On arrival, firefighters find a one-story ranch-style home with heavy smoke pushing from the soffit vents under the eaves overhanging the home's exterior walls. The battalion chief in command of the incident suspects a fire that has either originated in or extended to the attic.
When I started this project, my agency was in the enviable position of trying to decide where to place a few extra firefighters every day. We had enough funding to add two or three people per shift. With 22 stations, it was difficult deciding where those extra bodies would do us the most good.
Defensible space, the area around a structure in which fuels have been modified to increase the likelihood that the structure will survive a wildland fire front, has evolved through many definition revisions.
On March 10, 2011, the tsunami-prone nation of Japan—arguably the most earthquake- and tsunami-prepared nation in the world—was the setting for an epic tsunami tragedy whose effects are still being felt today and whose reverberations will affect tsunami-prone nations for years to come.
Scenario: You are dispatched to a reported structure fire at 12 Bella Court; early radio reports indicate a definite fire with smoke showing on arrival of the deputy chief. You are the officer on the first-due engine company.
It sometimes seems that few people can accurately define risk management, let alone apply it in their organization. Yet, a risk management plan can help an organization identify and correct hazards and substandard work practices before bad things happen.
Every year we watch in awe as hundreds and thousands of acres of the Intermountain West and the West Coast; timbered hillsides; brush-covered slopes; and, unfortunately, home after home are gobbled up by flamefronts of fire pushed by strong easterly winds.
Did you ever wonder why our political leadership seems to be so ... lacking? It might be because the importance of leadership has been dismissed by the very intellectual elites responsible for educating our youth.
Where do fire departments come from? Where do they go? Sixty-five years ago, in August 1946, a group of men got together and started the Hamburg (MI) Fire Department, Incorporated (HFD, Inc.), the only privately owned and operated fire department in Michigan.
Most departments' bread-and-butter operations consist of private dwellings and taxpayer-type structures. The economic boom in past decades created a market for developing office buildings in suburban and rural areas that are generally three to seven stories high with glass curtain walls.
I remember having discussions with the shift commander (deputy chief) stationed at my house when I was a lieutenant in the early 1980s about my engine laying a supply line in at a working fire.
When the engine company enters the attack space, it has a forward nozzle posture. Although we need to attack the whole compartment for a successful knockdown, most often we miss one area, the one that holds its fire the longest, the entrance wall or the "dry" wall.
When thinking back to my earliest memories of "organized" firefighter training, I remember learning about all the different hoseloads. There were horseshoes and flatlays, but the apparatus that most of us work with aren't conducive to any of those types of loads.
Most of the problems we have discussed in this column have been specific to events that have gone wrong. I believe as long as there are people involved in the fire service there will be an endless supply of cases that can be discussed.
Scenario: You are dispatched for a 55-year-old male who was seen lying unconscious through a kitchen-floor window by a neighbor. On arrival, you gain entry and immediately notice several cables connected to what appear to be two batteries and a round box; an additional cable is attached to the patient.
"Emergency First Responder Respirator Thermal Characteristics," based on the findings at a July 2011 workshop sponsored by the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF), identifies performance needs and establishes research priorities to address the thermal characteristics of first responder respiratory protective equipment.
I commend Deputy Chief (Ret.) William F. Crapo on his very informative letter about Thornton's Rule (Letters to the Editor, April 2011). I am always happy to read something that is going to help me understand the fire service better.
Last month we started a discussion about the challenge new firefighters have using education, training, and coaching to somehow overcome their lack of fireground experience. Fires are now burning hotter and faster.
In March and April of LAST year, many communities in New England experienced flooding at historic levels. During this crisis, the Warwick (RI) Fire Department responded to water rescues in addition to regular fire, motor vehicle accident, and emergency medical calls.
The objectives of firefighting include a quick knockdown, longer lasting suppression, and reduced rekindling. With those outcomes, precious resources are protected and preserved while firefighter safety is enhanced.
We thoroughly enjoyed our years in the fire service, and as we look back on our careers, we both believe that some of our best times were the assignments we served as training officers.
The Natchez-Adams County Airport, Natchez, Mississippi, uses this CRASH RESCUE EQUIPMENT SERVICE quick-attack unit as a rapid intervention vehicle to meet FAA requirements for Category 4, FAR Part 139, Airport, meeting Index "A," says Clint Pomeroy, airport director of aviation.
CET Fire Pumps manufactures a variety of FOAM TRAILERS in 150- to 2,000-gallon sizes. These versatile trailers are ideal for use in industrial, commercial, municipal, and forestry environments. They provide a very effective tool for airport fuel storage and power plant installations.
FIRE LINE EQUIPMENT in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has been appointed the E-ONE dealer for central Pennsylvania. With more than 100 years of combined experience in apparatus maintenance and repair, Fire Line Equipment has an 8,000-square-foot facility that is fully stocked with parts, offering both onsite and mobile service in support of new and used apparatus sales, with a focus on meeting customers' after-the-sale needs.
Ohio State Fire Marshal LARRY FLOWERS announced the creation of the Division of State Fire Marshal's Smoke Alarm Advisory Task Force, which will make recommendations to the Division of State Fire Marshal on how citizens can best protect themselves and their property through available smoke alarm technologies.
Pulling up with "nothing showing" often misinforms us of what really is going on inside the structure. We can't let our guard down and think nothing is happening on the inside just because no signs are showing on the outside.
