Firefighters get special training

Local News

November 7, 2009

Chief also provides safety tips

Anonymous The Goshen News Sat Nov 07, 2009, 08:05 PM EST

Firefighters from the Goshen Fire Department spent three days training in a mobile fire unit recently. The trainer is operated by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The program was started in the 2008, and this is the first time Goshen has had use of the unit. Several firefighters from Goshen went through special training to be able to train other firefighters on the unit, which is the only one of its kind in Indiana. From Wednesday through Friday, firefighters from Goshen, Middlebury, New Paris, Clinton, Benton, Baugo, Osolo, and Bristol participated in the training.

Safety tips

Goshen Fire Department Fire Inspector John Alheim offered the following tips to avoid death and injury in fire incidents.

Fire creates intense heat and produces hazardous smothering, gases, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. All are hazardous to life, Inspector Alheim said. For residents to be prepared for such an event, fire officials recommend installing smoke detectors on every level of the home.

There are three types of smoke detectors on the markets — ionization, photo electric and a combination smoke detector. Each type will detect a fire, but each type has advantages, Alheim said. Different ionization smoke detectors will detect an open flame faster than a photo electric smoke detector. The photo electric will detect a smoldering fire faster than an ionization detector.

Manufacturers now make a combination smoke detector using both the ionization and photo electric in the same detector. Goshen firefighters recommend the combination detectors, Alheim said.

“It is critical that you and your family have a fire plan in case of a fire,” he said. “Your plan should be to evacuate from your home and have a designated place to meet once you are out of your home, to make sure all of the family is safe.” It is important to teach children to escape from the home as soon as possible in a fire situation, he said. Teach them not to hide under the bed or closet and not to go looking for mom and dad.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. It is impossible to see, taste or smell the toxic fumes, but they can kill your family.”

Carbon monoxide exposure at lower levels can produce symptoms that are often mistaken for flu-like symptoms,including nausea, headaches, dizziness and disorientation, he said. The effects of the exposure may vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health, concentration of the carbon monoxide and length of exposure.

Some of the sources of carbon monoxide in a home are unvented kerosene heaters, gas space heaters, wood stoves and fireplaces, gas stove, generators and other gasoline-powered equipment, as well as auto exhaust in an attached garage.

Alheim points out many fire department calls involve inadequate maintenance of furnaces. He recommends an annual inspection and maintenance by a trained professional and that a carbon monoxide detector be installed on every level of a home.

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