Making History at the Capitol
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CAL FIRE Local 2881 leadership worked tirelessly alongside California Professional Firefighters to get three critical bills that support firefighters onto the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom. Today, Governor Newsom signed those bills, securing the future of health and safety for firefighters in California and setting the tone for the rest of the nation.
The political activism of CPF and union leadership that got these bills signed was invaluable and a well-deserved win for our dedicated firefighters.
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Firefighter Agenda Runs the Table: Three Out of Three Bills Signed
Governor signs historic CPF-sponsored bills
As the 2019 legislative session comes to a close, California firefighters gain a historic win as Governor Gavin Newsom signed significant CPF-sponsored bills that reached his desk. CPF-backed behavioral health bills SB 542 and AB 1116 and EMS dispatch bill, SB 438, go into effect January 2020.
- AB 1116 (Grayson) – Signed by Governor Newsom
- Moves forward important confidentiality and peer support training to help ensure that firefighters are able to address their behavioral wellness.
- SB 542 (Stern) – Signed by Governor Newsom
- Creates a rebuttable post-tramatic stress injury presumption for firefighters in the state's workers' compensation system.
- SB 438 (Hertzberg) – Signed by Governor Newsom
- Prohibits a public agency from outsourcing its local emergency dispatch services to a private, for-profit industry.
Firefighters made their voices heard. It is through the work of CPF member action that these bills were echoed in the halls of power. Members from across the state came to testify and lobby for CPF's Behavioral Health Bill Package and the importance of keeping 911 dispatch in the hands of sworn public safety officers. CPF members also submitted hundreds of letters and petitions to legislators to keep the firefighter agenda on the foreforent. When firefighters stand together, we win.
"This is a historic victory for California firefighters," said President Brian K. Rice. "The new behavioral health laws take a significant step forward in removing the stigma that prevents firefighters from seeking help, these laws will save firefighter lives. We are also putting the public's safety first with the EMS dispatch law, ensuring that dispatch is performed by sworn public safety officers, through responsible and accountable public agencies."
-from CPF
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This weekend, 119 fallen firefighters will be honored in Emmitsburg, Maryland, at the National Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial. Three of those heroes are our own brothers. The memorial will have special events for family and friends of those whom we have lost in the line of duty. New and returning families will have a chance to meet, share their stories and support each other in the future.
Members from your CAL FIRE Local 2881 Honor Guard and leadership will be in attendance to honor our fallen and support their families.
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After the memorial, President Edwards and Vice President Munoa will go to Arlington National Cemetery and place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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These are the children of 9/11 heroes who graduated from the Fire Academy
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They’re finishing the jobs their fathers started.
Thirteen probationary firefighters — all children of FDNY members killed in the 9/11 terror attacks —
graduated from the Fire Academy
on Tuesday, filling the shoes of the dads they lost 18 years ago.
The latest class is made up of the largest group of so-called “legacy” probies in FDNY history — 21 in total, including some whose first-responder parents were killed by illness related to their work at Ground Zero.
“Today, these 21 legacies are no longer children,” Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told the 301 graduates and their families during the emotional ceremony at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn.
“Today, they’ve fully achieved their dreams. They’re honoring now their loved ones. They’re continuing their family’s legacy of service.”
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Network Of Cameras Bring New Focus On Wildfires
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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – There now is a network of cameras in high fire risk areas up and down the state helping guide firefighting efforts.
It started with just three cameras in Tahoe and grew exponentially. Now, the fairly new technology is already proving to be a critical tool when it comes to pinpointing the location of a fire.
“It’s really about getting that first initial attack, get that intel nailed down,” said Dr. Graham Kent, Director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.
More than 300 state-of-the-art, high definition, near-infrared cameras are watching for wildfires from Lake Tahoe to Grass Valley, Calaveras County and down to Southern California.
“Once a fire has been called in, within 30 seconds that person in dispatch is gonna know what is going on and how to dispatch material, personnel, airstrikes,” said Kent.
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Essential SCBA Skills Every Firefighter Should Revisit
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C
omplacency is the evil that firefighters battle each day they pull on a pair of boots. Slower fire run numbers, more time between fires and constant EMS runs are some of the many excuses we use to let the small things slip through the cracks when it comes to skill proficiencies.
Whether it be a nozzle, the irons, or any other piece of equipment that we don’t have ready, these are just a few pieces of equipment that are mandatory to be functioning at 100 percent.
Your SCBA is the one tool you use on every fire, no matter the size. Just pull up any social media firefighter feed and there is little doubt that you will find a post showing the gauge of an SCBA not filled to capacity. While this is a great reminder to always have a full cylinder, it is also a time to remember that having a full cylinder is not the only thing you should check on your SCBA.
Let’s take a look at the four essential points that should be performed each time you check, service or place a SCBA back in service. Working through these four functions will take a focused time and effort to improve. Patience will be needed as you soon realize that we have become “rusty” with our skills. Start with complete vision and dexterity while building to the ultimate goal of functioning without both. As you become more confident in each skill, begin to add stress in the form of noise, disorientation and a sense of urgency. These functions can pay huge dividends on the fireground in just a short amount of time.
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Sign up today to stay informed. Make sure we have your current contact info too!
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NO ONE LEFT BEHIND HALF MOON BAY GOLF TOURNAMENT
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At some point in their lives and careers, fire fighters will experience
grief
.
Some of the grieving process is influenced by the unique aspects of the job.
What Is Survivor’s Guilt?
Fire fighters and paramedics have a calling to serve others, protect their community and each other. When a fatal fire, line-of-duty death or suicide occurs, our brothers and sisters directly or indirectly involved with the incident
may experience survivor’s guilt
.
Survivor’s guilt
occurs when you feel a sense of guilt that you survived a traumatic incident and the deceased did not.
Feelings that you should have done more to prevent the loss may also be triggered. The National Center on PTSD explores survivor’s guilt through
two important factors
:
guilt and shame. These two factors can interact with each other and lead to exaggerated or false beliefs about one’s self, others or the world that impede recovery.
-Guilt
Guilt is defined as a sense of remorse caused by feeling responsible for something that occurred. Fire fighters may feel guilty when they believe they should have thought, felt or acted differently on the fire ground or during a rescue operation. Survivors often think, “I should have done more,” or might feel guilty for surviving the traumatic event when others died.
-Shame
Shame, on the other hand, occurs when the surviving individual develops the belief there is something fundamentally or morally wrong with them as a result of not being able to save someone. The fire fighter may feel damaged or tainted by their actions. As a moral consequence, a fire fighter may feel deserving of their
PTSD
, prolonged grief and subsequent negative life experiences.
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CAL FIRE Research & Development
Wildland Firefighters Health Effects (NIOSH)
From Staff Chief Curtis Brown
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Additional research conducted by NIOSH. George Broyles from the USFS narrated a study by NIOSH taking health data from wildland firefighters at the beginning of and end of their shifts, as part of a multi-year study. Watch the 6-minute long video below.
CAL FIRE is collaborating with some of the same researchers mentioned.
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Burn Injuries Green Sheet
From Staff Chief Curtis Brown
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Attached is an Informational Summary Report (Green Sheet) referencing three CAL FIRE firefighters receiving burn injuries while fighting a wind-driven vegetation fire in Monterey County, CA on September 1, 2019. The employees were treated and transported by air ambulance to burn centers for treatment and released later that day.
Also available is a verbatim “
Video Green Sheet
” with actual video footage from the injury site. The video can be accessed by clicking the link on the first page of the document or by clicking,
here.
Be sure to take the survey to let us know what you think of the document and the inclusion of the scene footage.
Please reference the document during training and safety briefings. The document will be uploaded to the Target Solutions Enterprise within the next 24-48 hours by the Sacramento HQ Training Program, please provide appropriate documentation of your review there.
You will also find this document on the CAL FIRE Safety Program webpage within the next 24 hours.
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One-Pan Autumn Chicken Dinner
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Ingredients for this Easy Chicken Dinner
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Olive oil
- Fresh herbs – rosemary, thyme, sage
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Brussels sprouts
- Sweet potato
- Fuji apples (or other sweet baking apples)
- Bacon
- Salt and pepper
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Share your photos & videos with us.
We want to see YOUR CAL FIRE! On calls, training, working with your community, etc.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
NATIONAL FALLEN FIRE FIGHTERS MEMORIAL
OCTOBER 3-6
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
DECEMBER 3-5
54TH ANNUAL CONVENTION
JANUARY 9-12
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CAL FIRE BENEVOLENT
FOUNDATION
Provides funds for immediate life sustaining assistance to firefighters and their families who have suffered debilitating injury or loss of life.
For more information or to donate, visit the
website
.
Like, Share & Follow us!
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CAL FIRE MUSEUM
CHECK OUT THE CAL FIRE MUSEUM WEBSITE & SIGN UP TO GET THEIR NEWSLETTER
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For more updates, events, and news visit our website:
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CAL FIRE Local 2881 likes to stay connected with our membership. We want to make sure every member has an updated mailing address.
Below is a list of both Active and Retired members that have bad addresses as of
Sept 30
. If your name is on the list or you have recently moved, please contact Danielle at (916) 277-9885 or
dkelsch@L2881.org
to update your address.
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