the responder - Dix Hills Fire Department

Dix Hills Fire Department
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE PAID
HUNTINGTON STATION NY
PERMIT NO. 125
115 E. Deer Park Road
Dix Hills, NY 11746
THE RESPONDER
DIX HILLS FIRE DISTRICT NEWSLETTER
AUGUST 2015
ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
News & Information for the Residents of Our Community
Help Us Help You
Chief Receives Prestigious National Award
Whether it’s a motor vehicle accident with multiple
victims, a strip mall fire, or a spreading brush fire,
most residents assume the needed resources and
manpower for resolution are always on-hand. But as
one of Long Island’s largest fire districts, we very often receive multiple emergency calls simultaneously.
Congratulations are in order! Firehouse Expo and
the Fire News organizations have recognized our
own Chief Robert Fling with the 2015 Outstanding
Leadership Award. The prestigious national award
recognizes the management and leadership skills
of a department Chief and the impact those skills
have made within their department. The presentation took place at Firehouse Expo in the Baltimore
Convention Center.
We assign our responders based upon the scope and
severity of each emergency. With limited volunteer
availability and resources, it’s critical that we prioritize their use for the most serious alarms.
Occasionally we allocate resources only to find a
“non-emergency” situation, one not covered by EMS
or the fire department such as:
• Leaking water pipes, water heaters or cesspools
• Disabled motorists
• Transport for routine medical appointments
• Pets or animal care
Chief Fling currently serves as Chief of Department and Chief of Training. He is also a contributor to FirefighterToolbox.com, Fire Engineering, as
well as the founder and President of “Facepiece
On”, an organization dedicated to teaching the
fire service about the dangers of breathing smoke
on today’s fire-ground. Further, Chief Fling is a
technical specialist with “Project Kill The Flashover” and sits on the advisory board for “The First
A fourth generation firefighter and a 19-year department member, Chief Fling holds several fire service
certificates, is a New York State certified Emergency
Medical Technician and is an active member of the
NFPA, Suffolk County Fire Chiefs Council, Town of
Huntington Fire Chiefs Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs and FASNY.
Please help us provide you with the high quality fire
and EMS services you have always known and can
depend upon. Dial 911 in emergency situations only.
Photo by Firehouse Magazine/Fire News
Pictured from left are: Tim Edwards, Executive Editor of Fire News, Tim Sendelbach, Editor-In-Chief of Firehouse Magazine,
Chief Robert Fling, and Frank Trotta, Publisher of Fire News.
Interested in volunteering as a firefighter or EMT?
The work is not only rewarding, but enables you to do
something good for your community.
For more information call 499-8836 or visit our
website at
www.DixHillsFD.org and click on “Join”.
Photos by Steve Silverman and the DHFD
DHFD Named A Rapid Sequence
Intubation Agency
Join Our Team
Professionally Chief Fling is a 20+ year veteran of
the advertising industry, and manages digital as well
as print advertising for some of Long Island’s biggest brands. A lifelong Dix Hills resident, he is married to his wife Liz and has two daughters, Courtney
and Sara.
“Our department is extremely proud of him.” stated
Bob Commisso, Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners. “Personally it’s an honor serving with
and learning from Chief Fling. His outstanding leadership skills guide and develop our membership,
ensuring the most professional fire and emergency
medical services possible for our community.”
Unfortunately dialing 911 for these hurts in two ways:
• Reduces manpower and equipment available for
higher priority emergencies.
• EMS and fire personnel are not trained to assist
with these non-emergency events.
www.dixhillsfd.org
Twenty”, an organization dedicated to improving
the health and fitness of America’s firefighters.
The DHFD was recently approved by the Regional
Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC) to
administer Rapid Sequence Intubation (RSI), becoming one of only 8 EMS agencies in Suffolk County.
Paramedics using RSI in the field has long been an
accepted practice outside New York.
Rapid Sequence Intubation has been utilized in hospital and ER settings for years. This treatment temporarily “sedates” the patient, using different medications
to allow a medical practitioner to intubate or apply
other advanced airway devices. RSI can be used on
patients needing definitive airway control including
head trauma, stroke, respiratory burns, post cardiac
arrest, drug overdoses, etc., and this technique has
already proved to be a lifesaver.
Shortly after receiving REMAC approval, our department was activated for a motor vehicle accident on
Vanderbilt Parkway, in which a victim incurred severe
head trauma. On evaluation one of our highly skilled
paramedics performed the first ever RSI in Suffolk
County by a solo field paramedic. It saved the patient’s life!
LEARN CPR
Next Class
September 27
SIGN UP NOW!
See Upcoming Events (page 2)
for Details
Letter from the Commissioner
Slightly more than half way through 2015, and it’s shaping up to be an
unforgettable year. We’ve already responded to a record number of house
fires, including saving a resident from a tragic fate; made several award
winning EMS life-saves; received island-wide recognition for our life-saving
cyanokit program; and the accolades keep coming.
In “DHFD Becomes A Rapid Sequence Intubation Agency” read how Suffolk
County has selected us to be part of the elite list of EMS agencies allowed
to perform life-saving intubation, and how we’ve already deployed it to save
one resident.
Photo by Steve Silverman
DIX HILLS FIRE DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS
631-499-8836
Commissioner Robert Commisso
Chairman
[email protected]
Finally, “Help Us, Help You: Non-Emergency Calls” identifies several “non-emergency” events and explains
how they can be better handled.
Yes, 2015 has certainly been an unforgettable year, and personally I can’t wait to see what else it brings. But
credit must be placed where due. This year’s accomplishments have only happened through the hard work
and efforts of our dedicated members. As Commissioner, I could not be more proud of them, and I’m certain
they can skillfully handle anything the rest of this year may put before them.
Sincerely,
As with most hearsay, nothing could be further from
the truth.
Each of our stations is designed to fully support our
community’s EMS and fire suppression functions.
Beyond serving as a “garage” for our emergency vehicles, each station provides for recruitment, training,
equipment storage, administration, stand-bys, etc.
The following pictorial tour of Station #1 (Deer Park
Avenue just south of the LIE) is representative of the
professional, business-like environment found in all
our stations. We invite you and the family to stop by
and take a tour.
Commissioner Larry Feld
[email protected]
Commissioner Michael Plumitallo
[email protected]
Commissioner Philip Tepe
[email protected]
Think “all the fire stations are very luxurious with theater sized big screen TV’s, overstuffed furnishings, and
tiki bars?” “Understanding Your FD” shows you the truth.
Ever wonder why the universal symbol for a fire department is the Maltese cross? Then check out “History &
Symbolism of the Maltese Cross” for an interesting revelation.
Resident: “’I’ve heard that all the fire stations are luxurious, with theater-sized big screen TV’s, overstuffed furnishings, and tiki bars!”
Commissioner Todd Cohen
Vice-Chairman
[email protected]
Then see where your fire department was ranked, nationwide, in “DHFD
Gets High Grades from ISO”. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised with
our new ranking.
In a story of individual achievement, our own Chief Fling has recently received a very prestigious national
leadership award. In “Chief Receives Prestigious National Award”, read why he was chosen for this honor
and how it is improving our department.
Understanding Your FD:
Upcoming Events
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Regular monthly meetings of the Board of
Fire Commissioners take place on the second
Wednesday of each month, at 7:30 p.m., at Dix
Hills Fire Department Headquarters, 115 E. Deer
Park Road (next to the Northern State Parkway).
f
On Sunday, September 27th, the DHFD will
host a free Community CPR Course for area residents, starting at 9:30 AM. Seating is limited, and
registration is required. For info and to register
visit our website at www.dixhillsfd.org, and click
on the announcement banner or the “Learn CPR”
tab at the top of the page.
f
If you prefer to receive this newsletter
electronically, please visit our website www.dixhillsfd.org, click on the “Newsletter” banner and
follow the prompts to subscribe.
Bob Commisso
Chairman of the Board
History & Symbolism of the Maltese Cross
High Grades From ISO
Insurance companies view a community’s investment
in fire protection as a reliable predictor of future fire
losses. They created an independent organization
called ISO (The Insurance Services Office) to help
establish fair premiums for home and property insurance rates, including fire insurance. Good ISO
rankings generally mean lower premiums, and many
communities use ISO reports as benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of fire protection services.
And through hard work and dedicated effort, the
Dix Hills Fire Department has earned a significant
ISO rating improvement in the latest report!!
The Facts:
ISO has rated 49,010 USA fire departments nationally with only 3,220 rated Class 3 or better. Class
1 is reserved for departments with fully paid on-call
staffs. For volunteer departments, Class 2 is the highest ranking available.
The Good News:
1. Our 74.97 score ranks the DHFD in the top 6.5%
of fire departments nationally.
2. We’ve improved from a Class 4 to a Class 3 rating, and
missed moving to a Class 2 rating by only 5.03 points.
3. The department was highly ranked in all aspects
of operations.
Ironically, the report noted only one improvable weak-
ness, which was the lack of a dedicated training facility. Ours was in construction at the time of the review.
We believe that our continued training regimen
combined with the use of our new training building
will earn us the required 5.03 points to improve our
ranking to a Class 2 rating. We would then be ranked
within the top 1.7% of fire departments nationally!
We’re working hard to provide the best possible fire
protection available. ISO has confirmed we are on the
right track.
The Maltese Cross is a centuries old symbol of protection and badge of honor that originated with the
Crusades. So how did it become associated with fire
departments and firefighters’ badges?
When The Knights of St. John battled the Saracens for
possession of the Holy Land they encountered a simple
but devastating new device of war. It delivered excruciating pain and agonizing death. That weapon was fire.
As the knights advanced on the city walls they were
pummeled with glass bombs containing naphtha. They
rapidly became saturated with the highly flammable
liquid. When the Saracens hurled a flaming torch, hundreds of knights were burned alive. Amid the chaos,
a handful of brave men risked their lives to save their
brothers-in-arms from a fiery death.
These heroes became the first firemen in a long list
of courageous firefighters. For their bravery they were
awarded a badge of honor, a cross similar to what firemen wear today. Since the Knights of St. John were
based on the Mediterranean island of Malta, the cross
came to be known as the Maltese Cross.
Today, wearing the Maltese Cross symbolizes that
firefighters are willing to lay down their lives for their
fellow men, just as the Crusaders sacrificed long ago.
The Maltese Cross is the fireman’s badge of honor, signifying that he or she works in courage - a ladder rung
away from death.