Twenty-five years ago this month, on Dec. 27, 1983, five firefighters and a civilian were killed and 70 others injured when a propane explosion and fire destroyed a four-story warehouse and damaged 130 structures in Buffalo, NY. Two engines, one truck and a battalion chief were on the scene when the building exploded. The remaining units were delayed by treacherous road conditions following a snow storm and were still enroute to the scene when the blast occurred. All of the firefighters already on the scene were killed or injured. The apparatus of Ladder 5, whose five members were killed, was blown onto the lawn of a house across the street. There was not one piece of equipment that was usable on the truck after the blast.
I saw the incident on the late TV news and traveled to Buffalo the following day. Because of freezing rain, the airport was closed and my flight canceled. I tried again the following day. I met with then-Fire Commissioner Fred Langdon and his aide took me to the scene. A crane was removing the aerial ladder apparatus of Ladder 5. I gathered information and wrote a story. We ripped off the cover, tore out 10 pages of the magazine and the February 1984 issue covered the incident.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of another tragedy. On Dec. 1, 1958, a fire at the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago killed 92 children and three nuns and injured at least 70 other people. Firefighters reported children jumping from windows, others were rescued by portable ladder, and others were trapped inside classroom windows or died at their desks. This incident, which our Hal Bruno recounts on page 20, changed fire safety in schools, but 50 years later it still leaves sadness for the fire service. The tragedy created a nationwide awareness of the dangers of fires in schools. Many of the safety features we see today built into schools originated after this fire. For more details, visit www.olafire.com.
The National Association of Home Builders has filed an appeal against RB64, the residential sprinkler code that was passed at the International Code Council (ICC) meeting in September. The builders' organization contends that the vote was slanted because of the large number of fire service members voting for just two issues. The ICC has opened a new public hearing and will have to reconvene to seal the fate of RB64.
Voters in San Diego County, CA, recently turned down the latest ballot measure to increase protection from the devastating wildfires that wreak havoc throughout the area. Maybe, as some contend, the measure was flawed, maybe the politicians put together a proposal that voters didn't buy into, but since the voters turned it down, area departments will apparently have to make do with what they have. Last year, Fire Chief Tracy Jarman requested at least 50 additional engines for the City of San Diego alone. At certain times of the year, when the Santa Ana winds start to blow in middle of California and work their way south, wildfires that start to the north always get the first resources and then San Diego usually is the last on the list to receive any resources. Maybe with economic times being what they are, regionalization is necessary, or - as in Riverside County - maybe Cal Fire needs to take over fire protection in these areas.
Significant changes to NFPA 1901, the standard on automotive fire apparatus, take place after Jan. 1, 2009. Curt Varone looks at the highlights of these new regulations, added with safety in mind. Anyone purchasing a new piece of apparatus should be aware of these changes or they will be in for a shock when they start writing specs. See page 56.
The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System, a multi-year campaign to solicit accounts of firefighter near-misses so they can be tabulated from incidents across the country, recently went over the 2,000 mark as more firefighters buy into the program. Note at left that, once again, the U.S. fire service has lost more than 100 members in the line of duty. We still have a long way to go.
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