FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 5, 2010

Download release here

Contact:
Ross Pawlak
Miami Township Fire & EMS
5888 McPicken Dr
Milford, OH 45150
(513)-248-3700 = Business
(513)-383-8412 = Cell
ross.pawlak@miamtwpoh.gov

Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge
“The Toughest Two Minutes in Sports”

Milford, Ohio, 45150 – April 17th and 18th, 2010 in the Target parking lot at 100 River’s Edge – Miami Township Local 3768 in cooperation with Milford Community Fire Department is bringing the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge (FCC) to the tri-state area for the first time. Bring your family, your friends, or your entire organization. "IT’S FREE"

Don’t miss seeing firefighters from the Greater Cincinnati Tri-State Area and across the United States compete in what is deemed the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports”. Wearing "full bunker gear" and a Scott breathing apparatus (SCBA), pairs of firefighters simulate the physical demands of real life firefighting by competing on a linked series of five tasks. The competition begins with climbing a five story tower carrying a 42-pound high-rise hose pack; then hoist a 42 lb. hose roll to the top; next they descend to the ground floor where they simulate chopping by swinging a 9-pound shot mallet on the end of a 160 pound steel beam. They then zigzag 140 feet through simulation hydrants to the fourth station, where they advance an attack hose a distance of 75 feet; and finally, competitors drag a life sized, 175 lb. "victim" a distance of 100 feet to the finish line.

The Challenge is an intense, spirited competition and seeks to encourage firefighter fitness and demonstrate the profession's rigors to our stakeholders- the citizens who support their local departments. Unlike sports that exist solely for entertainment value, the Challenge is about performing one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs safer and better.

Also a part of this weekends “FREE” activity is the Corporate Sponsorship Challenge (CSC) and the Kid’s Firefighter Challenge (KFC). Come watch our corporate sponsors function as a five person teams and tackle the same five tasks the professional firefighters do. For the KFC, each child is outfitted with a helmet and "turn-out gear." In order, each child carries a shoulder load of hose, climbs to the top of our 12-foot inflatable tower, slides to the bottom, where they “stop, drop and roll.” They then crawl through the tunnel, work the miniature Keiser Force Machine with the supplied mallet, advance a 1” wildland fire line with authentic nozzle striking a target and finally “make the rescue” with an appropriately sized mannequin. It is “FREE” to all children. A great family weekend!!!!!
 

For more information about this event please visit www.iaff3768.org, www.miamitownshipoh.gov/fireems, or www.firefighterchallenge.com.

November 19, 2008

   As printed in the Community Press, November 19, 2008,  Page A9

   With development, emergency services farther away

By Kathryn Cosse
kcosse@communitypress.com

MIAMI TWP. – Jim Petry has been a firefighter for eight years in Miami Township. He’s also president of the firefighter’s union, Local 3768. In his career, he’s seen both the community and the need for emergency services grow.

But he hasn’t seen public awareness keep pace, specifically, awareness about the realities local fire departments face in getting to and addressing the majority of their calls – EMS calls.
And he’s worried many of residents think that calling 911 means an ambulance will be at their home in under five minutes.

But for some parts of the township, that simply doesn’t happen, he said. The gold standard, said Petry, is the “National Fire Protection Association 1710,” a voluntary standard for the organization and deployment of fire and EMS operations for career fire departments. That standard, he said, calls for departments to reach the majority of their community within 6.5 minutes of an emergency call.

When residents ask him how good Miami Township fire/EMS is at those times, Petry said he answers “not that good.”  “We can’t be,” he said. “But we do really well for what we have.”

What Miami Township has is three stations: The North Station at Wards Corner/Branch Hill-Guinea Pike, the Central Station at McPicken Drive and Business 28, and the South Station on U.S. 50 in Perintown. There’s at least 12 staff members, not including administration, working at those three stations each day, at least two per ambulance or fire engine.

But that’s still not enough staff or stations to get the average response time under five minutes.  And if both the south and central station ambulances are out on a call, said Petry, it’s not unlikely that a north station ambulance could be driving out to a call off Ohio 131.

In 2007, the department handled 3,653 incidents, about 75 percent of those for rescue and emergency medical service. Time makes a difference in those calls, said Petry.  “If you have a heart attack and I get to you in five minutes, I can make a big difference. Twelve minutes? I don’t know,” he said. 

Fire/EMS Chief James Whitworth said the NFPA standard isn’t a part of his department’s policy.
But he’d also like to see faster response times – specifically, he would like crews to respond to 85-percent of their calls within four minutes.

In 2007, crews responded to 41 percent of calls in that time. “That’s unsettling to me,” he said.
Whitworth said the township is developing to the southeast, off Ohio 131.

“We have an elementary school out there now ... and the response time is nine to 15 minutes. With nine to 15 minute response times, they are under-served,” he said. But expanding the department’s service to those areas, with either a new staff or more staff, isn’t feasible, he said.
Simply put, they can’t afford it. Whitworth said the department could afford a new station and maybe even equipment, but not the ongoing cost of additional staff.

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go back and ask for that money. We will,” he said, but that process begins with a formalized study of the fire department, including community input.
In the meantime, he’s focused on a “multi-pronged” approach to better equip and prepare both residents and the department.

At the stations, there’s paramedic equipment on fire engines and all but three fulltime firefighters are trained paramedics. If an ambulance is out, a fire engine can respond to a call and provide advanced life support until the ambulance arrives.

For citizens, Whitworth said CPR and first aid classes can help them become more self sufficient until help arrives.

He also wants to encourage residents to look into fire suppression systems for their homes: “Smoke detectors are great, but the only thing that can put out a fire is a fire extinguisher or a residential sprinkling system,” he said.

Petry said he isn’t asking for more money, but does want to see the public educated.
He said he constantly asks for more staff in budget and contract negotiations, but said the “big thing” is that residents ask questions.

“My idea is not to say we need more,” he said, “but for people to realize the township has grown immensely but this department has not ... If you want better service, faster service, you’re going to have to ask people.

   How is the fire/EMS dept. funded?

According to Chief James Whitworth, Miami Township's fire/EMS department is funding with a combination of three continuing levies each for fire and EMS, one public safety levy that renews every five years (shared between police and fire/EMS) and one continuing public safety levy, passed in 2005 and split between the departments.

He said "it's difficult to say" when the department will need to go back to the public for funds. The 2005 levy was to offset inflation and maintain the facilities and fleet, he said. With that and other levies, Whitworth had estimate the department' to be funded for 8 to 9 years. .

But the economic downturn and some development tools have caused him to re-evaluate that position, he said.

Since planning for the 2005 levy started, he said, the township has begun to use Tax Increment Financing and Residential Incentive Districts, which capture property tax on a development before it goes to agencies like senior services and fire/EMS. He said the loss of those anticipated dollars has had an impact on revenues, and a negative impact on how long the existing levies can support the department.

end

October 21, 2008

Members of the Miami Township Firefighters Local 3768 will guest bartend from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Putters Tavern & Grill.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

All funds raised by firefighters during the event will be presented live during the 2009 Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, which you can see locally on WSTR MY64 next September.

In addition to drinks and dinner served by the firefighters, there will be 50/50 raffles, a silent auction and door prizes. You also can support the MDA with the purchase of a MDA Firefighters T-shirt.

Since 1954, the International Association of Firefighters has supported MDA's work, raising more than $240 million for the group.

For more info, or if your organization wants to participate in the silent auction, contact Keith Wilke at Putters at 831-5777.

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November 9, 2008

Help Miami Township Firefighters
Tom Porter and Jim Petry raise money for cancer research.

Click here to donate

On November 9th, 2008 Tom Porter and Jim Petry will ascend 2,109 steps and 1,353 vertical feet to the famous Sears Tower Skydeck observatory for the best views in Chicago and the satisfaction of having climbed the tallest building in the western hemisphere, all in support of cancer research.

Help Miami Township Firefighters Tom Porter and Jim Petry raise money for cancer researchGo Vertical Chicago, in its seventh year, welcomes climbers of all ages and athletic levels. In
past years, stair climbers as young as 6 years old and as old as 79 have made their way to the
Skydeck, and have traveled from as far away as New Zealand to participate. Elite stair climbers
will compete for the top spot and try to break the record of 13:26 minutes set in 2005.

Some climb the Sears Tower for the pure challenge, some are cancer survivors, and many climb
in memory of those lost to cancer or who are fighting the disease today. Last year’s sold out
event raised more than $340,000 for young cancer scientists whose innovative research is at risk
due to funding cuts at the national level.

About the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation:

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation invests exclusively in top young scientists,
recruiting the best new minds into cancer research and seeding their bold ideas. The Foundation
offers an alternative to programs supported by the NIH and large organizations, which typically
favor senior scientists with established track records.

Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $200 million and funded more than
3,000 young scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel
Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. The
Foundation currently is funding more than 120 scientists at leading medical centers and research
institutions. This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in outstanding young minds.
100% of all direct donations are used to support scientific research. www.damonrunyon.org

About Sears Tower

Sears Tower is the premier corporate office building in Chicago, offering more than 3.8 million
square feet of office and retail space. Located in Chicago's West Loop at 233 S. Wacker Drive,
the skyscraper is easily accessible by the commuter rail stations, highways and all forms of public
transportation.

Standing 1,450 feet and 110 stories tall, Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America and
an integral part of Chicago’s culture. Originally opened in September 1973 as the corporate
headquarters for Sears, Roebuck and Co., the building is now a multi-tenant office building, home
to more than 100 different companies, including prominent financial services firms, law firms and
insurance companies.

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