Firefighter Broke Vertebra In Collision

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Firefighter Broke Vertebra In Collision

Firefighter Broke Vertebra In Collision:

Firefighter Broke Vertebra In Collision
June 26, 2007

California - A 77-year-old Madera County paid-call volunteer firefighter, who suffered a fractured neck vertebra Saturday during an accident, was expected to be released Monday from a Fresno hospital. The injury occurred when a water-tender truck en route to a vegetation fire collided with a car. Cal Fire Division Chief Roscoe Rowney wouldn't name the injured volunteer, but said he had been "around for a long time."

"Basically, we don't have an age limit ... if you're physically capable of doing the job," Rowney said. "This man is in very good physical condition."

Cal Fire trains Madera County's volunteers. Some 190 are available for fire calls. The county equips them and pays them for fire and traffic accident responses.

Cal Fire professional firefighters take physicals every two years, but volunteers only take a physical when they begin the job. Physicals also can be required of volunteers if a Cal Fire supervisor sees a need, Rowney said.

The driver of the water tender, a 52-year-old volunteer firefighter from Chowchilla, also was injured when the 26-ton 1990 Freightliner, with 4,000 gallons of water aboard, slammed into a 1992 Honda at 7 p.m. Saturday at the rural intersection of Avenue 21 and Road 26 northeast of Madera.

She was released Saturday night from Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. The driver and passenger in the Honda also were released.

The two firefighters were trapped in the cab of the water tender, which rolled over into an orchard after the collision. The Honda occupants were taken to the hospital after complaining of pain, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Honda, traveling westbound on Avenue 21, apparently ran a stop sign, driving into the path of the oncoming water tender, which was operating with red lights and sirens. The air horn on the fire apparatus also was sounded, the CHP said.

The CHP report didn't name any of the four people injured in the accident. CHP Madera County commander Lt. Dave Paris said Monday the officers who investigated the crash were in training. Records showed "primary fault" on the Honda, but the accident still was under investigation, Paris said.

A Cal Fire Serio'us Accident Review Team also will investigate, checking training records of the water tender driver and maintenance records on the vehicle itself. The team will seek to learn what happened and how to avoid such accidents in the future, Rowney said.

How about the 77-year-old injured volunteer's return to firefighting?

"He's debating at this point, but I'd love to have him back," Rowney said.

Written by Fresno Bee

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007