VOLUME 10, ISSUE 5 Scholarship Winner to Appear at May Meeting! The meeting will be at the Richardson Fire Department Training Center, starting with get-togethers at 6:30 p.m. and the main meeting starting at 7 p.m. We need your RSVP by noon Friday May 22nd. Reply to CFAAARSVP@gmail.com. Contacts 2015 Officer Name Email address: President Travis Day tdaytx@gmail.com Vice President Chris Trujillo ctrujillo@raymondconstruction.com Secretary Alicia Marshall amarshall2331@gmail.com Treasurer Ron Domke domkerw@att.net Director Rich Hardin rchardin@sbcglobal.net Director Steve Jennings sjkingland@hotmail.com Director Lela Paksoy lelapaksoy@gmail.com Director Traute Malhotra traute@thmrealty.com Newsletter Editor John Shea johnlshea3@verizon.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE: President s Message 2 Advisor Message 3 April Meeting Recap 4-5 PPA 5-7 Wildflower! Festival 8-9 Volunteer Opportunities/ Clothing 10 2015 Calendar of Events 11 2015 Dues Form 12 Calendar 13
Page 2 President s Message VOLUM E 10, ISS UE 5 Our esteemed leader was on a business trip and didn t send the editor anything this month. Maybe next month... Travis Day
Page 3 Advisor s Message What's Happening at the Richardson Fire Depart- Wildflower is OVER!! Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked the First Aid tent. It was a GREAT success. The RFD has been busy working on the 2015-2016 Budget and updating the Department's Strategic Plan. The Firefighters raised $15,887 dollars for the MDA this year. Just received new shirts for the Re-Hab team. They will be distributed at the May meeting. Hiring 12 new firefighters status: 503 Applications received. 333 Applicants tested. 128 Passed the test. 113 Performed the PPA. 104 Passed the PPA. 103 Interviewed. 23 Passed the interview process and are currently having their backgrounds checked. Big THANKS to Chris, Debbie and Alicia for helping with the PPA. July 4th will be here before we know it. If you are interested in volunteering for this event, please contact me. Steve Dossett
Page 4 April Meeting Recap: Fire Investigation Deputy Fire Marshal Wesley Caskey told us how the Richardson Fire Marshal s office conducts investigations of fires. When on the scene of a fire, the Fire Marshal gets into and works on the scene. While he reports to the Incident Command, his job is to size up the fire damage and interview all people on the site engineers, fire fighters, drivers, captains, rehab. They talk and he writes up notes Photo courtesy of John Shea. about how the fire progressed, heavy smoke, heat, gathering the facts of the case. Did they have to break the door down? Or was it open already? What about the windows? Did the fire self-ventilate (burn a hole in the roof?). He ll talk to the residents-for example, was there shredded paper and cigarette ashes? Any candles? For instance, there might have been three separate fires. The facts have to fresh in the mind. There can t be any comparing of stories among the men. There is a witness form for an out of custody statement (out of custody means away from the scene of the fire and not interviewed at the police station.) He attempts to find suspects. He has an audio record. He can then match stories and see what significant facts he can find. For a playground fire, there were three kids with skateboards, described as having long hair and jeans. He questions them, calls the parents for juvenile interviews. The next steps are under custody interviews at the police station. He has had hours of interview training, observation of body language, how to chip away at a suspect. Fire scene control is to secure the scene; it can be horribly messy. At the Big Lots fire, the store manager ran in and set the fire again; apparently the evidence had not completely burned. He ll post fire fighters on opposite corners, and at the entrance. He ll keep a log. They will assume the fire fighters had lawful entry. Exigent circumstances means they have the right to put out the fire. The intent is for public safety. They can investigate a fire. If it s a home, no consent needed. If arson, they need permission. They can get a search warrant, or a criminal search warrant of a phone where they physically take the phone of a suspect. Probable cause? Did a crime occur? Need to collect evidence of origin and cause of suspected arson. They administer the search warrant. The suspect lets them in if exigent circumstances; if for inspection, don t have to let in. continued on page 5.
Page 5 April Recap (continued) Task force inspection determines the origin and cause from fire patterns, fuel load, heat release rate, and ventilation among the factors. The cause can be determined by investigating the four elements of fire, a hypothesis, and a process of elimination. Was there flashover? Fire patterns? Evidence collected of items from the scene, photos, diagrams, documents, reports, insurance, phone records, and testimonies. For evidence collection, he takes pictures of the scene, an empty can, the can with the collected material, sealed can, then the can with evidence tape on it. Other evidence can be cell phone and GPS records and any intersections. If you want to do a crime, turn off your phone they can track you wherever you ve been. There is a 10 year statute of limitations on arson. The fire marshal uses the state lab; turnover is about a month. Sometimes the suspect, now confessed, will say Thank you. Guilt gets them it wears on them. RFD Physical Performance Assessment Test Photo courtesy of Chris Trujillo.
Page 6 Photo courtesy of Chris Trujillo and Debbie Conard.
Page 7 Photos courtesy of Chief Dossett.
Page 8 Wildflower! Festival Sun Screen, Band-Aids... The Saturday Crew Alcohol Wipes, Antibiotic Ointment... The Sunday Crew Tape, Rubber Gloves, Bio- Hazard Bags we ve got it all! The Paramedics to the Rescue! Photos courtesy of Debbie Conard.
And those who took care of the critical stuff... Page 9 Photos courtesy of Chief Dossett.
Page 10 Volunteer Opportunities Also any one interested in learning CPR or First Aid, please contact Irene Redwine. If you want to further your education and want to become a CPR Instructor, also please notify Irene Redwine. 4th at Breckenridge If you are interested in helping out, contact Steve Dossett. Clothing Orders Click the below link to go to the clothing order web site page. https://www.racereach.com/form.php?storeitem_id=14972 Notes: For women s shirts, order two sizes larger as they run small. Once you have a shirt embroidered, you can t send it back.
Page 11 2015 RCFAAA Meeting Calendar Board Meeting General Meeting Events April 21 April 28 TCFAAA Grapevine 04/11/2015 Trash Bash 04/18/2015 May 19 May 26-Scholarship winner! RFD PPA 5/02/2015 Wildflower 5/15-17/2015 June 23 June 30 (Reunion Picnic) July 21 July 28 Fourth at Breckenridge 07/04/2015 TCFAAA Roanoke 07/11/2015 August 18 August 25 September 22 September 29 (Joint Picnic) Dallas Stair Climb: 09/05/2015 October 20 October 27 November 10 November 17 (Board Elections) December 15 (no General Meeting) Christmas Parade & Santa s Village 12/05/2015
Page 12 CFAAA Dues Statement PLEASE PAY THE FOLLOWING ITEM Invoice Year: 2015 Date of check Type Description Amount Due* (Number of years) Dues Renewal Calendar year(s)*,, Clothing (see form) Terms: Please pay upon receipt of this statement. Total REMITTANCE: (Please complete this section) DATE: CHECK #: YOUR CANCELLED CHECK IS YOUR RECEIPT AMOUNT: CASH Please print: NAME ADDRESS: PHONE: ALTERNATE PHONE: E-MAIL: May we include your information in the members directory: Yes No $25.00* Single One Year $45.00* Single Two Year $65.00* Single Three Year BELOW SPACE FOR CFAAA TREASURER USE: Mail check and dues statement to: CFAAA, c/o Richardson Fire Department 136 Greenville Avenue, Richardson, TX 75081 Phone: 972-744-5750 Fax: 972-744-5796 Thank you!
Page 13 June 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 R I C H A R D S O N C I T I Z E N F I R E A C A D E M Y A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N c/o Richardson Fire Department 136 N. Greenville Avenue Richardson, TX 75081 Phone: 972-744-5752 Fax: 972-744-5796 Email: cfaaarsvp@gmail.com 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Board Meeting 24 25 26 27 The mission of the Richardson Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association (RCFAAA) is to function in an auxiliary capacity to assist, promote, and support the Richardson Fire Department through service, education and recognition. COMING EVENTS MAY 2015 AUG 2015 May 26, 2015: General Meeting. June 13, 2015: CPR. June 23, 2015: Board Meeting. June 30, 2015: Reunion Picnic. July 4, 2015: 4th at Breckenridge. July 11, 2015: TCFAAA at Roanoke. July 21, 2015: Board Meeting. July 28, 2015: General Meeting. August 18, 2015: Board Meeting. August 25, 2015: General Meeting. 28 29 30 Reunion Picnic We re on the Web at: http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=180. Fund-Raising and Speakers: If you have any ideas for fund-raising, please send them to Veronica Day. If you have any suggestions or leads on speakers for our monthly meetings, please send them to Alicia Marshall. CFAAA Board Meetings January 20, 2015 July 21 2015 February 17, 2015 August 18, 2015 March 24, 2015 September 22, 2015 April 21, 2015 October 20, 2015 May 19, 2015 November 10 2015 June 23, 2015 December 15,,2015 "Board meetings are open to any CFAAA member. They are held Tuesdays at 6:30 P.M. in the conference room at the Admin Building on Greenville Avenue." Heartwarmers: None this month.