Placitas Fire Brigade Web site
The Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade has a Web site.
Go to: www.PlacitasFireAndRescue.com to learn about burn advisories, volunteer opportunities, safety practices, contact information, and more.

Fire restrictions lifted

As of August 16, at 8:00 a.m., campfire and smoking restrictions were lifted for the Sandia, Mountainair, Magdalena, and Mt. Taylor Ranger Districts, as well as the Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands. Fire danger has decreased due to moisture and higher humidity over much of the forest.
The public is reminded, however, that campfire safety is still of concern year-round and that everyone should follow fire safety precautions. If you have a campfire, please abide by the following rules:

• Build campfires away from overhanging branches, steep slopes, rotten stumps, logs, dry grass, pine needles, and leaves.
• Pile extra wood away from the fire.
• Clear the area down to bare soil; keep your campfire safe and small, especially when it’s windy.
• Never leave your campfire unattended.
• Drown the fire with water and dirt, stir the remains, add more water and dirt, and stir again.
• Do not bury your coals, as they can smolder and reignite later. Make sure your fire is dead out before leaving.

The use of fireworks of any kind is strictly prohibited on all national forest lands.

Regional fire information for New Mexico and Arizona can be obtained at (877) 864-6985 or at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/fire.

To all Placitas/Bernalillo residents: Volunteers needed

—BUD BRINKERHOFF
Captain, Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade
Did you know that all Placitas Fire and Emergency Services personnel are volunteers? Okay, so you knew that. How about did you know that we respond to over four hundred fire and rescue calls per year? And as more people move into our community, that number is bound to increase.

To meet the increasing demand, we are asking you to consider becoming a member of our community brigade.

The Placitas Brigade offers recruit classes in April and October of each year, and we’re beginning the process for our fall class. No prior experience is necessary, as we provide a full range of training, beginning with a recruit entry-level course that prepares new members with the basic training to participate safely, effectively, and helpfully on emergency scenes.

The course runs for approximately forty hours and includes training in CPR, the incident command structure, hazardous materials awareness, radio and equipment familiarization, as well as tours of our district and the dispatch center. The course is held at the main station on week nights and weekends to accommodate those with a working schedule and concludes with a scenario training with other responding members.

New recruits will be provided all the necessary protective clothing, as well as radios and pagers for communication effectiveness. All training and equipment is paid for and provided by the Placitas department.

If you are interested in this opportunity to make a valuable contribution to your community, call John Wolf, 771-3788, for more information and to sign up for a one-hour prospective-member session giving more details on what it means to be a responding member of the Placitas Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Eight organs recovered from one NM donor

For the first time in New Mexico, eight organs were recovered from a single donor. Twenty-three-year-old Micah Lamm had signed up to be an organ donor and had informed his family and friends of his decision. He was declared brain-dead at San Juan Regional Medical Center, in Farmington, from a head injury he suffered after a fall in August.

New Mexico Donor Services was able to coordinate the recovery of all organs with transplant centers throughout the United States. The donation process included blood testing, organ evaluation, matching with the 89,102 patients on the national transplant waiting list, and arrangements for transplant teams to converge at San Juan Regional Medical Center at a specific time. The organs were transplanted in California, Utah, and Colorado into recipients ranging from seventeen to forty years old.

“We know this is a very difficult time for the family of Micah Lamm and we extend our condolences. This young man’s caring decision to be an organ donor has saved the lives of several people,” stated Patricia Niles, director of New Mexico Donor Services.

New Mexicans are encouraged to sign up on the motor vehicle department donor registry when they obtain or renew their driver’s license. For information about organ donation, call (800) 355-7427 or visit www.DonateLife.net. For information in Spanish, call 800-485-VIDA or visit www.DoneVida.org.

Meningitis—new communicable disease concern

—U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM UDALL
New Mexico children returning to school this month are generally required to have certain vaccines, including inoculations for mumps, hepatitis, and measles. This year, a federal health agency recommends they get one more.

Meningococcal meningitis, an inflammation of the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord, is a rare but sometimes deadly bacterial infection that is particularly dangerous for adolescents and young children. A new one-shot vaccination that offers long-term protection against most forms of meningococcal meningitis may prevent up to 83 percent of cases in the United States.

In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed a vaccine for bacterial meningitis and related diseases that can strike suddenly and kill quickly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and Society for Adolescent Medicine all recommend the immunization for three age groups:

• Children eleven and twelve years old;
• Adolescents entering high school who have not been immunized yet; and
• College students who will be living in dormitories.