Two firefighters had close calls during a second-alarm fire in Pawtucket, RI, on Jan. 6, 2012. One firefighter’s foot went through the roof and the other firefighter almost rolled off the roof when it burned through underneath them.
Dedication: This issue of Firehouse® is dedicated to Firefighter Crisanto Leo Lionell, 54, of the California Department of Corrections; Firefighter William “Jumbo” Elliott, 49, of Pompano Beach, FL, Fire Rescue; Chief Samuel Butler, 52, of the Evans Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department in Maxton, NC; and Firefighter David Crenshaw, 63, of the Anderson County, SC, Fire Department, who died in the line of duty, January 2012.
WOONSOCKET, RI, JAN. 10, 2013 – Five families were left homeless after a fast-moving fire tore through their three-story, six-unit, balloon-framed, vinyl-sided apartment building. An attack line was pulled to attack the exterior fire running up...
This University of Extrication Trainer’s Guide addresses a new challenge that is arising from design changes of the newest model vehicles being produced today. Manufacturers are increasingly re-designing the structure of their new model-year vehicles to...
A few months ago, I wrote a column titled “Top Seven Morale Killers in Your Department” (November 2011). First on the list was “lack of discipline,” and I talked about how morale takes a real hit when you are dragging around a deadweight...
When a piece of legislation is introduced in Congress, it can be tempting to offer support for the bill based solely on the title and/or what it appears to accomplish on the surface. This can be a mistake. It is important to know who or what is hidden...
THE FORT LEE, NJ, FIRE DEPARTMENT has taken delivery of a Sutphen custom pumper/tanker built on a Sutphen Monarch chassis. Components include a 515-hp Detroit Diesel engine, Telma retarder, 2,000-gpm Waterous CMUH pump, 250-gallon foam tank, Foam Pro...
When we talk about “setting the tone,” we’re talking about how someone can create a mood or attitude among a group of people. Of course, the people I’m talking about are firefighters and although just about anybody can set the tone, it is the...
NFPA 1021, Fire Officer I 4.6.1 Develop an initial action plan, given size-up information for an incident and assigned emergency response resources, so that resources are deployed to control the emergency.
4.6.2 IMPLEMENT AN ACTION PLAN AT AN...
Rechargeable Flashlights
STREAMLIGHT has introduced the SL-20L and SL-20LP rechargeable flashlights. Both lights use a C4 LED to deliver up to 350 lumens measured system output and 60,000 candela peak beam intensity for long- range beam distance. The...
Recognition for FDNY Bone Marrow Donors
Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano, President and CEO of New York Blood Center (NYBC) Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D. and Chairman of NYBC’s Board of Trustees Howard P. Milstein, added the names of six FDNY...
Given the continuing decline in the number of volunteers in many places, there is a growing need within the American fire service for the combination type of fire department operation. But leadership in a combination fire department environment requires a...
You’ve likely experienced it before. You’re moving quickly down a hallway at a residential structure fire, occasionally glancing at the thermal imager (TI) in order to keep track of adjacent rooms and accountability with your team, when you see the...
PAWTUCKET, RI, JAN. 6, 2012 – Three engines, two ladders and a rescue responded to a late-morning report of a house fire. First-arriving Engine 1 reported smoke showing and gave a “Code Red” – the signal for a working fire. The fire was on the top...
MIDDLETOWN, NY: MARCH 4, 1912: – Apparently worried by financial troubles, a local justice of the peace drove his wife from their home at gunpoint. He then set more than a dozen fires in their home before escaping. Firemen arrived to an advanced fire...
January Line-of-Duty Deaths
Ten U.S. emergency service personnel died in January. Five volunteer firefighters, two career firefighters, one part-time firefighter and two civilian employees died in 10 separate incidents. Six deaths were health related...
Currently, much testing and debate are going on across the U.S. fire service. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is conducting full-size, fully furnished tests of one- and two-family dwellings within its burn structure on the proper procedures and timing of...
Blauer
Blauer’s new TacShell System brings modern outdoor apparel layering systems to the firehouse. The TacShell combines a waterproof, windproof and breathable, stretch three-layer shell with a zip-in, functional and warm softshell fleece. Blauer is...
PIERCE MANUFACTURING has received an order for three aerial tiller vehicles from the Columbus, OH, Division of Fire. Each apparatus will feature an Arrow XT chassis, 105-foot heavy-duty aerial ladder with a radio-controlled monitor, 500-hp Detroit...
Jan. 27: Ocala, FL - On arrival, firefighters found a twin-piston Cessna aircraft on fire, as well as the grass surrounding the aircraft. Sixteen firefighters manning six fire apparatus, including the aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck...
By its very name, an urban search and rescue (USAR) task force must be able to search. The three standard search techniques are physical, technical and canine. All three have advantages and disadvantages that must be considered when a task force is...
It’s no secret that fire tankers and tenders are at a higher risk of rollover than any other fire apparatus on the road today. Heavily loaded tankers with higher centers of gravity, short wheelbases and sometimes poorly converted gross vehicle weight...
Firehouse: Why is it that the citizens of San Diego never seem to have backed legislation, bond issues or votes for more funding for fire protection in either the city or county?
Mainar: San Diegans have historically been fiscally conservative in...
Sometimes, we firefighters succumb to complacency. This is especially true when we respond to repeated false alarms from home detection systems. The fact that many of these are the results of poor communication from the alarm company, poorly maintained...
When you finish reading this column, go to your computer, pull up YouTube and type in the search words “did you know.” You will find videos that pertain to how technology is changing the world. Among the facts that surprised me: China has more...
Fire-growth danger is among the first lessons a firefighter must learn to stay alive. Firefighters must know what fire is, how it spreads, how it kills and how it is controlled.
Fire has several definitions: it is a chemical reaction combining oxygen...
