The Fire Chief’s Blog

My colleague, Gene Dietz Director of Public Works for the City of Eden Prairie has a lot of wisdom to bestow. Gene is a very smart guy and has been around here for a long time. Gene has a lot of sayings that cut right to the chase when summing up various situations. One of those that he expressed to me he got from an article about a conference in Sacramento, California where the condition of levees was being discussed. “In Dutch there is a saying, No policy without a calamity,” cautions Sybe Schaap, a Dutch senator and president of the Dutch Association of Water Boards. Sybe was commenting on levees in California. Gene and the Dutch Senator, Schaap have it all right when it comes to that line of thought. In my fire service career I have made note of the fact that a big share of the Fire Code in the United States is built upon the aftermath of one fatal fire after another.

One such event took place on December 1, 1958 in Chicago. A Catholic School called Our Lady of Angels suffered a fire that took the lives of 92 children and three nuns. There have been other tragic school fires in the United States, but this one received so much press that it became etched into the minds of millions of people. There were many factors that played into the tragic events of that day, but one of the key factors was that this older school building was “grandfathered in” when it came to the requirement of having a fire sprinkler system and proper exiting in place. After this fire all schools were required to install these features regardless of when the building was constructed. If you’d like to find out more about this tragic fire I would suggest reading the book “Sleeping with Angels” or you can go to one of many websites devoted to the topic. A warning though, the photos, descriptions and stories are very heart wrenching and graphic.

My point here is that often Building Inspectors and Fire Inspectors are roundly criticized for code enforcement issues, like installing fire sprinkler systems, but the fact is that those systems are mandated by law only after a tragic event or series of events, just like Gene Dietz and Sybe Schaap will tell you. Or for an non fire related example one needs to look no further back that the 35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis this past summer. No doubt there will be new regulations in place as a result of the findings from the numerous investigations into that event.

In my world I’d like to see more proactive code development and acceptance so we can avoid the calamity part of the equation.

Every year, since I can remember, the Fire department has lent a helping hand to our friends at the Salvation Army by ringing the bell to collect cash donations. This year was no different. The fire department set up outside Rainbow Foods and began ringing the bell at Ten O’Clock in the morning and went until Two O’Clock in the afternoon. the Salvation Army tells us that when the fire service gets involved in the bell ringing process donations go up measurably. We are happy to help them out with their fund raising efforts. the Salvation Army does a lot of great things for those in need, they also help out firefighters at large scale emergency scenes by providing stuff to drink and eat. If you would like to donate to the Salvation Army you can go to their web site by clicking on this link.

In the first photo from left to right: Retired Firefighter Jay Bohlen, Retired Assistant Chief Tom Montgomery and Firefighter Bill Buemer. In the Second photo from left to right: Assistant Chief Steve Koering, Firefighter Kurt Schendel, Assistant Chief Rick Hammerschmidt and Fire Chaplain Tim Power. Thank you to these people as well as the other firefighters that helped out that day, but managed to avoid the camera!

As City Attorney Ric Rossow’s journey continues he stopped to take a picture of a fire truck in quarters in Phenom Phen. You’ll notice that this fire truck looks a lot like the earlier picture this week taken at the Taipei Fire Department. Obviously the manufacturer over in that part of the world uses the same chassis for most of their trucks.

As his trip continues, we’ll see what other fire departments Ric is able to visit. Ric tried going to the fire department in Siem Reap, but they moved the station from the central part of the city out to a spot near the airport some 20 minutes away, so no luck there. At the time Ric sent me the picture of the Phenom Phen truck he was arriving in Ho Chi Mihn City, perhaps Ric can send another picture from there as well.

Often when people I know travel abroad they like to visit the local fire department and send along pictures of what they found. City Attorney Ric Rossow is traveling abroad right now and sent this picture of a fire truck in Taipei. The chassis of the truck is a very common style in the Pacific Rim and most of Europe as well. While the vehicles might look different, the services provided are all very similar. Thank you, Ric for this look at the Taipei fire service.

In 2006 the State Legislature passed a law requiring CO detectors in all homes built in 2007 and all subsequent years and that all existing homes have the detectors beginning in 2008. The detectors are to be installed within 10 feet of all rooms used for sleeping. The enforcement of this law is simple during new construction, it is a routine part of the inspection process. For existing homes the requirement is much harder to enforce. In existing homes that are getting remodeling done the inspector can advise the homeowner of the requirement and inspect for compliance, in the rest of the existing homes we are counting on people to do the right thing.

CO poisoning is a real possibility and without a detector in place it is virtually impossible to detect. CO is odorless and colorless and the effects of CO sort of sneak up on the occupants. Early signs are nausea and a general feeling of sickness. These are similar to symptoms that are common with colds and flu, and thus easy to dismiss while the conditions in your home continue to worsen and your wellbeing becomes compromised.

The message here is to protect yourself and your loved ones…..Install a CO detector as a gift to yourself this Holiday Season. One of Eden Prairie’s local businesses, Menards, is promoting the use of CO detectors. We are assisting them and any other business by providing educational material on the best features to look for when you buy one. The Fire Department also has an informative brochure that you can pick-up by stopping by or sending an email to me at: gesbensen@edenprairie.org