable risk of asbestos exposure.
Firefighters who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or suspect they’ve been
exposed to asbestos on the job should talk to a knowledgeable mesothelioma lawyer.

Seabees Can Do

Kate Novoa on the Big Sur coast posted an image on BigSurKate.com showing impressive flame length from a local fire on February 7. Kimmer in Paso Robles offered this night view of a fire near Lake Nacimiento last week.

A friend in Prather, a community in the central valley foothills at the 1,500 foot level informed me there was very little green on her property. She said the last time it was this brown this early was 2008.

2008 was the tail end of a severe drought in California and dead fuel and fuel loads were high and fuel moisture was at historic low levels. 2010 and 2011 were very wet years and total burned acreage was down. There is no reason to believe we will see a repeat of the 2008 fire season but a dry winter and spring means we’ll experience a longer burning season at the very least.

It is important for rural residents to assess their defensible space before too much longer. Though we are still due for some more rain the die has been cast, we’re dry and the fire season is beginning.

“Cliff Stabner, a 55-year-old city firefighter who retired in 2003 with a three-quarter disability pension of $95,000 annually, has surfaced as a member of the fire rescue team responding to crashes at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. The Post has obtained photos of Stabner wearing an orange jumpsuit and a helmet and standing next to a rescue vehicle at Dover’s “Monster Mile’’ track. Stabner also is a fire captain in his quaint new hometown of Lewes, Del.”

I’m not privy to the details of Stabner’s retirement. I can see how he could crew for a race team, hold a fire extinguisher, man a safety line. If he can function as a fire captain he should not be pulling down a disability pension. Maybe his pension should be redefined.

My disability pension from the state of California specifically states I cannot take a job with a similar job description as my old position, as it should be. If I could carry out the tasks of fire captain and all that goes with the title and responsibility I should still be working.

I don’t pretend to know the subtext of this issue but on the surface this is ridiculous.

“It was about 35 degrees outside. The training school is out of public view, so I was wearing a blue DCFD coat I had in order to stay warm,” he said. “He told me I’d have to remove my coat. I said I had nothing to wear. He told me I’m being insubordinate and sent me home.”
Alvarado said he has tried to get another jacket, but the department isn’t issuing them. Instead, firefighters are being told to wear the coats they use when they are sent out on calls. He said his is filthy with drywall, dust and soot from a recent fire.
“Got toxins, carcinogens, it’s not something you should be wearing. It’s designed to be in structure fires, not to be worn as a winter coat,” Alvarado said.

Story at MyFoxDC.Com.