Flood Warning Statement as of 8:22 am PDT on May 24, 2011

The National Weather Service in Portland has issued a

*Flood Warning for the Columbia River at Vancouver.
*From this afternoon until further notice.
*At 8 AM Tuesday the stage was 15.9 feet.
*Flood Stage is 16.0 feet.
*Minor flooding is forecast.
*Forecast.... the Columbia River is forexast to rise above flood stage around 12 PM Tuesday. The Columbai will remain near or above flood stage through Wednesday... then slowly start rising by Thursday.
*Impact... above 16 feet... expect minor flooding of some lowland access roads near the river on Sauvie Island... and on the walkway near downtown Vancouver. There will be significant flooding along the banks of the Columbia River that are commonly used for camping such as on Government Island.
*Rivers currents are particularly strong and the water temperatures are very cold. It is dangerous to try to swim in these water.

Fire Extinguishers

There are several different types of extinguishers based on the type of fire they are intended to extinguish.

For our purpose the three most common extinguishers are the A,B,C or multipurpose type.

These extinguishers extinguish fire by removing one of the facets of the fire triangle i.e. oxygen, heat, fuel or by interrupting the chemical chain reaction that keep the fire burning.

Class A fires are the common combustibles like paper, wood, fabric, etc. Water is the most common, and if properly applied, most effective extinguishing agent for this class of fire. The water cools the fuel and coast the surface cutting off it's air supply. A pressurized water "can" or "pump can" is a handy extinguisher for class A fires.

Class B fires are the flammable liquids, diesel, gasoline, oils, etc. These require a dry chemical application which will suffocate the fire by cutting off the oxygen supply to the fuel.

Class C fires are electric in nature. The CO2 (carbon dioxide) extinguisher works well by cooling and displacing the oxygen from the device. CO2 is also a nonconductor so it will not conduct an electrical charge back to the extinguisher/operator. Be careful though because the nozzle will quickly become extremely cold.

For use around our homes, vessels, vehicles etc, the common multipurpose ABC extinguishers are what we are most familiar with. They are nonconducting and reasonably simple to use. While they are most specifically suited for class B fires they will do a good job on A and C fires as well. However, they will cause a major mess and ultimately damage electrical equipment.

The extinguishers are rated by size. For instance you may see a 1A, 10B (no rating for C) extinguisher. What that means is that the extinguisher is equal to a gallon of water for class A fires and should extinguish approx 10 square feet. of burning liquid surface. Of course how you use the extinguisher will effect how much fire you can successfully extinguish.

Extinguishers will have a gauge by the handle. The needle should be in the green zone to be sure there is sufficient pressure for it to work. The extinguisher should be shaken thoroughly periodically to be sure the powder inside does not compact into a useless solid mass in the bottom of the container. You can also tap them with a rubber mallet to break the powder up. However, if you hear clumps thumping around inside your extinguisher, it is likely no good and should be replace. Most the smaller extinguishers are not rechargeable. Once they are used they are done there is no way to refill and recharge them. Larger extinguishers may be rechargeable. These typically have tags attached indicating when they should be tested. Usually most types of common extinguishers should be hydrostatically tested about every 5 years.

Now we must make a decision about whether or not we should fight the fire. FIRST, has everyone been alerted and evacuating the premises? Has 911 or the Coast Guard been called? Is the environment safe enough to stay in close proximity to the job? It does not take an awful lot of heat and smoke to rapidly make a room untenable, especially a small room like a kitchen or pilot's house. Is the fire small enough to be handled by the size extinguisher you have at hand? Is the fire still confined to it's original container or has it already begun to spread to surroundings such as curtains, cabinets, etc? Can you actually see the source of the fire? Meaning is it in the open where you can get to it and not behind something like a bulkhead. You should be sure conditions are such that you can stay to do the job. Starting and then quitting before the job is done puts yourself at considerable risk for little benefit.

Your extinguishers should always be near an exit. You should never walk past the fire further into the room etc to get your extinguisher. When you grab your extinguisher you wont to be able to quickly walk away if you have changed your mind about fighting the fire. Do not keep your extinguisher on a kitchen counter near the stove, or in the engine compartment ( as the only location). If you get a grease/oil fire on the stove top you don't want to have to reach past it to get to your extinguisher.

Assuming we have chosen to fight the fire remember not to get too close. Usually you should be about 6'-8' away for a small extinguisher to 10'-12' for the larger extinguishers. Getting too close puts yourself at risk of injury and can very well actually spread the fire as the burst of dry chemical blows into the container or surface.

Now remember P.A.S.S.

Pull the safety pin,
Aim the nozzle, don't forget to actually hold the rubber nozzle (if so equipped) and aim it at the fire.
Squeeze the handle and
Sweep the fire.
You want to aim at the base of the flames. Your target is the burning fuel not the flames themselves. Aim for the nearest fuel edge to you and work your way to the farther edge. Be aware that the fire can reignite. Class B fires are especially likely to reignite. Depending on the size of your extinguisher you will only have from about 6-18 seconds of use.

Once the extinguisher has been used it is done unless it's a larger rechargeable type. Even the rechargeable's will need to be serviced. You cannot activate an extinguisher and save some for a future use.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER throw water onto burning liquids! You will create an explosion of fire as the water instantly boils and splatters the burning liquid , oil, etc into a ball of fire.

I hope this helps explain the uses and cautions of using a fire extinguisher. Thanks to Bob Southwick for this great article. If you have any question for Bob relating to fire extinguisher, please email me and I will get it to Bob.

CAUTION USING LED LIGHT BULBS

Word of caution when using LED light bulbs. A member of the communications team was having difficulty copying the signal from a D1N, VHF repeater, and could not understand why. He stated, “I had installed some LED replacement light bulbs and when we turned on the light, the VHF receiver input was desensitized.”
After reading the LED bulb package carefully, it states in very small print, "may cause harmful interference to sensitive marine band radio equipment. Do not install near sensitive life-saving marine communications equipment"
A word of caution for all members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Please check your gear and see that it operates with the use of your LED lights. You could loose comms and not even know it.

Congratulations to Our Newest Telecommunications Operators.

By Jonathan James
Well I was going to wait to introduce the latest Telecommunications Operator (TCO) qualified members for flotilla 7-6. I however think these members deserve a bigger spotlight than a staff report. John Polimeni, Nick Gyore and myself qualified as TCO last Friday, 15 Apr.

After three months of study and practice these member are now allowed to offer their radio facilities for use and operate them under Coast Guard orders. These members are also qualified to stand as watchstanders in the Emergency Incident Command Post (eICP) and in select Coast Guard command posts as well as meeting the stations requirement to start the brake-in process as a watchstander at Station Portland.

With this qualification brings a greater knowledge of radio operations and communicating with the mariner. If you have questions regarding Coast Guard communications, these member along with other TCO qualified members will be more than willing to answer them for you. TCO qualified members also have the ability to mentor and sign off tasks in the TCO-PQS.


We now have 6 TCO’s in our flotilla which is more than any other flotilla in the district.

BZ guys for a great job on your qualification.

Welcome Aboard VFC

By; Jonathan James
Last night at our monthly flotilla meeting, we had the honor of having three outstanding members offer their services to the flotilla in the capacity of Vice Flotilla Commander. As we all know, we can only elect one as our Vice. It turned out to be a difficult decision for the members of our flotilla because all the candidates were outstanding and had their own tools to bring to the office if elected.

Rick Williams, a member of 76 for two years and a new Aircraft Commander, was elected as our new Vice Flotilla Commander for the remainder of the 2011 term. Congratulations Rick on your elections to this very important office. I know that FC John Poulson and the Flotilla Staff Officer's are very happy to have you aboard.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our FC, John Poulson for his selflessness through this whole evolution. Not many Flotilla Commanders would have handled this as professionally and as classy as FC Poulson did. It was John who would always remind us to not forget why we joined the auxiliary and to keep that in the forefront of our auxiliary career. He has had to put a lot of his desires aside and has had to focus %100 of his auxiliary time on maintaining a very difficult and unpredictable watch as FC for the past few months.

B.Z. FC John Poulson and congratulations VFC Rick Williams.

AUX 10 C School, Alameda, A Great Experience.

Story by: Diane Epstein

On 10February I flew to Alameda, CA to attend the AUX 10 C school to learn all about AuxData and AuxInfo. After getting into the shuttle van to the Executive Inn, where most of us stayed, a red-haired women sitting next to me asked, "Are you Diane?" A little puzzled, I replied, "I am" [thinking who is this lady?] I soon found out she was Nancy McCready from Flot 71 who was also there to attend the AuxData school.

The next day I joined 18 other Auxiliarists from as far away as Nashville, TN and Minneapolis, MN in a crowded room filled with computers to have an opportunity to get hands-on, learning AuxData. The two instructors, Pam Berger and Marilyn McBain were marvelous teachers, who added a little needed humor into those long days. They were very patient in answering a myriad of questions relating to the presentations of AuxData as well as AuxInfo. A few times several of our computers would go off line and we would have to reboot to re-establish the on-line connection.

We each got an opportunity to stand up and introduce ourselves and mention how long we have been in the Auxiliary and our experience (or lack thereof) with Information Services. I was amazed that some have only been members for about a year all the way up to 26 years. It was great being able to get acquainted with my fellow IS Officers with varied backgrounds and abilities and discuss how things were done in their Districts and Flotillas.

I also got the chance to tour the USCG Cutter Waeche.[see photo] What an impressive vessel! It has the capability to launch and retrieve a "small boat" while underway. Since I am not very familiar with military protocol, I watched the OOD, who gave us the tour, when he took his hat off and put it back on, to do the same.

I really value this whole experience and feel I am now ready to take on the challenge of being your Flotilla IS Officer. I don't know everything yet, but I have good resources and backup to go to. Please turn in your Member Activity [7029] and Mission Activity [7030] in a timely manner so your hours can be recorded and accounted for. It is too easy to put that off and then it becomes forgotten. I know I have been guilty of that too. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are not sure of how to record something or you want to know something relating to your Auxdata record.

Davy Crockett Response Web Page.

The Department of Ecology has started a web page in conjunction with the Unified Command concerning the Davy Crockett response. It contains background information of the response, as well as current briefings and a facts sheet. There's also a handful of pictures of the response. including pictures from our own AUXAIR (Auxiliary Aircraft) patrols and video from an OPFAC (Operational Facility "Vessel") conducting a Public Affairs Patrol.

Bellow is the link to the web page.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/incidents/DavyCrockett/DavyCrockett.html

NEW FLOTILLA WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING!!!!

I have just familiarized myself with our new flotilla website and what it has to offer. You can find pretty much everything you need to find through our new website. Here are just a few things that you can find on our website that we use in our day to day auxiliary activities.

a. Auxiliary Directory
b. Auxiliary Forms
c. Department Links
e. PE Class Schedule
f. Link to the Uniform Page

I could go on, but I think you should go to the website and see what it has to offer.

Another cool feature of the website is that is has a slide show on the home page showing us all in action.

To break down the layout of the home page, I would say that the header bar buttons are links to the national website pages and the sidebar is for flotilla specific information.

BZ to Rhonda Rockwell to a great website.

Flotilla Member Training: Paddle Craft Outreach in 2011

By Daren Lewis

Shipmates,
At the February Flotilla meeting I will discuss the opportunities for Paddle Craft outreach now available across our RBS program.

Based on estimates of paddle craft participation in the western states we have ~140,000 recreational paddlers in our Division service area. These statistics include kayakers, canoeists, paddle boarders, rowers, and drift boat fishermen. Looking at 2010 Oregon fatalities five of 12 boating deaths occurred while boaters were using these types of vessels.

	Date	Location	Craft	Age	PFD
1	3/6/10	Willamette River (at Jasper)	Canoe	50	N
2	3/22/10	Dorman Pond (near Forest Grove)	Inflatable Raft	73	N
3	3/24/10	Rogue River (near White Horse Park)	Drift	75	N
4	4/24/10	Willamette River (at Dunthorpe)	O/B	57	N
5	5/3/10	Columbia River (near 3 Mile Canyon)	Sailboard	48	N
6	7/23/10	Willamette River (near Sellwood Bridge)	Paddleboard	55	N
7	9/5/10	McKenzie River (50500 McKenzie Hwy)	Drift	63	N
8	9/24/10	Alsea Bay (near Alsea River mouth)	O/B	44	N
9	10/6/10	Pacific Ocean (near Netarts)	O/B	61	Y
10	10/6/10	Pacific Ocean (near Netarts)	O/B	67	Y
11	10/10/10	Columbia River (near Westport)	Sailboat	46	N
12	11/26/10	Willamette River (near Dayton)	O/B	49	N

Traditionally, although Paddle craft safety has been an area of focus for Flotilla 76 in recent years, the Auxiliary has done a mixed job of serving the paddling portion of our recreational boating community. Over the last two years we have seen a rapid increase in the availability of RBS tools to address the recreational paddler. We now have an outstanding toolkit and can expect additional resources in the next few years.

The tools:

• The 7012a Paddle Craft Vessel Exam Form
• The Paddle Smart sticker
• Paddlesports America class
• A growing variety of posters and flyers
• Traditional Surface Operations: Whistles to assist paddlers with rules compliance
• D13 Paddlecraft Operator Program
• For kids Boating Sidekicks - Smart Start for Paddlers (Flash webpage - great for kids)
• Federal Requirements for Paddlers (USCG D1 webpage)
• OSMB: Paddling Oregon Safely (pdf)
• Flotilla 76: Cold water effects | Pacific Northwest water temperatures & cold water effects
• Flotilla 76: Paddle safety tips
• ....many, many more

The challenge and opportunity is to knit these tools together into a program that reduces injury and death of paddlers across the District and the Nation.

Unified Command works to contain sheen from derelict vessel near Camas, Wash.

News Release

Date: January 31, 2011

Contact: Public Affairs Det. Astoria

(503) 861-6235

News Release: Update 3 –

Unified Command works to contain sheen from derelict vessel near Camas, Wash.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Federal, state and local agencies, as well as cleanup contractors, continue to work closely together to recover oil and monitor the 431-foot barge, Davy Crockett, near Camas, Wash., on the Columbia River, Monday.

A Unified Command, consisting of Coast Guard, Washington Dept. of Ecology and Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality was established Jan. 27, after Ecology received reports of a light, non-recoverable sheen. Responders traced it back to mile marker 115 on the Columbia River, the site of the Davy Crockett.

Diving operations are on-going and dependent on safety and stability. Cleanup and containment efforts continue on and around the barge.

The exact volume of oil onboard is unknown due to safety and access challenges. The total potential of oil, based on the capacity of all liquid tanks aboard the Davy Crockett, is approximately 953,000 gallons. On water resources consisting of oil recovery barges and skimmer vessels are present at the site. There are additional resources staged and readily available to deploy from shore. The acquisition of additional storage and recovery resources continues in preparation for planned ballasting operations.

Approximately 18,000 feet of sorbent boom and 3,600 feet of hard boom have been deployed to prevent further spread of the oil. A total of 1,450 gallons of oil have been recovered since the beginning of cleanup operations.

“Our primary objectives remain the safety of our on-scene workers, the stabilization of the barge and recovery of oil,” said Ron Holcomb, State On-Scene Coordinator, Washington Dept. of Ecology. “Once stabilizing operations are complete we will continue to assess each tank for oil and respond accordingly.”

A 500-yard safety no-wake zone is still in effect around the Davy Crockett to ensure the safety of the on-scene workers and to prevent further damage to the vessel. Boaters are asked to use caution when transiting the area.

The following information is current as of 3 p.m. Monday:

• 62 members from federal, state and local agencies, as well as industry, are responding

• Approximately 1,450 gallons of oil recovered

• Approximately 18,000 feet of sorbent boom deployed inside and around the vessel

• Approximately 3,600 feet of hard boom deployed around the vessel

• Two barges on-scene to stabilize the stern of the Davy Crocket

• Diving operations are on-going and dependent on the stability of the vessel

Media inquiries, questions or information requests should be referred to Petty Officer Kelly Parker, U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs, at (206) 437-9482, or Barbara MacGregor, Dept. of Ecology media relations, at (360) 918-1483.

Photo by Lynn Easton