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Stateside Comment While the UK weather continues to cause problems this side of the pond, FIRE’s US Correspondent Catherine Levein reports on the how East Coast fire services continue to face challenges of their own
I
am obsessed by the weather. I never used to be, but here in New York it has been a long, cold winter. I still have not come to terms with understanding Fahrenheit rather than Celsius and I am still fooled into thinking it is a nice day when it is bright and sunny but in fact it is so bitterly cold it takes your breath away. It has been so cold for so long that the snow from January never had chance to melt after the furore of the Polar Vortex that found its way to the north east coast of the US from Canada. There are cars on the streets near where I live that have not moved in weeks as they are entombed in solid ice that is going nowhere fast. Earlier in February, new Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, told Jon Stewart on the Comedy Channel’s The Daily Show, that he had dealt with three major snow storms in
New York in his first month and he wanted to try something new. I think New Yorkers would agree. Frozen hydrants are an annual problem here. The FDNY tweet every time there is a snow storm asking its followers to clear around the hydrants to improve access. In New York’s Central Park, someone has helpfully attached a threefoot metal pole with a bright orange flag to the top of every fire hydrant in the park. In the elegant February snow they stand out like beacons and add some welcome colour to this landscape. Up the coast in Boston they have gone one step further with an ‘adopt a hydrant’ app, developed by the Code for America movement. It is well worth visiting their website (adoptahydrant.org) to see how simple the developers have made this app. Citizens are
encouraged to adopt a hydrant, their names proudly popping up on the map of Boston to show their commitment to clearing a particular hydrant after a snow storm. There are no takers for this approach in the UK yet, with no UK presence for the Code for America movement, but I don’t think this will be the case for long. This is not just a record breaking year for bad weather here, and it shows that Americans are just as keen on talking about the weather as the British. In the media there is a fairly predictable stream of photographs of fire apparatus (as they say here) struggling with the snow, fire gear freezing in the extreme temperatures and reports of a spike in fire deaths mostly due to precarious heating arrangements. There has been some interest from the US media in the UK’s
floods and continual rain, but not much. I listen to Radio Four news every day at lunchtime and hear the amazing work the Fire and Rescue Service is doing in the UK dealing with flooding. Those high volume pumps that I remember working on as part of the New Dimension programme are coming in handy – more than perhaps anyone would want. We will need them here soon, as when the temperatures rise, there’s a lot of ice and snow just waiting to melt.
Spirit of Fire Awards 2014 nominees announced
T
he shortlist for the 2014 Spirit of Fire Awards, organised by The Fire Fighters Charity, has been announced, and includes a number of brave and dedicated finalists who have been nominated for the following ten categories: Team of the Year • Blue Watch Newport, Isle of Wight • Borders Barmy Army, Galashiels • Oxford to Bonn Challenge Cycle Team, Oxford • StrongArm Challenge Team, Tyne and Wear/Durham and Darlington. Best Newcomer of the Year • Ashley Brown, Shropshire • Claire Boer, Norfolk • Clare Morris, Lancashire • Kevin McKenzie, London.
Supporter of the Year • Ally Birkett, Aberdeen • Dom Furby, Birkenshaw • Andy Hunter, Dunfermline • Tim West, Huntingdon. Fire Service of the Year • Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service • Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service • Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service • Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service • Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Corporate Supporter of the Year • D. Robinson & Recycling Partners, Desborough • Babcock International Group, London
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• Infographics, Edinburgh • Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford. Lifetime Achievement Award Revealed at the awards in May 2014. Beneficiary of Courage • Helen Jones, Bolton • Victoria Marks, Liskeard • Maureen Spenley, Merseyside • Mick Titmarsh, Bradford. Youth Courage Award • Adam Criddle, Ross on Wye • Joshua Hopkins, Ben Hool and Lewis Byng, Carmarthen • Bailie Kershaw, Millom • Alfie Sharpe, Kilmarnock. Adult Hero • Alan Chapman, Littleport • Tracey Jane Marriott, Evesham • Emma Burles, Hannah King and Jordan McNulty, Hockley
• Paul Tunnah and Grant Blears, Manchester. Fire Fighter of the Year • Jim Golder, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service • David Millward, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • Paul Rich, London Fire Brigade • Rachael Streeting, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service • Bob Williams, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Every week from now until the awards on May 16, FIRE will profile one of the nominee’s stories before bringing you full coverage from the ceremony at Park Plaza, Westminster. To book a place or table, and for more information, visit: www.spiritoffireawards.co.uk