Administrative Assistant
FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH TWO FIRES OVERNIGHT
Moab Valley Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at 6:56 PM on Tuesday, May 9, 2006. Firefighters arrived on the scene at Pack Creek Estates Mobile Home Park two minutes later and found heavy smoke inside a manufactured home. Firefighters made an offensive attack and extinguished an active fire in the kitchen. Apparently, a grease fire on the stove in the home had ignited surrounding materials. The resident of the home had escaped the fire but made an attempt to rescue several pets. She was unable to get back inside the home and was later transported to Allen Memorial Hospital by a Grand County Emergency Medical Service ambulance. Firefighters rescued two cats, an iguana, and a ferret from the fire. All of the animals survived. The home suffered extensive fire damage in the kitchen and smoke damage throughout. In another incident, firefighters were called to a fire near the Colorado River bridge on U.S. Highway 191 north of Moab at 12:35 AM Wednesday, May 10, 2006. Moab Valley Fire Department personnel found one fourth of an acre of brush burning near the bridge and made a direct attack from both the bridge and the ground below. Investigation revealed that a man who had been fishing in the area had set some toilet paper ablaze and that, in turn, ignited surrounding brush. The man helped his companions evacuate the area and called 911 to report the fire. He returned and attempted to extinguish the fire himself. No injuries were reported and other than vegetation, the only damage that resulted was to a power line servicing a streetlight.
NORTH MOAB RESIDENCE HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FIRE
Moab Valley Fire Department was dispatched to a “structure fire with smoke and flames showing” at 11:44 AM on Wednesday, March 15, 2006. Firefighter Phillip Mosher arrived at the North Moab address one minute later and transmitted a working structure fire at a one-story, single-family residence with a carport and passenger car fully involved. Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer and Engine 10 arrived two minutes after the first call and began extinguishment operations. The occupant of the residence, who had been inside at the time the fire began, had told first arriving firefighters that there were no people inside the house but that her cat was still inside. Firefighters opened the front door of the house and the cat escaped unharmed. The occupant suffered some singed hair when she threw a bucket of water on the fire before a pair of passersby evacuated her from the scene. The house suffered near total destruction of the carport, including the destruction of a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier, and heavy damage to the laundry room adjacent to the carport, the attic area, and structural roof components. The interior of the house and its contents suffered smoke and minor water damage. The house next door was threatened initially by the fire in the carport and was damaged on one end when radiant heat charred exterior siding and broke a window. Some items stored in the yard of the neighboring house also were damaged. Chief Brewer estimated that damage to the fire building, contents, and the car totaled approximately $75,000.00 and damage to the neighboring house was estimated at $1,000.00. “Everything went very smoothly, nobody got hurt, and most of the contents of the building were undamaged,” Chief Brewer said. The apparent cause of the fire was fireplace ashes and embers that were discarded in a plastic bucket in the carport earlier that morning. Apparently, the bucket melted and allowed ignition of surrounding materials.
BRANDING IRON RESTAURANT SUFFERS MAJOR FIRE DAMAGE
The Branding Iron restaurant suffered major damage from a fire early in the morning of Monday, July 25, 2005. Moab Valley Fire Department was dispatched to a possible structure fire at 5:12 AM. The fire department’s Officer-In-Charge arrived two minutes later and found heavy smoke billowing from a ventilator on the roof and from around a window at the roof line on the South end of the building. A “working structure fire” was transmitted to incoming personnel. Firefighters used high-power ventilation fans to perform a “positive pressure” attack that confined most of the fire in the attic areas and roof systems of the building. Most of the damage to the interior of the restaurant was from high heat, smoke, and water although firefighters had to pull down large areas of the ceiling throughout the building to gain access to the attic. The exterior roof was also opened to aid in extinguishing the fire. “The building is probably a total loss because of the large amount of damage to the roof systems,” said Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries to firefighters were reported. “The fire was apparently accidental and probably caused by an electrical problem,” Brewer said. Investigators from the Moab Valley Fire Department, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, and the Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office were working together Tuesday to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire. No estimate of dollar loss was immediately available.
UNITED EFFORT STOPS WILDFIRE
The “Spanish Valley Fire," a 62-acre wildfire near Ken’s Lake burned in grass, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper trees but caused no damage to any private property on Thursday, July 7, 2005. The blaze on Utah State Institutional Trust Lands was battled by firefighters from the Moab Valley Fire Department, the United States Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Forest Service. Two single-engine air tankers from federal bases in Colorado dropped retardant ahead of the fire to create control lines. In all, 16 firefighters with 7 fire engines from Moab Valley Fire Department and 20 federal firefighters with 5 engines worked for about two-and-a-half hours before bringing the fire under control although some personnel stayed for as long as six hours “mopping up” and monitoring the area for flare-ups. The Grand County Road Department provided water tank trucks and a bulldozer and local road construction company LeGrand Johnson brought in over 5,000 gallons of water in one of its tankers. Grand County Search and Rescue personnel cruised the fire lines on ATVs handing out bottles of water and Gatorade to the troops while a Grand County ambulance stood by ready to treat any injuries. There were none reported. Grand and San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputies closed the La Sal Mountain Loop Road for a short time because smoke obscured visibility for motorists. Management of the incident was accomplished with a Unified Command structure. Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer and Clark Maughan, Engine Foreman with the Moab District, Bureau of Land Management, were the Incident Commanders. The cause of the fire is under investigation. For information on wildfires across the state and advice on how to prevent them visit: utahfireinfo.gov.
FIREFIGHTERS' HARD WORK PAYS OFF
Moab’s firefighters concentrated their training efforts this year on gaining professional certification in six different categories. The firefighters’ training totals more than 3000 man-hours each year. Moab Fire Department participates in the Utah Fire Service Certification System, a standardized qualifications process that assures firefighters across the state maintain the same quality of training and service. Utah’s certification process is accredited by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, a professional firefighters qualifications board that requires firefighters to attain standardized skills as set forth by the National Fire Protection Association and the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Utah State Legislature initiated the Certification System in 1981. In 1987 Moab Fire Department was the first volunteer fire service in the state to gain professional certification. Retired Moab Fire Chief Troy Black was one of the charter members of the Utah Fire Service Certification Council. The council governs the certification process in Utah. Chief Corky Brewer was appointed to the council as a representative of the rural fire service three years ago. In 2004, the members of Moab Fire Department rose to the challenges of advanced training in both firefighting and hazardous materials emergency mitigation. Thirteen firefighters trained and certified at the Firefighter 2 level, a voluntary process that is not required of members. Four long-time members were already certified at that level. Ten members trained for 80 hours and gained the highest level of Hazardous Materials certification: Technician. Those members were already certified at the Hazardous Materials Operations level that is a requirement for membership in the department. In 2002 and 2003, the majority of the department’s members trained during an eighteen-month course to achieve the Operations certification. Two members certified at the Operations level this year and one certified at the Hazardous Materials Awareness level, the first step for all firefighters entering the certification process. Another eleven members are awaiting test results at both the Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations levels.
Firefighter Kurt Kause advanced his Utah Wildland Firefighter qualifications to the highest level offered by the Certification System. Kause and Battalion Chief John Flahie join Chief Corky Brewer and Battalion Chief Curt Stoughton as employees of the Utah Fire & Rescue Academy at Utah Valley State College. Stoughton is Moab Fire Department’s Training Officer. He and Chief Brewer are employed as Certification Testers. They are called to travel to fire departments across Utah to administer both written and skills examinations to firefighters working towards certification. Kause was hired as an Adjunct Fire Service Instructor for the college while Flahie gained qualification and employment as a Certification Tester. Kause will travel to the Academy and other locations around the state to deliver professional training courses to firefighters. Kause, Stoughton, Flahie, and Firefighters August Brooks and William Zanotti are Certified Fire Service Instructors within the Certification System. Four relatively new members achieved firefighter certification at the Firefighter 1 level, a department requirement for membership. Of the 41 members of the Moab Fire Department, 37 are Certified Firefighter 1. Four new recruits are working towards that certification. More than two hundred hours of on-the-job and classroom training are required to meet the Firefighter 1 challenge. The new Firefighter 1 group includes Firefighter Jenny Tuft, the first female in the history of the Moab Fire Department to earn the credentials of a professional firefighter.
HOUSE FIRE CAUSES STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
The Moab Fire Department was dispatched to a house fire at a Millcreek Drive address at 12:30PM on Monday, August 23, 2004. Assistant Fire Chief Monte Curtis arrived two minutes later and transmitted a “working structure fire” to incoming units. Firefighters knocked down the fire and performed primary and secondary searches for any occupants within the first five minutes of arrival. No one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries to firefighters occurred. The house sustained major structural damage under the floor in two rooms as well as the loss of some contents in a bedroom and the termination of utility service to the home. Although the exact cause of the blaze is unknown, fire investigators have determined that the fire began underneath the home and was probably caused by an electrical failure. Investigators believe that the fire may have burned undetected for as long as half an hour before making its way out of a crawl space opening then burning up the side of an exterior wall and through a thin covering of siding that blocked off an unused doorway. The fire caused smoke damage throughout the house but heat and water damage were contained in the bedroom and a bathroom/laundry room area. Damage to the structural components and the utility services made the house unlivable initially and representatives of the American Red Cross and the family’s church were called to the scene to begin providing for the immediate needs of the residents. For more information or to contact Moab Fire Department, please visit www.moabfiredepartment.com or call 435-259-5557.
HAZMAT TASK FORCE COMPLETES INITIAL TRAINING
The Moab Valley Fire Protection District made a very large commitment four years ago to become the premier hazardous materials emergency response agency in the community. “We didn’t have much of a choice,” said Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer. “The State of Utah, after offering limited hazardous materials emergency service for many years, introduced its Regional HazMat Teams concept then essentially got out of the HazMat response business. We were pretty much on our own after that”. Grand and San Juan Counties’ hometown resources, public safety and public works agencies, became the ‘Region 7 HazMat Task Force’. Although the State’s Division of Emergency Services and Homeland Security does assist in securing equipment funding and training, it is now the responsibility of local jurisdictions to provide all of their own services. The regional concept supposes that if there is an overwhelming emergency in one region, resources from another region can be called to assist. The Moab Valley firefighters have worked through an intense training regimen over the last four years to become self-sufficient. Awareness Level training and certification was first with about 8 hours of education in basic identification and isolation skills. The Awareness Level is mandatory for all emergency responders and has been a part of the Moab Valley Fire Department’s weekly training since early in 2000. Prior to that, the firefighters had only limited exposure to basic identification training. Next was the Operations Level that certified the firefighters to act defensively, that is, to perform emergency rescues & decontamination of victims and responders and to perform containment and control actions. The entire Moab Valley Fire Department trained over eighteen months in 2002 and 2003 to gain that level of certification and proficiency. Finally, ten of the forty firefighters, supported by their respective agencies advanced to the Technician Level during eighty hours of additional training during the first three months of 2004. Technicians perform the offensive actions: entering into and sampling hazardous environments, making positive identification of hazardous substances by testing samples, plugging and patching holes in containers and pipes, stopping leaks in damaged valves, repackaging leaking drums, capping tank trucks and railroad cars that are leaking. Federal and state laws require continuous training for HazMat personnel and Moab Valley Fire Department has added those components to its weekly training schedule. The Technicians have additional continuing education requirements and must undergo both written and skills tests by the Utah Fire & Rescue Academy every three years. The Region 7 HazMat Task Force is made up of personnel from the Moab Fire Department, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, the Moab City Police, and the Moab City Public Works Department, all of whom also volunteer as Moab firefighters. San Juan County Emergency Services is the lead agency for that county’s resources. Funding for personnel costs is borne by the participating agencies while most of the money for equipment comes from federal sources. The Moab Valley Fire Protection District manages the continuing training and operation of the Task Force. “Before the Regional concept came into play, the Fire Department was the initial HazMat responder by default even though we had no training or proper equipment,” Chief Brewer said. “We had a few HazMat qualified Highway Patrol Troopers posted across the state who would come to assist if we had a HazMat emergency. If we had to call a HazMat team in from Salt Lake City, the lead-time was at least eight hours before help arrived. Now we are fielding our own forces who can respond immediately to get the job done."
CHAINSAW INCIDENT IS FIRST RESCUE WITH NEW LADDER TRUCK
Moab Fire Department was dispatched to assist Grand County Emergency Medical Service with a chainsaw accident at 10:09 AM on Monday, February 10, 2003 at a downtown Moab residence. The Fire Department’s "Rescue 1," a specialized vehicle that carries technical rescue tools and equipment as well as emergency medical supplies and equipment arrived on the scene 2 minutes later. The rescue crew found an adult male approximately 20 feet up in a tree that he had been trimming with the chainsaw. The man had a severe and potentially life-threatening wound to his left wrist and was unable to climb down from the tree. The man’s helper was also in the tree. Fire Department personnel called for "Engine 2," the Department’s newest apparatus. The truck is known as a "Quint" in the fire service because it performs 5 jobs: it is a pumper truck, it has an aerial water stream, has an aerial ladder, carries a full complement of ground ladders and carries large diameter hose for securing water supplies. The Quint’s crew deployed its 75 - foot aerial ladder with two firefighters on it to the exact spot where the man was harnessed to the tree while another firefighter attended to the man from an extension ladder set against the tree. The man stepped from the tree to the aerial ladder where his harness was removed by firefighters and the helper. Once the man was aboard the aerial, it was rotated to within 10 feet of a waiting ambulance and just 5 feet from the ground where police officers and EMTs assisted the man off of the aerial device and directly onto the ambulance’s gurney. This incident marks the first rescue with the aerial device in an emergency. "I believe this apparatus is an essential piece of our overall response plan. This rescue demonstrates that the truck is very versatile and will be priceless to the public and firefighters alike," said Fire Chief Corky Brewer.
