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    • May 2014

    BlowHard
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    BlowHard FansMore and more firefighters around the globe are reaching for the dual-powered (battery and a/c) BH-20 from BlowHard. It’s ergonomic, lightweight (59 pounds with battery...
    Photos by Tom McDonald
    Houston Fire Department Tower 6 crew prepares to operate a master stream on the A (west) side.
    Tom McDonald
    May 1, 2014
    A fully framed and roofed, interconnected complex of nearly 400 apartment units under construction, only three months from their scheduled opening, went up in a massive column...
    Photo by Scott LaPrade
    MARCH 30: FITCHBURG, MA – First-due companies found a 1-1/2-story, wood-frame home with smoke and fire showing. Firefighters aggressively searched the home, located two victims and removed them for hospital transport. Two occupants, a 22-year-old male and a 39-year-old female, were killed in the blaze. Six others escaped.
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    MARCH 1: BALTIMORE, MD – Two young children and a man were killed in a two-alarm house fire that also critically injured another woman.MARCH 1: MENTONE, AL – A historical hotel...
    Photo by Tom McDonald
    AUG. 23, 1975 – Station 68 Captain Alan Maas and Volunteer Captain Joe Gay at a 2-11 warehouse fire at SW Freeway and Hillcroft.
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    A frequent contributor to Firehouse® Magazine of photos and articles about some of Houston’s biggest and most challenging fires for the past 20 years, Tom McDonald actually has...
    The dual-powered BH-20 from BlowHard
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    BlowHard FansMore and more firefighters around the globe are reaching for the dual-powered (battery and a/c) BH-20 from BlowHard. Its lightweight (weighing 59 pounds with battery...

    More content from May 2014

    Photo by Ken LaBelle
    WOONSOCKET, RI, MARCH 15, 2014
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    WOONSOCKET, RI, MARCH 15, 2014 – Two firefighters fell through the floor and were able to stop their fall with their arms. They gave Maydays and extricated themselves before the...
    John Salka 11355234
    John J. Salka Jr.
    May 1, 2014
    John J. Salka Jr. explains why learning from mistakes can help firefighters operate more safely and efficiently.
    Photo courtesy of the author
    A great deal of responsibility and accountability accompany that gold chief's badge and white helmet. Almost every fire department activity subjects personnel, the department, and the municipality to potential liability and the risk of a lawsuit – even training. As long as you perform your duties within reasonable, basic guidelines or established standards, and you document what, where, when and how you did it, you are laying the groundwork to cover yourself legally.
    Dominic Colletti
    May 1, 2014
    Leading a rural fire department has a set of unique challenges that can trouble even a seasoned fire chief.
    Photo courtesy Harold Hinson Photography
    Kevin Harvick and his 18-month-old son, Keelan, visits the Oak Ridge (NC) Fire Department.
    May 1, 2014
    Harvick Thanks Oak Ridge FirefightersFour months after NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana woke up to the sound of their home’s smoke detector going off, the driver...
    Fortherecord 5 14 811990 Ficem 11361654
    May 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 by Jay K. Bradish/IFPA
    Firefighting is arduous and requires high levels of health and physical fitness. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that fire departments phase in mandatory wellness/fitness programs, conduct physical performance evaluations to ensure firefighters are physically capable of performing the essential tasks of structural firefighting and 'ensure that firefighters are cleared for duty by a physician knowledgeable about the physical demands of firefighting, the personal protective equipment used by firefighters and the various components of NFPA 1582.'
    Firehouse Readers
    May 1, 2014
    Our department just finished another round of our annual firefighter physicals under National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1582: Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical...
    Photos by Ron Moore
    The horizontal dash support pipe (yellow) and the two dash tie downs (black) are shown in this vehicle display. With the instrument panel, dash, and all normal components in place, these items are all hidden from sight.
    Ron Moore
    May 1, 2014
    Ron Moore explains why an interior dash roll may be needed on late-model cars.
    Dennis Compton 11375995
    Dennis Compton
    May 1, 2014
    One of the realities of politics is that it’s present in everything we do that really matters in the fire service. Sometimes, the politics is internal within the fire service,...
    Photo courtesy of the author
    Three firefighters were responding to a wildland call in Wyoming last summer when their U.S. Forest Service Type 3 engine was involved in a rollover accident. The engine was destroyed, but the crew survived. They were seated and belted, and escaped through the driver's-side door.
    Michael Wilbur
    May 1, 2014
    Mike Wilbur explains how firefighters jeopardize their own lives and the lives of others.
    Photo courtesy of Paul Hashagen Collection
    Fifty New York City firemen were overcome while battling a blaze in a cheese warehouse on Greenwich Street in Manhattan on July 17, 1921. The Ninth Avenue elevated subway was shut down for six hours to help firemen battle the fire.
    Paul Hashagen
    May 1, 2014
    AMITYVILLE, NY: MAY 3, 1914 – Flames broke out in the hayloft of a large barn on the estate of Benjamin F. Yoakum, a railroad tycoon. The quick-moving fire spread to five other...
    Gary Ludwig 11403927
    Gary Ludwig
    May 1, 2014
    A recent scan of the headlines says it all: “New York Struggles With Heroin Overdoses”; “New Report Shows Explosive Growth of Heroin in Kentucky”; “Ohio Struggles With Epidemic...
    KUSSMAUL ELECTRONICS has introduced the Auto Charge 40/20, a fully automatic battery charger for vehicles with a single battery system.
    Firehouse Staff
    May 1, 2014
    Automatic Battery ChargerKUSSMAUL ELECTRONICS has introduced the Auto Charge 40/20, a fully automatic battery charger for vehicles with a single battery system. The unit has a...
    Photos by Lee Genser
    Deputy Chief Mark Kiess gives instructions as Tower Ladder 8724 operates its master stream through the front door.
    Billy Goldfeder
    May 1, 2014
    As we reported last month, on Jan. 18, 2014, the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (M-LFD) of Long island, NY, was alerted to respond to a reported fire in a dwelling. What ...
    Photo courtesy Kansas City, MO, FD
    Six firefighters were killed fighting a gasoline fire shortly after this photo was taken on the border between Kansas City, KS, and Kansas City, MO.
    Robert Burke
    May 1, 2014
    Robert Burke provides an understanding about the levels of training to operate at hazmat emergencies.
    A typical electrical circuit panel is shown in this image.
    John Hays
    May 1, 2014
    A thorough investigation confirms information provided by a thermal imager.