Firefighting Articles and News

Jim McClure | 04/21/2013

(Note: This is part two of a multi-issue topic.) Last issue I spoke about programming and specifications to build a firehouse. This issue’s topic is the plans themselves. I am a firm believer in making sure people understand the why of something. Probably because I need to understand the why of something before I can totally accept it. So before we dive any deeper perhaps I should explain a couple of things. Who Needs the Plans? In order to build a modern 21st century firehouse the plan set will be 100 to 150 pages in length. You won’t understand most of them at first glance and you won’t understand some of them at all, ever. Read More...

Relevant Tags: THE STATION HOUSE, electrical, plumbing electrical, station house, architectural plans, understanding architectural

Glenn Hamm | 04/21/2013

A vital element of a water delivery system, which cannot be overlooked, is the hose you select. Modern fire hose has improved tremendously. Therefore, many of “the rules” such as tip size in relation to hose diameter; maximum flow capabilities and fire hose friction loss have changed. In fact, it is now possible to get big water through one and three-quarter, two and two and one-half inch hose! Read More...

Relevant Tags: hose, fire, water, friction, fire hose, friction loss, hose friction, delivery system

David Greene | 04/21/2013

I write this quarter with a heavy heart. On January 27, 2013, a fire occurred at the Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil. Tragically, 236 people were killed as a result of the fire. The fire cause was a familiar one. A pyrotechnic was fired during a band’s performance which ignited soundproofing foam on the ceiling. Media reports indicate that the fire spread was only exceeded by the smoke. Additionally, it was reported that security, thinking that evacuees were trying to leave without paying their tabs, stopped the initial evacuees at the primary means of egress. This incident is disturbingly similar to one that occurred in a small town i... Read More...

Relevant Tags: ignition, building, bob dylan, soundproofing foam, rhode island, albert einstein

Willie Wimmer | 04/21/2013

Well boys and girls we are going to pick up where we left off on the last article — being an engineer. This was a request from one of my friends from Carolina Trace Fire Dept. We briefly discussed the area of being an engineer in the last article but we did not discuss it fully, which is what we are going to do at this time. Read More...

Relevant Tags: ALL ABOUT TRUCKS, fire, water, fire ground, shades red, willie wimmer

Ed Henry | 04/21/2013

The winch is probably the most common machine used in rigging today. The winch theory is used throughout most cities with traction elevators, on tow trucks, at construction sites, shipping yards and industrial work sites. All most all fire departments have some type of winch, whether it’s in the form of a small manual come along, or the industrial rated Grip Hoist or specs for a large 50,000 gross vehicle weight (GVW) rescue company. Some basic terms that many people get mixed up on — it is not called cable! Its correct term is wire rope. Slang or jargon you will hear it referenced as, “wire” or even “rope” in the elevator trade or on constr... Read More...

Relevant Tags: ALL ABOUT TRUCKS, winch, rope, wire, fire, operations, safety, drum, wire rope, winch operations, snatch block, fire service

Wayne Bailey | 04/21/2013

Spring is in the air and baseball season is upon us. Talking about sports, a fatal mistake for a coach to make is to misjudge the playing level of his players. Pro basketball player Jeremy Lin comes to my mind. He was playing in the D-League in the 2011-2012 season where he warmed the bench for the New York Nicks until he was put on the starting lineup in February 2012. He was unknown to the basketball world. That single opportunity gave the Nicks an unexpected winning streak. From that winning streak, Lin coined the phrase, “Linsanity.” What made the difference? Did he really train hard for a few months to give him the skills to win? Did th... Read More...

Relevant Tags: fire, job, direction, coach, rescue, support system, emergency responders, wayne bailey

Jeff Barnes and John Kelley | 04/21/2013

No matter if a fire department or EMS unit is all volunteers, all paid or a combination, population growth throughout the Southeast has placed increased demand on all emergency service providers. Over the past 20 years, urban sprawl has led to larger town and city footprints and rural areas planting septic tanks instead of crops. These service providers are constantly faced with the issue of facility renovation/expansion as well as the need for additional facilities as a result of the growth within their service districts. The need for improved facilities is driven by the departments’ desire to provide the best service to their customers, th... Read More...

Relevant Tags: THE STATION HOUSE, site, new, system, property, building, road system, site selection, service providers, emergency facilities, site considerations, station house, design build

Douglas Cline | 04/21/2013

A training program that is not comprehensive, effective and/or efficient must be changed! When you consider how events have impacted our operations in recent years, we as the fire service have taken on EMS, hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism, just to name a few. The need for training has always been prevalent but does this topic get the needed attention to detail? In talking with a lot of departments from small rural volunteer groups to large municipal departments this area seems to be the one that takes a back burner to most every other task in the fire service. Read More...

Relevant Tags: fire, training, service, safety, fire service, training program, overhauling training, life safety, safety initiatives, hazardous materials

Kevin P. Ensor and Joseph G. Ferko III, D.O., M.S. | 04/21/2013

(This is part one of a two-part series on incident rehab.) Fire fighting requires the same precautions as any sporting event or high-intensity, high-stress activity. This is true in both cold and hot environments and can involve serious injury or even death if not given the same considerations as an equivalent sporting activity. Sudden cardiac death has consistently been the number-one cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) each year in the United States. (Fahy, RF, LeBlanc, PR, and Molis, JL (2010). Firefighter fatalities in the United States-2009 and U.S. fire service fatalities in structure fires, 1977-2009. This was retrieved f... Read More...

Relevant Tags: fire, heat, body, emergency, fire departments, blood flow, heat stress, ems innovations, safety health, fire fighting, incident rehab, cold stress, hospital emergency

Daniel J. Cimini | 04/21/2013

This article will explain the importance of testing ground ladders and fire hose to the NFPA Standards. This article will cover some of NFPA 1932 and NFPA 19 minimum requirements for establishing an inspection, maintenance, and testing program for your ground ladders and fire hose: NFPA 1932 Standard on Use, Maintenance, and Service Testing of In-Service Fire Department Ground Ladders NFPA 1962 Standard for Inspection, Care, and Use of Fire Hose, Couplings, and Nozzles and the Service Testing of fire Hose. NFPA 1932 Standard on Use, Maintenance, and Service Testing of In-Service Fire Department Ground Ladders specifies requirements for the u... Read More...

Relevant Tags: ALL ABOUT TRUCKS, hose, fire, testing, use, nfpa, ladders, inspection, fire hose, ground ladders, hose couplings, fire department, couplings nozzles, nozzles appliances, nfpa 1962, service testing

CFJ Staff | 04/21/2013

Station York Fire Department Type Department: Combination Number of Stations: 1 Do you provide EMS? Yes, BLS only. Specialty Operations: Extrication and Rescue. Annual Budget: $748,081.00 Area Covered Square miles: Sixty-four square miles — largest in the county. Population: 25,000 Total Runs: 952 Fire: 647 EMS: 305 Chief: Domenic Manera Chief Officers: Assistant Chief Gary Good Other Officers: 1 Captain, 3 Lieutenants Number of Members: 39, 9 paid and one administration (non FF) Address: 14 North Roosevelt Street, York, SC 29745 Email: dmanera@yorkcitysc.com Phone: 803-684-1700 Read More...

Relevant Tags: Fire Station Profile, fire, station, department, ems, profile, fire station, station profile, fire department, operations extrication, extrication rescue

Dave Murphy | 04/21/2013

“Indecision may or may not be my problem.” — Jimmy Buffett The American Heritage Dictionary defines indecision as “Reluctance or an inability to make up one’s mind; irresolution.” I think that we would all agree that indecision is not an acceptable trait in the fire service. We never know what the next set of tones will render ... but we know that we are most certainly going. The outcome of the incident is ultimately decided by our decisions and the subsequent actions taken. From the rank of firefighter to Incident Commander (IC), while operating at an incident scene, we are either actively involved (a commission) or not (an omission) active... Read More...

Relevant Tags: research, ems, paper, medical, basic, medical research, ems providers, clinical research, research paper, secondary research, epidemiological research, basic research, evidence based, ems provider

John Gary | 04/21/2013

The protective clothing that isolates the firefighter from the fire is most often referred to as turnout gear, bunker gear, personal protective equipment (PPE) and also the firemen’s ensemble. Read More...

Relevant Tags: gear, fire, equipment, cleaning, load washers, protective gear, fire stations, laundry equipment

CFJ Staff | 04/21/2013

Greenville Technical College and the USC School of Medicine-Greenville have joined forces to expose future doctors to field reality. USC Greenville is the only medical school in the nation that requires students to become certified EMTs through Greenville Tech and to “ride” for at least two years. The value of this experience is in exposing future doctors to the realities behind illness and injury and to the roles of first responders in emergency situations. In August, the first class of medical students took part in an emergency medical technician operations exercise held on the Greenville Memorial Medical Campus. This lifelike exercise wit... Read More...

Relevant Tags: greenville, medical, fire, school, students, usc, education, emergency, medicine, medicine greenville, usc school, greenville tech, medical education, first responders, certified emts, medical school

Philip M. Fieler | 04/21/2013

Everyone loves hand-me-downs, right? Is that true for buildings? If your public safety facility needs are well-known in your community, you can expect several people to suggest the old abandoned grocery store on Highway 9, an old city hall, or even a vacant spec building in an industrial park for your next project. Read More...

Relevant Tags: building, fire, site, facility, existing, safety, existing building, fire rescue, rescue ems, building code, public safety, safety facility, loads increased