Names in the News
Seattle Appoints Smith
Rick Smith was recently appointed chief of Sea-Tac International Airport’s fire department by the Port of Seattle. Smith was previously deputy chief and assistant director of the Department of Public Safety in Mercer Island, Wash.
He began his fire fighting career in Wayne, Mich., before moving to Palm Springs, Calif., where he was a fire fighter, inspector, station captain and task force officer.
Amicarella Named Director
Lawrence A. Amicarella has been named director of cooperative fire protection for Forest Service national headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Presently assistant director of aviation and fire management, Amicarella first worked for the Forest Service in 1957 on a temporary assignment. Since his graduation from Colorado State University in 1960, he has worked as a ranger and assistant ranger in the Rocky Mountain Region, as director of the Boxelder Civilian Conservation Center in South Dakota, and with state and private forestry in the regional office in Denver.
In 1973, Amicarella was appointed supervisor of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado. In 1977, he transferred to Washington, D.C. In his dew position, Amicarella will be responsible for national coordination of Forest Service fire policies and programs with state foresters.
Amicarella will succeed Willard R. Tikkala, who retired December 26.
Guide Available
The “Guide for Preparing Fire Pumper Apparatus Specifications,” compiled by the Mission Research Corporation, has recently been published and is available by contacting the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
The required identifying titles, numbers and code of each part of the guide are as follows:
Part I: Executive Summary
GPO 064-000-000-11-0 (cost $1.75)
Part II: Determining Performance
Requirements
GPO-064-000-000-12-8 (cost $5.50)
Part III: Preparing the Bid Specification
GPO 064-000-000-13-6 (cost $8.00)
Part IV: A Suggested Specification Format
GPO 064-000-000-14-4 (cost $4.75) Part V: Supplementary Material
GPO 064-000-000-15-2 (cost $5.50)
Check or money order must be enclosed with orders.
Simulator Study
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame, College of Engineering, have developed a model designed to mathematically program the characteristics of fire and smoke in enclosed areas. Ideally, escape routes and fire fighting strategies for hypothetical situations would then be transmitted.
Dr. Kwang-Tzu Yang and his colleagues , Drs. John 1. Lloyd and A. Murty Kanury, have been working towards this goal since 1972 when the National Science Foundation accepted “Undaafe,” (University of Notre Dame Smoke and Fire in Enclosures) the computer code for their program.
This project is funded by the National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research.
N.M. Fire Chiefs
A new organization, the New Mexico Fire Chiefs Association, has been formed to represent the interests of all chief officers in that state. The primary concern of the association is to assist officers in the administrative aspects of the fire service.
Membership is open to all chief officers in the state, including state and local government departments, federal fire service, and industrial departments. Associate membership is available to fire-related entities.
Further information can be obtained from Chief John Liebson, President, New Mexico Fire Chiefs Association, c/o Eldorado Volunteer Fire Department, Route 3, Box 1, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501.
Medic Named Captain
James Scherler, a paramedic in the Anaheim, Calif., Fire Department, was recently promoted to captain.
Fire Chief Bob Simpson said it was “the first time since Anaheim began the paramedic program in 1975 that we have been able to promote a paramedic to captain.” Scherler will command Medic-Engine 1.
The current EMS program, which operates three mobile intensive care vehicles staffed by paramedic fire fighters,is being expanded by utilizing engine companies.
Mass. Academy to Further Fire Safety for Retarded
Overcrowded mental health facilities have transferred many mentally retarded patients back to the local communities for care. The fire safety education needs of these persons are great and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy plans to fill this need.
The United States Department of Education has awarded the academy, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, a two-year grant totaling $173,000 to develop a comprehensive fire safety training program for mentally retarded persons in residential settings. The program will also include fire safety materials for community residence issues in mental retardation.
Joseph Donovan, chief of the fire academy, stated, “We at the academy recognize that the training of fire service personnel alone will not ensure the safety of all of the citizens of the Commonwealth. We are therefore committed to providing the academy’s fire safety training expertise to all entities concerned with the fire problem.”
As an example of this endeavor, the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy has been working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health for the past three years on issues of fire safety in both institutional and community residential settings.
Deputy Chief Steven Coan added, “Staff of both agencies felt that as part of the goal of increased independence for adults with mental retardation, it was important that these individuals have a thorough understanding of fire safety and prevention and what procedures to take if fire should strike.”
Honor Woman Fire Fighter
Penny Ciraulo was recently declared fire fighter of the year in Morgan Hill, Calif., where she was the first woman to receive such an honor in a program that is over 25 years old.
Ciraulo is a paid call fire fighter (PCF) for the Santa Clara County department, which is part paid and uses PCFs extensively.
Ciraulo is involved in several programs, including fire prevention education, a fund raising event and a bicycle licensing program.
Urban Safety Programs
The National Safety Council reports in a one-year nationwide survey of fire safety education programs for low-income urban residents, that there is a need for more fire safety programs for foreign language speaking peoples, blacks and other inner city residents.
Of the more than 240 items evaluated in the study, 41 were designed for low-income urban residents and other minority groups.
Recommendations from the study include the development of a minority affairs office or program to assist fire educators and a national workshop to train urban fire educators in areas such as fund raising, and in marshaling community support.