2 Heroes Lost

Kansas City Fire Department lost 2 brave heroes in an apartment fire last night when a wall collapsed trapping 4 firefighters. 2 were pronounced dead at the hospital and 2 others suffered non-life threatening injuries. Fire Chief Paul Berardi identified the deceased firefighters as 17-year department veteran Larry J. Leggio and 13-year veteran John V. Mesh. The firefiighters had entered the building to rescue 2 residents trapped by the fire. These firefighters died heroes. How many people run in to burning buildings while the rest of us run out? My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of these Kansas City heroes. 

True definition of a hero!

I don't know if I have adequate words to express how I feel right now. As a Red Cross volunteer I witness first hand how wonderful our firefiighters and first responders are! Our first responders are incredible people! The firefighters are always great to work with. Always helping on scene with information about the families we are there to help and staying on scene when they can to keep Red Cross volunteers safe (if police aren't on scene). We couldn't do what we do without such a great relationship with the local fire departments.

I wasn't dispatched to last nights fire. That was likely intentional. Apartment fires are still emotional for me. I guess that's something you never get over. I know the volunteers that were dispatched to the fire and they are wonderful people. I know they did a great job taking care of the residents displaced by the fire. 

Red Cross assisted residents displaced by the apartment fire.

 I am lucky enough to call many first responders friends. It takes a special heart to do what you do! Thank you to all first responders! Prayers to KCFD! RIP to the 2 lost heroes last night. I know our KC community is supporting you today. 

Love and support you KCFD!

There are no words that can describe the pain these firefighters are experiencing after losing 2 of their own. 

  

RIP Larry J. Leggio and John V. Mesh Thank you for your service! 

Running the Marine Corps Marathon to Raise Awareness for Suicide Prevention in First Responders

Hi all! I am running the Marine Corps Marathon in October to raise awareness for suicide prevention for first responders.

Why do I want to raise awareness for suicide prevention? Because one suicide is one too many!

Why do I want to focus on raising awareness for suicide prevention for first responders? Because they are the helpers. Who are they supposed to call when they need help?

The stigma for suicide is very real. People are afraid to ask for help because they don't know how others will view them when they say they need help. Having been there I know this issue all too well. People don't want to talk about suicide because of the stigma associated with it. It's time to start a conversation worth having.

What makes suicide so difficult to prevent is that it is not a condition or disorder, but rather an outcome that may result from the presence (or accumulation) of many risk factors. What makes suicide in first responders even more difficult to prevent is that they are the helpers. Those who work in Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement face the risk of my behavioral concerns such as anxiety, depression, burnout, ptsd to name a few. But the problem is that they don't talk about behavioral health when it comes to each other. The often mentioned mantra in first responders is "We help others but never ourselves." 

Why is it so difficult for someone in Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement to ask for help? Risk of losing their peer’s respect, fear of being viewed as weak and unable to perform their jobs, fear of confidentiality, fear of losing their career? It’s no wonder so many of the helpers suffer in silence. Why do I want to raise awareness for suicide prevention for first responders? For Nico and TJ and all other first responders who ended their life too soon because they couldn’t ask for help.

Nicholas “Nico” Cruz passed away on July 27, 2014. He was a firefighter with more than 20 years on the job. He received numerous accolades for saving lives. When he wasn’t at work he gave his time to many charitable organizations including MDA, BACA and Brotherhood for Children. Nico was a firefighter, a husband, a father and so much more. What might have been the greatest hurdle for Nico was the loss of his wife to suicide nearly a year prior to his suicide. After her death Nico made it a mission to educate others about suicide prevention. Those of us who knew Nico knew the anniversary of Carli’s death was difficult and may have been too much for him to endure. Someone who ends their life by suicide doesn’t necessarily want to die; they just want their pain to end. Nico was struggling with the loss of Carli and didn’t know how to make the pain end.

Timothy J. “TJ” Shavers passed away December 8, 2012. TJ was a detective who spent a good portion of his career in cyber-crimes investigating online sexual predators, identity theft, email scams, internet theft, etc. He was trained specifically to focus on investigate crimes against children and spent nearly the last 7 years of his career catching these predators. TJ was a law enforcement officer, a husband and a father. He, like many law enforcement officers, struggled with the pressures of undercover work vs personal life balance. 

Was it the constant exposure to horror at work or something going on at home that proved too much for Nico or TJ to handle? We may never know. All we do know is they wanted the pain to end. For whatever reason, neither reached out for help. I can’t say I know what it’s like to walk in the shoes of first responders but I have many friends who do and if I can help even one of them get help when they need it, it is worth the effort. Asking for help is hard. I should know; it was the bravest thing I ever did!

I am running the Marine Corps Marathon to support the groundbreaking collaboration of The Sweeney Alliance and Rethink The Conversation to develop national programs to educate first responders about suicide prevention and coping with the aftermath of a suicide.

Will you support my cause? Here's a link to my campaign:  http://www.gofundme.com/suicidehelp
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog entry! This cause has my heart, I hope it has yours too!

If you or someone you know is struggling please ask for help. Where there is help, there is hope!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

What is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service?

All government agencies and many private businesses will be closed this Monday to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but don’t let the appeal of a three-day weekend overshadow the purpose of the day.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together to serve their neighbors and communities.

Established as a federal holiday in 1983, MLK Day was designated a National Day of Service by Congress in 1994. Across the country, volunteer groups turn Monday into “a day on, not a day off” by building community gardens, distributing food, sprucing up schools, and helping the homeless.


Plan

MLK Day is a chance to start the year off right by making an impact in your community. Here are some Toolkits to help you plan for the Day of Service.

Serve

Join the hundreds of thousands of people who serve on MLK Day and throughout the year. Find a volunteer opportunity in your community by searching volunteer websites such as United We Serve, Do One Thing  and Bright Impact to name a few. You may also register your own project so that volunteers can find it.

Learn

Find free lesson plans that teach Dr. King’s legacy of service for grades K-8.

Impact




What are your plans for MLK Day? Share your plans and share your project’s impact after MLK Day. You can share your story on Serve.gov, on the MLKDay Facebook page, or by sending an email to MLKDay@cns.gov. Your stories will help highlight the many ways Americans are honoring Dr. King through service, improving lives, and making a difference in our communities.

If you’re interested in volunteering but don’t know where to begin, websites like volunteermatch.org, idealist.org, and allforgood.org can connect you with opportunities in your area. 

I will be working on Monday - the company I work for is not one of the many that get to take the day off - but that doesn't mean I won't be serving. I will be doing my part on Saturday with the Red Cross. We will be teaming up with the Kansas City Fire Department and KCMO CERT teams to install smoke detectors in a KC neighborhood. I will post about that next week after the event has been completed.  Enjoy the weekend and don't forget to serve!

Volunteering at the KC Marathon and Half Marathon

I volunteered as a course monitor again this year at the Kansas City Marathon and Half Marathon. New this year was something pretty cool. For each volunteer that completed their assignment as Course Monitor, $10 was donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project assists injured service men and women. I always like to run in races that benefit charity so I thought it was great that by volunteering I also got to help a charity! Thanks Kansas City Marathon!

My alarm went off early and I again wondered why I was getting up early to go to a race I am not running in. I am not a morning person so when the alarm clock goes off I am always wondering what possessed me to volunteer for early morning events (or to run in the early morning for that matter!). However, after completing the Chicago Marathon last week I was excited to go to a race and cheer for runners. The Chicago Marathon had literally a million or more spectators along the course and that was pure awesomeness! I know Kansas City won't have that many spectators and since cheering really does help boost a runner during a race I wanted to do my part. I rolled out of bed, dressed in layers and ventured my way towards my assigned location. Along the way I stopped by QT for my coffee and doughnut fix (it's not an every day thing but I occasionally have to have a doughnut especially the pumpkin spice in the fall!) and then found my way to my assigned area. It was still dark and well... Paseo isn't exactly where I want to be in the dark so I stayed in my car until the sun poked it's head up and provided enough light I could see my way around and wouldn't mind being outside.  I was originally scheduled to be at 75th and Wyandotte but because that would put me on the marathon course and not the half marathon course I requested a change in my assignment. I was reassigned to Paseo and Lake Street which put me just before the 11 mile marker for the half marathon and just before the 24 mile marker for the full marathon. This new location assignment would allow me to see a friend running her first half marathon which was really cool. I always enjoy hearing of friends/acquaintances, etc who decide to take up running. Runners are such a weird but fun breed! 

Anyhoo, back to race day. It was a beautiful day for a run (and to volunteer)! Once the sun poked up, I noticed another volunteer a block down so I ventured down her way and chatted with her for a few minutes. Turns out it was her first time volunteering and she was nervous. She was excited because her daughter was running the half marathon and she would be able to cheer for her from our location but she was nervous about what our responsibility as volunteers was. I explained to her our role - to keep cars off of Paseo when runners were in the area. Also, we keep an eye out for runners who might need assistance medically or who may not be able to finish the race under their own power and might need transportation back to the start/finish area. Thankfully we didn't have any runners in our section who needed medical assistance or to catch a ride back to the start/finish area. Thanks to Kansas City Police Department for providing officers to keep traffic off the course! Volunteers work in cooperation with KCPD to help create a safe race for runners.

KC is a great running community and there is literally a race every weekend you could do if you wanted to. The Kansas City marathon and half marathon (and 5k) is one of the bigger events in the area along with Rock The Parkway which is a half marathon in April (and also usually has a 5k or 10k on race day) and Hospital Hill Half Marathon and 5k in June are the other big races in the area. Approximately 12,000 total runners competed in the KC Marathon/Half Marathon/5k last weekend. Here's a pic from near the start. Lots of runners! Great to see so many people getting out and hitting the pavement. 

Because of my location as course monitor it would be nearly an hour after the start before I would see any runners. When the runners were getting close it was apparent as the lead runners get a police escort. This is for the safety of the runners. It allows course monitors to know that it's time to divert traffic away from Paseo (or whatever area they are working along the race route). Here is KCPD providing an escort for the lead runners of the half marathon:

And here are the race leaders of the half marathon:

These guys had such a lead it would be a few minutes before we saw any more runners. But once they started coming it was non-stop runners for hours as the half marathoners and marathoners would be going by my location from approximately 8am until nearly 1pm.

I didn't have much trouble with traffic this year. Some years I encounter rude people who are not happy to be told they need to either wait until the runners have gone by or turn around and go a different direction. This year, I only had one person cause me any problems and he finally decided to listen to me rather than go on to Paseo and then have to face the Police Officer at the next intersection. I was glad he decided to listen to me as there were many runners on the Paseo at that moment and I didn't want to risk harm to any of them. The man decided to turn around and go the direction I instructed him. That doesn't always happen. Last year, I got bumped by an angry driver who did not want to listen to my directions to turn around. The individual sped off before an officer near by was able to do anything about it. I wasn't hurt but anytime someone threatens you with their car is a scary situation. The fleeing driver also did not cause harm to any runners, they just sped off in the direction they wanted to go and the runners were aware enough to scoot over on the road so as not to be hit by the vehicle. This year the only vehicle that got on course while runners were actually running by my location was a fire truck. It was early enough in the race that only the lead runners had gone by which was good because the fire truck came screaming through with lights and sirens. No other emergency vehicles went by so not sure what the emergency was but it apparently didn't have anything to do with the race. The same fire truck came by a few minutes later from the direction it had headed previously, this time without their lights and sirens on so whatever it was they went to previously it must not have been a fire or they wouldn't have been cleared to leave the scene as quickly as they did.

I did have one strange incident this year that I haven't encountered previously. A runner came up to me and said there was a bloody knife in the drain just down the street. Since it was in my section I walked down the street in search of said knife. I ended up not finding it but did report it to the closest police officer. The officer didn't seem too interested in it but did make a report of it. As far as I know, a knife was not found.

As I was heading up the street to look for said knife, my friend who was running her first half marathon, saw me and came running over. We hugged and I told her, "You've got this!". And it was true, she looked good. She looked happy to be running the race and happy to be close to the finish. She had just over 2 miles to go from that point and I made sure to tell her that. She went zooming off to the finish and I would later learn that she met all her goals for her race. Way to go Sherri! I was really happy for her especially considering the rough few weeks she had leading up to the race. We all face difficult times. It's not those times that define us, but how we react to them. She could have decided not to run the KC Half Marathon and I don't think anyone would have blamed her for skipping it. Instead, she faced it head on and had a great race. I am so proud of her for doing that!

I spent the remainder of the race watching for traffic, cheering for runners and ringing a cow bell as a means to provide some mental stimulation for the runners. I know I always appreciate hearing cow bells during a race. Encouragement from the crowd is great but there is something about hearing a cow bell during a race that just seems to stick out. I would pay a small price for ringing the cow bell for so many hours. A blister formed on the knuckle of my middle finger. It would turn in to a painful blood blister that is lingering today... 4 days post race. Here is a pic:

Despite the blister, I had fun. I always enjoy helping out at races that I am not running in. It's a way to give back to the sport I love so much. I am not fast, so I make sure to pay special attention to the middle to back of the pack runners. We are all covering the same distance but I can tell you from experience that being a slower runner is difficult. We are out there longer than the fast runners. Because we are out there longer, we sometimes miss out on things like aid stations, cheering crowds and even finisher medals. I volunteer because I love the sport of running but I also volunteer to make sure that all runners in the race are safe while on the course and get a little encouragement along the way. I know what it's like to run a 5:20 mile but those days are long gone. I am happy now if I can get a 10 minute mile and even that doesn't happen often much anymore. I am more of a back of the pack runner these days and that's okay. If you know me, you know I run for my mental health as much as my physical health. The benefits of running are amazing and I can't see my life without running being a part of it. Any time I can encourage someone else to run is a good day in my book. I encourage all runners to volunteer at a race. Volunteers are needed to make races successful and safe. In the process, you just might gain a new appreciation for running that you hadn't experienced before. Happy Running!

Fire Safety Canvassing Event

KCFD and the Red Cross partnered up again today to do another fire safety canvassing event. Last week there was a fire in the 7200 block of Park Avenue in Kansas City, MO. Unfortunately the resident of the home perished in the fire. After a fatal fire the Kansas City Fire Department returns to the affected neighborhood to reach out to residents about fire safety and the importance of working smoke detectors. The Red Cross is honored to work along side with KCFD to help promote fire safety after such devastating events. Preparedness is an important element of the Red Cross.

 

Red Cross Volunteers and KCFD members delivered 440+ door hanger bags today to the surrounding neighborhood containing vital fire safety information. Thank you KCFD for inviting the Red Cross to assist with this event!

 

Below are pictures from todays canvassing:

 

Red Cross Volunteers gathering at the chapter to carpool over to the neighborhood where the canvassing will take place:

 

 

 

 

 

Fire Department and Red Cross arriving in the neighborhood:

 

Here is the house where the fire occurred. It was totally destroyed by the fire:



Red Cross volunteers and KCFD heading out on the canvass:







There was a news station on site getting some footage:







Talk about helpful volunteers! A couple of our Red Cross volunteers helped push a neighbor out of the snow drift he was stuck in:



As per protocol with the Red Cross, coffee was available on site for KCFD personnel and volunteers:





And finally, have to include a pic of JoAnn, Disaster Program Manager - Red Cross. She does a lot of work behind the scenes to organize events such as todays canvassing. In the pic below she is being interviewed for a news story to air today. Thank you JoAnn!



Great job KCFD and Red Cross! It's an honor to be part of an organization that works collaboratively with local Fire, EMS and Police to not only respond in disasters but to work to educate people so that hopefully disasters can be prevented.

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Fire Safety Canvassing Event

Thursday January 16, 2014 the American Red Cross and Kansas City Fire Department partnered up to canvass an area neighborhood in the northeast part of Kansas City recently devastated by a fatality house fire. The fire happened on January 4, 2014  near St. John and Lawndale Avenues.

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The goal was to promote safety such as having working smoke detectors and a fire escape plan for the entire family so everyone knows how to escape a fire safely. Volunteers and fire fighters went door-to-door in a 3-block radius (of St. John and Lawndale Avenues) hanging up door hangers and sharing information about fire escapes and smoke alarms. Over 600 Fire Safety door hangers were distributed.

Fire Marshal Floyd Peoples said the fire department will often organize a neighborhood canvas following a fatal fire because it's a time when people close-by will have a higher likelihood to make a permanent behavioral change. That is the goal for the neighborhood near St. John and Lawndale Avenues, that people will make a change and install working smoke detectors in their home. There were two smoke detectors inside the home, but they did not have any batteries.

The victims family including his mother Nancy as well as sister Debbie Finley were on hand for the event. She said her family grew up being taught to check their smoke detectors twice a year (January 1st and July 4th) so she didn't understand why her brother didn't have working smoke detectors. She said her hope is the message from today will get out and everyone will have working smoke detectors in their home so that no other family has to grieve.



The fire department offers smoke detectors and will even come and install them.

Visit http://www.kcmo.org/Fire for more information on how to sign up.




Here are some pictures from Thursdays Fire Safety promotion event:

Thank you to KCFD for inviting Red Cross volunteers and staff to assist with this safety event! Fire safety will always be a topic close to my heart so I appreciate that I am able to participate in events like this!

Several local news channels were present at the event. There coverage is included via links to their pages:

Here is a link to KSHB Channel 41's coverage of Thursday's Fire Safety Canvassing Event:  http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/firefighters-volunteers-canvas-neighborhood-to-promote-safety-following-fatal-fire.

Here is a link to KMBC TV 9's coverage of Thursday's Fire Safety Canvassing Event: 
http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/grieving-family-takes-fire-safety-message-door-to-door/-/11664182/23964744/-/btfehiz/-/index.html