The Things They Carry: PTSD in the Fire Service - Rhode Island Monthly
www.rimonthly.com
Rhode Island firefighters run toward destruction, injury and death and what they see takes a toll on their mental health.Our condolences to the members of Local 1009 on the loss of their brother in an overnight fire.
Two-thirds of home fire deaths result from broken smoke alarms. Check your smoke alarms and replace the backup batteries when you change the clock. #IAFF #IAFFSafetyTips
Our members are out with a working fire on Orchard Drive. Stay safe.
Remembering our brother today, Firefighter Chris Borges. Photo by Ken LaBelle (NRI Fire Photos).
Rest In Peace 🙏 God Bless
❤❤❤
✊🇺🇸
Think of him all the time. RIP Borgey you are in our thoughts and prayers
I'm so sorry for your loss.
The members of the Cumberland Firefighters Local 2722 wish to extend our condolences to the family of Jeff Henault and to the Brothers, Sisters and Executive board of Woonsocket Fire Department L732 on the tragic passing of their brother and union president Jeff Henault. Jeff was a great friend and Labor leader he will be sorely missed.
Rest In Peace
Rest In Peace. Thank you for your service 🇺🇸🇺🇸
❤❤❤
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
He was a great friend
may he RIP.
Our members are operating at a two alarm fire on Wysteria Lane.
#ggb
Stay safe!
Be safe. Brothers providence canteen1 was on location to help
Be safe!
Stay safe..
Stay safe
Which house on the street?
Be safe!
Thank you @Mattdallaire for your thoughtful gift to the members of Local 2722. It will be hung in the Union Hall with pride.
Matt was deployed with the US Airforce. He had this flag (that flew aboard his plane) and certificate framed to be hung in The Dugout.
Thank you Matt for your service to your country.
Congratulations
Thank you for your service
Proud of you Matt! Thank you for your service!
That kid right there! Always a great person. Matt Dallaire
Thank you for your service
Thank you for your service!
Thank you for your service to our country Matt!
Thank you Matt for your service lm very proud of u love you !!
Thank you for your service Matt..🇺🇸
Thank you for your Service Sir 🇺🇸🙏🏻❤️
Mikey Wo Benjamin Thomas Kaitlynn C Doherty lets go
thanks forgetting about me??????
If you see a #firefighter today remember to thank him or her for protecting your community on this #InternationalFirefightersDay
Thank you!
Thank you for you service!
International Firefighter Day......Thank you for your service and the care you bring with you to every call. God bless you all. 🙏
Thank You!!!! Cumberland Firefighters!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Starting at 0400 (4 a.m.) on Tuesday, April 23rd, our phone lines will be down while we make our move to our new location: 1379 Diamond Hill Road. While the phone lines are down, please utilize the 911 system to contact us. We expect the phone lines to be up by 0700 (7 a.m.) the latest. Our phone numbers will remain the same after the service is switched over. We apologize for the inconvenience during the service interruption period.
***Please note this page is NOT monitored. We will try our best to respond in a timely manner***
One of our newest recruits, FFOP Dennis DiGuillio along with L-1, spent the morning reading and discussing fire safety to 5th graders at Ashton School. According to Dennis, just 12 years earlier he sat as a student in one of these seats.
My little brother is in 5th grade at Ashton I will have to ask if he saw him ❤️ my brothers name is also Dennis actually 🤷🏽♀️
You Dennis Deguilio are an amazing young man! And look at the kids, they are paying attention! 😄 I believe you found a great career for you and people feel safe with strong men like you looking after their safety. So proud of you! 🤩🥰
How’s it feel being in my shoes? Proud of you!!! ❤️ Dennis Deguilio
Stephen Schonhoff ..... front row 💙
So happy to see Dennis back at Ashton. You and L-1 firemen make us proud!
Nice job I am so proud of you Dennis Deguilio. Your going to be a great asset to your community! One proud auntie
Great young man❤️Bonne Chance Dennis😊
It’s reading week at Ashton School. Our members enjoy getting out and interacting with the kids.
Good looking crowd.
Strong work!!
Good for you
Stanley Haworth your reading now?
Congratulations to our members who participated in the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb today. They raised $1,778 which will help provide patient education, support research and advocacy efforts for everyone living with lung disease including COPD, lung cancer and asthma.
Congratulations!!🎉
Great work team!!!
Congratulations
Strong work!
Nice job!
Awesome!!! Well done!
Great work
Great Job
Kudos!
Outstanding!!
Congratulations
CongratulationsCongratulations boys!!!!
Awesome Achievement!! Congratulations
Congratulations!!
‘0600 hrs.: ‘All this to put out a little fire?’
0415 HRS. “Attention Engines 2, 7, 12, Ladders 7 and 4, Special Hazards, Rescue 3 and Battalion 3 a stillbox.” Bright light floods the fire stations at Branch Avenue, North Main Street and Admiral Street.
Firefighters immediately rise from their bunks and slide the brass poles. Within 20 seconds they are dressed in their turnout gear and mounting their apparatus.
The PA system blares:
“Attention Engines 2, 7, 12, Ladders 7 and 4, Special Hazards, Rescue 3 and Battalion 3, respond to 63 Douglas Avenue for a reported building fire, possibly occupied.”
Immediately, fire trucks are on their way. Hundreds of hours spent studying streets ensure there will be no mistake; the trucks will arrive in the shortest time possible.
The first in companies consist of four firefighters from Engine 2 and three on Ladder 7.
0420 hrs. “Engine 2 on scene, three-story wood frame, fire on the second floor, occupied. Code Red.”
Code Red signals that a working fire has been found at the location. Air packs are donned, tools readied and nerves steadied. Sirens echo in the empty streets.
A fire rages on the second floor of a tenement house. The first-floor tenant who discovered the fire and made the first 911 call relays information that people, a single man on the second and an elderly couple on the third, are still in the house.
The driver of Engine 2 stops his vehicle 50 feet past the fire building, transfers power from the transmission to the pump, gets out of the cab and prepares to feed the attack companies the water necessary to extinguish the blaze. He opens the tank to pump valve, throttles up and gets ready for commands. Engine 2’s officer, the incident commander for now, is sizing up the fireground, planning the attack until the chief arrives and establishes Douglas Command. Strict rules will be followed: the incident command system, a nationally used method of organizing emergency responses of all sizes, must be used. The remaining two firefighters from Engine 2 stretch 250 feet of 1 3/4-inch attack line toward the rear door, knowing that it will lead to the second story stairs.
“Battalion 3 on scene, establishing Douglas Command.”
“Ladder 7 on scene.”
“Rescue 3 on scene, establishing EMS Sector.”
The rescue is ready to triage victims and call for additional help if needed. The ladder company is prepared to “get the roof.”
The driver of the ladder truck slows down 200 feet from the fire. Utility wires, parked cars and trees obstruct his path toward the roof. The officer leaves the cab and finds a good spot to set up. There is no second chance. A wrong placement of the ladder will severely hamper the firefighting efforts. He directs the driver toward the front of the house, stopping him at the perfect location.
The driver switches the truck from drive to PTO, which enables the aerial ladder to begin operations. He and the third firefighter get ready to raise the ladder to the roof. Outriggers must be lowered and secured, the ladder unlocked, then raised. One person handles the controls, the other watches the progress.
The officer is at the rear of the house helping to force the door open. Once the ladder is in place, rising 55 feet between utility wires and through tree branches, the firefighters load up their tools, a quick vent saw, axes and poles, and begin to climb. Inside the house heat and gasses are accumulating, filling the space. Ventilation is imperative. Failure is not an option.
0423 hrs. “Engine 7 on scene, establishing water supply.”
The second due engine is responsible for water supply. Its crew finds the closest hydrant, 500 feet away, and stops the truck. The officer and one of the firefighters get out, take two lengths of three-inch hose from the hose bed and the hydrant dressing gear and signal the driver to go. Engine 7 rolls toward Engine 2, trailing the supply lines without which no fire will be extinguished.
0425 hrs.
“Engine 2 to pump operator, charge my line!”
The firefighter at the pump expertly pulls levers and gates, and then watches as the initial 250-foot attack line fills with water and slithers toward the rear door, up the stairs into the toxic atmosphere and toward the pipe. Engine 2 carries 500 gallons of water, enough for about three minutes. The officer of Ladder 7 has located the sleeping occupant of the second floor and is helping him out of the house. The firefighters from Engine 2 man the line and hit the fire, plunging the apartment into darkness. The heat and smoke are unbearable, even to firefighters fully dressed in gear.
The fire is stubborn, more water needed.
0426 hrs. “Special Hazards on scene.”
“Battalion 3 to Special Hazards, start a primary search of the second floor.”
“Ladder 4 on scene.”
“Battalion 3 to Ladder 4, Primary on the third.”
The Hazards and Ladder 4 turn in their packs and enter the building. The man from the second floor is safe and in the rescue vehicle. Another rescue is called for transport.
The battle rages. On the steeply pitched roof, the two firefighters from Ladder 7 straddle the peak, start the quick-vent saw that starts on the first pull — no accident; every piece of equipment is thoroughly checked daily — and begin ventilating. A proper hole needs to be 4 feet by 4 feet. The two firefighters from Engine 7 have “dressed the hydrant,” removed all three ports, attached a hydrant gate to the large-diameter opening, an extra port to one of the smaller ports and a 3-inch feeder line to the other. One waits by the hydrant, the officer starts toward Engine 2. Connections to the water supply must be made. Firefighters and possibly civilians are committed inside the burning structure. If the water supply is interrupted a successful outcome will be in doubt.
“Engine 12 on scene.”
Four firefighters from Engine 12 arrive. They immediately stretch another attack line from the rear of Engine 2 and start toward the rear door to back up Engine 2.
“Engine 2 to Engine 7, turn in the hydrant.”
The firefighter manning the hydrant receives the message and turns the spindle 14 revolutions, fully opening the valve. The feeders fill and make way toward the pump, which is beginning to cavitate, every drop from the tank gone. Just in time water supply is established. The fight goes on.
With the water supply established, the crew of Engine 7 now takes another attack line from Engine 2 and enters the door toward the third floor. They fight their way up and join the crew of Ladder 4, who have just finished their primary search of the third-floor apartment. Thankfully, this time there was nobody home.
The fire has spread through the walls and is now in the loft. Inside, the fire crews feel something shift and know the roof is open. The heat and smoke clear just enough to make the fight bearable. Walls and ceilings are opened by pulling the plaster with poles. Fire is found and quickly extinguished. Two members from Special Hazards are now in the basement cutting the electric supply, the other two are assisting with vertical ventilation, opening windows and doors. Once the electric supply is off ground ladders must be raised to the second and third floor windows to supply a secondary means of egress.
0500 hrs. Now the dangerous part begins. The flames are knocked down, but sparks and embers hide everywhere — inside walls, in every nook and cranny imaginable. Every remnant of fire must be extinguished or there will be a rekindle.
0556 hrs. Sunrise. The exhausted firefighters converge around Engines 7 and 2, repacking the hundreds of feet of hose. It was a good job: nobody was injured, the house damaged but saved.
0600 hrs. A man walks his dog past the firefighters.
“What happened?” he asks.
“Fire on the second floor,” somebody responds.
The man stands there, looks at the house, takes in the minor damage visible from the outside, and asks smugly, “All this to put out a little fire.” He shakes his head in disdain and walks away.
Image by Eric Norberg
I miss those days!!
Thankyou fire fighters
A good piece of reporting the complexities of fighting a fire. These men have to know a lot more than holding a hose to water down a fire. The smug remark by a passerby, "all this to put out a small fire". It would have been a much bigger fire if the firefighters didn't know what they were doing and did it so well. I, for one, am very grateful for the hard work and all the studies to get the job done with as little damage and "no deaths". They're heroes, every single one. 👩🚒💞
Station Nightclub fire victims remembered 16 years later
www.wpri.com
One hundred people were killed in the Station Nightclub fire in 2003, and more than 200 people were injured.May they all Rest In Peace 🙏 God Bless...such a tragedy😔
Worse case I ever worked on as a paralegal tagging items site reconstruction. Viewing over and over the raw footage captured by ch 12 seized as evidence Heart breaking working on the case felt you knew everyone personally I can still smell the horror when I think about it and the lost souls
OMG- I remember this like it was yesterday. Waiting for patients at WIH in case RIH ER was overwhelmed... God bless everyone involved in caring for and recovering from this trauma
I still recall the radio transmissions from EMS on scene that night. It was awful to say the least.
I was up in the middle of the night with John because he was sick. I watched the news conference with the governor. It was awful!
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Companies are working a 3 alarm fire on High St
Stay safe brothers and sisters
Got to stay safe! Happy Valentine’s Day 💕
Where on High street?
237 high st multi level residential
Stay safe boys. Prayers on the way.
Mary Frechette
Where on high st
Be safe
Be safe boys!!
Stay Safe!
🙏🏻
Congratulations to Local 2722 member Mike Kay for traveling to Missouri, and earning his IAFF Peer Fitness Instructor certification. You can learn about the program here:
client.prod.iaff.org/#contentid=4061
Great job Mike!!
Congratulations Mike
Congratulations Mike🎈
Congrats, Mike Kay strong work
congrats
Congratulations Mike Kay.
Great class! Congrats!
Congrats Mike Kay
Great turnout last night for our Annual Christmas gathering. We were also able to recognize some retiree's that have left our service in the previous few years.
Enjoy your retirement, and Thank You for your years of service!
Nice job guys!
I wish I could have been there. Family just got back from Orlando.
Members of L-1 out tonight showing off the truck at a community toys for tots event.
This thing is still in service 😮
We like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to all Veterans but especially those active and retired members of our Local. We’re proud to have had members serve in all branches of the military. Thank you for your service.
For those who served in the military and came back to serve as firefighters, we are grateful for your life commitment. Thank you for your sacrifices to continue to serve and protect.
Thank you for your service 🇺🇸🇺🇸
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!!
Don’t forget to check your smoke detectors when you change your clocks.Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, November 4. Use our Public Safety Toolkit to spread the word in your community to always check smoke alarms when changing clocks for Daylight Saving Time. #IAFFSafetyTips
bit.ly/1QXyRGN
There are reports of a person soliciting funds, claiming to be for a "Fire and EMS Fund."
While we don't know for sure if the person calling is representing a legitimate organization, we are suspicious of this type of call. Please pass the word that these calls are occurring again and people need to make sure they're donating to legitimate organizations.
Currently the Cumberland Firefighters nor the RI State Association of Firefighters do not and have not been conducting any telephone fundraising campaigns.
I got a call on my cell today. I said is this the prank call they are talking about on Facebook? He hung up on me. So they are still actively calling people. Beware!!!!!
There used to be a group that did fundraising saying they were doing so for fire departments.... they were a volunteer organization mostly from the southern part of the state..... don’t know if it is the same?
I received one last week...I hung up on them..
Tina Searles, Jeff Searles, Ellen O'Brien, Kate Elliott, Catherine Levesque, Jackie LaSalle
We received a report of a person soliciting funds, claiming to be for a "Fire and EMS Fund." Cumberland Firefighters don't fundraise by telemarketing campaigns.
While we don't know for sure if the person calling is representing a legitimate organization, we are suspicious of this type of call. Please pass the word that these calls are occurring again and people need to make sure they're donating to legitimate organizations.
I have experienced this kind of call on a few occasions. I tell the person that I find it strange that I hadn't heard about the fundraiser from the firefighters in my family. They always react the same way......they can't get off fast enough! What does that tell you?
I received this call and hung up on them. They have called me back since and I blocked the number
I posted about this the other day. I got a call for police fire and EMT families who tragically lost a loved one. But if you listen to the mumbles over the phone at key parts, it says the funds are for the agency who elect officials in government who will push to get programs for the families. It then goes on to say all the different tragic ways a first responder can pass away, pulling at your heart strings. But again mumbles the elected officials the money goes to will try hard to put programs into place. Call was from Warwick.
Today we were visited by Diane Sylven. One year ago today she experienced a cardiac arrest. Thanks to the efforts of Cumberland Rescue Service Paramedics Peter McIntyre and John Bianco and CFD Firefighters Dirosario, Gingras, Babikian, Smith, Randall and Zabatta she was resuscitated. She stopped by our monthly Departmental staff meeting today to say hello. She is pictured with Paramedic Peter McIntyre and Paramedic John Bianco.
The Valley Falls Railyard on Martin St. in Cumberland is the site of a full-scale exercise this afternoon and evening. The scenario is a train crash that releases hazardous fumes. It is only an exercise. Cumberland officials asks motorists to avoid Martin St. between 4pm-12am.
Train safe, be safe, we all go home
Mary Frechette
ANOTHER WIN FOR THE GOOD GUYS. WAY TO GO EGFD.
Today the RI Ethics Commission voted 6-0 in favor of pursuing charges against Gayle Corrigan for her questionable actions as the Town Manager. This town, taxpayers and town employees deserve better more honest leadership. #flipthecouncil
A few more pictures we received from active members and retired members of yesterdays funeral.
RIP. thank you for your service 🇺🇸🌹
Thankyou for sharing
Awesome turnout and presentation today honoring our fallen brother. Some shots of Cumberland’s honor guard.
Awesome
R.I.P.
Unfortunately during a tragic house fire today that injured 2 civilians and a firefighter it took an Engine from Middletown 10 minutes to arrive on scene when it should have taken no more than 3 minutes if the Town had adequate Fire Department staffing.
I don’t care that 14 FD’s responded to a fire. I care what responded within the first 10 or 15 minutes.
Reporters need to start asking critical questions. A department can call 100 departments; it doesn’t change the outcome usually. But what happens in the first minutes DOES.
Our members are out with a working fire on Orchard Dr. Stay safe.
The IAFF Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery is a one-of-a-kind addiction treatment facility specializing in PTSD for IAFF members – and IAFF members only – who are struggling with addiction, PTSD other related behavioral health challenges to receive the help they need in taking the first steps toward recovery. It is a safe haven for members to talk with other members who have faced or overcome similar challenges.