Hazmat EMS Fire COMMISSION INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
VOL. 21, NO. 36 November 19, 1999
ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM TOM GIRARD
Chemistry of Hazmat
Three Salina Fire Department Lieutenants recently attended the National Fir~ Academy
80-hour class called, "Chemistry of Hazmat." This is a college level class that is an indepth
study of chemistry and how it relates to hazardous materials. The class was in Wichita,
Kansas and was taught by two National Fire Academy instructors.
Hazmat in Pueblo
Two Salina Fire Department employees will be going to Pueblo, Colorado November 29"~
to December 10"~. They will be taking hazardous materials technician class. The class is
actually about 20 miles east of Pueblo on an isolated training site. Multiple train cars, semi
tank cars and many other props are used. This is one of the top hazardous materials
training programs in the nation.
Certified Public Manager
Deputy Fire Chief Steve Moody and Jane Eilers (Salina Municipal Court Supervisor) will
finish a yearlong supervisory program in December. The'class has met 3 days every
month since January. Upper level supervisory employees from the State have attended
the class in the past and this year the program opened to city employees.
Door Construction
Two new pieces of fire apparatus are being built for Salina. One of these is what we call
a "quint." It is called this because it serves five purposes; "It has an aerial ladder, a water
tank, pump, ground ladders and a complement of hose." The new quint will be placed at
Fire Station One. Having an aerial ladder in the downtown station will give us better high
rise protection and better insurance rating points. The only problem with housing a quint
at station one is that fire truck builders do not make a model that will fit under our present
doors. We are addressing this problem by enlarging the shop door at station one. The
door opening has to be enlarged side-ways, as well as upwards.
Propane Release
The City of Salina dodged a major catastrophe on Friday, November 12"~. Fiber optic line
installers struck a major propane line while laying cable line on the west side of 1-35. The
result was a release of 80,000 to 90,000 gallons of liquid propane. Propane has an
expansion rate of 800 to 1, so you can imagine the volume of the vapor cloud. Unlike
normal Kansas weather, the wind was very still on this day. Since propane is lighter than
air, the product hung around for quite a while. Luckily, what wind was present, was from
the east. The Red Coach Inn and truck stop was evacuated until about noon the next day.
Part of 1-35 was closed for about 8 hours, which required the Salina Police Department to
divert traffic through the City and the Kansas Highway Patrol to deal with significant traffic
issues on the interstate. One worker was thrown off of his machine when the gas line was
ruptured, but there were no injuries to the six employees or emergency responders.
-OVER-
ClM Page 2
Foam System for Quint 4
A new foam system was installed on the aerial truck at Station Four (Crawford and
Briarcliff). This allows the fire apparatus operator to mix foam with water. The foam
product has better extinguishment features and allows less water damage when fighting
a fire. Both of two new fire apparatus that have been ordered have foam systems. The
engine that is located at station one today also has a foam system. The system was
installed by Hays Fire Equipment in Hays, Kansas.
New Refurbished Ambulance
The Salina Fire Department has a new ambulance. Actually, the ambulance body is an
old one that was refurbished and placed on a new chassis. This is the third ambulance
that has been refurbished. By refurbishing an ambulance, the City can save 30% and
basically have a new ambulance.
Fire & Life Safety Program
The Public Education Specialist has visited all Saline County schools. Grades K-4 (3,800
students) are taught fire safety skills during the Fall semester and will be taught other
safety lessons during the Spring semester. A new addition to the first grade classes has
been "Introduction to Firefighters." This part of the lesson lets students meet the
fireflghters in their "gear" gives them the opportunity to ask questions about their jobs. It
has been very successful.
MONDAY'S MEETING
1. Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has any questions or
cannot attend the meeting, please contact me.
2. Let's begin the study session at 3:00 p.m. An agenda is enclosed.
Dennis M. Kissinger
City Manager