Greenfield Township VFC

Volunteers Who Must Be Pros
BY CHARLES SCHILLINGER
STAFF WRITER
04/07/2008

Factoryville firefighter James Wassell enters a second-story
window at the training facility of Jessup Hose Company 2.
BUTCH COMEGYS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

JESSUP — Over the revving of a chain saw, an instructor yelled to George Yurkanin on the correct way to cut through the roof of a mock house.

It is a task that might not seem that difficult — but try it at 3 a.m. on an icy roof, while wearing 70 pounds of equipment with adrenaline rushing. Variables start adding up for firefighters, said Steve Pitoniak, of Jessup Hose Company 2.

“Oh, and don’t forget, there’s a fire, too,” the company’s fire chief said.

Such a situation highlights the importance of training to firefighters.

“Without training, you’re not going to know how to react. With training, it might not save you, but you got to take that shot,” Chief Pitoniak said. “It you’re not trained, you’re not safe.”

About 40 firefighters from Lackawanna and Wayne counties are more than halfway through a 160-hour training course to become certified in basic firefighter skills, also known as “Firefighter 1 Certification.” Some are lifelong firefighters. Other were using a chain saw for the first time.

But no one is required to take the course. In fact, Pennsylvania requires nothing before someone starts working a fire scene, though most fire departments require some training.

“There are places where if you show up at a fire station and pay the dues, they give you a helmet and you can go out and fight fires,” said Chief Pitoniak. “That’s just kind of a scary thing.”

For Mr. Yurkanin, despite being a 28-year veteran, he wants that certification to prove he knows the basics.

“I want that piece of paper,” the Jessup Hose Company 2 firefighter said. “I really believe in the certification. More and more often, we’re short-staffed (at fires) and relying on other companies for help. I think it’s important to know everyone is at a certain level of skill.”

For Chief Pitoniak, training is a safety issue. He does not require the certification to join Jessup Hose Company 2, but does require a similar class without the certification.

“Pennsylvania has a reputation for killing a lot of firefighters,” he said. “It’s a dangerous occupation, even in best of times.”

Statistics, sadly, back up what Mr. Pitoniak had to say: In the last seven years, Pennsylvania has ranked at least fourth in firefighter fatalities, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Ten Pennsylvania firefighters lost their lives in 2007, second only to South Carolina, where one incident, a furniture store fire, killed nine firefighters.

Five firefighters in Pennsylvania have died in the first three months of this year.

“Fire training is about safety, not only for the individual, but for the team, too,” said Carl Peterson, director of public fire protection division at the National Fire Protection Association. “I need to know what I can expect out of you as a member of my team.”

State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann acknowledged, “as with any profession,” training plays a part in Pennsylvania firefighter safety. But he stopped short of saying there should be any state mandate for training. Currently, departments that have firefighters with certified training are receiving bonuses in grant awards from the state and other incentives, Mr. Mann said.

“We’ve seen incentives like that are working,” Mr. Mann said. “We’re dealing with volunteers. There has to be a happy medium. If we had an overabundance of firefighters, yes, we absolutely should have a mandate. But that’s not the case.”

Mr. Mann said other programs, including the “Courage to Be Safe so Everyone Goes Home” initiative, raises awareness about the need for firefighters to, for example, wear seat belts when responding to emergencies and have routine physical exams. The state fire commissioner stressed the latter issue because of the high number of deaths related to overexertion.

Between 2002 and 2006, the U.S. Fire Administration said heart attack was the leading result of firefighter deaths, claiming about 50 percent of firefighters lives while responding to an emergency. In Pennsylvania, heart attacks account for about 60 percent of deaths in that same time frame.

“Quite simply, the fire service has got to get itself in better shape,” Mr. Mann said.

While Mr. Pitoniak said the certification classes review firefighter tactics for hazardous materials operations, how to properly use self-contained breathing apparatus and search and rescue, he pointed out in the first class — safety and fire prevention — they discuss the need for firefighters to get physicals and the risk of overexertion causing heart attacks.

“That is important,” he said.

Amanda Greer, a recent recruit at Cottage Hose Company in Carbondale, said she is taking the certification classes so she can say she has learned the basics.

“I understand the certification is important,” she said. “It’s nice just to say I have the general knowledge of how to fight a fire.”

Chief Pitoniak said along with the large group of area volunteer firefighters willing to go through the certification process at his headquarters, there was a waiting list of about 10 more who wanted it. That shows volunteer firefighters are committed to safety and “volunteer fire companies aren’t what they used to be,” he said.

“We’re volunteers, but we’re professionals. We don’t just sit around and drink beer,” Chief Pitoniak said. “Really, we don’t even have time to sit around and drink beer.”

U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,642,500 fires. These fires resulted in 3,245 civilian fire fatalities, 16,400 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $11,307,000,000 in direct property loss. There was a civilian fire death every 162 minutes and a civilian fire injury every 32 minutes in 2006. Home fires caused 2,580, or 80%, of the civilian fire deaths. Fires accounted for seven percent of the 24,470,000 total calls. Nine percent of the calls were false alarms; sixty-two percent of the calls were for aid such as EMS. READ FULL REPORT

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