CFJ Vol. 27.1 (Summer 2012)

Health Care Reform and EMS: at odds or at peace?

There’s a saying that the only thing you can count on is change, and that’s especially true when it comes to providing emergency services. Whether you’ve recently begun using an electronic medical record (EMR) to chart your patient’s vital signs (rather than writing them on paper), or you’re participating in a new, interactive fire and rescue training activity with high-tech simulation mannequins, you know change is inevitable. The key to dealing with change in a positive way is to embrace it.

Relevant Tags: EMS 2012, ems, health, professionals, care reform, ems professionals, hill day, reform ems

The new plan: Using wirelessly connected monitoring equipment to protect First Response Hazmat teams

From the time it capsized at a refinery dock in Texas City, the listing barge — loaded with 235,000 gallons of sulfuric acid — began seeping its toxic, corrosive load into the 30-foot-deep waterway. The water mixing with sulfuric acid inside the hull had begun to corrode the steel. This process reduced the barge’s structural integrity and created reactions inside the sealed compartment that generated a cloud of highly flammable, highly pressurized hydrogen gas — just one spark away from a calamitous blast.

It was time for a new plan.

That plan included federal and regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel expanding the “hot zone” and deploying three wireless multi-gas monitors to provide real-time data and 24/7 monitoring of the acid cloud.

This rapidly deployable gas-detection network monitored the incident area to help keep response crews and salvage workers safe and created a virtual command center. Good thing: The incident lasted 10 days with 100 responders on scene at its peak.

Relevant Tags: COMMUNICATIONS, wireless, monitoring, systems, hazmat, response, real time, wirelessly connected, new plan, hazmat teams, sulfuric acid, connected monitoring, monitoring systems, using wirelessly, monitoring equipment

Returning to the Foundations: foam fire streams

Foam fire streams are one of the few fire streams that have a special purpose. That purpose is a four-fold plan:

Separating fuels from fire
Cools temperature of the fuel and surrounding surfaces
Smothers or suppresses the release of flammable vapors thereby reducing chances of re-ignition or the initial ignition of a fuel
Penetration of water by reducing its surface tension and allowing water to penetrate into a deep-seated fire area

Relevant Tags: From the Editor, foam, class, water, fuel, fire streams

Rainbow Stew: The importance of "good education, good healthcare and a good job" in the Fire Service

With national elections on the horizon, we are constantly bombarded by each candidate’s economic quick-fix version which usually only serves to raise the debt ceiling culminating in just another “rainbow stew” budget line item to be shouldered by the American worker. In reality, the only possible long term solution to what ails our great nation was proposed in 2002, just before his untimely death. It has been 10 years since the passing of a true American hero, Senator Paul Wellstone. A dated dispatch from the St. Paul Pioneer Press that quotes Senator Wellstone as saying, from the Senate floor, “if you want real welfare reform, you focus on a good education, good health care and a good job. If you want to reduce poverty, you focus on a good education, good health care and a good job.” Wellstone continues, “And if you want to end the violence ... you could build a million new prisons and you could fill them all up, but you will never end this cycle of violence unless you invest in the health and the skill and the intellect and the character of our children – you focus on good education, good health care and a good job!” When the cheers finally died down, Wellstone deadpanned: “And other than that, I don’t feel strongly about anything.”

Relevant Tags: EMS 2012, education, service, job, health, wellstone, american, fire service, good education, good job, health care, good healthcare

Volunteer Firefighters: Who the heck do you think you are?

I’m really tired of reading about volunteer firefighters doing stupid things! Some people already think of us as tobacco chewing, redneck, 4X4 truck driving, “belly-hanging-over our-belts,” wanna-be heroes, and we’re sure not helping our own cause. Read the news from across the country and you’ll see that we’re giving the public plenty to talk about.

We had volunteer firefighters in Tennessee who responded to a fire and then refused to extinguish the fire because the homeowners did not pay their fire dues. Why respond in the first place? So you could get your photo taken and be the subject of national news?

Relevant Tags: THE VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENT, volunteer, fire, chief, volunteer firefighters, fire service, about volunteer, truck driving

Fire Station Design: the single story vs. multi-story firehouse

“Should our new station be two floors or one floor?”

It’s not unusual for this question to be brought up during the preliminary stages of public safety station design, and it’s one that we’ve heard many times over the years while working with officials on new and renovated stations. If this is your question, there are numerous factors to consider before making a final decision. And, as those who work in emergency services know full well, the best decisions are well-informed decisions. Therefore, let’s examine a few key factors that you need to consider.

Relevant Tags: EMS 2012, station, fire, multi, building, design, stations, multi story, station design, single story, public safety, fire station, two floors

From the Editor - Summer 2012

When we received Lee Wilson’s photo for the cover we immediately thought of brotherhood. If you ask 10 people what brotherhood means to them you’ll get 10 different answers. What does brotherhood mean to you? E-mail us at [email protected]. I will share your comments in our next issue with a possible photo and short bio.

Our staff enjoyed meeting everyone who visited our booth at the South Carolina Fire-Rescue Conference in Myrtle Beach in June. What a great job the S.C. Firefighters’ Association does with this conference! Bobby Richardson was the keynote speaker and we have included an overview of his address in this issue. Richardson, from South Carolina, is considered one of the best baseball players of all time. He spoke to the attendees about his faith and what he considers the definition of a man’s man. Read his list of definitions on page 60. Good stuff. Thank you Coach Richardson. Read More »

Relevant Tags: FROM THE EDITOR, brotherhood, truck, summer, editor, fire truck, from editor, fire rescue, south carolina

Fire Service Safety: Avoid aggressive ignorance on scene

Several years ago I was at the scene of a 1,000 gallon Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tank that was laying on its side leaking what was clearly liquid, creating a large white vapor cloud around the tank and creating a Lower Explosive Limits (LEL) hot zone of greater than 500 feet down wind of the tank.

The fire department personnel went to work setting up hot zones, shutting down a major highway, performing evacuation and tactical strategies for entry to attempt mitigation. A second alarm for manpower was called for due to the heat and humidity. At this point you could say we were in the textbook. The following could be the picture in Webster’s Dictionary beside the word freelancing.

The county’s assistant Emergency Management Director arrived on scene. He ascertained information of the situation and a strategic plan was outlined for him (I did this personally from an operational command role). I guess this was not good enough for him or his ignorance and complacency just took over.

Relevant Tags: Rescue, fire, safety, firefighter, service, fire rescue, aggressive ignorance, safety program, fire responses

Fire service leadership: Learn the rules of life

We all live and die by rules. We have all had rules to live by since the day we were born in most cases. Don’t do this, do this, always do this — you know the list! As you grew up you learned and were taught more rules. Your parents had rules, your teacher had rules, the coach had rules, and your drill sergeant had rules. Now you are all grown up and you got more rules! Your company has pages and pages of rules, standard operating procedures and guidelines! Your spouse has a set of unwritten rules you better know by heart! You may not want to admit it but you have some rules too that you want everyone to follow to make you happy. Simply stated, we all got rules!

Relevant Tags: BARNYARD MANAGEMENT, rules, life, fire, learn, learn rules, service leadership, fire service

NAEMT works with American Council on Exercise (ACE) on EMS Fitness Project

To help improve the health of EMS practitioners and reduce the number and severity of injuries, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has embarked on an EMS Fitness Project in collaboration with the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

The initiative will identify fitness requirements for EMTs and paramedics and develop suggested fitness guidelines that take into consideration the variety of EMS delivery models and environments within which EMS operates. These suggested guidelines are intended to be used by:

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EMS patient interview techniques

How many times have you gone on EMS runs and had to play detective? Most of us would say just about every time we have responded to a call. We normally do not walk up to a patient and hear them state their problem such as “I am having an acute asthma attack brought on by my inability to pay for my medications and my exposure to the trigger mechanism.” If they did it would make our job a lot easier.

We gather information from the patients by being a good detective. One tool in the detective’s box is good interviewing techniques. We have all been taught these. However, it is a combination of education and experience that can make you good at it.

Relevant Tags: EMS 2012, patient, ems, questions, interview techniques, patient interview, ems patient, fire ems

What are ‘they’ doing to ‘my’ retirement - what do retirement system changes mean for firefighters?

The lives of many diligent and hardworking folks in the Columbia area over the past several months have been dedicated to the legislative process surrounding the revisions to the S.C. State Retirement System (SCSRS) and the S.C. Police Officer’s Retirement System (PORS). Firefighters are included in both systems.

Relevant Tags: Barnyard Management, retirement, retirement system, system changes, new employees

Fire service tools: Ropes and Knots

Rope has been used in the American Fire Service for well over 150 years. It is one of the tools still used in service today, but with many advances thanks to science. As with many things in the fire service, ropes have made the difference in life and death for many civilians and even a few firefighters. The technical advances in ropes and rope gear have been nothing less than unbelievable. As with anything related to life safety, you have many choices in ropes and the components that make Rope Rescue Systems. This article will focus on one-half Kernmantle life safety rope. Again, this article will not discuss brand names or manufactures, but just the basic types of rope and the different types of ropes and knots for Life Rescue.

Relevant Tags: rope, knots, fire service, rope rescue, life safety, service tools, american fire, tools ropes, types rope

Announcing the 2nd Annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in October

The Charlotte Firefighters Association will be hosting the 2nd annual 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb on October 13, 2012 to honor the 343 fallen firefighters, 23 NYPD, 37 PAPD and 15 medics lost on September 11, 2001. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medics and people in our community will climb 110 flights of stairs in the Duke Energy building to remember those that made this climb and lost their lives in the World Trade Center.

The day will be filled with family activities while the climb is taking place with thousands in attendance in addition to the climbers.

There will be local celebrities in attendance, political representatives along with media coverage, constant exposure on the event Facebook page that currently has over 550 followers, and the CFFA Facebook page and Twitter feed which currently have over 5500 followers.

Relevant Tags: Article

Electronic Pre-Planning for first responders

I’ve been in the fire service for over 35 years. I can say with confidence that pre-planning is essential, but not because of my years of fire service experience. What 35 years of experience yields is a long view of where pre-plans have been, a clear picture of where they are now and a good idea of where they’re going. Or where they could go. Or where they should go. That said, I’ve seen my fair share of approaches to pre-planning over the years. There are many different ways to pre-plan, and many different forms pre-plans can take. But it wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to work with a different, more dynamic, more interactive way to pre-plan: electronically.

Relevant Tags: FIRE PRE-PLANNING, electronic, planning, information, pre planning, first responders, fire service, situational awareness, planning first

Are you prepared for summer season emergencies?

The flowers are blooming and the air is warm and sweet! It’s time to go to the park. It’s time to float that river. It’s time to break out the camping gear, load the motor home down, hit the road and roast snacks over the open camp fire. It is absolute sunshine and nirvana!

Relevant Tags: Extrication Education, fire, summer, emergencies, practice, season emergencies, summer season, gear load

An EMS Collaboration with New Delhi, India

I read the information slowly trying to understand the issues. There is no universal telephone number for emergency medical services. There is no national certification or plan to have one. There is no national plan for training and recertification.

Twenty-four percent of those who call for EMS are told that EMS cannot respond. The sheer population amount of 13.7 million versus the number of available ambulances — 40.

Trauma is now the third leading cause of death in India and has a cost of three percent of the gross GDP for the nation. Approximately 1,008,409 males and 18,437 females (totaling 1,026,986) were killed in 2009 on the roads of India (they equate that in the report to one jumbo jet crash per day).

Relevant Tags: All About Trucks, ems, india, new delhi, delhi india, ems collaboration

Technology 101: Dealing with alternate fuel vehicles during extrications

Spring has come and gone and we are now in the dead of summer. If the winter was any indication of how the summer is going to be, we could be in big trouble. Hopefully, the temperatures will not be as hot and the humidity will stay down. We lose a lot of training time between the vacations and heat, but perhaps at least the temperatures will be tolerable. I saw some of you at the Myrtle Beach Fire/Rescue show and I’m looking forward to seeing more of you at the fire conference in Raleigh in August. I was involved in a one-day stabilization class at Goldston Fire in June. We had 92 students in attendance from North Carolina and some from South Carolina.

Relevant Tags: EXTRICATION EDUCATION, vehicles, fuel, summer, alternate fuel

Take care of the tools that take care of you - apparatus and fire equipment checks

Whether you’re career or volunteer at some point in time you will be involved in apparatus and equipment checks. As career firefighters, this should be one of the first things we do at the beginning of each tour. Volunteer departments may have designated times during the month to perform routine inspections. Either way, each department needs to have some form of procedure or guideline for completing this basic but essential task.

Relevant Tags: equipment, fire, tools, care, apparatus, equipment checks, fire equipment, apparatus equipment

Training, real life rescues and your decisions

Within the last month, I have been part of two serious rescue situations. One was a trench collapse and victim rescue, the other a river rescue within a waterfall from an elevated position.

For years, rescuers have been trained that we, the rescuers, are ALWAYS number one, our squad and fellow rescuers a close second, and the victim is third. It has been that way because we have been taught, and rightly so, that “we can’t help someone else when we are busy getting hurt or dying ourselves.” This is valuable advice; I have heard this for nearly 39 years now.

In the trench collapse and subsequent rescue, a laborer working on a sewer line project was in a ditch that partially “slabbed off” from the uphill side of the trench, which was being dug across a slope of about 7-12 percent, covering him nearly chest deep in soil and pinning him against the lower wall of the trench. At an average weight of 90 pounds/cubic foot, the soil on and around his body was exerting nearly half of a ton of weight on and around his body. Most rescuers would consider this a true emergency.

Relevant Tags: RESCUE A-Z, rescue, trench, victim, real life, life rescues, trench collapse, rescues decisions, river rescue

Structural tower rescue awareness

The techniques that are utilized in structural tower rescue are designed to enhance the elements of NFPA 1006 — Rescue Technician Professional Qualification/Rope Rescue Standard. This is the first of a three part series on structural tower rescue. This article will focus on structural tower awareness and the importance of incident planning.

Structural towers — cell phone towers, radio towers, television broadcast towers and electrical towers — can be found nationwide in the most populated urban cities to the most rural areas. The increased use of cell phones over the last 15 years has increased the number of structural towers in the United States by 65 percent and this continues to increase. As you can imagine, the higher the number of towers being constructed the higher the possibility of an emergency response to a structural tower rescue. Structural tower emergency incidents are very technical and demanding. These types of incidents should be handled by trained high level rescue teams that have experience in structural tower rescue. These teams should conduct bi-annual hands-on training in the structural tower environment. Most importantly, structural tower rescue is not for everyone.

Relevant Tags: RESCUE A-Z, tower, structural, rescue, towers, risk, structural tower, tower rescue, lattice towers, fall restraint, rescue awareness, emergency response, restraint system

Regulations - The building blocks of Hazmat

The thought of technician-level hazardous materials response usually brings to mind the images of entering the hot zone to plug, patch, and perform other “fun” offensive actions; or even an Entry Group of Technicians exiting the hot zone towards the Decontamination Area after “saving the day.” The idea of the regulatory building blocks of hazardous materials management and response does not usually bring to mind the same “warm and fuzzy” hazmat thoughts, as the topic does not present an image of the hands-on adventurous side of hazardous materials response. While most prospective Hazmat Technicians roll their eyes when encountering the usual first topic in technician class — regulations — we all need to be cognizant of the regulatory side of hazardous materials response in order to not only interact successfully with private sector personnel, but also to develop a more thorough understanding of our response discipline and associated response methodologies.

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HAZMAT: Chemical Suicide

An increasing number of people are choosing to commit suicide by using chemical asphyxiation. I must admit that although I have read about a lot of these incidents occurring elsewhere throughout the country, we have not experienced one of these incidents yet. Unfortunately, this creates a sense of it being “someone else’s problem.” However, one of these types of incidents just occurred in a neighboring county. Its popularity is soaring as several websites describe exactly how to commit “chemical suicide.” One website even offers a PDF formatted warning poster that can be printed off and posted on the vehicle. As a result of the potential increases in the frequency of this type of incident, we must be prepared.

Relevant Tags: HAZMAT, vehicle, incident, suicide, chemical, fire, chemical suicide, law enforcement, hydrogen sulfide, incident type, chemical asphyxiation, hazmat chemical

South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo Aug. 8-11

“Make a Difference.”

If you asked 1,000 different people what that phrase meant to them you would most likely get 1,000 different answers. What does it mean to you?

To us at the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association it means a variety of things. Our more than 53,000 firefighters across the state make a difference every day of their lives. Whether they are racing to the scene of a fully involved structure fire, getting occupants out of a house fire, rescuing the family pet, or responding to a wreck, the firefighters in North Carolina Make a Difference each and every day of their lives. For 125 years the NCSFA has done its best to Make a Difference to them, just like they do for the citizens in their community.

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Firefighter Health: Is your department OSHA compliant?

In September of 1980, OSHA issued its directive 1910.156 to the structural fire service, whether it’s paid, voluntary or industrial; “The employer shall assure that employees who are expected to do interior structural fire fighting are physically capable of performing duties which may be assigned to them during emergencies. The employer shall not permit employees with known heart disease, epilepsy or emphysema to participate in fire brigade emergency activities unless a physician’s certificate of the employee’s fitness to participate in such activities is provided.”

Relevant Tags: HEALTH AND FITNESS, fire, health, osha, service, firefighter, screening, structural, program, fire service, structural fire, health screening, health department, department osha, osha compliant, screening program, 198 osha

Fire Station Profile: Allen Fire Department

Station

Allen Volunteer Fire Dept.

Chief: Jimmy K. Morgan

Other Officers: Asst. Chiefs Randy Dozier and Matt Pethel; 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants, 2 Traffic Control, 1 Safety Officer

Number Staff or Volunteers: 40 Volunteers, 3 Part-time

Address: 4000 US Hwy. 601 South Concord, NC 28025

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 704-782-5475

Relevant Tags: FIRE STATION PROFILE, fire, community, department, station, station profile, profile allen, allen fire, fire station, fire department

Bobby Richardson speaks to SCSFA

The South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association (SCSFA) recently hosted their 107th Annual Fire-Rescue Conference June 4-9, 2012 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This year’s theme was based on our President Chief Ken Kerber’s love of baseball, the great American past time. The theme was “Swinging for the Fences, Making the Impossible, Possible.”

An invitation to be the guest keynote speaker of the opening ceremony was extended to Bobby Richardson, one of South Carolina’s native sons. Coach Richardson, who is considered one of the best baseball players of all times, graciously accepted the invitation.

Relevant Tags: richardson, coach, baseball, bobby, scsfa, fire, south carolina, bobby richardson, coach richardson, world series, carolina state

Three inducted to S.C. State Firefighters’ Hall of Fame

Three individuals were inducted into the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Hall of Fame at the 2012 S.C. Fire Rescue Conference at Myrtle Beach in June. Their names are added to a list of men that were first selected in 1976. Selected were Chief Paul Blackwelder, Chief Alvin Payne and Chief Richard Waring.

The induction of an individual into the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Hall of Fame can be for a variety of reasons. Paramount in the selection criteria for this award are the nominee’s contributions to the fire service at levels beyond their local fire department. The individual should have clearly left their mark on the South Carolina Fire Service. The name of this individual should be recognizable by his/her peers, at a state or regional level, for actually participating in the improvement of the South Carolina Fire Service.

Relevant Tags: Hazmat, fire, chief, state, department, service, south carolina, hall fame, fire department, fire service, carolina state, carolina fire, chief alvin, paul blackwelder

16 EMS supervisors earn management certificate from UNC Charlotte

The 2011-2012 cohort of UNC Charlotte’s EMS Management Institute concluded this spring with the graduation of 16 EMS supervisors and administrators from across North and South Carolina. The graduates join an alumni network of nearly 1,000 EMS leaders who have completed the certificate program since its founding in 1980.

The program began in October with three days of training in Leadership and Team-Building which included activities at UNC Charlotte’s Venture High Ropes Challenge Course. Classes continued with over 90 instructional hours over a five month period with modules including Supervision and Personnel Management, Operations Management, and Communication Skills.

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Delorme’s new system

I had the opportunity to attend FDIC this year and was also at the Myrtle Beach Fire Show as well. This gave me the chance to look at more equipment to bring back for evaluation. Several manufacturers have released new equipment or have improved on their existing equipment. TecGen has a technical rescue/wildland PPE that looks pretty awesome, Rescue Jack has come up with a flipjack as well as the new Super X strut system for heavy vehicle rescue, structural collapse and trench rescue. I also looked at a new USAR helmet and hard wire communications system. These are just some of the things I will be looking at this year, so stay tuned.

For the past several years I have looked at Delorme’s mapping software, as well as their GPS systems. They are one of the companies that continue to improve their systems and capabilities. Early last year, I brought to you a new system they introduced that allows you to send a text along with your coordinates. This was utilizing their PN-60 GPS handheld unit. They used a company called SPOT that integrated their satellite system with the Delorme GPS unit. Now, it’s gotten even better.

Relevant Tags: TOOLS OF THE TRADE, system, new, unit, equipment, gps, new system, gps unit, mapping software

Fire Station Profile: Fairview Volunteer Fire Department

Station

Fairview Vol. Fire Dept., Buncombe County Station #3

Chief: Scott A. Jones

Other Officers: Battalion Chiefs: A-Shift: Steven Lytle, B-Shift: Darren Franklin, C-Shift: Tommy Aley

Captain: Tony Garrison

Lieutenants: A-Shift: Christian Miller

B-Shift: Brian McDougal, Tyler Vess

C-Shift: TJ Hill, Alan Wright

Volunteer: Larry Dotson

Number Staff or Volunteers: 22 Career (3 Battalion Chiefs, 1 Captain, 5 Lieutenants, 12 Firefighters); 10 Volunteer Firefighters; 1 Volunteer Lieutenant

Address: P.O. Box 244, 1586 Charlotte Highway, Fairview, NC 28730

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 828-628-2001

Relevant Tags: FIRE STATION PROFILE, fire, community, station, department, fire department, our district, fire station, station profile, fire dept

Prepare your fire department for the hurricane season

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends Nov. 30. However, before the official start of the season, tropical storms Alberto and Beryl developed early, the first such occurrence since 1908. Although damage was minimal, this may lead us to question what’s in store for the “official season.”

Looking around eastern and central North Carolina, there is still evidence of damage from Hurricane Irene and the April tornadoes of 2011 – this should give us pause. Will 2012 bring even more damage and loss of property and lives? How will you respond? As firefighters and first responders, what can you do to better prepare yourself in case of a severe weather event? While every community has different circumstances and levels of preparedness, there are some commonalities all emergency personnel can address.

Relevant Tags: THE STATION HOUSE, season, department, hurricane, fire, emergency, station, community, hurricane season, backup power, fire department, severe weather, service providers

When should you refurbish or replace your fire apparatus?

During these economic times budgets are getting tighter and tighter. City leaders or commissioners may ask you to look at repairs and or refurbishment of your older apparatus rather than replace them with new.

Your decision should be based on a sound financial bases — not spending good money after bad, keep in mind, that you must maintain and repair a vehicle during its life time per NFPA 1911, this could mean making a major repair to the apparatus.

Fire department leaders must be in a position to justify their repair, or-replace decision before the city manager, mayor and council or a board of commissioners.

Relevant Tags: ALL ABOUT TRUCKS, apparatus, fire, repair, replace, nfpa 1911, fire apparatus, replace fire, refurbish replace

ASK ERNIE Summer 2012

What is the correct pump testing procedure for my annual pump test?

Test procedures can be found in chapter 18 of the “NFPA 1911, 2012 Edition.” This includes conditions of the test site, environmental conditions, and equipment required to perform the test. If it is impractical to perform the test at a standard test pit or water source, alternative methods may be used as authorized by the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) (NFPA 1911, 18.6.2).

As an example, new style portable above ground test pit services can be used to test the pump. If this procedure is utilized, it is recommended that it be repetitively used each year so that equal comparisons may be made to determine continued pump conditions. If testing at a pit or open water source, the drafting lift shall not exceed 10 feet or be less than three feet. Primary tests consist of:

A primer/vacuum test
Pressure control device test
100 percent test of rated flow at 150 PSI for 20 minutes
A spurt/overload test at 100 percent of rated capacity at 165 PSI for five minutes; 70 percent test of rated flow at 200 PSI for 10 minutes; 50 percent test of rated flow at 250 PSI for 10 minutes.

This test shall also be performed whenever major pump repairs have been performed, or any other condition that may affect pump output (engine or transmission overhauls are examples). If the testing procedure indicates a failure of any portion of the test, the testing stops and any needed repairs are then performed by trained personnel. The test procedure should be performed in a complete process from beginning to end without interruption.

Relevant Tags: ASK ERNIE, test, pump, apparatus, procedure, air, flow psi, rated flow, nfpa 1911, test rated, ask ernie, testing procedurevernie summer

Apples to apples - Writing apparatus specifications

(This is part three of a four part series on writing specs for your apparatus.)

In this article we will review the steps involved in opening the bids. Step one — open the bid. We are done because this is the lowest bid. No we are not. A lot of people believe they have to go with the lowest bid. If you are into getting a slight pressure against your southern reason then always just go with the lowest bid.

What we are talking about is every manufacturer offers slight variations to everyone’s specifications and each truck may have a little extra cost here and there. You have to compare apples to apples — not apples to oranges.

Relevant Tags: ALL ABOUT TRUCKS, bid, apples, specifications, writing, apparatus, apples apples, lowest bid, writing apparatus, apparatus specifications, compare apples

Summer 2012 New Deliveries

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Welcome to the Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal! We want to provide you with timely online information and breaking news that best equips you to meet today’s emergency challenges. Among our firefighting articles, you will find the latest in firefighter technology, firefighter training, leadership development and the newest products and services presented in an “Act Now” user friendly format. We want to be your best online source for the fire and rescue information, resources and reviews you need.

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