August 2013

Photo courtesy of Mitchell Associates Architects
Kaestle Boos Associates and Robert Mitchell Associates Inc. designed this apparatus bay for the Holden, MA, Fire Department.
Building Components

Station Design Supplement: Part 1 - Built to Last

Aug. 1, 2013
Fire stations are among the most complex, heavily used municipal buildings found anywhere. Simultaneously, they are garages housing millions of dollars’ worth of apparatus; they...
Photos by Gene Blevins
A memorial service was held in Prescott, AZ. Flags and the name of each of the 19 Hotshots were displayed outside. More than 30,000 were in attendance from around the world.
Rescue

Cover Story: 19 Firefighters Killed In Yarnell, AZ, Wildfire

Aug. 1, 2013
On June 30, 2013, the worst tragedy to occur in 80 years in wildland firefighting claimed the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots in a fire near Yarnell, AZ. Another firefighter...
Photo by Gene Blevins
A flagpole has been placed at the Arizona site where 19 firefighters died. The site can be seen from an overlook adjacent to Highway 89 in Yarnell that has been named the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Overlook.
Safety & Health

As Firehouse Sees It: A Really Bad Day

Aug. 1, 2013
According to the latest complete statistics from the national Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 2011, the U.S. fire service responded to 30,098,000 alarms. Divided by 365...
The AirVac system is completely automatic with no hoses to attach to apparatus.
Doors

Station Design Supplement: Part 2 - Outfitting Your Fire Station

Aug. 1, 2013
When the bricks-and-mortar phase of building a fire station has been completed, many items still must go into it. Beds, recliners, garage doors, engine exhaust systems, alert ...

More content from August 2013

Photo by Mike Meadows
Los Angeles CA, April 22, 2013
Operations & Training

Hot Shots 8/13

Aug. 1, 2013
LOS ANGELES, CA, APRIL 22, 2013 – Five people were injured, including a person who later died, at an early-morning, greater-alarm fire in an apartment building in North Hollywood...
Graphic courtesy of PGFD
Topography of the fire building. Dotted line indicates grade.
Safety & Health

Close Calls: Firefighters Trapped At Maryland House Fire - Part 2

Aug. 1, 2013
A look at fire behavior before and after Prince George's County, MD, firefighters arrived at the house fire on 57th Avenue in Riverdale Heights.
John Salka 10976442
Hoselines & Water Appliances

The Fire Scene: Interior or Exterior: Where Do We Begin?

Aug. 1, 2013
Some members of the fire service are looking into and experimenting with some variations of what have become standard firefighting tactics in many departments. You have all heard...
Gary Ludwig 10976472
EMS

EMS: Talking People Out Of Going to the Hospital

Aug. 1, 2013
I have been on several calls during my career where people were playing a game of Russian roulette. Usually, the people were young and drinking was involved. In Russian roulette...
Photo courtesy of CHEMTREC
Chemtrec Tanker Fire In Cara 10979410
Hazardous Materials

Hazmat Sidebar: When You're Caught in the Line of Fire, Help is Just a Telephone Call Away

Aug. 1, 2013
From train derailments, overturned tanker trucks and spills of hazardous materials to chemical fires, accidental poison ingestion, the Pentagon and World Trade Center on 9/11 ...
Photos by Ron Moore
Opening the rear hatchback on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV offered a degree of difficulty only because of a large, soft plastic rear bumper trim material that was beneath the latch mechanism.
Vehicle Extrication

University of Extrication: Electric Plug-In Vehicle Extrication Techniques - Part 4

Aug. 1, 2013
SUBJECT: Electric Plug-In VehiclesTOPIC: Extrication Challenges of Electric Plug-In VehiclesOBJECTIVE: Understand any unique procedural changes necessary when accomplishing vehicle...
Dennis Compton 10979674
Leadership

Fire Politics: Three Critical Issues On Fire Service's Agenda

Aug. 1, 2013
There is always lots going on at the national, state and local levels of government that impact the fire service community. So far, this summer has been no exception. In researching...
Fire departments are urged to educate first responders about how to best respond to an emergency situation involving an autistic individual.
Careers & Education

Higher Education: First Responders, Take Note: CDC Reports 1 in 50 Children Has Autism

Aug. 1, 2013
On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report stating that one in 50 (more than 1 million) U.S. schoolchildren are diagnosed with...
Photos courtesy of the author
Determining the route ahead of the attack line's advance can have a major impact on a hose team's ability to quickly and safely extinguish a fire.
Hoselines & Water Appliances

The 4 Phases Of the Stretch: Phase 4

Aug. 1, 2013
The moment of truth has arrived. You are kneeling outside the attack entrance. Boiling, black and gray smoke pushes from the top of the door. Your hoseline stretch is complete...
Brad Harvey 1107 10980392
Thermal Imagers

Thermal Imaging: What To Do When The Police Call for Help

Aug. 1, 2013
I am sure it has happened to your fire department. Two o’clock in the morning and the police want you to set up the aerial so they can get overhead photos of a crime scene or ...
Scuttlebutt 8 13 Dover 1 10980552
Professional Associations & Services

Scuttlebutt 8/13

Aug. 1, 2013
“Monster” Support for NFFFFor the past five years, the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the “Monster Mile” (Dover International Speedway, Dover, DE) has been a day to show...
Yarnell 10981345
Professional Associations & Services

For the Record 8/13

Aug. 1, 2013
Nonresidential Building Fires (2009-2011)Last month we presented the findings of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) report on Residential Building Fires (2009-2011). Here are...
Photo from Paul Hashagen Collection
A fire broke out in a room over a clothing store in Fredericktown, OH, at 1 P.M. on Aug. 29, 1913, and spread quickly. Firefighters and apparatus responded from nearby Mount Vernon and helped battle the flames. The fire spread from the clothing store to a five-and-10-cent store, two meat markets, two barbershops, a grocery store, a restaurant and a drug store before it was brought under control.
Investigation Equipment

Rekindles 8/13

Aug. 1, 2013
BANGOR, ME: AUG. 1, 1913 – A nighttime fire that started in the business district in the manufacturing plant of the S. Flory Co. destroyed the entire structure and spread to several...
STREAMLIGHT INC. has introduced the E-Flood LiteBox HL rechargeable flood light.
Scene Lighting

New Products 8/13

Aug. 1, 2013
Rechargeable Flood LightSTREAMLIGHT INC. has introduced the E-Flood LiteBox HL, a rechargeable flood light that delivers maximum illumination at 3,600 lumens. The portable lantern...
Photos courtesy of the authors
Photo 1. Cutting the front of the hood will facilitate its removal, expose the head harness and allow the provider to reposition his hands.
EMS

How to Assess and Treat Injured Firefighters

Aug. 1, 2013
Literature on the topic of rapid intervention, like many other subjects, began as individual articles, grew into larger chapters and has now evolved into entire textbooks. It ...
Photo by Dennis Walus
Chicago, IL: April 29, 2013- - A defensive attack was made on a fully involved one-story commercial building with a bowstring truss roof. Tower Ladders 34 and 37 and Squad 5A were set up. It took about two hours to control the 3-11 alarm fire.
Ambulance

2012 National Run Survey - Part 3

Aug. 1, 2013
For the 32nd year, the career fire service takes to the pages of Firehouse® Magazine to share and compare statistics about company and department activity levels, funding, staffing...
Photos by Barry Furey
Facilities that have access to criminal history information must meet security standards set by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities.
Tech & Comm

Fire Dispatch: Communications Standards: The Who, What and Why

June 1, 2013
The fire service is no stranger to standards, and many of the more commonly known entities such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Insurance Services Organizatio...