FIRE ENGINEERING

FIRE ENGINEERING

APRIL 1991 • VOL. 144 NO. 4

Aircraft extrication, p. 33

Water tower rescue, p. 53

Innovations: Homegrown, p, 66

Fire Focus, p. 68

Automatic sprinklers, p. 71

33 MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF AIRCRAFT EXTRICATION Successful aircraft extrication involves a detailed knowledge of aircraft construction and systems, tool capabilities, and proper techniques—as well as extensive training.

Leslie P. Omans and John N. Carr

47 NFPA 1904: A LOOK FROM THE INSIDE A chief who served on the 1904 technical committee shares his thoughts on how the revised standard will affect your department and offers his opinion on what could prove to be a controversial issue.

John P. Morello

53 MAN DOWN IN TOWER 5 NIOSH reports that would-be rescuers account for more than 60 percent of fatalities in confined-space incidents. Are your preplans, SOPs, and training as effective as they can be to minimize the chances of you becoming another statistic in an unusual response?

Pascal J. Hay

61 FIREGROUND HYDRAULICS: STRAIGHT-STREAM REACH The decision of what nozzle to use for maximum straight-stream reach in interior structural firefighting should be based on accurate numbers, not just subjective impressions.

C. Bruce Edwards

71 AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEMS: WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO KNOW An overview of automatic sprinkler system basics that every firefighter should know. First in a series.

Gary Keith and Donald Garner

79 FIRE LOSS MANAGEMENT Exploding the myths surrounding automatic sprinklers requires a concentrated effort to educate both the public and the fire service.

Francis L. Branttigan

6 EDITOR’S OPINION

10 VOLUNTEERS CORNER

14 TRAINING NOTEBOOK

18 FIRE PREVENTION BUREAU

24 NEWS IN BRIEF

28 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

66 INNOVATIONS: HOMEGROWN

68 FIRE FOCUS

87 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

96 APPARATUS DELIVERIES

97 EQUIPMENT DIGEST

102 MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE

103 COMING EVENTS

104 NAMES IN THE NEWS

104 CLASSIFIEDS

108 RANDOM THOUGHTS

San Diego Firefighters Battle Fire at Abandoned Liberty Station Building

A structure fire broke out Wednesday night in an abandoned building in Liberty Station.

Manhole Explosion at Texas Tech University Causes Fires, Outages, and Cancels Classes

An explosion on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages Wednesday.