Fall 2006/Winter 2007 Shoreline Fire Department—serving residents of Shoreline since 1939 www.shorelinefire.com

IN THIS ISSUE…

Chief’s Corner

Happy Endings

…Be Fire Safe

Sparky the Fire Dog

Getting to Know You

Medical information Sheet

Smoke Detector 101

Holiday Gift Ideas

Safety Center Fun!

Emma and her

parents were

headed for a

family bicycle

ride on July 4 —

aiming for some

time on the

Interurban Trail,

starting at about

160th, near

their home.

Things literally went downhill when the 7 year

old lost control of her pink 2-wheeler, and headed straight down 160th, speeding towards Aurora Avenue.

Mom and Dad watched helplessly as she screamed for help. Then Joel Cragin jumped into action. Joel is an employee of Rich’s Car Corner, who just happened to see the little girl in distress. He ran after the careening bicycle. When he realized he was not going to be able to catch her, he took a flying leap and grabbed the back end of the bike. Both he and little Emma slid partway down the

Call Community Education at 206-533-6500 or email Melanie@shorelinefire.com to schedule your helmet fitting.

Wireless phones have actually complicated things when it comes to getting help in an emergency, and in some cases, they are causing nightmares for dispatchers and callers.

With so many cell phones out there, 9-1-1 calls are quickly and easily placed. But callers need to know some basics about how a wireless 9-1-1 call differs from a traditional “land line” phone call.

Wireless callers are often stunned to learn about these glitches – in the heat of the moment during an emergency. Imagine the panic if your house was on fire—and your cell phone call to 9-1-1 is not working properly. Knowing these tips about wireless 9-1-1 calls could save a life!

Know where you are. Although cell phone location technology has been implemented in King County, it usually provides the gen-eral area the caller is in rather than their exact location. The 9-1-1 center depends on the caller being able to provide their specific location before help can be sent. If you are unsure where you are, give the dispatcher as much information as you can: city, highway, landmarks, etc.

Stay on the line. When you place a cell phone 9-1-1 call, it may not go straight to the dispatch center that serves your area. If the cell tower closest to you is busy with other calls, your call could go to a cell tower in a different county, which means the 9-1-1 center in that county would receive your 9-1-1 call. You will be transferred quickly…and you may think you’ve been

disconnected. Stay on the line for at least 30 seconds to let the transfer occur. If you hang up, you are going to have to go through the same process again, wasting valuable time.

Know your phone. Many wireless phones are built to lock into emergency mode after a 9-1-1 call is made. Once you dial 9-1-1 and hang up, your phone could be locked and you will be unable to make any other calls. Other phones prevent dispatchers from making call-backs to your phone – which can seriously hamper their efforts to help you. Making matters worse, there is no information in your phone instruction manual about this locking feature – and most cellular salespeople have no idea whether a phone has this feature or not. Some phones must be turned off to undo the 9-1-1 lock. Others have a key-code or multiple keystroke steps that must be entered. Some release themselves after 5 minutes. Of course, you cannot make a practice 9-1-1 call to check this. Your best bet is to be aware of all of these things – and realize what has happened if you call 9-1-1 and your phone locks up.

Don’t Program 9-1-1. Accidental 9-1-1 calls are a plague on the system. They account for 14% of calls countywide right now – down from a whopping 28% a few years ago. These accidental calls result when you’ve programmed a single digit to auto-dial 9-1-1. Then your phone gets nudged in your pocket, on your belt

EMERGENCY 9-1-1HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR CELL?

If you have questions about

9-1-1, let us know.

Contact Shoreline Fire, or the King County

E-911 Program Office

206-296-3911

www.metrokc.gov/prepare/E911/

e911.aspx

BIKE HELMET (AND LOCAL HERO) SAVE 7 YEAR OLD FROM TRAGEDY.

slope, coming to a stop just short of Aurora Avenue.

Miraculously, both were unhurt except for scrapes and bruises. But had Emma not been wear-ing a helmet, things would not have turned out so well. The helmet was badly damaged (see photo). “Knowing that kind of damage could have been done to her head just frightened me,” said Emma’s mom.

Shoreline Fire community education specialist Melanie Granfors praised Joel for his actions, and asked that parents everywhere take the story to heart. “We see so many children riding bikes without helmets,” she said. “Emma’s story demonstrates how a tragedy can happen in a split second – one second happily riding along, the next headed for life-threatening injury. Helmets make a huge difference in keeping bicyclists safe.”

Emma’s family created the “our hero” plaque that Joel is holding – and posed for a picture above the scene a few days after the incident. “Joel is truly our hero,” said Emma’s dad, Jim. “He acted so quickly, without thinking of how hard he was going to hit the ground – and literally saved our daughter’s life.”

Emma was wearing a bicycle helmet available to all Shoreline residents from the Fire Department. Shoreline Fire sells the low-cost ($7.00) helmet to the public by appointment.

The technological advance of wireless phones is mostly a good thing – but when it comes to dialing 9-1-1, there are special situations you must be aware of!

Continued on page 4…

Emma and her hero.

Don’t leave home without it!

1

HAPPY ENDINGSIt was certainly not the Valentine’s Day Susan Patella planned for. Last February 14, Susan thought she was having a nightmare when she awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of her smoke detectors and the sickening smell of smoke in her house.

She was able to get out safely and call 9-1-1…but sadly, one of her beloved cats died from smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire: an ottoman found too close to a gas fireplace insert in the lower level of the home.

“I was stunned at of the amount of damage – yet extremely grateful that the Fire Department arrived so quickly and contained the fire”, Susan says. “Though it destroyed one level of my house,

it could have been much worse”.

Susan has working smoke alarms to thank for saving her life. She was able to get outside before thick black smoke enveloped the entire house.

“Smoke is so deadly”, says fire safety educator Melanie Granfors. “The toxic smoke that results from a typical house fire is what takes lives.

Susan is fortunate, but it wasn’t just luck. She did all the right things by maintaining her smoke alarms and escaping immediately when they alerted her.

In August, Susan invited friends, family and fire crews who responded that night to a blessing at her newly restored home. “I will never forget what the Shoreline firefighters did to save my home. I am particularly grateful for their efforts to save my pets. The least I could do was throw a thank-you party”.

Susan Patella with Shoreline Fire engine company 65.

‘TIS THE SEASON…TO BE FIRE SAFE!

The holidays are upon us – and with those wonderful times, unfortunately, come some serious holiday hazards!

Candles are a leading cause of all residential fires – and that number jumps considerably during the month of December. Candles are responsible for an estimated 24,000 residential fires each year and over 165 fatalities. Not to mention over $390 million in property loss.

And yet, candle fires are completely preventable! Most candle fires occur when they are left alone – burning quietly in an occupied room like the bedroom or the bathroom. In fact, over one third of all candle fires begin in a bedroom.

The rule about candles is simple. NEVER LEAVE A CANDLE UNATTENDED. In Shoreline last year, several families suffered devastating damage – and were displaced from their homes because someone left a bedroom candle burning overnight.

Many of the candles on the market today are simply unsafe. They are in fragile glass – and burn too hot. The fine print on many candles indicates less than an hour of burn-time. Yet people let them flicker for hours in a bathroom or bedroom.

If you are having dinner by candlelight – put them out when dinner’s done. If you have an aromatherapy or tea-light decorative candle burning – don’t leave the room. If you do leave, put it out and relight it when you return. Never place candles close to com-bustible materials – tablecloths, curtains, wreaths and greenery. Bedroom or bathroom candles should be well away from towels, paper, perfumes, nail supplies and other cosmetics.

Here are some other holiday safety tips we hope you’ll remember:

• Don’t overload circuits with holiday light sets – also, follow manufacturer’s recommendations on how many lights can safely be strung together. Be sure to check your lights from year to year for frayed cords, broken or cracked sockets and excessive kinking.

• Don’t leave the lights on while you’re away from home.

• Never place anything hot on or around trees or wreaths.

• Don’t burn wrapping paper in a fireplace – it can throw off sparks and produce a chemical fume buildup inside your home.

• Keep evergreens and trees well watered and fresh. Don’t place them near fireplaces or heat vents.

• Check your smoke detectors this month…and every month. If you don’t have them in every bedroom and on every level of your home – treat yourself to the gift of safety – buy two or three and install them tonight!

Cut

and

col

or.

Visit Sparky the Fire Dog’s website at sparky.org for games and safety information.

The name and the image of Sparky® are registered trademarks of NFPA. Used with permission.Reproduced from NFPA’s Fire Prevention Week Web site, www.firepreventionweek.org. ©2006 NFPA.

Remember the Steps

CHIEF’S CORNERAs the year draws to a close, I would like to once again thank you for sup-porting the Shoreline Fire Department and its work in the community.

This year we embarked upon a major project: to evaluate everything we do and to develop a strategic plan for the next six years. We asked our employees, and several citizen groups to assist us. To date we have identified some key areas where we will focus in 2007 – including response times, identifying cost saving measures, and adding to our services in the areas of community education, and support for families who have had life-changing emergencies.

As always, I ask for your input as we continue to focus on how to provide excellent service in fire suppression, emergency medicine, fire prevention and life safety. I would very much like to have a dialog with citizens – to be able to respond to questions and concerns as they arise. You can always email me, mkragness@shorelinefire.com.

This time of year brings the annual budgeting process, and I am eager to report that we have approved a solid spending plan for 2007 which includes new firefighters, some new equip-ment, full funding for long term obligations and con-tinued focus on fire prevention and life safety education and outreach. We also have taken a strategic approach to our financial planning which allows us to identify the impacts of near term fiscal decisions on future budgets.

In 2007 you will hear more from us on emergency preparedness. In cooperation with the City of Shoreline, we are going to be conducting classes, training our own personnel, and seeking new ways to get our community ready for any crisis – whether it is a flu pandemic or major earthquake.

So again, thank you Shoreline. Best wishes for a safe and healthy new year. And consider contacting us with ideas or comments that will help us serve you better in 2007.

Your Fire Chief, Marcus Kragness

This year we opened the Shoreline Fire Safety Center

in our vintage firehouse in Richmond Beach. This project was a cooperative effort, with a good portion of the funding

coming from donations from businesses and community

groups. I am extremely proud of this effort, aimed at our

youngest citizens: children under the age of 6. Even in

our high-tech, sophisticated society, children are at risk for

injury and death from fire in their own home. The Safety

Center program works to educate children and their

families about how to avoid residential fires – and how to

survive if one does occur.

Smoke alarms should be installed in every

room except the kitchen and the

bathroom, where they can become a nuisance.

Fire Marshal Mark BunjeIn September, Mark Bunje was promoted to Fire Marshal. Mark has been a firefighter with Shoreline for 19 years. As Fire Marshal, he oversees inspections, investigations, plans review, prevention pro-grams, and community education. If you own a business in Shoreline, Mark has probably conducted an inspec-

tion there at least once during his career! Mark values com-munity interaction and plans to institute many programs that encourage our citizens to help us serve them better. If you have ideas about how we can make the fire prevention division more responsive, please give Mark a call at 206-533-6500, or mbunje@shorelinefire.com.

HELP US HELP YOU!Did you know that over 80 percent of emergency calls in Shoreline are medical emergencies?

If you have a medical emergency, you can assist us in treating you by keeping good information on hand about your medical history and medications. Often on medical calls, the patients are too stressed or too sick to remember which medicines they take – or when they had previous medical incidents. But that is VERY important information for us to have in order to provide proper care. So, we’ve created a Medical Information Sheet for you to clip and save. Fill this out and keep it somewhere easy to locate. Don’t forget to update it when necessary. Then, if we respond to a medical emergency at your home – you’ll have the process started before we get there!

Information for Emergency Medical Personnel

Date _________________________

Your name:________________________________________________________

Birthdate:____________________________________ Age:_____________

Your Doctor’s name: ____________________________________________

Phone number:_________________________________________________

Hospital preference:_________________________________________________

Friends or family members we can notify about your condition, and where you

have been taken:

Name:____________________________________________________________

Phone numbers:____________________________________________________

List all medications you are taking here:

Medication Reason for Taking

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Previous Medical Incidents and year they occurred ( ie. Heart attack, 1999).

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

FarewellWilliam (Jack) Nankervis retired in September after 21 years of service.

“Captain Jack” most recently served as Fire Marshal. He is a longtime Shoreline resident, so if you see him around town, congratulate him on a job well done!

New FacesShoreline Fire welcomes three new recruits this December. They are (L-to-R) Matthew Sebastionelli comes to us from Lacey Fire District 3, Andrew Morehouse was a volunteer with Whatcom County Fire District #7 and Tyrell Blouin was previously with Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue. All three recruits have lots of experience in community volunteering and citizen outreach – so expect to see them around and welcome them to Shoreline!

New MedicsIn 2006, Shoreline firefighters Tracy Clinch, Strojan Kennison and Bothell Firefighter Scott Kim (unavailable for photo) graduated from the University of Washington Medical Center’s year-long paramedic program. All three are now members of Shoreline Medic One, which serves Shoreline, Bothell, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park with advanced life support paramedic service.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU.

• Look for the newer 10-year lithium battery type. You only need to check them – you don’t change the batteries.

• You can use your TV remote to check some smoke detectors.

• If you try the new voice-recording alarms for your children, be sure they also include the beeping tone in addition to your voice.

SMOKE DETECTORS 101 Confused by all the different smoke alarms available to consumers?

Don’t let that keep you from buying them now – and installing them before bedtime tonight!

ECRWSS Postal Patron

17525 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133206-533-6500 | www.shorelinefire.com

FIRELINE

Welcome to the second edition of Shoreline Fire’s community newsletter.

Let us know what you think! We would like to hear from you with questions, story suggestions, and feedback.

Call us at 206-533-6500 or email the Chief atmkragness@shorelinefire.com

Also, don’t forget to visit our website for continuous updates and information about Shoreline Fire.

www.shorelinefire.com

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT #1441

SAFETY CENTER FUN! The Shoreline Fire Safety Center in Richmond Beach

is now hosting 3 to 5 year olds on a regular basis.

Groups of 10 to 15 preschoolers can schedule a session

any Tuesday through Saturday between the hours of

9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Watch for special family

events in 2007!

Pictured here: Lake Forest Park Montessori students take time out for a group photo on the engine tailboard. They are dressed in the pretend (but very realistic!) firefighter gear available to all children during their tour. Visit www.shorelinefire.com for more information or email Melanie@shorelinefire.com.

Know Your Cell Well . . .

A message from Emergency �����

I may call 9-1-1

by accident.

What's my Emergency

Mode?

CAREFUL

Buttons!

with

my I might lock when I call 9-1-1.

Know how your cell works with 9-1-1.GET A CLUE!

©2006 Roz & Co., LLC

EMERGENCY 9-1-1 Continued from page 1.

or in your purse. 9-1-1 is simple enough by itself. You don’t need a single digit auto-dial.

Use the land line. Best advice is to use a regular, wired-in phone – or it’s portable handset whenever possible. With land lines, 9-1-1 operators can see your address – it is a direct call to the dispatch center with no transfers – and the disconnect rate is re-duced dramatically. A word of caution, however. Don’t call 9-1-1 from INSIDE your home in the event of a fire. Get outside, use a neighbor’s phone, or take the portable handset with you.

Keep talking. When you dial 9-1-1, operators are going to ask lots of questions. Stay on the line, answer the questions and remain calm. Fire or police have been sent from the moment you call – but dispatchers can collect additional information and convey it to the fire or police crews enroute. This gives them vital information that helps responders provide you with the best care possible.

Explanation of Incident Types

EMS/Rescue: Medical assist, patient assist, transport, trauma injury, medical emergency, vehicle crash, etc.

Hazardous condition: gas or oil leak, combustible spills, power line down, shorted electrical equipment

Service call: water leak, flooding, smoke or odor removal, unauthorized burning.

Good intent: Dispatched and cancelled en route, odor of smoke, possible person needing help, authorized controlled burning. Caller is concerned, but no emergency is found.

Fire: confirmed fire incidents of any size.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA!Having a tough time thinking of a creative gift for someone this holiday season?How about giving a gift of safety? Here are some ideas for presents that show you care about a loved one’s health, safety and survival!

• Smoke alarm• Carbon monoxide alarm• Fire escape ladder• Emergency kit for car• First aid kit for home or office• Bicycle or ski helmet• Battery operated radio-TV-flashlight combo• Fire extinguisher

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INCIDENT RESPONSES FOR JANUARY - NOVEMBER 2006