He invited them in to the warm station, put them to work cleaning the engines, started making them do homework for the first time in their lives, fed them every day and provided guidance. They became volunteer firefighters, graduated from high school and entered different but successful careers. They didn’t stand a chance in life without Dan’s intervention.

Dan and his wife couldn’t have kids, so he was able to be a father figure to many of the young junior firefighters, including myself. He kept the station spotless with the work of his young followers and he ran a tight ship, which influenced work ethic and values of many young people. Many of us became career firefighters and can thank him for his influence on our successes.

One day a local attorney called Dan and asked him and his wife to come to his office. When Dan asked what for, the attorney would only say I need to see you both about a legal matter. Naturally this raised some concern, neither Dan nor his wife could figure out why an attorney wanted to see them. Needless to say it was a long drive to the attorney’s office, even though it was only a few blocks away.

The attorney met with them in a nice conference room and proceeded to let them know they were there for the settlement of an estate. Dan had been named as beneficiary for another old volunteer firefighter named Gus. Dan was the recipient of a $250,000 life insurance policy that Gus had taken out on himself 40 years earlier. Even though they had both volunteered together for most of their lives, they weren’t close friends. In fact, Gus never really interacted with anybody at the station. He never married, lived by himself and was always quietly on the fringe of any activity at the station.

One day early in their lives as volunteers, Dan and Gus responded to a house fire in the old section of town. Dan drove the engine and pumped the water to the hose that Gus carried into the house. Being the only two firefighters fighting the fire, Gus was hunting the fire down on the second floor as Dan broke out the windows to let the smoke and flames out.

Back in those days the masks firefighters wore filtered the smoke from the air instead of carrying in a tank of air like is done today. The filter masks didn’t always filter out the toxic gases and when that happened firefighters would pass out, and some would die from breathing these gases. As Dan was operating the pump, he noticed the water had stopped flowing and the hose was no longer moving, so he went to the front door and called for Gus. He could see the hose going up the stairs and with heavy smoke pouring from the house Dan knew Gus was in trouble.

He ran back to the engine, grabbed a filter mask, and charged into the house. Visibility was so bad he couldn’t see anything but blackness, he could hear the fire roaring over his head, as he crawled along the floor calling for Gus. Following the hose he swung his hands back and forth feeling along the way trying to find his fellow firefighter. As he entered a bedroom, Dan finally bumped into Gus’s body lying motionless, and with fire all around them, Dan was able to drag him back to the stairs. Nearly overcome by the toxic gases himself, it was all Dan could do just to roll both of them down the stairs and drag Gus to the front yard.

They had both survived a close call and afterwards Gus had secretly taken out a life insurance policy to pay Dan back for saving his life. In a way, Dan was rewarded later in life for all the good he had done for others.

Life insurance is used for many reasons and in this case it was a gift of appreciation. Life insurance can also be called “Love Insurance” because it is often intended to take care of those you love in the event of your own death. It can cover paying off the mortgage, college tuition, living expenses for a non working spouse, or funeral expenses. It can be used to help out a nephew or niece, or someone who made a difference in your life. It can be used to create an endowment for your school or favorite cause, and sometimes provide tax strategies for financial planning.

It’s never too early to discuss life insurance planning, but putting it off until tomorrow can always be a day too late.

Many of these fires around the holidays were determined to be of electrical origin. Christmas decorations, extension cords, multi outlet devices and improper household wiring were the most common causes. Some of the extension cords were previously damaged cords which were repaired by the homeowner. These tend to heat up at the point the repair was made and that’s where the fire starts. Some cords were too small to handle all the electrical devices connected to them, causing them to overheat and ignite nearby combustibles. Some of the decorations were old and should have been replaced with safer, newer decorations.

I’ve been to a few Christmas tree related fires, and it takes very little heat to ignite all the light weight combustibles placed around the base of the tree, like presents, skirts and such. The fire can grow from a spark to fully on fire in less than two minutes. A Google search for videos on the Internet will show just how quickly this can happen.

Here are a few things you can do today which will prevent next year’s fires from starting:

• Dispose of old electrical decorations and replace with new ones;
• Dispose of old or damaged electrical extension cords and replace with heavier gauge cords;
• Never run extension cords under the carpet or floor mats (these get damaged and heat up to the point of ignition); and

Make sure your electrical cords, multi outlet devices, appliances, etc. have the UL (Underwriting Laboratories) listing, indicating it was safety tested.

If they did, the part about not filling the fryer with too much oil would prevent many holiday fires. So now the oil is boiling, and ready for the big bird drop. As the turkey is lowered, the oil is displaced and gets closer to the top of the fryer.

What happens next is only matched by 4th of July fireworks. The moisture in the bird adds to the boiling action and the oil begins to overflow. As it hits the burner, the gas flame ignites the oil.

As the event unfolds the cook and onlookers realize the fryer is on the deck, attached to the house, and now the deck is on blazing. They spring into action running for the nearest water supply. It makes sense to throw water on a fire, unless it’s a flammable liquid fire! As the first cup of water hits the oil, it erupts into an even bigger fire and then someone suggests to call the fire department.

And you can figure out the rest of the story.

Be safe during the holidays. If you do the fryer thing, follow the directions, place the fryer away from the house, garage or shed, and have a dry chemical extinguisher ready for action!

As the weather gets colder many dog lovers want to keep their outdoor pets warm during the winter. So they run an extension cord to the doghouse and place a light bulb inside or an electric blanket. Sometimes the light overheats the interior of the doghouse or drops onto the bedding material and ignites the doghouse and anything close by.

The electric blankets do the same thing, or the pet is chewing on the electric blanket and causes a short. Often these doghouses are on the porch of the home or next to a shed or garage, and you know what happens next. I’ve responded to four house fires caused by doghouses. Each was a significant fire loss, and each was at night when the family was asleep. One was on the front porch and three were on back decks.

I’m a big-time dog lover and built a great insulated dog house for my pet Blackie. When temperatures dipped into the single digits, I would sometimes go out to check on her. As I reached through the cloth door covering to check on her, she would lick my hand. I would notice her body heat had the temperature within the doghouse nice and toasty. So if built right, a doghouse doesn’t even need a heat source. But if you do want one, you can shop online for a heated mat that should be safety tested and rated by a national testing laboratory.

Next month, October, is Fire Prevention Month. You might have heard about it, read about it, or seen an advertisement on TV, but what does Fire Prevention Month mean to you? You could ask your kids, and most of them have learned a few things in school that need to be part of your home safety plan. Take some time to talk to your kids about fire safety this month!

Our local fire departments provide fire safety education programs teaching our children so they can teach the parents. Some things to review are to:

One Sunday evening, they launched their boat with plans to spend time after the crowd had already loaded their boats and headed home. They headed to a protected bay away from boat traffic and this firefighter played on a kneeboard while his wife drove the boat and his kids watched.

He did a trick and lost the ski rope and floated in the water waiting for his wife to circle around for him to grab the rope for some more fun. As another boat approached he realized it was heading straight toward him. As he waved his arms to signal he was in the water the boater continued toward him.

He remembers the bow hitting him and shoving him under the hull as he pushed with all his strength to get away from the propeller. The propeller cut through his legs destroying both femurs and his knee caps, and he was severely injured. The boat that hit him turned around and the boater asked, “Hey man, are you okay?” and the firefighter said, “You’ve nearly cut my legs off– go get me some help and a medivac helicopter!”

As the boat sped off, he relied on his EMT training and held pressure on his wounds, trying to keep from bleeding to death in the cold water. His wife and kids drifted up to him and he was surrounded by blood in the water as they waited for help. Another boat came by and they asked them to call for help. That boat sped off.

Little did they know the boater that hit him headed right for the boat ramp and loaded the boat for a quick escape, and never even called for help. The boat operator was drunk and trying to make a getaway before authorities arrived.

They park rangers arrived and it took three of them to load the injured firefighter on a backboard and try to get him in their boat. His injuries were so severe the rangers couldn’t even look at his legs. He had to try to hold his legs together as the boat hit each wave on the ride back to the ramp.

The medivac helicopter arrived and flew him to the hospital where his legs we saved and years of recovery began. To make a long story short, he couldn’t work, all the family savings were depleted and the accident changed their lives forever.

The drunken boater had no insurance on the boat, no home insurance, no assets and no job. There was no way for the firefighter to recover the medical costs, the lost income, the pain and suffering for the rest of his life. Even though the drunken boater was given a sobriety test, which proved his intoxication, he got away with nearly killing someone and destroying the security of an entire family.

Approximately 28% of the drivers on Virginia highways are uninsured or underinsured. About 50% of the boaters are underinsured or uninsured. Now is a good time to talk to your insurance agent and make sure you have proper coverage on your auto insurance for uninsured/underinsured motorists and to do the same for your boat insurance.

It’s just as much your responsibility to make sure you have proper insurance protection, as it is the responsibility of your agent. If you are dealing with a 1-800 number insurance service, do your research before selecting liability limits. Cheap insurance may make sense for the budget, but it can often leave you exposed to high levels of risk. Call your agent and schedule an insurance review. Ask questions and get involved to ensure the security of your family.

I remember a call I responded to as a firefighter one hot summer day. We were dispatched to a child locked in a car in front of a convenience store. It was about a five minute response, and when we arrived the mother was in a panic and the bystanders stood there helpless. We carry special tools for getting into locked vehicles, and can usually do so very quickly without damaging the car, but this time was different.

There, on the floor of the vehicle, the two-year-old child was crawling around trying to escape the heat. He was beet red, in distress and had stopped sweating. I had one of my crew members immediately break the glass in a rear door and we snatched the child from the scorching interior. He was so hot to touch, I can still remember that moment. It was the only time I ever saw a need to break the glass on this type of call. The ambulance arrived not long after our engine and the child was immediately transported to the hospital.

All summer long, these accidental lock outs occur. Sometimes it’s a case of the driver accidently locking the door and other times the child or dog may lock it. In the heat of the summer sun, it only takes a few minutes for this to become a critical emergency. If it happens to you, immediately call 911. It’s better to get the fire and police to respond to your location and not need them than to waste precious minutes attempting to get in with a coat hanger. If the car is running with the air conditioner on, that changes things and reduces the degree of danger to the child. But you still need to call 911. Many people keep a spare key in their wallet or purse “just in case”. I once had my dog lock my truck door while parked on the beach with an in-coming tide. She had stood up to watch me and stepped on the door lock switch, locking me out and locking her in. The spare key in my wallet saved me that day and I didn’t need to break a window.

A common occurrence during the heat of summer is the afternoon thunderstorm. Just about every day, the weather forecast calls for a chance of storms and 50% of the time it’s pretty accurate. Besides the lightning, a relatively unknown danger is the water on the road surface. The first concern is the oils in the asphalt which come to the surface making the roads slick as ice. The second is water collecting on the road surface causing vehicles to hydroplane out of control. I once ran a call for a vehicle accident on I-95 where a car had hydroplaned out of control and down an embankment. Shortly after the wrecker arrived, another car hit the same spot and hydroplaned into it on the shoulder of the highway.

There are some sections of highway that consistently hold water rather than allowing it to drain properly, resulting in one accident after another in the same location just about every time it rains hard. I remember responding to a call in the Battalion Chief vehicle and when I merged off Powhite Parkway onto the off ramp I was suddenly skimming across the surface of the thin layer of water on the road. For a brief two seconds I felt the loss of contact with the road, separated by a thin layer of water. Fortunately, the car continued in a straight line onto a dryer section of road and I could again feel the tires in contact with the pavement. Needless to say, it was a terrible feeling if even for a mere two seconds.

There are several causes for hydroplaning:

1. Driving too fast in the rain
2. Water too deep on roadway
3. Tire tread is worn out
4. Driving in rain after a long drought – the water brings the oil to the surface of the road causing the road to be slick
5. Turning your steering wheel too fast to make a turn in the rain

Another problem with the summer thunderstorms is the power failures that come with high winds and lightning strikes. The last house fire I responded to before retiring was in July of 2009. A power failure had occurred during a storm and the homeowner was in the middle of preparing dinner on the electric stovetop. After some time without electricity or air conditioning, the occupants left to spend the night at the home of a friend.

The next day they went to work and around noon the power company had repaired the problem and restored the electricity. The pan of grease on the stovetop began heating since the stovetop eye was left in the on position. Two hours later, we received a call that the house was on fire. The pan of grease had set the cabinets on fire, then burned up the stairs to the second floor. This is a common cause of house fires after the storm has long passed.

One more common cause of house fires during and after storms is the use of candles in the house. I ran one house fire call where a candle was left burning in a glass container sitting on plastic shelving in the bathroom. The last remaining part of the candle was burning low enough to heat up the container and melt the shelf, allowing the candle to fall through to the trash can. This fire burned the entire second floor and through the roof before our fire engine even arrived.

When you lose power make sure all appliances are turned off and candles are closely monitored. Keep candles away from curtains and draperies. Place a non-combustible cup coaster under the candle. Keep an eye out for children playing with the candles throughout the house. Put the lighters or matches out of reach of children after lighting the candles.

Towing a boat trailer can be a little nerve-wracking on narrow country roads. You are trying to keep the right wheel out of the ditch and left wheel on your side of the yellow line and out of the way of oncoming traffic.

I was taking my time and was driving just under the speed limit when a car blew through the stop sign right in front of me. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to hit my brakes and the car had already crossed the intersection. The driver then slammed on brakes, realizing what they had just done.

The car was travelling about 50 miles per hour and would have totaled my pick up and boat if we had collided. I might have survived since it was a four wheel drive truck, but my body would have taken a beating. If they had struck a small car or motorcycle, chances of survival would have been slim.

I wasn’t mad as I continued driving, but simply thankful for divine intervention, my slow driving and my good luck. But what I thought of, and what you might be also wondering, was why this driver was so distracted that they failed to stop at the stop sign. What this driver was doing happens around us every day we drive and most of us are guilty of it. This driver was talking on the cell phone, and was so distracted it, they nearly caused a major accident.

How many times have you been talking on the cell phone and at the end of the conversation can’t even remember the last ten miles that you drove? Studies show that cell phone use while driving is comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol. In some studies the cell phone user actually performs worse than the alcohol inhibited driver. Simply Google “cell phone driver studies” and you can read all day about the various findings of independent researchers.

So as I drove further down the road I thought of seeing this driver with the phone to their ear, I counted my blessings for driving a little slower that day.

The story doesn’t end there. I drove another couple miles and a passing truck dropped a rock, which bounced up and struck my windshield. At this point, I was wondering what was going to happen on my boat’s maiden voyage.

The day did get better, as my new boat ran well, most of the electronics worked properly, there was little traffic on the lake and it was a pretty day. With my good fortune, my ERIE Insurance provides free windshield repair, so that is scheduled for this week, and I remain thankful for a day in which I returned home safely.

Less than 24 hours earlier, I had just completed a young drivers’ meeting with two teenagers and their parents. In my meetings we discuss driving distractions and spend time talking about cell phone use. We talk about not texting while driving and the value of good judgment on decision making. Both good and bad decisions have lasting impacts on our lives and our quality of life. We also review photos of vehicle accidents, discussing what may have caused them, what injuries the occupants probably received, and how they may have been avoided. We talk about anatomy and physiology, and what happens to the amazingly resilient human body in a vehicle accident. These talks help them to think beyond themselves and today. Instead we focus on others and the future.

I enjoy my time spent with young drivers and their parents because I believe in making a difference. My 32 years as a firefighter/paramedic, along with my insurance background, allows me to share information and real stories about real life experiences. If I don’t share it, my life experiences will simply be my own and of little value. Instead, I share it with the hope of influencing the judgment and good decision making of the next generation.

Should you have a young driver or group of young drivers, consider using your insurance agent to influence their decision making and driving habits. Feel free to contact me if your agent doesn’t provide this service.

I decided to step out into the concourse for a little while, before the next leg began. As I got out of my seat, the stewardess said, “Is that your coat in the overhead bin?” I said yes, but I was staying on this flight and thought it would it be safe to leave it there while I stepped out to stretch my legs. “Absolutely,” she replied, “you can leave it there,” and we talked about this being her last flight for the day, as another crew was coming on board. I was the last passenger off the plane, as the cleaning crew was opening the back door.

As I was waiting to re-board the plane, I overheard the ticket agents talking about another flight at the adjacent gate, and a passenger much like myself was traveling through to his next destination, and had stepped out as the cleaning crew picked up trash. Now his iPod was missing. The tone of the conversation was implicating that the cleaning crew, which had already denied taking the device, had stolen it.

I went back to my seat and took my spot, and while sitting there, a little voice in my head suggested that I check to see if my jacket was still in the bin. I opened the compartment and my heart dropped as I realized it was gone. Airline personnel don’t say the words “taken” or “stolen,” instead using the word “misplaced.”

I went to the crew and let them know what happened. They sent me to the ticket agent who called the cleaning crew, and of course got a denial when asked about the jacket. Lost & found was checked and it wasn’t there, and there was little I could do. I was told to file a misplaced article claim in Denver and sent on my way.

As the last passenger off the plane, you couldn’t suspect another passenger, and any crew member leaving the plane would have had a tough time hiding a bulky jacket while walking through the terminal, but it was so easy to take it out the back door of the plane as the cleaning crew left the plane.

I had plenty of time to think about my monetary loss ($300) and of course the sentimental value, and I then began hoping that the articles in my checked bags were safe. I was so thankful that I had taken my carry-on bag with me into the terminal, as it had my laptop in it.

If you’re traveling by air, feel free to use my experience to make a better decision than I did.

Theft happens. Every day, a certain segment of the population makes a living stealing the possessions of others in order to sell the items for cash. I allowed myself to be a victim, and paid the price. Here are some things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of theft:

• Always lock your vehicle
• Keep valuables out of sight or in the trunk of your car
• Park in well lit areas
• Always keep your home locked when unoccupied
• Don’t keep a spare key to your house hidden near the doors
• Have a neighbor park a car in your driveway while you are on vacation
• Leave a light on in your home if you are gone for the evening
• Have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspaper while you are out of town
• Make sure your shed is securely locked
• Never leave personal items on the plane unattended
• Women: keep your purse close to your body while in crowds
• Men: keep your wallet in your front (not back) pants pocket while in crowds

We ran into the house, still seeing no smoke, and I called for her. “In the laundry room,” she called back, and I ran down the hall, turned the corner to see what I thought was smoke coming from the room.

Still running, I entered the laundry room and immediately both feet went flying up in the air as I landed on my back in a quarter inch of hot water. My dog was standing there looking at me, trying to figure out if I was playing a game with her, as water drenched me. Looking at the ceiling light, I couldn’t understand why hot water was coming from the light until I got on my feet.

Looking toward the washer, I saw the water was coming from a burst hot water hose and was spraying all the way up to the ceiling light. I reached into the hot water and turned off the spigot stopping the drenching. Next, I saw the water flowing out onto the hardwood floor, so immediately I grabbed all the dirty laundry and started throwing it down to soak up the flooding water. Within a few minutes, we had used all the dirty laundry, towels, and bath mats and etcetera and successfully prevented an insurance claim.

Looking at the reason for the leak, I saw a bulged out area of the hose which had weakened and finally burst. The cold water hose was in the same condition and had the same bulging area destined to blow at a later date. The condition is very common and similar to an aneurysm on the wall of an artery, just a weakened side wall ready to explode.

Most clothes washers come with cheap rubber hoses that eventually fail. Take a look at yours and you may find one or both showing signs of weakening and bulged out areas ready to fail.

Now even if they are new hoses, it’s good idea to go to your local hardware store and make a wise investment. Purchase a set of reinforced hoses and use these to replace the other hoses. These reinforced hoses look like they have a wire wrapping around them. You can ask for assistance from a store employee in making your selection.

Burst water pipes do happen and it’s important that everyone in the house know where the water shut off is located. Most new houses have a shutoff in the garage, but some are under the house. So in the midst of an emergency, someone can quickly locate the shutoff and reduce the amount of damage by stopping the flow.

Cleaning your gutters can prevent water from backing up under the shingles and damaging your roof, and downspout extensions directing water away from the house can keep it out of the basement and crawlspace.

A few minutes spent reviewing these suggestions can mean the difference in avoiding an insurance claim and even the inconvenience of a temporary relocation while repairs are made to your home.

The young mother was close to delivering her second child, she had no prenatal care, and when asked which hospital she wanted to be transported to, she picked the one furthest away. I asked if the closest hospital would be okay, and she insisted on her first choice, which was a good twenty-minute transport.

As the firefighter crew loaded her onto the stretcher, I approached her husband and laid it on the line. I said, “Look, you have two choices. I can transport her to the hospital of her choice, and your baby will be delivered by an EMT and a paramedic, or you can convince her to go to the closest hospital and your baby can be delivered by a doctor. It’s your choice, which would you like?” He replied, “A doctor of course!” I then asked him to talk some sense into his wife, and after a short discussion he turned to me and said “the closest hospital.”

We carried her out of the house to the ambulance and headed to the hospital five minutes away, while getting our equipment open and in place, should the baby deliver. I glanced out of the ambulance window and could see the hospital in sight, but we just didn’t have enough time. The baby had decided to come into the world as we turned onto the ramp leading off the highway, just a quarter mile from the emergency room entrance!

Thankfully, it was an uncomplicated birth, and we cleared the airway, clamped and cut the cord, wiped him down with towels, bundled him up and placed him in mom’s arms. A nurse opened the rear door of the ambulance to see what was taking so long, and saw three happy faces and one crying newborn.

Here are some things you can do ahead of time to save those precious minutes in getting to the hospital when you call for an ambulance:

• Make sure your address is visible to the road from both directions. Reflective numbers are really important when trying to find an address at night.

• Have someone out by the road or flicking the porch light on & off to help the crew find your house.

• If you have a family member needing frequent transports to the hospital, see if you could re-arrange the bed situation from the second floor to the first floor of the house. Some people end up using the dining or living room for this. Carrying a patient down a set of stairs is time consuming, involves calling for a fire engine for more help, and is simply dangerous for the emergency personnel and the patient.

• Have a list of medical history, medications, allergies, etc to give to the ambulance crew. Posting a copy of this on the refrigerator is a good idea.

• The human body is an amazing thing. Listen to it and it will let you know when it’s in trouble. Don’t delay calling for help if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or an altered mental state. Giving it time and hoping it will go away only delays access to our medical system designed to save your life!