AUGUST 2014 FIRELINE

FROM THE DESK OF THE CHIEF T H O M A S M. B I L L I N G T O N

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

ASSISTANT CHIEF 2

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 3

BATTALION 1/MEDIC 1 5

BATTALION 2 6

TRAINING 7-8

COMPANY NEWS & EVENTS 9

THE F IRELINE NEWSLETTER

FAUQUIER COUNTY

DEPARTMENT OF FIRE, RESCUE

& EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Phone: 540-422-8800

www.fauquierfirerescue.org

It’s not about me-

I hope everyone is having a great summer or what is left of it. While on

vacation, I always make it a point to do some reflecting. So while on the

balcony of a cruise ship I started reflecting on a trend that I am noticing

more and more.

The trend? Envy. The envy that I am referring to is the good kind. This

envy is coming more frequently from surrounding counties and

agencies. It is coming because others are taking notice of the strides

that our organization is making. Here is just a small sample:

Our volunteer/career relationships

Our important relationships with other county departments

such as Human Resources, Budget, Finance, IT, GIS, and

General Services

The ability to recruit seasoned career personnel from other

counties

The development of updated protocols

County wide SCBA replacement

County wide EKG/defibrillator replacement

The start of our “state of the art” ALS training center at the

Armory

At state-wide Chief and EMS meetings, I am often hearing “Chief you

are really doing a lot in Fauquier County!” Of course, I know a secret.

It’s not about me. The few sampling successes that I have listed above

actually have very little to do with my involvement. As a matter of fact, I

doubted a few of them myself but YOU the volunteer and career

members of Fauquier County working together are making these

strides. It is really something neat to reflect upon!

FAUQUIER COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF FIRE , RESCUE & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

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NE V ER A DU L L MOM EN T . . . B Y : AC S T E V E N S

As the last few weeks of summer come to a close, I find myself won-

dering how the time has passed so quickly. But when looking back at

what we have accomplished, I am amazed at what has been done in

such a short amount of time. It was less than five months ago when

we all gathered at Kettle Run High to congratulate Recruit School 13-

03 on their accomplishments. Now we are just a few weeks away from

celebrating the graduation of Recruit Class 14-04.

The Armory project is well underway and this winter’s ALS programs

will greatly benefit from this wonderful facility. Around this time next

month, we should be preparing for our ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Brave Enough to Wear Pink Campaign is preparing to

launch with online shirt orders beginning the first week in

September and our second annual Chick-fil-A event October

4th. Our shirt vendor this year is Rhino’s Ink and they will

be providing shipping options as well as counter sales/

pickup from their Warrenton storefront. We are looking for-

ward to another successful campaign, thank you in advance

for your continued support.

I hope everyone has a wonderful month, please stay safe.

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EM ERG EN CY MA N AG EM EN T B Y : S A R A M A K E L Y

Fauquier Alert Network (FAN)

Fauquier County Emergency Notification System

Effective July 1st, 2014 - Fauquier County has launched a new emergency notification system, Fauquier Alert Network (FAN) provided by Everbridge. Everbridge has replaced the existing system, CodeRED. Everbridge is a web based service that enables the County to provide mass notification quickly and easily. Notifications may include evacuations, missing person alerts, hazardous materials incident, flooding, and other emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential for life safety. Messages are delivered by phone call, text, and email. Registering your information in Everbridge is optional but encouraged to ensure citizens receive timely information. You are required to create a user name and password upon registration. This allows you to log into the system to update your information and preferences. To ensure you receive emergency notifications, sign up by clicking on the image link below.

Get ready to drop, cover and hold on! For the third year, Fauquier County will be

participating in the Great SouthEast ShakeOut, a multi-state simultaneous

earthquake drill! The date this year is October 16th, 2014 at 10:16 AM.

Registration is open at www.shakeout.org/southeast and more information is

available at www.ReadyVirginia.gov.

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8/7 - President Marable

8/10 - Brian Latham

8/20 - Chief Corbin

8/24 - Rodney Greenwood

8/24 - David Sours

8/25 - Brendan Miller

8/29 - Lieutenant Baker

SIR - Friday, July 25, 2014

At approximately 1200 hours, a citizen

walked into the station to advise of a

possible fire to the smoking pot at the AJC

Building. The unit arrived on scene of a

single story smoke pot, with smoke showing

from the roof. As the units vented the

structure, the fire was located and noted to

be a deep-seated fire in the A-B corner of

the structure. Technician Best was able to

extinguish the fire with minimal effort. Unit

ready shorty after.

SAVE THE DATE We invite you to attend Recruit School 14-04 Graduation

on Friday, August 15th.

The Flag Presentation Ceremony will begin at 4 PM at

62 Culpeper Street, Warrenton.

A brief Graduation Ceremony will follow and refreshments

will be served at St. James Episcopal Church,

73 Culpeper Street, Warrenton.

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I N S I D E B ATA L L I O N 1 B Y : B A T T A L I O N C H I E F A R F T

As usual it has been a very busy month at Medic 1, with some new faces as-

signed here. I myself am very excited for a new opportunity in a new place. I am es-

pecially looking forward to honing my skills even more. I am also enjoying seeing

people that I haven’t seen in awhile and getting the chance to work alongside them.

At first, I was nervous of the change, but once I settled in I found that Medic 1 is a

fast-paced learning environment, which offers something new every day. As a new

member in the first battalion, I hope that the rest of the battalion feels the same way

that I do. I hope we can continue to achieve excellence!

The first Battalion would also like to wish Technician Marc Monroe all the best in his

retirement!

M E D I C 1 B Y : T E C H N I C I A N S O U R S

Recently I was brought into a discussion about the differences in RECEO VS verses

SLICERS. Although I am a huge supporter (and don’t like change) of RECEO, I

understand the principal of SLICERS and have come to grasp the trend of the new

acronym.

My article this month is not to debate which acronym is better, but to talk about the

ever changing technology and teachings of the fire service. I can still remember

when I first entered the fire service and positive pressure ventilation was the new

trending idea. “I can clear out a room full of smoke in 30 seconds with positive pres-

sure” or “negative pressure is so old school it doesn’t work”. We did all the training

and it did work as it was supposed to, but there was one thing that seemed to be

over-looked. The fire needed to be completely out or we were going to burn buildings

down. So after some time and additional training, positive pressure became a tool,

such as CAFS has in the past few years.

This brings me back to SLICERS. This is a new tool for the fire service. It’s not the

end all, be all of incident priorities, it’s just another tool. Just like in any profession,

the more tools you have the more you will be prepared for the task that is presented.

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TH E SOU TH ER N VO I CE B Y : B A T T A L I O N C H I E F L I C H T Y

It is hard to believe but the first month of summer is already under our belts. This past month,

the Southern Battalion is staying busy with DPO training, Driver release, EMS and Fire calls

and so much more. Company 2 spent a couple of hours this past month in neighboring

Culpeper County on a commercial fire (see picture below). This fire demonstrated challenges

associated with salvage yards and all of the different types of combustibles you can find.

With the use of apparatus from Catlett, Warrenton, New Baltimore and Remington, the

Southern Battalion played host to some of the first weeks of training for the new Recruits. The

Recruits got a little refresher in EVOC training, and DPO training.

As we go into August we would like to remind everyone do not be fooled by the recent cool

weather. Please remember the importance of keeping your stations and units ready for the

warmer days and flash storms. Warmer days can wear us down quickly and the flash storms

can often catch us off guard. Lastly we would like to congratulate Technician Morris on her

recent release as an Engine/Tanker driver.

Recruits at DPO

Training

Culpeper County

Salvage Yard Fire

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The Training Division has been extremely busy with the Summer Accelerated EMT Course

and Lateral Recruit Class 4. The 2014 Night Fire Academy will be starting on August 16th,

and it is filling up fast! We have also devoted many hours to the development of the 2014

medical treatment guidelines training program, which will help providers better

understand and navigate the new protocols which were adopted by the EMS Committee.

TR A INI NG B Y : L I E U T E N A N T S H I E L D S

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Fauquier held a PA Water Rescue and Emergency Response Course the weekend of July

26th. During the weekend, students engaged in classroom, pool, and river session

training covering planning for water emergencies, dynamics of moving water, medical

conditions, personal safety, and fundamental rescue techniques (self and shore based

rescue). Everyone successfully completed all aspects of the class including the required

written and swim test. They also passed the required practical stations which included:

self rescue, ferry angles, use of throwing and reaching devices, moving water crossing,

double line floating feather, foot entrapment rescue, and strainer identification/

avoidance/self rescue. This course certified them to the NFPA 1670 Swiftwater Operations

level.

Thank you to all who attended! Also a thank you to the City of Fairfax Fire Department for

supplying the instructors for the course, and the WARF for the use of their pool facility!

John D. Jeniec Jr.

Fire Chief

Orlean Volunteer Fire and Rescue

SW IF TWATER RESCU E CO U R SE

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REMINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT NEWS Remington Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department will be having their Annual

All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feast September 20th from 4 PM until 7 PM at the Firehouse.

You may purchase tickets in advance at $35, or get them for $40 at the door. The

menu includes blue crabs, hot dogs, bean soup, drinks, and other fixings. Also that

night, we will be giving 2 guns away. Tickets are on sale for $10, and only 500

tickets are going to be sold. Please contact any member for tickets for both of these

events, and we hope to see you there!

UPPERVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY 5 Company 5 regrets to have lost one of their charter members, Gordon L. Staples,

who passed away this week. Gordon was born and raised in Upperville, served in the

Air Force, and upon returning home was the rural mail carrier for 53 years in

Upperville. His funny wit, and loyalty to the community and the department will be

missed. God Speed, Gordon!

Our All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast will be held August 10th from 8 AM to 11 AM.

Come out and join us! We guarantee you won't leave hungry or disappointed.

The Members of Upperville Fire Company would like to wish Chief Scott Williams a

HAPPY BIRTHDAY on July 28th!

COMPA N Y NEW S A ND EV EN TS

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