The new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International standard, ASTM E2690, Practice for Specimen Preparation and Mounting of Caulks and Sealants to Assess Surface Burning Characteristics, will address materials not easily assessed by using ASTM E84, Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials. Fire test laboratories, caulk and sealant manufacturers, and code officials will be the primary users of the new standard, notes Paul Hough, manager of product fire performance, Armstrong World Industries, a member of ASTM Subcommittee E05.22 on Surface Burning, part of the ASTM International Committee E05 on fire standards.
According to Hough, ASTM E84 offers a number of differing techniques to test these types of materials, whereas ASTM E2690 “will give a uniform method that all can follow, which helps address some of the special issues with caulks and sealants.” ASTM International encourages participation in the development of its standards. The entire release on this standard is at www.astmnewsroom.org/.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
November 19. Fire Police Captain Worne T. Hall, 86, Hitchins (KY) Volunteer Fire Department: apparent heart attack.
November 23. Firefighter Fernando Sanchez, 25, California Department of Corrections Fire Department: motor vehicle accident.
November 25. Firefighter Kenneth Marshall Jr., 33, Rehoboth (MA) Fire Department: cause not confirmed.
November 26. Firefighter Gary M. Valentino, 41, Fire Department of New York: cause to be determined.
December 7. Lieutenant Dillon C. Denton, 64, Charlotte Road/Van Wyck Fire Department, Lancaster, SC: brain aneurysm suffered during training activity.
December 13. Chief Jimmy Tuberville, 64, Milledgeville (TN) Fire Department: apparent heart attack.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
FY2010 AFG awards are announced
The Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) program of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency has posted the first-round recipients of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) at www.firegrantsupport.com/content/html/afg/Awards10.aspx/.
USFA releases 2009 Fire Estimate Summary Series
The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) 2009 Fire Estimate Summary Series contains basic information on the size and status of the U.S. fire problem based on data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System. The 17 summaries as part of this series address the leading causes of residential building and nonresidential building fires, deaths, injuries, and dollar losses for 2009 and highlight trends in these leading causes for the 2005-2009 period. The complete Fire Estimate Summary Series is available at www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/estimates/. Information on other statistical reports is available at www.usfa.dhs.gov.
Serino addresses American Ambulance Association
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Rich Serino addressed the attendees at the 2010 American Ambulance Association annual conference in November and stressed the importance of working as a team to respond to and recover from emergencies. He urged them “to incorporate the needs and capabilities of the entire community, including children and people with disabilities, when planning for disaster response and recovery.”
Serino had served for more than 35 years in local emergency medical services. He began his career as a volunteer on the Boston (MA) ambulance squad and retired last year as chief of department of Boston EMS and assistant director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
Firefighters attend elevator use symposium
Ten firefighters selected and sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Metro Chiefs Section were among the 120 attendees at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) two-day symposium held in December on the use of elevators during emergencies. The progress made so far by the ASME/A17 Task Groups on Use of Elevators by Firefighters and Use of Elevators for Occupant Egress was discussed. Among topics covered were current requirements and new code changes under development that affect elevators, building, life safety, electrical, and related codes. In addition, speakers addressed human factors, including training the public and firefighters. Among the speakers were the NFPA’s Ron Coté, principal life safety engineer, and Lee Richardson, senior electrical engineer.
Since 9/11, researchers, first responders, code organizations, and the elevator industry have been working jointly to develop the most effective way to integrate elevator use in both occupant egress and firefighter access.
“Buildings are becoming taller and the floor areas are becoming larger, driving the number of occupants that may need to evacuate during an emergency to easily be several thousand,” explains Russ Sanders, executive secretary for the Metro Chiefs. “While the exit stairs will continue to be a primary egress component in the short term, finding ways to integrate the elevators into the equation will speed up the evacuation process,” he adds. He noted that how first responders can use the elevators in the buildings to safely move personnel and equipment to the upper floors during a fire or another building emergency is equally as important.
Solutions will involve a combination of changes to codes and standards, developing new hardware components for elevators, establishing a protocol for the occupants to follow, integrating an operating procedure for use of the elevators by the fire department, and reconfiguring building floor designs to accommodate these new features.
Coté anticipates that hazard analysis for emergencies other than fire scenarios and for more types of high-rise buildings will take place next year. He says a number of proposed changes for the 2012 editions of NFPA 1, Fire Code; NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®; and NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Codewill incorporate the latest information for occupant evacuation and firefighter elevators. The changes, he says, will be considered at the 2011 NFPA Conference & Expo, scheduled for June 12-15 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Drexel University researchers hold first advisory board meeting
The first meeting of the advisory board for the Firefighter Non-fatal Injury Surveillance System (F-NISS) project was held late October at Fireman’s Hall Museum in Philadelphia. The meeting was convened by researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health.
The school will use a three-year $870,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to develop F-NISS. Dr. Jennifer Taylor will be principal investigator for the project, which will standardize information from surveillance systems, creating a core data set that describes firefighter injuries accurately and consistently at the national, regional, and local levels, according to a school press release. The advisory board, composed of prominent fire service leaders and national experts in injury and occupational health surveillance, will guide the research team in reviewing data systems and comparing the data of these systems to the data that will be needed to establish a comprehensive surveillance system that documents injuries and risk factors essential to informing policy and practice. Advisory board meetings will be held annually during the term of the grant.
Proposed electric fences are debated in Chicago
A proposed ordinance by the Chicago (IL) City Council that would authorize electric security fences to protect commercial properties from intruders has been opposed by the city’s fire department. Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner John McNicholas said the fences could pose dangers for firefighters called to the properties for fires and other emergencies. The council members are split on their support of the ordinance. Electric fences are legal in the city only for railroad facilities. “Ordinance would OK electric fences,” Fran Spielman, suntimes, Dec. 8, 2010.
NVFC board of directors holds annual meeting
Among the business on the agenda for the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) board of directors’ annual fall meeting in November were the following: which new legislation to support, a change in membership rates, and taking the Seat Belt Pledge. The new EMS/Rescue Section held it inaugural meeting at the session also.
In other business, the NVFC board appointed a representative to the National Fire Protection Association Hazmat Technical Committee on EMS; signed the National Fire and EMS Seat Belt Pledge; and approved Ed Stauffer as the NVFC chaplain, a newly created position.
Randy Mantooth, an actor, a writer, and a producer who also portrayed Firefighter/Paramedic Johnny Gage on the TV series Emergency, addressed the attendees on carbon monoxide poisoning and other health and safety issues. Mantooth is working with a global medical technology company to create awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning in the fire service and to develop a video promoting a healthful lifestyle among firefighters.
The next NVFC board meeting will be held in April.
NIOSH releases Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation reports
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released the following Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation reports:
- F2010-12: December 24, 2009, “Fire Chief Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death During Emergency Medical Response—Utah”; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh,fire/reports/face201012.html/.
- F2010-20: March 26, 2009, “Lieutenant Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death After Structure Fire—Florida”; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201020.html/.
- F2010-26: January 26, 2010, “Lieutenant Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death During Structure Fire Operations—Arkansas”; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201026.html/.
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