Comox Fire Rescue is integrating scan-able QR codes into their regular apparatus maintenance procedures. Each vehicle in the department has regular inspections of every piece of equipment on the truck, from the set of screwdrivers to the hydraulic ladder rack on their newest engine. Traditionally, these inspections were done with pen and paper and filed away. As you can imagine, the boxes of paper build up fast!
Under the new system, each compartment has a QR code that can be scanned with the vehicle's iPad to bring up a checklist-style inventory sheet. Once the checklist is complete, the information is stored in a cloud-based database for easy referencing. This information can also have statistics drawn from it to find trends such as equipment durability and frequency of use.
Chief Schreiner states: "We are constantly looking for innovative ideas to make us more efficient without increasing our operating costs. This is just one of many low cost innovations we have added to our department"
Comox Rescue's newest vehicle is dedicated to Capt Stewart Rennie. And as luck would have it, just as the Ceremony was about to begin, the pagers went, and off went half of the Department.
Comox Fire Rescue manages two different Firefighter Youth Programs (Firefighter Youth Camp and Firefighter Youth Semester Program). The Youth Semester Program is run twice each year for Comox Valley high school students. The goal of this camp is to provide significant learning and life experience and provide skills and attitudes that can be applied now and later in life.
Chief Schreiner states: “We are so pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with many of the great youths in our community. These programs require a huge commitment by our outstanding group of firefighters. Without their assistance this would not be possible. We are also very fortunate to have great community support from many local businesses.”
Last night kicked off the first evening with 19 students from 3 local high schools attending.
... But not today! According to the Ministry of Environment, the Venting Index for this morning and afternoon is rated "Poor" which means burning is not allowed.
The Venting Index is a term used in air pollution meteorology. (It is also known as the Ventilation Index.) The Ventiling Index is a numerical value related to the potential of the atmosphere to disperse airborne pollutants, such as smoke from a prescribed fire. It is based on both the current wind speed in the mixed layer and the mixing height. The mixed layer is the surface layer of air that is turbulent and well mixed. The mixing height is the thickness (sometimes zero) of this mixed layer.
If you are in the Comox Fire Protection District and you have a valid burning permit, please remember to call 1-888-281-2992 or check the Venting Index website at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/venting/venting.html before you burn!
Today was an excellent opportunity for our crews to participate in an exercise with 442 sqn (SAR Techs) and 19 Wing Fire Dept. Simulated plane crash with lots of victims, fires and entrapment.
