BY BOBBY HALTON

We all remember learning in our high school history classes that the 14th and 15th centuries were dreadful times for people in many ways. The 12th century laid the foundation for individual freedom with the Magna Carta, which challenged the power of the king, providing a foundation for the development of constitutional law and ensuring individual rights. The 13th century brought us an end to feudalism. But despite these positive advancements, life was still hard, cruel, and short. Because of widespread disease, famine, and a host of other social issues, most people living in the 14th and 15th centuries had a life expectancy of less than 22 years, about the same as a citizen of Rome 1,500 years earlier.

Two things changed mankind's stagnant existence. The first, and probably the most significant, was the establishment of the scientific method. The second was the discovery and development of the New World. The ideas of many great thinkers—Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, but in particular Isaac Newton and René Descartes—would set in motion how mankind would think about science, truth, and cause-and-effect for the next 400+ years.

Newton—an admirer of Descartes, a French mathematician—developed a way to understand complex phenomenon by using a method called "reductionism." Newton told the world how to use this "scientific method" in his book Principia Mathematica. Because of their work, science began to flourish, the causes of diseases were discovered, new ways to build were found, new metals were put into use, and the world saw the quality of life improve steadily from that point forward.

Today, the fire service is experiencing its own scientific revolution. We are enjoying a new relationship with members of the scientific community. We are seeing a real interest in our profession. Meaningful scientific research is being conducted to discover the science behind much of what we do. We are particularly fortunate here in the United States to have the strong support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Coupled with support from the private sector, NIST has provided us with several landmark studies over the past 10 years that have given us new insight into how our profession can perform its critical work more effectively and safely.

Around the world, in laboratories in Sweden, Denmark, England, and Canada, scientific research is being conducted on fire behavior, fire protection, fire tactics, and improving our personal protective equipment. All of this information is readily available to anyone who is interested enough to search the World Wide Web, concerned enough to review the papers carefully, and dedicated enough to be willing to be open-minded to new possibilities.

It would be fantastic if the world were still as simple as it was in the 1600s when Newton and Descartes were working to advance mankind's understanding of the world around them. It would be significantly less difficult if we could say that there was a direct cause-and-effect relationship between everything that happens on the fireground and in some action we took or didn't take. Unfortunately, we know that the world today is a much more complex place. Although we may conduct a study on wind-driven fires, the information we derive from it can help us develop new tools and techniques, but we must be ever mindful that the study can serve only as a starting point for our decision making on the fireground.

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