By Chief Robert W. Seltzer

Passage of a $4.5 million bond referendum on November 6^th will enable the Town of Smithfield to build a fire station in the Route 116/Route 7 north end of town. This investment not only provides much needed service to the area, but also offers benefits for the entire town.

For the duration of time that the Greenville and Esmond/Georgiaville fire & rescue apparatus are answering alarms in the north end of town, those areas are being left without fire & rescue service.

If an incident occurs in Greenville or Esmond/Georgiaville while crews are north on Route 116, it takes 12 minutes to get back to the south end of town. The increase in response time issue now flips from the north end of town to the south end of town.

By building a new fire station in the northern part of town, the south end apparatus will not have to cover both the northern and southern ends because apparatus will already be in place to respond.

The new fire station will allow fire & rescue resources to be located throughout the entire town so that all areas of town receive appropriate response times and available resources.

• Response times in areas of Smithfield currently served by a fire station are 4 to 6 minutes. Response times in areas of Smithfield currently NOT served by a fire station are 8 to 14 minutes.
• The new fire station will bring the 8 to 14 minute response times in the north end of town down to 4 to 6 minutes.
• The new fire station will improve our insurance underwriter’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating also known as the Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating. This results in savings for homeowners and business insurance rates in every part of the Town of Smithfield.

Everyone in the Town of Smithfield deserves the same level of Emergency Services regardless of where they live or where their business is located!

The Smithfield Fire Department held their first public presentation regarding the new fire station bond on Monday, October 1^st at the Smithfield Senior Center.

A video of the presentation has been posted to the Smithfield Fire Department website.

To view the video you may access it from the internet at www.smithfieldfire.com. Once on the website you will see a picture indicating the dates of the presentations. Scroll down past the picture until you reach the wording “More Information”.

Click on More Information and you will be directed to the New Fire Station Bond page. Scroll down the page until you come to the video.

The Smithfield Fire Department presented their first public presentation for the new fire station bond on Monday, October 1st. at the Smithfield Senior Center. Members of the public were presented with the research that was put together by the Fire department Study Implementation Task Force and their final recommendations concerning the need for a new fire station in the north-end of Smithfield.

Of significant importance, the following facts were emphasized.

• Response times in the north-end of Smithfield for fire & rescue apparatus to respond range from 8 to 14 minutes. With the addition of a new fire station, response times will be reduced to 4 to 6 minutes, similar to response times in the remaining parts of town that have a fire station.

 

• The Public Protection Classification (PPC) which is issued by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) for Smithfield is currently a PPC = 4. With the construction of a new fire station in the north-end of town, the PPC classification will become PPC=3. What does this mean? It means that homeowners and business across town will see a reduction in their property insurance rates.

 

• While Greenville and Esmond/Georgiaville apparatus are answering alarms in the north-end of town, those areas are no longer protected. If an incident occurs in Greenville or Esmond while trucks are well north on route 116, then it takes 12 minutes to get back to the south end of town. The response time issue now flips to the south-end of town.

• By adding the new fire station, south-end apparatus will not have to cover the north-end because apparatus will already be in place to respond.

• The new fire station allows fire & rescue resources to be located throughout town in such a way that all parts of town maintain appropriate response times and appropriate available resources.

The new fire station will fill the gap in fire & emergency medical services in the Town of Smithfield.
This investment will provide appropriate public safety infrastructure for years to come.

To see the complete Powerpoint presentation, you may click on the link below.

[CLICK ON LINK BELOW]

FD Study Task Force Public Presentation_Oct 2018

[CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD]

Smithfield Fire Department New Fire Station Bond Costs and Proposed Building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, Smithfield Firefighter/Paramedic Kelsey Brackett and Captain Michael LeBlanc were featured in the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs’ video series “Rhode Island Firefighter Stories”:

Firefighter/Paramedic Kelsey Brackett

Captain Michael LeBlanc

Current American Heart Association Guidelines, which were released in 2015, highlight the importance of high-quality CPR. The American Heart Association’s guidelines are much like a road map assisting states as they reevaluate their EMS protocols and look for areas of improvement. In order to improve rates of survival there are many areas that must be emphasized: 1. Rapid recognition of sudden cardiac arrest and bystander CPR, 2. Prioritization of CPR and defibrillation with a reduction in hands off chest time, 3. Improved infield advanced care to include use of capnography and double sequential defibrillation. Based on “best practices” from other states and knowledge of CPR in the out-of-hospital setting Rhode Island has implemented a system in which a minimum of 30 minutes of high performance CPR will be performed where the patient is found.

The 30-minute timeframe has been shown to improve cardiac arrest victim’s outcomes by allowing out-of-hospital providers to administer high-quality CPR. Valuable lifesaving efforts are lost while trying to move patients prior to resuscitating them on the scene. 

Learn more here: http://rifirechiefs.com/cpr-protocols/

 

It is fun to decorate for the winter holidays, but holiday decorations can increase your risk of a home fire. As you deck the halls this season, be fire smart.

When you’re decorating with live trees, make sure you keep the tree watered. If a dry tree comes in contact with a flame, it can catch on fire in fewer than 10 seconds and spread quickly throughout your home. Take a minute to watch this video which shows the difference between a dry and watered tree, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZk4vIXCnc8

Here are a few tips to keep your holiday decorations bright and safe:

• Choose the freshest tree you can find. Check to see if the needles stay when you gently pull on a branch.
• After making a fresh cut on the trunk and placing the tree in a stand, fill the stand’s water basin. Make sure you water your tree every day. Keep electrical cords and lights away from the water.
• Choose holiday decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
• Choose holiday lights with a label from an approved testing laboratory, such as UL, and throw away any frayed or damaged light strands.
• Place your tree at least three feet from heat registers, space heaters, and fireplaces.
• If you decorate with candles, make sure they are at least three feet away from anything that can burn.
• Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell and feel like real candles.

Learn more about holiday fire safety on the USFA website. Follow USFA on Twitter at @usfire and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usfire.

For more holiday safety information, visit USFA’s Holiday safety page.

(Content from the United States Fire Administration)

Fireworks are synonymous with our celebration of Independence Day. Yet, the thrill of fireworks can also bring pain. Nationally, 230 people on average go the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday.

Remember, fireworks can be dangerous, causing serious burn and eye injuries. You can help us prevent fireworks-related injuries and deaths. How? By promoting fireworks safety in your community.

Follow these safety tips when using fireworks: 

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.
• Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents don’t realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
• After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.
• In the State of Rhode Island, aerial fireworks of any type are illegal for general public use. Only licensed shooters may use aerial fireworks.

For more information, please visit the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission @ http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Fireworks/.

You may also visit the United States Fire Administration @ https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/.

On behalf of all the men and women of the Smithfield Fire Department, have a Happy and Safe 4^th of July.