Whiting Fire Department

MISSION STATEMENT
The Whiting Fire Department is committed to meeting the needs of our community and delivering the highest level of life and property protection. We will achieve this by providing uncompromised customer service in an atmosphere that encourages innovation and professional development.

VISION STATEMENT
The Whiting Fire Department is committed to providing superior levels of quality service that exceed the public's expectations for timely and effective delivery of fire prevention, fire control, emergency medical treatment, and public education.

Quality will be evaluated on how well we maintain excellence in customer satisfaction, meet the need of our people, achieve organization goals, and create a service climate that would continuously reinforce and promote excellence in all line and support functions.

Being a professional on the Whiting Fire Department means doing the "whole job." Doing the "whole job" includes focusing on the extra interpersonal dimensions and sensitivities of empathy, concern, care and compassion.

STAFF
Gus Danielides - Fire Chief
Email:

Paul Kuss - EMS Coordinator
Email:

WFD CONTACT
1916 Schrage Avenue
Whiting, Indiana 46394

219-659-1069
219-473-7572 (Fax)

PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION POLICY (HIPAA PRIVACY POLICY)
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The Fire apparatus consists of:
2004 Chevy Tahoe Emergency Operations Vehicle
2003 Pierce Aerial Platform
1988 FMC Pumper
2003 Ford Ambulance
2010 Chevy Ambulance
1989 Chevy Support Vehicle

St. Catherine Hospital is our supervising Hospital and has been certified as a Supervising Hospital by the State of Indiana Emergency Medical Services Commission. Initial training is received at The Methodist Hospital, a state certified training institution.

EMS ambulances and response vehicles are certified by the State of Indiana EMS commission:
Our newest ambulance is a 2010 Chevy 4500 Duramax by Excellance Inc. Type III and carries all the required medical supplies and equipment and has been assigned the numbers of 0420 by the Indiana EMS Commission. The second ambulance is a 1999 E450 Superduty by Excellance Inc. Type III ambulance and it also carries all the required medical supplies and equipment and has been assigned the numbers of 0231 by the Indiana EMS Commission (Note: Type 3 means that it has a pass-thru between the driver's area and the patient compartment.). A FMC Fire engine pumper manufactured in 1988 and a 2004 Chevy Tahoe Emergency Operations vehicle are certified non-transport EMS vehicle and carries basic supplies including an automatic defibrillator.

The area normally covered by our ambulance and fire service is approximately 3.7 square miles. The city of Whiting is bounded by the city of Hammond on the west side, Lake Michigan on the north side, and the city of East Chicago on the south and east side. The City of Whiting has a mutual aid agreement with 23 cities in Lake County, Indiana. These mutual aid ambulance services can be called to assist our ambulance and fire service should the need arise.

Staffing pattern:
The Whiting Fire Department is staffed by three shifts. All Firefighters are EMT’s and are dedicated to be available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. While on duty at the station, Firefighters are continuing their education in all areas of EMS and Firematic Incidents. All Firefighters are trained in CPR and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

Quality control:
All ambulance reports are reviewed using our audit and review procedures.  The reviews are performed by EMT’s working on the following shift who were not involved in the initial call.  All EMTs on duty are required to participate in the audit and review process.  These EMT’s check the report with the aid of a check list to ensure that the report writer followed all proper EMS protocols and fully completed all sections required in the report.  Any discovered inconsistencies or omissions are directly reviewed by our EMS training officer who then discusses these errors with the EMT who wrote the report.  Any issues identified as general in nature are cause for that issue to be a subject of the next scheduled EMT in-service training.

Fire and ambulance report data is sent to the State of Indiana EMS Commission and the State Fire Marshal office on a monthly basis.

EMS continuing education procedures:
The person responsible for our in-service training is Paul Kuss. Mr. Kuss is a state certified EMT primary instructor and is affiliated with the Methodist Hospital of Gary, Indiana. The schedule of EMT in-service is posted at the Whiting Fire Department. The schedule is posted at the beginning of the year for the entire year and lists dates, topics and the nature of the class. Firefighter, EMTs work once every three days, consequently the same class is presented three days in succession to enable all to attend while on duty. Other EMTs in the area are encouraged to attend these sessions.

Vehicle checks and maintenance procedures:
The City of Whiting Fire Department personnel perform daily function checks of first response vehicles.  The assigned driver uses a check sheet to safety check the vehicle and the assigned patient attendant checks and inventories the medical equipment at the beginning of each shift and after each use.  Assigned duties include simple preventative maintenance and small repairs such as light bulb replacement.  Additional maintenance and repair is performed by the City Mechanic.  Specialized repair and maintenance is contracted out to one of two fire equipment repair shops which employ IAE and ESV certified mechanics.

Events:
Safety Day – Every year in mid-June the Whiting Fire Department and Whiting Police Department host Safety Day. This event is open to the Public and is a great way to educate adults and children on safety with demonstrations of different aspects of the Fire and Police Departments.

Fire Prevention Week – Every year in early October the Whiting Fire Department and Nathan Hale School organize tours of the fire station for children in Pre-k thru First Grade. Every year the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) focuses on a specific campaign so children can learn different aspects of fire safety.

For more information on these events, please contact the Whiting Fire Department at 219-659-1069.