Firehouse

Community Service: Creating Public Access to Defibrillation Programs

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The survival rate for witnessed, out-of-hospital, sudden cardiac arrest is approximately 5 percent in most communities. But in communities with public access...

Article • January 30th, 2012

The Future of Thermal Imaging

The year: 2004. The topic: When would my mother-in-law and father-in-law decide to buy their first computer?

Article • September 29th, 2011

Emergency Telecommunications for Wildfire Operations

A look at how the U.S. Forest Service and CAL FIRE establish emergency communications while operating at wildland incidents.

Article • September 7th, 2011

Wildfire Simulation Technology – Part 3

Beneath every wildfire model there is a set of assumptions, ideally based on a theory of how fire ignites and spreads. The model, however, is only as good as the theory that drives it and the data that goes into it. As computers have gotten smaller...

Article • July 30th, 2011

Wildfire Simulation Technology – Part 2

In the summer of 2003, a wildfire was threatening the Montana town of Hungry Horse. Several simulations were run by scientists who had combined data on the conditions of the fire, fuel, and weather to provide a forecast of what the fire would do.

Article • June 24th, 2011

Wildfire Simulation Technology – Part 1

These days, with fire departments hampered by tight budgets, training (particularly large-scale exercises) may get cut in order to staff enough personnel. However, the effectiveness of computer-based simulations has begun to catch up with the...

Article • March 31st, 2011

Evaluating Thermal Imagers

As thermal imagers have become ubiquitous in the fire service today, many departments are foregoing the rigorous evaluations that marked the early phase of TI adoption. Many departments just keep on purchasing what they have always purchased or...

Article • March 30th, 2011

What Is LTE?

Article • February 26th, 2011

Aerial Firefighting with Night Vision Goggles – Part 2

In our second installment of this series on Night Vision Goggles (NVG), three fire departments that operate aircraft while using NVG weigh in on the benefits and dangers of night operations. Los Angeles County Fire Department

Article • February 26th, 2011

Mutual Aid for Emergency Dispatchers

Many commonalities are shared by the suppression and communications functions of a fire department. Both must respond to emergencies at a moment's notice. Both rely on accurate information to do their jobs. And both require a minimum amount of staffing...

Article • February 1st, 2011

Aerial Firefighting with Night Vision Goggles – Part 1

As wildfires become more prevalent and ferocious, many in the fire service are looking for better ways to battle wildland blazes. One factor that is almost universally accepted is that the vast majority of fires diminish in severity overnight, when...

Article • January 28th, 2011

The Fire Service and the BlackBerry: A Powerful Combination

Smart phones have made their way into public safety communications in a big way. This article will focus on the BlackBerry by Research in Motion (RIM) smart phone, which has become one of the most popular choices by public safety agencies for...

Article • January 25th, 2011

New Year's Resolutions

Article • December 27th, 2010

New Technology, Standards Turning Apparatus Green

To meet the 2010 standards, engine manufacturers have developed complex systems that convert toxic pollutants into essentially harmless components.

Article • November 15th, 2010

Technology to Track Lost Firefighters Evolves

In August 2010, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, with support from the U.S.

Article • October 7th, 2010

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