July 2014

Photo by Keith Cullom
APRIL 30: SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire in the City of Goleta that destroyed two homes and caused major damage to two other houses as flames spread across close properly lines and wind pushed the fire through property line hedges and vegetation. Thirteen fire companies from both the Santa Barbara County and City Fire Departments worked to stop the extension of the fire.
Operations & Training

Fire Wire 7/14

July 1, 2014
MAY 1: LYNCHBURG, VA – A train carrying crude oil derailed and led to the evacuation of nearby buildings and drinking water was drawn from an old canal system instead as a precaution...
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Rescue

Rural Firefighting Academy: ISO Implements Changes In Fire Suppression Ratings - Part 2

July 1, 2014
In this, the second installment in a multi-part series of columns, I met with Bob Andrews, vice president and chief operations officer of community hazard mitigation services ...
Photos by Ron Moore
Looking at this steering column, the white plastic ball joint by the coiled spring is the column's tilt-adjustable joint. There may be a solid steel shaft below this tilt joint and a solid shaft above it connected to the steering wheel itself. The tilt joint, however, is generally a weak point of a column. If the column is to be totally cut through, this would be a great place to start.
Vehicle Extrication

University of Extrication: Total Steering-Column Removal

July 1, 2014
SUBJECT: Steering Column, Part 5TOPIC: Total Steering Column RemovalOBJECTIVE: Understand modern vehicle steering wheel and column design TASK: Given an acquired vehicle and rescue...

More content from July 2014

Photos by Frank Wesnoski
Crews from the Darby Fire Company and Collingdale Fire Company 2 operate on the Alpha side of the building.
Operations & Training

On The Job Pennsylvania: 31 Departments Respond To 3-Alarm Fire At Darby Market

July 1, 2014
On Saturday, April 13, 2013, a three-alarm fire destroyed the Liberian Water Side Market in downtown Darby. The fire required the resources of 31 fire departments from Delaware...
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Operations & Training

Wildland Fires Sidebar: CAL FIRE: Planning for Success

July 1, 2014
Succession planning, changing faces and workforce planning – these are all terms that address a reality facing agencies throughout California and the nation, in both the private...
Photo courtesy of Auburn Fire Rescue
The department's fitness area should be organized for maximum use of equipment and floor space, but to also enable members to move freely while reducing the risk of trip hazards.
Health & Fitness

Firefighter Fitness: The Safety Triad: Reducing Risk in the Exercise Room - Part 1

July 1, 2014
Rich Meyer shares why safety and the need to understand equipment in the weight room is just as important as the fireground.
Photos by Steve Redick
Northlake Truck 803 and Leyden Quint 133 set up as Franklin Park Ladder 2 applies water and firefighters lay hoselines.
Operations & Training

On The Job Illinois: Four-Alarm Fire Destroys Northlake Tire Shop

July 1, 2014
NORTHLAKE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTChief: Robert HjelmgrenPersonnel: 2 chief officers, 15 career firefighters, 6 paid-on-call firefighters, 1 auxiliary memberApparatus: 2 pumpers...
Photos by Keith Addie
Heavy smoke met firefighters upon arrival. Firefighters made an aggressive attack, but had to back out due to the rapidly advancing fire conditions.
Operations & Training

Progress Report New Jersey: Six-Alarm Fire Destroys Unoccupied Elementary School

July 1, 2014
EDISON, NJ, MARCH 22, 2014 – A 50-year-old unoccupied elementary school was destroyed by a six-alarm fire. Edison firefighters responding to the early-evening fire at the James...
Photo courtesy of NIOSH
Employee wearing personal protective equipment works in an enclosure while handling powder-form nanomaterials.
Operations & Training

Tools & Technologies: Nanomaterials and Fires: Why the Concern?

July 1, 2014
Every day, more industrial processes are moving to a new, more active form of the materials they use. This new form is 1,000 times smaller than the micrometer-sized materials ...
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Operations & Training

The Fire Scene: What Are You Thinking?

July 1, 2014
One of the most interesting and exciting aspects of being a firefighter is that every run, every alarm and every call for assistance is different from the last run and from the...
THE NEEDHAM, MA, FIRE DEPARTMENT has taken delivery of a KME 79-foot AerialCat rear-mount ladder
Apparatus

New Deliveries 7/14

July 1, 2014
THE NEEDHAM, MA, FIRE DEPARTMENT has taken delivery of a KME 79-foot AerialCat rear-mount ladder built on a KME Predator MFD chassis powered by a 450-hp Cummins ISL engine. Components...
Photo courtesy of LVFR
This photo was taken by one of the rescue personnel on scene and sent to me before I arrived on scene. I then sent it out to the media immediately to advise the public why a ramp on the interstate was closed during rush hour. Media that who could not respond to the scene due to time restraints used the image while the incident was still in progress.
EMS

The Fire Service PIO: Social Media and the PIO

July 1, 2014
Working as a public information officer (PIO) for the past 30-plus years, I have used a number of ways to get information out to the public, mostly through the media.In the very...
Gary Ludwig 11502423
EMS

EMS: The "ETOH Patient": Follow Medical Protocols

July 1, 2014
It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and the tones go off. “Rescue 8, meet the police at the intersection of Main and 5th streets to check on the welfare of a civilian.”When you arrive...
Photo by Jeff Zimmerman
SAN DIEGO, CA
Operations & Training

Hot Shots: 7/14

July 1, 2014
SAN DIEGO, CA, ADD DATE – Numerous homes lay in ashes after flames jumped from ridge to ridge, destroying everything in their path. Santa Ana winds blew for three days, hampering...
Las Vegas Fire Chief William McDonald (center, holding award) along with staff members of LVFR accepted the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline EMS Bronze Award from representatives from the American Heart Association.
Operations & Training

For the Record 7/14

July 1, 2014
LVFR Receives EMS AwardLas Vegas Fire & Rescue (LVFR) has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Bronze Award that recognizes its commitment and success...
Photo from Paul Hashagen Collection
This undated photo shows a Hearst Metrotone News crew filming a silent newsreel featuring a building fire. The company was renamed News of the Day in 1916. It is interesting to note the wooden platform being used by one cameraman. It is not clear whether the fire was staged.
Operations & Training

Rekindles 7/14

July 1, 2014
CHARLOTTE, NC: JULY 1, 1914 – The Charlotte Fire Department responded to a barn fire behind the home of a railway contractor. Unknown to the firemen, the contractor had dynamite...
WATEROUS has introduced the CRU2C21 pump
Pumps & Valves

New Products 7/14

July 1, 2014
Industrial Fire PumpWATEROUS has introduced the CRU2C21 pump, created with the industrial firefighting market in mind. Rated at 4,000 gpm at 100 psi with flow through rates up...
Photos by Nicholas Wilbur
Operating fire apparatus on a sunny day with sun glare is hard enough to do safely. Texting while driving makes a bad situation worse. This is extremely dangerous.
Apparatus

Emergency Vehicle Operations: Texting, Cell Phones And the Apparatus Operator

July 1, 2014
Mike Wilbur warns that you should know cell phone rules before sitting behind the wheel of an emergency vehicle.
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EMS

Tools & Technologies: Clackamas Fire Puts More Eyes on More TIs

July 1, 2014
Like many fire departments around the country, Oregon’s Clackamas Fire District 1 has depended on thermal imagers (TIs) for well over a dozen years as a critical tool in helping...
Photos by Lee Genser
Photo 1: Heavy smoke was followed by fire coming through the roof (Photo 2) of the 5,000-square-foot house and a subsequent complete collapse.
Operations & Training

Close Calls: Light Smoke Showing, Then Heavy Fire & Major Collapse: Part 4

July 1, 2014
This concludes a multi-part account of a close call experienced by the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (M-LFD) of Long Island, NY, at a house fire on Jan. 18, 2014. Thanks...
Photo by Robert Burke
Anhydrous ammonia (NH3) is one of the leading sources of nitrogen fertilizer applied to agricultural crops in the U.S.
Hazmat/Specialty

Emergency Response to Agricultural Ammonia Releases

July 1, 2014
Robert Burke explains the characteristics of Anhydrous ammonia and how it can impact rescuers and their equipment.
Photo by Jeff Zimmerman
The fire service, from the first unit on the scene of any type of incident, makes a decision on whether to operate in an aggressive, offensive manner or take a defensive position.
EMS

Eisner: Decisions, Decisions: Education and Training Are Key

July 1, 2014
Editor’s Note: The Firehouse staff wanted to share some of long-time Editor in Chief Harvey Eisner’s work. Harvey, a fixture on New York City firegrounds and at major events and...