UL introduces online courses

The following UL eLearning modules on fire science are now available online for fire service personnel:

  • “Firefighter Safety and Photovoltaic Systems” (CEU credit: 0.2).
  • “Impact of Horizontal Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction” (CEU credit: 0.2).
  • “Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber” (CEU credit: 0.2).
  • “Basement Fires: Understanding Collapse Hazards and Fire Dynamics” (CEU credit: 0.3).

“Our eLearning modules allow us to deliver tangible knowledge based on new science and research to the boots on the ground, whose lives depend on access to cutting-edge burn test data,” says Steve Kerber, UL fire research engineer. “We hope this information enables emergency responders to make better-informed tactical choices in a world of new and increasingly complex situations.”

UL’s new training builds on a longstanding commitment to collaborate on research with fire departments, science laboratories, and the U.S. Government, including the Fire Department of New York, the Chicago (IL) Fire Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Homeland Security. These relationships, UL notes, “support the dedicated research, expertise, and attention required to help the industry understand and mitigate risk.”

UL’s fire training with CEUs is available online any time and from any computer with an Internet connection. On successful completion of a course, students will receive a certificate confirming they have retained and can effectively apply the information presented. The courses are designed to International Association for Continuing Education and Training standards, where one CEU equals 10 contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education or training experience. Additional information is at www.ul.com/fireceus.

Line-of-Duty Deaths

October 27. Chief Don Felton, 71, Southern Park County Fire Protection District, Guffey, CO: apparent heart attack.

October 27. Battalion Chief Rob Van Wormer, 47, Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit, Morgan Hill, CA: cause still to be determined.

October 29. Lieutenant Russell Neary, 55, Eason (CT) Volunteer Fire Company No. 1: struck by a falling tree while clearing the roadway after Hurricane Sandy.

November 2. Captain Herbert “Herbie” T. Johnson, 32, Chicago (IL) Fire Department: inhalation injuries sustained while operating at a structure fire.

November 4. Lieutenant David Mitchell Tatum, 55, White Oak (NC) Fire Department: cause to be determined.

November 7. Chief Walter M. Summerville III, 55, Kernersville (NC) Fire Rescue Department: apparent heart attack.

November 7. Deputy Fire Marshal John McClelland Hall, 48, Bladen County Emergency Services, Elizabethtown, NC: heart-related cause.

November 11. Firefighter Mark Haudenschild II, 26, Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department, Fort Wayne, IN: injuries sustained when the fire apparatus he was operating crashed as he responded to a reported grass fire.

November 11. Firefighter Walter Patmon Jr., 61, Chicago (IL) Fire Department: apparent heart attack.

November 13. Captain John T. Sayles, 38, Pentwater (MI) Fire Department: aortic aneurysm.

November 22. Captain Chris Good, 36, Good Will Fire Company, West Chester, PA: possible cardiac arrest within 24 hours of working an active house fire.

November 24. Captain David M. Mowbray, 52, North Kingstown (RI) Fire Department: injuries sustained from a broken back suffered at a medical call in February.

Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database

Near-Miss Reporting System operational through 9/30/13

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) board of directors has adopted a management plan, the “Near-Miss Program Gap Plan,” proposed by the Near-Miss Sustainability Task Force, that will keep the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System online and operational through September 30, 2013. Basic program functions of reporting, data collection, and search capabilities are addressed; costs will be held to minimum levels until additional funding has been obtained. This interim plan is supported by IFSTA/Fire Protection Publications, a division of Oklahoma State University, through an in-kind donation of database and application-hosting services, and IAFC funding of staffing and operational needs.

Funding as of press time was provided by the IAFC’s EMS; Volunteer and Combination Officers; and Safety, Health, and Survival sections and the Great Lakes Division. Additional funding was provided through the IAFC operational budget. Members of the Safety, Health, and Survival section will also contribute volunteer hours to help create educational and training materials.

The following low-cost core capabilities of the program will be maintained as part of the “Gap” plan:

  • Web site operation, including the ability to submit and search reports and to access the resources page.
  • Regular publication of articles.
  • Customized search requests, as needed.
  • Near-Miss Matters electronic newsletter; it will be distributed monthly in place of the Report of the Week.

The functions of data analysis, the annual training calendar, the development of training resources, previously planned technology, and database enhancements will be postponed until further funding is obtained. The Near-Miss Sustainability Task Force is continuing to explore long-term funding opportunities. Funds for the program were denied by the Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant program in this year’s budget.

NHSC releases white paper on protection priorities

The National Homeland Security Consortium (NHSC) 2012 white paper, “Protecting Americans in the 21st Century: Priorities for 2012 and Beyond,” cites areas of concern associated with threats and vulnerabilities. Among them are cyber hazards, climate change, demands on global resources, changing demographics, emerging technologies, violent extremist ideologies, weapons of mass destruction proliferation, mega-hazards, and catastrophic cascading consequences.

The consortium is comprised of a voluntary group of 22 national associations, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), one of the members. The group was formed in 2002 to address home security issues. The white paper is available in pdf format on the IAFC Web site, www.iafc.org.

NFPA: cooking equipment top cause of home structure fires

Cooking is still the top cause of home structure fires in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Between 2006 and 2010, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 371,700 home structure fires annually, which caused an estimated average of 2,590 civilian deaths and $7.2 billion in direct property damage yearly.

The report “Home Structure Fires” cited research by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that also found cooking to be the number one cause of reported and unreported home structure fires. According to CPSC, for every household cooking fire reported to the fire department in the years 2004-2005, U.S. households experienced 50 cooking equipment fires that were not reported.

Among other information contained in the report is the following:

  • Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths were in properties without working smoke alarms.
  • Forty-two percent of reported home fires started in the kitchen or cooking area. These fires were the third leading cause of home fire deaths (15 percent) and leading cause of home fire injuries (37 percent).
  • Smoking materials caused the greatest number of home fire deaths, followed by heating equipment and cooking equipment.
  • One-quarter (25 percent) of all home fire deaths fires started in the bedroom; another quarter (24 percent) resulted from fires originating in the living room, family room, or den.
  • Home fires accounted for close to three-quarters (73 percent) of all reported structure fires between 2006 and 2010.
  • Between 2006 and 2010, on average one of every 310 households per year had a reported home fire.

Estimates are based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System and the National Fire Protection Association’s annual fire department experience survey.

NIOSH Fatality Investigation Report Releases

The following National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program reports were released:

  • F2011-22 Sept. 15, 2011″Two volunteer fire fighters die after an explosion while attempting to extinguish a fire in a coal storage silo-South Dakota.”
  • F2011-28 Sept. 25, 2011″Instructor-in-charge suffers sudden cardiac death during live fire training-Pennsylvania.”

Rick Lasky, Scott Thompson, Curtis Birt, and John Salka

Humpday Hangout: The Right Firehouse Attitude

In this Humpday Hangout, Rick Lasky and the rest of the crew talk putting the firefighter back in the firefighter and the firehouse back in…
WTH health program

Senators Decry Cuts to World Trade Center Health Program

U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand issued a joint letter demanding that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reverse cuts that impacted the World Trade Center…