LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Exacting Responsibility for Duties Performed in the Fire Service

I have been a subscriber of this informative and interesting magazine for approximately 25 years and still look forward to my monthly subscription.

The article by Lieutenant George Goldbach, “Management: Delegation of Responsibility,” published in the August 1984 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING was both interesting and informative. This subject is applicable to the public as well as the private sector. However, there are a few areas I wish to address.

Lt. Goldbach’s first statement in the second paragraph states, “A major portion of planning is the delegation of responsibility.”

A book entitled ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT by William B. Cornell, M.E., states that: “A person exercising authority should be held responsible for carrying on an activity only as he has authority over that activity.”

An executive is responsible not only for his own actions but also for the actions and work of his subordinates. In the fire service, a fire captain is responsible for the work done by his men; a battalion chief is responsible for the performance of the fire captains under his command; and so on.

To further define the principle of responsibility, let me quote the author of the book FIREFIGHTING, STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP by retired Deputy Fire Chief Charles Walsh of the New York Fire Department, who, incidently, was my tutor on the subject of management techniques. Walsh states that authority, not only responsibility, can be delegated. A chief officer may give an assignment to a captain or a lieutenant. When a subordinate officer accepts an assignment, he creates responsibility for himself and his superior officer. However, no superior delegates any of his own responsibility for the final outcome of the project.

In such a case, an officer is both a superior and a subordinate. Authority flows from the higher to the lower ranks. May I conclude by saying that an officer has authority delegated to him, responsibility exacted from him, and duties assigned to him.

Salvador J. Madama

Former Fire Chief Laconia Fire Department, NH

Your Comments Help Set Standards

Chief Hank Howard and FIRE ENGINEERING are to be congratulated for updating readers on the hazardous material dangers faced daily by our nation’s fire service and emergency response personnel.

I am happy to report that at the National Transportation Safety Board’s request we at the National Fire Protection Association have set in motion the procedure for establishing a new NFPA standard for the design and construction of chemical protective suits.

As part of this procedure, we have published a notice of intent to develop such standards in the June/July FIRE NEWS and would welcome comments from FIRE ENGINEERING readers on the need for such a document, the form the document should take, the intended audience, names of individuals who might be interested in participating in its development, resources on the subject matter, and the names of organizations actively involved with the subject.

Comments should be sent to:

Arthur E. Cote

Assistant Vice-President Standards National Fire Protection Association Batterymarch Park Quincy, MA 02269

Robert W. Grant

President

National Fire Protection Association, MA

Foam Reference

In the July 1984 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING, an article appeared on “Evaluation Test for Foam Effectiveness.” That article references ASTM Committee F20. Please note that Committee F20 does not endorse the test which is described, nor does it endorse the statement in the article that this test “meets most of the requirements of the F20 Committee.”

First, there is no one foam type which will be effective against all hazardous materials, nor any one expansion which is correct for all situations. The data presented in the article is valid only for the foam agent tested and the expansion used.

There is no basis for the inference that these test results can be extrapolated to other hazardous materials. The predictive method suggested states that water solubility and vapor pressure can be used to categorize materials, but work sponsored by EPA and available from NTIS as Report PB-82-227117 does not support this position. The test totally ignores the influence of drainage rate which may be the most important property of foam in controlling the vapor hazard from chemical spills.

R. H. Hiltz

Chairman, Division on Hazardous Materials Spill Response, ASTM Philadelphia, PA

Occupational Health Services’ Hazardline Update

Last December, FIRE ENGINEERING published my article on Hazardline, a computer-based hazardous materials retrieval system. I thought it might be interesting to recap what one year has done for that database.

At this time, some 4,200 chemicals are in the database, with some 50 added each month. Currently about 50 fire departments are registered with Hazardline. In the past year, Occupational Health Services, the operator of Hazardline, has provided information to non-subscribing fire departments during emergency operations by use of telephone relay.

As a result of the article, I received at least a dozen inquiries, and Hazardline has received several hundred.

Once on-line, Hazardline will provide detailed information from 30+ categories for each chemical. These categories are assessed via a four letter code; examples are protective clothing (CLOT), leak and spill control (LEAK), and respiratory protection (RESP).

A variety of emergency service organizations (fire and police) that have used the service during actual emergencies is listed in the organization’s bi-monthly newsletter, OHS UPDATE.

One of OHS’ newer ventures will be the electronic publication of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Both industry and fire departments will find these of value where specific chemicals are used within the community.

OHS recently moved to offices in New Jersey and can be contacted at 800-223-8978.

Roger A. McGary

Chief

Takoma Park, MD, Volunteer Fire Department

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New Orleans (LA) Vacant House Fire

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A vacant house caught fire in the 7th Ward Saturday morning, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.