FIRE ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENTS
EDITORIAL 6
VOLUNTEERS CORNER 8
Who’s in control? The apparatus or you?
TRAINING NOTEBOOK 10
Video technology: new training for automobile fires
DISPATCHES 16
NY State burn reporting law NY, CA purchase PASS devices Federal funds expand study Plastic watch band warning index info
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 15
NAMES IN THE NEWS 52
EQUIPMENT DIGEST 53
APPARATUS DELIVERIES 54
COURSES/COMING EVENTS 56
CLASSIFIEDS 57
READER SERVICE CARD 59
FEATURES
FIREFIGHTING BASICS
FORCIBLE ENTRY 18
With high security being one answer to the rising crime rate, more and more storekeepers, as well as some homeowners are installing roll-down metal doors. When a building protected by these high security devices becomes a fire occupancy, these doors in the closed position can greatly intensify our fire problems, affect our attack strategy, and definitely influence our tactics. BY TOM BRENNAN and PAUL MCFADDEN
FIRE INVESTIGATION
A MANUFACTURER’0S DEFECT OR MURDER? 31
Sometimes, what appears to be a product liability lawsuit involving a death is not what it appears. This article focuses on just such an incident. It describes how a forensic team of experts was able to communicate and prove to a jury of laymen that a victim’s car was deliberately set on fire and that the victim was murdered prior to the fire. BY SHELLY KING
POINT OF ORIGIN 36
When attempting to determine a fire’s point of origin, there are various interior and exterior factors to consider. The author not only discusses a “normal” fire progression and how to determine the direction of fire travel, but also explains how to further investigate “abnormal’’ factors that could possibly fix the point of origin. BY JOHN STICKEVERS
THE DACHIS CASE 50
A classic example of meticulous investigation, surefooted legal work, and textbook cooperation among various city, state, and federal agencies is seen in an examination of the 1929 Dachis Case—proving that history still holds its lessons. BY FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN
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