Category: In The News

March 29, 2023 The neon pink ammonium phosphate-based retardant which also is used as fertilizer kills aquatic life, the suit claims.

By Alex Wigglesworth Source Los Angeles Times (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

For most Californians, the sight of aircraft spewing neon pink liquid over flaming trees and brush has become a hallmark of aggressive wildfire suppression campaigns — if not a potent symbol of government’s struggle to control increasingly destructive forest fires.

But as the use of aerially delivered retardant has soared in recent years, some forest advocates say the substance does more harm than good. They claim wildfire retardant drops are expensive, ineffective and a growing source of pollution for rivers and streams.

“There’s no scientific evidence that it makes any difference in wildfire outcomes,” said forester Andy Stahl. “This is like dumping cash out of airplanes, except that it’s toxic and you can’t buy anything with it because it doesn’t work.”

Now, a federal lawsuit in Montana that seeks to stop the U.S. Forest Service from dropping retardant into water could reshape how the agency battles wildfires throughout the western United States.

The case is being watched particularly closely by officials in California, where an extremely wet winter is likely to stoke the growth of so-called connecting fuels — grasses that can carry small flames from a spark on a roadway to chaparral and forested areas.

“This is going to destroy towns and many communities in California, if they allow this to go through,” said Paradise Mayor Greg Bolin, whose town was razed by the Camp fire in 2018. “To maybe save a few fish, really?”

The lawsuit, filed by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, of which Stahl is executive director, accuses the Forest Service of violating the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters without a permit.

The action comes as more retardant is being dropped from the air than ever before amid longer, more active fire seasons. In 2021, 52.8 million gallons of retardant were dumped on federal, state and private land, compared with a 10-year average of about 39 million gallons per year, according to figures provided by the Forest Service. More than half of the retardant the Forest Service used on national forest lands was dropped in California — more than any other state.

The Forest Service primarily uses ammonium phosphate-based retardant, which is intended to coat vegetation and other fuels around the edges of a fire to deprive advancing flames of oxygen. The goal is to slow fire spread and lessen its intensity so crews on the ground get a chance to directly attack it.

But the chemical, which is also used as fertilizer, can kill aquatic life. For example, in Santa Barbara County, dozens of endangered steelhead trout were killed in Maria Ygnacio Creek during the 2009 Jesusita fire. UC Santa Barbara scientists documented elevated ammonia levels in the water and concluded the fish kill was likely due to retardant drops.

The Forest Service has dropped more than 760,000 gallons of retardant into water, both accidentally and under an agency directive that such drops are permissible if they mitigate threats to human life or public safety, according to figures the agency released last year.

Plaintiffs in the case have asked the court to enjoin the Forest Service from spilling retardant into waterways. However, the Forest Service contends in court documents that the only way to do so is to stop using retardant altogether — an action that they say would deprive the service of a crucial firefighting tool.

Plaintiffs, however, say the Forest Service could instead increase the width of buffer zones alongside waterways where no retardant can be dropped.

After the suit was filed, the Forest Service asked the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a general permit to cover the discharge of retardant into waterways. The EPA estimates the process will take about 2½ years.

Facing the potential prospect of the Forest Service not being able to apply retardant from the air for more than two years, more than a dozen communities and interest groups have petitioned to intervene in the case. They include Paradise, Butte and Plumas counties in California and trade organizations representing private firefighting companies, the timber industry and agriculture.

“The impacts that everybody is experiencing in California and beyond are so dramatic that we have no option other than to build a coalition to try to cease any action that would result in a higher risk as it relates to wildfire damages,” said Matt Dias, chief executive of the California Forestry Assn.

Members of the trade group, which represents lumber mills, veneer plants and biomass facilities in the state, have lost hundreds of thousands of acres to wildfire over the past several years, he said. The effects extend beyond the forest products industry to include the loss of hundreds of lives, the depletion of carbon stocks and recreational opportunities, the degradation of air quality and the economic devastation of rural communities, he added.

“My understanding is that fire retardant is not good for waterways, but think of the other side of it,” said Butte County Supervisor Doug Teeter, who lost his home in the Camp fire. “A massive forest fire burning down a huge amount of acreage is probably worse for the environment.”

The Camp fire was the deadliest wildfire in California history, killing 84 people. Although retardant was unable to be used to save Paradise because the blaze moved too quickly, generating 100-mph winds and thick clouds of black smoke that grounded air tankers, retardant did stop the flames from spreading to nearby Chico and Durham, Bolin said.

The legal wrangling prompted U.S. Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R- Richvale) and Jimmy Panetta (D- Carmel) to on March 14 introduce a bill that would explicitly exempt firefighting agencies from having to obtain a permit for retardant use.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in a decades-long battle between FSEE and the Forest Service over the agency’s use of retardant. The nonprofit first sued the Forest Service in 2003 for failing to conduct the appropriate environmental analyses to use aerial retardant; a federal court ruled the agency must do so. The nonprofit again sued the Forest Service in 2008, alleging its environmental analysis was inadequate, and the court ruled the Forest Service had to do a more thorough analysis by the end of 2011.

That’s when the Forest Service agreed to map out exclusion areas where it would refrain from dropping retardant absent a risk to public safety, including buffers around vulnerable species habitat and waterways. The EPA told the agency at the time that if pilots complied with these guidelines, they would not need a permit, as they would not be discharging retardant into waterways.

But in a report released last year, the Forest Service admitted that it had dropped more than 1 million gallons of retardant into exclusion areas on 459 occasions from 2012 through 2019. Retardant landed in water on 213 of those occasions, representing less than 1% of the roughly 56,868 retardant drops the Forest Service made during that time frame, the agency said in court documents.

While the lawsuit primarily concerns the dropping of retardant into water, the issue of whether it works as intended has also been raised in court documents.

The Forest Service has argued that a prohibition on discharges of retardant into water would impair its firefighting capabilities and jeopardize safety, doing a disservice to the public interest. The FSEE has argued however that the agency lacks evidence that aerial retardant actually accomplishes those goals.

Studies performed by Forest Service scientists have concluded that aerial retardant slows fire spread in laboratory-based and experimental fires, but that its effectiveness in the field is dependent on environmental conditions like slope, fuel type, terrain and weather.

“Aerial retardant is effective over a narrow range of conditions, and the windows of opportunity for those conditions are narrowing each year due to climate change,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, a former wildland firefighter and executive director of the nonprofit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, which is not involved in the lawsuit.

Retardant is most effective when used in the cool of the morning on relatively level terrain with sparse vegetation during the initial attack of small fires burning near communities, he said. Ground crews must be nearby to take advantage of the reduced rate of spread by cutting containment lines; otherwise, the fire may slow only temporarily and then keep spreading, he said.

And yet, Ingalsbee said, research has shown that retardant is often dropped in the heat of the afternoon during the extended attack of large fires burning on steep, densely forested slopes in remote areas where ground crews can’t reach, or when fire behavior is so intense that it’s too dangerous for ground crews to engage.

“The Forest Service feels pressure to do something, as much for public relations as any operational benefit,” he said. “But it’s just a big airshow.”

March 29, 2023 Summit Fire and Medical District officials recently presented residents with the options.

By Sierra Ferguson Source The Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Mar. 28—Summit Fire and Medical District will close one eastside firehouse this year, and they’re asking the public to help them decide which one to keep.

There are three stations on the east side of the Summit Fire and Medical District: Station 31, on Cosnino Road; Station 32, on Koch Field Road; and Station 33, on Firehouse Lane near the Summit Fire District Maintenance building and Highway 89.

While there are three fire stations, right now there are only two Summit Fire engine companies operating on the east side. Due to budgetary constraints, in 2021, the Summit Fire Board dissolved one engine crew worth of personnel.

One of the two remaining crews has manned Station 31. Since October, the other crew has rotated between the Koch Field Road station and the firehouse near Highway 89.

Now, the fire board is looking to base that crew permanently out of either Station 32 or 33. The remaining building will be decommissioned, but not sold.

According to Flagstaff and Summit Fire Chief, Mark Gaillard, both properties will be retained by the district regardless of which one is shut down.

To find out which station the public would prefer to see operating moving forward, the board hosted a public input meeting at Cromer Elementary School on Thursday night.

“The board has a really difficult decision to make. We wanted to create a space for the public to come and weigh in on the choice that the board has,” Gaillard said when the meeting opened.

According to Mark Wilson, the Administrative Deputy Chief at Summit Fire and the City of Flagstaff, public input is just one factor the board is weighing in order to decide which fire station to abandon.

The board, Wilson said, will consider response times from each base of operations. They’ll also look at call density and risks to community safety in each location, and take into account facility design and community input.

An outside consultant was hired to analyze data related to costs, response times and other critical factors, offering the board a recommendation.

Instead of suggesting that one station or the other remain open, the consultant determined that the metrics were “too close to call,” according to Wilson. He said the consultant determined that Station 31 is in the most appropriate spot and that the ideal location for a second station would be on Silver Saddle Road.

“I believe the right answer is to close them both. Close them both now. Get a new station built on Silver Saddle where it belongs. Fix the problem long-term,” one community member said when the board sought public comment last week. “Continuing to do what we’re doing, what we’ve been doing for the last 10 to 15 years here, has not worked. We’ve seen that.”

The fire board, at present, is not considering building a new station on Silver Saddle Road.

The impending closure, Wilson said, comes after about a decade of budgetary challenges for the district.

In front of dozens of community members gathered at the Doney Park Elementary School, Wilson painted a picture of plunging tax revenues and rising operating costs — a picture of a fire district whose efforts to keep out of the red ultimately came up short.

In 2008, Summit Fire had $4.2 million in tax revenue to cover operating costs. By 2014, the district’s tax revenue had dipped to $3.5 million.

There were a number of reasons for that, Wilson said.

In 2010, after the Schultz Fire swept through the region, property values were re-assessed and dropped to give county residents a tax break and some breathing room financially.

In 2012, Proposition 117 capped the annual increase in real property used to calculate property taxes to 5%.

“Now you can’t rebound more than 5% in any given year,” said Wilson. “It took us 12 years…to get back to where we were collecting the same revenue that we were collecting in 2008 to cover the cost of running a fire district.”

In that time, the cost of doing business had gone up for the fire service.

“We had a deficit of two or three thousand dollars in a 10-year timeline,” said Wilson. “Hard costs, costs of doing business, not salaries, including public safety retirement pensions went up 20% in that time. Our healthcare went up 40%. Our worker’s comp went up 116%. Our insurance went up an additional 26%.”

In an effort to keep the district afloat financially, Summit Fire and Medical District entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Flagstaff. The two departments consolidated administrative roles in 2015. They agreed to share a fire chief and support one another in call response and training.

“It was a savings of about $50,000 a year to hire a new chief for Summit, compared to what the city could charge,” Wilson said. “We both knew that we had deficits in our staffing and in our capacity to provide service levels. That IGA has been going on for 8 years. The City of Flagstaff has never raised the rate one dime. I assure you, the cost of those administrators has gone up, but that has been a flat rate agreement between the City and Summit, and it saved Summit a lot of money over those eight years.”

If Thursday night’s meeting felt like deja vu, it’s because Summit has taken similarly drastic measures to cut costs before. In addition to entering the IGA with Flagstaff Fire in 2015, the board closed one of Summit’s Highway 180 stations.

In later years, Summit would utilize bonds for debt consolidation, catching up on capital costs and growing pension expenses. None of those steps, presenters asserted Friday, helped to achieve fiscal stability.

“During that time we were treading water,” Wilson said. “In 2021, we advised the board we could no longer tread water. The gap was starting to separate. We need to do something dramatic.”

That’s when the district entered what they call the “Eastside Restructure Pilot.” They launched the process of shutting down a fire station.

The board cut seven firefighting positions, which Wilson said were vacated due to attrition rather than layoffs. For 18 months, the remaining firefighters that weren’t assigned to Station 31 started rotating between 32 and 33, all the while gathering data.

The data was analyzed by an outside consultant, but the board didn’t act on that right away. Instead, they postponed officially closing a station in hopes that Proposition 310 would pass, bolstering tax revenues.

The proposition failed, and the Summit Fire Board was left with data on both stations and a big decision to make.

On average, the national emergency response time for rural fire departments is 10 minutes. According to Wilson, when crews responded from Station 32, they arrived at their call in about 6.59 minutes on average. The average response time from Station 33 was 7.45 minutes.

Station 33 offers quick access to Highway 89. It’s an older facility and the farthest north of the three stations.

The majority of speakers at Cromer Elementary School Thurday said they would prefer to see the station on Firehouse Lane station remain open.

Many of those speakers own property or live in Timberline or Fernwood — neighborhoods that have been rattled by three catastrophic wildfires in the last decade, and are now subject to devastating flooding.

“The most important reason to keep Station 33 open is that Government Tank will continue to flood during monsoon for years to come, closing Highway 89 for periods of time and putting residents, travelers on 89, recreationists, forest restoration and flood mitigation workers north of Government Tank at extreme risk when 89 is closed,” said Marilyn Ruggles, who has attended fire board meetings regularly over the last 18 months.

Flagstaff Fire and the Summit crew at Station 31 would be able to respond to calls Farther south and east when the highway was closed and communities farther up 89 would still have first responders on deck, Ruggles argued.

Daniela Harrison told the fire board Thursday that she believes Station 33 is the best fit too. For one thing, it’s close to a high-traffic corridor — tourists use Highway 89 to access popular sites like Grand Canyon National Park and Wupatki National Monument.

Harrison also pointed out there might be more reasons in the future to keep the northmost station.

“The hospital is going to be located outside of the city. Having EMTs that are able to reach the northern part fast…before they can get all the way up to the hospital? It’s going to make a big difference,” she said.

Station 32 is centrally located in the fire district, closer to Cromer Elementary School and closer to the highest volume of people and calls for service. The building itself is much newer, and Station 32 features a large bay space for equipment.

One of the primary concerns associated with the location on Koch Field, however, is its lack of a workout room. Summit Firefighters are required to work out daily, and when they’re stationed at 32, they have to leave their post and work out at Station 33.

No one spoke on behalf of seeing Station 32 remain open last week.

According to Wilson, the fire board will decide the fate of one of the two buildings in April. In the meantime, they are still looking for online community feedback. A digital comment card can be filled out at summitfiredepartment.org.

March 29, 2023 North Syracuse Firefighter Peter Dromms collapsed at a fire in January.

By Catie O’Toole Source syracuse.com (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

North Syracuse, N.Y. — North Syracuse’s longest serving, active firefighter has died 2 1/2 months after he suffered a heart attack at the scene of a house fire in the village.

Firefighter Peter Dromms, a 55-year veteran of the North Syracuse Fire Department, died Saturday. He was 77.

Dromms had surgery after his heart attack, was released from the hospital, but quickly returned a day or two later due to complications, North Syracuse Fire Chief Pat Brennan said.

Shortly before midnight on Jan. 13, Dromms was helping with exterior operations, staging lights and moving fans, trying to help get fresh air into a house on fire in the 600 block of Chestnut Street, the chief said.

Dromms walked over to a fellow firefighter and a former EMT, and said he wasn’t feeling well, the chief said. He appeared pale and sweaty, he said.

Firefighters alerted NAVAC ambulance crews who were already on the scene because initially it was thought an elderly person might be inside.

Dromms was having a heart attack, Brennan said.

NAVAC transported Dromms to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse.

Dromms had surgery and eventually went home, but was quickly readmitted to the hospital after complications, Brennan said.

Dromms, who seemed to be doing better, called the chief Friday afternoon from the hospital.

“The day before he died, he called me from the hospital to thank me for taking care of his wife,” Brennan said. “We talked about some fire department stuff. It was a good conversation…”

Less than 24 hours later, Dromms was pronounced dead.

“We never, ever expected this,” Brennan said after leaving Dromms’ home Sunday evening. “He had no heart condition. This was the first time he experienced anything like this. He passed his physical (last April).”

After Dromms had a heart attack, fellow North Syracuse volunteer firefighters stepped up since they knew he was his wife’s primary caregiver, Brennan said. They set up Meals on Wheels so Dromms’ wife had good meals and they took her to the store because she doesn’t drive; others shoveled their driveway when it snowed, the chief said.

“To us, it’s no big deal, but when he was in the hospital, he appreciated someone was looking out for his family,” Brennan said. “It’s a family affair.”

Dromms graduated from North Syracuse High School in 1963 and served in the Vietnam War with the U.S. Navy, according to his obituary. He later worked for Verizon, retiring after 36 years.

He joined the North Syracuse Fire Department on Nov. 7, 1967.

He served as the department’s volunteer fire chief, as well as the North Syracuse Firefighter’s Association’s president, treasurer and other positions throughout the years. He also was qualified to drive every piece of apparatus and responded frequently, Brennan said.

On his last call this winter, Dromms was driving what Brennan described as “one of the most sophisticated pieces of apparatus we have in the organization.” Truck 1 has a 100-foot ladder, the chief said.

“Sometimes fire departments struggle with manpower for nighttime alarms,” Brennan said.

But Dromms not only responded to calls in North Syracuse, he also volunteered at the Old Forge Fire Department where he had a camp and visited each summer, his chief said.

“I’m telling you, he was a rock,” Brennan said. “For 77 years old, he had the drive and ambition of an 18-year-old.”

Dromms is survived by his wife, Gail, and daughters, Jennifer and Patricia. He will be laid to rest with military honors Friday at North Syracuse Cemetery.

March 28, 2023 Two children died in a house fire on Staten Island on Dec. 23.

By Thomas Tracy Source New York Daily News (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Faulty electrical wiring sparked two massive Staten Island infernos that took the lives of two children and seriously injured three firefighters, FDNY officials said Tuesday.

FDNY Fire Marshals determined faulty wiring was to blame in the Dec. 23 blaze on Van Duzer St. in Grymes Hill that killed a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy and injured four other siblings.

Two other children in the family — boys, ages 5 and 10 — were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Two older children, a boy, 12, and a girl, 14, suffered smoke inhalation. Their mother, who was not at home at the time of the fire, collapsed outside and was rushed to the hospital in shock, authorities said.

A firefighter was also hospitalized with minor injuries.

The marshals determined faulty wiring also sparked a massive inferno that tore through two homes on Shotwell Ave. in Arden Heights on Feb. 17. The fire quickly raged out of control and caused a section of building to collapse.

Two firefighters and an FDNY lieutenant were hospitalized with serious injuries.

One of the injured firefighters had to dive out of a second-floor window to escape the flames, FDNY sources said. Another was pulled unconscious from the collapse and later diagnosed with a brain injury before regaining consciousness.

“I cannot emphasize enough that this was a very close call for the FDNY,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at the time. “We could have lost three members today.”

Nineteen firefighters suffered minor injuries, FDNY officials said.

When he was released from Staten Island University Hospital North more than three weeks later, FDNY Lt. Bill Doody from Ladder 84 said he was “lucky” to be alive.

Fire marshals classified both fires accidental.

March 27, 2023 The precedent-setting officers of the Nassau County Junior Volunteer Firefighters’ Association hope other young women will join the ranks.

By Susan Nicol Source firehouse.com News

A historic event occurred in January on Long Island.

There were no satellite trucks set up and it didn’t make the evening news. But, it was something that will be etched in history in the area. 

An all-female board was elected to head the Nassau County Junior Firefighters’ Association.

It took a few minutes after the election in January for everyone to realize they were involved in history.

“As I was reading the names of those elected, I thought ‘wow, they’re all girls,’” said Jerry Presta, senior advisor and board chairman of the organization.

In 2006, the county fire association established a group specific to junior firefighters. While six or seven departments had youth programs, all were operating alone.

“The thought was we should get all these junior firefighters together so they can train together and share experiences,” Presta explained adding that the fledging group is now 900 strong from 48 companies.

“We started out small but it took off like a rocket,” he said with a laugh, adding that it’s the only one in the country. 

At those early meetings, the teens typically sat with their own groups and didn’t mingle much. But, that was short-lived as friends were made and bonds were formed.

In addition to training at the individual departments, the teens get together throughout the year to hold exercises.

In July, they spend an entire week at the county training academy doing everything from searches, interior firefighting and practicing bail out scenarios. Their skills also are put to the test in the flash over simulator.

NCJFA President Kyra Kozey, who recently completed her EMT training, said participating in Camp Fahrenheit 516 gave her confidence she never knew she had.

“It was really challenging,” she said. “I was apprehensive at first, but I loved it…”

She added that teens are encouraged to try but not forced to participate in an activity at the camp that was named by the junior firefighters. 516 is their area code. 

Her friends were shocked when they learned she had joined the Syosset Fire Department.

“When they saw me in my firefighting gear and jumping out of buildings, they thought it was pretty cool,” she said adding that she’s recruited several to give it a shot. “They now understand that it is cool. I think it’s wonderful. I think other communities should have programs because it’s good for youths. It teaches you a lot.”

It’s been an eye-opening experience for all.

Samara Mehta, the secretary, said when she signed up with Jericho Fire Department, her dad was all for it.

“But my mom was totally against it especially when she heard about the fire academy. Anything with fire or danger, she said ‘absolutely not.’ “

But she came around after seeing the gear and learning that safety was paramount at the training academy.

There’s a 10-page application that the youths and their parents or guardians are required to complete. Rules and regulations of the program are included.

The teens are involved in all activities at their departments such as fund raisers, open houses and details.

Throwing ladders, donning gear and learning how to bandage a bleeding patient aren’t the only things they’re learning.

Second Vice President Khadeejah Memon said being a member has enhanced her life skills such as leadership, self-confidence and responsibility.

Older girls in the program encouraged her and showed her the ropes which she said she’ll always be grateful. Now, she’s mentoring others.

She and the other junior firefighters are doing a balancing act as they also are involved in a number of school activities as well.

Public speaking is not something any of them wanted to do. All agreed they’d rather run into a burning building than speaking in front of a crowd.

But they set aside their fears when it came to addressing their fellow junior firefighters on election day. Each had to explain why they should be given the opportunity.

“I think there were 200 in the room. I was so nervous,” Kyra said.

The others whole-heartedly agreed. Some had practiced with family and friends. 

And, their colleagues listened. 

When the results were read, Kyra said they looked around the room at each other and smiled. “It was just a great moment of realization.”

Samara said she hopes the all-female board will serve as the catalyst for other young women who may now be encouraged to reach out to follow a career as a firefighter or EMT.