CAL FIRE Engine 3564 narrowly escapes a wall of fire at the 32,000-acre “Powerhouse Fire.” Gusty winds pushed the fire toward the rig. This incident occurred in Los Angeles County, CA, on June 2, 2013. It took 2,100 firefighters using 93 engines and eight air tankers to control the blaze.
When you think of security at your fire or EMS stations, your thoughts usually encompass door locks, alarm and video systems, secured drugs or petty cash storage. But emergency service organizations also handle and store something with sometimes far...
W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES INC. has reported on new research that highlights the importance of moisture barriers in managing firefighter heat stress. Although firefighters need protection against extreme heat, the vast majority of calls do not involve...
The “Black Forest Fire” started on June 11, 2013, and grew to become what was being described as the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history in terms of number of homes lost. The wind-driven fire killed two people, burned 14,280 acres and...
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 days, that comes to an average of 82,460 alarms on any given day. Every hour...
There is always a lot 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 some issues that are important, but rarely make the headlines, I found...
As reported in the July issue, on Feb. 24, 2012, the Prince George’s County, MD, Fire/Emergency Medical Services Department (PGFD) responded to an arson fire in a single-family dwelling at which seven firefighters were injured. Given the severity of the...
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 is such an important topic, in part, because the larger concept of overall...
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; you and your partner are donning the rest of your personal protective...
The wording of this question may immediately lead the reader to presume that privatizing fire services will improve efficiencies. While privatization may produce improvements in service, it is not a guarantee. We would propose structuring fire services in...
Nov. 5, 1987, is the day I first went to the Stoney Point, NC, Fire Department and picked up my application to join. Little did I know that I was starting on the path to a career that has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
Beginning...
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 and military encounters in Iraq and Afghanistan, first responders must address...
Forecasts from the National Weather Service indicated temperatures into the upper 90s, humidity at 3% and Santa Ana winds gusting to 47 mph – and this was for the first day of May 2013. As all of Southern California is experiencing a drought, fire...
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 are dormitories; and they have expansive kitchens, training rooms and...
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 systems and turnout gear storage systems are just a few of the items needed to...
Twenty-five U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty. Twenty-two career firefighters and three volunteer firefighters died in seven separate incidents. Twenty-one deaths were the result of direct fireground operations, two deaths were the...
I have been on several calls where people were playing Russian roulette. Usually, the people were young and drinking was involved. In Russian roulette, one bullet is loaded in chamber of a revolver and the cylinder is spun. If the cylinder has six...
SUBJECT: Electric Plug-In Vehicles
TOPIC: Extrication Challenges of Electric Plug-In Vehicles
OBJECTIVE: Understand any unique procedural changes necessary when accomplishing vehicle rescue tasks on an electric plug-in vehicle.
TASK: Given an...
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 other buildings, including a house. Firemen saved a small building and...
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 some interesting facts from the Nonresidential Building Fires (2009-2011...
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. Three people were rescued by firefighters. Five of the 24 apartments...
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 who was acting as a lookout, and who was not with the main group, survived...
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 autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
This is up substantially from a previous...
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 they need to borrow a ladder so they can check the roof of a building near a...
“Monster” Support for NFFF
For 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 appreciation to firefighters and their families, while also raising...
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 and pay. A total of 238 fire departments took part in this year’s...
