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National Playground Safety Week Campaign Works to Prevent
Common Playground Injuries
With warmer weather rapidly
approaching, backyard swings, monkey bars and climbing walls
become a more popular place for children to play. To help
reduce the chance of injuries on home play sets, the Hampton
Fire Department shares some recommendations to promote play
set safety during National Playground Safety Week, April
21-25, 2008.
For more information and tips
click here
Camp Fully Involved
Camp Fully Involved 2008 will run from Sunday August 3rd
until Friday August 8th, 2008.
Camp
Fully Involved is an aggressive hands-on, live in week-long
summer camp directed at young women between the ages of 14*
and 20 who are interested in exploring the career of a
firefighter. No experience or affiliation with a fire
department is required, and we encourage application from
young women who do not have any affiliation with the fire
service.
As a cadet in Camp Fully Involved, you will participate in
numerous hands-on evolutions including, but not limited to
vehicle and dumpster fires, rappelling, SCBA drills, room
and content fires, Engine and Truck company operations,
forcible entry, ventilation and combined operations. In
addition to the hands-on programs, cadets will also have
classroom presentations daily.
Applications for the 2008 Camp Fully Involved will be open
from January 1, 2008 until May 1, 2008. Acceptance to the
camp is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more
information you can find it online at
www.campfullyinvolved.org
Bike Rodeo and Child Passenger Safety Seat Check Day
Saturday May 10th from 10 am to 2 pm
The
Hampton Fire Rescue and Police Department are joining
together to promote
safe biking and safe child passenger safety seat riding.
Both departments will be
hosting a Bike Rodeo and Child Passenger Safety Seat check
day. The event will
take place on Saturday May 10th from 10 am to 2 pm behind
Fire Station 2 located
at 140 Winnacunnet Road.
Included in the day will be a bicycle road course.
Participants will be tested on
proper bicycle riding techniques as well as the importance
of wearing a helmet.
Certificates will be awarded to all participants. All
children participating in the rodeo
will be eligible for a grand prize. This will be drawn at 2
pm.
Also
available during the event will be Child Passenger Safety
Seat Technicians.
The Hampton Fire Rescue has been involved with checking
child passenger seats
since 2001. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration states that 80-85% of
child passenger seats are installed incorrectly. The Hampton
Fire Rescue is
committed to lowering the number of injuries sustained by
children in car crashes
who are riding in improperly installed passenger safety
seats.
The
Hampton Bureau of Fire Prevention will be offering
demonstrations in our Safety
Trailer. Please visit our Safety Trailer to learn about
weather safety, how to be safe
around the kitchen and how to escape your house safely if
you are involved in a fire.
Light refreshments will be served.
Please contact Fire Inspector Jeffrey LeDuc at 929-1920 or
email at
jleduc@hamptonfirerescue.com with any questions.
For a printable
flyer:
Bike Rodeo and Car Seat Flyer
Fire Prevention
Newsletter
Fire Prevention April 2008 Newsletter
PDF
Hampton
Fire Reminds Parents of Steps to Prevent Child Poisoning
Poison Prevention Has Saved More
Than 900 Lives Since the 1970s
Hampton, N.H. – Every day
thousands of new parents assume the responsibility of caring
for and protecting a child. Many of these first-time
caregivers are unaware of the dangers of unintentional
poisonings often related to medicines and household products
commonly found in the home, such as personal care products,
over-the-counter pain relievers and cleaning substances.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) and the Poison Prevention Week Council are
kicking off National Poison Prevention Week (March 16-22) to
educate and inform consumers of the dangers associated with
unintentional poisonings. From 2002 through 2004,
about 36 children younger than 5 died each year as a result
of ingesting poisonous substances found in and around the
home. In 2005 about 91,000 young children visited hospital
emergency rooms and more than one million calls were placed
to poison control centers as a result of unintentional
poisoning.
“Many people do not realize how
hazardous some common household products are,” said Hampton
Deputy Chief Chris Silver. “Poison Prevention Week is
intended to raise awareness of other poisonous substances in
the home and take action to secure them from children.”
Young children are curious and use
their home environment as a classroom – a place to learn and
explore. Exploring for younger children is often done by
mouthing objects which puts them at greater risk of
unintentional poisonings. For young children who are unable
to read, a bottle of orange-scented household cleaner may be
mistaken for orange juice; the medicine in the pill
container can look a lot like small candies; and baby oil,
which can be deadly if ingested, can resemble a clear drink.
To prevent these incidents,
Hampton Fire recommends the following safety steps:
1. Keep all household chemicals
and medicines locked up, out of sight and out of reach.
2. Use child-resistant packaging
properly by closing the container securely after each use.
Some products also come in child-resistant blister cards,
which avoid the need to re-secure.
3. Call 911 immediately in case of
poisoning.
4. When products are in use, never
let young children out of your sight, even if you must take
them along when answering the phone or doorbell.
5. Keep items in original
containers.
6. Leave the original labels on
all products, and read the label before using to understand
correct use and dosage.
7. Do not put decorative lamps and
candles that contain lamp oil where children can reach them.
Lamp oil can be very toxic if ingested by young children.
8. Always turn the light on when
giving or taking medicine. Check the dosage every time.
9. Avoid taking medicine in front
of children. Refer to medicine as "medicine," not "candy."
10. Clean out the medicine cabinet
periodically and safely dispose of unneeded and outdated
medicines.
To request poison prevention
publications, visit
www.poisonprevention.org.
Fire Prevention
Newsletter
Fire Prevention Winter Newsletter
- PDF
The Hampton Fire
Department Wants to Keep You Safe and Warm This Winter
As
the temperature outside drops, Hampton families take to the
indoors to keep safe and warm. What they may not realize is
that turning up the heat can increase the risk of home
heating fires.
According to the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), nearly half of all home-heating fires occur during
the winter months. The latest NFPA research shows that
heating equipment was involved in 62,200 reported U.S. home
structure fires in 2005, with associated losses of 670
civilian deaths , 1,550 civilian injuries , and $909 million
in direct property damage.
“
While these numbers are frightening, nearly all of these
fires are preventable, ” said Inspector Jeffrey LeDuc. “ We
can reduce the number of home heating fires in our community
by taking some simple precautions and using heating
equipment properly. ” NFPA and the Hampton Fire Department
recommend some simple home heating safety tips, so residents
can help keep our community safe and warm this winter.
Space heaters need space. Keep all things that can burn,
such as paper, bedding or furniture, at least 3 feet away
from heating equipment.
Turn portable heaters off when you go to bed or leave the
room.
Plug power cords only into outlets with sufficient capacity
and never into an extension cord.
Inspect for cracked, frayed or broken plugs or loose
connections. Replace before using.
Have your chimney inspected each year and cleaned if
necessary.
Use a sturdy fireplace screen.
Allow ashes to cool before disposing.
Dispose of ashes in a metal container.
Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping
area and on every level of the home.
For the best protection interconnect all smoke alarms
throughout the home — when one sounds, they all sound.
Test smoke alarms at least once a month.
Install and maintain a carbon monoxide alarm in a central
location outside each sleeping area.
Never use an oven to heat your home.
For fuel assistance call 1-800-639-3896.
If
you have concerns or questions regarding being fire safe at
home, you can contact the Hampton Fire Department Bureau of
Fire Prevention at 929-1920.
Heating Fast Facts
PDF
Heating Talking Points
PDF
EEE Information
Due to the confirmed
case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Hampton we are
recommending that anyone with questions of a non-emergency
nature please go to
www.dhhs.nh.gov which is
the NH Department of Health and Human Services website where
there is information available. Under the health news
section click on "West Nile Virus/EEE" and follow the
guidelines and recommendations set forth by NHDHHS. If
you feel you have any symptoms of this nature please seek
medical help immediately. Also, concerned residents
can call the State Department of Health Communicable Disease
Department at (603) 271-4496.
2006 Fire, Emergency Medical & Rescue Service
Report
To the citizens of
Hampton,
I would like to
begin by re-affirming to you that your Fire Department
remains of the highest caliber and is known for its
leadership in the fire and emergency medical services. Our
personnel remain highly qualified, competent, and extremely
professional. “Experience Counts” as our personnel are
highly skilled and veteran first responders. Your emergency
medical service is continually praised by the staff at
regional hospitals and the emergency medical community. This
can be directly attributed to our high standards of care and
their commitment to excellence. Hampton Fire Rescue is
staffed with 43 employees with an average of over ten years
each of professional service.
OPERATIONS
2006 brought
another year of fire and emergency medical response managed
on a default budget. Our call volume has continued to
increase and this year was no exception. Calls for service
increased by eight percent. We continue to provide more
services with fewer personnel. I have illustrated our call
history below for your information.
FIRE PREVENTION
BUREAU
The Fire Prevention
Officer, Fire Inspector, and Fire Prevention Secretary work
together to provide fire and safety education programs to
all age groups. They perform highly technical plan reviews
of systems and designs relating to fire safety. The Bureau
also performs many inspections while enforcing the state and
local fire codes and both members have been trained to
perform origin and cause investigations of fires. The year
began with the retirement of Scott McDonald from the
Department. Scott had many years of fire experience and was
very knowledgeable in codes and Bureau operations. He
constantly worked to create and improve standards and
expectations within the Bureau so that we could provide the
best service possible. Jon True was promoted in February as
the new Fire Prevention Officer. Robin Arsenault was
reinstated as the Fire Prevention Secretary in April. Jeff
Leduc was promoted to Fire Inspector in July. He brings a
law enforcement background with him and has been learning
how to do fire inspections and handle various issues within
the Bureau.
We received the
fire safety trailer in August of this year. The trailer,
which cost approximately $52,000.00, was acquired through a
federal grant through FEMA. The local ten percent matching
fund requirement for the grant was raised through local
donations, meaning there was no cost to the taxpayers for
its procurement. A special thanks to those who donated! The
trailer is a shared resource and has already been used in
other towns in the area as well as in our schools. For
surrounding Towns, we provide basic training to members of
the local Fire Department, deliver the trailer to them and
have them teach the classes. There has been a lot of
positive feedback from the communities about this unit.
COMMUNICATIONS
As we close 2006,
the Fire Department communication system has gone through
some changes. We received radios from the NH
Interoperability Grant, including mobile radios for all
apparatus and cars. We also received 39 portable radios,
outfitting each Firefighter and Officer with standardized
equipment. These radios increase safety and interoperability
as we can now communicate with local police departments, as
well as many local fire departments, state agencies and
hospitals. In 2006, the Department acquired new
database/fire management software and computers that will
help the Department in many ways. The project was funded
through a grant from the NH Homeland Security Grant Program.
From our view, this software will help by better tracking
inspections, complaints and other operations within the
Bureau. The laptops (also purchased under a grant) will help
streamline our service to the public by giving us real-time
information while on-scene of an incident or while doing an
inspection. When issuing a report or violation, we can see
the history of a building as well as other pertinent
information, better serving the customer. This will also
increase communication within the whole Department, making
for safer operations. The fire alarm system has been shut
down, and the conversions went fairly well.
LADDER TRUCK
We took delivery of
the new aerial ladder truck in October. The new truck was
approved by the Hampton voters last March and was
manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton,
Wisconsin. The truck is housed at the fire station on
Winnacunnet Road. The vehicle features a 105 foot
rear-mounted steel aerial ladder with a full complement of
portable ground ladders. The new truck also boasts a 10kw
hydraulic generator for additional lighting capabilities, a
Detroit 470 hp engine, independent front suspension,
advanced electronics, and ample compartments for equipment
storage. Pierce trucks also feature side rollover, front
tire blowout, and a 45 degree cramp angle steering system
for tight maneuvering around Town and at the Beach.
GOVERNMENT
PIER/DOCK
The government pier
is now substantially complete. In 2002, the Town of Hampton,
the State of New Hampshire Department of Safety, and the
United States Coast Guard collaboratively discussed,
endorsed, and received funding for the construction of a
secure public safety marine docking facility adjacent to the
Hampton River, on a Town-owned parcel of land. The Town
acquired private donations and federal funding for this
project through Senator Judd Gregg, which was administered
through NOAA. The dock is owned and maintained by the Town
of Hampton. The extent of the project is a secured
government marine structure that will allow federal, state,
and local authorities to coordinate marine operations under
the National Incident Management System model (NIMS). This
model provides for a consistent regional approach for
governments to work effectively and efficiently together to
prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic
incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity. From a
federal focus that is striving to improve Homeland Security
through the integration of all resources, this project was
of the highest priority and exemplifies the Town’s
commitment to water rescue and security.
RETIREMENTS
Two of our veteran
employees retired from the department in 2006. Captain Guy
Larivee and Fire Prevention Officer Scott McDonald decided
to call it a career. Combined, they gave over 50 years of
service to the Town. I salute them both for their dedication
to public safety and community service. I also wish them
well with their future endeavors.
In closing, our
challenges are more complex every year, but the citizens of
Hampton can feel assured that the employees of the Hampton
Fire Department are addressing the Town’s everyday demands.
We continue to achieve our goals through experienced
employees, professional persistence, and community pride.
Respectfully
submitted,
Hank Lipe, Fire
Chief
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