May firehouse news

May activity reports and novelty cigarette lighter law

From Chief Mark Miller

[June 27, 2011]  Following is a copy of the report submitted to city council members by Lincoln Fire Department Chief Mark Miller in June for the month of May.

(Copy)

Emergency and fire related activities

One hundred and ninety Emergency Runs for May 2011 included the Lincoln Firefighters responding to emergencies for structure fire, including a stove fire, 9 outdoor fires, 5 rescue extrications, 13 alarm system activations and a biohazard incident

Fire related runs -- 52

EMS related runs -- 130

Rescue related runs -- 8

Non-Emergency activities

Fire Inspectors for the Lincoln Fire Department investigated fires on Lincoln Ave. Rutledge Dr. and Webster Street. For Fire investigations a new digital camera has been placed in service, to provide more accurate and precise photos of fire scenes.

Fire Prevention activities for May. Inspectors work hard on code enforcement in the following businesses Hampton Inn, Logan County Housing, Rusty's, Scott Browns Kung Fu facility, Chopsticks, RP developers and Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Emergency Action Plans have been conducted at the following facilities: Logan County Courthouse and Lincoln City Hall.

Maintenance of the station and apparatus

Lincoln Fire Department has been working with Lincoln Street Department to install a new to us flag pole on the drive in front of the Fire Department and City Hall.

The 38' pole has been donated by ALMH from the 8th street building.

Also work has been started on providing a non-slip floor surface to two of our apparatus bays. Due to grants bay #1 and #2 are being refinished with an epoxy coating a new gray finish with backing stripes.

Apparatus repairs include two major repairs at this time.

Utility Pick up 5100 has had its spring preventative maintenance

Engine 5101 is back in service and had spring preventative maintenance,

Unit 5102 had spring preventative maintenance and is scheduled to have some warranty work completed.

Unit 5103 has had all work completed and finished and has now passed its annual aerial ladder test.

Engine 5104 has had the leaking water tank looked at and a seam that sits on a support beam is rubbing the tank causing a leak. Electrical issues still plague the apparatus. Utility Pick up 5105 has had its spring preventative maintenance.

Car 5106 has had to have rear brake work and a leaking manifold gasket replaced.

Training Activities

Training for the month of May included Hose maintenance, re-coupling and hose testing.

Lincoln Fire fighters test and do maintenance checks on every piece of fire hose in active service. Fire fighters tested 2300 feet of 5" supply hose, 3750 feet of 2 ½" large attack hose and 3200 feet of 1 ¾" small attack hose. 6 sections of hose failed the annual test pressures of 300psi. These failed sections are repaired in house and retested. Fire investigators also attended interview classes with Lincoln Police offices in Springfield.

Administrative

Currently in the Fire Chiefs office, updates to our rules and regulations have been on going and policies for operating guidelines have been reviewed and are in the updating process. Several ordinance updates are in the works such as our false alarm ordinance, a fireworks ordinance and a specialized rescue service ordinance.

Updates to these ordinances will allow for fees to be charged to non-residents and commercial businesses for special services that generate overtime fees and require multiple responses to investigate nuisance alarms.

Work with Logan County EMA officials on updating the County wide Emergency Action Plans for fires and natural disasters.

Storm siren follow ups have been conducted and reports of the siren on Ophir Street have been addressed and the siren is currently working

Novelty cigarette lighter law targets toy-like devices that may attract children's curiosity

The Lincoln Fire department recently received the following memo from the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office.

OSFM reminds retailers about law enacted a year ago

Recent spot checks of Illinois retailers by the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) found that many were still selling banned novelty cigarette lighters, which were outlawed last year in a law signed by Governor Pat Quinn.

As a result, OSFM issued a directive to the state's fire departments, professional fire organizations, and municipalities to step up enforcement in their communities to ensure that any toy-like devices are removed from store shelves.

"It comes down to public safety," said State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis. "Our concern is that children may be attracted to an adult's lighter that may have flashing lights and musical sounds when used. Some of the banned lighters look like small toys, such as animals, boats, cars, cell phones and guns."

The law may be enforced by any county or municipal law enforcement officer, or by any code enforcement officer of a municipality or fire protection district. The law makes the sale of a novelty lighter a petty offense with a fine of up to $500.00.

Consumers are urged to contact OSFM by filing a complaint if they witness the availability of novelty lighters. A complaint form is available for download from OSFM's website.

To obtain information about fire safety and prevention, please visit www.state.il.us/osfm or www.nfpa.org.

Lincoln Fire Department sent letters out to around twenty businesses reminding them about this law. I hope that by getting information out we will not have to file complaints against any local businesses.

Retailers should be aware that all fire fighters are informed on this law and will report any retail offerings of novelty lighters.

[Text copied from file received from Chief Mark Miller, Lincoln Fire Department; LDN]