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GREETINGS OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTERS! Summer is here, and most of our great state re-mains in drought and high fire danger conditions. Re-cent fires across our state have tested our resources to the limit. The unsung heroes are members of our Oklahoma Wildland Task Force System! These county based units have re-sponded to help each other consistently over the past 3 years. If you would like to start a County Wildland Task Force or Strike Team, please contact us. We will be happy to help!!! WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TASK FORCE/STRIKE TEAM SYSTEM Plans are under development, along with our Emergency Managers and other Public Safety Part-ners, to further develop the system to respond to “All Hazards” events systematically across our state. Example being a Structural Task Force that might consist of a Task Force Leader, 3 Pumping Engines, a Ladder, and a Rescue unit. The Structural Task Force could respond to a community to assist the local Inci-dent Commander with a large structure fire or natural disaster. Our Law Enforcement partners are working on a similar system as well. Another program under consideration is an Incident Support Strike team. A lo-cal incident Commander could use this resource of ex-perienced fire officers to assist in areas such as stag-ing, operations, divisions/groups, water supply, safety, and in other roles. The team will work for the local Incident Commander, and serve at his/her pleasure. The incredible cooperation and our willingness to help each other in our Oklahoma Fire Service is second to none. When we need each other, we are there! HOW CAN CANCER BE DETECTED EARLY? Cancer is an epidemic in our fire service! The last page of the COFT layout this month is a poster you can detach and hang in the fire station. We will also have them available at the OSFA Conference and with us at every event we attend across our state. I want to further share the following information furnished by the National Institutes of health and National cancer Institute of America. In many cases, the sooner cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better a person’s chance for a full recovery. If you develop cancer, you can improve the chance that it will be detected early if you have regular medical checkups and do certain self-exams. Often a doctor can find early cancer during a physical exam or with routine tests, even if a person has no symptoms. Some important medical exams, tests, and self-exams are discussed on the next pages. The doctor may sug-gest other exams for people who are at increased risk for cancer. Ask your doctor about your cancer risk, problems to watch for, and a schedule of regular checkups. The doctor’s advice will be based on your age, medical history, family history, and other risk factors. The doc-tor also can help you learn about self-exams. (More information and free booklets about self-exams are Council on Firefighter Training www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org Oklahoma Wildland Task Force System Jon Hansen, COFT Executive Director available from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service). Many local health departments have information about cancer screening or early detection programs. The Cancer Information Service also can tell you about such programs. Exams for Both Men & Women Skin - The doctor should examine your skin during regular checkups for signs of skin cancer. You should also check regularly for new growths, sores that do not heal, changes in the size, shape, or color of any moles, or any other changes on the skin. Warning signs like these should be reported to the doctor right away. Colon and Rectum - Beginning at age 50, you should have a yearly fecal occult blood test. This test is a check for hidden (occult) blood in the stool. It may be tested in the doctor’s office or sent to a lab. This test is done because cancer of the colon and rectum can cause bleeding. However, noncancerous condi-tions can also cause bleeding, so having blood in the stool does not necessarily mean a person has cancer. If blood is found, the doctor orders more tests to help make a diagnosis. A digital rectal exam should be done during regu-lar checkups. After age 50, you should have either a flexible sig-moidoscopy every five years, or a colonoscopy every 10 years. In this exam, the doctor uses a thin, flexible tube with a light to look inside the rectum and colon for abnormal areas. Mouth - Your doctor and dentist should examine your mouth at regular visits. Also, by looking in a mir-ror, you can check inside your mouth for changes in the color of the lips, gums, tongue, or inner cheeks, and for scabs, cracks, sores, white patches, swelling, or bleeding. It is often possible to see or feel changes in the mouth that might be cancer or a condition that might lead to cancer. Any symptoms in your mouth should be checked by a doctor or dentist. Oral exams are especially important for people who use alcohol or tobacco products and for anyone over age 50. Exams for Men Prostate - Men over age 40 should have a yearly digital rectal exam to check the prostate gland for hard or lumpy areas. The doctor feels the prostate through the wall of the rectum. Testicles - Testicular cancer occurs most often between ages 15 and 34. Most of these cancers are found by men themselves, often by doing a testicular self-exam. If you find a lump or notice another change, such as heaviness, swelling, unusual tenderness, or pain, you should see your doctor. Also, the doctor should examine the testicles as part of regular medi-cal checkups. Exams for Women Breast - When breast cancer is found early, a woman has more treatment choices and a good chance of complete recovery. It is, therefore, impor-tant that breast cancer be detected as early as possi-ble. The National Cancer Institute encourages women to take an active part in early detection. They should talk to their doctor about this disease, the symptoms to watch for, and an appropriate schedule of check-ups. Women should ask their doctor about: • Mammograms (x-rays of the breast); • Breast exams by a doctor or nurse; and • Breast self-examination (BSE) A mammogram can often show tumors or chang-es in the breast before they can be felt or cause symp-toms. However, we know mammograms cannot find every abnormal area in the breast. This is especially true in the breasts of young women. Another impor-tant step in early detection is for women to have their breasts examined regularly by a doctor or a nurse. Between visits to the doctor, women should exam-ine their breasts every month. By doing BSE, women learn what looks and feels normal for their breasts, and they are more likely to find a change. Any changes should be reported to the doctor. Most breast lumps are not cancer, but only a doctor can make a diag-nosis. Cervix - Regular pelvic exams and Pap tests are important to detect early cancer of the cervix. Women should start having a Pap test every year after they turn 18 or become sexually active. If the results are normal for 3 or more years in a row, a woman may have this test less often, based on her doctor’s ad-vice. LADIES AUXILIARY’S – OUR SUPPORT NETWORK As I travel across the state and attend County Meetings, Fire Training, and Special Events the Local Ladies Auxiliary are there providing support in so many ways. They help with fund raising, charity and commu-nity programs, and some provide rehab and food ser-vice on emergency events. The auxiliaries in Chandler and Meeker recently provided support to their depart-ment with major fundraisers I had the opportunity to attend. My hats off to these wonderful ladies who are an incredible part of our Oklahoma Fire Service Team … Awesome job ladies and thanks for all you do!!!! FIRE/EMS SAFETY & HEALTH WEEK The week of June 15th to the 21st is national Fire/EMS Safety and health week. Fire departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activity during Safety and Health Week, allowing all shifts and personnel to focus on safety and health training and education. An entire week is provided to ensure each shift and duty crew can spend at least one day focus-ing on these critical issues. Safety and Health Week is a collaborative pro-gram embraced by more than 20 national and inter-national fire and emergency-service organizations, and sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Council. The event is coordinated by the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section (SHS) and the NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. Full event details: www.safetyand-healthweek. org “I WISH YOU COULD” – A NOTE TO ALL WE SERVE I wish you could see the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames or that family returning home, only to find their house and belong-ings damaged or destroyed. I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns. I wish you could comprehend a wife’s horror at 3 AM as I check her husband of forty years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway hoping against hope to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done. I wish you could know the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of cracking flames and the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke. I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire, is this a false alarm or a working “breath-ing” fire? How is the building constructed? What haz-ards await me? Is anyone trapped? I wish you could be there when the medical exam-iner pronounces dead the beautiful little five year old girl who did not make it out of the fire. She will never be able to say “I love you Mommy” again. I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, the driver with his foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal, my arm tugging again & again on the air horn as you fail to yield right of way at the intersection, however when you need us, your first comment on our arrival will be “it took you forever to get here!” I wish you could read my thoughts as I help extri-cate a teenage girl from the mangled remains of her automobile. What if this was my sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What was her parent’s reaction, when they opened the door to find a police officer standing there with HAT IN HAND? I wish you could know how it feels to come home and greet my family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly lost my life today. I wish you could feel my hurt as people verbally and sometimes physically abuse us or belittle us for what we do or as they ex-press their attitudes of “It will never happen to me.” I wish you could realize the physical, emotional & mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep & forgone so-cial activities in addition to all of the tragedies my eyes have viewed. I wish you could know the brotherhood and self satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone’s property or being there in times of crisis, or creating order from total CHAOS. I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tug on your arm and ask “is my mom-my okay?” Not even being able to look in his eyes with-out tears falling from your own & not knowing what to say. Or to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy have CPR performed as they take him away in the ambulance, knowing that he was not wearing his seatbelt. (A sensation I have become too familiar with). Until you have lived this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, what I am, what we are, or what our job means to us. I WISH YOU COULD. Author: Unknown Parting Thoughts It is going to be a hot, dry summer. Please call for additional assistance early into the event. Establish RE-HAB and rest crews often. Hydrate throughout each day before, during, and after the event. Let’s continue to watch out for each other! Together, our continued Oklahoma Fire Service goal is ZERO LODD’s … Remem-ber, there is no reason to repeat bad history … Hope to see you soon! JON 405-620-6262 jonh@coft-oklahoma.org
Object Description
Okla State Agency |
Firefighter Training, Oklahoma Council on |
Okla Agency Code |
'301' |
Title | Council on Firefighter Training, 06-07/2014 |
Authors |
Oklahoma. Council on Firefighter Training. |
Publication Date | 2014-06 |
Publication type | Newsletter |
Purpose | Oklahoma Wildland Task Force System; OSFA 2014 John Futhey State Fire School; COFT Around Our Great State; |
For all issues click |
F910.6 C675 |
Digital Format | PDF, Adobe Reader required |
ODL electronic copy | Downloaded from agency website: http://www.coft-oklahoma.org/sites/coft/uploads/documents/COFT_Articles_for_OSFA_Paper/COFT_June_July_14_Article.pdf |
Rights and Permissions | This Oklahoma state government publication is provided for educational purposes under U.S. copyright law. Other usage requires permission of copyright holders. |
Language | English |
Date created | 2014-06-05 |
Date modified | 2014-06-05 |
OCLC number | 890230825 |
Description
Title | COFT_June_July_14_Article 1 |
Full text | GREETINGS OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTERS! Summer is here, and most of our great state re-mains in drought and high fire danger conditions. Re-cent fires across our state have tested our resources to the limit. The unsung heroes are members of our Oklahoma Wildland Task Force System! These county based units have re-sponded to help each other consistently over the past 3 years. If you would like to start a County Wildland Task Force or Strike Team, please contact us. We will be happy to help!!! WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TASK FORCE/STRIKE TEAM SYSTEM Plans are under development, along with our Emergency Managers and other Public Safety Part-ners, to further develop the system to respond to “All Hazards” events systematically across our state. Example being a Structural Task Force that might consist of a Task Force Leader, 3 Pumping Engines, a Ladder, and a Rescue unit. The Structural Task Force could respond to a community to assist the local Inci-dent Commander with a large structure fire or natural disaster. Our Law Enforcement partners are working on a similar system as well. Another program under consideration is an Incident Support Strike team. A lo-cal incident Commander could use this resource of ex-perienced fire officers to assist in areas such as stag-ing, operations, divisions/groups, water supply, safety, and in other roles. The team will work for the local Incident Commander, and serve at his/her pleasure. The incredible cooperation and our willingness to help each other in our Oklahoma Fire Service is second to none. When we need each other, we are there! HOW CAN CANCER BE DETECTED EARLY? Cancer is an epidemic in our fire service! The last page of the COFT layout this month is a poster you can detach and hang in the fire station. We will also have them available at the OSFA Conference and with us at every event we attend across our state. I want to further share the following information furnished by the National Institutes of health and National cancer Institute of America. In many cases, the sooner cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better a person’s chance for a full recovery. If you develop cancer, you can improve the chance that it will be detected early if you have regular medical checkups and do certain self-exams. Often a doctor can find early cancer during a physical exam or with routine tests, even if a person has no symptoms. Some important medical exams, tests, and self-exams are discussed on the next pages. The doctor may sug-gest other exams for people who are at increased risk for cancer. Ask your doctor about your cancer risk, problems to watch for, and a schedule of regular checkups. The doctor’s advice will be based on your age, medical history, family history, and other risk factors. The doc-tor also can help you learn about self-exams. (More information and free booklets about self-exams are Council on Firefighter Training www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org Oklahoma Wildland Task Force System Jon Hansen, COFT Executive Director available from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service). Many local health departments have information about cancer screening or early detection programs. The Cancer Information Service also can tell you about such programs. Exams for Both Men & Women Skin - The doctor should examine your skin during regular checkups for signs of skin cancer. You should also check regularly for new growths, sores that do not heal, changes in the size, shape, or color of any moles, or any other changes on the skin. Warning signs like these should be reported to the doctor right away. Colon and Rectum - Beginning at age 50, you should have a yearly fecal occult blood test. This test is a check for hidden (occult) blood in the stool. It may be tested in the doctor’s office or sent to a lab. This test is done because cancer of the colon and rectum can cause bleeding. However, noncancerous condi-tions can also cause bleeding, so having blood in the stool does not necessarily mean a person has cancer. If blood is found, the doctor orders more tests to help make a diagnosis. A digital rectal exam should be done during regu-lar checkups. After age 50, you should have either a flexible sig-moidoscopy every five years, or a colonoscopy every 10 years. In this exam, the doctor uses a thin, flexible tube with a light to look inside the rectum and colon for abnormal areas. Mouth - Your doctor and dentist should examine your mouth at regular visits. Also, by looking in a mir-ror, you can check inside your mouth for changes in the color of the lips, gums, tongue, or inner cheeks, and for scabs, cracks, sores, white patches, swelling, or bleeding. It is often possible to see or feel changes in the mouth that might be cancer or a condition that might lead to cancer. Any symptoms in your mouth should be checked by a doctor or dentist. Oral exams are especially important for people who use alcohol or tobacco products and for anyone over age 50. Exams for Men Prostate - Men over age 40 should have a yearly digital rectal exam to check the prostate gland for hard or lumpy areas. The doctor feels the prostate through the wall of the rectum. Testicles - Testicular cancer occurs most often between ages 15 and 34. Most of these cancers are found by men themselves, often by doing a testicular self-exam. If you find a lump or notice another change, such as heaviness, swelling, unusual tenderness, or pain, you should see your doctor. Also, the doctor should examine the testicles as part of regular medi-cal checkups. Exams for Women Breast - When breast cancer is found early, a woman has more treatment choices and a good chance of complete recovery. It is, therefore, impor-tant that breast cancer be detected as early as possi-ble. The National Cancer Institute encourages women to take an active part in early detection. They should talk to their doctor about this disease, the symptoms to watch for, and an appropriate schedule of check-ups. Women should ask their doctor about: • Mammograms (x-rays of the breast); • Breast exams by a doctor or nurse; and • Breast self-examination (BSE) A mammogram can often show tumors or chang-es in the breast before they can be felt or cause symp-toms. However, we know mammograms cannot find every abnormal area in the breast. This is especially true in the breasts of young women. Another impor-tant step in early detection is for women to have their breasts examined regularly by a doctor or a nurse. Between visits to the doctor, women should exam-ine their breasts every month. By doing BSE, women learn what looks and feels normal for their breasts, and they are more likely to find a change. Any changes should be reported to the doctor. Most breast lumps are not cancer, but only a doctor can make a diag-nosis. Cervix - Regular pelvic exams and Pap tests are important to detect early cancer of the cervix. Women should start having a Pap test every year after they turn 18 or become sexually active. If the results are normal for 3 or more years in a row, a woman may have this test less often, based on her doctor’s ad-vice. LADIES AUXILIARY’S – OUR SUPPORT NETWORK As I travel across the state and attend County Meetings, Fire Training, and Special Events the Local Ladies Auxiliary are there providing support in so many ways. They help with fund raising, charity and commu-nity programs, and some provide rehab and food ser-vice on emergency events. The auxiliaries in Chandler and Meeker recently provided support to their depart-ment with major fundraisers I had the opportunity to attend. My hats off to these wonderful ladies who are an incredible part of our Oklahoma Fire Service Team … Awesome job ladies and thanks for all you do!!!! FIRE/EMS SAFETY & HEALTH WEEK The week of June 15th to the 21st is national Fire/EMS Safety and health week. Fire departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activity during Safety and Health Week, allowing all shifts and personnel to focus on safety and health training and education. An entire week is provided to ensure each shift and duty crew can spend at least one day focus-ing on these critical issues. Safety and Health Week is a collaborative pro-gram embraced by more than 20 national and inter-national fire and emergency-service organizations, and sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Council. The event is coordinated by the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section (SHS) and the NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. Full event details: www.safetyand-healthweek. org “I WISH YOU COULD” – A NOTE TO ALL WE SERVE I wish you could see the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames or that family returning home, only to find their house and belong-ings damaged or destroyed. I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns. I wish you could comprehend a wife’s horror at 3 AM as I check her husband of forty years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway hoping against hope to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done. I wish you could know the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of cracking flames and the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke. I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire, is this a false alarm or a working “breath-ing” fire? How is the building constructed? What haz-ards await me? Is anyone trapped? I wish you could be there when the medical exam-iner pronounces dead the beautiful little five year old girl who did not make it out of the fire. She will never be able to say “I love you Mommy” again. I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, the driver with his foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal, my arm tugging again & again on the air horn as you fail to yield right of way at the intersection, however when you need us, your first comment on our arrival will be “it took you forever to get here!” I wish you could read my thoughts as I help extri-cate a teenage girl from the mangled remains of her automobile. What if this was my sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What was her parent’s reaction, when they opened the door to find a police officer standing there with HAT IN HAND? I wish you could know how it feels to come home and greet my family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly lost my life today. I wish you could feel my hurt as people verbally and sometimes physically abuse us or belittle us for what we do or as they ex-press their attitudes of “It will never happen to me.” I wish you could realize the physical, emotional & mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep & forgone so-cial activities in addition to all of the tragedies my eyes have viewed. I wish you could know the brotherhood and self satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone’s property or being there in times of crisis, or creating order from total CHAOS. I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tug on your arm and ask “is my mom-my okay?” Not even being able to look in his eyes with-out tears falling from your own & not knowing what to say. Or to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy have CPR performed as they take him away in the ambulance, knowing that he was not wearing his seatbelt. (A sensation I have become too familiar with). Until you have lived this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, what I am, what we are, or what our job means to us. I WISH YOU COULD. Author: Unknown Parting Thoughts It is going to be a hot, dry summer. Please call for additional assistance early into the event. Establish RE-HAB and rest crews often. Hydrate throughout each day before, during, and after the event. Let’s continue to watch out for each other! Together, our continued Oklahoma Fire Service goal is ZERO LODD’s … Remem-ber, there is no reason to repeat bad history … Hope to see you soon! JON 405-620-6262 jonh@coft-oklahoma.org |
Date created | 2014-06-05 |
Date modified | 2014-06-05 |