Inside this issue:

Fire & EMS Run Review

1

EMS Bureau Report 2

Fire Prev./ Public Safety 4

Operations Bureau 6

Training Bureau 7

In Their Own Words 8

Planning to Protect... ...Acting to Save

May 2017 Volume 5, Issue 5

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

…..Acting to Save

Honor Wall Relocation

The Honor Wall is a way

to show all those that

have served on the Fire

Department for 20 years

or more.

Its original location was

facing 7th Ave below the

flag and it was difficult to

access as well as out of

space for additional mem-

bers. Its new location is

near the front entrance off

of 8th Ave. This project

has been undertaken by

Ben Heinen as part of an

Eagle Scout project. It

has also been funded by

donations. Although it is

not quite finished it is

progressing well and is

looking GREAT!

If you would like to make

a donation, please contact

Mike Heinen by calling

the Fire Department.

Emergency Activities

Types of Calls May 2017 May 2016

Year to Date (2017)

Year to Date (2016)

Fires Calls 32 29 145 164 Emergency Medical Calls 269 236 1269 1177 Paramedic Intercepts 20 9 75 51 Interfacility Transports 39 46 178 204

Totals 360 320 1667 1596

Town of Barton Calls 23 9 67 40

Town of West Bend Calls 12 6 59 51

Page 2

Emergency Medical Services Bureau BC Todd Van Langen and Captain Tom Thrash

Page 2

End of a Career…... by Fire Chief Gerald Kudek

Battalion Chief Todd Van-

Langen joined the fire de-

partment on June 18, 1992

after serving with the Ke-

waskum Fire Department

for several years. He was

promoted to MPO, Lieu-

tenant and spent several

years as Captain of the

WBFD Training Bureau.

He is a certified CPR in-

structor, hazardous materi-

als technician, and State

certified EMT-

Intermediate.

Todd was promoted to Bat-

talion Chief in 2000. BC

VanLangen was instrumen-

tal in advancing the de-

partment’s and Washing-

ton County’s emergency

medical services. He has

served on numerous EMS

related committees to pro-

vide defibrillators and

standardized operating

protocols. In 2005 he was

selected as the American

Legion EMT of the Year.

In addition Todd has re-

ceived several awards for

his work with the Ameri-

can Heart Association.

We thank Todd for his

many years of dedicated

and faithful service to the

citizens of West Bend and

our department.

We all wish him a long,

healthy, and happy retire-

ment !!!!!

Battalion Chief VanLangen shown here as a the Blue Shift “rookie”. Also picture (left to right) MPO Bruce Grosz, FF Alan Hefter, FF Gerald Kudek, Lt Eugene Harth, MPO Carl Zimmermann, MPO William Lutz, and “rookie” FF Todd VanLangen

Battalion Chief VanLangen last day with the Green Shift. Pictured with the BC VanLangen is (front row left to right)Lt. Whitmore, FF Kammueler, Lt. Heinen, MPO Asselin, MPO Demler, (back row) FF Nickels, FF Williams, FF Stockhausen, FF Kolberg, MPO Dornacker, BC VanLangen, Lt Hefter, FF Keon

Page 3

In May the West Bend

Fire Department worked

with Safe Kids South-

east Wisconsin to host a

car seat and booster

safety check. Safe Kids

Southeast Wisconsin

supplied volunteer, certi-

fied passenger safety

technicians to complete

a safety inspection and

education for child pas-

senger seats. West Bend

Fire Department provid-

ed the space, which was

done at Fire Station #3

on South Main Street.

There were about 12 ve-

hicles that came through

on May 25 to have their

child seats inspected and

properly installed.

Having your child’s seat

properly installed can

give you peace of mind,

especially after review-

ing some of these basic

facts

• Motor vehicle crashes

are the No. 1 killer of

children ages 1-14 in

Wisconsin.

• In Wisconsin, on aver-

age, there are 2,700 chil-

dren ages 1-14 injured in

motor vehicle crashes.

• Car seats, when used

correctly, are up to 71

percent effective in re-

ducing infant death and

54 percent effective for

children ages 1-4.

• Booster seats, when

used correctly, reduce the

risk of a child’s injury by

59 percent.

• Unrestrained children

are more likely to be in-

jured, suffer severe inju-

ries and die in motor ve-

hicle crashes than chil-

dren who are restrained.

Emergency Medical Services Bureau Battalion Chief Todd Van Langen & Captain Tom Thrash

Child Safety Seat Checks

Page 4

Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Fire Safety Education, Code Enforcement and Fire Investigation

Deputy Chief Chuck Beistle

Page 5

Fire Prevention & Public Safety Bureau Fire Safety Education, Code Enforcement and Fire Investigation

by Captain Kenny Asselin

leave the area im-

mediately and call

the fire department

from outside the

home.

(BELOW) Summerville, SC - The aftermath of a U-Haul that exploded on May 17th due to a propane tank that was still connect-ed to a grill inside the truck. Thank you to Todd Pruitt at SConFire.com for allowing us to post the pic-ture.

Never operate a

propane-powered

gas grill inside the

home.

Have propane gas

equipment inspect-

ed periodically by a

professional for pos-

sible leaks or mal-

functioning parts.

Carefully follow the

manufacturer's in-

structions when

lighting a pilot.

If you smell a

strong odor of gas,

Handle any propane

-powered equipment

cautiously and al-

ways follow the

manufacturer's in-

structions.

Cylinder tanks for

equipment such as

stoves and ovens

must be located out-

side of the home.

Never store or use

propane gas cylin-

ders larger than one

pound inside the

home.

Another great Wiscon-

sin summer is just

around the corner. The

outdoors is inviting

with the longer days

and warmer tempera-

tures. Our senses are

filled with the sounds of

children playing, the

sights of people enjoy-

ing outdoor activities,

and the smells of people

grilling. All in all,

summer is just a great

time to be alive.

But we would be remiss

if we didn’t focus on

some of the safety is-

sues that plague us dur-

ing the summer

months. Everyone en-

joys their food that has

been cooked on a grill.

While there are purists

out there who love the

smell of charcoal, oth-

ers prefer the cleanli-

ness of the gas grill.

That is why we are fo-

cusing this month on

propane safety.

The National Fire Pro-

tection Association has

the following tips for

propane grill use:

Operations & Maintenance Bureau Battalion Chief Jeff Gustafson & Battalion Chief John Spartz

Page 6

WBFD Prepares for Annual Hose Testing Spring for the West

Bend Fire Department

means it is time for the

department to conduct

annual hose testing.

Fire hose can be found

on all of the depart-

ment’s fire engines and

aerial ladder trucks. In

addition, there is fire

hose on the tender,

brush truck, and spare

hose in each station.

Each of the departments

295 lengths of hose has

to pass this annual test

to remain in service.

Annual service testing

consists of a visual in-

spection on the outside

of the hose for rips and

tears in the outer shell,

or jacket.

Then the hose is filled

with water and pressur-

ized up to 300 pounds

per square inch. The

pressure has to remain

in the hose for five

minutes. Any leaks in

the hose are marked and

the hose is removed

from service until it is

repaired. It then has to

pass the pressure test

after the repairs are

made.

There aren’t any pic-

tures from this year’s

testing, so we found

some in our archives.

The pictures below are

from WBFD testing

their fire engine pumps

and hose at Regner Park

on June 4, 1944.

There are ten lines flow-

ing in the first and sec-

ond pictures. The de-

partment’s 1923

Seagrave, 1936 FWD

engines and hose wagon

are the apparatus in the

pictures. Chief Ku-

ehlthau is the officer in

the lower right.

Fire Instruction & Training Bureau Deputy Chief Chuck Beistle & Captain Tom Thrash

Page 7

WBFD Public Relations

On the left: Motor

Pump Operator Kyle

Demler was selected as

the local post Firefight-

er Of The Year.

On the right: Lieuten-

ant Rob Schafer was

selected as the local and

county EMT of the

Year.

Both individuals were

honored at a meeting in

May. Annually individ-

uals are selected for go-

ing above and beyond

what is expected.

Active Shooter Incident

Management: On May 3

the West Bend Fire De-

partment along with 30

other fire and law en-

forcement personnel,

from several different

agencies, participated in

an Active Shooter Inci-

dent Management

(ASIM) tabletop exer-

cise, held at the West

Bend Police Department

(WBPD) training room.

ASIM is a course de-

signed to improve inci-

dent management and

integration of law en-forcement , fire and EMS

responders to active

shooter events by de-

creasing time to (1)

threat neutralization (2)

medical intervention,

and (3)increasing surviv-

ability of victims. The

course focuses on the

core response process and

integration.

A model Active Shooter

Incident Management

Checklist was reviewed.

It is a tool that outlines

the law enforcement, fire

and EMS process.

This class was both edu-

cational and eye-opening

for everyone who partic-

ipated. Thanks WBPD

for hosting.

2017 American Legion Lt. Ray Dickop Post 36 Firefighter and EMS of the Year Award.

325 N 8th Ave.

West Bend, WI 53095

262.335.5054

www.ci.west-bend.wi.us

In Their Own Words…...

WEST BEND FIRE DEPARTMENT

Planning to Protect… ...Acting to Save

Personnel Spotlight: Captain Kenny Asselin

Captain of Prevention /

Paramedic Kenny Asselin

has proudly served the City

of West Bend since 1996.

Kenny is from Butler, WI,

where he was a volunteer

firefighter/ EMT and a fire

inspector prior to his arri-

val in West Bend. His cer-

tifications include Fire-

fighter II, Fire Officer II,

Fire Inspector I, Fire In-

structor I, Driver/Operator

Pumper and Aerial, Haz

Mat Technician and is li-

censed as a critical care

paramedic. Kenny holds

associate degrees in mar-

keting and paramedic tech-

nician, a bachelor degree in

business administration

from Cardinal Stritch Uni-

versity as well as a Masters

in Business Administration

(MBA), also from Cardinal

Stritch. Kenny is an ad-

junct EMS instructor and

National Registry examiner

at Moraine Park Technical

college, and an adjunct

driver/operator instructor at

Gateway Technical Col-

lege. Kenny and his wife

Sandy enjoy downhill ski-

ing in Colorado and Upper

Michigan, camping, biking,

golfing, and the occasional

relaxing weekend in Door

County.

The back page of our newsletter features a note or card that we have received from our

customers….the people we serve. Whether it is during an ambulance call, fire call,

or a public education assignment, the members of the West Bend Fire

Department are always ded- icated to making their contact with

area residents a positive experience.