Additional Resources
March 2015
Incendios en Altura: Comando de Incidentes para Bomberos Voluntarios—Consideraciones Iniciales
Por Sergio Selman
Versión en español del artículo titulado “Incendios en Altura: Comando de Incidentes para Bomberos Voluntarios—Consideraciones Iniciales” publicado en el edición de marzo 2015 de Fire Engineering.
El artículo recomienda entrenar a todos los bomberos voluntarios, sin importar el nivel de experiencia, con las capacidades mínimas para desarrollar de manera efectiva el rol del comandante del incidente de un incendio de altura hasta la llegada de un mando más experimentado.
A lo largo del artículo se explica como este entrenamiento afecta de manera positiva al desempeño de los bomberos voluntarios en este tipo de emergencias superando los problemas más típicos con algunas recomendaciones simples. Al finalizar se esboza una estructura de cómo debe ser el plan de capacitación basado en 2 etapas: una general para todos en la estación y una segunda más específica para los que deben asumir generalmente más responsabilidad.
High-Rise Fires: Incident Command for Volunteer Firefighters
This is the Spanish version of the March 2015 Fire Engineering article “High-Rise Fires: Incident Command for Volunteer Firefighters” by Sergio Selman.
The article recommends training all volunteer firefighters, regardless of their level of experience, with the minimum capacities to effectively develop the role of the incident commander at a high-rise fire until the arrival of a more experienced officer.
The article explains how this training positively affects the performance of the volunteer firefighter in this type of emergency, and offers simple recommendations for overcoming the most typical problems. A two-stage training plan is outlined: A general one for the entire fire station, and second one specifically for those who generally assume more responsibilities.
October 2014
Taking a Long Shot Across the Sea
By Brett Martinez
On an island off the coast of Long Island, New York, the Suffolk County (NY) Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (SC USAR-TF), performs a variety of simulated emergency rescue operations as part of its annual Mobilization Exercise (MobEx). Download the SC USAR-TF Tactical Action Plan (TAP) here.
November 2011
The Chemical Suicide Phenomenon
By Jacob Oreshan III and Teresa Stevens
Chemical suicides have plagued the United States since 2008 and continue to be on the rise. Download a best practice guidelines for a response to a chemical suicide incident.
October 2011
Ventricular Assist Devices – Alive with No Pulse
By Barb Brown
A group of Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) coordinators, EMS managers, and medevac program reps in the Mid-Atlantic region developed a prehospital LVAD field guide that encompasses the most current devices in the community today.
April 2011
Developing ARFF SOGs and Response Cards
By Michael J. Lopina
Even if you cover a small aviation field with little air traffic, you still need a good, solid response plan.
November 2010
Establishment of an ARFF Program
By Michael J. Lopina
Here is how one Illinois department assumed fire and EMS protection of a nearby airport, which required additional training, equipment, and standard operating procedures.
May 2010
Technology Roundup: First Responder Input Welcome
by Mary Jane Dittmar
Learn what’s new in technology designed to improve firefighter safety and efficiency and how to have valuable input into the technology development process.
December 2009
LODD Standard Operating Guideline
by Larry Radtke
The Blue Lake Township (MI) Fire Department (BLTFD) reviewed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath reports’ information and suggestions to determine how to reduce line-of-duty-deaths (LODDs) and critical injuries (CIs). After reading about and viewing videos on other fire departments’ LODD experiences, especially on the fireground, the BLTFD realized that the possibility exists for having its own LODD or CI and decided to plan ahead by taking the necessary steps to create its own LODD and CI standard operating guidelines.
140 Years of Fire Engineering: Special Archive Section

See a selection from historic pages of Fire Engineering’s predecessors. In addition to a full reproduction of an original article, you will find a selection of pages from that decade─covers, articles, ads, and more. Download our first issue as a PDF HERE.
November 2016 Archives (PDF, 9.3 MB)
The link above offers the full text of the original articles featured in the November 2016 Fire Engineering 140th anniversary article, including an editorial introducing the controversy, the London Fireman editorial, and the three-part article series by Chief Martin Cronin of Washington, D.C. Also from that era, review covers HERE, advertisements and reader comments HERE, and other articles HERE.
December 2016 (PDF, 5.5 MB)
The link above provides the full text of the original 1896 articles featured in the December 2016 Fire Engineering’s 140th anniversary article, including an editorial commenting on the Milwaukee tragedy, an initial report, the coroner’s jury findings, and diagrams of the building’s construction. Review articles related to the 1988 Hackensack (NJ) Ford dealership fire in which five firefighters perished in truss collapse HERE. Look over articles about other fires HERE. Finally, see several cartoons about some ideas considered ‘amusing’ in the 1890s: Women firefighters, high-rise firefighting, and winter firefighting HERE.
January 2017 (1.3 MB)
HERE the full text of the original 1903 article featured in the January 2017 Fire Engineering’s 140th anniversary article. See also a selection of covers HERE and advertisements HERE. See links below for fire news of the 1910s.
San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
Conflagration at Chelsea, 1908
February 2017 (1.3 MB)
Click the link above to see the full text of the original 1912 article on Fire Prevention Day in New York City. featured in the February 2017 Fire Engineering’s 140th anniversary article. See also a selection of covers HERE and advertisements HERE. See links below for fire news of the early 1900s.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 1911
Dreamland Amusement Park, 1911
The Kingsland (NJ) Explosion, 1917
Jersey City (NJ) Black Tom Explosion, 1917
The Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, 1917
Boston Molasses Tank Collapse, 1919
March 2017
The link above will connect you to the full original verision of this month’s featured article, “New Alarm Headquarters, Boston.” Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1920s and HERE, HERE AND HERE for a selection of ads from the Roaring Twenties. Check out the January 1926 issue, in which Fire Engineering made its first appearance HERE, and some pages from the Fire Engineer, with which Fire and Water Engineering merged to produce the new publication, HERE.The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1920: The Wall Street Explosion: The Fireman’s Many Duties
1924: What a Fire-Fighter of Today–What He Must Be
1929: The Fireman Goes to College
1929: Confessions of a Fire Fan
1929: The Menace of the Sliding Pole
April 2017
The link above will connect you to the full original verision of this month’s featured article, “Salvage as Taught by the New York Fire Patrol.” Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1930s and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade, including several marking Fire Engineering’s 60th anniversary.
1931: The Great Depression: Keep His Head Up
1934: Should Fire Apparatus Obey Red Lights?
1934: Fire Facts and False Alarms
1936-1939: The Fledgling FDIC Grows
1937: New London (TX) School Explosion
1937: Some Notable Fire Service “Firsts”
The link above will connect you to the full original verision of this month’s featured article, “Preplanning, 1948: Dealing with the Situation as it Exists.” Click HERE and HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1940s and HERE and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. See other features HERE. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1941: Pearl Harbor and World War II
1945: Plane Crashes into Empire State Building
1945: Firefighting on Guadalcanal
1949: Effingham, (IL) Hospital Fire
The link above will connect you to the full original verision of this month’s featured article, “New Fire Station Designs, 1955.” Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1950s and HERE, HERE, and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1950: Is the Fire Service Prepared for World War III?
1951: Problems Involved in Fighting Large Area Conflagrations
1953:Michigan’s Costliest Fire Destroys Auto Parts Plant
1957: Panic Blamed in Death of 15 in New Haven Holocaust
1958: Panic Piles Up the Dead in New York Factory Loft Fire
1959: Roseburg Explosion Wipes Out Four-Block Area
The link above will connect you to the full original version of this month’s featured article, “Manpower–How Much Do You Need?,” Fire Engineering, October 1969. Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1960s and HERE, HERE, and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1960: Star-Crossed Constellations
1961: Chicago Building Collapse Snuffs Out Lives of Nine Fire Fighters
1961: All Records Fall During 33rd FDIC in Memphis
1963: Photo Worth 10,000 Words
1964: Almost 50 Years Later, Gratitude for a Rescue
1964: Harpers Ferry Engine House Restoration Planned
1966: Paints and Nitrocellulose Light Up San Francisco Sky
1968: Five Alarm Fire at Montreal Oil Depot Fire Burns for Two Days
1968: The Crisis in Our Cities
1968: Talks At 40th FDIC Range from Volunteers to Riot Problems
1968: Seattle Keys to Attract Negro Applicants
1968: Washington’s Three Days of Burning
1968: Fire Department Operations Under Riot Conditions
1968: Our Tools: Nozzles, Not Guns
1969: Memphis FDIC Moving to Kansas City
1969: 4 Walls Collapse in Chicago Fire
The link above will connect you to the full original version of this month’s featured article, “162 Lose Lives in Supper Club Fire,” Fire Engineering, August 1977. Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1970s and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1971: Building Construction and Fire
1971: Court Trims Firemen’s Right to Wear Beards and Sideburns
1973: Modern Architecture–New Fire Problems
1977: The Artist Behind the Centennial Covers
1979: The National Fire Academy
The link above will connect you to the full original version of this month’s featured article, “Computer-Aided Dispatch Becomes $15 Million Reality in New York City,” Fire Engineering, October 1980. Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1980s and HERE and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1980: Arson Battle Gains as Tactics Improve
1980: Keep Alert To Being Part of the Injury Statistics
1981: SCBA Training Maze Created with Donated Help and Other Help
1982: Not Enough Water, So Fire Guts 1.2 Million Square Foot Warehouse
1983: The Making of a Turnout Coat
1984: Lightweight Building Construction Helps Prevent a Major Disaster
1984: Horror in a Haunted Castle: The Tragedy/The Investigation
1986: Fire: A Weapon of Terror: An Analysis of the MOVE Confrontation as a Terrorist Attack
1988: Lightweight Wood Floor Truss Construction: A Fire Lesson
1989: Through the Sound Barrier
The link above will connect you to the full original version of this month’s featured article, “Computer-Aided Dispatch Becomes $15 Million Reality in New York City,” Fire Engineering, October 1980. Click HERE to see a selection of covers from the 1980s and HERE and HERE for a selection of ads from the decade. The links below connect to a variety of articles from the decade.
1980: Arson Battle Gains as Tactics Improve
1980: Keep Alert To Being Part of the Injury Statistics
1981: SCBA Training Maze Created with Donated Help and Other Help
1982: Not Enough Water, So Fire Guts 1.2 Million Square Foot Warehouse
1983: The Making of a Turnout Coat
1984: Lightweight Building Construction Helps Prevent a Major Disaster
1984: Horror in a Haunted Castle: The Tragedy/The Investigation
1986: Fire: A Weapon of Terror: An Analysis of the MOVE Confrontation as a Terrorist Attack
1988: Lightweight Wood Floor Truss Construction: A Fire Lesson
1989: Through the Sound Barrier
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Below you’ll find additional materials related to Fire Engineering‘s 140th anniversary.