June 2014

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June 1, 2014
In this, the first of a three-part series, I sat down with Bob Andrews, vice president and chief operations officer of community hazard mitigation services at ISO, to discuss ...
Photo by Ron Jeffers
UNION CITY, NJ, MAY 6, 2014 – An early-morning fire started in a grocery store in a three-story wood-frame building. First-in units found heavy fire through openings in roll-down security gates in front of the store. The fire quickly rose up the voids in the original building and extended to a row of five attached 2-1/2-story occupied dwellings. Smoke was showing from the cockloft of two of the dwellings when the first-alarm units arrived. Approximately 40 residents were displaced. More than 100 firefighters from the North Hudson Regional Fire Department operated at the scene along with mutual aid units from Jersey City. One firefighter suffered a minor injury.
June 1, 2014
APRIL 1: FRANKFORT, IN – Fire consumed about a half-acre of wood pallets and plastics stored outdoors at a commercial lot. Local residents and occupants of an elementary school...
We honor Lieutenant Greg Pickard posthumously as he gave his life during this heroic act.
June 1, 2014
We are pleased to announce the newest honorees in our 2013 Firehouse® Magazine Heroism Awards program and take pride in highlighting the bravery of these outstanding individuals...
Photo by Ed Ballam
Emergency apparatus are costly and complicated pieces of machinery. Today’s advanced apparatus technologies demand that apparatus committee members have the knowledge and experience to make sound purchasing decisions.
June 1, 2014
So, your fire department is buying a new piece of apparatus. You will probably want to form a committee because that is usually the first step. Committees seem to be the way humans...

More content from June 2014

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June 1, 2014
Federal Agencies Coordinate to Advance EMSIn an effort to further coordinate federal efforts in emergency medical services (EMS), the members of the Federal Interagency Committee...
Photo courtesy of the author
The machine is made up of several components. There is a desk with a computer screen and a printer. To the immediate right of the desk is a computer that captures information. To the right of the computer’s brain is a blue cylindrical machine; that is the hydraulic pump that powers the rollers and the yellow panels that act as shakers.
June 1, 2014
I conducted an emergency vehicle operator class in Canada and found a fire department that had taken its fire apparatus to a local heavy-duty truck dealer to get their trucks ...
E-ONE has debuted the redesigned Quest custom cab
June 1, 2014
Custom Apparatus CabE-ONE has debuted the redesigned Quest custom cab featuring improved ergonomics that can be seen and felt with lower and wider cab steps allowing for easier...
Photos courtesy of the author
The Radio Interoperability Operating System (RIOS) as it appears on an emergency communications console in Roanoke County, VA.
June 1, 2014
Since Sept. 11, 2001, much work has been done in the pursuit of interoperable public safety communications. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of...
Photo courtesy of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
The new, small overlap test has the vehicle strike a fixed barrier at 40 mph. The structural damage mainly along the driver's side of this 2013-14 Fiat 500 is because only that 25% of the front of the vehicle actually contacts the barrier. This test simulates a two-way traffic, cross-over collision into another vehicle, a tree or a pole.
June 1, 2014
SUBJECT: Small Overlap Frontal Crash Testing TOPIC: New Procedures for Dash-Rolling or Dash-Jacking Evolution OBJECTIVE: Understand vehicle structural changes related to the small...
Photo courtesy of Chief John Buckman
Chief Dennis Compton, chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors, welcomes attendees to the Tampa2 Summit on firefighter safety.
June 1, 2014
Editor’s note: The Fire Politics column, “Tampa2: Updating the Path Forward,” in the May issue by Chief Dennis Compton, a Firehouse® contributing editor, reported on the March...
Photo courtesy of CFSI
CFSI/MedicAlert Foundation Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Awards were presented to three organizations at the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) 26th National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner and Seminars Program. From left: Chris Neal of the CFSI Board of Directors; Memphis, TN, Fire Department Lieutenant James Strickland, Deputy Fire Chief and Firehouse® Contributing Editor Gary Ludwig, Fire Chief Alvin Benson and Lieutenant James Logan; and Andrew Wigglesworth, CEO and president of the MedicAlert Foundation. Also honored with EMS awards were the Howard County, MD, Department of Fire & Rescue Services and the Cullman County, AL, Association of Volunteer Fire Departments.
June 1, 2014
There is a lot to report this month about the state of the fire service. First, we feature our Firehouse® Magazine Heroism Awards Program in this month’s issue. We congratulate...
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June 1, 2014
The constant in life is change – and fire departments operating in the new healthcare environment, since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (...
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June 1, 2014
Editor’s note: David Griffin was the driver of the first engine to respond to a furniture warehouse fire that claimed the lives of nine of his fellow firefighters in Charleston...
Photo by Steve Redick
Oak Park, IL, May 5, 2014 – An early-morning fire spread to the exposures on either side of a 2-1/2-story wood-frame dwelling. Oak Park used a tower ladder, a deck gun and several handlines. Berwyn used a ladder pipe to hit the fire.
June 1, 2014
As a fire chief and editor-in-chief of Firehouse®, I have visited or been invited to numerous apparatus factories around the country. Seeing the latest types of apparatus with...
Photos by Chris Herder
FDNY firefighter Robert Wiedmann (center) with nine of the blood donors who saved his life at New York Blood Center's annual Long Island donor recognition awards dinner.
June 1, 2014
FDNY Firefighter Meets His Blood DonorsThe New York Blood Center (NYBC) hosted its annual Long Island donor recognition and appreciation awards dinner at the Crest Hollow Country...
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June 1, 2014
Welcome back! Summertime heat, fun and food! As we get ready for another active wildland fire season, it’s also the time to clean the grill and get some quick, healthy and delicious...
Photo by Ron Jeffers
PATERSON, NJ, APRIL 20, 2014
June 1, 2014
PATERSON, NJ, APRIL 20, 2014 – Flames consumed three wood-frame, mixed-occupancy buildings on Easter Sunday, leaving 11 people homeless. A passing battalion chief radioed in the...
'It all comes down to the relationship you develop with the manufacturer…Take the time to listen to the salesperson. Open, honest communication is important.' — Timothy Calhoun Palm Beach County, FL, Fire Rescue
June 1, 2014
Ed Ballam explains how departments need to work with manufacturers and sales representatives to get the most for their money.
Photo by Lee Genser
A view from side 4 (Delta) shows the fire exposing from the second level as members prepare to operate a 2-1/2-inch hoseline.
June 1, 2014
As we have been reporting over the past two months, on Jan. 18, 2014, the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (M-LFD) of Long Island, NY, was alerted to respond to a reported ...
Photos by Mike Daley
The high-angle environment is extremely high risk. It is imperative that rescuers continue to hone their skills to stay prepared for a deployment.
June 1, 2014
Mike Daley focuses on the need to remain proficient with the ropes we utilize in the fire service.
Photo courtesy of LVFR
The Las Vegas Fire Department's new 65-foot Seagrave ladder truck arrived in the city by rail on April 16, 1949. The truck was kept at Fire Station One downtown.
June 1, 2014
Author’s note: To give our readers a sense of history regarding the non-firefighting world as it was 100 years ago this month, on June 28, 1914, a Serbian terrorist assassinated...
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June 1, 2014
John Salka shares rules for using the handheld radio on the fireground.
Photo by Ron Jeffers
NUTLEY, NJ, ENGINE COMPANY 3 has been assigned a Rosenbauer pumper
June 1, 2014
NUTLEY, NJ, ENGINE COMPANY 3 has been assigned a Rosenbauer pumper built on a Spartan Force chassis and featuring a 350-hp Cummins engine, 1,500-gpm Hale pump, 500-gallon water...