5 Things to Love About First Responders This Valentine’s Day

5. Some of the best movies and TV shows are about emergency responders: There are far too many to mention, but some recent small-screen gems include Rescue Me, The Shield, The Wire and Third Watch. On the big screen, Bringing Out the Dead, Towering Inferno and Heat are some first-responder classics.

4. They work nights and holidays: And because they do, you can count on them when you need them most. If an emergency happens any time of day or night or on any holiday of the year, first responders will be there to help you.

3. They’ve got the coolest toys: OK, we know they aren’t really toys. They are tools and resources that enable them to do their jobs and do them safely. But, whether it’s emergency lights & sirens, bullhorns, fire hoses, tasers or the big machinery – like helicopters, ambulances and fire trucks – odds are you’d like to work with such toys, er, I mean equipment at least once in your life.

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Road fatalities illustrate dangers faced by first responders

The recent line-of-duty deaths of a paramedic and a firefighter in the U.S. reflect some of the hazards facing our emergency responders when they’re working in traffic.

Joshua Weissman, a 33-year-old Virginia paramedic, passed away last week while responding to two traffic incidents on Interstate 395.

Weissman was trying to get to a burning vehicle when he fell through a three-foot gap that separates the main lanes of I-395. After falling about 30 feet into a creek below, Weissman was transported to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Firefighters in West Virginia, meanwhile, are also coping with the loss of one of their own.

Frederick County volunteer firefighter Zachary Whitacre, 21, died on Monday when he was ejected from a fire truck that hit an icy patch and crashed into an embankment. Zachary’s father, Donald A. Whitacre, was driving the rescue tanker and suffered non-life threatening injuries.

While these deaths in the line of duty seem to have little in common, what they do share is that they proved fatal to first responders and that they resulted from road incidents. {read more}

Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge to benefit JPMF

The John Petropoulos Memorial Fund (JPMF) is seeking volunteers to help sell 50/50 raffle tickets at an upcoming Calgary hockey game.

Half of the funds raised through the 50/50 draw at the Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge on March 12th at the Saddledome will go to the JPMF, a charitable organization striving to eliminate preventable workplace fatalities & injuries to emergency responders.

Please note:

· Volunteers need to arrive by 5:30 pm through the Saddledome’s north Avison Young Club entrance, located off 14 ave. and 5 St. S.E.
· Anyone under 16 years of age needs to be accompanied by an adult.
· All volunteers need to bring picture ID.
· You will still be required to pay for parking in and around the Saddledome (sorry!)
· Volunteers will be selling tickets until the end of the 2nd period.
· Volunteers can work in pairs and this event is fun for the whole family!

Contact JPMF Managing Director Ian Wilson at ian@jpmf.ca if you’re interested in helping out. Thanks for your support!

Spreading safety messages in Victoria next month

The John Petropoulos Memorial Fund (JPMF) will have a presence at an upcoming seminar in Victoria, B.C.

JPMF Board Chair Maryanne Pope will have a table at the Harnessing the Winning Mind and Warrior Spirit Seminar, taking place at CFB Esquimalt from 8 am until 5 pm on March 16th.

The seminar with Brian Willis will address a number of key elements critical for guiding law enforcement professionals through their careers.

The JPMF will be a topic of conversation at the seminar and Maryanne will be on hand to talk about the Memorial Fund.

Safety resources, including brochures, posters and safety videos will also be made available to those in attendance.

Workplace fatality epidemic kills more than 50,000 in U.S. & Canada

Deadly workplaces are killing Canadians and Americans at an unprecedented rate, resulting in 42,882 occupational fatalities in the U.S. and 10,743 in Canada between 2000 and 2010.*

“This is unacceptable,” says Maryanne Pope, widow of Const. John Petropoulos, a Canadian police officer who succumbed to head injuries sustained after falling through an unmarked false ceiling on September 29, 2000.

“As John’s widow, I think one workplace fatality is one too many,” says Pope. “Over 50,000 deaths is shocking. As Board Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund, this stat tells me we all still have a great deal of work to do to get these numbers down.”

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What we can do for your team of first responders

We help emergency responders go home to their families every day.

As a charitable organization that takes its name from a police officer who died in the line of duty, the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund (JPMF) does this by educating the public about its role in keeping first responders safe on the job, whether it’s making changes at their workplaces or altering their driving habits.

SAFETY RESOURCES

We have several safety resources available to emergency responders, including public service announcements (PSAs), safety videos, posters, brochures and more. We also give safety presentations to corporations, associations, agencies and at conferences.

Here are some resources that may be of interest to you:
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