Fireside Reading

  -

By John M. Malecky

Vehicle Extrication, A Practical Guide
By Brian G. Anderson

Available from:
FIRE ENGINEERING Books & Videos
1-800-752-9764 OR 1-918-831-9421
Fax: 1-877-218-1348
http://www.fireengineeringbooks.com

Item Number: 1-59370-021-0

Price; $69.00 + S & H

This book is soft cover and measures 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches. It has 573 pages. The author is a battalion chief with the Metro Dade County (FL) Fire Rescue and is a licensed fire instructor, paramedic and firefighter. He is fire/EMS liaison to the William Lehman Injury research Center at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami and serves as an instructor in Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Officer Development.

The book is subtitled, “a practical guide” and I have to agree it is every bit of one. The author doers an excellent job of covering all bases. He knows that emergencies in the field vary greatly from the classroom and training ground and stresses gaining knowledge and developing skills, performng a good size up, noting the presence of hazards, and making tough decisions, all of which is laid out in the first chapter.

The book also features many photos-more than 1,000, according to the publisher. For example, provides 18 photos of a heavy duty wrecker illustrating for the most part, the different components these trucks have for towing. It’s a book that illustrates everything important in helping the reader carry out an extrication.

There are 11 chapters: Getting Organized, Tools, Equipment and Apparatus, Stabilization (with 17 procedures), Door and Side Procedures (24 of them), Roof Procedures (19), Interior Procedures (25), Crash Related Impalement (eight procedures), Entrapment Beneath and Between Vehicles (12 procedures), Trucks and Tractor Trailers (27 procedures), Extrication Procedures for School and Transit Buses (26) and Sport and Race Vehicles. The last chapter has an appendix with 60 photos on things to think about. These photos address tips and different parts of the vehicles which are of concern. The book also offers information on hybrids. Procedures in many cases cover the same type evolution with different types of tools.

John M. Malecky is a 32-year veteran of the Bayonne (NJ) Fire Department and a battalion chief (retired) with Battalion 2. He joined the department in 1970 and was named a lieutenant in 1987, a captain in 1994, and a battalion chief in 2000. He is author of Apparatus Deliveries in Fire Engineering.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Fireside Reading

0

By John M. Malecky

Structure Protection in the I-Zone
By George Bradford

Price: $39.95 + S & H

192 pages, soft cover
Available from: Fire Engineering Books & Videos
Phone: 1-800-752-9764, Fax: 1-918-831-9555
www.pennwell-store.com
Order No. 0-912212-95-0

This book focuses on protecting structures in the wildland interface (I-zone) from the perspective of a local fire department. Essentially, the local fire department is geared to fighting basically structure fires. But if you have an urban/wildland interface in your jurisdiction, this book will serve you well!

The author has more than 25 years of active involvement in wildland firesuppression. You can tell he is experienced and well-versed in the subject.

The framework of this book encompasses notes from after-action reports involving three incidents: the East Bay Hills fire in Oakland, California in 1991, the 1993 Firestorm (California), and the Calabasas Entrapment (California). The reasons for using these incidents include the following: (1) They are relatively recent; (2) if something could go wrong, it did, on at least one occasion cited here; (3) several of the issues raised have been repeatedly identified as key problems; and (4) the solutions to some of these problems are not well-documented.

The book is divided into three parts: Wildland Interface Fundamentals, Focusing Your Experience, and Improving Seldom-Used Skills. There are a total of 15 chapters, a conclusion, two appendixes, and an index. Each chapter has a quiz with answers at the end of the book. The pages for the most part have large margins for writing notes and plenty of photos. The book is easy to read, educational (especially for structure) firefighters, and can be gone through quickly.

One of the chapters explains the reason wildland firefighting gear and equipment differ from that used in structure firefighting. The author also covers map reading, use of the compass, global positioning systems (GPS), applying water and foam, using portable pumps, packing gear for a long haul, fire behavior, the importance of paying attention to the weather, safety, communications, and use of computers.

You’ve heard of the term “street smart” to describe a person who is wary and cautious about living in an urban setting? Well, this author is “wildland smart”!

John M. Malecky is a 31-year veteran of the Bayonne (NJ) Fire Department and battalion chief with Battalion 2. He joined the department in 1970 and was named a lieutenant in 1987, a captain in 1994, and a battalion chief in 2000. He is author of the Apparatus Deliveries feature in Fire Engineering.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR