Recruiting Update

The job announcement IRC10912 for the position of Firefighter Rescuer I (Recruit) is now closed.

Applicants can check the status of their application by logging in to iRecruit and looking for status updates such as “under review”. These status updates are normal. All applicants that are under review will be scheduled for the written exam.

Due to the large number of applicants, the written exam will be scheduled for June 6, 7, and 8, 2013. Applicants will be scheduled alphabetically by last name.

Applicants will be notified of their specific date and time approximately 1 week prior to the exam, as well as, receive information on the study guide, etc. All correspondence will be by email. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor their email and check the spam and junk mail settings / folders. MCFRS will not attempt to track down applicants or correct returned email addresses.  

Tornado Folklore

By: Rocky Lopes

There is this thing called "folklore," which by definition can include legends, oral history, and popular beliefs. Folklore creeps into some of our thinking about severe weather, and may be something you have heard or have passed on to children. Let me share some "Tornado Folklore" that many of us have heard:

Photo from NOAA's Severe Storms Lab in Norman, OK

Folklore: Tornadoes only happen in "tornado alley" -- roughly defined as states in the Midwest from Texas to Minnesota.

Truths: While many strong tornadoes happen in the Midwest, they can -- and have -- happened in every state.

In many years, more people have died as a result of tornadoes that happen east of the Mississippi River than west of the river. Why? People who live west of the Mississippi River are more accustomed to having tornadoes, and have learned what to do, when to get to shelter, and how to be safe since they were a child.

Folklore: Tornadoes never hit cities.

Truths: Since the majority of land area in the U.S. is unpopulated, it appears as if tornadoes only strike rural areas.  The relative amount of area of a city with tall buildings is small compared with the city as a whole.

Unfortunately, we learned from many past events and as recently as May, 2013, that this belief isn't true. Just ask residents of Nashville, TN; Houston and Dallas, TX; Tuscaloosa, AL; Joplin, MO; or Moore, OK.

Folklore: You need to open windows in your house to equalize air pressure before a tornado may strike, to prevent the house from exploding.

Truths: Even with windows closed, houses have enough openings to vent the pressure difference in the time it takes a tornado to pass.  Some of the strongest thunderstorms have longer duration of low air pressure -- houses do not explode during those storms, so they won't during a tornado.  Opening windows is a dangerous and useless waste of time, and could actually be harmful to the house.

Folklore: Get into the southwest corner of your basement in case of a tornado.

Truths: Being underground is definitely safer than being above ground, but no particular corner of a basement is safer than any other.  Tornadoes can come from any direction. While it may appear that tornadoes in the Midwest always move from southwest toward to northeast, that is not always true. In fact, the EF5 Tornado that hit Oklahoma in May, 2013, traveled almost due west to east.

Folklore: Tornadoes do not cross bodies of water.

Truth: Tornadoes cross rivers regularly. The stream of tornadoes that occurred on April 27, 2011, crossed many rivers in 17 states.

Folklore: Once the tornado has passed, you can go out to inspect for damage.

Truths: Some strong storms can produce more than one tornado, sometimes several tornadoes at a time. On April 27, 2011, 362 tornadoes happened from two long lines of storms, creating the largest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.

Folklore: Our area doesn't have sirens, so we will not get notified in case of a tornado.

Truths: We are fortunate in Montgomery County to have many ways to get warnings in case of tornadoes or other emergencies.

Coming soon this year, FEMA's Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system sends notifications to WEA-enabled mobile devices at no charge. Using GPS technology, these notifications appear on mobile devices in areas under warning for a tornado or other life-threatening emergency.  Get more information about Wireless Emergency Alerts here.

You should also sign up for Alert Montgomery.  This system will send alert messages to any device you specify: cell and smart phones, email accounts, PDAs, and pagers. It's free, and you can adjust settings on it to receive alerts for life safety, fire, severe weather, accidents involving utilities or roadways, and crime.

NOAA Weather Radio will sound an alert for severe weather and other emergencies that are issued for Montgomery County. Once you set it, it will provide a tone alert with a radio announcement describing what is happening and what to do. You can buy one of these radios from electronics stores.

Providers of cable television service in Montgomery County, e.g., Comcast and FiOS, will broadcast notices from the Emergency Alert System (EAS) when issued by local authorities. EAS notices are broadcast on all channels simultaneously.

Be sure to "Like" the Facebook page for theMontgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Department, and MontgomeryCounty Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

And follow MCFRS on Twitter.

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Rocky Lopes is an emergency management professional and has published numerous articles and information on disaster safety for some 25 years. He works at the National Weather Service Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and has lived in Montgomery County his entire life.

National Emergency Medical Services Week: May 19 – 25, 2013

This week is National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week, in honor of the dedicated men and women who provide critical day-to-day lifesaving services on the “frontlines” of emergencies across the country. When conditions can change in seconds, dual role firefighters/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics in Montgomery County provide sophisticated, state-of-the-art pre-hospital emergency medical care that can often mean the difference between life and death. The fire department has a rich history of protecting the health and safety of the community through an ‘all hazards’ response model and this week provides an opportunity to recognize EMS contributions of the past and build upon them for a safer tomorrow.

This year’s theme, ‘EMS: One Mission. One Team,’ recognizes the integral role of EMS providers with hospital emergency and trauma teams. Annually, 75 percent of all Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service emergency calls are EMS-related and as the public’s demand for emergency medical services has steadily increased over the years, advances in medicine and technology have increased the role of EMS providers in the field.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) has a national reputation for excellence and is continually researching and implementing innovative protocols to improve patient outcomes through advanced pre-hospital emergency medical care. In 2009, the department implemented several critical programs that demonstrate the department’s commitment to saving lives in the community. With strong evidence nationally that pre-hospital care has a profound impact on survival, the department was one of the first in the state to implement and deploy paramedic-staffed engine companies which facilitates faster access, improved pre-hospital care and enhanced patient care during an emergency. In 2010, the department established the Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) program which allows paramedics to transmit critical patient data directly and securely from remote locations to area hospitals using sophisticated technology and equipment. This new technology accelerates the diagnosis process while reducing critical time that ultimately can make a difference in patient outcome and survival.

“In recent weeks, we have seen the critical role that EMS responders play in major events and times of disaster,” said Chief Steven Lohr. “Today’s EMS system brings the first, and often critical, hour of specialized emergency care right to the patient’s side.When you have a medical emergency, you need immediate care. EMS Week provides an opportunity to recognize the often less visible members of our lifesaving team who are often first on the scene of emergencies and  medically complex calls and, on a daily basis, go above and beyond the call of duty to save lives.”

Kids and Bike Helmets: The Right Fit

Bike helmets are not optional equipment. A helmet is your last line of defense in an accident - never ride without one!

Helmets have been shown in studies to reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by 90 percent. Nationally, only 15 percent of children bicyclists used bicycle helmets. Here are some points to consider when fitting a bike helmet on a child:

• The helmet should sit on the child's head so that the front rim is just above the eyebrows. Use the two finger rule - leave about two fingers width between your eyebrows and the front of the helmet. If the helmet rests on the back of the head, the forehead, nose and chin will be exposed.
• Before buckling the chin strap, have children shake their head from side to side. The helmet should generally stay put. If it moves excessively, it's too big and won't protect the head no matter how tight the chin strap is pulled. The straps should be joined just under each ear at the jawbone.
• When the chin strap is buckled, children should be able to open their mouth and feel the helmet press firmly against the top of their head.
• Buy a new helmet. Helmets that have suffered even a single fall or have been exposed to heat for a long time (i.e., kept in the trunk of a car) lose the cohesion that keeps the helmet intact during impact.
• Don't forget to set an example by wearing a helmet yourself!

Bike Safety and Bike Helmets

Montgomery County requires anyone under age 18 to wear a bicycle helmet when riding or being carried on a bicycle, including a bicycle with training wheels, on a public street, right-of-way, sidewalk or bicycle path in the County. ¹

Your child is 14 times more likely to survive a bike crash if he/she is wearing a helmet. Each year in the United States, approximately 250 children die in bicycle-related accidents, and about half a million are injured in bicycling accidents. Although it's estimated that 75% of the serious injuries could have been avoided if a helmet was worn, only about 20% of children in the United States wear a helmet.

Get the Helmet to Fit Right

Step 1: Make sure the helmet fits firmly.

Helmets are sold with foam pads that differ in thickness to make the helmet fit firmly. Use the foam pads by attaching them to the inside of the helmet until the helmet fits firmly on your child's head. The helmet should not move around when shaken.

Step 2: Make sure the helmet sits level on the child's head.

This means the helmet should cover the top of the forehead, just above the eyebrows. Wearing the helmet too far back is a common mistake. You should be able to place just two fingers between the eyebrows and the front of the helmet. Take off anything that could change the way a helmet fits (baseball caps, big hair clips, headphones, etc.).

Step 3: Position the straps correctly.

All straps should be snug but still comfortable. Fix the side straps so that they fit around your child's ear in a V-shape. Adjust the buckles or slides on the side strap so that they are right under theear. Tighten the chin strap until you can fit just one finger between the strap and your child's chin.

Check the fit of the helmet every time. Use the 2-V-1 finger test. Teach your child to do this test each time he gets ready to ride:

• Two fingers above the eyebrows
• V-Shape under each ear
• One finger under the chin strap
• Make sure that the helmet has a label to say that it meets safety standards, such as CSA, CPSC, ASTM, or Snell.

After taking a serious hit, helmets lose their capacity to absorb shock. They're designed that way so that the inner foam structure is altered by a very hard blow. If your child ever has a significant fall or hits any surface hard with the helmet, immediately replace the helmet. Don't Negotiate. It is estimated that 75% of bicycle-related deaths among children could be prevented with a bicycle helmet. Wearing one should never be optional for your child.

¹ Excerpted from the Montgomery County Code, Sec. 7-2 - Bicycle Helmets

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Earns Prestigious Congressional Fire Service Industry Excellence in Fire Service-Based Award

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service received the Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS award at the 25^th Annual Congressional Fire and Emergency Services dinner this week. The award is designed to recognize best practices and highlight innovations in the delivery of emergency medical services.

Established in 1989, the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy institute that works with members of Congress in promoting fire and life safety issues. Working with other national fire service organizations, the Institute focuses its attention on issues that benefit all first responders. Members of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, the largest caucus in Congress, look to CFSI for guidance and information to enhance their level of understanding about the challenges and needs of the nation’s fire and EMS communities. Each year, CFSI and the MedicAlert Foundation honor and recognize departments that have made outstanding contributions.

Annually, 75 percent of all Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service emergency calls are EMS-related and the demand for emergency medical services can quickly challenge available resources. Since 2009, the department has developed and implemented several critical programs that demonstrate the department’s commitment to saving lives in the community. With strong evidence nationally that pre-hospital care has a profound impact on survival, the department was one of the first in the state to implement and deploy paramedic-staffed engine companies, which facilitates faster access, improved pre-hospital care and enhanced patient care during an emergency. 

When every second counts, receiving the right medical care in minutes can mean the difference between life and death. The window of time from when a patient starts experiencing heart attack symptoms to the moment the patient receives treatment is a critically important period. In 2010, the department established the Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) program which allows paramedics to transmit critical data directly and securely from remote locations to area hospitals using sophisticated technology and equipment. The new technology accelerates the diagnosis process while shaving off critical time that ultimately can make a difference in patient outcome and survival.

While hospitals and first responders have many protocols in place to ensure that cardiac patients are diagnosed and treated quickly, providing this early diagnosis “en route” ensures that the hospital team will be mobilized and standing by to intervene with angioplasty, as needed, so that blocked heart vessels can be opened, blood flow to the heart restored and heart muscle (and lives) saved.  The time period from diagnosis to the opening of the vessels is known as “door to balloon” or D2B time. According to guidelines by the American Heart Association, optimal D2B time is 90 minutes or less.

“This award reflects our ongoing investment in and dedication to excellence in our Fire and Rescue Service,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “I am very proud of the hard work of each and every member of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service who has placed us in a position to be nationally recognized for this prestigious award.”

“This award is testament to the commitment and dedication of the entire department and also reflects the hard work and collaboration of our hospital partners,” said Fire Chief Steve Lohr. “We strive to stay on the leading edge of the most advanced technology and industry practices available which translates into providing the best possible care - - one patient at a time.”

With strong evidence that rapid response by fire and EMS personnel, combined with state-of-the- art technology and pre-hospital care, these projects are examples of teamwork and technology saving lives.